"The cold moon reflects upon the frosty snow; the frozen mountain embraces the icy lake. The tallest of the tall cannot be crossed, and the despair of the world is in this timely moment."
Xue Meng wiped snow off of the large boulder, wearing deer skin gloves on his hands, as he read aloud the cinnabar inscription upon it. He looked back and said, "Shizun, we're here."
Dawning Peak was embellished by storming snow all year long. At that moment, a luscious crescent moon was high in the sky, a shimmering glow looking upon the icy lake. Cold air pierced through thick forest leaves in an absolute world of ice. Jincheng Lake was frozen without traces of snow, as if there were jewels made of glass across the sky and earth, the Milky Way itself fallen upon mere mortals, falling stars seen as far as ten thousand miles, a scene peerless in magnificence. It was as if one had truly journeyed to the end of humanity, to a world covered in beautifully untainted snow.
The group went to the lake, the surface smooth like a mirror and filled with a magnificent, glimmering light. A stone embankment went through all the way to the center of the lake. There was a stone tablet next to the embankment covered in frost. Intersecting patterns spread across the stone, and on it was written only "The Path Forward is Difficult" in powerful calligraphy. After thousands of years, the words were still clear, and it seemed like people often repainted it over.
Chu Wanning stopped in front of the stone embankment and said, "Only one person can go into Jincheng Lake at a time to seek a weapon. Which of you will go first?"
Xue Meng could hardly contain himself before blurting out, "Shizun, I'll go first!"
Chu Wanning looked at him, thought about it for a moment, and shook his head. "You're too rash, I'd be ill at ease."
After that, Shi Mei laughed a little at his side and said, "Shizun, how about I go in first, since I probably can't break through the icy lake anyway."
Shi Mei went along the stone embankment on top of the icy lake that only let one person through at a time. He slowly walked to the end.
In accordance with the customs, he produced a ball of spiritual energy in his hand, and then leaned over to place his palm against the ice——Shi Mei's spiritual energy traveled ceaselessly down along the surface of the ice, and they could see a white light flickering from the distance.
Mo Ran stood from afar and held his breath, clenching his hand into a fist.
But no matter how long Shi Mei tried at the lake, the ice did not budge at all. He gave a forced smile as he gave up and walked back, saying to Chu Wanning, "Shizun, my apologies."
"No matter, try again after cultivating a few more years."
Mo Ran sighed a little, somehow more disappointed than either of them, but still went to comfort Shi Mei and said, "It's fine, you'll get more chances. Next time I'll come with you to try again."
Chu Wanning said, "Don't yap so much. Step up, it's your turn now."
In his past life, when Mo Ran went to seek a weapon, it was during his most carefree days of youth. He had nothing but boundless enthusiasm toward the prospect of a holy weapon. In this life, it was nothing more than coming to pick up a weapon; he already knew what kind of things would be waiting ahead of him. There was none of that anxiousness or expectation. On the other hand, he did feel a kind of warmth, as if he was about to reunite with an old friend.
He walked along the stone embankment, and knelt before the icy lake.
Bending down, he pressed his palm against the surface of the ice.
Mo Ran closed his eyes.
His scabbardless long blade…...
That sinful, vicious blade which saw with him all the world's flowers, and tasted all the blood in the human realm——
Mo Ran opened his eyes, and whispered to the surface of the lake, "Bu'gui, I'm here."
As if sensing the call of its destined master, a huge black shadow suddenly appeared under the surface of Jincheng Lake's ice. The shadows gathered under the ice, becoming more and more clear, more and more vivid.
Suddenly, the thousands of feet of ice loudly shattered, and Mo Ran could hear Xue Meng's distant shout of alarm come from the shore.
"The ice is gone!!"
The lake's water surged up, waves crashing. A huge, turquoise-black dragon broke through the surface, each scale on its body seven feet wide. In an instant, Jincheng Lake's surface flooded over, a heavy fog rolling over it. The dragon shimmered brilliantly under the moonlight and spouted a breath from its nose.
