Chapter 1888: Borrowing a Name

“Golden goblets, jade cups, the immortal brew,Gifted to fellow cultivators of Jianghu.”

“Ask not how far the journey extends,But ease your three parts of sorrow, my friend.”

The Spirit Lake expanded boundlessly, encompassing the Five Lakes and Four Seas; cultivators from all over the Holy Divine Continent could hear this voice.

And when they looked up, this time without needing the transmission of images via the Palm-Almond technique, everyone could see an upper-body image of Bazun An, clad in white robes, slightly raising his cup in the air, then smilingly drinking the wine in his cup first.

“Whoosh!”

Regardless of the intent behind this gesture,its sincerity and magnanimous spirit immediately ignited the emotions of the people from the Five Domains, stirring them to the highest point.

“Oh my goodness, the Eighth Sword Immortal is giving me wine to drink?”“Ah? I get some too? But aren’t ancient sword cultivators not supposed to drink? Why did Bazun An break his own戒 first?”“Hahaha, I just broke through to Xiantian Sword Intent yesterday; I’ve been recognized by the Eighth Sword Immortal, I am an ancient sword cultivator!”“This wine... good wine! Truly an immortal brew, what excellent wine! Mellow upon entry, fierce and dominant, cough... cough cough! A man of substance should be like this!”“You all drank it? This isn’t good. I cultivate the sword and heard that drinking confuses the sword; I’ve abstained for over thirty years... Hiss! Good wine! Invigorating!”“Haha, what a line, 'Ask not how far the journey extends, but ease your three parts of sorrow, my friend.' What rotten alcohol prohibition? I’m breaking it today, let’s drink to that!”

In other parts of the Five Domains, whether a sect or a clan, it was difficult to find a single cup of wine, as most places were dominated by Spirit Refiners.

However, places like the Sword Tomb, Canyue Immortal City, and Feng Family City were all concentrated areas of ancient sword cultivators.

At that moment, golden goblets appeared out of thin air across the sky, the scent of wine permeated the city, and Bazun An drank it all first...

The Eighth Sword Immortal is gifting wine!

Who would dare to be stingy and not give face to this?

Even though ancient sword cultivators in various places, especially those in the Eastern Domain, were hesitant at first, most of them knew what Bazun An had said earlier:“Wine intoxicates the sword, the sword confuses the person.”

At that time, ancient sword cultivators followed suit and maintained their abstinence for decades, so naturally, they were indecisive at this moment.

But today, the Eighth Sword Immortal proactively broke his戒, which was nothing less than a statement to the world: forget the past, look to the present.

“Was the past wrong?”

When the strong wine entered and burned down the throat,what was scorched was not just the mouth and esophagus, but also the unwavering resolve of the ancient sword cultivators.

“Don’t worry about the future, first ease the heart’s sorrow, I understand! I understand the Eighth Sword Immortal’s painstaking efforts!”“With this cup of wine, he wants to tell us that rules and regulations are insignificant. A sword cultivator should first cultivate their true heart. If one rigidly adheres to 'wine intoxicates the sword, the sword confuses the person,' aren’t they also trapped by this one rule?”“Having no gods or Buddhas in one’s eyes means not only no gods or Buddhas in heaven but also that worldly conventions can be wrong, even if Bazun An proposed them first!”“Brother, what you said makes sense, but Bazun An drank first, so I choose to forgive him.”“Good! You’ve forgiven Bazun An, so I’ll forgive Bazun An too!”“Ah? You all forgave him? Then I’ll forgive him too!”“Then I...”

Having been out of the world for thirty years, upon re-entering, he first denied his past self in front of the Five Domains.

Whether this was good or bad, few people actually knew or cared to delve deeply into it.

They only knew that with golden goblets overhead and Bazun An giving face, the most honored wine they had ever drunk in their lives might be this very cup.

If they still hesitated, they truly would be incredibly foolish!

