Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 209 Qi Refining Ninth Level, Sword Sect Ruins
In dreams, time flows on.

Cultivation without the aid of elixirs is purer than one might imagine.

Since flying swords cannot be summoned in dreams, it is impossible to set up a spirit-gathering sword formation. However, surprisingly, the sword spirit can be summoned.

It perched idly on his shoulder, breathing in and out spiritual energy with him, thus accelerating its cultivation progress.

In the dream world, only half a year had passed, and Song Yan had already pushed his cultivation to the limit of the eighth level of Qi Refining.

However, without the help of the Breakthrough Pill, Song Yan spent quite some time trying to break through the bottleneck.

On this day, clouds swept in from the valley.

Song Yan's robes billowed slowly, moving with the wind.

The abundant spiritual power at the eighth level of Qi Refining flowed continuously through the meridians, following the cultivation path of the Qi Condensation chapter.

Wisps of sword energy were flourishing within the Sword Town Palace, but now that the palace was overflowing with sword energy, cultivation levels were no longer increasing.

It was as if they had encountered an invisible and intangible barrier, restricting their cultivation within this small pool.

However, day after day, with repeated impacts, this barrier finally developed some cracks.

The spiritual energy and sword energy within his body were like two flowing rivers, constantly crashing against the barrier.

It doesn't possess the overwhelming power of elixirs, yet it can still wear down stone with persistent dripping.

In a fleeting moment.

"boom!"

A silent breakthrough—the bottleneck has finally been overcome!
The ninth level of Qi Refining!

The excruciating pain from breaking through both his dantian and the Zhendao Sword Mansion nearly made him grind his teeth to pieces.

Amidst the excruciating pain, a sudden inspiration struck, gradually drawing upon the sword energy within the Zhendao Sword Mansion, which, imbued with spiritual power, coursed through the eight extraordinary meridians.

The intense pain was indeed relieved somewhat.

The aura that had suddenly weakened gradually stabilized, and then the aura belonging to the ninth level of Qi Refining cultivation gradually became more and more powerful.

Spiritual energy surged through his limbs and bones, while sword energy hummed within the Zhendao Sword Mansion.

Song Yan exhaled a breath of turbid air and slowly circulated his spiritual power, consolidating his realm according to the cultivation path of the ninth level of Qi Refining.

However, before he could complete a few cycles of his cultivation, the old man in the straw raincoat had already stood up.

"It's incredibly slow."

The old man in the straw raincoat trembled slightly, and ripples suddenly spread across the pool.

The ripples were calm at first, but in an instant they turned into a surging whirlpool. Song Yan felt the rocks beneath his feet tremble, and before he could react, the pool water exploded with a roar.

A dark dragon shape burst forth from the water!

"what……"

The antlers are like a deer, the head is like a camel, the eyes are like a rabbit, the neck is like a snake, the belly is like a mirage, the scales are like a fish, the claws are like an eagle, the palms are like a tiger, and the ears are like an ox.

Song Yan stared blankly at the black dragon, his heart filled with shock and disbelief: "Dragon..."

In this world of immortals, even Qilin exist, so it's likely that the legendary "dragon" also truly exists in the world.

But knowing and actually seeing are two completely different things.

Right now, there's a dragon right in front of me!
The dragon's body, undulating like splashed ink, raised its head and roared, its sound waves shaking the clouds and mist throughout the valley, causing them to disperse outwards.

"That's about enough, stop dawdling."

With a flick of his sleeve, the old man in the straw raincoat sent the black dragon swooping down.

The world suddenly darkened.

The last image in my pupils, Wushan Valley, slowly faded away like ink being washed away by water.

A chill ran through me.

When Song Yan opened his eyes, he was still in this secluded valley of Wushan Mountain.

The surrounding life vanished, leaving only the roar of the enormous waterfall.

Judging from the sky, it was still the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

Such supernatural powers are truly mysterious.

Feeling his own solid Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivation, Song Yan felt a pang of regret. If only he had brought Xiao He and Xiao Ju with him earlier…

The old man in the straw raincoat urged, "Hurry up, hurry up."

Song Yan quickly stepped forward and placed the jade seal back into the small groove.

boom.

With a soft sound, the jade seal seemed to be crushed by some invisible and enormous force, turning into wisps of pale green spiritual light.

The light floated in the air, then landed at Song Yan's feet, gathering into a unique circular pattern.

The old man in the straw raincoat reminded him, "Once you're in the sect, remember to refine it first."

Refining? Refining what?
Before he could ask...

The pattern suddenly lit up, and Song Yan, surrounded by the aura, could no longer see the scenery around him.

In a fleeting moment, it vanished along with the dissipating light.

"..."

An old man in a straw raincoat stands alone in the cold wind, looking down at the mountains.

Just moments after the jade seal shattered, he vaguely sensed that some kind of shackle binding him between heaven and earth had been destroyed.

"Humph……"

"You old dog, Jong Min, thankfully you keep your word."

He muttered to himself, glancing back at the spot where Song Yan had disappeared: "Sword cultivator, sword cultivator..."

