The Immaculate Sword Heart

Elder Zhai and his group had braced themselves for Lin Ke to suddenly erupt in an attack, each standing ready with grim determination. They never could have anticipated the words that would emerge from her lips.

The burly man in plain clothes, who had spoken earlier, could not help but exclaim,

“Hey, Lady Lin, I respected you as a renowned figure in the martial arts world, which is why I spoke to you so amiably. Yet, to my surprise, you turn out to be a treacherous and ungrateful wretch!”

The masked woman knitted her willow-like brows into a frown, her voice cool as she responded,

“Sword Immortal Ye was an unparalleled legend in the martial arts world, a man countless women across the land admired. For a senior such as yourself, who was clearly an old acquaintance of his, to utter such heartless words is truly too cruel.”

Lin Ke paid no mind to their accusations, merely offering a faint smile.

“If a young lady admires him, that is her own affair. Even if Sword Immortal Ye is the most remarkable figure under heaven, if I don’t recognize him, then I simply don’t. I wouldn’t dare presume to claim acquaintance.”

The masked woman gasped, “You!” A faint blush crept across her face.

Fortunately, her mask concealed it, preventing others from noticing.

For a moment, the members of Zhaixing Pavilion intently observed Lin Ke’s expression. They found no hint of pretense; she genuinely seemed to have no recollection of Sword Immortal Ye.

They exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions growing peculiar.

Elder Zhai, who led the group, was the first to speak.

“No matter. It is only natural for a lady who has endured years of hardship to forget much of her past. However, we are here today to request that Lady Lin permit us to examine the famed sword, Tangxi.”

Lin Ke closed her eyes.

“To borrow without returning—can that truly be called borrowing?”

“Haha!”

Upon hearing this, Elder Zhai threw his head back and let out a resounding laugh that echoed for miles, causing the leaves and branches of trees in the surrounding wilderness to rustle.

Lin Ke remarked,

“Such profound internal energy. You must be a master of the Silence Realm, honored sir. It seems you all have indeed gone to great lengths to ‘borrow’ this Tangxi.”

“Indeed.”

Elder Zhai’s laughter abruptly ceased. His gaze sharpened, and he fixed a solemn stare upon Lin Ke.

“Today, I’m afraid we must trouble Lady Lin to leave the Tangxi sword behind!”

He suddenly issued a command, bellowing,

“Activate the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation!”

Following his order, the Zhaixing Pavilion members swiftly shifted positions, encircling Lin Ke, who remained seated on a tea stool, at the center.

The Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation was derived from the art of Qimen Dunjia.

It was later refined and systematized into a unique formation by Marquis Wu, corresponding to the eight directions of the Bagua: Rest, Death, Harm, Obstruction, Scenery, Open, Shock, and Life.

However, Zhaixing Pavilion’s Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, having been further developed by two generations of Pavilion Masters, Xiao Wushang and Xiao Huiqing, differed slightly from the ancient version.

It typically featured a formation eye, manned by a master of the Silence Realm or above, who would use music to disorient the breaker’s mind, making it impossible to discern directions.

Consequently, even if one knew the method to break the formation, they would often wander aimlessly within it, unable to make any progress.

Currently, Elder Zhai served as the formation eye of this Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation.

He retrieved a scorched-tail guqin from beneath the tea stall’s canopy, gently plucking a few strings to tune it.

“This piece, ‘High Mountains and Flowing Water,’ is played to commemorate the profound friendship Lady Lin once shared with Sword Immortal Ye.”

He straightened his robes, then began to pluck the silk strings. The zither’s melody drifted, continuous as a thread.

As the deep internal energy of the zither’s tune reached her ears, Lin Ke knew that every moment she lingered within the formation, the more perilous her situation became.

She drew Tangxi and struck the formation walls several times. Yet, her sword intent, amidst the constant shifting of positions, vanished into thin air, like a mud ox entering the sea.

Observing Lin Ke flailing within the formation like a headless fly, Elder Zhai’s smile widened, and the force of his fingers on the zither strings intensified.

Suddenly, the Zhaixing Pavilion members positioned at the Shock Gate in the west cried out.

Elder Zhai abruptly turned his head to look.

He saw a flash of sword light, and several figures collapsed to the ground.

Lin Ke held her longsword diagonally behind her. Her gaze lowered as she murmured,

‘Exit through the Shock Gate, then enter the Obstruction Gate…’

She abruptly lifted her head, her long hair sweeping back like a silken banner, her eyes fixed on the Obstruction Gate in the southeast.

Elder Zhai’s heart sank. ‘This ‘High Mountains and Flowing Water’ melody failed to disrupt her mind? This is an unprecedented anomaly.’

According to the Pavilion Master’s estimations, even if Lin Qingyi’s martial arts cultivation had significantly advanced over the past century, it should at most be at the peak of the Sword Immortal realm.

How could his zither music, played from the Silence Realm, be utterly ineffective against her, a practitioner of a supposedly equivalent realm?

In a flash of lightning, Elder Zhai had yet to fully grasp this conundrum.

Lin Ke had already brandished her longsword, her steps graceful as she struck several consecutive blows towards the Obstruction Gate in the southeast.

