Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 335 Breakthrough
half year later.

On this day, Song Yan was standing in the bamboo grove courtyard, carefully examining a bamboo that was completely different from the purple bamboo around it.

This bamboo stalk naturally grew from the Yunyuan bamboo rice that was planted earlier.

It was about the height of a person, with solid and distinct bamboo joints, and its whole body had a faint jade-green luster. The wood element was solid and full of vitality.

It is approximately 240 to 250 years old.

The ripening speed of nectar varies greatly depending on the type of medicinal herb or plant.

Moreover, the ripening effect and speed of the nectar vary for each type of spiritual plant at different growth stages.

However, if the current pace continues, it should only take another six months or so to reach the minimum age of the Cloud Abyss Bamboo Leaves required for refining the Sword Nourishing Pill, which is five hundred years.

However, Song Yan had other plans regarding this matter.

When I first saw the Sword Nourishing Pill, I knew that this pill had a special feature: even for Foundation Establishment cultivators, only the first three pills could improve their cultivation.

Any more than that, and it will only have the effect of replenishing or restoring sword energy.

Therefore, in order to maximize the effect of the Sword Nourishing Pill, Song Yan planned to extend the ripening time a little longer, so as to maximize the age of the sword bamboo without slowing down his own cultivation progress.

Moreover, I have never refined the Sword Nourishing Pill before, so there may be some loss in the pill-making process.

In the days that followed, Song Yan began a repetitive cycle of life.

He cultivates his realm daily and comprehends the Dao of the Sword, while entrusting everything concerning the Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo to the Void Demon.

And so, another year and a half passed.

On this day, Song Yan snapped out of his reverie, having been contemplating the sword formation.

Suddenly remembering something, he left the training room, walked out of the cave, and came to the bamboo forest courtyard.

In the bamboo forest, the original jade-green sword bamboo has now turned into a thick, bluish-gray bamboo, faintly covered with a layer of spiritual light.

It stands out from the surrounding purple bamboo.

Its age has reached over a thousand years, far exceeding the five hundred years required for alchemy.

In addition, not far from it, a small bamboo shoot emerged, tender and green, full of vitality.

Song Yan stared intently for a while, and sword energy surged within the Sword Palace, condensing into a white sword shadow, which slashed towards the Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo.

hum-

The sword flashed across the bamboo, but did not cause any real damage, leaving only a faint white mark on its surface.

However, as the sword shadow dissipated, the sword energy did not disappear. Instead, it transformed into wisps of bluish-gray clouds that gathered and surged around the bamboo.

The lush green bamboo leaves swayed gently, making a sound.

"Oh..."

To be honest, even a sword bamboo that is only a thousand years old is already a pretty good material for refining weapons.

However, Song Yan was clearly more interested in refining pills to improve his cultivation.

So he summoned his flying sword, Unmoored Boat, and with a few swift strokes, he plucked the bamboo leaves from the sword bamboo.

Song Yan casually picked up a leaf and rubbed it in his hand. Unexpectedly, the bamboo leaf of this sword bamboo was as thin as a cicada's wing and the edges were extremely sharp. Without spiritual power to protect his hand, he actually felt a little pain.

Although it hadn't damaged his skin yet, it still gave Song Yan a slight jolt.

"How could there be such a strange bamboo in this world, evolving itself into something so sharp?"

He carefully stacked the bamboo leaves together, put them in the medicine box, and then went into the cave.

Now that all the necessary medicinal herbs were available, Song Yan didn't want to waste any more time; there was no better time than now.

The alchemy process begins today.

In fact, ever since his last alchemy session, Song Yan had vaguely sensed that his skills in alchemy had reached a bottleneck.

After all, the sword-making and alchemy techniques and methods recorded in the Thousand Pill Recipes are limited.

But Song Yan didn't panic or feel anxious. She felt that she wasn't making any progress, so she figured she might as well leave it at that and see what else she could do.

Just find more alchemy materials, try refining them more, and you'll make up for any shortcomings with diligence.

Sword alchemy was originally just a side branch used to assist in sword cultivation. It doesn't mean that one cannot cultivate or improve one's skills if one cannot refine pills.

In this respect, Song Yan is a very optimistic and open-minded person.

Once the door to the alchemy room is closed, it stays closed for a whole month.

Song Yan looked at the ten bluish-gray pills floating in front of him and felt delighted.

In one month, he refined a total of thirty-two batches.

The number of Sword Nourishing Pills produced is already small. In addition, due to the special nature of sword-based alchemy, even if the alchemy is completely successful, only one pill will be produced from a single batch.

Thirty-six batches of pills were used to make ten batches, resulting in ten sword-nourishing pills.

Five are of low quality, two are of medium quality, and three are of high quality.

