Chapter 64: If Heaven Had Not Given Birth to Our Great Black Cat

Chapter 64: Heaven Did Not Produce My Great Black Cat

"Ha, Ping'an, my good disciple, Master suddenly appearing in the Sword Pond must have frightened you, right?"

A crisp, silvery, and hearty laugh rang out, tinged with a hint of mischievousness.

Chen Ping'an snapped back to his senses.

He scratched his head and said with an embarrassed smile, "Master, isn't this joke of yours a bit too grand?"

The beauty in the green robe ignored Chen Ping'an's words. She lifted her fair and exquisite chin, gazed upward, her long and narrow beautiful eyes filled with a trace of sorrow, and murmured to herself, "Disciple, Master is actually already dead. What you are seeing is merely an image stored within the Projection Stone."

Chen Ping'an was struck dumb.

Hearing these words from his Master, tears involuntarily streamed down his face.

Back then, after miraculously surviving the Longevity Coffin, he had lost all of his cultivation. Feeling utterly disheartened, he bid farewell to his Master, left the Azure Cloud Sect, and never returned.

Actually, within the first millennium, he had wished to return to the Azure Cloud Sect to check on his Master, as well as his fellow apprentices and junior sisters. However, at that time, he was in the Canglan Continent, an immense distance away from the desolate wilderness.

Being mere mortal flesh, he lacked the capability to make such a journey.

After his death, his resurrection point was randomized, and during the first millennium, he had not appeared in the wilderness at all.

Consequently, even when his Master passed away, he was not there to offer his condolences.

As time dragged on, the Azure Cloud Sect passed down through generations. Chen Ping'an had no interest in these unfamiliar juniors, so he never returned to the sect.

"Master, this disciple has been unfilial."

Countless memories surged into Chen Ping'an's mind, and overwhelming sorrow welled up in his heart as he slowly knelt to the ground.

"Disciple, I suppose when you saw my projection, you were first startled, then filled with remorse, and now you've knelt down, haven't you?"

The beauty in the green robe smiled, took a few unhurried steps, sat down upon the pool water, cupped her chin in her hand, and smiled, "You saved the entire Azure Cloud Sect, and you saved your Master too. You need not blame yourself; get up quickly!"

Seeing that his Master could predict the future with divine accuracy, Chen Ping'an had no choice but to stand up.

"Disciple, to my knowledge, survivors of the Longevity Coffin who, like you, are unable to cultivate are practically unheard of. Therefore, I guessed that if you were to live out a second lifetime, you might possibly embark once more upon the path of cultivation. That is why I left a Projection Stone within the Sword Pond. If the pond were to capture your aura, it would activate the stone..."

The beauty in the green robe mused thoughtfully.

Chen Ping'an was stunned upon hearing this.

Were those fellows in the Hall of Longevity not mortals?

He believed his Master would not lie; those fellows from back then must have deliberately concealed the truth, deceiving him into joining the Hall of Longevity.

"Disciple, the reason Master left this projection is because I have some important matters to discuss with you," the beauty in the green robe said.

"Master, please speak," Chen Ping'an murmured.

His Master must have some unfulfilled wish. Now that he, as her disciple, had also stepped onto the path of cultivation, he would certainly find a way to fulfill his Master's dying wish.

After a brief pause, the beauty in the green robe continued thoughtfully, "The people of the wilderness, including the disciples of our Azure Cloud Sect, only know the name of the Azure Cloud Sword Immortal; none know my true name or origins. Today, Master shall tell you: my original surname is Zhu, my given name is Qingzhao, and I hail from the Azure Cloud Academy of the Canglan Continent. Back then, I was wrongfully accused and expelled from the academy, wandered everywhere, and accidentally strayed into the wilderness where I founded a sect and established the Azure Cloud Sect."

"So, Master originally came from the Azure Cloud Academy..."

Chen Ping'an's spirit perked up.

He had a slight impression of this Azure Cloud Academy; it was an immensely powerful faction.

"Disciple, the first thing Master enjoins upon you is the hope that if you have the opportunity in the future, you will also go to the Azure Cloud Academy to study. After all, the swordsmanship there is the true swordsmanship of this world," the beauty in the green robe instructed.

