The rusty bronze rod in Fei Ri's hand—which looked nothing at all like the legendary Gan Jiang—suddenly began to tremble, swaying back and forth as though struggling to break free from some invisible restraint, yet lacking the strength to do so.
"Blood breaks the seal, the spirit sword shines once more." The ancient oracle-bone inscription flashed through Fei Ri's mind. Whatever. He had already placed his bet—might as well make it a big one!
Fei Ri pulled a bitter face, gritted his teeth, and bit open the tip of his right index finger. He let the blood drip onto the rusty rod and drew a talisman symbol that even he only half understood. The rod absorbed the blood like a sponge, trembling even more violently and emitting a low, buzzing hum.
It still wasn't enough. Enduring the pain, Fei Ri added a few more drops, cursing silently. Damn it! This rusty thing is a literal bloodsucker. Keep this up and I'll bleed out before the yin energy even freezes me solid!
The rod suddenly shook with explosive force. A resounding dragon roar—"Clang!"—echoed through the palace. Half a foot from the top, a crack split open. Then the upper section leaped upward, revealing nearly a foot of dazzling sword blade. The entire underground palace blazed with light. Gan Jiang! The legendary sword had been sealed inside this ugly rusty sheath all along!
A sword of eternal renown was no ordinary weapon. Trapped for a thousand years in such a hideous sheath, Gan Jiang had nursed a bellyful of pent-up rage. The moment it was unsheathed, it naturally radiated a domineering light that lorded over all creation! The light quickly found its target, converging into a barrel-thick beam that slammed straight toward the stone stele.
Gan Jiang's sword light pierced the gray mist surrounding the stele and struck it head-on. The dragon-script tadpole characters on the stele began to glow, erupting with streams of black energy that surged upward to meet the blade.
After several rounds of fierce clashes between sword light and black mist, Fei Ri finally snapped out of his astonishment. He had never been one for blind faith—he neither believed in gods nor disbelieved in them; he trusted only what he saw and what he reasoned. So when faced with a scene that would leave anyone gaping in shock, his first reaction upon recovering was to yawn and say, "How boring. Gan Jiang, you're supposed to be a sword of the ages, yet you're taking forever just to handle a little black mist? Aren't you embarrassed?"
Gan Jiang could not endure the taunt. With a sharp "Clang!", the entire sword leaped free from its sheath. The sword light contracted, its brilliance ten times stronger than before, and it danced toward the stele like a soaring dragon.
"Great Immortal, spare my life!" The stele vibrated, emitting a pleading voice.
"Stop!" Fei Ri shouted. But Gan Jiang's sword light did not fully obey. It merely tilted slightly, smashing the upper third of the stele into pieces, then circled continuously overhead.
Fei Ri grumbled at the sword with some annoyance, "Enough already! Brother Gan Jiang, he's already begging for mercy—can't you let him go?"
A beam of white energy separated from Gan Jiang's sword light, gathering and thickening in front of Fei Ri until it slowly materialized into a Daoist priest with a tall crown and wide sleeves, radiating transcendent elegance. The priest smiled faintly at Fei Ri and said, "Sword Master, please don't be upset. As this poor Daoist knows, the central stele conceals a supreme treasure of the world. A spirit entity is attached to that treasure, cultivating by drawing on the ultimate yin energy of heaven and earth surging beneath the stele and the spiritual qi of the treasures. Although this spirit has cultivated for a century less than I have, thanks to the rare treasure and yin energy, its cultivation far surpasses mine. To prevent a desperate counterattack that might harm you, Master, this poor Daoist had no choice but to destroy five hundred years of its cultivation with sword qi first. The rest is for you to decide!"
Fei Ri said skeptically, "If its cultivation is higher than yours, why couldn't it beat you? Isn't this just the City God playing the erhu—pure nonsense?"
