"Hongqi, have you ever heard of the Sword God Monument?" Meng Fan asked Hongqi while taking a break from cultivation.
"No." Hongqi's voice resounded in Meng Fan's mind.
"The previous master of the Hongqi Sword was not a disciple of the Shushan Sword Sect.
After he fell in battle, the Hongqi Sword was coincidentally collected into the Sword Pavilion of the Shushan Sword Sect.
Ever since it arrived at Shushan, the Hongqi Sword has never left the Sword Pavilion. Actually, you are the very first master of the Hongqi Sword within the Shushan Sword Sect!"
Meng Fan nodded, indicating that he understood.
It seemed that Hongqi knew very little about Shushan, so his plan to find a living fossil had fallen through.
The next day, after finishing wiping the longswords, Meng Fan arrived at the Sword Enlightenment Hall and met Liu Yanping as agreed.
"Are you planning to watch others practice the sword here for a while, or go straight to the Sword God Hall?" Knowing Meng Fan's habit of watching others practice swordsmanship, Liu Yanping asked.
Originally, she did not understand why Meng Fan liked to watch others practice swords.
But ever since she had witnessed Meng Fan's terrifying comprehension, she understood completely.
For a monster like Meng Fan, just watching others practice the sword allowed him to grasp some of the core essence of their swordsmanship. It was simply too exaggerated.
"Let's go straight to the Sword God Hall. No need to waste time," Meng Fan said to Liu Yanping.
To be honest, he was also very curious about the Sword God Hall and the Sword God Monument.
After all, this was a legendary treasure of the Shushan Sword Sect.
Liu Yanping led Meng Fan away from the Sword Enlightenment Hall and headed toward the Sword God Hall.
Along the way, Meng Fan suddenly stopped in his tracks.
For he saw a tall tower, its surroundings filled with a terrifying aura. The outer layers of the tower were bound with iron chains, and countless talisman papers were pasted across its surface.
This sight was extremely spectacular and shocking!
It was Meng Fan's first time reaching this area, and his first time seeing this tall tower.
Back when Meng Fan was a handyman disciple, he had no qualifications to enter this region at all.
Even after becoming a sword-guarding disciple of the Sword Pavilion, he had never been near this place.
"What's wrong?" Liu Yanping asked somewhat strangely when she saw Meng Fan stop.
Then she saw Meng Fan staring at the tower on the right, a smile involuntarily appearing on her face.
"First time seeing the Demon Suppressing Pagoda?"
Meng Fan immediately looked at Liu Yanping, his face full of astonishment.
"This is the legendary Demon Suppressing Pagoda?"
Meng Fan had naturally heard of the great reputation of the Demon Suppressing Pagoda.
It was rumored that this tower suppressed the passage connecting the Demon Realm to the Human Realm, and that numerous demons were locked up inside the tower, every single one of them heinous and incomparably terrifying!
Liu Yanping said to Meng Fan, "The interior of the Demon Suppressing Pagoda is extremely terrifying, but the outside is safe, so you don't need to worry."
Thinking that Meng Fan had been frightened, she spoke to comfort him.
Meng Fan exclaimed in wonder, "It is rumored that beneath the Demon Suppressing Pagoda lies the passage from the Demon Realm to the Human Realm.
Although the passage is sealed, fish that slip through the net occasionally appear at the bottom of the Demon Suppressing Pagoda.
And the mighty figures of the Shushan Sword Sect frequently enter the Demon Suppressing Pagoda to clean up these fish that slip through the net, slaying demons and eliminating devils!"
Liu Yanping glanced at Meng Fan.
"This isn't a rumor; it's a fact. However, only cultivators at the Elder level are qualified to enter the Demon Suppressing Pagoda to slay demons and eliminate devils. If a disciple enters the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, it's sheer suicide!"
"I wonder when I'll have such an opportunity," Meng Fan thought with a sense of yearning.
Slaying demons and eliminating devils, flying on a swords—this was the ultimate dream of every sword cultivator.
Liu Yanping rolled her eyes, holding back the urge to make a sarcastic remark at Meng Fan, and then said, "Once you gain enough comprehension from the Sword God Monument, perhaps you'll have the opportunity in the future."
