Jade Shakes the Thousand Mountains - Chapter 20: Untouched by Dust

Chapter 20: Untouched by Dust

So it turns out there are people in this world who don’t like Lu Wenshu…

The Inexhaustible Sect was located at the foot of the mountain where Sword Inheriting Sect stood. The winding mountain path wasn’t particularly long for cultivators.

With a mystic incantation, they were riding the wind. Before long, Yu Chanyi and Wei Shengming arrived above Sword Inheriting Sect’s territory.

From afar, they could see Sword Inheriting Sect standing amidst swirling clouds and mist. As they drew closer while riding the wind – though not particularly fast, with Wei Shengming guiding their direction – Yu Chanyi looked down and unexpectedly caught sight of one particular small mountain peak.

It was Azure Peak.

The place where she had lived for thirteen years.

Also the place she was most familiar with in Sword Inheriting Sect.

Nestled among the mountain ranges, Azure Peak stood quietly. Unlike other towering peaks of jagged rocks, it was entirely covered in verdant greenery, with its low peak hidden in the most secluded corner of the mountains.

Yu Chanyi unconsciously bit her lip, pressing so hard that white marks nearly appeared – she had seen Azure Peak from above Sword Inheriting Sect before, that time when Lu Wenshu took her down the mountain. But back then, she hadn’t realized how inconspicuous and hidden Azure Peak was among Sword Inheriting Sect’s mountains.

During her days living at Azure Peak, she had only felt that the place was rarely visited by others, making it very peaceful. Being able to live quietly in a secluded corner, undisturbed by other cultivators, was exactly what she had wanted. At that time, she had always thought Lu Wenshu arranged for her to live at Azure Peak out of consideration for her.

But now, thinking back, it was clearly Lu Wenshu intentionally isolating her from Sword Inheriting Sect’s disciples. Leaving her standing there alone, forever isolated and helpless.

Just as Yu Chanyi was about to unconsciously bite her lip until it bled, suddenly someone grabbed her arm.

The cold touch brought Yu Chanyi back to her senses, and a voice came from beside her ear: “Little junior sister, if we keep flying, we’ll pass Sword Inheriting Sect.”

Yu Chanyi jolted in surprise, then was pulled by Wei Shengming to land.

After her feet touched the ground, Yu Chanyi frowned: “This doesn’t seem to be where we’re supposed to go.”

Their destination was Sword Inheriting Sect’s Hall of Famous Swords.

The Hall of Famous Swords was near Sword Casting Valley – a tall building containing many forged swords. While sect disciples could exchange for them freely based on their contributions to the sect, non-sect members could also purchase them using Spirit Coins.

But this place had no buildings, no vegetation. As far as the eye could see, there were only brown mountain rocks. No birds flew in the sky, no beasts roamed the ground, and a strange power churned in the air.

Yu Chanyi could smell the sharp scent of pine needles mixed within.

After recognizing where this was, she felt dizzy and shivered, the clear, sharp fragrance of pine needles making her nauseous.

She barely managed to keep her expression from showing any abnormality, but her feet unconsciously took a step back. She looked at Wei Shengming with cold, guarded eyes, her voice tense: “Why did you bring me here? This isn’t the Hall of Famous Swords.”

This was Sword Forging Cliff.

The place where she had died.

Wave after wave of cold dread rose from Yu Chanyi’s heart, making it almost impossible for her to stand steadily. She looked at Wei Shengming who had brought her here, fully guarded, her eyes reddening with hatred.

Yet Wei Shengming’s face showed a rare hint of embarrassment as he said: “When coming to Sword Inheriting Sect, I only know the way to this place.”

At that moment, a figure in white robes approached. Yu Chanyi was the first to notice his presence and immediately turned to look.

It wasn’t Lu Wenshu.

She felt a slight relief in her chest, yet remained vigilant.

Since he was dressed in white robes, he must still be a disciple of the Sword Inheriting Sect.

Yu Chanyi’s gaze fell upon the newcomer’s face an unfamiliar visage, already advanced in years, seemingly not a particularly powerful cultivator.

Moreover, his prompt reaction to their presence near the Sword Forging Cliff indicated he must have been nearby, likely a disciple assigned to guard the Sword Forging Cliff for the Sword Inheriting Sect.

A thousand years ago, the Sword Forging Cliff was a forbidden ground of the Sword Inheriting Sect, and a thousand years later, it remained so. Yu Chanyi sneered inwardly repeatedly, waiting for this disciple to come and drive them away.

