Right after finishing the sword technique, Meng Fan swung his sword again, smooth and flowing in a single, uninterrupted motion, without using any True Qi from within his body.
Thinking of this, Liu Yanping stood dumbfounded, her face a mask of utter shock.
"You... you didn't use any True Qi, how could you possibly send out sword qi?"
At that moment, Liu Yanping was truly dumbfounded.
If Meng Fan had unleashed sword qi with the cultivation of the 2nd Layer of Qi Condensation, it would have been astonishing, but not completely incomprehensible. Perhaps he practiced some special technique that made his True Qi thicker than a normal person's.
However, to be able to casually slash out sword qi without using any True Qi at all went far beyond common sense and defied Liu Yanping's understanding, appearing nothing short of a miracle.
"How on earth did you do that?" Liu Yanping furrowed her brows, her worldview shaken.
Meng Fan sheathed the Hongqi Sword back into its scabbard and said with a smile, "This is precisely the breakthrough you've been missing to reach the True Martial Realm!"
"What do you mean?" Liu Yanping did not understand.
"Breaking through to the True Martial Realm requires not only that your True Qi reaches a certain intensity, but also a transformation of your spirit. Once you cultivate to the 9th Layer of Qi Condensation, your True Qi has already reached the intensity needed to break through to the True Martial Realm. Of the essence, breath, and spirit, the only thing you are lacking is spirit! I don't know how other people manage to break through mentally, but from the process of comprehending the Sword God Monument, I realized a method. That is to cultivate a sword technique to its absolute peak. Once a sword technique is mastered to perfection and thoroughly understood, 'spirit' will naturally be present every time you raise the sword. The sword qi I just executed was not generated by relying on True Qi. It was a sword qi born directly from practicing the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Technique to its absolute limit!"
Hearing Meng Fan's words, Liu Yanping wore a dazed and utterly incredulous expression.
She murmured, "Cultivating a sword technique to the extreme, so that when you raise the sword it feels as though possessed by a divine spirit, allows you to generate sword qi purely through the sword technique?"
"Correct!" Meng Fan nodded.
"Then an ordinary person who trains a sword technique to the extreme, even without True Qi in their body, can generate sword qi by virtue of that set of sword techniques?"
"That is the logic of it!"
Liu Yanping's expression turned one of utter shock.
She had just personally experienced the might of Meng Fan's sword qi, which rivaled the strike of a martial artist at the 6th or 7th Layer of Qi Condensation. Viewed this way, did that not mean an ordinary person without any True Qi, once they cultivated a sword technique to its absolute limit, could also go toe-to-toe with martial artists at Layers 5 and 6 of Qi Condensation?
Of course, thinking about it the other way around, if someone could cultivate a sword technique to the absolute peak, how could they possibly remain an ordinary person without True Qi?
It was a paradox!
After a good while, Liu Yanping finally came to her senses.
She looked thoughtfully at Meng Fan and asked, "You mean that if I can cultivate the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Technique to the level you've reached, I can step into the True Martial Realm?"
Meng Fan nodded and said, "That's right. Furthermore, breaking through to the True Martial Realm in this manner makes one stronger than ordinary True Martial practitioners, and most importantly, the potential runs much deeper!"
"How so?" Liu Yanping was somewhat perplexed.
"Because this Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining sword qi can actually be considered the seed of the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Intent. Once you cultivate this kind of sword qi, condensing the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Intent in the future will be no difficult task!"
Meng Fan continued smoothly, "If you can further condense the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Intent while at the 9th Layer of True Martial, you will be able to smoothly step into the Tianyuan Realm."
The Tianyuan Realm?
She hadn't even stepped into the True Martial Realm yet, and this kid Meng Fan was already dangling the grand prospect of the Tianyuan Realm in front of her. This couldn't help but make Liu Yanping smile bitterly.
However...
Sword intent?
So the foundation of condensing a sword intent was actually cultivating a sword technique to its ultimate limit.
