Volume 3: The Sword God of Debt Collection Chapter 17: The Five Elements Formation

  After waiting for a while on the mountain, Dad said to me: "Let's go."

  I lit another cigarette and said, "You go down first, it's windy up here." I thought that I wouldn't come to this place again in the future, so I wanted to stay a little longer.

  Dad looked at me strangely and walked down the mountain by himself.

  Su Jing looked at the birth and death years of her mother on the tombstone, and said carefully: "I didn't expect that you would also be a poor child, losing your mother at the age of three."

  "I said: 'It's okay, I'll see her soon.'"

  Su Jing thought I was talking nonsense and lowered his head, saying: "Although the journey to the mainland is perilous, it's not necessarily a matter of sacrificing one's life for benevolence. Besides...I won't let anyone hurt you either."

  I smiled and said: "Why?"

  Su Jing was about to speak, but I hastily preempted him by saying: "Apart from the fact that I'm your Sword God, is it also because you've developed feelings for me?"

  "You're quite a thick-skinned person." With everything settled, she was in high spirits and also had the mood to joke around.

  I leaned over, pulled her hand and let her sit beside me, staring at her beautiful face without blinking, and couldn't help but say: "She's pretty, a sword god, and has good family conditions too—" I turned my head to the tombstone and said, "Mom, we've got ourselves a great daughter-in-law."

  Su Jing struggled free from my grasp, furrowing her brow and saying: "Why are you always spouting nonsense everywhere?"

  "You've just kowtowed and now you're not recognizing your mother-in-law?"

  Su Jing let out a sigh and turned her head to gaze at the distant mountains.

  "You say the Daughter Country is so dangerous, you let me run there in a hurry, at least give me some benefits?"

  Su Jing turned her face, and asked me somewhat seriously: "I've often put you in dangerous situations, have you ever hated me?"

  "I said seriously: 'No! On the contrary, I should thank you.'"

  "What's the reason?"

  I didn't answer directly, but instead asked in return: "Haven't you always wanted to know what the general and I said?"

  Su nodded.

  "She told me not to come back again."

  "How could she say such a thing?"

  "Because General is my mom!"

  "What?"

  I think it's not necessary to hide this from Su Jing either, and besides, after returning to the Daughter Country, I'll have to let her know sooner or later. So, once again, I said seriously: "The Great General is my mom!"

  Su Jing saw I wasn't joking and pointed at the tombstone: "That..."

  "The ashes buried in this tomb are indeed hers, but after my mother passed away, she went to your country of women and transmigrated into a female soldier named Zhao Fanghua. Later, through her own efforts, she became a great general, also known as the Continental Warrior Goddess."

  Su Jing was shocked: "Is everything you said true?"

  "So you think I suddenly changed my attitude and insisted on going with you?"

  Su Jing was silent for a long time before saying, "Then why did she tell you not to go back?"

  "I said: 'It's simple, she worries about me.'"

  Su Jing nodded: "In that case, it really makes sense."

  I looked at her and said: "Are you disappointed with your great general now?"

  Su Jing thought for a moment, then said firmly: "No, this is human nature. If one can't even love their own child, how can they care about their subordinates? General's actions are justified, and now I admire her even more."

  "You're blindly worshiping him."

  "So why didn't you listen to her then?"

  I said: "Not even taking care of his own mother, can I still be considered a person?" After finishing, I smiled and asked her, "When I say this, don't you also admire me?"

  Su Jing said with a sneer: "You only have a small family in your heart and no big family, your realm is far inferior."

  I inexplicably said, "How can the same thing be done in two completely different ways when it comes out of your mouth?" I said, "I've never seen anyone like you, who specifically target one family to scam. Not only did you drag my mom into this, but you also didn't let my son off the hook."

  Su Jing thought for a moment and sighed: "Our daughter country indeed owes you mother and son a favor."

  "I waved my hand hastily: 'Don't talk about fate, you have a chance to repay me now. By the way, are you not going to acknowledge that bump on your head from earlier?'"

  Su Jing smiled: "Let's go back."

  I followed behind her, muttering: "Stop interrupting, are you going to let me be your wife or not?"

  On the way back, Su Jing told me that she was going to teach Gao Xiaowei the skills of sword energy during these two or three days while waiting for her injury to heal.

  I said: "What's the point of teaching her? She just fights with people all the time!"

