This Sword Refining Art, She Must Cultivate!

Her footsteps lifted and fell again.

The illusion peeled away, and the world changed once more.

Images of a vast ocean continuously reshaped before her eyes, and a face once again filled her entire vision.

It was the Sect Master of Qing Xu Temple—Xuan Yuan Daoist.

His face no longer held the sternness of her memory, but was filled with grief and anguish.

"Ling'er, have you forgotten your mission?

Why have you not yet sent the intelligence and cultivation techniques of Gui Xi Sect back to Qing Xu Temple, yet you yourself have begun cultivating that Myriad Transformations Return to Origin True Manual!"

"By doing this, are you not intending to betray your sect and fall into the Demonic Dao?!"

"Sect Master... I didn't... that True Manual is..."

"You didn't?"

The Sect Master of Qing Xu Temple interrupted her.

"Then how were you able to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm?

With your aptitude, it's impossible for you to even touch this realm!

Don't try to quibble, saying those fiends took pity on you and forcefully helped you establish your foundation!

Or, would you dare say that you've made no contribution to the Demonic Sect, killed no one, for them to value you so highly?

I, too, had already promised you that I would perform Bone Cleansing Marrow Washing for you, and Foundation Establishment would be within your grasp.

Why do you insist on this, throwing yourself into the Demonic Dao?! Do you know your crime?!"

Behind the Sect Master stood the familiar yet strange mountain gate of Qing Xu Temple.

Su Ling'er was about to retort when another voice sounded from behind her.

"Junior Sister."

Lin Qingfeng's figure appeared behind her at some unknown time.

"Look, as long as you abandon those pointless struggles, power is within easy reach."

He gently raised his hand, pointing at the ground beneath Su Ling'er's feet.

"You and I, we were always fellow travelers."

Su Ling'er's gaze shifted downwards, and a sticky sensation spread from the soles of her feet.

It was blood!

Vast pools of blood stained the green stones of Qing Xu Temple, and corpses lay scattered in the bloody mire.

Those senior brothers and sisters who had once shown pity, scorn, or had struggled alongside her, their severed limbs and broken bodies pointed towards her, their eyes wide open in death, staring at her.

And in her hand, she held a still-dripping sword, its blood still warm.

Su Ling'er's sea of consciousness went blank.

What is this?

Is this my future choice?

To be an accomplice, to slaughter my fellow disciples, and ultimately fall into the demonic path?

Impossible!

Absurd!

How dare these heretics disturb my Dao heart!

What was the purpose of her going undercover in the Demon Den, enduring humiliation and carrying heavy burdens?

It was to uncover the truth, to eliminate demons and uphold righteousness, and to forge a path of ascension for herself!

Even if she cultivated the Myriad Transformations Return to Origin True Manual, it was only to better conceal herself, so that she could slay all these true demons in the future!

Power is power, it has no right or wrong!

In a hoe, it can cultivate the wilderness;

In a sword, it can defend the country and slay enemies!

Moreover, this cultivation technique was obtained from a Righteous Path senior who was turned into a flesh puppet. Can the firewood of the Demonic Dao not be used to burn a fire that protects the Righteous Path?

The Dao is beneath her feet; she decides what it is!

Break!

The world before her shattered in response.

The Sect Master's anguished questioning, Lin Qingfeng's tempting whispers, and the unseeing eyes of her fellow disciples all turned into scattering dust.

Su Ling'er continued forward.

This time, there was no blood or fire.

The warmth of the light.

The gentleness of the breeze.

The scent of food wafted to her nose, and the sound of children's laughter reached her ears.

She stood at a fork in a country road.

To the left was a quiet courtyard with wisps of smoke rising from the chimney.

Beneath an old locust tree in the yard, an ancient, white-haired old woman sat in a wheelchair, smiling as she watched several children chase each other around her.

Though her face was covered in wrinkles, it was still recognizable as her own in old age.

To the right was a road that stretched on endlessly.

Ahead of the road towered cloud-piercing mountain peaks and a lonely sea of clouds.

A figure was constantly climbing upwards.