Wanting to enter the Demon Suppressing Pagoda to eliminate demons was something only those at the Elder level were qualified to do.
One had to at least reach the Nascent Spirit realm, or even condense a Sword Soul, to have this ability!
Meng Fan was merely at the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement; he was far from ready.
However, with Meng Fan's terrifying comprehension, it wasn't entirely impossible in the future. In any case, Liu Yanping still valued Meng Fan quite a bit.
Taking one last look at the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, Meng Fan suppressed the yearning in his heart and said to Liu Yanping, "Senior Sister Liu, let's go. To the Sword God Hall first."
A moment later, guided by Liu Yanping, Meng Fan arrived at the Sword God Hall.
Although the Sword God Hall sounded extremely magnificent, it was actually an unadorned, simple grand hall.
In the center of the hall stood a massive stone monument.
The monument was a full seven or eight meters tall, almost touching the ceiling of the Sword God Hall.
All four sides of the stone monument were extremely smooth, devoid of any text or patterns, looking utterly plain and ordinary.
Yet sometimes, the more ordinary something appeared, the more astonishing mysteries it harbored within!
The Sword God Monument was precisely like this.
"Up to ten people can comprehend the Sword God Monument at the same time. There are only two people right now, so you can go straight ahead to comprehend it," Liu Yanping said to Meng Fan.
Although the Sword God Monument was miraculous, the cost was far too expensive, so naturally, it couldn't always have ten people comprehending it at once.
In fact, let alone ten people, at certain times there wasn't even a single person!
"I'll go by myself?" Meng Fan asked Liu Yanping.
"Of course. If I went with you, that would be two hundred Spirit Stones. Although I do have a few Spirit Stones saved up, one hundred Spirit Stones isn't something to be wasted casually!"
In Liu Yanping's view, spending one hundred Spirit Stones to comprehend the Sword God Monument was a pure waste.
Because she had already comprehended the Sword God Monument long ago; although she had gained a little bit, that pitifully small harvest was truly not worth one hundred Spirit Stones!
Chapter 29: The Great Dao of the Sword — [Primal]
Originally, she thought she would never come to this heartbreaking place, the Sword God Hall, again in her life.
As it turned out, she never expected to unearth a treasure like Meng Fan.
Comprehending the Sword God Monument relied on comprehension, and had nothing to do with Spiritual Roots.
Even though Meng Fan had trash-grade Spiritual Roots, his comprehension was the highest Liu Yanping had ever witnessed.
With such comprehension, he was bound to gain insights within the Sword God Monument.
If Meng Fan shared these insights with her, then her one hundred Spirit Stones definitely wouldn't be spent in vain.
It was worth it!
If it weren't worth it, she would never fund Meng Fan again in the future.
Before Meng Fan left, Liu Yanping exhorted him once more: "Hang in there, you must comprehend with all your might! If you gain nothing, or if your gains fail to satisfy me, don't ever expect to get a single Spirit Stone from me again in the future!"
That was putting it rather harshly.
With a solemn expression, Meng Fan immediately said to Liu Yanping, "Senior Sister Liu, rest assured, I will give it my all!"
He could disappoint anyone, but he certainly couldn't disappoint his very own sugar mommy.
After Liu Yanping paid the one hundred Spirit Stones for Meng Fan, Meng Fan walked toward the location of the Sword God Monument.
The Sword God Monument was massive, practically akin to a small wall.
The method of comprehending the Sword God Monument was actually very simple: one simply needed to place a hand on the monument.
One hundred Spirit Stones bought one hour; Meng Fan naturally wouldn't waste time. Approaching the Sword God Monument, he sat cross-legged and placed his hand upon it.
The next second, Meng Fan closed his eyes.
To Meng Fan's surprise, the moment his hand touched the Sword God Monument, he instantly felt an incomparable, razor-sharp Sword Intent.
This strand of Sword Intent was immensely majestic and boundless.
Meng Fan felt all sorts of wondrous profound mysteries.
Subduing demons, eliminating devils, executing immortals, slaying gods, destroying Buddhas, piercing the heavens, penetrating the earth...
