Chapter 62
Translator: T_Fan
The next day, Danxiao Immortal City.
Lee Hyun opened the wooden boxes containing medicinal ingredients one by one.
They contained the supplementary ingredients for the Spirit-Calming Pill.
Thinking back over the pill recipe and annotations he had read in Qinghe Valley, he realized that every ingredient except the main ingredient, Yin Soul Grass, could be obtained here. None was especially expensive on its own, but buying enough for several practice attempts added up to a considerable sum.
Even so, he did not hesitate to pay. He had already experienced firsthand the effect the Spirit-Nourishing Pill had on strengthening his divine sense. If the Spirit-Calming Pill offered a comparable benefit, it was well worth trying to refine it himself.
‘I’ll have to take one to see how much it helps me.’
He put the medicinal ingredients into his storage pouch.
…
After returning to Qingyu Ravine, Lee Hyun picked up a popular novel for the first time in a while.
Two shichen (about four hours) later.
He was half-reclined, turning a page, when the formation plate in his cave abode chimed. Sweeping outside with his divine sense, he found two people standing beyond the Cloud-Barrier Abode-Guarding Formation. One was Fang Jiyun, while the other was a cultivator he had never seen before.
…
The mist at the mouth of the valley parted to either side. When Lee Hyun appeared, Fang Jiyun raised a hand.
“Sorry to disturb you.”
“Not at all. What brings you here?”
“Well…”
He gestured toward the cultivator beside him.
“Let me introduce you. This is fellow Daoist Xue Jingxing of the Dharma Protector Court.”
Xue Jingxing appeared to be a man around thirty. Beneath his long brows, his features were neat and composed, and an almost undecorated sword sheath hung at his waist. Even from his calmly restrained aura, Lee Hyun could sense that he was at late Foundation Establishment.
“Xue Jingxing.”
“Li Dongsan.”
The two exchanged brief courtesies.
The Dharma Protector Court was the Danxiao Sect division that specialized in combat. Lee Hyun knew its name, but he had never personally associated with any of its cultivators.
Fang Jiyun said,
“Fellow Daoist Xue wanted to meet you, so I brought him here.”
“What might this be about….”
Xue Jingxing immediately stated his purpose.
“I heard you sparred with Shi Zhenheng in Qinghe Valley.”
“That’s right.”
“I was told you cut your way through the Wind-Thunder Umbrella’s offensive with your sword. Is that true?”
“It is, but…”
“If you don’t mind, would you spar with me as well?”
“You mean a practice match?”
“Indeed.”
When Lee Hyun glanced over, Fang Jiyun lifted his shoulders slightly, as if he had expected Lee Hyun to be surprised.
“Fellow Daoist Xue is renowned for his swordsmanship even among our sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivators.”
Xue Jingxing continued.
“I came without warning to make this request, so naturally I will compensate you. I intend to register it as a skill-exchange request and pay you sixty contribution points. I will arrange the training ground as well.”
“Sixty points for a single spar? Regardless of who wins?”
“Indeed.”
“I imagine the Dharma Protector Court has many cultivators skilled with the sword. Is there a particular reason you want to spar with me?”
“When people cultivate together for a long time, they inevitably grow accustomed to one another. From what I’ve heard about you, you seem to use a style of swordsmanship unfamiliar to me.”
Lee Hyun considered it for a moment.
He sensed no hostility from the man, nor did it seem as though Xue Jingxing wanted to test him simply to humiliate him. A formal spar on a training ground rented within the same sect should not be particularly dangerous. More than anything, Lee Hyun was curious how a Foundation Establishment sword cultivator who specialized in combat actually fought.
“Very well.”
Xue Jingxing cupped his hands.
“Thank you.”
…
After Xue Jingxing left, Lee Hyun invited Fang Jiyun into Qingyu Ravine. He set the popular novel aside and brewed some tea, and Fang Jiyun picked up his teacup.
“Are you sure you should have agreed?”
“Senior Brother brought him here, so I assume he’s not someone I need to worry about.”
“That much is true.”
