Chapter 42

The sky was still filled with rolling dark clouds, with rumbling thunder and continuous rain.

At this moment, it was probably around noon, and the rain showed no signs of stopping.

In front of the wooden pavilion on Purple Mist Mountain.

In the rain, Zhong Lingxiu held an oiled paper umbrella, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at the empty ground in front of the wooden pavilion.

There, a person was holding a fine steel long sword, gritting his teeth and occasionally roaring, practicing sword techniques in the rain.

Beside Zhong Lingxiu, Chen Qizhen, Dugu Sheng, and the eldest master brother Xu Daoqi were all watching the person practicing the sword in the rain.

The person practicing the sword was Su Peng!

"Second Master Brother, Su Peng has been practicing the sword for almost half a day. If this continues, he will be exhausted and fall seriously ill! Is it really okay?" Zhong Lingxiu, unable to bear it, looked at Su Peng, who was continuously practicing the sword on the empty ground, and asked Dugu Sheng.

Dugu Sheng stood in the rain, but the raindrops that fell within a foot of him were repelled by a powerful protective true qi, as if he were holding an umbrella. He shook his head and said, "He has already fallen into the realm of heart demons. He won't stop until he is exhausted. In the realm of heart demons, he can only see my shadow and my sword. If you try to stop him, he will see you as me and strike you with his sword."

"Eldest Master Brother, is it really okay?" Chen Qizhen, who was carrying a waterproof book bag like the one Ning Caichen carried in 'A Chinese Ghost Story,' also looked at his eldest master brother with a worried expression.

Xu Daoqi seemed to be standing in the rain, but upon closer inspection, the raindrops that fell on him were repelled by an invisible film, not wetting him at all. Xu Daoqi raised his head, took a sip of wine from the purple gourd, and said, "Second Master Brother planted the seed of swordsmanship in his heart and used sword intent to trigger his heart demons. Now is the time to test his will, insight, and spirit. If his insight, spirit, and will are sufficient, he will achieve enlightenment in one step. If not... he will become a demon. Whether he becomes a Buddha, a demon, or a ghost, it all depends on his thoughts."

Chen Qizhen's brows furrowed as he looked at Su Peng in the field.

...

At this moment, Su Peng had lost all sense of time. All he could see were Dugu Sheng's shadows!

Even the shadows of Dugu Sheng had become blurred. In his eyes, he was facing a sword demon wielding a giant sword, filled with killing intent. He was dueling the sword demon!

Su Peng exhausted his mind and spirit with every sword technique, but the sword intent of Dugu Sheng, who seemed like a sword demon, was so despairing that it made Su Peng feel almost helpless.

Every move he made seemed to be seen through and easily countered. Whether he used the straightforward sword techniques from the first day, the bizarre and unpredictable techniques from the second day, the overwhelming sword momentum from the third day, or the emotionally evocative techniques from the fourth day, he could not win, and there was no hope.

The shadow of Dugu Sheng, wielding a heavy sword that brought despair, seemed like a towering mountain, suppressing Su Peng's spirit, and like a prison king, trapping Su Peng in hell with no hope of escape.

"I won't give up!" Su Peng roared, and the momentum of his sword became even more fierce!

...

At this moment, Zhong Lingxiu and the others also noticed the change in Su Peng.

They saw that Su Peng, who had been moving wildly, gradually slowed down. Each movement was like a slow-motion, but his expression was much more focused, and the pressure seemed to have increased many times over!

"This young man's insight is indeed remarkable. He has entered a quasi-microcosmic state under pressure," Xu Daoqi, looking at Su Peng in the field, said with a hint of surprise.

Dugu Sheng also nodded. As someone who had gone through this, Dugu Sheng knew that at this moment, Su Peng's sword intent in his consciousness had surpassed his body and even time to some extent. The slow movements in reality were extremely fluid and fast in Su Peng's world. This contrast was a reaction to the time distortion caused by the deep pressure on his consciousness.

In modern psychological terms, Su Peng's consciousness had been partially suppressed into the subconscious, creating a contradiction between real time and consciousness time, leading to some abnormalities.

They saw that Su Peng's movements were becoming slower, as if slowed down by a hundred times...

...

In his consciousness, Su Peng and the shadow of Dugu Sheng had reached a fever pitch. Su Peng still felt that Dugu Sheng's sword intent was despairing, but at the edge of despair, he seemed to see a glimmer of hope, like a ray of sunlight piercing through the dark clouds.

Su Peng tried his best to grasp this ray of sunlight, but the closer he got to it, the thicker the clouds of despair became, like a surging sea, threatening to engulf him in the raging waves of despair.

Thus, Su Peng increasingly felt that the sword intent of Dugu Sheng's shadow was suffocating him. He was so close to grasping that ray of sunlight, but was he about to die in despair just before reaching it?

Su Peng felt his breathing becoming heavier, his spirit more concentrated, and the air in his nose and mouth heavy and almost suffocating...

...

In front of the wooden pavilion, Zhong Lingxiu and the others saw Su Peng's movements, which had become extremely slow, gradually solidify into a posture, and then he stood still like a statue, motionless.

"The final moment has arrived!" Chen Qizhen clenched his fists, looking at Su Peng!

At this moment, the rain in the sky seemed to suddenly intensify...

At this moment, Xu Daoqi, who had been drinking, suddenly shouted with a stern expression, "A sword rises from the depths of the heart, cutting both others and oneself!"

"Boom!" At this moment, a thunderclap echoed in the sky!

This shout, accompanied by the thunder, resounded in Su Peng's ears like a deafening sound!