"In the end, it's all the same bad temper."

He shook his head, then transformed into a streak of blue-purple light and disappeared into the horizon.

……

In a flash, Song Yan found himself standing in front of a massive mountain gate.

He looked behind him and saw a vast sea of ​​clouds and towering cliffs.

A wisp of shimmering jade light drifted in from an unknown place and slowly coalesced before him.

They were reassembled into a small jade seal.

"what?"

It can actually be restored to its original state?

After a moment's recollection, it seems that the "refining" that Senior Straw Raincoat mentioned refers to refining this item.
Having just arrived, Song Yan dared not act rashly. He decided to follow the old man's advice and refine the item first.

The sword energy and divine sense sank into it together, refining it.

Only after the ritual was completed did I learn the true name of this object.

"The Great Void Sword Nourishing Chapter".

This item has three uses.

Firstly, it serves as an identity token for Sword Sect disciples, recording their identity information.

However, the Sword Sect is now deserted, so whether or not they have this identity information seems to make little difference.

Secondly, it is used to open the protective array, allowing disciples to return to the mountain gate.

However, it says that at least a Foundation Establishment stage cultivation level is required to open it, and I don't know why I can use it at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Thinking about it now, I'm still a little shocked. Back in those days, disciples of the sect could only leave the mountain after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to return.

Perhaps back then, Foundation Establishment was just a small hurdle.

Song Yan was quite interested in the last one.

The jade seal contained an extremely brief basic sword cultivation technique, with the same name as the jade seal: the Tai Xu Sword Nourishing Chapter.

Its main effect is to assist items such as sword boxes and sword gourds in nurturing one's natal flying sword.

Secondly, one can accumulate sword energy within this jade seal. Once enough sword energy has been accumulated, the sword cultivator can be sent back to the Sword Sect via the portable teleportation array within the jade seal.

This is quite serious.

If you want to extricate yourself from various troubles in the future, you can use this item to return to the Sword Sect.

"..."

Song Yan suddenly fell into deep thought.

"The disciples of the Sword Sect, possessing such a treasure, why were they all killed and thus wiped out..."

Was the opponent really that powerful that he couldn't even use this jade seal before dying and disappearing?
He shook his head, took a deep breath, put away the jade seal, and walked up to the mountain gate.

Standing outside the mountain gate, I had seen this scene before, a scene transformed by ink painting, inside the Two Elements Pearl.

Song Yan's feelings at this moment were undoubtedly complicated.

Finally, I was in the real Sword Sect, and I couldn't help but feel a little happy and excited.

However, the sect was completely silent, and a sense of desolation arose from the realization that everyone had long since left.

At this moment, a mix of emotions surged within me, a complex blend of feelings. The stone steps beneath my feet were somewhat cold as I climbed the mountain, step by step.

To the left of the mountain gate, there is a huge black jade stele.

The stele is engraved with two large, sharp characters carved with a flying sword.

"Sword Sect."

……

In the vast Sword Sect, there was only one person: Song Yan.

There was silence.

Below, surrounded by mountains, verdant peaks and fields, a magnificent palace complex can be vaguely seen amidst the swirling clouds and mist.

Beneath the cold mountains in the northeast, there lies a vast, clear pool.

A paradise on earth.

However, Song Yan, who was strolling through the mountain gate, stopped in front of a bamboo path.

He was blocked by something.

As I took a step forward, my view suddenly shifted, and he appeared out from the other side.

"A maze? Or perhaps a trap?"

The combination of maze and trapping formations in front of this small bamboo forest path reveals the astonishing skill of the person who set up the formation.

Song Yan summoned his flying sword and placed it horizontally in front of the formation to probe the enemy.

A semi-transparent golden light screen slowly appeared on the bamboo forest path ahead. Upon closer inspection, it was a protective array woven from countless fine sword energies.

"As expected, there is a protective formation."

He tentatively and slowly reached out to touch it, and the light screen immediately rippled, a gentle yet irresistible resistance repelling his finger.

Although Song Yan felt extremely regretful, he had actually expected it.

The sect leader inside the Two Elements Pearl once wrote that if one could advance to the Golden Core stage, one could enter the inner sect and inherit the Dao lineage.

Song Yan tried it out briefly. It seemed that anyone at the Foundation Establishment stage could enter the formation that separated the inner and outer sects by using their disciple's jade token.

He has now broken through to the ninth level of Qi Refining, and is only one step away from Foundation Establishment.

"Once the foundation for your cultivation is established, you can use that disciple's jade seal to return once you've completed the process."

Song Yan lowered his head with a hint of regret, looked at the buzzing Yin-Yang Beads in his hand, and sighed.

Just as he stepped into the mountain gate, the Yin-Yang Pearl flew out of his clothes on its own, its black and white colors swirling wildly, and complex patterns he had never seen before appeared on the surface of the pearl.

There must be quite a few good things inside this inner sect.

For some reason, he thought of the old man in the straw raincoat.

