Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 42 Concealing the Sword and Gathering Spiritual Power

He scanned them with his divine sense and found that all three were unharmed. He then lightly tapped his finger, and three demon cores of demonic beasts slowly floated into his hand.

"If you are all alright, you should return to your sect as soon as possible."

"Thank you so much, Senior Brother, for saving me!"

"May I ask, senior brother..."

"Brother!"

Ignoring the distant thanks from the disciples, Song Yan left Xiawei Peak directly.

He didn't specifically travel a long distance to rescue these fellow disciples he didn't know.

His purpose in coming here was to obtain the demon core of the Shadow Cat Demon in his hand. However, he happened to come over out of curiosity after his junior brother released a distress talisman.

Unexpectedly, there really was a cat demon.

"Finally, I've collected all six demon cores. I can go back and report now."

This task is really not simple. Although the Shadow Cat Demon is not strong, it can run fast. The first three were fine, but the Shadow Cat Demon has a strong killing intent and can be easily sensed by Song Yan's divine sense.

Then the monsters went quiet and stayed hidden, leaving Song Yan to wander around the Yanran Mountains for three to five days.

Fortunately, we have now gathered them all and can return to our sect to report back.

More than three months have passed since Song Yan comprehended the rudimentary form of the Dao Heart from the Eight Desolations Returning to Origin Sword Scroll, and he has finally recovered to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

He has even improved compared to before he dispersed his energy and started over.

From that day on, in addition to accumulating spiritual power and honing his sword qi, Song Yan also seriously practiced the sword control techniques in the essentials of swordsmanship.

One of these methods is not really a swordsmanship technique, but rather a secret technique for concentrating the mind and restraining one's sharpness.

It is called "Hidden Sword Concealing Spirit Power Technique".

One can conceal one's spiritual pressure and aura, making it impossible for others to see through one's cultivation level.

However, Song Yan did not conceal his cultivation level within the sect.

After all, it has been more than two years since he entered the sect, and his Qi Refining Level 5 cultivation is only average. If you include the time he spent retraining in between, it is even a little slow.

The fact that my cultivation level has recovered will eventually be exposed, so it's better to be open about it from the beginning.

If one were to travel alone in the future, this would be a very useful technique.

Another technique was the sword-wielding and enemy-slaying art that Song Yan had painstakingly practiced and studied every day, known as the "Sword in the Clouds."

This move is quite powerful, but it also consumes a lot of energy.

Most of the other sword techniques recorded in this sword manual are about pursuing the ultimate sword strike, a single strike that can break through all other techniques.

However, those sword techniques generally require a high level of understanding of the sword intent of the sword cultivator and a high degree of refinement of their natal flying sword.

This sword in the clouds is different. As long as one's divine sense is strong enough, one can divide it into several sword energies and control them one by one to create astonishing power.

Although the variations were quite complex, Song Yan focused all his attention on the application methods mentioned in the swordsmanship manual.

His thinking was very simple: since he was a beginner, he should not be greedy for quick success and rush into things.

Choose a versatile swordsmanship, and take it one step at a time, with a down-to-earth approach.

Once you've mastered it to its highest level, then you can consider learning the next sword move.

It may seem clumsy, but the results are remarkable.

Over three or four months, he practiced the same sword move repeatedly, day after day, and has now naturally achieved some success.

After Song Yan left, the three of them quickly helped each other down Xiawei Peak.

"That senior brother looks unfamiliar; I don't think I've ever seen him before..."

"Among the many cultivators in the outer sect, there is actually such a powerful senior brother..."

Song Yan's Taoist robe was no different from those worn by the other three, so they knew that he was an outer disciple.

"I feel like I've seen him somewhere before... um..."

The honest-looking boy pondered hard: "Ah, that's right, I've seen him at the Mo Dao Academy."

"Back then, Senior Brother Sun also said that one's handwriting reflects one's character, and this senior brother's state of mind became increasingly peaceful and clear, and so on..."

The young man pondered for a moment, then said, "Senior brother is so righteous and awe-inspiring, we must not be impolite. If we have the opportunity, let's go and pay our respects."

"it is good."

……

Song Yan walked out of the miscellaneous affairs hall and went straight back to his cave.

Outside the cave dwelling, there is a sound transmission talisman.

"Ok?"

Somewhat puzzled, he had very few friends in the sect, and he had already exceeded his sect mission targets in recent days. At this critical juncture, who would look for him?
A stream of spiritual energy was poured into it, and the communication talisman was activated.

