Chapter 397 - 192: Sword
Chapter 397: Chapter 192: Sword
Only Fang Shuwen was left standing.
His clothes were once again stained with fresh blood... Blood was visible on the ground, but there weren’t many bodies.
The Fist Force of Wind Calming and Madness Stopping was similar to Knocking the Mountain and Shaking the Demon from the Great Black Heaven God Palm; it used ’Shock Force’.
It was just that Knocking the Mountain and Shaking the Demon struck a single person, while Wind Calming and Madness Stopping struck a wide area.
Thanks to Fang Shuwen using Wind Calming and Madness Stopping for most of the latter half of the fight, the majority of the Divine Swordsmen had been blasted to pieces. The few mangled corpses that could now be seen were those who had died from the Buddhist Thunder Sound of the Twelve-Gate Golden Bell Shield and the Mercy Does Not Cross of the Great Black Heaven God Palm.
Sun Buping stood before the gates of the Sword God Palace, almost forgetting what he was supposed to do.
He just watched as blood soaked through the enormous threshold of the Sword God Palace, then continued to flow down the steps before the mountain gate.
Even Sun Buping found such a brutal and bloody scene somewhat hard to bear.
However, he quickly adjusted his state of mind and crossed the threshold with Fang Dabao.
Looking up, he saw Fang Shuwen slowly strolling over to a massive stone stele, his gaze fixed on the character for ’Sword’ carved into it.
Sun Buping took two steps and felt something strange under his feet. After a moment of thought, his face turned pale.
Nevertheless, he quickened his pace and walked to Fang Shuwen’s side.
"This stele was inscribed by the founding patriarch of the Sword God Palace. It’s said that it holds the secrets of the ’Grand Beginning Sword Sutra.’
"It was placed here so the Divine Swordsmen could observe and contemplate it daily, hoping to grasp the true essence of Swordsmanship from it."
Fang Shuwen thought for a moment and asked,
"Do you think the essence can still be understood if I make a rubbing of this character?"
Sun Buping considered it seriously for a moment.
"I don’t know."
Fang Shuwen nodded. Suddenly, he lashed out with a kick, and with a WHOOSH—
—the massive stone stele was sent flying into the air.
Fang Shuwen then thrust out a hand and caught the stele with a single palm.
Sun Buping’s eyes nearly popped out of his head!
’A stele that big... Kicked into the air with one foot? Caught with one hand?’
’Is... Is that something a human can even do?’
Fang Shuwen, however, found the weight manageable.
’Unfortunately, the journey from the Northern Domain to the Eastern Domain is too far. It would be very inconvenient to use my Lightweight Technique while carrying this. Who knows how long it would take to get back to the Eastern Domain?’
Just as he was about to put it down, he suddenly glanced back and smiled faintly.
"Jin Youdao, how about you help me deliver this stele to the Eastern Domain?"
There was no response.
Fang Shuwen didn’t mind. He simply tossed the stele aside.
He then led Fang Dabao and Sun Buping deeper into the Sword God Palace.
Not long after they left, a large, fat man jumped out from the shadows. He shook the snow off his clothes and quickly waved his hand.
"Quickly, quickly! Take this thing away before anyone notices.
"That lord wants this delivered to the Eastern Domain, so you’d better be quick about it...
"You don’t want to displease him and have him beat you all to death."
Several strong, burly men hurried forward.
Each grabbed a corner and tried to lift it.
But even using all their might, their faces turning beet-red, they barely managed to lift the stele less than three inches off the ground.
They couldn’t hold it any longer. With a CRASH, the stele slipped from their grasp and slammed onto the ground, making the whole area tremble slightly.
"How can it be so heavy?"
"We just saw him send it flying with a casual kick."
"He can lift something this heavy with one hand?"
"The Demon Evil God... Could he really not be human?"
Hearing this, a vein bulged on Jin Youdao’s forehead.
"If you can’t lift it, then figure something out! Stop dawdling.
"Our Golden Bell Tower only cares about making money, not power struggles! Until Ye Wufeng is dead, none of us can be seen. Do you understand or not?
"Now hurry up and find another way to move this thing. It needs to be shipped to the Eastern Domain tonight."
The men quickly agreed and went to fetch poles, ropes, and the like. They then summoned an even larger group of sturdier men. After struggling with the stele for quite some time, they finally managed to haul it out of the Sword God Palace.
Jin Youdao watched, clicking his tongue in amazement.
’He has a sharp eye. This stele must be worth a fortune.
’But from the looks of it, he probably has no intention of selling it.’
At this thought, he sighed and then stealthily made his way deeper into the Sword God Palace.
...
...
Fang Shuwen could guess what was happening behind him.
He and Jin Youdao had already discussed it.
Fang Shuwen was responsible for the killing. After he had cleared out the entire Sword God Palace, he would sell the whole thing, lock, stock, and barrel, to the Golden Bell Tower.
But until then, the people from the Golden Bell Tower would not show themselves.
However, Fang Shuwen had taken a real liking to that stele from earlier.
He planned to get it to Guangning City in the Eastern Domain, buy a large courtyard there, and set up the stele. Then he could invite Zhou Qingmei over to see it.
He might not have a cat that could do backflips, but he imagined a stele from which one could comprehend the true essence of Swordsmanship would hold an even greater appeal for Zhou Qingmei.
’Then again, given their relationship, she would probably come even without the stele... right?’
As he pondered this, he entered the main hall.
The buildings of the Sword God Palace were all tall, vast, and empty.
It gave off a solemn and majestic feeling.
Continuing forward, he finally reached the so-called inner sanctum.
The inner sanctum was named ’Divine Sword Pavilion.’ Its great doors were thrown wide open. Upon stepping inside, the first thing that met the eye were eighteen Coiling Dragon Pillars supporting the entire structure.
Looking deeper inside, he saw an enormous chair at the very head of the hall.
The chair was carved from stone, its back shaped like a sword pointing to the heavens.
A middle-aged man dressed all in white was sitting silently in the depths of the palace hall.
There was no sword in his hand, nor any by his side.
But an infinite Sword Intent swirled around him. It was as if he himself was the sword!