Night fell.
The immortal cave was peaceful and serene.
On the stone bed, a person and a sword lay quietly side by side.
Luo Mingyue, dressed in plain clothes, kept her eyes tightly closed, already fast asleep.
The mouthful of vital essence she had expelled during the day had taken a heavy toll on her, leaving her utterly exhausted.
Luo Mingyue lay beside an iron sword.
All around them, absolute silence reigned.
Suddenly, a faint radiance diffused around the iron sword.
The body of the iron sword began to tremble with extreme subtlety.
If one listened closely, a low-pitched sword hum could be heard.
It was as if the sword had been stimulated by something.
At the same time, the subtle sword intent drifting through the air of the Sword Sect converged toward the iron sword in a steady stream.
As the drops gathered into a torrent, the originally faint sword intent gradually grew formidable.
It resembled drifting transparent clouds, intensifying the bizarre phenomena surrounding the iron sword.
More and more sword Qi accumulated, wrapping completely around the iron sword.
Finally, all of it sank into Jiang Chengan's body.
A portion was also absorbed by Luo Mingyue's body.
The sword Qi within the immortal cave rapidly thinned out.
Yet this was still not enough.
This was the Sword Sect.
Perhaps other things were scarce, but sword intent was always in abundant supply.
Especially since the peak where Luo Mingyue resided was not far from the main peak, Sword Peak, the supply of sword intent was endless.
...
At the same time.
Sword Peak.
This was the core domain of the Sword Sect.
It was also the place throughout the entire Sword Sect where powerful individuals were most concentrated and sword intent was most intense.
Inside a stone chamber.
Jian Wuming, the Sect Master of the Sword Sect, wore white robes. His face was square and his demeanor steady.
At this moment, he was in deep cultivation, sword intent swirling around his body.
The entire stone chamber echoed incessantly with the sharp, clashing sounds of metal.
His Nascent Soul late stage cultivation was majestic and terrifying.
Suddenly.
Jian Wuming seemed to sense something, his eyes snapping open.
The stone door of the chamber burst violently wide open.
Jian Wuming's aura erupted, and his figure shot out of the stone chamber like a broadsword, piercing directly into the sky.
He hovered steadily at the summit of Sword Peak.
He closed his eyes once more, his spiritual sense transforming into a thousand wisps that spread out into the surroundings.
Quietly, he sensed the flowing sword intent all around.
When he opened his eyes again, sword light flashed fiercely in the depths of his pupils.
"What is going on?"
"Why is the sword intent drifting around Sword Peak converging toward Spirit Sword Peak?"
Spirit Sword Peak.
This was none other than the mountain where Luo Mingyue lived.
"No."
Jian Wuming shook his head again. "Someone is absorbing sword intent to cultivate."
To be able to absorb sword intent for cultivation required, at the very least, the strength of the Nascent Soul mid-to-late stage.
Even those who had just stepped into the Nascent Soul stage could not accomplish this.
Yet the strongest person on Spirit Sword Peak, Peak Master Bai Yue, was only at Golden Core Perfection.
Who could possess such formidable strength? To actually be able to absorb sword intent for cultivation.
Could it be that some formidable sword cultivator in the Immortal Realm was hiding on Spirit Sword Peak?
Jian Wuming's gaze flashed abruptly.
Indeed, there were quite a few cultivators in the Immortal Realm who liked to play the pig to eat the tiger or hide away within other sects' domains.
Then there were those who were purely living in seclusion.
However, the strength of the latter sort was often peerless and terrifying, and absolutely not to be provoked.
Who on earth could it be?
Spirit Sword Peak.
Jian Wuming's eyes flickered.
He looked down at the base of Sword Peak, where some disciples were watching from a distance.
With a grand wave of his hand, he commanded, "Go! Tell Junior Sister Bai Yue of Spirit Sword Peak to come to Sword Peak and see me in person tomorrow!"
"Understood!"
The disciple withdrew.
Spirit Sword Peak.
The next morning.
Luo Mingyue woke from her slumber.
After a night of rest, much of her fatigue had faded away, revealing her exceptionally pretty face.
Luo Mingyue rolled off the bed.
Yet her movements were so exceptionally light that she froze in slight surprise.
