Falling Bright Sword Art

Seeing Lu Qingshan nod, Qin Lao gestured to the blue-robed attendant waiting nearby, and the attendant quickly withdrew.

Not long after.

The blue-robed attendant returned before Lu Qingshan, carrying a tray.

Neatly arranged on the tray were forty-five First-grade Spirit Stones and a cyan Jade Slip.

"These are forty-five First-grade Spirit Stones. Please count them. Also, I heard that you wish to purchase one or two Sword Skills. This Jade Slip contains a list and detailed descriptions of all the Sword Skills available on the first floor of our trading company. Please have a look."

Whether cultivation techniques, spells, or skills such as Sword Skills, merchants could not possibly let cultivators directly inspect the originals when selling them. What they presented were merely rough descriptions.

Once a cultivator had selected a satisfactory cultivation technique or Sword Skill, payment and goods would be exchanged at the same time.

This had long been the trading rule of the cultivation world.

Lu Qingshan stored the Spirit Stones in his Storage Bag.

At last, his total assets had undergone a qualitative leap from double digits to triple digits.

He then picked up the cyan Jade Slip from the tray and released his spiritual sense to inspect the information within.

Green Spirit Sword Art, a wood-element Sword Art renowned for its unending sword forms. When executed, faint green light flickered across the Sword Weapon, affecting an enemy's judgment. Price: fifty First-grade Spirit Stones!

Extreme Cold Sword Art, a powerful close-combat Sword Art. Every attack carried a hidden chill when executed, and its might was not to be underestimated. Price: sixty First-grade Spirit Stones!

Thousand Cranes Sword Art, a Sword Art created by Daoist Thousand Cranes, renowned for its dazzling sword forms. When the art was performed, crane-shaped phantoms could faintly be seen, leaving enemies stunned. Price: sixty-five First-grade Spirit Stones!

Azure Flame Sword Art, a fire-element Sword Art. Its sword forms were swift as flames and carried burning damage. Ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators could hardly withstand the might of this skill. Price: seventy First-grade Spirit Stones!

Falling Bright Sword Art, a utility Sword Art. Its killing power was unremarkable, but it could slow and bind enemies. Price: one hundred First-grade Spirit Stones!

Nine Scorching Sword Art...

A dazzling array, too numerous to count!

For sword cultivators in the Qi Refinement realm, every Sword Skill described within the Jade Slip was a fine choice.

Anything the Great Xia Trading Company could put on display would not be mediocre.

Yet given Lu Qingshan's funds and experience points, he currently intended to choose only one Sword Skill to learn.

After considering it briefly, Lu Qingshan put down the Jade Slip and said, "Shopkeeper Qin, I would like to purchase the Falling Bright Sword Art."

The Falling Bright Sword Art was one of the few control skills sword cultivators could learn at low levels. Even after cultivators reached higher levels, the Falling Bright Sword Art still retained a certain degree of usefulness.

Sword cultivators possessed formidable damage-dealing abilities. Often, even the most basic normal attack was more than ordinary cultivators could endure. Thus, sword cultivators' problem was more often being unable to hit anyone, rather than lacking damage.

A control skill often benefited sword cultivators more than many damage-focused Sword Skills.

Thus, in his previous life, the Falling Bright Sword Art had always been universally recognized by sword cultivator players as a "minor divine skill" of the early game.

Qin Lao smiled. "Please wait a moment."

He then turned and beckoned once more to the blue-robed attendant.

The blue-robed attendant turned and headed toward an inner side room.

That was the inner treasury.

Before long, the blue-robed attendant returned with the Jade Slip containing the Falling Bright Sword Art that Lu Qingshan wanted.

Lu Qingshan paid one hundred First-grade Spirit Stones, and the Falling Bright Sword Art became his. However, his assets, which had only just broken into triple digits, rapidly shrank back to double digits.

But Lu Qingshan was extremely satisfied.

"Falling Bright Sword Art detected. Spend 20 experience points to learn it?"

Falling Bright Sword Art

Learning Requirement: None

Description: A utility Sword Skill. Maximum level: 10.

