Innate Immortal Seed

Chapter 254: Chapter 252: Sword Heart Clarity

”You’ve just reached Foundation Establishment. Consolidating your realm should be your priority. There was no need to rush to see me.”

Bai Zichen extended a hand, and an unseen force lifted the kneeling Tong Huan to his feet.

”It would be a breach of etiquette for a disciple not to pay his respects to his Master.”

Tong Huan still kowtowed formally three times before rising and standing respectfully to the side.

”Succeeding in Foundation Establishment on your first attempt is excellent. I’ll be able to give you more responsibilities in the future... Get familiar with your new realm. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to contribute in the pioneering war.”

Bai Zichen thought for a moment, then took the All Living Beings Bell and the Celestial Xin Sword from his storage bag. He included the method for upgrading the Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact and also inscribed the Starfall Sword Technique onto a Jade Scroll.

”As my disciple, you can’t go without a decent swordsmanship technique. Consider this my gift to you for reaching Foundation Establishment.”

The Sound Bamboo Sword was too conspicuous. It was one-of-a-kind in the Fish Dragon Sect, and giving it to Tong Huan might invite disaster.

The more common Celestial Xin Sword was a safer choice.

’Although Tong Huan has loved Flying Swords since he was a child, from what I’ve observed, this disciple of mine has little talent for the Sword Dao.’

’But since his passion hasn’t faded and he wants to follow in his master’s footsteps, I can’t very well discourage him.’

”Thank you for the gifts, Master!”

A joyful light shone in Tong Huan’s eyes, but he kept his expression composed as he accepted the bestowed treasures.

”You may go. When you have time, keep an eye on the progress of the pioneering war... If anything unusual happens, report it to me immediately.”

As Bai Zichen watched Tong Huan’s respectful retreat, he thought, ’If only I had a few more capable disciples, my own life would be much easier.’

’The master has tasks, and the disciples do the work.’

’Trivial matters like collecting materials, running errands, and gathering intelligence could all be handed over to my disciples.’

’Forget it. More disciples just means more responsibility... Unless one comes along with such extraordinary talent that it would be a shame to pass them up, I shouldn’t take on any more ordinary disciples.’

Bai Zichen shook his head, abandoning the thought. In his Sea of Consciousness, only the last corner of the True Enlightenment Sword Technique remained to be comprehended.

The Hundred Poison Sword Gu. As long as he mastered this Qimen Sword Skill, his study of the True Enlightenment Sword Technique could be considered complete for now.

Of course, the True Enlightenment Sword Technique was incredibly profound. Continuing to study it in the future would naturally improve his swordsmanship.

This Qimen Sword Skill took an unorthodox approach. Actually cultivating it required various Tier-Entry Gu Insects to enhance the Hundred Poison Sword Gu step by step.

However, he didn’t actually need to cultivate it to wield the full might of the Hundred Poison Sword Gu. He only needed to comprehend the swordsmanship itself.

The Sword Light in his hand constantly deconstructed and reassembled, flitting in and out like insects as it shifted through countless forms.

And while he was tackling the final piece of the True Enlightenment Sword Technique, a storm was brewing outside the White Jade Tower, changing the fates of countless cultivators.

”Senior Brother Lu, you’re in charge of the vanguard for this pioneering war. We’ll be counting on your guidance.”

Huo Feiyan was dressed in practical fighting attire, looking sharp and capable. Her appearance was both heroic and distinctly feminine.

With her Dual Spirit Root Talent, and having earned merit points and rewards during the pioneering war, she had finally managed to acquire a Foundation Establishment Pill and successfully break through ten years ago.

She had long heard of this senior brother, a man of unremarkable appearance with thick, heavy eyebrows.

In his early years, he had served as an escort disciple to Master Bai. Having gained the master’s appreciation, he was granted an opportunity and, surprisingly, succeeded in reaching Foundation Establishment at the advanced age of over sixty.

For a time, his story became an inspirational tale within the Sect.

Even more astonishingly, Lu Song didn’t stop there. After reaching Foundation Establishment, he didn’t seem to think his age limited his potential for further progress at all.

