Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 203 Innate Sword Spirit (Combined)

The inexperienced young man suddenly became the only remaining member of the sect.

This kid seems to have grown up all of a sudden.

He's no longer the taciturn, pretentious brat he used to be; he's genuinely matured a lot.

Sometimes, he talks to himself.

"I am dull-witted and my cultivation progresses slowly. If I go there, I will only be a hindrance and cause trouble for my master and senior brothers."

"Staying behind in the sect is perfectly normal."

"Master and sect leader only assigned this one task, so we must do it well no matter what."

However, they did not stay in the mountain gate for very long.

I don't know when it started, but the worry between Bai Tao's brows has become more and more pronounced.

News of the destruction of sword-wielding sects and Taoist temples in the surrounding area is becoming increasingly frequent...

Many small sects that also practiced sword cultivation were slaughtered overnight.

Many mountain gates have even had their existence erased.

Finally, one day, Bai Tao packed up all the important items in the sect, left a mark, and then left the mountain gate with the crow.

His worries were indeed not unfounded.

Even though he had a vague idea of ​​what was going on, a group of cultivators of unknown origin still caught up with him.

After a fierce battle, Bai Tao killed all the cultivators one by one.

However, he himself was also seriously injured.

He continued his journey without stopping, taking the crows back to his hometown of Qinggu, where he lived in seclusion in the nearby mountains.

It was in that secluded valley where he met the crow.

More than ten years have passed since he left this place, and even the Crow Immortal has shown signs of aging.

But here, it seems that nothing has changed at all.

……

In the following years, Bai Tao took on several apprentices.

Once each disciple has officially entered the sect, they are told the location of their former sect.

This allows the disciples to return to the mountain gate on their own when they travel in the future, which can be considered as recognizing their ancestors and returning to their roots.

However, the injuries sustained in the previous battle have not yet fully healed.

On the contrary, it is getting worse.

Until one day, Bai Tao left all the sect's inheritance to his disciples and let them leave on their own.

He sat alone on the mountaintop, gazing towards the direction of the mountain gate, with Qinggu behind him.

"I wonder how my master and the others are doing."

Facing the mountain wind, Bai Tao rose to practice his swordplay, and a crow perched on a rock.

As the sun sets at dusk, it feels like I've returned to my childhood.

suddenly.

The crows cawed mournfully.

Bai Tao seemed to sense something, but then laughed loudly: "It is my great fortune to know and accompany you in this life."

Why the lament?

He planted the flying sword under the tree and walked back into the house alone.

He passed away silently.

From that moment on, the world lost a young swordsman.

however.

The crows, however, did not leave.

……

Bai Tao is such a miserable guy.

He once saved my life, but I couldn't do anything to help.

He left nothing behind in his life; how can the old crow ever repay him...?

It seems that the only people in this world who are connected to him are the villagers of Qinggu.

Fortunately, I still have a few years to live and can still fly, so please grant me some consideration.

……

As the first snow melted, crows took flight for the first time towards Qinggu Valley at the foot of the mountain.

It smelled the scent of death.

The old village chief in Qinggu was kind and respected, but he was terminally ill without realizing it.

Gah——

A crow landed on a tree in the village chief's yard and cawed.

The woman hanging the clothes to dry glanced up and then continued patting the clothes, while the children laughed and threw pebbles at her.

A few days passed.

The once vigorous old village chief of Qinggu suddenly passed away.

……

At the summer solstice, the crows flew into Qinggu for the second time.

From the cliff, it spotted a group of bandits who had wandered in from elsewhere.

Crows circled over Qinggu, cawing loudly.

Gah——

The village watchman, half-asleep, only mumbled something.

"Where did these wild birds come from?"

He turned over and continued to sleep soundly.

The bandits attacked Qinggu.

Although the crows' strange cries woke up many people, and there were also many martial arts practitioners in the valley, they managed to drive away the bandits.

However, several households were still looted, and Qinggu was a scene of blood and fire.

Fortunately.

The loss was not serious.

……

Another year of cold winter and heavy snow.

The crow flapped its wings for the third time, braving the bitter cold, and flew into Qinggu.

At that time, the State of Chu was engulfed in war, and refugees fled to various places, with plagues spreading.

It landed on the tree closest to the valley entrance and began to howl loudly.

"Gah——"

Some villagers passing by were annoyed and chased them away: "Go away, go away, you're making so much noise."

A local woman even threw a basin of water at it, chasing it away.

A few days later, the epidemic broke out.

