Chapter 31: Communing with the Divine through Jade

Can a man live without a heart? Can a zither sing without strings?

As long as there is intent, there is nothing that cannot be done!

From the very beginning, Dragon Gums was never meant to produce sound through strings, otherwise, it would not have remained silent for a thousand years, having passed through the hands of so many masters without a single completed melody.

Its voice followed the will, not the will following the sound.

Back then, Chen Kuang had stumbled into harmony with its intent by replacing sword-heart with zither-mind, and only then had he managed to play even a short phrase.

And now, Chen Kuang would face his enemy with this stringless zither.

He did not fear that Dragon Gums would fall silent.

Because the sword was already in his hand, within his mind, poised to strike.

Song of Weed-Cutting: killing to nourish Killing. With twenty-two lives taken along the way, he had nurtured a sword intent.

At this moment, the sword was in his hand, the intent in his heart.

But, he still lacked one thing.

Chen Kuang didn't possess enough cultivation.

Naturally, even the cleverest woman cannot cook without rice; a grand building without a foundation is but an illusion in the clouds.

Even with the effects of the Carefree Wine, his current level was only barely at the Innate Realm, at the first stage. Among mortals, he might qualify to lead a martial sect.

But among cultivators, he hadn't even stepped through the door.

As for his opponent, Wei Su, his aura was as unfathomable as deep oceans and towering mountains.

Just from their initial clash, Chen Kuang knew how vast the difference between them was. Killing him would be no more effort for Wei Su than squashing an ant.

That was why Wei Su was so casual.

Perhaps he was already certain that Chen Kuang had swallowed the Elixir of Immortality, and wasn't sure if it would become void if he were to die, so he didn't plan to kill him just yet.

Chen Kuang had experienced this kind of arrogance before, on Shen Xingzhu.

But maybe... she wasn't an exception. Maybe this was a common disease among the cultivators of this world.

However, what Wei Su did not know was that Shen Xingzhu had already paid an extremely heavy price for her arrogance.

And the most insignificant part of that price, today, it would become Wei Su's executioner.

Chen Kuang smiled coldly at him, pressing his tongue downward, feeling the smooth and warm old jade that rested under it, nearly melting into a nectar-like essence.

He silently recited the incantation in his heart:

A stone from another mountain may chisel jade; seeking the Way through jade, one may commune with the divine.

The Divine Mountain Borrowing Jade left to him by Shen Xingzhu activated, able to temporarily borrow another's Divine Ability and cultivation for one's own use.

At this moment, the jade held only one person's spiritual imprint.

Shen Xingzhu's.

And her cultivation... was at the Master Realm, half a step into the Profound Grade!

Shen Xingzhu, at this moment, was not in the imperial capital, nor upon the battlefield.

She floated at ten thousand zhang above, standing with her hands behind her back, black robes fluttering, gauzy veil trailing, her breathtakingly beautiful yet icy eyes silently surveying the earth below.

The ruined capital, the war-torn land, the din of life and silence of death, everything lay under her gaze.

Before her, a massive illusory sword, condensed from killing intent, plummeted from the heavens. Below, vegetation and buildings crumbled under its pressure, collapsing and spreading out in all directions.

Screams of terror rose from countless mouths. Before such catastrophe, none could resist.

Shen Xingzhu lightly raised her hand.

An invisible force, like a gentle veil, swept over every mortal within her sight, lifting the sword intent as if weightless and dissolving it into nothingness.

The falling sword crushed cultivators into pulp, but the mortals remained completely unharmed.

She sighed. "Huo Hengxuan... for using your strength against the weak, you deserve to die."

And indeed, Huo Hengxuan was dying.

He had forcefully broken his own meridians to deliver that strike, draining all his blood and energy. Even if Li Hongling didn't kill him, he wouldn't live much longer.

But regrettably, even with all that, he had failed to kill Li Hongling.

Mu Zhao had left Li Hongling a Spiritual Treasure called Scroll of Mist and Waves Across a Thousand Miles, which turned illusion into reality and near into far, enough to block that attack.

Overhead, the celestial chessboard formed from starlight was reaching its final moves.

The ancestor of Liang had lost by a single step.