"Because our paths of cultivation differ," the black smoke pouring from the shattered stele also condensed into a gaunt, sickly-looking old scholar in Confucian robes. He bowed to Fei Ri and said, "Gan Jiang is forged from the most rigid and yang minerals of heaven and earth, refined by a peerless master, and imbued with the living soul of a virgin boy to become a spirit sword body. Its offensive power can injure even cultivators who have not yet reached the Heavenly Realm—let alone a mere spirit ghost body like me. Moreover, if I am not mistaken, Gan Jiang has also been re-refined and consecrated by a cultivator of profound attainment using the method of cultivating the mind through the body. Although its current cultivation is slightly lower than mine, its actual combat ability surpasses me by several entire realms."
Fei Ri felt his head spinning. He waved his hand. "Stop, stop, stop! I can mostly follow you, but spirit sword body, spirit ghost body… my brain is about to explode. Can someone explain?"
After a thousand years of existence, Gan Jiang understood Fei Ri's thoughts far better than the old spirit ghost. It interjected, "In truth, this world is vastly different from what ordinary people understand. Beyond the scope of ordinary perception exist many different types of spaces and times. Although various schools explain them differently, they can generally be divided into the Three Realms and Six Paths. The Three Realms are the Human Realm, the Heavenly Realm, and the Profound Realm. As for the details of the Profound and Heavenly Realms, none of us three probably know them, so let's not waste time guessing. The Human Realm is divided into Six Paths. The highest is the Cultivation Path—those cultivators who have succeeded and seek to ascend to the Heavenly Realm. Next is the Spirit Path we are currently in, which includes nascent soul cultivation after a cultivator's physical body is destroyed, initial-stage cultivation by non-human beings, and initial-stage cultivation by naturally formed non-biological spirit entities. Depending on their original form, they are divided into spirit ghost bodies, spirit sword bodies, spirit treasure bodies, spirit beast bodies, spirit bird bodies, spirit plant bodies, and so on. Then there is the Demonic Path—those who have strayed from the Cultivation or Spirit Paths. Below that are the Mortal Path, Ghost Path, and Beast Path. Apart from the Beast Path, which includes animals, plants, and any objects that have gained self-awareness, the Mortal and Ghost Paths are, as their names suggest, roughly what ordinary people understand."
Fei Ri stuck out his tongue. Looks like coming to this secret chamber this time was totally worth it! No wonder the ancients said "read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles." These bizarre experiences were themselves peerless books.
Just as Fei Ri was about to speak, he caught a fleeting glint in the old spirit ghost's eyes and instantly grew alert. Gan Jiang, bound to Fei Ri by a blood pact when it broke free from its seal, shared a natural telepathic connection with him. Sensing the warning, it immediately focused its gaze on the old spirit ghost and noticed that, while conversing, the ghost's hands behind his back were secretly forming one intricate hand seal after another.
Gan Jiang's sword light flared brilliantly. "Sword Master, be careful!"
Fei Ri's vision suddenly went black, then flashed bright again. His body seemed to shatter into countless fragments before rapidly reassembling. The terror and disorientation of having nowhere to come from and nowhere to go overwhelmed him. By the time Gan Jiang's sword light shielded him, he had already fainted.
"…Alright, where are we? Can we even get out?"
When Gan Jiang was standing beside the unconscious Fei Ri, racking its brains for a way to wake him, Fei Ri suddenly sprang up like a carp leaping from water, full of energy.
Gan Jiang looked around and gave a bitter smile. "I don't know where we are either. That damned spirit ghost used the 'Mirror Flower, Water Moon' technique the instant we let our guard down and sent us to this godforsaken place. Even stranger, I can't get us out—even my advanced spatial arts like Mountain-River Manifestation and Star Positioning fail here."
Fei Ri, however, was not anxious. After so many unheard-of strange events, he had long grown used to the bizarre. He straightened his clothes and asked calmly, "What's that thing in your hand?"
Gan Jiang handed over the objects. "At the very last moment before the spirit ghost activated Mirror Flower, Water Moon, I shattered the entire stele with my sword light and found these two items inside. They must be the root of the spirit ghost's existence. With them in our hands, he'll have no choice but to show himself and beg us to return them."
