allendalepharm Page 6
Page 6
"In the martial arts world today, those swordsmen who have reached the Free and Unfettered Realm or above are called Sword Immortals."
"That's actually inaccurate; it can only be considered a 'fake sword immortal.'"
"The true realm of sword immortals is beyond even the reach of experts in the Divine Realm of Profound Travel; it is a higher level of existence."
"The martial arts realm is divided into nine ranks of martial artists and four realms of innate talent."
"Above the four realms of the Innate Realm, there are three levels of the Earth Immortal Realm!"
"They are respectively Land Immortals, Land Celestials, and Celestials of Great Immortality!"
"Only those swordsmen who have reached the realm of terrestrial immortals through their swordsmanship can be considered true sword immortals, also known as—"
"A Land-Based Sword Immortal!"
Su Chen's words stunned everyone present.
Whether it's Yaoyue, Lianxing, Sikong Changfeng, or Li Hanyi, they are all big names in their respective martial arts worlds.
They certainly knew about the realm of terrestrial immortals.
Nowadays, even experts who can travel to the mystical realm are rare, and terrestrial immortals are practically like legends.
No one expected that the true sword immortal realm that Su Chen spoke of actually referred to swordsmen at the terrestrial immortal realm.
In comparison, a sword immortal who only reaches the Free and Unfettered Heaven Realm can indeed only be considered a pseudo-sword immortal.
What terrified them most was that Wu Su, the former princess of Beiliang, had already stepped into that realm when she was about the same age as Li Hanyi.
It was only at this moment that they truly realized how terrifying Wu Su's swordsmanship talent was.
"Is there really anyone in this world who can reach the realm of a terrestrial immortal through swordsmanship?"
Li Hanyi asked incredulously.
For her, even the late stage of the Free and Unfettered Heaven Realm was out of reach, let alone the status of a terrestrial immortal.
Su Chen replied, "Land-based sword immortals? There aren't many masters like that in the world, but there are still a dozen or so."
Everyone nodded in agreement after hearing the first half of the sentence, but they were all stunned when they heard the second half.
There are actually more than a dozen "Land Sword Immortals," which are swordsmen who have reached the realm of Land Immortals.
At this moment, everyone's worldview was completely shattered.
In their minds, having a few terrestrial immortals was already astonishing enough, but now there are more than a dozen terrestrial sword immortals alone.
How many terrestrial deities would there be?
Yaoyue, Li Hanyi, Sikong Changfeng, and Lianxing all fell silent.
As top masters in the martial arts world, they suddenly realized that this world was far more terrifying than they had imagined.
After a moment of silence, Sikong Changfeng said with a wry smile:
"Only today did I realize how vast the world is, and how insignificant I am."
"If this news gets out, the entire martial arts world will be in an uproar."
Yaoyue, Lianxing, and the others nodded in agreement.
If what Su Chen said is true, and there really are a dozen or so land-based sword immortals in the world, then the impact would be enormous.
Putting everything else aside, the eight million swordsmen scattered across the land alone would drive them mad.
Li Hanyi asked in a deep voice, "Could Mr. Su please tell me about the specific features of a land-based sword immortal? I would like to see it for myself."
Su Chen thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Among the many land-based sword immortals, there is one who is the most suitable. His position is confirmed, and if you go there, you will also gain considerable opportunities."
Upon hearing this, Li Hanyi became even more eager, her eyes shining as she stared at Su Chen, waiting for him to reveal the answer.
Yaoyue, Lianxing, and Sikong Changfeng all perked up their ears.
This is a terrestrial sword immortal, a swordsman who has reached the realm of a terrestrial deity, an absolutely legendary figure.
"This person is named Dugu Qiubai, from the Jianghu of the Song Dynasty, and is known as..."
"His life was simply legendary. He never had a master and figured out the way of the sword immortal entirely on his own."
"His method is to hone his skills through combat, constantly sparring with masters, studying their weaknesses, and then countering them."
"Therefore, Dugu Qiubai's swordsmanship emphasizes striking after the opponent has acted, using offense as defense, and targeting the opponent's vital points, making it extremely fierce."
"When he was fifteen, he compiled all his insights into a sword manual called 'The Nine Swords of Dugu,' which was said to be able to break all the laws in the world."
"In fact, he has never been defeated since he created the Dugu Nine Swords."
"At the age of sixteen, he fought against the heroes of Hebei with his Qingfeng Iron Sword, killing countless people. His sword was invincible and his sword intent was extremely fierce."
"At the age of twenty-three, he stopped pursuing brute force and switched to using the Purple Rose Soft Sword. His sword moves became increasingly unpredictable and impossible to defend against."
At the age of thirty, he became more and more composed. He no longer pursued fierce moves or pursued unpredictable changes. Instead, he switched to using a heavy sword, using momentum to overwhelm technique. As the saying goes, a heavy sword has no edge, and great skill is without artifice.
