Sword Qi to the Sky

Chapter 388 Dao Body
The land of Yongzhou is dotted with towns and cities. Even in the outskirts, there are traces of pedestrian activity everywhere, and cultivators can be seen all around.

Li Fan and his companions no longer rode dragons in such a high-profile manner as before.

They had already left Liuyue City and entered Yongzhou territory, passing through many mountains, rivers, villages, and cities. Cultivators were everywhere, and there were few traces of demons.

Occasionally, one might encounter demons, but they are all kept by humans. Perhaps they are minor demons active in the outskirts, not posing a significant threat.

This made Li Fan realize that the heartland of Dali was more suitable for human habitation, especially for ordinary people, where safety was higher.

"There's another mountain gate ahead, which should be the location of a sect. Let's go around it," Xing Feng said. They had wreaked havoc in Liuyue City, and now the imperial court was probably hunting them down all over the country. Fortunately, the world was too vast, and the territory of Yongzhou alone spanned an endless expanse. Finding someone was like looking for a needle in a haystack, unless they actively entered the public eye, such as by heading to a large city.

Sects are relatively well-informed, especially some large sects; it's best to avoid them if you encounter them.

"Hmm." Li Fan nodded. "How many Seventh Realm forces are there in this Yongzhou region?"

“Not many,” Xing Feng said. “After all, cultivators at the seventh realm are already at the top of the Great Li Dynasty. The reason why there are several seventh realm forces in Liuyue City is due to its geographical location. It is a gateway. You could say that once you pass through Liuyue City and enter Yongzhou, you will enter another world. You see, we have rarely seen demons on this trip. The demons we have encountered so far, apart from human demon servants, are either small demons or large demons that have taken human form and are hiding among humans.”

Li Fan nodded slightly. In the past, when he traveled in the wilderness, he often encountered demons of the middle realm, but now, the wilderness was full of human traces.

"Uncle-Master, where do we go next?" Li Fan asked.

“Find a place to cultivate. See if you can break through to the sixth realm. The imperial court should be issuing arrest warrants everywhere. Once you break through to the sixth realm, your ability to protect yourself will be stronger. At that time, we will split up. Otherwise, we will be too conspicuous,” Xing Feng said.

“Once you reach the Dao Body Realm, I’ll be busy with my own affairs. So many years have passed, I wonder if I’ll ever have a chance to break through to the next seventh realm,” Lu You said from the side.

“With Uncle Xing here, Uncle Lu, you can go cultivate now.” Li Fan said to Lu You. Since they met outside Liuyue City, Lu You had already done his best to protect him after revealing his identity, so he didn’t want to take up too much of Lu You’s time.

“There’s no rush,” Lu You said. “Your cultivation won’t interfere with my cultivation.”

"Alright," Li Fan said with a smile, "Then let's find a place to cultivate in seclusion."

The group continued on their way. Li Fan seemed preoccupied, and Lu Yuan beside him asked in a low voice, "What are you thinking about?"

"I wonder how my junior brother is doing," Li Fan replied. After all, his junior brother had not yet entered the seventh realm, and he would be in danger if he encountered a great cultivator from the imperial court.

"Don't worry, Ruyu isn't an impulsive person," Xing Feng said from the front.

"Okay." Li Fan nodded without thinking too much. He hoped that he and his junior brother could reach the seventh realm soon, at which time they could go anywhere in the Great Li Kingdom.

The group arrived at a large mountain valley. The place was quiet and secluded, suitable for cultivation. Li Fan decided to go into seclusion here for a period of time.

Standing before the canyon wall, Li Fan moved his mind, drew his flying sword, and pierced the mountain wall, creating a cave dwelling in a short while.

"When the Dao Body realm is fully integrated, Qi cultivators will unite their physical bodies with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth to forge the body of the Great Dao. Do you understand?" Lu You said to Li Fan beside him.

"Yes." Li Fan nodded. To break through to the next realm, he naturally needed to understand the next realm first.

"By the way, you also cultivate martial arts. This seventh-realm demon core might help you break through in martial arts first. You should ask your Uncle Xing about this." Lu You looked at Xing Feng beside him.

"When the Great Dao is in harmony, upon reaching the sixth realm, Qi cultivators need to strengthen their physique, while martial arts practitioners need to comprehend the true meaning. The sixth realm of martial arts is also known as the Realm of True Meaning. Both paths of cultivation are about making up for deficiencies and evolving towards a more perfect direction of cultivation. For those who cultivate both, breaking through to this realm is actually more advantageous. Cultivating both means gaining insights in both areas. Of course, your main focus is on the sword, and ultimately all of this must be for your sword path." Xing Feng said, looking at Lu You.

"Xiao Fan's cultivation method is extraordinary, so there's no need for us to worry about it."

“That’s true.” Lu You nodded with a smile: “To kill a Dao Body sword cultivator with a single sword strike while condensing the core, even among the sword cultivators of Li Mountain, only the most outstanding talents of past generations could achieve this.”

“Uncle-Master, Qingshan was still young when he came down the mountain. Now that we have this opportunity, I hope you can give me some guidance.” Li Fan looked at Yang Qingshan and called out, “Qingshan, come over here.”

