Borrowed Sword

Chapter 89: Eastern Continent Leader

The Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill, a seventh-grade top-grade Spiritual Pill, was worth a fortune!

However, what Chu Huaixu was thinking at this moment was:

“Tenth Elder, are you sure this thing fits my current situation the best?”

“Do you want to take a drop of my blood essence and test it out?”

I am already a dignified Fourth-level Mid-grade Spirit Embryo!

Even so, when he saw this pill, his mood still stirred with excitement.

First of all, a seventh-grade pill was truly expensive—already the kind that money could not even buy.

Moreover, while the Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill was only effective for lower-grade Spirit Embryos, with a very high chance of raising their grade, one must not forget that this pill could also heal damaged Spirit Embryos.

When the Pill King first refined this pill, his original intention was to resolve the problem of cultivators’ damaged Spirit Embryos.

The Spirit Embryo was the foundation of everyone’s cultivation. Once it had problems, the cultivation path was completely ruined.

Having one more Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill was equal to one more layer of insurance.

No one knew whether tomorrow or an accident would arrive first.

“Having one prepared is an excellent idea.” Chu Huaixu thought.

“I can even use it as a cover, letting others think I advanced to Mid-grade Spirit Embryo because I took this pill.”

Speaking of which, if this pill were given to Liu Tianfeng, who was desperately trying to save his son, he might even be willing to become a dog.

At this moment, Chu Huaixu did not mind showing his greedy side.

The instant he saw the Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill, his facial expression changed, and his attitude instantly became warmer.

“Tenth Elder, it’s too precious!” Chu Huaixu said this with his mouth, yet hugged the pill’s treasure box tightly.

As expected, Chu Yinyin received the signal and already understood in her heart: “This disciple is easy to handle. Just give him more good things.”

A man who had once worked as a Seasoned Play Companion knew very well: one must learn to provide women with emotional value.

If someone gave you a gift, and you showed no emotional reaction at all, would they continue giving you more?

They would likely feel quite uncomfortable.

But if you gave emotional value in return, that was different—wasn’t that itself a kind of reciprocation?

Chu Huaixu: This was his Dao of Reciprocity!

Chu Yinyin casually waved her hand, as if in her eyes, even a seventh-grade top-grade Spiritual Pill was nothing much.

“Just a mere meeting gift. Take it.”

Chu Huaixu immediately stored it into his Storage Token, and deliberately, with a testing tone, said: “Then this disciple thanks Second Master?”

This sentence amused this “old maiden.”

“You kid really know your way! But you don’t even have a First Master yet. Calling me Second Master feels strange.” Her face was full of smiles.

If she had a little tail behind her, Chu Huaixu suspected it would already be wagging high in the air.

This Tenth Elder, who still retained childlike innocence due to her cultivation method, even deliberately imitated Enforcement Elder Lu Pan’s tone.

“The Dao Gate has its rules. Wait until you enter the Inner Gate first—then it won’t be too late to call me that.”

Though she spoke like this, inside her heart fireworks had already begun exploding.

“The prophesied Savior of the Sword in the Dao Ancestor’s Maxim will become my disciple in the future!”

“Then in the cultivation world’s future history books, won’t I definitely be remembered in the annals of history?”

The more Chu Yinyin thought about it, the more pleased she became!

She did not feel the slightest heartache at giving away a Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill.

In truth, Chu Huaixu had guessed correctly. The Tenth Elder before him was indeed the Dao Gate’s little rich lady.

The reason was simple—being a Dao Gate Elder, the resources she could access were frightening.

Although the further one progressed in the cultivation path, the more Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures were consumed—

But don’t forget, she had no desire to break through realms!

Chu Yinyin had deliberately remained stuck at the Sixth Level Peak. For so many years, her cultivation had not advanced an inch.

Thus, her treasure consumption was minimal.

Moreover, she had never accepted a single disciple. No one was there to divide her good things.

Even Sect Master Xiang Yan often sighed in private: “Little Junior Sister is probably the one among us who has stored up the most cultivation resources.”

At this moment, Chu Yinyin glanced at her future disciple beside her—the more she looked, the more satisfied she became.

“This one’s appearance is not bad at all. Just walking outside like this, no one will think it disgraceful.”

