Sword Token

Qiu Jin'er's forehead was beaded with cold sweat. Her mother was far too bold—she was actually coveting the Sword Gate Sect Master's ultimate art.

"Great Freedom Sword Qi will certainly be taught to the next Sect Master. But the Sect Master is old now and may ride a crane to the heavens at any time, so he must have left behind a manual recording the profound mysteries of Great Freedom Sword Qi."

The beautiful woman mused, "I've wandered around the Golden Summit countless times these days and visited the study who knows how many times, but I still haven't found where he hid the manual. I only managed to steal a Sword Token. Unfortunately, this Sword Token is useless. The sword intent contained within it is merely an ordinary sword art called Geng Jin Sword Qi. I secretly watched the Sect Master painstakingly carve this Sword Token and thought it was something precious. Who would've thought it would be this common-as-dirt sword art, Geng Jin Sword Qi..."

Qiu Jin'er took the Sword Token and looked it over. Sure enough, it was Geng Jin Sword Qi.

Geng Jin Sword Qi was very ordinary in Sword Gate. Qiu Jin'er had even learned it before; it could not be considered a profound art.

"Mother, even without cultivating Great Freedom Sword Qi, I may not necessarily be weaker than the others. You don't need to worry yourself. If I'm outstanding enough, the Sect Master will teach me Great Freedom Sword Qi too." Qiu Jin'er smiled.

The beautiful woman shook her head and said earnestly, "That's true, but things are different now. If the Sect Master were in his prime, he would have plenty of time to choose the next Sect Master, and he would also give you enough time to cultivate and contend with the Four Great Young Powerhouses of Sword Gate. But the Sect Master is old now, and the decision of who will succeed him will be made within the next few years. You joined the sect late, while the Four Great Young Powerhouses of Sword Gate have already made their names known far and wide. You won't have any chance to stand out in such a short time. If you want to rise above the rest and catch up with those four people, Fang Jiange included, you can only take a shortcut!"

"I don't even want to stand out..." Qiu Jin'er muttered.

"If you don't stand out, who will cure your legs?"

The beautiful woman sighed. She picked Qiu Jin'er up and set her in a wooden wheelchair before pushing her outside. "You have an Innate Wood Spirit Body. Your Wood Nature is too heavy, so your legs were unusable from birth. I asked the Great Elder of the Youyu Clan about it. He said that an innate spiritual body is both a blessing and a curse. When you were born, your Wood Nature was too strong and turned your body to wood. You didn't cultivate in time, so your Wood Nature kept accumulating and growing heavier. As the saying goes, a tree coils its roots; an Innate Wood Spirit is a tree god, and the tree god began putting down roots the moment you were born. Your legs are its roots, your body its branches, and your head its crown. Your legs being unable to move is a minor matter. Wait a few more years, and your entire body may turn to wood. Only your soul will be able to leave your body, turning you into a living corpse."

Qiu Jin'er was silent for a moment before smiling. "Mother, you don't need to push me. I'm an Energy Manipulator now too. Even if I can't move my legs, I can still ride the wind and fly."

The beautiful woman shook her head and stubbornly continued pushing her. "Only by raising your cultivation and dispelling the Wood Nature within you can you return to normal. But the Wood Nature in your body is too heavy and has accumulated too deeply. At your current rate of cultivation, who knows when you'll be able to dispel it? If your body solidifies into wood, you... If you cultivate the Sect Master's Great Freedom Sword Qi, your cultivation will naturally advance with divine speed. Later, when you want to leave on your own, would Mother still stop you?"

Qiu Jin'er gripped the Sword Token in her hand and remained silent.

"Go outside and get some sun. Look at you—there isn't even any color in your face."

The beautiful woman pushed her out of the main hall, crouched down, and tapped Qiu Jin'er's legs. "Can you feel anything?"

Qiu Jin'er shook her head.

The beautiful woman pinched her waist and asked, "Does it hurt?"

"It hurts," Qiu Jin'er replied.

The beautiful woman let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Good. It hasn't spread to your waist. If it reaches your waist, it'll be dangerous. Once it reaches your waist, it won't be far from your heart. If your heart turns to wood, you'll be beyond saving. After you've rested, Mother will go to the Golden Summit again. I refuse to believe I can't find where Great Freedom Sword Qi is hidden!"