At the same time, an ancient barrier fell around the edge of the lake, separating Mo Ran from Chu Wanning and the others.
Inside of the barrier, human and dragon regarded each other.
Mo Ran squinted his eyes through silver mist and looked up at the dragon.
He could see that the dragon held a scabbardless blade in its jaws. Though ancient, the blade was still thick and sharp, capable of carving iron and smashing gold. The dragon transformed the blade into a size usable to a human, and slowly lowered its radiant, vibrantly colored serpentine body to the ground, placing the blade in front of Mo Ran.
It didn't lift its head immediately, instead turning its eyes, golden and as large as a grown man's body height, to stare at the other.
The dragon's eyes were like two great, bronze mirrors, Mo Ran's reflection shining clearly within them. Mo Ran stood still with bated breath, and waited for it to speak.
If nothing was different, then all he needed to do was retrieve a plum blossom from the foot of the mountain and bring it back. He ended up being let off easy because the old dragon sought only peace and elegance.
Little did he know, he'd find after waiting a long while that this was not the same dragon as the one in his past life who gave the weapon to him so easily. Its beard fluttered as it narrowed its two enormous golden eyes, then lifted its front claw to write two words in the snow before Mo Ran:
Mortal one?
Mo Ran stared.
He clearly remembered that the dragon in his past life could speak. How come it's mute in this life?
After the mute dragon wrote these two words, he immediately wiped the writing away with a scaly claw to write another sentence:
No, a mortal would not have such strong spiritual energy. Then, are you a god?
Mo Ran: "..."
The dragon thought for a moment, then swiped its hand once more and wrote:
Not a god; you have evil energy in your body. Are you a kind of demon?
Mo Ran yelled in his head, what kind of nonsense was this?! This Venerable One was just reborn, there's nothing to deliberate back and forth about. Just give this Venerable One his blade already!
The old dragon seemed like it could sense his impatience for his weapon, and suddenly lifted its scaly claws and pressed the blade underneath its foot. With one foot on the blade, it used its other to wipe its writing and continue on another patch of snow:
No need to take offense. I saw two other shadows in your body. I have never seen anything like it in my life. So tell me, are you a mortal or ghost? God or demon?
Mo Ran raised an eyebrow and replied, "Of course I'm a human. Is this something that even needs to be said?" He was just a human who had already died once.
The old dragon paused for a moment, then wrote: One human soul, split like this. This really is never seen before, unheard of.
The dragon shook its head back and forth in a puzzled manner, and Mo Ran couldn't help but find it funny. "What's so strange about that? Anyway, Elder, what'll take it for you to give me this blade of yours?"
The old dragon sized him up for a while and wrote:
Then, you stand there and don't move. Let me use a technique to peer into your soul, and I'll give the blade to you. How is that?
"..."
He didn't expect to be given such a request. Under that profound stare, he started to feel a little bit of hesitation.
He then thought, what if this old thing could see into his past life? What would happen then?
But Bu'gui was almost within his grasp. This blade possessed a strong, fierce power; it was one of the rarest holy weapons in existence. If he refused now, he'd never have a chance to get his hands on it again.
With little pause, Mo Ran looked up and said, "That's fine and all but, Elder, will you give me the blade no matter what you see inside of me?"
The old dragon drew on the ground:
These are the terms; I will naturally follow through on my words.
"No matter whether I was good or evil in the past?"
The old dragon paused for a moment, and then wrote:
Even if you were evil in the past, I will not stop you. I can only hope that you will pursue goodness in the future.
Mo Ran smiled into his hand and said, "Alright, since the Elder says so, I don't have any objections. Please examine all you like then, Elder."
The old dragon lifted itself slightly. Its radiant, serpentine body bowed and it blew a breath from its nose, and then both of its eyes started to emit bright red haze.
But this time, Mo Ran was astounded to find that, reflected in the dragon's eyes, there were two other hazy and indistinct shadows in addition to himself. One to his left, one to his right, standing faintly behind him.
Mo Ran immediately whipped around in shock, but behind him there was only emptiness and unceasingly falling snow. Where did the other figures come from?
