Chapter 103: The Sword Spirit’s Empty Promises

  He raised his hand. An Jing, originally from a prominent family cn, had practiced martial arts from a young age. Combined with the grueling training at Hanging Fate Manor, his hands had been riddled with calluses and scars.

  Yet now, after several days of seated meditation and cultivation—drawing spiritual energy into his body—not only had those calluses and scars disappeared, but his skin also faintly glimmered with a jade-like whiteness beneath the surface.

  When he looked down at the gzed ptform beneath him, An Jing noticed a fsh of spiritual radiance in his own eyes.

  Although that radiance was slowly fading and retracting, it was the clear proof that he had completed the first restriction of the Radiant White Spirit Divine Restriction.

  “Your foundation is quite stable.”

  The Sword Spirit observed this with evident satisfaction. “The first Divine Ability is called ‘Steadfast Purity.’ Steadfastness that cannot be worn down, purity that cannot be defiled—it cleanses the meridians, strengthens the body, nourishes the mind, secures the Divine Soul, remains free of corruption, and fears no Five Poisons.”

  “All cultivation methods—whether for battle, refinement, or nourishment—ultimately aim to produce Divine Abilities, one after another. Only when you have formed a Divine Ability can you cim actual results from that method. At present, you have only taken the first step—your body is undergoing its initial transformation.”

  At this point, Fuxie let out a quiet sigh. “However, even with a method in hand, you cannot cultivate recklessly. Once a Divine Ability is formed, it is exceedingly difficult to remove. Each Divine Ability operates automatically, requiring no conscious push from you, yet each one adds more strain to your circutory flow and requires part of your usable spiritual power.”

  “The more Divine Abilities you develop, the deeper your Dao attainment grows, but you also become bound to those choices. If, in the future, you come across a new Divine Ability that better complements your existing set—even promising a further breakthrough—but ck any spare capacity to power it, you would be forced to stand by in regret.”

  “I see.”

  An Jing appeared pensive. Drawing on fragments of his past-life knowledge, he ventured, “So each cultivation method eventually becomes a sort of ‘passive skill’—a Divine Ability—that runs on its own without my explicit control.”

  “But each Divine Ability consumes part of my maximum spiritual power. Once that limit is reached, I can’t learn a new method or gain another Divine Ability. My abilities would become permanently fixed, impossible to refine further—unless I advanced to the next realm.”

  “That is correct,” the Sword Spirit said, sounding somewhat rueful. “There are indeed secret arts capable of obliterating older Divine Abilities to free space for new ones, but the price is a shortened lifespan. True cultivators in major sects pn their entire future path right from the outset. Moreover, compared to the methods of lesser sects, a major sect’s cultivation techniques are far superior.”

  “Consider this Radiant White Spirit Divine Restriction: in its final stage, several smaller Divine Abilities merge into one grand Divine Ability, effectively freeing half of the space they would otherwise occupy. In other words, the spiritual power normally allocated to six smaller Divine Abilities can unleash the power of twelve in an ordinary sect.”

  “A prodigy from a smaller sect might cultivate twelve separate Taibai methods and, on the Taibai path alone, reach a level on par with someone using the Radiant White Spirit Divine Restriction. Both would stand at the peak of that specialized path. However, the tter could still refine additional methods and Divine Abilities at the same time, resulting in far greater overall power than the minor sect could match.”

  —Judging by these remarks, whether it was the Sword Spirit himself or his original sword master, he had probably practiced multiple methods recklessly in the past, paying a heavy price before finally returning to the correct path.

  Even so, the Sword Spirit’s tone and viewpoint seemed somewhat confused. Had he once been human? Or was he originally a Sword Spirit from birth? Or perhaps he had been a Sword Immortal, badly injured and forced to bind his soul to a sword?

  Did he… still remember which was true?

  An Jing quietly mulled these questions over and simply kept listening.

  “In any case.” The Sword Spirit instructed An Jing to continue circuting his qi and refining the metal Baleful Qi within him. “‘Steadfast Purity’—this Divine Ability—ys the groundwork for those that come after, giving you abundant essence, qi, and spirit, as well as a resilient body capable of withstanding hardship. It is critical. Cultivating the first restriction of this Divine Ability in only five days shows that your mental fortitude is impressive enough to draw the attention of any sect’s elders.”

  “My mental fortitude alone would attract the elders’ interest?” An Jing asked, continuing his qi circution. “Between aptitude and mentality, which is more important?”

  “Your mind, of course,” the Sword Spirit replied calmly. “Bodily spiritual roots can serve as a foundation, but they are still external. Since you possess innate wisdom from a past life, you have traversed reincarnation and awakened from the womb with your memories intact. In essence, you gained a second body in this new life.”

