IS Chapter 40
by VolareDuring those two days, Palace Master Wei Sheng finished carving the remaining parts of the ice carp lantern according to the design. Now it lights up every night, its fins and tail flowing elegantly, sparkling brightly.
The earth energy of Green Mountains is cool and clear, but it isn’t an extremely cold place in the far north. As winter gradually recedes, the ice lantern is also showing signs of melting.
Injecting spiritual energy would make it last longer, but Li Yuan didn’t do that.
When Green Mountains is covered in snow, it will naturally freeze for miles around, and when spring returns, the ice and snow will naturally melt. This is the natural order, to be lamented but not to be retained.
Most of the time, he stayed with Ye Zhuo on Misty Green Peak, cultivating in seclusion.
Sometimes, late at night, he would pull Ye Zhuo to sleep for a while, regardless of whether the other person was actually asleep or not, at least he had his eyes closed.
At such times, he liked to transform into his true form and coil on the beam, or simply put himself on Ye Zhuo’s cold jade bed, sometimes cultivating, sometimes just sleeping.
——Ye Zhuo noticed that the dragon had been much quieter lately.
Thinking about it, he finally felt a bit of remorse.
However, after the remorse, he focused his energy on urging him to sleep or waiting for him to wake up, doing such inexplicable things.
Every time he opened his eyes, he saw a black dragon coiled beside him, or simply met a pair of dark golden dragon eyes gazing at him, a feeling that Ye Zhuo didn’t want to dwell on, as it would briefly give him the illusion that he wasn’t in the human world.
Where would he be then?
Perhaps in the North Sea, perhaps under the moon. Human affairs became very distant, but the moon still rose every day at its appointed time, naturally.
He had some understanding in the darkness, as if some false dust had been swept away again.
This time when Ye Zhuo suddenly woke up, everything around him was silent.
He turned his head and saw the black dragon’s body winding around him, half on the floor and half on the bed. The dragon’s head rested beside him, its eyes closed, with an aura flowing through its body, but not noticeably.
This dragon was cultivating while sleeping.
“Li Yuan,” Ye Zhuo said.
As soon as he spoke, the dragon leaned closer to him, as if wanting to rest its head on him.
But its eyes remained closed, as if it hadn’t woken up. He didn’t know if it was pretending.
“Li Yuan, get up.”
This time, Ye Zhuo even reached out and pushed the dragon horn that was nuzzling against him—this time, the dragon had brought it to him itself.
Hearing the man call his name for the first time, Li Yuan subconsciously nudged closer in that direction.
He was only in a light sleep, and Li Yuan planned to wake up if the man called out again.
But the second time he called, the man even started to get handsy.
How outrageous!
Li Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.
This person had better not be unable to stand seeing others sleeping just because he wasn’t sleeping himself.
Li Yuan: “What is it?”
Ye Zhuo: “Get up, let’s spar with swords.”
Li Yuan: “?”
Come on, then.
By the Cold Pool, Li Yuan directly drew his sword, facing the sword strike that Ye Zhuo launched from mid-air.
As always, he crossed swords with him.
The clash of swords sounded like gold and stone, its rhythm ethereal and long, echoing among the peaks of Green Mountains.
Clearly, the momentum wasn’t grand, nor as intense as their life-and-death struggles in the past, but each move was exceptionally captivating.
Look at that red-clothed figure, floating like a swimming dragon, moving with the force of a startled swan.
The sword was like a flowing star falling from the sky, its sharpness fully revealed.
The intent to kill was restrained within the form, but not diminished in the slightest, each move bleak and chilling, surprisingly natural.
There seemed to be a sense of exploration in the sword.
Li Yuan’s mind suddenly settled, and he said softly, “Interesting.”
Then, focusing all his attention, he no longer simply sparred with the man, but made each move to support him.
The sword light was like the endless North Sea, laying down layer upon layer, each sword meant to leave him with no way out.
He placed the man in a desperate situation, all to force out that one, imminent—world-breaking sword.
The man did indeed raise his eyes, a hint of delight in his gaze.
