Borrowed Sword

Chapter 81: The Sword Scabbard of the Dao Ancestor

At the foot of the mountain, Chu Huaixu listened to the Sixth Elder's inquiry and immediately looked around, as if checking for “eavesdroppers.”

Damn it, Li Chunsong, you really dare to ask that!

“Watch your words and know your place, Sixth Elder!” Chu Huaixu muttered inwardly.

This damned gambling addict saw that he wasn’t answering, instead glancing around furtively, and couldn’t help but find it amusing.

“Stop looking. It’s just you and me here.”

But after thinking for a moment, perhaps out of deep admiration for Chu Huaixu, he added without hiding anything, “The Sect Master and the others are in the main hall. Later, you might have to accompany me to the Purple Bamboo Forest again.”

Chu Huaixu understood. He was currently being “monitored” by divine sense.

Several “cameras” were set up here, secretly “filming” him.

Thus, Chu Huaixu replied, “If Sixth Elder is asking in this manner, then... this disciple dares not answer!”

That really made Li Chunsong burst into laughter.

A faint smile appeared on his otherwise unremarkable face, and he spoke with a helpless tone:

“You’re still trying to act mysterious with me? Even if you don’t tell me, the Scripture Pavilion has records. The Hidden Spirit Courtyard where you just registered also keeps records. I’ll know as soon as I check.”

Chu Huaixu looked at him, and once again, that thought crossed his mind: “Laugh! Go ahead and laugh!”

He was well aware that taking the Dao Canon couldn’t possibly be hidden from these high-level figures.

Thus, he just gave a final smokescreen and feigned difficulty: “Must Sixth Elder have this disciple answer?”

“Out with it!” Li Chunsong flicked his robe with mild displeasure. “Where’d you learn to be such a tease?”

Seeing his expression, Chu Huaixu thought, Don’t blame me then!

He cupped his hands toward the sky and loudly declared:

“This disciple has cultivated none other than the Dao Canon left behind by the Dao Ancestor himself!”

As soon as the words fell, Li Chunsong’s expression changed dramatically.

“What!?” He was startled, aghast. “Impossible!”

Such a bizarre and wicked technique—how could it possibly be the Dao Canon, long known for its “righteousness and balance”?

You brat, do you think that just because fewer people practice the Dao Canon now, I wouldn’t recognize it?

If this really is the Dao Canon, then wouldn’t that mean I’m speaking disrespectfully about the Dao Ancestor, slandering the Dao Canon!?

—Truly a betrayal of the ancestors.

Seeing his reaction, Chu Huaixu feigned helplessness and said, “Not to hide from Sixth Elder, it really is the Dao Canon. This disciple dares not fabricate anything related to the Dao Ancestor.”

Li Chunsong immediately raised two fingers and lightly pointed forward.

A translucent ripple spread outward as he began inspecting the spiritual energy in Chu Huaixu’s Spirit Embryo Secret Store.

Well, it truly was just those four words—righteous and balanced!

Because each cultivation method had different traits, the cultivator’s internal spiritual energy also varied.

Some might be blazing and violent, others cold and bone-piercing...

The spiritual energy within Chu Huaixu seemed utterly unremarkable, a perfect match for the Dao Canon.

Li Chunsong looked at him with astonishment, feeling the urge to slap himself.

Sure enough, a voice transmission from Enforcement Elder Lu Pan soon arrived in his ear.

“Sixth Junior Brother, once this matter is over, come with me to the Enforcement Court to receive punishment.”

Well, well—Li Chunsong, betrayer of master and ancestors.

But the Sixth Elder quickly latched onto something else.

“Senior Brother is also getting punished? Hahaha!”

“Alright, then I don’t feel so bad.” His mood shifted in an instant.

He even muttered to himself, “How come Little Junior Sister didn’t butt in this time! A pity! I wanted to see her getting whipped by the thunder lashes, crying out loud.”

Just as Li Chunsong was about to withdraw his fingers, a transmission from Sect Master Xiang Yan reached his ears.

