109: Taixu Destruction Sword Body

The clamor of the Myriad Sword Tomb fell silent.

Countless broken swords and shattered blades, as if soothed by an invisible hand, ceased their humming and jumping, returning once more to a deathly silent vigil.

Only the lingering metallic tang of rust in the air and the mixed Sword Intent that had yet to fully settle silently spoke of the resonance that had just swept through the entire Sword Tomb.

Yu Qingchen stood alone at the center of the Sword Mound, the fragments of broken swords beneath his feet clearing a small space around him.

He slowly opened his eyes, the pure sharpness reflecting the myriad swords deep within his gaze quietly receding, settling into a depth as profound as a dark pool.

He raised his only remaining left hand, his fingers still held in a phantom grip. His palm was empty, yet it seemed to retain the incomparably heavy 'momentum' from when he had just triggered the resonance of the myriad swords.

It was not a physical sword, but the embryonic form of the 'Sword Heart' emerging from its cocoon within his mind—a sword of will that severed past delusions and pointed directly to the true meaning of the Origin.

"How do you feel?" Jian Wuchen's voice sounded beside him, calm yet carrying a faint, imperceptible trace of expectation.

Hearing this, Yu Qingchen slowly lowered his left hand and turned to face his Revered Master. His face was still pale from blood loss, but the exhaustion of surviving a disaster had been replaced by an introverted tenacity.

"Reporting to Revered Master," his voice was steady, with a strange quality like stone polished by hundreds of millions of Sword Intents, "this Disciple... has found a new starting point."

Jian Wuchen's gaze was as sharp as a sword, sweeping over Yu Qingchen's entire body and focusing on that left hand.

He could clearly perceive that the Destruction Sword Intent within his Disciple, which had once been violent and rampaging, almost bursting from his body, was now like a tamed Vicious Beast, lurking deep within his Meridians. Although it still carried a heart-palpitating destructive power, it was no longer chaotic and disorderly, but instead firmly bound and guided by a new, clear, and resilient will.

"Destruction has not disappeared; it now coexists with you," Jian Wuchen said solemnly, his tone certain. "You are no longer its Puppet, but its Revered Master. Remember this feeling; let destruction become an extension of your sword's edge, not an abyss that consumes you."

Yu Qingchen nodded solemnly: "This Disciple will keep it in mind." Di Qianjie's strike, which severed Karma and returned everything to nothingness, had not only cut off his arm and twisted obsession but had also become his mentor in the Dao of the sword, constantly reminding him of the essence of the sword—the sword is the tool, and the intent is the soul.

At this moment, that dormant Destruction Sword Intent was being guided by his newly born 'Left-Hand Sword Heart,' as he tried to truly 'grasp' it in his hand rather than being driven by it.

"Your body..." Jian Wuchen's gaze fell upon the stump of his arm again, his tone grave. "Di Qianjie's strike has severed the possibility of fleshly regeneration. But fortune and misfortune are intertwined; this may also be the opportunity for you to temper your 'Tai Xu Sword Body' and take it a step further."

Yu Qingchen was slightly startled: "What does Revered Master mean?"

"The Tai Xu Sword Body's original intent lies in embracing the Void Realm and evolving the true meaning of the myriad swords," Jian Wuchen's eyes sparkled with the light of wisdom. "Now, your right arm is missing, and your Physical Body is no longer in a state of Perfection; this is inherently a flaw. However, the Heavenly Dao is flawed—the Great Dao has fifty paths, the Heavenly Derivation is forty-nine, and man escapes through the one! This incompleteness itself might very well be a form of 'emptiness,' a form of 'void'!"

"Although your Tai Xu Sword Body has evolved into the Tai Xu Destruction Sword Body, that was in a state where you were controlled by the Destruction Sword Intent, not truly in command. To truly Revered Master the Saint Body, you still need to comprehend it yourself!"

