Chapter 123 - 83: 512 Sword Lights!

Chapter 123: Chapter 83: 512 Sword Lights!

However, in the Grotto Heaven, not only could magical power and injuries be restored in an instant, but one could also be resurrected. He had lost count of exactly how many times he had died to successfully cultivate these 512 sword lights. He did not feel much regarding death within the Grotto Heaven. After all, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t died before; whatever feelings he should have had were already experienced during his first death.

What complicated his mood was that after reaching 512 sword lights, his junior martial sister’s mirror image stopped adding new ones. He didn’t get to witness the grand spectacle of 1,024 sword lights. In all fairness, he was quite disappointed. He wondered if this was simply the upper limit of the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword, or if 512 sword lights were his absolute limit at his current cultivation realm. After all, if his magical power couldn’t be instantly restored in the Grotto Heaven, he truly wouldn’t have been able to execute 512 sword lights more than a few times. The consumption was simply far too immense.

After the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword, he practiced the Profound Evil Sword. However, practicing the former had taken up too much time. Although the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword had reached the realm of 512 sword lights, the Profound Evil Sword had only been cultivated to a realm where he could utilize 256 sword lights. In truth, the Ferocious Sword itself could only command 128 sword lights. Li Yinsheng had died an unknown number of times at his junior martial sister’s hands before learning how to use 256 sword lights to execute a higher layer of the Profound Evil Sword.

He couldn’t help but marvel that this Profound Evil Sword was truly a top-tier slaughter sword technique. Based on his personal experience, the Profound Evil Sword executed with 256 sword lights was even more powerful than the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword with 512 sword lights. It was just that the consumption was on a proportionately higher level. Even if the remaining time was enough for him to learn a higher layer of the Ferocious Sword, he wouldn’t necessarily be able to execute it.

He dedicated his remaining fragmented time to Chongyun’s insect-control skill. The insect-control skill itself wasn’t difficult, and he had basically reached Great Success in it. Additionally, over these nearly hundred years, the Chess Soul had deduced most of the knowledge contained in those hundreds of array dao books. Although he hadn’t learned any new arrays, in terms of theoretical knowledge alone, Li Yinsheng felt he could probably be considered an Array Master.

After nearly a century of nurturing, the Celestial Cyan Sword was likely more than ten times more formidable than when it was first forged. The wood qi within it had grown several times stronger and purer. However, in Li Yinsheng’s perception, this wood qi seemed to be showing a trend of splitting in two. More accurately, it seemed to be dividing into Yin and Yang. Half of the wood qi leaned towards Yang, resembling towering ancient trees, while the other half leaned towards Yin, resembling flowers, grass, and vines.

Although Li Yinsheng hadn’t delved deeply into the Dao of the Five Elements, he wasn’t entirely ignorant either. Not to mention, he had previously consulted Daoist Lang Gan about the principles of the Wood Element. This must be because the wood qi in the Celestial Cyan Sword had grown to a certain extent and begun to autonomously differentiate into Yin and Yang. The Yang aspect became Jia Wood, while the Yin aspect became B Wood. The two embraced Yin and carried Yang, which wasn’t a bad thing at all. If it could truly complete this step, the Celestial Cyan Sword would probably undergo a great sublimation as a result. However, this step didn’t seem so easy. The current Celestial Cyan Sword had sufficient foundation, but it still lacked a certain opportunity, making it unable to truly evolve Yin and Yang.

Just as Li Yinsheng’s heart and spirit were immersed in the Celestial Cyan Sword, a face so familiar it was etched into his very bones and soul barged into his divine sense. He subconsciously shuddered.

Mu Xiaoyu pushed the door open and walked in, her face beaming with joy. "Senior Martial Brother! Can we go home tomorrow?"

"Y-yes..." Li Yinsheng squeezed out a rather stiff smile and nodded.

"Yay!" Mu Xiaoyu cheered, but then looked a bit puzzled. "Senior Martial Brother, your complexion doesn’t look quite right."

