Forge your destiny into a sword, slash your soul and ascend to immortality

Chapter 118 The Fiery Blaze Burns Me for Three Thousand Years

"what?"

As soon as Jing Qian stepped into the Sword Grinding Cliff, he immediately had a different feeling.

This strange passage turned out to be a stable spacetime tunnel, directly connecting to a grotto-heaven.

This grotto was filled with primordial energy, so much so that it seemed almost tangible. Jing Qian felt as if he were immersed in the deep sea, enveloped by it.

As soon as the two entered, a light and delicate female voice reached their ears:

"Brother Shangxi, you've finally come to see me again!"

Lingling misses you so much!

"Brother, is your injury any better?"

The voice had a captivating magic, and Jing Qian's heart fluttered upon hearing it. It was as if all the beautiful women he had ever encountered in his life had come together and crawled to his earlobe, whispering sweet nothings to him.

To find that his future mentor had such a peculiar habit of keeping a mistress in a gilded cage was quite surprising to Jingqian!

Is this something I'm supposed to inherit?

The next second, the many [Destiny] within his sea of ​​consciousness flickered wildly, working together to peel a thread of cause and effect, a thread of fate, and a fishing hook from his divine consciousness.

This sudden turn of events scared Jing Qian so much that he almost vomited. If Shang Xi hadn't remained so calm, he would have even turned around and fled out of the cave.

"Huh? Brother Shangxi, the disciples you've taken on this time are much stronger than the ones you took on before."

"If they are properly trained for a few years, could they possibly succeed you?"

"Don't even think about dying! I've changed for the better, and I won't cause you any more trouble. If you stay with me for a few more years, maybe things will take a turn for the better?"

"My dear disciple, your eyes are so bright. Look boldly, your master's wife has nothing to hide or be ashamed of."

"Give your master some good advice. There are countless paths to enlightenment. Why get stuck on this one point?"

Jing Qian's mind was already stretched to the limit. The magic of the voice made him almost unable to control himself, bringing him immense fear and oppression.

His "Worldly Understanding" searched the entire cave, exploring the source of the sound, but when the other party deliberately let go of their concealment, he glimpsed a young girl at the bottom of the cave.

The girl sat cross-legged on a stone platform, holding a jade short sword covered in runes in her arms, and looked at him with a smile.

Moreover, her information revealed a crucial part of it, giving Jing Qian a complete overview.

This girl was neither human nor ghost, neither alive nor dead, but actually a celestial zombie!
【She-Devil Lingling】

[Rank: Second Grade]

[Destiny: The source of allure and zombies, the ethereal spirit's aura]

【I am your most beautiful first teacher's wife. Shangxi and I are the best of friends in the world, so please be filial to me!】

This is yet another powerful demon of the second rank!
Does this mean that before I joined the sect, the number of top-tier demons suppressed in this Pure Yang Heaven was greater than the number of disciples?
There's definitely something wrong with his own sect. Jing Qian hasn't even fully grasped the basics yet, and his mental state is already showing signs of abnormality.

It evokes a sense of devastation, a feeling of wanting to go mad and drag the world down with them.

Jing Qian was even more excited, wondering what other surprises the Pure Yang Heaven had in store for him.

At this moment, Shang Xi spoke up:
"You have such a keen eye for detail, which saves me a lot of trouble."

"This is the Pure Yang Cave Heaven, the core and most important place of my Pure Yang Heaven."

"The [Mother Yaksha] sealed within the cave was another second-rank demon that invaded during the great calamity."

"My aunt, with her third-grade cultivation, fought against two opponents and barely defeated the second-grade [Wuzhiqi] and [Mother Night Demon], she had already given it her all."

"But once you reach the second rank, the enemy has already penetrated deep into the laws of the Great Dao. Unless you can use power of a higher rank to completely eradicate the traces of their existence, you will never be able to kill them; you can only suppress them."

“My aunt used her innate spiritual power, the Two Elements Extinction Sword, to suppress Wuzhiqi, while I used my innate spiritual power, the Great Micro Sword, to suppress this Mother Yaksha, barely managing to maintain the situation.”

"However, after my aunt died and was reborn, her spiritual energy gradually weakened, and her ability to suppress Wuzhiqi also decreased. In recent years, I have had to manage both ends and use my magic power to support the Two Elements Extinction Sword, which is really beyond my capabilities."

"Woooooooo..."

Before Shangxi could finish speaking, Lingling below began to sob, her sobs falling like pear blossoms in a downpour, a sight that evoked pity.