  Su Jingdao said, "Who hasn't been arrogant in their youth? With the skills I'm teaching her now, as long as she practices diligently, she'll be evenly matched with ordinary people. The sword energy I'm passing on to her is actually meant to restrain her competitive personality. Only by making her understand her own strength can she gradually take on responsibilities." Su Jingdao smiled and said, "This little Wei reminds me of someone."

  "Who is it?"

  "My master."

  Bitter plum?

  Su Jing nodded: "Yes, you probably know too, my master was also a hot-tempered person when she was young, but since she became the Sword Saint, have you ever seen her fight with others casually?"

  I couldn't help but laugh and say: "This move of yours is really vicious."

  Su Jingdao said, "I taught her martial arts also to give you an extra helper in the future. Old Wu and Jin Chengwu may not always stay with you. Don't forget that your speed attribute hasn't been retrieved yet. When Xiaowei practices to a certain level, you two siblings joining forces might be able to capture Zhao Tingdao, which would also settle one of my concerns here."

  "What about Lu Renjia and them?"

  Su Jingdao said: "After we return to the mainland, they will stay here without any meaning. They will naturally go back, it's just that we have one more strong enemy."

  "What about the last few strands of sword energy on me?"

  Su Jingdao said, "You took back 30% from Wang Jinseng, and the bad guys got about 40%. I'm also curious why the remaining 30% hasn't appeared yet, but time is running out. We can only wait until things settle down in the Federation Continent, then you can come back and look for it slowly."

  "Does Sun Yu also give up?"

  Su Jing smiled faintly and said: "Xiao Qian hasn't recovered yet, but next time you come back, you can go see him anytime."

  "It's come to the point where those who should have arrived haven't, and those who shouldn't have come are swarming in!"

  Two days later, it was an ordinary evening, but for me, it was extraordinary - Su Jing and I had decided to return to our hometown.

  Gao Xiaowei was sent back to her room by Su Jing to rest, as the sword energy had dissipated. In these two days, Su Jing had already taught her the basic techniques, and now it depended on Gao Xiaowei's innate talent when she could cultivate the sword energy.

  In the house, Old Wu and Jin Chengwu held a small farewell party for me and Su Jing. Su Jing bowed and said: "In these days, we have relied heavily on your help, I represent the mainland people to express our heartfelt gratitude!"

  I gave her a white eye: "What mainland people, just speaking official language." I rushed to the crowd with a punch and smiled: "From now on, this is your home, you can stay as long as you want."

  Old Wu said: "There's nothing special about this."

  "It's free."

  Old Wu laughed: "This sentence is the most realistic!"

  "Actually, I should be thanking Little Dragon Brother and Su Sister..."

  I waved my hand to interrupt her and said, "Let's not talk about formalities - come give your brother a hug!" As I said that, I put my arm around Xiao Qian and hugged her, and couldn't help but say, "So soft!"

  Xiao Qian's face turned red as she struggled out of my arms.

  Su Jing looked at Duan Tianya and said: "Are you going with us?"

  Duan Tianya hesitated and said, "I really can't go back. The task is not completed, let alone I've become your captive. I think even if I go back, it's better to be with Lu Renjia and the others. Once you leave, I'll go find them. I also have some things to settle with Qiu Tianren!"

  Su nodded and looked at me: "Are you ready?"

  I stuffed my wallet, phone and a bunch of useless stuff into the drawer, and then put two cigarettes and five lighters on my back that I had prepared earlier - all this was a lesson from last time when I traveled to the Women's Country.

  Su Jing took out a bracelet with one hand and grasped my arm with the other, solemnly walked to that golden silk jade garment, nodded at me, and suddenly put the bracelet on it.

  One second, two seconds, five seconds... This time, however, the scene I had envisioned before going to the Daughter Country did not appear. Su Jing looked at me in confusion, then moved the bracelet to another location next to Jinlv Yuyi, but still there was no response. Su Jing became anxious, fiddling with the bracelet back and forth, finally handing it over to me and saying: "You try!"

  I tried more than a dozen times, but the bracelet was still gray and unresponsive. Old Wu looked at it for half a day and said cautiously, "Could it be that the Golden Threaded Jade Robe also has energy, and Xiaolong used up all its energy last time?"

  "Can only be explained this way."

