"Senior Brother Lu, I remember you have a sword spirit root?" Tao Yaoye glanced at the ancient sword hanging at Lu Yang's waist and the calluses on his hands from practicing swordsmanship. In just a year, the changes were enough to show how hard Lu Yang worked at his sword training.
Lu Yang nodded and humbly said, "I can barely be considered a sword cultivator."
Cultivators are divided into different types based on their specialties, such as alchemy cultivators, talisman cultivators, formation cultivators, body cultivators, and sword cultivators. Among these, sword cultivators have the strongest attack power. In battles of the same level, no one wants to face a sword cultivator.
Sword cultivators are famous for breaking through all techniques with a single sword strike. No matter how powerful your techniques are, a sword cultivator can shatter them with ease.
In contrast, there are the Daoist cultivators who claim that no matter how strong your sword techniques are, they can break them with their own methods.
Sword cultivators have famous techniques like breaking through all methods with a single sword, opening the heavenly gate with a sword, and flying swords. These are well-known among sword cultivators.
Dressed in white like snow, standing on a flying sword, riding the wind and waves—what a heroic image!
What do cultivators seek? First, they want to be strong, and second, they want to be cool. Sword cultivators perfectly fit both standards. Countless cultivators long to become sword cultivators, but unfortunately, many lack the talent for the sword path and cannot achieve it.
"So, Senior Brother Lu, what will you do once you learn to fly with a sword?"
Tao Yaoye had never heard of a sword cultivator who was afraid of heights. While others enjoy flying freely in the sky, this Senior Brother Lu might be more comfortable staying on the ground.
Lu Yang said seriously, "Being a sword immortal doesn’t only mean flying in the sky. Have you ever heard of the Earth Sword Immortal?"
Tao Yaoye was taken aback for a moment. Seeing Lu Yang so serious and the term "Earth Sword Immortal" sounding familiar, she nodded along.
"Who says immortals must be high and mighty? The term 'immortal' has 'person' in it. Immortals roam between heaven and earth, able to grasp the stars above and dive into the depths below, completely free."
"The term Earth Sword Immortal shows that sword immortals don’t just exist in the sky; they can walk on the ground too. With a single sword strike, they can take the heads of demons from a thousand miles away!"
"My goal is to become an Earth Sword Immortal!"
Tao Yaoye was about to nod along with the atmosphere when her calmness kicked in, and she realized something was off. "Wait a minute, I’ve only heard of Earth Immortals. Where did the term Earth Sword Immortal come from?"
Lu Yang silently stared at Tao Yaoye for three seconds, as if he was holding onto an ancient secret. He slowly said, "I made it up."
"…"
His sincere attitude left Tao Yaoye speechless.
She didn't want to discuss this topic any further. After just three days together, the image of this Senior Brother Lu had completely changed in her mind.
During the first trial, she saw Lu Yang detect his sword spirit root. At that time, he seemed like a righteous sword, silent yet unbreakable.
After the second trial, she heard Lu Yang talk about his unique way of passing and thought that sword cultivators had flexible thinking, which might lead to even greater achievements in the future.
During the third trial, when she was so exhausted on the Asking Heart Mountain that she could barely keep her eyes open, she thought no one could reach the fiftieth step. Yet, she saw Lu Yang reach the fiftieth step and succeed. His success gave her immense confidence, and she found the will to continue climbing, eventually passing the trial.
A year later, she saw a Senior Brother Lu who was afraid of heights yet very talkative.
She understood what it meant for distance to create beauty.
"It’s about time to get off the boat," Lu Yang said as he spread out a large map. The map was very detailed, showing the Asking Dao Sect, the Great Xia Empire's capital, famous mountains and rivers, important cities, and blessed lands.
This was one-eighth of the Central Continent map.
There was a small red dot on the map that moved very slowly. If you weren’t paying attention, you might think it was stationary.
The small red dot marked their current location.
This wasn’t just an ordinary map; it was a necessary treasure for traveling.
Although the map was well-made, a place like Taiping Village was too small to be marked. Even Quhe County was a rare sight on the map.
This flying boat traveled from the Asking Dao Sect to the Great Xia Empire's capital, covering an unknown number of miles. Not to mention Taiping Village, even Quhe County was just a tiny dot at this distance, barely getting a name on the map.
The flying boat wouldn’t stop at small places like Quhe County. If it stopped everywhere, its speed would drop significantly, and it wouldn’t be much more efficient than a horse-drawn carriage.
This flying boat only stopped at major transport hubs like the Asking Dao Sect, Qingyun City, Tongtian Valley, Fulong Mountain, and the capital.
Lu Yang had heard from his senior sister that to get off the flying boat, you just had to jump down.
Hearing this made Lu Yang’s eyes twitch.
The flying boat was similar to an airplane from his past life, moving very fast and prioritizing efficiency. The biggest difference was that in his past life, passengers had to wait for the plane to land before getting off, while in the cultivation world, passengers could jump off whenever they wanted.
It emphasized freedom and openness.
This was Lu Yang's first time jumping off a boat, and he was quite excited.
This excitement showed in his trembling legs.
After all, they were thousands of meters high.
"Senior Brother Lu, do you know how to get off the boat?"
"Of course," Lu Yang puffed out his chest, feeling a bit proud.
At thousands of meters high, without any tricks, just drop straight down. Even someone at the late stage of foundation building would turn into a mess.
Lu Yang had asked his senior sister how to get off the boat, but she didn’t answer. She just said not to read books or ask others, but to think for himself and develop good independent thinking habits.
Then Lu Yang successfully thought of a way to get off the boat and prepared himself.
Not just Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye were preparing to get off; there were also seven or eight strangers.
Lu Yang, Tao Yaoye, and the seven or eight strangers stood in a row at the edge of the deck.
The strangers pulled out standard paper umbrellas.
Tao Yaoye took out a carefully refined red paper umbrella.
Lu Yang took out a parachute.
"Hmm?"
Lu Yang felt like he didn’t quite fit in. Why was everyone taking out something different from him?
Just as Lu Yang was wondering what they were doing, an impatient middle-aged man in black leaped out of the flying boat with his umbrella.
The middle-aged man fell like a cannonball, speeding up as he descended.
Calmly, he infused spiritual energy into the paper umbrella. The light spiritual energy wrapped around the umbrella’s ribs like a nimble green snake.
The paper umbrella seemed to come alive, waking from hibernation, and expanded. The middle-aged man’s falling speed gradually slowed, and he landed safely.
He let go of the umbrella, which folded up and turned into a streak of light, weaving back through the clouds to return to the flying boat.
The paper umbrella wasn’t his; it was borrowed from the flying boat for customers to use.
The seven or eight strangers and Tao Yaoye turned to look at Lu Yang, even Tao Yaoye’s eyes filled with confusion.
They were holding umbrellas to jump off the boat, so why was he carrying a bag?
On the surface, Lu Yang seemed calm and smiled brightly in response to their puzzled looks, as if he wasn’t the odd one out.
But inside, he was in turmoil, feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to start.
All his thoughts boiled down to one sentence—Senior Sister, you’ve led me astray!
(End of Chapter)