Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 581 After half a year of combining Dan Rong and Jian Fu, Jiang San comprehends Zhen Xiao Sheng.

Six months later
Jiang Qingcai, who had been in seclusion for a long time, had just left his cave in Yangming Mountain and brought back a large amount of supplies from Moyunze. The Chongming Sect was bustling with activity, but no one in the sect had given him any official business.

After a brief inspection of the former's cultivation and a few words of advice not to rush things, Master Kang sent Third Master Jiang back to his cave.

Those who witnessed this scene naturally understood that, for the Chongming Sect, the most important thing was to produce another Golden Core cultivator who could keep the situation in check.

The fate of countless honors and disgraces rests solely on one person's shoulders; such a situation is far too perilous.

It is said that even though Kang Dabao is only at the initial stage of cultivation, when it comes to fighting skills, among the many advanced cultivators of the Fei family in Yingzhou, only a handful such as Fei Yeyi, Fei Tianqin, Fei Dongwen, and Fei Donggu can be said to be able to win decisively.

Even so, in the eyes of those powerful Golden Core cultivators, Master Kang was still always inferior.

Even when Master Huang Mijia almost pressed himself against Kang Dabao's face, the situation was so urgent, yet the latter still did not order Jiang Qing to come out of seclusion.
Outsiders all understood perfectly, and Jiang Qing himself was even more aware of the situation. Therefore, he did not refuse the arrangement made by Headmaster Kang. He turned around and went straight into the cave. He casually placed the plain brocade box that Lian Xuepu had asked Duan Anle to bring on the table, and his fingertips stroked the fur of the translucent sword ape on his shoulder.

The little beast seemed to know that he was going to cultivate, and gently rubbed against his palm before jumping onto the stone bench in the corner of the cave, curling up quietly, which made it look even more petite and cute.

He then took out the last jade bottle containing the Three Talents Nourishing Essence Pill, uncorked it, and a refreshing, bittersweet spiritual energy wafted out, completely different from the harshness of ordinary pills.

The pill was about the size of a thumb, with fine three-element pill patterns floating on its surface. It was cool to the touch, and the spiritual energy it exuded made even Master Jiang's eyebrows curve slightly. It was indeed a superior pill.

Luan Gongfeng said that ordinary late-stage cultivators only know that after taking a few Three Talents Yuan-Boosting Pills, they will be perfected. But in the end, Master Jiang Sanye is far from being an "ordinary" cultivator.

Of the forty-two pills, only one remains. However, Jiang Qing feels that he is still a step away from reaching the threshold of Core Formation. He wonders what Luan Gongfeng would say if he knew about this abnormal situation.

Jiang Qing took out a second-grade top-quality jade futon that he had just been given, sat down cross-legged, and put the pill into his mouth.

With a drool, the pill transformed into a warm spiritual energy that slid down his throat into his dantian, causing a look of enjoyment to appear on the handsome sword immortal's face once again.

Jiang Qing then half-closed her eyelids and focused on regulating her breathing.

Beside him lay a row of sword manuals of various ranks, some righteous and some evil, some incomplete and some incomplete. Most of them were obtained by the Chongming Sect in recent years after its families were destroyed and its members were wiped out, so they could not be considered to have any legitimate origin.

Only a few bamboo slips were in good condition during that period, and they were only so because of various opportunities and the generous gifts from the esteemed officials.

However, among these glittering sword manuals, the one that Jiang Qing obtained from Master Ming back then, "Ten Treatises on the Qingfuzi Sword Manual," was still in the center.

I wonder what secrets this sword manual, written by Jia Dan, holds.

Logically speaking, Jiang Qing's current level of cultivation and vision far surpasses that of the young man in black from back then, yet he still loves reading "Ten Treatises on Qingfuzi's Sword Classic".

According to his own account, he "read the book until the leather bindings broke three times, and it was always new and interesting."

This point was also confirmed by the old bird Fei Tianqin. Back when Jiang Qing and the latter discussed the Dao, Fei Tianqin showed great favor to this classic text originating from the Ming family. Afterwards, he even sent his close disciples to Jiang Qing to print the sword classic.

This situation is quite rare for someone of Fei Tianqin's status and position.

When Jiang Qing was adjusting his breathing, he seemed to be enveloped in a bush of sword energy. As the pill was fully refined, his aura became even sharper, as if it could pierce the stone chamber and make it turn its head slightly.

