Sword Token

Qiu Jin'er's forehead was slick with cold sweat. Her mother was far too daring, actually coveting the Sword Gate Sect Master's ultimate techniques.

"The Sword Gate Sect Master's Great Freedom Sword Qi will definitely be passed down to the next Sect Master. And the Sect Master is old now, who knows when he'll kick the bucket, so he'll certainly leave behind texts recording the subtleties of the Great Freedom Sword Qi."

The beautiful woman mused, "I've prowled around Golden Summit countless times these past few days, visited the study more times than I can count, but I still haven't found where he hid the texts. I only managed to steal a Sword Token. But this Sword Token is useless. The sword intent contained within is just a common sword art called Geng Jin Sword Qi. I originally saw the Sect Master meticulously carving this Sword Token and thought it was something good, but I didn't expect it to be a run-of-the-mill art like Geng Jin Sword Qi..."

Qiu Jin'er took the Sword Token and examined it. It was indeed Geng Jin Sword Qi.

Geng Jin Sword Qi was very common in the Sword Gate. Qiu Jin'er had even learned it before; it wasn't considered a profound cultivation method.

"Mother, even if I don't cultivate the Great Freedom Sword Qi, I might not be weaker than others. You don't need to worry so much. If I'm outstanding enough, the Sect Master will teach me the Great Freedom Sword Qi," Qiu Jin'er said with a smile.

The beautiful woman shook her head and said earnestly, "What you say is true, but these are not ordinary times. If the Sect Master were still in his prime, he would have ample time to choose the next Sect Master and give you enough time to cultivate and contend with the Four Great Young Powerhouses of the Sword Gate. But now the Sect Master is old, and the decision of who the next Sect Master will be will be made within the next few years. You joined late, and the Four Great Young Powerhouses of the Sword Gate are already famous. In such a short time, there's no way for you to stand out. To catch up to Fang Jiange and those four, you can only take a shortcut!"

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

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

The beautiful woman sighed, picked her up, placed her in a wooden wheelchair, and pushed her outside. "You have the Innate Wood Spirit Body. Your wood nature is too strong, and your legs couldn't be used from birth. I asked the Great Elder of the Youyu Clan, and he said that an Innate Spiritual Body is both good and bad. When you were born, your wood nature was heavy, causing your body to become wood-like. You didn't cultivate in time, so your wood nature has only grown heavier. As trees grow roots, Innate Wood Spirits are tree gods. When you were born, the tree god needed to take root. Your legs are the roots, your body is the branches, and your head is the crown. Your legs not being able to move is a small matter. In a few more years, your entire body might become wood-like, and only your soul will be able to leave your body, turning you into a living dead person."

Qiu Jin'er was silent for a moment, then smiled, "Mother, you don't need to push me. I'm a Qi Refiner now. Even if my legs can't move, I can still fly with the wind."

The beautiful woman shook her head and insisted on pushing her. "Only when your cultivation improves and you can unlock the wood nature within you will you recover. But your wood nature is too heavy and has accumulated too deeply. At your current cultivation speed, who knows when you'll be able to unlock it. If your body solidifies due to the wood nature, then you'll... If you cultivate the Sect Master's Great Freedom Sword Qi, your cultivation will naturally advance by leaps and bounds. When you can go out on your own, will I still stop you?"

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

"Let's go out and get some sun. Look, there's no color in your face."

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

Qiu Jin'er shook her head.

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

"It hurts," Qiu Jin'er replied.

The beautiful woman breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "That's good. It hasn't spread to your waist yet. If it spreads to your waist, it'll be a bit dangerous. Once it reaches your waist, it's not far from your heart. If your heart becomes wood-like, then there's no hope. After you rest, I'll go to Golden Summit again. I don't believe I won't find where the Great Freedom Sword Qi is hidden!"

Qiu Jin'er smiled sweetly. The area on her waist was blue and purple, not from her mother's pinching, but from marks she had made herself.

Her waist had long since become wood-like, and she couldn't feel any pain.

The next day, Zhong Yue encountered Qiu Jin'er again in the high-altitude thunderclouds. He saw the girl's soul flying, using lightning to temper her soul, flitting through the lightning like a sprite. She was practicing a set of sword arts.

The sword art was quite sharp, filled with golden energy. The sword qi danced with the lightning, creating a spectacular display, much more exquisite than the Thunderclap Sword Art taught to him by Elder Pu.

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

Qiu Jin'er was surprised. "This is Geng Jin Sword Qi. Almost every Qi Refiner in our Sword Gate knows it. Senior Brother, you haven't practiced Geng Jin Sword Qi?"

Zhong Yue looked ashamed and embarrassed. He wasn't a Qi Refiner at all, so how could he be qualified to practice Geng Jin Sword Qi, which only Qi Refiners could practice.

"Only a silly girl like Junior Sister Jin'er would fail to see that I'm not a Qi Refiner," he thought to himself.

"Senior Brother, wait a moment!"

Qiu Jin'er's soul quickly flew back to Sword Gate Mountain. After a moment, he saw the girl's soul fly back from a Sword Token. She smiled and said, "Senior Brother Zhong, this Sword Token is engraved with Geng Jin Sword Qi. You just need to focus and feel the sword intent within it, and you'll be able to learn it."

Zhong Yue took the Sword Token and looked closely at it. He saw only messy, chaotic sword marks on the token, making it difficult to discern the so-called Geng Jin Sword Qi. He couldn't help but feel puzzled.

After a moment, Zhong Yue's heart suddenly trembled. He saw the scattered sword marks on the token growing larger and larger, appearing before his eyes like streaks of incomparably sharp sword light traversing heaven and earth, cleaving them apart!

