The Sword Sect's Treasure

Li Fan found that what Real Person said was true; refining clones was quite time-consuming. Even if he could operate two accounts at the same time, the Tai Su Dao would not squeeze the cultivation resources of his main body, but it would still require a lot of energy to replan the cultivation path of his Dao body.

For example, when Li Fan ate five Nascent Soul Stage demons and tried to digest their demon cores to cultivate the <Qingyang Divine Transformation>, he suddenly realized that this Qiongqi clone had a fatal weakness: it did not possess a proper physical body from the Taiji Realm.

The current 'Qiongqi Qingyue' is similar to the 'Yang Ying' of the past, both being primordial spirit vessels condensed from Black and White Evil Qi. However, the problem is that Li Fan does not yet understand the composition of white evil energy and cannot directly use this substance to shape a Dao body. Therefore, in essence, Qiongqi's primordial spirit is merely detached from vessels like the Golden Cicada and Sword Embryo that carry the primordial spirit through disintegration. It is not a true Daoist body of flesh and blood, so it can only be considered half a clone, let alone independently cultivating those divine techniques and breaking through to the Transformation Stage.

Therefore, Qiongqi is still very hungry and cannot be satisfied. Hunting and eating can only bring it a little spiritual pleasure. Only the bit of evil energy obtained from Moon Worship in the flesh and blood of the Demon Race is absorbed, while the other proteins are wasted.

However, this problem is not difficult to solve; simply find a human body to dissolve.

Okay, perhaps this problem is quite difficult to solve.

Firstly, to minimize any deviation in one's Daoist heart, it would be best to undergo physical self-destruction. However, the icy plains are inhabited only by Hu Barbarians tribes, and who knows if there will be any discrepancies in their meridians compared to those of people from the Central Plains? Furthermore, the body must have died within the last seven days, and the physical condition of most humans must be considered. In fact, infection with malevolent energy can lead to mutation or death, making it extremely difficult to find a suitable body; with bad luck, it might take years...

Oh, found it...

Li Fan discovered a Hu Barbarians tribe. He transformed into a gust of wind and swept over to take a look, and indeed found a tribe that could be possessed by a warrior.

This was a skinny slave boy. Judging from his appearance and build, he was probably Central Plains man Hu Barbarians. He was likely from a military family and had a fairly strong constitution. But no one knew who had taken their anger out on him. They hung him in the shack and beat him severely. His body was covered in whip marks, but he still had all four limbs. However, he was sick and cold, and due to long-term malnutrition, he had already died.

This one will do, there's no point in being picky.

As the gale swept over him, a white, misty aura of malevolent energy entered the slave boy's body through the wounds in his mouth and nose. It traveled along his meridians and occupied his Qi Sea Court. Black malevolent energy overflowed from the wounds, visibly stitching up the whip marks that tore at his skin. However, the white malevolent energy could not blend with flesh and blood. So, Li Fan imitated the Xuan Nu Xuan Girl Seal and created the image of the Qiongqi White Tiger on his back. His Nascent Soul Stage sat firmly in his Divine Court amidst the confluence of Black and White Evil Qi, controlling his physical body and cultivating the newly created <Qingyang Yinshan Tai Xuan Gong>.

This body's aptitude is indeed mediocre, practically worthless trash. It only possesses a slight foundation in the body-refining techniques of the vassal army, but aptitude has little impact on the Tai Xuan Dao. Moreover, Li Fan doesn't intend to use this clone to follow the old path of the Tai Chi Dao, nor does he need to care about the already formed Dao body and meridians like his original body. Therefore, he can go all out from the start, completely simulating the original Qingyang Old Demon, reconstructing his bones, and thoroughly using only a skin to knead and reshape at will, treating it as the physical body of the Qiongqi for cultivation.

Li Fan's true form was the Qiongqi, which he had mastered through countless transformations. There was not much to say about the structure of his Dao body, and he also possessed abundant baleful energy. With the Five Mountain Gods White Bone Sword assisting him in gathering Qi and cleansing his marrow, coupled with the miraculous effects of the <Qingyang Yinshan Tai Xuan Gong> in this place and at this time, he actually succeeded in Foundation Establishment in just one go!

