Chapter 213 – Going to the Yin-Yang Sword Sect to Take a Mission
"Good disciple-grandson, as one of the Three Great Righteous Sects, our Shennong Valley can't avoid taking part in this Heaven's Chosen Battle." Although Hou Chunyu didn't particularly want Gu Mo to join, the invitation system for this event had completely blocked off any path of retreat.
Refusal would mean their side would be put at a disadvantage. Even if that disadvantage wouldn't affect the overall situation, if they lost, someone would definitely have to take the blame—and that would be on them.
"But you don't need to worry. Our Shennong Valley will just be responsible for logistical support. If you run into danger, just admit defeat immediately. Survival comes first." Hou Chunyu instructed him carefully.
Although the detailed rules of the Heaven's Chosen Battle hadn't been decided yet, certain basics were guaranteed—such as a safe withdrawal mechanism.
Both the Righteous and Demonic factions wanted to eliminate each other's prodigies, but neither wanted to lose their own. So a rule allowing participants to exit safely was bound to be there.
In Hou Chunyu's view, Gu Mo's ranking on the Heaven's Chosen List wasn't high enough for him to be a prime target. Those ranked near the top were the ones both sides wanted dead the most.
Of course, those top-ranked individuals weren't weak either. Who would win and who would lose was far from certain.
"Understood, Master-Grandfather," Gu Mo nodded. As for this Heaven's Chosen Battle, he didn't particularly care. With his combat strength, unless a Nascent Soul True Lord showed up, there wasn't anyone he really feared.
Of course, there was no need to be too high-profile. Being too flashy would just cause endless trouble later. Anything that required making a spectacle could be left to his avatar.
His avatar, being ranked in the top ten of the list, would clearly receive an invitation as well. Sure enough, just as the thought crossed Gu Mo's mind, his avatar in the Grand Yan Sword Sect received one from Xuan Tianhen.
"Disciple, if you're not confident, just refuse," Xuan Tianhen said after a long hesitation.
Lin wu(Gu mo) was the hope of the entire Grand Yan Sword Sect. If he participated, the Demonic Sect would surely target him. Even with his great strength, the risks would be enormous.
"Master, you've always taught me that as a sword cultivator, one must press forward without fear. How could I retreat just because of danger?" Gu Mo replied with a smile.
Since his main body couldn't play the role of the show-off, this avatar would do it.
"Good, good! It was your teacher who was being indecisive."
Gu Mo's words dispelled Xuan Tianhen's hesitation. The Heaven's Chosen Battle, while dangerous, was also filled with opportunities.
Because Gu Mo had condensed twelve Sword Cores—something almost unheard of—his cultivation required massive resources. The Grand Yan Sword Sect's reserves could no longer keep up with his needs.
But this Heaven's Chosen Battle was a chance. If he placed well, the rewards would be enough for him to raise his cultivation by several levels.
Moreover, with twelve Sword Cores working in harmony with his Great Sun Sword Intent, Gu Mo could unleash attacks on par with a Nascent Soul Sword Lord. In the Heaven's Chosen Battle, that kind of power would place him at the very top of the food chain. It was the Demonic Sect's prodigies who should be afraid.
…
"Disciple-grandson, stop daydreaming. Did you hear what your ancestor just said?" Hou Chunyu's annoyed voice brought him back from focusing on his avatar's side of things.
"I heard you clearly!" Gu Mo nodded at once.
Because the decision for this Heaven's Chosen Battle had been made rather suddenly, a full year of preparation time was given so that even prodigies in seclusion or traveling could make it back in time.
"For this year, put aside other matters. Go with that girl Ding Shiyan on a few training battles to get used to the environment. During the Heaven's Chosen Battle, just stick with her. She's one of the few in our Shennong Valley who cultivates both swordsmanship and spiritual planting. Her combat strength won't be an issue." Hou Chunyu went on.
Shennong Valley had more than just Gu Mo receiving invitations. Ding Shiyan had also made the list, and her ranking was much higher than his.
"Master-Grandfather, that won't be necessary." Gu Mo was currently busy with his Cave Heaven. Now that the situation there had stabilized, he was about to start planting work.
"I've already made the arrangements. You're going." Hou Chunyu glared at him, leaving no room for refusal.
"…Alright then."
Gu Mo could only agree. In any case, the trip shouldn't take too much time. With puppets in the Cave Heaven, he didn't have to personally watch over everything.
"Don't worry. For this year, neither side will target those on the list—that's another rule of the Heaven's Chosen Battle." Hou Chunyu reassured him.
If participants were still being assassinated during the preparation period, they might as well rename the event the Assassination Battle.
