Mortal: Fifteenth Realm Sword Cultivator

This is the mystery of the "Luanfeng Sword Manual".

As long as it is not lost through dual cultivation, this self-condensed "Phoenix Essence" will accumulate more and more in her body over time, eventually nourishing herself, warming her sword heart, and tempering her origin.

It neither grows out of thin air like water without a source, nor does it stagnate or remain closed off.

Instead, it follows the profound rhythm of the technique itself, cycling between accumulation and internalization.

Therefore, anyone who cultivates the Phoenix Sword Technique and advances to the Nascent Soul stage will be able to achieve this.

Barring unforeseen circumstances such as encountering a calamity of war, before their lifespan runs out, in most cases, even those with average talent can reach the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

The only limitation is that this technique cannot be practiced by anyone other than a woman.

Baibi Mountain has a history of 6,000 years, and its incense has never ceased to burn.

Going back further, although no late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators have ever emerged, female Nascent Soul cultivators in the middle stage are not uncommon and appear from time to time.

Its inheritance is solid, with a continuous lineage and interconnected links.

What's even more astonishing is that White Cliff Mountain, a place of inheritance that isn't even considered a legitimate sect, can occasionally have two Nascent Soul cultivators at the same time.

However, by Zhuang Huayi's generation, the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse.

The previous mountain lord unfortunately perished in the Void Heaven Palace while vying for the "Heaven-Mending Pill".

Therefore, since Zhuang Huayi took over, Baibishan, which was in a period of transition and lack of successors, showed signs of decline until nearly a hundred years later when she advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, things improved somewhat.

As the last trace of life gradually faded away, Zhuang Huayi rose from the couch. With a slight movement, her long black hair, loosely tied in a colorful knot, cascaded down like a waterfall, falling between the peaks.

Qi Yu entered from the outer room, replaced the incense burner on the table with a new one, and then stood aside again.

Zhuang Huayi's voice remained as cold as ever: "What has that person been doing in the mountains all this time?"

Qi Yu lowered his head and respectfully replied, "Madam, since that day, the other party has returned to the quiet room and has not stepped out for several months."

She paused, then added, "He truly seems like a hermit who is immersed in Taoist cultivation and indifferent to worldly affairs."

Zhuang Huayi's tone was cold and tinged with self-mockery as she bluntly revealed the truth: "From the bottom of their hearts, they don't want to have anything to do with my Baibishan."

Qi Yu gazed at the wisps of smoke rising from the incense burner, a hint of confusion appearing in his eyes. He asked softly, "Madam, is it truly that a powerful cultivator at the late Nascent Soul stage like him seeks and cultivates to advance further and glimpse the legendary Divine Transformation realm? I doubt that he can break through simply through meditation and quiet cultivation, can he?"

Zhuang Huayi fell into deep thought and sighed softly, "The Nascent Soul stage is envied by the heavens. In the entire Chaotic Star Sea for three thousand years, no Nascent Soul cultivator has ever appeared. This realm cannot be achieved without the perfect combination of timing, location, and human factors. In every era, there are people who reach the late Nascent Soul stage, but in the entire Chaotic Star Sea, there are only one or two Nascent Soul cultivators with clear records, from the first generation of the Star Palace."

Qi Yu nodded slightly, then remembered what he wanted to say, and said in a slightly serious voice, "Madam, there have been some strange occurrences in the seas outside the mountains lately. Unfamiliar people have been spotted loitering nearby, and they seem to be plotting something."

Zhuang Huayi said calmly, "Don't worry about them. Just be more careful of the people from Holy Demon Island."

She doesn't have much time left.

More than five months have passed, and there is only a little over a month left until the promised deadline for repairing the teleportation array.

Now, let's see how that old demon Liudao will react.

Should we remain inactive?

Are you coming in person?

Or should we send someone to "appease" them?

For Zhuang Huayi, the most advantageous scenario, regardless of the circumstances, would be for Liu Dao to come in person, and ideally, for him to fight the cultivator surnamed Lu, with both sides winning and losing, without a clear winner or loser.

This situation is most advantageous to Baibishan.

Of course, even if the result is not as expected, she can accept it and has a backup plan.

Moreover, the photo-recording beads have already spread widely enough.

That's how things are in this world; the more conflicting the opinions and the wider the rumors, the more obscure the truth becomes.

People will only believe what they want to believe.

As for the truth, that's no longer important.

Zhuang Huayi's deep hatred for the Six Paths Supreme Saint went far beyond the fact that he could see through the "Phoenix Essence" hidden within her body at a glance.

The deeper reason lies in the fact that the old demon's actions were incompatible with, and even contrary to, her cultivation philosophy.

When I was young, I read a maxim in the commentaries on cultivation by the successive masters of White Cliff Mountain, which I still regard as a guiding principle: "Any cultivator, no matter how high a position they reach or what power they wield, must abide by certain rules and boundaries. A true strongman takes the freedom of the weak as his boundary."

Cultivating oneself and ascending to higher levels certainly involves acquiring power and satisfying appropriate desires. 。

But we must take "humanity" as our anchor and practice self-discipline and caution when alone.

This is not repression, but rather a process of bringing humanity closer to purity, infinitely approaching the "divinity" that encompasses all things and benefits all living beings.

It is by no means the ruthless and asexual practiced by the Six Paths, who regard heaven and earth as firewood and themselves as a furnace.

Therefore, in her view, the Six Paths Supreme Saint's approach of acting solely out of self-interest and using any means necessary was utterly biased.

Whether from the perspective of pursuing a greater path or coveting her "Phoenix Essence".

