Two years later, Meng Bai was twenty-three years old.
For the past two years, Meng Bai had been cultivating in his cave dwelling and never stepped outside.
On this day, a wave of spiritual energy surged through the cave dwelling.
Meng Bai woke up from his dream, his cultivation advancing from Level 1 Foundation Establishment to Level 2 Foundation Establishment.
Meng Bai stretched lazily.
"What a wonderful dream. Time's up, I should head back to the sect!"
The journey back to the sect was completely smooth.
"Meng Bai." Qin Yu was waiting early at the sect's main gate, accompanied by a young girl.
Meng Bai smiled slightly. "It has been three years."
"Who is this?" Meng Bai asked, looking at the young girl behind Qin Yu.
Qin Yu placed a hand on the young girl's back and introduced her: "This is my maternal aunt's daughter, Qin Pianran. She is seventeen this year and has quite a talent for cultivation. My family asked me to recommend her to the sect."
"Pianran, this is my good friend Meng Bai. If you encounter any difficulties after entering the Taixu Sect, you can look for him."
Qin Pianran said softly, "Hello, Senior Brother Meng."
Meng Bai looked at the shy girl before him and nodded. "How is it that I never saw you at the Qin family before?"
Qin Yu explained, "My aunt's family runs a traveling merchant business and doesn't stay in Maple Leaf Town year-round. They only just returned to the main family last year."
Although the girl was shy, she already possessed the cultivation of Level 9 Qi Condensation. At seventeen, Meng Bai remembered that he had only been at Level 6 Qi Condensation, while Qin Yu was at Level 8. By comparison, Qin Pianran was quite a little prodigy.
Meng Bai took a sword talisman out of his storage ring. "We are meeting for the first time, and I have nothing else to give Junior Sister. Please accept this sword talisman as a small token of my sincerity."
This talisman had been personally crafted by Meng Bai. It contained a wisp of Sea-Mountain Sword Qi, with a might comparable to a full-strength strike from an ordinary Level 7 Foundation Establishment cultivator—making it just right to give to Qin Pianran for self-protection.
Afterward, Qin Yu and Meng Bai chatted about the changes in Maple Leaf Town, and from the conversation, Meng Bai learned that his cousin Meng Yan had already gotten married.
Meng Bai sighed with emotion. "So Yan'er has reached the age for marriage."
Qin Yu smiled slightly. "Don't worry about Yan'er, her parents found her a good match."
Meng Bai nodded.
An incense stick's time later, Qin Yu took Qin Pianran to the outer sect registration office.
Before the age of twenty, those with recommendations from acquaintances could enter the outer sect directly through proper arrangements.
Meng Bai, meanwhile, went to the Mission Hall.
After handing over his garrison token, Meng Bai glanced at the contribution points in his hand.
5,100 points.
Normally, such a garrison mission yielded only 100 points over three years, while the remaining 5,000 had been awarded as a reward for his meritorious service in discovering the Demon Sect last time.
5,000 points could be exchanged for many cultivation resources within the sect, and Meng Bai instantly felt as though he had struck it rich overnight.
Meng Bai came to the exchange counter, looked at the densely packed list of exchangeable items, and prepared to find a few kinds of pills that could accelerate his cultivation.
Thanks to the Great Dream True Scripture, Meng Bai no longer needed a superior cave dwelling, but medicinal pills were still necessary.
Pills could accelerate the progress of his cultivation.
The dream world could materialize spiritual veins, but pills that he had never laid eyes upon could not be brought into existence.
Materialization in dreams required having actually seen the pills first.
However, every medicine had its toxicity; after reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, one could not take the same cultivation pill a second time within the same major realm.
Taking it a second time would not only fail to accelerate cultivation, but it would also easily cause impurities to accumulate in the body.
Meng Bai found this deeply regrettable. Why couldn't he endlessly pop pills like protagonists in some immortal cultivation novels from his past life? That way, he could frantically pop pills in his dreams and advance by leaps and bounds.
Suddenly, a reward caught Meng Bai's attention.
1,000 contribution points for three days inside the sect's Sword Graveyard.
Meng Bai asked the senior brother at the Contribution Hall, "Senior Brother, where is this sect Sword Graveyard, if I may ask?"
