Chapter 341: Not That There Is No Sun and Moon, the King Does It Himself

Chapter 341: Not Without Sun or Moon, the King Acts for Himself

Zhao Changhe felt a chill in his gut.

Thinking back, his relationship with Sisi was not only far from that point, it was practically severed. Now Sisi’s only link to the Central Lands was through Tang Wanzhuang, and he had no idea where she was.

Anyway, it had nothing to do with him.

Earlier in the capital, he had composed another new sword manual for Tang Wanzhuang to pass on to Sisi, and now months had slipped by again. He himself was now peering into the gate of the Secret Vault, and once he truly broke through, he would need to compile a Secret Vault-level sword technique to send her—not just to fulfill his promise to Sisi, but also because he needed such techniques for both sword and blade.

The Blood Fiend Blade Technique and the few ultimate moves he had combined from the Sword Emperor’s legacy had reached their peak at the Profound Gate level, lacking only smoother refinement. Zhao Changhe was certain that below the Secret Vault, very few could defeat him.

But he suspected he still couldn’t beat Yue Hongling or Chichi before their breakthroughs.

No other reason—Yue Hongling and Chichi had an extremely deep understanding of his swordsmanship, fused with their very essence and spirit, while he had too many distractions, lacking that layer of integrated insight, still using the blade technique purely as a skill.

And his fusion of Tang Wanzhuang’s martial arts with the Sword Emperor’s, among others, still bore obvious traces of chiseling, not yet transformed into his own.

Perhaps breaking through the Secret Vault lay right here: a profound comprehension of his own martial arts.

Based on Huangfu Qing’s explanation of Secret Vault-level performance, Zhao Changhe could map out the clear hierarchy of the Blood Fiend Blade Technique from low to high. Starting from the intent of “gods and buddhas scatter,” it cultivated a momentum fused with the essence of martial arts, guiding upward step by step. When he broke through the Secret Vault and truly merged with “heaven and earth without self,” the strike of “hell as such” would manifest an external dharma form, likely a bloodthirsty demon god.

Thus lay the value of a systematic martial art—far beyond picking up a move here and a stance there. It was a ladder guiding the climb. Having seen countless Heaven and Earth Rankings and countless advanced techniques, Zhao Changhe still clung to the Blood Fiend Art and Blood Fiend Blade Technique as his foundation, unable to abandon them—the sunk cost was too high to bear.

In other words, to break through the Secret Vault, he must first labor hard on his Blood Fiend Art and Blood Fiend Blade Technique.

His thoughts wandered far afield, showing just how many things he had to do, none of which he could prioritize clearly.

As his mind scattered, he slowly flipped through the *Mountain and River Atlas*. Most of it read like strange tales from the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*, but the records on the Ancient Spirit Tribe confirmed that the atlas was reliable.

This was a treasure.

Even if many of the mountains and rivers mentioned were unheard of, it could serve as a guide to ancient secret realms, some with detailed maps. Should he ever enter such a large secret realm, this map would be priceless.

The ancient Black Tortoise was far more diligent than San Niang... It must have traversed every corner of the world to gain such detailed knowledge. Whether this related to the meaning of the Black Tortoise was unclear—perhaps it was plundered?

The fact that the Black Tortoise had carefully left this atlas in a ring on an altar showed that even in the ancient era of rampant gods and demons, few had traveled the world to survey every corner. It was a precious resource even then, and now it was priceless.

Right... placed on the altar...

Zhao Changhe’s heart stirred.

The sword was the stars of the heavens; the book was the rivers and mountains of the world.

Placed in the void circle, set as an offering...

This probably wasn’t the Black Tortoise’s own possession—it was the Night Emperor’s! Likely the Night Emperor ordered the Black Tortoise to do it.

San Niang said the Night Emperor had the grand ambition of the stars of the heavens but only completed the Four Symbols.

Why didn’t the Vermilion Bird know this, and had to ask San Niang? Because the Black Tortoise was in charge of this task, so the Vermilion Bird didn’t know, and San Niang knew a little. Their inheritances differed; not every detail was exchanged clearly.

But San Niang probably never imagined that he had these...

Thus, the sword was the Night Emperor’s unfulfilled ambition of the “stars of the heavens,” and the *Mountain and River Atlas* was meant to correspond to and locate what was needed to forge the sword.