In fact, Song Yan still had enough spiritual herbs and medicinal materials to refine some more, since the only thing that truly restricted the refinement of the Sword Nourishing Pill was the bamboo leaves of the Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo.

But when the third superior-grade sword-nourishing pill was produced, Song Yan relaxed and slowly dissipated the sword energy from the sword-dao pill furnace.

Since you can only take three anyway, the remaining seven can be used as recovery items to replenish your sword energy, which is enough.

If you want it later, you can refine it again.

After a month of intense and continuous refining of pills, Song Yan was a little tired, so he took a few days to rest.

On this day, as was his custom, he gathered the morning sun's energy in the bamboo grove courtyard.

A wisp of special spiritual energy from the rising sun was slowly drawn into the body, carrying a gentle warmth that nourished the dantian and meridians, eventually transforming into sword energy and merging into the lotus flower within the sword palace.

Normally, we should have ended here.

But today seemed different, and Song Yan suddenly felt a sudden inspiration.

"Let's do it today."

He suddenly opened his eyes, and the Observation Sword Eye activated on its own, wielding a wisp of sword energy from his fingertip.

rustling.

Several flying swords, including one belonging to Jin Guiren, flowed out from the Endless Treasury and floated slowly in the bamboo grove courtyard.

As Song Yan pressed down with his sword finger, the flying swords fell one after another, and the Spirit-Sealing Sword Formation was formed.

Centered on the Earth-character Eryi Cave, the surrounding spiritual energy began to surge.

The originally thin and mild spiritual energy of heaven and earth was now being drawn together by an invisible vortex, and was frantically converging.

In an instant, the concentration of spiritual energy in the bamboo grove courtyard suddenly increased.

The spiritual energy was so dense that it almost condensed into a pale white mist visible to the naked eye. Guided by the sword formation, it gathered into torrents of clouds and mist that surrounded Song Yan.

The bamboo grove rustled and moved without any wind.

Just then, a glint flashed in Song Yan's eyes, and without hesitation, he took out an exquisite jade bottle from his Qiankun bag.

As the bottle seal was lifted, a clear, sharp fragrance, imbued with a powerful and vibrant aroma, wafted out.

With a flick of his finger, Song Yan drew out a pill the size of a longan using spiritual power.

This pill is perfectly round, with a bluish-gray color and faint, flowing lines of sword-like patterns on its surface.

It was one of those three top-grade sword-nourishing pills.

The pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth. There was no burning heat, bone-chilling cold, or excruciating pain from the violent sword energy as one might have imagined.

Only an immense torrent of sword energy suddenly erupted.

Upon closer inspection, the scene was truly terrifying and incredibly dangerous.

It was as if a flying sword had instantly disintegrated within his body, unleashing a torrent of sword energy.

They disregarded the normal pathways of qigong and appeared on meridians and acupoints all over the body.

It directly integrates into every acupoint of the limbs and bones.

Despite being incredibly sharp, it did not cause any damage to the delicate meridians within the body.

Perhaps it shares the same origin as Song Yan's own sword energy.
These torrents of sword energy surged and swept through his body, causing his muscles and bones to hum softly, as if countless tiny hammers were repeatedly forging them, making them more resilient and resilient.

The already few minor impurities were quietly removed by the sword energy.

This Sword Nourishing Pill seems to also have the effect of modifying and optimizing the physical body's foundation, but this is a part that is not mentioned in the Thousand Pills and Strange Formulas.

Soon, the surging sword energy began to rapidly disperse and converge from the body, flowing towards the Zhendao Sword Mansion.

Within the Sword Palace, a dreamlike glow faintly draped over the lotus flowers.

After the sword energy transformed from the Sword Nourishing Pill surged into the Sword Mansion, it split into two streams. One stream fell into the sea of ​​sword energy but did not stop circulating. Carrying the original sword energy within it, it began to slowly circle around the Sword Dao Lotus.

The other one flowed directly into the Sword Lotus.

The Sword Lotus accepts all comers, absorbing them like a whale swallowing the sea. Its entire body is as if it is immersed in a golden sword spring, and its petals become more solid and full, its color becomes deeper and more vibrant, and its edges flow with sharp light.

hum-

A faint buzzing sound could be heard in my ears.

There were no major bottlenecks like landslides or tsunamis. Under the pure sword energy, the already fragile barrier melted and crumbled easily like thin ice in spring under the warm sun.

In the middle stage of Foundation Building, success will come naturally.

The Sword Palace seemed to have expanded considerably, with sword lotus flowers swaying gracefully within, and the sword energy it exhaled becoming even more vast.

Above the lotus platform, faint traces of pure, special sword energy rose up, slowly condensing into a golden light.

Before Song Yan could even ponder what this was, he was astonished to discover that his breakthrough just now seemed to have been merely a catalyst.

