Chapter 291 - 159: Mind-Killing Sword, The Condensed Radiance of Stars

Chapter 291: Chapter 159: Mind-Killing Sword, The Condensed Radiance of Stars

But he knew his brother had never seen the Famous Sword Xuehan either. The man was clearly acting up again, overcome with greed. He whispered, "Don’t go looking for trouble."

"Heh!" his brother chuckled, dropping all pretense. "Brother, look at that Daoist. His muscles are soft, his hands have no calluses—he’s clearly no martial artist. Carrying a treasure like that sword, he’s just asking for trouble. If I take it from him, I might just be saving his life."

...

Watching the white-robed Daoist, who had been transformed from a wisp of Sword Qi, get swept into the world of mortals, Xuzhuang smiled faintly, folded the silk scroll, and looked away.

He needed this tempering in the mortal realm precisely to cultivate one of the two secret transmissions he had selected from the Book Immortal Taoist, a technique called the Mind-Killing Sword.

The value of the Innate Grand Purity Qi Great Capturing and Combing Machine went without saying. Xuzhuang had deliberated for a long time over the remaining secret transmissions before choosing the Mind-Killing Sword, and he naturally had his reasons.

This secret art involved using the aura of the mortal realm to forge Sword Qi and refine Sword Intent. Once perfected, it would be reabsorbed into the body and used to cultivate a Divine Technique, one fabled to sever a cultivator’s Dao Heart, obliterate their Divine Sense, and extinguish their very soul. It was exceptionally powerful.

It was said that a certain Primordial Spirit True Man, whose Swordsmanship was godlike, had once sent a manifestation of his Sword Qi into the mortal realm to be tempered. After several hundred, or even a thousand years, he successfully forged the Mind-Killing Sword, a technique powerful enough to injure or even kill a Primordial Spirit.

Of course, a Nascent Soul Cultivator like Xuzhuang lacked the profound methods of a Zhenren. He could only use a Secret Technique as a clever shortcut, using the mortal realm to refine his own Mind-Killing Sword.

Even so, the Mind-Killing Sword was still a formidable technique; otherwise, Xuzhuang would not have chosen it.

The process of forging Sword Qi and refining Sword Intent was profoundly mysterious. Even with the shortcut, it would still consume a great deal of time, which was why Xuzhuang stopped observing the wisp of Sword Qi after sending it on its way.

He casually gathered the silk scrolls and put them away, then said to Xue Yuren, "If a calling card from Steward Liu arrives at the estate in the future, just accept it for me."

Xue Yuren acknowledged the order. Xuzhuang, for his part, immediately put the matter out of his mind. It was a minor favor, nothing worth dwelling on. It simply meant that if Steward Liu came asking for something in the future, Xuzhuang would give it some consideration.

While Xuzhuang was cultivating his arts, Lieyun, bored to tears, secretly made its way to the edge of the pond to call for the Tan Nu. The Tan Nu was shy and had already gone into hiding, so she was startled by its sudden appearance.

But this flood dragon was, after all, a former Demon King of the sea with considerable life experience. Since entering Xuzhuang’s service, it had become even smoother. It put on a playful grin and began recounting interesting tales of the East Sea—stories the Tan Nu had never heard before. Her curiosity was instantly piqued, her fear lessened, and she revealed her form once more to converse with Lieyun.

Xuzhuang couldn’t be bothered to deal with it. He drained his cup of wine, rose, and left Pianyu Pond. Just as he entered the main hall, he felt a sudden impulse and looked up. The Du Xu Palace, after flying for a long time, had finally reached the "sky."

A pale yellow membrane of light appeared in his vision, drawing ever closer. In a brief moment, the Du Xu Palace plunged headfirst into it.

Before he could register any other sensation, Xuzhuang felt the Du Xu Palace shudder slightly as it passed through a hazy expanse of light. Its speed suddenly surged, and it shot off into the void.

Xuzhuang was slightly startled. He checked his internal connection to the palace several times and confirmed his control was stable. Only then did he relax, thinking, ’So, Flying Escape is this much faster in the void than in the Profound Yellow Realm?’

He had now fully refined the treasure prohibitions of the Du Xu Palace, so he knew this wasn’t one of its unique properties. ’Perhaps any magical treasure or Escape Technique is faster in the void?’

’Is it because of the shackles of the Profound Yellow Realm? Or because the aether in the void is so rarified?’ Xuzhuang was quite interested in the question, but he had no intention of stepping out into the void to test it himself just yet. Firsthand experience could wait for another day.

