Martial Cultivator

After the voice sounded out, the old monk Pingdu simply cast a deep glance at the Sword Sect's Sect Master without saying a word.

The Sword Sect's Sect Master said calmly, "Thank you, Abbot Master, for allowing this."

The old monk Pingdu gave a bitter laugh. "Why is Sect Master suddenly so humble now?"

The Sword Sect's Sect Master did not respond and just made his way along the mountain path until he reached the entrance of Deercry Monastery. He stopped in front of the ordinary wooden plaque, staring at the three crookedly written characters of Deercry Monastery for a long while in silence.

"Senior is in a small temple behind the monastery. After seeing him, Sect Master may leave as you wish. It'll save us another fight."

The old monk Pingdu said with a smile. "This old bag of bones cannot withstand a few more blows from Sect Master's sword."

The Sword Sect's Sect Master silently stepped into the temple and disappeared from sight.

The old monk Pingdu rose to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. He wiped his mouth with a smile, then turned to look at Chen Chao, who was still on the mountain path. He waved at him.

Chen Chao hesitated, unsure if this Deercry Monastery's abbot master was actually gesturing to him. After confirming it, he slowly walked forward along the mountain path.

"Did you see clearly the fight just now?" The old monk Pingdu smiled as he looked at Chen Chao. His expression was kindly, not at all like a figure of great renown but rather like an ordinary old man.

It was a very strange feeling.

After all, big shots like the old monk Pingdu were exceedingly rare in the entire cultivation world. Such individuals, though perhaps not comparable to the Great Liang Emperor, certainly should not appear so humble and unassuming.

“This junior isn't a sword cultivator, nor do I understand Buddhist teachings, so I could only grasp the surface.” Though Chen Chao did not understand why the old monk Pingdu brought this up, he still replied respectfully to this Buddhist leader.

The old monk Pingdu smiled and said, “The paths of cultivation in this world are actually about the same. Be it the three schools, martial arts, or sword cultivation, if one looks closely, there isn't much difference.”

Chen Chao shook his head and chuckled. “Master, you stand at a height where you can see far. But for someone like this junior, I'm afraid I can't see much of anything.”

The old monk Pingdu smiled faintly. “If you want to say I'm speaking from a position of privilege, there's no need to be so roundabout about it.”

“Alright, follow this old monk in. Someone has been waiting for you for a long time, yet you kept delaying it."

The old monk Pingdu slowly rose to his feet and pushed open the door that the Sword Sect's Sect Master had already opened earlier.

Chen Chao was a bit puzzled but followed the old monk inside.

The interior of Deercry Monastery was almost identical to its exterior, there was hardly any difference. It exuded an air of antiquity... in other words, meant that it was dilapidated.

“The world says that Deercry Monastery is the oldest monastery in the world. And it's not just a rumor, it's true.”

The old monk Pingdu smiled and said, “Perhaps Deercry Monastery isn't the strongest sect, nor is it the largest. But it's definitely the oldest.”

Chen Chao chuckled. “That doesn't seem to be of much use.”

The old monk Pingdu smiled and said, "Since even the one wielding the sword couldn't stop him, boasting so much is rather meaningless, isn't it?"

Chen Chao did not speak.

The old monk Pingdu led Chen Chao to a courtyard. Within it stood a buddhist pagoda, clearly ancient. Inside the tower were numerous relics, covered in dust. These relics were left behind by eminent monks of previous generations after their passing.

Such relics were considered highly precious in the world. In an ordinary monastery, they would undoubtedly be carefully enshrined and revered. Yet here in Deercry Monastery, they were casually left in the buddhist pagoda, so neglected that they were now covered in dust. Who knew how many years of exposure to the elements they had endured.

"Want some? You can take a few when you leave."

The old monk Pingdu glanced at Chen Chao and spoke casually, as if he were offering some worthless cabbage from the roadside.

Chen Chao asked curiously, "Relics of eminent monks from previous generations, Abbot Master is giving them away just like this?"

For some reason, Chen Chao could not shake the feeling that this abbot of Deercry Monastery bore a striking resemblance to the abbot of the Temple of No Grace he had met before.

It was not necessarily their personalities, but rather their spirit.

An indescribable spirit.

"The world sees these relics as precious, but in this old monk's view, they're nothing more than bones that didn't burn finish."

The old monk Pingdu looked at Chen Chao, a strange emotion flickering in his eyes.

Chen Chao also found it a bit odd. After a moment of silence, he changed the topic and asked, "Who did the Sword Sect's Sect Master go to see?"

"An elder of the monastery who has lived for many years. Exactly how many years, even this old monk doesn't know. This old monk only knows that when my master was still a novice monk, that elder was already residing in the small temple."

The old monk Pingdu looked at Chen Chao and said, "You look at me and think I'm very old, but when you see him, you'll realize he's the one who's truly ancient."

Chen Chao keenly sensed a hidden meaning in the old monk Pingdu's words and asked curiously, "Can this junior meet that eminent senior?"

The old monk Pingdu replied, "That's hard to say. Whether you can meet that senior depends entirely on his will. No one can force it. So, whether you can meet him or not depends on whether he wants to see you."

Chen Chao's expression was very complicated.

