After the great battle, everyone actually needed to recuperate and recover. Zhou Qiu was still a little worried and wanted to go outside to arrange for his disciples to investigate and defend. Therefore, he only said a few words in a hurry, and everyone went to the guest room to rest. It was not until the evening that Zhou Qiu sent his disciples to invite them.
Zhou Qiu held a banquet in Liushui Tower to thank everyone. Liushui Tower had two floors. Nie Yu entertained disciples from Feijian Palace and Guiling Sect on the lower floor, while Zhou Qiu personally entertained important figures on the upper floor.
There were no walls upstairs, with pillars and railings on all sides, and it was very spacious, accommodating nearly a hundred people for a banquet. All the disciples of Guangling were proficient in music, and the environment in the sect was beautiful and full of elegance. There were exquisite bamboo mats in the seats, and in front of each person was a small table with fairy fruit and nectar on it. There was no cold pearl light, and a row of hexagonal palace lanterns hung under the eaves, with thousand-year-old candles burning inside. Downstairs was an endless sea of bamboo, and Zhou Qiu also arranged for his disciples to play the zither in the small pavilion opposite to add to the fun.
The bamboo waves rise and fall, and the piano sounds like flowing water.
Not many people appreciated such a beautiful view, and almost everyone's eyes were fixed on one person.
The man sat very casually, occasionally leaning forward to chat and laugh with others, but he did not look the least bit unruly. He had the bearing of a young master from a wealthy family ingrained in his bones. Although there were obviously no ornaments on his snow-white robe, it somehow exuded a hint of luxury.
Gu Pinglin pinched the jade cup in front of him and pursed his lips.
Zhou Qiu personally persuaded people to drink: "The Guangling sect was able to escape danger, all thanks to Pavilion Master and fellow Taoists."
Everyone expressed their greetings and raised their glasses in agreement.
The Taoist priest of Guiling Sect said with a smile: "If it weren't for Pavilion Master, we would probably still be struggling and waiting for rescue. This cup should be used to thank Pavilion Master."
Just as he finished speaking, a harsh voice rang out from the side: "It was only by chance that the Nine Swamps incident occurred that Master Weifeng was willing to retreat. It would be an exaggeration to say that it was all thanks to the Pavilion Master."
It was Feijian Palace Yang Zhao.
Everyone frowned at the same time, but because of the power of Feijian Palace and Yu Wuxue's face, they didn't dare to say anything about him.
The Zhou sisters were arranging for their disciples to serve wine. They stopped when they heard this. Zhou Caige said, "Senior Brother Yang, you are joking!"
Yang Zhao raised his eyebrows and bowed to the Pavilion Master: "I, Yang Zhao, always speak my mind and am not used to being falsely polite. I hope the Pavilion Master will forgive me."
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward, and Gu Pinglin couldn't help but put down his wine glass.
This kid has no self-awareness. In terms of cultivation alone, Master Weifeng is almost unbeatable. If he had come two days earlier, the Fuxi Formation would not have been able to protect the Guangling Sect. Feijian Palace is known as the number one sword sect, but even the strongest elder Fang Zhongyuan might not have dared to fight Master Weifeng head-on when he was alive. Yang Zhao was favored by the head of the sect Yu Wuxue because of his innate sword intent. Yu Wuxue was probably worried that he was born in a humble family and his temperament was not compatible with the swordsmanship of Feijian Palace, so he deliberately encouraged his arrogance, which made him develop such an annoying personality. This kid offended most of his fellow disciples, so two years later he was instigated to do the stupid thing of going to the mirror land alone, and lost his life in vain.
Zhou Qiu suppressed his anger, put down his wine glass gently, and said with a smile: "Junior Brother Yang, what you said is wrong. It is not easy for the Sword King Pavilion to gain a foothold in the Blood Moon Miasma Valley. When I talked to your master in private, he also praised the sword of Pavilion Master Yun Ya."
