Master of Untold Daos

Chapter 79: Marking the Boat to Recover the Sword(1)

With a firm plan in mind, Li Suyi went to Chen Ming, “Master, my family has an heirloom map, leading to an immortal’s treasure. With my strength, I won’t be able to get it, but Master is sure to prevail. ”

Chen Ming gave him a forced smile, Heirloom map? You kidding me!? I know everything there needs to know about your family, and they’ve been nothing but farmers for eighteen generations. That immortal’s treasure is clearly something you chanced upon your previous life.

Chen Ming didn’t poke a hole in his story, only smiled “Your Master has been idle for some time. Guess I will go along with you on this journey.”

Since they started, they’ve been wondering left and right around the mountains for three days. Li Suyi stood on the cloud, throwing away a banana peel casually, yet his hairs stood on end when he caught Chen Ming’s stare, “Master, what’s wrong?”

“Throwing wherever you like, it seems like you lacked manners and have some bad customs ingrained in you. You could kill someone from this height, and even if you didn’t it’s still not right to crush plants.””

“Disciple understands.”

“You are now my disciple and should know that your senior brother has a rule. But in your case, I think two are needed.”

“Please advise me, Master.”

“Number one: don’t talk when killing. Number two: if your killing intent isn’t at its most focused, don’t attack. Understood?”

He could understand the second, but what the hell was up with the first? Since Master said it, then I must obey. “Disciple understands.”

Bellow them, yellow sand spread everywhere and, as the sun-scorched the ground, the scene before them twisted. The wind passed through the sea of sand, rising the dust and carrying it like waves. Above the ground, a river tens of zhang wide flowed, made of only sand and carrying it inwards.

Yet, from time to time, white bones peaked out of the river.

Those were the lives it robbed. Li Suyi said, “The place we need to go is at the end of this river, where there are only bones around us.”

Chen Ming nodded, and after a while, the fierce windstorm causes a tsunami of sand to rise up from the ground, hundreds of zhang tall. Then, it came crashing down on the earth, shaking it violently.

In the Myriad Mountains, this place was known as The Sea of No Return. It was also a forbidden area, with people seldom stepping into this Yellow Sea. Because, when faced with the yellow sand as high as the heavens, death would be the only answer. Even an Archfiend wouldn’t go too far, finding his end in this place.

Chen Ming could feel as the windstorm carried away the sand and smashed into the protective shield made from his spiritual power. He threw a feather from his hand into the sandstorm, blowing it away, “This is astral wind, and if we continue flying, we won’t last much longer. ”

“There’s no wind where the wind rises like there’s no sand where the sand spreads. This was written on the map.”

Chen Ming reflected a bit, then took Li Suyi out of the sea of sand, “I more or less understood its meaning. If we walk over the Yellow Sea, there won’t be any astral wind. But if we walk we won’t know the direction. We need to prepare a bit first.”

He took Li Suyi over to a mountain range and spread his awareness. He finally found what he needed in a black peak, magnet.

With this gadget, he could make a compass. But first, he needed to be certain this planet was either a planet or a flat world.

As for the way, easy peasy. Chen Ming carved the magnet into a needle then placed it on a mirror. What the needle pointed wasn’t South, but West. Indeed, this wasn’t a world like Earth. This was a flat world, and the needle pointed towards a large magnetic mountain.

But Chen Ming was certain that this spoon won’t point in another direction. If he determines West, then the other directions followed with it.

He made a mark on the mirror, then took Li Suyi again to the Yellow Sea. After three days of walking through the sand, Chen Ming looked up to see the sun blocked by the sandstorms. But what he saw before him was a boat floating on this Yellow Sea.

It bobbed atop the sand, with a bronze lamp at its bow. The flame kept steady, as if it was unaffected by the astral wind. And below this boat, bones spread like a tide, pushing it forward.

Chen Ming tossed a rock on the deck, but nothing happened, appearing to be safe.

Chen Ming asked, “Do you know about this boat?”

Li Suyi looked as if he’s seen a ghost, “That’s the boat leading to the road of immortality. Struggling through the path of immortality, until the bones come to an end...”

Chen Ming was also startled, but he kept his composure, “Since we saw it, might as well climb on and check it out.”

Chen Ming then used his spiritual power to carry him and Li Suyi on the deck of this boat floating atop a tide of bones. Now that he was on board, he could no longer feel the astral wind.

Chen Ming looked at the back of the ship, where a skeleton laid, draped in plain clothes and holding a sword sheath close to its chest.

Chen Ming walked up next to it and noticed a phrase in front, left before its death: ‘Three hundred times I made a notch on the boat for each time I went to find my sword, yet instead of bringing it to the immortal sect, I first reached the Yellow Springs.’ (2)

Chen Ming looked around the boat and saw many engraved words:

‘That day, I lost my sword.

So, I marked the place at the bow, to remember where I lost it. I stopped the boat then went after it, but couldn’t find it even after a quarter of an hour.’

Chen Ming’s thought, How could you even find it?

The boat moved, but the sword didn’t.

If you wanted to find the sword, then jump immediately after it.

He read on:

‘And so, I have lost another sword in that place.

And by the time the boat stopped, I still couldn’t find the sword.’

Isn’t this guy afraid of going insane?

Chen Ming finally read the last words: ‘One day, I went out again into the sea to search for my sword. And I realized I lost all my swords, but the sad thing is, my life reached its end.’

Chen Ming’s heart shuddered, It’s not him who was insane, but that his sword Dao was too high. At that stage, he didn’t need to use his intent to move a sword. It moved by itself in his hand.

Chen Ming had to rely on his Sword Heart to bring the sword to him but. Yet this skeleton was at a stage where he no longer required intent, the sword came by itself.

The sword came.

Just how far was this stage?

And just what secret did this Yellow Sea hold?

(1) Chinese idiom. It means ‘an action made pointless by changed circumstances’

(2) Chinese Hell or underworld