“Unlike the Sect Master, who is ugly enough himself, yet his disciples are each worse than the other. Such Sect Master’s True Disciples, when representing the Dao Gate outside, utterly embarrass us!” Chu Yinyin grumbled inwardly.

Anyway, she would never accept an ugly disciple.

Along the way, since Chu Huaixu had already built a close relationship with the Tenth Elder, he naturally began probing for information.

“Tenth Elder, I wonder, for what reason did the Sect Master and the other Elders summon me to the Purple Bamboo Forest?”

Chu Yinyin waved her hand and said: “The matter on Hidden Spirit Mountain has already been discussed internally. I cannot tell you the details.”

“Today you were called here mainly because the Dao Canon you cultivate differs from others. They want to ask you some questions, and at the same time, everyone will study it together—consider it a way of giving you some protection in your cultivation path.”

“Disciple understands.” Chu Huaixu nodded.

After all, the Dao Gate had researched the Dao Canon for a thousand years.

Now that he had cultivated the complete version of the Dao Canon, it would be strange if the higher-ups were not interested.

As for the sword on the mountain, Chu Huaixu was actually very curious about what the higher-ups were discussing.

But if even this big-mouth Tenth Elder was unwilling to say anything, then clearly there was no way of knowing. He could only let it go.

The two of them descended within the Purple Bamboo Forest, where the Sect Master and others were already waiting.

Chu Huaixu began offering greetings one by one, appearing very respectful, his eyes filled with awe. Compared to his behavior on Hidden Spirit Mountain, he was like a different person.

He could not help but secretly glance at the thin Daoist nun sitting upon a giant stone—his future master, who in three years’ time would die an untimely death.

This reminded him of a post he had once seen on the Forum.

It was said that after the Seventh Elder perished, the Tenth Elder Chu Yinyin sat on the giant stone of the Purple Bamboo Forest for a whole day and night, expressionless, neither joyful nor sorrowful.

At dawn, she walked out of the Purple Bamboo Forest and stepped into the Seventh Level.

And in just one short year, she reached the Seventh Level Completion.

Chu Huaixu thought: “So my future First Master and Second Master must have had a very close relationship, right?”

At present, the Dao Gate higher-ups gave him the impression of being very harmonious.

But in truth, in many sects, it was normal for the higher-ups to dislike each other. Open and hidden struggles often occurred.

The larger the sect, the more complex the factions within.

With so many people in a grand sect, some petty scheming was inevitable. In a big forest, there would always be all kinds of birds.

But if even the higher-ups were like this, then the overall direction would go wrong—it would be rotten from the root.

“For the Dao Gate’s high-levels to be this harmonious is truly rare.” Chu Huaixu thought.

“Perhaps it is precisely for this reason that the two World Protagonists of 《Borrowed Sword》 in the Eastern Continent were both set within the Dao Gate.”

The Dao Gate high-levels did not know that the outer-sect disciple before them was actually making his own commentary in his heart.

They began asking questions, inquiring what happened the first time he cultivated the Dao Canon.

Chu Huaixu basically answered with “three don’t knows.”

Because he himself had no idea.

He relied on the System’s one-click upgrade, and things just ended up like this.

Xiang Yan and the others exchanged glances, unable to reach a conclusion in their hearts.

“So, was Dao Ancestor actually a Body Cultivator? A practitioner of Body Training?”

It was not that they all despised crude Body Cultivators—well, maybe a little.

The main point was that no ancient records ever mentioned this!

They were already the leadership of the Dao Gate. One could say, the thousand-year secrets of the sect were all known to them.

“Even the Dao Ancestor’s ten True Disciples—our Founding Ancestors—never once mentioned such a thing.”

“Whether he had a sword or not, the old man always firmly claimed he was a Sword Cultivator.”

“And indeed, during the period without a sword, what he used most often were sword techniques. Later, he even created the first Heaven-rank Technique—【Myriad Swords Converge】!”

Xiang Yan lifted his head and gazed at the sky, feeling his scalp itching again.

“Recently, it’s been itching very frequently.”

These Major Cultivators, right in front of Chu Huaixu, kept transmitting their voices, holding little secret meetings in plain sight.

After much discussion, they still dared not draw a rash conclusion.