Countless elderly and weak people in the valley died of illness.

……

Winter is finally over.

By this time, the crow was very old; its feathers had become sparse, and its wings were somewhat weak.

However, it still tried its best and flew into Qinggu for the fourth time.

It landed on the tree closest to the valley entrance.

"Gah——"

After the previous few times of hardship, these villagers should finally believe in Grandpa Crow.

The villagers came and gathered in front of it.

Every face was filled with resentment and hatred.

“It’s this…”

The villagers pointed at the crows, their faces contorted with trembling.

"It was it that brought about the disaster!"

……

This time, the crow was met with a net.

Grandpa Crow was pinned to the ground by a pitchfork.

He died in the spring.

Every villager's face was beaming with joy and celebration at finally killing the "ominous creature."

On that day, several families in the valley even held a banquet to celebrate that the root of the trouble had been eliminated.

However, not long after, the State of Chu was struck by a drought.

The crops in Qinggu failed completely, and famine ensued.

In an instant, corpses of the starving were everywhere.

In Qinggu, few people survived the famine, and those who were lucky enough to live did not associate the drought or famine with the crow.

After all, it's dead. ...

The moment the bird's body was pierced by a pitchfork, the crow's soul began to wander.

It was neither a demon nor had it ever cultivated itself. It simply lived with Bai Tao on the immortal mountain, feeding on the clouds and drinking the dew, and lived a little longer than ordinary birds.

Its soul should have dissipated, but some strange obsession caused its spirit to wander near Qinggu.

Gradually, it forgot who it was.

They forgot about Qinggu's cold look and the pitchfork.

They even forgot why they died.

It only remembered that when disaster was imminent, it had to go to Qinggu to warn the villagers.

In the darkness, it flew towards that desolate valley.

A familiar feeling drew it to the hilt of the flying sword "Crying Moon".

Wisps of sword energy emanated from the sword and its blade, slowly merging with the wandering spirit of the crow.

A few days? A few months? Or a few years?
I don’t know how long it took.

One day, a dark purple sword light shot into the sky, transforming into a crow that circled above Qing Valley.

The villagers chased them away, cursed them, and performed rituals.

It felt no anger or resentment, but simply cried out stubbornly until the sword energy dissipated.

An old man from the past lived in the valley and remembered the crow.

Thus, the rumors of the crow's calamity began to circulate again.

……

The darkness before my eyes transformed into scattered black raven feathers, slowly dissipating.

Coming to his senses, Song Yan's divine sense had already returned to the Yin-Yang Realm.

The black raven remained perched on Tiyue's sword hilt, tilting its head as it looked at him, seemingly trying to identify something.

"Senior Bai Tao had a hard life, but you, the Crow Immortal, are no less unfortunate..."

The crow was dead, but by chance, it merged with the natal flying sword left behind by Senior Bai Tao, becoming something like a ghost.

Now that I have refined the Crying Moon Flying Sword, the sword energy belonging to Senior Bai Tao will soon dissipate.

Correspondingly, this raven immortal will soon disappear from this world.

"The villagers are ignorant. You have done more than enough. Go and be reborn soon."

Song Yan gently stroked the crow's head and neck.

Just then, a wisp of dark purple spiritual light drifted out from the flying sword "Crying Moon," swirling around the Seed of Sword Dao before merging into it.

A sense of energy came over me.

Song Yan, who was already prepared, was no stranger to this.

It seems that, similar to the previous case of the Lianli Flying Sword, refining the sword energy left by the predecessor will allow one to advance their cultivation level.

Thinking back to his previous experience in Linghua Valley, he felt a sense of anticipation.

If one could make such a great leap in cultivation, one might be able to break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining sooner.

The divine consciousness left the Yin-Yang Realm.

Song Yan sat cross-legged directly under the withered tree, calming his mind and concentrating his spirit, with a Qi-condensing pill in his mouth.

Begin refining this sword energy.

However, the sword energy was not as abundant as he had imagined, and the spiritual energy replenished by the Qi Condensation Pill seemed to be quite abundant as well.

There was no discomfort in the dantian meridians, only a slight feeling of swelling.

The sword energy that flew out from the Crying Moon this time was almost identical to the feeling of taking the Spirit Condensation Pill.

Furthermore, this refining process ended very quickly, which left him slightly disappointed, as his cultivation level did not improve much.

"Perhaps it's because the Crow Immortal used sword energy to condense a physical form, and he has consumed a lot of sword energy over the years."

He quickly composed himself.