Su Peng, who was deeply immersed in his consciousness, suddenly heard a thunderclap. Xu Daoqi's words echoed in his ears, and Su Peng's spirit suddenly revived. The despairing clouds of fear created by the sword intent of Dugu Sheng's shadow seemed to be split open by these words, allowing a ray of sunlight to shine through!

In a flash, a ray of light flashed in Su Peng's heart!

"A sword rises from the depths of the heart, cutting both others and oneself!"

In an instant, enlightenment filled Su Peng's heart!

At the moment of Su Peng's enlightenment, his intuition seemed to grasp something. In the flash of inspiration, a powerful sword qi suddenly formed in his consciousness, sweeping away both Dugu Sheng's sword intent and Su Peng himself with overwhelming force!

"Boom!"

At this moment, a white lightning bolt flashed in the sky, and Su Peng, who had been standing still in front of the wooden pavilion, suddenly struck a sword that far exceeded his own abilities!

A sword light, like lightning, flashed from Su Peng's hand!

Three ancient trees about three to four zhang away from Su Peng trembled simultaneously. Although they remained still, their vitality had been severed by the sword qi of Su Peng's extraordinary move!

"Crack!"

Su Peng felt as if he had broken through some invisible barrier. His consciousness suddenly returned to the present. After swinging this astonishing sword, he stumbled a few steps, only to realize that he was standing in the rain in front of the wooden pavilion, and not far away, Xu Daoqi, Dugu Sheng, Chen Qizhen, and Zhong Lingxiu were all watching him.

"Congratulations on breaking through the heart demons! From now on, Purple Mist Sect has another disciple!"

Xu Daoqi, who usually seemed absent-minded, smiled at Su Peng, and Dugu Sheng, who never smiled, also showed a hint of a smile...

...

The rain gradually stopped.

Strangely, it seemed as if the heavens and humans were in harmony. When Su Peng swung that astonishing sword in the lightning, the rain clouds that had been lingering for a long time dissipated within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, revealing a clear sky.

And Su Peng also regained his consciousness.

"Ha... Congratulations, Su Peng. From now on, you are our youngest master brother," the eldest master brother Xu Daoqi said to Su Peng.

"Am I... officially part of Purple Mist Sect now?" Su Peng was still a bit dazed, asking.

"You have passed the entrance test of Purple Mist Sect and are now a formal disciple. Youngest master brother," the second master brother Dugu Sheng, who had returned to his usual calm demeanor, said to Su Peng.

He continued, "You should change your clothes and go see the master. The master will explain everything to you in detail."

Su Peng nodded, a bit dazed, but this daze was different from yesterday. It was a clear and refreshing daze. At this moment, Su Peng felt, perhaps it was an illusion, that his spirit and mind had greatly improved.

After changing his clothes, Su Peng went to the main hall of Purple Mist Sect, which resembled a Taoist temple, and found Yun Daoshi.

"Tell me in detail what happened these past few days, the more detailed, the better, including your own feelings," Yun Daoshi, who seemed to know he was coming, said to Su Peng while sitting on a mat.

Su Peng nodded, organized his thoughts, and recounted the events of the past few days, from watching Dugu Sheng practice the sword.

Su Peng's account was very detailed, including the comfortable understanding on the first day, the bizarre and unpredictable techniques on the second day, the resistance of consciousness on the third day, the emotional confusion and suppression on the fourth day, the despair on the last day, and the detailed situation of the final breakthrough, including the powerful sword qi that destroyed Dugu Sheng's sword intent in his consciousness and the astonishing sword he swung in reality.

"I have a general understanding..."

Yun Daoshi, after listening, slightly narrowed his eyes and said, "The martial arts of Purple Mist Sect are somewhat special, different from other schools. To practice the core techniques and sword methods of Purple Mist Sect, one must first cultivate sword intent. Only by cultivating sword intent can one continue to practice."

"When Sheng first had you watch him practice the sword, he used the secret techniques of Purple Mist Sect to plant the seed of swordsmanship in your consciousness and help you understand the basic righteous sword techniques. On the second day, he demonstrated the bizarre sword intent to help you understand the opposite bizarre sword techniques. On the third day, he taught you to understand sword momentum, and on the fourth day, he used the Seven Emotions Sword Techniques."

"The first four days were about planting various seeds of swordsmanship in your heart and nurturing them. On the last day, Sheng used his own sword intent to trigger your heart demons, making you face the heart demons born from the emotions evoked by the Seven Emotions Sword Techniques from the previous day."

"The purpose of this was to help you break through the heart demons and find your true sword intent. The first four days of watching the sword were to prevent you from becoming a rootless plant, to lay a foundation for your swordsmanship, to provide nourishment and pressure. Whether you succeed or not depends on your own insight and will."

"However, you have broken through the heart demons and finally condensed a thread of your own sword intent."

"By condensing sword intent... you are now a disciple of Purple Mist Sect, the youngest disciple of this generation."

Yun Daoshi said to Su Peng. Although some parts were not very clear, Su Peng, combining his own feelings, understood most of it.

"Disciple greets Master!" Su Peng first respectfully bowed three times to Yun Daoshi, as a sign of respect, then raised his head and asked, "Master, if I had not successfully defeated the heart demons, what would have happened?"

"If you had successfully defeated the heart demons, you would have condensed the seed of the sword god's sword intent, like your eldest master brother. If you had been defeated by the heart demons... there are two possibilities. One is that you would have become a demon, condensing the seed of the sword demon's sword intent... the other is that you would have temporarily lost your will and become... a sword ghost!" Yun Daoshi said to Su Peng.