The Huang sword rank disciples glanced at each other nervously.
Their gossip about Wu Yu had unfortunately been heard by Wu Yu himself. Even worse was the fact that Wu Yu was much stronger than them and was a prominent figure too. This deeply unsettled them.
After Wu Yu's question, the crowd quickly quietened down. Everyone was too scared to say more, so they just stood there with awkward expressions on their faces.
"Actually, there's not much more to say. You're probably in the dark because you went into isolation. Recently, something big happened in the sect - an unprecedented individual has appeared.
"This is none other than Beishan Mo. The commotion he caused was probably larger than the one started by Nangong Wei. It's quite a pity that you didn't manage to catch the excitement first-hand."
Someone finally spoke up. Wu Yu didn't seem to be ashamed or angry by their previous words, so the crowd of Huang sword rank disciples started to gather more courage.
Wu Yu interrupted them cleanly. "No need to beat around the bush. Just tell me his identity and how strong he is."
At this time, a crane-haired elder with a healthy disposition stepped forward. At his age, one was afraid of practically nothing. With an old and decrepit voice, he replied, "Our Shushan has many bloodlines, including both Nangong and Beishan. Throughout history, these bloodlines have given rise to many famous individuals. The Mizar Sword Immortal today is the Nangong bloodline's Nangong Xuan. On the other hand, the Beishan bloodline has also been on good terms with the Nangong bloodline. However, over the years, the Beishan line has almost entirely been annihilated. The family seems to have been unable to rise from its various setbacks, so as of now, Beishan Mo is the only remaining descendant. In Beishan Mo's younger days, he did not have much talent, but the Mizar Sword Immortal took him in as Nangong Wei's sparring partner in light of the close relations between the two families. When he turned seven, however, his innate talent started to show and he revealed a heaven-defying level of talent. He just turned 17 this year, and has returned from 10 years of isolation. At present, he is a top level genius of around Nangong Wei's level!"
Wu Yu was rather puzzled. He asked, "You all have only known Nangong Wei for a few months. How do you all know so much about Beishan Mo?"
The man replied, "Once this person became famous, his identity, status, and history all spread naturally."
Nangong Wei had never once mentioned the existence of this sparring partner to him.
However, it was indeed rare for a 17-year-old to be around the same level as Nangong Wei. Furthermore, the crowd had mentioned that this Beishan Mo had obtained the Green Depths Sword Emperor's legacy. If one were to be honest, this Green Depths Sword Emperor was superior to even the Radiant Phoenix Sword Emperor before him. Even the Seven Immortals of Shushan probably did not have a legacy that could match up to this.
Wu Yu guessed that Beishan Mo's shocking performance during his reappearance had caused him to be sent to the mysterious Shushan Reincarnation Realm together with Nangong Wei.
"Two months ago, this Beishan Mo suddenly appeared at the Earth sword domain to challenge the 73rd ranked disciple on the Leaderboard of Earth Sword Immortals. Beishan Mo won on the spot! Shortly after, the Lunar Flower Sword Sage introduced him to all as the descendent of the Beishan family. He had entered the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm at the young age of 17, and his battle prowess was even stronger than Nangong Wei's! After all, the Green Depths Sword Emperor helped build him up! This Beishan Mo has to be the most promising pride and joy of all of Shushan. Do you know what happened after the battle?" As the man spoke, he was sniveling with excitement. It was as though he was reliving the scene right before his eyes.
Regardless of who it was, achieving so much at this age was indeed extraordinary. Furthermore, this person was even the descendant of a moribund clan and did not have that much of an advantage starting out. It was no mean feat for him to be able to climb to such a position.
Wu Yu patiently waited for the man to continue.
The man had a surprised expression on his face as he continued, "That Beishan Mo actually announced to the entire world that he was announcing something important on behalf of the Seven Immortals of Shushan!"
"That news was that three months ago, the Seven Immortals of Shushan had accepted Beishan Mo as their personal disciple. In other words, Beishan Mo has seven masters - the Seven Immortals of Shushan themselves! What is this concept of having seven masters? Such a situation has never happened before in the entire history of the Shushan Immortal Sect. What could this mean? This means that the Seven Immortals of Shushan feel that Beishan Mo's talent is unparalleled. They think highly enough of his future prospects to want to groom him into someone like the Green Depths Sword Emperor of Shushan's first generation. This has to be the reason they are willing to collectively accept him as a disciple. Even Nangong Wei, the daughter of the Mizar Sword Immortal, was not treated as such. From what I can tell, Beishan Mo's standing is the highest below the Seven Immortals of Shushan. He has surpassed even Nangong Wei. Even the Grand Architect Sword Sage shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as Beishan Mo, I think?"
This news was mind-blowing to Wu Yu.
The Seven Immortals of Shushan were way beyond everyone's reach. In the eyes of all the martial cultivators on the divine continent, they were practically on the level of gods.
Just how much of a talent was this guy that they deigned to groom him together despite their standing?
Even though Wu Yu had reached a relatively high cultivation level, not a single one of the Seven Immortals of Shushan had ever appeared before him. Wu Yu felt like he was stuck at the edges of Shushan, whereas Beishan Mo was in its very core.
The successive appearances of Nangong Wei and Beishan Mo had actually caused a huge uproar in the entire divine continent. In particular, the Seven Immortals of Shushan's decision caused many martial cultivators and even demons and ghostly cultivators to pay close attention to Beishan Mo.
Wu Yu now had a clearer picture of what was going on.