This single strand of Sword Intent actually contained such infinite auras.
Shocked at heart, Meng Fan wondered what kind of Sword Intent and what kind of Sword Dao could be so grand, majestic, and boundless.
This was no longer just as simple as Sword Intent; this was the Sword Dao, the Great Dao of the Sword!
At the same time, Meng Fan's Sword Dao Divine Connection talent began to operate.
Instantly, streams of profound mysteries surged into Meng Fan's heart.
The Great Dao of the Sword — [Primal]
This stone monument contained a Great Dao of the Sword.
And the name of this Sword Dao was called [Primal].
The Primal Great Dao!
Shocked at heart, Meng Fan felt as though he had come into contact with something extraordinary.
Countless people in the Shushan Sword Sect had comprehended this stone monument.
Many people comprehended swordsmanship from it, and others comprehended Sword Intent.
Even those with exceptional talent had comprehended Sword Momentum from the stone monument.
Yet from the beginning until now, Meng Fan was the only person who had ever comprehended the Sword Dao!
The Primal Sword Dao encompassed everything.
Through his Sword Dao Divine Connection talent, Meng Fan frantically absorbed and assimilated the information of the Primal Sword Dao.
Sword Qi, Sword Intent, Sword Momentum, Sword Soul, Sword Body, Sword Dao...
Meng Fan gained a macro-level understanding of the path of the Sword Dao, and the train of thought in his mind completely opened up.
Ten thousand Great Daos ultimately return to the Primal!
[Primal] was merely one kind of Sword Dao, yet it seemed to involve all Sword Daos.
Regardless of any swordsmanship, any Sword Intent, or even any Sword Soul or Sword Body, as long as one was willing, they could all be integrated into the [Primal] Great Dao.
Although [Primal] was only one kind of the Great Dao of the Sword, it could be considered a supreme Sword Dao.
You could even integrate other Great Daos of the Sword into [Primal].
Meng Fan's mind trembled; his harvest at this moment could be considered leaping to the heavens in a single step.
As a mere cultivator in the Qi Refinement Realm, he should originally have only been able to touch upon Sword Qi, while the level of Sword Intent remained far out of reach.
Yet now, he had vaguely touched upon the ultimate end of the path of the sword.
Even though it was only a touch, it caused a heaven-subverting transformation to take place within his entire being.
Just as Meng Fan was immersed in this state of comprehension, he felt someone patting his shoulder.
He opened his eyes and saw a grey-robed elder.
"One hour is up," the grey-robed elder said expressionlessly.
Time was up?
Meng Fan was completely bewildered.
He clearly felt that only a few seconds had passed, yet an hour had already gone by.
Naturally, the grey-robed elder wouldn't lie to him about such a thing.
Besides, Liu Yanping was watching from the side; no one could cheat him out of his time.
Reluctantly, Meng Fan took his hand off the stone monument, truly feeling unsatisfied.
A mere hour just now had brought about a heaven-subverting transformation in his understanding of the sword.
If he were allowed to comprehend here for ten days and ten nights, he would truly undergo a complete rebirth.
He wasn't bragging—Meng Fan even had the confidence to instantly kill a cultivator at the 2nd Layer of True Martial with his cultivation at the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement!
For others, spending money to comprehend the Sword God Monument was a waste.
But for Meng Fan, it was truly a heaven-defying fortune!
In particular, this [Primal] Sword Dao coincided perfectly with the Myriad Swords Return to Sect concept Meng Fan had previously envisioned: gathering ten thousand styles of swordsmanship and melting them into one.
Only, this Primal Sword Dao was even more exaggerated. The Myriad Swords Return to Sect envisioned by Meng Fan had a limit.
As the name suggested, merging ten thousand swords was already the extreme.
In fact, Meng Fan had never thought of truly merging ten thousand swords; what he envisioned was merging a few hundred sword techniques to create a unique swordsmanship of his own.
The so-called Myriad Swords Return to Sect—those ten thousand swords just sounded intimidating!
How could one truly find ten thousand sword techniques?
