Who let him join the Sword Sect?!-Chapter 839 - 422: A Father as Thin as a Cicada’s Wing (4k)

Zhang Ze, realizing he had misspoken, quickly shut up, pondering a way to leave this bleak place.

As for here, it was neither an independent space opened by great force nor a true universe. Zhang Ze hadn't left the core cabin; all he saw and felt at the moment were his mental barriers.

To give a nauseating metaphor, it was as if Emperor Xiaojing's virtual image put a VR headset over his head, and then wrapped a black plastic bag over it.

Tied at the hands and feet, with tape over his mouth, Zhang Ze needed to use his tongue to peel off the tape, remove the VR headset, and poke a hole in the black plastic bag to escape.

That's roughly the idea.

Zhang Ze pinched his chin, thinking about swords while pretending to be an astronaut.

Without realizing it, he drifted in this void for a long time until he grew a bit annoyed himself, and suddenly spoke.

"Sect Leader, are you there?"

Chen Qianhu, "I am, what's up?"

Zhang Ze, "What time is it outside now?"

Chen Qianhu, "...I don't know."

Zhang Ze, "Then how long have I been here?"

Chen Qianhu, "A breath."

Zhang Ze, "Oh."

After asking, Zhang Ze fell silent again, but after a while.

Zhang Ze, "Sect Leader, are you there?"

Chen Qianhu, "..." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Similar question and answer occurred every three breaths in the outside world until Zhang Ze asked the eighth time and Chen Qianhu finally got annoyed.

"Can't you stop?"

Zhang Ze grumbled, changed to a backstroke position, and floated a while before softly asking.

"Sect Leader, what do you say a sword is?"

"Whatever you think a sword is, that's what it is. Look to yourself." Chen Qianhu's voice was ethereal and mystical.

Zhang Ze initially wanted to ask what this meant, but decided against it. If he kept talking and accumulated a prize pool, he might end up getting a ten-draw right after getting out.

Flipping in the void, Zhang Ze's thoughts began to spread as he savored the meaning in the Sect Leader's words, recalling his master's earnest teachings and the mysterious sayings in his chats with Tang about the Dao.

Yet, in the end, he found he couldn't comprehend it at all.

So, he decided to take it literally.

If the Sect Leader said whatever he said was it, then so be it.

Zhang Ze stopped obsessing over what a sword was, closed his eyes, letting his thoughts wander aimlessly, as he once again entered that state of oneness and began to imagine wildly.

In the lightless void, points of starlight began to glow.

The starlight traced arcs, outlining a long shape, which gradually solidified. An 'object' appeared in the boundless void: a starship.

This starship had a somewhat mixed style, drawing from many references. Besides the basic classic design, it included the Lily's Heaven-Blasting Gang style, Thousand Mechanism Pavilion style, Star Wars with Gundam, and Primordial Celestial Venerate with Warhammer styles.

In short, after finishing the amalgam, Zhang Ze crossed his arms and looked at his creation with satisfaction.

"The Sect Leader said whatever I call a sword, that's a sword."

"I think this starship is also pretty, ready to be wed, and occasionally wielding it wouldn't hurt."

"Ship, come!"

Zhang Ze waved his hand grandly, "Apocalypse · Ship Technique!"

The mountain-like giant ship lit up with rows of lights, and following Zhang Ze's imagination, the giant ship began to transform and decompose until it finally turned into a shape with a stick in the middle, surrounded by three huge rings.

The rings flickered with light and shadow, twinkling like starlight.

As they twinkled, a massive jet engulfed Zhang Ze's vision, and the dark universe was illuminated.

The mental barrier broke.

...

The heart barrier set by Emperor Xiaojing was actually a soul-searching riddle.

But this riddle was treacherous, meant only to trap people.

An ordinary Sword Cultivator, once trapped, would be awed by the boundless surrounding universe, causing their Tao Heart to waver and begin to doubt whether they could break through the vast starry sky.

Once self-doubt began, seeds of the Heart Demon were planted, leading to a deeper trap and making escape more unlikely.

To solve this puzzle, one must search their heart without fear.

Just like Chen Qianhu said, if you think it is, then it is.

As long as you believe that starlight can be cut, and a sword can break the sky, then it can cut.

But how many can truly be fearless in soul-searching? As one travels further on the path of Dao, the more they find the dangers ahead unpredictable, like an ant observing a mountain.

In some ways, this mental barrier only traps the wise, not the foolish. The more intelligent and talented one is, the more they'll be concerned about everything, thus getting lost within and doubting themselves.

As for Zhang Ze...

He never even considered such things as cutting the starry sky with a sword, and always thought of a sword as something for looking cool.

But...

He genuinely believed from the bottom of his heart that the void, the universe, and everything in the world could be analyzed, could be blown open.

If it couldn't be blown open, then the charge wasn't big enough.

In theory, this counts as a pure heart with steadfast Tao Heart.

Thus, one shot tore the firmament.

...

Zhang Ze opened his eyes, finding himself squatting like a loafer, nowhere else, with the Sect Leader standing behind him, looking at him with a satisfied expression.

"Have you gained any insight?"

Chen Qianhu's smile could no longer be contained; in his eyes, Zhang Ze was a treasure.

"Insight... indeed a bit, but I can't demonstrate it for now. When I have the chance in the future, I'll definitely show you, master."

Zhang Ze smiled awkwardly.

He dared not say that if he revealed what he just thought of, he might very well be getting a 150-draw directly at the anniversary event.

But speaking of which, Zhang Ze counted on his fingers, and today seemed to be exactly the anniversary of Old Ascender going missing.