A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Sword-Forging Servant and Ascending to Immorta

"stop."

Old Qin grabbed Zhou Lingxuan's shoulder.

"You've already been hit by sword intent before we've even reached the steps. The pressure will at least double as we go further."

"When we go up later, we'll proceed according to our abilities."

"Stand for a while if you can hold on, retreat immediately if you can't. Don't show off, and don't try to fool me with the excuse of repairing the Izumo Sword."

Zhou Lingxuan did not respond.

The stinging sensation in my mind continued.

The sharp insights that crept into my mind were completely random.

Some sword intents targeted his consciousness, some cut along the edge of his sea of ​​consciousness, and several sword intents collided with each other, causing his ears to ring continuously.

If it were yesterday, he probably wouldn't be able to stand up anymore.

After being forged by the Heaven-Forging Hammer, his sea of ​​consciousness doubled in size and its strength also increased. Even so, the sword intent transmitted from a hundred feet away still caused throbbing pain in many parts of his sea of ​​consciousness.

The pain was also clearly exposed.

The left edge is weak, and it is the first to tremble when subjected to sharp force.

Although the depths of the sea of ​​consciousness are stable, the connection to the outside is not tight enough, and cracks will appear when subjected to continuous impacts.

These defects are usually unnoticed.

Zhou Lingxuan lifted his foot forward.

Old Qin increased the pressure on his hands.

Did you hear what I just said?

"I heard you."

"Then why are you leaving?"

"I'll only take one step."

Old Qin stared at him for a moment before letting go.

"Brother, sword repair can be done slowly. If you ruin yourself here, I won't be able to find another blacksmith who has forged a million swords."

Zhou Lingxuan stretched his shoulders and stepped onto the first stone step on the outermost edge of the Sword Tomb.

The moment his foot landed, he froze completely.

hum!

A sword's cry exploded in my mind.

A sword intent that had been accumulating for many years pierced through his brow and directly entered his sea of ​​consciousness.

Zhou Lingxuan's facial muscles tightened instantly, veins throbbed on his forehead, and his teeth clenched.

The sword intent did not dissipate; it surged straight forward.

The consciousness in the center of Zhou Lingxuan's mind was pierced through head-on, and pain erupted immediately. Zhou Lingxuan's body swayed, and his right foot almost slipped off the steps.

"return!"

Old Qin rushed forward and reached out to grab the person.

Zhou Lingxuan raised his hand and blocked him.

"Don't touch me."

These three words were practically squeezed out from between his teeth.

"You're in this state, and you're still pretending nothing's wrong with me?"

"I didn't say it was nothing."

Zhou Lingxuan took a couple of breaths and slowly sat down on the stone steps.

"This sword intent is useful to me."

"What's the point!"

Old Qin squatted down beside him, his palm already on Zhou Lingxuan's back.

"When sword intent enters the brain, it damages the sea of ​​consciousness. You haven't even reached the Qi Refining stage, what can you use to block it?"

"Don't transfer spiritual energy yet."

"You're even bossing me around now?"

"Your spiritual energy entering will disturb even more sword intent."

Old Qin's hand immediately stopped.

Zhou Lingxuan is right.

The remnant intent of the Sword Tomb is extremely sensitive to the aura of living people. The higher the cultivation level, the heavier the suppression it attracts. If it forcibly makes a move, the surrounding broken swords will definitely react.

Here's a stick of incense for you.

Old Qin withdrew his hand and sat cross-legged two steps away.

"If things get out of hand, I'll just drag you away. Your insults won't change anything."

Zhou Lingxuan could no longer hear what was said next.

His consciousness sank completely into his sea of ​​consciousness.

The sword intent that invaded his mind was still moving forward, and the purple jade hammer was suspended above his sea of ​​consciousness, ready to devour it with a single thought.

Zhou Lingxuan did not do that.

He deliberately let go of his consciousness and carefully sensed every part of the sword intent it passed through.

