156: Breakthrough in Yangjianjue, it turns out that I can also become a peerless

“Congratulations, you have passed the Hidden Sword Mountain Villa trial.”

Seeing the old man appear, Mo Fan couldn’t help but be surprised: “Didn’t I fail to block that last sword?”

He remembered the old man saying that he had to survive ten breaths under his sword to pass the trial.

The old man’s sword-drawing frequency was exactly one sword per breath.

Ten breaths meant ten swords.

“Didn’t block it? No, you should have blocked it.”

The old man shook his head helplessly and slowly said, “I cheated.”

“Cheated?” Mo Fan was surprised.

The old man waved his hand, somewhat ashamed, and continued:

“The trial rule was that I couldn’t use power beyond your current level.”

“But starting from the sixth sword, I violated that rule.”

“At that time, your trial had only reached its tenth day, and I wanted to see where your limit was.”

“So there were the stronger seventh, eighth, ninth, and finally, that last sword.”

Towards the end, the old man couldn’t help but feel a little guilty: “Actually, according to the rules, the limit of power I could use was the sixth sword.”

“In other words, from the sixth sword onwards, I couldn’t unleash stronger combat power.”

“So, you had already passed the trial.”

Mo Fan: “...”

Hearing the old man’s words, Mo Fan’s face darkened slightly.

He hadn’t known there was such a rule.

But it was good, the trial was finally passed.

He had thought he really had to wait until he became a peerless expert to pass the trial.

In that case, before becoming a peerless expert, he would have to face that world-splitting sword every day, which was terrifying to even think about.

Now, having unexpectedly passed the trial, he was much more at ease.

“Next is to receive the trial reward and frantically absorb spiritual energy to cultivate!”

Mo Fan smiled brightly, silently connecting to the virtual panel with his mind to check his attribute information.

Name: Mo Fan

Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Ninth Level (+)

Cultivation Techniques: Innate Skill · Foundation Establishment Chapter, Breath Concealment Art, Sword Nurturing Art (入門), Purple Jade Smoke (Second Level)

Martial Skills: Vajra Fist · Foundation Establishment Chapter, Wind Control, Golden Body Art (Second Level)

Special Abilities: Alchemy (Minor Accomplishment), Fist Intent (Perfected), Array Formation (Grandmaster), Domain (Master)

Storage Space: 100 cubic meters (+)

Available Attribute Points: 11100

In one month in the trial space, Mo Fan’s cultivation had already broken through to the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.

In fact, he had already broken through eight days ago.

After eight days, his cultivation had been fully consolidated and was beginning to surge towards the peak of Foundation Establishment.

The key to advancing from the peak of Foundation Establishment to Transcendent was artistic conception.

And Mo Fan had already comprehended artistic conception.

In other words, once his cultivation broke through to the peak of Foundation Establishment,

He could directly charge into the Transcendent realm, sublimate the essence of his life, completely transform, and ascend to become a Transcendent being.

With countless thoughts in his mind, Mo Fan looked at the old man and smiled, saying:

“Since I’ve passed the trial, can you tell me how you nurture swords now?” Mo Fan looked at the old man.

This question was very important.

If he could master the true method of sword nurturing,

Then the Sword Pavilion wouldn’t have to painfully nurture swords for a hundred years.

A hundred years was indeed too long.

Even his unreliable old man could become a peerless expert at forty.

There was no reason for a peerless sword immortal to have to nurture a sword for a hundred years... right?

Hearing Mo Fan’s question, the old man nodded and said:

“You have passed the trial and are qualified to receive the complete heritage of our Hidden Sword Mountain Villa.”

He paused, then continued:

“True sword nurturing isn’t about directly incorporating sword intent into the body, enduring a hundred years and countless pains before it transforms into sword momentum.”

“Instead, it’s about connecting to the second dimension within the human body, nurturing the sword intent within it, slowly strengthening it, and transforming it into sword momentum.”

Concentrating for a moment and pondering, the old man continued:

“Whether the sword intent is nurtured directly in the body or in the second dimension, both can allow it to become intimately connected with our lives and eventually transform into sword momentum.”