When Hou Chunyu finally left, Gu Mo felt a mix of exasperation and warmth. Though his master-grandfather could be nagging, the care was genuine. So, to put his mind at ease, Gu Mo decided to participate in a few trials.
Shennong Valley, Mission Hall.
"Junior Brother Gu Mo, over here!"
As soon as he arrived, he heard a familiar voice. A moment later, a graceful figure in green appeared—it was Ding Shiyan, currently dressed in a sword cultivator's attire.
"Senior Sister Ding!"
Gu Mo greeted her with a smile, then followed her into a small private room, where another familiar face was waiting—Du Jinpeng.
He was the disciple of Elder Gu, Hou Chunyu's arch-rival. Du Jinpeng was also the one who had cultivated the Roaring Ancient Tree during the last spiritual planting exhibition.
After that event, he had naturally entered the Heaven's Chosen List. The list wasn't fixed—rankings shifted over time.
If a listed Heaven's Chosen broke through to Nascent Soul, they would be removed from the list entirely. At the Nascent Soul stage, without Divine Transformation experts intervening, such cultivators became the backbone of the Righteous–Demonic conflict.
Another purpose of the list was to serve as a bounty board for assassination. Killing a Golden Core prodigy was possible, but targeting a Nascent Soul cultivator was basically impossible—doing so would require an astronomical price.
Thus, any Heaven's Chosen who reached Nascent Soul would be taken off the list. Those who went without news for long periods would see their ranking drop until they fell off entirely.
Gu Mo, Ding Shiyan, and Du Jinpeng were the three representatives Shennong Valley was sending to this Heaven's Chosen Battle. Without exception, none of them were true inheritors of the Valley.
Shennong Valley's true disciples usually remained in the sect's secret realms and rarely traveled, making it hard for the Demonic Sect to gather information on them. As such, they generally didn't appear on the Heaven's Chosen List.
This was only true for Shennong Valley. The other two top sects—the Yin-Yang Sword Sect and the Taiqing Sect—had true disciples who frequently traveled, inevitably allowing some intelligence to leak.
Several of the top-ranked prodigies were exactly those true disciples, and they were clearly the Righteous faction's trump cards for winning the battle.
By contrast, the Demonic Sect suffered from weaker intelligence-gathering capabilities. They knew little about the true disciples of their own top three sects, so fewer of them made the list.
In other words, the Demonic Sect was paying the price for the Righteous faction's superior intel. Of course, they would certainly find ways to make up for this before the event began.
After a year of back-and-forth negotiations, the two sides would settle on a set of rules both could accept. Gu Mo could only hope that the "brilliant mind" who came up with this Heaven's Chosen Battle wouldn't stir up more trouble.
"Senior Brother Du!"
Gu Mo cupped his hands in greeting. Though Hou Chunyu and Elder Gu were rivals, that was merely a matter of differing paths, not personal hatred.
Gu Mo had no personal enmity with him, and they were about to be teammates in the upcoming battles.
"Junior Brother Gu!"
Du Jinpeng stood and returned the salute, his eyes showing respect without any trace of hostility. The Sunlight Glazed Flower and Torch Stump Tree—those two achievements were so impressive that even Du Jinpeng's master couldn't praise them enough, let alone Du Jinpeng himself.
"Alright, let's take a look at our mission."
As the team leader, Ding Shiyan began to organize their upcoming trial.
As one of the top sects, Shennong Valley's Mission Hall had many assignments, but most were related to spiritual plants. However, Gu Mo and the others needed live combat experience for their training, which meant they needed battle-oriented missions.
But everyone knew Shennong Valley disciples weren't known for their fighting ability, so the missions allocated to them rarely involved combat.
The three of them stood there awkwardly, identity tokens in hand—there simply weren't any suitable missions.
"As expected."
Ding Shiyan looked utterly calm. "Come on, let's head to the Yin-Yang Sword Sect. They have plenty of combat missions there."
Gu Mo couldn't help thinking—seriously? Their own sect didn't have suitable missions, so they were going to take missions from another sect? Wasn't there a risk of getting thrown out?
"Relax. I know people there," Ding Shiyan said, giving Gu Mo and Du Jinpeng a reassuring glance.
Just as Hou Chunyu had said, the Demonic Sect's spies had completely gone to ground lately, ceasing all intelligence-gathering and assassination operations. As a result, the three of them encountered no trouble on their way to the Yin-Yang Sword Sect.
As soon as their flying vessel entered the Yin-Yang Sword Sect's territory, Gu Mo could keenly sense two intertwining sword intents—that was the Yin-Yang Sword Intent.