The sharp edge struck the left side of the sea of ​​consciousness, and that weak area immediately caved in.

As it passed through the center, the expanded sea of ​​consciousness experienced tremors.

The deeper you go, the lighter the impact.

One defect after another became apparent.

Despite the excruciating pain, Zhou Lingxuan channeled his spiritual power to fill the weak spots. Just as he managed to reinforce them, the sword intent surged forth again, shattering his weakened spiritual power.

He didn't stop; he continued to gather people.

If it doesn't work the first time, try again.

The spiritual power dissipated but quickly coalesced again.

After more than ten repetitions, that weak spot was finally able to withstand the impact of the sword intent.

The next moment, the sharpness that had invaded his consciousness suddenly changed.

Zhou Lingxuan's consciousness was pulled into a blurry space.

A swordsman stood in front of them, his face obscured.

The man, wielding a long sword, raised his hand and slashed down without any hesitation.

The sword was swift.

Zhou Lingxuan couldn't even tell what move the other party used.

Faced with danger, he instinctively imagined his own body.

The spiritual power in his sea of ​​consciousness rapidly gathered and solidified into a blurry human figure.

The humanoid figure also produced a sword and used it to parry using the basic sword techniques learned in the outer sect.

clang!

The two swords clashed.

The human figure that Zhou Lingxuan had conjured shattered on the spot.

The pain of his consciousness being severed struck him, and his body, which was sitting on the stone steps, jolted violently, with two streams of blood flowing from his nostrils.

Old Qin immediately stood up.

That's enough!

Zhou Lingxuan raised his hand again.

"It's not over yet."

His scattered consciousness slowly returned.

The swordsman appeared once again.

It was the same starting move, the same sword strike.

This time, Zhou Lingxuan did not rush to block.

He stared at the other man's wrist, shoulder, and steps, trying to see how the sword was delivered.

As the sword fell, his consciousness was severed once more.

The pain was worse than the first time.

But when consciousness returned, the other person's actions were already etched in memory.

The swordsman drew his sword for the third time.

Zhou Lingxuan conjured a human figure and raised his arm in accordance with the other party's movements.

The sword had already arrived when the pose was only halfway done.

The figure shattered once more.

the fourth time.

the fifth time.

The sixth time.

Zhou Lingxuan couldn't block it even once.

With each defeat, he gained a clearer perspective.

The lingering sword intent was devoid of emotion and the consciousness of its master. Zhou Lingxuan conjured a human figure, assuming a confrontational stance, at which point it would launch an attack.

But when he stopped attacking and just stood by mimicking the movements, the swordsman did not turn around to attack.

It just kept swinging its sword.

Zhou Lingxuan quickly grasped this point.

If you can't beat them, then learn first.

He dropped the sword in his hand, stood next to the swordsman, and raised his hand along with the other.

Move your foot forward half a step.

Rotate your waist.

Relax your shoulders.

The wrist tightens before the sword strikes.

These movements, taken individually, are not complicated, but when linked together, they allow the body's power to be released along the sword's edge.

He's been forging iron for ninety years and is extremely familiar with the transmission of power.

Swinging a hammer and swinging a sword are very different, but the underlying principles of power generation are similar.

The key to using a hammer is to be heavy, steady, and accurate.

This sword strike emphasizes speed and directness.

Zhou Lingxuan practiced along with him again and again.

Only an incense stick's time had passed in the outside world, but time seemed to stretch out much longer in the sea of ​​consciousness.

The figure kept repeating the same sword strike.

Zhou Lingxuan's movements gradually became smoother from stiff.

As soon as he conjured his longsword again and assumed a fighting stance, the swordsman in front of him immediately slashed at him with his sword.

Zhou Lingxuan drew his sword simultaneously.

Two sharp edges collided in the middle.

His sword shattered first, but this time it wasn't destroyed on the spot.

The sword intent, after repeated impacts, was also gradually tempering his sea of ​​consciousness.

The weak point on the left has been stabilized, and the connection between the outer perimeter and the inner part has become much tighter.

