Chapter 85: Discussing the Dao Is Better Than Talking About Sword Immortal

At this moment, inside the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, Su Tianji was overcome by a profound sense of perplexity, a bizarre feeling that had relentlessly shadowed her ever since her recent emergence from secluded meditation.

This disquieting sensation originated from no other source than the recent discourse on the Dao held within the Heavenly Ruin Pavilion!

The roots of this matter could be traced back to that three-day grand assembly.

Upon Su Tianji's return to the world, a multitude of cultivators across the Great Jin Empire had come to offer their congratulations, and taking advantage of this auspicious occasion, the Cloud Flow Daoist Palace initiated a grand forum within the Heavenly Ruin Pavilion.

This was the most magnificent Daoist assembly the Cloud Flow Daoist Palace had hosted in several decades!

On the first day, the fellows of various sects centered their discussions around their own cultivation paths, voicing their unique insights and validating them against one another, resulting in a harmonious exchange where everyone gained a measure of enlightenment, and the assembly proceeded with utmost fluidity.

However, by the second day, after Ye Songtao, the Sect Master of the Cloud Sea Sect from beyond the seas, arrived in person to offer his felicitations and join the discourse, the winds of the entire assembly began to shift in a subtle, peculiar direction.

Time retraced to two days prior, within the Heavenly Ruin Pavilion.

"The cosmos is divided into the pure and the turbid energies; for us cultivators, cultivation is the foundation, and energy is the reliance. During this period of seclusion, I have gained some insight into the study of energy, and thus I shall discuss it with you all, hoping you will correct any deviations." As this forum was initiated because of Su Tianji, she naturally presided over it in person, "Floating as if it were nothing, mysteriously returning to its source, scattering into the phantom of the ultimate void, and when observed through the divine sea, the energy is successfully formed."

"Splendid! The insight gained by Fellow Daoist Ye is indeed boundless and profound!"

"I too have conducted some research into the path of energy, but it truly pales in comparison to the lofty depths of Fellow Daoist Ye's principles, so I shall not display my meager skills before a master." A chorus of admiration instantly erupted from the surroundings.

Just then, she noticed that Ye Songtao seemed intent on speaking: "Sect Master Ye, do you have some differing opinion?"

Ye Songtao cast his gaze across the gathering and said, "I wonder if any of you fellow daoists have played The Legend of Sword and Fairy?"

"……??" Everyone exchanged glances of utter bewilderment; this was the solemn hour of debating the Dao, so what on earth did he mean by suddenly mentioning something called The Legend of Sword and Fairy?!

Seeing the strange looks directed at him from all sides, Ye Songtao assumed a solemn expression and spoke, "This seat believes that the path of energy is not quite so arcane. As the saying goes, the highest good is like water, benefiting all things without contention; when the mind is as tranquil as water, the energy becomes stable, and when the energy is stable, the spirit condenses, allowing one to control form with energy!"

"I wonder if you all are aware of the technique of sword-riding?"

"The technique of sword-riding?" The crowd grew increasingly bewildered.

"Controlling form with energy, transforming energy into a blade, and thus riding the sword through the air!" Ye Songtao spoke with grand eloquence, "This path of sword-riding speaks precisely of the utilization of energy. Observe, everyone!"

With a sharp flick of Ye Songtao's sword-fingers, a treasured blade leapt from its scabbard as if it were a living entity, immediately spinning like a streak of silver serpent, flowing and dancing around his body!

"When this technique is mastered to its pinnacle, one can ride the sword through the skies, traversing thousands of miles in an instant. Even without a single magical treasure in hand, with just a single sword and a single thought, one can leap across vast distances to take the enemy's head as easily as retrieving an item from a bag! It is exactly as the poem says: 'A single immortal sword enters the azure sky, ascending to the highest heavens and descending to the underworld'!"

All the cultivators present, witnessing Ye Songtao manifest the sword-riding technique, felt their eyes light up with astonishment; they could clearly see that what Ye Songtao controlled was merely a mundane blade, yet under his command, it behaved like a living creature, extraordinarily agile!

"This sword... is governed solely by energy?" a cultivator asked in amazement.

One must know that the magical treasures controlled by ordinary cultivators had to be forged from heavenly materials and earthly treasures through numerous refinements, and even after creation, they required constant nurturing with one's own spiritual power to achieve a seamless connection between mind and matter!

In their understanding, energy was a formless thing, while physical matter possessed tangible substance; to truly make an object follow the mind's intent, it naturally required a spiritual item to match it, achieving a complementary harmony!

Yet this sword-riding technique could actually manipulate a mundane object with such lifelike agility?!

"What a profound statement: 'The highest good is like water, benefiting all things without contention'!" If it were merely a method of manipulation, it might not have been so stunning, but this single line uttered by Ye Songtao acted like a stone casting a thousand ripples across a still lake!

After carefully pondering the underlying truth, many cultivators found that while this sentence appeared simple, the deeper one reflected upon it, the more profound it became, containing an ultimate truth: "The state of mind and the principles expounded herein are of a loftiness completely unheard of!"

