Fellow Daoist, I gladly accept this heaven-defying opportunity.

Xu Mofeng searched the area around the boulders thoroughly, but found nothing unusual. He could only retreat to his original spot, frowning and pondering.

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a clump of inconspicuous weeds growing in a crack in the rocks.

The grass looked no different from ordinary wild grass growing in the cracks of rocks, but Xu Mofeng's eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light.

No, this grass is definitely not ordinary!

You must know that every word carved on stone contains the power of a knife, and the strokes of the brush conceal a terrifying intent. While loose soil can cover the writing, living things can never take root under the influence of that intent.

If it were an ordinary weed, it would have been severed by the knife's blade long ago.

He reached out and grabbed the grass stem, lifting it upwards, but it didn't budge. The grass root was as tough as steel wire tempered with refined steel.

With a little more force, the entire clump of grass was finally uprooted.

Under the cover of night, the grass roots were white and smooth like mutton fat jade, with a faint glow, looking both strange and rare.

The moment his fingertips touched the grass roots, an extremely pure and intense sword intent surged into his palm.

What kind of strange plant is this?

Xu Mofeng's pupils shrank sharply; it could actually directly amplify his understanding of sword intent!

In that brief moment of contact, his penal intent actually increased slightly.

This is simply unbelievable!

Xu Mofeng was both surprised and delighted. The value of this nameless weed was probably no less than that of the "Sword Qi Swallows Mountains and Rivers" manual!

Everyone in the cultivation world knows how difficult it is to cultivate the essence of martial arts. Only those with top-notch talent and comprehension, who also encounter great fortune, can possibly achieve enlightenment in a single day.

Among a hundred innate martial artists, perhaps only one might have reached the initial stage of the Intent Realm. Moreover, the initial stage is merely the beginning; every further advancement is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Every 30% of the artistic conception is a formidable barrier. Xu Mofeng's Prison Blade Intent has been stuck at 30% for a long time. He has been practicing day and night without making any progress, which shows how high the threshold is.

Having just absorbed a trace of the sword intent within the grass, he actually broke through the 30% barrier and steadily advanced towards the 40% barrier.

Such miraculous effects are truly astonishing.

Xu Mofeng instantly came to his senses. No wonder the inscription by the senior of the Snow Moon Sect had retained its sword intent for four hundred years; it was all thanks to this exotic herb that it continuously nourished and replenished him.

He treasured it like a precious gem and carefully stored the exotic herb in his storage ring.

Almost at the same instant, the system notification sounded precisely on time.

[Congratulations, host, on successfully transforming your destiny! You have received the following reward: Spirit Body Advancement Pill x1]

Another Spirit Body Advancement Pill, it's like a godsend!

Xu Mofeng was overjoyed. Tonight's purple opportunity was a veritable windfall.

Once all these gains are fully absorbed, our strength will surely leap several levels higher.

Delay will only lead to complications, let's go!

Xu Mofeng was incredibly lucky. After struggling in front of the stone tablet for so long, he hadn't bumped into anyone. So he moved his feet and used the Netherworld Ghost Step, instantly disappearing into the deep night.

About fifteen minutes after he left, a figure in white robes gracefully landed in front of the stone tablet.

"The inscription by our ancestors..."

Shangguan Dongxue gazed at the giant rock before her, her eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions.

The inscription on this stone tablet in Jiuhua Mountain is by an ancient ancestor of the Snow Moon Sect, who can be described as the most talented and accomplished martial artist in the sect's history.

However, due to the events of that year, the name of this ancestor remains a taboo subject within the Snow Moon Sect.

During his visit to Jiuhua Mountain, he inexplicably felt a sense of calling to the stone tablet. He intended to delve into its meaning, but was interrupted halfway by a disciple of the Biyou Sect, leaving him feeling frustrated.

He hadn't taken it seriously at first, but in the middle of the night, he suddenly had a sudden urge to come over because he kept thinking about the stone tablet.

But this time, standing in front of the stone tablet, the faint sense of calling I had felt during the day was completely gone.

"That's enough. It's just an illusory feeling anyway, why be attached to it?"

He stood in front of the stone for a long time, but gained nothing. Shaking his head, he turned to leave.

But for some reason, the moment he lifted his foot, a strange emptiness filled his heart, as if some treasure that should have belonged to him had been silently stolen away.

……

"Let's absorb the power of this exotic herb first!"

The first thing Xu Mofeng did upon returning to his residence was to take out that nameless weed.

He didn't even know what the herb was called, let alone how to preserve it, fearing that its miraculous effects would be lost if left for too long.

He gripped the grass root with his fingertips, and that incomparably pure sword intent surged forth once more, slowly nourishing his penal sword intent along his meridians.

The barrier of artistic conception, which was originally stuck at 30%, has completely loosened and has begun to steadily climb.

Before long, the weeds in his hand turned into ashes and fell to the ground, while his penal intent steadily stopped at 35%, a full 50% increase.

"If I could have an entire patch of this exotic grass, wouldn't I be able to perfect my sword intent in a short time?"

Of course, Xu Mofeng was just thinking about it casually, since he didn't even know the name of the grass.

After his sword intent enhancement came to an end, he took out the Spirit Body Advancement Pill.

Cultivators know how difficult it is to advance in spiritual cultivation; each minor rank requires accumulating massive amounts of resources and enduring countless years. Fortunately, the system rewards him with pills that allow him to skip a minor rank directly, saving him countless years of arduous cultivation.

