Daoqi Huangcheng

Chapter 16.16. Isn't this just raising pigs?
When Manager Tang saw Song Chen, he greeted him with a smile and said, "Congratulations, Junior Brother, for taking the lead and being the first to comprehend the two supernatural abilities, [Golden Edge] and [Sword Intent]."

Song Chen said, "The path of cultivation is long, and Junior Brother has only just begun."

Then, he asked curiously, "I wonder what business Brother Tang has with me?"

Steward Tang said, "Two things."

Song Chen looked at him quietly.

Manager Tang laughed heartily and said, "These are all good things."

As he spoke, he took out a letter from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Someone from your residence has come to say that your niece, Que Chan, is getting married and they want to know if you have time to go back."

Song Chen accepted the letter. In fact, it was possible to travel to and from the capital in a single day, but he had not been back for ten months. Now that he had broken through to the fourth level of Qi Gathering, he could take this opportunity to return.

Steward Tang lowered his voice again and said, "There is another secret sword intent of my Imperial City Temple. Metal-type cultivators can obtain this secret sword intent after breaking through the first level of Qi Gathering and comprehending the two divine abilities of the Golden Edge Sword Intent."

This sword intent is incredibly profound. Once mastered, it will be immensely beneficial, making future cultivation twice as effective with half the effort; in combat, one will also be two or three points stronger than a rogue metal-element cultivator of the same level.

Song Chen exclaimed sincerely, "My Imperial City Temple is just so wonderful!"

The fellow disciples here have good relationships and don't hold back in their conversations. They even openly discuss the deaths of four disciples caused by ghosts. Now, they even have the perk of receiving secret sword intent.
Song Chen didn't find anything wrong, nor did he have any complaints.

As for the "Imperial City Temple Prohibition," although it is strange, the saying "too much cultivation easily leads to distraction and makes it difficult to achieve great success" makes sense.

He is a grateful person, and since the sect has treated him so well, he is willing to be loyal to the sect.

Steward Tang laughed and said, "That's right, Junior Brother. This secret teaching isn't unique to us Metal-type sword cultivators; our fellow disciples from the other four elements also possess it. This is why the cultivators of my Imperial City Temple are stronger than other rogue cultivators of the same level. Haha, come with me."

After a while.
in the secret room.

Steward Tang solemnly took out a painting from a hidden compartment.

He carefully hung the painting up.

The scroll unfurled with a "whoosh," revealing the back view of a sword cultivator.

The swordsman held his longsword upside down.

The sword is drawn, its blade gleaming coldly.

Its sharpness almost seeps through the paper, piercing the eye.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that wherever the sword cultivator walked, there was sword energy—clouds of sword energy, water of sword energy, and paths of sword energy.

The sword energy crisscrossed, arrogant and disdainful of everything, intolerant of any external things or anything else; it was truly domineering and boundless.

Manager Tang explained, "Junior Brother Song, although this painting is not the original 'Taibai Painting,' one can still comprehend a trace of the Taibai Sword Intent from it. This Taibai Sword Intent is the secret sword intent passed down by the disciples of my Imperial City Temple."

This secret sword intent is also a companion to the "Tai Bai Jin Gang Jue". By observing the supernatural power of "Sword Intent", every metal-type sword cultivator in my Imperial City Temple should be able to comprehend it in a single day.

Junior brother, please stay here and meditate until you have grasped the truth, then you may leave on your own.

I placed an iron brick in front of the door. This brick is for testing purposes. If my junior brother comprehends the Taibai Sword Intent, he only needs to imbue his fingers with that intent and gently stroke the brick; the brick will slide off like a block of tofu.

After saying this, Steward Tang took the iron brick and left the secret room.

Song Chenjing stood before the "Taibai Painting," activated his "Sword Intent" supernatural power, and began to focus intently on the painting, watching the brushstrokes move across the canvas, seeing the imagery rushing towards him, and comprehending the sharp and unyielding spirit of Taibai in the painting.

half a day later
Suddenly, Song Chen felt the painting before him disappear. The floating clouds, the blue water, the road, the long sword, and the sword cultivators were like hundreds of rivers flowing into the sea, all transforming into a wisp of unrestrained intent that rushed towards him and merged into his mind.