Qiu Jin'er smiled sweetly. Her waist was mottled blue and purple. Those marks had not been made by her mother, but by Qiu Jin'er herself.

Her waist had already turned to wood. She could not feel any pain at all.

The next day, Zhong Yue encountered Qiu Jin'er again in the thunderclouds high in the sky. He saw the girl's soul fly over and ride the thunder to temper her soul, darting through the lightning like an elf. Yet she was executing a sword art.

That sword art was exceptionally sharp. Golden energy filled the air, and sword qi danced together with thunder. It was remarkably splendid, and far more profound than the Thunderclap Sword Art Elder Pu had taught him.

"Junior Sister Jin'er, what sword art is that?" Zhong Yue asked curiously.

Qiu Jin'er asked in surprise, "This is Geng Jin Sword Qi. Almost every Energy Manipulator in my Sword Gate knows it. Senior Brother, you've never cultivated Geng Jin Sword Qi?"

Zhong Yue looked ashamed, his face burning with embarrassment. He was not an Energy Manipulator at all—how could he possibly be qualified to cultivate Geng Jin Sword Qi, which only Energy Manipulators could practice?

Only this silly girl, Junior Sister Jin'er, would fail to see that I'm not an Energy Manipulator, he thought.

"Senior Brother, wait a moment!"

Qiu Jin'er's soul hurriedly flew toward Sword Gate Mountain. After a while, the girl returned, having performed a Soul Sacrifice into a Sword Token. She smiled and said, "Senior Brother Zhong, Geng Jin Sword Qi is engraved on this Sword Token. You only need to study it carefully and sense the sword intent within, and you'll be able to learn it."

Zhong Yue took the Sword Token and stared at it. He saw only a few disorderly sword marks carved across its surface, and it was difficult to discern the so-called Geng Jin Sword Qi from them. He could not help feeling puzzled.

After a while, Zhong Yue's heart suddenly jolted. The scattered sword marks on the Sword Token grew larger and larger. Before his eyes, they became countless sharp, peerless streaks of sword light that cut across heaven and earth, splitting the world apart!

One sword cleaved the stars. One sword severed life and death. One sword divided yin and yang!

After another moment, Zhong Yue gradually saw the sword marks slowly decompose, transforming into wondrous totem patterns. They flowed through the sword marks and were clearly the secrets behind Geng Jin Sword Qi!

Zhong Yue's heart stirred. He focused his gaze and examined them closely, growing more and more shocked.

"Totem patterns contain the ultimate mysteries of cultivation arts. The source of every art's power comes from the changes and combinations of the simplest totem patterns. For example, the core power of the Thunderclap Sword Art is the Thunder Pattern Totem. The Thunder Patterns Elder Pu taught me number twelve in all, and those twelve Thunder Patterns form every variation of the Thunderclap Sword Art."

He examined them carefully and saw that the totem patterns within the sword mark numbered as many as thirty-six!

Yet as he concentrated more deeply, he gradually discerned a sliver of subtlety amid the sky-filling totem patterns. Those thirty-six totem patterns were merely the surface. In truth, the totem pattern of Geng Jin Sword Qi was only one!

The other thirty-six totem patterns were actually fillers for that single totem pattern!

This totem pattern was like Zhong Yue's Dragon Blood Sword Box. Put a sword inside, and it became a sword box; put a saber inside, and it became a saber box.

This totem pattern was shaped like a Sword Pattern and was the most fundamental. Thirty-six other totem patterns were packed inside it, forming the visualization totem of Geng Jin Sword Qi.

If he had not cultivated the Suihuang Visualization Chart and transformed his soul into Suihuang's state, causing a third Divine Eye to grow in the center of his soul's brow, he would never have been able to see this hidden Sword Pattern Totem within the sword marks.

"A sword art with only one totem?"

Zhong Yue was baffled. The most fundamental part of Geng Jin Sword Qi's totem patterns was this Sword Pattern Totem, and it actually had fewer patterns than even the crude thunder-type sword art, the Thunderclap Sword Art!

