Chapter 415: Poetry and Painting Both Outstanding

Back then, the Butcher was a madman: domineering, invincible, solitary, and incredibly learned, quite unlike his current uncouth demeanor. Not only was he skilled with a blade, but he was also highly educated. His poems were bold and unrestrained, earning him a reputation as a great scholar of his time.

His blade technique was called Heaven Blade, and he himself was known as Heaven Blade. Every one of his moves was poetic, expressing his feelings directly and with exhilarating fluidity.

If there were a ranking of literary talent in Disabled Elderly Village, the Deaf Mute would be first, and he would be second. Although he later became eccentric and foul-mouthed, he was still the most renowned literary figure of his era.

At that time, he had challenged almost all the top masters. Even High Venerable Ban Gongsou of the Loulan Golden Palace had to obediently hide within the Golden Palace, fearing to show his face.

He was full of ambition and felt that his life was complete, save for an annoying disciple. Of course, his disciple was also remarkable, named Ba Shan, and known as Overlord Blade.

Four or five decades passed, unseen through wind and rain, like a gloomy sky.Fleeting clouds, a vast horizon, a sliver of heaven.Boast not, for heroes after calamity embody the people's will.Looking around at sea and sky, smoke trails every step of the way!

The Butcher created the "Vast Horizon, a Sliver of Heaven" technique, elevating the combat technique school to an unprecedented height. At that time, many in the martial arts world studied blade techniques, and the combat technique school became mainstream, surpassing even magic arts and sword arts.

It was then that the Butcher finally couldn't resist drawing his blade against the heavens. He wasn't like Imperial Preceptor Yongkang, who sought legal reforms; he simply sought exhilaration!

"After I created this move, I immediately tested the blade technique. That single strike cut the sky open."

The Butcher wielded his blade, performing the "Vast Horizon, a Sliver of Heaven" technique. He didn't unleash any power with this move, merely demonstrating the sequence.

He sheathed his blade and stood, a strange expression on his face, steadying himself as if recalling his period of madness: "Then I witnessed a strange sight: the sky split open, and there were no stars beyond. I was very cautious; I didn't immediately go up to investigate. Instead, I sought out several like-minded friends, all skilled in calculations."

Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly. The Butcher was actually cautious? He had always been known for his fiery temper, often plunging headfirst into problems, hacking away with his blade.

"This personality is just a facade Grandpa Butcher intentionally created. Anyone who believes he's a reckless brute is probably already dead," Qin Mu thought to himself.

"So I made my second strike, slashing towards the sky, while my calculation-savvy friends measured the sky's thickness and height. But this time, something went wrong."

The Butcher fell silent, then after a moment, he said with a somber tone: "My friends died. From the crack I cut open in the sky, an eye appeared—a massive, strange eye. When this eye looked at me, I felt my soul tremble, as if it were being pulled from my body. But my physical body was extremely strong, and my heart's pounding suppressed my primordial spirit. My friends, however, couldn't suppress theirs. They..."

His eye twitched, and he fell silent again.

"I didn't immediately rush to the sky to find the owner of that eye. I took my friends' bodies to their homes, settled their families, and gave them a grand burial."

The Butcher stared blankly, lost in thought: "I knelt and begged their families for forgiveness. One of those friends was my sworn brother. His wife was a kind woman, but she slapped me. Then she told me to get lost, to go as far away as possible, and not to seek revenge. I knew what she meant—that if I sought revenge, I would surely die. But I still went."

He smiled and said to Qin Mu: "My friends, my brothers, died without knowing why, and they died because of me. How could I not seek revenge? A man with an eight-foot stature, muscles of steel, heroic spirit in his chest, and a great blade in his hand—why wouldn't he seek revenge, why wouldn't he express his true feelings directly? My sister-in-law cared for me and didn't want me to die, but my blade and my heart are upright and unyielding; I must avenge every wrong! So I went to the heavens alone with my blade. Heh heh, many people say I'm crazy, right?"

Qin Mu nodded silently.

Too many people had called Heaven Blade, who drew his blade against the heavens, a madman. Heaven Blade ascended to the heavens to battle the gods; the sky darkened, filled with dense clouds and clashing thunder.

That battle was described by people at the time as Heaven Blade, the strongest in combat techniques, having gone berserk and challenged the heavens. This battle was almost mythologized by later generations.

Heaven Blade was cut in half at the waist, his blood spilled into the mortal realm. From then on, the combat technique school lost its strongest practitioner but remained prosperous. Later, when Imperial Preceptor Yongkang rose to power, he challenged the entire combat technique school, which was known for its aggressiveness and frequent killings, slaying many renowned masters. From then on, the combat technique school began to decline.

"I fought my way up to the sky, and the sky was only this thick..."

The Butcher pinched his thumb and index finger together, indicating it was at most three inches thick.

Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The sky was said to be a hundred thousand miles high and three hundred zhang thick, a figure he had calculated with Xu Shenghua, Wang Muran, Lin Xuan, and others. The Butcher was often uninhibited and, being a poet, enjoyed exaggeration, so three inches was just a metaphor.

"When I reached the sky, I saw many strange formations."

The Butcher gazed blankly at the sky: "The sky was only a sliver wide, and within it were many self-operating, incredibly complex formations, appearing as the sun, moon, and stars, and star rivers and constellations. I was furious then, thinking this damned heaven was all fake. It was pitiful that those old Taoist priests were still calculating the movements of the celestial bodies every day, only for their calculations to turn out to be false. The common people were still bowing to the sun and moon every day, only to be worshipping these constructs. I just wanted to chop them all down, smash them to bits, and see how they'd fool people then. And then..."

