Chapter 663: The Demon-Slaying Sword

The atmosphere was so tense that a few young attendant monks were about to call for their elders.

However, Chu Liang laughed loudly right then, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Hi everyone! It's been ages!"

When the Mount Shu Sect's delegation entered earlier, no one paid much attention to them, as the confrontation between the Celestial King Sect and Thunderbolt Stronghold was in full swing.

Now that all eyes were on Chu Liang, surprise spread across everyone's face.

Most of the representatives present had witnessed the Mount Shu Sect's victory at the Assembly of Immortal Sects firsthand, so they naturally remembered Chu Liang and knew about his disappearance.

Who would have thought they'd see him at this Heavenly Peak Banquet?

Chu Liang's appearance at the banquet caused quite a stir. He stepped forward and greeted the delegations with a bow. Then he pulled out the Circle of Immortal Friends Token and pressed it into Feng Chaoyang's hand.

"What is this?" Feng Chaoyang asked.

He had already seen Chu Liang recently, so he wasn't that surprised. However, he was curious about the enchanted tool in his hand.

Chu Liang whispered, "You can use it to scold people. I'll pull those two rascals in later, and you can scold them in there."

He then walked over and handed tokens to Yang Yuhu and Wei Tiandi too.

"It's embarrassing to argue in public. If you think scolding him in private won't ease your anger, then try this. Everyone will know, but it won't escalate the conflict. It's a great tool," Chu Liang said with a smile.

Yang Yuhu and Wei Tiandi were extremely surprised to see Chu Liang. Yang Yuhu wanted to ask Chu Liang something, but he was left bewildered by Chu Liang's actions.

Chu Liang continued, "Seems like you want to ask me something? Then let's head into this first. Everything I've been through these past years—I've shared it all in there."

With a mix of coaxing and trickery, Chu Liang got them to insert their spirit sense into the Circle of Immortal Friends. That was when he finally stepped away.

When Chu Liang saw Feng Chaoyang and Wei Tiandi confronting each other earlier, a flash of inspiration had appeared in his mind. While others were excited to see a quarrel, Chu Liang saw the perfect opportunity to promote the Circle of Immortal Friends.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Since ancient times, people had always loved watching two things—one would get old quickly, while the other never would. The one that would never get old was, of course, a quarrel.

The parties involved were two prominent figures in the world of immortal cultivators that quarreled every day. Who wouldn't want to check out the Circle of Immortal Friends to watch their quarrels play out?

The Circle of Immortal Friends could accommodate several thousand participants. Chu Liang had thought that would be enough for now, so he hadn't put too much pressure on Wen Yulong. Nevertheless, after this trip, he knew he had to get Wen Yulong to upgrade the Circle of Immortal Friends. It had to accommodate at least several ten thousand participants!

Once Chu Liang was done greeting everyone, the group from the Mount Shu Sect took their seats.

After all, it was the Buddhist Cloud Monastery's banquet. It was enough to let the immortal sects know that Chu Liang had returned; there was no need to turn it into his homecoming reception.

The theme of the banquet was disaster relief.

Before the banquet, Chu Liang had suggested having a charity auction to Pushan. Then Pushan mentioned it to the senior monks at the Buddhist Cloud Monastery, and they greatly approved of the idea.

They couldn't ask for items to be donated, as most of the items cultivators' possessed wouldn't be useful to ordinary folks in recovering from a disaster. They could not ask for spirit-stone coins either, since each sect would have different amounts of funds. There might not be many who would be willing to donate, so this approach was unlikely to lead to a good result.

On the other hand, a charity auction was a brilliant idea. Everyone could choose something to auction off, and in return, they had the chance to obtain something they desired. Then the spirit-stone coins from the auction could be converted into food, housing, and clothing—things that the common people could actually use to recover from the disaster.

All of the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten delegations gradually arrived, and the various other immortal sects had long taken their seats. Yet, the Heavenly Peak Banquet still had not begun.

Someone inevitably got impatient and urged, "Dhyana masters, what are you waiting for?"

"There's still one more guest who has yet to arrive," Master Shenjie answered.

Soon after, someone's laugh rang out nearby. "Apologies, I was delayed by some urgent matters. I'm truly sorry to have kept you waiting, esteemed cultivators."

The final guest to arrive was dressed in blue scholarly robes, walking in with an elegant air. He had the appearance of a cultured and refined middle-aged man.

Chu Liang thought the middle-aged man looked familiar. After a moment, Chu Liang remembered he had seen this man from afar in the capital of Yu.

It's Chancellor Su Qian!

...

As soon as Su Qian took his seat, a sect elder from the immortal sects inquired, "Esteemed Chancellor, what brings you here?"