He brought up Yu Wuxue because he thought it would be difficult for Yang Zhao to refute his master's words. However, Yang Zhao didn't know what to say and sneered, "My master is always polite to others. He praises me just to show his respect. Could it be that people who hear it take it seriously and think they can beat Feijian Palace? The Pavilion Master has not even drawn a sword, but he calls himself the Sword King. It's hard to convince people."
These words offended all the sword cultivators in the entire cultivation world. Not only Zhou Qiu and Tang Jian, but also several other great sword cultivators looked gloomy. After all, Zhao Yangzhao said so, and Yu Wuxue had also been "polite" to them before.
Yang Zhao was still complacent: "What do you think, Pavilion Master?"
The Pavilion Master put down his wine glass slowly and said, "The purpose of doing business with the Sword King Pavilion is mutual benefit, not to satisfy others."
Yang Zhao taunted: "I wonder if Pavilion Master can always defeat the enemy with information?"
"Maybe," the Pavilion Master also had a good temper and said with a smile, "Sword King Pavilion has a wide range of information channels. Maybe we will have good luck next time."
Yang Zhao choked for a moment and sneered: "Since your lord relies on eloquence to convince people, why not remove the word Sword King."
"Being good at speaking doesn't mean you don't have strength; I don't draw my sword because it's unnecessary," the Pavilion Master said slowly, "A reckless man conquers others with force, a benevolent man wins over others with virtue, and a wise man controls others with strategy. I often hear that wise men disdain to associate with reckless men, but I have never seen reckless men laugh at wise men."
"Who are you calling a reckless man?" Yang Zhao was furious and slammed the table and stood up.
The Pavilion Master said, "It was just a joke, why should Master Yang get angry?"
"Is Pavilion Master's strength just a matter of talking?" Yang Zhao sneered and summoned the Lonely Sword. "Unfortunately, sword cultivation is not judged by eloquence. Today Yang Zhao will ask Pavilion Master for some advice."
Seeing that something was wrong, everyone stood up to try to mediate.
Tang Jian, an elder of Guangling Sect, said: "The enemy has retreated, so we should celebrate. Why spoil the fun? I hope that Junior Brother Yang will give me some face."
"I just can't stand those who have nothing but reputation," Yang Zhao didn't give any face at all, pointing at the Pavilion Master, "Do you dare?"
The Pavilion Master said, "Peace is the most important thing in the Sword King Pavilion. Besides, it is not appropriate for a guest to start a fight in the host's home. It is too rude."
Yang Zhao asked, "Or are you afraid to fight?"
He refused to give in, and everyone was at a loss as to what to do. They all looked at the mountain master Zhou Qiu, but saw that Zhou Qiu was drinking by himself, not saying a word, and had no intention of dissuading them. Everyone understood what was going on and decided to just give him a few words of persuasion.
Yang Zhao was narrow-minded, relying on his status as the heir of Feijian Palace, and looked down on others. However, he did receive the true swordsmanship, and was able to make Xuanming Sect's Yunhe suffer at the Dao Discussion Meeting. No matter how unhappy everyone was, they could do nothing about it. Now he took the initiative to provoke the Sword King Pavilion Master whose strength was unknown. Everyone was happy to watch the fun, thinking that it would be better if he lost. As for the other Feijian Palace disciples, some were equally proud and believed that Yang Zhao would win, some hated Yang Zhao as much as everyone else, and there were a few sober ones who did not dare to offend Yang Zhao and kept silent.
No one persuaded him, Yang Zhao was even more proud: "Stop talking nonsense, Pavilion Master, do you dare to fight me?"
"This... Sigh!" The Pavilion Master sighed helplessly, took the wine glass in front of him and took a sip, then said, "How about this, you are a disciple of Feijian Palace, and I am the Pavilion Master of Jianwang Pavilion. In order to avoid being accused of bullying the younger generation, I will not draw my sword today. If you can hurt me, you win."
As soon as the words came out, silence fell all around.
It is even more difficult for a sword cultivator to defend without using his sword. The sword skills of Feijian Palace are well-known. Although Yang Zhao's skills are not enough, he sat on the first stone chair at the discussion meeting. Cross-border battles are not a problem. No wonder he is so arrogant that he thinks he can match Master Weifeng.