He had even broken through to the Mid-Stage of Foundation Establishment just last year, causing a minor stir.

Master Bai had discovered Huo Feiyan’s Spiritual Root through a Spirit-Guiding ritual, which allowed her to become a disciple of the Qingfeng Sect and begin her journey on the Immortal Path. Because of this, she subconsciously felt a certain kinship with Lu Song, who had also once been Master Bai’s escort disciple.

”We’re all just working together and doing our duty... It’s not a matter of guidance. Let’s all just do our best.”

Lu Song had been diligent and conscientious in the Law Enforcement Hall over the years, earning him unanimous praise from superiors and subordinates alike.

He hadn’t let his past special relationship with Bai Zichen give him any unrealistic ambitions.

When Bai Zichen became a Core Formation True Man, Lu Song simply sent a congratulatory gift along with everyone else and didn’t even pay him a private visit.

Favors, like friendships, diminish with use. If Lu Song had been content with his current realm, wishing only to live out his days as an ordinary Elder, he could have certainly made some requests of Bai Zichen.

But beneath his taciturn exterior hid a burning desire to pursue the Great Dao.

Naturally, he was saving that connection for the most critical moment.

It could only be said that inviting Bai Zichen to explore the Ancient Secret Realm together back then was the wisest decision Lu Song had ever made.

’After this pioneering war is over, I’ll ask Junior Brother Tong to visit Master Bai with me... For one, I want to ask about his experience with Core Formation. For another, I need to see if that Cultivation Technique we got from the Secret Realm back then has a solution for my current bottleneck.’

Lu Song pulled his thoughts back from the future. Behind him, five hundred Qi Refining Disciples stood in a Battle Array. They were fully equipped with Array Banners, Array Plates, and Array Maps, their formation neat and radiating a deadly aura.

”Senior Brother Lu, we are ready to depart at any moment.”

Another Foundation Establishment Elder flew over to report.

”Depart! Our target is Qingyuan Mountain!”

Lu Song gave the order in a low voice. A great banner unfurled, and the Stewards took their positions to direct the formation as they marched out of the Mountain Gate.

Not long after the first contingent departed, three Wind Shuttles, loaded with all kinds of supplies and a large quantity of building materials, slowly ascended and flew toward Qingyuan Mountain.

At almost the same time, every Cultivation Family in Black Mountain County received mobilization orders. The Pioneer Decree, aimed at Loose Cultivators, was also issued.

Learning from the last pioneering war, the Sect decided this time to have the Clan Cultivators and Loose Cultivators form Battle Arrays together from the very start, to jointly clear the wilderness and slay Demon Beasts.

This was to avoid the poor coordination that had led to heavy casualties when they faced high-intensity combat right at the outset of the last war.

Within half a month, nearly a thousand Clan Cultivators and over three thousand Loose Cultivators, all hoping to claim a piece of Spirit Land, had gathered at the foot of the Qingfeng Sect’s mountain. After a brief period of training, the vast contingent set off.

「One month later.」

Qingyuan Mountain was taken.

「Three months later.」

Ruo Yanxi was occupied.

「Another six months passed.」

The front line had advanced two thousand li, and three Tier Two Spirit Veins had fallen into the hands of the human cultivators.

With roughly a hundred cultivators lost and tens of times that number of Demon Beasts slain, the price of Demon Beast Materials in the Black Mountain County market plummeted once again.

This pioneering war had already drawn in over eighty Foundation Establishment Cultivators and five thousand Qi Refining Cultivators, evolving into a protracted war against the Black Mountain Demon Beasts.

Just as Gu Xisheng had predicted, for every hundred li the front lines were extended, the logistical pressure on their supply lines grew immensely.

Many of the captured Spirit Veins faced frequent counterattacks from Demon Beast packs. This constant back-and-forth struggle significantly slowed their advance.

Fortunately, the Qingfeng Sect now had far more Foundation Establishment Elders than before, so they weren’t stretched too thin to manage the situation.

...

’As I thought, reaching the entry-level of the Hundred Poison Sword Gu without the aid of Gu Insects is much more difficult...’