"Haha, normally a representative from the Imperial Supervisory Bureau would attend an occasion like this. But with chaos breaking out across the lands recently, the Imperial Supervisory Commissioner and the celestial officials have been overwhelmed. An occasion this important can't be taken lightly, so I was sent instead," Su Qian said with a smile.

With Su Qian's arrival, the guests seated themselves neatly in the plaza.

Suddenly, a five-colored flower bud sprouted from the ground in front of the plaza. The flower bud bloomed and expanded rapidly in the wind until it transformed into a dazzling, elevated lotus platform.

From within emerged an elderly monk with smooth, glowing skin, long drooping eyebrows, and a beard that trailed to the ground. He had his eyes closed in deep meditation, only opening them once the lotus platform had fully bloomed.

The moment his eyes opened, warmth spread through everyone present. It was as if two beams of Buddha's light were shining into the depths of their hearts, stirring up an irresistible urge to convert to Buddhism.

The profound compassion in the elderly monk's eyes was something a monk would need at least two centuries to cultivate.

"Benefactors!" the elderly monk said to the crowd, his voice sweeping across the vast plaza in an instant like a breeze. He continued slowly, "I am the abbot of the Buddhist Cloud Monastery. My Dharma name is Dayu. For many years, I have distanced myself from worldly affairs, devoting my heart to Buddha."

In truth, there was no need for him to make an introduction. There was no one present who would fail to recognize the abbot of the Buddhist Cloud Monastery. Only he would make such a grand entrance atop a lotus platform at a time like this.

Abbot Dayu was a being whose age surpassed even that of Venerable Wen Yuan. To many of the younger people, his name was like an ancient legend. Abbot Dayu had distanced himself from worldly affairs for many years, as the disciples of the Shen Generation[1] had already become adults. The Buddhist Cloud Monastery had plenty of talented individuals, so he did not need to be present.

In fact, even for an event like the Heavenly Peak Banquet, Abbot Dayu did not always make an appearance. That alone showed how much importance the Buddhist Cloud Monastery placed on the banquet this time.

"We distance ourselves from the world to devote ourselves to our spiritual development, but we cannot maintain our integrity if we ignore the plight of the people during these chaotic times. It is meaningless to possess the power to vanquish dragons and tigers if we lack the means to help the world and save the people." Abbot Dayu sighed. "This Buddha's Light on the Peak of the Heavens exists only to implore that you be compassionate and find a way to save the people of this world."

"As for the format of this Heavenly Peak Banquet, it's an excellent suggestion that we received from Young Hero Chu of the Mount Shu Sect," Abbot Dayu stated, deliberately mentioning Chu Liang. "We invite all of the sects present to contribute a valuable item for the charity auction. The spirit-stone coins raised from the auction will be used to exchange for disaster relief supplies. We, the Buddhist Cloud Monastery, will take the lead."

Abbot Dayu waved his hand, and Dhyana Master Shenjie stepped forward, carrying over a sword case.

Dhyana Master Shenjie was an imposing chief monk in his own right, but before Abbot Dayu, he was reduced to a junior monk presenting a treasure. Of course, he was happy to do it.

"This item was discovered by my esteemed teacher in the Divine Ruins a few years ago. Although precious, it does not align with our beliefs, so there's no point for us to keep it. Therefore, we have decided to donate it for this charity auction. Those interested in it may now offer a bid."

The auction was presided over by Dhyana Master Shenjie. He announced loudly, "The starting bid for this sword is five hundred thousand Vermillion-Bird coins!"

"What?!"

The guests erupted in an uproar filled with shock and outrage.

The reason for the uproar was clear.

The Buddhist Cloud Monastery is one of the Divine Nine. We're only attending your banquet out of respect for you and to help with the disaster relief since it's a noble cause. But even if it's for charity, surely you don't think we're fools who would blindly pay that much, do you??

Damn baldy, what kind of sword are you selling?! A starting price of five hundred thousand Vermillion-Bird coins? You might as well just rob us straight out.

In the next instant, Dhyana Master Shenjie opened the sword case, revealing a sword with a plain bronze blade. The sword's hilt was engraved with complicated picture-like ancient markings.

Most of the people present didn't recognize the sword, but the few who did gasped in shock. Anyone who could identify it would no longer consider five hundred thousand Vermillion-Bird coins expensive.

"If we at the Buddhist Cloud Monastery are not mistaken, this sword's name should be..." Dhyana Master Shenjie said slowly, emphasizing each word, "the Demon-Slaying Sword!"

1. The raw for this says “the 神(shen)-character generation of disciples”. However, 神 can mean a whole range of things. Deity and spirit/mind are the most likely ones for this, but there isn't enough context to ascertain which it is, so I'll just leave it transliterated. ☜