"Try to guide the dormant Destruction Sword Intent within you, using the 'emptiness' of this severed arm as a furnace and the Left-Hand Sword Heart as a guide to temper your flesh and bones. Let this incomplete 'emptiness' become your 'Void World' that contains destruction and nurtures new life! If successful, your spiritual 'Tai Xu Sword Body' will completely transform, advancing to a higher level of Saint Body—the Tai Xu Destruction Sword Body!"

Using the severed arm as a furnace and destruction as the fire to temper the Saint Body!

Yu Qingchen's pupils constricted slightly, and then an indescribable realization flooded his heart. Di Qianjie had severed his 'existence,' but he had also opened up an unprecedented empty domain for him. Was this empty domain not the best cultivation ground to contain destruction, evolve new life, and align with the original intent of Taixu?

"This Disciple... understands!" A startling brilliance erupted in Yu Qingchen's eyes, a determination born from finding a path of breaking through and then establishing anew, of finding life within death.

Jian Wuchen said no more. With a wave of his sleeve, a gentle stream of sword yuan swept up Yu Qingchen, instantly leaving the deathly silent Myriad Sword Tomb and arriving at a more secluded, extremely pure grotto-heaven of Origin Qi behind the Taixu Sword Sect—the 'Taixu Mysterious Realm'.

Within the Mysterious Realm, clouds and mist swirled, spiritual springs gurgled, and exotic flowers and herbs emitted an aura that calmed the mind.

At the center was a Cold Jade Platform, engraved with ancient runes for Spirit Gathering and stabilizing the mind.

"The Spiritual Qi here is pure, and there is even the 'Mind-Settling Array' left by the Ancestral Master, which can help you suppress the destructive malice and focus on Body Tempering."

Jian Wuchen said solemnly, "You shall remain in the Mysterious Realm for secluded cultivation. The honing of your left-hand swordsmanship, the mastery of the Destruction Sword Intent, and the transformation of the Tai Xu Sword Body... these three must proceed in parallel; not one can be missing! I will act as your Protector here, isolating all external disturbances."

Yu Qingchen bowed deeply, his only remaining left hand clenched tight: "Thank you, Revered Master, for protecting my path! This Disciple will not fail your expectations!"

On the Cold Jade Platform, Yu Qingchen sat cross-legged, his mind focused and calm.

The first step: wielding the sword with the left hand.

He took out a standard-issue refined steel longsword from the Sect; it was not a divine weapon or a Sharp Weapon, as his intent was to return to basics.

As his left hand gripped the cold hilt, a strong, bone-deep sense of awkwardness immediately washed over him.

His right hand's muscle memory, the power trajectories of his sword techniques, and his movement coordination habits... all became obstacles.

The simple opening stance, 'Taixu Induction,' when performed with his left hand, became stiff and sluggish, completely lacking its former fluidity.

With his eyes closed, he repeated the most basic thrusts, lifting strikes, taps, and snaps over and over again.

Sweat soaked his robes, and the tiger's mouth of his left hand was rubbed raw by the coarse hilt, seeping blood.

Every strike of the sword was accompanied by phantom pain from the stump of his right arm, as if the lost limb were still silently reminding him of his incompleteness.

The Destruction Sword Intent seemed to sense the fluctuations in his emotions, restlessly stirring within his Meridians.

"Let go of... the incompleteness... let go of... the habits..." Yu Qingchen chanted in his heart, forcing himself to forget the pain of losing his right arm and the past glory of his right-handed sword.

He poured all his focus into this unfamiliar left hand, feeling every muscle contraction and every bit of resistance as the sword's edge cut through the air.

Gradually, he stopped trying to imitate the patterns of his right-handed sword. He began to explore the unique angles, power points, and rhythms of the left hand.

His backhand lifting strikes became more cunning and eerie, and the angles of his diagonal thrusts became more unexpected. The awkwardness did not disappear, but he forcibly twisted and adapted to it with a near-masochistic tenacity.

His sword techniques changed from stiff to fluid, and then from fluid to... eerie and unpredictable. A completely different fighting style belonging to the left-hand sword was slowly taking shape.