Zhou Lingxuan opened his eyes.

Old Qin reached out, preparing to forcibly drag him away.

"If you wake up three more breaths later, I'll make my move."

Zhou Lingxuan wiped the blood from under his nose and propped himself up on his knees.

"Only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn?"

"You still think it's too short?"

Old Qin looked it over from head to toe.

"Those whose consciousness is injured will experience headaches for a few days at best, and confusion at worst. How are you feeling now?"

"good."

Zhou Lingxuan stepped onto the second set of stone steps.

Old Qin's expression changed.

"What are you doing?"

"Keep going."

As the second step landed, another sword intent struck.

Zhou Lingxuan swayed slightly, then regained his balance.

He did not confront the sword intent head-on, but kept his consciousness in a state of concentration, observing the traces of sword techniques left behind.

third step.

A heavy sword intent pressed into his sea of ​​consciousness.

Step 4.

Two lingering intents launched their attacks, one after the other.

By the time Zhou Lingxuan landed the fifth step, sweat was already beading on his forehead.

He stopped and sat down.

Old Qin stood behind, stunned.

Just now, Zhou Lingxuan almost fell over on the spot when he took the first step.

After sitting for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, it actually took four steps and was able to stop on its own.

What were you doing just now?

Zhou Lingxuan closed his eyes and only replied with two words.

"Learn swordsmanship."

"Who should I learn from?"

"they."

Old Qin looked in the direction he was pointing.

A dozen or so broken swords were stuck in the ground on either side of the stone steps. Some were just hilts, while others had rotted blades.

The owners of these swords have long since passed away, and the techniques they left behind have been worn down and are now incomplete.

"You just sat there and took a few hits, and you think you'd learned their swordsmanship?"

"If you haven't mastered it, you can only be considered a beginner."

Old Qin opened his mouth, but then swallowed his words.

The second stop took a full two incense sticks to burn.

Zhou Lingxuan stood up again.

Step six, step seven, step eight.

With each step he took up a stone step, a new sword intent surged into his sea of ​​consciousness.

Some are swift, some are heavy, and one targets the weakest point of consciousness.

Zhou Lingxuan adjusted his consciousness as he walked.

As he landed on the ninth step, he let out a muffled groan, his face turning deathly pale.

The tenth step was for him to bend his knees and sit down again.

Old Qin followed behind, his expression finally softening somewhat.

"Alright, ten steps is already beyond my expectations."

"The Body Tempering Realm only refines the skin, flesh, tendons, and bones, and provides almost no help to spiritual power. Only after Qi Refining can one begin to temper the meridians and internal organs, and only by Foundation Building can one truly stabilize the sea of ​​consciousness."

"You've gotten this far thanks to the willpower you've honed over the years."

Zhou Lingxuan did not reply.

This time, the number of sword intents invading the sea of ​​consciousness increased to seven.

They clashed with each other, leaving behind different sword techniques.

Zhou Lingxuan stopped trying to take on each one individually.

He gathered his consciousness, first observed, then imitated, and finally guided these sword intents to attack the weak points in his sea of ​​consciousness.

Half an hour passed.

Old Qin's patience wore thin, and he reached out to grab Zhou Lingxuan's collar.

That's all for today. I'll take you back.

Before his hand even touched his clothes, Zhou Lingxuan suddenly stood up.

Step 11.

Step 12.

Sword intent surged into his mind, but Zhou Lingxuan did not stop.

Old Qin stood still, his hand still in the grabbing position.

"That's enough, buddy!"

Step 15.

Zhou Lingxuan paused for a moment, then lifted his foot and continued.

On the eighteenth step, the broken swords on both sides of the stone steps began to vibrate.

On the nineteenth step, blood seeped from his ear.

The twentieth step is taken.

Clang!

Outside the Sword Tomb, all thirty-seven broken swords simultaneously emitted a sword cry.

Old Qin's expression froze completely.

"Ten more steps?"