"Brother Shangxi, you've worked so hard!"

"With one person serving in two different locations, all the magical power he had cultivated was completely drained. How could he possibly endure that?"

"Moreover, my brother has no way to advance. He has been suffering in this [Earthly Fiend] rank for three thousand years, and he doesn't have his own [Great Micro Sword] to suppress the fiendish fire. He is just relying on his willpower to hold on. Even immortals and gods would be burned to ashes!"

"Good disciple, your cultivation level is too low, and you are unaware of the profound difficulties of cultivating the [Earthly Fiend] realm."

"In this realm, you human cultivators must cultivate the evil fire, integrate it into your physical body and sea of ​​consciousness, and temper your divine soul and dharma form in order to burn out a strand of immortal spiritual energy so that you can respond to the celestial stars, reflect back on yourself, and use the celestial star energy to support your subsequent cultivation."

"The torment of being burned by this evil fire and having one's spirit refined is so intense that even with the suppression of the [spiritual energy], it is difficult to dispel day and night, and it has destroyed countless talented individuals."

"But your master doesn't even have his natal [spiritual energy] by his side. This kind of burning pain is ten or a hundred times worse than that of an ordinary person!"

"He's working so hard, it breaks my heart, sob sob..."

Upon hearing this, Jing Qian couldn't help but feel a deep sense of respect!

He was well-versed in the "Yambhava Reincarnation Cave of the Dao", and the most discussed part of the "Earthly Fiend" realm cultivation was how to alleviate the suffering of being tempered by the Fire Fiend.

He retained the "Nourishing Flesh Buds" destiny and never advanced in order to wait until he reached the fifth rank of cultivation, so that he could refine a secret technique to alleviate the pain of the evil fire.

For someone like my master to rely entirely on sheer willpower is simply too incredible!
His master's path of cultivation was far more difficult than his own.

He simply put himself in Shang Xi's shoes and immediately felt an overwhelming sense of despair that overwhelmed him.

At this moment, Shang Xi also spoke:

"Lingling, the evil fire has burned me for three thousand years, but it is no match for the wickedness of you that erodes my soul and Dao heart day and night."

"Don't worry, when I die, I will definitely take you with me to be reincarnated. Our fate is so deep that we can go through a hundred lifetimes and be together for a long time. I will never leave you here alone and have to trouble my disciple to take care of you."

Shangxi's words completely shut Lingling up; even her crying subsided, and she pouted and went off to sulk.

Shangxi possessed formidable magical power and a long lifespan, but over the course of three thousand years, he suffered from the scorching of evil fire and the torment of immortal corpses, leaving his Dao heart exhausted and his life truly cut short.

This self-destructive tendency of exhaustion, or simply "not wanting to live," is even more terrifying and unbearable than the end of one's lifespan.

Jingqian's worldview was shattered and rebuilt, only to be shattered again. He felt that his perspective was still too narrow and that he had seen too little.

The entanglements and grudges within this top-tier lineage often involve three thousand years of torment and a hundred lifetimes of reincarnation, which is simply unbearable!

He had to find a way to keep his master here. This Pure Yang Heaven was beset by internal and external troubles, full of pitfalls. He was short and really didn't want to take on the burden!

As they were talking, Shangxi led him to a towering, sharp mountain.

The mountain was covered with countless swords, each with a different shape and length, yet all possessing extraordinary aura and immense power.

Shangxi pointed to the high mountain and said to Jingqian:
"This is another fundamental lineage of my Pure Yang Heaven, Hidden Sword Mountain, which contains countless swords."

"Once you have condensed your Dharma form, you can come to this [Hidden Sword Mountain], choose a sword embryo, put it into the [Sword Box], and nurture it with your fundamental sword energy."

"In this way, one can start from the [Dragon Elephant] realm and continue throughout the entire [Longevity] cultivation process, thus tempering [Spiritual Energy] ahead of time."

"Once you nurture this sword embryo with your own life force and magic power to develop its [Destiny], it will transform into your most compatible natal [Spiritual Energy] magic sword, and you will be able to advance to the [Spirit Subduing] rank."

"All of my disciples from Chunyangtian have advanced to the middle third rank by relying on the spiritual swords on Hidden Sword Mountain."

"If you have a deep enough foundation and enough good fortune, and can forge a top-grade [Spiritual Energy] magic sword, you can inherit the corresponding heavenly title of [Pure Yang Child] and become the most core disciple of my [Pure Yang Heaven]."

