Chapter 39
Baek-Cheong felt as if she were suffocating under the overwhelming presence crushing the Auction House.
However, since the presence wasn’t focused on her, she was able to gather her senses and catch her breath.
“A Sword Art Diagram from the Heavenly Sword Sect…”
Meanwhile, Baek Mu-Yeong fell into deep thought, unaware of the beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
The Heavenly Sword Sect was a Great Sect located in the Central Continent, and in terms of martial prowess alone, it was the Sacred Ground of Sword Cultivators considered the best in the Cultivation World.
Above all, the Supreme Elder, Pacheon Sword Saint, was a Great Cultivator who had reached the Nascent Soul Grand Perfection stage and was practically on the verge of Soul Transformation Entry.
Furthermore, with a Soul Transformation Old Ancestor still alive and breathing within the Heavenly Sword Sect, their prestige was like a majestic mountain range that even the Baek Clan, who ruled Yeonha Immortal City, could not lightly oppose.
“But it is strange.”
Baek Mu-Yeong carefully narrowed his brow.
Yeonha Immortal City was located in the Southern Region, quite far from the Main Sect of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
He could not understand why the Supreme Elder of such a Great Sect would personally make the trip to an Auction House in the Frontier Region.
“I did hear rumors recently that Pacheon Sword Saint is looking for a Disciple to inherit his Sword Intent…”
For a merchant, it was dangerous to make hasty judgments based solely on uncertain rumors.
Baek Mu-Yeong managed his expression, struggling to suppress his surging curiosity.
[Anyway, how much are three High-Grade Spirit Stones? Are they on par with a Condensation Pill?]
On the other hand, Baek-Cheong’s mind was wandering elsewhere now that she had grown accustomed to the presence and regained her composure.
She was simply excited by the fact that the Five Elements Pill she had eaten had transformed into an astronomical amount of spirit stones and a Sword Art Diagram.
She was particularly intrigued by the fact that it was a Sword Art Diagram from the Sword Tomb.
Soon after, the auction came to an anticlimactic end, as no one could place an Additional Bid against Pacheon Sword Saint’s overwhelming call.
Before long, the Steward of the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion returned to the 6th-floor VIP Room, politely handed over a Storage Platform containing the spirit stones along with a small jade stone, and left.
“So this is the Sword Art Diagram from the Heavenly Sword Sect’s Sword Tomb.”
Baek Mu-Yeong carefully examined the jade stone placed on the table.
The surface of the jade stone was engraved chaotically with countless scratches, as if it had been hacked to pieces by something sharp.
It was impossible to discern any regular pattern or shape with the naked eye.
Baek Mu-Yeong carefully infused his Mid Foundation Establishment Stage Divine Sense into the jade stone.
However, the jade stone did not even Stir.
It was no different from an ordinary lump of rock, offering not a single glimpse into any Flow of Qi or Sword Intent.
“Hmm, is it merely a piece of stone to those who do not walk the Path of the Sword Cultivator… Cheong-A, would you like to take a look as well?”
Baek Mu-Yeong pushed the jade stone toward Baek-Cheong without any lingering attachment.
Baek-Cheong picked up the jade stone, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
She sharpened her Divine Sense, which spanned fifteen zhang, and meticulously swept over the chaotic scratches on the jade stone’s surface.
It was the moment her Divine Sense flowed along the trajectories of the scratches.
[Huh?]
Baek-Cheong felt a strange sensation, a tingling at the back of her head.
The lines tangled like a spiderweb did not seem like a disordered Sword Path, but rather like a Three-dimensional Puzzle Piece with a consistent pattern.
[This isn’t a Sword Path carved only on a single plane, is it?]
Out of habit, Baek-Cheong used Divine Sense Division to examine the Sword Path.
She split her Divine Sense into multiple strands, simultaneously tracing the starting and ending points of the scratches.
[This is a 3D puzzle.]
In her mind, the fragmented lines pieced themselves together this way and that, beginning to take shape as a single, elegant Sword Path.
From top to bottom, from left to right.
The sharp trajectory that cleaved and pierced through space was vividly drawn in her mind.
However, tracing the Sword Path only lasted for a brief moment.
The Sword Path that had been smoothly connecting in her mind abruptly snapped off upon reaching a certain section.
It was the limit of the Sword Path carved into the jade stone.
This was because it was not a complete Sword Art, but merely a diagram containing a very short fragment.
“Ah, what a tease…”
Baek-Cheong let out a deep sigh without realizing it.
At that sound, Baek Mu-Yeong, who had been fiddling with his teacup, turned his gaze toward Baek-Cheong.
“Hmm? Cheong-A, what did you just say? Did you perhaps figure something out from the jade stone?”
Startled by Baek Mu-Yeong’s question, Baek-Cheong clamped her mouth shut.
Having heard her uncle’s soliloquy earlier, she found her terrifying imagination spinning at the speed of light.
[Sword Cultivators in the Cultivation World are literal demons crazy for Training. They’re lunatics who skip meals just to swing their swords.]
What if her uncle found out she had deciphered a part of the Sword Art?
What if that rumor reached the ears of Pacheon Sword Saint, who was supposedly wandering in search of a Disciple?