The senior brother at the Contribution Hall replied, "The Sword Graveyard is one of the foundational legacies of our Taixu Sect, burying countless spiritual swords of our predecessors. If one can gain the acknowledgment of a spiritual sword, they can take it out with them. But Junior Brother, even inner sect disciples cannot guarantee they will make a spiritual sword acknowledge them. Are you certain you want to go in?"
"If no spiritual sword acknowledges you within three days, those 1,000 contribution points will go down the drain."
Meng Bai smiled slightly. "Senior Brother, I want to exchange for the qualification to enter the Sword Graveyard for three days."
"Junior Brother, why won't you listen to advice? The spiritual swords in that graveyard can only be extracted by those inner sect disciples who have comprehended sword intent," the senior brother sighed upon seeing Meng Bai exchange for the Sword Graveyard entry qualification.
A spiritual sword—even a Low-Grade Spiritual Sword—possessed boundless might.
The sword at Meng Bai's waist was merely a Low-Grade Dharmic Artifact. If he could obtain a spiritual sword, the might of his swordsmanship would increase dramatically.
As for coming away empty-handed, it didn't matter; he could just treat it as broadening his horizons. However, Meng Bai was confident he would gain something inside the Sword Graveyard.
Because his sword intent had already reached the pinnacle, lacking only a single step to comprehend sword heart!
Such a level of sword intent comprehension was exceedingly rare even within the inner sect of the Taixu Sect.
Meng Bai arrived inside the Sword Graveyard.
Tens of millions of spiritual swords were stabbed into the ground within the graveyard, their chilling sword qi piercing directly into the firmament.
Meng Bai exclaimed in admiration, "As expected of the Taixu Sect! What a magnificent Sword Graveyard. If I could contemplate the Dao of the Sword here, I could comprehend the sword heart in less than a month!"
Instantly, Meng Bai's plan changed. He wanted to replicate the Sword Graveyard inside his dream.
Meng Bai walked up to a spiritual sword and observed it carefully. A short while later, he moved on to another spiritual sword, repeating this process over and over. His actions drew the attention of quite a few fellow disciples.
An inner sect disciple kindly reminded him, "Junior Brother, if you wish to gain the approval of a spiritual sword, you must calm your mind and earnestly comprehend its sword charm. You won't get anywhere by doing it this way."
Meng Bai smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother."
Afterward, he went right back to studying the spiritual swords on his own. Meng Bai possessed astonishing comprehension regarding the Dao of the Sword. Though he only stood before each sword for a short while, he was already able to grasp a shred of its sword charm. Trying to perfectly replicate them right from the start was unrealistic, so Meng Bai prepared to take it step by step.
Watching Meng Bai's behavior, that inner sect disciple sighed, "Alas—some people just cannot be taught!"
Half a month passed, during which Meng Bai comprehended the sword charms of the majority of the spiritual swords in the Sword Graveyard. His comprehension of the sword heart advanced further, and Meng Bai felt that the day he broke through to the sword heart was not far off.
There was still one hour left before the time Meng Bai could spend in the Sword Graveyard would be completely exhausted.
Meng Bai sighed softly, "The Sword Graveyard is wonderful, it just costs way too many contribution points."
At this moment, his contribution balance had plummeted to a mere 100 points.
"If I comprehend just a few more spiritual swords, it should be enough to construct a small-scale Sword Graveyard in my dream first."
Over the past fifteen days, many spiritual swords had resonated with Meng Bai, and he had the distinct feeling that if he pulled them out, he could take the swords away.
However, Meng Bai did not do so. The sect rules stipulated that a person could only take one spiritual sword out of the Sword Graveyard; if Meng Bai pulled a spiritual sword out now, it would mean he could never enter the Sword Graveyard again.
Suddenly, Meng Bai came to a halt before a certain spiritual sword. This sword contained an aura of mountains and seas, which resonated perfectly with his Sea-Mountain Sword Intent.
With just a single glance, Meng Bai and the spiritual sword before him resonated with one another.
Meng Bai forcefully suppressed the urge to draw the sword and quietly contemplated the sword charm within it.
Meng Bai shouted inwardly to himself: Stay calm, hold back! Must not pull it out!