  "What's going to happen now?" Su Jing's palms were sweating, and her voice was trembling. Since she came here, everything had been difficult, and just when it seemed like she was about to succeed, something unexpected happened again, making her unable to hold back from collapsing.

  Lao Wu said: "You try again."

  "It's useless!" I'm anxious too, today is the last day I estimated to leave, my mother's 50,000 Flying Phoenix Army is trapped on the mountain, with only a month's worth of food, and I've been back for over 10 days. Calculating it out, by now my mother must have already clashed with Hei Jisi's forces. Even if I can't help much temporarily, Su Jing must go back!

  Lao Wu said: "You guys don't rush, I'll discuss with Lao Jin first." As he spoke, he gave a wink to Jin Chengwu, who smiled and said: "Are you still thinking of the same thing as last time?"

  Looking at their confident appearance, I grabbed Old Wu's hand and said, "Do you guys have a way?"

  Old Wu took down my hand and laughed: "No matter what, there's always a way to solve it, I just don't know if it'll work this time."

  "Come on, stop teasing."

  Old Wu said: "Actually, I've already told you after Xiaosu's bracelet broke last time."

  "What?" I asked blankly.

  "It's not hard for you to leave." Jin Chengwu said word by word: "As long as we open the Five Elements Array!" A spark flashed in my mind, and I seemed to have heard Old Wu mention this term before I crossed over last time.

  "What is the Five Elements Great Array?"

  Jin Cheng Wudao: "This Five Elements Formation is just like the Tribulation, it's something that exists in legend but we've never seen it before - legend has it that if a cultivator with over a thousand years of cultivation gathers the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire and earth, they can send people to any place, regardless of time or location."

  I anxiously asked: "So you've just heard about it too?"

  Elder Wu said: "Practitioners with over a thousand years of cultivation are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, let alone those who can gather the five elements."

  "What's the point of saying anything then?"

  Lao Wu smiled: "But we all meet the requirements now - I, Lao Jin, Xiao Hei, our cultivation is at least a thousand years, isn't it?"

  "But what about the Five Elements..."

  Old Wu said with a smile, "It's quite clever. It shouldn't be difficult for the three of us to make up the five elements. Old Jin doesn't need to be mentioned, he has metal in his left hand and fire in his right hand. Xiaobei and I are both wood-type cultivators, water and wood are inseparable, either of us can take care of the water element without any difficulty. Only this earth element is a bit tricky."

  I said: "Since all conditions are met, why didn't you try it before?"

  Jin Cheng Wudao: "How are we going to try? The Five Elements Great Array consumes a huge amount of energy, not to mention that the caster of the array cannot benefit from it. Are we crazy to exhaust ourselves to death just to send an unrelated person somewhere else? This is also the main reason why no one has ever seen the Five Elements Great Array."

  "So there's hope?"

  "But isn't it going to waste our efforts?"

  Lao Wu said, "These are secondary, what I'm most worried about now is that without the earth-based grand array, it can't be operated. In my early years, I had cultivated some earth-based methods, but whether they can be used to operate the grand array is unknown."

  "How about... giving it a try?"

  "Wait!" Old Wu suddenly said seriously: "Regardless of whether the formation is successful or not, I must first tell you about its drawbacks. So that you won't regret it for the rest of your life."

  I subconsciously covered my crotch: "It can't be that I have to castrate myself first, right?"

  Old Wu said, "The big array sends people away, with no return. You must think carefully about it. Once a person is sent away, they can never come back. If you want to go to the Country of Women, you must be prepared to stay there for the rest of your life."

  "What's going on here?"

  Old Wu sighed: "In the vastness of things, there is a will of heaven. Perhaps Heaven fears that someone will use the Great Array for evil, so it added this tribulation."

  I slowly turned my head to look at Su Jing, and Su Jing was also staring at me with an unblinking gaze. Jin Chengwu said on the side, "How about this, we'll send you over first, and when Xiaolong wants to come back, can't his daughter's country still help?"

  Old Wu said to me, "I still want to remind you that this method is a bit deceitful and it's uncertain whether it will work or not. Once the situation unfolds, there's no turning back. You have to consider carefully whether you're willing to take this risk."

  I broke out in a cold sweat, is this risk worth taking? If it's true what Old Wu said that I'll never be able to come back, then it means I have to give up everything here, including friends, property, and my old man... At this point, Tianya Dao said: "There's another way, you can find Lu Renjia, he also came from the mainland, naturally he has to go back too - but the hope is very slim, Lu Renjia is a national hero of Hei Jisi, and also a renowned Sword Saint, even if you catch him it's a problem whether he'll surrender or not."

