Chapter 939: Future Plans P10

The first reason was simple.

The Nine Heavens Sword Sutra wasn’t something just anyone could cultivate.

It required extraordinary talent in the Sword Path, and Varesh’s South Sword Yang Physique and Sword Bone made him exceptionally suited for it.

Most cultivators would gain little from possessing such a special technique in the first place.

The second reason was more significant.

The Nine Heavens Sword Sutra didn’t originate from the Shinayin Empire. The jade scroll stated that it had come from an organization in the Eternal Sea.

That made the relationship between Varesh and the imperial faction much more complicated.

The faction had apparently raised Varesh on behalf of that organization, which meant it couldn’t simply seize his core inheritance without consequences.

There was another safeguard as well.

The jade scroll contained a peculiar ability that prevented even Nascent Soul Kings from easily encrypting it through conventional means. Aksai suspected that this had been deliberately done to prevent the imperial faction from using the inheritance to control Varesh’s Sword Path or manipulate his loyalty.

The third reason was even more straightforward.

Both the imperial faction and the Eternal Sea organization possessed considerable influence in their respective territories. Their rivals couldn’t casually interfere with their possessions without risking serious consequences.

An unencrypted inheritance like this was almost a declaration of ownership.

If a rival faction obtained the scroll and tampered with it, the imperial faction would have legitimate grounds to retaliate. The organization in the Eternal Sea would have its own reason to do the same.

Apart from these aspects, there was also a practical reason for leaving the scroll unencrypted.

The Nine Heavens Sword Sutra required the cultivator to keep the jade scroll close while practicing it. The peculiar Sword Intent contained within the scroll helped sharpen the practitioner’s own Sword Intent, effectively replacing the Yantra formation normally required to cultivate the technique.

Aksai finally understood.

Neither Varesh nor the imperial faction had ever expected this scroll to end up in the hands of someone like him.

A mid-stage Lord from a remote region of the Dadangar World.

A cultivator with no connection to the Eternal Sea or the imperial factions.

Yet somehow, he was now holding a cultivation technique that extended all the way to the Deity Transformation realm.

Aksai couldn’t help but smile.

"Life really does have a strange sense of humor. Just some time ago, I was worrying about how to obtain a Nascent Soul level cultivation technique. And now this technique made me realize I was actually aiming low."

The dead sword cultivator had already taught Aksai an important lesson.

Sometimes, a cultivator’s true wealth wasn’t solely measured by how much they possessed. It was measured by what they possessed as well.

***

Aksai continued sorting through Varesh’s belongings.

Buried beneath several sword-refining materials, he eventually found something that looked completely out of place.

A thin paper scroll.

Aksai unfolded it casually.

His expression soon became strange.

"What is this?"

The paper was covered with dense chunks of well-organized information.

Each section recorded the details of a different true sword cultivator.

Their names, cultivation realms, sword paths, known techniques, natal treasures, combat habits, affiliations, and last known locations.

There were even brief assessments of their personalities and warnings about their preferred methods of killing.

At the bottom of several entries were additional notes, some of them clearly added later in different handwriting.

It seemed to be an internal record circulated among a group of true sword cultivators.

Furthermore, each cultivator was assigned a threat classification based on their ability to fight and kill other sword cultivators.

Some entries were marked with simple annotations such as avoid direct confrontation, do not pursue alone, or confirmed Sword Intent beyond expected level.

Others had only a few lines.

The more dangerous the cultivator, however, the more detailed their entry became.

Then Aksai saw a familiar name.

Kalina.

He immediately became interested.

The entry read:

Name: Kalina

Cultivation: Mid-stage Lord realm (possibly a late-stage realm suppressed by some technique)

Affiliation: Shinayin Empire — King Kerman’s faction

Path: Connate Fire Path / supplementary Sword-related inheritance

Known Natal Treasure: Lorel’s Red Sword

Threat Assessment: High

Status: Missing from the Shinayin Empire. Not recorded to be near the Shinayin Boundary.

Primary Concern: Suspected possession of a Sword Form Embryo

Last Activity: Possible expedition to the Dadangar Subcontinent

Aksai’s eyes paused on the final few lines.

Below the main entry were several handwritten additions.

Confirmed: Sword Form Embryo obtained from an unidentified ancient site.

Do not engage without adequate preparation.

Opposing factions have begun active pursuit.

Subject is aware of the pursuit and has likely begun collecting information on sword cultivators. Exercise caution regarding tracking attempts and intelligence leaks.

Aksai raised an eyebrow.

"So this is why..."

Apparently, Kalina had somehow acquired a Sword Form Embryo while exploring an unknown ancient site.

Aksai’s eyes flickered as he read through the supplementary information.

A Sword Form Embryo was an exceptionally rare treasure among sword-related relics. It could serve as the foundation for nurturing an extraordinary sword-type Natal Treasure.

For true sword cultivators, something like that was worth taking enormous risks over.

The moment word of Kalina’s acquisition reached the opposing factions, she had effectively become prey (Chapter 865).

They had begun hunting her.

And Kalina knew it.

That explained why she had started collecting information about the sword cultivators pursuing her. She wasn’t merely trying to understand her enemies but was trying to survive them.

But then Aksai noticed something interesting.

The dossier contained no record of Kalina successfully refining the Sword Form Embryo.

That meant the people who compiled it didn’t know what had happened afterward.

Aksai’s expression became thoughtful.

"It seems they had no idea that Kalina had already finished refining the Sword Form Embryo. And even if they did, the hunt wouldn’t have stopped anyway."

Through Kalina’s journal, Aksai knew that she had used another rare treasure as a catalyst, transforming it into a black sword. She had basically skipped the maturity time required to cultivate a Sword Form Embryo.

The result of a fully matured Sword Form Embryo was a new Natal Sword.

And to make that possible, she had paid an enormous price.

She had abandoned her previous Natal Treasure and replaced it with the black sword.

For a sword cultivator, such a decision was anything but casual.

The backlash alone could damage years of cultivation.

Yet Kalina had done it anyway.

Such was the rarity and importance of a Sword Form Embryo.