Sister

Four flying swords danced and shimmered on the Cold Pool, their Sword Light flashing, as they attacked a fluttering silver leaf.

Although the Sword Light surged, the sword energy overflowed, and the sword wind howled.

The silver leaf, however, moved like a butterfly in the wind, swirling and drifting freely, its movements unpredictable. No matter how fierce the sword energy, it could not touch a single part of it.

On the contrary, the two swordsmen who had only attacked and swung their swords for two or three moves, the slowest one, Fa Gui, and the one who was not good at maneuvering, were both slain by silver leaves that darted up and stuck to their blades, and then they slunk back into their sword boxes.

Golden Dragon White Star managed to hold out for another three or five rounds, but as soon as his sword speed slowed down, he was brushed against by the silver leaf, and thus he had to admit defeat.

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent, it's alright, not bad, a low-ninth rank, but at least it's entered the ranks.'

"What? Golden Dragon White Star is only a ninth-rank? Is your assessment fair? Is there some rule that deducts three ranks for not bowing to the judge?"

Li Fan was speechless. Judging from all the parameters, the two swords given by the mountain lord should be no worse than the previous two, right?

' Profound Heaven Sword Intent? What are you talking about? How can these be compared? The Heaven-Slaying Demon-Slaying Sword is a flying sword used by Golden Core level cultivators, and it has only just begun to develop its sword spirit. The Golden Dragon White Star is a flying sword used by Nascent Soul Stage level cultivators, and it has already formed a sword infant. The materials and sword imprints used in its forging are completely different, so it's only natural that it's faster and stronger than the previous level. Naturally, it will lose out when compared to other swords of the same level.'

"Nascent Soul Stage level flying sword?" Li Fan scratched his head. He thought it was Divine Transformation level flying sword. But if that's the case, since the Mountain Lord has already attained enlightenment, he really doesn't need a flying sword that's two levels lower.

But the Heaven-Slaying Demon-Slaying Sword was only at the Golden Core level? He felt he was already killing indiscriminately; the flying sword was just too overpowered...

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent is still at the very beginning of sword forging at Ink Bamboo Mountain. They can't even forge decent swords, let alone walk properly. They shouldn't even dream of flying. They'll definitely have to start practicing with Golden Core level swords first."

That's true... "Kun, what are you doing?"

Kun lay on the floor, glaring at Li Fan with its bulging eyes, and pointed its fin.

'What's a Kun?'

Kun was pointing to a black cube that Li Fan was fiddling with in his hand. It looked like obsidian crystal, polished smooth and sparkling, but inside it was pitch black, no, even blacker than ink, as if all the light had been absorbed into it.

"Oh, the system's reward is called a 'Rubik's Cube'."

Li Fan pursed his lips and casually fiddled with it again.

Well, it really is a Rubik's Cube, a 3x3 Rubik's Cube with all six sides black... I can't figure it out... What's it for, system?

The system's answer remains the same.

'The Rubik's Cube is one of the items created by the system based on the information in the <Key Scroll of Breaking Evil and Manifesting Evidence>, using the rules of the Tai Su Dao. Its function is unknown; the system is currently testing it. The host can also try to develop its uses in the Taiji Realm.'

Well, now even the system doesn't know how to use the rewards it's given... By the way, how did you guys even create these...?

However, it seems that collecting the Heavenly Book will at least have a direct impact on the system's prize pool and even the system's own functions, and may also benefit Li Fan himself.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

Li Fan handed the black Rubik's Cube to Kun.

The Kun stared at the black block in front of it, nudged it with its fin, and swallowed the Rubik's Cube into its mouth!

Li Fan squinted at it.

Kun also glanced at Li Fan.

What flavor is it?

'Kun, ptooey, tasteless, hard to digest.'

He vomited it up...

Kun lost interest in anything inedible, and with a flick of its tail, it dived into the Cold Pool to drink.

Li Fan picked up the Rubik's Cube and wiped it with his robe. Seeing that it still didn't work, he put it away for the time being and continued to use the "Tianyu Thirty-Six Dragons. Lingyunzi's Notes" to perform divination and calculations, trying to crack the Storage Jade pendant of the crocodile monster.

Profound Heaven Sword Intent leaned closer to take a look.

'The Profound Heaven Sword Intent, Lingyunzi, I never imagined she would grow to the level of a Calculator.'

"What, your old flame?" Li Fan started gossiping, in every sense of the word.

