Borrowing a sword

Chapter 194 A Plan Spanning a Thousand Years
When Xiang Yan uttered the words "cultivating immortality," Chu Huaixu felt as if an electric current had passed through his entire body, and goosebumps rose all over his skin.

Earlier, when he suddenly mentioned the Golden Core and Nascent Soul, I had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

There's no way around it, he's read way too many fantasy novels. So this is the world background that was hidden at the beginning of "Borrowing a Sword"?

In his view, cultivation novels, as summarized by netizens, actually consist of only three realms.

Those you can defeat are at the Ant Realm, those of similar strength are at the Fellow Daoist Realm, and those you can't defeat are at the Senior Realm.

Unexpectedly, he would be facing someone within the Origin Spirit Realm.
—A cultivator!
But it was precisely because of this that a question that had been troubling him was finally resolved.

"I was wondering before why everyone in the Xuanhuang Realm in 'Borrowing the Sword' only said that they were cultivating and only referred to themselves as cultivators."

"It will be the same after time travel."

"That's it, that's it!"

"Because they weren't cultivating immortality in the first place!"

Inside the main hall, seeing Chu Huaixu standing there in a daze, no one said anything more, but waited for him to slowly digest the information.

When they first learned the truth, they were all quite surprised to learn that the people on the other side were a group of "madmen" who wanted to become immortals.

After a long pause, Chu Huaixu finally asked, "Sect Master, what level of cultivators will I encounter when I enter the first level of the Origin Spirit Realm?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yan began to explain the science behind the words.

"The realm divisions in Kunlun Grotto-heaven are different from ours."

"The Xuanhuang Realm is divided into nine realms."

"Over there in Kunlun Grotto-heaven, there are only five realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Deity Transformation."

"Therefore, what you will be facing are cultivators in the Qi Refining stage."

“Under normal circumstances, one realm in Kunlun Grotto Heaven is equivalent to two realms here.”

"You can think of it as the peak of the Qi Refining stage, which is roughly equivalent to the Great Perfection of the Second Realm here."

Upon hearing this, Chu Huaixu stared intently at the crowd and said directly:
"Sect Master, Junior Grandmaster, Elders, no way!"

Seriously?! What are you guys doing? Do you want me to go in and deliver it?

How can I, with my first-stage cultivation, fight against the strongest Qi Refining stage opponent?

You're still a whole level away, boss!

If it were just an ordinary peak Qi Refining stage cultivator, Chu Huaixu would have thought that fighting was the best option.

With all these protective gear, what's there to be afraid of? Let's go without fear!

He's at the second level of the Xuanhuang Realm now, so he's not invincible!

But the other side obviously wouldn't send a Qi Refining stage nobody, so, rounding up, he was practically fighting against the strongest second-stage Xuanhuang Realm expert.

Because he is unafraid of sword intent, he is indeed unlikely to feel fear, but that just means he doesn't experience much of that emotion.

This does not mean that he thinks this arrangement is reasonable, nor does it mean that he is eager to go and die.

I never expected to encounter a fellow Daoist, or even a senior!
Seeing his appearance, everyone couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

Nangong Yue said with a wry smile, "Chu Huaixu, if that's really the case, then we would have been unable to solve the problem of the Origin Spirit Realm over the past thousand years."

“Those from Kunlun Grotto Heaven will be suppressed by the power of the origin of heaven and earth once they set foot in my Xuanhuang Realm.”

"Or you could interpret it as suppression by the Heavenly Dao."

"Under these circumstances, the cultivation level they can exert is extremely limited."

Upon hearing this, Chu Huaixu said, "I see."

He pressed further, "So, those who entered the first level of the Origin Spirit Realm before, did they have a high win rate?"

When the topic of murder came up, Jiang Zhi immediately answered, "About 80%."

For many naturally cautious and conservative individuals, an 80% win rate is tantamount to suicide!

But for someone like Chu Huaixu, the thought was: "That's not a guaranteed win!"

This dungeon is a sure thing!

Chu Huaixu: Laughable! It turns out it's nothing more than the realm of mere ants!
When everyone saw his expression, they immediately realized that something was very wrong.

Li Chunsong hurriedly said, "Ahem! Chu Huaixu, don't be too happy yet! The Dao Ancestor once left behind a prophecy, which said that the power of the Origin of Heaven and Earth to suppress these evil demons and heretics will probably be weakened this time."

"Perhaps there is a problem with the primordial power of the Xuanhuang Realm."

"Of course, it's also possible that they've found a solution over the past thousand years."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yan nodded repeatedly and said, "Personally, I actually prefer the latter."

He began to state his views:

"Because Junior Uncle fused with a fragment of the Xuanhuang Origin, the power of the Heavenly Dao was born in his body, and he successfully advanced to the Ninth Realm."

"If there is really a problem with the source power of my Xuanhuang Realm, Junior Uncle should be able to sense it."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhi nodded from the side, his expression quite proud.

But soon, as if struck by a sudden thought, his arrogant expression vanished without a trace, replaced by a hint of gloom. Xiang Yan continued, "Moreover, there's something quite terrifying."