Fang Jiyun took a sip of tea, then continued with a slightly more serious expression.
“But don’t think of him the same way you did Shi Zhenheng. Fellow Daoist Xue is at Foundation Establishment Stage 8, but he’s probably much stronger than Shi Zhenheng. Frankly, Shi Zhenheng belongs to the Azure Cloud Sect’s External Affairs Hall. His realm may be high, but he isn’t the strongest Foundation Establishment fighter in the Azure Cloud Sect. Xue Jingxing, on the other hand, is genuinely frightening.”
“That much?”
“He’s the only Metal-attribute single-spiritual-root cultivator among our sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivators. On top of that, they say his innate comprehension for the sword is exceptional, so the Elders have high expectations for him. I hear even the other cultivators of the Dharma Protector Court stay on full alert whenever they cross swords with fellow Daoist Xue.”
“How old is fellow Daoist Xue?”
“I’m not certain, but I doubt he’s over eighty. That makes him younger than us.”
Lee Hyun looked at his reflection in the teacup.
If Xue Jingxing had yet to reach eighty, then the years he had actually spent training with the sword would be shorter still. An exceptional spiritual root could allow someone to advance rapidly through the realms, but skill with a sword did not simply appear on its own.
Just how profound could his attainments have become in such a short span of time for Fang Jiyun to speak of him that way? Lee Hyun had his doubts, but there was no exaggeration in Fang Jiyun’s expression.
“I’ll be careful.”
“Come back without getting hurt. Isn’t this supposed to be the rest period Master gave you so you could take care of your body and magic tools?”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
…
Three days later, in a valley northeast of the Danxiao Range.
A broad, rocky shallows stretched between towering cliffs on either side. Shallow water flowed over white stone, while deeper in the valley, a waterfall dozens of zhang high (1 zhang is about 3.3 m) plunged into a deep pool. Beyond the mist drifting above it, stone pillars could be seen standing along the cliff edges. Faint curtains of light stretched from pillar to pillar.
When Xue Jingxing inserted a jade token into the formation plate, the entrance closed. The mountain peaks and clouds outside grew hazy, while the outline of the light curtain surrounding the valley became more distinct.
“We have it for two shichen.”
Lee Hyun raised his head and examined the light curtain extending high overhead.
There was plenty of space inside. High on the cliffs were scars left by swords and techniques, including some depressions that looked as though a giant beast had taken a bite out of the rock.
Xue Jingxing turned around.
“How about we allow unrestricted use of magic tools and techniques?”
“Fine by me.”
“But let’s exclude secret arts that consume essence blood and consumable killing moves. If either one’s body-protecting spirit light is breached at a vital point such as the neck or chest, we stop immediately.”
“Agreed.”
Lee Hyun drew the Profound Gate Sword, and Xue Jingxing likewise unsheathed the sword at his waist. Its blade, a little over three chi (about 1 m) long, was white as though coated in frost, and the more spiritual power suffused it, the thinner its edge seemed to become. Simply keeping his eyes on the blade’s edge made the space between Lee Hyun’s brows tingle.
The mist drifting too close to the chill emanating from the blade turned to frost.
Lee Hyun studied the energy coursing along the sword for a moment, then landed on a boulder over fifty zhang away. Xue Jingxing raised his sword in salute.
“Then allow me.”
“Come.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the sword rose from Xue Jingxing’s hand.
The white sword shot upward without so much as a sound and pierced through the mist. Before Lee Hyun could even raise his head to follow its movement, a long silver-white arc had been drawn across the sky above the valley.
The thin trail of light left in the sword’s wake curved, and an entire section of the sky seemed to tilt along with it before pouring down toward Lee Hyun.
Lee Hyun kicked off the boulder and slashed upward with the Profound Gate Sword. The Spirit Aura extending from the blade met the silver-white arc, and his vision flashed white.
Clang!
The rocky shallows beneath his feet split apart in a long line, sending a curtain of water and stone dust surging halfway up the cliffs.
A tiny point of white light pierced straight through the curtain.
Clang!
The flying sword grazed the flat of the Profound Gate Sword with a hair-raising shriek and slid off to the side.
