Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 567 The Sword Qi Circulates Through the Mysterious Aperture, I Have a Sword That Captures the Golden Crow (I'll be updating less tomorrow as I'm going to sweep the tombs)
At the summit of Lingfeng Peak in Taiqing Mountain, deep within the Hanguang Cave.

The cave, filled with ancient, mysterious ice, was not bitterly cold; instead, it was enveloped in a misty, ethereal atmosphere.

A gentle breeze brushes against your face, refreshing your mind and promoting longevity.

The spiritual energy within this Cold Light Cave is so great that if an ordinary person lived there permanently, even without cultivating any techniques, they could probably live for hundreds of years.

Of course, even cultivators with lower cultivation levels would find it difficult to enter such spiritual realms and caves.

The "Jade Mysterious Cleansing Cold Spring," which originates from the mountain's spiritual veins and gathers the essence of Taiqing Mountain over hundreds of millions of years, is now radiating a warm and clear light.

The spring water does not flow freely, but rather solidifies into a solid, liquid jade-like disc, stored in the spring lake.

Lu Cheng Daoist sat upright on it, his body not sinking down, as if he were sitting in the center of a huge jade mirror that emitted a soft glow.

He possessed an otherworldly air and was like a deity.

He has maintained this state for who knows how many years.

The jade spring beneath him was no longer merely a sacred healing object; after a long period of seclusion, it had developed a mysterious resonance with Lu Cheng's Xuan Tian Dao Body.

As the water vapor rose, each wisp of mist contained incomparably pure innate water essence, which spontaneously seeped into Lu Cheng's Dao body and Dharma body, cleansing the true essence and magic power that was surging and roaring under the guidance of the Xuan Tian Divine Art, helping to dispel the fire and nourish the meridians.

This calmed the almost frenzied growth rate, allowing it to merge into a deeper, purer, and more natural trajectory.

After enduring the Heavenly Tribulation of Integration for countless years, Lu Cheng entered a profound state of enlightenment.

He would constantly delve into the understanding of the principles of Taoism, swordsmanship, and magic.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible to continue managing the sect. Fortunately, everything in the sect was back on track by now.

The system left behind by Lu Cheng can also solve most of the sect's affairs.

At this moment, Daoist Lu Cheng closed his eyes, his expression serene, his breathing long and deep, as if in harmony with the mountains, the heavens and the earth, and in sync with the stars, the sun and the moon.

He was not asleep, but in a profoundly mysterious state of "awake and asleep". His thoughts were not silent, but flowed like a stream of light through the boundless "sword domain" deep within his consciousness, learning and comprehending.

This "consciousness space" constructed from boundless sword intent is filled with an endless universe, distorted chaos, and a shattered panorama of heaven and earth.

Countless sword streaks, some sharp, some ethereal, some heavy, some swift, were born, reassembled, and collided within it.

They are Lu Cheng's past insights, the reflection of the vast chapters of the "Male and Female Dragon Tiger Demon Refining Sword Scripture" in his mind, and the swordsmanship sharpness extracted from every life-and-death battle and every moment of deep contemplation.

At this very moment, an incomparably dazzling and pure golden stream of light occupied the center of this sword domain.

It is as condensed as a pool of golden water, yet it carries a sharpness that can tear everything apart; it is faster than the flow of thoughts, as if its sharpness has already reached far when the thought moves.

"Qi Sea Refining, Foundation Building Great Five Elements Earth Extreme True Fire, Purple Mansion Natal Blood Fire, Golden Core Samadhi True Fire; Nascent Soul Profound Sword, Primordial Spirit Five Qi Converging to the Origin, Returning to Emptiness Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, then... what kind of combined divine power can I condense?"

The lower the cultivation level, the easier it is for a cultivator to summarize what they have learned and comprehend supernatural powers; the higher the cultivation level, the more difficult it is to summarize.

Therefore, when many Taoists reach a high level, they have already exhausted their resources to break through their own realm, and the supernatural powers they have accumulated are mostly getting weaker and weaker or even difficult to accumulate.