“My aunt and I are the previous two generations of Chunyangzi. Your talent and opportunities surpass mine, only slightly inferior to my aunt. As long as your Dao heart is firm, you will surely be able to forge a fine sword and continue the ten-thousand-year-old reputation of our sect’s Chunyangzi.”

Upon hearing this, Jing Qian's Dao heart was shaken, and he looked at the Hidden Sword Mountain before him.

This is the true essence of a top-tier sword cultivator's lineage.

With the sword box and magic sword complete, the method of nurturing them clear, and the path to advancement well-defined, they are sufficient to form the foundation for his enlightenment.

However, whether it is condensing the sword box, cultivating sword energy, or refining the magic sword, all have very high thresholds and require disciples to have excellent aptitude and opportunities.

For the past three thousand years, Shangxi has been entangled on this Ruins Sword Mountain by two second-rank demons. Ninety-nine percent of his mental and magical energy has been consumed here, leaving him with no energy to select and cultivate disciples.

Even though he knew that the three sects below the surface were targeting him and preventing him from recruiting truly high-quality successors, he simply didn't have the ability to do anything about it anymore.

However, perhaps it was not the time for Chunyang Heaven to die, and its fate was not yet exhausted, because Jing Qian himself overcame all difficulties to break through the gate.

This good fortune, like a timely rain from heaven, revitalized Shang Xi's dormant spirit.

Shangxi led Jingqian across Hidden Sword Mountain and continued deeper into Pure Yang Cave Heaven until they passed through the clouds and arrived at a small pond.

Within the pond, a pool of lotus flowers were planted, their leaves a bluish-purple hue, while the blossoms were silvery-golden.

In the very center of the lotus pond stands a sword furnace taller than a person. Even though the furnace has been extinguished, it still emits extremely high temperatures.

Shangxi then said to the lotus pond and the sword furnace:

"Once you inherit the sect's legacy, you will also plant a lotus in this [Sword Lotus Pond]."

"This [Sword Lotus Pool] is quite miraculous. It is the fundamental [Life Stove] of my [Pure Yang Heaven], and also the supreme treasure [Spiritual Mechanism] that can reflect the void."

"With its existence, no matter where my disciples of the Pure Yang Heaven go, they can see the Pure Yang Cave Heaven and use it as a beacon to return to the Yingfu Pagoda Realm."

"However, after the great calamity, the life fire in the Sword Lotus Pool went out. Without the support of this life stove, the lotus pool's ability to reflect the void could not be exerted."

"My Pure Yang Heaven has been established for hundreds of thousands of years, and I don't know how many patriarchs have stepped into the void and never returned."

"What I can confirm is that at least five patriarchs still have the potential to return to the realm."

"If just one of them returns, the calamity facing our lineage will be averted." "However, the myriad realms are separated by time and space. Unless the [Life Stove] is reignited, it is virtually impossible for them to return without a guiding beacon."

"Moreover, given the nature of us patriarchs, most of us would probably be too lazy to concern ourselves with the trivial matters within the realm."

"However, if any patriarch makes a breakthrough in cultivation, he will inevitably have to come back and use the Sword Grinding Cliff to double his fundamental sword energy."

"The five patriarchs I mentioned are all at the third-grade [Heaven-Mending] realm, wandering in the void. As long as any of them advances to the second grade, they will inevitably return to the sect to accumulate sword energy."

"According to the sect's historical records, there is a 90% chance that this time the ancestor will return to the sect after advancing from the third rank to the second rank."

"Therefore, we can't count on the others, but you are still young. After I die, you will surely be able to see one of the five patriarchs return."

Hearing this, Jing Qian couldn't help but ask:
“Master, since that’s the case, why not find a way to ignite this [Life Stove] as soon as possible and guide the Ancestral Master back?”

Shang Xi shook his head and said:
Do you think I haven't thought about it?

"To ignite this [Life Furnace], magical power and earth energy are completely useless. Only a sufficiently powerful sword light can strike this furnace to activate the power of the [Life Furnace] and ignite the [Life Fire]."

"When my cultivation was at its peak, I wasted a lot of my magic power trying to cut it down, but I was still far from succeeding."

"Right now, my source is depleted, and my spiritual energy is obscured, so I am even more powerless."

"However, before I die, I will attempt to self-destruct my natal [Great Micro Sword] to ignite this [Life Stove] for you. Don't worry, this is not something you need to face."

Shang Xi truly devoted himself to the utmost for the sake of [Pure Yang Heaven].

