Jiang Zuo had indeed just used swordsmanship.
And what he used was indeed the North Celestial Sword Skill. He had just seen Swordsman Beitian use it, and he immediately replicated it.
His hands had been itching for a challenge; it had been years since he’d used any Swordsmanship or Sword Skills.
Jiang Zuo turned and walked toward a patch of sand, then said, "Yes? Is there a problem?"
Swordsman Beitian shook his head. "The Northern Celestial Seven Swords never belonged to us in the first place, so it’s not a big deal that you know it, Fellow Daoist. I just want to ask, do you know the Seventh Sword of the North Celestial?"
"I don’t," Jiang Zuo replied directly.
Swordsman Beitian wasn’t surprised. He finally said, "I don’t either. I had originally thought of a way, but unfortunately, the only method disappeared the day before yesterday.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come here."
A bitter expression appeared on Swordsman Beitian’s face as he said this.
It had truly cost him a great deal.
Jiang Zuo walked over to the sandy ground and began carving an array into it.
He asked casually, "A method? What method?"
He was genuinely curious how one could master the Seventh Sword of the North Celestial.
The Battle Spirit Stele was revolving around Jiang Zuo, both orbiting his body and spinning on its own axis.
Jiang Zuo discovered that the Battle Spirit Stele could automatically keep others at a distance, preventing anyone from getting too close.
’A useful item.’
Swordsman Beitian paid no mind to the Battle Spirit Stele. Who didn’t have a few strange and peculiar Magical Treasures on them?
He began, "Well, it’s a long story."
Jiang Zuo said nothing. ’Even a long story can be told briefly.’
Sure enough, Swordsman Beitian continued, "To put it simply, a month ago, I found Senior Luo Ying of the Celestial Secret Lineage. I had once happened to help him with a major problem, so he was willing to perform a divination for me."
"At that time, he expended a great deal of effort and divined a sliver of a possibility."
’It was Luo Ying, of all people.’ Luo Ying was someone Jiang Zuo remembered—a man of absolute talent.
Jiang Zuo asked, somewhat curious, "What was this sliver of a possibility he found?"
Swordsman Beitian answered without any concealment, "The Sure-Hit Egg."
Jiang Zuo froze, even pausing his work on the array. "The Sure-Hit Egg?"
Swordsman Beitian nodded. "Yes. Senior Luo Ying told me that if I nurtured the Sure-Hit Egg in a pool within a secret chamber, on the day its consciousness awakened, I would have a sliver of a chance to master the Seventh Sword of the North Celestial."
Then, Swordsman Beitian sighed. "Unfortunately, some damned thief actually stole my egg on that very day. Even if it was just a sliver of a chance, even if it seemed ethereal and uncertain, it was still a chance! It was meant to be my next ultimate move."
"But just like that, it was gone."
Jiang Zuo: "..."
At this, Jiang Zuo looked at Swordsman Beitian with a half-smile. "Luo Ying is really quite impressive, isn’t he?"
******
Meanwhile, in the Celestial Secret Lineage, Luo Ying stood terrified on a mountain peak. He couldn’t raise his head, nor did he dare to.
He could see a layer of black clouds that had been gathering in the sky for some time.
Within those dark clouds, a pair of eyes was watching this place.
This was a vision of the future.
Something that would happen today would decide the very survival of the Celestial Secret Lineage.
Luo Ying couldn’t for the life of him figure out when he had offended this entity.
He was always cautious, yet he had still managed to provoke this being.
And this being was the same one he had seen last time.
That was why he was terrified.
As long as the dark clouds remained, he dared not move.
If the clouds never dispersed, he was willing to remain prostrated here until that person arrived, at which point he would beg them to spare the Celestial Secret Lineage.
******
Back with Jiang Zuo, Swordsman Beitian was sighing. "Senior Luo Ying is indeed impressive, but Fellow Daoist Po Xiao is no less so. In you, I see the shadow of a great senior from a bygone era."
"As a Sword Cultivator, I am inherently arrogant, but you have thoroughly won my admiration."