If it were a regular second-tier pill, Jiang Qing would always need half an hour to suppress the drug's volatile power. However, the spiritual power of this Three Talents Yuan-Boosting Pill flowed smoothly like a stream. As it traveled along his meridians, it was even slowly repairing the minor hidden injuries he had sustained from practicing swordsmanship in his early years.

Jiang Qing sighed inwardly: Luan Gongfeng was right. Such a elixir that greatly reduces poisoning would not cause any harm even if taken continuously. No wonder his senior brother gave him all forty-two of them.

With the last pill half-refined, the spirit-gathering array in the cave suddenly lit up faintly, and the surrounding spiritual energy was drawn towards Jiang Qing by an invisible suction force.

He could clearly feel that the spiritual energy pool in his dantian was filling up at a visible speed, and his cultivation, which was originally at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, was showing signs of loosening.

The luminous sword ape seemed to sense something amiss, raised its head to glance at him, and let out a soft cry, but did not go forward to disturb him. Instead, it curled back up, its tail inadvertently brushing lightly against the stone bench.

The few spirit fruit pits that had fallen on the stone surface were swept and rolled slightly, making a soft rustling sound. This startled the Tongming Sword Ape, which suddenly leaped up and quickly turned around to put them back in place.

The subtle noise reached Jiang Qing's ears, but did not disturb his mind.

At this moment, the spiritual energy within his dantian surged like a tide, and the medicinal power of the last Three Talents Nourishing Essence Pill completely dissipated.
The gentle spiritual energy flowed along the meridians, and wherever it passed, the hidden injuries left from practicing swordsmanship in his early years melted away like snow meeting the spring sun, and even the meridians throughout his body seemed to be widened a bit.

The spirit-gathering array inside the cave suddenly shone brightly, and the originally pale white spiritual mist gradually turned a light blue color, seeping into his body along with the sword-qi bushes around him.

Jiang Qing felt as if a pebble had been thrown into the spiritual energy pool in his dantian. As the ripples spread, the invisible barrier between the peak of Foundation Establishment and the Core Formation seemed to have been connected by a mysterious and subtle relationship.

Don't be fooled by how mysterious and obscure this relationship seems; many fake alchemists never understand it in their entire lives, which is why they choose to follow that path that leads to ruin.

Jiang Qing's ability to grasp this level is already an unexpected gain. Only now can we say that Third Master Jiang is on the verge of achieving the Golden Elixir. Once he perfects his alchemy, he can try to take another step forward and reach that bright future.

"However, my theory of alchemy..."

The handsome swordsman frowned, his beautiful eyebrows furrowing as if a look of worry appeared, causing him to sigh and remain silent.

Master Jiang's alchemy was difficult to perfect in a short time, but he could not delay his cultivation for even a moment, so he turned his energy back to swordsmanship.

However, even after becoming proficient in swordsmanship, he still encountered a bottleneck, and after cultivating for a while, he could hardly make any progress. Feeling slightly frustrated, he devoted some of his attention to raising the little beast beside him.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. Jiang Qing spent his days honing his cultivation in his cave, with the Tongming Sword Ape always by his side.

That morning, as he was practicing the "Azure Nether Sword Technique" from the "Ten Treatises of Qingfuzi Sword Classic," he suddenly felt a small, light beast leap onto his shoulder and clumsily mimic the sword's movements in the air with its claws. The pale blue, luminous spiritual energy traced delicate arcs with its movements. Although it was completely without any rules, it caused Jiang Qing's swordplay to pause abruptly.

He sheathed his sword and stood there, gazing at the little beast's earnest expression. His fingertips unconsciously caressed the hilt of the sword, and a thought suddenly occurred to him: "Over the years, I have collected more than ten sword manuals. Although they are a mixture of righteous and evil, and incomplete or incomplete, they are not entirely useless."

Previously, he had always felt that these sword manuals were too disparate and difficult to integrate, but seeing the ape use its spiritual energy to simulate a sword shape just now suddenly made him realize that these sword manuals, though seemingly scattered and each with its own ingenuity, might actually share a common underlying meaning!

Jiang Qing immediately stopped his playful antics with Tongming Jianyuan, staring intently at the jade slips hanging in the cave, lost in thought. Long passages of scriptures swirled in Jiang Qing's mind like a revolving lantern, gradually clearing his thoughts.

"The Blood Demon Path's 'Blood Shadow Sword Manual' excels at solidifying the sword shape with spiritual power; the Righteous Path's 'Righteous Sword Manual' can stabilize the sword intent and prevent it from collapsing; the incomplete 'Broken Jade Record' contains the secret of 'nurturing the sword with qi'; in addition, there is the 'Sword Qi Transformation into the Sea' in the 'Ten Treatises of Qingfuzi Sword Classic'. If we can integrate them into one method, it may be possible to further improve my swordsmanship."