One sword strike could sever stars, one sword strike could cut through life and death, one sword strike could separate yin and yang!

After another moment, Zhong Yue gradually saw the sword marks begin to decompose, evolving into various wondrous totem patterns that flowed within the sword marks. This should be the mystery of Geng Jin Sword Qi!

Zhong Yue's heart stirred, and he focused his gaze, looking more closely. The more he looked, the more his heart pounded with fear.

"Totem patterns contain the ultimate mysteries of cultivation methods. The source of power for all cultivation methods comes from the simplest variations and combinations of totem patterns. For example, the Thunderclap Sword Art's core power is the Thunder Pattern Totem. The thunder patterns Elder Pu taught me consist of twelve types. These twelve thunder patterns form all the variations of the Thunderclap Sword Art."

He examined it closely and saw that the totem patterns within a single sword mark numbered thirty-six!

However, as he concentrated more and more, he gradually discerned a trace of profoundness from the myriad totem patterns. These thirty-six totem patterns were merely superficial; in reality, the totem pattern of Geng Jin Sword Qi was only one!

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

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

This totem pattern, shaped like a sword pattern, was the most basic. It was filled with thirty-six other totem patterns, forming the visualization totem of Geng Jin Sword Qi.

If he hadn't cultivated the Suihuang Visualization Chart, transforming his soul into the Suihuang state, and grown a third divine eye between his brows, he would have had no way of seeing the sword pattern totem hidden within the sword marks.

"A sword technique with only one totem?"

Zhong Yue was perplexed. The most basic totem pattern of Geng Jin Sword Qi was this sword pattern totem, which was even fewer than the rudimentary lightning-element sword art like the Thunderclap Sword Art!

The Thunderclap Sword Art was only a sword art that Upper Court disciples could practice. More profound lightning-element sword arts were held by the Qi Refiners of the Leihu Clan. Zhong Yue had once heard Elder Pu and Ting Lanyue mention that the Leihu Clan possessed as many as one hundred and twenty-eight thunder patterns!

The more totem patterns a cultivation method contained, the more profound it was. Logically, the Thunderclap Sword Art with twelve thunder patterns should far surpass this Geng Jin Sword Qi with only one sword pattern. However, as Zhong Yue carefully observed the sword pattern, the more he looked, the more he felt it was extremely profound, surpassing the Thunderclap Sword Art by an immeasurable amount!

"Qi Refiners are truly powerful. To think that Geng Jin Sword Qi, which everyone has, is so profound!"

Zhong Yue took a deep breath. The profundity of this totem pattern was not limited to this. He felt that this sword pattern totem could also be combined with thunder pattern totems to evolve new variations, and its power should be stronger than the pure Thunderclap Sword Art!

If it were integrated with the Flood Dragon Totem, it would also produce wondrous changes, deriving attack methods that combined sharpness and power, far surpassing the Dragon Coiling Technique!

The sword pattern that formed Geng Jin Sword Qi seemed to be able to combine with any other totem pattern, leading to countless variations!

"Geng Jin Sword Qi can truly be called Great Freedom Sword Qi, endless! With one sword strike into the sky, where in the world can one not go?"

Zhong Yue let out a sigh of admiration, fully immersing himself in studying the changes in the sword patterns. He didn't even notice when Qiu Jin'er had left.

The sword patterns on the Sword Token were truly exquisite. As for the other thirty-six totems that formed the Geng Jin Sword Qi, he had completely put them out of his mind, paying them no attention. In his opinion, only this one sword pattern was crucial; the other thirty-six totems were merely supplementary, and it wouldn't matter if he didn't cultivate them.

"Junior Sister Jin'er left?"

Zhong Yue felt his soul and spiritual power waning. He put away the Sword Token and thought, Forget it, I'll return it to her tomorrow. These sword pattern totems are so intricate, I can't fully comprehend them alone. Junior Sister Jin'er is a Qi Refiner and has been cultivating this Geng Jin Sword Qi for so long, she must have gained some insights. I'll ask her for guidance tomorrow.

Qiu Jin'er's soul returned to her body. She found the great hall empty, with only herself inside. Her mother had not yet returned. She immediately tried to get up, but with a plop, she fell out of her wooden wheelchair.

With a flicker of her spiritual power, the young girl floated into the air and slowly settled back into the wheelchair, sighing softly.

"Jin'er, your waist..."

The beautiful woman stood at the entrance of the hall, staring at her blankly, her voice trembling, "You can't feel anything anymore?"

Qiu Jin'er looked down and saw that her clothes had been torn open when she fell, revealing bruised and purplish skin.

The beautiful woman's heart stirred, and Qiu Jin'er, along with the wooden wheelchair, flew up. She hurried towards the hall entrance, saying urgently, "We can't delay any longer. I'm going to find the Great Elder. No matter what, I'll ask him to suppress the wood energy within you!"

Qiu Jin'er's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly said, "Mother, why don't we wait until tomorrow? After I part ways with Senior Brother Zhong tomorrow, then we can go find the Great Elder..."

"Not a moment can be wasted!"

The beautiful woman hastily flew with her towards Sword Gate's Golden Peak.

The next day, Zhong Yue's soul, carrying the Sword Token, flew into the high-altitude thunder layer. He saw that Qiu Jin'er was not there. Zhong Yue waited for a long time, but the young girl still did not arrive.

"Did Junior Sister Jin'er get delayed by something? I was planning to ask her about the profound mysteries of the sword patterns within this Sword Token."

On the third day, Qiu Jin'er still didn't come. The fourth day was the same. For a long time afterward, Zhong Yue never saw the girl from the thunderclouds again.