As he turned back again, he saw the figures in the dragon's eyes become more and more clear, as if something sunken in water was slowly floating up to the surface.
Mo Ran kept staring, and suddenly realized that the two silhouettes were extremely familiar——he couldn't stop himself from taking a step forward, and immediately the closed-eyed figures before him snapped open their eyes!
Shi Mei!
Chu Wanning?!
He never expected that that it would be them. Mo Ran stumbled from being startled by such a thing, staggering backwards and stuttering so much he couldn't form whole sentences. "How——This is——"
The three people in the old dragon's eyes stood quietly, expressions calm and without a hint of emotion, staring like this into the distance.
Mo Ran was stunned. After a while, the blood red fog rose again and the figures in the dragon's eyes started to blur until they finally disappeared altogether.
The old dragon blew a huff from its nose, shook out its body, and then wrote quickly:
I can not make sense of it. I have seen much in my lifetime, but I have never seen a person's soul with the imprints of two other people upon it. Certainly, utterly perplexing.
"My, my soul…...has their imprints in it?"
Yes.
After writing that one word, the old dragon paused. Then, it resumed:
I do not know what happened to you. How deep must an obsession run, for another person to be entangled so tightly in one's own soul?
Mo Ran stared at the messy lines in the snow, and his face started growing red as if he were being suffocated.
His obsession with Shi Mei ran so deep through his bones, that even if he was imprinted upon his soul, and even if the dragon could also see Shi Mei when he looked at him, he wouldn't think much of it.
But…...what the hell was up with Chu Wanning?
What kind of heartfelt obsession did he have towards Chu Wanning?
Was extreme hatred also obsession enough to count as entanglement?
This human and dragon were so immersed in contemplation, that they did not notice when the surface of Jincheng Lake started to ripple unnaturally.
When the water rushed up and the waves broke through, it was too late.
All they saw was the water in Jincheng Lake split apart, as if sliced in half by a sword, the water on both sides rushing up toward the sky. Two tightly packed groups of beasts rushed out from between the waves. They had the bodies of leopards and the heads of oxen. Though they were not as large as the old dragon, the horns on their head shone coldly, and all of their claws were sharp and menacing. Although hundreds were gathered, the old dragon did not show any fear. He looked askance at them with his golden eyes.
"What happened?" Mo Ran said.
The old dragon paused, and then wrote: the Exalted Gouchen.
When he read those four words, Mo Ran immediately felt as if he'd been struck by lightning. Gouchen the Exalted is the god of weapons, lording over all the weapons in the world. This founding god created the first sword in the world, helping Fuxi lay waste to his demonic enemies.
That awe-inspiring primal god was actually these hundreds of cows?
The thought was too horrifying for Mo Ran to accept. As he stared blankly, uncomprehending, he suddenly heard the sounds of an ocarina coming from a far distance.
The ocarina was an ancient instrument. Not many people in their age still knew how to play it. As the sounds of the ocarina came closer, the raucous group of beasts slowly stilled and bent their forelegs, one by one, until they kneeled along both sides. A man wearing splendid robes and carrying a long sword rode atop a qilin through the path made by the beasts.
The man had a handsome face, with delicate and wholly benign features.
He stood in the wind as snow fell onto him and his robes gently billowed. The clay ocarina in his hands was smooth and deep in color. His fingers were placed lightly over the holes as he held it to his lips to play.
When the music finished playing on a soft note, the hundreds of ox beasts suddenly dissolved into water, revealing that they had only been transfigured creations. The man put down the clay ocarina, ran his eyes over Mo Ran for a moment, and then gently smiled: "Truly a strange person, the likes of which one may never encounter in millennia. No wonder you piqued Wangyue's interest. I am Gouchen the Exalted, who lives within Jincheng Lake. All of the weapons in this lake were forged by myself. Just things of little consequence; please excuse my humble work."
Even though the old dragon wrote it, and this man said it himself as well, Mo Ran still couldn't believe it. His face paled as he said, "You're Gouchen the Exalted?"
The man smiled patiently and replied, "Yes, I am he."
