The Birth of Sword God-Chapter 261 - 228: Who Is Worthy of These Three Words?

The tolling of the Dao Bell echoed throughout Wenda Peak.

Inside Junzi Temple, the current generation of True Disciples all looked up, expressions of surprise on their faces.

"Huh? Lately, no junior brothers or sisters have become True Disciples and entered Junzi Temple."

"So what's with this bell?"

What perplexed these True Disciples even more was that the bell rang three times in succession, and it happened twice in total.

"This is different from when we received our Dao Seals."

"Truly strange!"

Beside the small pavilion atop the peak, Xiang Yan and the others gazed at the Dao Bell in quiet anticipation.

Soon after, three golden characters began to surface next to the Dao Bell.

——[Returning True Essence].

Xiang Yan and the others stared at these words, slightly startled, exclaiming in surprise.

With their experience, they naturally knew what these three meant.

These words come from the Seven Seals of the Cloud Manual.

This concept is also aligned with the Profound Yellow Realm's cultivation system.

So-called Returning True Essence refers to death. After a person dies, all their Primordial Energy returns to the source of heaven and earth, thus named [Returning True Essence].

The Dao Ancestor draws on the power of heaven and earth, transforming it into three thousand Dao Seals.

They may be the power of all things in nature, or even more mysterious forces.

"Just looking at it feels quite extraordinary!" Li Chunsong exclaimed.

For now, they couldn't discern what kind of power this Three-Character Dao Seal contained, and could only analyze it literally.

Jiang Zhi, who validated his path through killing, said bluntly, "Maybe it's related to slaughter."

As soon as he finished speaking, a line of small characters appeared beside the three golden words.

——[Returning True Essence shines on my liver and gall, tempering azure blood to cut through the mortal world.]

Everyone couldn't help but glance at Jiang Zhi, not expecting Junior Martial Uncle to hit the mark so accurately!

Rare, truly rare!

Jiang Zhi, clad in white robes, immediately clasped his hands behind his back, wisdom pearled in his eyes, face suppressing emotion with a show of composure and indifference.

Riding this wave of confidence, he pressed on, saying, "In my opinion, these three words must be for Chu Huaixu."

This boy is like me—resolute in killing!

A few breaths later, the golden characters floating in the air faded away.

Immediately after, three more large golden characters appeared beside the Dao Bell.

——[Nan Liujing].

Chu Yinyin knew what Returning True Essence meant, but Nan Liujing left her momentarily clueless.

Yet, being an eccentric old girl, she wouldn't let it show. Curious as she was, she deliberately said:

"Huh! Why is there also Nan Liujing?"

Finishing, she blinked her big, round eyes, waiting for someone else to respond.

Law Enforcement Elder Lu Pan took the bait first.

"Junior Sister is absolutely right. Who would have thought that among the Three-Character Dao Seals, there'd be Nan Liujing."

"Normally, Two-Character Dao Seals are mostly of material things, representing the power of all things. When I entered Junzi Temple, the Dao Ancestor bestowed me the words [Pine and Cypress], which I am to follow all my life," said Lu Pan.

When traveling down the mountain, he sometimes called himself Songbai Daoist.

"But Three-Character Dao Seals, like [Returning True Essence], are mostly not about 'things' anymore."

Chu Yinyin listened intently, nodding frequently.

But in her heart, she mumbled curses: "Lu Pan, what are you going on about? Just tell me, what exactly is Nan Liujing?!"

The Sect Leader, Xiang Yan, spoke up at this moment: "Senior Brother, your words miss the mark."

"The sun is unlike other things."

"If the sky had no sun, what would the world look like? Absolutely unimaginable."

The old girl's eyes whirled. This time she understood: "So Nan Liujing means the sun."

"The Sect Leader is right," Lu Pan agreed, finding reason in it.

He couldn't help but sigh, "But who could possibly bear the weight of the words [Nan Liujing]?"

At his words, everyone raised their heads and looked to the burning sun in the sky, shining upon the earth.

At this thought, Jiang Zhi's heart clenched—something's wrong. Suddenly, he suspected he'd guessed wrong earlier.

Don't forget, Han Shuangjiang possesses the Profound Yin Body.

After a few more exchanges, a line of golden small characters appeared beside the three large words, carrying an air of grandeur!

Against the backdrop of an era approaching a great calamity, these words, shining with clarity and hope, stirred everyone's hearts.

——[Nan Liujing breaks through heavy cloud barriers, washing the mortal world with boundless heavens.]

