The Heavenly Wandering Sword
Chapter 20
The palace itself had had it’s gate opened, and Li Jian can see the formation that had spread over the entire palace. “This is his tomb.” He said to the others, who were all staring in wonder at the massive structure that was far larger than anything else they had seen before. “How did they put this in a mountain?” Lady Bai asked, her eyes wide with wonder. “We’re not in the same dimension anymore Sister Bai.” He said in response, smiling as what the act of stepping off the cliff actually did was suddenly realized in everyone’s minds. He laughed and walked up to the gate before summoning his sword force into his fingertip and injected it into the lock of the gate. With a loud click, the gates opened wide and the inside courtyard was revealed to them all.
The courtyard itself was filled with countless statues of various swords. True to his name, the Sword Emperor had wished for himself to be buried with what he had spent the most time with and cherished the most in his life. “The rest of the room has a lot of treasure, but they should not be disturbed. We come here not to rob his tomb.” Li Jian said, the others all nodding. They were all far too shocked by what had already happened so they decided as a group that they would follow his directions. Li Jian lead the way straight through the center of the place where they came into the main entrance of the palace. The door opened for them as they approached. The others all nervously waited for something to happen but Li Jian just kept walking forward. The inside of the palace was made of polished marble with etchings of various teachings on the walls itself. There were various stands with vases, as well as spiritual crystals of various density and strength.
“Brother Li, are all of these things treasure?” Jing Wu Die asked as he looked at a particularly pure cut of spiritual jade. “They are priceless treasure, and they all hold their own story. That jade you are looking at is a piece of thousand year jade, jade that has spent a thousand years in the spiritual force rich waters of the northern ice river.” Jing Wu Die walking slowly, looking at each piece of treasure that was there. “Why is there so much treasure set here?” He asked.
Li Jian smiled slightly at the question. “Prince Jing, every piece of these treasures are a piece of tribute to the Sword Emperor. Each of the items are to pay for a life not taken.” Hearing those words, Jing Wu Die frowned and took a few steps back. “How does he know so much about this place?” Lady Bai thought to herself. Li Jian was truly a mysterious man, and he intrigued her. He was not like the martial artists who sought at any price to achieve a higher level of cultivation nor was he like the greedy Princes that would approach her to see what benefits and wealth they can attain from her position. “This is why I told you not to take anything from the tomb. There is a curse on this entire tomb. Anyone who takes a single item away from this tomb that is not willingly given, will lose their life at some point.”
It was an ancient curse that was used by the power to protect their tombs. The power of this curse required the sacrifice of perhaps a dozen sword saints, the very ones that protected this tomb now most likely. They entered into the throne room finally after wandering around for another hour. Even Princess Jing gasped slightly at the sight.
Where the throne should have been laid a coffin carved from pure jade. The body inside of the First Sword Emperor was still clad in his priceless Skydragon armour, his sword impaled into the marble floor in front of him. His flesh was long gone, but his bones had turned crystalline from the sheer amount of spiritual force that had been gathered in his body before his death. The sword was infamous through the lands, known as the Jade Dragon Sword. Li Jian knew for a fact that it was crafted by Tan Tie through melting skysteel with jade with the flames of a thousand year phoenix and then tempered with the lightning from the four dragons. It was a blade that was made for a true Emperor of the Sword. Li Jian smiled at this sword and remembered who exactly the Sword Emperor was.
“This is worthy of a man known as Sword Emperor.” Xing Lin said, bowing her head in respect. Lady Bai could only stare at such a sight. She was filled with a sense of wonder and at the majesty of such a tomb. “Jing Hong, follow me.” The Princess bowed her head in acquiescence before following him, Li Jian walking upto the tomb itself. “No matter what happens, do not interfere and do not get involved.” He said to the other. Ling Xin bowed while the other two simply nodded. “Stand in front of the sword and close your eyes. Do not resist what happens next.” Jing Hong nodded and did so. Li Jian raised a finger and aimed it at the Jade Dragon Sword, before letting a bit of his Dao force absorb into the sword. As soon as he did that, the sword glowed until a spiritual being stepped out from the Sword Emperor’s body.
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The spirit looked around at the two in front of him, instantly recognizing Li Jian but Li Jian signaled to him with his eyes to not reveal what he knew. “Have you come for the inheritance of the Sword Emperor?” Li Jian however shook his head. “The inheritance of the Sword Emperor cannot be just given, we both know that. However one of your descendants has unleashed the Golden Curse upon this girl and her bloodline.” The Spirit nodded. “Little girl, I am Jian Zhan, the First Sword Emperor.” Jing Hong bowed at the waist politely. “This junior is honoured to greet you, Sword Emperor.” Jian Zhan looked at Li Jian, pausing before asking. “How was the curse placed?” Li Jian looked at Jing Hong and tilted his head for her to tell the story.
