Chapter 589: Switching Cultivation to the Sword Scripture (Part 2)

‘This Buddha’s Voice Piercing the Ears is terrifying! Succumbing to it once might only set you back a few months, but over the years, your behavior would unconsciously shift toward that of a Buddhist Sect cultivator. It’s a truly subtle and pervasive influence. No wonder the Buddhist Sect could grow so powerful on this continent as an outsider.’

Bai Zichen had the Celestial Might Star Bone, so once his Immortal Bone was activated, this level of Buddha’s Voice was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

A Tier Five Buddhist Flying Sword might have posed a slight threat to the Celestial Might Star Bone.

The Golden Leaf Bodhi Sword, a Tier Four Flying Sword. Even a Buddha has righteous fury. Bodhi is forged into a sword to sever the seven emotions and six desires, and to enlighten the foolish of the world.

After a simple Refinement, information about the Flying Sword flooded his mind. Countless Believers were kneeling in prayer as an Earthly Buddha Country slowly rose.

Golden lotuses surged from the earth, and flower petals rained down from the sky.

Fortunately, it was Bai Zichen who had obtained the Golden Leaf Bodhi Sword. Any other Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator might have had their disposition affected by this sword.

‘I wonder how the former Taibai Sword Sect Disciple dealt with this problem.’

He picked a spot for the two swords in the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box, placing them side by side.

Just like that, he now possessed five Tier Four Flying Swords.

And that wasn’t even counting the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword, which was still acting aloof and had yet to acknowledge a master.

Having dealt with the Flying Sword issue, Bai Zichen turned his attention back to his Fundamental Great Method.

‘It’s time to start switching from the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture to the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture.’

Zhuo Xiong had said that for a Hidden Vein disciple, it would only take about a year to successfully switch Cultivation Techniques.

But Bai Zichen was just an outsider who had practiced the Star River Sword Array; his Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture had absolutely no connection to any Taibai Sword Sect Cultivation Technique.

Once he made his decision, he didn’t delay any longer.

After carefully studying the first three levels of the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture until he knew them by heart, Bai Zichen closed his eyes and steeled himself.

A Fire Dragon materialized behind him, its head and tail intertwined. Its head bit down on its tail.

With a violent wrench, the dragon’s body snapped in two. Dragon Blood splattered everywhere as a mournful shriek echoed through the Tower Temple.

Bai Zichen let out a muffled groan, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Gradually converting the Cultivation Technique and re-cultivating back to the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul Realm—the fourth level of the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture—would have taken at least ten to twenty years.

That was a length of time he absolutely could not tolerate.

So, relying on the dual support of his Five Crystal Glaze Body and Immortal Cave True Bone, he simply abolished his Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture outright.

From this moment on, aside from the enhancements it had made to his Fire Spiritual Root, nothing else remained.

Transforming into a Fire Dragon, wielding Pure Yang True Flame—all of that was now a thing of the past.

‘Without the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture holding me back, I can advance unburdened. One level every six months won’t be a problem.’

Only someone like Bai Zichen could use such a method.

Anyone else would have been lying there on the brink of death, let alone calmly beginning to circulate the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture without a change in expression.

The surrounding nature’s spiritual energy vanished piece by piece, as sword-sharp True Essence rampaged through his limbs and bones.

It went even more smoothly than he had anticipated. Within a hundred days, he had completed his Cultivation of the first level of the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture.

The second level, six months.

The third level, one year.

Because the fourth level brought him back to his current Cultivation, he no longer had the advantage of a higher Realm, and the full conversion took three whole years to complete successfully.

From this moment on, he could finally be called a genuine Sword Cultivator, inside and out.

He raised his left hand and waved. Five strands of Sword Silk shot out with a WHIZZ, pulverizing a Jade Stool across from him.

‘Is this a Supreme Sword Dao Technique? …If I continue my Cultivation, can I reach the point of using True Essence Sword, where I can produce a sword from any Acupoint on my body? The role of a Flying Sword could be greatly diminished.’

Sword Light flickered between Bai Zichen’s fingers as he pondered for a long time. He blinked, and two beams of Sword Light shot from his eyes, adding two more broken stone slabs to the already dilapidated Tower Temple.

‘It’s probably about as powerful as a Tier Three Flying Sword, so it’s a long way from replacing Flying Swords. Besides, Sword Condensation uses up far too much True Essence. I’m better off just using a Flying Sword.’

At the same time, having cultivated the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture to the fourth level, he finally learned how long he would need to remain in his current Realm.

Eighty-eight years. That was how long it would take to cultivate to the Peak of Mid-Stage Nascent Soul, after which he could advance to the Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm.

‘Not even a hundred years. Should I say, as expected of the ultimate dream of countless Sword Cultivators? Even without the unlimited Refinement of Lifebound Flying Swords, this Cultivation speed alone is enough to drive people mad. If I were still using a Cultivation Technique on the level of the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture, it would probably have taken more than two hundred years.’