Xue Jingxing was already hovering above the waterfall. At a sweep of his arm, sword light tilted down to block Lee Hyun’s retreat, while the flying sword that had circled behind him carved a long white line across the cliff and came flying back.
The black line running through the center of the Profound Gate Sword’s blade flared brilliantly.
Flash!
A thick surge of Spirit Aura tore through the mist and stretched forward, opening a gap in the middle of the sword light blocking his way. By the time the pursuing flying sword pierced through that spot, Lee Hyun had already risen to Xue Jingxing’s height.
Xue Jingxing was startled.
‘How is he breaking through my sword qi so easily?’
As the white light Xue Jingxing had spread across the sky curved around and closed in on him again, Lee Hyun slashed straight ahead.
But one severed end of the sword qi twisted like a snake, brushing past his shoulder and striking sharply against his body-protecting spirit light.
‘The inheritance he’s learned is far too advanced. Trading sword qi from a distance doesn’t seem advantageous for me…’
At that instant, Lee Hyun vanished, leaving an afterimage behind.
Driving forward, Lee Hyun unleashed the Boundary-Cleaving Saber Art through his sword.
Clear surprise flashed through Xue Jingxing’s eyes. The light of the sword qi floating in the sky immediately descended with perfect precision onto the white sword that had returned to his hand.
The two swords collided before the waterfall.
Boom!
Light exploded between the blades, bathing both men’s faces in white, and Xue Jingxing was hurled backward.
‘Where is this tremendous power coming from?!’
The composure vanished from Xue Jingxing’s face.
As he was driven downward, Xue Jingxing lashed the surface of the deep pool with the tip of his sword. The water swelled as if exploding, and a spray of white water rose in front of him.
The soaring curtain of water was caught by the sword wind and stopped in midair all at once.
Xue Jingxing forced spiritual power into his blade. The cold imbued within the magic tool burst outward together with keen Metal-attributed energy laden with killing qi, instantly freezing the curtain of water.
Clang–
As tens of thousands of frozen beads of frost reflected silver-white light like mirrors, the white sword appeared like a ghost from beyond the curtain.
Each time the blade cut through the air, its silver-white afterimages split into three streams, then nine, until they became a massive storm of light covering the entire waterfall and surrounding Lee Hyun from every direction.
‘Illusions?’
Sword qi rained down with piercing shrieks through the air, and Lee Hyun’s vast spiritual power erupted.
Twenty Spirit Light Shields bloomed in midair.
The shields overlapped at slanted angles, blocking the paths of the sword light.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Silver-white sword scars appeared one after another across the rock walls flanking the waterfall and around the edge of the deep pool. Even when spray washed over them, their light did not fade.
The torrent of sword light hammered savagely against the surfaces of the Spirit Light Shields, but the one truly shocked was Xue Jingxing.
‘Spirit Light Shields!? He’s blocking my sword qi with those things…?’
Xue Jingxing crooked a finger. Three scattered streams of sword light converged at a single point. Holes punched through two Spirit Light Shields in succession. Lee Hyun hurriedly rotated the remaining shields into place, but the sword light ripped a long tear across their surfaces and shot past his shoulder.
Hovering overhead, Xue Jingxing’s sleeves fluttered as two fingers traced a smooth arc like flowing water.
Following that motion, the divided sword lights gathered around the white sword that had once again left his hand. They merged into the shape of a gigantic sword the size of a small building and plunged vertically toward Lee Hyun’s head.
The air between the cliffs compressed under its pressure, leaving a deep depression in the surface of the pool below. This was the Sword Control Art of a true Immortal.
Had they continued fighting at range to the very end, Lee Hyun’s knowledge would have given him no way to cope with the sharpness of a Metal-attribute spiritual root and the transformations of Sword Control.
Assuming, of course, that their reserves of spiritual power were equal.
Instead of retreating, Lee Hyun twisted at the waist. His left hand swept powerfully upward toward the sky.
The air throughout the valley was violently drawn inward as an enormous hand formed from blue spirit light took shape in midair. It was the Condensed-Essence Grasping Hand.
