Chapter 42

"Enough with the勉强不得! The verses in the Great Sorrow Ode are harder to practice, one word more difficult than the next, and the further you go, the harder it gets."

The voice of 'Yun'er' sounded in his ear again, "Your foundation is not sufficient. It won't be too late to practice when you reach the later stages of the Foundation Establishment realm. Follow the steps, and when you reach the Essence Spirit realm, the first decision will come naturally."

"What harm would it do to practice now?"

Zhuang Wudao calmed himself, waiting for the pain in his body to slowly subside.

"There isn't any," Luo Qingyun said hesitantly, "But I also don't know what benefits there are in practicing ahead of time!"

"That's it, then. If that's the case, practicing ahead of time should be fine."

Zhuang Wudao chuckled softly, then asked curiously, "What is the second decision of the Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Great Sorrow Ode? Recite it for me to hear. Maybe I can't practice the first decision, but I might be able to read the second one easily."

"Each decision in the Yin-Yang Great Sorrow Ode corresponds to a realm of cultivation. Sword Master, are you sure you want to hear it? I won't stop halfway."

Yun'er asked teasingly. Seeing Zhuang Wudao nod hesitantly, she said coldly, "Then listen well. The second decision of the Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Great Sorrow Ode: 'The zither has fifty strings for no reason, each string and each column recalls the past. Zhuangzi dreamed of being a butterfly, the emperor's heart in spring is entrusted to the cuckoo. The tears of the pearl in the sea under the moon, the jade in the warm sun of Lantian. This emotion can be left for reminiscence, but at the time it was already lost.'"

Before she finished, Zhuang Wudao felt a loud ringing in his ears. His brain felt as if it had been chopped into dozens of pieces, the pain unbearable.

The verse "Ten years of life and death, two vast unknowns" was just unreadable. But this poem, starting from "The tears of the pearl in the sea under the moon," was unhearable as well.

After 'Yun'er' finished, Zhuang Wudao stood in a daze for half an hour, his spirit gradually recovering. He realized he was drenched in sweat.

"Qingyun, at what realm should I start practicing the second decision?"

"At least the Essence Spirit realm! Practicing rashly below the Golden Core realm will result in death or injury."

"No wonder."

Zhuang Wudao understood. The sword spirit was probably dissatisfied with his disregard for her advice and deliberately punished him with the second decision. However, he wasn't angry; this suffering was his own doing.

"This emotion can be left for reminiscence, but at the time it was already lost—indeed, it is sorrowful, and the verse is beautiful. I wonder who 'Zhuangzi' is and what 'dreaming of being a butterfly' means?"

Zhuang Wudao murmured, not daring to imitate Yun'er's pronunciation, but reading it plainly. He thought that if Beiting Wan'er were here, she would probably say he was moaning without reason.

"But why are they all verses of sorrow and autumn? Could it be that the subsequent decisions will be the same? How many lovers did this Phoenix Tribulation have? How many times has he been heartbroken?"

Yun'er didn't answer directly, saying coolly, "Since this cultivation technique is called the Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Great Sorrow Ode, there must be a reason. As for Phoenix Tribulation, if you can become a peerless immortal king in the future, you will naturally know his story. Qingyun rarely speaks ill of others, especially the previous sword masters of Qingyun Sword."

Zhuang Wudao laughed, shaking his head helplessly. He then noticed that the incense in the censer was almost burned out.

At that moment, the door to the spirit room was suddenly pushed open, and several figures rushed in, shouting "Deputy Hall Master" with panicked expressions.

Zhuang Wudao was about to ask who was so impolite when his eyes narrowed. The leader was covered in blood, his face pale, with at least four knife wounds. The others were the gang members who had been on duty in the courtyard today.

He recognized the injured man as a subordinate of Green Wolf Xue Zhi, seemingly named Luo Gou'er.

The thugs on Yuecheng Street were either from poor families or orphans and beggars, rarely having proper names. This man was now a small leader in the Sword Robe Hall, in charge of a dozen people, and was highly trusted due to Xue Zhi's influence.

"What's going on?"

Zhuang Wudao's heart sank. The courtyard was still peaceful, with no sounds of battle, and there were cultivators of the Qi Condensation realm on guard. Luo Gou'er couldn't have been injured near the hall.

But if the matter had escalated to this point, it must be serious.

"Deputy Hall Master Zhuang!"

Luo Gou'er, his face anxious, bowed as soon as he entered, "This morning, the Hall Master took us to Dongchuan Alley, saying we were going to look at a piece of land. If a certain business deal went through, our Sword Robe Hall would make a fortune. But as soon as we got there, we were surrounded by Feng San from the Iron Knife Society. He demanded an explanation for the few people the Hall Master had recently taken in. Words led to conflict. My brother was severely injured on the spot, and it looked like he wouldn't survive. We were surrounded and couldn't escape. I ran out on the Hall Master's orders. Please, Deputy Hall Master, lend a hand and save my brother!"

