Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

Chapter 188: Chapter 161: The Singularity of Sword Peak

Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun stood frozen in place when they suddenly heard a piercing sword cry resound through the heavens.

Everyone instantly turned their heads. From the Sword Peak, a sharp beam of Sword Qi shot straight into the firmament, piercing the heavy clouds. The clouds rippled outward, layer by layer like waves, revealing the azure sky beyond, as if a hole had been torn in the very heavens.

A look of shock appeared on Xie Yuan’s face. The power of that strike was enough to split the heavens!

’I wonder which Sword Sect expert is testing their blade?’

Cui Zhi’s expression was grave, but his voice was filled with excitement.

"It seems the Sect Leader has had an epiphany! He often enters seclusion on the Sword Peak. A new sword technique has been born today!"

He sighed in admiration, then waved his hand and said to Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun, "Let’s go. We’ll head back to the Outer Sect first."

Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun exchanged a silent, knowing glance and followed Cui Zhi down toward the mountainside.

Taking a fork in the path they had passed earlier on the long flight of stairs up the mountain, they arrived at a gentle, pine-forested slope on the mountainside.

A mountain spring gathered into a creek, flowing down from the peak. It cut horizontally across a grassy meadow on the gentle slope before plunging over a cliff’s edge with a great ROAR.

Above the waterfall, rows of cabins lined both banks of the creek, following the contour of the slope. It was a sizable settlement—the location of the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect’s Outer Sect.

Many disciples were practicing their techniques and sword forms by the creek and on the meadow, still training with fiery enthusiasm under the glow of the setting sun.

Cui Zhi assigned Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun to their respective quarters. Mu Chaoyun was given a room in the row of wooden cabins on the upper slope. The cabins weren’t large, with each accommodating two people. At Lin Zhen’s enthusiastic invitation, Mu Chaoyun became her roommate.

In contrast, Xie Yuan’s accommodations were much larger. Down on the lower part of the slope was a large, communal courtyard house—his new home.

Handyman disciples, naturally, slept on communal bunks.

After settling in, they each rested.

Finally able to settle down, the two took a long-awaited bath and cleaned themselves up. They waited until the moon had risen over the tips of the pines and their roommates were asleep, then met at the Waterfall Cliff where the creek plunged into the abyss.

The full moon in the mountains seemed exceptionally large and bright. A man and a woman stood atop the Waterfall Cliff, looking as if they were standing on the moon itself, with a silver river cascading from beneath their feet.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing at the faint stars beyond the cliff. The gentle night breeze washed over them, and for the first time in many days, they could truly relax.

"We should be safe now, right?"

Xie Yuan asked in a low voice.

Mu Chaoyun, holding her Eight Trigrams Plate, made a silent calculation before nodding gently.

Xie Yuan had always been skeptical about the art of divination, but Mu Chaoyun was a Grandmaster in the field. Those who practiced this Martial Dao treated it as gospel, constantly performing divinations for matters big and small.

Xie Yuan, however, was a firm believer that his fate was his to decide, not for the heavens to dictate. But, knowing his own cultivation and experience were limited—and more importantly, that he couldn’t beat Mu Chaoyun in a fight—he kept his opinions to himself when she was around.

’Still, we’re inside the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect now. No matter how capable Lu the Third is, he shouldn’t be able to threaten us here. That one strike from the Sect Leader today could have taken care of ten Lu the Thirds at once.’

Xie Yuan seemed lost in awe for a moment, then asked, "Miss Mu, was the person who unleashed that strike also a Grandmaster?"

Mu Chaoyun knew what he was getting at and nodded.

"The Sect Leader of the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect, Li Xingtuo, is ranked ninth on the Flying Dragon List. He’s a very famous Grandmaster, but he is still a long way from the Great Grandmaster Realm."

"I see. So he’s a Grandmaster, just like you, Miss Mu..."

Xie Yuan remarked, his tone deceptively casual.

Mu Chaoyun slowly turned her head to stare at Xie Yuan. "What are you trying to say?" she asked coolly.

"Nothing, nothing! I know you just broke through, Miss Mu, but your talent is extraordinary. You’ve already surpassed a Grandmaster like Deng Wan,"

Xie Yuan said, laughing it off.

Mu Chaoyun made a soft sound of acknowledgment and said calmly, "There are vast differences between Grandmasters. Li Xingtuo is a veteran Grandmaster who has crossed the Heavenly Bridge. The gap between him and an ’ordinary Grandmaster’ might be even greater than the gap between an ’ordinary Grandmaster’ and a ’Fourth Training Martial Artist.’"

