This time was different from before. Yun Lie stood quietly for roughly seven or eight minutes before the sensation of countless needles piercing the skin finally faded.
Relieved, Xu Ziqing asked, “Senior Brother, what was that…?”
“I’m condensing my sword soul,” Yun Lie said.
Xu Ziqing stared.
A sword soul?
He had never heard of such a thing. Was perfected sword intent not the culmination of the sword Dao?
He considered it, then voiced the question.
Yun Lie nodded slightly. “After fighting Yuezheng Hezhi for so many days, my sword intent began to change. That was when I learned of it.”
Even Yun Lie had previously known only of sword intent. He had not realized that, once cultivated to its limit, it could advance still further.
By something approaching a fortunate accident, he had gained this insight after his latest seclusion.
The two began walking outside, and along the way Yun Lie explained what it meant to condense a sword soul.
Xu Ziqing already knew that sword intent had four realms. Once it reached perfection, sword intent could be joined with the primordial spirit and refined until the two became a sword soul.
Such a sword soul was even more formidable than an ordinary primordial spirit.
A primordial spirit exposed to the fierce sun would gradually wear away and eventually disperse into heaven and earth. A sword soul, however, could remain intact for thousands or tens of thousands of years, even without sheltering in a spiritual object or another person’s body. Its sword intent could resist the erosion of time.
Even if someone tried to destroy it, the sword soul could release sword intent to defend itself, withstanding fire and water alike. It was nearly indestructible.
But those were the abilities of a fully perfected sword soul.
Yun Lie had gained a faint, instinctive understanding that a sword soul could undergo nine refinements.
The first refinement would be complete once sword intent and primordial spirit had fully merged. Every refinement thereafter required tempering in Nascent Soul fire and honing through external forces, an exceedingly difficult process.
The more times the sword soul was refined, the stronger it became. At its height, a sword cultivator could kill someone with a single glare.
A slash from the sword soul would send invisible sword intent surging outside the body. Its power would far exceed perfected sword intent, perhaps by ten or a hundred times, with no clear limit even then.
This was what made sword cultivators so terrifying.
Yun Lie’s sword intent was already immensely powerful and had long since become almost tangible, but its strength remained somewhat dispersed.
Whether he divided it into fine threads, formed countless small swords into a sword formation, or created a gigantic sword to cleave through the air, he had not fully mastered the techniques and was wasting too much power.
Once his sword soul condensed, all of them would improve enormously.
Xu Ziqing’s own attainment in the sword Dao was modest, but even he could understand much of what Yun Lie described.
In short, his senior brother had not approached the limits of his potential. The perfected sword intent Xu Ziqing had once considered the ultimate power still held room for refinement.
Naturally, he was overjoyed for him.
After that initial delight, Xu Ziqing remembered the sharp aura he had felt earlier. “Then how far have you progressed, Senior Brother?”
“The first refinement is not yet complete. It will require a great deal more tempering.”
Xu Ziqing nodded.
That made sense. Advancing sword intent was difficult enough, let alone forming the even more powerful sword soul. Merging sword intent completely with the primordial spirit could never be simple. Even with his senior brother’s talent, a single month would hardly suffice.
Still, the power Yun Lie had displayed suggested that he had found the right path. As long as he continued to work patiently, there was no cause for concern.
They talked as they walked and soon reached the outside.
The restriction before their cave-heaven residence opened, and they sat down to meditate on a flat patch of grass halfway up the mountain.
If challengers appeared for a contest, Honored Master Xing would summon everyone. They needed only to pay a little attention.
Xu Ziqing absorbed the wood qi of the mountain, making gestures with his fingers as he practiced with a solemn expression.
He wanted to become more proficient with his arts and was determined to train diligently.
Meanwhile, Yun Lie employed an unknown technique. Spiritual energy formed an enormous vortex above his head, extending a thousand zhang in every direction before pouring down into him. The depth of his dantian and the breadth of his meridians had reached an astonishing state, as though he were competing with heaven and earth for spiritual energy.
Another three days passed. Sure enough, challengers arrived.
Honored Master Xing’s hearty laugh rang out. “Disciples of Wuling, gather at once!”
Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie opened their eyes simultaneously. After exchanging a glance, they transformed into one green and one golden streak of escaping light, reaching the main peak in the blink of an eye.
Domain Lord Hang was still fishing. Seeing them arrive, he merely smiled.
Before long, the other seven senior brothers appeared as well, arriving less than a breath apart. Clearly they were all accustomed to these summons.
Seeing their two junior brothers, Mi Xing and the others smiled. “Junior Brother Xu, Junior Brother Yun, you arrived quickly.”
Xu Ziqing smiled back. “We were away for a while and made the senior brothers work hard in our place. Now that we’re back, we naturally ought to perform well. We can’t keep you waiting!”
The others burst into laughter.
The challengers today turned out to be the very same group from last time, members of the Fire Origin Mountain Domain.
The Wuling disciples were puzzled when they heard.
Wuling was indeed weaker than the mountain domains that habitually came to cause trouble. In the past, Wuling had lost more often than it won. But as time passed, its disciples gradually became stronger. Although individual pillars still saw victories and defeats, Wuling had begun winning more contests overall. Consequently, the other domains had visited less and less frequently in recent decades.
There had been several closely spaced challenges recently, but the Wuling disciples understood why. The rivals had heard that newcomers joined Wuling and wanted to test and suppress them. Later, when Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie proved capable of defending their pillar, they gradually established themselves.