As for this Pavilion Master...
Everyone smiled bitterly.
The two of them were simply competing to see who was crazier.
As expected, Yang Zhao felt that he was being looked down upon, his face turned green, and he clenched his teeth and sneered: "I hope the Pavilion Master will not regret it."
He was a little impatient. Before the sword moved, the sword intent was already released. All the sword practitioners present felt suppressed in an instant, including Gu Pinglin.
This is the advantage of talent. This person's innate sword power is rare, even Qi Wan'er, Cheng Yi and others are not as good as him. If he doesn't seek death in two years, and concentrates on practicing for decades, he will definitely achieve great success.
Gu Pinglin thought to himself what a pity, and looked to the other side.
Surrounded by sword intent, the Pavilion Master remained motionless.
Perhaps intending to compare with him, Yang Zhao released his innate sword intent without reservation and walked towards him step by step. The sword intent in his body was stimulated to the extreme, forming a subtle sword energy visible to the naked eye. A "hissing" sound was heard, and shallow sword marks appeared on the lanterns and pillars.
Everyone was shocked and used their true Qi to fight against it.
"Since you are a guest, please don't disturb the host." Qingyue's voice sounded, and in the blink of an eye, the figure of the Pavilion Master disappeared from his seat.
As night falls, the bamboo sea is vast and the white clothes are like waves on the sea.
Yang Zhao snorted, then flew out of Liushui Tower and stepped on the Gufang Sword, using the sword control technique of Feijian Palace. There were four other flying swords circling around him. It turned out that the Gufang Sword looked like one sword, but in fact it had five blades.
A hurricane arose on the bamboo sea, the bamboo waves surged and undulated, a vast sword realm spread out, and the flying sword, with its majestic sword energy, rushed towards the opposite side like shining white waves, layer by layer, and instantly swallowed up the white shadow!
Everyone immediately gathered around the railing to watch.
"A dream of a yellow millet." Zhou Qiu recognized this move and looked solemn.
Tang Jian immediately said: "This... Pavilion Master is not doing well."
When Yang Zhao made his move, he used the famous move of Fang Zhongyuan, the former number one swordsman. His momentum was quite strong. Everyone began to worry about the Pavilion Master and discussed the matter in a low voice.
Gu Pinglin said nothing.
Both are crazy, but one is completely unaware of himself, while the other knows both himself and the enemy. This battle is no surprise.
When the moves were exhausted, the light dimmed and the white sword waves gradually subsided.
The Pavilion Master was nowhere to be seen on the opposite side.
Everyone was speechless for a moment, thinking that the Pavilion Master must have fallen into the bamboo forest injured. Zhou Qiu was also hesitating whether to go over and take a look in person, after all, the other party was the benefactor of Guangling Sect.
Yang Zhao laughed: "Sword King Pavilion is just a name! In my opinion..."
"Look over there!" someone suddenly shouted downstairs.
Although the sword moves had clearly subsided, a wisp of sword energy was still floating above the sea of bamboo, flashing a faint white light, and it was reluctant to disappear.
Yang Zhao put away his smile: "Hmm?"
Everyone saw something was wrong and leaned over the railing to look. The cultivator opened his night vision, and in front of many suspicious eyes, the speed of the white sword energy slowed down, and finally condensed into a solid shadow.
There was a burst of cheers from downstairs. It was Nie Yu and his disciples.
"Great!" Tang Jian clapped his hands and laughed, "My body turned into sword energy. It's better to say that I entered the move than to say that I broke it!"
Everyone praised Zhou Qiu highly.
Yang Zhao was furious: "It's too early to tell who will win!"
After the next move, the Pavilion Master was still unharmed.
"I am the sword, the sword is me, my will is the sword's will, the sword's will is my will, how can your sword hurt me?"
Yang Zhao was so angry that his whole body was shaking, but he continued to attack with his sword. It was unknown whether he was too impatient or what, but his subsequent sword moves were inexplicably broken. Several flying swords even changed direction in the middle of the attack and collided with each other like a child's play.