She enunciated the words "ordinary Grandmaster" and "Fourth Training Martial Artist" with deliberate emphasis.

Faced with Mu Chaoyun’s retort, Xie Yuan just chuckled and rubbed his nose, unbothered. They were both quite used to their occasional banter and bickering.

He changed the subject, his voice lowering slightly.

"So the Sect Leader... he must have had some kind of epiphany on the Sword Peak."

"Mm."

"Miss Mu, you... you felt it too, didn’t you? Now that you have the item back, your reaction should have been even stronger."

"Of course."

Xie Yuan let out a breath, his eyes glinting.

"An epiphany... you don’t think that inside the Sword Peak, there’s... you know?"

Mu Chaoyun seemed to drift into thought for a moment before suddenly reciting the sect history Cui Zhi had told them earlier that day.

"The founding patriarch achieved enlightenment on the Sword Peak, establishing the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect lineage. The second patriarch was born with a crippled body, but his determination moved the founder, who took him in as a disciple. He practiced his sword on the Sword Peak for thirty years before achieving mastery in a single day, leading the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect to glory."

"Since then, countless predecessors, elders, and sect prodigies have had similar stories of achieving enlightenment on the Sword Peak. According to my fam—... according to the rumors I’ve heard, these stories aren’t fabricated. The frequency of these events far exceeds that of similar sacred grounds in other Major Sects."

’Enlightenment, enlightenment... when was achieving enlightenment ever so easy?’

Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun exchanged a look, their eyes filled with profound meaning.

’Inside that Sword Peak... is a page of the Black Celestial Book!’

They both possessed pieces of the Black Celestial Book, and during the day, as the Sect Leader was having his epiphany, their own pages had resonated with the one hidden there.

Xie Yuan sighed.

"That’s truly unexpected."

"It is."

Mu Chaoyun shook her head. The Sword Sect’s rise to prominence had been much faster than many other Major Sects, and this was the reason why.

Xie Yuan said thoughtfully, "Do you think it’s possible they don’t even know what makes the Sword Peak so special?"

"It’s entirely possible. If they knew the source, someone in a past generation would inevitably have been unable to resist retrieving it. The Sword Peak wouldn’t have retained its special properties to this day,"

Mu Chaoyun said with a slight nod.

Xie Yuan rubbed his chin and smiled.

"The Cloud Mountain Sword Sect really is a good place."

"You... want to stay here and cultivate?"

Mu Chaoyun looked at him, instantly understanding his implication.

Xie Yuan turned to look at the highest peak, barely visible through the clouds overhead. "I want to stay here for a while and see," he said in a low voice. "If I get a chance to go up there and seek enlightenment, I might gain something."

Mu Chaoyun didn’t know where Xie Yuan got such confidence. ’Even if it is the Black Celestial Book, it’s not something you can just gain insights from whenever you want. Otherwise, the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect would have become the world’s number one Major Sect long ago.’

’It was one thing for him to have a connection with the Eight Trigrams Lotus, but does he have one with the page up there, too? It’s as if every piece of the Black Celestial Book has something to do with him...’

Mu Chaoyun didn’t fully understand, but Xie Yuan’s mysterious confidence made her subconsciously trust him. He had never been one to make empty boasts.

"Fine. I’ll teach you a method for controlling your meridians. Once you master it and combine it with the Celestial Concealment Skill, it won’t be difficult to fool someone at Cui Zhi’s level... Cough."

Mu Chaoyun coughed a few times. Xie Yuan, startled, finally remembered that she was still severely injured. He, on the other hand, had merely overexerted himself and would recover quickly with some rest.

He said with concern, "The mountain wind is cold. You should go back and rest your injuries."

Mu Chaoyun nodded. Just as she was about to leave, she tilted her head to gaze at the enormous full moon beyond the cliff. Its silver light cast a soft glow upon her beautiful, fair face.

"What a perfect full moon... It’s the fifteenth again."

The waterfall roared nearby. Hearing the faintness in Mu Chaoyun’s voice, Xie Yuan thought she might be homesick and was momentarily unsure how to comfort her.

But Mu Chaoyun’s face showed no sorrow, only a placid calm.

She bathed in the moonlight for a quiet moment. When another gust of wind blew past, she subconsciously pulled her robes tighter, her slender figure taking on an air of delicate vulnerability.

Mu Chaoyun glanced at Xie Yuan one last time before finally turning and walking toward her cabin.

