The Quest for Immortality

This broken sword obtained from the blood-colored fishing village had never been taken out, nor handed over to the Sect by Mo Hua, mainly because its origins were somewhat unclear.

Moreover, the broken sword contained the ”Cause and Effect” of ”Taixu Divine Thought Sword,” which he wanted to study.

Once handed over, all would be lost.

However, the True Technique of Divine Thought into Sword, apart from the basic ”Transforming Sword Skill,” requires a profound Sword Dao foundation for more advanced sword forms. It requires an expert’s guidance to comprehend, which is not something he could understand with just a glance.

Mo Hua had studied it several times before, but to no avail, so he temporarily set it aside.

Later, with so many matters at hand, he simply forgot about it.

He had too many secrets, and too many things whose origins were unknown, so one more wouldn’t matter.

This broken sword naturally got buried at the bottom of the trunk.

Now, obtaining the Water Prison Forbidden Box, and learning the path of ”Soul Emergence” through the ”Forbidden Diagram” on the Taoist Prison, Mo Hua suddenly remembered the broken sword.

Mo Hua touched this ancient, battle-worn broken sword, feeling a bit emotional.

The owner of this sword must have been a senior of the Taixu Gate.

To cultivate Divine Thought into sword to such a degree, he must have been a Heaven’s Chosen Son of phenomenal talent back then.

From the sparse scenes deduced from the Cause and Effect of the broken sword, it can be seen that this senior, in his youth, had condensed Sword Qi all over his body and possessed a brilliant Sword Intent, radiating an astonishing might. He must have delved deep into the Sword Dao and been an exceptional Sword Dao genius.

Mo Hua sighed.

”Such a phenomenally talented senior had even his Lifebound Sword broken.”

”I wonder how he is now?”

”With the Lifebound Spirit Sword broken, his Vital Energy must be greatly damaged, and his path impaired...”

At this thought, Mo Hua’s heart skipped a beat, ”Could this senior have... already fallen? If he truly has fallen, then his remains should be buried in the back mountain?”

Mo Hua felt inexplicably sad.

”If there is a chance in the future, I could go to the back mountain to take a look and find a way to return this broken sword to its original owner...”

After all, to a Sword Cultivator, the sword is just like a second life. The sword and the Sword Cultivator live to fight together, die to be buried together.

So doing would repay the grace of this senior, who mysteriously granted him the method of Divine Thought into Sword.

Mo Hua nodded.

Soon after, Mo Hua thought again: ”This senior seems to be named ’Xuan Er’?”

This is how elders call their juniors, and Mo Hua felt it was too disrespectful, so he silently addressed in his heart:

”Senior Xuan.”

Mo Hua remembered this name, then began to formally study the sword technique.

”Soul-Shocking Stance,” is the Taixu Mind Transforming Sword True Jue, a sword form a step further from the basic Transforming Sword Skill.

Mo Hua inferred again from the Cause and Effect of the broken sword, revisiting the process of ”Senior Xuan” learning Divine Thought into sword: Soul-Shocking Stance during his youth.

This time, with further inference, the visions within the broken sword faded a bit more, and the sounds became more fragmented.

Clearly, the Cause and Effect on the broken sword were gradually dissipating.

The inference process accelerated this.

Mo Hua only inferred once, then dared not to continue, fearing the Cause and Effect on the broken sword would completely vanish. He engraved deeply in his mind the scenes and sounds he saw and heard, then carefully stored the broken sword back into the Storage Ring.

Within the Cause and Effect, the images and sounds of the ”Soul-Shocking Sword” were no different than before, perhaps even more blurred.

But the Mo Hua of today was no longer the same as before.

He couldn’t understand before.

But now, having mastered the Transforming Sword Skill and understood the principle of ”Soul Emergence,” as he recalled the various scenes in the Cause and Effect, Mo Hua gradually achieved an inner comprehension.

The Taixu Divine Thought Sword, with the Transforming Sword Skill as its foundation.

From the perspective of ”Divine Soul,” the so-called Transforming Sword Skill is essentially the Heart Image of the Life-transforming Sword.

It means having a sword in one’s heart.

And the Soul-Shocking Stance, on the foundation of sword transformation, integrates the Heart Image of the sword into the Divine Soul, thereby condensing a true ”Sword Intent” capable of containing the power of the Divine Soul.

The Soul-Shocking Sword intimidates others and all evil spirits with its overwhelmingly fierce Sword Intent, striking fear without battle.

This is much like the principle in the Water Prison Sect’s Seven Souls Blood Prison Pupil Skill, where the heart image of the prison is merged into the Divine Soul, nurturing Evil Qi within.

The two delve into completely different realms, one being the Sword Dao, the other punishment, with vastly different practical applications.

”Soul-Shocking Sword Skill...”

Mo Hua closed his eyes to meditate, sinking his Divine Sense into the Sea of Consciousness.

Within the Sea of Consciousness, his Divine Thought avatar opened its eyes, and, simultaneously, began to gather Divine Thought, manifesting a rough Sword Weapon in hand.

”This is the ’Heart Image’ of the sword within my heart...”

Mo Hua sighed, feeling a bit helpless.

How shabby...

Though it gleamed with Golden Light, its shape was too simple, just a primitive prototypical ”sword.”

”Well, I’ll make do with this...”

Mo Hua shook his head.

Coming halfway on the path of the Sword Dao, one cannot ask for too much.

He then formally began cultivating the sword technique according to the method of the Soul-Shocking Sword deduced from the broken sword.

He infused his understanding of the Sword Dao into the ”Heart Image.”

He engraved the ”Heart Image” of this sword into the Divine Soul.

Simultaneously, as per the Soul-Shocking Sword’s sword technique, he refined the Divine Soul over and over, activating Sword Qi, to merge the Divine Soul with the Heart Image into a true ”Sword Intent.”

The methods of the Divine Soul are formless and intangible, elusive and profound.

But for Mo Hua, already adept at the Dao of Divine Thought, manipulating his consciousness to undergo all sorts of transformations was rather a familiar routine.

Mo Hua could feel his Sword of Divine Thought gradually merging with the Divine Soul.

This process was accompanied by some pain.