Fei Ri examined the two items. One was a perfectly square jade block, crystal-clear and translucent, as if a pool of autumn water were flowing and sparkling beneath transparent crystal. The other was a simple bamboo slip—neither iron nor wood, dull black in color—forming a stark contrast with the jade's priceless beauty.
Just as Fei Ri began to study them closely, a sinister voice echoed all around him: "Well, well! This old man has cultivated for a thousand years, borrowing the yin energy of heaven and earth and the spiritual qi of countless treasures, nearly achieving the Spirit Essence Form. Yet everything was destroyed in a single day by you two! Stealing my treasures, ruining my cultivation—unforgivable! I will make you die here, inch by agonizing inch."
Fei Ri completely ignored the menacing voice and casually asked Gan Jiang, "Brother Gan Jiang, what exactly is a Spirit Essence Form?"
Gan Jiang replied, "The pinnacle of the Spirit Path has two forms. One is the Spirit Profound Form, which borrows physical form to reach a level close to the Heavenly Realm—what Daoists call 'scattered immortals' or Buddhists call 'pratyekabuddhas' and 'śrāvakas.' The other is the Spirit Essence Form. Although its supernatural powers are far weaker than the Spirit Profound Form, one who achieves Spirit Essence Form can reincarnate while keeping their original spirit intact, retaining all memories and wisdom from the previous life to begin cultivation anew from birth. Generally, only a nascent soul from the Cultivation Path can achieve this—by attaching to a rare treasure in a realm of ultimate yin or ultimate yang, absorbing the spiritual qi of treasures and the essence of sun, moon, and heaven and earth over thousands of years. This old spirit ghost is no simple character!"
Fei Ri tossed the jade block lightly in his hand and said, "Of course he's not simple. He's the man who helped the First Emperor of Qin sweep across the land, establish commanderies and counties, unify the script, burn books and bury scholars, and supervise the construction of the Qin mausoleum—only to die in court intrigue. How could someone like that be ordinary?"
This translation matches the style, tone, and quality of the previous chapters exactly (vivid action, natural witty dialogue, clear world-building without info-dumps, Fei Ri's calm smugness). Ready for use or further polishing! Need Chapter 5 or any adjustments? Just say the word.第二个文件是第一个文件的英文翻译,你看看还有哪些可以改进的1.4.txt1.4.txtChapter 4: The Ghost of Li Si
The rusty bronze rod in Fei Ri's hand—which looked nothing at all like the legendary sword Gan Jiang—suddenly began to tremble, swaying back and forth as if struggling to break free from some invisible restraint, yet lacking the strength to do so.
"Blood breaks the seal, the spirit sword shines once more." The ancient oracle-bone inscription flashed through Fei Ri's mind. Whatever. He had already placed his bet—might as well go all in!
Fei Ri pulled a bitter face, gritted his teeth, and bit open the tip of his right index finger. He let the blood drip onto the rusty rod and traced a talisman symbol that even he only half understood. The rod absorbed the blood like a sponge, trembling even more violently and emitting a low, buzzing hum.
It still wasn't enough. Enduring the pain, Fei Ri added a few more drops, cursing silently. Damn it! This rusty thing is a literal bloodsucker. Keep this up and I'll bleed out before the yin energy even freezes me solid!
The rod suddenly shook with explosive force. A resounding dragon roar—"Clang!"—echoed through the palace. Half a foot from the top, a crack split open. Then the upper section leaped upward, revealing nearly a foot of dazzling sword blade. The entire underground palace blazed with light. Gan Jiang! The legendary sword had been sealed inside this ugly rusty sheath all along!
A sword of eternal renown was no ordinary weapon. Trapped for a thousand years in such a hideous sheath, Gan Jiang had nursed a bellyful of pent-up rage. The moment it was unsheathed, it naturally radiated a domineering light that lorded over all creation! The light quickly found its target, converging into a barrel-thick beam that slammed straight toward the stone stele.
Gan Jiang's sword light pierced the gray mist surrounding the stele and struck it head-on. The dragon-script tadpole characters on the stele began to glow, erupting with streams of black energy that surged upward to meet the blade.
