Chapter 65: All Nine Apertures Opened, the Evil Sword Stirs

At the foot of Hidden Spirit Mountain, the high-level members of the Dao Gate were all present—only the Seventh Elder, Shen Man, still confined herself within the Purple Bamboo Forest, having drawn a boundary to imprison herself.

They had not flown into the sky to overlook the entire mountain from above.

Because the entire mountain was protected by a flight-restriction magic array—those below the Ninth Level could only ascend on foot.

“Sect Master, what’s going on here?” The Fifth Elder, Zhao Shuqin, already had somewhat squinty eyes, and now they had narrowed into mere slits.

Xiang Yan lifted his bald head, shiny like a hard-boiled egg, gazing far into the higher reaches of Hidden Spirit Mountain.

“It seems… displeased?” he said.

“That’s not just displeased—this is clearly a full-blown tantrum.” The First Elder, Lu Pan, frowned deeply, the furrows on his forehead resembling knife-carved lines.

“And why is that?” Xiang Yan turned to Nangong Yue.

After all, she was the only Artifact-Refining Grandmaster present.

She understood spiritual artifacts better than anyone.

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know either. Even though I’m an Artifact-Refining Grandmaster, that sword’s way beyond anything I can forge.” The Ninth Elder, Nangong Yue, raised her hands in front of her twin peaks, waving them repeatedly.

Sect Master Xiang Yan clicked his tongue in awe: “No one challenged it last night, so why is it so enraged?”

Li Chunsong muttered at the side: “That’s weird… if someone had gone up to challenge it, wouldn’t it usually get all excited?”

Everyone chimed in with comments, but no clear conclusion was reached.

Only the Tenth Elder, Chu Yinyin, looked up at her senior brothers and sisters, already getting annoyed.

“What’s so strange about being angry? Sometimes I wake up and just feel like raging for no reason too,” she said.

“That sword’s been sealed on this mountain for a whole thousand years—a thousand years!” She raised her hand to gesture.

Lu Pan cast her a glance and immediately corrected, “Little Junior Sister, mind your words. It wasn’t sealed—the Dao Ancestor sealed it here, waiting for the destined one.”

“Tch! Using an entire treasure mountain to lock it up and still saying it’s not sealed... Always telling me to ‘mind my words, mind my words’...” Chu Yinyin silently grumbled in her heart.

Sect Master Xiang Yan lowered his head in contemplation, his uniquely ugly face full of suspicion.

“I’ve been Sect Master for so many years, and this sword’s never acted like this.”

“Forget it, I’ll head up the mountain to take a look.”

“We’ll come too!” Everyone echoed.

But before they could take more than a few steps, the mountain stopped shaking.

“Its anger subsided?” Chu Yinyin looked up, confused: “Then… are we still climbing?”

No one bothered to respond to her, continuing onward.

This sword was a peerless treasure—a sword left behind by the Dao Ancestor to save the world.

Now that it had suddenly shown unusual signs, they dared not be careless.

By the time the group reached the mountain peak, the sword had already returned to its usual state, showing no sign of anomaly—what a wasted trip.

It simply floated in the air, unmoving, yet somehow exuded supremacy from above.

Clearly just a sword—yet it felt alive.

If you looked up at it, you’d feel it looking down on you with disdain.

Whether it was Chu Yinyin of the Sixth Level, or Xiang Yan of the Eighth Level, it equally looked down upon them all.

Inside the bamboo house, as the sky brightened slightly, Chu Huaixu finally crawled out of bed.

He had dreamed for a long, long time—of returning to his childhood, to that house that barely qualified as a home. He dreamed of that man who beat him and his mother every few days.

Until he grew taller and stronger.

When that man beat them again, no matter how painful the stick on his back, he would shield his mother and then—

——Fight back!

He feared pain—had always feared it.

Who in this world doesn’t fear pain?

But what he feared more was being the only one in pain while that alcoholic man enjoyed his cruelty.

Later, his mother passed. The man aged.

The man seemed to change—becoming kind, wanting to show fatherly love, starting to care about him.

But Chu Huaixu knew—it wasn’t that he became better, it was just that he had grown old—too old to be evil.

He never reconciled with that man, nor with himself.

Many adults hit children just to make sure they remember the beating.

Now so many years have passed, and you ask me why I still remember?

At that moment, Chu Huaixu sat on the bed and shook his head forcefully.

“Been a while since I had those messy dreams.” He lowered his eyes.

Maybe because it hurt too much last night?

But he still felt that the stick from his memories hurt more.

After letting out a long breath, Chu Huaixu stood up, stretched his body, and as if flipping a switch, his gloom vanished, returning to his usual mischievous and cheeky self.

Feeling the power in his flesh, he clenched his fists, striking the classic “Super Saiyan” pose.

“The boost from the Ninth Aperture… is this big?” He was somewhat surprised.

Now, if Liu Chenggong stood in front of him, and they both refrained from using spiritual energy, he would no longer narrowly lose—he might even beat him to death.

“Nine-Aperture experts… terrifying indeed!” Chu Huaixu felt all his recent hardships were worth it.

No longer needing to cultivate the 《Sword Refining Art》, he felt light as a feather, refreshed and clear-headed.

After a quick wash, he pushed open the bamboo door.

Dawn had just broken. The Big Ice Block next door hadn’t risen yet.

