Jade Shakes the Thousand Mountains - Chapter 23: First Disciple – He Is the Grand Micro Sect's First Disciple

Chapter 23: First Disciple – He Is the Grand Micro Sect’s First Disciple

Facing Yu Chanyi’s brilliantly shining eyes, Li Xu broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead.

In the eyes of all the cultivators active near Wu Xi Lan and the Inexhaustible Sect, he, Li Xu, was merely a rogue cultivator selling seeds, practicing some carefree, unfettered, and obscure wild path technique, appearing utterly ordinary and unremarkable.

No one knew his true identity was actually a disciple of the Grand Micro Sect, truly cultivating the Sword Way.

Li Xu raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, stammering evasively, “I only studied the sword for a few years, hardly a proper Sword Cultivator…”

“Proper or not, we’ll know after a test with me.” Beneath a pair of slender, curved willow-leaf eyebrows, Yu Chanyi’s eyes still curved like hooks at the corners, her jade-like face wearing a smiling expression.

Just now, when she tested him with that sword strike, Li Xu had dodged with agility and speed, and his hand had instinctively formed a Sword Art gesture!

Even if he abruptly gave up midway, Yu Chanyi’s sharp eyes had seen it clearly.

If not for Li Xu’s instinctive Sword Art hand gesture, she wouldn’t have been so certain he was a Sword Cultivator.

But then again, it made sense. After all, as the sect of the former Number One of Sword Way, the Grand Micro Sect had many Sword Cultivators. Li Xu, being a disciple of the Grand Micro Sect, practicing the Sword Way wasn’t too surprising.

“This… this…” Under Yu Chanyi’s piercing gaze, Li Xu’s expression turned troubled. He tightened his grip on the small cloth bag of seeds in his hand, looking embarrassed as he said, “Fellow Daoist Yu, I came today to bring new seeds for your Senior Sister Wu to see.”

Although Yu Chanyi had used the Grand Micro Sect disciple’s jade seal to buy the Grand Micro Sect’s sword from Yin Hai Wei’s shop, Li Xu couldn’t be entirely sure whether Yu Chanyi knew about the existence of their group secretly monitoring Wei Shengming or whether she knew Wei Shengming’s identity.

This was also one of Li Xu’s purposes for coming.

Today, Li Xu had three intentions:

First, he wanted to see if the sword was truly in Yu Chanyi’s possession.

Second, he needed to find out whether it was really Wei Shengming behind the scenes.

Third, he wanted to uncover Yu Chanyi’s background.

Since Yin Hai Wei’s sword had ended up with Yu Chanyi, Li Xu wanted to understand why this junior disciple of the Inexhaustible Sect was so close to Wei Shengming?

Li Xu appeared timid and unwilling to accept the challenge, but in reality, he was secretly observing Yu Chanyi’s expression.

If Yu Chanyi knew his true identity, she would know that selling seeds was just a front for him. Seeing him put on this act, she would undoubtedly expose him without mercy.

But Yu Chanyi was destined to disappoint Li Xu.

She did know the details of Li Xu being a Grand Micro Sect disciple, but… what did that have to do with her?

Exposing him offered her no benefit. Even the senior brother who was truly being tracked didn’t care about the presence of Li Xu and his group, so why should she go out of her way to disrupt this delicate peace between them?

Not only would she not expose Li Xu, she was even willing to play along with his act.

Yu Chanyi’s face bloomed with a radiant smile as she sincerely praised Li Xu: “Fellow Daoist Li’s seeds have always been of excellent quality. Senior Sister always speaks highly of your seeds.”

“But…” Yu Chanyi’s tone shifted, returning to the matter of the sword, “First spar with me, and I’ll naturally help you call my senior sister over to see the seeds.”

Li Xu was taken aback.

He tried to detect some clues from Yu Chanyi’s expression, but her face was sincere and persistent, wholly focused on sparring with him. Could it be… she truly didn’t know his real identity?

Suppressing his bewilderment, Li Xu lowered his gaze to the sword in Yu Chanyi’s hand and remarked, “Fellow Daoist Yu, this sword appears extraordinary. May I ask where you obtained it?”

Yu Chanyi replied, “At a shop selling Magical Artifacts in the northeast corner of the market.”