“However, nurturing it in the body has too many drawbacks; nine out of ten will result in death.”

“Only those with slightly special physiques, who can withstand the erosion of sword intent, can use this method to nurture swords, which is too restrictive.”

“Of course, even if they achieve perfect sword nurturing with their special physiques, it will ultimately affect their lifespan, leading to a net loss. This is inherently a path of no return.”

Hearing the old man’s words, Mo Fan couldn’t help but be surprised: “So, being able to resonate with the stone tablet doesn’t mean having good sword dao talent?”

Upon hearing this, the old man shook his head:

“Not exactly. Under normal circumstances, those whose bodies can resist the erosion of sword intent tend to have good sword dao talent, making cultivation relatively easier.”

Hearing this, Mo Fan couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed: “So I still don’t have sword dao talent. I can’t even resonate with a single stone tablet—”

The old man glared at Mo Fan: “What does physique count for? Comprehension is the most important thing!”

“No matter how strong your physique, if your comprehension is lacking, you will never be able to cultivate the Sword Nurturing Art to perfection!”

“Conversely, even if your physique is a bit weaker, as long as your comprehension is exceptional and you lay a good foundation in the early stages, you can still cultivate the Sword Nurturing Art to perfection and become a Sword Immortal!”

“The only difference is that that small group of people with special physiques can quickly break through before reaching the Mandate of Heaven realm, ascending to Mandate of Heaven in three to five years!”

“But once their cultivation breaks through to the Mandate of Heaven realm, the so-called physique advantage becomes insignificant.”

As if to be precise, at this point, the old man quickly added:

“Of course, those extremely rare heaven-defying physiques are an exception.”

“Legend has it that some invincible physiques, rarely seen in eons, are extraordinary from birth, invincible all the way, breaking through realms as easily as eating and drinking, and reaching the peerless expert realm without much pressure.”

“For them, comprehension seems to be optional, because they are naturally close to the Dao, their artistic conception is innate, and they advance with irresistible force...”

At this point, a look of envy appeared on the old man’s face.

Mo Fan rolled his eyes at this.

What are you, a trial puppet, envying geniuses rarely seen in eons for?

But then again.

Isn’t Yingying exactly this kind of physique?

No wonder she’s so terrifying—

“She’s probably really going to become a peerless expert within a few years.” Mo Fan sighed with emotion.

His daughter being too strong made him seem too ordinary.

As Mo Fan was lost in thought, the old man continued: “Such people are too rare; we can’t envy them.”

“What we need to do is lay a good foundation, then rise rapidly after reaching the Mandate of Heaven realm, and use the swords in our hands to defy fate and change our destiny!”

Towards the end, the old man seemed to boil with passion, his entire being like a sharp sword about to cleave through the sky.

Mo Fan wasn’t concerned about this. After pondering for a moment, he said:

“Then, for true sword nurturing, does it have to be combined with that ‘Returning to Origin Sword Canon’ to be effective?”

The old man looked at Mo Fan in surprise and nodded, saying:

“You guessed correctly. Sword Nurturing Art combined with the Returning to Origin Sword Canon’s method of sword nurturing is the true sword nurturing.”

After a moment of contemplation, the old man explained: “I just said that by nurturing sword intent in the second dimension of the human body, we can achieve intimate connection with the sword intent without harming ourselves.”

At this point, the old man looked at Mo Fan: “Do you know what the so-called second dimension of the human body refers to?”

Mo Fan thought for a moment and said, “The Qi Sea?”

“Uh, the Qi Sea is indeed a second dimension.”

The old man frowned slightly and continued:

“The Qi Sea is indeed mysterious. According to ancient records, when cultivation reaches a certain level, it can even evolve into a complete grand world, a vast universe...”

At this point, the old man paused, then smiled helplessly and said, “I’ve strayed a bit too far. Let’s get back to the main topic.”

“Before it evolves into a true world, the Qi Sea is, after all, an existence that cannot be seen, touched, or even perceived.”

“It is a space that exists between the illusory and the real. Nurturing sword intent into the Qi Sea is clearly not an easy task.”