However, when the disciple arrived, he didn’t even glance at her. Instead, he looked at Wei Shengming, stopping at a distance to cup his hands in greeting and speaking as if to an old friend: “Why have you come so early this year?”

“Winter is still far off,” the disciple added.

Wei Shengming replied, “I’ve come this time to bring my junior sister to buy a sword here. Could you please show us the way, Daoist Qi?”

“Buy a sword? Then you should go to the Hall of Famous Swords head that way.” The cliff-guarding disciple surnamed Qi pointed them in a direction.

Wei Shengming said, “Thank you.”

Wei Shengming led Yu Chanyi away. Not long after they left, the cliff-guarding disciple watched his retreating figure and called out, “Daoist, when winter comes, will you still visit?”

Wei Shengming paused slightly in his steps, his gaze profound as he nodded, then continued leading Yu Chanyi away.

Suppressing the turbulent emotions surging in her heart, Yu Chanyi glanced back at the Sword Forging Cliff, then looked at Wei Shengming.

“Do you often come here in winter?” she asked.

He softly responded with an “Mm.”

Suddenly, Yu Chanyi’s heart felt as if struck by something.

She had died in winter, at year’s end, the coldest time.

“Winter is so cold what do you come here for?” Yu Chanyi carefully chose her words. “This place… seems to be a forbidden ground of the Sword Inheriting Sect. In winter, the outside is barren and bleak, with nothing much to see.”

Wei Shengming remained silent for a long time. When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse, his words slow, with a deliberately maintained calm: “To meet an old friend and reminisce.”

So that was it.

That cliff-guarding disciple from earlier must be his old friend.

A wave of loneliness washed over Yu Chanyi’s heart. She asked no more and quietly followed Wei Shengming.

The two arrived at the Hall of Famous Swords.

This place was countless times more bustling than the area outside the Sword Forging Cliff, with many people coming and going. Some wore white robes, clearly disciples of the Sword Inheriting Sect, while others were outsiders come to buy swords.

Just as they were about to reach the Hall of Famous Swords, Yu Chanyi abruptly halted.

She saw the figure standing outside the hall.

Lu. Wen. Shu.

It was him, yet not him.

It was a statue of Lu Wenshu, erected outside the Hall of Famous Swords.

The stone-carved features were identical to those in her memory, except he had matured from a youth to a young man. Whether time itself had added authority to his person or the statue had imbued him with solemn dignity, he appeared more commanding, more profound and inscrutable than before.

Yu Chanyi lifted her head to gaze up at him, for a long, long time, until a soundless cold smile suddenly spilled from the corners of her lips. Her posture head tilted back, staring fixedly at Lu Wenshu’s statue was no different from the Sword Cultivators around her who were also looking up in admiration. In fact, she observed it even longer and more intently than any of them. Yet, if anyone had been willing to shift their gaze from this imposing statue of Lu Wenshu to glance at the face of this young woman in black, they would have noticed not a trace of reverence in her expression, but rather a dark, simmering ferocity.

A thousand years had passed.

Lu Wenshu, oh Lu Wenshu, even if it’s just a statue, your shoulders remain untouched by dust.

“So this is Sect Leader Lu Wenshu the Number One of Sword Way, Champion of the righteous path, so renowned and extraordinary in appearance!”

“I don’t have Sect Leader Lu’s abilities, but buying a sword from the Hall of Famous Swords will fulfill my wish. Seeing this statue today, Sect Leader Lu truly possesses remarkable presence! I’d love to witness his true demeanor in person.”

“Do you think the Champion of the righteous path is someone you can just meet as you please? Having a statue for you to admire is already a blessing… If not for everyone’s pleas, given Sect Leader Lu’s demeanor of placing fame and profit beyond himself, he would never have agreed to erect this statue.”

The chaotic chatter around them drifted into her ears. Before Yu Chanyi could react, she heard her senior brother standing beside her let out a cold, soft “hmph.”

The sound was extremely faint, but since they were standing close together, Yu Chanyi caught it and looked up in surprise at Wei Shengming.

“What, little junior sister, are you going to speak up for our great Sect Leader Lu as well?” Wei Shengming withdrew his gaze from Lu Wenshu’s statue, his expression icy cold.