Even at the cost of their own lives, they had already calculated how to salvage the situation of the Dharma lineage.

From the fall of Chunyang Heaven to Chunyang Ruins, the entire lineage plummeted to its lowest point. If it weren't for Shang Xi's efforts to turn the tide, the final outcome would likely have been no different from that of the Yama Path.

The vastly different fates of the two top-tier lineages, [Pure Yang Heaven] and [Yanfu Dao], are entirely due to Shang Xi's exceptional power.

The two continued on their way, passing the [Sword Lotus Pond], and finally arrived in front of a painting.

The painting depicts a very ordinary bronze longsword, with nothing else on it and no aura of power, as if it were an ordinary object.

Even Shang Xi became much more serious and cautious when standing in front of the painting.

He pointed to the painting and said:
"I will write your name on this Pure Yang Sword Diagram in a moment. Then we can address each other as master and disciple, and you will be considered to have officially entered the sect and become a true disciple of my Pure Yang Heaven."

"If it were three thousand years ago, when my lineage was at its peak, the true transmission to the sect would not have been so rudimentary."

"Right now, it's just the two of us left in the sect, which saves us from having to deal with those trivial matters."

"However, before you begin, I must tell you something about the cultivation methods of our Pure Yang Heaven."

Upon hearing this, Jing Qian immediately became alert and focused his attention.

The guidance from such top-tier swordsmen on cultivation is an experience that one cannot obtain through cultivation on one's own.

“My Pure Yang Heaven is a sword cultivator lineage. You have already cultivated the Sword Box, so you are naturally very clear about this.”

"It is said that when the lineage was first established, the ancestors of my Pure Yang Heaven followed a similar path of cultivation as other lineages. They accumulated magical power and cultivation, and carried out their cultivation step by step."

"Only after this unique [Sword Box] system was formed did I switch to the current path of cultivation."

"We Pure Yang sword cultivators take the sword as our foundation, and regard the condensation of the sword box, the nurturing of sword energy, and the refining of the magic sword as the core of our cultivation from the lower three ranks to the middle three ranks."

"These three core cultivation techniques endow us with combat power far surpassing our peers, giving us a significant advantage in competition with them."

"By leveraging this massive combat advantage, we can accumulate a large amount of resources to support our cultivation, and at an even faster efficiency, continue to boost our combat power."

"In this cyclical process, it's like a snowball rolling down a mountain, eventually getting bigger and bigger, forming a devastating avalanche."

"My Pure Yang Heaven sect follows a path that uses combat power as the core to drive cultivation, and exchanges killing for advancement."

"Any doubts or confusions you encounter during your cultivation will have a very simple answer: whether or not you can improve your combat power."

"Outsiders say that we, the Pure Yang Heaven, are deeply ingrained with demonic nature, a group of arrogant war maniacs and killing madmen."

"But as your teacher, I must solemnly tell you that all of the above only describes half of my [Pure Yang Heaven] characteristics."

"The true disciples who have received my Pure Yang teachings are not only good at fighting, but also the best at avoiding battle."

"I have cultivated for 3,200 years. Except during the Great Tribulation when my opponents were too strong to fight back, and I had no choice but to avoid them for the sake of my lineage, I have fought more than 1,700 battles with opponents whose cultivation level was superior to mine, and I have never been defeated."

"This is certainly partly due to my decent swordsmanship, but beyond that, my greatest strength and confidence lies in choosing my opponents and seizing opportunities."

"Before every match, I always know whether I can win, and how I can win!"

"I will always choose to avoid any enemy whose strength I cannot defeat!"

"Our Pure Yang lineage never fights a battle unprepared, nor a battle without a chance of victory."

"The reason I was able to achieve this level is entirely due to the secret technique of my Pure Yang Heaven, which is not passed down to others."

After saying this, a pure white eye suddenly opened between Shang Xi's eyebrows and stared directly at Jing Qian.

Jing Qian felt a rather strange invitation being extended to his consciousness.

He immediately accepted Shang Xi's invitation, and then, with a thought, he entered an illusion and descended onto a snow-capped mountain.

Here, Shangxi held an iron sword, his body surging with magical power, and he was no longer the old man he had just been.

Shang Xi, still within the illusion, continued speaking:
"As a true disciple, you must pass on to me the secret technique of the Pure Yang Heaven, the Pure Yang Golden Eye Technique!"

"Those who obtain this method can refine a portion of their consciousness between their eyebrows into a [Pure Yang Golden Eye] spiritual energy, which possesses boundless wonders and is the world's premier method of investigation."

