Volume One: All Things Awaken, Every Season Becomes Spring Chapter Forty-Eight: Infuse the Sword with Emotion, Shatter Delusion with the Blade!

An absurd thought took root in his mind, growing uncontrollably. Since there was no way to eradicate the Buddhist inner breath, Mo Wen steeled himself and decided to try! Since his imprisonment, this was the first time Mo Wen had actively circulated the Buddhist inner breath. Perhaps after contending with the Sword Heart, the Buddhist breath had grown even purer. Mo Wen compressed it relentlessly, forcing it in waves into his sea of consciousness until it was overflowing, packed to the brim.

Next, grasping Sword Dog in his hand, he once again performed his innate sword technique. The Heart of Sentiment Sword began to rise within him. Seizing the moment before the Buddhist inner breath could act, Mo Wen suddenly drove all the sword intent in his body into his sea of consciousness!

Immediately, the sword intent and Buddhist breath tangled together, refusing to merge and mutually dissolving one another. As the sword intent began to wane, Mo Wen remained undistracted, practicing his innate sword technique over and over again. Sword Dog cooperated seamlessly; in an instant, sword light illuminated the entire valley, and sword energy arched across the sky like a rainbow!

Agonizing pain tore through his sea of consciousness. Mo Wen clenched his teeth until blood seeped from his lips. The unceasing sword intent, like fearless warriors, clashed with the Buddhist breath in his mind.

Sweat poured from him like rain, heat steaming from his body, his face twisted with pain as he forced himself to endure.

Suddenly, the figure of Master Heartless appeared before his eyes, wearing a facade of kindly hypocrisy. "Though you killed your master, I do not blame you. Give up—if you persist, you will die!"

"Never! I, Mo Wen, would rather die than join the Buddhist order!"

The appearance of Master Heartless thoroughly provoked him. Mo Wen shouted with all his might.

At last, the Buddhist inner breath fell to a disadvantage, encircled by sword intent and utterly defeated. It quickly dissolved. After an entire month, not a trace of Buddhist breath remained within him—in its place surged a torrent of golden sword breath!

Each strand of the golden sword breath was incomparably sharp, coursing through every fiber of Mo Wen's body.

He burst out laughing. Sword Dog in hand, he swept his long sword through the air, stirring up endless sword intent that fell like fine rain, nourishing all things. In that illusory world, flowers bloomed and withered in an instant.

Coal Ball had been waiting nearby. Witnessing this, it spat out the Calamity-Free Talisman, which floated in the air. Mo Wen severed it with a sword stroke, and immediately, the world was suffused with an indescribable aura of the Dao.

Mo Wen’s mind became incomparably clear. He closed his eyes, attuned to the Dao, practicing his sword techniques one after another, faster and faster. The sword energy, mingled with the Dao, was absorbed into his sea of consciousness.

"Break!"

Silently, it was as if an unseen barrier had been shattered. An unprecedented sensation invigorated Mo Wen’s spirit. Through the sword, he saw Sword Dog’s true form—and beneath Coal Ball’s flickering light, a twin-tailed little girl?

So this is the feeling of breaking through delusion.

Mo Wen looked around and realized the stream was merely a painting, and the birds had no flesh, being only wisps of consciousness. Lifting his gaze, his pupils contracted.

High above in the sky, a colossal human face looked down upon him, nodding with a smile. Then a voice resounded across heaven and earth: "Excellent—breaking through delusion to build anew. Worthy indeed to be called a child of the realm!"

What kind of existence was this?

Mo Wen gazed at that enormous face. Though he had broken through delusion, he still felt minuscule, like an ant shaking a great tree, a worm before an elephant!

Before he could ask questions, the face spoke again: "The abbot of Mount Zhu Rong—Master Selfless—differs from the Pure Lineage of the Buddhist order. Once you leave, do not slaughter the Buddhists indiscriminately!"

Without time to think, Mo Wen pressed his fists together in salute. "Thank you, Elder. May I know your name? If I see the light of day again, I will punish only those of the Pure Buddhist Lineage."

The face sighed without replying and faded away with the wind. With its departure, the prison world shattered like a mirage.

In the blink of an eye, Mo Wen found himself outside the Hall of Mount Zhu Rong on Hengshan once more.

The joy of seeing the sun again filled the hearts of the three companions. Sword Dog barked incessantly, while Coal Ball danced above his nose, celebrating Mo Wen’s rebirth.

"Benefactor, you—!"

Master Selfless emerged slowly, astonished but even more wary. He remembered that fist all too well!

"Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. Take care of yourself."

Mo Wen had no fondness for the Buddhist order. Turning away, he did not look at Master Selfless again, soaring into the sky and descending the mountain. Along the way, he hesitated, debating whether to visit Zhou Sheng, but eventually held back.

He feared Zhou Sheng would call him "Benefactor" again if they met.

Watching Mo Wen depart, Master Selfless wore a complex expression and sighed deeply. "With him in this world, is it a blessing or a curse? Alas!"

After breaking through delusion, Mo Wen’s speed soared. In a short while, he reached the foot of the mountain, stopped a passerby, and asked, "Excuse me, what is today’s date?"

The passerby looked at him as if he were a fool, eyes full of pity. "Brother, today’s date is May 14, 2024!"

2024?

Mo Wen was stunned. The passerby, now certain Mo Wen was deranged, shook his head in regret and left. "Such a handsome young man—what a shame he’s a fool!"

Mo Wen stood there in shock. Had more than a year passed in the prison world? At the same time, he felt secretly relieved—it was only a year, so all was not lost!

Otherwise, if his beloved had waited in vain, wouldn’t that have wasted the most precious years of her life?

Gazing at the bustling crowds in the airport, Mo Wen felt an overwhelming sense of belonging. This mundane world was the true paradise.

After a brief flight, the plane landed in the Magic City. So close to home, Mo Wen was suddenly uncertain where to go.

He had been missing for over a year. If Lin Xi had been unable to wait and married another, what then?

Better to visit his teacher first.

The journey was short. Mo Wen simply flew by sword, hurrying toward the Institute of Transportation. In less than twenty minutes, the campus was in sight.

"No airborne travel in the academy! Get down here!"

A stern shout startled him—Great Freedom!

When had the academy gained someone of such cultivation?

Landing, he found a bald old man blocking his way. Though his hair was white at the temples, the old man’s spirit was vigorous, clad in a traditional Chinese tunic and standing with hands clasped behind his back—a figure of authority.

"Such a young one who’s broken through delusion? Who are you? Didn’t your elders tell you that flying is forbidden within the academy?"

The old man’s sharp gaze measured Mo Wen, as if guessing which great family this youth belonged to.

"I am a student at this academy. My master is the dean, Zhao Tiansheng."

Before such a master, Mo Wen dared not be disrespectful and hurriedly saluted.

"You are Mo Wen? You’re alive—and have already broken through delusion!"

The old man’s delight was uncontrollable, a broad smile spreading across his face. As Mo Wen wondered at his identity, a surge of sword intent arrived; then, the refined figure of Zhao Tiansheng appeared.

"Teacher, your student has returned!"

Unmindful of the growing crowd, Mo Wen, seeing Zhao Tiansheng again after so long, felt as if a lifetime had passed. He fell to his knees with a thud.