Throughout the Quiet Chamber, countless motes of light, as fine as ox hair, drifted in every corner. Then, Bai Zichen took a sharp breath, swallowing them all.

The room returned to its usual tranquility.

It had taken him nearly two years, but he had finally mastered the Hundred Poison Sword Gu and, with it, completely assimilated the True Enlightenment Sword Technique.

As the Sword Manual in his Sea of Consciousness faded away, his mind became perfectly clear. A strange new understanding bloomed within him, giving him a host of new insights into Flying Swords.

’Sword Heart Clarity... I can deconstruct any Sword Path in the world, and I can understand Flying Swords on a much deeper level.’

Bai Zichen took a moment to experience it. While it didn’t provide a direct boost to his combat power like advancing his Sword Dao Realm would...

...Sword Heart Clarity was still an incredibly rare talent for a Sword Cultivator. Typically, only those who had been immersed in the Sword Dao for a millennium, with a terrifying amount of Combat experience, had a chance of comprehending it.

The Naihe Sect had fused over ten thousand years of swordsmanship essence to create the True Enlightenment Sword Technique, a Sword Manual that artificially accelerated a cultivator’s acquisition of this talent. It was an enormous shortcut for any Sword Cultivator.

This talent was especially potent in duels between Sword Cultivators—a decisive advantage in a fight against one’s own kind.

He prepared to re-refine his Moon Xuan Sword and the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo. Re-examining these two Flying Swords from the perspective of Sword Heart Clarity would surely reveal many new things.

Refining the Moon Xuan Sword went smoothly. But when he moved on to the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo, the moment he injected his True Essence, the Thunder Radiance flared violently, pulsing with extreme urgency.

’Quick! Quick, take it out!’

A fragmented message came from the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo. Now that he possessed the Sword Heart Clarity talent, his communication with the Living Spirit Flying Sword was no longer limited to vague emotions; he could now receive simple words.

This was especially true for something like the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo, which had once been of a very high grade. Its spiritual nature far surpassed the Tier it currently displayed.

When both sides made a conscious effort to communicate, it was almost as if he were conversing with one of the legendary Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasures wielded by a Divinity Transformation Great Power.

”Take what out?”

But no matter how he tried to communicate, the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo just repeated the same phrase over and over, unable to provide any more information.

’Something I have that’s related to the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo... Could it be that thing...?’

Bai Zichen felt his storage bag, and a long, ink-black box appeared on the table. It was made of a material that was neither metal nor wood, and its surface was perfectly smooth and clean, without a single pattern or inscribed character.

If Lu Song hadn’t told him, he never would have known this object was a Sword Box.

Ever since he’d obtained it, he had been unable to elicit any reaction from the Sword Box, no matter what method he tried.

Even after he had formed his Golden Core, injecting his True Essence into it had yielded the same result.

With a flicker of hope, he placed his hand on the Sword Box’s surface. As his True Essence flowed into it, a profound, dark light began to glow on its surface.

”It’s reacting! To think that Sword Heart Clarity is the minimum requirement to open this Sword Box...”

Bai Zichen was overjoyed. ’For it to be placed alongside the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo as part of the Secret Realm’s legacy, this Sword Box can’t be anything ordinary!’

The Sword Box seemed to have a bottomless appetite for his True Essence. With every bit he poured in, the profound light on its surface expanded by a circle.

By the time he had expended seventy to eighty percent of his True Essence, the profound light finally covered the entire Sword Box.

CLICK!

The Sword Box clicked open, revealing a separate world within. Inside, thirty-six clusters of Pure Qi rotated continuously in a cyclical formation.

The space within was far larger than its outer dimensions suggested.

The Thunder Radiance of the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo erupted, radiating intense joy. It automatically leaped from his Dantian Qi Sea and plunged into one of the clusters of Pure Qi.

The Thunder Radiance submerged itself deep within the Pure Qi, emitting a sizzling sword hum. Its joy was so intense that the arcs of lightning around it wavered and distorted.

Bai Zichen stared, dumbfounded. This was the first time he had ever seen the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo act on its own accord.

’Could it be that back in Ancient Times, it was kept inside this Sword Box?’