Strength Soars!

Xia Wuji remained within the tomb space of the Mortal World Sword Master, seated cross-legged.

The first-tier spirit sword wreathed in black demonic aura floated before him under the control of his Sword Essence.

To martial artists in the first four realms of cultivation, spirit swords were incomparably precious—dream weapons worth a fortune.

But Xia Wuji had no intention of using this sword at all!

For now, the top-grade treasured sword, the Jinghong Sword, was enough.

This low-grade first-tier spirit sword would be used to feed the Sword Seed and strengthen it.

The Sword Seed was his foundation!

If he could greatly strengthen the Sword Seed, then he could use the Man-Sword Unity technique without reservation. His combat strength would undergo an enormous increase.

Streams of Sword Essence surged from Xia Wuji's body, tearing apart the demonic aura winding around the sword!

As Xia Wuji formed seals with both hands, blazing flames ignited and purified the demonic aura shredded by the Sword Essence.

If he did not eliminate that demonic aura and directly used this tainted spirit sword to nourish the Sword Seed, the consequences would be severe. After all, Xia Wuji had no desire to walk the path of demonic cultivation.

Demonic cultivation went against the harmony of Heaven. In this life, he only wished to settle every regret from his previous life and once more tread the path to immortality. If he became entangled with the demonic path, becoming immortal would only become even harder.

An hour passed, and not a trace of demonic aura remained within the low-grade first-tier spirit sword.

Brilliant radiance spread across the blade. Its sharpness far surpassed that of the top-grade treasured Jinghong Sword, and it even let out a clear hum on its own, seeking to draw close to Xia Wuji.

Yet Xia Wuji did not hesitate in the slightest. In an instant, he activated the Sword Seed in his Dantian and crazily devoured the sharpness of the low-grade first-tier spirit sword!

The spirit sword's light gradually dimmed, and its sharpness waned.

But within Xia Wuji's Dantian, the Sword Seed bloomed with ever more dazzling light, illuminating the entire Dantian in splendor.

Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In merely half an hour, the low-grade first-tier spirit sword shattered into fragments that fell to the ground.

Feeling the changes in the Sword Seed, Xia Wuji's face broke into a pleased smile.

Now, if he used Man-Sword Unity again, the Sword Seed would certainly be able to withstand it. It would no longer be as before, when a single slash after entering the Man-Sword Unity state caused cracks to appear in the Sword Seed.

"Man-Sword Unity is no longer a problem, but if I want to unleash sword intent, I still have a long way to go," Xia Wuji muttered.

On the path of sword cultivation, after Man-Sword Unity came the realm of sword intent, which involved the profound mysteries of Heaven and Earth.

Sword cultivators capable of Man-Sword Unity were known as Sword Masters.

If one could release sword intent, then one was a Grand Sword Master!

Next, Xia Wuji used the few Yuan Crystals that still contained some energy, along with the treasured pills in his possession, to cultivate and raise his cultivation realm.

His progress was astonishingly fast!

After all, the tomb space of the Mortal World Sword Master was filled with extremely pure heaven-and-earth essence. It was a fine treasure ground for cultivation!

Within his Dantian, ten Yuan Force vortices spun violently, continuously condensing drop after drop of True Essence.

Before long, the amount of True Essence in his Dantian reached eleven drops!

True Essence Realm, Second Layer!

"Father, with Xia Wuji's abilities, there's no way he could have ventured this deep into the area, right?"

The Sword Feather Guard of the Sword Pavilion had spent these past days searching the Monster Suppression Mountain Range for Xia Wuji's trail, but they had gained nothing. They could not find even the slightest trace of him.

Li Qing, commander of the Sword Feather Guard, furrowed his brows tightly. He seemed somewhat irritated as well. He had thought capturing Xia Wuji would be no challenge, as easy as reaching out and taking him.

Yet now, they had wasted quite a bit of time and found nothing.

"Could we have gone in the wrong direction? Xia Wuji was crippled long ago, and you were the one who personally did it—you shattered his Dantian... Or perhaps he really did come here, but a Fierce Beast has already eaten him!"

The speaker was Li Qing's son, Li Chunfeng.

