First Immortal of the Sword - Chapter 2727 - Punch-Induced Amnesia

Chapter 2727 – Punch-Induced Amnesia

Pu Xuan fell into a brief daze, then nodded. “A-alright then, sure.”

He’d only just said this when he clutched his mouth and coughed violently, blood spurting between the gaps of his fingers. He looked as if he might topple at any moment.

Wu Qing’s gaze shifted. He took another look at Su Yi, as if he hadn’t anticipated that an Unfettered Realm youngster like him could actually dissuade Pu Xuan.

“Patriarch, that guy’s obviously just putting on a strong front! He won’t last much longer!” Liang Shan couldn’t help but say. “How about we…?”

But before he could continue, he took a smack to the head. The impact left him seeing stars.

Wu Qing said with seething murderous intent, “All you ever think about is how to take advantage of the situation. Is that any way for a sword cultivator to think?”

Liang Shan said nothing, but he was inwardly aggrieved. How can you call this taking advantage of the situation? We’ve got the advantage. Why not kill him?

But he dared not talk back, so he could only endure.

Wu Qing took out a jug of wine, drank half of it, then wiped his lips. All the while, he gazed intently at Pu Xuan as if he had something to say.

But in the end, he decided against it. He just grabbed Liang Shan by the lapels and strode off without another word.

Just like that, they were gone.

Luan Yunzhong and Qin Suqing had no idea why the Heavenly Monarch of the Heart-Tempering Sword House had done this, but they nonetheless sighed in relief.

Never mind the two of them; even if all of their sect’s old-timers joined forces, they wouldn’t have been a match for those two.

Because Wu Qing was a Heavenly Monarch-level sword cultivator!

Even if he was just an avatar of will, he could intimidate the vast majority of cultivation factions!

“Strange. Why did that temperamental little geezer just up and leave?” murmured Pu Xuan. “I’m not faking my injuries, I swear it.”

Su Yi walked up, took in his wretched state, and transmitted, “It looks like he recognized you.”

Pu Xuan’s eyes narrowed.

“He wouldn’t have chosen to relent unless he had his reasons. That’s why I urged you not to continue fighting,” transmitted Su Yi. “After all, he recognized you and decided not to kill you. That might not be enough to prove that he’s our ally, but at the very least, when it comes to you, he has reservations. For now, that’s enough.”

The corners of Pu Xuan’s lips twitched. “I could have kept him here, you know.”

Su Yi rolled his eyes. “An avatar of will, that’s all. The way I see it, it wouldn’t have been worth going to such lengths.”

Pu Xuan froze, then laughed. “A single kind word is enough to warm the heart all winter long. I suddenly feel all warm and fuzzy inside.”

Su Yi was right. Yes, Pu Xuan could have prevented Wu Qing and Liang Shan from leaving, but he would have paid a grievous price for his success, severely injuring his foundations in the Grand Dao in the process.

But Pu Xuan wouldn’t have minded. After all, he’d died once already. He’d received a second shot at life entirely thanks to Su Yi.

Su Yi had his reasons for thinking that stopping Wu Qing wouldn’t have been worth the sacrifice, but the way Pu Xuan saw it, Su Yi was worth risking it all for!

Actually, Pu Xuan hadn’t told Su Yi this, but the moment Su Yi effortlessly assumed control over that calligraphic scroll, Pu Xuan guessed some of the truth.

That was why he was willing to follow Su Yi after receiving his new lease on life!

“Fellow Daoist, how are your wounds?” Qin Suqing approached, concern written all over her face. She hurriedly took out some recovery medicine and passed it to him.

He was such an extraordinarily handsome man, but now, he was covered in wounds, and his white robes were stained red. Qin Suqing was beside herself with worry.

Su Yi took out a jug of wine and had a sip. “The heavens protect those with righteous hearts. Pu Xuan is out here doing good deeds, so there’s no way he’d drop dead so easily.”

Qin Suqing glared at him. How could you joke about this?

Pu Xuan, however, laughed. “Well said, Fellow Daoist Su!”

Qin Suqing pursed her lips in exasperation, but now, when she looked at Pu Xuan, her gaze was softer, with a hint of admiration.

If not for Pu Xuan’s intervention, the three of them would have long since perished!

Luan Yunzhong walked up and clasped his fist. “Senior Pu Xuan, thank you for your righteous intervention!”

This old sword cultivator of Sky Profound Court was thoroughly impressed. Even the way he addressed Pu Xuan had changed.

This was the world of cultivation. Here, people respected strength.

And Pu Xuan’s cultivation was a full two realms higher than Luan Yunzhong’s. Even a single realm made a world of difference, let alone two!

“I’m no senior,” Pu Xuan said with a self-deprecating laugh. “I’m just an inauspicious spirit. If you think highly of me, Fellow Daoist, just call me by my name. Please don’t get hung up on seniority and etiquette.”

Inwardly, he added, You treat Fellow Daoist Su as a member of the same generation, so how could I possibly let you treat me as your senior? There’s absolutely no way!

Luan Yunzhong and Qin Suqing agreed, but their reverence for Pu Xuan was only increasingly apparent.

Su Yi saw it clearly, but he laughed it off.

The group soon reached Blue Peak Port. Qin Suqing took out a thousand pieces of Eternal Essence Gold and tossed them into the towering, ancient, spacetime portal.

Golden light billowed forth, creating a series of spacetime ripples.

Once all one thousand pieces had burned away, a spacetime tunnel appeared within the portal.

On their way here, Su Yi learned that Blue Peak Port was relatively inexpensive, just a thousand pieces of Eternal Essence Gold.

However, that was still an enormous expenditure for most Eternals. For instance, Luan Yunzhong had saved bitterly for years, but he’d still accumulated less than three thousand pieces.