“Northeast corner of the market… a shop selling Magical Artifacts… It must be the one run by Fellow Daoist Yin.” Li Xu deliberately furrowed his brow. “But I heard that Fellow Daoist Yin once trained at the Grand Micro Sect and only sells swords to its disciples. To purchase a sword from him, one must present the Grand Micro Sect’s identity jade seal. Fellow Daoist Yu, as a disciple of the Inexhaustible Sect… how did you manage to acquire the Grand Micro Sect’s identity jade seal?”

Yu Chanyi’s knuckles tightened around the hilt, turning pale, leaving her momentarily at a loss for a response.

Suddenly, a rustling of falling leaves sounded behind them.

Accompanied by the sound of leaves, a hoarse, languid voice drifted over, “I gave it to her.”

Both Yu Chanyi and Li Xu looked up simultaneously to see a figure draped over a tree branch.

It was Wei Shengming, hanging himself across the thickest branch of the tree in the center of the courtyard. He was slung over it as if he had fallen from a cliff and been caught mid-air by the branch precariously suspended yet not falling, exuding an air of nonchalance.

Beside him, at the tip of the branch, perched a few small sparrows.

Wei Shengming cast a drowsy glance in their direction with half-lidded eyes. With just that one look, Li Xu felt every hair on his body stand on end in alarm.

After tracking Wei Shengming for so long, this was the first time Li Xu had come face to face with him.

Though it was merely a scrutinizing gaze, even tinged with a careless weariness, Li Xu felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.

—

Three hundred years ago.

Li Xu overcame numerous challenges and finally fulfilled his wish, becoming a direct disciple under the Grand Micro Sect’s sect master.

Unlike the Sword Inheriting Sect of the Flame Continent, which was characterized by towering cliffs and steep mountains, the Grand Micro Sect in the Flow Province was mostly lush with birdsong, fragrant flowers, and shaded by verdant trees except for the rugged, stone-filled valley where Kunwu Stone was produced. Li Xu preferred the environment of the Flow Province and immersed himself wholeheartedly in his cultivation.

A hundred years later, when other disciples who had entered under the sect master were dispatched to Secret Realms to slay Demons, Li Xu anxiously awaited his own assignment. However, the sect master kept him until last.

Just as Li Xu began to lament, thinking his skills were insufficient to join his fellow disciples in the Secret Realms and that he would be left behind in the Grand Micro Sect, his master said to him, “Li Xu, you are meticulous and rarely make mistakes. The task I have for you is more dangerous than the others. Are you willing?”

Li Xu immediately responded, “This disciple is willing.”

“Even if it involves something far more terrifying and formidable than any Demon you’ve encountered before? Are you still willing?”

Li Xu paused briefly, then affirmed resolutely, “No matter how perilous the path, someone must tread it. I took up the sword with the purpose of slaying Demons and monsters. If I feared death, I would never have become a Sword Cultivator from the start. This disciple is willing.”

“What Demon does Master wish this disciple to slay?” Li Xu asked.

“I want you to kill a person.”

After that, Li Xu was sent to the Flame Province, disguised as an unambitious and unremarkable minor rogue cultivator selling seeds, secretly surveilling Wei Shengming, who had been taken in by the Inexhaustible Sect.

Wei Shengming was the person the sect master wanted him to kill.

Before Li Xu joined the Grand Micro Sect, few people around him mentioned Wei Shengming. Even when someone occasionally brought him up, it was only to segue into discussing the current Number One of Sword Way.

After joining the Grand Micro Sect, its disciples mentioned him even less.

The Wei Shengming of the past had once been the sect’s pride, but now he had become its disgrace an unlucky topic no one wished to broach.

This silent avoidance carried an almost deafening sense of bewilderment. No one understood how the former heaven’s favored son could have fallen to such a state.

Li Xu didn’t know either.

With less than four centuries of cultivation age, he hadn’t witnessed Wei Shengming’s glorious days over a thousand years ago. He only knew how disgracefully Wei Shengming had exited the stage.

The rise of a new deity inevitably accompanies the fall of an old one. People easily forget the former glory of old gods, their eyes fixed solely on the ascending new deity.

They began chanting the deeds of the new god, following in his footsteps, while the old god became a trivial footnote in the story of the new one’s ascent.

Moreover, Wei Shengming’s reign as the Number One of Sword Way had lasted merely a century utterly fleeting compared to those who held the title for millennia, and his fall had been too panicked and undignified.

A thousand years ago, at the Sword Debate Tournament, Lu Wenshu broke Wei Shengming’s killing move.

Afterwards, Wei Shengming voluntarily went to the Sword Inheriting Sect, seeking a duel with Lu Wenshu.