"I never imagined that comprehending the Sword God Monument just once would expand your insight by this much!" Liu Yanping said with a trace of envy.
She had also comprehended the Sword God Monument, but the result was... well, hard to put into words.
Really, comparing oneself to others only made one want to die of frustration!
Meng Fan smiled. To be honest, he hadn't expected that comprehending the Sword God Monument would give him so many high-level insights into the path of cultivation.
This time, he had truly made a massive profit!
Liu Yanping suddenly thought of something and looked at Meng Fan in amazement. "Since you have now cultivated the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Technique to its absolute limit and can generate sword qi with it, does that mean once you reach the 9th Layer of Qi Condensation, you can seamlessly advance to the True Martial Realm?"
"Theoretically, yes," Meng Fan nodded.
Liu Yanping was truly consumed by envy, jealousy, and resentment, feeling that the heavens were simply unfair. How could they allow someone to excel to this degree? How were other people supposed to live? Couldn't they distribute a little bit of this excellence to everyone else?
Liu Yanping sighed and said with boundless envy, "A person like you is truly preposterous. Even if you suddenly mastered sword intent one day, I wouldn't even be surprised!"
Meng Fan smiled and said nothing.
For him to cultivate sword intent really wasn't any difficult task. Take the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Technique, for example; if Meng Fan were willing to spend time researching it, perhaps in a month or two, he could cultivate the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Intent. But Meng Fan looked down on the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Technique; even if sword intent were cultivated from it, it wouldn't be an exceptionally powerful one. If someone like Meng Fan wanted to cultivate sword intent, he would certainly pick a formidable one to master!
"Just telling you this news obviously isn't worth a hundred Spirit Stones. I'm a man of my word and fair to all; over the next few days, I will personally tutor you in the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Technique."
Meng Fan's service could be said to be thoroughly attentive and remarkably considerate. He had no choice, as he still placed great value on Liu Yanping, this walking goddess of wealth. He still wanted to go and comprehend the Sword God Monument a few more times, so he had no choice but to shear some wool off this little wealthy heiress, Liu Yanping.
"Within seven days, I will definitely have you break through to the True Martial Realm!" Meng Fan declared with grand ambition.
Over the next seven days, Meng Fan spent every day tutoring Liu Yanping in the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Technique. Most of the time was spent in the Hall of Sword Comprehension; whenever Senior Brother Luo went out to buy wine, Liu Yanping would come over to the Sword Pavilion. In any case, not a single day was wasted!
Seven days later, Liu Yanping finally cultivated the Blue Sea Tide-Sustaining Sword Technique to its ultimate limit. Just like Meng Fan, even without using True Qi, she could stimulate sword qi by relying on this sword technique. Most importantly, she successfully broke through to the True Martial Realm.
This made her overjoyed, and she immediately tossed out a reward of ten Spirit Stones to Meng Fan. It wasn't a huge amount, but Meng Fan was content and didn't look down on it.
Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, another half a month passed. During this period, Meng Fan still went to the Hall of Sword Comprehension every day to observe swords. After his previous comprehension of the Sword God Monument, he had gained deeper insights while observing swords. His own cultivation had also reached the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation.
The most important thing was that his envisioned Myriad Swords Return to Sect had vaguely taken shape.
Unfortunately, his accumulation was insufficient. If someone could really give him ten thousand sword techniques to study, that would be wonderful. The sword techniques practiced by the disciples in the Hall of Sword Comprehension were roughly a hundred variations on repeat, and Meng Fan could no longer find any fresh sword techniques there.
By now, he rarely went to the Hall of Sword Comprehension.
"If I could just sweep through the Scripture Pavilion, that would be fantastic," Meng Fan sometimes couldn't help thinking.
Regrettably, he was merely a sword-guarding disciple of the Sword Pavilion, not a scripture-guarding disciple of the Scripture Pavilion.