Lu Cheng condensed the Three Flowers on the top of his head at the Returning to Void Realm. It was only after he had advanced to the Returning to Void Realm that he gradually condensed and refined them. Of course, the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top is an extremely powerful top-level divine ability.

As for Lu Cheng's breakthrough to the Integration Realm after returning to the Void Realm, he used his Void Realm body to kill a Mahayana Demon Ancestor as the opportunity for advancement: Sword cultivators can hone their cultivation through bloody battles and make up for their own shortcomings.

Therefore, at this moment, Lu Cheng clearly sensed that his innate divine power at the Integration Realm would be a sword-based killing divine power!
As long as you can control it.

That golden sword intent swept through Lu Cheng's sea of ​​consciousness, repeatedly simulating extreme scenarios of piercing darkness, penetrating illusion, and piercing through the sun.

Each simulation is a refining process for this "sword," making its sharpness more restrained yet more breathtaking.

Outside, countless years have passed, oblivious to the changes in heaven and earth. But within this boundless space of sword intent, this "sword" has been deduced trillions of times, its power becoming almost instinctive. Only when the sword is forged and the spirit returns to the primordial purity will its sword light illuminate the world!
While Lu Cheng's physical body and primordial spirit were immersed in the profound sword comprehension, a simple and heavy furnace was burning fiercely in the cold jade cave wall not far in front of him.

This furnace is no ordinary furnace for refining weapons. It is carved from a single piece of "Heavenly Fire Mystic Crystal". The furnace wall is naturally interwoven with crimson-gold flame patterns. It is called "Qian Yuan Refining Furnace", an eighth-grade superior weapon refining treasure that the Taiqing Sect has suppressed in its treasure vault for ten thousand years.

It's not that there aren't any ninth-tier furnaces, but a ninth-tier furnace might not be as good or better as this furnace for forging an eighth-tier natal flying sword.

This furnace has the ability to melt and refine the essence of the void and transform the fire of the sun, moon, and stars. It cannot be controlled by anyone other than a Mahayana cultivator or someone with immense magical power and supernatural abilities.

Lu Cheng undoubtedly belongs to the latter category. His magical power is so powerful and pure that he is almost second to none among those of the same level in the Earth Immortal Realm.

Lu Cheng himself has some experience in sword forging, but he is not an eighth or ninth-order weapon refiner. He only refines and enhances his natal magic weapon. It does not require the master to have the same level of weapon forging cultivation. This is because the cultivator and the natal magic weapon resonate with each other. The cultivator can sense which spiritual materials are beneficial to the natal magic weapon and which are the opposite.

Therefore, it is best to have the cultivation level of a high-level weapon refiner, but it will not be a big loss if you don't have it. At most, it will just delay the time for nurturing and cultivating your skills.

Lu Cheng Daoist activated his magic power and unleashed a palm strike, causing the flames beneath the Qian Yuan Refining Furnace to suddenly surge.

The furnace fire is no ordinary fire; its flames are a deep white, warm and smooth like jade, without the ferocity of ordinary flames, yet it contains immense magical power capable of burning mountains and boiling seas, melting gold and forging souls.

The true fire silently licked the Dao patterns on the furnace wall, bringing those patterns to life, and vaguely, grand illusions of divine birds flying and yin and yang rotating flowed in the flames.

The furnace mouth spewed out colorful rays of light, and every slight vibration was accompanied by strange sounds like the roar of dragons and tigers, the cry of phoenixes and the chirping of tortoises.

At this moment, inside that furnace, the ancient spiritual materials and treasures that the Taiqing Sect had gathered with all its strength were being refined. What was being refined was none other than Lu Cheng's two natal flying swords, which were bound together by life and death: the Five Elements Flying Sword and the Boundless Blood Sea Sword!