It seemed plausible that one page of the Heavenly Book should be the world’s mountains, rivers, and products. The Night Emperor lacked that page and had to use the clumsy manual method, drawing this atlas... Above, the heavens; below, the mountains and rivers—only then did it carry the Night Emperor’s meaning.

As Zhao Changhe pondered, he turned to the last page.

There, clearly written, were these lines: “The Four Symbols are the four seasons of heaven, the four directions of earth, the foundation of heaven and earth, the Way. Yet beyond the Four Symbols, are the minor stars not heaven? Beyond the mountains and rivers, is the dust not earth? Beyond kings and nobles, are the commoners not people? Your Majesty’s path is hard to prove; perhaps this is the error.”

“The stars of the heavens shine upon this dark night. Not without sun or moon, the King acts for himself.”

“The Black Tortoise, by decree, surveyed these mountains and rivers to forge a divine sword. When the sword is completed, it may be called the Star River.”

Originally, the record ended there.

But later, a few more paragraphs were abruptly added, not aligned with the previous text, as if supplemented in another era. The handwriting showed anxiety, the strokes much more hasty, and even the style grew plainer:

“The Heavenly Dao is dead? My work is unfinished... I leave these things here for a destined one, no matter how many eons pass, hoping a later comer will complete them. My legacy lies in the sea cave below; take it if fated, enter not if not. I leave behind the True Martial Sword Stone here to aid in washing the marrow and forging the Supreme Sword Body.”

“The method of forging the sword is as follows...”

Zhao Changhe sighed. He now understood the whole story.

The Black Tortoise’s legacy was actually one place, divided into two layers. Here was enshrined what it had prepared for forging the Night Emperor’s sword; the passage below originally led to its underwater tomb.

After the collapse of the era, the two layers, protected by different treasures, shattered and separated. The tomb’s legacy was likely obtained early by San Niang, giving her the Black Tortoise’s martial arts and knowledge. The upper layer, with the ring and gem, broke off into the desert rocky mountains. San Niang guessed it was nearby but wandered for years without finding the way, becoming the fateful encounter for him and Yue Hongling.

During the separation, a small part of the gem also broke off, fell into the sea, and was eventually obtained by the Eastern Sea tribes, used to make the Wang family’s “ice cream,” secretly infusing sea tribe aura to try to control the Wang family. This became his clue to find this secret realm.

This gem was not the “Black Tortoise Stone” he had imagined; it was called the True Martial Sword Stone, used to wash the marrow and forge the Supreme Sword Body. Its original purpose was to pass it to the sword forger, giving them a sword body to match the blade, so they would be willing to complete the sword.

Yue Hongling sensed its sword intent and absorbed it, but the main part went to San Niang. Given San Niang’s snake-whip martial path, she probably wouldn’t pursue this Supreme Sword Body; Yue Hongling might be closer.

But according to the Heavenly Book, this should be called the “Supreme Dao Body.” Was it just a different name, or was the sword body only one part of the Dao body, upgradeable? Perhaps Yue Hongling took the sword intent, San Niang took the Dao realm, and he himself enjoyed part of the marrow-washing effect, improving his meridian issues.

They had essentially split the gem’s value.

Having inherited its legacy, divided its gem, taken the ring, and read the atlas, should he take on the task of completing the sword?

Zhao Changhe clicked his tongue in mild frustration. It wasn’t that he couldn’t fulfill this last wish, but the forging method, at a glance, was too profound... The missing materials seemed few—the sword blank’s main material was already there, and the most complex preliminary work was done; the rest shouldn’t be too hard. But the meaning of the stars and mountains—was that something just anyone could handle?

Huh... no... Zhao Changhe suddenly went absent-minded.

“The stars of the heavens shine upon this dark night. Not without sun or moon, the King acts for himself.”

This was so close to his own Secret Vault intent... though the level was far off. He felt like the sword blank itself.

So, in fact, there weren’t many things to do; all could be boiled down to the same task—seeking his own path as a master, breaking through the gate of the Secret Vault.

Just as he was thinking, a knock came at the door. The voice of the young Taoist from Yukun Sect sounded: “Mr. Zhao, Master Yuxu has replied, asking you to come to Yuxu Palace for a meeting.”