On this morning, just like any other day, Meng Fan began wiping longswords. Over this recent period, the longswords Meng Fan wiped occasionally contained malevolent qi. However, the "memories" within these sword malevolences could no longer hold Meng Fan's attention. They were basically just ordinary sword techniques, around the same level as what he saw the disciples practicing in the Hall of Sword Comprehension.
Just as Meng Fan was wiping the twenty-ninth longsword of the day, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Wait a moment!"
Hongqi's voice rang out.
"What is it?" Meng Fan asked softly.
"Although this sword looks unremarkable, it is actually a spirit sword," Hongqi reminded Meng Fan.
Chapter 31: The Sword Demon Turns Out to Be a Woman
Since Hongqi and Meng Fan lived and breathed together day and night, she naturally knew that Meng Fan was deliberately picking ordinary longswords to wipe while avoiding spirit swords. Therefore, when Meng Fan was about to touch a spirit sword, she took the initiative to speak up and remind him.
Meng Fan might occasionally fail to distinguish a spirit sword, but Hongqi, being a spirit sword herself, was naturally crystal clear about it!
Hearing Hongqi's reminder, a trace of surprise appeared on Meng Fan's face.
However, it was merely a trace of surprise. He had thought about it before: it was possible that some spirit swords looked entirely ordinary and might be accidentally selected by him. Because of this, he had always been very cautious and deliberately avoided spirit swords. He hadn't expected to actually run into one this time!
Yet, after hearing Hongqi's reminder this time, Meng Fan did not pull his hand away. Instead, he continued reaching for this spirit sword.
The sword weapons he had come into contact with during this period were all far too trashy; even those containing sword malevolence yielded no good harvests. Since he had happened to stumble upon a spirit sword by coincidence this time, Meng Fan simply decided not to dodge anymore. He would test this spirit sword, and he would test himself!
By now, Meng Fan had already cultivated to the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation, and coupled with taking Body Tempering Pills every day, his physique was much stronger than before. Most importantly, after his previous comprehension of the Sword God Monument, Meng Fan's "consciousness" had also grown and progressed tremendously.
"It's about time I grabbed a spirit sword to test the waters!" Meng Fan muttered to himself.
"Don't be reckless!" Hongqi's somewhat nervous and urgent voice rang out in Meng Fan's mind.
She clearly remembered that previously, that inner disciple Dugu Ming, a presence in the True Martial Realm, had almost been killed by a spirit sword. For Meng Fan to touch a spirit sword at this early stage was truly a bit too reckless.
Unfortunately, her warning came too late.
Because Meng Fan's hand had already grasped that spirit sword.
[Sword Name: Moyun]
………
The moment Meng Fan's hand touched the Moyun Sword, a massive surge of malevolent qi gushed out from the blade, directly enveloping him.
The Hongqi Sword suddenly burst forth with a red light, attempting to fend off this malevolent qi and protect its master.
Yet Meng Fan hurriedly shouted, "Hongqi, stop! Let me handle this myself!"
The red light of the Hongqi Sword flickered on and off, clearly hesitating.
In the end, Hongqi obediently followed Meng Fan's words and did not make a move. Although she was worried, she felt that since Meng Fan was the master she had chosen, she should trust him! If he couldn't even handle this bit of danger, how could he ever grow, and how would he ever have the capability to avenge her?
The rolling sword malevolence surged toward Meng Fan, looking extremely grim and terrifying.
A moment later, all of this sword malevolence flooded into Meng Fan's body.
Hongqi's phantom drifted out from the Hongqi Sword, looking at Meng Fan with a worried face. At the same time, she was somewhat puzzled; it seemed as though Meng Fan had actively absorbed these sword malevolences into his body.
She shook her head, banishing this absurd thought from her mind.
"Are you worried about him?"
Hongqi heard a voice and abruptly turned her head.
She saw Senior Brother Luo, who at this moment was also watching Meng Fan with a worried expression.