"It's done!"

Song Chen's face lit up with joy. In the previous contest of magic, his skill was actually inferior to that of Zhang Yi, Zhong Xu, and others.

If the power is put on the same level, he will definitely be the one to lose.

At this moment, he could fully feel the power of this secret Taibai sword intent. Compared to this sword intent, the "Bear Hunting Diagram" he had comprehended before was simply a third-rate intent. Even if a third-rate sword intent were stacked three or four times, it would still be no match for this first-rate sword intent.

In other words, once everyone has grasped this trace of Taibai sword intent, the other intents they grasped before entering the sect will no longer be so important.

Song Chen let out a long sigh, walked straight to the iron brick in front of the door, grabbed it, and gently stroked it with the Taibai Sword Intent. The hard iron block was sliced ​​open, leaving a smooth cut.

Song Chen withdrew his hand and was about to leave the secret room when a sharp, intense pain suddenly shot through his abdomen.

Immediately afterwards, the excruciating pain spread like an explosion, as if a hand was holding a butcher's knife and slicing it ruthlessly inside his body, cutting and slicing it piece by piece, slowly torturing him.

The unbearable pain caused Song Chen to almost faint instantly.

His whole body began to tremble. He leaned against the wall and slowly sat down, circulating his power, the power of the Devouring Crane Demon, and the power of the Four Realms of Qi Gathering to search for the cause of the pain and begin to suppress it.

After a few breaths, he found the cause of the pain.

The cause of the pain was actually the Taibai sword intent!
This wisp of Taibai sword intent was like an enraged madman frantically cutting through his spiritual root.

His spiritual root is a metal spiritual root, but it is not a barren and monotonous metal spiritual root; rather, it is a metal spiritual root that is "mutually generated by metal and water".

Recalling the domineering nature of the Taibai Sword Intent, Song Chen suddenly realized: The Taibai Sword Intent is a wisp of sword intent that only allows you to cultivate the metal element. This wisp of sword intent can make you cultivate faster and fight stronger in the metal element, but it also forcibly restricts you to only cultivating metal-based techniques. Once you cultivate something else, this Taibai Sword Intent will forcibly come and destroy you.

"Ah"

Song laughed bitterly.

He finally understood that the "Imperial City Temple Prohibition" was not a divine prohibition, but a human prohibition, and the [Taibai Sword Intent] was the jailer who imprisoned and guarded them.

Some people don't want them to cultivate additional power, but they do want them to quickly improve their cultivation level and increase their chances of survival.

Two hours later.

Song Chen leaned back, his limbs spread out in a "big" shape, not wanting to move even a single finger.

That wisp of [Taibai Sword Intent] had just been absorbed into the body, like a seed planted in fertile soil, not yet having had time to take root and sprout.

This is when the [Taibai Sword Intent] is at its weakest and least grounded.

He exerted all his strength to "seal" it with his own power. The so-called "seal" was nothing more than using the crane demon's water vapor to separate this wisp of sword intent from his own golden energy.

The Taibai Sword Intent charged left and right through the Crane Demon's water vapor, but could not break free. At this moment, it calmed down like a venomous snake with its tongue lolling out, waiting for an opportunity.

However, it's conceivable that if someone secretly cultivates a different type of magic, their spiritual root will be destroyed at this stage, and their cultivation level will plummet. If someone tries to cultivate a different type of magic at a higher level, by then, the [Taibai Sword Intent] will have already grown strong enough to be impossible to seal. Any other type of power that enters will be brutally destroyed by the [Taibai Sword Intent], thus proving the widely known prohibition from the very beginning of the Imperial City Temple's training:
Our Imperial City Temple has a long-standing prohibition: you must never mix cultivation methods! Since you have chosen to cultivate the Five Elements Metal Technique, you must not touch the Water, Earth, Fire, or Wood elements. If you are not single-minded, how can you reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao? You must remember this and never disobey the prohibition, lest you delay your path.

A shadow slowly fell over Song Chen's eyes.

"You want them to grow strong and fast, but also not grow them crookedly—isn't that just raising pigs?"

"Ah"

"Hahahahaha."

Song Chen weakly raised his hand, slapped it on his face, and laughed.

(End of this chapter)