Even though the Du Xu Palace could cover tens of thousands of miles in the blink of an eye, it seemed it hadn’t traveled far from the Profound Yellow Realm at all. Looking back, he saw only a vast, hazy yellow glow. He couldn’t even see its edge, let alone the complete view of the celestial sphere he had once witnessed.

Looking ahead, the Star River was a brilliant expanse of glittering lights. Though breathtakingly beautiful, the scenery was almost completely static.

’Of course,’ Xuzhuang mused. ’Based on my own understanding and the records in the Daoist Scriptures, the distances are immense. Forget the Great Thousand Worlds; even the space between individual stars is unbelievably vast. Although the Du Xu Palace can perform Flying Escape through the void, with my current level of attainment, it would probably take over a hundred days just to reach the nearest star.’

He wasn’t disappointed, however. He had no intention of journeying far from the Profound Yellow Realm in the first place. He just wanted to take a short trip into the outer void, to get a taste of traversing Qingming and roaming the Star River, as well as to take care of one other small matter.

Xuzhuang had been fortunate enough to visit the cosmos once before, but the situation had been dire, and his Flying Escape had been entirely reliant on Master Yuanhua’s arts. Being able to roam the void under his own power now, even if it was a bit slow, was a uniquely satisfying experience.

Xuzhuang piloted the Du Xu Palace straight outward for over a million miles. Suddenly, he spotted a field of Hanging Stone Star Grains floating leisurely toward him in the distance and hastily steered the palace aside to evade it.

One shouldn’t be fooled by their leisurely appearance; these Hanging Stone Star Grains were actually moving at extreme speeds. If they were to fall into a Realm Universe, it wouldn’t be so bad. Most would burn up to ash, and the remnants would become rare materials sought by cultivators. But if one were to strike a planet, the result would likely be a scene of utter destruction.

Although the Du Xu Palace was protected by an Array, Xuzhuang had no intention of weathering a meteorite impact for no reason.

But he hadn’t flown far when he felt another sudden impulse. He looked back at the field of Hanging Stone Star Grains, his gaze locking onto a particular asteroid several miles in diameter.

The Du Xu Palace’s reputation for having endless wondrous functions was no empty boast. Its detection array had discovered that nearly one-tenth of that asteroid was composed of Western Dage True Gold!

A skull-sized piece of Western Dage True Gold was already a precious treasure. What, then, was the value of a chunk dozens or even hundreds of yards in diameter?

’So this is the abundance of the cosmos?’ Xuzhuang’s interest was suddenly piqued. He wasn’t one to be obsessed with wealth and treasure, but how could he possibly pass up such a sudden, heaven-sent opportunity?

Besides, Western Dage True Gold was a Geng Metal attribute material, part of the Five Elements. It would be of immense benefit to his Five Elements Primordial Union Art and his Five Elements Primordial Divine Light!

Xuzhuang made his decision at once. Activating the grand array of the Du Xu Palace, he slowly approached the field of asteroids. With a flick of his fingers to form a hand seal, he activated the palace’s Treasure-Grabbing Divine Light and aimed it at the massive asteroid containing the Western Dage True Gold!

The asteroid’s flight came to an abrupt halt. This sudden stop was instantly calamitous; it collided with another asteroid trailing behind it. With a great RUMBLE, both shattered.

This, however, was precisely the result Xuzhuang had intended. He watched the asteroid shatter, its fragments flying in all directions. Dazzling Geng Metal was now exposed, bursting forth with a golden aura. He smiled faintly and steered the Du Xu Palace toward the largest chunk.

After several hours of work, Xuzhuang had collected most of the fragments containing Western Dage True Gold. The remaining pieces were scattered too far and wide, so he didn’t get greedy. He simply piloted the Du Xu Palace away from the asteroid field.

He hadn’t expected to find such a significant stroke of luck after only a day of traveling through the cosmos. Xuzhuang couldn’t help but feel a flicker of joy. At the same time, he knew that while the universe held boundless resources and countless opportunities, the cosmic void was also infinitely vast. One couldn’t expect to just stumble across good fortune so easily.

So, after collecting the Western Dage True Gold, Xuzhuang didn’t go out of his way to search for more lucky finds. He simply piloted the Du Xu Palace on a casual tour for a while until he found a quiet region of space, free of stray rocks and debris. He brought the palace to a halt, ready to attend to his main business.

Xuzhuang strode onto the Imperial Dao and sat cross-legged upon the jade throne. He formed six consecutive hand seals, pointed a finger at the dome of the hall, and declared solemnly, "Activate!"

As he acted, a faint sound echoed from the dome above. A round, fist-sized hole suddenly opened. In that instant, it was as if the light from stars in every direction was drawn toward it, condensing into a pool of pure, clear brilliance within the aperture.