In his own words, this bead is called a "button bead".

"Beaded..."

It sounds like it's part of something.

"Is it really that effective just because it's only a part of a treasure?"

Song Yan simply couldn't imagine how powerful that complete treasure must be.

"what is it then?"

Taoist robe? Doesn't seem like it...

A scabbard? That doesn't quite fit either...

Song Yan amused himself by making these guesses.

They began to thoroughly search every area they could reach along the outer gate complex.

Unfortunately, it was clear that the senior members of the outer sect never expected that a junior would one day work so hard to plunder treasures here, so they left nothing for themselves.

There were only some old, ineffective fasting pills and a few pills that Song Yan couldn't even recognize.

Most of the jade bottles were empty, and the bamboo slips on the bookshelves in some residences had long since weathered away, leaving no jade slips inside.

Just when he was about to give up, he actually found a small wooden house on the mountain.

Beside a small waterfall, it was the abode of some celestial being, I wonder.

There was no one in the cabin, but he found some books about elixirs, several small bottles, and a strangely shaped alchemy furnace.

At first, Song Yan was overjoyed.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be just some ordinary-quality spirit-refining pills and an introductory book on pills.

The book appears to have only been flipped through the first part, because after a certain point where annotations were made, there was no further trace of it being read.

"I, Si Xiangqing, am better off not learning such unorthodox and heretical arts as alchemy!"

It seems that this "Senior Si Xiangqing" initially wanted to get involved in alchemy, but gave up halfway through.

however……

Upon seeing the handwriting on this introductory text, Song Yan's eyes widened.

This handwriting.

Why does it look so familiar?!
He took out the rubbing of "Thousand Elixir Formulas" from his Qiankun bag and reread the part that recorded the alchemy of sword energy.

Sure enough, the delicate yet sharp handwriting of the annotations was exactly the same as the handwriting on the ancient book in front of them.

"This Senior Si Xiangqing... is she that senior sister?"

What a coincidence!

Unexpectedly, the "sword cultivator senior sister" mentioned in the Thousand Pills Formula was actually a disciple of the Sword Sect.

His gaze suddenly fell on the ugly alchemy furnace.

Song Yan wasn't very interested in this thing. Now that he could refine pills with sword energy, he didn't need a pill furnace for fire refining.

However, hidden beneath the alchemy furnace is a jade slip with inscriptions.

My divine sense probed into it, and the handwriting was lively and graceful.

Hello, fellow students I don't know!

"I was about to go on a long trip when I suddenly remembered this alchemy hut, so I came back to take a look."

"Although I wasn't very good at alchemy before, I can now use sword energy to make pills much more easily."

"That idiot Chen Yi insisted that sword qi alchemy requires a specially made alchemy furnace, which clearly shows that he looks down on my swordsmanship."

"He specially designed and cast a sword-qi alchemy furnace for this method and gave it to me."

"I appreciate the kindness, but this thing is just too ugly."

"I recast a Azure Phoenix Holding a Pearl Sword Furnace myself, and it looks beautiful. As for this old one... hehe."

"Let's leave it to the one who is destined to have it."

"If any unfamiliar junior brothers or sisters from the outer sect happen to be here and are interested in alchemy, feel free to take this."

"—The genius sword immortal, Si Xiangqing."

Looking at the jade slip containing the message, Song Yan looked at the "ugly furnace" that had been rejected, both amused and exasperated.

"..."

Song Yan took it in his hand and examined it closely. To be honest, it was indeed a bit ugly.

The furnace body is covered with intricate patterns, and the toad on the lid has wide eyes and bulging cheeks, which is really not beautiful.

It turns out to be a pill furnace specially crafted by Senior Chen Yi for refining pills with sword energy, so it should be helpful for pill refining.

Song Yan placed it steadily on the ground, sat cross-legged, and sent a wisp of sword energy into it from his fingertips.

Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from inside the furnace, as if an old object that hadn't been used for many years needed to be preheated.

Then the toad on the lid slowly rose up, and a circular field of sword energy appeared between it and the base.

A toad lay on it, wisps of sword energy emanating from its mouth.

This keeps the sword furnace running.

"Oh?"

Song Yan was surprised.

For sword cultivators, alchemy using sword techniques is far superior to alchemy using fire techniques, but there is a problem with this.

That is, if the sword energy field needs to be changed, it will severely test the cultivator's mental strength and swordsmanship.

Furthermore, due to the dissipation of energy, sword cultivators need to continuously and slowly inject sword energy, which invisibly increases the pressure of alchemy.

However, this alchemy furnace can automatically capture the sword energy escaping from the field, which makes the adjustments that cultivators need to make to inject the sword energy very small.

The cultivator only needs to concentrate and adjust the changes in the sword energy.

Moreover, the standard changes in the sword energy field can also be accomplished by this alchemy furnace.

Sword cultivators only need to make some minor adjustments, which greatly reduces the pressure of alchemy.

Song Yan secretly praised him, thinking that this Senior Brother Chen Yi seemed to be more than he had described...

(End of this chapter)