The speed of reincarnation and cultivation after physical elimination is truly astounding; no wonder there are so many flamboyant old children in the Xuanmen sect.

The next step, forming the Golden Core, might be a little troublesome, but not too much.

Li Fan looked up and opened his eyes, his dark tiger pupils gazing at the roof above. He blew out a gust of wind that shattered the roof, and the purple False Moon shone down, reflecting in his golden tiger eyes.

Ah, malevolent energy, it's gathering.

Sensing the power of the False Moon, Li Fan could feel a tingling sensation along his spine, as if a centipede was crawling on his back, its claws piercing his flesh. His bones crackled and popped. Meanwhile, the malevolent energy filling his Inner Landscape nourished the Mountain God's White Bone Sword, transforming it into surging Five Elements True Qi that repeatedly washed over his meridians. This surging Dao Breath and malevolent energy mingled and gradually a wind arose. A howling gale swept into the stable like a tornado, making it sway precariously.

"What's going on! What are you making such a racket in the middle of the night! Do you want to be whipped again, you lowly slave!"

A Hu Barbarians Khan, carrying a riding whip, burst into the shack, cursing and swearing.

Then he saw the slave boy, his arms hanging from the beam, disheveled and bathed in moonlight, shrouded in a storm, looking down and grinning at him.

The next instant, the oncoming gale seemed to shatter him like a blade, scattering shards of flesh outside. But before he hit the ground, the wind shifted, pulling him back into the eye of the storm. The wind abruptly stopped for a moment, then exploded, transforming into a tornado that swept away the hut. Then, the tornado, appearing out of nowhere, raged and ravaged, completely leveling the entire Hu Barbarians tribe!

Finally, the hurricane subsided, and in the empty ruins, a boy with White Tiger branded on his back appeared. He opened his mouth and spat out a fireball as bright as an incandescent light bulb. The fireball ignited in the air, blooming with pure white flames.

Yes, it formed a Golden Core overnight, the Azure Yang Golden Core.

Actually, this speed is quite slow. After all, last time the opponent used this white baleful energy to transform from 'antelope' to 'Yang Ying' in an instant. This is because it's not true self-disintegration, nor is it true cultivation. It's just a 'Non-Thing' being at the Nascent Soul Stage level modifying a suitable vessel in the Taiji Realm.

All of these were new things that even the Xuanmen Moshan had never encountered before, and naturally, this was also the first time for Li Fan. To be on the safe side, he imitated his own human cultivation path and went through the process of Qi Refinement Stage, Foundation Establishment, condensing the elixir, and forming the nascent soul again in order to stabilize his Dao body.

Unlike Yang Nanying, he wouldn't pursue cultivation speed and rush to the Transformation Stage, risking losing control and self-destructing. He would prioritize stability and form a Golden Core tonight, waiting a month or two to stabilize his body and eliminate any hidden dangers before forming a Nascent Soul Stage.

For several days in a row, Li Fan would raid monsters on various mountain peaks during the day and Moon Worship to cultivate and stabilize his cultivation at night. After four or five days of this peaceful and boring monster-hunting life, he still hadn't found any Xuan Tian treasures. So Li Fan used his Pure Void Primordial Spirit to transfer his consciousness back to his body.

The main body's exploration of the dungeon progressed much slower, and there were no goblin-like creatures to fight him; it was just a matter of memorizing the maze route. They hadn't found any interesting treasures yet, and there was only one reason for returning.

Yuntai Peak is about to be teleported to Sanyuan, so I must come back and take a look.

Xuan Tian, whose treasure hunt had been interrupted, was very dissatisfied. "What's so interesting about this? It's just a flash of light."

It really did light up briefly, then darkened again, as if someone had turned on a light. The scenery outside Yuntai Peak was transformed, jumping from an endless snowfield to rolling green mountains.

Li Fan frowned deeply.

What kind of incredible technology is this...? In short, it's definitely not some kind of light-escaping or flying, nor is it any kind of faster-than-light travel that Li Fan has ever seen in games or movies before. It's somewhat like Thousand-Faced Immortal passing by, but it doesn't seem to be exactly the same. It seems that the technological level of the system is far beyond his comprehension.

Neither the cultivation of immortality nor the technological advancements offer any informational advantages. It seems I still have to study diligently...

