Translated and Edited by: La0o9

The monk stopped for a bit, then made an expression of joy: For the last few dozen years, I have been collecting sword wills around the world, and finally arrived at two answers

This type of matter fully depends on personal preference, yet you say theres a fixed answer? Gu Qing Shan disagreed.

The monk stopped him: Benefactor, do not easily dismiss my answers, I can assure you my answers are what most Sword Cultivators have agreed on for nearly ten thousand years (1)

Then please tell me Gu Qing Shan said with a calm expression.

The monk pridefully nodded: The first answer is, No matter who it is, my sword will cut them all down, until I cut open a part of the world for my own and re-educate the beings of the world so that my will is the only truth

The second answer is, Cultivation is like swimming against the flow, and sword arts is the same, he who blocks my path of the sword is my mortal enemy, even if hes god himself, Ill cut him down

Gu Qing Shan listened, then remained silent.

The monk clasped his hand and bow, saying: The answers are as such, the true meaning of sword cultivation, how does benefactor think? Please also tell me your answer

Gu Qing Shan accepted the bow, seriously thought and then answered: The sword and beings of the world arent related, its only your will that matters

The monk was a bit confused, asking: Why do you say that?

Gu Qing Shan answered: A hesitant heart makes a hesitant sword, a heart without worry makes a sword without obstacle

The monk shook his head: Benefactor please do not use sharp words to confuse me, I beg for a direct answer please

Seems like itll take some real mettle after all, Gu Qing Shan silent sighed, but became calmer.

Then he said: What I mean is, if you want to kill people, theres no need to think too much about it

Hm? the monk was unable to follow.

Gu Qing Shan continued: If you want to save the beings of the world, then just use your sword to save them. If you want to kill the beings of the world, then just use your sword to kill them. If you just stand there thinking back and forth, then youve done nothing at all except made things complicated, in fact thatll make it easier to become fallen instead

The monk was stunned.

Gu Qing Shan added: The true moment to use the sword, is always on the verge of life and death, every mistake could mean your demise; and at that point, to make sure all thoughts are clear, that nothing can affect your judgement and your will, then you must only have a single thought

What is that single thought? The monk pursued.

Gu Qing Shan seriously answered: The thought to kill

A-mi-ta-bha, benefactor will definitely gather very heavy karma later the monk clasped his hand and said. (2)

Youve already picked up a sword, to still mention sin and karma, wouldnt that be hypocrisy? Gu Qing Shan suddenly said back: You repay those you owe, and take revenge on those who wrongs you, the world is no more than this. To think too much about karma is to bind your own sword will, then what kind of sword would you be cultivating?

The monk was speechless unable to say anything.

Outside the scroll, the maid lifted her mouth into a curve.

She grabbed a misty-looking communication talisman from the air.

Those are great words, you damn baldy used words to block my mouth, now Ill send them back to block yours, see how youll get out of this

As soon as the maid said that, the spirit energy on her hand infused into the talisman, turning it into a red streak flying across the sky.

The maids eyes moved a bit, muttered: This kid seemed to have fought his way out of a forest of demons, but particularly what happened will have to wait until he successfully attempt the list

She made a hand seal, and released Gu Qing Shan from the scroll.

Ive passed? Gu Qing Shan asked.

The maid answered: Hm, you passed

Then thats great, the monk looked like he still wasnt convinced, if I had continued and accidentally broke his Dao heart it wouldnt be too pretty Gu Qing Shan nodded in thanks.

As the maid heard that, her mood improved greatly and smiled: I was going to give you a few more rounds of test, but Ive decided, you can go straight to attempting the Sword list now

Gu Qing Shan was also glad: Thank you very much!

He didnt dare to say a single word more.

The maid went toward the green jade screen, putting her hand on it: Inside this screen is a Hong Huang Sword formation (TN: lit. Great Flood)

Hong Huang Sword formation Gu Qing Shan was shocked, immediately became serious.

In the past life, he didnt care too much about Bai Hua country, so many of the things he knows about Bai Hua Fairy was heard from others long after they happened.