' Profound Heaven Sword Intent, what old flame? She's just a young girl. Hmm, it's been five hundred years. With her talent, she should be Divine Transformation by now, right? In short, there aren't many people in the Xuanmen who dare to contradict me. The old men and women of Emei are the most annoying, and her parents are especially difficult to talk to.'

Little Lingyun is quite good; she's clever and quick-witted. It's a pity her parents and I don't get along, so we keep a close eye on her. Otherwise, we could have her brought over to inherit the mantle of my Beichen Sect.

Damn, you're always thinking about kidnapping someone's daughter, it's not like they don't like you!

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent, tch, if I fancy it, that's her good fortune, okay! Besides, it's common for disciples within the Xuanmen to take on each other as masters and disciples, what's the big deal! It's like guarding against thieves!"

However, having said that, now that my Beichen Sword Sect is gone, the Xuanmen is presumably under the control of Emei. You must be careful when you encounter people from that side in the future. They are indeed powerful and not to be trifled with. A loose sect like Ink Bamboo Mountain has only a handful of cultivators at the Divine Transformation stage; their foundation is far too shallow, and they are no match for them.

Your calculation of the shallowness of one's foundation is quite intuitive... However, Li Fan also has to admit that the fact that someone as arrogant as the Profound Heaven Sword Intent is so wary of it is indeed quite troublesome. But...

"Why are you all so free today? Aren't you going to the sword-forging furnace?"

"No need for the Profound Heaven Sword Intent. The slag has all been eaten by Kun. A new batch of materials has already been planted. As long as they follow my instructions, this batch should be of high quality. With Xiao Yao's current level, seventh-grade shouldn't be a problem, and mid-grade is also expected. Whether the top-grade sword pellets can be produced depends on their comprehension and skill."

Li Fan asked curiously, "Why did those old men agree to do it your way?"

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent, hey, don't even mention it. Didn't you bring back seven sword furnaces? We made a bet with those four old men to open the swords. They ruined four furnaces, producing four swords that could barely be considered ninth-grade and a bunch of junk. Xiao Yao opened three furnaces and produced three seventh-grade swords. He stunned them, and now they listen to Master Yao's every word, hehe."

However, since they had no one to guide them, it's quite impressive that they've reached this level of understanding on their own. If this batch can forge a high-grade sword, the next batch can try forging a Nascent Soul Stage level flying sword.

That's not bad; from now on, our sect can directly supply flying swords. But I wonder if eight sword furnaces can operate at full capacity? Lou Guan has so many Nascent Soul cultivators; even if they queue, it'll take a while, right?

' Profound Heaven Sword Intent, then just cultivate it directly to the Nascent Soul Stage. But the methods of Ink Bamboo Mountain are really quite strange; you actually mastered it again. This speed is truly absurd.'

"Oh, speaking of this, the real issue of cultivation," Li Fan temporarily stopped his calculations, opened his mouth, and spat out two Golden Core.

The Divine Court Golden Core remained vermilion without any change, but the Universe Qi Elixir had recently emitted a white light. Enveloped in a layer of Wuji Zhenyuan, it was already beginning to show signs of becoming a human-shaped embryonic fetus.

"Sword Intent, I've hit a bottleneck in my cultivation. Look, it's been over ten days, and my progress in the Gui Xu Nascent Soul isn't as fast as the other two."

' Profound Heaven Sword Intent... you brat, don't be ridiculous! It's only been a little over ten days, you haven't even grasped the Dao Heart yet, it's normal to have made no progress at all! What kind of bottleneck is this?! Get stuck for ten years without any clue before you talk about a bottleneck!'

Li Fan broke out in a cold sweat. But the key is to grasp the Dao Heart, right? Hmm... So, not only the true form of Qiongqi, but that old demon from the Qingyang Sect really did explain his Dao Heart to him in detail. All he had to remember was the insane, arrogant, and domineering temperament. That's why Li Fan was able to cultivate the transformation so easily!

Well, I really have to thank this guy...

"But what kind of Dao heart is needed for the Gui Xu Nascent Soul nothingness and never perishes?"

' Profound Heaven Sword Intent? Who knows! My Beichen Sword Sect cultivates the sword heart! I told you not to ask about the cultivation methods of other sects!'

Well, it seems that even the Profound Heaven Sword Intent has had its mentality broken down by Li Fan's cultivation pace.

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent, sigh... But it doesn't matter if I can't cultivate the Gui Xu Nascent Soul. This world is so vast, there are always cultivation Cultivation Method you can't cultivate. At worst, I can just cultivate my Sword Sect's original flying sword into my second inner core, that's not bad either."