The Pavilion Master was more relaxed and made comments from time to time.
"The sword intention is limited, but unfortunately, your swordsmanship is too poor."
"This sword missed by two inches."
“Not enough stamina.”
"Your sword energy has dissipated."
"It's full of mistakes and it's vulnerable."
"With such poor swordsmanship, where does your arrogance come from?"
…
Perhaps it was because the night wind was too cold, the smiling voice sounded particularly cold in my ears.
However, the right amount of ridicule sounded more like instruction and condemnation, and it didn't make people feel excessive at all. Everyone thought he was taking the opportunity to teach Yang Zhao a lesson, and they were happy to see it happen.
Zhou Qiu looked around and smiled, "Young people are too arrogant. It's a good thing to learn some lessons."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Only Gu Pinglin's face turned pale.
The swordsmanship of Feijian Palace is well-known. How could Yang Zhao be so vulnerable? The reason why he was able to remain safe and sound is not only because the super strong sword intent affected Yang Zhao's sword energy, but also because of his higher cultivation level. Above the inner elixir realm, there is a world of difference between a small realm and a small realm. As it stands now, he should be close to the elixir realm, or has already reached it.
These deliberate sarcasm and disparagement were definitely more than just a lesson for Yang Zhao.
Feijian Palace emphasizes pride, and uses it to enter the Tao. Yang Zhao has a special experience, and his pride is cultivated deliberately. Under his arrogance lies his early inferiority complex. The Pavilion Master describes his sword moves as worthless, which is clearly intended to destroy his pride. Once Yang Zhao's mind is not firm enough, he begins to doubt, and his Taoism heart is shaken, his Taoism path will surely collapse.
The sword energy enveloped the figure, and everyone couldn't see Yang Zhao's expression clearly, but seeing that his attacks were becoming more and more impatient and out of control, gradually, they began to feel that something was wrong.
Zhou Qiu asked tentatively, "Junior Brother Yang, since we have finished our sparring, shall we stop here today?"
no response.
The Pavilion Master said, "Well, let's not fight anymore."
"Why not fight! I will definitely win!" Yang Zhao's voice rang out, with a bit of madness, "Impossible! I don't believe it... Come again!"
Seeing that he didn't know how to appreciate the favor, everyone sneered.
The familiar chill came over him again, and Gu Pinglin couldn't help but tighten the front of his cloak.
No one knew that the genius of Feijian Palace was about to fall. Yang Zhao was in the middle of the situation, being led step by step, and could no longer hear the voices from the outside world. Outsiders could not see it because those words could not affect others at all. Even if something happened, everyone would probably think that Yang Zhao was not determined enough.
This kind of thing can only be done by someone who understands human nature and is good at controlling it.
Being trapped in a small world forever, with no future and no way out, is undoubtedly more cruel than wasting one's cultivation. Yang Zhao is just a bad person. In fact, he has never done anything bad. He even came to rescue Guangling Sect just to show off. This "lesson" is too severe for him.
Weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Gu Pinglin hesitated for a moment, but in the end he did not speak and walked back to his seat alone.
Although Yang Zhao is pitiful, it is not worth it for me to anger that person because of him.
Gu Pinglin was just picking up the pot to pour wine to calm himself down when he suddenly saw two graceful figures walking towards him. They were the Zhou sisters.
"Master Gu." The two sisters bowed. After so many years, they had become much more restrained and were still a little reserved when facing Gu Pinglin.
Gu Pinglin nodded: "I hope you two girls are doing well."
The two sisters looked at the battle situation outside and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Gu Pinglin understood what they were thinking: "The Pavilion Master is the Pavilion Master."
Zhou Caiqin sighed and said awkwardly, "There are indeed many people in the world who look alike."
The misunderstanding between the two was probably still not resolved, and Gu Pinglin did not explain, but said casually: "The world is unpredictable, it is indeed a cause for regret."
Zhou Caige said hurriedly: "That's right, Senior Brother Yang's swordsmanship is already extraordinary, and the Sword King Pavilion Master is even better."