“However, besides the ethereal Qi Sea, the human body actually has weakened versions of a second dimension.”

“Although these spaces are unstable and small in capacity, they are relatively easier to open. As long as the method is appropriate, success is guaranteed every time.”

“So, we can open up these spaces and nurture sword intent within them.”

“Although the space capacity is small, the advantage lies in their large number. The human body has 362 acupoints, corresponding to 362 small dimensions.”

“Using these small dimensions to store sword intent and sword qi for nurturing is sufficient.”

“Because of these small dimensions, we won’t be harmed by the sword intent.”

“This way, we can also nurture multiple sword intents simultaneously, naturally greatly improving efficiency. This can also be considered taking a shortcut.”

“The physical sword nurturing method you mentioned takes a long time because it doesn’t take this shortcut.”

Hearing this, Mo Fan smiled helplessly.

The cultivation system of Blue Star was based on various ruins.

Many things had not been fully deciphered yet, so the system naturally had some flaws.

The heritage of the Sword Pavilion was the same.

This was unavoidable.

As Mo Fan pondered, the old man continued:

“So, how does one open up these small dimensions?”

At this point, the old man smiled and slowly uttered four words: “Returning to Origin Sword Canon!”

As soon as the old man’s voice fell, Mo Fan saw a light emanating from his fingertip, pointing towards his glabella.

Afterwards, some unfamiliar information appeared in Mo Fan’s mind.

“This is the Returning to Origin Sword Canon, a secret scripture explored and created by our ancestors, step by step, after countless small dimensions exploded and countless people died.”

“With it, you can easily locate every small dimension.”

“Besides that, it can also help you channel the violent energy that dissipates after a small dimension explodes, preventing you from accidentally blowing yourself up while nurturing.”

“Hmm, study it well!”

After speaking, the old man floated down and sat cross-legged, reminding him:

“After a month of trials, I have attacked countless times. This space still contains a lot of sword qi and sword intent. You can use them as a catalyst to condense your own sword intent.”

“Thank you!” Mo Fan was not modest either. He also sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to comprehend... Time passed by minute by minute.

In a flash, three hours had passed.

The broken space was dim and lifeless, with only an old man and a young man staring at each other.

“Comprehended? Are you joking? How could you comprehend the Returning to Origin Sword Canon so quickly!” The old man’s eyes widened like an ox, wanting to cleave Mo Fan with a sword.

“Isn’t this it?” Mo Fan smiled, directly condensing a sword glow on his fingertip.

The sword glow was brilliant, emanating a cold light, extremely explosive and destructive, as if it could tear through space.

“Th-this, this, this... how is this possible?” The old man stared at the sword intent condensed on Mo Fan’s fingertip with an incredulous expression, almost turning to stone on the spot.

After a long while, he finally recovered, his excitement beyond words. He clasped Mo Fan’s hands, his body trembling as he said:

“A prodigy, a prodigy rarely seen in eons!”

Mo Fan: “...”

How was it rarely seen in eons?

Wasn’t it just condensing sword intent?

Before, there was no method.

Now that there was a method, wasn’t it simple?

Thinking of this, Mo Fan smiled: “So I also have the potential to become a peerless sword immortal!”

Of course, Mo Fan did not go to open up the so-called small dimensions.

Instead, he directly condensed the sword intent into his Qi Sea, which was much simpler.

At first, he just wanted to try it out.

But he didn’t expect to succeed in one go.

Since that was the case, there was no need to open up the small dimensions corresponding to the acupoints.

After all, that stuff was unstable and had low capacity. If it accidentally exploded while nurturing the sword, wouldn’t all the effort be wasted?

Besides condensing sword intent, Mo Fan also managed to break through his Sword Nurturing Art.

Because he was using his Qi Sea to nurture the sword, Mo Fan didn’t have to worry about it exploding, nor did he have to constantly open up small dimensions because of insufficient capacity, wasting time.

Coupled with his invincible comprehension, there would be no bottlenecks in cultivating cultivation techniques. As long as the quality of the sword intent improved, the Sword Nurturing Art could directly break through.

