Chapter 39: Nameless Sword Manual

The content of the sword technique was not complex.

Under normal circumstances, Chen Lin estimated he could fully comprehend it within ten days or half a month. However, given the urgency of the situation, he used an Enlightenment Pill to achieve complete mastery.

At this moment, he could not afford to worry about any potential side effects.

As the medicinal power of the pill dissipated, he once again felt the presence of the Black Melanin Insect, which released a burst of energy to alleviate the stinging pain in his mind.

Without paying it much mind, he continued to close his eyes to experience the essence of the sword technique.

The most difficult part of this technique was how to form that initial strand of sword qi.

According to the records, the simplest method was to find a Foundation Establishment stage expert to infuse a drop of pure, liquefied spiritual power into the practitioner's body, which would then be slowly refined using the cultivation method of the sword technique.

The advantage of this method was that the resulting sword qi would be extremely sharp, with a high upper limit of power.

The disadvantage was that, being external energy, it would inevitably face some degree of rejection from one's own mana, making the process of nurturing and strengthening it quite slow.

Another method was to use spiritual pills or items containing pure spiritual power, absorbing and accumulating it bit by bit, relying on painstaking effort to refine a "sword qi embryo."

The advantage of this method was naturally the lack of rejection, but the disadvantage was that the formation of sword qi would be slow and required a large amount of items containing pure spiritual power.

Chen Lin intended to treat this sword technique as a trump card that no one knew about; naturally, he could not ask Yu Yuehai for help, and the latter might not even be willing to assist him.

Therefore, he could only choose the second method.

Coincidentally, he still had the Spirit Recovery Pills that Ye Jingyun had given him, which basically met his cultivation needs.

What Chen Lin did not expect was that the process of practicing the sword technique would be exceptionally painful.

Originally, the Spirit Recovery Pill was a gentle medicine, and the spiritual power it released was very pure and entirely harmless.

However, after this pure spiritual power underwent the compression and refinement of the sword technique, it developed a sharp, piercing intent, causing a needle-like stinging sensation wherever the spiritual power passed.

Furthermore, the faster the refinement, the more intense the pain became.

Under normal circumstances, he could have slowed down and used painstaking effort to complete it bit by bit.

But now, he had no time to waste. He could only endure the pain and push the refinement speed to the maximum, causing him to wail on the ground while he practiced.

Under such ruthless cultivation, it took him only one day to condense the sword qi embryo.

By this time, he had become a man covered in blood.

He lay on the ground like a corpse for a long time before struggling to crawl up.

He took out a healing pill and swallowed it; after recovering slightly, he used several Cleansing Spells in succession, finally cleaning the bloodstains from his body.

After changing into a new set of robes, he began to meditate to inspect the condition of the sword qi embryo.

Before he could perform an internal inspection, he heard a noise outside, followed by Yu Yuehai pushing the door open and entering.

"Stop cultivating. Get ready; we set off tonight!"

This news was so sudden that Chen Lin failed to react immediately.

After a moment, he belatedly rose from his meditative state and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Understood, Senior. I hear you."

Yu Yuehai had no intention of continuing the conversation and turned to walk out.

Chen Lin hurried out to see him off, but as soon as he stepped out of the room, he froze in astonishment.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao!"

There were three more people in the courtyard—one man and two women. The man was none other than Zhao Zhengyuan!

The fact that he had reappeared after being missing for so long, and seemingly brought back by Yu Yuehai, left Chen Lin somewhat confused about the situation.

The man's cultivation had actually broken through to the middle stage of Qi Refinement!

Zhao Zhengyuan saw him as well, but he did not speak, merely giving a slight nod.

The two female cultivators were not very old and were quite beautiful, but at this moment, they appeared very restrained, looking somewhat lost and fidgety.

Chen Lin glanced at the two women with slight surprise.

It wasn't that he was attracted to their beauty, but rather that their condition was too "normal."

Ever since he had transmigrated here, he had noticed that all the cultivators in this city were in a state of sub-health.

This was especially evident among the rogue cultivators in the shantytowns.

Take the sallow-faced female cultivator who was killed, or Xu Ruolan, with whom he had traded twice—they should have been in the prime of their vitality, yet they looked like refugees.

The cultivators from the great families in the inner city were somewhat better off; they lacked nothing and could occasionally consume medicinal pills, so it wasn't as obvious, but there was no one in the shantytowns who possessed abundant vitality.

Even he, at the age of forty, had already aged this much.

The reason for this situation was ultimately due to the red threads constantly extracting the energy from their bodies.

However, these two women had rosy complexions and skin as smooth as cream; they did not look like ordinary rogue cultivators. He did not know which family they belonged to or what their relationship was with Yu Yuehai.

At this point, Yu Yuehai suddenly spoke, "You few, get to know each other first. Wait for my summons."

Having said that, without waiting for an answer, he walked into his room alone.

After Yu Yuehai closed the door, Chen Lin immediately stepped forward and asked in a tone of pleasant surprise, "Fellow Daoist Zhao, I didn't expect you to return. Where have you been all this time?"

He actually wanted to ask how the man had ended up with Yu Yuehai, but he did not ask directly.

Zhao Zhengyuan forced an unnatural smile and said, "Don't even mention it. I almost died out there. Fortunately, I ran into Senior Yu. Not only was my life saved, but I also learned of such a great secret. I suspect all the luck of my generation has been spent right here."

Chen Lin could tell the man was being perfunctory. He frowned slightly, but since the man didn't want to say more, he didn't press further and instead looked toward the two female cultivators.

"How should I address you two, fellow Daoists?"

Yu Yuehai was not a kind person; those brought back at a time like this were likely either people with special connections or those with unique abilities that could be useful to him.

In fact, he was quite curious as to why Zhao Zhengyuan had caught Yu Yuehai's eye; he certainly did not believe it was out of some sentiment from living in the same courtyard.

The two women did not know Chen Lin's identity, but seeing that Yu Yuehai had entered Chen Lin's room immediately upon his return, they assumed he must be highly valued by the Senior, and they hurriedly bowed in unison.

One of them spoke, "We are sisters. I am the elder sister, Xia Yunshu, and she is my younger sister, Xia Yuqing. We are both maids of Pavilion Master Ye of the Water Moon Pavilion. Greetings, Fellow Daoist. May I ask how we should address you?"

So they were Ye Jingyun's people.

Chen Lin realized.

He had wondered about it; Yu Yuehai had lived in this courtyard for so many years and had never been seen near any women, so why would he suddenly bring two young female cultivators along?

As long as they weren't Yu Yuehai's women, Chen Lin didn't need to be overly cautious. He cupped his hands and said, "I am Chen Lin. Greetings to you both. We shall support each other in the future."

Having finished, he turned to look at Zhao Zhengyuan to say something more, when a figure descended from the sky.

Ye Jingyun had returned.

(End of Chapter)