Having reached this level, no one in the entire martial arts world of the Song Dynasty could rival him.
After the age of forty, Dugu Qiubai's state of mind improved once again. He was no longer attached to any weapon. He discarded iron swords, soft swords, and heavy swords. Even grass, trees, bamboo, and stones could become his swords.
But at this point, he could no longer find anyone in the martial arts world of the Song Dynasty who could give him a serious fight, so he could only travel around looking for an opponent who could challenge him.
Su Chen then recounted the story of Dugu Qiubai.
The people in the room listened intently, filled with admiration for this undefeated master.
Their cultivation level is already very high, and their understanding of martial arts is also very profound.
They understood that true masters don't care about the complexity of moves; as long as the artistic conception is there, even the simplest move can be invincible.
Dugu Qiubai, without any guidance, mastered his skills to the extreme at the age of fifteen, and then gradually improved his mental state.
The very concept of "a heavy sword has no edge, great skill is without artifice" was enough to enlighten everyone.
Even looking at the entire martial arts world, there are only a handful of people who can reach this level.
Dugu Qiubai, however, reached this level at the age of thirty-one.
His subsequent ability to use anything as a sword, regardless of its material, left everyone in awe and far behind.
"Dugu Qiubai? How come I've never heard of such a master in the martial arts world of the Song Dynasty?"
"Inviting Moon said with a frown."
Lianxing also found it strange.
The Ming and Song dynasties were adjacent to each other, and there was far more interaction between the two regions than in other places.
A peerless master like Dugu Qiubai should have been famous throughout the martial arts world of the Ming Dynasty long ago, but they had never heard of his name.
Su Chen noticed their confusion and calmly said, "It's normal that you haven't heard of Dugu Qiubai. He has been living in seclusion for almost sixty years."
Upon hearing this, everyone showed expressions of relief.
Sixty years is a really long time.
New talents emerge in the martial arts world, and the world can be transformed in ten years. Who still remembers those powerful figures from sixty years ago?
Unless they are ancestral figures who founded a sect that is still thriving today.
This is why top experts often prefer to start their own businesses.
Time waits for no one. No matter who you are, if you don't leave anything behind, you will eventually become a fleeting passerby in the world.
Just like the invincible Dugu Qiubai from sixty years ago.
He once dominated the martial arts world, but now no one remembers him.
Li Hanyi asked, "Did this Senior Dugu encounter any opponents during his travels in the martial world?"
Everyone stared at Su Chen with curiosity.
After all, this is the first land-based sword immortal mentioned so far.
"Dugu Qiubai was an absolute sword fanatic."
"His greatest wish in life was to find a worthy opponent to fight with."
"Standing too high is too lonely. For someone like Dugu Qiubai, being invincible becomes a tragedy."
As the saying goes, there is always a higher mountain than the one above, and there are always people better than you.
"Although Dugu Qiubai is very strong, there are still swordsmen stronger than him in this vast world."
"In fact, with his swordsmanship, he wouldn't even rank in the top ten in the world."
"Unfortunately, he never encountered anyone stronger than him, and thus he walked the path of life alone."
"Later, he went to the martial arts world of the Ming Dynasty and discussed Taoism with Zhang Sanfeng on the top of Wudang Mountain. The two of them broke through to the realm of terrestrial immortals together."
"During that debate, Dugu Qiubai grasped the true meaning of 'no sword in hand, but a sword in heart,' and gradually entered the realm of 'no sword is better than having a sword.'"
“From then on, he had the idea of living in seclusion.”
"In order to prevent the sword technique from being lost, he passed on his life's masterpiece, the Dugu Nine Swords, to a boy he met by chance."
"This young man later joined the Huashan Sect and became Feng Qingyang, the current number one expert of the Huashan Sect."
Su Chen slowly finished telling the story of Dugu Qiubai after that.
Yaoyue, Li Hanyi, and the others fell silent.
Standing too high is too lonely.
For martial artists, being invincible is indeed a terrifying situation.
When someone reaches the peak, it means that no one has walked the path ahead; they have to forge their own way.
The tragedy of Dugu Qiubai is that he was not truly invincible; he simply never encountered anyone stronger than himself.
This is somewhat dramatic, making one sigh at the cruel twist of fate.
At the same time, they were also shocked by the secrets revealed by Su Chen.
Sixty years ago, Dugu Qiubai actually discussed the Dao with Zhang Zhenren of Wudang, and the two of them stepped into the realm of terrestrial immortals.
This is absolutely a big secret.
Sikong Changfeng sighed: "I had long heard that Master Zhang was a top figure in the martial arts world of the Ming Dynasty. I never imagined that he was already a terrestrial immortal sixty years ago. He truly lives up to his reputation."
Yaoyue and Lianxing nodded gently.