What was going on?
She lowered her gaze to look at her own hands, her expression suddenly shifting.
She simply crossed her legs and sat down right where she was.
Turning her spiritual sense inward to scan her body, she was immediately startled.
Her cultivation realm had actually broken through! The bottleneck at the Foundation Establishment early stage that had stagnated for over a month had broken through last night.
She had reached the level of the Foundation Establishment mid stage.
What was happening?
Doubt filled Luo Mingyue's heart.
Suddenly, as if recalling something, her gaze instantly shifted to the iron sword resting on the bed.
The iron sword was archaic, mottled with rust.
At this moment, it still lay quietly on the bed, emitting no aura whatsoever.
Yet at this moment, Luo Mingyue felt an inexplicable stirring in her heart.
It must have been Sword Spirit Senior!
No wonder Sword Spirit Senior had insisted last night that she climb onto the bed and sleep alongside him; she had never imagined he was actually helping her achieve a breakthrough.
"Sword Spirit Senior."
Jiang Chengan was awakened by Luo Mingyue's voice of gratitude.
"Ah, what is it?"
"So early in the morning—don't you sleep? Could it be that Foundation Establishment cultivators eat breakfast too?"
Jiang Chengan was very puzzled.
Fortunately, he didn't have a morning temper; otherwise, he would have flared up for sure.
The day's plan is made in the morning.
Whether one could have a good mood for the day depended entirely on whether one could get a good sleep in the morning.
He thoroughly disliked being woken up in the morning.
Looked at this way, staying inside the Sword Tomb might have been a much better option after all.
"Sword Spirit Senior, thank you so much for your help to this junior."
"Mingyue is endlessly grateful."
Luo Mingyue was deeply moved and directly parted her plain skirt to kneel before the iron sword.
Jiang Chengan was dumbfounded.
What was the meaning of all this kneeling and kowtowing so early in the morning? Did she think he had been stabbed into the ground just to serve as a memorial tablet?
"What are you doing? Get up!"
He spoke immediately.
His voice emanated from within the iron sword, while simultaneously, a system prompt chimed in his mind: [Ding—]
[For three hundred and sixty-six days of absorbing sword intent, the host's self-healing ability has reached one hundred percent.]
[Now converting the host's self-healing ability into sword body strength.]
[The system is evaluating the host's sword body strength...]
[Sword body strength: Heavenly Grade]
[Comparable to the strength of a human cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage.]
[Resistance risk against the Heavenly Tribulation: 0]
Jiang Chengan was taken aback.
Immediately afterward, another stream of information flooded into his mind.
The fact that his sword body strength was comparable to that of a human Nascent Soul stage did not mean his actual combat power had reached the human Nascent Soul stage.
Rather, it meant his sword body strength could withstand attacks from human Nascent Soul stage powerhouses.
That was actually quite powerful, right? But the next piece of data was interesting.
Resistance risk against the Heavenly Tribulation: 0.
In other words, it was utterly incapable of resisting the Ascension Tribulation.
No wonder that Deity Transformation prodigy of the Sword Sect from ten thousand years ago had perished directly.
Just how terrifying could that Ascension Tribulation possibly be?
"Sword Spirit Senior, for Mingyue to find you and become your partner is truly the blessing of ten lifetimes."
Luo Mingyue stood up and said.
[Host sword body strength +0.5]
[Current cumulative strength: 0.5]
[Resistance risk against the Heavenly Tribulation: 0.1]
[Reward: Sword technique 'Heavenly Emperor Sword']
The system's voice rang out once more.
After thoroughly digesting all this information, Jiang Chengan took a deep breath, looked at Luo Mingyue, and asked, "What did you just say?"
Luo Mingyue was startled.
Her expression instantly turned peculiar.
Right at that moment, however, the barrier of the immortal cave rippled.
A sword-shaped seal landed securely into Luo Mingyue's palm.
"Mingyue."
"Today is the opening day of the Sword Pavilion. All cultivators who chose their swords yesterday may enter the Sword Pavilion to acquire a sword technique."
Luo Mingyue's eyes instantly brightened. "Sword Spirit Senior, would you be willing to accompany Mingyue on a trip to the Sword Pavilion?"
...