If you're worried that your cultivation is increasing too quickly and your Dao heart is unstable, then go out and gain more experience. First, refine that Limitless Nascent Soul Stage, and then suppress your Dao body.

Profound Heaven Sword Intent and Real Person Liang's suggestion were similar. It seemed that he was indeed cultivating the Mountain Lord's lineage's Cultivation Method too quickly, to the point of being dangerous. If he wanted to be on the safe side, he should first cultivate Lou Guan's proper inner core and nascent Nascent Soul Stage to stabilize his Dao heart realm. That would at least reduce the risk of being tricked into drinking.

However, it seems that the key to cultivating the Gui Xu Nascent Soul stage is finding the right Dao heart.

Why not go out and gain more experience?

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent, and your divination was wrong from the third step onwards."

The Thirty-Six Dragons of Tianyu are arranged according to the Lianshan Innate Formation of Kunlun. Xiaolingyun's annotations are based on the Feng Shui layout of Central Land, modified according to the Zhouyi Post-Heaven Formation. You used the wrong formulas in the last four steps and didn't convert them correctly.

Furthermore, although this jade pendant was sealed using the Later Heaven Bagua method, judging from the shape and energy of the jade, it was sourced outside the feng shui framework of Central Land. Therefore, we need to use overseas divination methods to adjust the hexagrams. In short, it's beyond repair; we have to start over.

You should have said this from the beginning!

Li Fan had no choice but to silently remove the divination sticks and start the calculation again.

With the intermittent interference and guidance from the Profound Heaven Sword Intent, Li Fan spent an entire day finally untying the crocodile demon's jade pendant.

Upon seeing what was inside, Li Fan was shocked once again.

Okay, actually it wasn't that shocking, just a little bit.

In the end, it's just a favored Golden Core Stage demon beside Divine Transformation stage demon. What earth-shattering treasure could it possibly possess? It's nothing more than some magical artifacts and divine skills. But a specially password-protected safe must be worth more than 100,000 strings of cash, right?

So Li Fan took out the four items from the jade pendant, placed them on the table, and invited Master Profound Heaven Sword Intent to appraise them on the spot.

So Jianyi also gave an estimate. Although they were four pieces of junk, they were definitely not something that could be bought for 100,000 coins.

The first item was a hammer, a low-grade Jade Hammer Magic Treasure, perhaps at the Golden Core level. The hammerhead was a lotus bud, and the jade shaft was engraved with many gold-plated runes, which read like a Buddhist scripture. It was probably the weapon used by the crocodile himself. Although it was low-grade, this kind of thing was still a proper magic weapon. It was not comparable to ordinary weapons.

For example, a flying sword, if someone were to actually sell it for money, would cost at least a million strings of cash. This hammer, on the other hand, would probably cost at least a few hundred thousand strings of cash.

The second item was a soft leather whip, two zhang long, coiled up, radiating demonic light and exuding a soaring demonic aura. Although it was still a low-grade piece of trash, it was still trash at the Nascent Soul Stage level. It seemed to be made from the shed tendons and skin of some ferocious beast, and it was full of killing intent. Logically speaking, it was not something a crocodile of the crocodile's level would be able to use.

Li Fan suspected that this was probably a treasure bestowed upon this trusted head maid in Yaoguang Cave for self-defense and to control the other maids and demons. It was a symbol of authority or something similar. This kind of magical artifact was of a different level, probably worth millions of coins.

The third item is a jade slip, a common type of jade slip used for transmitting skills, a magical Magic Treasure commonly used by Central Plains sects to pass on true techniques. The jade slip itself is not worth much; it's just a piece of jade or bamboo that has been polished. What's valuable is the Cultivation Method inside, which is specially preserved using a magical Magic Treasure, so it is naturally an authentic method.

After all, how many decent people have a built-in system to guide them, receive occasional instruction from a master cultivator, or even have Divine Transformation cultivator sneak into their bed at night to personally instruct them in cultivation?

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent appears to be a dual Cultivation Method from the Immortal Palace. I don't know much about the Immortal Palace Cultivation Method, but anything I haven't heard of is mostly trash.'

"Dual cultivation!" Li Fan's eyes lit up.

Well, how should I put it? Although he suffered a significant loss of lifespan due to his cultivation going awry, isn't this just a good thing—well, unfortunately—that his Dao body has also reached adulthood? So, theoretically, just theoretically, he can now engage in dual cultivation, right?