  “All things in existence may change, but the Dao Heart alone remains constant.”

  “Moreover, you have awakened a Heaven-Ordained Fate. Those who do so are born with a Divine Ability that requires no spiritual power. Cultivating any matching method proceeds with exceptional ease. Consider your Seven Fiends Fate—you find Baleful Qi techniques to be extremely convenient.”

  “And your Divine Ability, Condense Qi into Armaments, further strengthens formless, intangible martial methods such as 《Void-Riding Six Qi Sword》, 《Illusion-Shattering Formless Sword》, 《Nameless Primordial Battleaxe》, or 《Grand Five-Element Yin-Yang Annihition Divine Bde*》.”

  “Even if your inherent talent were mediocre, my former sect would have spared no effort in seeking heavenly treasures and earthly remedies to improve it.”

  “I see.”

  Following the Sword Spirit’s instructions, An Jing exhaled his excess metal Baleful Qi. Wisps of faint white mist drifted from his mouth and nose as he asked in curiosity, “Then, these rumored invincible great Divine Abilities—do you truly recall them, Sword Spirit?”

  “I do!”

  Contrary to An Jing’s expectations, the Sword Spirit answered with unshakable confidence. “Why else have I been guiding your cultivation? I’ve been waiting for you to grow strong enough for me to pass those Divine Abilities on!”

  “However, your comprehension exceeds my expectations. I had pnned for you to practice the Condense Qi into Armaments Divine Ability repeatedly until you mastered its subtleties, but you ended up spontaneously learning mystical arts on your own, surpassing even my highest goals.”

  “That’s why I’m still deciding how best to teach a Celestial Fate-level genius like you, so that your talents do not go to waste.”

  The Sword Spirit concluded, “In short, there’s no need to hurry. Spirit Awakening and Qi Refining are simply foundational phases. Focus on building a solid base!”

  “Then I’ll look forward to it!”

  An Jing smiled at the Sword Spirit’s grand promises, yet lingering questions remained. “But, Fuxie… there seems to be a significant gap between the Martial Path and Qi Refining, with different advancement requirements and traits.”

  “Can they reinforce one another? If I cultivate both the Martial Path and Immortal methods, will that help me master these Divine Abilities, or could it lead to conflict instead?”

  “I’m not certain. That’s precisely why I haven’t taught you various Divine Abilities right away.”

  Speaking with complete frankness, the Subduing Evil Sword Spirit added, “That’s what I meant when I said I’m not ready to be your teacher. My understanding of the current Huaixu Realm is limited, and most Divine Abilities need to draw upon Heaven and Earth’s power. We can’t leap in recklessly.”

  “I suspect we must first crify the true nature of Huaixu’s strange situation today. Only after confirming that will I dare teach you those major Divine Abilities.”

  “For the time being, you have finished the first restriction. You won’t complete the second restriction in a single day, so you should acquire some formidable Magical Artifacts.”

  “You’re right. I’ll head out now.”

  He acknowledged the suggestion but did not immediately stand. Instead, he calmed his thoughts and circuted his qi further, dispelling all lingering traces of the first restriction’s completion. Only then did he rise to his feet.

  At that moment, currents of Taibai Baleful Qi flowed steadily through An Jing’s body, radiating a subtle aura of sharpened metal. Much like the female manager of Little Ochre Mountain, anyone who saw him would sense he was no ordinary individual.

  As a result, most people would immediately recognize him as a cultivator—likely at the Qi Refining Realm—and steer clear of needless trouble.

  Currently, An Jing had thirteen streams of Taibai Baleful Qi in his body.

  Ordinarily, gathering qi from stone-and-metal earth veins can be done only twice per day, and it takes sixty wisps of Stone-Metal Baleful Qi to form a single thread of Taibai Baleful Qi.

  A mere piece or two of jade-cleaving steel held more qi than what an ordinary cultivator could gather in a whole year. Under the Sword Spirit’s guidance, An Jing discarded the impurities and preserved only the purest essence. Combined with the core Natal Baleful Qi he originally created using Fuxie’s sword Baleful Qi, he now had thirteen streams total.

  It was neither few nor many.

  After all, An Jing was still a novice cultivator at the Spirit Awakening stage. Through an advanced method, he could manipute spiritual energy sooner than usual, giving him a decisive edge over peers at his level.

  Nonetheless, compared to a true qi refiner, his total vital essence remained limited—only at an intermediate stage often described as “Vital Essence Like Rivers.”

  In other words, his rate of recovery was not particurly high.

  If he exhausted all thirteen streams of Baleful Qi, he would need to grasp a piece of jade-cleaving steel and meditate for a full day to replenish them.

  (End of Chapter)

  aeterism