Eventually the challengers stopped pressing so relentlessly.
Ordinarily, a mountain domain would leave several months between contests.
But Fire Origin had challenged them only last month, and lost. Why had it returned so soon?
Did it think the Wuling disciples were still recovering from severe injuries, hoping to turn the tables while they were weakened?
Some Wuling disciples had indeed been injured, but none of the wounds was particularly difficult to heal. Everyone had already recovered.
For Fire Origin to return so quickly seemed extraordinarily foolish.
The Wuling disciples exchanged guesses, but since the challengers had come, they would simply have to defeat them again.
Setting aside their questions, they leapt into the air and flew to their respective Heaven Pillars.
Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie returned to the pillar they habitually defended.
Six challengers were standing there.
Three were at middle Nascent Soul, two at the peak of late Nascent Soul, and one at Soul Transformation.
As soon as Xu Ziqing landed, he felt a hostile gaze sweep over him. He raised his eyes to find a cultivator wearing a vicious sneer, with a venomous gleam in his eyes.
The man looked somewhat familiar.
Xu Ziqing thought for a moment and remembered.
When he and his senior brother had returned a month earlier, had there not been some petty fellow shouting insults at them? It was this very man!
Xu Ziqing began to suspect that Fire Origin’s return might have something to do with him.
His suspicion was correct.
The man’s name was Cai Tongguang, and he held considerable standing in Fire Origin Mountain Domain. His cultivation was impressive, especially considering he had reached the peak of late Nascent Soul at barely more than four hundred years old. He was therefore proud and arrogant. Being ignored by Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie had humiliated him, and he had nursed a grudge. After returning home, he had schemed repeatedly until he persuaded his domain master to challenge Wuling again.
Determined to torment the two personally, Cai Tongguang had deliberately chosen their pillar and intended to teach them a lesson himself.
With a savage grin, Cai Tongguang flashed forward to stand before the two men. He also pulled over an early Nascent Soul cultivator, so that two challengers faced Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie.
Behind him, another young man at the peak of late Nascent Soul frowned with a grave expression.
Had Xu Ziqing paid attention a month ago, he would have recognized the young man as the one who warned Cai Tongguang not to start trouble. His name was Wen Tianhua. He had hoped merely to delay the matter, never imagining that Cai Tongguang would force Fire Origin into another contest with Wuling so soon. Wen Tianhua was displeased. Many of their cultivators had been badly injured last time and should have been recuperating. Instead, they had gathered everyone who escaped injury for another challenge. If those people returned wounded too, scarcely anyone would be left to defend Fire Origin’s own pillars. To him, their earlier quarrel was trivial. Escalating it to this degree was absurdly willful.
Whatever Wen Tianhua thought, however, Cai Tongguang was in high spirits.
Ignoring his venomous stare, Xu Ziqing waved one hand. As usual, innumerable plants spread out to control the two sides of the battlefield. He clenched his fist, and the plants transformed into fierce beasts that crouched low and growled menacingly.
He cast this art far faster and more smoothly than before.
Xu Ziqing’s opponent was an early Nascent Soul cultivator. Seeing the beasts, he immediately released a flying sword. With a flick of his finger, it split into thirteen swords, forming a small formation that protected him from every direction. The beasts charged, the swords darted back and forth, and battle erupted!
Meanwhile, Cai Tongguang opened his mouth and spat out a scroll.
The scroll was no longer than a little finger. As it caught the wind, it expanded rapidly to nearly a zhang and floated in the air.
Cai Tongguang pulled it open. A violent gale arose, driving sand and stones through the air until the entire surrounding area was obscured.
In the blink of an eye, Cai Tongguang vanished from sight.
Yun Lie slowly closed his eyes.
An overwhelming killing intent spread like flowing water, penetrating the fierce winds and flying sand. Wherever it reached, even the slightest movement of air or grass could not escape him.
He soon located Cai Tongguang.
Hidden within the sandstorm, Cai Tongguang was murmuring incantations. An enormous figure made of fire appeared around him.
The stronger the wind blew, the taller and fiercer that fire giant grew, its appearance savage and its heat unbearable.
Countless currents of wind poured into it, making its form increasingly distinct!
Yun Lie remained impassive. The force of his presence suddenly drew inward.
In the next instant, a fierce streak of light split the air behind him, as swift and jagged as lightning.
It cut through the wind and sand and struck the scroll directly!
Cai Tongguang had expected the Gale Annihilation Formation to buy him enough time to complete his Heavenly Fire Art. Never had he imagined that the formation would be broken before his spell was ready!
In an instant, the streak of light shattered the scroll into countless fragments.
The wind and sand vanished, leaving Cai Tongguang exposed in the midst of his unfinished spell.
Then the same sharp light plunged straight down toward his head!
Watching from behind, Wen Tianhua realized the danger as soon as the sandstorm dispersed. When he saw Cai Tongguang about to be struck, he was horrified.
This is bad!
He immediately looked beyond the Heaven Pillar, anger rising within him. Where was Honored Master Li of their domain, who should have been ready to intervene?
Elio’s Note: The source first lists this pillar’s six challengers as three middle-stage Nascent Soul, two peak late-stage Nascent Soul, and one Soul Transformation. A few paragraphs later, it calls Xu Ziqing’s opponent early-stage Nascent Soul. I’ve kept both descriptions rather than quietly changing the cultivation rank.