The giant hand crossed the air and seized the falling greatsword around its middle.
Screeech! Boom!
Sparks erupted where metal and spiritual power collided, burning away the waterfall’s mist in a wash of white. The fingers of the Condensed-Essence Grasping Hand were immediately sliced apart, but even that instant of resistance was enough to wrench the greatsword’s falling trajectory off to the side.
Boom!
The deflected greatsword buried itself in the opposite cliff face, shaking the entire precipice. Amid the massive cascade of falling rocks, Lee Hyun’s figure kicked off empty air.
Thump!
With the Wind-Riding Art combined with the recoil from the Qi Sphere Barrier, Lee Hyun’s body shot straight upward through the mist.
Sword qi between the cascading streams of water blocked his path, but the Profound Gate Sword in his right hand swept through a heavy arc.
The Spirit Aura cut horizontally through both the middle of the waterfall and the sword qi. Through the gap where the falling water had been split in two, Lee Hyun shot forward like a ghost.
Xue Jingxing’s eyes widened as he hovered above the waterfall.
Lee Hyun was already too close for him to recall the sword embedded in the cliff. Xue Jingxing immediately pulled a spare sword from his storage pouch and gripped it. Razor-sharp sword qi surged from the sword cultivator’s fingertips around the hilt.
But Lee Hyun had already torn through the air and reached within arm’s reach.
Clang!
The two blades locked head-on.
Xue Jingxing twisted his wrist, trying to deflect Lee Hyun’s blade and thrust into his chest.
But.
Lee Hyun’s wrist suddenly split into multiple afterimages, and six streams of pure-white sword light fanned out from the tip of the Profound Gate Sword.
Against the spray of the waterfall, a six-petaled sword blossom bloomed and filled Xue Jingxing’s entire vision.
“…!”
Xue Jingxing retreated while swinging his sword furiously. Silver-white arcs burst outward, knocking away the first and second petals.
But the instant he deflected the third and fourth sword paths,
Clang–
The tip of the Profound Gate Sword shot forward like lightning and struck the space just above Xue Jingxing’s hilt with uncanny precision.
“Ugh!”
His fingers were forced open around the hilt as his palm tore. His sword went spinning high into the air.
Just as Lee Hyun was about to drive his sword toward Xue Jingxing’s chest, Xue Jingxing formed a hand seal with his empty hand.
‘Hm?’
Shrieeeek–
The entire valley screamed at once.
The spare sword that had been knocked high into the air stopped and trembled in place. The white flying sword embedded in the cliff also tore itself free, scattering stone dust as it rose. And that was not all. Dozens of strands of silver-white sword qi left around the cliffs, waterfall, and deep pool during their earlier exchanges all surged into the air at once.
‘A sword formation?’
Dozens of strands of silver-white sword light intertwined in midair, enclosing Lee Hyun on all sides like a gigantic birdcage as they contracted around him.
At that instant,
Booom!
Just before the sword net fully interlocked, a shockwave from the Qi Sphere Barrier erupted from Lee Hyun’s entire body in every direction, forcibly pushing back the closing silver-white sword net. In that opening, Lee Hyun swung the Profound Gate Sword at an unbelievable speed toward the sword lights trying to connect with one another.
Bang-bang-bang-bang!
With a series of bursting impacts, the silver-white sword lights filling the space around him shattered into fragments.
Meanwhile, Xue Jingxing, who had been blasted into the cliff by the Qi Sphere Barrier, belatedly saw the shattered motes of light raining down.
‘What in the world just hit me? Is this man really only at Foundation Establishment Stage 3? Even a demon beast wouldn’t be this ridiculous!’
He had sparred countless times with the most formidable fellow disciples in the Dharma Protector Court, but never before had he been crushed by such unorthodox and brutally overwhelming force.
Xue Jingxing let out a hollow laugh and lowered both hands completely.
“I lost. This was your complete victory, fellow Daoist.”
…
The two sat on a boulder beside the deep pool. Xue Jingxing applied Blood-Staunching Powder to his palm and wrapped it in cloth, then stared at his sword hilt for a moment.
