Feeling a sharp pain in his head, Mowenzheng did not even want to mention the energy emitted by the odd treasure. Just handling the giant otter was quite challenging. To emerge victorious over the giant otter, one must employ intelligence. The giant otter, standing over two meters tall and weighing over three hundred pounds, possessed Mid-Level Great Realm strength. Fortunately, it had not emerged to harm humans; otherwise, even Kunlun Jie would be littered with corpses. It possesses Mid-Level Great Realm strength and is in water, occupying both time and location advantages. It would not be an easy feat to defeat it.
After thinking it over, Mowenzheng began to submerge. At a distance of fifty meters from the otter, it started to attack Mowenzheng. He quickly dodged, but the otter kept on attacking. Mowenzheng was unable to dodge in time and was about to be injured. He directly ascended upwards to leave the otter's active range.
Mowenzheng took a few breath-boosting pills and continued to dive. In this way, he and the otter fought for over two hours. The otter's attacks began to weaken.
Seeing the right moment, Mowenzheng directly dived to the bottom of the pool and started close-combat with the otter.
Ding Qingyao, Zhou Manru, and Qin Lingyue above the pool watched as everyone else came up but Mo Wenjie was nowhere to be seen. They were extremely worried, their hands clasped together in prayer for Mo Wenjie, beseeching heaven to keep him safe and unharmed.
Jin Ming Zhuang said, "Amitabha Buddha, the three female disciples, do not worry. Mo Junior Martial Lord has good karma and will be fine. He is not up yet, that is definitely good news. He is the deserving person, and the odd treasure should belong to Mo Junior Martial Lord."
Mo Wenjie punched the otter, and the otter was pushed back three to four meters. It sustained no injuries, which surprised him. The creature's skin was indeed thick and tough, making it difficult to defeat. Although the otter's attacks had weakened, it did not mean that it could not retaliate. Mo Wenjie still had to dodge its attacks and seize the opportunity to strike at the otter.
So, it was another round of struggle between Mo Wenjie and the otter underwater, lasting for over two hours. As the otter's strength waned, Mo Wenjie took the opportunity to strike a blow. This time, he seriously wounded the otter, which bled from all seven orifices and fell to the ground. Seizing the moment, Mo Wenjie climbed onto the otter and struck with his fists until it was completely still. Exhausted himself, Mo Wenjie also panted heavily, so he quickly swallowed several elixirs of replenishing qi to adjust his strength and then walked towards where the energy was emanating.
Mo Wenjie exclaimed in awe: "The Longquan Sword dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period of the Chunqiu and Song dynasties, which is over 2,600 years ago. Legend has it that this sword was jointly created by two great swordsmen, Ouye and Ganjian. The ancient Longquan Swords were made of wrought iron and medium-carbon steel, with an exquisite tempering process that gave medium-carbon steel the characteristics of spring steel. It takes decades of manual grinding to create a Longquan Sword, from coarse grinding to fine grinding to polished. It takes more than ten years to make one as bright as the sky."
The Longquan sword has a frosty color.
The artisan sighed in admiration at the extraordinary craftsmanship.
The jade box on the sword emits a lotus flower glow.
Inlaid with intricate gold, the ring brings forth a bright moon.
Mo Wenjie kept exclaiming how extraordinary the Longquan sword was. Such an unparalleled sword, like a white lotus flower spewing from a jade box, adorned with gold rings on the hilt that reflected the moon's light.
Mo Wenjie reached out to grab the Longquan sword, but was repelled by a burst of sword Qi. Suddenly, a voice echoed: "Who dares to lay a hand on the Longquan Sword? This sword can only be touched by the chosen one of heaven; anyone who touches it will die."
Mo Wenjie asked, "Who are you? How did you get here? How do you know that I am not the chosen one of heaven?"
