Nine Desolate Records

The morning light, like a sword, cleaves through the misty mountains.

Lu Li stood before the broken sword, with dust suspended within three feet of him. It wasn't blown up by the wind, but rather held in mid-air by the "smoothing field" surrounding him.

After ten days of training, the first two forms, "Soothing" and "Guiding," have been perfected. Today, Xuanji will impart the third form, which is also the most subtle and profound form of the Zhige Sword Intent: Transformation.

"Watch closely."

Xuanji did not use the withered branch. The old man raised his right hand, his index finger pointing lightly in the air.

Wherever his fingertips touched, a wisp of black, foul air rose in the air. It was the remnant of evil spirits that had escaped from the ground when the Sword Soul Sea trembled last night. The foul air spread like a living thing, withering the grass and causing fine black spots to appear on the surface of the rocks wherever it passed.

"If the first method is used, it can soothe its restlessness and allow it to settle down."

Xuanji touched the tip of the foul air with his index finger, a faint silver light emanating from it. The foul air immediately froze, ceasing its spread.

"If the second method is used, its direction can be guided, making it harmless."

With a slight turn of the fingertip, the foul air, as if guided by an invisible hand, slowly changed direction, bypassing a half-withered herb, and finally disappearing into the ground. The herb escaped unscathed, but the ground was eroded, leaving a small pit.

"And the third move..."

Xuanji made his third move. He lightly touched the center of the foul air with his index finger; there was no light, no sound.

The moment the foul energy touched Xuanji's fingertips, its black color rapidly faded, turning into a warm, light blue. Its form also changed from distorted foul energy into a wisp of pure, attribute-free spiritual energy!

The spiritual energy slowly dissipated, merging into the surrounding vegetation. The grass and leaves that had withered from the foul energy visibly revived, even appearing greener than before.

"Transformation is not elimination, nor is it transfer." Xuanji withdrew his hand, his voice calm. "It is changing its essence, turning harm into benefit, and enemies into friends."

Lu Li took a deep breath: "How can you do that?"

"You need three things." Xuanji held up three fingers. "First, a 'thorough understanding' of the target's power; you must understand it better than the power itself itself. Second, a sufficiently high level of 'essential cognition'; you must see the rules behind the power. Third..."

Xuanji continued, "The violent essence within you, after being refined by sword intent these past few days, is different from what it was at the beginning. It has begun to accept order and to understand 'restraint.' Now, it is both a fragment of the prisoner and the source of your power."

He pointed to Lu Li's chest: "Today during your cultivation, you need to do one thing: use the Zhige Sword Intent to 'transform' the most peripheral violent power within you into pure Yan Emperor bloodline power."

Lu Li's expression changed slightly: "This..."

"This is the ultimate test of the third form of sword intent," Xuan Ji said sharply. "It's also the touchstone for whether you can truly control your own power. If the transformation succeeds, you'll have the means to resist the erosion. If the transformation fails..."

He didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was clear.

Failure means a violent backlash, a collapse of balance, and the complete loss of humanity.

Lu Li remained silent for a moment, then slowly sat down cross-legged.

Consciousness sank into the body.

The scene of the three rivers converging emerged. The crimson-gold river surged and burned, the dark blue current flowed in the depths, and silvery-white lights shone like stars. But unlike eighteen days ago, there was now a silver "dam" between the three rivers. It was the orderly structure built by the sword intent of Ceasefire, which made the collision no longer chaotic and made fusion possible.

Lu Li locked onto a wisp of the dark blue current at its very edge. It was thin and faint, like a strand of hair, yet it felt incredibly heavy to him. This was the outermost layer of the violent origin, and also the most "gentle."

He first activated the first move, "Smoothing".

The sword imprint glowed faintly, a silver halo enveloping the darkness. The restlessness in the darkness subsided, like a wild beast being soothed.

Then activate the second technique, "Guidance".

The sword intent, like silk threads, entwined the darkness, slowly "peeling" it from the main body of the undercurrent and guiding it to the edge of the crimson gold river.

Now, the most crucial step.