Those who had wine, after some hesitation, drank it all.

However, ancient sword cultivators in the Five Domains were few in number. When those without wine saw the usually lagging, broken ancient sword cultivators around them toasting heartily, their eyes began to blaze with envy.

“It’s just a cup of wine, why are you drinking it like that? It looks like you’re going to chew the cup itself. Is it really necessary?”“Haha! What immortal brew? It must have been stored for ages; I don’t even need to taste it, I know it’s sour!”“Bazun An has no sense of grandeur. Why only gift it to the ancient sword cultivators of the world? He cultivates the Dao, and I cultivate the Dao, why not gift it to a fellow practitioner like me?”“Then I choose Hua Changdeng!”“You choose Hua Changdeng? Then I choose Hua Changdeng too!”“No, why are you choosing Hua Changdeng? Hua Changdeng didn’t even gift wine to the ancient sword cultivators...”

Ancient and Modern Forget-Sorrow Tower.

Xu Xiaoshou didn’t expect that Bazun An’s single cup of wine could be gifted into the tower, right in front of him.

He was currently haggling with Kong Yuhen!

He could give the Gate of Reincarnation, after all, it wasn’t a bad thing for Kong Yuhen to gather the six gates and reshape time.

And he had already obtained the Original Stele: War and Original Stele: Dragon. He also got the Original Stele: Heaven from the Demonic Ancestor.

As for the Original Stele: Sword, it seemed to still be in the Sword Tower. You Tu seemed to have seen it?

He had already obtained all the Original Steles of the Four Ancestors of Reincarnation that he needed.

As for the Sword Tower, Xu Xiaoshou planned to visit it with Liu Fuyu later, deciding it would be after this battle!

He didn’t dare to covet the Steles of the few ancestors who were still alive.

Xu Xiaoshou had begged tirelessly for the remaining Original Stele: Time, which he didn’t know if it was in the Ancient and Modern Forget-Sorrow Tower.

Kong Yuhen didn't explicitly say he didn't have it, but he didn't produce it.

Xu Xiaoshou then wanted Kong Yuhen to accompany him into the River of Time to meet the War Ancestor, Heaven Ancestor, and Dragon Ancestor, to first finalize the three great ancestral god incarnations, and then discuss the matter of the “Original Stele: Time.”

They were in the midst of a heated negotiation, haggling over every penny until both felt the other was stingy, when Bazun An suddenly appeared to gift wine!

“Weren’t you out fighting?”

This upper-body image of the white-robed Old Eight was undeniably incredibly flashy—he wasn't even wearing these clothes when he left the tower. When did he change?

Did he change clothes in a temporal rift?

And gifting me wine was one thing, but listening to this nonsensical, broken poetry—so good at composing poetry? He just went out and composed, and then gifted it to everyone in the world?

“No, why are you so pretentious...”

Xu Xiaoshou gritted his teeth, staring at the cup of wine in front of him. He grabbed it and splashed it at Bazun An’s half-body in mid-air: “I only stayed in the tower for a short while, and you’ve caused such a commotion outside?”

Bazun An remained silent, merely continuing to offer wine.

This was the first person in the Five Domains who didn't give him face.

The first cup being splashed away triggered a hidden easter egg—his half-body image didn't disappear immediately. He smiled and offered a second cup of wine, and could even speak:

“Master Xu, I know it’s you. I don’t have time to say more. Drink this cup.”

Why?

Xu Xiaoshou chewed on those four broken lines of poetry. He had to admit, they were quite clever for an entrance, mainly because they were attention-grabbing...

He grabbed the golden goblet, this time without pouring it away. He raised an eyebrow and said, “You give me a poem, and I’ll use it when I go out later. I’ll respectfully toast this cup to you.”

Bazun An’s half-body image became even dimmer, clearly indicating he had little time left: “Master Xu, please lend me your sword name and help me.”

Lend his name?