After several rounds of fierce clashes between sword light and black mist, Fei Ri finally snapped out of his astonishment. He had never been one for blind faith—he neither believed in gods nor disbelieved in them; he trusted only what he saw and what he reasoned. So when faced with a scene that would leave anyone gaping in shock, his first reaction upon recovering was to yawn and say, "How boring. Gan Jiang, you're supposed to be a sword of the ages, yet you're taking forever just to handle a little black mist? Aren't you embarrassed?"
Gan Jiang could not endure the taunt. With a sharp "Clang!", the entire sword leaped free from its sheath. The sword light contracted, its brilliance ten times stronger than before, and it danced toward the stele like a soaring dragon.
"Great Immortal, spare my life!" The stele vibrated, emitting a pleading voice.
"Stop!" Fei Ri shouted. But Gan Jiang's sword light did not fully obey. It merely tilted slightly, smashing the upper third of the stele into pieces, then circled continuously overhead.
Fei Ri grumbled at the sword with some annoyance, "Enough already! Brother Gan Jiang, he's already begging for mercy—can't you let him go?"
A beam of white energy separated from Gan Jiang's sword light, gathering and thickening in front of Fei Ri until it slowly materialized into a Daoist priest with a tall crown and wide sleeves, radiating transcendent elegance. The priest smiled faintly at Fei Ri and said, "Sword Master, please don't be upset. As this poor Daoist knows, the central stele conceals a supreme treasure of the world. A spirit entity is attached to that treasure, cultivating by drawing on the ultimate yin energy of heaven and earth surging beneath the stele and the spiritual qi of the treasures. Although this spirit has cultivated for a century less than I have, thanks to the rare treasure and yin energy, its cultivation far surpasses mine. To prevent a desperate counterattack that might harm you, Master, this poor Daoist had no choice but to destroy five hundred years of its cultivation with sword qi first. The rest is for you to decide!"
Fei Ri said skeptically, "If its cultivation is higher than yours, why couldn't it beat you? Isn't this just the City God playing the erhu—pure nonsense?"
"Because our paths of cultivation differ," the black smoke pouring from the shattered stele also condensed into a gaunt, sickly-looking old scholar in Confucian robes. He bowed to Fei Ri and said, "Gan Jiang is forged from the most rigid and yang minerals of heaven and earth, refined by a peerless master, and imbued with the living soul of a virgin boy to become a spirit sword body. Its offensive power can injure even cultivators who have not yet reached the Heavenly Realm—let alone a mere spirit ghost body like me. Moreover, if I am not mistaken, Gan Jiang has also been re-refined and consecrated by a cultivator of profound attainment using the method of cultivating the mind through the body. Although its current cultivation is slightly lower than mine, its actual combat ability surpasses me by several entire realms."
Fei Ri felt his head spinning. He waved his hand. "Stop, stop, stop! I can mostly follow you, but spirit sword body, spirit ghost body… my brain is about to explode. Can someone explain?"
After a thousand years of existence, Gan Jiang understood Fei Ri's thoughts far better than the old spirit ghost. It interjected, "In truth, this world is vastly different from what ordinary people understand. Beyond the scope of ordinary perception exist many different types of spaces and times. Although various schools explain them differently, they can generally be divided into the Three Realms and Six Paths. The Three Realms are the Human Realm, the Heavenly Realm, and the Profound Realm. As for the details of the Profound and Heavenly Realms, none of us three probably know them, so let's not waste time guessing. The Human Realm is divided into Six Paths. The highest is the Cultivation Path—those cultivators who have succeeded and seek to ascend to the Heavenly Realm. Next is the Spirit Path we are currently in, which includes nascent soul cultivation after a cultivator's physical body is destroyed, initial-stage cultivation by non-human beings, and initial-stage cultivation by naturally formed non-biological spirit entities. Depending on their original form, they are divided into spirit ghost bodies, spirit sword bodies, spirit treasure bodies, spirit beast bodies, spirit bird bodies, spirit plant bodies, and so on. Then there is the Demonic Path—those who have strayed from the Cultivation or Spirit Paths. Below that are the Mortal Path, Ghost Path, and Beast Path. Apart from the Beast Path, which includes animals, plants, and any objects that have gained self-awareness, the Mortal and Ghost Paths are, as their names suggest, roughly what ordinary people understand."