"To mend the heavens, to step into the Dao, a false sage is a true saint..."

That ancestor's cultivation wasn't stable. He must have sensed the urgency while in seclusion, forcibly broken through, and stood now only on the edge of Dao's shore.

This so-called sainthood was half fake.

But since he stepped out for the sake of the nation, bearing such weight, he was, indeed, a sage.

Shen Xingzhu murmured, and suddenly thought of her own broken Dao Heart, a wave of frustration welling within her.

Just then, the Divine Mountain Borrowing Jade was activated by someone.

"...Hmph."

Her faint laugh echoed like the wind, as a blazing surge of Spiritual Energy ignited below like a blazing torch.

She looked down, narrowing her eyes.

If she wanted to mend her Dao Heart, there were only two ways.

One, deceive her heart again, find a reason why Chen Kuang deserved to die, wipe away the fault that shook her, and regain Heaven's recognition of her Way, her Dao.

Two, have Chen Kuang acknowledge her Dao.

Shen Xingzhu was in no hurry. She didn't mind lending her strength.

Because she knew, someone else would find a reason to kill Chen Kuang.

That person was Li Hongling.

Among the fifty thousand Black Armor Guards, only twenty thousand were cultivators who had opened their meridians, the rest were mere martial-trained mortals.

Li Hongling, currently unable to personally act, would leave the pursuit of Chen Kuang and Madam Chu to the Black Armor Guards.

If Chen Kuang killed even a single mortal..

Then he would be guilty.

Shen Xingzhu was waiting.

Wei Su's expression froze.

No, his whole being had fallen into a state of shock.

In just a blink, the man who was no more than an ant had flipped heaven and earth, his Spiritual Energy erupting once again.

Innate, Tower Ascension, Sea-Cleaving, Moon-Embracing, all the way into the Master Realm!

It was utterly terrifying.

Normally, cultivators at this level restrained their energy, hiding light within darkness, not showing their power unless necessary.

But Chen Kuang was different, he hadn't even touched the threshold before. He had no way of properly controlling this strength.

Let alone concealing it.

Like a child waving gold in a marketplace.

Even Chen Kuang himself hadn't expected Shen Xingzhu to lend him full Grandmaster-level power.

The Divine Mountain Borrowing Jade was a gentleman's treasure, it did not allow taking without permission. The amount of power borrowed depended entirely on the lender.

In other words, if Shen Xingzhu didn't permit it, he would never have drawn upon any of it.

Now, seemingly endless power surged from his mouth to the crown of his head, pouring through his meridians and flooding outward.

Even the faint alcohol aura from earlier was instantly dispersed.

Chen Kuang was wracked with agony. These energies were too wild, too vast, tearing at his body as they leaked out. Only the jade served as a bridle.

His eyes burned with divine light. He stood trembling, overwhelmed.

"Actually..."

Wei Su sucked in a sharp breath, immediately backing away with a forced smile. "It's all a misunderstanding."

He raised both hands, about to speak-

But Chen Kuang's severed arm suddenly rose from the ground and reattached itself to his shoulder, merging as if it had never left.

Only the torn cloth bore witness to what had happened.

Chen Kuang glanced at him, suddenly feeling bored.

He tapped Dragon Gums twice with a single finger.

"Zheng-"

A sound rang out from the void. It might've been a zither note, or perhaps a sword's cry.

Wei Su's head fell from his shoulders.

His body remained standing, perfectly straight.

Chen Kuang blinked.

So this is what it meant, if Shen Xingzhu truly wanted him dead, it would have been this easy.

He drew a deep breath, feeling the old jade beneath his tongue melting like snow. He grabbed Madam Chu, leapt into the air, and flew toward the city gate.

The gate and wall had been split clean in two by that last note. There was no obstacle.

Behind him, a woman shouted in fury:

"Black Armor Guards! Seize the fugitives!"

Ahead, soldiers formed a wall.

Then, a cultivator landed before them, bowed, and shouted:

"Are you Madam Chu and the princess?! We are here to open the way!"

Chen Kuang nodded. The leader stepped forward and whispered:

"Miss Qingcuo asked me to give you the passphrase, the code."

Chen Kuang's heart sank.

"And what about her?"