The moment Li Qingshan set foot in the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth, the landscape before him twisted and changed. What he saw was no longer a towering pavilion, but an entire world.
Below the blue skies and white clouds, above the thick earth, mountains and rivers, birds, beasts, fish, and insects wandered freely. There was anything and everything.
Li Qingshan arrived before a small, clear stream. The gentle breeze made the green grass sway as the stream gurgled away, emanating with ripples of light under the sunlight. A few red carp swam around in an extremely lively manner.
Li Qingshan thought of something and crouched down, plucking a blade of grass. The moment its roots broke, the grass suddenly turned into a strand of extremely thin sword qi, shooting towards Li Qingshan’s forehead. It actually resembled sword qi produced by a supreme swordsman.
“Interesting!”
Li Qingshan smiled and exhaled, causing the sword qi to shift to one side.
However, by plucking the grass, he seemed to have set off the entire world. The wild grass grew frantically, turning into endless sword qi that surged towards Li Qingshan. They were filled with an endless, profound sword intent.
Li Qingshan leapt up gently, arriving in the middle of the air.
The red carp in the stream suddenly leapt out of the water, turning into a streak of red sword qi that swam towards him. It was highly flexible and intelligent, possessing another form of sword intent.
Li Qingshan swung his hand to knock away the sword qi.
In that moment, the stream, the grass, the trees, the flowers, the birds, the fish, and the insects all sprang alive, turning into thousands of strands of colourful sword qi and displaying various forms of sword intent.
Even the drizzle from the sky turned into a sword as it swayed with the wind. It was either endless, flexible, or heavy, taking on many more forms than words could describe.
It was as if he had entered a sword’s world. Everything there could turn into swords, and they also hid profound sword intent.
Are they thinking of doing it here? Li Qigshan surged with demon qi and forced back the layers upon layers of sword qi.
“Damn it! What is this place!?” the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower roared furiously.
“I want to find out too! Be quiet for now. I might have to use you later.”
Li Qingshan shrugged. Clearly, this place was not just for studying swordsmanship. Perhaps this was the trap that the palace master had set up for him, the realisation of that ill intent. However, he did not sense any life-threatening danger so far.
If they wanted to kill him with an ambush like this, they were dreaming.
Afterwards, he saw it. Even the white clouds drifting through the sky and the continuous chain of mountains in the distance were composed of boundless sword qi. One was wispy and hazy, while the other was heavy and firm.
“That’s interesting. Apparition of the Battle Demon!” Li Qingshan bellowed out.
Li Qingshan’s demon qi surged into the air, gathering and condensing into a vicious battle demon. With a swing of his right arm, a huge blade appeared, which began to dance about.
Violent blade qi shredded the sky full of sword qi, slashing through the mountains and the white clouds. Even the world began to pale!
“You use the blade!” A surprised voice rang out from the sky.
“Don’t you practise the path of the sword?” A voice immediately responded from beneath the ground.
The two voices were just as old, except one was clear and one was heavy, like heaven and earth.
As the two voices rang out, the evolving sword qi in the surroundings turned back into creatures and the landscape. The world returned to how it was before. Even the blade of grass that Li Qingshan pulled out had regrown, swaying about gently.
“You must be the Sword Collection palace’s Elders of Heaven and Earth!”
Li Qingshan’s understanding of the Sword Collection palace was limited, but he still possessed some knowledge regarding their great sword cultivators that stood at the apex. The Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga had the four guardian kings, while the Sword Collection palace had three great sword cultivators. Apart from the palace master, they were the Elders of Heaven and Earth.
The Elders of Heaven and Earth did not seem to possess any killing intent. Was this not a trap that the palace master had set up?
“Kid, since you know who we are, then why don’t you state your identity?” Earth elder Di said.
“I’m Li Qingshan, a new honoured guest elder of the Sword Collection palace,” Li Qingshan clasped his hands before lowering them again. “Though, don’t tell me you actually don’t know?” He refused to believe the palace master had not contacted them about this.
“So what if we do know? So what if we don’t?” Heaven elder Tian said.
“Doesn’t really matter if you do or don’t. What is this place?” Li Qingshan asked.
“Inside the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth,” said elder Di.
“The Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth,” said elder Tian.
“Then may I ask where I can view the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth?” Li Qingshan asked.
“Everything you see is the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth. However, the number of sword moves you can comprehend will depend on your ability,” said elder Di.
“Since you use the blade, then it’s useless even if you’ve come here,” said elder Di.
“Then I better just leave!” Li Qingshan said.
“Hold on. Since you’re here already, just try comprehending it!” “Since you could pull out the Soul Cycling sword, it means you have a destiny with the sword. The path of the sword spans far and wide. It’s well beyond what any blade style can match.”
Li Qingshan thought to himself, If I told this to the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower, she’ll probably leap out immediately and butcher you two old posers.
Compared to some nonsense like having a destiny with the sword, he trusted his own instincts more. However, he was surprised by how eager the Elders of Heaven and Earth were for an outsider like him to comprehend the ultimate techniques of the Sword Collection palace.
Li Qingshan pondered, Just what is the palace master thinking? Looking at it right now, he’s clearly trying everything he can to befriend and rope me in, so where do his ill intentions reside exactly? The Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth is quite wondrous, worthy of comprehension. It’ll definitely be of great benefit to Xiao An’s path of the sword.
As a result, he said, “Since you’ve demonstrated such sincerity, I’ll try and comprehend it.”
The Elders of Heaven and Earth fell silent. They had been rendered speechless by his shamelessness.
“Oh right, may I ask how many moves the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth possesses?” Li Qingshan asked.
“No one knows. No one has been able to comprehend all the sword moves in here,” said elder Tian.
“You don’t have to seek perfection. Just comprehending half the sword moves is enough for you to wander the world freely with a sword,” said elder Di.
“Then may I ask just how many sword moves you’ve comprehended?”
“Two thousand, one hundred and forty two moves.” “One thousand, nine hundred and fifty one moves.”
The two elders replied at the same time rather proudly. They spent most of their time in secluded cultivation within the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth, so they understood the depth and wonders of the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth more than anyone else. The difficulty in comprehending it to the limit was what made the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth most attractive.
Li Qingshan suddenly began to laugh aloud.
“Kid, what are you laughing for?” elder Di asked.
“I’m laughing at the uselessness of the Sword Collection palace!” Li Qingshan shook his head.
“How bold of you!” “How dare you!” The two elders flew into a rage.
“Why else would all of you fail to learn a complete set of sword moves?” Li Qingshan did not spare any opportunity to mock these posers.
“You arrogant, ignorant bladesman! How would you know the wonders of the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth?” “All this talk is useless. Let’s see how many sword moves you can comprehend!”
“Whatever. So be it. Justet me tell you how many sword moves there are in the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth exactly!”