His voice was unnervingly calm: “Go on, say it. Say I’m jealous of him because I can’t even draw my sword. I’ve heard it all before. A few more words from you won’t hurt me in the slightest. If you have something to say, just say it directly.”

“No…” Yu Chanyi was merely curious.

She studied Wei Shengming. The disdain he showed toward Lu Wenshu’s statue and the coldness in his eyes didn’t seem feigned.

All around them, the clamor was filled with nothing but praise for Lu Wenshu. It seemed everyone adored Lu Wenshu so why was her senior brother the only exception?

Yu Chanyi found it difficult to articulate her feelings at that moment. She didn’t know his background, nor his stance or state of mind. She didn’t even know his name. Yet, simply because he existed, she felt an inexplicable sense of solace.

So, there were people in this world who didn’t like Lu Wenshu after all.

Her tone softened considerably as she tentatively asked, “Senior brother, have you had some past conflict with Lu Wenshu?”

Wei Shengming’s expression instantly darkened.

He said nothing, but Yu Chanyi watched as the blood in his eyes seemed to intensify, the outer rings of his irises growing redder. She even though she saw the birthmark on the left side of his neck extend slightly upward or was she just seeing things?

Just as Yu Chanyi tried to get a clearer look, Wei Shengming seemed to notice and raised his hand to cover his neck, letting out a soft sigh.

“Little junior sister, let’s go inside to look at the swords.”

He walked ahead into the Hall of Famous Swords. Seeing that he wasn’t in the mood to talk, Yu Chanyi silently followed him inside.

This wasn’t Yu Chanyi’s first time here. A thousand years had passed, and aside from the addition of Lu Wenshu’s statue outside, the place seemed largely unchanged.

Inside the Hall of Famous Swords, there were never any disciples on duty.

Each sword here was protected by a special Restriction, with the corresponding Spirit Coin price displayed. One only needed to place the Spirit Coins into the box in front of the sword to take it away.

The swords were all genuine blades from Sword Casting Valley, carrying exorbitant price tags.

Yu Chanyi’s frost-covered eyes swept over the row of high-quality swords, yet showed no flicker of emotion no hint of desire. Instead, she frowned repeatedly.

Wei Shengming tilted his head to glance at her and asked softly, “Not a single one you like?”

To be more precise, it wasn’t just dislike it was closer to aversion.

Since stepping into the Hall of Famous Swords, Wei Shengming hadn’t been looking at the swords; he had been watching Yu Chanyi. He could sense her distaste for the swords here every last one of them.

No matter how hard she tried to conceal it, her eyes betrayed her. The way she looked at these swords wasn’t even as intense as when she received the Peach Branch gifted by Wu Xi Lan.

In the vast Hall of Famous Swords, it seemed not a single blade could hold her gaze for more than a moment.

Among the new generation of Sword Cultivators, it was rare to see such disregard for the Sword Inheriting Sect.

As he expected, Yu Chanyi shook her head and replied, “I don’t like them.”

“None at all?”

Her gaze swept over each sword displayed in the hall as she stated, “I don’t like any of these swords.”

“The finest swords in Flame Province are all here.”

Yu Chanyi responded, “No matter how good these swords are, they can’t compare to ‘Yinghuo.’ If I must obtain a fine sword, I wouldn’t settle for any of these. Only a sword better than ‘Yinghuo’ would truly qualify as an excellent blade.”

A sword better than ‘Yinghuo’…

Wei Shengming’s pupils trembled slightly, his composure finally breaking. But Yu Chanyi wasn’t looking at him; she continued examining the swords and mused to herself, “Still, for my shijie’s sake, I’m willing to choose a sword from here to take back.”

Her gaze fixed firmly on the cheapest sword in the corner of the hall her decision already made. Just then, a stunned voice sounded beside her: “You… want ‘Seven Killings’?”

“Seven Killings?” Yu Chanyi paused and glanced at Wei Shengming, who had spoken.

After a moment’s thought, she recalled: before ‘Yinghuo’ emerged, the finest sword in the Giant Sea Ten Provinces was indeed ‘Seven Killings,’ wielded by Wei Shengming of the Grand Micro Sect the then Number One of Sword Way.

She could acknowledge that ‘Seven Killings’ was a better sword than ‘Yinghuo.’

“‘Seven Killings’ would be acceptable.” Yu Chanyi nodded.

Wei Shengming: “…”

Silence.

Only silence spread through the Hall of Famous Swords, filled with thousands of displayed blades.