Riu Xian bowed to his master one last time, the crimson sword she had gifted him now resting in his hand. With a deep breath, he stepped outside and placed the sword beneath his feet, channeling his spiritual energy into it.
“Alright, here goes nothing,” he muttered to himself. The sword trembled slightly before lifting off the ground, carrying him upward.
At first, it felt exhilarating. The wind rushed past him as he soared through the air. But soon, the reality of controlling the sword set in. He wobbled to the left, then jerked to the right, trying desperately to balance.
“Whoa! Easy there!” he exclaimed, almost tipping over. “Flying with my boat is so much easier... but it eats through spirit stones like crazy.”
He steadied himself, focusing hard on controlling his spiritual energy flow. “This isn’t so bad,” he said after a moment of smooth gliding. But just as he started to feel confident, the sword tilted again, and he nearly lost his footing.
“Okay, maybe it’s not as easy as I thought,” he admitted with a sigh. “Flying with a sword takes practice... and patience.”
After a few more wobbly minutes, he managed to descend near his chambers, landing with a heavy thud. He stepped off the sword, brushing himself off and shaking his head.
“Not my finest moment,” he said with a chuckle. “But at least I didn’t crash into a tree.”
As he sheathed the sword and walked into his chambers, he couldn’t help but smile. “One step at a time,” he said softly to himself. “I’ll get the hang of this soon enough.”
Riu Xian sat cross-legged in his chambers, his new sword resting across his lap. He ran his fingers along the intricate patterns etched into its crimson blade, admiring its craftsmanship. “A sword like this deserves mastery,” he murmured. He took a deep breath and opened the scroll containing the sword technique he had chosen earlier.
The technique was simple on the surface, but as he studied it, he sensed its hidden depth. Each stroke and movement seemed to flow naturally, as if harmonizing with the essence of the sword itself.
“Alright,” he said, rolling the scroll shut and placing it aside. “Time to begin.”
He stepped out into the courtyard near his chambers. With the sword in hand, he began practicing the first set of movements, carefully channeling his spiritual energy to guide his strikes. At first, his form was rigid and uncoordinated, but as he repeated the motions, he started to feel a rhythm.
“This technique… it’s more about understanding the flow than brute force,” he mused, adjusting his grip. As he swung the sword, he felt the energy hum through the blade, resonating with the technique.
The movements were smooth and easy to follow, almost deceptively so. Each step and swing seemed natural, as though the technique was guiding him rather than the other way around. However, the more he practiced, the more Riu Xian noticed gaps in the sequences, certain transitions felt abrupt, as though something was missing.
“This technique is so simple to understand,” he thought aloud, “but it’s incomplete. Is that why it’s classified as low-level?” He frowned, pausing mid-swing. “Was it left unfinished by its creator? Or did someone intentionally remove parts of it? And why doesn’t it even have a name?”
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He glanced at the jade slip he had set aside earlier. It was plain, with no markings to indicate the technique’s origin. “Whoever made this must have been skilled,” he muttered, “but it feels like they either abandoned it partway or didn’t want others to learn it fully.”
Hours passed, and sweat beaded on his brow as he worked tirelessly. By the time he sheathed the sword, the basics of the technique felt more natural to him. “Not bad for a first session,” he said with a small smile. “But there’s still a long way to go.”
Returning to his chambers, he sat down to meditate, clearing his mind. His thoughts, however, began to drift. He recalled the information he’d read in the book he had bought in the mortal market near the Cloudspring Sect’s territory.
“The sect leader and the previous sect leader are both in the Deity Transformation stage,” he thought, his brow furrowing slightly. “According to that book, a hundred years ago, there were only twelve Deity Transformation cultivators on this continent. Things may have changed a little since then, but it still shows how rare that level is. Both of them were alive back then, which means our sect is powerful to some degree.”
He tapped his fingers on his knee thoughtfully. “If Azure Cloud Sect is ranked sixth, the other five sects must have at least two or three Deity Transformation cultivators each. Some might even have someone at the peak of that realm. And their number of Nascent Soul cultivators is probably higher too. We only have twelve in the inner sect and six in the outer sect.”
His thoughts turned to the smaller sects. “When I was in the Cloudspring Sect, their leader was at the mid-stage of Nascent Soul, but he was the only one at that level. And after Lu Hao’s father surrendered, the Bright Snow Sect absorbed the Cloudspring Sect. Now, the Bright Snow Sect holds fifth place in the rankings, while we’re at sixth. That means they’re slightly stronger than us. But with all the smaller sects affiliated with the larger ones, their strength is probably more consolidated.”
Shaking his head, Riu Xian sighed. “Enough of this for now. Speculating about the strength of other sects won’t help me improve. I need to focus on my own cultivation.”
With that, he set aside his thoughts and began channeling his spiritual energy. His goal was clear: to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. The path ahead was challenging, but Riu Xian was determined to overcome every obstacle.
However, as he practiced, he couldn’t ignore the limitations of his current environment. The flow of spiritual energy in his chamber was scattered and weak, far from what he needed for a breakthrough. Frustration flickered in his eyes as he muttered, “It’s not easy to cultivate in this chamber. If I want to succeed, I’ll need a better environment.”
He glanced down at the obsidian-black ring on his finger. A thought crossed his mind, and a small smile formed on his lips. “I’ll make a hidden cave abode deep underground. With the spiritual vein I stored inside, I can ensure the perfect conditions for my cultivation.”
Without wasting any more time, Riu Xian activated the ring, transforming it into boat. It hovered before him, glowing faintly with a mysterious light. He stepped onto it and willed it to descend. The boat sank into the ground effortlessly, passing through soil and stone as though they weren’t there.
Within moments, the boat descended to a depth of over 10 kilometers, a location that felt secure and well-hidden, deep enough to avoid detection when he unleashes the spiritual vein. He directed the boat to carve out a spacious cave, its interior smooth and polished, thanks to the boat’s abilities.
As the cave took shape, Riu Xian smiled with satisfaction. “This will do perfectly,” he said, stepping off the boat. He walked to the center of the cave and retrieved the spiritual vein from the boat’s storage space. The glowing vein pulsed with energy as he placed it into the ground, where it immediately began to merge with the surroundings.
“This should boost the spiritual energy here significantly,” he said, nodding to himself. He sat down cross-legged in the center of the cave, feeling the steady flow of energy around him. It was much purer and more concentrated than what he’d experienced in his chamber.
Riu Xian took a deep breath and took out a transmission talisman. Channeling a bit of spiritual energy into it, he quickly sent a message to Elder Xiao Ming.
“Elder Xiao Ming, I am going into seclusion to focus on breaking through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. I will inform you once I’ve made progress. Please don’t worry.”
“Now,” he said quietly, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, “it’s time to break through.”