The Quest for Immortality

”Grades and ranks of three, six, and nine, where the higher suppresses the lower?” Mo Hua looked puzzled, ”Why have I never heard of this kind of differentiation within the Taixu Gate?”

”Taixu Gate?” Yu Canghai was momentarily taken aback, somewhat surprised, ”You are actually a disciple of the Taixu Gate?”

Mo Hua nodded.

Yu Canghai sighed, ”No wonder...”

He is, after all, a disciple of one of the Eight Great Sects.

He often heard that the Taixu Gate had declined in recent years, with each generation of disciples being less competent than the last.

Yet unexpectedly, meeting a disciple of the Taixu Gate at random outside revealed such an unfathomable strength.

It seems that most of the rumors in this world are untrue.

The Taixu Gate, being a branch of an ancient sect, indeed has unfathomable roots and a deep legacy...

Yu Canghai couldn’t help but view the Taixu Gate with newfound respect.

He sighed again and slowly said,

”The legacy of the Taixu Gate differs somewhat from that of my Water Prison Sect. You follow a dignified and rightful path of passing on teachings, where the inheritance within the gate may have grades and ranks but does not make such blatant distinctions as higher suppressing lower.”

Mo Hua curiously asked, ”You also know about the legacy of our Taixu Gate?”

Yu Canghai nodded slightly, ”Of course, although the Water Prison Sect has declined, we still retained some sect classics that record the grand situations of the various sects a thousand years ago.” .

”A thousand years ago...”

Mo Hua’s eyes brightened, showing interest.

Yu Canghai pondered for a moment before continuing,

”According to the classics of my Water Prison Sect, the Taixu Gate of that time was not the most powerful among the hundreds of sects within the Qianxue State Boundary, but it was enough to make everyone apprehensive. The fundamental reason lay in the inheritance of its Sword Intent.”

”Sword Intent?”

”Indeed.” Yu Canghai nodded, ”Taia God-Forging Sword, Rushing Void Proliferating Sword Qi, Tai Xu Sword Intent, these are recorded in the history of my Water Prison Sect as the three oldest Sword Dao heritages of the Fifth Grade Qianxue State Boundary.”

Taia God-Forging Sword, Rushing Void Proliferating Sword Qi, Tai Xu Sword Intent...

Upon hearing this, Mo Hua recalled and asked,

”Elder Yu, I heard that the Tai’a Sect, Rushing Void Sect, and Taixu Gate originated from the same sect. What was the name of that sect?”

Yu Canghai spoke with a regretful expression,

”That, I do not know either. The classics of the Water Prison Sect do not record it. All that is known is that it is likely one very ancient sect, but after splitting into three, the name of this ancient sect was erased and was no longer mentioned nor recorded in any books or jade slips thereafter.”

Mo Hua furrowed his brows, his expression somewhat solemn, then he asked,

”How is the Tai Xu Sword Intent cultivated, exactly?”

Yu Canghai looked at Mo Hua with a complex expression.

A disciple of the Taixu Gate asking an elder of the Water Prison Sect about cultivating Sword Intent?

Mo Hua had no choice but to say, ”We don’t teach it now.”

Indeed, the current disciples of Taixu Gate seldom receive instruction on Sword Intent.

He himself is a spiritual cultivator, usually relying on spells for sustenance, not skilled in swordsmanship. Strictly speaking, his sword control is not even swordsmanship.

In regular swordsmanship courses, he merely attends to observe the means of sword cultivation.

To date, he has cultivated in the Taixu Gate for five years, during which he has rarely seen elders impart the technique of Sword Intent to disciples.

It’s seldom even mentioned.

A sword cultivator like Situ Jian, within the Taixu Gate, learns a bit of everything but specifically not the sword.

His Sword Dao heritage is still the Li Fire Sword technique from his own family, not the Sword Dao methods of the Taixu Gate.

Yu Canghai was also a bit surprised, ”No longer taught?”

He frowned, muttering, ”...That’s strange, how come it’s not taught anymore?”

How could a sect open its doors to take in disciples and yet not pass on its Taoist inheritance?

Yu Canghai pondered for a moment and slowly said, ”It’s likely because Sword Intent is too difficult to impart...”

”Cultivating Qi and nourishing the sword, learning techniques at the Foundation Establishment, toiling day and night at the Sword Dao, comprehending Sword Intent, possibly seeing initial success only by the time of Golden Core or even the late Golden Core stage, and finally showcasing brilliance at Feather Transformation, breaking through the nine heavens with the sword.”

”This process is too slow, in today’s world, it seems somewhat outdated...”

”Now the sects abound, the competition among them intense. Something like Sword Intent, if unable to be learned during the Foundation Establishment, even if learned, takes too long to show results, making it disadvantageous. Perhaps disciples of other sects have already gained renown through their fierce swordsmanship, while you’re still painstakingly laying your groundwork and nurturing Sword Intent. Although mastering it eventually brings remarkable stature, before that you must endure considerable solitude and years of confinement...”

At this point, Yu Canghai grew somewhat contemplative.

The evolution of cultivation methods has indeed improved greatly compared to the past.

But today’s cultivators are often too eager for quick success, unwilling to patiently cultivate.

Great achievements come late.

The reason why some ancient Taoist skills are formidable is that one must withstand solitude, accrue effort, and gradually hone skills to see results.

Mo Hua slowly nodded.

The sword intent heritage of Taixu Gate exerts power later, indeed suffering at the Foundation Establishment level.

This is Elder Yu’s perspective.

But Mo Hua knew, it was not merely so.

For if the Tai Xu Sword Intent was about cumulative post-development force, the Inner Sect of today’s Taixu Gate should surpass the Eight Great Gates in strength.

But reality was otherwise.

Among the Inner Sect disciples, including the elders of the Eight Great Sects, the strength did not seem outstanding.

Not that Xun Ziyou, Xun Zixian, along with other elders were weak, but rather they didn’t hold an ”exceptional” power.

At the root of it, perhaps it’s because the method for the latter stages of Sword Intent also became lost.

It was inherently difficult, learned slowly.

Even after mastering it later, some unknown reason led to a lack of methods to wield Sword Intent.

No wonder the Taixu Gate now hardly teaches about Sword Intent...