At this point, Xu Xiaoshou emerged from his fit of jealousy and realized what this showy Old Eight was doing.

He chuckled, “One cup of wine, one poem.”

Bazun An opened his mouth, but this time he couldn’t even speak. His figure dissipated, turning into smoke.

“Hey! He just died?”

Xu Xiaoshou was startled. How could he be so weak?

He quickly drank the wine in the cup: “To you! To you! Don’t forget you owe me a poem!”

Sword Tomb, Sword Washing Pool.

Wen Ting held the golden goblet in his hand and laughed heartily, quickly trotting towards the only remaining sword in the pool, clutching his robe.

“Qingju, look, the wine is here!”“This cup is full of sword intent, with a name hidden within. His wolfish ambition is clear for all to see.”“But hahaha, he borrowed the swords of the world, the names of the world, and didn’t even remember that you ended up with me. I feel it’s not worth it for you...”

Wen Ting ran into the Sword Washing Pool and squatted down.

The Qingju sword body trembled violently, its whimpering never ceasing, and tears like sword drops flowed down one by one, appearing utterly heartbroken.

Wen Ting caught the sword tears with a jade bottle while shaking the golden wine cup in his hand. The scent of wine filled the Sword Washing Pool, as if he were tempting an underage child:

“Do you really think you two parted ways, each dormant, cultivating in the valley, and would eventually meet at the peak and become one?”“You’re stupid, Qingju!”“He returned to his peak, did he remember you?”“I already explained his path to you clearly. What do you think the Saint Servants were collecting twenty-one famous swords for all these decades?”“Cultivating the sword by borrowing names, this sword is not just your Qingju, and this name is not just his Eighth Sword Immortal. It is the sword of ten thousand swords in the world, the name of ten thousand people in the world!”

Qingju wept like rain.

Wen Ting collected the tears even more happily. He opened the golden apricot in his hand and quickly swiped through it. As the image flickered, he saw manyBazun Ans:

“Look! Look!”“Everyone was gifted wine, and Bazun An personally appeared, full of sincerity. Only here at the Sword Tomb did he gift me wine without even showing his face. Is he afraid to see me?”

After a pause, Wen Ting mocked scornfully:

“Bullshit! He’s afraid to see me, yet he gifts me wine?”“He just doesn’t want to see you, this broken sword, anymore!”“Tsk tsk tsk, broken sword Qingju, such a laughable Qingju, still waiting for him. Why don’t you die with him out of love...”

As Wen Ting spoke, he drank the wine in the cup in front of Qingju, not leaving a single drop for Qingju.

Finally, he let out a long “Ah,” lamenting “Good wine,” and then pointed at the rusty broken sword that was crying profusely, teasing:

“A painstaking person, betrayed.”“If you ask me, just follow me.”“From now on, be my sword, and I’ll make your name known throughout the world.”“Even if Bazun An comes back for you, given his experiences with those alluring sword hussies outside all these years, can you truly say you wouldn’t mind at all?”

Qingju said nothing, only wept.

Deep in the Southern Underworld.

Dao Qiongcang pulled in his neck, somewhat awkwardly looking at the half-body image of Bazun An in front of him, clutching the wine cup tightly in his hand.

“Ah haha, good poem, what a good poem...”“Brother, your literary talent is outstanding. Dao is deeply, deeply impressed.”

Bazun An’s half-body image quickly dimmed, seemingly unable to withstand the bone-chilling cold power deep within the Southern Underworld, yet his gaze remained fixed on Dao Qiongcang.

“I’ll drink, I’ll drink.”

As the saying goes, don’t hit a smiling person.

Dao Qiongcang smiled apologetically, held the wine cup with both hands, raised it high in respect, and then drained it.

Rip!

Bazun An’s half-body image turned into smoke and disappeared.