“I can’t remember the last time I was disarmed.”
Lee Hyun’s gaze shifted to his hand.
“Is the wound deep?”
“It’ll heal in a few days.”
Xue Jingxing opened and closed his hand, then turned his head toward Lee Hyun.
“Do you possess a Metal-attribute spiritual root?”
“No. I have a Wood, Fire, and Earth triple spiritual root.”
Xue Jingxing’s brows twitched slightly. He looked back and forth between the Profound Gate Sword and Lee Hyun, seeming to choose his words for a moment.
“Where did you learn your swordsmanship?”
Lee Hyun set his sword beside his knee.
“I was told that one of my ancestors was a grandmaster of the martial path in the mundane world. He supposedly reached the Profound Realm, and I’ve practiced the martial learning he left behind since childhood. I also obtained other inheritances while living as a rogue cultivator.”
It was the same story he had once told Zhang Jingyi. Xue Jingxing likewise nodded slowly after hearing it.
“Martial arts from the mundane world… Even so, I doubt everyone who obtained that inheritance could have used it as you do.”
He adjusted the cloth wrapped around his palm.
“Once you closed the distance, you kept switching between techniques and moves in rapid succession. It was difficult to respond. Now I understand why Shi Zhenheng lost.”
Lee Hyun could not readily answer.
“Fellow Daoist Xue.”
“Go ahead.”
“Could you recommend a worthwhile Way of the Sword inheritance in our sect’s Scripture Pavilion?”
Xue Jingxing thought for a moment.
“For a sword cultivator specialized in close combat like you…… I would suggest looking into the Great Unity Heavenly Dipper Sword Canon.”
“The Great Unity Heavenly Dipper Sword Canon…”
As Lee Hyun repeated the name, Xue Jingxing continued.
“It’s one of the finest Way of the Sword inheritances in our sect’s Scripture Pavilion.”
“Thank you.”
Xue Jingxing rose to his feet.
“I’m the one who benefited today. If another opportunity arises, I hope you’ll spar with me again.”
…
Once the skill exchange was settled, Lee Hyun received another sixty contribution points.
After returning to Qingyu Ravine, Lee Hyun lay down in his residence and closed his eyes.
From the first silver-white arc drawn across the sky to the final sword formation, every sword path remained vivid in his mind even with his eyes shut.
Xue Jingxing had been stronger than he expected.
The moment when three streams of sword light pierced through two Spirit Light Shields in succession bothered him. Lee Hyun could achieve the same result by pouring in more spiritual power, but he was not confident he could manipulate sword qi separated from the blade with such precision. He had also broken the final sword formation before it could fully unfold, so he could not claim to have properly experienced its power.
The valley in the Huatian Secret Realm suddenly came to mind.
Guo Zhenming, heaven’s prodigy of Haigu Island. The dark-red bone nail launched from his hand had pierced three layers of Spirit Light Shields even after its trajectory was knocked askew by a spear. It had torn through Lee Hyun’s body-protecting spirit light as well, and in the end, it had been the Black Scale Inner Armor that saved him.
Even then, Lee Hyun had realized he was not invincible. Yet after returning, his countermeasures had amounted to practicing how to draw the Profound Iron Buckler more quickly and repairing his damaged magic tools.
He had never deeply examined how his defense had been breached, or whether there was a way to make it sturdier using the same amount of spiritual power.
Lee Hyun sat up.
The Square-Inch Step, One Ultimate, Six Swords, and Boundary-Cleaving Saber Art were still outstanding martial arts. They were supreme arts created by Profound Realm masters of the Qianyang Kingdom over the course of their lives, and Lee Hyun himself had practiced and refined them for many long years. He had even integrated the Earth-Origin Force and various techniques into them.
But he had assumed that was enough. Whenever he defeated an opponent, he took it as proof that his methods were correct, and any openings exposed during combat were patched over with his abundant spiritual power and other magic tools. Ever since he had become able to perform the martial arts ingrained in him with the body of a cultivator, he had spent fewer days seriously studying combat techniques than he once had.