As the acting sect leader of the Taiqing Sect, although it required countless efforts, there were also benefits. Over the past six hundred years, Lu Cheng had accumulated a large amount of sect merits and virtues, which could be exchanged for a large number of spiritual items and precious materials in the treasury, and all of them were used at this time.

Amidst the flickering flames of the roaring furnace, one can vaguely see:

The Five Elements Flying Swords were burned by the firelight inside the furnace, spinning wildly in the sky.

Finally, unable to withstand the burning any longer, it suddenly split into five, flying off in five different directions as if trying to scatter and escape.

However, the precious flames in the furnace also split into five, chasing and enveloping the sword as it was forged.

For the flying sword, it was like taking a bath; at first, it felt extremely hot, but after soaking for a while, it felt comfortable and relaxing.

For cultivators who refine swords, it's like raising a spirit beast pet. If you take it to bathe after a long time, it will think you're going to drown it. Without a fierce battle, it's impossible to succeed.

At this very moment, Lu Cheng had already succeeded: the Taibai Flying Sword, representing the metal element, had transformed into a flowing sword embryo, its form shimmering with endless sharpness and existing in a state between reality and illusion. It was greedily devouring the "Starry Divine Gold Marrow" and "Primordial Geng Gold Mother Qi" thrown into the furnace. With each absorption, the sword embryo solidified further, its sword light becoming increasingly sharp and pure, seemingly capable of severing cause and effect and destroying all laws.

The Azure Lotus Flying Sword, representing the Wood element, was enveloped in a vibrant, emerald-green cocoon brimming with boundless vitality. The "Essence of Jianmu" and the "Eternal Wutong Heart," thrown into the furnace, were not melted by flames, but rather, catalyzed by the Dao patterns of true fire, transformed into incomparably pure Wood vitality, continuously nourishing the cocoon. The emerald cocoon pulsed slightly, like the heart of a deity; with each pulsation, a vast tide of life emanated, cleansing the fierce aura of the other swords within the furnace.

The Xuanming Flying Sword, representing the element of water, has a unique form. At times, it transforms into a deep abyss of still water, containing immense power, and at other times, it transforms into a chilling frost crystal that freezes time and space and seals all things. The "Innate Sunflower Water Elite" and "Nine Netherworld Profound Cold Ice Soul" placed within it make its transformation between the suppleness of water and the harshness of cold even more harmonious and effortless, with its sword intent lingering endlessly and its chill penetrating straight to the primordial spirit.

The Fire-elemental Flying Sword was the most active, dancing and boiling wildly within the furnace, transforming into a crimson phantom of a Vermilion Bird, surrounded by blazing flames. Each time it consumed the "Great Sun Glazed Divine Flame Core" and the "Fire Essence Crystal," the Vermilion Bird's feathers gained even more agility and spirit, its cries growing ever higher and louder, its heat even causing the entire inner wall of the Qian Yuan Refining Furnace to glow crimson!
The Earth-element Flying Sword, representing the Earth element, floats like a mountain at the heart of the furnace. Its sword light is incomparably heavy, bearing the transformative power of the other swords. The "Divine Sand of Breathing Soil" and "Essence of Earth" added to it make its hazy yellow sword light increasingly solid, seemingly capable of suppressing the universe and bearing all laws.

Lu Cheng didn't know when the Heavenly Escape Flying Sword had named each of the flying swords, but now that he did, he knew it was because the flying swords' spirituality was growing, which was beneficial and without any drawbacks.

Compared to this matter, what is even more eye-catching is the Boundless Blood Sea Flying Sword, which is located in the center of the furnace!
This demonic killing sword, refined over a thousand years by the immortal array's lightning and Lu Cheng's natal true essence, has had its outward raging blood waves and ghostly howls greatly subsided.

But its essence remained unchanged. Instead, under the stimulation of being tempered in the furnace and the rotation and fusion of the five elements of sword intent, it was gradually refined away from the last trace of impurities and ferocity, revealing its core origin—a pure, domineering, and almost immortal blood essence!
What was being thrown into the furnace at this moment was not ordinary spiritual material, but a rare treasure from the depths of the Taiqing Sect's treasury: Blood Essence Crystal Sand.