Dao Qiongcang’s smile instantly vanished, his face replaced by deep contemplation. He muttered to himself:

“Not body, not spirit, not intent, can he still lock onto people like this?”“Then before, the Moon Palace Slave, no, he shouldn't be able to constantly monitor, so he might not have noticed... Hmm, but that gaze...”

Dao Qiongcang quickly dismissed extraneous thoughts.

Since Bazun An had left, it meant he either didn’t know, or knew but didn’t want to pursue the matter of offending the Moon Palace Slave in the Southern Underworld.

And a minor offense isn’t an offense... Dao Qiongcang quickly returned to the main point of Bazun An suddenly finding his true self. He pondered for a moment, then his brows slightly relaxed, as if he had gained some insight:

“Name...”

Deep in the Southern Underworld, a Grandmaster Sword Intent emerged.

Dao Qiongcang was, of course, an ancient sword cultivator, and an incomparably powerful Sword宗.

He cultivated ancient sword techniques precisely so that after crossing that threshold, he could better deal with ancient sword cultivators...

In fact, there was no "them," it was just to deal with Bazun An alone.

But this Grandmaster Sword Intent, in its practical application, not only didn’t bring him much convenience but instead caused a lot of trouble.

He had once bent his back in the Divine Relic, because the force of the Saint’s Judgment Swords of thirty million Tianji Puppets was borrowed by Bazun An's sword-self.

After extreme rage, he sealed off that part of his sword cultivation experience.

At that time, he thought it was due to the “Saint’s Judgment Swords.” After that, he indeed modified the weapons of the Tianji Puppets into “Saint’s Judgment Spears.”

Now it seems that this is not the case...

“Just sealing off past sword cultivation experiences is useless.”“Essentially, I am still an ancient sword cultivator, and as long as I am an ancient sword cultivator who knows the name of the Eighth Sword Immortal, when he needs it, he can easily borrow my power.”

This is easy to understand.

All spirit refiners are the Ancestral Saints’ later moves.All living beings are in the eyes of the Medicine Ancestor.And in this era, there is no Sword God Gu Louying. In terms of fame, Bazun An is the leader of the sword Dao. Naturally, all sword cultivators would be easily influenced by him.

“I can only cut off my tail like a gecko!”

Dao Qiongcang raised his hand, about to strike his own forehead.

But he quickly stopped. His chest cracked open, and another Dao Qiongcang stepped out.

He peeled off the memories related to his ancient sword cultivation, transferred them, and completely distanced himself from "the sword," only then did hefeel at ease.

“You go play in the Eastern Domain...”

Dao Qiongcang flicked his sleeve: “Go to the Sword Tomb, even marry into a family. If you cultivate the sword, the surname Dao has no future; try to change your surname to Gu.”

Gu Qiongcang nodded, his face a standard ancient sword cultivator’s bitter gourd expression, and moved away from the depths of the Southern Underworld.

Dao Qiongcang then set aside the minor details and returned to the main matter, frowning in thought:

“One illusory cup of wine, gifted to everyone in the world, thus gaining fame throughout the four seas, and borrowing the power of ten thousand swords. It’s like making a huge profit with no capital. Who says he’s not good at strategizing?”“Such a wild opening move is no different from when he placed a chess piece at the center of the chessboard on Void Island, using Water Ghosts to make Xu Xiaoshou rush wildly, and then turning the tables completely, killing the entire situation after netting, even I couldn’t reverse it.”“If I hadn’t chosen to protect myself with that trigram of Earth-Fire Brightness back then, I’m afraid it wouldn’t have just been Rao Yaoyao who was caught; even I would have struggled to escape...”

Compared to the ancient sword cultivators in the Five Domains who were flushed with excitement after drinking the wine, Dao Qiongcang, deep in the icy Southern Underworld, was exceptionally calm.