It was also her, just younger.

The old woman in the courtyard seemed to sense something and slowly turned her head to look over.

She stood up, leaned on her cane, and walked unsteadily to Su Ling'er's side.

"Come back."

The old woman's voice was hoarse, yet gentle.

"Isn't it good here?"

She raised her calloused hands and gestured towards the courtyard.

The illusion began to shift. She saw herself abandoning her mission and returning home, following the Sect Master's advice.

She no longer pursued immortal cultivation.

Instead, she used the knowledge learned at Qing Xu Temple to help her family, even marrying into a good family, and spending the rest of her life raising a family.

She watched her parents' black hair turn white strand by strand, their backs stoop day by day, and finally, she personally laid them to rest.

She watched her sister get married, her brother inherit their father's business, and her own children grow up and start their own families, who then had children of their own.

A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

She stood before a bronze mirror, and the old woman reflected in it was a stranger.

Yet, in her memory, the feeling of flying on a sword lingered, as did the desire to channel qi into her body.

The aged Su Ling'er in the courtyard reached out and caressed her cheek.

"Child, what is it you seek from immortality?"

"Longevity?"

"Look, in this life, I have had the love of my parents, the support of my husband, and the filial piety of my children and grandchildren...

Every day I lived was fulfilling."

"And you?"

The old woman's gaze fell upon the lonely road leading to the mountain peak.

"What truly lies on that path to immortality?"

"When you reach Foundation Establishment, then Core Formation... or even the legendary Nascent Soul realm."

"When you look back, this homeland will have long since changed beyond recognition, and not a single familiar face will remain."

"At that time, even with a thousand emotions, who will you share them with?"

"Is such longevity truly worth it?"

Worth it?

Su Ling'er questioned herself endlessly.

She looked at that aged face and saw happiness, saw peace.

She also saw her own future, of her lamp running dry and turning to a handful of dust.

Then, everything would return to nothingness.

All her unwillingness, all her struggles, everything, would be completely erased by time.

She had not yet seen the magnificent mountains and rivers, she had not yet witnessed the scenery beyond Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and even Nascent Soul.

She still had many things she wanted to do, she wanted to witness the changes in the world, to see how this mortal realm would unfold and what it would eventually become...

Was she to give up everything for this hundred years of peace and fulfillment, content to turn into a handful of dust?

No!

She refused!

She did not want to reach the end of her lifespan a hundred years later, look back on her life, and feel only unwillingness and regret!

She said firmly to her own dying self:

"Worth it!"

"I don't want to grow old watching someone else's story.

I want to see what kind of scenery lies at the summit of that mountain!

Even if this path is difficult...

Even if it ends in utter destruction...

It's still the path I chose!"

As her words fell, the warm little courtyard, the grandchildren filling its yard, all turned to quicksand in the wind, dissipating bit by bit.

Even the old woman's face revealed a smile of relief, two lines of tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Then, go."

"May your journey be one of boundless Dao, and your immortal fortune flourish!"

As the illusion dissipated, Su Ling'er's eyes once again beheld the white jade ladder leading to the clouds.

She no longer looked back, climbing step by step, upward.

Seventy steps!

Eighty steps!

Ninety steps!

Beneath the Dao Seeking Ladder, one could hear a pin drop.

All the players craned their necks, mouths agape, staring in awe at the slender figure.

She was stepping, step by step, into the higher reaches of the sea of clouds, a place they themselves had not yet reached.

"I'm not seeing things... ninety steps!"

"My god!"

"Her initial willpower and Dao heart stats are too high, aren't they?"

"This is... this is the perfect raw talent for cultivating the Sword Refining Art!"

"Senior Disciple Brother! You absolutely must get her to cultivate the Sword Refining Art in our Artifact Refining Pavilion! Don't let her get away!"

Lin Qingfeng's hands, which had been clasped behind his back, had, at some unknown point, tightened.

Such poor innate talent, yet such a tenacious will and heart for the Dao...

To not cultivate the Sword Refining Art would be a terrible waste!

She must cultivate the Sword Refining Art!