He tilted his head back and swallowed the pill. In an instant, it was as if a spiritual volcano had exploded inside his body. The powerful spiritual energy rushed into his limbs and bones, frantically tempering every inch of his flesh and every bone.

Fifteen minutes later, the effects of the medicine wore off.

The moment Xu Mofeng opened his eyes, he felt a completely different sensation throughout his body.

His arms bulged with explosive power, and when he exhaled, the force of his breath directly created a dent several inches deep in the bluestone slab in front of him—purely brute physical strength.

He could even hear the sound of his blood surging within his body, rushing like a long river, with a terrifying force.

He formed his palm into a knife and casually swung it, drawing a clear black line in the air. A deep crack silently appeared on the wall a dozen meters away.

With every gesture, it possesses a destructive power that is unimaginable to ordinary people.

It was as if an ancient demon was slumbering within his body, possessing immense power capable of overturning rivers and seas.

The power of six dragons! Their strength doubled, reaching a full 600,000 jin!

"Once I master another superior physical combat technique, I might even be able to hold my own against someone at the tenth level of the Golden Core realm!"

With a slight sway, ten identical figures instantly appeared in the small training room; with another sway, all the illusions vanished, and he remained standing in the same spot, as if he had never moved.

"With the advancement of the spirit body, the 'Netherworld Ghost Step' has also undergone a qualitative change, now capable of conjuring nine clones at once, far exceeding the original limit of this movement technique. Now, no one would doubt that it is a high-grade Xuan-level movement technique."

Xu Mofeng drew his sword again, unleashing more than twenty sword flashes in an instant, doubling his sword speed.

The benefits brought by the physical enhancement are all-encompassing, and his strength has clearly experienced a comprehensive surge.

"Let's try the beginner training of 'Sword Qi Swallows Mountains and Rivers' again."

Following the instructions in the manual, Xu Mofeng located several extremely hidden acupoints on his arms.

These acupoints are located in remote areas and are never touched in ordinary cultivation. However, in "Sword Qi Swallows Mountains and Rivers", they are called "Divine Speed ​​Acupoints". Once they are opened, the speed of spiritual power circulation in the arms will increase dramatically, and the speed of sword strikes will also increase significantly.

He mobilized his spiritual power to begin impacting the acupoints.

The moment I touched it, my arms were pierced by a thousand needles, and then it felt like I was soaking in scalding lava, the burning pain going straight to my bone marrow.

After the extreme heat came extreme cold; my arms felt as if they had been thrown into an ancient glacier, and I instantly lost all feeling in them.

Finally, there was an excruciating tingling and itching sensation, as if tens of thousands of ants were gnawing at my bones and muscles.

Xu Mofeng had cultivated the Purple Gold True Qi and considered himself to have an extremely high pain tolerance, but at this moment he couldn't help but tremble all over, his clothes soaked with cold sweat.

After an unknown amount of time, all the acupoints on my arms were finally opened one by one.

The excruciating pain receded like a tide, and an unprecedented sense of relief instantly spread throughout my body.

"call--"

Xu Mofeng slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his fingertips touched the hilt of the knife, and in the next instant, a golden light suddenly appeared!

In the blink of an eye, more than sixty sword strikes were unleashed, the dense sword energy weaving into an impenetrable golden net. The surrounding void trembled as it was cut, and cracks spread outwards like a spider web.

"hiss--"

Sheathing his sword, Xu Mofeng stood there, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

This "Sword Qi Swallows Mountains and Rivers" technique has only just reached the entry level. The sword speed is not even one-tenth of the true limit, but its power is already comparable to the upper-middle grade Xuan-level martial arts!

Once fully mastered, according to the cultivation manual, one can strike the sword a thousand or ten thousand times in an instant, the sword energy gathering into a rolling river, directly crushing the enemy in battle. Who among those of the same level can withstand it?

It is precisely because the conditions for practicing this technique are too harsh, with ridiculously high requirements for the purity of spiritual energy and the strength of the physical body, that its grade is set at the middle grade of the Earth rank.

In terms of potential, this sword energy has no upper limit!

Xu Mofeng practiced his surging strength several more times, and by the time he could completely control his aura, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

Despite not having slept all night, he was full of energy and showed no signs of fatigue. As he pushed open the door to his residence, the morning sun was slowly rising from the mountaintop.

On the platform atop Mount Jiuhua, disciples from the six sects gathered one after another. Once everyone had arrived, the martial arts competition between the six sects officially began.

Xu Mofeng stood in the Biyou Sect's group and immediately noticed several unfamiliar faces at the front of the group. Each of them had a deep and imposing aura, far surpassing that of ordinary core disciples.

The most eye-catching person was a white-clad man in his early twenties. He had an ordinary appearance, but he seemed to be surrounded by an invisible halo. No one could ignore his presence when their gaze swept over the Biyou Sect.

This person stood beside Elders Zou and Qin, clearly indicating that he held a very important position.

Xu Mofeng knew perfectly well that this was probably Feng Wubian, the core number one person in the sect who was always being talked about.

Not only Biyou Sect, but Xu Mofeng glanced at the other five sects and found that almost every one of them had such a figure standing there. They were all top geniuses who were the backbone of their respective sects' younger generation.