Zen and Layla looked in the direction which Yolande was pointing in, and saw so dense words inscribed on the rock.
So of these words were huge and so were small. The huge ones were as tall as a person, while the small ones were only the size of a palm. They were written in a myriad of styles.
“I gave up my great future and spent all my life here, yet ended up gaining nothing. I must tell everyone in the universe that this is only a scam concocted by Supre Lord Sword!”
“Liar! Supre Lord Sword is a great liar! I wasted ten thousand years of my ti here and only encountered the Five Aging Processes. If I am able to reincarnate and am fortunate enough to co here again, I will definitely shatter this stone.”
“Alas! Newcors, stop dreaming. Just focus on cultivating your own thods. If you want to comprehend Supre Lord Sword's sword intent in these words, be warned that this is just nonsense! Life is so short. Don't waste your ti here.”
Between these dense lines of writing, there were traces of pessimism and advice scattered for the later generations, by the prior generations, to give up on the futile observation.
Seeing the words, Zen sighed and shook his head. He could understand these people's feelings. They had spent all their lives here, but in the end, they had gained nothing. If he was one of them, he himself would find it hard to accept this fate.
“Why is there no one here now?” Zen asked curiously.
From the pits on the ground, Zen could imagine that there should have been many warriors who had co here to observe the rock, but now, he didn't see any signs of them. Their bodies had over years shaped pits in the ground where they had sat in watchful ditation as they had all focused on the rock.
“Since the Orange Sea World beca the place for the alliance to hold Passing the Torch, ordinary warriors aren't able to enter it. Moreover, no one in living mory has been able to comprehend the mysteries within it, not for millions of years. Many warriors have also begun to doubt the legend. However, there are occasionally warriors who would co to ditate,” Yolande said as she looked around before shaking her head. “But I don't see them today.”
Layla stared at Zen and asked, “Zen, are you sure you saw that white sword shadow?”
Although Yolande and Layla didn't think that Zen was lying, they still didn't dare believe that he could see that white sword shadow.
After all, in the past millions of years, countless warriors had co to observe the rock and not a single one had managed to discover the secret. It was inconceivable that Zen would see the white sword shadow right after he had just arrived here.
The vice leaders and talents of the Mist Palace waited at the side of the huge rock, avoiding the intimidating aura of the words with downcast eyes.
“What are they doing?”
“It seems like that guy said he saw through the mysteries of the rock!”
“That is simply impossible! Supre Lord Sword's poem is already a joke in the universe. It is clearly a complete and utter lie!”
“Why are you so emotional?”
“You know what? One of my uncles was about to reach the Spirit Supre Realm, yet he chose to co here to observe the rock instead. We could only watch helplessly as he encountered the Five Aging Processes and passed away.”
When Timothy heard about Zen's claim, he flashed a mocking smile and taunted, “Humph! I believe this brat is only bragging. There have been many warriors like him. They saw nothing, yet they lied and said that they saw sothing. These people were common rubbish. So of them claid that they saw a huge chessboard, so said they saw snakes, and so said that they saw tens of thousands of swords. They were all talking nonsense!”
Actually, Timothy was telling the truth. Observing the rock gradually beca a real deception, and it even seed to have driven so of the observers mad. So fabricated strange things, telling other warriors that they could see sothing, in order to defraud them of their money and belongings.
In a word, there were so many disputes and stories around the rock that it was difficult to describe them in detail or know what the truth was.
“Let's go. Warriors from the other palaces should have been waiting for us. We don't need to wait for that brat,” Timothy said in a cold voice. He was here to take the talents of the Mist Palace to take part in Passing the Torch, not to see Zen observing the rock. This was a waste of their ti.
The other warriors all left together.
In their eyes, the mystery had been there for millions of years. It was impossible for Zen to have solved it when he had just arrived.
Hearing Layla's question, Zen thought for a while and shook his head. “I'm not so sure.” He had seen the white sword shadow, and felt it piercing into his body, which was why he had felt so uncomfortable. The vision had been slightly disconcerting.