This trip was unexpected, and it's already quite good that we were able to obtain a high-grade magic weapon like the Crying Moon.

Ok……

In addition, they also obtained the corpse of a demon beast equivalent to a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator.

Song Yan pondered that he might be able to try the body-refining method he inherited from Senior Nie Chao's memories again, using the demon blood of the tiger demon.

Although the body-refining effect may not be as good as that of the Qilin blood, it can still improve physical strength to some extent.

I haven't figured out what use the demon core is yet. I'll ask Xiao He first, and see if the demon core would be of any great use to her.

If not, just find a market to sell it.

As he was pondering this, a dark shadow in the corner of his vision was rising and falling slightly with his breathing.

"...?"

Song Yan turned her head away.

He spotted a black raven that had silently landed on his shoulder and was quietly watching him.

I didn't feel any weight on my shoulders at all.

"what?"

"This is how the same thing……"

Song Yan was somewhat puzzled. Within the Crying Moon, the sword energy belonging to Senior Bai Tao had already been refined by him, and the crow's ghost had long since become water without a source.

Logically speaking, it should have dissipated by now.

Then, as if he had thought of something, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

"Could it be..."

"Is it an unowned sword spirit?"

Sword spirits are spiritual beings born from swords, arising from the resonance between a sword cultivator's natal flying sword, the sword body, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

There are many origins and ways in which sword spirits are born. For example, some flying swords that originally possessed powerful spiritual energy naturally developed this energy over time.

Or, the swordsmith, when forging a flying sword, might use secret methods to introduce souls and spirits into the sword, forcibly giving birth to a sword spirit.

The crow in front of us clearly does not belong to either of these two categories.

However, Song Yan was able to guess about 70-80% of the information based on the fragments described in the Transformation of Spirit Chapter.

Perhaps because Senior Bai Tao passed away early, there are still many lingering obsessions within his sword intent.

What I miss most are my sect, which I have lost all contact with, and the crow that has accompanied me for half my life.

The crow was the same; even after being killed, its obsession remained.

Because he was acquainted with Bai Tao in his previous life, his wandering soul naturally merged with the sword intent left behind in the Crying Moon.

However, the elder Bai Tao has already passed away.

Thus, the crow became a spirit that lived and died without a master!
Song Yan was overjoyed.

A sword spirit is not something you can possess casually.

Ordinary sword cultivators need to reach at least the Foundation Establishment stage and have a deep enough understanding and comprehension of sword intent before they have a chance to condense the prototype of a sword spirit.

For sword cultivators, the benefits of sword spirits are countless.

The most basic advantage is that it is in sync with the mind of the sword cultivator, and since it is itself condensed from sword energy, it can control its natal flying sword without expending mental energy or sword energy.

Moreover, as the sword cultivator's cultivation improves, it will gradually grow into a true sword spirit with sentience and independent will.

In addition, there are many secret techniques that can only be performed with the sword spirit as the core.

"I never expected such a pleasant surprise."

Excited, Song Yan stood up, eager to return to his residence as soon as possible.

This crow isn't really his sword spirit yet; it's just following him subconsciously because he refined the flying sword Crying Moon.

It also needs to be refined together with one's own natal flying sword to condense into the prototype of one's own sword spirit.

However, he had never used this method of refining unclaimed spirits before, and he did not know how long the whole process would take. It was a bit rash and impulsive for him to do so in the mountains.

If the protective array fails and a few cultivators happen to pass by, they could truly lose their lives.

It would be safer to refine it back in the city lord's mansion.

Song Yan took a step forward, about to walk out of the secluded valley, but then he remembered something and turned back to look at the wordless tombstone he had erected.

He slowly raised his hand and pointed out a sword aura from afar.

A few words were added to that blank tombstone.

White pottery. The moon weeps.

After looking him up and down, Song Yan nodded and turned to leave.

……

Senior Bai Tao met and accompanied this crow for more than ten years, until his death, when they were separated forever.

But they didn't give it a name, they just called it "Silly Bird" or "Silly Bird".

It seems like a careless thought.

But those past memories were all what Grandpa Crow had seen. What Senior Bai Tao thought in his heart is now unknown to anyone.

How can a flying sword cry out to the moon?

After much thought, perhaps this is the name that Bai Tao gave to Grandpa Crow.

Does he feel that he's being too dramatic for a grown man, and is therefore hesitant to speak up?

Now, the old crow from back then has also died here...

Let the name "Crying Moon" remain here as well.

(End of this chapter)