Then, Heaven Blade encountered gods—gods who guarded these false celestial phenomena.

Heaven Blade fought a great battle with the gods, was cut in half at the waist, and fell.

His lower half was taken by the Witch Venerable. Also stolen was a severed hand of a god, which Qin Mu later stole back and is now still in the Butcher's possession.

"I didn't encounter the owner of that eye, nor could I avenge my friends. I was maimed, crippled."

Madness flickered in the Butcher's eyes, yet his mind remained stable: "I had no face to return and see my friends' families, no face to see my sister-in-law, and no face to die. My friends were watching me..."

He had a half-crying, half-smiling expression: "I couldn't let them take care of a crippled me, nor could I let Ba Shan see me disabled. In this world, there is only Heaven Blade who dies in battle, not Heaven Blade who clings to life. It was raining and snowing then, and I crawled and crawled until I reached the Great Ruins. The ground was cold mud and water. It was the Blind man who picked me up and brought me back to the village. That old blind man always brings it up to tease me..."

The Butcher's face darkened as he said: "Last year, when the Blind man and I left the Great Ruins, I still couldn't resist going to see my sister-in-law. She was old, her eyes failing, her mind not as sharp; she didn't recognize me. Her grandson was with her; she couldn't walk anymore and could only sit in a reclining chair. Her grandson said that the most frequent thing the old woman said was that she shouldn't have let her second brother leave that year."

Tears welled in the Butcher's fierce eyes, yet his tone remained calm: "I accompanied her through her final days. Even on her deathbed, she was still muttering about me, never knowing I was right beside her, saying that she had harmed me..."

Qin Mu fell silent.

The Butcher pulled himself together and said: "Although I wasn't in the heavens for long, I saw many things. The sun, moon, and stars in the sky are actually formations within a small space. They looked like... like..."

He glanced at the Deaf Mute, who had been turned into a bull, and said: "Like a painting. But the sun, moon, and stars aren't merely drawn things; they are real, self-operating, hidden within the painting, functioning within the world of the painting. I've also seen the Deaf Mute's work; it's very clever, but it doesn't reach that level."

Qin Mu was slightly taken aback: "Formations within a painting, displaying the magnificent sight of the sun, moon, and stars?"

"Moo!" A large black bull next to Qin Mu snorted angrily. Several female deer demons nearby were trying to flirt with the large black bull.

The Butcher shooed away the deer demons, then placed his pig-slaying blade on the bull's head and made a gesture, making the black bull tremble.

The Butcher plunged his blade into the bull's neck with a squish, carefully cutting off the ox hide. The deer demons scattered in panic.

The Deaf Mute rolled out from the ox hide, complaining, "Butcher, you almost hurt me."

"The sky is like a painting, yet not entirely a painting. The sun, moon, and stars within it resemble crafted treasures. This painting completely conceals the true heavens, and the formations maintaining the sun, moon, and stars have been operating for tens of thousands of years. You can't do it; your cultivation is too shallow."

The Butcher slid his pig-slaying blade back into its sheath and said: "Those deities in the sky are likely just lackeys guarding the celestial phenomena painting, not true gods. They are very strong, no weaker than those from the High Heavens. But the owner of that divine eye, I didn't see him; he probably isn't in this realm. He sensed me when I was investigating the celestial phenomena, which is why he looked at me."

The painting enveloped the entire world, with its sun, moon, stars, constellations, and star rivers all being self-operating formations. The painting was three hundred zhang thick and a hundred thousand miles high.

Qin Mu's head ached. Could this truly be something humans could create?

"At that time, I didn't see beyond the heavens."

The Butcher's face darkened as he said: "My strike only cut through the Heaven Painting; it didn't cut through to the other side. At that time, my physical body was terrifyingly strong, and I didn't die, but I went mad."

In fact, even now, the Butcher occasionally suffered bouts of madness, often cursing the rotten heavens, somewhat cynical.

The people of Disabled Elderly Village were all broken individuals, battered in both mind and body, each carrying a degree of cynicism.

"I can also paint, and I can draw what I saw in the heavens."

The Butcher said: "However, my paintings aren't as good as the Deaf Mute's. Mu'er, give me a few days, and I'll draw those formations for you."

Qin Mu was greatly surprised.

The Butcher was burly and powerful, strong as a reincarnated bull demon. His face was covered in a thick, luxuriant beard, and sparks would fly when he shaved it with his pig-slaying blade!

Such a coarse man was astonishingly excellent in both poetry and painting, and was even revered as Heaven Blade!

The Deaf Mute, however, was not surprised. He said: "In our village, the one with the least cultural depth is the Blind man. The Butcher's poetry and painting are both top-tier; it's just that he didn't devote all his efforts to them, otherwise he would have been famous throughout history."

Qin Mu looked at the Blind man, only to see the Blind man glaring fiercely at the Deaf Mute.

For the past two days, the Butcher had secluded himself in his room, continuously painting. Qin Mu did not disturb him. Si Yunxiang contacted the Young Ancestor, saying, "Ancestor has gone to the Western Lands and is on his way back."

Qin Mu was surprised: "Ancestor went to the Western Lands? Could he be meeting an old flame?"

Just then, a voice announced: "Imperial Preceptor Yongkang requests an audience with the Human Emperor!"

Qin Mu turned around, followed the sound, and burst out laughing: "Heavenly King, why be so formal? Just say you're here to see the Cult Master! Calling me Human Emperor is too distant!"

Si Yunxiang greatly admired him: "I can't even come close to the Cult Master's thick skin."