Chapter 57: Sword Intent Decree

Flipping to the very end of the *Netherworld Sutra*, one found the meticulously selected incantations the fat man had spoken of.

Pure Heart Incantation, Qi-Gazing Technique, Object Manipulation, Dust-Warding Incantation, Secret Voice Transmission, Breath Concealment, Wind-Walking Art, Void-Gliding Technique...

The so-called Qi-Gazing Technique was like opening a Heavenly Eye in the center of one's brow; once activated, it could not only peer into a cultivator's approximate level of cultivation but also discern the grade of magical artifacts, observe the spiritual energy of mountains, rivers, and lakes, and pierce through illusions. In short, its uses were infinite.

There were over a dozen in a row, all auxiliary incantations similar to the Qi-Gazing Technique.

Qin Sang scanned them quickly, his gaze finally settling on the last five incantations: Water Condensation Barrier, Cloud-遁 (Evasion) Method, Shifting Shadows, Mist-Locking River, and Ten-Thousand-Mile Ice Seal.

The Water Condensation Barrier shared the same name as the talisman he had sold. The book stated that once this incantation was mastered, one could manipulate spiritual energy to condense a layer of water around themselves for defense.

At the stage of Great Success, the condensed water could become a shield, moving according to one's will and becoming even more sturdy.

The Cloud-Evasion Method belonged to a type of Five Elements Evasion technique.

As for the latter three, their names sounded quite intimidating, but they were actually quite similar. Qin Sang suspected the fat man had privately changed their names just to command a higher price.

Once the Shifting Shadows technique was mastered, one could use spiritual energy to condense a clone that was almost identical to the original body, appearing as a living person, though it possessed no abilities and could only be used to deceive enemies.

Mist-Locking River generated a mass of fog to shroud the enemy and obscure their vision; when practiced to a profound level, it could even seal off one's divine sense.

Ten-Thousand-Mile Ice Seal was actually an incantation for condensing profound ice. If a cultivator's spiritual energy was powerful enough, they could truly freeze ten thousand miles. By mastering the timing, one could directly seal an enemy within profound ice and then... run for their lives.

Qin Sang flipped through them for a long while before suddenly realizing that these five incantations were all related to escaping or survival. No wonder he had found it strange; there wasn't a single offensive incantation among them.

Only the Ten-Thousand-Mile Ice Seal, Qin Sang thought, was worth developing. There was no need to strictly seal the enemy; one could also condense ice spikes or ice blades to kill just as effectively.

Qin Sang was speechless. Just how cowardly was that fat man, that every spell he collected was related to running away?

However, Qin Sang could not say the fat man's choice was wrong. As the saying goes, "that which is too rigid is easily broken."

Cultivators were different from mortals. A mortal's prime lasted only a few decades, and if they wished to achieve something, they had to show their brilliance and give their all to avoid wasting their years, for once they died of old age, all would be over.

Furthermore, mortals believed in the principle of "a gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years."

Applied to cultivators, this meant a gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after a hundred years.

Qin Sang had learned that after the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, there was the Golden Core stage, also known as the Core Formation stage, and above the Golden Core were the Nascent Soul stage old monsters.

A Qi Refining cultivator could have a lifespan of over a hundred years, and it was not difficult for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to live past two hundred. As for the Golden Core masters and Nascent Soul ancestors beyond that, their lifespans were even more staggering.

In his past life, legends spoke of Peng Zu living eight hundred years; in this world, a Nascent Soul cultivator could certainly reach such a feat.

With such a long lifespan, if one encountered an enemy they could not defeat, why bother fighting to the death? At worst, one could flee first, live in anonymity, cultivate diligently, and return for revenge once their realm surpassed that of the enemy.

This survival philosophy of the fat merchant resonated deeply with Qin Sang. In the world of cultivation, as long as one kept their life, all possibilities remained.

After reading through once, Qin Sang fixed his gaze on the basic incantations like the Qi-Gazing Technique. Cultivating incantations was not something achieved overnight; one would be clumsy when first starting. Only through diligent practice and familiarity could one exert their full power.