Once the thought was clear, Jiang Qing immediately sat back on the jade futon, and with a wave of his hand, the hundreds of disordered bamboo slips that had been floating in the air and had been arranged in a chaotic manner returned to their original positions.

Jiang Qing's slender fingertips first touched the bright red bamboo slips of the "Blood Shadow Sword Manual". Next to the words "Use blood as a guide, condense qi into a sharp edge", Jiang Qing's early annotation "Excessive impetuosity can easily damage the meridians" is still clearly visible.

Touching the "Guoran Sword Canon" again, a gentle spiritual energy seeped into my fingertips, and the seal characters on the pages, "Guoran Righteousness, Unwavering Sword Heart," seemed to be slightly warm.

This is the original sword manual given to me by Fei Tianqin back then, which has an extra chapter on "strengthening the foundation of sword intent" compared to ordinary copies.

"Every single sword manual has its shortcomings. Learning from each other's strengths and making up for each other's weaknesses is an eternal truth. In the past, we thought about it too simply."

Jiang Qing sat down cross-legged, the spiritual energy crystal in his dantian trembling slightly, as if responding to his thoughts. He first guided the spiritual energy into his meridians according to the method of "Ten Treatises of Qingfuzi Sword Manual", and then tried to integrate the "Form Condensation Technique" of "Blood Shadow Sword Manual".

At first, the intense spiritual energy touched the meridians of his right arm, causing his old injuries to ache. After all, this was a newly assembled physical body, and it was naturally somewhat inferior to the one he had been born with before.

Normally it might not matter, but when it comes to crucial moments, if one wants to achieve a perfect balance, it will test Jiang Qing's self-control. He can only succeed by putting in hard work.

The Insightful Sword Ape noticed his disordered breathing and hurriedly jumped onto the stone table, nuzzling his arm with its forehead, its glassy eyes filled with worry.

Jiang Qing gently patted the little beast's head, his gaze falling on the "Righteous Sword Canon." He suddenly recalled the passage in the book about "using righteous energy to subdue evil energy," and immediately adjusted the trajectory of his spiritual energy circulation:
Using the gentle spiritual power of the "Haoran Sword Manual" as a "shell" to encase the volatile spiritual power of the "Blood Shadow Sword Manual", and then slowly refining it with the "Qi Cultivation Method" of the "Shattered Jade Record".

This time, the spiritual energy crystal in his dantian spontaneously emitted a faint golden light, traveling along the meridians and gradually calming the restless energy.

The Insightful Sword Ape seemed to understand, but not quite. It jumped onto Jiang Qing's shoulder, its furry paws resting on his wrist as he held the sword.

Strangely, the clear spiritual energy within the little beast seeped in through the point of contact, intertwining with Jiang Qing's spiritual power and transforming into a wisp of pale blue energy that slowly flowed toward the longsword in his hand.

Jiang Qing's heart stirred. He thought that the spiritual energy of the Tongming Sword Ape was pure and unmixed, and perhaps it could be used to harmonize it.
He simply lifted the restrictions, allowing the little beast's spiritual energy to merge into his own spiritual power.

When the pale blue spiritual energy met the gentle warmth of the "Haoran Sword Manual," the sharpness of the "Blood Shadow Sword Manual," and the lingering length of the "Shattered Jade Record," the dozen or so sword manuals on the stone table suddenly emitted a soft sound at the same time.

The heretical sword scripture emitted a dark red glow, while the righteous sword scripture shone with a bright white halo. The characters on the tattered scroll gradually became clearer, and all the light converged into a beam that fell on the longsword in Jiang Qing's hand.

At the same time, a glint flashed in Jiang Qing's eyes, and he formed a hand seal that he had never used before with his fingertips.

This was a new seal he created by temporarily combining the "Sword Heart Seal" of the basic sword scripture and the "Foundation Strengthening Technique" of the orthodox sword scripture when he was resonating with the sword scripture. As the spiritual power flowed at his fingertips, the sound of a sword echoed faintly.

He uttered a soft shout: "All laws return to their origin, condense!" The spiritual energy crystal in his dantian suddenly began to spin rapidly, and the pale golden light transformed into threads that wrapped around the wisp of mixed spiritual energy along the meridians, surging together towards the longsword in his hand.

