Chapter 690: A Pawnshop

A mysterious talisman hovered before his eyes.

However, it was as if Dongguo Feng couldn’t even see it. He said nothing.

There was no doubt about it. The leading figure of the Dongguo Family’s younger generation had suffered far too great a shock.

Despite his firm, determined sword heart, he couldn’t regain his senses so quickly.

When the crowd saw this, they couldn’t help but sigh to themselves.

The Dongguo Family had lost far too badly!

First, Dongguo Feng, the heaven-defying monstrous genius seventh on the Ranking of Stars, lost to Su Yi in a one-on-one duel.

Immediately afterward, six Spiritual Incarnation experts under the leadership of Dongguo Hai fell beneath Su Yi’s sword, one by one!

Anyone would have realized that this battle represented an absolutely devastating blow to the Dongguo Family, one of the nine top ancient factions!

“Miss Xinzhao, let’s get going.”

The silence was oppressive, but Su Yi acted like it had nothing to do with him. He just smiled and beckoned Wen Xinzhao, Daoist Master Coldsmoke, and Qing Ya over.

“Okay!” Wen Xinzhao agreed. Soon, all three women left with Su Yi.

From beginning to end, neither the leader of Cloudsky Divine Palace, Yu Jiuzhen, nor the remaining Dongguo Family experts dared try to stop them!

“We had an expert among us, but we didn’t know it…” The middle-aged scholar who’d traveled here alongside Su Yi couldn’t help but mutter.

The youths were all stunned and silent.

Their hearts had once been full of longing. They thought that if they made it into Cloudsky Divine Palace, they’d be like carp leaping over the dragon’s gate. They thought it would change their paths of cultivation—and their lives—forever.

But after everything they’d just witnessed, they suddenly realized a cruel truth: as strong as Cloudsky Divine Palace was, to the Dongguo Family, it was merely a subordinate faction they could treat however they pleased.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

However, although the Dongguo Family was one of the top seven ancient factions, they weren’t really omnipotent, and it wasn’t true that no one dared provoke them.

Because today, a young man like an immortal from on high cut through their experts, making blood run like a river!

“They brought about their own ruin!” sighed Yu Jiuzhen.

The other Cloudsky Divine Palace experts had complicated looks on their faces.

Today’s incident could have ended after Dongguo Feng’s defeat, and Su Yi’s enmity with the Dongguo Family could have stayed between him and Dongguo Feng.

However, Dongguo Hai and the others’ arrival ruined everything!

In the end, Dongguo Hai and his followers paid with their lives. What was that, if not bringing about their own ruin?

It was then that Dongguo Feng seemed to come back to his senses, but he ignored even the God-Burning Talisman and left on his own, walking into the distance.

“Young Master! Where are you going?” One of the Dongguo Family experts couldn’t help but ask.

Dongguo Feng ignored him.

His hair was disheveled, and his clothes were tattered and stained with blood. His stick-thin frame was covered with wounds that had yet to heal.

The injuries he’d suffered in his earlier duel were far too severe.

But it was as if he didn’t care about that in the least. He just walked off all on his own.

His solitary silhouette had a certain bleak, lonely air to it. Gradually, he disappeared into the misty light of dusk.

When the crowd saw this, their spirits sank.

It was the seventeenth day of the second lunar month.

On this day, Su Yi arrived before Cloudsky Divine Palace, defeated Dongguo Feng, the leading figure of the Dongguo Family’s younger generation, and cut down the group of seven Dongguo Family Spiritual Incarnation Realm experts led by Dongguo Hai. He then led Wen Xinzhao, Qing Ya, and Daoist Master Coldsmoke away.

It was easy to predict that when word of this incident spread, it would shake the nation. The resulting waves were sure to spread throughout the Great Xia!

……

How great of an impact would this battle have? What waves would it create? Su Yi didn’t care at all.

He’d come to Cloudsky Divine Palace purely for Wen Xinzhao.

He did, however, quite admire Dongguo Feng.

Even if they were enemies, that didn’t stop Su Yi from acknowledging Dongguo Feng’s attainments in the Dao of the Sword.

“Sword force, sword intent, and one’s cultivation base ultimately cannot compare to an ironclad sword heart. Even those of inferior talent can reach ever greater heights of the Dao of the Sword so long as they have such a sword heart.

“That’s what they mean when they say that with time, drops of water can penetrate stone.

“Of course, regardless of aptitude, striving relentlessly to improve one’s swordsmanship is, in and of itself, a rare and precious quality.”

A campfire blazed in the center of a run-down?Daoist?temple deep in the wilderness. Su Yi sprawled out in his wicker chair, using his arms as a pillow. His whole body was completely relaxed.

Wen Xinzhao, Qing Ya, and Daoist Master Coldsmoke sat off to the side. One’s gaze was bright and beautiful, another innocent and guileless, the other tranquil and charming.

“Dongguo Feng was severely injured this time, and he suffered a heavy mental blow. If he can overcome it, his mental state will reach a higher level,” said Su Yi. He then took out a jug of wine and drank with relish.

Qing Ya asked curiously, “Big Brother Su Yi, which is more important when pursuing the Grand Dao: hard work or talent?”

Su Yi smiled. “The vast majority of the world’s cultivators have no business relying on talent alone. When you truly have nothing to lean on but your talent, that means you’ve encountered a bottleneck in your cultivation.

“Besides, the path of cultivation is full of possibilities. Even dull, untalented cultivators can, as they make breakthroughs and rise through the ranks, change their natural aptitude.

