Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 131 - 130: Commanding Ten Thousand Swords

Once Bai Jingjing settled down, Pei Yuhang raised the Silent Sword high above his head.

In an instant, his white robes fluttered though there was no wind, and the surrounding grass bent low, pressed down by an invisible aura.

Qing Yueqiu and Yu Xiaoyan watched, holding their breath in concentration.

This was because their master—an existence revered as a Sword Immortal, who had made a name for himself in the Sword Dao of the modern Cultivation Realm—was about to command a legion of swords right before their eyes.

If they could glean even a sliver of insight from this spectacle, it would be enough to allow Qing Yueqiu and Yu Xiaoyan to advance much further on their path of the Sword Dao.

"Yueqiu, Xiaoyan, watch closely."

As Pei Yuhang spoke, he touched the tip of his sword to the ground beneath his feet.

WMMMM—

A low thrum from the sword rippled outward.

The ground radiated out from Pei Yuhang. Waves rolled through the blades of grass like ripples on water, spreading infinitely in all directions. The vibration traveled from the meadow to the tops of the hundred-zhang-tall giant trees, causing the dense leaves to rustle as if stirred by the wind.

If one were to pull back and view the scene from above, they would see the vast sea of trees covering the island's surface ripple, wave after wave, with Pei Yuhang at its center—like a stone had been cast into a placid lake.

Under the sword's resonance, the entire Tree Sea Dragon Island seemed to come alive, everything humming and trembling.

Gradually, a certain broken sword at the bottom of a river, a certain shattered blade beneath a pile of rubble, a thoroughly rusted and corroded sword plunged into a skeleton at the foot of a cliff...

At Pei Yuhang's call, all these "Spirit Swords"—which had endured bloody battles only to be reduced to scrap metal—seemed to regain their former spirituality and glory.

They sang with joy, as if pouring out their grievances to Pei Yuhang—telling him of their long, bitter years spent slowly rotting and rusting away in this desolate land after the great war decades ago.

Unwilling to be reduced to scrap, they answered Pei Yuhang's summons in unison. They flew out from swift-flowing streams, from caves of shattered rock, and from burial mounds filled with countless bones...

Tens of thousands of swords in varying states of decay shot out from the sea of trees. The gusting wind from their ascent shredded and scattered countless leaves, bringing a clamor to Tree Sea Dragon Island, which had been silent for who knows how long.

The ringing tremor of blades, the cry of metal, seemed to return the island to the brutal battlefield of the past. This time, however, no swords were turned against each other. Instead, ten thousand blades bowed to a single man.

Pei Yuhang sheathed his Silent Sword and glanced at his two disciples, who were staring dumbfounded behind him.

Qing Yueqiu and Yu Xiaoyan's beautiful eyes were wide, their rosy lips parted far enough to fit an egg.

But Yu Xiaoyan was simply amazed by her master's power, thinking his command of ten thousand swords was an incredible display of dominance. Only a Sword Cultivator like Qing Yueqiu, who had personally experienced how difficult it was to control just thirty-six Flying Swords, could truly understand what a miracle it was to command a myriad of them.

'If this terrifying power is what he's capable of after his Cultivation dropped,' Qing Yueqiu found it hard to imagine, 'just how magnificent was he at his peak?'

With such mastery of the Sword Dao, it was no wonder the world—and even the proudest of Sword Cultivators—willingly addressed him as "Sword Immortal."

Clearly, this was an illustrious reputation he had carved out for himself, sword by sword, on the battlefields of the great war between the righteous and demonic paths!

Seeing the look of utter admiration on his two disciples' faces, Pei Yuhang couldn't help but feel a little smug. However, his expression remained that of a humble and composed master as he said:

"Don't just stand there gawking. In the future, you'll surely be able to reach my level. It wouldn't even be surprising if the student surpasses the master, and you do even better than me."

"Besides, don't forget the real reason we traveled a thousand li for over half a month to get here. Let's hurry up and find a suitable discarded sword to use as a Sword Embryo."