Yet this [Primal] Sword Dao refreshed Meng Fan's imagination. Let alone ten thousand sword techniques, even ten million or one hundred million sword techniques—as long as so many sword techniques existed in the world, they could all be integrated into the [Primal] Sword Dao.
"How is it? What did you comprehend? Is it worth one hundred Spirit Stones?" After Meng Fan left the Sword God Monument, Liu Yanping hurriedly rushed over and asked.
Meng Fan thought for a moment and said to Liu Yanping, "Let's talk somewhere with fewer people."
The two left the Sword God Hall and found an open space outside.
"Well? How was it?" Liu Yanping asked somewhat impatiently.
Without a doubt, for Meng Fan, this comprehension was definitely worth it.
Although the Sword God Monument seemingly hadn't imparted any swordsmanship or Sword Intent to Meng Fan, it had upgraded the hardware of Meng Fan himself.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime!
Even taking the most tangible combat strength, Meng Fan's combat strength now was vastly improved compared to before he came to the Sword God Hall.
It wasn't an increase in True Qi, but an increase in consciousness.
Of course, to put it perfunctorily, one could also say it was an improvement in swordsmanship.
And right now, Meng Fan had the ability to rope Liu Yanping into continuing to invest in him.
He could make Liu Yanping feel that the Spirit Stones she spent were not wasted!
With a serious expression, Meng Fan said to Liu Yanping, "I did indeed comprehend quite a few things from this Sword God Monument.
However, some of these insights cannot be shared with you. It's not that I'm keeping secrets, but things comprehended on the level of consciousness are impossible to explain clearly and difficult to describe.
Yet there are some things I do have a way to share with you, and the things I share with you will definitely make you feel that spending those one hundred Spirit Stones was worth it."
Hearing Meng Fan's words, excitement appeared on Liu Yanping's face.
She naturally knew that some insights could only be apprehended intuitively and not transmitted in words. The reason she funded Meng Fan was precisely in the hope of picking up some scraps from him.
As long as the scraps she picked up were worth more than one hundred Spirit Stones, she would turn a profit.
Moreover, doing this could also make Meng Fan owe her a favor.
She valued Meng Fan greatly, believing that he would surely achieve something in the future. Having someone like this owe her a favor was definitely a guaranteed win with no risk of loss.
This was an investment standing on the fifth floor.
It now appeared she hadn't invested wrongly; it was truly a guaranteed win.
"Then hurry up and share what you can share with me! I want to see whether it's truly worth one hundred Spirit Stones!" Liu Yanping said impatiently.
Meng Fan smiled and said, "Don't rush, let me think about how to guide you."
If she were any other cultivator at the 9th Layer of Qi Refinement, upon hearing someone at the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement boldly claim they wanted to guide them, they would undoubtedly fly into a rage.
But Liu Yanping was already used to it.
She felt zero resistance toward the two words "guide".
And to be fair, even though Meng Fan was only at the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement, she genuinely felt inferior to him.
If Meng Fan's cultivation were to rise just a little bit, even if he only reached the 4th or 5th Layers of Qi Refinement, she estimated she would be strung up and beaten by him!
A moment later, Meng Fan had already figured out how to instruct Liu Yanping.
Looking at Liu Yanping with a serious expression, he said, "Senior Sister Liu, you've been at the 9th Layer of Qi Refinement for a while now. It's time to break through to the True Martial Realm."
Liu Yanping rolled her eyes and said helplessly, "Isn't that obvious nonsense? I've wanted to break through to the True Martial Realm for a long time, but is this something I can just break through to whenever I want?"
Meng Fan smiled. "If I want you to break through, you can break through."
Although Meng Fan's tone was arrogant, a trace of excitement and thrill appeared on Liu Yanping's face.
This kid Meng Fan happened to mention breaking through to the True Martial Realm at a time like this—could he really have a way?
"What way do you have? Spit it out!" This girl Liu Yanping was hot-tempered.
Meng Fan said, "Breaking through from the 9th Layer of Qi Refinement to the True Martial Realm actually lacks just one breath!"
"What breath? Stop playing games with me!" Liu Yanping urged impatiently.