Under the beam of light, the sword first turned a dark red, and the "power of solidification" of the evil sword scripture flowed on the sword, as if a blood-red sword shadow was about to break through the blade.

Immediately afterwards, a bright white light spread from the hilt of the sword, and the warm spiritual energy of the Righteous Path Sword Scripture enveloped the sword like a barrier, firmly locking in that violent energy.

Finally, the pale blue, clear spiritual energy flowed along the spine of the sword, slowly being refined by Jiang Qing's thoroughly comprehended "Qi Cultivation Method".

The patterns on the sword gradually became clearer, and the core runes of more than ten sword scriptures were condensed into a semi-transparent cyan-gold sword shadow, which hovered three inches away from the sword.

This sword shadow was completely different from ordinary sword energy.

It doesn't flaunt its sharpness, but exudes a profound sense of "keeping its sharpness within." Although it is clearly condensed spiritual energy, when it lands on the stone table, it only causes the spiritual fruit pit to tremble slightly, without shaking off a single speck of dust.

At this moment, Jiang Qing finally began to understand some of the true meaning of the sword principles taught by Hong Wenshang of the Rift Sky Sword Sect. He tried to control the sword shadow, and with a slight flick of his wrist, the cyan-gold sword shadow moved as if it were his own arm, slashing towards the stone wall in the corner of the cave.

Without any earth-shattering sound, only a thin, hair-like mark was left on the stone wall. But when the sword shadow was withdrawn, the mark suddenly spread. The restrictions on it were as fragile as paper and could not withstand it at all. The entire stone wall shattered from the inside and turned into fine stone chips.

Jiang Qing's all-out effort brought this cave dwelling a novel experience that even the original owner, the Swordless Cultivator, had never had in his hundreds of years of cultivation. Seeing this, Third Master Jiang immediately understood:

It turns out that the power of this sword shadow lies entirely in "condensation," which combines the advantages of more than ten sword manuals into one, making its ability to break through defenses far superior to a single sword move.

The luminous sword ape excitedly jumped off the stone table, circling around the sword shadow, emitting clear cries. Its furry claws occasionally brushed against the sword shadow, causing ripples to appear, as if it had also gained some progress from Master Jiang's influence in this area.

Jiang Qing smiled at its appearance, then looked down at the long sword in his hand. The runes on the sword were still glowing slightly, and the true meaning of more than ten sword scriptures seemed to flow through his mind.

I used to think that sword manuals were too complicated and difficult to integrate, but the so-called "way of the sword" is not confined to one school, but rather draws on the strengths of various schools to create one's own technique.

Only then did he realize that the saying "reading the classics until the leather binding breaks three times, and always finding new insights" should never be confined to the "Ten Treatises on the Sword Classic of Qingfuzi". If it weren't for Tongming Sword Ape's unintentional act today, he might still be trapped in the dead end of "the sword classics are hard to understand" and unable to get out for a long time.

Jiang Qing raised his hand and touched the small beast on his shoulder, and said with a smile, "I must thank you, fellow Daoist."

The Insightful Sword Ape seemed to understand but not quite, nuzzling his palm with its head and resting its paws on the hilt of the sword, its interest then drawn to the sharp, azure-gold aura swirling around the blade.

When Master Jiang saw this, he wasn't particularly annoyed, because while he was thanking the little beast, he knew he should be thanking himself.

The actions of the Tongming Sword Ape were merely a prelude. If Jiang Qing had not upheld his pure heart for the sword path for nearly a hundred years, even if he had found thousands of Tongming Sword Apes to accompany him, he would not have been able to comprehend such a sword technique.

Jiang Qing hadn't felt so exhilarated in a long time, and he directly gave the Azure Gold Sword Shadow the resounding name "Hun Yuan Zhen Xiao," something that even a cautious sect leader would find difficult to do.

It is said that good things rarely come in pairs, but after Jiang Qing's swordsmanship improved this time, his previously chaotic theories on alchemy began to become clear.

However, this did not make Master Jiang's face even happier. After a few breaths, the joy faded, and instead, a depressed expression appeared on his face. He tried to put this troubled emotion aside and began to focus all his thoughts on the matter of forming his core.

As for Core Formation Spiritual Objects
Jiang Qing turned her head again to look at the plain brocade box on the low table that had never been opened. She knew what precious item was inside, but there was little joy in her expression.
"I wonder how hard it must be for my senior brother, Uncle Lian. He should do his best to share some of my burdens."

(End of this chapter)