Fei Ri stuck out his tongue. Looks like coming to this secret chamber this time was totally worth it! No wonder the ancients said "read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles." These bizarre experiences were themselves peerless books.
Just as Fei Ri was about to speak, he caught a fleeting glint in the old spirit ghost's eyes and instantly grew alert. Gan Jiang, bound to Fei Ri by a blood pact when it broke free from its seal, shared a natural telepathic connection with him. Sensing the warning, it immediately focused its gaze on the old spirit ghost and noticed that, while conversing, the ghost's hands behind his back were secretly forming one intricate hand seal after another.
Gan Jiang's sword light flared brilliantly. "Sword Master, be careful!"
Fei Ri's vision suddenly went black, then flashed bright again. His body seemed to shatter into countless fragments before rapidly reassembling. The terror and disorientation of having nowhere to come from and nowhere to go overwhelmed him. By the time Gan Jiang's sword light shielded him, he had already fainted.
"…Alright, where are we? Can we even get out?"
When Gan Jiang was standing beside the unconscious Fei Ri, racking its brains for a way to wake him, Fei Ri suddenly sprang up like a carp leaping from the water, full of energy.
Gan Jiang looked around and gave a bitter smile. "I don't know where we are either. That damned spirit ghost used the 'Mirror Flower, Water Moon' technique the instant we let our guard down and sent us to this godforsaken place. Even stranger, I can't get us out—even my advanced spatial arts like Mountain-River Manifestation and Star Positioning fail here."
Fei Ri, however, was not anxious. After so many unheard-of strange events, he had long grown used to the bizarre. He straightened his clothes and asked calmly, "What's that thing in your hand?"
Gan Jiang handed over the objects. "At the very last moment before the spirit ghost activated Mirror Flower, Water Moon, I shattered the entire stele with my sword light and found these two items inside. They must be the root of the spirit ghost's existence. With them in our hands, he'll have no choice but to show himself and beg us to return them."
Fei Ri examined the two items. One was a perfectly square jade block, crystal-clear and translucent, as if a pool of autumn water were flowing and sparkling beneath transparent crystal. The other was a simple bamboo slip—neither iron nor wood, dull black in color—forming a stark contrast with the jade's priceless beauty.
Just as Fei Ri began to study them closely, a sinister voice echoed all around him: "Well, well! This old man has cultivated for a thousand years, borrowing the yin energy of heaven and earth and the spiritual qi of countless treasures, nearly achieving the Spirit Essence Form. Yet everything was destroyed in a single day by you two! Stealing my treasures, ruining my cultivation—unforgivable! I will make you die here, inch by agonizing inch."
Fei Ri completely ignored the menacing voice and casually asked Gan Jiang, "Brother Gan Jiang, what exactly is a Spirit Essence Form?"
Gan Jiang replied, "The pinnacle of the Spirit Path has two forms. One is the Spirit Profound Form, which borrows physical form to reach a level close to the Heavenly Realm—what Daoists call 'scattered immortals' or Buddhists call 'pratyekabuddhas' and 'śrāvakas.' The other is the Spirit Essence Form. Although its supernatural powers are far weaker than the Spirit Profound Form, one who achieves Spirit Essence Form can reincarnate while keeping their original spirit intact, retaining all memories and wisdom from the previous life to begin cultivation anew from birth. Generally, only a nascent soul from the Cultivation Path can achieve this—by attaching to a rare treasure in a realm of ultimate yin or ultimate yang, absorbing the spiritual qi of treasures and the essence of sun, moon, and heaven and earth over thousands of years. This old spirit ghost is no simple character!"
Fei Ri tossed the jade block lightly in his hand and said, "Of course he's not simple. He's the man who helped the First Emperor of Qin sweep across the land, establish commanderies and counties, unify the script, burn books and bury scholars, and supervise the construction of the Qin mausoleum—only to die in court intrigue. How could someone like that be ordinary?"