Xie Yuan followed her. He glanced back subconsciously and saw the scene: under the bright moon, the green grass seemed to be coated in silver frost. The clifftop was bathed in a clear light, with mist rising from the roaring waterfall that cascaded down like a river of stars. Only then did he belatedly realize,

"This place is actually quite beautiful."

「The two of them settled into life in the Cloud Mountain Outer Sect.」

For the first few days, there were no urgent tasks, so Mu Chaoyun took the opportunity to recuperate in her room. Her roommate, Lin Zhen, assumed the prospective junior sister was simply too nervous to go outside and took exceptionally good care of her as a result.

As for Xie Yuan, a mere handyman disciple enjoyed no such luxury. Starting the very next day, he was assigned tasks and put to work like a beast of burden, performing sweeping and other menial chores throughout the sprawling housing of the Outer Sect.

However, he felt this was a waste of time and volunteered for the incredibly tedious job in the woodshed. He took to Chopping Wood with gusto, working quickly and skillfully, displaying a level of craftsmanship never before seen in the woodshed. The manager of the woodshed grew to admire him, while the other handyman disciples found him incredibly irritating.

’How can I get up to the Sword Peak?’ Xie Yuan secretly wondered. According to Cui Zhi, only disciples who had performed great services or elders of exceptional status were allowed access. Forgetting about great services, even just making the leap from handyman to Outer Sect disciple would require careful planning. It was difficult enough on its own, and he had to avoid being too conspicuous and drawing unwanted attention.

’There are too many masters in this Sword Sect. That earth-shattering sword strike on the first day left a deep impression on me. To reach my goal, I need to be methodical and not give myself away.’

’But thinking about it another way, while I can’t become a disciple quickly, I *can* become an outstanding handyman. That might give me a chance to work in the Main Peak Hall, which is much closer to the Sword Peak.’

A handyman striving for advancement wasn’t strange here, at least. The Cloud Mountain Sword Sect didn’t close off paths for promotion; it wasn’t unheard of for exceptional handyman disciples to rise up and become official disciples.

Before putting his plan into action, however, Xie Yuan tentatively asked about taking leave to go down the mountain. He quickly learned that while it was easy to get up the mountain, it was difficult to get down. As a member of the Sect, he had to abide by its rules.

Aside from scheduled procurement trips to Cloud Mountain Town, if Xie Yuan wanted to request leave to go home, he would have to wait a very long time for his turn.

’I wonder how the Escort Agency is doing...’

Xie Yuan was worried, but even if he were allowed to leave, he was still hesitant because of Lu the Third. He decided it was best to wait a while longer.

Meanwhile, after a few days of recovery, the time for the Sword Sect’s second entrance examination arrived for Mu Chaoyun.

The official assessment consisted of tests for willpower, talent, and practical combat. Although her injuries hadn’t fully healed, among a crowd of candidates who were mostly ordinary people, she could naturally achieve any score she desired.

In the end, Mu Chaoyun achieved an upper-middle score across the board and passed smoothly, officially becoming a disciple of the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect.

It had to be said that the crisp, white uniform of the Sword Sect was exceptionally striking on Mu Chaoyun. Paired with her gorgeous face, tall figure, and snow-white complexion, she was a breathtaking sight. It was a shame that, aside from Xie Yuan, there was no one on the mountain who could truly appreciate it.

By the edge of Waterfall Cliff, as the moon waned from full to a sliver, Mu Chaoyun spent many consecutive nights teaching Xie Yuan the method for altering his meridians, along with other Martial Dao knowledge, fulfilling the duties of a teacher she refused to acknowledge.

When they grew tired of their lessons, they would simply admire the moon and listen to the spring. In the moonlight on the cliff, idle conversation was even more enjoyable than discussions of the Martial Dao.

More often than not, however, they would simply sit in comfortable silence, shoulder to shoulder, until the moon reached its zenith.

「The moon was full once more.」

Mu Chaoyun sat at the cliff’s edge, her back ramrod straight, her hands folded neatly in her lap, and her legs pressed tightly together—the very picture of a prim and proper lady.

But her two astonishingly long legs dangled freely over the edge, a testament to the adage that the skilled are always bold.

A fierce gust of mountain wind swept by, catching the corner of Mu Chaoyun’s white skirt and making it flutter as if she were an immortal.

Xie Yuan glanced over at her. Framed by the full moon, she looked just like Fairy Guanghan sitting in the Moon Palace, poised to drift away on the wind at any moment.

He stared, momentarily stunned. Mu Chaoyun sensed his gaze, lowered her head slightly, and then spoke.

"My injuries are almost completely healed."

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