"Does it?" Li Yinsheng asked, his face rigid.

"It does!" Mu Xiaoyu nodded and took two steps forward, her face full of concern. "Did you not get enough rest?"

Facing the approaching Mu Xiaoyu, Li Yinsheng subconsciously leaned back. Only then did he shake his head. "Don’t worry, Junior Martial Sister, I’m fine." It was just that he had been hacked and slaughtered by her for several decades, that was all.

...

The next morning, inside Junior Martial Uncle Jiang’s bedroom at the Xuanzhen Temple.

"Yin Sheng should be back tomorrow." Jiang Ningzhi sat before a copper mirror, gently stroking the tip of her eyebrow. In the past, Li Yinsheng would also regularly go out demon hunting, sometimes leaving for a month at a time. Aside from being a little restless the first few times, she had gradually gotten used to it. This time, however, her heart and spirit felt unsettled.

She was very clear on the reason. Her martial nephew hadn’t gone out alone this time; he had brought that little girl with him.

"Although Yin Sheng keeps saying he has no thoughts about that little girl, and he indeed doesn’t look like he’s stirred by mortal desires, but..." She pursed her lips, still feeling a bit uneasy.

Suddenly, a dazzling radiance lit up outside the window. The five colors of white, cyan, black, red, and yellow flowed and reflected across the window paper one by one before retracting. The door was pushed open by a snow-white, slender hand.

"Ningzhi, I’ve come to see you!"

A female cultivator wearing a wide-sleeved five-colored feathered robe walked in. She appeared to be the same age as Jiang Ningzhi, and her looks were nearly on par. She had an oval face, cherry lips, and willow-leaf eyebrows. Flowing light flickered in her eyes, and she was adorned from head to toe in intricate ornaments. A gold and jade hairpin, along with a tortoiseshell hairpin, secured her cloud-like updo. Her swaying hairpieces were inlaid with beautiful red and cyan jade, and a black-and-white flower ornament was pinned by her ear. Her clothes bore even more fine jades and gemstones. Her feathered robe was embellished with lustrous pearls, and her belt was inlaid with five-colored gems...

"Ling’Er?" Jiang Ningzhi was somewhat surprised. Her gaze dodged slightly, and she subconsciously wanted to turn her face away. "Why aren’t you in secluded cultivation at the dharma vein? What are you doing here?"

"I’ve come out of seclusion, and I came specifically to tell you some good news!" She sat down beside Jiang Ningzhi with a beaming smile. "I’ve successfully cultivated to become a Grand Daoist. I’ve finally caught up to you now, right?"

"You came here just to make me mad on purpose, didn’t you?!" Jiang Ningzhi’s mouth twitched. So what if she had become a Grand Daoist? What was there to show off about? If her own cultivation was still intact, she might have already achieved the Dharma Aspect realm by now!

"Don’t be mad, let me finish." The female cultivator named Ling’Er smiled even wider. "After becoming a Grand Daoist, I didn’t come to find you right away. Instead, my master dragged me to the Bixiao Dharma Vein.

"And there, I found a way that might restore your cultivation." Her smile faded a bit as she reached this point, her tone turning serious.

Jiang Ningzhi’s eyes suddenly reddened as she grabbed her hand. "You... you..."

"I’m not joking," Ling’Er said, gripping Jiang Ningzhi’s hand back. "But calm down first. This matter won’t be easy. The Bixiao Dharma Vein isn’t exactly easy to talk to, and I only have a fifty or sixty percent certainty..."

Jiang Ningzhi took a few deep breaths and nodded gently. "I understand, I understand..."

"Wait!" Ling’Er released Jiang Ningzhi’s hand, stood up abruptly, and narrowed her gaze. "Something’s not right!"

"What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly acting so startled?" Jiang Ningzhi was puzzled.

"A Grand Daoist has arrived, and they’re heading straight for the Xuanzhen Temple!" Ling’Er’s expression turned grave, her brows knitting together. "I don’t know if they are friend or foe."