To forcibly touch a spirit sword with the cultivation of the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation was indeed extremely dangerous. Fortunately, Meng Fan was different from Dugu Ming; Dugu Ming had wanted to subdue the spirit sword, whereas Meng Fan merely wanted to wipe it, so this spirit sword shouldn't deal too harsh a blow to him! Moreover, Moyun wasn't as savage as Chiyue, so Meng Fan shouldn't be in any major trouble, right?
That was what he thought, but Senior Brother Luo wasn't entirely certain either. After all, spirit swords were not human; one could not measure a spirit sword using human logic. Still, this kid Meng Fan had displayed all sorts of monstrous traits ever since entering the Sword Pavilion; presumably, he should be able to withstand this Moyun Sword as well.
Senior Brother Luo looked at Hongqi with a hint of curiosity and said, "To be honest, I'm quite curious. Why do you care so much about this kid? Even if his aptitude is good, it shouldn't be enough to make you pay this much attention to him. Could it be that you've also taken a fancy to his handsome appearance? Do sword spirits like handsome guys too?"
Hearing Senior Brother Luo's words, Hongqi was clearly stunned.
Because she herself had never thought about this question!
When she recognized Meng Fan as her master, had she valued his handsome face, or his astonishing comprehension and aptitude?
It seemed to be a bit of both!
Senior Brother Luo did not know that the sword spirit of the Hongqi Sword had once been a living person. He was unlike Meng Fan, who could discern the origin and forging method of the Hongqi Sword. Therefore, he had no idea that the Hongqi Sword was forged by sacrificing a young girl's heart-blood, nor did he know that the sword spirit Hongqi was that very girl who had been sacrificed. If he had known, he certainly wouldn't have bantered with the Hongqi Sword like this.
"None of your damn business!" Hongqi let out a cold snort, then turned into a red beam of light and drilled back into the Hongqi Sword.
Senior Brother Luo rubbed his nose, completely baffled as to why he had just been cursed at. As expected, sword spirits were completely unreasonable, let alone open to jokes.
"If this kid can safely withstand the sword malevolence of this Moyun Sword, perhaps it's time to take him to see Old Lin," Senior Brother Luo muttered to himself.
Perhaps this kid really had a glimmer of hope of becoming Old Lin's personal disciple!
If that happened, it would truly be stepping into the heavens in a single bound.
Thinking of this, Senior Brother Luo couldn't help feeling a tinge of envy.
However, it was merely envy, without any jealousy. After all, he had previously had the opportunity to become Old Lin's personal disciple, but unfortunately, he hadn't lived up to expectations and had no way around it. In the end, he had barely managed to secure the identity of an honorary disciple under Old Lin.
Meanwhile, after those sword malevolences entered Meng Fan's body, they were frantically refined by Dao Sword Divine Mastery.
The memories contained within the sword malevolence also gradually surfaced in Meng Fan's mind.
………
On a certain mountain peak, clouds and mist swirled.
A man and a woman stood facing each other in confrontation.
The man was dressed in white robes, while the woman wore a black cloak.
Merely from the colors of their clothing, the opposition between the two could be seen.
"Junior Sister Yurou, now that things have reached this point, are you still refusing to see the reason? The Hunyuan Sword Sect has already been destroyed by the Ghost Shadow Demonic Sect. Master, Mistress, junior brothers, and junior sisters have all turned into pale white bones. Even now, do you feel no remorse?"
The man in white looked at the woman in black with a grief-stricken expression, his tone filled with bitterness and helplessness. An uncontrollable wave of sorrow emanated from the man.
Just seeing the beginning of this memory, Meng Fan already understood that this was a tragic drama.
Sure enough, the woman in black spoke: "From the moment I joined the Ghost Shadow Demonic Sect, I was no longer a member of the Hunyuan Sword Sect. Whether the Hunyuan Sword Sect survives or perishes has nothing to do with me!"
"Junior Sister, before Master passed away, he told me that the thing he worried about most was you, and made me promise to persuade you to turn over a new leaf," the man in white said with a complex tone.
The woman in black let out a cold laugh, a mocking curve forming at the corners of her mouth.
"He worried about me? Was this his way of dragging me down to be buried with him?"