Dao Ancestor a Body Cultivator?

That was more absurd than wild history!

“But regardless, Chu Huaixu can be considered to have opened a new path for the Dao Canon. It’s just uncertain whether later cultivation will bring any issues.” First Elder Lu Pan transmitted.

Xiang Yan nodded slightly, then directly said to Chu Huaixu: “Close your eyes, calm your mind, and then circulate all the spiritual energy within your body. Let me see.”

“Yes.” Chu Huaixu followed the instructions.

A group of cultivation powerhouses stared at him, only feeling that the spiritual energy within his body was truly ordinary. To put it nicely, it was balanced and steady.

Yet, if one added together the 【Spirit Embryo Secret Store】 and the 【Body-Shell Hidden Spirit】, then the total amount of spiritual energy within him was truly surging and astonishing.

Recently, he had broken through two more Heavens. Compared to other cultivators, the difference in his spiritual energy total was still widening!

“If this continues, once he reaches the realm of a Major Cultivator, it will be unimaginable!”

After each of them probed him, no one found any problems with Chu Huaixu.

His cultivation foundation was extremely solid. Every step was firm.

The only pity was that the path of Body Training was extremely arduous—or rather, painful was a better word.

And the further one went, the harder it was to advance.

Sect Master Xiang Yan continued transmitting to the Elders: “Fortunately, his progress is currently very fast. Perhaps by the time the Second Layer of the Origin Spirit Realm opens next year, he will have reached the Third Level?”

Enforcement Elder Lu Pan added to the Sect Master’s words: “Strictly speaking, he must reach the Third Level Completion. Only then is it secure.”

Xiang Yan nodded, but quickly felt he was overthinking: “Still, we must focus on the matter before us. The most important thing now is to resolve the First Layer of the Origin Spirit Realm three months later.”

“If he can seize first place in the First Level Grand Competition, then this burden will fall on him.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Chu Huaixu looked at these Dao Gate seniors, not knowing exactly what they were “conspiring” about. It was obvious they were transmitting among themselves.

Finally, on Xiang Yan’s ugly face appeared an eager expectation. With what he thought was a deeply earnest tone—but which still sounded unpleasant—he said:

“Chu Huaixu, the First Level Grand Competition of the Eastern Continent is about to begin. We hope you can represent the Dao Gate and seize the first place.”

“Then, go fight against the first place from the Western Continent.”

Because this bald man looked too ugly and thuggish, and his voice also carried a villain’s tone, Chu Huaixu even felt that the Sect Master was threatening him.

“What’s going on? Pressuring me as soon as we meet?” He was somewhat puzzled.

If he didn’t already roughly understand Xiang Yan’s character, just from that attitude, the feeling he gave was: If you don’t take first place, I’ll kill you!

Regarding the Eastern Continent Grand Competition, Chu Huaixu had some impression.

But 《Borrowed Sword》 only began closed beta in Xuanli 1990, November, and open beta on Xuanli 1991, January 1st. Therefore, he had only witnessed next year’s Third Level Grand Competition.

At that time, most players were just sitting in the audience.

In such a short time, only a very few closed-beta players recklessly leveled up ahead by abusing the System, barely reaching the Third Level, only to be utterly crushed.

Moreover, those accounts were basically half-ruined, the equivalent of draining the pond to catch the fish.

Back then, everyone only thought such a grand Eastern Continent Grand Competition was 《Borrowed Sword》 showing off to players, telling them that as long as they worked hard at the game, they too could be this strong, this dazzling.

Players’ enthusiasm for leveling was unprecedentedly high! Completely captivated by the top-tier effects within 《Borrowed Sword》.

“Now, it seems, it’s not that simple?” Chu Huaixu thought.

“I always feel that the Sect Master values the Eastern Continent Grand Competition not merely for the Dao Gate’s honor, but for other reasons as well.” He speculated inwardly.

However, even though 《Borrowed Sword》 officially opened next year, players had still dug into some of the plot from before Xuanli 1991.

Therefore, Chu Huaixu knew very well that this year’s First Level Eastern Continent Grand Competition, and next year’s Third Level Eastern Continent Grand Competition, according to the original storyline, both victors were—

——Xu Ziqing!