“Sixth Junior Brother, examine his physical body.”

With the Sect Master giving the word, Li Chunsong quickly complied.

In the next moment, he couldn’t help but exclaim aloud—

“Body-Sealed Spirit!”

“This is Body Training!”

In the Dao Gate Grand Hall, everyone once again looked at each other in astonishment.

This time, Sect Master Xiang Yan truly couldn’t hold back and lightly scratched his bald head.

What is going on lately? Why are strange things happening one after another? My scalp itches...

This new outer disciple clearly had a cultivation level of only Second Heaven of the First Realm, yet everything about him defied common sense.

“He’s using the Dao Canon for Body Training?”

“And he actually succeeded?” Zhao Shuqin’s eyes were nearly squinting shut.

Li Chunsong’s voice rang in everyone’s ears via transmission:

“He’s cultivating both inside and out. Very strange. The total spiritual energy in his Spirit Embryo Secret Store and the total in his Body-Sealed Spirit maintain a subtle balance.”

So-called dual cultivation of inner and outer usually meant favoring one over the other.

Chu Huaixu’s situation was practically unheard of!

Li Chunsong continued transmitting: “Moreover, if you combine the two, his internal spiritual energy far surpasses that of cultivators at the same level! I’m talking about disciples practicing Heaven-rank techniques!”

Realizing this, even he couldn’t help but quietly suck in a breath of cold air.

The upper ranks of the Dao Gate were silently shocked. Many found the gloom clouding their hearts had lightened a bit.

Sect Master Xiang Yan directly said, “His spiritual energy is immense, and he possesses Sword Heart Clarity—”

“Even without that sword, within his realm, he has no equal.”

“Then our odds in the Origin Spirit Realm have just improved.” He couldn’t help but say.

Everyone nodded in unison, feeling the Sect Master’s words were reasonable.

Chu Yinyin spoke at this moment: “Could it be that what he cultivated is the true Dao Canon? Have the Dao Gate elders over the past thousand years not even truly grasped it?”

Still acting like a teenager going through puberty, this grown-up girl really dared to say anything.

Yet everyone couldn’t help but feel this might be true.

Sect Master Xiang Yan could only sigh again: “What’s done is done. We’ll have to take a long-term view.”

All current discussions were mere speculation. After all, the Dao Gate had studied the Dao Canon for a thousand years without fully understanding it.

Chu Huaixu’s cultivation journey had only just begun. They could observe him further.

“For now, this is indeed good news for dealing with the Origin Spirit Realm,” Xiang Yan concluded.

At the foot of Hidden Spirit Mountain, hearing the Sect Master’s transmission, Li Chunsong didn’t press further.

This matter—for now—had to be shelved.

The current priority was Hidden Spirit Mountain!

The focus was the Dao Ancestor’s Maxim!

Li Chunsong looked at the ancient scabbard in Chu Huaixu’s hand, reverence flashing in his eyes.

This was the Dao Ancestor’s sword scabbard.

“I didn’t expect that in climbing Hidden Spirit Mountain this time, you would actually retrieve the Dao Ancestor’s sword scabbard,” said the Sixth Elder.

Hearing this, Chu Huaixu digested the information.

A thought stirred in his heart: From this, it’s indirectly clear that the Dao Gate upper echelons believe what I got was just the scabbard?

In other words, they don’t realize that the bead holds secrets, and think it’s just part of the scabbard?

With this realization, he let out a long breath of relief.

He had really been worried that by picking up two spiritual artifacts at once, they’d come to reclaim one...

“This way, I can use the scabbard as the public-facing spiritual artifact,” he decided inwardly.

Having made up his mind, Chu Huaixu immediately raised the scabbard in his hand and said to Li Chunsong: “This disciple does not know clearly—just felt some sort of calling.”

Li Chunsong nodded slightly, clicking his tongue in wonder: “This is indeed strange. After all, this sword scabbard of the Dao Ancestor was also sealed on that stone platform.”

“Who knows why it could be removed by you?”

