Chapter 17: Secrets of the Sword Cultivators

As Liang Yan followed Zhuo Bufan into the cave dwelling, he passed through medicinal fields and several stone chambers, all of which were filled with busy female servants. Some of the stone chambers were filled with numerous precious artifacts and glittering jewels, making it clear at a glance that they were extraordinary.

Liang Yan thought to himself, "The cave dwellings of the outer sect elite disciples are indeed extraordinarily large. Senior Brother Zhuo appears so elegant and transcendent; I didn't expect him to have such a penchant for these rare treasures and exquisite artifacts."

As he was thinking this, Zhuo Bufan had already led him to a tightly closed stone door. He took a token from his waist and placed it into a groove on the stone wall. A moment later, a rumbling sound echoed, and the stone door slowly opened.

As soon as a crack appeared, a thick fragrance of medicinal herbs wafted out. The mere scent was enough to invigorate one's spirit. Once the door was fully open, a half-man-tall alchemy furnace could be seen in the center of the room. Although no pill fire had been lit yet, wisps of blue smoke were still rising from the top of the furnace. The perimeter of the room was lined with many vermilion wooden racks, neatly stacked with various spiritual materials and herbs. Liang Yan could not name most of them, but their abundant spiritual energy made their extraordinary nature obvious.

Liang Yan mused, "I heard that Qi Refinement cultivators cannot refine pills using their own internal fire and must utilize earth fire. Senior Brother Zhuo must have quite a lot of influence to have the sect draw a vein of earth fire from the Earth Fire Chamber all the way to his private alchemy room just for his use."

While thinking this, Zhuo Bufan had already stepped into the alchemy room, picking through the surrounding wooden racks to select several spiritual materials, while also taking out several ingredients from his own storage bag.

Once everything was prepared, Zhuo Bufan said to Liang Yan, "Junior Brother Liang, please set up the formation now. When I reach the critical stage of condensing Qi and gathering it in the furnace, I will call out to alert you. At that time, I will trouble you to preside over the grand formation and guard the spiritual energy within the furnace."

Liang Yan nodded, took out the formation disk and flags given to him by Senior Brother Zhuo, and began carving formation runes and arranging the formation tools on the ground. After nearly half a day, Liang Yan stood up wearily and said, "Senior Brother Zhuo, I am ready. I can activate the Spirit Gathering Formation at any time."

"Good!" Zhuo Bufan did not delay. He added the prepared materials into the alchemy furnace one by one according to the required proportions, then raised his hand to cast a hand seal. A bright red flame immediately rose beneath the furnace, its heat and intensity constantly shifting according to the hand seals in Zhuo Bufan's hands.

Knowing that alchemy required absolute concentration and that any disturbance was fatal, Liang Yan found a random spot on the floor, sat down in meditation, and began to circulate his Qi to practice his cultivation.

Time passed minute by minute. Zhuo Bufan remained sitting upright, his hand seals never ceasing as he meticulously operated the earth fire to temper the furnace. Watching from the side, Liang Yan couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration, thinking, "The art of alchemy is truly not something an ordinary person can learn." Given his own flighty personality, if he were tasked with such delicate control over the furnace temperature, he would likely blow up nine out of ten furnaces, leaving only scraps for the tenth.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but just as Liang Yan was guessing that it had become night outside, the hand seals in Zhuo Bufan's hands suddenly changed. The fire in the furnace flared up intensely, and he shouted, "Junior Brother Liang, now! Quickly activate the grand formation! Help me guard the spiritual energy and stabilize the pill!"

Startled by the shout, Liang Yan immediately rose to activate the formation. Simultaneously, an indescribably thick medicinal fragrance overflowed from the furnace, spreading in all directions.

Because of Zhuo Bufan's prior warning, Liang Yan knew this was a sign of spiritual energy leaking from the pill. He focused all his energy on presiding over the grand formation. Under his command, the formation flags and disk within the array shifted constantly. The scattered spiritual energy seemed to hit an invisible barrier, only to be guided by the formation, moving slowly through the air in specific trajectories before finally returning to the furnace like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.

A flash of joy crossed Zhuo Bufan's eyes, but he did not relax in the slightest; instead, he became even more focused on controlling the fire to refine the pill.

After an unknown amount of time, just as Liang Yan was reaching the limits of his physical and mental exhaustion, Zhuo Bufan suddenly ceased his hand seals, and the furnace fire vanished instantly. He struck the air with his palm, and with a loud "bang!" from the furnace, the lid shot into the sky. A thick medicinal fragrance surged out first, followed by two yellow pills that tumbled out, finally landing in Zhuo Bufan's hand.

Liang Yan immediately cupped his hands and smiled at Zhuo Bufan, "Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhuo, on successfully refining this pill!"

"Haha! It's done!" Zhuo Bufan could not suppress his inner joy, his face beaming with smiles.

"Since I have succeeded, Junior Brother Liang deserves much of the credit. This is the promised reward; take it." With a wave of his hand, three snow-white pills flew toward Liang Yan. Liang Yan reached out to catch them; they were indeed the three Spirit Gathering Pills from before.

After accepting them with satisfaction, he turned his gaze toward the two pills in Zhuo Bufan's hand. These two pills were tiny, no larger than a fingernail, and entirely yellow. Unusually, they were vibrating slightly in Zhuo Bufan's hand, actually emitting a faint, ethereal sword hum!