"Was this principle realized by Sect Master Ye himself?"

"It comes from a scriptural scroll named the Classic of the Way and Its Power." Ye Songtao shook his head; this was a phrase he had glimpsed from a scriptural scroll called the Classic of the Way and Its Power that Fang Qi was idly flipping through while Ye Songtao watched him play the game.

"Then from whence was this technique obtained?" The cultivators grew increasingly curious about the sword-riding technique, "Could it also have originated from that Classic of the Way and Its Power?!"

"That is not the case." Ye Songtao shook his head, "That is why I say you old stubborn folks need to go out and wander more. You don't even know of the sword-riding technique. This art was learned by this seat from an exalted master named the Wine Sword Immortal. Its subsequent transformations include the Myriad Sword Mantra, the Heavenly Sword, and when practiced to the absolute zenith, one can even summon the Sword God to confront the enemy..."

Ye Songtao conversed with effortless composure.

"Hiss—!?" All the cultivators sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, "Summoning the Sword God?! What kind of formidable technique is that!?"

"Can one truly call forth the god within the sword?!"

"..." Su Tianji watched as all the cultivators present flocked to surround Ye Songtao, her exquisitely beautiful face twitching uncontrollably on the spot.

...

After Ye Songtao departed, that day's discourse could only conclude in a hurried manner. Su Tianji originally thought this was merely a minor interlude that would not disrupt anything, since Ye Songtao, as a sect leader, would not have so much leisure time to attend the forum every single day.

But by the third day, she finally realized just how naive she had been!

Time retraced to the third day.

"An Huwei, City Master of Jiuhua! Ouyang Zhen, Head of the Ouyang Clan! Bu Lei, Head of the Bu Clan! Arrived to offer congratulations!"

"To think that this time, not only did Sect Master Ye arrive in person, but even City Master An, Clan Head Ouyang, and Clan Head Bu have all presented themselves in person?!" Generally speaking, it would suffice for these figures to send emissaries, so who would have guessed they would all arrive in the flesh?!

However, before the discourse could begin on this day, Su Tianji ordered refreshments and wine to be served, and at this moment, An Huwei was seen knitting his brows slightly: "Though this wine can still pass down the throat, it truly falls short of Sprite by a ten-thousandth..."

"Is that not the truth!" Ouyang Zhen shook his head, "These pastries cannot compare to the deliciousness of Häagen-Dazs either."

Sitting beside them was the emissary sent by the Wuwei Daoist Alliance, a figure of no small status, who asked in wonder: "Fellow Daoist An, what manner of fine brew is this Sprite? To think it cannot even compare to the Immortal Nectar of the Cloud Flow Daoist Palace?!"

"And what kind of pastry is this Häagen-Dazs?!"

As An Huwei spoke, he seemed to still be reminiscing over the flavor of Sprite: "This Sprite is prepared with extreme meticulousness. The water used to brew it is drawn from the deep mineral springs beneath the Great Snowy Mountains, a volcanic rock cold spring formed through a hundred years of circulation, adsorption, and filtration, tempered by deep underground volcanic rocks for a thousand years, then blended with premium honey gathered by swarms of bees drawn to a rare spiritual flower named the Ice Heart Flower..."

A good number of surrounding cultivators immediately crowded closer to listen.

Beholding this familiar scene, Su Tianji: "..."

...

Su Tianji now sat within her Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, her expression a complex tapestry of emotions: "Could it be that I have truly been in seclusion for too long, and so many things have transpired outside without my knowledge?!"

Su Tianji felt as though, upon emerging from her seclusion this time, the entire world had transformed!

"The Legend of Sword and Fairy...!? Sprite...? Häagen-Dazs? And that exalted master named the Wine Sword Immortal...?" Wearing a trace of languor, she leaned back against a broad chair draped with pristine white beast fur, reflecting on the verses those men had left behind, "'Riding the sword upon the wind, eliminating demons between heaven and earth. With wine, I find joy and wander free; without wine, I am still mad. With one gulp, I drain the rivers; with another, I swallow the sun and moon. A thousand cups cannot make me fall, for I am none other than the Wine Sword Immortal!'"

"Just what kind of exalted master could compose such verses."

"And the sword-riding technique, not just Sect Master Ye, but even City Master An, and even that old prince from Jiangnan, are actually all learning the sword there... just what manner of master is this!?" She swept her gaze over the disciples standing below the dais, "Do you know of the Wine Sword Immortal?"

All the disciples looked at one another in complete silence.

"True, with your status, how could you ever catch sight of such an exalted figure. Then... do you know of a small shop called Origins?" Su Tianji's beautiful eyes rippled, her heart turning somber, "Is it said that the Wine Sword Immortal lives in seclusion within that small shop?"

"Me, me, me! I know!" Right at that moment, a figure came hurrying in from outside the hall.

Su Tianji glanced at Xiao Yulv, her beautiful eyes brightening as she uttered with absolute brevity: "Take me there!"