The battle didn't last long. The Pavilion Master avoided Yang Zhao's killing move and returned to Liushui Tower: "That's enough. If you keep fighting, all of you will get impatient."
Yang Zhao chased him into the building, pointed his sword at him, and asked with red eyes: "Do you look down on me?"
The Pavilion Master turned to Zhou Qiu and said, "Please excuse me, Mountain Master."
Zhou Qiu hurriedly said: "The title of Sword King belongs to the Pavilion Master. We are really enlightened today!"
The Pavilion Master bowed to the others again, turned around and returned to his seat, as if he didn't see Yang Zhao beside him.
This familiar posture... Gu Pinglin subconsciously looked at Yang Zhao, and sure enough, he saw that his face was pale and the hand holding the sword was shaking slightly.
"I ask you, do you look down on me?"
"Junior Brother Yang!" Zhou Qiu felt that he was being too rude, and patted him on the shoulder, "That's enough, let's stop here today, Junior Brother Yang, please give me some face!"
But as soon as he finished speaking, Yang Zhao shook twice and spit out blood.
Everyone was shocked.
Zhou Qiu was also stunned for a moment, and supported him: "Junior Brother Yang, what are you doing..."
Yang Zhao seemed not to hear his words. He just stared at the Pavilion Master and said with red eyes: "Come again! Fight again!"
Zhou Qiu knew something was wrong and immediately sealed his consciousness with his true qi. Seeing Yang Zhao faint, another disciple of Feijian Palace hurried over to hug him and said angrily: "Since we are sparring, why did Pavilion Master hurt others?"
Elder Tang Jian advised: "I believe that the Pavilion Master is not a person who goes back on his word. Let's check on Junior Brother Yang's injuries first."
Zhou Qiu felt the pulse for a moment, his expression complicated: "The Dantian veins are not injured, but it seems that... the mind is injured."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Zhou Qiu's meaning was very clear. "Mentally traumatized" was a nice way of saying it. To put it bluntly, Yang Zhao was narrow-minded and his mood was damaged by anger.
The Feijian Palace disciple was also shocked: "How is it possible!"
"Alas, it's my fault," the Pavilion Master stood up and said apologetically, "What should I do?"
Everyone was a little embarrassed. Tang Jian said, "Junior Brother Yang proposed the competition himself, how can you blame the Pavilion Master? I will explain to Master Yu one day, so the Pavilion Master can rest assured."
After all, Yang Zhao was Yu Wuxue's direct disciple, so Zhou Qiu didn't dare to be careless. He ordered Tang Jian to send him to the Danyuan for treatment, and asked the Feijian Palace's senior disciple to follow him: "I can always rest assured that you, my nephew, will take care of him."
After this incident, everyone lost interest in the banquet and soon dispersed and went back to their rooms.
It was late at night, the wind was cold, and the boundless bamboo sea was surging with black waves in the night.
The remaining banquet had been cleared away, and there was no one in sight in Liushui Tower. It was empty and deserted. Only the four palace lanterns under the eaves were still lit, and the dim lights swayed in the wind, reflecting the handsome faces of the visitors.
Suddenly, the sound of a piano came from the small attic opposite.
Familiar piano sound.
Gu Pinglin flew out of Liushui Tower, floated into the small pavilion, and landed at the railing.
The exquisite lampshade could not block the bright light, and it was as bright as day inside the door. Opposite was a piano, the sound of which was clear and distant, and the person beside the piano was like a painting, as if embedded in the peony flower and bird screen behind him.
Gu Pinglin stood by the fence, waiting.
The song ends and the sound stops.
The slender fingers gently fell back on the string, the man bent his lower lip, slowly raised his face, his narrow eyes were illuminated by the light and looked a little charming: "Long time no see, Gu Pinglin."
Gu Pinglin said, "It's you."
"It's me." The man looked at him with a half-smile and cold eyes as he took his hand off the strings. "The Moonlight Scroll disappointed me. Now that I have to start over, there are more things in your eyes."