But this is Sanyuan? Why isn't there even a city here?

Xuan Tian said, "The Three Enclosures are heavily fortified. How could they possibly let a mountain peak fall on top of the Immortal Palace? This is the outer city's mountain formation, and the nearby passes are guarded by spirit officials and divine kings. There's nothing to see here."

Urged on by Xuan Tian, Li Fan had no choice. He tried to communicate with the Qiongqi clone on the other side using his Qingxu Primordial Spirit, but he was too lazy to leave his body and keep going back and forth. So he let his Qingxu Primordial Spirit control both Dao bodies to cultivate and search for treasures automatically, while his own consciousness hid in the Divine Court and slacked off.

Of course, it can't be called being lazy. Li Fan recalled the details of his sword fight with the Blood God Child, and gradually deduced the Blood Talisman Sword.

Blood Wind Dance, Blood Sea Sword Howl, Blood Fire Spreads Across the Plains, Blood Shatters Mountains Collapse—these four moves can all be countered by the Profound Heaven Sword Method, but they are indeed incredibly powerful, have a wide killing range, and their names sound pretty cool, making them worth practicing.

Of course, it's not all because he's handsome. The Tai Sha Sword Embryo that Li Fan has now forged is a completely new method, and it doesn't have any special moves to complement it. Even if he imitates the sword techniques of the Beichen Sword Sect, Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword and the Shadowless and Formless Sword Qi, it won't work. Obviously, he can't control the evil energy with the sword techniques of the immortal path. He really can only start from scratch and try and deduce little by little.

Therefore, he is now trying to secretly learn the sword techniques of the Divine Sect, using the Sword Essence to practice the four sword techniques of the Blood Talisman Sword, in order to increase his means of defeating his enemies.

Unfortunately, creating one's own sword technique is not as simple as imitating the skills of predecessors. After deduce for a long time, Li Fan found that his Sword Essence aura was only a small blade of the Tai Sha Sword Embryo. He could not imitate the Blood Talisman Sword to refine water, fire, earth and wind, let alone set up those amazing sword formations.

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent offered no help whatsoever, and even mocked Li Fan, telling him to do a hundred years' worth of exercises before thinking about creating his own Cultivation Method.

Okay, it's not exactly sarcasm, that's exactly what it means literally...

So after struggling for a long time, Li Fan had no choice but to admit defeat, give up his lofty ambitions, and honestly and practically go into seclusion to meditate. He hid in the Divine Court to do practice problems, and from time to time used his Pure Void Primordial Spirit to check on the exploration progress of the two Dao bodies, which did not delay his cultivation.

Thus, his spirit became withdrawn, and he became so engrossed in studying that he couldn't extricate himself. After an unknown amount of time, Real Person sent a flying talisman to Li Fan's head, who was wandering around the underground palace, waking him from his automatic exploration.

The letter said the Abbot and Yao Xuanzhou have emerged from seclusion, so they're probably preparing to return to Ink Bamboo Mountain. Xuantian, have you found anything good here?

Xuan Tian was straightforward; the silver bamboo leaf flew out to lead the way, and Li Fan followed behind, flying through layers of secret passages and alleys until they arrived at a dilapidated Dao Palace buried deep underground. It was unknown how many years it had been suppressed there, and in a literal sense, most of it was buried in the dust of history.

Li Fan pushed open the palace gate and walked in. The palace was a scene of utter devastation; the bookshelves were overturned and lying haphazardly, nothing was left, not even the statue of the Profound Maiden at the entrance had been taken... Damn, even the prayer mat was stolen...

However, Xuan Tian took a detour and led Li Fan to a corner where he stopped on a floor tile.

Li Fan reached out and tried to lift the brick, and saw a cloth bundle hidden under the rotating board. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a robe covered with blood-written characters. Inside the robe were a pile of mud pills, which he counted to be seven in total.

Li Fan picked one up, examined it, sniffed it, and frowned. "Another sword pellet? I mean, besides flying swords and sword pellets, can't our Sword Sect come up with anything else? I'm almost bankrupt raising those rabbits..."

Moreover, these seven sword pellets weren't stored in a sword box; they were just stuffed under bricks, all caked in ash like potatoes. How much would it cost to clean and reforge them...? They probably wouldn't even find a buyer at an auction!