Li Qing shook his head and said, "The mistress places immense importance on this matter. As long as we capture Xia Wuji, your father will be able to become the chief commander of the Sword Pavilion with the mistress's support."

"Keep looking!"

"Whether Xia Wuji is dead or alive, we must see the man if he lives and the corpse if he dies!"

At this moment, after more than a day of cultivation, Xia Wuji had fully refined and absorbed the Grand Yuan Pills in his possession, the Yuan Crystals that still retained some energy, and the treasured pills he had obtained after killing his enemies.

The amount of True Essence in his Dantian had reached forty drops!

One to ten drops of True Essence marked the First Layer of the True Essence Realm;

Eleven to twenty drops of True Essence marked the Second Layer of the True Essence Realm;

Twenty-one to thirty drops of True Essence marked the Third Layer of the True Essence Realm;

Thirty-one to forty drops of True Essence represented the Fourth Layer of the True Essence Realm. Xia Wuji was now only one step away from the Fifth Layer of the True Essence Realm.

In the cruel martial cultivation world, where strength was king, one saying was especially widespread: murder and arson brought golden belts!

That saying was perfectly proven by Xia Wuji's current circumstances.

This expedition into the tomb had greatly advanced his cultivation and enormously strengthened his Sword Seed!

Although Xia Wuji no longer had any cultivation resources in hand, the tomb space of the Mortal World Sword Master still contained some energy.

Xia Wuji intended to press forward in one burst, condense the forty-first drop of True Essence, and break through to the Fifth Layer of the True Essence Realm first!

Sword Essence light swept wildly from his body.

The essence energy from every direction flowed into his body like streams, entered his meridians, and finally reached his Dantian, where the Sword Seed bestowed sharpness upon it and turned it into Sword Essence.

Another quarter of an hour passed.

At last, Xia Wuji condensed the forty-first drop of True Essence in his Dantian!

Breakthrough!

True Essence Realm, Fifth Layer!

His aura suddenly surged.

Though it was merely a change from forty drops of True Essence to forty-one, that additional drop represented the breakthrough of a minor realm.

A major realm breakthrough was a qualitative leap and transformation after another.

But a minor realm breakthrough could still bring a rather considerable increase!

After finishing his cultivation, Xia Wuji opened his eyes and slowly rose to his feet. At that moment, the sharpness emanating from him seemed capable of cleaving this mountain-hidden tomb space, together with the entire mountain, in two!

"More than three months ago, I was already at the Fifth Layer of the True Essence Realm, but villains harmed me and shattered my Dantian."

"Though that incident appeared to have been an accident, I don't believe it truly was!"

"Nine times out of ten, it had something to do with that vile woman, Madam Liu!"

"Now, I have finally regained my former realm. But the combat power possessed by my current cultivation is dozens of times greater than when I was at the Fifth Layer of the True Essence Realm three months ago!"

"With this strength, if I return to fight Xia Wudao, he will not be able to withstand even one move from me!"

"But... it is still not enough!"

"Madam Liu has a heart as venomous as snakes and scorpions, and Xia Xuan favors her. Even if I win, there is no way I can smoothly reclaim the Azure Star Token my mother left me!"

"I need to become stronger still!"

"On the day of the duel, if they follow the rules, so be it. If they refuse to follow the rules, then I will use my sword to let them know what rules are!"

As Xia Wuji spoke, he picked up the beast hide engraved with a map.

"This beast hide should have belonged to a fourth-tier demon beast. Since they used the hide of a fourth-tier demon beast to make a map, this map clearly hides no small secret."

"Unfortunately, the map is incomplete and cannot be of use for now. I can only put it away first."

Xia Wuji tucked the beast-hide map into his robes, then headed out of the tomb.

The moment he emerged, the mid-grade Fierce Beast Sword Feather Eagle swooped down and landed before Xia Wuji, its body prostrated upon the ground.

And just then.

A peculiar aura suddenly spread from the depths of the Monster Suppression Mountain Range. Immediately afterward, crimson light shot into the sky, dyeing a vast swath of clouds red.

Watching this sight, Xia Wuji's eyes flashed with brilliant light!

The Crimson Jade Blood Ginseng had finally matured!