Chapter 001: The Wuwei Sword Sect in Leiguzheng
The Daoist priest Jiu Xian naturally acted according to the instructions of the ancestors, layer by layer advising his disciples, even notifying those disciples who were still performing hard labor. He instructed that regardless of any disturbances tonight, they should not cause any trouble, and that tomorrow's morning class would be suspended for one session
The more he thought about it, the more he felt he should take a look, at the very least, he should take a look. He would circle around outside the Misty Rain Peak and then return, being cautious; that old man Gu Wuxi probably wouldn't notice. He nodded to himself and decided to go take a look.
As the golden crow sets in the west and the jade rabbit rises in the east, a profound silence envelops the Smoke and Rain Peak, while the bustling night has just begun in Bone City. Skeletons emerge from the ground, and countless dark souls drift in from all directions, filling Bone City with a cacophony, truly vibrant! The current prosperity of Bone City is largely attributed to its lord, the Bone Sage.
After delivering the congratulatory speech, the Bone Saint left the city wall and returned to his lord's mansion. He was about to face ascension, and maintaining a calm mind was of utmost importance; thus, he must not allow himself to become agitated by such festivities. The sounds of celebration outside faded away, and once the heavy stone door of the secret chamber closed, nothing could be heard.
It is unclear how much time has passed, but the two flames reignited. The Bone Saint stood up and opened a small square on the door of the secret chamber. Outside, it had quieted down; it was now early morning, and the residents of Bone City were all asleep. The Bone Saint stepped out of the secret chamber; it was the darkest hour of the night. Suddenly, a thought emerged in his mind: he was about to ascend. Throughout his life, he had traveled far and wide across this world, but the only place he had not visited was the Wuwei Sword Sect, which was so close yet so distant. For the sake of the safety of Bone City, he had never ventured into the territory of the Wuwei Sword Sect. Now, with ascension imminent, if he did not go now, would it not leave a regret?
As for the figures of the demonic path emerging from the Cloud Flower Cave, and the righteous figures coming out of the Bottomless Abyss, such occurrences seem to have never happened before. This is also inevitable; the realm of the demonic path is seldom ventured into by righteous figures, and the realm of righteousness strictly prohibits the visitation of demonic figures. The opportunities are inherently limited.
Golden light burst forth, and purple mist rose from the east. In the midst of the eight thousand li of towering mountains, atop the three thousand zhang high peaks shrouded in mist and rain, hundreds of colorful meteors suddenly appeared in an instant. The meteors, like lightning, shot towards the newly born morning sun, only to halt abruptly in mid-air. It was then revealed that those beams of light were not meteors, but rather hundreds of immortals standing on long swords, their long beards fluttering in the wind. The immortals faced the swirling purple mist, inhaling deeply, drawing in strands of the fine purple mist into their bellies. In no time, the golden sun rose from the mountains, and the purple mist quickly dissipated, leaving no trace behind. The beams of light were indeed not meteors, but hundreds of immortals standing on long swords, their long beards fluttering in the wind. The immortals faced the swirling purple mist, inhaling deeply, drawing in strands of the fine purple mist into their bellies. In no time, the golden sun rose from the mountains, and the purple mist quickly dissipated, leaving no trace behind. The ancestors transformed into streams of meteors, descending from the peaks.
The Daoist priest Jiu Xian respectfully replied: "Master Uncle, today marks the five-hundredth anniversary of their city’s founding, so they are celebrating in grand style." The old Daoist Gu Wuxi nodded in understanding: "Oh, I see. Then let’s not concern ourselves with it; let them have their revelry. Inform the disciples below that they should rest well tonight and not inquire about any disturbances." After a moment of thought, he added: "In fact, let’s suspend tomorrow’s morning class as well, so that the younger disciples can have a day of rest." The old Daoist, though frail, was still very considerate, knowing that a five-hundred-year anniversary naturally calls for festivities, and he did not want to dampen their spirits, thus instructing his disciples to refrain from meddling.