Yet he was defeated without even fighting.

From that moment, Wei Shengming could no longer draw his sword.

Henceforth, the world knew only Lu Wenshu, and none remembered Wei Shengming.

These stories were all personally recounted to Li Xu by the sect master.

This was where outsiders’ knowledge ended, but the Grand Micro Sect’s elders and several other influential disciples knew more Wei Shengming had developed a Heart Demon because of Lu Wenshu, rendering him unable to draw his sword ever again, leaving him an empty shell despite his vast spiritual power.

When ordinary cultivators develop Heart Demons, they typically suffer from qi deviation, torment themselves, and gradually waste away until death.

But his master said Wei Shengming was no ordinary cultivator.

His cultivation was profound, his spiritual power immense, and his constitution unique. Once demonized, he would easily fall into the demonic path.

Then, devoid of reason, he would slaughter indiscriminately, inevitably becoming a calamity.

At best, it would mean widespread carnage; at worst, utter annihilation.

The sect master also said that all of Wei Shengming’s abilities were taught by the Grand Micro Sect. If he brought disaster to the mortal realm, the sect would be condemned as the root cause. Therefore, even though Wei Shengming had left the Grand Micro Sect, they must closely monitor his movements. If he showed the slightest tendency to completely lose his sanity and turn demonic, they must report it immediately and spare no effort to eliminate him.

–

For a long time, even while frequently observing and spying on Wei Shengming during surveillance, Wei Shengming remained more of a symbol and an example in Li Xu’s mind.

A symbol representing a fallen myth, and a living cautionary tale warning him not to stray from the righteous path of cultivation.

Watching Wei Shengming’s muddled existence so dazed he remained oblivious to his surroundings Li Xu repeatedly warned himself not to end up like Wei Shengming. Though he frequently reminded himself of his master’s admonitions about Wei Shengming’s cunning and unfathomable power, and cautioned himself against letting his guard down, he couldn’t help but develop some contempt due to Wei Shengming’s half-mad, half-senseless state of unresponsiveness.

But in the past two days, Li Xu had truly come to realize that the lack of reaction wasn’t because Wei Shengming was unaware of external changes it was simply that he didn’t care to intervene.

Wei Shengming was undoubtedly a dangerous individual.

–

At this moment, meeting Wei Shengming’s gaze, Li Xu fell silent, not daring to speak loudly.

Suddenly, Wei Shengming asked, “Little friend, is sparring with my junior sister such a difficult task for you?”

Li Xu stubbornly insisted, “I’m just here to sell seeds.”

Hearing this, Wei Shengming let out a faint, ambiguous chuckle.

“Very well, the seed seller,” Wei Shengming said. “Then, might this young Sword Cultivator who sells seeds be willing to have a match with my junior sister?”

Li Xu asked in confusion, “Why are you all so concerned about her sword practice?”

“Guidance from predecessors to help successors avoid detours is what predecessors ought to do.”

“Especially when it comes to a talented successor,” Wei Shengming said with a sigh. He glanced at Li Xu and added regretfully, “If I were your martial uncle, I would guide you in the same way.”

Martial uncle… If Wei Shengming hadn’t left the Grand Micro Sect, by seniority, he would indeed have been Li Xu’s martial uncle.

Li Xu fell silent again, then heard Wei Shengming’s private voice transmission directed solely at him: “Li Xu, you frequently come to the Inexhaustible Sect to sell your seeds isn’t it because you want to enter the sect? If you agree to spar with my junior sister, why bother using seed-selling as your pretext?”

Li Xu suddenly understood, then felt another chill run down his spine: What mindset did Wei Shengming have, to guide someone like him who harbored murderous intent on how to better surveil Wei Shengming himself?!

When Li Xu looked up again, he saw only a calm and indifferent expression on Wei Shengming’s face, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.

Li Xu was utterly bewildered.

But when his gaze shifted to Wei Shengming’s neck, Li Xu calmed down.

The Asura Mark had already spread to Wei Shengming’s neck… His master had said that the expansion of the Asura Mark indicated Wei Shengming was being more deeply affected by his Heart Demon. Considering Wei Shengming had borne this Heart Demon for a thousand years, no matter how strong his will, it couldn’t withstand the slow erosion over time. He was likely at the end of his rope now, on the verge of falling into demonic madness at any moment.

