Chapter 1068: Chapter 601: Ninth Under Heaven (Four-in-One)

"Does it matter?"

These five brief words stirred countless memories, fleetingly passing through Chen Yi’s mind.

"Welcome back from your retreat, Master! How did it go, Master?"

"...No progress, I’ll enter the death retreat again."

"Eighty-one days since you entered, it’s already a death retreat. Enough! Master, if you continue like this, you will succumb to madness.

The world is in chaos, let it be. You and I should ascend, what does the sinking of this land have to do with us?"

"But when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken."

"Why must it be you? Are you willing to die just like this? So many attachments left unresolved in this world, you’re unwilling to leave that way, and that’s why you can’t comprehend it; you’re already fixated."

"..."

She was silent for a long time then, silent to the point where Chen Yi thought she had nothing more to say.

However, she didn’t remain silent.

"Chen Yi, where are you headed?"

"What?"

"If I don’t repair the heavens, and let them collapse, where would you... and Lu Ying go?"

"Ascend... ascend, there’s enough time."

"With the heavens collapsed and the Heavenly Court returned to void, where can you ascend to? Even if you live for eternities, what’s the point of living alone in nothingness?"

"..." At that time, he was lost for words.

"Immortals are humans and mountains; without mountains, immortals are no longer immortals."

She became uncharacteristically gentle,

"...I know your heart, but... This heart of mine has been given to the three-foot sword, that is all."

It was his turn to remain silent for a while; when he spoke again, he avoided the topic, turning to what he always found awkward—Sword Dao,

"Master, your Sword Intent, I cannot comprehend; no sword in hand, none in heart—what kind of realm is that?"

"Forget about the world and oneself."

"How does one forget both? I can’t forget; occasionally it might be possible, but I can’t do it always. Forgetting things is one thing, but how to forget myself?"

"Between life and death, formless, without appearance and without self."

"Are you talking about when you asked Wu Buxu about the sword?"

When discussing swords, she, usually sparingly with words, would generously share her insights, 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Before me, Wu Buxu killed dozens in his pursuit of the sword; everyone feared him. However, at the moment he was about to kill me, Wu Buxu disappeared, his sword disappeared, even I disappeared."

"What is that? The sword?"

"No, even the sword disappeared."

"Even the sword disappeared, so where is the Sword Dao?"

"In the sword."

"The Sword Dao is... in the sword that disappeared?"

"Wu Buxu was always there, killing before my eyes, yet I perceived him not; I stood always, unmoving, yet completely unaware; the sword was always there, held in hand, yet untouched.

We live between heaven and earth, yet forget we exist within them.

He saw the sword as dead grass; a sword is just a sword, killing or saving lives, it was merely a meaningless piece of iron. A sword comes from heaven and earth, just one among many things. A single sword is insignificant, thousands more are like dead grass...

But what if all the swords in the world combined?

All swords, even the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth, are united as one?"

She raised her hand, pointing to the boundless sky,

"Heaven and earth coexist with me, all things become one with me."

"Sword in Heaven and Earth."

At that moment, he didn’t know what to say. He suddenly saw the vastness of heaven and earth, shocked to realize he was just one among them.

Her Sword Dao unfurled like a majestic mountain, leaving him helpless, just like Confucius meeting Laozi.

Birds, I know they can fly; fish, I know they can swim; beasts, I know they can walk;

But as for dragons, I cannot fathom how they ascend to the heavens riding wind and clouds...

......

Memories drifted away, not staying; he was lost in thought for a moment, yet it was only a moment.

The smoke fades, clouds disperse, mountains eternally silent,

Beneath the fir reaching into the sky lie two lives’ unspoken longings deep buried.

Mountains, vines, the woman seem to be living alone amidst this world.

Since their first meeting, Chen Yi tried to step into this world to be with her, even if it perhaps backfired in the end, yet he still attained her presence.

Yet she was unwilling, only accompanying the sword, as she said, his heart wasn’t with the sword, but she was.

Only was.

True Sword Armor is when one’s heart obsesses over the sword, devoid of human emotion.

"This is your sword..." he murmured hoarsely, "Rescue me from here, even if you yourself end up trapped alone, this is your sword..."

The true essence of the Living Sword lies here, preferring to give up oneself, existing solely to alleviate pain and save lives. In the Capital City, she once discussed the difference between her Sword Dao and the Broken Swordman’s sword, directly stating that if plucking flowers and flying leaves can save people, then why not let plucking flowers and flying leaves be swords too.

"I taught you," Zhou Yitang responded calmly, "Sword Dao is a kind of faith; without unwavering belief, the one who dies will only be oneself."

"Zhou Yitang, are you always this confident in your sword?" Chen Yi said calmly.

"Yes."

"But what about these attachments? If your sword truly reached the heavens, why hold onto so many unresolved attachments?" Chen Yi found it amusing and laughed.

"I’ve said," Zhou Yitang swept her eyes sideways, saying, "They’re just discarded stones, irrelevant to Sword Dao."

This woman was always so stubborn; Chen Yi stared intently at Zhou Yitang, the woman he entrusted his heart to over two lifetimes.

She stubbornly believed her sword was not outdated.

And stubbornly believed these attachments, though seemingly useless, were merely discarded stones.

Lastly, stubbornly believed...

As this thought crossed his mind, Chen Yi halted his pondering; the question he previously wanted to ask about Tongxuan, yet stopped, was now almost identical to his unwillingness to speak.

Whether in this life or the last life, he has been searching for something elusive on Zhou Yitang; Zhou Yitang found it in him, yet he could never find a trace.