I am Guo Zhen from the Tang Dynasty. From my youthful ambition and unrestrained nature, to my generous aid to others, from the two decades of my life in Shu being unappreciated, to the peak of my life, from over a decade defending my homeland on the frontier to meeting heroic scholars and gaining the Longquan Sword. The sword has been with me for a lifetime. A thread of my remaining soul guards the sword, unwilling to let it fall into the hands of evil and treacherous people. Who are you and how did you find out about the Longquan Sword being here?
Mo Wenjie said, "Guo Zhen, I know you. You are the poet, politician, and military strategist from the Tang Dynasty, who rose to be the Prime Minister and was later exiled to Guangdong. It's been over one thousand two hundred years since the Tang Dynasty. You really are a ghost that won't leave me alone!"
Guo Zhen heard these words and became extremely angry. Such arrogant scoundrels, do you know the consequences of insulting the old gentleman?
Mo Wenjie smiled and said, "I have no idea what consequences there are. You are just a fragment of a soul, and I can return your soul to its original place or scatter your spirit into oblivion. What consequences can I possibly have?"
Guo Zhen laughed heartily upon hearing these words. "What a naive child you are! You really think that just because I am a fragment of a soul, I can't do anything to you? You also underestimate the wisdom of our ancestors too much. The Longquan Sword can communicate with heaven and earth, bring heavenly lightning to the ground, and invite the Blue Dragon into the sky. You, a naive child, dare to touch it? This divine weapon belongs only to those with virtue. What virtue or ability do you have as a yellow-beaked child? To even wish to possess it is just ignoring your own limits."
Mo Wenjie laughed heartily, saying, "Old Guo, I respect you and call you an elder. Don't rely on your age to act superior. I am determined to obtain the Longquan Sword. Don't force me to use my hands against you. If you know what's good for you, let me send your fragment of soul back to its place. Otherwise, I'll make sure it disperses into oblivion."
Guo Zhen heard these words and laughed heartily, saying, "You really think that I, as a mere fragment of a soul, can't do anything to you? You are very much mistaken. You think that I am helpless because I am just a fragment of a soul. Let the sword spirit kill him."
The Longquan Sword, on its own, unsheathed and swung its sword at Mo Wenjie.
Startled, Mo Wenjie quickly dodged out of the way. To his utter surprise, the Longquan Sword moved freely and its every strike was deadly. Mo Wenjie suddenly felt an immense pressure. What is going on? Is there really a sword spirit? He had now really stirred up a big mess. With a sword spirit so powerful, far beyond his own strength, what's the point of even fighting? What the hell are we doing this for!
As Mo Wenjie dodged and frantically thought of a plan, he considered running. He realized that he was not the chosen one and that his life might be in danger due to this Longquan Sword. He couldn't afford to die just because of it.
Guo Zhen laughed heartily upon seeing this, saying, "You should know now how powerful the old gentleman is, you little fool! Do you think that just because I am a common martial artist, I can be bullied by you? Foolish and ignorant people, do you not realize that I managed to defend the border for over a decade without any extraordinary abilities? Don't tell me that I have no skills to deter those scoundrels. The truth is that the Longquan Sword's sword spirit was a failed cultivation in the realm of Dantian at its peak. It was sealed by my dear friend Li Chunfeng inside the Longquan Sword to protect my fragment of soul and make sure it remains intact. You are also incredibly ignorant, dare to show such disrespect to me? Let me tell you that after the sword spirit kills you, it will consume your soul and help her enhance her strength."
After hearing Guo Zhen's words, Mo Wenjie had already decided to retreat in his heart. How could he possibly compete with such an opponent? Not to mention that the sword spirit wanted his life as easily as flipping a coin, but even the methods of Li Chunfeng, a Taoist master, were not something Mo Wenjie could compare to. To be able to seal the soul of someone who failed in transcendental cultivation into the Longquan Sword as a sword spirit was an extraordinary feat, beyond imagination and extremely miraculous!
Mo Wenjie was careless, and he was stabbed in his shoulder by the Longquan Sword. Blood spurted out immediately. He quickly dodged the sword's attack and took out some healing elixirs, swallowing them without hesitation. In a short while, his wound healed, and not even a scar remained.