“And that’s before considering that this world has no shortage of lucky breaks and fortuitous encounters, much less divine medicines and powers capable of transforming a cultivator’s talent. However, all of this is contingent on your own hard work; you have to seek it out.”

His words moved both Wen Xinzhao and?Daoist?Master Coldsmoke.

Qing Ya chirped, “I understand! So long as you work hard, you have an opportunity to change everything! But talent? Even if it’s heaven-defying, it’ll all go to waste if you don’t work hard!”

Su Yi nodded. “Exactly.”

“I can tell that even though he’s your enemy, you quite admire Dongguo Feng,” said Wen Xinzhao with a smile.

Su Yi said casually, “More than him, I admire your powers of comprehension when it comes to swordsmanship. Right, that reminds me of something.

“Two old monks once argued. One said that the body is the Bodhi tree, and that the heart is the stand of a clear mirror. Its surface needs constant polishing to prevent it from accumulating dust.

“The other said the Bodhi—enlightenment—was never a tree to begin with, and that the mirror is not its stand. Emptiness is pure by its very nature; how could it possibly accumulate dust?

“Which monk do you think was more impressive?”

As he spoke, Su Yi looked at Wen Xinzhao, but Qing Ya interjected, “The second monk!”

Daoist Master Coldsmoke nodded.

However, Wen Xingzhao hesitated. “In terms of raw powers of comprehension, the second monk is naturally superior. However, in terms of cultivation, the first is better.”

Su Yi smiled. “That’s one correct way of understanding it. There are numerous different views on the matter amongst Buddhists, but to sword cultivators like us, both are correct. The two concepts complement each other.”

“They complement each other?” His three companions asked in confusion.

“The first sentence emphasizes polishing one’s foundations during cultivation, while the second is about enlightenment. It’s only by regularly ‘polishing one’s mirror’ that you can achieve instantaneous enlightenment and break through.”

Wen Xinzhao pondered for a while. Finally, she said, “Although I’m no Buddhist cultivator, your explanation is most in line with my perception.”

Su Yi smiled. “When it comes to the Dao of the Sword, your powers of comprehension far surpass Dongguo Feng. However, going forward, you must remember to take your time to polish and temper yourself, too.”

Wen Xinzhao’s heart shook. She suddenly realized that Su Yi was using this as an opportunity to enlighten her!

Her gaze was determined, and she said softly, “Brother Su, rest assured. I’ll bear that firmly in mind.”

The campfire blazed.

Time slipped by.

Su Yi had already told his traveling companions that he was headed for the capital, Nine Tripod City.

However, Wen Xinzhao was a bit worried about?Daoist?Master Coldsmoke and Qing Ya. After all, the three of them had effectively left Cloudsky Divine Palace, becoming rootless rogue cultivators. They no longer had their pillar of support.

Wen Xinzhao shared these worries with Su Yi, who laughed. “Relax. Once the true Radiant Epoch begins, the world’s balance of power will inevitably shift once more. No one knows who will smile in the end. Until then, all we need to do is calm our hearts and wait.”

Wen Xinzhao nodded.

It was already late at night. Throughout the wilderness, everything was still and silent, save for the occasional roaring of beasts.

Suddenly——

Su Yi’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked outside the Daoist temple.

The faint, nigh-indiscernible sound of a bell resounded deep within the night sky. It was melodious and ethereal, with a strange, mysterious quality.

Why… would the sound of that bell appear in this world??Su Yi fell into a daze, looking utterly flabbergasted, as if he dared not believe his ears.

A while later, he silently rose to his feet. “Xinzhao, stay here for a while. I’m going on a walk.”

As he spoke, he left the dilapidated temple.

The night was dark as ink, with neither moon nor stars.

A single, solitary figure traveled blindly through the wilderness.

His hair was disheveled, he was covered in bloodstains, and his face was pale and wooden. His eyes were hollow, as if he’d lost his soul.

This was none other than Dongguo Feng!

Suddenly, the ethereal, melodious sound of a bell reverberated throughout the night sky.

Dongguo Feng stiffened, and suddenly recovered from his muddled, dazed mental state.

He looked around, only to discover that he was in the middle of completely unfamiliar wilderness.

And here I thought my sword heart was as firm as iron. I thought that heaven and earth could switch places without affecting my mental state. Who’d have thought that today’s loss would make me lose control to such an extent…??Dongguo Feng sighed to himself.

He’d already realized how dangerous his earlier mental state had been. If not for the melodious sound of that bell, he’d most likely still be in a daze, little different from a walking corpse!

Wait, a bell?

Why is there a bell this deep in the wilderness? Where is that sound coming from?

Dongguo Feng scanned his surroundings in confusion. He suddenly realized that, although he wasn’t sure when it had gotten there, the light of a lantern illuminated shone beneath the distant curtain of the night.

Don’t tell me there’s a temple or something out there??Dongguo Feng walked right toward the light.

When he arrived, he saw a bamboo building standing before a mountain.

The building was only two stories tall, and there was just one lantern hanging from the eaves, but its orange glow was full of warmth.

Heaven and earth were dark, save for a single lantern.

That trace of light emanated an air he couldn’t quite put into words. Just looking at it was calming, and it felt warm.

Dongguo Feng looked up.

There was a sign hanging from the bamboo building’s gates.

One word was written in big characters: “pawnshop”!

Beneath the orange glow of the lantern, the characters flickered in and out of view, giving them an additional mysteriousness.

Why would a?pawnshop?appear randomly in the middle of the wilderness??

Dongguo Feng realized that something wasn’t right here, but he couldn’t suppress his curiosity.

He wanted to go inside and investigate!