Chapter 1001: Wealthy Scholar, Confused Swordsman

"Damn!"

The bard fled in a panic once again, darting into another hidden corner.

"Bang!"

A falling rock plummeted from above, nearly crushing him, but it was caught by a sudden, smooth hand as warm as jade.

"Be careful."

The voice was warm and magnetic, stirring the heart.

The bard looked up in astonishment and saw a man standing before him, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He wore a jade crown and a white robe, dressed like a wealthy scholar, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.

The man had a fair and flawless face, with a broad forehead, eyes sparkling like stars, a straight nose, and lips like polished jade. He was strikingly handsome and exuded an otherworldly aura.

"T-thank you for saving my life."

The bard was stunned by his appearance; this man clearly had an extraordinary background.

With nothing else to offer, he pulled a dirty apple from his pocket and held it out.

"Want to eat it?"

"What is this?" the scholar asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity and a smile.

"An apple, something from the mortal world. In the Lian Ling Jie, it's not easy to find..." The bard stammered a bit.

The scholar glanced discreetly at the black stains on the apple and politely declined with a smile. He looked down the long street and said meaningfully, "Your words show great insight. How did you end up in such a state?"

"Oh, heavens!" The bard grabbed at the vegetable leaves on his head and burst into emotional tears. "Finally, someone understands me! Do you believe that everything I said is true?"

"Mm." The scholar nodded slightly.

The bard let out a wail and cried even harder, hugging the scholar's leg and wiping his nose on it as he poured out his grievances nonstop:

"I'm so miserable!

"After all these years, I've finally met a kindred spirit. Being a 'bard' is no job for a human.

"Back in the day, I was the one who created the 'Shi Zun Zuo' ballad, on the same legendary level as the spirit refiners of that era.

"But now, times have changed, and I can't even earn a living or get a full meal..."

The bard picked up the apple, sandwiched it between a relatively clean vegetable leaf, and bit into it fiercely, saying sorrowfully, "I have to resort to this!"

The scholar: "..."

He finally managed to free his leg from the down-and-out bard's embrace, ignoring the strange fluids on his clothes, and frowned as he asked, "That 'Shi Zun Zuo' ballad—was it your work?"

"It was me!" The bard lifted his head and thumped his chest, his eyes lighting up with pride. "How about it? It's quite catchy, right?"

"It's pretty catchy..." The scholar hesitated before continuing, "But isn't the order wrong? For example, why not swap the first with the last, or the second with the second-to-last?"

"Ah, that?" The bard jumped in fright, a look of panic flashing across his face.

Over the years, he'd been beaten by plenty of people over the order in the "Shi Zun Zuo" ballad.

For instance, the line "Kui Lei Han, Ba Zun An, Shen Gui Mo Ce Dao Qiong Cang" had many in the Dong Yu Jian Shen Tian insisting that "Ba Zun An" should come first.

But he couldn't change it!

He had thought he'd found a kindred spirit to chat about old adventures with, but this scholarly man, who seemed so approachable, was also nitpicking the order.

"What's the problem with that?"

The bard straightened his neck, trying not to lose his composure, and argued, "Besides, it's impossible to change it. If I swap the positions, I can't continue the poem!"

The scholar was momentarily speechless.

"Limited ability, heh, forgive me..." Seeing that the wealthy scholar wasn't about to hit him, the bard chuckled self-deprecatingly and took another bite of the apple.

"My benefactor must have questions and sought me out for that reason?"

"Mm." The scholar nodded.

"I'll tell you everything I know without holding back." The bard declared.

The scholar smiled and pointed down the long street. "Your words there were quite insightful. I want to ask if you know the location of the fifth gate of Tian Kong Zhi Cheng, the 'Qi Lin Men', also known as the 'Xu Kong Men'?"

"Uh." The bard's expression froze. "I don't know..."

"Is it that you truly don't know, or you can't say, or daren't say?" The scholar pressed on curiously.

His sincere expression made it hard to lie, so the bard gritted his teeth and replied seriously:

"I'm not hiding anything from you, benefactor. If I knew, even if it was on some specific spot on Gui Zhe Sheng Shan, I'd point it out for you, because I'm not afraid of death...

"But honestly, I don't know. I'm just a bard who talks big; otherwise, I wouldn't be in this mess..."

He looked utterly helpless, his eyes full of the weariness life had inflicted.

