Chapter 199 - 61 The Sword Quest

At dawn, Ling Yunpo rose from bed and took up a broom to start sweeping outside.

Shushan enjoyed a pleasant climate, but when autumn and winter came, the cold winds from the north would blow, and the leaves still fell in rustling heaps, truly “a pile-up of yellow flowers on the ground.”

To deal with the accumulated fallen leaves, using Daoist magic was naturally the most convenient method.

The reason why Ling Yunpo chose to sweep by himself was simple:

Boredom.

This world hardly had any forms of entertainment. There were neither cell phones, TVs, nor computers, and neither was there an information-bombarding internet.

Even the storytelling and opera, much beloved by officials and nobles, seemed lackluster to Ling Yunpo.

After all, he had seen the world before crossing over; what splendid cultural works hadn’t he seen?

Only the gentle and adorable An Zhisu, Senior Sister An, who was indulgent and protective, was one of the few brilliant colors in life.

Should he go find Senior Sister to practice swordplay with later, or drink with her?

As he was lost in his wild thoughts, he saw Guan Shanyue flying towards him on her sword, gracefully descending from afar.

“Junior Brother Ling,” she said with a smile, “the elder has summoned you.”

“The Guan Family elder is looking for me?” Ling Yunpo asked in surprise.

“There’s no need to be so shocked,” Guan Shanyue said oddly, “Hasn’t the elder talked to you about the sword-seeking mission?”

“Indeed,” Ling Yunpo explained, “I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”

“We don’t know how long it’s going to take, of course we need to start as soon as possible,” Guan Shanyue looked towards Qingluo Peak’s Daoist temple behind him, “Bring Senior Sister An out as well.”

“The elder is looking for her too?”

“Hmm.”

Ling Yunpo then went around to the back of the Daoist temple and found An Zhisu drinking.

“What does he want me for?” An Zhisu was just as surprised.

“Don’t know, let’s just take it as a chance to clear our minds,” Ling Yunpo said.

The reason of accompanying Junior Brother to clear their minds, without a doubt, immediately convinced An Zhisu, so she returned to her room to change into her skirt and prepared to set off.

Looking at An Zhisu, who had turned into a completely refreshed figure with a gentle look in her eyes and eyebrows, Guan Shanyue also clicked her tongue in wonder.

She had known An Zhisu for a long time. Back when Qingluo Peak hadn’t taken in any disciples yet, this Frostfall Sword Immortal always had an off-limits aura, as if she wished to kill everyone in sight.

Ever since Junior Brother Ling came along, it seemed even the maternal halo had been activated.

Thinking about this, Guan Shanyue smiled slyly to herself.

It wasn’t that she absolutely had to engage in romance, but both the heartless path that exhausted ways and rejected desires, and the forgetting love path that involved self-deception were too self-torturing and foolish.

Let’s see how far these two can go along this path in the future.

After exchanging pleasantries with An Zhisu for a moment, Guan Shanyue led the two of them on her sword and rose to the top of Heavenly Gate Peak.

By the Sword Pool, everyone saw the Guan Family elder standing beside the Sword Pool, staring at the stele next to it.

The Jade Capital Sect Leader and several unfamiliar cultivators stood by, hands tied, not uttering a word.

“Suming, Suming, why won’t you summon. So hidden, so hidden, how utterly obtuse,” the Guan Family elder stroked his beard and chatted casually, “When the past Sun Sword Master Ouyang Zhao etched these two lines, I wonder what kind of frustration and despair he felt in his heart.”

“He betrayed the Human Race for his own selfish desires. The Sun Sword and the Tai Yin Sword refused to be wielded by him, which was truly his own fault,” the Jade Capital Sect Leader said in an unemotional manner.

“Does the Jade Capital Sect Leader think I sympathize with Ouyang Zhao?” the Guan Family ancestor asked in surprise.

“How could Elder Guan possibly sympathize with a traitor?” the Jade Capital Sect Leader shook his head.

“Of course, I don’t think what he did was right,” the Guan Family ancestor said casually, “but if you put yourself in Ouyang Zhao’s shoes, you would realize that without doing anything yourself, you suddenly discover that the whole world wants to kill your wife. What would you do?”