Guo Zhen was also shocked. "Hmm, these elixirs of his are really extraordinary. I didn't expect that after a thousand years, there would still be such elixirs with spiritual effects. Is he also a disciple of the Daoist sect? Could he be one of the descendants of Li Chunfeng? If he truly is a descendant of Li Chunfeng, I've injured him and that wouldn't be right. I can't just stop the sword spirit without knowing more first. Stop!"
A shockingly unexpected event occurred that made Mo Wenjie's jaw drop—the Longquan Sword had sheathed itself!
Guo Zhen saw the stunned Mo Wenjie and said, "Young man, I have a few questions for you. If you answer them truthfully, I will let you go. If your answers do not please me, then you will have to die. The sword spirit will consume your soul and let you perish both body and soul."
Mo Wenjie didn't dare to speak out, thinking inside that "Old bastard Guo Zhen, do you think I'm an idiot? If I can't beat you, I'll run away. Who said you have to fight to the end? Do you really think I'm a warrior from the old days who fights to the death? Nowadays, people are not as foolish as that. If I can't beat you, I'll just run away. With just a fragment of your soul left, how dare you chase me into broad daylight? If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't even have to move my hand and you would be scattered into oblivion. Truly, I wonder if people from the past were wise or foolish. You say they were foolish because their methods were indeed incredible and some seals even baffle me who constantly read 'Shan Hai Jing.' Can that be called foolish? You say they weren't foolish because why fight to the death when you don't have to? Don't you know the saying 'The best strategy is retreat?'"
Guo Zhen watched Mo Wenjie for a long time without any reaction, and he was not pleased. "You little rascal, are you trying to make me release the sword spirit?"
Mo Wenjie quickly replied, "Go ahead and ask anything you want. I'm here to answer your questions."
Guo Zhen laughed heartily upon hearing this, "You've finally learned to listen now, don't you? Where's your arrogance gone? Alright, let me ask you this. Are you a disciple of the Daoist sect? Is your ancestral master Li Chunfeng?"
Upon hearing these words, Mo Wenjie thought to himself: "You're just talking nonsense. There are so many branches of the Daoist sect, how can anyone know which branch has Li Chunfeng's descendants? I only know that my master is a disciple of the Daoist sect, from the Zhengyi branch. My master doesn't even know who his five-generation ancestor was, let alone me. How could I possibly know? Over a thousand years have passed; there have been dozens of generations. Where would I get that information from?"
Guo Zhen saw that Mo Wenjie was silent for a long time and thought, "You little rascal, don't think I won't find out if you're lying. I have ways to verify whether what you say is true or false. If I find out that you dare to deceive me, the consequences will be severe."
Mo Wenjie scoffed, "What consequences could there be? Isn't it just a matter of me running away? What's there to be afraid of? I'm not scared of you at all. Even if you think about it, you wouldn't dare to say it out loud."
Mo Wenjie replied, "I am indeed a disciple of the Daoist sect, but whether I am a descendant of Li Chunfeng, I truly do not know. After all, a thousand or two hundred years have passed, and there have been dozens of generations. I know that I come from the Zhengyi branch, but for the rest, that would require further investigation. I don't have the time or inclination to look into it."
Guo Zhen heard this and pondered for a moment before saying, "What you said makes sense. As a disciple of the Daoist sect, do you know the Qinqiao Array?"
Mo Wenjie silently chuckled to himself: "This array is my specialty, I can set it up with my eyes closed. If you're trying to use the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Qingkao Array to test me, you're just asking for it."
Mo Wenjie chuckled and said, "Setting up a Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Qinglong Array is no big deal. I can do it with just a few moves."
Guo Zhen quickly said, "Then show me how you can set up a Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Qinglong Array."
Mo Wenjie wasted no time, directly setting up the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Qinglong Array.
Guo Zhen muttered to himself in amazement, "Could he really be the chosen one?"