The scholar furrowed his brow slightly, his refined face turning thoughtful as he continued, "Then do you know of any other ways to enter Xu Kong Dao besides those five gates?"

Xu Kong Dao... The bard mulled over the term and glanced at the man in surprise, thinking he must have an impressive background.

But he didn't show it and answered earnestly: "There is one. If you find a Xu Kong Ling, you can enter Tian Kong Zhi Cheng!"

The scholar sighed: "But I don't have a Xu Kong Ling..."

"Then there's another way!" The bard racked his brains to repay his benefactor. "In this world, there's a sixth gate that lets you enter Tian Kong Zhi Cheng without any effort, not even needing an offering ceremony."

"Oh? What is it?" The scholar perked up with interest.

"Shi Kong Zhi Men!"

The bard said it emphatically, then sighed deeply:

"But you probably won't find it, benefactor. 'Shi Kong Zhi Men' has the power to traverse all times and spaces. Unless something unexpected happened, it's likely sealed in the forbidden grounds of the Zhong Yu 'Fu Men Yi Zu'.

"I have all this knowledge, but no real ability to help you. I'm truly sorry."

The scholar fell into deep thought after hearing this.

"Your words have jogged some memories...

"The Shi Kong Zhi Men shouldn't be with the Fu Men Yi Zu anymore..."

He murmured to himself.

After a long pause, he lowered his head, removed a small pendant from around his neck on a black string, and handed it over. "Do you recognize this?"

The bard took the small pendant and saw it was a crudely made wooden carving, about the size of two thumbnails, shaped like a door.

It was etched with the uneven characters for "Shi Kong."

The alley suddenly fell silent.

After a while, the bard held the wooden imitation, looked up at the scholar, and wondered if he was joking.

But he saw the scholar gazing back with a completely serious, eager expression, his face full of genuine curiosity.

What does this mean?

The bard was baffled, his expression turning awkward as his mouth twitched. "If my knowledge isn't... um, mistaken, it's not the 'Shi Kong Zhi Men'. It's more like a... counterfeit, something like a protective talisman?"

The hope on the scholar's face instantly turned to disappointment.

The bard was shocked by what he saw.

What kind of rare creature is this?

Has he never been exposed to the world's darkness?

How can he be so naive?

Handing over a wooden carving like that and being so serious... What kind of ridiculous answer was he expecting?

As the scholar listlessly took back the door-shaped carving, the bard felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.

"Right."

As if remembering something, he stopped dwelling on it, quickly finished the apple core in a few bites, and said solemnly:

"I haven't asked for your name yet. I might not be able to help with much else, but if you want some fame, I could write a verse or two about you and spread it around."

"Something like the 'Gou Wa Shi'?" The scholar asked with a smile as he fastened his treasured pendant back.

"Uh!" The bard's face stiffened, and he scratched his head awkwardly. "That's just the tip of my... iceberg of talent!"

"No need." The scholar waved it off and started to walk away.

"You can't just leave me without a name to repay you with, benefactor?" The bard shouted at his back.

That made the scholar pause for a moment.

But without turning around, he replied casually, "If you want to repay, just do it in your heart. I don't seek worldly fame... Oh, and my name is Kong Yu Hen."

Kong Yu Hen?

The bard chewed on a vegetable leaf, thinking it was quite a dramatic name.

But then an idea struck him, and lines came to mind effortlessly, unlike his usual struggles.

Good writing comes naturally, a stroke of genius.

Not caring about it, the bard shook his head and recited aloud:

"What do you think of this line, benefactor? It could really spread your name...

"Drunk on moonlight, with Kong Yu Hen left... uh!"

His words cut off abruptly.

The bard seemed to realize something, his pupils shrank, and his legs began to tremble.

When he looked up again, the imposing, scholarly man in front of him had vanished without a trace.

Staring at the alley corner, then sweeping his gaze to the alley entrance, up to the sky, and down to the ground...

The bard's lips quivered, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Kong Yu Hen?"

"Is he that Kong Yu Hen?"

In a place shrouded in mist.

It should have been like a fairyland, or so one might think.

But looking at the ruined tall stone tablets, the ancient buildings weathered by time, and the moss-covered ground that seemed untouched for ages...

The sword bearer Gu Qing Yi fell into deep thought.

He stood there in a daze for a full quarter of an hour.