But he was not sure that it was the mystery left by Supre Lord Sword. After hearing the story from Yolande and Layla, Zen even began to doubt and suspect himself. 'So many warriors failed to solve the mystery. How could it be possible that I could solve it the mont I ca here?' he thought befuddled. Even though he was confident in his ample luck, he was not so sure that he could solve the mystery.
Layla pursed her lips as disappointnt was suddenly written all over her face. A mont ago, she had faithfully believed that Zen could solve the mystery. She looked at the retreating figures of other warriors and urged, “Let's not waste ti here then.”
Yolande stared at Zen, lost in thought. After so consideration, she nodded and said to Zen, “We'd better hurry up. The warriors from the other twelve palaces should have arrived by now.”
“May I stay here for a while?” Zen asked, his face still filled with doubt and speculation.
Yolande smiled, and she realized then that Zen had seen sothing. So she nodded. “I'll inform you when Passing the Torch starts.” After saying that, she and Layla left the rock and flew away.
When they had disappeared from sight, Zen descended to the ground.
The ground was rather hard under his feet. Zen couldn't image how many years it had taken for the warriors to create so many pits in the ground just by sitting here and ditating. He believed it couldn't be done in anything less than decades.
He found a smooth place and sat down. Then he raised his head and looked at the huge words on the rock. A while ago, when he had concentrated on the words, he had seen the white sword shadow. But once he was distracted, the shadow would disappear.
“Can I see it again if I concentrate?”
he murmured as he stared at the words and began to focus on them. Zen deepened his focus and intent.
After he had observed the words for a long ti, he failed to see the white sword shadow again. But he still felt uncomfortable, like a sword was piercing through him. It ant that the sword shadow was still there. It was just that he couldn't see it. Zen frowned as he concentrated and puzzled at the mystery.
'Is it because of my lack of concentration?' he thought then, seeking the problem within, like any good warrior who quested for cultivation was wont to do.
Maybe his state of mind had changed after he had heard the story from Yolande and Layla.
Thinking of this, Zen instructed himself to calm his mind. He deliberately slowed his breathing. After a few monts, he was finally able to keep a peaceful mind.
After about thirty seconds, a faint light began to erge from the huge words. There was a spectral quality to the light, and Zen stared at it, while still forcing himself to remain calm and focused.
It was indeed a sword shadow!
Although the shadow was rather faint, Zen was sure that he saw it again.
When he was about to concentrate more in hopes of seeing more clearly, a harsh voice interrupted him in a jeering tone, “Ha-ha! We have a new friend here. These last few years, few young warriors were still interested in Supre Lord Sword's mystery.”
Zen's peaceful state of mind was shattered by the harsh voice. The white sword shadow imdiately disappeared. He frowned in disgruntlent.
He hated being disturbed at this mont of intense concentration.
Warriors all hated being disturbed when they were cultivating. That was why they preferred to cultivate in seclusion. Interruptions were considered extrely rude, and the interrupted warrior had every right to beco vexed and seek retribution.
After all, even a light cough might cause a warrior imrsed in cultivation to spiral into madness.
His face beca dark and sullen, and Zen raised his head to see who it was. It was a middle-aged man in dark shabby clothes. He was slightly fat and filthy. Probably, no one knew how many years it had been since he had taken a bath, or how many years he had neglected grooming the matted beard on his face. He was rather shabby looking.
The man was very excited at the sight of Zen and called out to his friend, “Landry! We have another friend. Co over here!”
Swoosh!
Another man flew over at a fast speed. He was thinner than the first one, but he looked equally dirty.
'Their cultivation levels are surprisingly not low at all, ' Zen thought. He guessed that they were both at the Spirit Supre Realm.
The warrior nad Landry Chen sized Zen up with a smile, his dark eyes glittering excitedly, and he asked, “Young man, do you want to comprehend the mystery hidden within the huge rock?”
Zen nodded slowly. That was the reason why he had stayed here. Seeing the two warriors' bedraggled status, he asked, “How many years have you been here?”
Landry Chen and the fat man looked at each other and smiled slightly insanely. Landry Chen pointed at the fat man and said, “This is Damian Xu. He has been here for more than twenty thousand years.”
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