“If a cultivator in Kunlun Grotto-heaven truly attains a fruit position and reaches the Nascent Soul stage, their lifespan will be terrifying; it is unknown how many years they can live.”

"For us, a thousand years is the time when generation after generation has protected our own Xuanhuang Realm."

"On the other side, there may be one or several people who have been alive all along and have been plotting for thousands of years."

"What we are facing is a plan that has been in the works for a thousand years!"

Chu Huaixu felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this.

The cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm have died in waves over the past thousand years, representing the sacrifices and contributions of several generations.

Meanwhile, there may be a few people over there who have been silently watching this place for nearly a thousand years!

For some reason, Chu Huaixu felt extremely uncomfortable.

It was as if there were several invisible eyes high in the heavens!
They are like extremely patient wild beasts, always waiting for their chance to strike!

Chu Huaixu was not surprised by the increased difficulty of the Origin Spirit Realm this time.

"After all, it was originally supposed to be Xiao Xu who went in to fight."

A world-leading protagonist doesn't fight an easy battle!
After all, heroes emerge in times of chaos.

If it weren't for the hellish difficulty level, the protagonist of the world wouldn't be the one to save the world.

Seeing that Chu Huaixu's expression was calm, everyone felt much more at ease.

This child's temperament in this regard is indeed excellent; he shows no sign of timidity.

But after thinking about it, Xiang Yan felt it was necessary to tell him the worst-case scenario that everyone was guessing, so that he could be mentally prepared.

"Chu Huaixu, this time when you came down the mountain, you personally experienced being possessed."

“We had discussed this before. If, as the Dao Ancestor’s admonition says, this round of the Origin Spirit Realm is indeed extremely dangerous, then the worst-case scenario would be…”

Xiang Yan said, word by word, "What you've encountered isn't an ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivator; it's possible that they've possessed a body and are rebuilding their cultivation!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Huaixu immediately understood.

You're a Nascent Soul cultivator who has possessed another body and is rebuilding his cultivation, right?
"It's interesting!"

Physical body at the ant level, primordial spirit at the senior level.

According to Xiang Yan and the others' previous descriptions, only those who reach the Nascent Soul stage can generate an immortal and indestructible primordial spirit to possess other beings.

Once a Nascent Soul cultivator attains enlightenment, they are bound to the Heavenly Dao of Kunlun Grotto-heaven, which may impose certain limitations on them. Therefore, it is unlikely that a Nascent Soul elder would come in person.

In this way, for an ordinary person in the first realm to enter the Origin Spirit Realm, it would truly be no different from sending them to their death.

Even someone as powerful as Prince Rui's heir, with the help of his future heir's wife, using spiritual power loans and divine sense loans, would still be doomed to die if he went in—he'd be sent there for sure!

The power of that primordial spirit alone was enough to manipulate Qin Xuanxiao at will.

"The scene that will unfold will probably just be an old man teasing a child."

Even with Qin Xuanxiao's own divine sense power, plus the divine sense power of the god-level assistant Lin Zixuan, it's impossible for him to compare with the Nascent Soul Old Monster.

Moreover, the primordial spirit's status is inherently higher than that of an ordinary cultivator's divine sense.

It was only at this moment that Chu Huaixu fully understood why it had to be Xiao Xu, and why it had to be the bronze sword.

I've finally come to understand some of the ways Jiang Zhi, this fatherly old man, has acted.

—But the things that should make me unhappy are still unpleasant.

"This shows that because of the special nature of Kunlun Cave Heaven, it is not only the power of the sword that is needed, but also that evil energy."

Chu Huaixu suddenly realized that all of Daozu's arrangements were incredibly subtle and foreshadowing, everything was a setup!

"According to Xiao Xu's description, the sword spirit of the bronze sword split in two, and one half entered his body."

"In this way, we can directly entrust the sword spirit to the account to fight the life-or-death battle, and we can also rely on the sword spirit in our body to avoid the possession of the primordial spirit!"

Chu Huaixu personally speculates that after the evil sword's spirit enters Xu Ziqing's body, it can also play a similar role as a stabilizing force as the Heart Sword.

Neither attacks based on consciousness nor attempts to possess a soul would likely be effective.

Moreover, this evil sword is also of a very high rank; it's just unknown whether it's stronger or weaker than the Heart Sword.

He could imagine how enraged the bronze sword spirit would become if a primordial spirit were to rush into Xu Ziqing's body and try to expel it, given its arrogance.
"How come I find it so interesting just by imagining things?" Chu Huaixu thought to himself.

While he found it amusing, he became increasingly aware of the terrifying power of the Dao Ancestor.

He didn't know how someone who had passed away a thousand years ago had managed to do it.

He was like a prophet, calculating all of this and making numerous arrangements in advance, planning ahead for future generations, and taking all the countermeasures into account!

What incredible power this is!
"Yes, over there in Kunlun Grotto-heaven, there may be one or even several immortals who have been watching the Xuanhuang Realm as their 'prey' for a thousand years."

"But in the Xuanhuang Realm, there was also a Taoist who passed away a thousand years ago, and a thousand years ago, he had already placed a piece on the chessboard."
—To play chess with them across a thousand years!

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(End of this chapter)