Legend has it that this sand was formed from the primordial chaos and blood at the beginning of the creation of the world in the realm of immortals, containing extremely ancient and pure power of blood creation.

The blood crystal sand gradually melted in the true fire, turning into drops of incredibly heavy, liquid ruby-like essence blood, which continuously dripped onto the blood sword itself.

Each drop felt like a heavy hammer striking iron, causing the entire Qian Yuan Refining Furnace to vibrate and hum.

The Blood Essence devoured the essence of the Blood Crystal Sand with insatiable hunger. The ferocious blood light precipitated and compressed, its color changing from deep red to a dark gold, like a solidified lava core.

A sense of slaughter, devouring, and immortality that is closer to the original rules is slowly awakening and transforming within it.

Five-colored light emanates from the furnace, rotating and rising in a cycle. Earth is the foundation, water and fire complement each other, metal and wood interact, and the five elements flow endlessly, forming a continuous cycle of life.

The dark golden blood core floated and sank at the center of the Five Elements Wheel, receiving the purest Dao fire and nourishment from Dao power. Its ferocity remained, but it had been incorporated into the Yin-Yang and Five Elements cycle of the Taiqing Orthodox School.

Time seemed to stand still inside the cave, with only the flickering fire in the furnace, the humming of sword energy, and the reflection of the flowing sword incantations on the walls in the ripples of the Jade Spring.

Lu Cheng's mind and body, in this perfect cycle of sword forging and sword comprehension, are moving towards a mysterious realm that is unprecedented and beyond his previous imagination.

Outside, due to Lu Cheng Daoist's long period of enlightenment and seclusion, Xuanqing Daoist Venerable had to come out of seclusion once again to take charge of the sect and preside over the overall situation.

A thousand years of desolation vanished in an instant amidst profound contemplation and the forging of the furnace.

Inside the Cold Light Cave, the only thing that clearly records the passage of time is the increasingly unfathomable figure floating above the Jade Spring.

Lu Cheng Daoist's breathing had long since merged with the earth's energy of the entire Taiyue Peak. With each breath, the ethereal spiritual energy within the cave would rise and fall, like the tides.

He was covered by a thin halo, sometimes as clear and misty as rain, sometimes as sharp and golden as the rising sun, and sometimes as deep and profound as the earth returning to spring. Dark golden blood light flowed within it, and finally all returned to a kind of chaotic and nameless, yet extremely pure and colorful dark gold, which was the external manifestation of the Xuan Tian Divine Skill when it was operated to the extreme depth.

The effects of the Taoist Transformation and Ascension Technique, once mastered, continue to take hold. This Taoist method, which can be described as defying the creation of heaven and earth, has, as Lu Cheng has entered the Integration Realm, brought about an unbelievable level of transformation and enhancement of his Taoist body.

Flesh and blood, bones and muscles, acupoints and meridians, and even the sea of ​​consciousness and primordial spirit are all undergoing subtle transformations and evolutions under the impetus of this invisible great force.

Therefore, the rate of magical power growth did not slow down with the advancement of realm; on the contrary, it became faster by constantly altering the "innate aptitude" through the Transformation Ascension Technique.

The surging magical power roared silently within Lu Cheng's body like a galaxy, its quantity and quality far surpassing that of ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, approaching the mid-stage realm.

This terrifying speed of progress in cultivation and power is truly astonishing.

It is also the driving force that enables the golden sword intent light representing "Golden Rainbow Piercing the Sun" in the "Consciousness Sword Domain" to continuously break through boundaries and climb.

At this moment, in that boundless universe of sword intent, that dazzling golden rainbow has undergone a qualitative change.

It is no longer just a beam of light, but more like an invisible and intangible "Dao Sword" that truly exists!
The pure, ultimate, and indestructible intent, after being highly condensed and compressed, seemed to have touched the critical point of the rules of speed and sharpness.