Xue Jingxing was a cultivator who had not even lived eighty years. Lee Hyun had lived in this world for over fourteen hundred. He had not risked his life practicing the sword every single day, but the time he had accumulated was by no means short. It was difficult to readily accept that he had been outmatched in the variations of the sword.
‘No… The years contained within Xue Jingxing’s sword are not merely eighty.’
How long had the sword cultivators of earlier generations, the ones who created the sword art he practiced, held swords in their hands? How many enemies had the cultivators who followed them fought while discarding flawed paths and finding better ones?
Some among them must have possessed talent no less impressive than the grandmasters of the martial path in the Qianyang Kingdom. They had lived longer than martial artists, flown through the skies, and fought enemies capable of wielding spiritual power.
Without realizing it, Lee Hyun had been underestimating combat among cultivators. It was a world where a higher realm meant stronger spiritual power, and a better magic tool meant greater might.
Because he had overcome those differences with his vast reserves of spiritual power and the supreme arts of the mundane world, he had taken too lightly the fact that there were also people beyond those advantages who had delved deeply into martial learning.
‘I’ve grown complacent. I haven’t been relentless enough.’
Making a technique larger was not the same as making it sharper. Just as a Profound Realm martial artist had broken through a cultivator’s defenses using the principle of One Point Pierces the Surface, Lee Hyun’s own defenses could likewise be breached by an opponent with far less spiritual power than he possessed.
…
The next day.
The Inner Pavilion of the Scripture Pavilion.
Lee Hyun studied the list of sword inheritances for some time. Even after finding the name Xue Jingxing had mentioned, he did not decide immediately. He read the summaries and cultivation requirements of the neighboring sword arts as well before returning to the first entry.
《Great Unity Heavenly Dipper Sword Canon》.
Access required a staggering 370 contribution points.
Lee Hyun checked the price once more, then held out his identity token.
“I would like to view the Great Unity Heavenly Dipper Sword Canon.”
The managing cultivator checked his identity token.
“Fellow Daoist Li Dongsan of Yanxia Peak. Proceed to inheritance chamber five.”
…
By the time Lee Hyun emerged from the inheritance chamber, it was well past noon.
Even as he walked down the corridor, he reviewed what he had just read.
It began with methods for condensing and refining sword qi, followed by explanations of various sword forms, with later sections covering light splitting and sword formations. It required no particular spiritual root or constitution, but imposed strict demands on the practitioner’s control of spiritual power and attainment in divine sense.
Even the opening method for condensing and refining sword qi resembled the way he had wrapped Spirit Aura around his sword blade, but its details were far more intricate.
After leaving the Scripture Pavilion, Lee Hyun headed for the Inner Alchemy Court instead of returning directly to Qingyu Ravine.
…
The Pill Recipe Pavilion of the Inner Alchemy Court.
Lee Hyun examined the pills taken by Foundation Establishment cultivators to overcome bottlenecks.
The Origin-Opening Pill, taken when advancing from Foundation Establishment Stage 3 to Stage 4. And the Profundity-Penetrating Pill, used to advance from Stage 6 to Stage 7. Both were Tier 2 pills, though the latter was more difficult to refine.
Access to the pill recipes cost one hundred and one hundred forty contribution points respectively. That was cheaper than the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe, but after spending so many contribution points on the sword canon just moments earlier, the prices still made him hesitate.
Lee Hyun checked his remaining contribution points. Between what he had already saved, the points from the Qinghe Valley mission, and those he had earned from this exchange, he could afford to view both pill recipes.
“I’d like to view the pill recipes for the Origin-Opening Pill and the Profundity-Penetrating Pill.”
He had no intention of refining either immediately. When attempting a breakthrough in his lower dantian, he could begin by simply obtaining one or two finished pills.
But later, when his entire body reached the same bottleneck, there was no guarantee he would be able to obtain fifty Origin-Opening Pills or fifty Profundity-Penetrating Pills. He wanted to learn the necessary medicinal ingredients and alchemy methods in advance in preparation for that time.
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