"Something unusual has occurred in Linxi County. Disciples have been dispatched to investigate. We will meet at the entrance of Daoping Mountain at 3:45 AM today."

"List of disciples to be transferred: Qin Ying, Li Qingfeng, Song Yesheng."

The speaker was a woman with a cold, aloof voice, whom Song Yan was not familiar with.

"Qin Ying?"

The name sounded familiar. After pondering for a long time, Song Yan suddenly realized, "This must be that peerless genius among the inner disciples, who has established her Dao foundation at the young age of twenty-nine."

Perhaps due to the special nature of the mission, the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall also issued a certificate for leaving the sect.

The certificate is shaped like a magic talisman, and comes in two copies. The copy kept at the sect is said to be for checking whether disciples who temporarily go out encounter any danger.

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator leading the team, and a Life Soul Talisman—what's so urgent?"

After pondering for a moment, Song Yan did not enter the cave, but instead turned around and headed straight for Lingyuanze Market.

The Namiya General Store hasn't changed at all.

Pushing open the door, Granny Qin was still as languid as ever. No matter when I came here, Granny Qin would always be there, as if she didn't need to cultivate and was simply indulging in pleasure.

"Oh my, isn't this our Yesheng? What brings you, our distinguished guest?"

very nice.

Granny Qin's strange and unsettling manner remained unchanged.

Qin Xijun lightly tapped her finger, and a cup of spiritual tea was moved in front of Song Yan.

"Eight or nine months have passed, and today you finally remember me, your mother-in-law?"

On the other hand, since the incident at Jiran Valley ended, apart from initially coming to the general store to sell some magical artifacts, talismans, and miscellaneous items, he has indeed devoted himself entirely to cultivation and has not come here again.

"Oh, it's like this, Grandma. I have some things to sell, and I'd like to buy some things while I'm at it."

Song Yan rummaged through his Qiankun bag, completely oblivious to Qin Xijun's rapidly changing expression.

"..."

By the time Song Yan came to her senses, she had already been escorted out of the shop.

Bang!
The door closed, just like before.

"Mother-in-law, I'm not in a good mood today, so I won't be entertaining guests!"

"Oh, Grandma, please don't! In a little while, I'll be leaving the sect to slay demons and monsters. I'm penniless right now, and I'm afraid my chances of survival are slim!"

Song Yan's words became increasingly serious, as if if he didn't come in, he would die outside.

"Hmm? What mission..."

The door opened as expected.

"Hey hey hey..."

Song Yan chuckled: "I don't know, but it's definitely extremely dangerous, Grandma. This is no joke; the person leading the team is actually an inner disciple at the Foundation Establishment stage!"

"Oh?"

Qin Xijun frowned.

"Who?"

"I know her, but she doesn't know me. It's Senior Sister Qin Ying from the Inner Sect..."

"..."

Song Yan didn't see the expression on Qin Xijun's face. He arranged the things on his own and then rubbed his hands together.

"Hehe, Grandma, you found that half-finished talisman at the night market last time. You don't need it for now, so... how about I borrow it?"

When Qin Xijun last visited this place, she mentioned that she had found a fragment of a protective talisman in the Lingyuanze Night Market. It could withstand a full-force attack from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but it could only be used once.

The current mission looks dangerous, so borrowing it would be a good safety net.

"Look, if I don't need it, I can return it to you when I get back. But if I do need it..."

Before Song Yan could finish speaking, Qin Xijun interrupted, "If I'm going to use you, you'll have to be my slave and do all the work for two hundred... three hundred spirit stones before it's over."

"Take the talisman and get out of here!"

"..."

Song Yan carefully put away the azure talisman and happily went back home.

Qin Xijun lay back in the chair: "That brat has no conscience at all. I was so worried about his safety and took care of him."

After a while, the anger subsided.

After all, Song Yan didn't know the details and just thought that this "Grandma Qin" was a person who ran a business selling spiritual items and miscellaneous goods.

"However, it seems that the kid is not seriously injured. In less than a year, he has restored his cultivation level."

Qin Xijun felt somewhat relieved.

It is not uncommon for some cultivators to fall in cultivation level for various reasons, such as being severely injured from fighting, or accidentally taking some kind of spirit-dispersing medicine.

If one's foundation remains intact, and one cultivates normally, the recovery of one's realm will be around this speed, neither fast nor slow.

"Hey……"

She sighed, repeatedly muttering that name.

"Qin Ying..."

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(End of this chapter)