He saw too clearly and thought too deeply, yet there was still one point that puzzled him:

“But that day, he was the chess player, and the ones caught in the game were Water Ghosts and Xu Xiaoshou. Even if everything went wrong, at least he was there to close the game, preventing a complete collapse.”“This time, knowing it’s impossible yet doing it, he truly entered the field alone, fighting with his back against the wall?”“Who did he entrust his back to? Who is still worthy of trust?”“Xu Xiaoshou?”

Dao Qiongcang was left with only this conclusion.

He had to re-evaluate Xu Xiaoshou. Was he worthy?

But Bazun An valued Xu Xiaoshou so much, and he himself regarded Bazun An as a chess player of the same level—Bazun An thought he was worthy, but he didn’t. Was there a variable somewhere?

“Ancient and Modern Forget-Sorrow Tower...”

Dao Qiongcang murmured softly and quickly gained some insight.

He had two brains, and his calculation speed was incredibly fast.

He deduced countless possibilities and finally found that no matter what, Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t turn the tide. The only variable might be in “time” because Xu Xiaoshou was still hiding in the Ancient and Modern Forget-Sorrow Tower at the critical moment.

“But Kong Yuhen can’t give him much help, Kong Yuhen can barely protect himself.”“The Demonic Ancestor, Medicine Ancestor, and Sui Yin are even less likely to regard him as a great enemy or a great friend. Without importance, they naturally won’t favor him or reuse him.”“That’s right, where did that 'intent' come from?”“Secret...”

Xu Xiaoshou had a secret, Dao Qiongcang knew.

This secret erupted once again in the Ancient and Modern Forget-Sorrow Tower, pushing his Dao of Intent to its extreme. Dao Qiongcang also noticed this when Xu Xiaoshou returned to retaliate against Sui Yin.

“But my Dao of Memory hasn’t reached its extreme, and the Ten Ancestors haven’t reached their extreme either. Who else can achieve such extreme methods, like pulling up seedlings to help them grow?”“Name...”

Dao Qiongcang silently mumbled the word “name,” and finally shook his head. The Dao of Name is the Dao of Name, and the Dao of Intent is the Dao of Intent.

Name is external, intent is internal.

Unless one is extreme, fanatical, or overly self-centered, one cannot cultivate the extreme of Intent, nor can they give Xu Xiaoshou such help.

This also rules out the speculation that Kong Yuhen has become the Ancestor of Time; even if he became the Ancestor of Time, he couldn’t bestow the extreme of Intent upon others.

But Dao Qiongcang’s “library” had no more clues for him to ponder or deduce.

“In that case...”

Dao Qiongcang was never a pedantic or arrogant person. If he couldn't figure it out, then let him participate.

“Second Generation.”

Dao Qiongcang descended into the memory space.

It was hazy here, with himself standing in front, a snake spirit bound in the distance, and nothing else.

“Oh, a rare guest.”

The Second Generation Dao Qiongcang, draped in a large robe, sat swaggering on a golden throne. He had been resting with his eyes closed, but now looked up.

Dao Qiongcang appeared like a frail scholar.

In contrast, the Second Generation’s muscles, vaguely visible beneath his robe, were no less developed than Shen Yi’s.

“I have a question I want to ask you.”“You still have questions to ask me?”“Naturally, it’s not related to ‘calculation,’ but perhaps to ‘power,’ which is your specialty.”“Speak.”

Dao Qiongcang nodded, carefully choosing his words, and said concisely: “In the world you perceive, across all heavens and myriad realms, from ancient times to the future, who can be called the ‘strongest’?”

The Second Generation chuckled, articulating each word: “Dao! Qiong! Cang!”“Don’t praise me; I’m serious.”“I’m serious too.”

Dao Qiongcang was helpless, praised by himself. Finally, not bothering with this stubborn mind, he said, “Then besides me? Hmm, perhaps also skilled in the Dao of Intent...”

“Intent?”“Yes.”

The Second Generation tilted his head in thought, then looked at the white snake demon bound and frozen in an eternal moment of memory in the distance, and solemnly uttered one word:

“Nuo!”

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