"I feel fortunate to have met you."
Jiang Zuo lowered his head and continued drawing the array. He then said, "You are indeed very lucky, and Luo Ying is lucky too. Although you’re just a third-rate Sword Cultivator, I suppose you’re passable."
The moment Jiang Zuo uttered these words, far away in the Celestial Secret Lineage, Luo Ying’s entire body relaxed. He then bowed respectfully toward the sky.
The dark clouds vanished, disappearing completely.
The Celestial Secret Lineage would be fine.
Luo Ying felt extremely fortunate.
Finally, he performed one more divination. He wanted to know what it would take for the Celestial Secret Lineage to be passed down for generations to come.
"The Holy Land?" Luo Ying muttered to himself in the end.
「Qualification Battlefield」
Jiang Zuo had already finished drawing the array, and Swordsman Beitian didn’t say anything more.
All they had to do now was follow Jiang Zuo’s lead.
Although Swordsman Beitian was still trying his best, he knew he had probably failed again.
The seeds of failure had already been sown.
Jiang Zuo activated the array, and a massive array within the sand began to resonate with his.
Then, Jiang Zuo stepped inside.
But before he entered, he said, "The final location should be down below. The Spiritual Talismans are inside.
If you have your own way of getting out, you don’t have to go in."
With that, Jiang Zuo vanished into the array.
Nangong Sui was the first to follow. He felt his luck was finally about to turn.
Swordsman Beitian followed as well.
Daoist Crazy Python and his two companions also went in, but Wu Xi and the other one no longer dared to have any improper thoughts.
Po Xiao was not what they had expected.
Although Po Xiao’s strike could be considered a sneak attack, Wu Xi had already been defeated. She didn’t believe she was Po Xiao’s match; sometimes, a single glance was all it took to decide everything.
Before entering, Daoist Crazy Python said, "Fellow Daoist Po Xiao is quite decent. Don’t underestimate him, and don’t overestimate yourselves."
"There are many people in this world we can’t afford to provoke, and no shortage of those who pretend to be weak while being strong—that Nangong Sui is one of them."
"But in front of Po Xiao, he doesn’t dare make any strange moves."
"As long as we act with integrity, Po Xiao definitely won’t do anything to us."
"He is also a man of principle. I’m certain I’m not mistaken about that."
’Principle my ass,’ Wu Xi and the other cursed inwardly.
But on the surface, they still had to nod.
What else could they do? He was the one who saved them every time. If they offended him and no one was there to save them later, they would really be dead.
Soon, they all entered the world beneath the sand.
This was a subterranean secret chamber. The space was quite large, and there were many shelves all around, laden with all sorts of Magical Treasures.
However, these treasures were protected by numerous Restrictions—and very powerful ones at that.
At this moment, a smile spread across Nangong Sui’s face. He then said, "Fellow Daoist Po Xiao, Senior Beitian, according to what was said before, whoever gets these things gets to keep them."
"So, does that mean we can start taking them?"
Jiang Zuo said, "Do as you please."
Swordsman Beitian: "It’s up to your own abilities."
Without another word, Nangong Sui headed for the nearest Magical Treasure. Jiang Zuo also said to Daoist Crazy Python and the others, "You can go too."
After thanking Po Xiao, Daoist Crazy Python and the others also went to try their luck at breaking the Restrictions on nearby treasures.
Jiang Zuo didn’t move, and neither did Swordsman Beitian.
Swordsman Beitian asked curiously, "Aren’t you going, Fellow Daoist?"
Jiang Zuo said, "They’re all mine. Why should I be in a hurry?"
Swordsman Beitian: "..."
’I have never met such a shameless person! You just told people to go ahead, and now you say it’s all yours?’
Then, after a moment of stunned silence, Swordsman Beitian said, "Fellow Daoist, are you planning to be the oriole?"
"I have no interest in that." After speaking, Jiang Zuo walked toward a small door to the side.
Curious, Swordsman Beitian followed him.