  "You're not talking nonsense, are you?"

  Su Jing stared blankly, her expression bitter. After a long while, she suddenly said: "Xiao Long... you'd better stay here, this is where your life belongs. If you can't come back again, your sacrifice will be too great."

  "How about you?"

  Su Jing smiled slightly and said to Old Wu, "Please ask a few seniors to send me back. Su Jing doesn't dare say thank you, and from now on, he can't repay everyone, so he can only do this one courtesy!" As she spoke, she bowed deeply.

  Old Wu hastily supported her and said, "No need to be polite among ourselves." He turned his head and asked me, "Xiao Long, have you thought it through?"

  Su Jingdao said, "Don't bother him anymore." With a smile at me, she said, "If the situation in the Federation is not good and I can still come back, I will definitely come to trouble you again. You'd better be prepared." For some reason, I always felt that her smile was full of sorrow. My eyebrows were knotted into an eight-character shape, and I stood there stupidly.

  "Let's get started."

  Lao Wu sighed and said, "Then please let Brother Jin take charge of the Metal and Fire systems, Xiao Hei take charge of the Water system, and I will lead the attack on the Wood and Earth systems." Jin Chengwu and Hei Shan Lao Yao immediately agreed, and the three of them sat in a circle, surrounding Su Jing. Lao Wu said, "Report your birth eight characters."

  Su Jingdao: "Su Jing, a woman from Guo Jialong 24 years ago."

  Old Wu said: "When and where do you want to go?"

  Su Jingdao: "I want to go to the Country of Women with Lan Chen in 10 years."

  Old Wu said: "The year you mentioned is not in my Shenzhou sequence, which is a bit embarrassing, but it doesn't matter."

  Among the three, Jin Chengwu's left side of his body shone with dazzling golden light, while his right side was a deep crimson like fire. Hei Shan Lao Yao's entire body was a deep blue, and Lao Wu's upper half was a dark greenish-black color. The circle formed by the three gradually emitted a faint halo. Su Jing sat in the middle, her shadow growing increasingly indistinct. I unconsciously took a step forward, wanting to speak but hesitating... After a very long time, several people were still sitting there, their colorful auras growing thicker and thicker, yet without any progress. Lao Wu spoke in a low voice: "Everyone, please hold on for just a moment, there's some problem with the earth element here..." It turned out that he wasn't actually from an earth-element cultivation background after all, and the array was slow to move.

  Just then, a man suddenly broke in through the window. He was short and stout, holding a shiny steel knife. He ignored everyone else in the room and stabbed me in the head with one swift motion!

  At this moment, the three masters are all operating, Su Jing is in the array, throwing away my sword energy is not spiritual at that time and Xiao Qian, and even counterattacking ability of Duan Tianya is actually the weakest person, rushing into this person is obviously not his opponent——this person is Sword Saint Lu Renjia!

  Fortunately, although my sword energy is not obedient, the coordination of my body has been practiced in recent days. Seeing the flashing knife light, I quickly rolled under the table and heard a "brush" sound on top of my head. The table was cut in half like tofu. I rolled on the ground and Su Jing rushed out of the Five Elements Array with all his might, single-handedly taking the knife and fighting with Lu Renjia!

  Duan Tianya saw that I was safe and sound, but Lu Renjia was originally his partner, so he didn't know which side to help. He could only murmur: "Lu Qianbei, why must you go all out to kill him? Longjian Shen has already decided not to return to the mainland."

  "Huh?" Lu Renjia was too busy to say more under Su Jing's attack, and only hummed a suspicious tone. Su Jing shouted: "Lu Renjia, how do you plan to return to the mainland?"

  Lu Renjia's eyes scanned the room, and he had already discovered Lao Wu's Five Elements Formation. He rushed in while I was standing by the window and Su Jing was inside the formation. Lu Renjia only needed to think for a moment before he roughly understood our situation, and said with satisfaction: "So only one of you two can go back?"

  "Speak quickly!" Su Jing angrily said.

  Lu Renjia, although not a match for Su Jing in a straight-up fight, managed to evade him as he dodged around the room. Laughing loudly, he said: "To be honest with you, we never planned on going back from the start!"