Mo Ran was on the verge of choking. "...God of a Thousand Weapons? That guy?"
"Correct." Gouchen the Exalted raised his eyebrows delicately, laughter in his eyes. "The later generations do seem to call me that, how embarrassing. I just grind a few paltry swords and tie a few little whips when I'm bored, yet people idolize me so."
Mo Ran: "..."
Strong people acting humble was the most grating thing on earth. Chu Wanning matter-of-factly said "I have three holy weapons," but this Exalted Gouchen was even more irritating. He actually went around calling the weapons he created "paltry swords" and "little whips"; why doesn't he call Emperor Fuxi "lil' old man" while he's at it?
Mo Ran took a while to process this and finally said, "Then, then that, then shouldn't you be in the heavenly realm? How could you be in this…...this lake..."
"I like to fight and spar, so I often ended up disturbing the Emperor's peace and quiet. After being on the receiving end of his stink eye, I figured I might as well just descend."
...
"Then how long have you been here?" Mo Ran said, dumbfounded.
Gouchen looked thoughtful. He then smiled and said, "Not too long, only a few hundred years."
"...A few hundred years," Mo Ran repeated, and then laughed drily. "Doesn't the Exalted God think that's a bit long?"
Gouchen's expression was placid as he smiled, nonchalantly waving his sleeves.
"It's not too long. Besides, forging a sword for the Heavenly Emperor used up much of my spiritual power. And staying in such an abundantly opulent heavenly realm gets rather boring; it's much better here."
Although Mo Ran was extremely curious to know more about this god of weapons from legend, it wasn't really his place to keep prodding about personal matters. He thought about it and decided there were more important matters at hand, so he said instead, "Exalted Elder, you didn't just come out to see me today because you thought my soul was special, right?"
"Why not? Your spiritual power is rare, hard to ever come across," Gouchen smiled. "I worry that if I give you this blade, it would be wasted potential."
"Haha, it's not too bad," Mo Ran replied. "This blade seems like it would suit me."
"I thought that at first as well," Gouchen continued pleasantly. "But upon closer examination, I found that it isn't the case. You have a rare talent, so it made me curious. I came out today because I wanted to invite you to the bottom of the lake to chat. I would like to see which among those millions of blades would be best suited for you."
"..."
This was no small matter in and of itself. Even though Taxian-jun had experienced a whole array of things in his life, he still choked a bit.
The God of a Thousand Weapons actually invited him to…...pick a weapon?
Gouchen the Exalted took his silence to mean he was reluctant to go out of fear. "There's no need for you to worry, even though there are many monsters under the water, they all answer to me. I guarantee they will not harm you. Wangyue can testify to it."
The old dragon said nothing, and slowly bowed at the side.
When Mo Ran saw that he was really being given a genuine invitation, he couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart. He then said, "Then, if I go, can the Exalted God grant me a request?"
"What kind of request?"
"The person who sought a weapon before me is a close friend of mine." As Mo Ran spoke, he pointed to the shores beyond the barrier, and brought his attention to Shi Mei. "He was denied just now, so I'm thinking, if I grant the Exalted God's wish, then can the Exalted God grant my wish as well and give him a weapon?"
"What am I? Something like that is effortless for me." Gouchen laughed. He suddenly flicked his hand, and the ancient barrier covering the sky immediately disappeared.
"This is a very simple matter. Let all three of them come over, then. If any weapon catches their eyes, it is as good as theirs."
Mo Ran was delighted by the unexpected turn of events. He never thought that he'd come across a way to solve the issue he wrestling with so effortlessly. He was more excited at the possibility of Shi Mei receiving a holy weapon than the prospect of his own upgrade. He immediately agreed to the Exalted Gouchen's invitation, and brought Shi Mei and the others over. As he relayed what was going on to the other three, Shi Mei and Xue Meng's eyes grew larger and larger, and even Chu Wanning reacted slightly.
Gouchen the Exalted watched from the side and abruptly said, "Hm?" as if he suddenly realized something. He stared at Chu Wanning.
"It's you?"