With a Cultivation Technique like this, it was no wonder the Taibai Sword Sect had been able to rise so rapidly in just a few thousand years.

In comparison, the minor side effects of the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture were not even worth mentioning.

Besides, according to the Taibai Sword Sect’s selection criteria, only top-tier geniuses were even qualified to be bestowed a Sword Seed.

One could say that every cultivator capable of practicing the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture possessed Celestial Pride Level aptitude and would receive the treatment and training of a Saint Heir in any Super Sect.

For them, it was not difficult to consolidate their foundation before Breaking Realm to counteract any instability.

Cultivation was faster by a century, and they only needed to “hit the brakes” before Breaking Realm to solidify their foundation, which would take twenty to thirty years at most.

The pros and cons of the Cultivation Technique, which outweighed which, was self-evident.

‘The Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture is so domineering. If my Spiritual Land Tier were to rise another level, or if I had a Sword Bone in my body, my Cultivation speed could increase even further.’

Behind Bai Zichen’s calm expression, his heart was bursting with joy.

‘I now have three open slots for Lifebound Flying Swords. Who should I give them to… Even if the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword acknowledges me as its master, with the pride of a Tier Five Sword Spirit, it might not be willing to be refined into a Lifebound Flying Sword. In that case, I’ll refine Moon Xuan and Splendid Youth first. That will save me a huge expenditure of True Essence.’

Refining a Lifebound Flying Sword not only doubled its power, but more importantly, its Sword-Controlling True Essence was calculated separately, greatly reducing the burden on a Sword Cultivator.

While ordinary cultivators had one, or at most two, Lifebound Magical Treasures, a Nascent Soul from the Taibai Sword Sect could unleash four or five Lifebound Flying Swords at a moment’s notice. Who could possibly withstand that?

Of course, this placed a very high demand on the quality of the Sword Cultivator’s Flying Swords.

A Lifebound Flying Sword was linked to one’s Divine Sense and merged with one’s mind. If it was damaged, the backlash would be reflected upon its owner.

If a Lifebound Object was destroyed, the Sea of Consciousness would suffer a devastating blow. Even if one didn’t die, they would be left crippled.

This was especially true for cultivators of the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture, who had so many Lifebound Objects. There had been cases of unlucky Sword Cultivators having several of their Lifebound Flying Swords instantly shattered by someone wielding an Exotic Treasure.

Before the fight even began, their Sea of Consciousness would collapse, and their life force would be extinguished.

The Lifebound Flying Swords Bai Zichen refined started at Tier Four.

Furthermore, Moon Xuan and Splendid Youth were currently used mainly in the Star River Sword Array. For daily battles, the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword alone could handle ninety-nine percent of his opponents.

As for hurting the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword, it was questionable whether such a Treasure even existed in the Human World.

‘But refining two Lifebound Flying Swords will take a full one hundred and twenty years… I should cultivate the Daoist Classic Cantongqi first. Sharpening the axe doesn’t delay chopping the wood. Let’s see how much refinement time the fifth volume of the Cantongqi can save me.’

Thinking of this long period, Bai Zichen shook his head and took out the Qingfeng Sect’s so-called Fundamental Great Method, the Daoist Classic Cantongqi, which hardly lived up to its name.

…

「Great Zhou, Celestial Punishment Peak」

Though named “Peak,” each of the Moral Sect’s Five Peaks was in fact a vast territory, connected by multiple Mountain and River Spiritual Veins.

The central mountain of Celestial Punishment Peak soared into the firmament, appearing from a distance as if it connected to the Nine Celestial Heavens.

It pierced through the clouds, and besides the True Inheritance disciples of Celestial Punishment Peak, no one knew just how high it was.

Yuu Ziliang ascended the steps, already tens of thousands of feet high, with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling on either side.

From time to time, pitch-black lightning would strike the summit, and any cultivator standing on the peak would feel a numbing tingle, their body trembling.

BOOM!

Another ink-black thunderbolt struck; only its sound was heard, no flash of light seen.

Yuu Ziliang’s heart skipped a beat. The aura of the Celestial Dao made him bow his head as he walked, an extreme pressure weighing on his heart.

He knew very well that he was still within the bounds of Celestial Punishment Peak.

If he were to step even a single foot off this peak and be grazed by this ink-black Thunderbolt, his soul would be utterly annihilated, even if he was wearing a Top-Grade Protective Spiritual Treasure.

“Yuu Ziliang, Walker of the Dao Vein, comes to pay respects to Great True Monarch Hongfa under my master’s orders!”

After an unknown number of steps, Yuu Ziliang finally reached the end of the peak.

It was a flat summit where countless ink-black Thunderbolts weaved into a net, roaming across the peak like an apocalyptic scene.

“Come forward. What instructions did Master Zhuang send?”

A grand voice drifted out from an unknown source, pouring directly into Yuu Ziliang’s ears.

“My master had me bring Zhang Tianyi’s Divine Talisman, and he asked me to inquire of Great True Monarch Hongfa: how much longer until you can take that step?”