"By relying on this method, one can investigate the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, distinguish the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy and oneself, and analyze the information of the battle."

"With this [Pure Yang Golden Eyes], one becomes the complete Pure Yang sword cultivator. From then on, a comeback victory is no longer a gamble with one's life, but a predictable and selectable battle that one is guaranteed to win."

"I used the Pure Yang Golden Eye Technique to refine this [Dawn Moon Breaking Illusion Rebirth Eye], which can capture the enemy into an illusion in an instant, rehearsing countless death battles until I find a way to win."

"That's the reason I've been undefeated in 1,700 comebacks!"

"I have invited you into this illusion of mine so that you may experience the power of my Reincarnation Eye."

Having said that, Shang Xi casually swung his sword at Jing Qianxuanhe!

The sword light was neither too fast nor too slow, giving Jing Qian just enough time to react.

Jing Qian pushed aside the [Sumeru Ghost Skin], and his sword light also flashed out, slashing towards Shang Xi's sword light.

Shang Xi only drew his sword once, but Jing Qian unleashed a series of rapid sword strikes.

When these sword lights struck Shang Xi, they were easily neutralized by the sword light shield on his body.

But Shangxi's sword strike was unavoidable; no matter how desperately he dodged or tried to block it with his own sword light, he could not break through it.

In the end, Jing Qian was brutally pierced through the ghost skin by this sword light and beheaded with a single strike.

Jing Qian used his Life Stele Space to simulate countless battles with enemies, accumulating a wealth of combat experience.

But he never expected that one day he would become the object of someone else's imitation.

He was resurrected from the dead, and with a flash of light, he began another round of battle.

No matter how much he struggled, Shangxi would always force him into an absolute dead end with a single sword strike, and then kill him with another sword strike.

Jing Qian had an incredibly rich combat experience, but he had never faced such a difficult battle before!
He was like a puppet being controlled; every reaction was within Shang Xi's expectations. Shang Xi could decide how he wanted to die, and he had to die exactly that way.

At this moment, Shang Xi spoke again:
"Don't stand on ceremony with me. Use the power of your own grotto-heaven and all your [Yanfu Dao] techniques."

“Even before we met, I had already used the Eye of Rebirth to kill you several times. You have no secrets from me.”

Jing Qian felt a chill run down his spine, but he didn't hesitate any longer. In a flash, he disappeared into the [Sumeru] dimension.

With the help of the dimensional barrier, he finally escaped the situation of dying from a single sword strike.

Utilizing dimensional power is a level above the protection of the [Sumeru Demon Skin].

Even though he had arrived in another world, Shangxi was able to see through his location through his [Eye of Reincarnation] and continue to unleash his sword light without any restraint.

This time, Shangxi actually conjured up his Great Micro Sword within this illusion!

This [Chunyangzi] is only in his complete form when he has the magic sword in hand. Without suppressing [Mother Yaksha], the power he can unleash is beyond Jing Qian's ability to resist.

The second-rank [Great Micro Sword] shattered the dimensional barrier with a single strike and slashed towards Jing Qian within the [Sumeru] dimension.

Jing Qian frantically squeezed out his own spatial power, and at this critical moment, he used the power of the [Bridge of Helplessness] to move himself and the [Great Micro Sword] to different spatial locations, successfully avoiding the fatal blow.

But this was only temporary. The Great Micro Sword had already entered the Sumeru dimension, and Jing Qian was once again in a situation where he could not avoid it and was beheaded with a single sword strike.

Jing Qian refused to believe in evil and continued to revive, trying various methods to fight against Shang Xi.

But as he died time and time again, he suddenly realized that Shang Xi was killing him with increasing ease!
Compared to the other two, it is clear that Shangxi has made greater progress in each round of the battle!

Until he died forty-seven times, Shang Xi actually put away the Great Micro Sword. With the sword light he casually slashed, he was able to break through the dimensional barrier and lock onto him to kill him.

Jing Qian completely broke down and directly abandoned his sword to admit defeat.

When he emerged from the illusion and looked at Xi again, his respect for her deepened.

His master truly lived up to his name, Chunyangzi. With his crippled body, he easily crushed him with a single move!

Shang Xi's pupil between his brows immediately closed, and then, with a flick of his wrist, he produced a crystal-clear pupil, saying to him:
"This second-grade [Eye of Wuzhiqi] is already the highest-grade eye-opening spiritual item I have."

"I will use this eye to open your eyes and guide you into the formal path!"

(End of this chapter)