Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 71 Deep in the Ink Pool
Back at the sect, Qingye Peak.

Inside the cave, Song Yan sat cross-legged on the stone bed, slowly breathing in and out, trying to clear his mind of his anxiety.

Breaking through a realm is like snatching chestnuts from a fire.

If one is impatient and loses their composure, not only will they fail to break through, but they may also suffer from qi deviation.

Once the distracting thoughts in his mind dissipated, he flicked his fingertips and set up a small spirit-gathering array.

The spirit stone, held in my palm, gleamed with a warm, lustrous sheen.

The spirit-gathering array was bought from the market earlier and has been used several times.

I reckon it will become ineffective after a few more uses.

Song Yan did not have the habit of hoarding spiritual resources. Basically, once he had a certain amount of spirit stones, he would take them to the market to buy spirit-gathering arrays and pills.

Money is always something external; it only truly becomes yours when you use it on yourself.

The path of cultivation is the same; there is nothing to regret. Only by integrating rare and precious materials into one's own body can one truly obtain the resources needed for the path to immortality.

Sit cross-legged and focus on the One.

This time, without hesitation, I took a bite of the Huangyadan.

The pill melts upon entering the mouth, and spiritual energy, like a spring stream thawing, surges into the meridians.

The Dao Seed within the Zhendao Sword Mansion flickered, absorbing and releasing spiritual energy, creating ripples on the water.

The surrounding lotus-shaped sword energy also trembled.

A feeling of surprise and joy swept through Song Yan's heart. At this moment, his Qi flowed smoothly, and his progress in refining his spirit was truly as if divinely aided.

"Could it be because the Dao Seed is nearing perfection?"

He immediately focused his mind and used all his strength to circulate the Qi Condensation Scroll.

Beneath the Zhendao Sword Mansion, as spiritual energy was transported and spiritual power was condensed, the Dao Seed trembled slowly, as if breathing.

The spiritual patterns slowly spread out in concentric circles.

The lotus-shaped sword energy around them surged even more violently.

As spiritual energy surged in, Song Yan felt a faint overflowing sensation in several acupoints throughout his body.

"A breakthrough may be just around the corner."

Another Yellow Sprout Pill entered the mouth, transforming into pure spiritual energy. It carried the rich spiritual energy gathered by the Spirit Gathering Array, and was refined into pure spiritual energy in the cycle of the body, eventually flowing into the dantian.

About half an hour later, I suddenly heard the sound of a clear spring flowing over the rocks.

The previously blocked acupoints have now been opened up.

The spiritual energy circulating within his body was like a clear mountain spring, flowing into the stream.

Reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining is a natural progression.

This breakthrough surprised Song Yan somewhat.

After much thought, it must be the benefit brought about by the change in the Dao seed.

"call--"

He let out a breath of foul air.

Reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining in three years is already considered a relatively fast pace.

The early and middle stages of Qi Refining, at the sixth level, can only be described as accumulating spiritual power.

The next three levels of Qi Refining, namely the seventh, eighth, and ninth levels, are the real three major obstacles in the entire Qi Refining stage.

However, Song Yan did not feel depressed or discouraged.

Above Qi Refining is Foundation Establishment, and after Foundation Establishment comes Golden Core...

Keep your feet on the ground, climb step by step, and see the view from a higher vantage point.

Isn't this the most fascinating part of the process of seeking immortality?
The path to immortality is like climbing a sheer cliff; the more precipitous the place, the more magnificent the sea of ​​clouds becomes.

On the seed of swordsmanship, the nascent Dao heart hummed softly.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the young man's ambition is now impossible to conceal!
After continuing his cultivation for half a day, Song Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief once his cultivation level had completely stabilized.

He took off his clothes, jumped into the pool, and washed away the sweat from his breakthrough.

"Huh? Where did Xiaohe go?"

Since he entered a state of cultivation focused on breaking through to a higher realm, Xiao He has disappeared, and there is still no trace of She Bao.

This kid has been acting very suspiciously lately; I wonder what he's been up to.

"I'll have to question her properly when she gets back."

Although the atmosphere in the Dongyuan Sect was relatively friendly and their attitude towards spirits and beasts was also quite good.

But there's no guarantee that someone with ill intentions won't kidnap her, bleed her, and refine her into pills.

We need to make her pay more attention.

With nothing else to do, Song Yan took out the tattered little sword he had obtained from Senior Lin Qinglong's cave.

After washing it with water, there was a thick layer of dirt on it.

After a brief cleaning, the situation didn't improve. "The old master left a short sword of this quality, and it was broken, at the entrance of his own cave..."

Song Yan was completely baffled.

But it doesn't matter. When he used to collect trash, he never thought that everything he picked up could be used.

He casually tossed it into his Qiankun bag.

In a few days, I'll go to the weapon-refining workshop and find an ordinary weapon-refining apprentice to repair this little sword.

Make it look a little better, while retaining its old-fashioned feel.

Then, as originally planned, it was given the title of "found from the cave of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator" and sold on the black market.

Without even considering whether any fools would take the bait, Song Yan began to boast about his cunning.

"Who came up with this idea...?"

"A brilliant idea."

……

More than half a month later.

Within the realm of Yin and Yang, dark clouds surged.

Song Yan quietly looked at the withered tree with gnarled branches formed from ink beside the illusory image of the Dao Seed.

Where wind and thunder appear and disappear, golden light flows, exactly like the withered tree on the cliff of wind and moon in the painting.

Thunder and lightning danced on the branches.

For the first time, the Yin-Yang Realm, which was originally only black and white, had other colors.

This made Song Yan inexplicably happy.

At this moment, the unmoored boat is quietly hovering on the illusory image of the Dao Seed.

Every now and then, a wisp of golden light would be drawn from the withered tree and the wind and thunder, separate, and drift away gracefully.

From top to bottom, it hovers and circles around the flying sword.

Finally, it followed the spine of the sword and merged into the illusory image of the Dao seed.

Song Yan didn't know what was going on either, as it wasn't mentioned in the Spirit Transformation chapter.

However, now that he has gained some experience, he can make some guesses.

Perhaps this is the Yin-Yang Pearl, using the spiritual properties of wind and thunder to nurture the body of the natal flying sword.

Upon closer inspection, whether it was his imagination or not, the sword appeared even more flawless where the golden light swept across it.

It shouldn't be a bad thing to be left or right.

However, gazing at the wondrous scene before him, his thoughts wandered, and he considered some other possibilities.

"If I can obtain other spiritual items of different attributes in the future..."

"Will it also appear in this realm?"

"Will it, like the spirit of wind and thunder, nurture the sword body and nourish the seed of the Dao..."

Song Yan felt that his exploration of the Yin-Yang Pearl was far from complete, and that he could only speculate about many things.

"My strength and level are still insufficient..."

Sigh.

After estimating the time, Song Yan realized he had something to do and needed to leave his cave.

He then manipulated his divine sense and left the Yin-Yang Realm.

"..."

In this realm, all is silent.

Stripped of the vibrant gold on the withered branches, it remains a world of black and white.

The inky black waterfall flows ceaselessly.

It extended all the way to a distance not far from the illusory image of the Dao seed.

On the shore, the Taotie flute floated silently.

"Wow—"

The water in the ink pool rises and falls like the tides on the shore.

"..."

suddenly.

A completely black hand, composed entirely of ink, slowly emerges from the ink pool.

It hovered in front of the Taotie flute.

Then, as if testing the waters, he gently touched it...

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(End of this chapter)