………
……
Meng Fan carefully watched these memories, followed by more back-and-forth melodrama between the man and the woman.
The woman had once been a disciple of the Hunyuan Sword Sect, but had been framed by the sect, prompting her in a fit of rage to defect and join the rival demonic sect. In the end, with the woman's assistance, the Ghost Shadow Demonic Sect successfully destroyed the Hunyuan Sword Sect.
Out of the entire Hunyuan Sword Sect, only this man in white had survived, finding the woman in black in an attempt to persuade her to repent.
Unfortunately, not every tragic drama ended with a happy resolution.
The man in white cleared up the misunderstandings of the past, but this woman named Yurou did not fall into his arms crying and repent suddenly as Meng Fan had imagined.
The end of this memory was Yurou piercing a sword straight into the heart of the man in white.
The man in white: perished!
And the Moyun Sword was Yurou's personal weapon.
After Yurou killed the man in white with a single sword, she comprehended a sword technique:
The Seven Absolutes Demonic Sword!
Absolute Emotion!
Absolute Righteousness!
Absolute Love!
Absolute Hatred!
Absolute Sorrow!
Absolute Joy!
Absolute Anger!
These seven absolutes directly plunged Yurou completely into the demonic path, transforming her into a Sword Demon.
Meng Fan had once heard of the great reputation of the Sword Demon of the Ghost Shadow Demonic Sect; she was an extremely powerful and terrifying existence, and it was said that even the sect master of the Ghost Shadow Demonic Sect did not dare to easily provoke this Sword Demon.
The Seven Absolutes Demonic Sword was the unique signature skill that the Sword Demon used to roam and dominate the world.
It was worth mentioning that this Sword Demon was still alive to this day.
After absorbing all these memories, Meng Fan opened his eyes.
He never expected that the world-renowned Sword Demon would actually be a woman.
This truly came as quite a surprise to Meng Fan.
Meng Fan looked at the Moyun Sword in his hand, a sense of astonishment rising in his heart.
He hadn't expected that this seemingly ordinary-looking Moyun Sword had once actually been the personal weapon of the Sword Demon!
This Shushan Sword Pavilion could truly be said to encompass all the famous swords of the world; even on the very first floor, one could frequently pick up some extraordinary treasures.
However, although these sword weapons had extraordinary origins, no matter how extraordinary their backgrounds were, the inherent strength of the sword weapon itself remained right there. One could not say that just because it once belonged to a great figure, it was automatically more powerful than other sword weapons of the same grade. There was no such logic—its actual power was the same!
Still, the Shushan Sword Sect indeed possessed the greatest number of famous swords in the entire world.
Putting aside everything else, the Fuxi Sword, one of the three divine artifacts, was in the Shushan Sword Sect. The famously renowned Demon Sealing Sword was also within the Demon Suppressing Pagoda of the Shushan Sword Sect.
If Meng Fan could one day come into contact with a divine sword of that caliber, he would truly be able to soar straight into the heavens!
"How do you feel? Are you alright?" Senior Brother Luo stood behind Meng Fan, asking with a hint of concern.
"Senior Brother, don't worry, I'm fine!" Meng Fan turned back, glanced at Senior Brother Luo, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
Although his head felt a faint, stinging pain, Meng Fan could fully bear this minor sequela.
Meng Fan's guess had been correct: his previous comprehension of the Sword God Monument had greatly enhanced his consciousness and spiritual power. Moreover, this kind of enhancement would be of immense benefit to his future cultivation!
It seemed he needed to find a way to extract some more Spirit Stones from Liu Yanping and strive to comprehend the Sword God Monument once more.
To others, comprehending the Sword God Monument was a waste of Spirit Stones. But to Meng Fan, the help it provided him was simply too immense!
Meng Fan pulled out the Moyun Sword, wiped it clean once, and placed it back in its original spot.
And this time, the origin essence of the sword that surged from the Moyun Sword into Meng Fan's body was far more abundant than that of ordinary longswords.