Qing Yueqiu sensed a hidden meaning in Pei Yuhang's words.

"Master, aren't you coming with us to find a sword for my junior sister?"

Pei Yuhang shook his head and tossed the Silent Sword to Qing Yueqiu.

"Let Bai Jingjing guide you. Just now, when I used my sword to 'announce' my presence to the whole island, I sensed another sword hidden in its depths. It gave me a strange feeling... I'm going to check it out."

Hearing that Pei Yuhang was going alone and wasn't even taking his own Lifebound Spirit Sword, Qing Yueqiu couldn't help but worry.

So, she offered her Luminous to Pei Yuhang.

"Master, I know I'm weak right now and would only be a burden if I went with you. But I can't bear the thought of not being able to share even a little of your burden, so... please take my sword with you!"

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuhang did not refuse.

He took the crystal-clear Luminous Shadow Sword and smiled. "Then as I hold Luminous's hilt, I'll pretend I'm holding Yueqiu's hand as I explore the island."

"...Hm? Yueqiu, why are you blushing?"

Perhaps it was due to the "Unity" effect between a Lifebound Spirit Sword and its master. When Pei Yuhang held the hilt of Luminous, Qing Yueqiu felt as if a large, warm hand was holding a certain part of her—and his ambiguous words from moments before only intensified the feeling.

Blood rushed to the young woman's head, and a shy, crimson blush she couldn't possibly hide spread across her face.

Standing to the side, Yu Xiaoyan finally couldn't watch anymore. She stepped in front of Qing Yueqiu, spoiling the mood, and pushed her master away.

"Master, you can go explore without worry! Xiaoxiao will follow Senior Sister and Master's sword, and we'll definitely find an unparalleled Sword Embryo!"

Pei Yuhang nodded. "Alright. Be careful, you two. If you encounter any irresistible danger, don't try to fight it head-on. Among all Cultivators, Sword Cultivators may not have the strongest killing power, but our Sword Control Escape Technique is often the fastest. Don't forget that."

"But Master, didn't you say before that a Sword Cultivator must be like a sword—straight, unyielding, and always pressing forward?"

Pei Yuhang speechlessly tapped Yu Xiaoyan on the forehead.

"What must press forward is your Dao Heart, not your life. Who says only charging in to kill enemies counts as pressing forward? Sword Cultivators aren't a suicide squad or daredevils, and they certainly aren't reckless brutes.

Running away... no, I should say, making a strategic retreat can also be a way of pressing forward. You press forward with your retreat, recuperate, grow stronger, and then come back to fight another day."

"..."

'So it can be interpreted that flexibly?' the two disciples thought, flabbergasted.

Considering his two disciples had always been "flowers" raised in the greenhouse of the Dao Sect, with no prior experience exploring areas like Secret Divine Treasures on their own, Pei Yuhang gave them some extra instructions before they parted ways.

This trip to Tree Sea Dragon Island was not only to find a Sword Embryo for his younger disciple but also to give both of them some practical experience.

After giving his instructions, Pei Yuhang took the Luminous Shadow Sword and leaped away.

In just a few steps, he traversed nearly half of Tree Sea Dragon Island, finally arriving before a great abyss.

Pei Yuhang looked at the bottomless chasm before him, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.

That year, he had just reached the Early-stage Divinity Transformation. Because he had been too conspicuous, he was ambushed and surrounded by enemy forces on the battlefield of Tree Sea Dragon Island.

An enemy whose Cultivation was approaching the Mid-stage Divinity Transformation had struck at him with his sword. If not for Liyuan risking her life at the critical moment, charging into the enemy's concentrated line of fire to get him out with a Great Transposition Talisman...

He would likely be buried in this dark, bottomless Abyssal Pit right now.

'Crisis often leads to opportunity. Without that life-and-death struggle in the great war, I never would have overcome the psychological trauma left by the Witch and found the courage to finally be with Liyuan.'

Filled with emotion, Pei Yuhang leaped into the Abyssal Pit—the very chasm created by a missed sword strike from a Peak Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator all those years ago.