Miss Qin must have quite an extraordinary background, thought Su Yi.

He’d noticed that she’d spent those thousand pieces of Eternal Essence Gold without hesitation. On the contrary, she seemed relaxed and casual.

But Su Yi didn’t say anything.

Whatever else you might say about it, Sky Profound Court was one of the Blue Peak Continent’s top factions, and Qin Suqing travelled with a peak Divine Wandering Realm Dao Protector like Luan Yunzhong to accompany her. Her background was obviously far from ordinary.

The group soon passed through the portal, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Deep beneath the surface of the water, the millstone-sized yellow toad lay in the current and sighed.

It ruled over the surrounding thirty thousand miles of water, so when fighting broke out near Blue Peak Port, the toad sensed it immediately.

It had originally planned to intervene at a critical juncture, creating a splash that would destroy that irascible Heavenly Monarch’s avatar. In doing so, he’d ensure that Su Yi owed him a favor.

But that white-robed sword cultivator hadn’t given him the opportunity!

No one knew it, but the moment Su Yi asked Pu Xuan if he needed help, the toad lying in wait in the riverbed was overcome with excitement. It practically shot out of the water and shouted, “Let me help!”

Alas, the perfect moment to swoop in passed in a flash. The white toad wanted nothing more than to stamp its feet in frustration.

I wonder when I’ll get another chance to see the man carrying that Daoist scripture… The toad sighed to itself, then silently faded into the endless waters of the River of Destiny.

…

Not long after they’d left Blue Peak Port, Wu Qing came to a halt, swung his sleeve, and condensed a Daoist altar.

He flung Liang Shan onto it like garbage, then plopped down beside it, silent and in a daze.

The temperamental old sword cultivator was a Heavenly Monarch, and one of the thirteen Mountain Lords of Heart-Tempering Palace at that, yet his expression was shifting erratically. It seemed he had a lot on his mind.

Liang Shan lay on the altar, heart quivering, not daring to speak for fear that the mountain lord would smack him again.

After a while, Wu Qing said hoarsely, “Tell me, what were you doing in that blasted place?”

Liang Shan hurriedly told him the full story. “Not long ago, we received word from a disciple exploring outside the sect. He said he’d learned a secret involving a certain masterwork of calligraphy…”

Once Liang Shan finished recounting the whole sequence of events, he said, “Deacon Liu Shangchuan and I guessed that the calligraphic scroll in Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit’s hands was connected to one of our sect’s patriarchs. That’s why we went. We… didn’t anticipate that something like this would happen.”

Bitterness was written all over Liang Shan’s face.

Wu Qing sat there in silence, listening to his tale. When it was over, he suddenly looked up. “Forget everything that happened just now.”

Liang Shan’s eyes widened. “Ah?”

Wu Qing’s gaze frosted over. “Forget if you want to live. If you can’t forget…”

He pointed to the coursing waters of the River of Destiny. “Then go ahead and jump!”

Liang Shan stiffened. He could tell that Mountain Lord Wu Qing wasn’t joking. He couldn’t help but say, “Mountain Lord, I…”

But then, Wu Qing smacked him on the back of his head. “Have you forgotten yet?”

The back of Liang Shan’s head was in agony, and he felt as if his soul were being torn apart. He instinctively clutched his skull and grimaced. “I’ve forgotten!”

Wu Qing slapped him again. “Say it again!”

Space seemed to spin around Liang Shan, leaving him on the verge of losing consciousness. “I’ve really forgotten!”

Wu Qing slapped him again. “What about now?”

Liang Shan sat there, face contorted with agony and eyes full of bewilderment. “Huh?”

This time, Wu Qing nodded approvingly. “That’s enough.”

With those three strikes, he’d erased Liang Shan’s memories of everything that had happened just now. Now, no one else in the sect knew what had just happened near Blue Peak Port.

Liang Shan cried out in panic, “Mountain Lord, why… why did you hit me? And where is this? I seem to recall that I was waiting for someone on a tower ship just now…”

Wu Qing snorted coldly. “Fool! Someone knocked you unconscious without you even realizing it. If not for me, you’d have died by now!”

Liang Shan looked dazed. “Someone ambushed me?”

The thought made him break out in cold sweats.

Wu Qing straightened up his clothing and got to his feet. “Come on, let’s report back to the sect. Then, you must head straight to the Cliffs of Contemplation and stay there for one thousand years!”

Liang Shan slumped his shoulders and bitterly accepted his fate. “Understood!”

Wu Qing led the way ahead. However, when this typically irascible old Heavenly Monarch thought of the man in white he’d just encountered, an indescribable, complex look appeared in his eyes.

A mix of delight, joy, and worry.

A powerful sword cultivator had brought Wu Qing to the Heart-Tempering Sword House in his youth.

As an instructor, he was strict, old-fashioned, and fastidious. Every time Wu Qing made a mistake, his instructor would strike his palm.

The young Wu Qing had no fear of physical pain. Even when hit so hard that his palms bled, he didn’t care.

But then, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of the disappointment in that sword cultivator’s gaze. The sight struck the young Wu Qing to the core.

From that moment forth, he no longer dared to slack off. It was as if he’d become a different person.

He swore never to disappoint that sword cultivator ever again!

That sword cultivator was called Jin Xuan. He was their founder’s legacy disciple, and the young Wu Qing’s guide to the Dao of the Sword.

The two were never officially master and apprentice, but they might as well have been.

And just now, when Wu Qing saw that white-robed sword cultivator, he saw that mighty sword cultivator’s shadow.

Although no one knew it, in that moment, Wu Qing, a Heavenly Monarch who’d lived for countless years… barely managed to hold back tears.