' Profound Heaven Sword Intent, what are you thinking? This is prepared for a demonic Daoist pet, and it also saves the fact that only the Immortal Palace likes to keep and command demons.'

Tsk... but it's not bad, right? Can we use that Kun?

' Profound Heaven Sword Intent, are you a ghost? The Kun is just a fish fry, okay? You're lucky if you live to see it transform into a Peng, let alone expect it to take human form!'

Ugh, so boring...

The fourth item was a white jade disc carved in the shape of a dragon. It wasn't a Storage Jade, but judging from its specifications, it was clearly a ceremonial object belonging to a noble or high-ranking official of the Central Plains. According to the Profound Heaven Sword Intent's appraisal, this item could sell for tens or hundreds of thousands of coins. However, for an ordinary person to possess it would be considered an overstepping of their bounds and would result in the confiscation of their property and execution. Perhaps it was a token used by the demons and spies from the Li Country to exchange secret signals?

All four items are now considered junk. You can't expect to get that much cash to sell them for, and offering too little feels like a rip-off. They're also not presentable as gifts. They're really useless...

'The Profound Heaven Sword Intent? It's not that bad. Disciples of reputable sects wouldn't even consider it. Rogue cultivators usually don't have very high standards. Just take it to the Central Plains and trade it for some rare materials. Heavenly Treasure are all about fate; there's no such thing as a fixed market price. If you find something you like, just exchange it.'

That's true. Anyway, I can always earn some money. I wonder when I'll have the chance to go to the Central Plains and see the world...

Just then, Li Fan suddenly sensed two Divine Sense flying towards him. He immediately waved his hand, gathering up all the magical treasures, the counting rods and compass scrolls, that were spread out on the table, and straightening his Daoist robe to cover the human skin scriptures underneath.

Looking up at the sky, sure enough, it was Fuling and a female cultivator at the Golden Core Stage whom I had never seen before descending from the clouds.

"Qingyue, let me introduce you to a fellow disciple. Hmm? Why are you looking like this...?"

"Oh ho ho, Fuling, this isn't the boy you said I should take care of, is he? He's clearly a junior brother with profound cultivation!"

The woman was dressed in a blue robe, similar to Fuling's backless halter dress. She appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with an oval face, arched eyebrows, and two prominent canine teeth when she smiled. However, her eyes held striking golden snake pupils, and the skin below her neck was covered in blue scales. This bizarre and inhuman appearance clearly indicated that she was a cultivator from the Mountain Lord's lineage, practicing the Tai Su transformation of the Moon Worship Sect.

Then look at her. Her black hair was styled into a snake bun, adorned with a snake-head hairpin. Her sleeves were neatly rolled up, revealing her forearms. On her wrists were a pair of gold bracelets shaped like intertwined golden snakes. Her green silk skirt was tied around her waist with a belt, giving her the appearance of a warrior. A pair of green jade and emerald green short swords were also inserted into her belt, with hilts shaped like snake heads, resembling fangs.

With such an obvious disguise, and considering the everyday observation, it's easy to tell at a glance what Moon Worship has transformed into.

Li Fan smiled and bowed, "Qingyue, a disciple of Real Person Wanshu, greets this senior sister."

Fuling was startled by Li Fan's transformation, but fortunately, although he had gone astray in his cultivation, resulting in increased size and a change in eye color, it was only a slight alteration, and his appearance was still recognizable as his own.

So after her initial surprise, Fuling, thinking that this kid was always coming up with new tricks, didn't ask any more questions. She calmed down and introduced the woman beside her, saying, "This kid is Qingyue. When he first joined the sect, you and your husband were in seclusion and didn't have the chance to meet him."

"Qingyue, this is Senior Sister Liu Qing, who is considered the eldest brother of our Wangshu Sect. She took care of us all back then, and now she is a True Cultivator on the verge of reaching the Nascent Soul Stage. You have only recently achieved the Golden Core stage, so it's a good time for you to learn many things from her."

The eldest brother of the lineage of Fairy Wangshu?

Liu Qing smiled and looked at Li Fan, "Oh, hehe, Qingyue looks kind. Have we met before?"

Li Fan certainly remembered; he had a photographic memory. Wasn't this the Green Snake from that night? However, it wouldn't be polite to reveal someone's true form to their face. So he smiled and said...

"I also think you look familiar. I guess this is what they mean by fate bringing people together from afar. Senior Sister, please have some tea."