“Perhaps, it’s simply your destined fate today.” That was the only explanation he could offer.

In the Dao Gate, things that defied explanation were often attributed to fate, for—

—Fate, truly ineffable.

Hearing this, Chu Huaixu held the ancient black scabbard with both hands, lowering his head to examine it closely.

Since Li Chunsong was here, he decided to ask more questions to clear up his doubts.

“Sixth Elder, is this scabbard part of that sword?”

In artifact forging, some swords and scabbards were forged as a set, using similar or complementary materials.

For example, the Zhegutian was a matching set of sword and scabbard.

But some swords had no scabbard during forging—only a sword body.

Meaning the scabbard was a separate spiritual artifact, entirely independent.

Li Chunsong thought it worth telling him, since he had already become the future owner of the Dao Ancestor’s scabbard.

“Look at their appearances. Do you think they’re a matching set?” he asked with a smile.

Chu Huaixu shook his head and answered directly: “Doesn’t seem like it.”

The scabbard in his hand was pitch black, ancient in design, and it was unclear what kind of wood it was made from.

Some simple patterns were carved into it—not flashy, but overall, elegant and refined.

That bronze sword, on the other hand, was only notable for being longer than usual.

And above all, it was ugly.

The ancient black wooden scabbard and the ugly bronze longsword looked totally mismatched.

Li Chunsong nodded and said, “You’re right. They are not one piece.”

The Sixth Elder gazed upward with a distant look, assuming the air of a master as he began telling stories of old.

“You must’ve heard many tales about the Dao Ancestor growing up, right?”

“Yes!” Chu Huaixu answered loudly, eyes full of reverence, eager to coax more information.

Li Chunsong chuckled and continued: “It’s well known that before the Dao Ancestor obtained that sword, he had no sword.”

Chu Huaixu mused inwardly, Yeah, he had no sword, just freeloaded off others’ swords.

“But whether out of genuine interest or some other reason, the Dao Ancestor always claimed to be a sword cultivator,” the Sixth Elder continued, still gazing skyward.

“So, even without a sword, he always carried a scabbard with him.”

He pointed upward and said: “That one, precisely.”

This showed clearly that the scabbard and the sword had nothing to do with each other.

Chu Huaixu felt disappointed: So I didn’t “steal his wife” after all.

Turns out they were never a pair.

When it came to the Dao Ancestor, Li Chunsong became quite talkative.

He went on: “There’s another story you must know as a Dao Gate disciple. A thousand years ago, there was a Gentleman Temple here.”

Chu Huaixu nodded repeatedly, showing utmost attentiveness.

He knew that the Gentleman Temple hadn’t exactly disappeared—it had just taken on another form.

The Dao Gate was divided into outer and inner sects. Within the inner sect, there were inner disciples and true disciples.

And each true disciple could enter the Gentleman Temple!

Li Chunsong looked skyward again, hands behind his back: “Back then, the Dao Ancestor was a Daoist in the Gentleman Temple.”

“The temple gave each Daoist a standard wooden sword.”

“But after acquiring an unnamed cultivation method and going down the mountain for the first time, the wooden sword he carried broke in a fight—only the scabbard remained.”

“After all, it was just made of black wood, slightly tougher than regular wood. Against spiritual artifacts, it broke easily.”

The more Chu Huaixu listened, the more he felt something was off.

“But...” he looked down at the scabbard in his hand, hesitating.

“You want to say, the scabbard in your hand isn’t ordinary, but a spiritual artifact?”

“Yes, that is exactly what this disciple means,” Chu Huaixu replied.

Li Chunsong smiled at him, then waved his hand dismissively: “Ah! You and I are just ordinary cultivators—how could we understand the Dao Ancestor’s level?”

“I can tell you clearly: the scabbard in your hand is the standard scabbard from the Gentleman Temple. Nothing special—just plain black wood, made without any Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and without undergoing any artifact refining.”

“It just followed the Dao Ancestor for so long that, over time, it naturally became a supreme-grade spiritual artifact.”