Beneath the Misty Rain Peak of the Wuwei Sword Sect lies the coveted paradise of all righteous practitioners, the "Yunhua Cave." Those who emerge from the Yunhua Cave experience a significant enhancement in their abilities, and within ten years, they can ascend to immortality. Under the Death Cliff of the Leigu City, there exists the "Bottomless Abyss," a place that all demonic practitioners fear like venomous snakes. Few who fall into it manage to return, and those who do have become unparalleled madmen, losing their true nature and developing a bloodthirsty disposition. Their ultimate fate is either to die from their own madness or to be jointly exterminated by both righteous and evil forces.
In the secret chamber, a fist-sized luminous pearl provided illumination, casting a soft glow upon him, shimmering with a pearly white light. The Bone Saint sat cross-legged in the chamber, the two orbs of black flame in his eye sockets extinguished—indicating that he had closed his eyes.
The Wuwei Sword Sect has extremely strict rules regarding the assessment of a disciple's sincerity in pursuing the Way. One must first serve three years of hard labor under the sect. Only upon passing this requirement can one be officially listed on the sect's roster, receive a personal mentor, and then go to the Transmission Cliff behind the Misty Rain Peak to choose one's own martial arts based on individual affinities.
In Leigucheng, the festivities officially commence. The capable assistant of the Bone Saint and the deputy city lord, the Seven-Armed Ghost Sword Daoist, waves his hand, and three enormous portraits rise into the air. These portraits were crafted by the guards of the city lord's mansion over three days, using the resilient, tendon-like poisonous vines found outside Leigucheng. The Daoist used his ghost sword to intricately depict the three previous city lords, with the last one, of course, being the Bone Saint himself.
Under the diligent management of Bone Saint, Leiguzheng surpassed Yahuanzhai three years later, becoming the foremost faction in the underworld. He himself also surpassed the leader of the Half-Human Sect, with the Half-Human Half-Demon King Wutu becoming the number one expert in the demonic path
Yanyu Peak is the foremost among the twelve superior blessed lands of the thirty-six blessed lands of the righteous path. The Wuwei Sword Sect located on the peak is the leading sect of the righteous path. The reason it is not the largest sect is due to its extremely strict recruitment process, which has resulted in a consistently low number of disciples. However, each disciple of the Wuwei Sword Sect is a master in the realm of cultivation, making the overall strength of the sect second to none among the righteous sects.
The Eight Thousand Li and Ten Thousand Ren Mountains, where dragons hide and tigers lie in wait, are located three thousand li southeast of the Misty Rain Peak at the Death's End Cliff, home to the foremost sect of the demonic path, "Leigu City." Alongside Leigu City, the other two major sects of the demonic path are the Half-Person Gate of the Black Water River and the Soul-Pressing Stronghold of the Fallen Mountain Gate.
The fundamental technique of the Wuwei Sword Sect is known as "Swallowing and Exhaling the Universe," which specializes in absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to refine one's physical body. The purple qi that appears before dawn is regarded by the Wuwei Sword Sect as a vital energy that greatly aids in one's cultivation. Therefore, even those ancestors who have reached an extremely profound level of cultivation must ascend on their swords every morning to absorb the purple qi. However, only disciples with a certain level of cultivation possess the ability to ascend on their swords. Those who have just begun their training, as well as those awaiting entry, can only rise early each day to climb to the peak of the Misty Rain Summit. Thus, even those ancestors who have reached an extremely profound level of cultivation must ascend on their swords every morning to absorb the purple qi. However, only disciples with a certain level of cultivation possess the ability to ascend on their swords. Those who have just begun their training, as well as those awaiting entry, can only rise early each day to climb to the peak of the Misty Rain Summit and sit cross-legged at the summit to absorb the purple qi.
