Chapter 790 — The Crown of a Million Years of Sword Dao

"This move of mine is called Lifting Tribulation, also known as Sword Nineteen. It is the nineteenth move of the foundational swordsmanship."

Shen Mu said, unhurried, "Sword Nineteen is far too complex. If one who wields divine powers could master it, he would enter the dao through the sword outright. I once had an encounter with Luo Yinyu, sword master of the Western Land. We calculated that there must be a nineteenth move of swordsmanship, and so we agreed to a contest—to see which of us could comprehend it first. It seems I won."

The scholar, seated on the donkey, said sincerely, "You won. You are first in swordsmanship. I have seen Kaihuang's swordsmanship as well, and it is not as profound as yours. So then—what is Lifting Tribulation?"

Shen Mu explained, "All beings between heaven and earth are beset with tribulations everywhere. A person within tribulation, facing it, must take some things and give others up. Lifting Tribulation is to give up first and take afterwards. And every step my sword light advances is a kind of giving up. The reason you could not touch my sword light just now is that I gave up first and gained after; if you do not give up, my Lifting Tribulation will kill you."

The scholar and Yutian Zun fell into thoughtful silence. Yutian Zun had also learned the foundational swordsmanship—taught by the Village Head himself—but he had not yet let it settle; his foundations were unsteady, and he lacked such surging power, and so he could not yet master Sword Eighteen or Sword Nineteen.

The scholar's eyes lit up. "And if I gave up? If I braved injury, could I break your Sword Nineteen?"

"How much can you give up?"

Shen Mu's vital essence turned to swords once more, and thousands upon thousands of sword lights leapt and wavered as they stabbed toward him!

A chill ran through the scholar; sweat poured down his brow. A moment ago Shen Mu had driven him a thousand li back with a single sword; now, with a thousand-odd swords of Lifting Tribulation, it was no longer a matter of taking a wound to break it—it was a matter of losing his life!

Shen Mu dispersed the sword light. "Sword Nineteen is a sword art of entering the dao. What I just used was the Chain Tribulation among the Lifting Tribulation swords. Beyond Chain Tribulation there are dozens of other variations. Cultivating Sword Nineteen is exceedingly difficult—but once it is mastered, one may enter the gate of the sword dao."

The scholar lifted his fishing rod and hoisted up the radish—which was busy pummeling Water Qilin—hanging it again before the donkey. He nodded. "Sword Nineteen is indeed terrifying. But to call yourself first in the world for a million years—is that not rather too bold?"

"To avenge one I admire and revere, I once used this sword art to break an ancient god's suppression and gravely wound my enemy."

Shen Mu glanced at Yutian Zun. "Though that ancient god was only a projection, its strength was far from trivial—comparable to a Lingxiao expert—and yet it could not suppress the Lifting Tribulation sword."

Yutian Zun, ignorant and uncomprehending, did not know that the one Shen Mu admired and revered was himself.

The scholar was unimpressed. "A mere projection of an ancient god—how much power could it have? And as for being comparable to a Lingxiao-realm expert, that is somewhat exaggerated. Your claim to the finest swordsmanship in a million years still has some water in it."

Shen Mu smiled faintly and offered no defense.

For to speak it aloud would shock the world and startle the vulgar, hard for an outsider to believe—yet Niu Sanduo and Kaihuang knew he had absolutely not lied.

They came to the place where Bai Qu'er and Luo Wushuang, those two—sword goddess and saber god—had crossed blades. It was a Jade Sea, and within it streaks of sword light like bolts of white silk, saber light like jade discs, stood towering above the surface.

A light breeze drifted over, and suddenly saber light and sword shadows burst forth—the saber art and sword art of these two mighty ones were still battling without cease!

But Bai Qu'er and Luo Wushuang were not here.

On the Jade Sea there were also many demon gods of the demon race, and deities among the demigods, leading the younger generation in an attempt to pass through. Everyone moved with utmost care, lest they touch the saber light and sword light the two had left behind.

Above the sea, sabers and swords stood like ramparts—sometimes utterly still, sometimes erupting all at once with terrifying force.

"The Luo God Saber and the Shanghuang Sword God are mortal enemies; the two have fought no one knows how many times."

The scholar rode his donkey into the Jade Sea and said to Shen Mu, "For a time, Luo Wushuang hunted down the remnants of Shanghuang without pause, and it was the Shanghuang Sword God who held him off. Into the Kaihuang era they still contended—only no outsider knew of it."

Yutian Zun asked curiously, "And what of the Shanghuang Overlord Body? Why has the Shanghuang Overlord Body not appeared again?"

A look of bewilderment crossed the scholar's face. He shook his head. "The Shanghuang Overlord Body appeared only briefly, like a flower that blooms for a single night, and then vanished—most likely it died in the calamity. Few know of the Shanghuang Overlord Body; I have only heard rumors. It is said that later the First Ancestor, the Human Sovereign, and the Sword God Su went searching the ancient ruins, hoping to find traces of it, but they too came away empty-handed, finding only an ancient stone stele. This place is the Jade Pool, and ahead should be the God-Slaying Platform. We must be careful there..."

Shen Mu's heart stirred slightly, and he asked, "Brother, you know a great deal. Then do you know which of the two Heavenly Courts of the Shanghuang era this Heavenly Palace is?"