Wherever the mind goes, the sword intent arrives!

The simulated targets in the cosmos have shifted from piercing the sun to cutting through spatial rifts, severing ripples of time, and even attempting to simulate the sharpness of annihilating tribulation lightning in an instant!

Over a thousand years and countless mental rehearsals, it has gradually become perfect.

This is the result of a thousand years of sitting in meditation, focusing solely on myself and my sword—the prototype of a sword, refined, sublimated, and finally condensed from the billions of paths of the "Golden Rainbow Breaking Illusion Sword Technique": Golden Rainbow Piercing the Sun.

At that very moment, Daoist Lu Cheng suddenly opened his eyes.

Outwardly manifested as the light in the eyes, inwardly manifested as the sound that dispels delusion!
Introspect on yourself, and your spirit will be illuminated by the Way.

"Golden rainbow, piercing the sun!"

The thought roared within the sea of ​​consciousness!
call out--!
A pale golden rainbow of light, which was both ethereal and tangible, shot out from between Lu Cheng's eyebrows!

The moment this sword intent appeared, its extreme sharpness caused the temperature of the entire Cold Light Cave to plummet!
The invisible spiritual energy within the cave instantly froze! Even the surface of the Jade Profound Cleansing Vein Cold Spring water showed a straight, thin line, as if it had been cut by an invisible sharp edge!
Air, vital energy, and light were all instantly "pierced" and "severed" along the path of this rainbow of thought, leaving behind a vacuum-less "sword-marked passageway" for a brief period of time!
The target of the rainbow light in his mind was none other than the Qian Yuan Refining Furnace!

However, it did not attack the furnace body. Instead, in a mysterious and indescribable manner, like rivers flowing into the sea or dragons returning to the abyss, it silently and yet forcefully pierced through the ever-flowing flame patterns on the furnace wall and precisely entered the core of the furnace!

boom! ! ! !

One sword strike stirs up a thousand waves of fire!
The moment the sword intent and rainbow light entered the core of the furnace, it was like a spark thrown into a pot of oil!
The Boundless Blood Sea Flying Sword, which had long been nurtured and perfected in the Daoist rhythm of the Five Elements and whose ferocity was restrained, and the Five Elements Flying Sword Embryo, which revolved around it and whose energy had been mutually attracted for thousands of years, instantly boiled over!
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Taibai, Qinglian, Xuanming, Lihuo, and Houtu—the Five Elements Sword Souls erupted with an unprecedented long cry!
The moment Nian Hong was drawn in, their forms seemed to be forcibly "organized", "integrated", and "controlled" by that pure and terrifying "Golden Rainbow Piercing the Sun" sword intent!
That supreme sword intent, originating from "Golden Rainbow Breaks Illusion" and refined to its extreme by Lu Cheng's thousand-year-old sword-wielding heart, has now become the law outside the Five Elements Rotation System—the law that governs everything, breaks through chaos, and represents ultimate speed and ultimate sharpness.

The scene inside the furnace suddenly changed; the sword was about to be drawn!
Outside the cave, frost covered the steps and ice crystals hung from the eaves.

A figure in pure white has stood silently for three years, day and night, on the jade steps covered with a thin layer of frost.

This white-clad female Taoist priest was none other than Wan Shuang'er.

Wan Shuang'er, who once had many friends in the Taiqing Sect and was known for her foresight and care for the younger generation, now had no trace of her former cleverness in her eyes, only the pain accumulated over the years and an unyielding coldness.

She was draped in a pure white silk veil, her figure slender, as if she were formed from the ancient, unmelting essence of the mysterious ice atop Taiqing Peak, so pure and cold that she was almost transparent.

His gaze pierced through the cracks in the thick stone door of the Cold Light Cave, casting a complex and indescribable light upon the bizarre interior illuminated by the furnace fire and sword light.

For thousands of years, I have devoted all my efforts to waiting for my senior brother's promise.

(End of this chapter)