The sword formation right here that comes from the ancient age of Old.

Gu Qing Shan has never heard of it before.

That era was the age of Divinity, according to old, obscure scriptures, the power of Divinity isnt something that a mortal even if theyre a cultivator can compare to, and so every single object thats left over from that era contain immense power.

It was an age of great prosperity, yet it was all gone without a trace, a complete mystery without any clues to solve.

Within the span of a single year, all the Divinity were never seen again.

It was like history was cut off overnight.

It wasnt until the game was already started for 5 years that the first Divinity was accidentally summoned by the players.

The maid continued: Yet Her Eminence had a problem, even though the Sword formation was already tamed by her, she still couldnt find the true sword spirit anywhere

Your task is to go into the sword formation and find out where the sword spirit is

Her Eminence had tamed this sword formation? Gu Qing Shan suddenly asked Can you tell me a bit about how Her Eminence tamed it?

The maid was a bit surprised, but still said: This was Xuanyuan Tianzuns gift to Her Eminence, so she had used Lock Seals and tamed it on the spot (3)

One of the three saints, Xuanyuan Tianzun? A gift from him? Gu Qing Shan had a strange look on his face.

The maid answered: Thats correct

Ok then, Ill try it

Gu Qing Shan had a thought and gained a bit more unfounded confidence.

The maid lightly nodded, made a hand seal and pointed at the jade screen.

Immediately the green jade screen lightly shook, emitted a blinding spirit light.

In the air, numerous immortal beasts appeared, accompanied with heavenly music and colorful clouds, came and covered the whole upper area of the screen.

A blurred figure appeared on the screen.

Even though his face cant be seen, this figure was wearing the proper attire for cultivators of the old era.

The figure pointed at the sky, suddenly a crack appeared, as the winds escaping from the Space Vortex created immense devastation.

The figure pointed at the ground, as the earth split apart, the four seas boiled and millions of creatures died off.

By just pointing two fingers, and both heaven and earth were broken part, completely out of any cultivators imagination, even the Saints themselves arent able to do this.

Such a grand sight really does make any cultivator feel small.

The maid looked at the shifting scene on the screen, thought a bit then advised him: After you go in there, be careful a bit, even if you cant find the sword spirit, you cant drop your etiquette

Seeing the look of confusion on Gu Qing Shans face, the maid patiently explained: Inside the screen, there are 11 projections of Divinity, the projections include both their memories and personalities from the time they were still alive, you absolutely cannot offend them, otherwise I cant save you

Gu Qing Shan looked at the scene on the screen and said: I understand

The maid changed her hand seals a bit, and the screen emits a 7-colored spirit light the wrapped around Gu Qing Shan.

A dignified voice can be heard.

Young one, burn the incense, then you can enter the gate

As Gu Qing Shan heard that he looked at the maid.

The maid lightly nodded.

Gu Qing Shan went up, lit and incense stick and went into the gate.

As soon as he disappeared, the relaxed look of the maid changed, becoming dignified as she watched the green jade screen.

10 years and Ive yet to find any clues. Hopefully, this kid can give me a bit of inspiration the maid silently muttered.

Note:

(1) Benefactor: (read as Shizhu), a common title that monks use to refer to everyone else thats not a monk, even if theyre the enemy or a stranger, literally means donor or benefactor.

(2) Amitabha: A very famous Buddha, check https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amit%C4%81bha for more info. Monks usually chant his name as a way to clear their thoughts, or as an exclamation when they hear someone says something blasphemous.

(3) Lock Seals: slightly different from an actual Sealing technique that youd see in anime like Naruto, Lock Seals in Chinese novels refer to a system of particular techniques commonly used as a security system, they can be used anywhere and everywhere, and not all of them need to actually seal something, sometimes when triggered they only alert the user, other times theyll actively attack whoever trespasses and kill them.

In many ways, theyre very similar to formations, but the main difference is that Lock Seals are easier to learn, and instead of drawing energy from outside, Lock Seals usually gets their energy artificially from something like a battery left behind by the user.