Chapter Twenty-One: A Lake Outing

Chapter Twenty-One: Lake Excursion
Chapter Four: Green Mangoes Stir the Cold Moon, Haoze Encounters a Demonic Bird (Part Five)

When Ye Hua heard the faint laughter among the crowd, shame overwhelmed him. He then caught the sigh of Master Zhiku, and his heart chilled—he knew he had deeply disappointed his master. He stood motionless, staring at the ground, lost and unsure of what to do.

“Enough,” Zhiku said at last. “I now understand the state of your cultivation over these past years. Aside from Bai Shisong and Ling Yun’er, it is unlikely the rest of you will gain the opportunity to temper yourselves in the Han City trials at the Zen Forest Assembly. It is regrettable, but there is no helping it.”

The disciples below listened intently, not daring to utter a word.

Zhiku continued, “For a thousand years, our Northern Terrace sect has never broken through the Zen Forest Assembly to take part in the grand Buddhist Gathering of the Divine Land held every three centuries. Let alone winning the tri-faith assembly of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, which gathers the greatest talents of all schools and sects. Perhaps this time, Bai Shisong and Ling Yun’er may achieve what our predecessors could not.”

“We are unworthy of Master’s praise and deeply anxious,” Bai Shisong and Ling Yun’er stepped forward and bowed. “We will do all we can to fulfill your expectations.”

“There is no need to be so anxious,” Zhiku replied. “Do what you can, according to your abilities.”

He turned to Ye Hua. “You have now reached the fourth level of the Seven Treasures Realm and can sense the primordial energies of heaven and earth. You are now capable of flight. I will grant you a magical artifact; refine it well, and it shall serve you in the future.”

With a slight bend of his finger, Zhiku flicked out a sliver of silver light that shot toward Ye Hua. Just as Ye Hua reached out his hand, the silver light hovered in midair before him. Upon closer inspection, it was a slender silver sword, no longer than a foot, gleaming with a cold, ghostly light.

“This is the Moonlight Sword,” Zhiku said. “It is forged from Dark Moon Stone mixed with Mercury Gold. It is an ice-gold elemental artifact. Refine it well.”

“Thank you for your gift, Master,” Ye Hua replied, gently taking the Moonlight Sword. It was light as a feather, and as he brushed his hand along its blade, a chill radiated from it.

The others could not help but show a trace of envy at the sight of the sword in Ye Hua’s hand, but they were also sincerely happy for him. The group lingered in the hall, discussing matters for some time before dispersing. Ye Hua exchanged a few words with his senior brothers before returning to his room. Closing the door behind him, he took out the Moonlight Sword and fell deep into thought.

“In these three years, I have already used the primordial gold fire from the Sixfold Celestial Art of Wondrous Intent to refine the sword I obtained from Fire Lord Shenyu, extracting a small piece of Bamboo Shadow Iron. From the ‘Heavenly Treasure Chapter’ of the ‘Complete Principles of the Dao,’ I learned that Bamboo Shadow Iron naturally possesses magnetic gold properties. Though it cannot match the divine magnetism of Nether Shadow Magnetite, it is still a natural counter to others’ mysterious iron artifacts, unlike ordinary materials.”

“I already refined this Bamboo Shadow Stone, following the method in the Heavenly Treasure Chapter, into a dagger called the Scarlet Crow Dagger. Should I refine this Moonlight Sword the same way? If I use the Heavenly Treasure forging method to blend it with the Scarlet Crow Dagger, its power would surely increase.”

Ye Hua pondered this for a long time but hesitated. “Yet this sword is newly bestowed by Master. If I immediately reforge it...would that not show great disrespect?”

He deliberated for half a day, still reluctant to part with the Moonlight Sword, and finally abandoned the idea. Remembering that he had yet to break through the second level of the Four Noble Truths, a wave of frustration swept over him. Pacing the room, he eventually left and wandered out toward the woods beyond the monastery.