Xuan Tian stabbed into Li Fan's palm and cursed, "You spendthrift! What kind of thing is this to sell! This is the token of the sect leader of the Beichen Sword Sect, the Beichen Seven Star Sword! Keep it safe! You're infuriating me!"

The sect leader's token, the dragon-headed staff!?

Li Fan was shocked, staring intently at the seven mud potatoes in his hand. "You just casually tossed such an important thing here? The Seven Stars Sword of the North Star! Pretty cool, huh?"

Xuan Tian snorted, "Of course! This is a Starry Sky Sword Pill, forged by fourteen generations of sect leaders and Big Dipper Seven Stars, observing the Big Dipper! Back then, the Nine Yin Mountain specially built seven peaks of Starry Sky Sword Towers to enshrine these seven swords and protect the mountain! When combined, they can activate the Northern Starflow Sword Array to slay demons and monsters! Destroy the heavens and the earth! Its power is unparalleled! Any evil spirit attacking the mountain will only meet its demise! Tell me, isn't it amazing!"

Wow... how did the god manage to storm the mountain?

Xuan Tian, "... The sword formation hadn't been set up yet back then... so the sword tower was built later..."

Oh... then how did Xuan Tian wipe out the Benshan lineage?

Xuan Tian, "... I didn't attack from outside the mountain, and didn't I already say that I didn't have any star power that night... Hey! Stop your rambling nonsense! Anyway, you can get the rest later when you reach the Divine Transformation! Now, put these away! This place is under construction everywhere! It changes every day! I searched for ages before finding it! I'm exhausted!"

Oh... but he already has so many flying swords that he can't afford to keep them all. Now he's got another set of Big Dipper Seven Stars swords, it's unbelievable! How much money will it cost to recreate the power of the Seven Star Sword Formation...? But just making a sword gesture and having the Seven Star Sword Formation unleash its power is pretty cool, isn't it...?

Xuan Tian said, "Hmph! You're dreaming. Give up. Not only can the Seven Star Sword only be used if it's offered to the Sword Tower with the power of the entire sect, but even if it's reforged and refined, you still can't use it alone. Just keep it close to your body as a symbol of the sect leader."

Li Fan was speechless. "I am the dignified sect leader of the Sword Sect. If I can't use it, who can? Do I have to combine two swords? Or do I have to practice the Ruyi Sword Scripture for thousands of years before I'm qualified to use it?"

Xuan Tian said, "Hehe, if you really want to use it, it's not impossible. Then we'll gather seven fellow disciples from the Sword Sect who are similar to you in terms of aptitude, comprehension, cultivation, fate, and birth date. They will specialize in the Big Dipper Sword Scripture, using this sword embryo as their core, merging their bodies with the sword, and forging the seven stars with their spirits. The seven of them will form an array, creating the legendary Seven Stars of the Northern Stars! In this way, the seven swords combined can unleash the full power of the Northern Starflow Sword Array!"

"By the way, neither Xiao Yao nor Wu Gou will do. Their destinies don't match, and their comprehension and innate talent are far too different from yours. They're not a good match. This set of Star Swords requires seven people to be of one mind, Dao Companion by fate, and to share life and death together to unleash its full power!"

Li Fan: "... Why is it so complicated?"

Xuan Tian cursed, "Of course it's troublesome! The Starflow Sword Array is the most powerful sword formation in the Xuan Girl Heavenly Book! It has the power to destroy the heavens and the earth! It can even cleave the Nine Yin Mountain with a single sword! Do you think you can just find a few people to release it? Our mountain has passed down the technique for fourteen generations, and not a single generation has been able to gather a full complement of seven-star disciples!"

If you can truly bring the Northern Starflow Sword Array back to life, I guarantee that all the Sword Ancestors of the past will be laughing in their sleep! At that time, not only will the Sword Sect return to the top of the Nine Great Xuan Sects, but even Emei and the like will have to turn against us and surrender with courtesy!

Sigh... so it's just another epic questline that promises nothing but empty promises...

Li Fan sighed, wrapped the mud ball up, and stuffed it into his pocket.

From today onwards, it's safe to say he's the 18th generation leader of the Beichen Sword Sect...

Yay!