The Thunderclap Sword Art was merely a sword art that Upper Court disciples could cultivate, while the more profound thunder-type sword arts were held by the Energy Manipulators of the Leihu Clan. Zhong Yue had once heard Elder Pu, Ting Lanyue, and the others mention that the Thunder Patterns controlled by the Leihu Clan numbered as many as one hundred and twenty-eight!

The more totem patterns an art contained, the more profound it should be. By rights, the Thunderclap Sword Art, with its twelve Thunder Patterns, should far surpass Geng Jin Sword Qi, which had only one Sword Pattern. Yet the more carefully Zhong Yue observed the Sword Pattern, the more he felt that its intricacies were utterly marvelous, surpassing the Thunderclap Sword Art by who knew how much!

"Energy Manipulators are truly too powerful. Even the Geng Jin Sword Qi that every one of them knows is so profound!"

Zhong Yue inhaled deeply. The subtlety of this totem pattern did not end there. He sensed that this Sword Pattern Totem could apparently be combined with the Thunder Pattern Totem to produce new variations, and its power should be greater than that of the pure Thunderclap Sword Art!

If the Flood Dragon Totem were incorporated, wondrous changes would also arise, giving birth to an attack art that combined sharpness and strength and far surpassed the Dragon Coiling Technique!

The Sword Pattern forming Geng Jin Sword Qi seemed capable of combining with any other totem pattern, as though it could produce countless variations!

"Geng Jin Sword Qi truly deserves to be called Great Freedom Sword Qi. It has no end! With one sword soaring into the sky, where in the world can't one go?"

Zhong Yue praised it, then devoted himself wholeheartedly to researching the changes of the Sword Pattern, unaware of when Qiu Jin'er had left.

The Sword Pattern on the Sword Token was truly marvelous. As for the other thirty-six totem patterns that composed Geng Jin Sword Qi, he cast them aside and paid them no heed. In his view, only this single Sword Pattern mattered. The other thirty-six totem patterns were merely auxiliary; not cultivating them would do no harm.

"Junior Sister Jin'er has left?"

Zhong Yue sensed that his soul and spiritual power were somewhat depleted. He put away the Sword Token and thought, Forget it. I'll return it to her tomorrow. This Sword Pattern Totem is so profound that I can't study it thoroughly on my own. Junior Sister Jin'er is an Energy Manipulator and has cultivated Geng Jin Sword Qi for so long; she must have gained some insights. I'll ask her about it tomorrow.

Qiu Jin'er returned her soul to her body and saw that the main hall was empty. Only she remained; her mother had yet to return. She immediately tried to stand, only to tumble from the wooden wheelchair with a thud.

The girl's spiritual power stirred, and she floated into the air before slowly settling back into the wheelchair. She let out a faint sigh.

"Jin'er, your waist..."

The beautiful woman stood before the hall entrance, staring blankly at her. In a trembling voice, she asked, "Can't you feel it anymore?"

Qiu Jin'er lowered her head and saw that her clothes had torn when she fell, revealing blue-purple skin.

The beautiful woman's thoughts stirred. Qiu Jin'er and the wooden wheelchair rose together and flew outside the hall. She hurriedly said, "We can't delay any longer. I'm going to find the Great Elder. No matter what, I must have him suppress the Wood Qi in your body!"

Qiu Jin'er's heart leaped, and she hurriedly said, "Mother, why don't we wait until tomorrow? Tomorrow, after Senior Brother Zhong and I part ways, I'll go find the Great Elder..."

"Not even for a moment!"

The beautiful woman swiftly carried her toward Sword Gate's Golden Summit.

The next day, Zhong Yue's soul carried the Sword Token up into the thunderclouds high in the sky. Qiu Jin'er was nowhere to be seen. Zhong Yue waited a long while, but the girl still did not come.

"Could something have delayed Junior Sister Jin'er? I was planning to ask her about the mysteries of the Sword Pattern on this Sword Token."

On the third day, Qiu Jin'er still did not come, and the same was true on the fourth. For a long time afterward, Zhong Yue never saw that girl of the thunderclouds again.

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