The "brother" Luo Gou'er referred to was likely Green Wolf Xue Zhi, not Qin Feng. He spoke clearly despite his anxiety, explaining the entire situation.

Zhuang Wudao's eyes flickered as he examined Luo Gou'er's wounds, which were almost to the bone, indicating the danger he had faced in Dongchuan Alley.

Xue Zhi was even stronger than Qin Feng. If he was injured and near death, what about Qin Feng?

Thinking about this, Zhuang Wudao couldn't help but feel anxious. How could Feng San be so perceptive, figuring out Qin Feng's intentions so quickly? He had underestimated this person—

Zhuang Wudao's face darkened as he walked out the door. But as he stepped out, he paused, asking hesitantly, "Did you inform the two elders from the Beiting family before coming to me?"

Luo Gou'er remained silent, his eyes flickering. The others exchanged glances, and one of them replied respectfully, "Deputy Hall Master, the two elders have been setting up a spirit array all morning. They are exhausted and said they need to rest for two to three hours. It's best not to disturb them during this time."

Zhuang Wudao frowned. He had heard that setting up a spirit array, even a simple one, was quite draining. The two Qi Condensation elders from the Beiting family had indeed been diligent and hardworking. But was it just a coincidence?

His strength had greatly improved, and he was confident he could fight even a Qi Condensation cultivator, with a good chance of winning. Feng San from the Iron Knife Society was no match for him. He could defeat him in a few moves!

But Zhuang Wudao felt there was more to it. Why was the timing so convenient?

After a moment of thought, Zhuang Wudao calmed down. He had to save Qin Feng, but he also needed to be cautious.

"Send for several doctors to treat Luo Gou'er, the more the better! Prepare golden wound medicine in advance. Also, select a few people skilled in movement and speed to inform the Beiting family and the city patrol. It's best to take different routes to avoid being ambushed. The rest of you, find the leaders still in the courtyard and guard the compound."

Hearing "Beiting family" and the logical instructions, the gang members relaxed, their expressions more composed.

After giving the orders, Zhuang Wudao turned back and walked into his room. From a redwood chest, he took out a set of silver-threaded inner armor and two treasure禁符. His 'Piercing Armor Cone' was always with him.

He hesitated for a moment, then activated one of the treasure禁符. The room was instantly filled with dazzling light, and mysterious runes appeared from the禁符.

Zhuang Wudao guided the spiritual light to cover the Piercing Armor Cone gloves. The runes in the air were attracted and flowed into the gloves like water.

The gloves, originally ordinary spirit weapons, now glowed with spiritual light, indicating a significant upgrade to the fourth level of the Law禁. The power of the Piercing Armor technique would nearly double!

Zhuang Wudao sighed inwardly. The treasure禁符 was precious, and he had intended to save it for a suitable spirit weapon.

This禁符 was of high quality, usable on any spirit weapon below the eighth level of the Law禁. His Piercing Armor Cone, though powerful, had inferior material and could only be refined to the sixth level.

The pair of Flame Wind Boots that Zhuang Tong owned were so expensive, costing five hundred gold, because they could be refined to the sixteenth level of the Law禁, making them a mid-grade spirit weapon.

The silver-threaded inner armor had decent material and could be refined to the ninth level of the Law禁. For Qi Condensation cultivators, every four levels of cultivation represented a significant increase in power, and the same applied to spirit weapons.

Following the same method, Zhuang Wudao activated the other treasure禁符 and infused its runes into the silver-threaded inner armor.

The armor, originally at the second level of the Law禁, was now at the fifth level.

Though slightly beyond his capabilities, he was now both an internal and external cultivator, and the inner armor would protect him.

Putting on the gloves, he took off his outer clothes and put on the silver-threaded inner armor, bringing all his healing medicines. He still felt it wasn't enough and took out a set of fine steel armor from the chest.

This was one of the fifty sets of steel armor promised by Beiting Wan'er a few days ago. This set was the best, infused with black iron, giving it black patterns and making it highly defensive, impervious to blades.

It was a bit heavy, but with his current strength, it didn't affect his agility.

Dressed and ready, Zhuang Wudao rushed out of the room and headed for the courtyard. Most of the Sword Robe Hall members were out on the streets, and it would take time to gather them. The hall was new, and the members were not yet stable. He was concerned that bringing too many low-level members would be more of a hindrance, so he decided to go alone, ready to act as the situation demanded.