Jian Zhan listened as she explained and nodded. “The Golden Curse, the demise of swords." Jian Zhan placed his hands behind his back and sighed, shaking his head a bit. “Little girl, the price to cure such a curse contains a high price.” Jing Hong bowed her head but spoke with determination. “Sword Emperor, as this is a curse that flows through the blood of my mother, I would be willing to pay any price.” Hearing those words, Jian Zhan could only nod his head in understanding. “Very well. The Golden Curse is a curse that a master swordsman activates when every fiber of his being is filled with hate. To activate the Golden Curse, a master swordsman sacrifices his life energy and cultivation to curse the blood line. That blood line becomes incompatible with swordsmanship.”
Jing Hong listened quietly. It was far worse than what she had imagined it to be. Part of her had perhaps hoped that it would be as simple as taking a specific pill. At the same time, Jian Zhan looked at Li Jian slightly curious. This Golden Curse was something that someone like Li Jian can waive and simply make disappear. However, it was not the place of the First Sword Emperor to question Li Jian. “Little girl, to cure the Golden Curse is to announce to the Dao that your swordsmanship cannot be oppressed even at the price of your own life.” Jing Hong thought about it carefully. If she did not break the curse today, her brother will also perish soon. “I have no choice. I already came here expecting my death. I had hoped only to let my brother survive.”
Jian Zhan tilted his head at her answer and looked over at Li Jian. Li Jian smiled slightly, his smile hinting almost on approval. “It looks like he brought her here on purpose then.” Jian Zhan thought to himself before slightly nodding to Jing Hong. “Little girl, drip some of your blood onto the Jade Dragon Sword and see if you can win its approval.” Jing Hong bit her thumb and let her blood drip onto it. Within moments, the sword glowed brightly. The princess saw only a sudden flash before she appeared, inside of her own soul. In front of it was the Jade Dragon sword, unmoving. She grabbed it by the handle but found herself unable to move it.
“Prove your worth.” A voice boomed out. She instinctively understood what that voice meant and drew her own sword. Perhaps not as great a treasure as the Jade Dragon sword but it was a powerful sword regardless. A spiritual Jade Dragon appeared in front of her, roaring as it unleashed its spiritual energy. She readied herself and remember what Li Jian had said to her all that time ago. “A sword has no opposition.” She launched herself from behind the sword, focusing her spiritual force to the point of her blade as she flew towards the Jade Dragon. The Jade Dragon simply twisted its long body and roared. “Good, good, now try blocking this move.” The Jade Dragon twisted again, its tail flying towards the Princess. Instead of using her blade to try and block, she charged towards the tail and swung her blade as fast as she could, letting her spiritual force focus on the edge of the blade and fly towards the tail itself.
The Dragon tail and the golden blade force collided in a large explosion, spiritual force resonating. She felt a sharp pain inside her chest, coughing out hot blood. The backlash of her attack against a much stronger force had resulted in damage to her internal organs. She remembered the move that Li Jian had shown her and sheathed her sword, charging towards the dragon. The Jade Dragon looked at her with amusement and roared forward, his jaws open with his fangs beared. “A sword has no opposition!” She screamed out as she drew the blade as fast as she could, focusing all of her bodys energy on the sword itself. A single beam of sword energy followed along the path of her slash to meet the dragon head on. It was all the spiritual force that she had, forcefully erupted through into her sword. In the moment of her slash, she willed her spiritual force as a blade itself.
“The Void Sword Art.” The Jade Dragon felt the attack, and felt that it was true. He let out a loud roar of approval. “Little girl, someone has taught you this move. It seems that my approval was not necessary, as you have already been found worthy. However for your own swordsmanship, I want you to know that what you just did is something that almost no swordsman will ever execute. Come then, pick me up and wield your destiny.” The Jade Dragon disappeared and this time when Jing Hong picked up the Jade Dragon Sword, it came with her. She felt inside of her soul her spiritual sea began to develop as the spiritual force of the sword flowed into her soul, changing the nature of her spiritual energy.
“Master, I have a question for you.” Jian Zhan asked, bowing towards Li Jian. Li Jian gestured for him to ask. “Master, you can get rid of the Golden Curse with just your will alone. Why do you make her walk this path?” Li Jian smiled at the question, he had been expecting it after all. “Little Zhan, do you still not understand after all these years? Did I give you the easy way when I taught you how to wield a sword?” Jian Zhan shook his head. “A swordsman sacrificed his own life force and cultivation to place this curse. If Jing Hong cannot break the curse of her own merit, then I will not let a swordsman’s soul be sacrificed for nothing. If however she is able to break the curse, then it was simply that she is fated to defy the swordsman.”
Jian Zhan smiled and nodded. Master Li Jian was who he had studied under and learned the sword arts from. “Master, I must go back. This disciple considers himself blessed to be able to see you once again.” He bowed deeply, Li Jian gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “Little Zhan, I never had the chance to say this to you before I ascended. You made me very proud.” Jian Zhan bowed, before he dissipated. Li Jian couldn’t help but smile with both fondness and sadness. It turns out the First Sword Emperor was his first disciple. It seemed that, as mighty as the First Sword Emperor was, he had been unable to ascend.