In high spirits, Zhuo Bufan noticed Liang Yan's gaze and knew he was curious. He said, "Does Junior Brother Liang know what kind of pill I have refined in this furnace?"

"Haha, I know nothing of the Dao of Alchemy. I must ask Senior Brother Zhuo for guidance!"

Zhuo Bufan nodded and said, "Actually, this is a Sword Nourishing Pill!"

"A Sword Nourishing Pill?" Liang Yan's heart jolted; it was his first time hearing of such a pill.

"It is normal that you haven't heard of it. Although many sects currently exist and various schools flourish, sword cultivators are indeed extremely rare. This Sword Nourishing Pill is specifically prepared for sword cultivators."

Liang Yan had already suspected something when he heard the name, and its confirmation piqued his interest even more. He couldn't help but ask, "What exactly are the effects of this Sword Nourishing Pill?"

Zhuo Bufan smiled faintly. "Does Junior Brother Liang have a great interest in the path of the sword cultivator? Very well, I shall tell you." He paused, then continued, "Do you know that we Qi Refinement sword cultivators are not actually sword cultivators in the true sense? At most, we are merely cultivators who wield swords."

Liang Yan frowned and said in confusion, "I am eager to hear more."

"A true sword cultivator refines a flying sword into their Lifebound Magic Treasure. When facing an enemy, they can strike from a thousand miles away simply through their intent. We Qi Refinement cultivators merely use a spiritual sword as a spiritual tool and have learned some sword techniques to wound enemies with a blade."

Liang Yan realized, "In that case, to become a true sword cultivator, one must refine their own Lifebound Flying Sword?"

"Correct! But a Lifebound Flying Sword is a first-class Magic Treasure, and it is incredibly difficult to refine. Furthermore, to command a Magic Treasure, one must reach the Yuan Gathering Stage; even Foundation Establishment cultivators can only drive high-grade spiritual tools."

Liang Yan was shocked. "Does that mean there are no sword cultivators below the Yuan Gathering Stage?"

Zhuo Bufan glanced at him and smiled. "Not necessarily. A Lifebound Flying Sword is a special kind of Magic Treasure that must be slowly nurtured by oneself. As long as a cultivator reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, they can begin to incorporate a flying sword they favor into their own Dantian, using their spiritual power to continuously nourish it until they reach the first realm of a sword cultivator: refining the flying sword into a Sword Embryo within the body!"

"So that is only the first realm..." Liang Yan murmured to himself, then asked, "What are the subsequent realms?"

"Haha, sword cultivation is an extreme method passed down from ancient times. Since we haven't even reached the first realm, how could we know what follows? Moreover, it is said that once this Sword Embryo is refined, it cannot be used to strike enemies again until the next realm is reached. One must find another ordinary flying sword. It can be said that once a sword cultivator reaches the Sword Embryo stage, their strength actually decreases rather than increases!"

"It seems being a sword cultivator is truly as difficult as ascending to heaven," Liang Yan said with a bitter smile. "By the way, Senior Brother, what is the purpose of you refining this Sword Nourishing Pill?"

"That is simple. Because we sword cultivators need to incorporate a spiritual sword into our bodies to nurture the Sword Embryo. However, the Dantian is a vital part of the human body. The sword qi of a spiritual sword is extremely sharp; if one is not careful, there is a risk of piercing the Dantian and losing all cultivation. This Sword Nourishing Pill can foster a subtle connection between the master and the flying sword, indirectly nurturing the sword's spirituality, eventually achieving perfect fusion between the self and the sword. This ensures safety when the flying sword is finally brought into the body."

"I see," Liang Yan said in realization. "Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother Zhuo."

Zhuo Bufan waved his hand and smiled. "No need to thank me. There will be many days in the future where I will trouble you, Junior Brother Liang. I need to take this Sword Nourishing Pill once a month without fail, starting now, to slowly increase my connection with the Fixed Light Sword. After that, every month when I refine pills, I will have to trouble you to set up the formation and protect the process. As for the reward, it will remain three Spirit Gathering Pills. What do you think?"

"Haha, since Senior Brother Zhuo is so generous, how could I refuse? In the future, when you refine pills, just call for me directly. I will certainly assist you with all my might!"

Liang Yan was secretly delighted. A chore disciple only received one Spirit Gathering Pill every six months, but from now on, he would receive three every month—a treatment usually reserved for outer sect disciples. It seemed this Zhuo Bufan truly lived up to his reputation as a top disciple of the Alchemy Lineage; he was quite generous.

"Good! Junior Brother Liang is indeed straightforward!" Zhuo Bufan also appeared extremely happy as he took Liang Yan's hand and led him out of the alchemy room. He then instructed the servants to prepare a table of wine and food, and spent the evening drinking and chatting with Liang Yan. Liang Yan did not decline, and the two toasted one another like old friends.

By the time Liang Yan emerged from Zhuo Bufan's cave dwelling, it was already late at night. Although he was somewhat tipsy, as a cultivator, he was not yet drunk. He did not go to the Spirit Spring Cave to cultivate that night, but instead went straight back to his own quarters. He immediately refined one Spirit Gathering Pill, feeling the pill enter his body and his compatibility with spiritual energy slightly increase. A look of joy appeared in Liang Yan's eyes, but he then mocked himself, "It seems these Spirit Gathering Pills really are suited for someone with insufficient talent like me..."

(End of Chapter)