The old monk Pingdu smiled and said, "You're probably wondering why someone like me, a leader of Buddhism, is being so courteous to you and saying so much."

Chen Chao replied, "There must be a reason."

"That's a meaningless statement," the old monk said with a laugh. "A youngster like you enjoys saying meaningless things too?"

Chen Chao said, "I'd prefer if Master would simply tell me what I want to know, but it seems you don't really want to do that."

The old monk Pingdu asked, "If you don't ask, how do I give you the answer you want?"

Chen Chao frowned and was just about to speak, but he suddenly realized he was not sure how to begin or what exactly to ask.

"Let’s start with why I’ve been so courteous to you, it's because of someone."

The old monk Pingdu continued, "That black-robed Nation Teacher of yours was my junior brother."

When he said this, there was a trace of melancholy in the old monk Pingdu's expression. That junior brother of his had indeed been gone for many, many years.

Chen Chao was puzzled and asked, "Even so, what does that have to do with this junior?"

The old monk Pingdu looked at him and replied, "Because you were the disciple he chose."

Hearing this, Chen Chao was rather stunned and did not know what to say for a moment.

The black-robed Nation Teacher, who hailed from Deercry Monastery, was most skilled in dragon-slaying techniques. His greatest achievement was helping the current Great Liang Emperor depose the Deposed Emperor from his throne back then. Naturally, Chen Chao was inextricably connected to the black-robed Nation Teacher, but it never crossed his mind that he might be the disciple the Nation Teacher had chosen, as the old monk Pingdu claimed.

The old monk Pingdu went on, "Even I, as his senior brother, didn't fully understand my junior brother's abilities. I only know that when his life was nearing its end, he returned to the monastery once, spent an entire night gazing at the moon, and just before dawn, he said a few words to me."

"What does he say?"

Chen Chao was very curious about the content.

The old monk Pingdu smiled and said, "I'm not telling you."

…………

The Sword Sect's Sect Master stepped into the back of Deercry Monastery and stood before the small temple. He remained silent for a long time without taking another step forward.

The small temple was very small and also very ordinary, looking no different from the most common temples found anywhere in the world. Yet, everyone knew it was far from ordinary. More so, the old monk inside was anything but ordinary.

“This junior of the Sword Sect seeks an audience with Senior, humbly requesting guidance through the wisdom of Buddhist teachings.”

Even someone of the Sword Sect's Sect Master's stature, who would hardly lower himself before even the Temple Master of the Infatuation Daoist Temple, adopted a humble demeanor before this old monk.

“Your sword qi is magnificent. You have indeed traveled far along this path. In my lifetime, I've only encountered two or three others with sword qi as profound as yours.”

No one knew how many years the old monk in the temple had lived, but it was undoubtedly an incredibly long story. Over the course of that extended story, many people had crossed his path. For him to rank the Sword Sect's Sect Master among those two or three was already exceedingly high praise.

The Sword Sect’s Sect Master asked, “May I dare inquire who the other two were, Senior?”

“I don’t remember very clearly, I only recall that one was from the Sword Sect, and his sword was very interesting; merely a finger's width. The other had only one leg.”

The old monk's voice wafted out from the temple, carrying an endless sense of time.

The Sword Sect’s Sect Master remained silent. He recognized the two figures mentioned by the old monk. The first was a former Sword Sect master of a past generation, whose swordsmanship had dominated the world in his era, virtually invincible. The other, the one-legged figure, was even more legendary. Rising to prominence despite his physical limitations, he weathered countless hardships before reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship, standing tall for six decades.

Both individuals were legendary figures in the path of the sword, and one of them had a significant influence on the Sword Sect's Sect Master.

“Did Senior ever fought with them?”

The Sword Sect's Sect Master asked curiously, his voice carrying a trace of urgency and anticipation.

“I’ve been here for many years, and plenty of people have come to see if they're the strongest in the world. Some have good tempers and leave after a few casual words, but others have bad tempers, so naturally, we fought.”

As he spoke, a wisp of sword intent drifted out from the small temple. The Sword Sect's Sect Master's expression turned slightly peculiar.

"Turns out that Senior is a great sword immortal too?"

From that wisp of sword intent alone, the Sword Sect's Sect Master could already discern that the old monk's cultivation in the way of the sword was extraordinary; at least at the end of Nepenthe.

"Dual cultivation of Buddhism and Sword?!"

The Sword Sect’s Sect Master felt a wave of shock rise within him.

Was such a figure possible in the present age?

None.

Has there ever been such a person in history?

Seems like there had not been.

“In my view, all stories end the same way, just as all people meet the same fate - death. So, even if paths of cultivation differ, the result remains the same."

The old monk's voice was filled with vicissitudes of emotion.

"I wish to spar with Senior."

After a moment of silence, the Sword Sect's Sect Master suddenly spoke, not with a request for guidance, but an invitation to duel.

For someone like him, how could he remain humble indefinitely?

The old monk replied, “I'm old and have no desire to fight. The stories you wish to know, I can tell you all of them.”

The Sword Sect's Sect Master’s expression grew complicated, unsure of what to say.

“Then... what request do you have, Senior?”

The Sword Sect's Sect Master opened his mouth to ask.

Right at this moment, the small temple suddenly began to shake. Then, faint wisps of smoke floated out.;

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