Nameless Sword Formula

The sword formula's contents were not complicated.

Under normal circumstances, Chen Lin estimated that he could fully comprehend it in ten days to half a month. But time was short, so he used an Enlightenment Pill to grasp it completely.

At a time like this, he could no longer worry about side effects.

As the pill's effects faded, he sensed the Melanin Insect again. It released a stream of energy that eased the stabbing pain in his mind.

Without dwelling on it, he kept his eyes closed and continued reflecting on the sword formula's essence.

The hardest part of this sword formula was forming that first strand of sword qi.

According to its instructions, the simplest method was to find a Foundation Establishment Realm expert and have them infuse a drop of pure liquefied spiritual power into the practitioner's body, then slowly refine it using the sword formula's cultivation method.

The advantage of this method was that the resulting sword qi would be exceptionally sharp, with a high ceiling for its power.

The drawback was that, being foreign energy, it would inevitably clash somewhat with his own mana, slowing the process of nurturing and strengthening it.

The other method was to use spiritual pills or objects containing pure spiritual power, absorbing and accumulating it bit by bit until patient, grinding effort produced a "sword qi embryo."

The advantage of this method was naturally the absence of any rejection. Its drawbacks were the slow formation of sword qi and the large quantity of items containing pure spiritual power it required.

Chen Lin intended to make this sword formula a hidden trump card that no one knew about. Naturally, he could not ask Yu Yuehai for help, and the man might not be willing to help him anyway.

That left only the second method.

As it happened, he still had the Spirit Restoring Pills Ye Jingyun had given him, which largely met the cultivation requirements.

What Chen Lin had not expected was how excruciating the cultivation process would be.

Spirit Restoring Pills were ordinarily mild pills, and the spiritual power they released was pure and entirely harmless.

Yet once that pure spiritual power was compressed and refined through the sword formula's method, it developed a sharp edge, producing needle-like pain wherever it passed.

And the faster he refined it, the more intense the pain became.

Normally, he could have slowed down and completed the process bit by bit through patient, grinding effort.

Now, however, he had no time to spare. He could only endure the pain and push the refining speed to its limit, leaving him sprawled on the floor, howling as he cultivated.

With such ruthless cultivation, he condensed the sword qi embryo in just one day.

By then, he was drenched in blood.

He lay on the floor like a corpse for a long time before finally struggling to his feet.

He took out a Healing Pill and swallowed it. After recovering a little, he cast several Cleansing Spells on himself in succession, finally removing all the blood.

Changing into fresh robes, he sat down to meditate and inspect the sword qi embryo.

Before he could look within, he heard a commotion outside. Then Yu Yuehai pushed the door open and entered.

"Stop cultivating. Get ready-we leave tonight!"

The news came so suddenly that Chen Lin failed to react for a moment.

Only after a while did he belatedly rise from his meditation, nodding repeatedly. "Yes, Senior. I understand."

Yu Yuehai had no intention of saying anything more. He turned and walked out.

Chen Lin hurried after him to see him off, but the moment he stepped out of his room, he froze in astonishment.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao!"

There were three additional people in the courtyard, one man and two women. The man was none other than Zhao Zhengyuan!

After disappearing for so long, he had actually reappeared at this moment. Moreover, it seemed Yu Yuehai had brought him back, leaving Chen Lin unsure what was going on.

His cultivation had actually broken through to the mid Qi Refinement Realm as well!

Zhao Zhengyuan saw him too, but said nothing, merely giving a slight nod.

The two female cultivators were both fairly young and attractive, but at the moment they looked extremely nervous, fidgeting with their fingers as though they did not know what to do.

Chen Lin glanced at the two women with mild surprise.

It was not their beauty that drew his attention, but how "normal" they looked.

Ever since transmigrating here, he had noticed that every cultivator in the city seemed to be in poor health.

This was particularly apparent among the rogue cultivators in Shanty Town.

The Sallow-Faced Female Cultivator who had been killed, for instance, and Xu Ruolan, with whom he had traded twice, were both at ages when they should have been full of vitality, yet they looked like refugees fleeing disaster.

The cultivators of the great lineages in the Inner City fared somewhat better. They lacked no resources and could occasionally take pills, so the signs were less obvious. Among those living in Shanty Town, however, not one was brimming with vitality.

That included himself, already looking so old at forty.

Ultimately, the cause of all this was the red line constantly draining the energy from their bodies.

Yet these two women had rosy complexions and skin as smooth as congealed cream. They hardly looked like ordinary rogue cultivators. He wondered which lineage they belonged to and what their relationship with Yu Yuehai was.

Just then, Yu Yuehai suddenly spoke. "Get acquainted with one another first, and wait for my summons."

With that, he walked into his room alone without waiting for their reply.

Once Yu Yuehai had closed the door, Chen Lin immediately stepped forward and asked in a pleasantly surprised tone, "Fellow Daoist Zhao, I never thought you would come back. Where have you been all this time?"

What he really wanted to ask was how Zhao Zhengyuan had ended up with Yu Yuehai, but he did not ask directly.

Zhao Zhengyuan forced an unnatural smile. "Don't even mention it. I nearly died out there. Fortunately, I met Senior Yu. Not only did he save my life, but I also learned such a tremendous secret. I reckon I've used up a lifetime's worth of luck on this."

Chen Lin could hear the evasiveness in his answer and frowned slightly. But since Zhao Zhengyuan did not want to elaborate, he asked no further questions and instead looked at the two female cultivators.

"How should I address you, fellow Daoists?"

Yu Yuehai was hardly a kindhearted man. Anyone he brought back at a time like this probably either had an unusual connection to him or possessed some special ability that could help him.

In truth, he was also curious about why Yu Yuehai had taken an interest in Zhao Zhengyuan. He would never believe it was out of affection from living in the same courtyard.

The two women did not know who Chen Lin was, but Yu Yuehai had gone straight to his room upon returning, so he was clearly someone Yu Yuehai valued highly. Both hurriedly bowed.

One of them spoke. "We are sisters. I'm the elder sister, Xia Yunshu, and this is my younger sister, Xia Yuqing. We are both attendants to Pavilion Master Ye of the Shuiyue Pavilion. Greetings, fellow Daoist. May we ask how to address you?"

So they were Ye Jingyun's people.

Understanding dawned on Chen Lin.

I thought as much. Yu Yuehai has lived in this courtyard for so many years, and I've never seen him show any interest in women. Why would he suddenly bring two young female cultivators along?

As long as they were not Yu Yuehai's women, Chen Lin did not need to tread quite so carefully. He cupped his hands. "I am Chen Lin. A pleasure to meet you both, fellow Daoists. From now on, we'll have to support one another."

After speaking, he looked back at Zhao Zhengyuan. Just as he was about to say something, a figure descended from the sky.

Ye Jingyun had returned.