Yet his mind was still gripped by the question that arose the moment he arrived.

"What the hell is this place?"

Everything changed after he pushed open that ancient door in the deep sea.

Gu Qing Yi felt as if he'd been pulled into another world.

He wasn't unwilling to move; it was just difficult, and his mind was a bit foggy, so he had to stop and think things through.

The gravity here was at least a hundred times that of Sheng Shen Dalu, making it tough for his weakened body to take a step.

The deep-sea forbidden barriers were gone, meaning he wasn't in the deep sea anymore, and he could access the tiny bit of spiritual energy in his qi sea.

But that only made him more confused.

"Was that a teleportation gate?

"What should I do now?

"My second junior brother is still waiting for me on Gu Yin Ya. He won't get tired of waiting and start cursing me, will he? The communicator doesn't work, and I can't reach my master...

"What the hell is this place!"

A sense of isolation spread through the dilapidated ancient city streets.

Gu Qing Yi vaguely felt this sensation was familiar.

Suddenly, it hit him.

Because back in Dong Tian Wang Cheng, whenever he looked up at the Tian Kong Zhi Cheng that blocked the sky, he felt the same strangeness.

"Could this be Tian Kong Zhi Cheng?

"Xu Kong Dao? The outer island?"

Shock flashed across Gu Qing Yi's face.

He could never have imagined that the door in the deepest sea would connect to the highest reaches of the sky, Xu Kong Dao.

These two extremes seemed forever incompatible.

But now, it appeared...

Absurdity was exactly what had unfolded in Dong Tian Wang Cheng after Tian Kong Zhi Cheng appeared, wasn't it?

"I need to start moving..."

Struggling to lift his feet, Gu Qing Yi didn't rush off into the distance. Instead, he made his way with difficulty to the blurry stone tablet just a dozen steps away.

He hesitated, then reached out to wipe away the moss and dust, but thought better of it, worried about danger.

"Clang!"

His sword, Yue Lian, was slightly drawn, its blade leaving the sheath by just an inch, slicing through the void with a hissing sound.

Then the blade returned to its sheath, and the dust and moss on the stone tablet fell away, revealing its true form.

"Xu Kong Dao!"

The three characters shattered Gu Qing Yi's last hopes.

He felt a mix of joy and anxiety.

Joy because Tian Kong Zhi Cheng was something everyone yearned for, and he'd gotten here first, sure to find more opportunities.

Anxiety because he'd entered this strange place, but without a way back, even if he gained opportunities, what if they ended up dying with him on Xu Kong Dao?

As he trudged forward, lost in thought, Gu Qing Yi passed the Xu Kong Dao stone tablet.

Soon, he stopped, noticing the messy scratches on the back of the tablet, as if etched by someone in a hurry.

Drawing closer, he saw it was covered in densely packed... names?

He skimmed over the ones he didn't recognize.

But at a glance, besides the unfamiliar ones, he spotted many figures from ancient tales.

"Hua Wei Yang, Cheng Xue, Xiao Hei, Feng Wu Hen...

"Heavens! What does this mean? Did all these sword dao predecessors come here?"

Horror spread across Gu Qing Yi's face.

If it were anyone else, they might not know these names.

But as the next heir of Zang Jian Zhong, he didn't just study sword dao; he knew its history.

Legend had it that Dong Yu Jian Shen Gu Lou Ying had nine great sword saints under him.

The first, Hua Wei Yang, was a master of illusion sword techniques, innovating so much that he nearly surpassed the sword god.

As for the others...

Cheng Xue—famous Cheng Xue.

One of the nine great sword saints, accidentally killed by his close friend, whose sword became the renowned blade "Mu Ming Cheng Xue."

That close friend was Xiao Hei, who walked the path of slaughter, often teetering on the edge of demonic possession, and was the first wielder of the Four Fierce Swords.

And Feng Wu Hen...

In sword dao history, he was the only one who had ever challenged Jian Shen Gu Lou Ying for the title of "Sword God," and though he lost, he earned the epithet "Shen Jian Feng Wu Hen."

The contemporary Seven Sword Immortals' "Feng Ting Chen" was likely a direct successor of that lineage...

Gu Qing Yi was completely stunned as he thought about this.

He used to treat these sword dao histories as mere stories.

But now, seeing this tablet, those past figures and events might all be real?