The difficulty of casting basic incantations was not high, and the incantations themselves were simple, consisting of only a few lines. Qin Sang managed to roughly cast them after a few attempts. The first one he practiced was naturally the Object Manipulation technique. Once he had learned it, he immediately took out the Seven-Colored Silk Pouch.

*Clatter!*

The room was suddenly filled with clutter. Qin Sang felt a sense of shame; he was unskilled in his casting and had accidentally pulled out everything inside the pouch at once.

He had already looked at the contents of the pouch countless times. He immediately grabbed a spirit stone, feeling the abundant and pure spiritual energy within, and found it impossible to put down.

Spirit stones were extremely useful in the cultivation world. Not only could they be used as currency, but they could also be absorbed directly, arranged into Spirit Gathering Arrays to assist in cultivation, or used to rapidly replenish consumed spiritual energy during combat. These were merely low-grade spirit stones; higher-grade stones would be even more significant.

After carefully putting the spirit stones away, Qin Sang scanned the room. Since only the gold and silver might be useful later, he put those away as well.

As for the other miscellaneous items, Qin Sang touched them one by one. Once he determined there was nothing extraordinary, he kicked them aside, finally finding the three books he had been longing for.

As expected, the *Black Yin Manual* was like the *Netherworld Sutra*—a very basic cultivation manual, though it was an Earth-element manual that required an Earth-element spiritual root to practice.

One only needed to practice one basic manual; having more was useless, unless one's progress had stalled for a long time or they lacked a follow-up manual, in which case they might choose to switch.

The *Black Yin Manual* also contained its own incantations, such as the Earth-Evasion Method and the Profound Earth Shield. Qin Sang did not know if he could practice them, as the Five Elements of the *Netherworld Sutra* and the *Black Yin Manual* were different.

After a brief skim, Qin Sang put down the *Black Yin Manual* and picked up the Song Family Genealogy.

The genealogy was straightforward; the first page introduced the origins of the Song family ancestor. After reading it, a look of surprise crossed Qin Sang's face, and he quickly flipped through the pages. The Song family was not a large one; from the ancestor through over a dozen generations, only two direct descendants remained.

One was named Song Hua, and the other was Song Ying.

Since Song Hua was male and Song Ying was female, the one who had perished alongside the black-clad demon by the banks of the Chenshui River must have been Song Hua.

In the entire Song family genealogy, not many were qualified to have their life stories recorded. Without exception, they were all cultivators, and all had died during the Qi Refining stage. Most had gone missing or met with accidents; very few had passed away peacefully after reaching the end of their natural lifespan.

The entire Song family genealogy was a microcosm of the cultivation world, allowing Qin Sang to truly grasp its cruelty.

Qin Sang marveled that a single family could have so many descendants endowed with spiritual roots, and at the same time, he read their life stories carefully.

He was trying to confirm one thing: whether the Song descendants had retrieved the Sword Intent Decree from the ancestor's tomb.

The Song ancestor had an extraordinary background. The genealogy stated he had once practiced in a sect called Shaohua Mountain, a tremendously powerful righteous sect. The Song ancestor had originally been an unremarkable disciple of Shaohua Mountain. He had cultivated to the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, but due to insufficient talent, he failed to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Ultimately, he lost heart and left the sect, settling down to have children and grandchildren in a market town at the foot of the mountain. However, he had once performed a great service while at Shaohua Mountain, so upon his departure, the mountain had granted him a Sword Intent Decree, stating that if any descendant possessed excellent talent, they could use the decree to enter Shaohua Mountain directly for cultivation.

Such a Sword Intent Decree was a reward from Shaohua Mountain for disciples who had performed great services, and its preciousness was evident.

After the Song ancestor had spread his lineage, he had taken the Sword Intent Decree to his grave, warning his descendants that they must wait until a descendant with outstanding aptitude and the hope of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage appeared before they could request the decree to enter Shaohua Mountain and restore the Song family.

(End of Chapter)