As for what was lacking to break through from the 9th Layer of Qi Refinement to the True Martial Realm, the previous Meng Fan had been completely clueless.
However, after being baptized by the [Primal] Sword Dao, Meng Fan had gained many insights, and these insights could be extended from the Sword Dao to the path of cultivation.
"This breath is Sword Qi!" Meng Fan said to Liu Yanping with a serious expression.
Sword Qi?
Liu Yanping was somewhat baffled.
She poured True Qi into her sword blade, then slashed out with a single sword stroke.
A streak of Sword Qi pierced through the sword body and shot out.
"Sword Qi—I've been able to execute this trick for a long time. As long as one reaches the 3rd Layer of Qi Refinement and pours a sufficient amount of True Qi into a longsword, anyone can slash out Sword Qi. What does this have to do with breaking through to the True Martial Realm?"
Liu Yanping looked at Meng Fan with a bewildered expression.
Chapter 30: The Zenith of Swordsmanship is Sword Qi
Meng Fan smiled.
"This Sword Qi is not that Sword Qi!"
With that, he drew the Hongqi Sword and began to execute the Binhai Chaosheng Sword technique.
Meng Fan had previously sparred with Liu Yanping using this swordsmanship, and in order to instruct her, he had even specifically studied this set of sword techniques.
Therefore, Meng Fan was already extremely familiar with the Binhai Chaosheng Sword technique.
"Senior Sister Liu, your main cultivation is the Binhai Chaosheng Sword, am I right?" Meng Fan asked.
"That's right!" Liu Yanping replied.
"In that case, watch closely."
Having spoken, Meng Fan began to continue practicing the Binhai Chaosheng Sword technique.
Every single move and stance felt completely natural and seamless, making Liu Yanping—someone who had practiced the Binhai Chaosheng Sword for many years—truly feel ashamed of her inferiority.
Watching Meng Fan practice the sword, Liu Yanping unconsciously gained some insights, feeling that her own Binhai Chaosheng Sword technique could advance a step further.
A moment later, the entire set of the Binhai Chaosheng Sword technique had reached its final stance.
At that very moment, Meng Fan suddenly let out a loud shout: "Senior Sister Liu, take my sword!"
Liu Yanping looked at Meng Fan in astonishment.
She saw that Meng Fan had already finished executing the final stance of the Binhai Chaosheng Sword.
Yet Meng Fan, having finished the final stance of the Binhai Chaosheng Sword, did not stop his longsword; instead, he slashed out yet another sword at Liu Yanping.
It was a plain and ordinary sword strike, devoid of any flashy sword moves—just a simple, light, and casual wave.
"Whoosh..."
A streak of Sword Qi pierced straight out from the blade of the Hongqi Sword, slashing toward Liu Yanping.
Liu Yanping's expression changed abruptly; she abruptly summoned her True Qi and likewise slashed out with a sword.
"Bang!"
With a muffled sound, the Sword Qi swung out by Meng Fan was blasted apart by Liu Yanping's sword.
However, a massive force washed over her, forcing Liu Yanping to take a step back in spite of herself.
Staring at Meng Fan with a face full of shock and disbelief, she said, "Junior Brother Meng, you are merely at the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement. How on earth were you able to slash out Sword Qi?"
As everyone knew, one had to reach the 3rd Layer of Qi Refinement and unleash their True Qi to the limit before they could slash out Sword Qi!
"Think back carefully, did I mobilize my True Qi just now?" Meng Fan looked at Liu Yanping and said.
Just now?
Liu Yanping's brow furrowed as she recalled the moment carefully.
When Meng Fan was practicing the Binhai Chaosheng Sword technique, he hadn't mobilized his True Qi at all; he was just practicing the sword casually.
And right after finishing the swordsmanship, Meng Fan immediately swung his sword—smooth as flowing water, accomplished in a single breath—without employing the True Qi within his body.
Thinking of this, Liu Yanping was dumbfounded, her face filled with utter shock.
"You... you didn't mobilize your True Qi, so how could you possibly slash out Sword Qi?"
At this moment, Liu Yanping was truly dumbfounded.