Skill Effect: Damage equals Strength x 1.1 (1 + 0.1 * skill level), and each sword form carries one stack of Dark Erosion. Each stack of Dark Erosion reduces speed by 1. Dark Erosion can stack up to three times. Once three stacks are reached, Dark Erosion can be actively detonated to briefly bind the enemy.

Each Sword Skill form consumes 2 spiritual power. Detonating Dark Erosion consumes 5 spiritual power.

The Falling Bright Sword Art consumed an enormous amount of energy. With Lu Qingshan's current cultivation, he could only cast a few forms of the Falling Bright Sword Art. Even detonating Dark Erosion once would consume a quarter of his spiritual power!

For the current him, the Falling Bright Sword Art could only be used at critical moments.

"Yes!"

Lu Qingshan's remaining 30 experience points swiftly decreased by 12 points (Innate Sword Seed -30% experience point cost, Beginner Sword Skill Affinity -10% experience point cost).

Mysterious and profound information inexplicably surfaced in Lu Qingshan's mind.

In merely a single breath.

Lu Qingshan could not help glancing at his hands.

Because within that single breath, the Falling Bright Sword Art had become utterly familiar to him. He was certain that if he drew out the Peachwood Sword now, he could execute the Falling Bright Sword Art with practiced ease.

A Sword Skill mastered to minor accomplishment in a single breath.

This was the advantage of players. So long as they had enough experience points, players could learn a profound Sword Skill in an instant.

Lu Qingshan put away his belongings and prepared to leave.

Qin Lao narrowed his eyes as he looked at Great King West Rat, which had remained on Lu Qingshan's shoulder ever since entering the trading company, appearing exceedingly docile and well-behaved. Suddenly, he spoke. "Might you be willing to sell this spirit pet of yours? I can offer twenty second-grade Spirit Stones."

Hearing Qin Lao's sudden question, Lu Qingshan could not help sighing inwardly.

To become the shopkeeper of the Great Xia Trading Company, his discernment truly was no simple matter.

The Illusion Rat bloodline was a sixth-grade demon beast bloodline.

Though Great King West Rat's Illusion Rat bloodline was extremely thin, it was still quite extraordinary.

Qin Lao had clearly noticed Great King West Rat's unusual qualities, but it was certainly impossible for him to see that Great King West Rat carried a sixth-grade demon beast bloodline.

Great King West Rat had not expected to get caught in the crossfire for no reason.

Upon hearing Shopkeeper Qin's words, it immediately panicked, its tiny claws tightly clutching Lu Qingshan's collar.

Seeing Great King West Rat look as though it feared being sold off by him, Lu Qingshan did not scare it any further. He cupped his hands toward Qin Lao and refused, "Shopkeeper, I'm sorry, but this spirit rat is not for sale."

Qin Lao was somewhat disappointed, but he did not press the matter. "A gentleman does not take what another loves. Since you have no intention of selling your spirit pet, our Great Xia Trading Company naturally has no reason to force a sale."

Lu Qingshan was just about to leave the Great Xia Trading Company.

Just then, two cultivators came down the stairs, a man and a woman, behaving with great intimacy.

The woman was very young, with a graceful figure and considerable charm. What was surprising was that the male cultivator looked rather old, bearing the appearance of a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties.

They looked like an old husband and young wife.

Yet such pairings were extremely common in the cultivation world.

This was because female cultivators, regardless of their cultivation level, generally possessed no little expertise in techniques for preserving their appearance.

Male cultivators, however, often focused only on improving their cultivation and would not spend time or wealth researching things that did nothing to enhance their strength.

Moreover, in the eyes of many male cultivators, looking too young often invited others to look down on them.

Thus arose the current state of affairs in the cultivation world: female cultivators looked young, while male cultivators generally appeared mature.

One had to know that in the cultivation world, a female cultivator who looked like a young maiden could often be old enough to be your great-grandmother.

Since they had come down from upstairs, they were presumably at least Foundation Establishment cultivators. Lu Qingshan merely glanced at them before looking away, preparing to leave the Great Xia Trading Company.

Some ill-tempered cultivators would even consider it a provocation if you looked at them a few extra times, inviting trouble for no reason.

Wait?!

Lu Qingshan's steps suddenly halted.

That woman's figure seemed somewhat familiar?

He seemed to have seen her somewhere before.