Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 361 I'll Teach You the First Move

If others heard that Sheng Huai'an was going to design a sword technique for himself, they would probably be overjoyed, as if their ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke.

Chen Ye could only manage a bitter smile.

“Senior, Master Zhang said I have no talent for swordsmanship, and I can’t even keep up with my own cultivation techniques. If I continue to be distracted, I’m afraid my cultivation will hardly make any progress.”

Sheng Huai'an said, "That's right, you've made a mistake in your cultivation. This method has flaws; a Nascent Soul cultivator shouldn't be like this."

"Senior, have you figured out where I went wrong?"

Chen Ye was very pleased with this. He and Qu Heng had racked their brains for a long time but had not been able to come up with a safe solution. For now, they were just temporarily putting aside their cultivation.

Although Sheng Huai'an's cultivation level was not as high as Qu Heng's, Qu Heng had taken a shortcut and exploited a loophole to cultivate to the Void Returning Realm.

Sheng Huai'an, however, is a traditional sword cultivator who has steadily cultivated his way to the Nascent Soul realm. Perhaps he can give Chen Ye some useful advice.

Sheng Huai'an pondered for a long time before asking Chen Ye, "Do you know what it means to achieve enlightenment and ascend to immortality?"

Chen Ye replied, "I once heard Master Zhang mention that by lifting a corner of the celestial curtain and understanding the principles of heaven and earth, one can unite with the Dao and ascend to the immortal realm to enjoy eternal life. If one remains in the mortal world, one will eventually consume one's lifespan until death."

Zhang Qi simply refused to ascend to immortality, letting himself be worn down until he was completely exhausted.

There is no way to change this attrition process unless one cultivates the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts to its extreme, like the Demon Lord Wujiu, and achieves true immortality, only then can one contend with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

However, Chen Ye knew very well that it was because the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts had a special origin, not because the Demon Lord Wujiu was more powerful than Zhang Qi.

However, Sheng Huai'an said, "If you already understand the principles of heaven and earth, why does the way of heaven still torment human lifespan? Why are we born here, and why must we leave?"

Chen Ye frowned and pondered for a long time, but had no answer.

He was still far from the Dao Integration Realm and had no idea what the world of that realm was like.

However, Chen Ye had heard Qu Heng say that if one wanted to achieve Dao and ascend to immortality, one had to reduce and seek emptiness.

It is as if a person is born into this world, receives the gifts of heaven and earth, cultivates to the point of immortality, and then must leave something behind as a way of giving back to this world, so that he can put down his burdens and ascend to the immortal realm.

If so, it sounds like a deal.

Once you are qualified to trade with Heaven and Earth, you will have to pay the corresponding price before this world will allow you to leave, instead of letting you grow old and die here.

But this is different from what Zhang Qi said. This world is almost always trying to send him away, but Zhang Qi just doesn't want to.

Chen Ye believed that neither Zhang Qi nor Qu Heng would deceive him, so perhaps the two simply had different paths of cultivation.

Zhang Qi's method should be the orthodox way of cultivating immortality, while Qu Heng's method is a bit too opportunistic.

But Sheng Huai'an's words seemed to have another meaning.

Does the so-called knowledge of the principles of heaven and earth mean knowing secrets that one shouldn't know, and thus being driven out?
“Senior, my cultivation is low and I don’t know much about the Dao Integration realm. Please give me some guidance.”

Sheng Huai'an said, "I am only a Nascent Soul cultivator, but my master once told me that if I want to ascend, I need to master a sword that can sever cause and effect. My master only figured out the word 'cause and effect' a few years ago, saying that he wanted to create a brand new sword technique for the Qinghe Sword Sect. Unfortunately, this sword technique is too difficult, and only one person has mastered it so far."

Sheng Huai'an became more and more relaxed in front of Chen Ye, and finally stopped speaking in short bursts.

Chen Ye asked humbly, "So you're the senior who learned this sword technique?"

Unexpectedly, Sheng Huai'an shook his head and said, "It wasn't me. The only one who learned this sword technique was Junior Nephew Su. You should have seen this sword technique before. It can be used to divine the past and trace cause and effect. This is the first level of sword technique. As long as you can sever your own cause and effect with this sword, you can ascend to immortality."

It was Su Chunyi, an answer that Chen Ye hadn't expected.

However, Su Chunyi could indeed use sword energy to divine cause and effect, and use it to track down the demon who killed people to practice his skills. Chen Ye thought at the time that the Qinghe Sword Sect was powerful, but he did not expect that only Su Chunyi in the Qinghe Sword Sect had mastered this sword technique.

“Junior Nephew Su’s sword heart is clear, like a bright mirror that can reflect cause and effect. However, because she has been cultivating diligently in the sect and rarely venturing into the mortal world, she has not been troubled by cause and effect. Recently, she went out to train a few times and was affected. Therefore, the sect leader ordered her to go into seclusion to cultivate and re-polish her sword intent.”

No wonder Su Chunyi went into seclusion so soon after his breakthrough; it turns out there was this reason.