Then, with a light twist of his wrist, he gracefully leapt up and suddenly unleashed a stunning sword strike!
At that moment, heaven and earth were silent.
The sword belongs to metal, and metal, in the seasons, is the autumn, and in the human world, it is punishment.
—It was as if the time had come, heaven and earth were merciless, the mountains and rivers were suddenly startled, and all things withered.
This sword was a rebirth.
In an instant, it was like a red lotus blooming and then falling, three thousand worlds arising and then being destroyed, returning to eternal emptiness and silence.
After a moment of deathly silence, thunder suddenly exploded in the sky.
When the thunder dissipated, Ye Zhuo’s sword was quietly resting against Li Yuan’s chest, and with one more step, it could pierce his flesh.
He just stood there, holding his sword, staring directly at Li Yuan.
Meeting those eyes as empty and mysterious as the sword’s edge, Li Yuan couldn’t hide the admiration in his eyes.
“What a truly fine sword,” he said.
He couldn’t bear to reach out and push away the sword’s edge pointing directly at his heart.
How could such a stunning sword not stir one’s heart and soul?
—He really wanted to make it his own.
In the end, Ye Zhuo was the first to release his strength, returning his sword to its sheath, clean and neat.
Those eyes were still quietly watching Li Yuan.
The aura on his body changed dramatically in an instant, a storm rising.
He was clearly at the Crossing Tribulation realm.
Moreover, just like what this person had said at the end of the North Sea, the true meaning of Buddhism, emptiness and stillness, had now been fully integrated into the sword.
His Dao heart had been clarified, and from then on, the sword would move with his heart, with no more separation.
At this moment, if Tai Hao and Tai Zi were to be resurrected and use their Crossing Tribulation True Man’s signature move, condensing the Yin-Yang Boundary to suppress him, Ye Zhuo could cut through it with a single sword.
“Congratulations on getting your wish,” Li Yuan said, “What did you comprehend?”
“I must thank you for what you bestowed,” Ye Zhuo said, “Just now, I suddenly let go of my attachments and gained some insight.”
Li Yuan: “Oh?”
“The sword is just a sword in my hand, and the Dharma is also the Dharma in my heart. The three are originally one. If I insist on merging them, it will only create separation and prevent them from uniting,” Ye Zhuo said.
“So, by letting go of my attachments and naturally wielding the sword with my heart, that is the sword I want.”
Li Yuan stared at him without blinking.
“Therefore, it’s not that I finally wielded such a sword, but that my sword should have been like this from the beginning. Clarifying the false and revealing the true nature.”
“I see, thank you for your guidance,” Li Yuan said.
Enlightenment often vanishes in a flash, so it was understandable that he suddenly woke him up to discuss swords.
The cool sword energy still lingered here, and the moonlight was as clear and cold as could be. Li Yuan took a few steps, leading him to the windless corridor.
Looking at the flowers and trees in the courtyard, Ye Zhuo seemed to feel something.
“Actually, I have another insight,” he said.
“Please speak, I’m all ears.”
“Flowers will eventually wither, and people will eventually die. The three thousand worlds will also eventually return to silence,” Ye Zhuo said, “Since that’s the case, I’ll give them a hand, and it can be considered as acting on behalf of heaven.”
Li Yuan: “?”
What kind of twisted logic is this? This person’s Dao is truly unacceptable!
Fortunately, there seemed to be a hint of jest in his words, not like he really meant it.
“It seems I also need to enter the Crossing Tribulation realm as soon as possible. Otherwise, if you one day fall into the demonic path and no one can subdue you, you’ll probably become a disaster to the world,” Li Yuan glared at him.
Ye Zhuo raised his eyes and sized him up thoughtfully.
“When I cultivate, I only seek invincibility and to move forward without hesitation, but today I took a step back and suddenly gained insight,” he said, “By analogy, you usually don’t cultivate with enough attachment. If you fall into a few inner demons and obsessions, you might have unexpected gains.”