Yang Qingshan stepped forward and looked at Lu You, saying, "Grandmaster Uncle's swordsmanship is so extraordinary that even a casual instruction from him would probably allow me to break through to the Core Formation Realm."

"This kid's clever," Lu You said with a smile. "You can stay by my side."

With that, he turned and left, unwilling to disturb Li Fan's seclusion any longer.

"I'll keep watch outside," Huang Xiong said as he walked out of the cave.

"I'll stay here. With my grandmaster uncle here, and Brother Huang also needing to cultivate," Lu Yuan said softly. Xing Feng was Huang Xiong's master, and it was a rare opportunity for Xing Feng to teach Huang Xiong how to cultivate.

Huang Xiong glanced at Li Fan, who then said, "She's right, Brother Huang, you go ahead." "Okay." Huang Xiong nodded, and Xing Feng leaped towards the mountainside, with Huang Xiong following behind.

Yue Qingqiu, Lu Yuan, and Liu Ji stayed here to cultivate, while Li Fan entered the prepared cave. With a thought, demon cores floated in the air, and powerful demonic energy instantly enveloped the cave. A tremor also came from Li Fan's body, as if he were somewhat greedy.

Li Fan's body seemed to transform into a vortex, with demonic energy spreading and covering the cave. Those drawn into Li Fan's body were soon enveloped in terrifying demonic energy, and a black dragon phantom surrounded his body. Before long, the cave was filled with the roar of dragons.

Outside the cave entrance, Lu Yuan's thoughts stirred, and sword energy transformed into a barrier, enveloping the cave. An invisible force continuously struck the barrier formed by sword intent, causing a strange light to flash in Lu Yuan's eyes. This commotion...

"Why have you been staying by his side all this time?" A voice came from beside her, which startled Lu Yuan. She looked at the speaker with some surprise and was surprised to see that it was Yue Qingqiu.

Normally, Yue Qingqiu was quiet and reserved, and didn't like to talk. She just stayed with them silently. She didn't expect Yue Qingqiu to suddenly ask such a question.

"I'm thinking about human emotions," Yue Qingqiu said softly when she saw Lu Yuan's confusion.

“We are from the same sect, both from Li Mountain, and we are friends,” Lu Yuan said.

Yue Qingqiu shook her head thoughtfully: "That's not right."

Looking into Yue Qingqiu's pure and innocent eyes, Lu Yuan didn't know how to answer. Then she heard Yue Qingqiu say softly, "Is this the feeling between a man and a woman in human emotions? Do you like him?"

Lu Yuan: "..."

Liu Ji, who was cultivating nearby, looked at them with a strange expression and a suspicious smile.

"Why do you ask this?" Lu Yuan did not answer directly.

Yue Qingqiu shifted her gaze from Lu Yuan to the distance, her eyes filled with confusion.

"I've realized that I seem to be viewing the world from a human perspective," Yue Qingqiu muttered to herself. "Is this normal?"

She is a demon, who emerged from Yunmengze.

Previously, she only admired humans and wanted to learn from them. Later, Li Fan said they were friends, and she left Yunmengze with Li Fan to travel in the human world.

But as time went on, she seemed to put herself in the human perspective as well, as if she were looking at the world from Li Fan's point of view.

Now, seeing him kill demons and use demon cores to cultivate, she actually felt that this was how it should be, even though she was also a demon.

Several months later, on the mountain peak, Huang Xiong was practicing his boxing. Each punch and move seemed ordinary, but the moment he struck, the air vibrated, and the space in front of him almost froze, as if a world had been shattered.

Xing Feng watched quietly from a distance, a hint of surprise in his eyes. Huang Xiong seemed dull, but he hadn't expected him to have such a high talent for cultivation. Perhaps it was because his mind was pure and free of distractions that he was often able to see through the essence of cultivation, appearing wise but foolish, and skillful but clumsy.

Just as Huang Xiong was cultivating, a noise came from the ground. When they looked down, they felt the earth shaking and cracks appearing, as if the mountain was about to split open.

Below, Lu Yuan and the others were all jolted awake. The barrier had shattered, and a violent sound came from the cave, like a heavy hammer hitting their eardrums, making their scalps tingle.

"Step back," Lu Yuan said, retreating.

In the distance, Lu You turned around and looked this way. Yang Qingshan seemed to have noticed as well, and looked over there: "What's going on?"

Lightning burst forth from the countless cracks in the mountain range, carrying an unparalleled sharp sword intent, soaring straight into the sky. Above, the wind and clouds shifted, lightning was born, and the sunlight pierced below, creating a bizarre scene.

"An unusual phenomenon," Lu You said in a low voice. "It seems he has broken through to a higher realm."

"I thought the commotion of entering the Core Formation stage would be quite significant, but I never expected..." Yang Qingshan murmured. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the mountain crumble and fall apart, as if it had been split apart by countless sharp swords, with endless lightning bursting out from the broken mountain body.

Amidst the lightning, a figure transformed into a bolt of lightning and soared upwards, reaching straight into the sky.

"Dao Body, Thunder Shadow, Sword Form." Lu You looked up at the sky. Under the apocalyptic scene, a figure stood in the sky, with strange phenomena of heaven and earth falling on him, like a god.

"The Tao is complete."

Lu You laughed loudly, took a step, and his sword entered the breeze.

(End of this chapter)