Chapter 297: Someone’s Following?

There was still over a month until the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect held its disciple selection assembly.

During this time, Song Jiulai not only had to busy herself with finding information in the Dragon Frost Swamp, but also had to figure out how to get to the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect.

Fortunately, the requirements for getting to the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect were relatively simple.

The Ten Thousand Immortals Sect knew that some disciples couldn’t afford the Teleportation Array to travel to their main location, so this selection assembly would be held at the various sects under its banner.

The Sea View Sect would have one as well.

Song Jiulai only needed to have her clone return to the Sea View Sect.

And returning to the Sea View Sect was also simple. From Xuanwu City, one only needed to pay enough Spirit Stones to take the Teleportation Array back; no one would care about your identity at all.

Once there, she could pay some Spirit Stones to qualify for lodging.

And then just wait for the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect’s selection assembly to begin.

However, this time, Song Jiulai didn’t plan to return to the Sea View Sect. The Sea View Sect wasn’t the only destination affiliated with the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect that she could reach via the Teleportation Array in Xuanwu City.

She planned to go to the Biyin Sect.

The Biyin Sect was a Medicine Sect, and more importantly, its reputation seemed a bit better.

Its requirements for outsiders seeking lodging weren’t as strict as the Sea View Sect’s. Many people went to the Biyin Sect seeking medicine.

Therefore, many Loose Cultivators came and went.

Going there shouldn’t be a problem.

To test her Cultivation Technique, Song Jiulai had moved to a different spot to gather spirit materials.

The power of the Moonlight Sword Technique was even more astonishing than she had imagined.

At only the Foundation Establishment Stage, using the complete Sword technique allowed her to summon the phantom of a longsword that pierced down from the sky.

When used, the surrounding temperature would drop, but it wasn’t a feeling of coldness.

Rather, it was a lonely, desolate chill that emanated from the moonlight’s radiance.

Moreover, it would slow the flow of time in the vicinity, making the sword phantom’s piercing motion appear slow, when in reality, it affected the speed of everything around it.

Even without using the complete version, when she casually used the Sword technique and thrust her sword at a demon beast, any beast she locked onto was completely unable to escape.

That deceleration didn’t feel like a standard effect of the Cultivation Technique; it was more like a trace of the Power of Time had permeated it.

Time, space.

These were the laws governing the operation of all things in the world. As long as a technique was touched by even a hint of the Power of Laws, its might would be incomparable.

"The effect of the Sword technique you use is even stronger," the System said. "Shuitan and Wuming are also practicing this Sword technique, but its power isn’t this strong for them yet."

Players with strong offensive capabilities had basically all chosen the Sword technique.

Currently, people were practicing all of the Five Elements Skills.

The Sword technique was primarily for offense.

Chen Miaomiao and Zhou Nvzi practiced the All Living Beings Skill because it seemed to be very useful for both Spirit Grass and Beast Taming, making it the top choice for life-skill players.

The Water Element skill was clearly a speed-based Cultivation Technique, and it was one that most players needed.

Even though it was best not to mix multiple Cultivation Techniques in the early stages, the Water Element skill was the one most players chose.

It was great for escaping!

The Fire Element skill was more like a damage-over-time effect. Once the Red Lotus Karmic Fire Seal hit a target, it would burn continuously inside the target’s body.

From what they had seen so far, it was 100% fatal to demon beasts, with no known cure.

The Earth Element skill involved Arrays. Its effects were the least obvious at present because few players were practicing it, and after only a few days, their Levels were still low.

It could only be used to trap some low-level demon beasts; they hadn’t been able to test its greater power yet.

Song Jiulai was lost in thought.

’After all, I have the System, which is basically a cheat. The limits of my body are beyond what other players can compare to.’

"I feel like when a demon beast is locked on by the sword phantom, its aura is a little different from when I first target it. It seems... weaker..."

The sword phantom didn’t possess the astonishing and grand power of other Cultivation Techniques; it was merely the illusion of an ordinary longsword.

Yet it possessed unimaginable killing power.

Song Jiulai found it a bit incredible. "This Sword technique carries the Power of Space-Time, and it can weaken a demon beast’s cultivation?"

This weakening wasn’t temporary, and the demon beasts were completely powerless to resist it.

It could slow them down and lower a demon beast’s cultivation. It would naturally have the same effect on other Cultivators.

’If it’s like this at the Foundation Establishment Stage, what will it be like at higher levels? That would be an absolutely devastating advantage.’

Because for now, only the complete Cultivation Technique for the Moonlight Sword Technique had appeared. Since no one had practiced it to the Late Stage, nobody knew its full effects.

"And..."

Song Jiulai had already begun cultivating it. She studied the technique and said with a frown, "I keep feeling like there’s something wrong with a small part of this technique’s core principles."

System: "What’s wrong?"

Song Jiulai said, "It feels like something extra was added, but it’s also incomplete. Do you get what I mean?"

It was as if there was more to the Moonlight Sword Technique than this.

But her Level was too low right now. With an Ancient Cultivation Technique like this, Song Jiulai didn’t dare to think too much about it.

She just felt that something was off when she cultivated, as if there was an extra, dissonant flow of Spiritual Power.

To test this theory, Song Jiulai found a secluded spot and unleashed the complete Moonlight Sword Technique.

In the quiet woods, a cold, murderous aura gradually appeared as a longsword imbued with the radiance of moonlight pierced down from the sky.

Even with her current cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Stage, she could faintly sense the flow of time around her seeming to slow.

Even the wind’s passage through the gently swaying forest seemed a little slower than usual.

The sword phantom didn’t look fast, but it gave off a heart-pounding sense of dread, a feeling of being completely unable to resist.

If she weren’t the one using it, she wasn’t sure she could have blocked this complete strike herself.

The sword phantom fell, its tip striking the ground, and an indistinct trace of light and shadow spread out.

Faintly, the traces of a pattern flowed out, but only for an instant, making it almost impossible to notice.

"Look!" Song Jiulai tried several more times. Although the Moonlight Sword Technique consumed a great deal of Spiritual Power, with her current reserves, she only started to feel drained after using it ten-odd times in a row.

She was confident that with this alone, without using any Magic Treasures, she could wipe the floor with some Foundation Establishment Stage disciples.

Even against Late Stage opponents, she’d have a fighting chance.

After all, she was testing her limits.

"It’s not an illusion." The Moonlight Sword Technique really did have an extra part—a section she felt was superfluous, a mantra with an unknown meaning.

But it didn’t affect the use of the Cultivation Technique.

It was more like an incomplete piece. "It’s a pattern."

The trace of light was more like a few simple lines. An ordinary person might assume it was just a residual mark from using the Moonlight Sword Technique.

But Song Jiulai didn’t think so.

The System said, "What do you think it is?"

"It makes no sense to just give me a Cultivation Technique like this, and for it to be one of the Five Elements Skills. Back on Blue Star China, the Five Elements are a significant concept."

Song Jiulai pinched her fingers together thoughtfully. "I’ve only practiced the Moonlight Sword Technique, so it’s hard for me to prove anything. Have the other players pay close attention when they cultivate and see if the other techniques have similar issues."

System: "Too few players are practicing them right now, and their progress isn’t as fast as yours. We’ll know in a few days."

Song Jiulai nodded.

As she walked out of the forest, her steps faltered.

The System said, "What’s up? Gotta use the bathroom?"

Song Jiulai: "..."

She said with some hesitation, "For the past few days, I keep getting the feeling that someone is following me."

The feeling came and went.

But frustratingly, she couldn’t find anything with her Divine Sense.

This was not a good feeling.