“In that case, I’ll comply respectfully rather than decline,” Li Xu said, putting away the seeds in his hand. He curled his fingers slightly and summoned a long sword, gripping it firmly. He made a gesture to Yu Chanyi: “Fellow Daoist Yu, please.”

The moment Li Xu summoned his sword, Yu Chanyi keenly sensed a powerful surge of Spiritual Power spreading through the courtyard. Even the Spirit Flowers and Herbs in the spirit field were swept by this unfamiliar energy, bending and swaying.

Yu Chanyi shivered, feeling both pressure and danger, but her eyes also shone brightly with excitement.

She had finally found a living person to spar with!

Holding her long sword, Yu Chanyi gracefully stepped forward to meet him.

Li Xu raised his sword to block, effortlessly deflecting Yu Chanyi’s attack and dissipating her Sword Qi.

Then, he spun his sword and took the initiative to attack Yu Chanyi. Six strands of Sword Qi surrounded her from all directions, striking toward her without hesitation.

Never expecting Li Xu, with his boyish face, to wield such a fierce sword style, Yu Chanyi’s expression changed. Without further thought, she executed “Shattered Stars,” drawing countless silver glimmers with her sword that formed a shield-like wall of gathered starlight.

But just as the shield wall began to form halfway in the air, Yu Chanyi suddenly remembered this was a move only recorded in sword manuals accessible to inner disciples of the Sword Inheriting Sect.

If she recklessly used “Shattered Stars” and someone recognized it, how would she explain her connection to the Sword Inheriting Sect?

At this thought, Yu Chanyi’s face instantly turned pale, her fervor cooling significantly. She immediately switched to another move that closely resembled the initial forms of “Shattered Stars” but was entirely different in essence: “Spring Silkworm Cocoon.”

“Shattered Stars” appeared defensive but concealed both offense and defense feinting first before striking while “Spring Silkworm Cocoon” was purely defensive.

This disrupted Yu Chanyi’s combat rhythm.

The moment “Spring Silkworm Cocoon” was executed, she knew in her heart that defeat was inevitable.

In the Medicine Hut, Wu Xi Lan was using a medicine roller to crush dried herbs into fine powder when a low hum of Sword Qi from the courtyard vibrated through her mortar, disturbing the crushed remnants. Pausing briefly, Wu Xi Lan assumed it was her junior sister practicing swordsmanship and resumed her work.

But moments later, a loud “thud” echoed, followed by the sound of a heavy impact and a muffled groan.

…Something seemed amiss.

Wu Xi Lan set down the medicine roller and leaned out the window of the Medicine Hut to look

A flash of cold light met her eyes: Li Xu held his sword against Yu Chanyi’s neck, while Yu Chanyi had already fallen to the ground!!

Shifting her gaze, she spotted someone hanging upside down from a tree, merely watching the scene without intervening to stop it!

Shocked, Wu Xi Lan rushed out of the Medicine Hut and positioned herself between Li Xu and Yu Chanyi. “Fellow Daoist Li,” she said, her voice trembling slightly as she eyed the sword in his hand, “why are you bullying my junior sister?”

Li Xu snapped back to awareness, the thrilling battle intent fading from his eyes as the cold glint receded.

Hearing Wu Xi Lan’s accusation, he floundered, “Fellow Daoist Wu, it was just… sparring. I wasn’t bullying your junior sister.”

Yu Chanyi stood up and added, “Senior Sister, we were only sparring.”

“Sparring?” Wu Xi Lan’s gaze fixed on Li Xu. “You are a Sword Cultivator?”

Seeing no point in further concealment, Li Xu admitted, “Yes…”

Wu Xi Lan glanced between him and Yu Chanyi. Though Yu Chanyi’s eyes sparkled with excitement, her clothes were stained with leaves and dirt from the ground. A barely perceptible anger flickered in Wu Xi Lan’s eyes as she faced Li Xu coldly for the first time. “I have no issue with Sword Cultivators sparring, but Fellow Daoist Li, you must have cultivated for at least a century, while my junior sister has only held a sword for a single day. Don’t you think it’s reckless to indulge her like this?”

Only held a sword for a day…

Though he had won, Li Xu’s expression darkened. He lowered his head and said, “I wasn’t thinking clearly…”

“It’s also her fault for pestering you to practice,” Wu Xi Lan shot a look at Yu Chanyi, who was pretending to be meek. “She insisted on sparring with you, didn’t she? Next time, don’t agree so readily.”

The person hanging upside down in the tree chirped, “I was the one who suggested they spar.”