"I understand, Master," Chen Ping'an nodded.

Since his Master had given this instruction, he would naturally visit the Azure Cloud Academy in the future.

The beauty in the green robe continued, "Back then, Master once encountered a life-and-death crisis, and at the critical moment, I was saved by a Senior Black Cat. Disciple, this Senior Black Cat is muddle-headed, but its cultivation is unfathomable. If you happen to encounter it while traveling the Canglan Continent in the future, make sure not to miss the chance to seek guidance from this senior."

A black cat?

Chen Ping'an felt a stir in his heart. He took out the jade box and gazed at the grayish-black speck of dust inside, thinking: Could the black cat Master mentioned be the very same one sealed within the ruins of the Return to Ruins Secret Realm?

That black cat was also muddle-headed and possessed immensely high cultivation, perfectly matching his Master's description.

"Disciple, Senior Black Cat has a catchphrase that you must remember."

The beauty in the green robe paused, her expression turning slightly peculiar, and slowly recited, "It often says—*Heaven did not produce my great black cat, through eternal ages Xuantian is like a pitch-black night.*"

Xuantian is like a pitch-black night through eternal ages?

Hearing this, Chen Ping'an was completely dumbfounded.

This black cat was simply too arrogant. Such a grandiose tone made even undefeated emperors pale in comparison.

"No, the black cat Master spoke of must be different from the one in the Return to Ruins Secret Realm..."

Chen Ping'an's thoughts raced as he murmured to himself.

"Disciple, within the Azure Underworld Abyss of the Canglan Continent, Master once witnessed a laughing piece of bronze flying past. I failed to catch up to it at the time. When your strength grows greater in the future, you can go to this place to investigate. Master feels that this laughing bronze holds profound mysteries."

The beauty in the green robe said slowly.

A laughing piece of bronze?

Chen Ping'an was immediately stirred with excitement. He hadn't expected his Master to have encountered a piece of it ten thousand years ago as well.

He harbored a deep interest in these shattered bits of bronze and longed to find out what kind of treasure they would form once gathered completely.

"Disciple, after you left, Master often missed you. Later, based on the poem you gifted me, I created the sword technique *A Thousand Miles Without Leaving a Trace*. This sword technique was created by Master in my later years, and its might surpasses even the Azure Cloud Sword Technique. Now, Master shall impart it to you. Watch closely..."

The beauty in the green robe drew her long sword and slowly circulated her sword momentum.

Her figure was graceful and ethereal, executing a sword strike every ten steps, her posture both elegant and utterly unrestrained.

Chen Ping'an attentively memorized every single move.

He never imagined that his Master would actually transform a poem about wandering knights into such a profound sword technique.

In his eyes, this sword technique had already reached the Heaven-grade intermediate level, completely transcending the Azure Cloud Sword Technique.

Fearing that the projection effect might be poor, the beauty in the green robe stubbornly demonstrated it five times.

In reality, Chen Ping'an now possessed the Innate Holy Body Dao Fetus, and his comprehension was astonishingly formidable; he had memorized it entirely after a single viewing.

"Master, your benevolence..."

Overcome with nostalgia for his Master, Chen Ping'an felt a secret, unceasing grief.

"Alright, Master has finished giving her instructions. There is one final, important matter I wish to discuss with you, Disciple..."

The beauty in the green robe withdrew her sword.

"Speak, Master."

Chen Ping'an braced himself.

The beauty in the green robe sighed softly, "Disciple, Master has lived her whole life without a dao companion. Do you know why?"

Why she had no dao companion?

Chen Ping'an frowned. After carefully reviewing his Master's glorious life, he concluded that his Master had been obsessed with the path of the sword all her life and had never shown any interest in men.

"Disciple, the truth is... Master has always been fond of you. However, constrained by the worldly judgments of mortal society, Master could never bring herself to say it to you. But it is well now; Master is nearing death, and before I die, I do not wish to carry this regret into my coffin. Therefore, I am telling you here in the Projection Stone."

The beauty in the green robe wore a slightly bashful expression. As soon as she finished speaking, two flushes of red rose upon her exquisitely beautiful face.

Boom!

Chen Ping'an's mind exploded with a deafening roar!