The medicinal effects of the Nourishing Sword Pill haven't even begun to take hold yet.

These two massive torrents of sword energy showed no signs of weakening; on the contrary, they seemed poised to grow even stronger and more turbulent.

The sword lotus frantically absorbed this power, and the light of its petals became increasingly dazzling. The golden light that the sword energy at the core of the lotus platform condensed also continued to solidify and grow stronger.

Song Yan's cultivation level is being pushed forward from the mid-Foundation Establishment stage to the late-stage stage by the medicinal power of the Sword Nourishing Pill in an almost brute force.

After being repeatedly refined and polished by the purest sword energy, his skin shone with a lustrous, jade-like sheen.

It is unknown how much time has passed, but Song Yan's cultivation has even reached the threshold of the late Foundation Establishment stage. Just before it was about to cross this threshold, the sword energy brought by the Sword Nourishing Pill began to gradually weaken.

Ultimately, Song Yan's aura stabilized at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but he was already very close to the late stage.

Using the effect of the Spirit-Capturing Sword Formation, he circulated the Purple Cloud Dao Scripture several more times before slowly concluding his practice.

Song Yan opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in his golden pupils before disappearing into a deep, restrained gaze.

A powerful and composed aura naturally emanated from him.

"call--"

His expression revealed an undisguised surprise.

Among these thousand rare pill formulas, it is said that the effects are best when Foundation Establishment cultivators take this pill for the first time.

"But this Senior Brother Chen didn't say it would be this effective, did he?"

What Song Yan didn't know was that the origin of the Cloud Abyss Sword Bamboo was extremely special, and its cultivation was quite difficult.

Even among the disciples of the Sword Sect in the past, not everyone had the opportunity to take the Sword Nourishing Pill.

Therefore, ordinary disciples at this Foundation Establishment stage can consume at most one pill.

Therefore, many sword cultivators seek that balance point: not slowing down their sword cultivation pace, but maximizing the effect of the sword-nourishing pills, that is, the optimal cultivation level when taking them.

That is exactly the early stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, just before one foot enters the middle stage.

Xiao Song stumbled upon this opportunity and took it at the perfect time, which further amplified the already terrifying efficacy of the superior-grade sword-nourishing pill.

Feeling an overwhelming surge of power coursing through his body, he felt as if the threshold of the late Foundation Establishment stage was within reach.

An incredibly tempting thought surged into Song Yan's mind almost instinctively: "Should I take another Sword Nourishing Pill?"

"With a clear mind and a harmonious sword aura, before the spiritual energy dissipates, should I seize the opportunity to break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage?"

However, this thought only lasted for a moment before Song Yan forcibly suppressed it.

He took a deep breath, and the restlessness in his heart gradually subsided with this deep breath.

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

He shook his head inwardly.

Taking the elixir immediately to break through to the next level is, from the perspective of a successful breakthrough, entirely feasible.

But doing so has a somewhat short-sighted and opportunistic feel to it.

It can easily create hidden dangers for one's future path.

On the one hand, the key to advancing in cultivation lies in a solid foundation. Today, with the help of the elixir, breaking through to the mid-stage is a natural progression.

They even managed to reach the mid-term peak, which was an unexpected bonus.

If one is too eager for quick success and immediately takes the pill to break through again, the improvement in realm will be like building a tower on sand. Although it is fast, the foundation of this intermediate realm will be very weak.

Don't be fooled by the sharp edge of swordsmanship; it is all about accumulating knowledge and experience before unleashing it. The path of cultivation is long and arduous; seeking momentary pleasure will only lead to losing sight of the bigger picture.

On the other hand, it is related to the nature of the elixir.

Regardless of the type of elixir, there needs to be an interval between taking it.

Take this Sword Nourishing Pill as an example; its effects are immense, and its properties are extremely sharp.

Once swallowed, this pill was like a boulder thrown into a deep lake within the Zhendao Sword Mansion; the ripples it created will take quite some time to completely subside.

If one were to take the pill immediately at this moment, it would be like throwing another boulder into a lake that has not yet returned to calm. The two powerful medicinal forces would overlap and impact each other, making it difficult to absorb perfectly and wasting the precious sword energy essence within.

There is even a possibility of them conflicting with each other, damaging the meridians, or even harming the foundation of the Sword Mansion.

This is tantamount to wasting resources and is extremely irresponsible towards one's own path.

Thinking of this, Song Yan's eyes regained their calm and clear expression.

"Even if I stop taking the Sword Nourishing Pill, it seems like it will only take two or three years for me to break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage..."

Two or three years? How old will I be in two or three years?

Around thirty years old.

A thirty-year-old late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator...

Song Yan couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

It seems I really have a chance to touch the threshold called the Golden Core.

And this possibility seems quite high.

(End of this chapter)