Honestly, no matter how one looked at it, Beishan Mo and Nangong Wei were practically a match made in heaven. They were both potential successors that the Seven Immortals of Shushan had great interest in grooming. They were also both born and bred in Shushan and were true natives of Shushan. More importantly, both of them were geniuses that had crushing amounts of innate talent and had the best legacies... They had also grown up together, and had known each other for a longer time than Wu Yu had known Nangong Wei. With this, Wu Yu finally understood why the Mizar Sword Immortal did not really care much about Wu Yu. With the rules and restrictions that the Mizar Sword Immortal set for Nangong Wei, it was obvious that Beishan Mo was one of the few who could meet every prerequisite. Furthermore, Beishan Mo was personally brought up by the Mizar Sword Immortal himself. It was as if Beishan Mo was his actual son. The Mizar Sword Immortal's intentions were clear for all to see.
Unfortunately, the Mizar Sword Immortal did not foresee that Nangong Wei would pledge her undying love to someone else without listening to his opinion.
"If this Beishan Mo truly wants to compete for Wei Er, then I'm afraid I now have a formidable rival in love. To be honest, in comparison to them, I'm more like a meddlesome third party than anything else..." Wu Yu scoffed.
However, he was not intimidated. After all, he had the Ruyi Jingu Bang with him. He was certain that all he had to do was continue to stay alive. With enough time and resources, his future achievements would not pale in comparison to those of Nangong Wei and Beishan Mo.
Wu Yu found out all he wanted to know. He did not stay any longer and turned to leave, leaving the Huang sword rank disciples to exchange glances with each other.
"Sigh, this news must have been a heavy blow to him."
"I don't doubt that fate played a role in bringing him and Nangong Wei together. However, sometimes even fate is not strong enough. After all, to become dao companions, both parties must be of equal skill, standing, and close enough background. Wu Yu is a lone strand of grass without any master and few friends. How could he match up to the disciple of the Seven Immortals of Shushan?"
"I'm afraid that after some time, Nangong Wei will realize this as well. She'll stop looking for Wu Yu then."
"With Wu Yu's current achievements, he just has to continue to work a little harder. He'll definitely manage to become a Sword Sage in the future. If he's willing to let it go, he may even become a general under Beishan Mo and Nangong Wei's command!"
Wu Yu was far away by now, so he could not really hear the details of the crowd's gossip. However, he had a good idea of what they were talking about.
"While walking the path of dao, one should remain unperturbed by external factors. In the pursuit of dao, one cannot be anxious with disorderly actions and thoughts."
Wu Yu smiled. He honestly trusted that Nangong Wei would make a decision that was in line with her heart's desire. Wu Yu knew that the only thing he had to do was become more outstanding in order to shut others up.
He entered the Xuan sword domain from the Huang sword domain. It was much more peaceful here. Wu Yu prepared to return to the Heaven's Equal Cave Abode to wait for Nangong Wei to come.
However, as he neared his Heaven's Equal Cave Abode, he found that there were many people surrounding the cave abode's entrance. There were over a thousand Xuan sword rank disciples that were riding their swords all around the entrance. The surroundings were bustling with noise and excitement, and the crowd seemed to be waiting for someone.
As he weaved through the crowd, Wu Yu's sharp gaze looked toward the entrance of the cave abode.
"Wu Yu has returned!"
When the first person noticed him, a huge commotion spread through the crowd. The gazes of a thousand people turned in unison to look at him. They all had serious expressions on their faces, and there was also a hint of anticipation and nervousness as they looked at Wu Yu.
Their thought-provoking gazes naturally allowed Wu Yu to vaguely guess who was awaiting his return from the Unrivaled Sea of Swords.
Of course, only a conflict that everyone eagerly anticipated could attract so many people!
There were even Earth sword rank disciples who came from afar to check out the commotion.
Furthermore, the moment Wu Yu had returned, many cultivators quickly cleared a path for him to approach the Heaven's Equal Cave Abode. Wu Yu could already see from afar that there was someone sitting in the lotus position before the cave abode's entrance. This youth's eyes were shut and he was patiently waiting for Wu Yu.
The youth had a striking first impression that would etch itself in anyone's mind. He had a face that was still quite puerile, and had a strong and slender frame. He wore a plain, white sword lanyard and his hair was tied behind his back. His soft, delicate facial features were slightly feminine, but the moment he opened his eyes, two trails of sword qi immediately emitted from within. The gaze from his pure, azure, gem-like eyes shifted to the endless clouds and pierced through them to directly fall on Wu Yu. There was a bone-chilling quality to this look of his.
This was none other than Beishan Mo.
From just those two azure eyes, everyone was able to clearly sense that this was a youth of extraordinary ability. No matter who you were, just his gaze would make you feel as though you were sinking into an icy cave.
Of course, Wu Yu was not intimidated. With a calm expression, he sized up this individual who was treasured by the Seven Immortals of Shushan.
"Aiyoh, this kid even has a treasure on his neck." Ming Long blustered out, ruining the serious atmosphere as she did so.
Wu Yu took a closer look. On Beishan Mo's neck was a black, tooth-like object. From Wu Yu's perspective, it just looked like an ordinary animal tooth.
"That's none other than a dao treasure!"
"What's a dao treasure?" Wu Yu was taken aback.
"That's... something that not even your Seven Immortals of Shushan have. It's something that's superior to immortal treasures. In this dao treasure, there's even a spirit remnant inside of it!"