This is enough to prove that this person is definitely not a cultivation partner who can be compatible with her and walk side by side with her.

In an instant, Zhuang Huayi and Qi Yu tensed up one after the other.

It did not originate from the cool breeze blowing through the curtains from Qifengtai, which is located at the highest point of Baibishan.

Instead, a completely unfamiliar middle-aged man had silently appeared on the other side of the railing.

Standing with hands behind his back.

Looking into the distance, the clouds drift and swirl.

"I never expected that Madam would be so devoted to my Holy Demon Island. It seems that those rumors are just baseless and not worth mentioning."

The man remained motionless, his back to them, and merely chuckled softly.

Zhuang Huayi's face instantly turned from shock to anger.

Although the middle-aged man's figure was unfamiliar, his voice was unforgettable—it was none other than the Six Paths Old Demon!

"Who are you, daring to trespass on White Cliff Mountain?!"

Before she could speak, Qi Yu, who was standing to the side, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and shouted sharply, his voice trembling slightly as he faced an unknown and powerful enemy.

next moment.

The Six Paths Supreme Saint appeared behind her, raised his hand and placed it on her crown, "The lady has not yet spoken, yet this lowly servant dares to defy her. How do you wish to die? If you have too many choices and are having trouble deciding, I can choose one for you."

The voice just fell.

"Ugh—!"

Qi Yu only had time to let out a short, mournful wail that was so shrill it was almost inhuman.

It was as if an invisible hand had brutally peeled off her entire skin and flesh.

In the same spot, only a stark white skeleton remained, still in the posture of drawing its sword.

The entire process was incredibly swift, and so bloody and cruel as to be suffocating.

The Six Saints' fingertips were not even stained with the slightest bit of blood mist. As they withdrew their hands, they flicked the condensed blood beads formed from the skin and flesh.

It flew outwards, instantly exploded, turning into a cloud of scarlet mist that dissipated with a gust of wind.

The gentle smile on his face remained unchanged. "Does Madam find the way I chose for her death satisfactory?"

The black longsword in Qi Yu's skeletal hand instantly turned into a shadow and disappeared. The next moment, it was already firmly held in Zhuang Huayi's palm.

Her figure suddenly blurred, like a drop of ink thrown into water, instantly spreading out.

One, three, six... until more than a dozen figures suddenly covered the entire Qifeng Terrace like exploding fireworks.

Each figure was as solid as a real person, each holding a chilling, dark longsword.

Without the slightest hesitation, more than a dozen figures simultaneously slashed with their swords from all directions, up, down, left, and right.

Streaks of sword light flashed and disappeared in an instant, yet continued endlessly.

It wove together into an impenetrable net, carrying a chilling killing intent, sweeping across the sky and instantly engulfing the six supreme saints in the center!

There are no warning signs before a real attack is made.

Just like right now.

Zhuang Huayi was burning with rage, but she didn't utter a single word of nonsense.

The sword light was like a waterfall, and the killing intent was like a tide.

Facing Qi Yu's stark white skeleton, Zhuang Huayi's sword strikes did not falter in the slightest, nor did they waver even a fraction due to grief.

Leave a way out for the opponent?

In a fierce battle, there is no room for hesitation or weakness!

The entire Qifeng Terrace exploded amidst the sword light.

Dozens of afterimages suddenly merged into one, and Zhuang Huayi's true form swiftly swept backward.

Her eyes blazed with fury, her killing intent almost tangible. This old devil had tortured Qi Yu right in front of her, showing no restraint and treating human life like dirt!

Zhuang Huayi's slender fingers moved like flowers and willows, and with one hand she made a hand seal, flipping it from the inside out, and opened her mouth to spit out eight ink beads, which transformed into phoenixes when they encountered the wind.

They flapped their wings and flew straight towards the still-lingering sword light. With each opening and closing of their beaks, streaks of black, sinister fire as thick as an infant's arm would appear.

After doing all this, Zhuang Huayi continued to cast hand seals, inverting a "Disillusionment Overturning Sky Array" on the ruins.

Without pausing, Zhuang Huayi changed her jade-like fingers again and let out a clear shout.

"seal up!"

The barrier light screen suddenly lit up, as deep as black jade.

The brilliance of this formation lies in the fact that these eight phoenixes are not inanimate objects.

They are spiritual entities condensed from the pure "Phoenix Essence" within Zhuang Huayi's body and sword energy.

As long as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth continues, even if one or more of them are defeated or scattered, they can instantly reassemble and recover on the spot by using the spiritual energy drawn by the array diagram.

I thought that even if I couldn't kill them, I could at least use the formation to trap them for a while.

Unexpectedly, a hand chop silently emerged from the light screen and gently slashed down.

The entire formation was like a fragile piece of silk, instantly and neatly split in two, its brilliance completely dissipated.

The Six Paths Supreme Saint slowly walked out from inside, with a few black flames still remaining on his body. He casually patted them twice, and they dissipated instantly.

Zhuang Huayi's pupils suddenly contracted, and her face turned deathly pale.

The Six Paths Supreme Saint seemed to see through her thoughts and smiled, "Among Nascent Soul cultivators, eight or nine out of ten will only reach the initial stage in their entire lives. Those who can reach the middle stage are very few, and those who break through to the late stage are even rarer, truly dragons among men."

The lady's swordsmanship was fierce, but it was still too underestimated; this seemingly small difference in skill level was only two realms apart...

The gap is so vast that it's said to be comparable to the insurmountable chasm between the peak of the Core Formation stage and the Nascent Soul stage—perhaps a slight exaggeration, but not far off.