The Bone Saint, in the form of a skeleton, has reached a level of mastery in the "Jade Transformation Technique" that is truly remarkable. His entire skeletal frame emits a radiant white light, and should all his bones further transform into jade, he will have genuinely attained the Great Vehicle stage, enabling him to transcend into immortality, ascend to the heavenly realm, and from then on, take his place among the immortals, free from the mundane world.
The Bone Saint, who has brought such prosperity to Bone City, enjoys a high reputation not only in Bone City but throughout the entire realm of magic. He has always advocated that there is a way in magic, stating that one should consider how others treat them and how they should treat others in return. This can be seen from his process of seizing the position of the lord of Bone City, where he employed cunning against the equally crafty Fox Daoist and used righteous methods to confront the equally upright Ice and Fire Dual Rings
Since the last city lord was annihilated by the final strike of the Five Thunder Divine Fire during his tribulation, the Bone Fortress has plunged into chaos. The current city lord, Bone Saint, rose to power during that time, first employing despicable means to eliminate the equally unscrupulous Fox Daoist, thereby removing the first competitor. Subsequently, he openly challenged his second opponent, the honorable "Ice and Fire Dual Rings" Luo Mingyu. The two fought in the bottomless abyss beneath the Deadly Cliff for three days and three nights. Those from the demonic path who watched from the cliff could only see dazzling brilliance emanating from the abyss, with explosions and tremors continuously resounding. Ultimately, Bone Saint used a segment of his left big toe bone to knock off Luo Mingyu's Ice and Fire Dual Rings, securing victory in this duel. However, Bone Saint thereafter developed a flaw; due to the loss of a segment of his toe bone, he always walked with a slight limp.
The Bone Saint arrived silently at the highest point of Bone Stacking City, atop the Bone Viewing Tower of the Lord's Mansion. With his prowess, he did not need a flying sword; he could traverse thousands of miles with ease. He contemplated the *Map* and *Book*, without informing Deputy City Lord Daoist Luoluo, and in a flash of white light, he flew towards the direction of Misty Rain Peak
The celebration reached its peak, and a chorus of cheers filled the city of Bone Fortress. The figure of the Bone Saint slowly appeared atop the city walls. The citizens of Bone Fortress loudly called out his name, with shouts of "Bone Saint, Bone Saint" echoing through the skies
This day marks the 500th anniversary of the founding of Leigu City. The Bone Saint personally visited the city to extend congratulations to all the citizens of Leigu City and to receive their well-wishes in return. As dusk fell, Leigu City became lively, filled with the sounds of people and the clamor of gongs and drums. Even those from the realm of cultivation enjoy the festivities; otherwise, if they were to spend their days solely in cultivation, they would have long since gone mad from boredom. The tremendous sounds were produced by the true essence of the cultivators, and the gongs and drums were not ordinary objects; they were either weapons used in battle or treasured artifacts painstakingly cultivated. How keen is the spiritual perception of cultivators? The commotion in Leigu City even stirred the people of the Wuwei Sword Sect, located three thousand miles away. The Wuwei Sword Sect places great importance on quiet cultivation. Upon hearing the noise, the sect's ancestor, the current master’s uncle, the Old Wandering Sword Saint Gu Wuxi, immediately sensed the disturbance. He called for his disciple, the current master Daoist Jiu Xian, and inquired, "What is happening in the southeast? Why is it so noisy today?" The people of the Wuwei Sword Sect are reluctant to mention that they have such a "nuisance" as a neighbor, thus they always refer to them simply as the southeast.
The Wuwei Sword Sect and the Leigucheng, as representatives of orthodoxy and heterodoxy, are akin to the positive and negative poles of the cultivation world. These two poles have coexisted peacefully in the same mountain for several hundred years. The saying goes, "Those who follow different paths do not conspire with each other." The Wuwei Sword Sect and Leigucheng have always maintained a clear distinction, with their waters not interfering with each other.