Already irritated and with no outlet for her frustration, Wu Xi Lan glared at Wei Shengming as he volunteered himself. “Did you think I wouldn’t know you had a hand in this?”

After Li Xu left the seeds and departed, Wu Xi Lan couldn’t help but grab Yu Chanyi’s hand, first checking her pulse, then examining her from all sides for any flesh wounds. Discovering Yu Chanyi only had some dust on her clothes, her expression softened considerably, though she still wore a visibly irritated look.

Brushing off the dust and broken leaves from Yu Chanyi’s clothes with both annoyance and concern, Wu Xi Lan said, “You’ve only practiced sword cultivation for one day why are you so eager to spar with someone?”

“I never expected you’d actually be lucky enough to find a Sword Cultivator,” Wu Xi Lan continued, “and I certainly didn’t think Li Xu would be practicing the Sword Way.”

“Li Xu! You couldn’t even defeat Li Xu!” Remembering something, Wu Xi Lan slumped dejectedly, “He’s just a seed seller. I usually only see him tending flowers and plants never practicing sword cultivation. A Sword Cultivator who never trains and looks completely unlike one… and you couldn’t even beat him… What are you going to do when the Sword Debate Tournament gathers all the elites? Ahhh…”

“No, no! To help you survive more rounds at the Sword Debate Tournament, I need to brew more spiritual medicines to replenish you!”

Without waiting for Yu Chanyi to respond, Wu Xi Lan hurried into the Medicine Hut.

Yu Chanyi gripped her sword, lowering her gaze as she contemplated the sensation of her earlier exchange with Li Xu.

Not some remarkable Sword Cultivator?

When their blades met, what she had felt was clearly an exceptionally profound and effortlessly controlled Sword Qi.

Only a highly skilled Sword Cultivator could achieve that.

Had ordinary Sword Cultivators’ strength become like this after a thousand years?

Yu Chanyi’s heart grew heavy.

Just then, a light chuckle came from the tree above. Yu Chanyi looked up, meeting his eyes: “What are you laughing at?”

“Surprised you lasted until the second move,” Wei Shengming said leisurely. “I thought you wouldn’t even withstand one.”

“Am I really that fragile?” Yu Chanyi asked sincerely.

“It’s not that you’re fragile it’s just that there’s a vast gap between your strength and Li Xu’s,” Wei Shengming explained. “Your Spirit Vein has only opened two inches, while Li Xu has fully opened all seventy-two inches. That’s the difference in your cultivation levels.”

Yu Chanyi naturally knew this.

She was aware her current cultivation was still low, so she didn’t seek victory. Given the Spiritual power disparity she sensed between Li Xu and herself, even if she successfully executed “Shattered Stars,” her short Spirit Vein would cause her Spiritual power to deplete too quickly, preventing ultimate victory.

Yu Chanyi only hoped to last longer through sword moves, but she hadn’t expected to be defeated by the second move.

“Well, you actually had the potential to withstand two more moves,” the person in the tree remarked. “If you had smoothly executed the move you originally intended.”

“Two moves?”

“Two moves. Did you think Li Xu comes from an ordinary background? He’s the Head Disciple of Grand Micro Sect the most skilled disciple they’ve produced in five hundred years. If he hadn’t been assigned to monitor me, he would have already won First Prize at the Sword Debate Tournament,” Wei Shengming said. “Alright, stop brooding. He’s far more frustrated than you are.”

He jumped down from the tree, leaning against the trunk with his arms behind his head, his eyes filled with casual amusement. “A junior disciple with only two inches of opened Spirit Vein, holding a sword for just one day, managed to withstand two of his moves. I suspect he’ll be agonizing over it until dawn.”

Head Disciple? The most capable disciple Grand Micro Sect has produced in nearly five centuries?

Yu Chanyi was slightly astonished, repeatedly pondering Wei Shengming’s words, when she suddenly realized there was something questionable about one of his statements.

“Judging by the initial stance, you clearly intended to execute ‘Shattered Stars’. To counter Li Xu’s fierce sword wind, ‘Shattered Stars’ would indeed be more suitable than ‘Spring Silkworm Cocoon’. That’s where the oddity lies.”

“Since ‘Shattered Stars’ was more appropriate, and you genuinely intended to use it, why did you suddenly change techniques?” Wei Shengming’s sharp gaze swept across her face. “Could it be… you don’t want others to know you’ve mastered the Sword Inheriting Sect’s Secret Skill?”