Chu Huaixu didn’t do anything—just sat atop the tall wooden fence, enjoying the morning of Medicine Mountain.

A breeze lifted his jet-black hair, and his legs dangled in the air, swinging freely.

After a while, he heard the sound of a door opening next door.

“My five senses… seem much sharper too?” Chu Huaixu was slightly surprised.

Still leaning back on the railing, he tilted his head slightly toward Han Shuangjiang, saying, “You’re up.”

The Cold-faced Girl looked at him and immediately said, “You fainted again yesterday, didn’t you?”

“Mm-hmm.” Chu Huaixu was used to it by now, unfazed by the embarrassment or social death.

——But not in front of Xu Ziqing!

“I knew it,” said Han Shuangjiang. “Medicine Mountain had a tremor last night—a small quake.”

“Hmm?” Chu Huaixu was startled. “Seriously?”

The cold-faced girl nodded.

Chu Huaixu jumped down from the railing. “No way—there’s the Mountain-Protecting Formation, so if there’s a tremor, the source must be inside the Mountains Beyond Mountains.”

Han Shuangjiang nodded again.

“The sect didn’t announce anything?” he asked.

“No.”

“Then forget it—not something Enrolled Disciples like us should be worrying about.”

A small tremor, at most, just made the bed shake a little.

Chu Huaixu was more concerned with: “Did you open your Ninth Aperture?”

“I did.” Han Shuangjiang had cultivated deep into the night.

“Good. Let’s eat, then head to the Scripture Pavilion together.”

“Mm.”

Just thinking about finally obtaining a First Realm cultivation method made even the cold-faced girl feel inwardly giddy.

After a simple breakfast, the two of them headed for the Scripture Pavilion.

Chu Huaixu was full of anticipation. Reaching the First Realm meant he could finally use his Pass Token to access Hidden Spirit Mountain!

They walked briskly all the way.

The Scripture Pavilion wasn’t on Medicine Mountain, but rather on Book Mountain, one of the Three Peaks of the Outer Gate.

The place to trade treasures for Sect Contribution Points was also on Book Mountain, with a tacky name—Treasure Pavilion.

Cultivation methods, spiritual pills, spiritual artifacts, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures… all could be sold to the Treasure Pavilion in exchange for points.

Naturally, you could also buy items here.

Book Mountain also housed the Affairs Hall, where Outer Sect disciples picked up sect tasks.

Complete them well, and you’d earn contribution points.

If you needed help, you could also post bounties there using your points.

In addition, there were Training Rooms beside the Scripture Pavilion.

Each Training Room contained a Spiritual Gathering Array.

Training inside meant denser spiritual energy and faster progress.

Of course, it cost points too.

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It was their first time at Book Mountain, so they walked and marveled like tourists at an amusement park.

The stone steps leading up Book Mountain were named [Diligence is the Path], which Chu Huaixu found quite amusing.

——There’s a path to Book Mountain through diligence, and the sea of learning has no end but hard work.

Just one of many clever touches in 《Borrowed Sword》.

The Scripture Pavilion was at the peak of Book Mountain, and it took them a while to reach it.

Upon entering the first floor, they found a crowd of disciples wearing [Outer Sect Disciple] tokens gathered around.

At that moment, a Nine-Aperture Enrolled Disciple was trying hard to break the array in the eastern section of the first floor.

He had already broken the first array, behind which lay Yellow-rank cultivation methods.

In the Xuanhuang Realm, cultivation methods and techniques were ranked: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.

The Outer Scripture Pavilion had only four floors.

First floor: First Realm methods.

Second: Second Realm.

Third: Third Realm.

Fourth: techniques.

These disciples were just there to spectate.

The Dao Gate was the most fate-oriented of the Four Great Sects—whenever someone encountered destiny, it stirred waves.

And with waves came rumors—and juicy gossip to eat.

Eating gossip became habit-forming—Dao Gate members loved nothing more than drama.

Some were cheering, others jeering.

“Keep going, Junior Brother! Trust me, this second barrier’s easy!”

“Don’t stop—we don’t have many disciples cultivating Yellow-rank methods!”

Their attitude was understandable—they had all gone through it. Like college seniors watching freshmen in military drills while chomping on watermelon.

A middle-aged man in white robes, bored out of his mind, was watching the incense timer burn. He was in charge of everything on the first floor and had long grown tired of such scenes.

At that moment, Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang entered, immediately drawing attention.

A handsome man and pretty woman always became the center of attention.

Of course, if you were as uniquely ugly as Sect Master Xiang Yan, you’d still be famous.

One grinning Senior Brother—an obvious extrovert and socialite—saw them watching and struck up conversation: “Junior Brother and Junior Sister, you here to collect your First Realm methods after opening all Nine Apertures?”

“Indeed.” Chu Huaixu replied.

“I’m Chen Jiye. You can call me Senior Brother Chen. Congrats on graduating from Enrolled Disciple to Outer Sect Disciple! May I have your names?”

“Chu Huaixu.”

“Han Shuangjiang.”

Their polite replies were met with sudden excitement.

“You’re Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang!?” he blurted loudly.

Instantly, everyone turned to look—including the white-robed Scripture Pavilion manager.

Even the Enrolled Disciple trying to break the array stiffened his neck and glanced back—