In an instant,

The Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, meticulously laid out by the Zhaixing Pavilion members, crumbled into disarray, collapsing at the merest touch.

Lin Ke held her sword upright before her, letting out a low cry.

“Break!”

Sword qi swept in all directions. The formation’s layers could not compensate for each other, and the eight gates fell into chaos, creating countless gaps and vulnerabilities.

Clouds of dust billowed upwards, and then, amidst the swirling haze, figures shot out like meteors, crashing heavily onto the roadside, spitting fresh blood.

Elder Zhai glanced at the disheveled Zhaixing Pavilion members.

He stopped plucking the zither strings and fixed his gaze on the slender, green-robed figure standing quietly once the dust had settled.

“How did you know the solution to this Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, Lady?”

Lin Ke sheathed Tangxi, shaking her head.

“I don’t know why, but it just naturally appeared in my mind.”

Elder Zhai scoffed.

“This Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation is Zhaixing Pavilion’s greatest array. In a hundred years, it has only been used once to capture Sword Immortal Ye. If you claim to have broken it by chance, I am the first who will not believe you.”

Lin Ke replied,

“Whether you believe it or not is up to you. The formation is broken, and it seems you can’t keep me here. Do you still wish to needlessly entangle yourselves?”

Seeing Lin Ke turn to leave after speaking, Elder Zhai knew he could no longer detain her.

He could only hiss towards the receding green-robed back,

“Since you know how to break the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, Sword Immortal Ye must have taught you. What logic dictates that you remember the method to break the formation, yet forget Sword Immortal Ye himself?”

The green-robed figure did not turn back, merely replying indifferently,

“Life is full of unpredictability. Many things in this world simply defy logic.”

****

Several hours later,

Mister Xiao’s personal bodyguard, Elder Liu, arrived at the tea stall.

She surveyed the group of pavilion members sprawled haphazardly on the ground, groaning and moaning incessantly. Then, she looked at Elder Zhai, who sat rigidly to one side, blankly stroking the scorched-tail guqin.

She sighed before speaking.

“This is not your fault. The Pavilion Master had anticipated such a scenario.”

Elder Zhai lifted his head, his eyes somewhat vacant.

“It was within expectations that Lin Qingyi could break the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation. But why was Lin Qingyi completely unaffected by the zither music I played?”

Elder Liu knew that for masters who used internal energy and music to disrupt an opponent’s mind and secure victory, the greatest taboo was for their own mental state to become compromised, losing its clarity and insight.

She offered words of comfort.

“That’s not your fault either. According to the Pavilion Master, Lin Qingyi has likely cultivated an ‘Immaculate Sword Heart.'”

Upon hearing the unfamiliar term, a glimmer of light returned to Elder Zhai’s eyes.

“What?”

“The matter was urgent, so the Pavilion Master didn’t elaborate much to me,”

Elder Liu said. “She only mentioned that this ‘Immaculate Sword Heart’ is the sole method to break through the peak of the Sword Immortal realm and cultivate to the Sword Master realm.”

Elder Zhai paused, stunned.

“Sword Master? Isn’t that the legendary realm of ‘human and sword as one,’ a feat no one throughout history has ever achieved, existing only in ancient myths?”

“Indeed.”

Elder Liu affirmed. “None of us had heard of it, but the Pavilion Master, having delved into ancient and modern texts, finally discovered the cultivation method for the Sword Master realm in a tattered old booklet within the Pavilion. It is this ‘Immaculate Sword Heart.'”

“But what connection does this ‘Immaculate Sword Heart’ have to Lin Qingyi being unaffected by my music?”

Elder Liu sighed.

“That brings us to the crux of the matter. The realm of ‘human and sword as one’—why do you suppose it’s called ‘human and sword as one’?”

Elder Zhai’s eyes glazed over as he stared blankly, repeatedly muttering the four words, ‘human and sword as one,’ to himself.

“Alright, I won’t play riddles with you any longer,”

Elder Liu stated. “The Pavilion Master said that the first step to cultivating this ‘Immaculate Sword Heart’ is to sever all emotions and desires, to renounce worldly attachments. Lin Qingyi’s inability to recall many past events is precisely the first step in her severing emotions.”

Elder Zhai gradually understood her meaning, and the grave expression on his face slowly relaxed.

“So, Lin Qingyi was unaffected by my zither music because she has severed emotions and desires, thus failing to comprehend the meaning of my tune. It wasn’t that my cultivation had regressed?”

Elder Liu nodded.

“Precisely.”

Elder Zhai finally let out a long breath, his expression one of profound relief.

“Had I not heard your words today, Elder Liu, after this battle, I, Zhai, would likely have retired to my hometown, tilling the fields and never again concerning myself with worldly affairs.”

“But while Elder Zhai’s worries are resolved, the Pavilion Master still has a myriad of troubles weighing on her mind.”

Elder Liu cast a glance at the Zhaixing Pavilion members present.

“Without further ado, let us first make our way to Wangjiang Tower to rendezvous with the Pavilion Master, and then we can slowly deliberate on our next steps.”

At Elder Liu’s words, everyone immediately sat down to meditate and recuperate, resting for a moment. Once their strength and injuries had somewhat recovered, they set off without delay, heading west towards Wangjiang Tower.