These words were said with great skill, as if subtly mocking him for not working hard enough usually. Li Yuan strongly disagreed; he was clearly cultivating even when he was sleeping.
“You really do have a glib tongue,” Li Yuan took a step forward, getting very close to Ye Zhuo, almost pinning him against the corridor pillar.
He looked at the man’s silhouette under the moonlight, as well as his suddenly clear and empty temperament.
This person’s crossing tribulation was again one step ahead of him.
He also remembered the matter of having his scale taken back then, which was truly outrageous.
“I really don’t have any other attachments, but I do have an inner demon,” Li Yuan said coldly, “Isn’t my inner demon you?”
Hearing this, Ye Zhuo suddenly looked at him and smiled softly: “Then you probably won’t be able to eliminate your inner demon for a while, so you’ll just have to bear with it.”
“You!”
His realm had improved, and even his ability to anger people had grown.
This person was truly bad in an expected way.
Li Yuan was very irritated, pinning him against the corridor pillar, not bearing with it, and retaliating by biting his neck.
Ye Zhuo turned to dodge, but he was firmly held against the corridor pillar and finally tightly embraced.
—He had only been quiet for a month or two, and he was already back to his old habits.
Today he had broken through, and he was in a good mood, so Ye Zhuo let him do as he pleased.
And he made a request: “Then I want to see the dragon horns.”
Li Yuan: “…”
What’s wrong with this person? He really wanted to swallow him in one gulp.
When he also crossed the tribulation, he would definitely give him a good time.
He immediately threatened with harsh words: “Human Ye Zhuo, you just wait.”
“…Then can you not bite people?”
“No.”
Li Yuan’s breakthrough was not long after.
Human Ye Zhuo was constantly wandering in front of him, really disturbing his quiet cultivation, so he directly returned to the Cold Pool to cultivate in seclusion, planning not to come out until he crossed the tribulation.
Ye Zhuo had already crossed the tribulation, and he would definitely do it too.
—Sure enough, when he really wanted to cross the tribulation, his realm naturally broke through.
He entered the Cold Pool at night, and by the time the sun had not risen he had reached the Crossing Tribulation realm, not even needing a full night.
When he stepped out of the Cold Pool, Li Yuan specifically looked at the sky, thinking that it would be best if Ye Zhuo was sleeping, so he could also disturb his peaceful dreams this time.
But the person was not in the inner chamber. Li Yuan sensed for a moment and walked towards the front hall of Misty Green Peak, which was used to receive guests.
The front hall was spacious and bright, and he saw at a glance that the person was sitting quietly on the high seat in the hall, as if comprehending something.
The red clothes were still intense, and the black hair was half-tied, with the rest casually flowing. In the silence of the hall, the man was gently closing his eyes and lowering his head.
The morning sunlight shone obliquely, and the dust of the world seemed unable to taint his body in the slightest.
The string of bright red Buddhist beads on his hand had been taken off, loosely held in his hand.
After a long while, in the silent hall, there would be a clear and empty clanging sound.
That was Ye Zhuo’s hand moving a bead.
In this atmosphere of emptiness and tranquility, Li Yuan did not disturb him, but sat down on the side and picked up a Buddhist scripture from the desk to read.
The handwriting was cool and sharp, and it was clear at a glance that it was copied by Ye Zhuo himself.
After reading it, he also found it quite profound.
Until the man’s voice rang in his ears: “What are you reading?”
“Nothing much,” Li Yuan leisurely turned a page of the Buddhist scripture, raising his eyes to look at him, “You cultivate Chan, and I also cultivate Chan, what’s wrong with that?”
Those words were interesting.
It was truly strange, Ye Zhuo thought.
Even long worms knew how to use Zen riddles.
Ye Zhuo stared at the unusual aura on Li Yuan’s body.
“Congratulations,” he said seriously.
In the light of dawn, Li Yuan also quietly looked at him.
“Congratulations to you too,” he said.
Outside the hall, the snow melted, the clouds cleared, and everything was bright.
–
Volume 1 《Sword Edge Gold》End.
[Water Under the Creek]