“One must put justice before familial ties,” the Jade Capital Sect Leader said without hesitation.

“It’s said that at the time, Yin Xiaojing was pregnant with a child,” the Guan Family ancestor continued, “Ouyang Zhao had no other kin. To put justice before familial ties would mean to wipe out his entire family.”

“Wiping out his entire family is the right thing to do,” the Jade Capital Sect Leader said coldly, “It’s his own fault for being blinded by love and falling for a demon.”

“That’s why those of you who practice the ‘Forgetting Love’ technique have never been able to find the Tai Yin Summoning Sword,” the Guan Family ancestor said with a sneer, “In my view, while Ouyang Zhao’s reasoning is hard to accept, his situation is pitiable. If the Human Race had been willing to show leniency to Yin Xiaojing by changing the sentence from extermination to life imprisonment, the later mistakes made by Ouyang Zhao might have been avoided.”

“I must disagree,” the Jade Capital Sect Leader said, “Humans and demons cannot coexist, nor is there room for personal sentiment.”

The Guan Family ancestor turned his head towards Ling Yunpo and beckoned with a smile:

“Is Ling Yunpo here? Come here.”

What kind of address is ‘Ling Yunpo’… Ling Yunpo really wanted to criticize, but seeing the other cultivators around him, including Guan Shanyue, all staring in shock with a “how did you catch the old ancestor’s eye” expression, he could only walk up helplessly with a wry smile.

“You must have heard the conversation we just had,” the Guan Family ancestor said with a chuckle, “If you were in Ouyang Zhao’s position and suddenly found out that your Senior Sister An Zhisu is a demon, and the whole of Shushan wants to kill her, what would you do?”

The Jade Capital Sect Leader’s expression changed slightly, while Ling Yunpo instantly panicked, saying hurriedly:

“The elder should not spout nonsense! My Senior Sister’s identity is clear, how could she possibly be a demon?”

“Don’t take it so seriously,” the Guan Family ancestor said, waving his hand, “I, of course, know she is the daughter of Su Jian. I’m just making a comparison.”

Do you make comparisons like this? Ling Yunpo secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

If I didn’t know that my Senior Sister is the master’s daughter, I might have really thought that the Guan Family ancestor was hinting at something.

As for the question posed by the other side, to be honest, Ling Yunpo really didn’t want to answer such a loaded question, but seeing the Jade Capital Sect Leader looking at him with keen eyes, he said resolutely:

“If I were Ouyang Zhao, I would first send Yin Xiaojing back to the Eastern Emperor Demon Realm, and then present myself before the Human Race wielding both the Sun Sword and Tai Yin Sword, to take my life as an apology!”

“Hmph!” The Jade Capital Sect Leader was clearly not satisfied, with a tone of slight mockery, “The Sect has expended a great deal to cultivate you, and yet you would ruin your prospects for the sake of a demon?”

This is just the Guan Family ancestor setting up a hypothetical scenario… Ling Yunpo thought helplessly, while aloud he said:

“At least I wouldn’t lose the Sun Sword and Tai Yin Sword, causing the Human Race to lose a treasure that secures the clan.”

“Enough!” Seeing the Jade Capital Sect Leader wanting to speak, the Guan Family ancestor interrupted, “It’s just a hypothetical scenario, why get into an argument with the younger generation over it!”

The Jade Capital Sect Leader was also left speechless, wasn’t it because you hypothesized recklessly?

“Jian Buyan, where’s your item?” the Guan Family ancestor turned to ask.

“Right here,” said a stranger cultivator quietly.

Jian Buyan? Ling Yunpo’s mind stirred.

Jian Buyan, the head of the Jian Family of Qingzhou, a Nascent Soul Realm master and an unmatched master of the Art Calculation, the Direct Disciple of the Penglai Jade Pure Sect’s Master of Xuandu, and the ancestor of Jian Qingnan, the junior sister of Qiu Changtian… it was unexpected that he would be invited by the Guan Family ancestor to this location.

Jian Buyan appeared to be a refined middle-aged cultivator.

Upon seeing Ling Yunpo’s gaze, he smiled amiably and from his Storage Bag took out an exquisite jade pillow.

“This is the Huangliang Pillow,” he said.