Lu Li took a deep breath and focused all his attention on the sword seal.

The third step: transformation.

It wasn't about forcibly changing things, nor was it about violently suppressing them. He tried to "understand" the essence of this darkness, just as he had when purifying the fragments in the Sword Soul Sea.

He saw it.

That was the fury of a warrior whose arm had been severed on an ancient battlefield.

It is the sorrow of a mother watching helplessly as her child is swept away by a raging flood.

It is the despair of all living beings facing destruction and being powerless to resist when the world collapses.

These emotions themselves are not wrong.

The mistake was that they lost control; the mistake was that they were absorbed, distorted, and amplified by the prisoners, turning into pure "desire for destruction."

Lu Li's sword intent began to outline the "template".

At the heart of the template lies his newfound understanding of "power" gained during his eighteen days of cultivating the Sword Intent of Ceasefire. Power should not be a tool for destruction, but a cornerstone for protection; rage should not be an uncontrolled beast, but a resolute determination to defend.

Using his own will as a pen and his sword intent as ink, he depicted a "transformation structure" around that wisp of darkness.

The structure is extremely complex, woven from 3,600 imperceptible threads of sword intent, each corresponding to his understanding of "order".

"start."

Lu Li silently recited in his heart.

The transformation structure slowly contracted, like a transparent cocoon, completely enveloping that wisp of darkness.

Inside the cocoon, darkness began to struggle, twist, and collide. Each impact sent excruciating pain through Lu Li's sea of ​​consciousness. But he gritted his teeth, maintaining the stability of the structure.

At the same time, he began to "input" new definitions.

It's not about eliminating darkness, it's about redefining darkness.

"Your anger can be a protest against injustice."

"Your violence can be a form of retaliation against oppression."

"Your destructive desires can be the elimination of evil."

Each definition transforms into a sword intent, piercing the core of darkness.

The struggle in the darkness gradually subsided.

Just like wild beasts being tamed, just like floods being channeled.

The transformation process lasted for a full three hours.

Lu Li sat cross-legged before the broken sword, veins bulging on his forehead, sweat soaking his clothes, his body trembling violently from time to time. Xuan Ji stood three zhang away, silent, but the knuckles of his fingers holding the green lamp were white.

Finally, in the last rays of light before sunset.

That wisp of dark blue-black light completely transformed into a crimson gold color within the cocoon of transformation.

It's not as simple as a change in color. Its essence has changed, transforming from a pure, chaotic force of destruction into an ordered, controllable force of protection. It remains fiery and powerful, but it is no longer violent, no longer eager to devour everything.

Lu Li opened his eyes, and a faint crimson-gold halo appeared in the dark gold of his left eye.

He raised his right hand, and a small cluster of crimson-gold flames appeared beside the sword imprint on his palm. The flames danced gently, radiating an aura that shared the same bloodline as the Flame Emperor, yet was even more refined and pure.

"This is……"

"The transformed power of tyranny." Xuanji walked up to him, his eyes showing approval for the first time. "You have successfully changed its 'definition.' You have made it your own power. You can use it to fight, to protect, and even to transform more negative forces."

Lu Li looked at the flame in his palm, feeling the familiar yet unfamiliar power contained within it.

It is familiar because it originates from itself.

It feels unfamiliar because it has been completely reshaped.

"This is the true essence of the third form of the Sword Intent of Ceasefire," Xuanji said slowly. "It's not just about fighting the enemy, but also about fighting yourself. What you need to transform is not only external erosion, but also the darkness within your heart. When you can even transform the violence within yourself into protective power, there is no power in this world that you cannot 'transform'."

Lu Li extinguished the flames, stood up, and bowed deeply: "Junior...understands."

"My cultivation is nearing its end." Xuanji turned and looked beyond the misty ridge. "It's time for you to leave as well."

"Senior..." Lu Li hesitated for a moment, "The seal of the Sword Tomb..."

"I will guard it." Xuan Ji's voice was calm. "The battle intent mutation has begun to awaken, but I can suppress it for a while. This period is your chance to find a way to break the deadlock."