...

...

Inside the Daoist Ancestor Secret Realm, Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang sat cross-legged facing one another.

On the palms of their left hands, streaks of golden lines began to appear.

These lines were intricate, generally coalescing into a square.

And in the center of these golden lines, golden script started to show.

The three words on Han Shuangjiang's palm were [Returning True Essence]. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The three words on Chu Huaixu's palm were [Nan Liujing].

A chilling aura began to ripple around the cold-faced girl.

She was clearly in a meditative state, not yet fully awakened from the Illusion Realm, yet her three thousand dark hairs spontaneously turned snowy white, thrusting her into an even icier [Celestial Human State], as though she possessed a power to annihilate all ten directions!

Within the Illusion Technique Array, she was actually more merciful than Chu Huaixu, yet received the Daoist Ancestor's Seal [Returning True Essence], symbolizing death!

Chu Huaixu, meanwhile, began to radiate a burning heat.

The brilliant sun, banishing all evil!

Yet if you stood far away, there was no scorching heat—only warmth.

Light nurtures all life, and vitality abounds!

Chu Huaixu, back in the Illusion Technique Array, had immediately sliced the young man's throat with his sword, yet was granted this kind of Three-Character Seal.

The two of them opened their eyes almost simultaneously.

Then, both glanced in astonishment at the golden glow in the other's palm, before turning to their own palms.

"What is this?" Han Shuangjiang was somewhat perplexed.

She carefully felt the power held within, surprise flickering on her face.

From a power perspective, she found that the golden seal in her palm gave a cultivator a boost no weaker than Sword Intent!

"This is the Daoist Ancestor's Seal," Chu Huaixu replied.

Just a few seconds ago, a system notification had rung in his ear.

"[Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the Daoist Ancestor's Seal—Nan Liujing.]"

He checked his Character Panel; a new line of info had appeared——[Dao Seal: Nan Liujing].

They had both been initiated for some time, and had heard earlier that once one entered Junzi Temple and became a True Disciple, they'd be granted the Daoist Ancestor's Seal—two characters with special power!

Many True Disciples of Junzi Temple even chose to use these two bestowed words as their Daoist title.

But… why do we get Three-Character Dao Seals?

Is this the final reward of the Daoist Ancestor Secret Realm?

Chu Huaixu's mind shifted, wondering, "Once Han Shuangjiang and I enter Junzi Temple, could we also receive a Two-Character Dao Seal?"

By custom, it should be possible.

"Why don't we first try to sense this power?" Chu Huaixu suggested.

"Mm." Big Ice Cube nodded.

She chose to calmly sense it; Chu Huaixu directly read the system description.

"[Nan Liujing]: Banishing evil and obstacles, nullifying karmic hindrance and transforming heart demons. Light nurturing the living, reviving the dead, regenerating flesh and bone."

Chu Huaixu glanced over and basically understood it.

The meaning was simple—the first line refers to the Dao mind.

For cultivators, falling into demonhood is normal; running into issues during cultivating is commonplace.

As for living life, picking up stray thoughts is also routine.

Karmic obstacles and heart demons—no one is immune!

Maybe, it can counter others' techniques that attack the heart.

As for the second line, it's probably for healing wounds.

If it can synergize with his own heaven-defying self-healing, and stack with his Body Refining Divine Technique [Body Ascension]…

Chu Huaixu could only imagine just how terrifying that would be!

As the saying goes: "What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger."

But for Chu Huaixu it's become: "If you can't kill me, you just can't kill me!"

If it can't kill him in one blow, his health might recover faster than it depletes!

His endurance had been improved yet again.

Aside from that, this power could be used on others too.

This means Chu Huaixu had gained some ability to support teammates—a bit of a healer attribute.

After both opened their eyes and exchanged glances, they had a brief conversation, telling each other about their Illusion Realm experiences.

When Han Shuangjiang heard that Chu Huaixu killed that young man in one stroke, she wasn't really surprised.

Her assessment of Chu Huaixu earlier had been eight words: "A heart like a bird of prey, a face like a crane; vengeance for every slight!"

If someone tries to kill him, he will kill them!

In the face of betrayal, he would never show mercy.

But she herself was far from this.

Not exactly soft-hearted, but often, her murderous intent was a little lacking.

This made both of them think that the Daoist Ancestor's bestowed words truly held subtle depth.

Chu Huaixu killed, but got a word that saves!

Han Shuangjiang didn't kill, but got a word that slays!

...

(ps: Second update, please vote for this month!)