By now, the sun was sinking behind the mountains, casting a thousand rays across the sky. The summer clouds glowed like wildfire. Ye Hua gazed into the distance and caught a glimmer on the horizon—was it the shimmer of a great lake? “I feel like I’ve seen this lake before. Yes, when Senior Xiao visited the Northern Terrace, I glimpsed a vast lake through these woods at just this hour. Yet why is it invisible at other times, appearing only at sunset?” Ye Hua wondered, curiosity piqued.

Seeing that dusk was falling, he gave up on investigating further. “Tomorrow at dawn, I’ll go and take a look. Now that I’ve reached the fourth level of the Seven Treasures Realm and can ride my sword, I should try it freely for once, instead of always confining myself to Avalokiteshvara’s Cave.” So thinking, he returned without another word.

At first light the next day, Ye Hua rose quietly and slipped out of the monastery into the woods. Excitement and anticipation filled his heart. Once he had calmed himself, he whispered, “Scarlet Crow.” He extended his hand, and a jet-black dagger appeared out of thin air, resting in his grasp.

“Transform!” he intoned softly. The black dagger suddenly radiated a dark light and morphed into a massive sword, four feet long and half a foot wide.

“Go!” Ye Hua exclaimed, barely containing his excitement. With a flash, the black sword shot into the sky, leaving the spot empty.

Soaring through the air atop the great sword, Ye Hua was at once thrilled, delighted, and proud. “At last, I can ride the sword and fly, just like my uncle. At last, I can fly—ha!” He wanted to shout for joy. “This may be just the first step in cultivation, but I’ve done it.”

Beneath him, the mountains stretched onward, lush and green, bringing him immense joy. Riding the great sword through clouds and wind, he looked down at soaring peaks and flowing rivers. Ridges and ranges rolled beneath him like waves, swiftly retreating into the distance. Sometimes, he plunged into the clouds, the dense mists breaking apart at the sword’s edge, swirling and tumbling, forming masses that he could grasp at will. Playfully, he reached out to touch the drifting vapors, only to find them vanish, leaving a cool moisture on his hand. Bursting above the cloud sea, he soared into the azure sky, where sunlight dazzled and the blue vault stretched without end. The cities, rivers, and mountains below looked like mere dots, their movements like trickling ants. He felt a sense of unity with the heavens, his spirit swelling with grandeur.

The sword flew swiftly, and within moments, Ye Hua saw a vast lake ahead, ringed by mountains, its green waters like a mirror.

“A true paradise on earth,” he murmured. But then he noticed a faint mist curling around the lakeshore, vague and shifting, obscuring the view. He could not tell what it was.

“What could this be? How strange!” Ye Hua slowly descended toward the lakeshore. As he approached the mist, a sudden crackling sound split the air, and a bolt of lightning shot toward him. Though he had been cautious, the sudden flash startled him. With a wave of his hand, he called, “Shield!” The Scarlet Crow Sword beneath his feet transformed into a streak of black light and struck the lightning head-on. The bolt flickered and dissolved.

Before Ye Hua could rejoice, hundreds—thousands—of bolts erupted from the fog, crackling as they shot toward him. Ye Hua was aghast. What kind of creature could unleash such power in an instant?

Before he could react further, the web of lightning wove itself into a net and rushed to ensnare him. Ye Hua furrowed his brow, muttered a few words, and vanished from his spot, leaving only a faint afterimage. The lightning net fell upon the illusion, which flickered and disappeared in a flash of silver light.

Ye Hua now reappeared dozens of yards above the ground, far from the mist. He had used the “Phantom Ghost Escape” technique from the Secret Writings of Guigu.

“What creature lurks below, thinking it can hide behind a little mist?” Ye Hua sneered. With a flick of his hand, a beam of golden light shot down into the fog. Instantly, the clouds churned with thunder and wind, lightning crackling in all directions. A whirlwind materialized out of nowhere, tearing the mist apart and revealing what lay within.

Suspended in the sky, Ye Hua stared in astonishment at what he saw.