These sword intents originated from the sect's two core peaks: the Yin Peak and the Yang Peak, which were said to have been transformed from two divine swords.
In times of danger, the sect could rouse these two swords to strike down enemies—just like Shennong Valley's fifth-rank ancient tree. This was the foundation of the Yin-Yang Sword Sect's power.
"Big Sister Ding!"
As the three of them stopped outside the sect's protective mountain array, a young girl came running up, waving enthusiastically to Ding Shiyan.
"Yueyue, it's been so long!" Ding Shiyan laughed and swept the girl up into a hug.
"Ming Yueyue—ranked twentieth on the Heaven's Chosen List. Her strength is no weaker than Senior Sister Ding's," Du Jinpeng transmitted quietly to Gu Mo.
While Ding Shiyan was considered top-tier in Shennong Valley, in a premier sword sect like the Yin-Yang Sword Sect, she wasn't anything exceptional. Her edge lay in being both a sword cultivator and a spiritual planter—making her an all-rounder who could both deal damage and provide support.
"Big Sister Ding, I got the Sword-Heart Bamboo you sent! Look—this is the flying sword I refined from it." The girl excitedly displayed her work.
"Not bad!"
Ding Shiyan's eyes swept over the sword. Using the same material, the Yin-Yang Sword Sect could still make a better weapon than most sects—because they had a Sword Pool that could temper flying swords and enhance their quality.
"Yueyue, these two are my junior brothers. They're also taking part in the Heaven's Chosen Battle. But since Shennong Valley doesn't have many combat missions, I was hoping you could help us out." After exchanging greetings, Ding Shiyan got straight to the point.
"Greetings, junior brothers!"
Ming Yueyue gave Gu Mo and Du Jinpeng a polite nod. Though she looked young, she was already at late-stage Golden Core. In the cultivation world, unless disciples shared the same master, seniority was determined by cultivation realm.
Both Gu Mo and Du Jinpeng were at the Golden Core stage, but with one at first revolution and the other at third revolution, neither could compare to Ming Yueyue's seventh-revolution Golden Core.
"Leave it to me, Big Sister Ding. I'm also joining the Heaven's Chosen Battle. We can train together." With that, the girl led them into the Yin-Yang Sword Sect.
The moment they stepped through the sect's mountain-protecting formation, Gu Mo felt the difference. Even though both were sword sects, the Grand Yan Sword Sect simply couldn't compare to a top-tier sect like the Yin-Yang Sword Sect.
For one thing, the faint sword intent that permeated the entire sect could already accelerate disciples' comprehension of sword intent.
"Hm?"
Gu Mo suddenly looked up at the massive stone at the sect's gate, on which the four characters for "Yin-Yang Sword Sect" had been carved—clearly by a mighty sword cultivator.
The characters for "Yin" and "Yang" each contained their respective sword intents. Gu Mo felt little resonance with the Yin character, but when his eyes fell on the Yang character, the Great Sun Sword Intent within him stirred.
His Great Sun Sword Intent had its origin in the Extreme Yang Sword Intent of the Yin-Yang Sword Intent. The Yang character's sword intent was so powerful that simply looking at it made his Great Sun Sword Intent want to compete with it.
Buzz!
Before Gu Mo could react, a blazing sun appeared in his pupils. Sensing his Great Sun Sword Intent, the Yang character flared with an ultimate, pure Yang sword intent—so intense that it, too, seemed to transform into a blazing sun.
It was clear that the Yin-Yang Sword Sect senior who had written the Yang character had already taken the Extreme Yang Sword Intent close to evolving into the Great Sun Sword Intent.
The sudden outburst from the Yang character immediately alerted the entire sect. Although it quickly subsided, several powerful auras appeared nearby.
"Yueyue, do you know what just happened?" A thin, elderly man approached Ming Yueyue, asking because she and the others were the only ones outside the gate at the moment.
"I—I don't know!"
Ming Yueyue looked baffled. She had comprehended the Extreme Yin Sword Intent and hadn't noticed the Yang intent's change. By the time she realized something had happened, the sect elder was already there.
Seeing this, the thin elder turned his gaze to the three visitors.
"Elder Zhu, greetings." Ding Shiyan bowed.
"Girl, you haven't been here in quite a while." Elder Zhu clearly recognized her. In the past, he had valued her sword talent so much that he had even gone to Shennong Valley to try to recruit her into the Yin-Yang Sword Sect.
But given her equally outstanding spiritual planting talent, Shennong Valley had no intention of letting her go. And since Ding Shiyan herself had no wish to leave, the matter had been dropped.
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