Volume 6: Summer Chapter 11 Progress
On the mountain.
The wooden sword drew an arc in the air.
With a turn of her wrist, her slender white fingers grasped the hilt of the knife. She leaped up, and her white skirt was rolled up in the clouds, almost blending into one.
Zhong Minghong and Zhong Yan stood on a mountain not far away, watching Tang Butian dancing with the sword.
"Junior sister has made progress again." Zhong Yan said with emotion.
"Has she been practicing sword skills in seclusion since you came back?" Zhong Minghong asked.
"Yes, except for going to Zhang Xianren for training, he has been practicing on his own mountain."
"Master Zhang?" Zhong Minghong was a little surprised.
Zhong Yan told Zhong Minghong what happened on the day they returned to the mountain. After listening, Zhong Minghong nodded, "With her personality, it's not surprising that Immortal Zhang is willing to guide her."
The sword energy broke through the clouds, Zhong Yan looked up and saw the girl standing tall in the air, her long jet-black hair flying and her eyes calm.
"Uncle..." Zhong Yan hesitated.
"You want to ask why I insisted on changing the rules three years ago, right?" Zhong Minghong saw through Zhong Yan's thoughts at a glance.
Zhong Minghong turned and looked at Zhong Yan, "Have you ever thought about why everyone else agreed in the end?"
Zhong Yan shook his head.
Zhong Minghong did not keep the question in suspense. He gave the answer directly: "Because it was Zhuang Zekun who made this request."
"Mr. Zhuang?"
"We owe Xie Dong a favor for the disaster thirty years ago. Zhuang Zekun and Mu Di were both trained by him. It can even be said that Zhuang Zekun and others are only executors of China's current special technical system, the institute's charter, and our cooperation with the government, while he is the one who drew the blueprint."
"He is so powerful?" Zhong Yan was a little unconvinced .
"It's not that they are powerful, but the Chinese government needs to bring this area under its control. They started researching a long time ago and incorporated Taoists, Buddhists, and some folk sorcerers to study spiritual power, demons, and us," Zhong Minghong said calmly. "Most people in the mountains can't tolerate being controlled. The affairs of the mountains are the mountains, and the affairs of the world are the world. Don't infringe on each other. This was the consensus thirty years ago. Even now, many people don't say it, but they still think so in their hearts."
He looked up, and the girl's moves changed from fierce to gentle, and then gradually became ethereal. He said, "Times have changed."
Zhong Yan couldn't help but ask: "Uncle, what happened thirty years ago?"
"Demons were born in the void, and we cultivators are responsible for killing them to prevent them from causing harm to the human world," Zhong Minghong paused. "In the past thirty years, an unprecedentedly powerful demon was born in the void. It is different from the demons in the past. It was born from the voluntary sacrifice of tens of thousands of demons. It can freely travel between the human world and the void and cannot be harmed by any force."
Zhong Yan was speechless, "Not harmed by any force?"
"Yes, neither human weapons nor our spells can harm him. The only thing to be thankful for is that when he walked on earth, his strength was restricted by the laws of nature. It's just that his body is stronger than that of ordinary people."
"What if we catch him and lock him up?"
"We have tried many times, but no matter what means we use to imprison it, even if we take turns to guard it, it will always disappear suddenly, and reappear in the human world after a period of time. The place where it appears is random, but the housekeeper can calculate where it will appear," Zhong Minghong sighed, "Although it can't cause damage in the human world, it can build a road from the human world to the void, allowing demons from outside to pour in."
"Then how did you kill it?"
"That sword, it can kill gods."
Hearing this, Zhong Yan looked in Tang Butian's direction again.
The girl's clothes fluttered, and the wooden sword turned into sixteen knives, revolved around her outstretched hand, and then flew outward.
"But no one on the entire mountain could use it. But the research institute came up with a cruel method," Zhong Minghong spoke slowly. "At that time, it disappeared from the place where it was imprisoned again. Guan Kang, Guan Qingtong's brother, calculated that it would appear on the mountain. After that, he could no longer perform divination."
"Then what?"
"Mu Di volunteers to be the sword bearer."
The girl fell to the ground.
The grass and trees around him trembled.
Zhong Minghong's voice became lighter, but his tone became heavier. "The people they brought with them are all of average strength, but they were trained using the same method. As for us, we are strong as individuals, but our skills and spiritual powers are different and even conflicting."
Zhong Yan immediately understood what Zhong Minghong meant.
"So no one objects to Mr. Zhuang?"
Zhong Minghong looked into Zhong Yan's eyes. "At that time, most of Xie Dong's men were killed, and he lost his power. Fortunately, I took the initiative to express my attitude of cooperation, so Zhuang Zekun began to shoulder the responsibility. He founded the Special Operations Department in Tangjiang City, but the Special Operations Department was inherently deficient from the beginning. If not, Jinghu Society might not have been able to seize the opportunity to grow. I even suspect that Jinghu Society's 'Yard' and 'Mingshen' have some relationship with it."
"So the reason why Jinghu performed a sacrifice on Jiujin Mountain ten years ago was because..."
"It's possible. There may be some other sects that exist," Zhong Minghong nodded. "After the disaster, I knew that the mountain needed to change. We need to cooperate with the human world. Whether it's demons or us, we are all uncontrollable forces in the eyes of the government. If we actively cooperate, we may be able to retain some freedom and initiative, and no longer be as high and mighty as in the past. When they can completely replace us..." His face became solemn. "I have average talent and I can't go very far on the road of cultivation. So I asked to be responsible for cooperation with the outside world and took the position of the head."
Zhong Minghong sighed again, "Times have changed."
"Uncle, if I tell my junior sister directly, she won't refuse." Zhong Yan was still a little puzzled.
Zhong Minghong looked at Zhong Yan, "They want to alienate Tang Butian's relationship with the mountain, and keep her and the sword with them forever."
"Why?"
"They don't understand the mountain, nor do they understand the practitioners." Zhong Minghong's expression became solemn, but his eyes softened. He looked at Zhong Yan, "Tang Butian is the best of the younger generation. The worldly life will only make her more determined to follow the path she wants to take. As for you, the Special Operations Department, the Research Institute, and those organizations underwater, you need to learn how to deal with them. We can cooperate, and we are willing to fight for humanity and justice, but we are practitioners, and we have our own way to go. Protecting the mountain is your and my responsibility."
Zhong Yan saw Tang Butian put away his knife and walked towards them.
His hand clenched into a fist, and he said, "I understand, uncle."