Chen Ye was a little embarrassed. Perhaps he was the one who had the biggest influence on Su Chunyi. The two were already entangled in karma, and it was not something that could be broken off so easily.

Chen Ye wasn't worried that Su Chun would become emotionally detached from her sword practice, but he was concerned that she might be in seclusion for an indefinite period, making their reunion seem far off. However, this Daoist Yuji truly had a keen eye; he could spot many problems as soon as he became the sect leader and had the disciples address them individually. He truly deserved to be the leader of the Qinghe Sword Sect; Zhang Qi had indeed chosen the right person.

"That being said, there must be something wrong with your cultivation. Transforming your physical body into a divine soul is an unprecedented path, so other people's cultivation methods are useless to you. No matter how you refine your divine soul, I'm afraid you will eventually remain at the Nascent Soul stage and make little progress in this life."

Sheng Huai'an was not exaggerating. Although there are many lineages of cultivation in the world, why do they all have the same name for each realm?

Because this is the path to immortality that countless predecessors have discovered through trial and error.

This is the only road that has been passed down for thousands of years and can lead to heaven; most other routes are impassable.

If you go astray, you may very well end up in a dead end.

Originally, it wouldn't have been a problem for Chen Ye to cultivate the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts step by step. After all, there were two people, Wujiu Demon Lord and Soulfire Lord, one of whom had cultivated to the Dao Integration stage and the other to the Void Return stage, proving that this path was not a problem.

Unfortunately, Chen Ye also cultivated the method of becoming a god through incense offerings, as well as the eighteen levels of hellish supernatural powers that he had haphazardly devised himself. This chaotic cultivation method was no longer the simple Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.

It's impossible and unfeasible to abandon his cultivation and start over now, so Chen Ye has no choice but to go down this path to the bitter end.

Sheng Huai'an had just seen through Chen Ye's problem, so he prepared to create a sword technique specifically for him, which might give him the opportunity to overcome the obstacles in front of him and improve his cultivation once again.

"Your soul is malfunctioning, perhaps this is possible..."

Sheng Huai'an frowned and pondered for a moment, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the scabbard at his waist.

The swords of the Qinghe Sword Sect are roughly divided into two types.

Those like Wang Wancheng, Wang Yichen, and Su Chunyi all like to implant flying swords into their bodies and nurture them; Zhang Qi and Sheng Huai'an, on the other hand, both hang their swords at their waists, looking like江湖人 (jianghu people, people of the martial arts world).

Sheng Huai'an stroked the sword sheath in deep thought, when suddenly his soul left his body.

Sheng Huai'an's soul was indistinguishable from his physical body, truly lifelike. This was the true Divine Transformation Realm, where the soul was perfectly integrated and flawless, capable of detaching from the physical body to fly away, and even wielding swordsmanship.

When Su Chunyi escaped from her physical body, she used her lotus sword intent to block Qin Wanjun's ice sword for Chen Ye, and she didn't seem much worse off than when she had a physical body.

This time, however, Sheng Huai'an did not use his swordsmanship. Instead, he turned around and transformed his soul into a crystal-clear sword.

In an instant, Chen Ye felt a chill run through his body, and then he froze completely.

The boundless sword intent pressed down like Mount Tai, making Chen Ye afraid to move.

This feeling is just like when I saw Zhang Qi's Sky-Splitting Sword strike from a thousand miles away in the northern frontier.

He truly deserves to be called the number one swordsman in the world, inheriting Zhang Qi's mantle. Outsiders say that the Qinghe Sword Sect has declined without Zhang Qi, but that's because they haven't seen Sheng Huai'an's sword.

If someone like Chen Ye were to experience it firsthand, they would definitely find these rumors to be utter nonsense.

If Sheng Huai'an is given two or three hundred years, he will become the second Zhang Qi, and the Qinghe Sword Sect will still be the number one in the world.

The longsword formed from Sheng Huai'an's soul only existed for a moment. The boundless sword intent quickly subsided, and Sheng Huai'an's soul returned to its original form before returning to his physical body.

Chen Ye felt a sense of relief, finally regaining his freedom. He quickly took out a bottle of pills and said to Sheng Huai'an, "Senior, it seems that reversing the appearance of the soul caused some damage. Are you injured? I have some pills here."

Chen Ye knew nothing about swordsmanship, but his research on the soul was quite profound. Without learning the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, randomly changing his appearance would damage his soul. Even a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage couldn't just play around like that.

However, Sheng Huai'an shook his head and said, "It's alright, it just consumes a little spiritual energy."

Chen Ye advised, "Senior, you mustn't damage your foundation because of this, or I would be committing a grave sin."

Sheng Huai'an smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know what's important. As for swordsmanship..."

Chen Ye hurriedly replied, "No rush, senior, take your time to figure it out. I can wait thirty or fifty years."

Sheng Huai'an said, "It won't take that long. I've already thought it through. Now I'll teach you the first move."

Chen Ye: ...

(End of this chapter)