A Deal with the Ancient Sword

Su Yu sat cross-legged on the bed, three beast cores lined up before him.

He picked up a Tier 1 Mid-grade Wind Wolf Beast Core. The moment it touched his palm, the Ancient Sword in his Soul World suddenly trembled violently.

This is...

A faint glow spread across the beast core's surface. Wispy strands of pale blue Spiritual Qi, like a trickling stream, flowed through the meridians in his palm straight toward the Ancient Sword deep in his soul.

Within ten breaths, the beast core—worth four thousand taels of gold—had turned into a dull gray stone.

That's it? Su Yu's eye twitched. That expense alone would have covered two years of his cultivation costs in the past.

But the Ancient Sword was still unsatisfied. Its blade continued to quiver, as if urging him to keep feeding it.

Su Yu rubbed the second beast core, a sudden thought striking him: Since you can absorb the beast core's Spiritual Qi... can I?

On the Nine Heavens Continent, martial artists could indeed absorb beast core spiritual power directly, but the savage nature of the demonic beasts within would corrode their meridians.

An ordinary martial artist absorbing a single beast core would need several days just to purify the demonic aura—an extremely inefficient process.

On top of that, beast cores were expensive, and few were wasteful enough to use them this way.

But during the Ancient Sword's absorption just now, Su Yu keenly noticed something—the filtered Spiritual Qi was so pure it was almost unbelievable, with not a trace of demonic aura left behind!

Listen up! Su Yu muttered to the air, though he was really speaking to the Ancient Sword in his Soul World.

I give you the beast cores, but you have to return half the Spiritual Qi to me.

The sword jolted violently, its tremors intensifying—clearly outraged by the proposal.

You've been freeloading inside me for five years, Su Yu sneered.

What's wrong with collecting a little interest?

He deliberately stirred the light orb in his Soul World, making its golden glow flicker faintly.

Strangely enough, ever since that orb appeared, the Ancient Sword had stopped absorbing his Spiritual Qi, as if it was wary of the orb.

Seeing the sword stay silent, Su Yu pressed on. From now on, every beast core we hunt is yours, but we split fifty-fifty. If you try to cheat me...

He made as if to put away the remaining cores.

You won't get a single one!

The sword's tremors gradually subsided. Finally, it let out a reluctant, soft chime—a concession.

Su Yu smirked and picked up the second beast core.

This time, the absorption was shockingly fast. In the blink of an eye, the core crumbled to dust.

Immediately after, a stream of supremely pure Spiritual Qi flowed back from the Soul World, surging into his meridians like warm spring water.

Such pure Spiritual Qi!

Su Yu immediately activated the Qi Nurturing Technique, and every pore on his body opened wide.

The Spiritual Qi cycled through his body three times before settling into his dantian.

Looking inward, he saw that his Qi Refining Level 6 cultivation had clearly advanced by a noticeable margin!

Another dozen or so beast cores like this, and I might be able to break through to Qi Refining Level 7... The thought made Su Yu's breath quicken.

At this rate of cultivation, it was simply unheard of!

Without hesitation, he offered up the third beast core.

This time, the Ancient Sword cooperated even more. After absorbing it, it returned the Spiritual Qi immediately—and even gave a little extra. Su Yu's cultivation climbed again.

In the Soul World, the Ancient Sword seemed quite satisfied. Its blade trembled lightly before settling into stillness.

Meanwhile, the pale yellow light orb floating beside it grew deeper and more solid in color as Su Yu's cultivation advanced.

Tomorrow, I'll head to the Monster Forest. Su Yu clenched his fist, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.

He had a vague feeling that he had stumbled onto an unprecedented shortcut in cultivation.

The next morning, Su Yu stepped through the dew and arrived at the southern market of Skywind City.

The money pouch at his waist held five thousand taels of gold—his entire savings over the past five years.

The morning mist had yet to fully clear when Su Yu stood before the doors of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion.

The three gilded characters on the wooden sign—Hundred Herbs Pavilion—gleamed in the morning sun. A bronze wind chime hanging from the lintel chimed softly in the breeze.

Twenty Spirit Replenishing Pills, ten bottles of Blood Replenishing Pills. The shopkeeper of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion clicked his abacus.

That'll be four thousand eight hundred taels.

Su Yu didn't even blink. He handed over all the gold notes.

On the Nine Heavens Continent, cultivation determined Lifespan—those at the Qi Refining Realm lived a hundred and fifty years, the Spirit Condensation Realm could reach two hundred springs, Essence Transformation Realm experts enjoyed three hundred years, and Sea Breaking Realm powerhouses had a leisurely five centuries.

It was said that Heaven Piercing Realm masters could live a thousand years, but figures like that had long become legends within the Great Xia Kingdom.

Heading to the Monster Forest, sir? The shopkeeper wrapped up the pills and gave a meaningful warning.

Lately, quite a few Level 1 High Rank demonic beasts have appeared on the forest's outer edges. Even some old hunters have fallen in there...

Su Yu thanked him for the warning, then went to a grain shop to buy enough dry rations for half a month.

Qi Refining Realm martial artists have not yet achieved inedia and still need grains to sustain their vitality.

Thinking of those Sea Breaking Realm powerhouses who go into seclusion for years at a time, and some even shut themselves away for decades to break through their bottlenecks, he couldn't help but feel a surge of longing.

One day... He clenched his fist, feeling the surging spiritual energy within his body.

His last stop was the Myriad Treasures Tower. Su Yu spent the remaining two hundred taels on a newly drawn map of the Monster Forest.

On the map, several dangerous areas were marked in cinnabar, with the words "Shadow Valley" standing out especially sharply.

"If you're heading to Shadow Valley, sir, you'd best stock up on some Detoxification Pills," the shopkeeper said in a low voice.

"Last month, a hunting party ran into a Jade Scale Python there that was about to advance to Level 2..."

Su Yu's heart tightened.

A Level 1 High Rank demonic beast was equivalent to a Qi Refining Realm martial artist of the seventh to ninth layers, while a Level 2 demonic beast was comparable to a Spirit Condensation Realm existence!

Just as he was pondering this, the Ancient Sword in his Soul World gave a faint tremor, as if urging him to set off quickly.

Su Yu gave his pack one last check and then departed for the Monster Forest.

By the time the morning sun had fully risen, his figure had already appeared outside the south gate of Skywind City.

Ten li away, the Monster Forest crouched on the horizon like a giant beast, waiting for new adventurers to step into its domain.