A horrifying scenario unfolded before her eyes - she might be immediately kidnapped as a Disciple to the Heavenly Sword Sect, locked away on a suffocating Mountain Peak, and forced to live her entire life doing nothing but Training.
It was a despair-inducing future where her free forum-surfing life would be ruined forever.
“A-No! I don’t know anything! I just sighed because the rock was too heavy!”
Baek-Cheong urgently made an excuse, slamming the jade stone down onto the table with a thud.
Baek Mu-Yeong tilted his head at his Niece’s exaggerated reaction, but soon chuckled and put the jade stone away.
“Haha, true, no matter how outstanding your comprehension is, there’s no way you could Master the Path of the Sword Cultivator on top of Pill Refining and Talisman Crafting Art. A person’s Talent naturally has its own direction. I should keep this diagram safely stored in the Main Family.”
Baek-Cheong let out a sigh of relief, acutely aware of the cold sweat running down her spine.
* * *
Having safely overcome that crisis(?), she finished her Auction House sightseeing and returned to the Mansion.
After finishing a dinner filled with Delicacies, Baek-Cheong returned to her Abode and threw herself onto her bed without even washing up.
Normally, this would be the time she’d immediately initiate a Nameless Forum Connection, post nonsense about her experiences at the Auction House, and interact with her Fellow Daoists.
However, Baek-Cheong’s mind was completely filled with the trajectory of the severed Sword Path she had seen in the jade stone.
“Ah, how does it connect from there?”
She drew invisible lines in the air with her finger, struggling to fit the next piece of the puzzle.
She simulated the thrusting, slashing, and spinning motions countless times, but the sensation of being abruptly severed showed no signs of connecting.
An extreme frustration washed over her, like the agonizing suspense of not being able to read the next chapter of an interesting novel.
She tried extending her qi to draw the Sword Path in the air as if painting on a blank white canvas, but it was not enough.
As time passed, her obsession with the Sword Art only grew, and Baek-Cheong rolled around on her bed, forgetting even the temptation of sleep.
“I absolutely can’t sleep like this.”
Unable to endure it any longer, Baek-Cheong shot up and initiated a Nameless Forum Connection.
The only place to resolve this frustration was, as expected, the Nameless Forum.
But as she tried to write a question post, she felt at a loss.
She was completely stuck on how to explain the geometric Sword Path carved into the jade stone using mere words.
“Ugh, whatever.”
Baek-Cheong began writing the post following her stream of consciousness.
“Dao Friend (913.14): Is any Dao Friend able to connect this severed Sword Art?”
[Swish swish-swish swish swish swish-swish-swish swish-swish swish-swish! It suddenly cuts off right here, and I have absolutely no idea what the next Sword Path is.]
After posting it, even she found it ridiculous.
If there were anyone who could deduce a Sword Art from this lump of onomatopoeia, they wouldn’t be a Cultivator, but a Shaman.
At the same time, despite it being a question post, the moment it went up, Dao Friends with familiar Account IDs rushed in like a swarm to leave replies, regardless of the content’s quality.
[Dao Friend (11.23): Ah, that? I know it too. Isn’t that the Martial Art learned by Mortals where they go swish-swish and then whoosh! and fall over?]
[Dao Friend (88.4): Ah~ I understand perfectly. You went crazy from Qi Deviation while trying to unfold a Multi-layered Technique.]
[Dao Friend (201.9): What kind of sword-nonsense is this?]
The majority of the Dao Friends were baffled by the bizarre content of the post, either mocking it or spouting useless nonsense.
Just as Baek-Cheong was lowering her expectations and about to give up.
Replies from unfamiliar Dao Friends were updated one after another on the post.
[Dao Friend (811.12): It’s probably swooosh swish-swish swish! Swish-swish-swish - swoosh! It’s natural for the Sword Path to end by loading spirit qi and twisting the Sword Qi as you pull it out.]
[Dao Friend (45.99): This is a Sword Art with considerably deep Sword Artistry. If the swish swish-swish at the beginning is a Feint for deception, then the following swish-swish-swish is definitely a Killing Move striking down like lightning. The subsequent motion must certainly be a Fast Sword that slashes broadly horizontally.]
└Dao Friend (100.2): To read the Sword Intent from those bizarre onomatopoeias, your Sword Artistry is also quite extraordinary, Dao Friend.
Sword Cultivator Dao Friends had left replies, perfectly understanding the swish-swish sounds she had roughly scribbled down and accurately pinpointing the flow of the Sword Path contained within them.
Especially when she mentally simulated the onomatopoeia [Swish-swish-swish - swoosh!] written by Dao Friend (811.12).
Baek-Cheong felt as if the blocked puzzle piece had come loose and fit together perfectly.
“This is it! This was it!”
The severed Sword Path connected smoothly in the air, and a single strand of the Sword Art was completed and unfolded in her mind.
Only then did her tightly blocked little chest burst open, leaving her feeling refreshed.
“Ah, I finally feel like I can live.”
With her frustration resolved, the drowsiness she had forgotten came rushing in.
Baek-Cheong ended the Nameless Forum Connection without even being able to leave a word of thanks to the kind Sword Cultivator Dao Friends.
She simply fell into a deep sleep, endlessly repeating the completed single strand of the Sword Art in her mind.