Therefore, after Mo Fan incidentally absorbed all the remaining sword qi and sword intent in this space, his Sword Nurturing Art finally broke through.

The virtual panel flashed, and Mo Fan looked at his attribute panel, his gaze fixed on the cultivation technique column.

Cultivation Techniques: Innate Skill · Foundation Establishment Chapter, Breath Concealment Art, Sword Nurturing Art (Second Level), Purple Jade Smoke (Second Level)

Yes, the Sword Nurturing Art directly broke through to the second level!

The second level of Sword Nurturing Art, if cultivated according to the Sword Pavilion’s method, meant he had crossed the line between life and death twice, and would have had to nurture the sword for at least twenty years!

The combat power corresponding to this stage was invincible in the Transcendent Realm!

In other words, the current Mo Fan, as long as he drew his sword, even a Transcendent Peak expert would find it difficult to resist!

Mo Fan, whose sword dao realm had risen to this level,

Could actually use his sword dao to drive his martial dao, allowing his martial dao cultivation to directly break through to the Transcendent Realm.

But Mo Fan didn’t plan to do that.

Martial dao cultivation improved in this way would be flawed, incomplete, and would ultimately cripple him.

In the end, without the blessing of sword dao, he would be like a weakling.

Take Liu Xiyan as an example. At her peak, although she possessed the combat power to cleave through a Returning to Origin Peak expert,

Her martial dao cultivation had always remained at the first level of Returning to Origin.

If she abandoned sword dao, she would actually only possess the combat power of an ordinary first-level Returning to Origin expert.

Mo Fan naturally didn’t want this; he wanted to cultivate both sword and martial arts!

Other sword cultivators might not have the time or energy to delve into martial arts.

But he, with his unparalleled comprehension, had all the time in the world!

Thinking of this, Mo Fan’s thoughts became clear. He no longer paid attention to the rambling old man and prepared to continue absorbing spiritual energy to cultivate.

However, very quickly, his face darkened. He clenched his fists and glared at the old man: “Why is the spiritual energy in this space gone?”

Yes, it was gone, not a single speck left!

The old man spread his hands, pointing to the ravaged space, full of cracks, and said helplessly: “Look for yourself, it’s already like this, how could there still be spiritual energy?”

“#@%! ” Mo Fan trembled with anger, wanting to cleave the old man with a sword.

“What a sin!”

Are you crazy? Why did you shatter the space for no reason!

Was it necessary to test the limits to this extent? You think too highly of me!

“Young man, do you still want to stay in this space?” The old man said with a smile.

“Stay for what? Hurry up and send me out!” Mo Fan said irritably.

“Alright, as you wish.” The old man smiled and drew a transparent light door in mid-air with his hand.

The light door connected to the secret realm world.

Mo Fan stood up, used Wind Control, and flew towards the light door.

Seeing this, the old man smiled and reminded him: “After you go out, you can go to the library at the foot of Sword Mountain. There are many sword dao classics hidden there, which might be of some help to you. Your doubts about Sword Mountain might also be answered there.”

“Thank you.” Mo Fan nodded.

Actually, Mo Fan would continue to explore even without the old man saying so.

After all, the matter of Hidden Sword Peak had not been resolved yet.

He wanted to know what secrets Hidden Sword Peak held that made the demon race so frantic.

He had also asked the old man about Hidden Sword Peak.

Unfortunately, he was just a trial puppet and didn’t know about these things... Not long after leaving the secret realm, Mo Fan found the so-called library.

Entering the library, Mo Fan walked directly to the dazzling bookshelves and began to read carefully.

There were indeed many sword dao classics here, worth Mo Fan’s careful study one by one.

“Unfortunately, the secret realm trial will end in about ten days.”

“There’s no time to explore other areas.”

“Fortunately, ten days is almost enough for me to break through my cultivation to the peak of Foundation Establishment!”

“At that time, my martial dao cultivation can also directly enter the Transcendent Realm!”

Thinking this, Mo Fan circulated his cultivation technique to absorb spiritual energy while quickly flipping through the sword dao classics.

(PS: That’s all for now, I can’t write anymore. I’ll continue tomorrow—)