Taixu Passage Upgrade

The blade fragments of Fuxie had decayed, leaving behind only the core: the Great Dao Spirit Soul.

This was not actually a matter of great importance, because the spirit soul is the core of a Dao-Rhyme Spirit Treasure. With the spirit soul, one only needs to find suitable materials in the future to easily reshape the Spirit Treasure.

The reason the Fuxie Sword Spirit was astonished was that its original form had long ago reached the state of [Immortal and Indestructible, Eternal and Unwearing]. Although it had not yet reached the state of [Indestructible], which was why it could still shatter, at this stage, even if the spirit soul were to perish or fall into a dormant state, the Spirit Treasure itself should not have been destroyed.

Yet, everything had been reversed: the Fuxie Sword Spirit's spirit soul was intact, while only the blade had decayed.

And what was even more inconceivable was that there was absolutely no memory within this spirit soul.

"Someone decayed my blade and stole my memories!"

This was the conclusion reached by the Sword Spirit, who was practically gritting its teeth: "It must be the methods of those Heavenly Demons. Only by defying the laws of nature and holding the inverse of the Dao could they accomplish such an unbelievable feat—stealing my memories without harming my spirit soul. I must take my memories back!"

"But the problem is, I don't even know which memories I've forgotten!"

The Sword Spirit's anger was easy to understand. It was originally incomplete, and it had hoped that this time it could rely on finding the fragments to become whole again, only to discover that someone had beaten it to the punch and severed that possibility.

"How can I help you?" An Jing asked, his tone matter-of-fact.

The other party had helped him so much; it was only right that he help the Sword Spirit.

But the Sword Spirit quickly calmed down: "No. Thank you, An Jing, but not now. You should go save your companions first."

"My affairs are too significant and must be related to the Heavenly Demons and those ancient catastrophes. If you act recklessly, it might lead to other interested parties discovering you... We are still too weak. Act with caution; it will not be too late to act once you have grown."

The Sword Spirit was quite rational, and the recovery of the 'Fuxie Spirit Soul' was not without its uses.

First, the additional spirit soul allowed Fuxie to better suppress An Jing's Divine Sea and conceal his aura, which also allowed An Jing to better practice the 'Qingjing Sword Temple' techniques.

Second, the Fuxie Sword's ability to travel to other worlds had been enhanced.

Originally, when it was only a hilt, the Fuxie Sword's space-time travel could last at most a few hours, after which it had to return to Huaixu. Now, it had been extended to several days.

The enhancement in the duration of travel was not significant, but the enhancement in space was substantial.

Originally, the landing point for space-time travel was fixed; wherever one left from, that was where one would arrive the next time.

If An Jing was already in danger in the other world when he returned to Huaixu, then the next time he descended into that world, he would still be in that dangerous area.

But now, An Jing could choose to descend anywhere within a radius of one mile from his departure point.

The frequency of space-time travel had also been increased: originally, the Fuxie Sword could travel to other worlds once every few days, but now it was once every sunrise and sunset.

The reason it was called 'sunrise and sunset' was because the Fuxie Sword drew upon the 'True Meaning of Samsara' of the sun and moon's rotation to travel. In some small worlds, the speed of this rotation was very fast, and the charging speed would also become faster.

Finally...

"I can barely serve as a weapon to subdue demons and suppress evil now—though it can only be used to damage souls, and the range is not large."

The Sword Spirit said to the subtly-reacting An Jing in a tone that sounded like it had finally let out a sigh of relief: "For so many years, having only a hilt, I almost lost the qualifications to be a sword. Now, I have regained some dignity."

"This is actually... not a fundamental change, is it?"

An Jing evaluated cautiously, and the Sword Spirit sighed: "You are human, you don't understand... Being able to be used to hurt people, no matter how difficult it is to use, at the very least I am a weapon, not a display piece."

"Now, try condensing the Sha Sword."

The Sword Spirit signaled, and An Jing circulated his blood energy, condensing a blood-colored Sha Sword in his hand.

The main body of the Fuxie Sword within his Divine Sea flickered slightly.

Suddenly, a faint silver light lit up along the edge of the blade.

"This faint light... is this the enhancement?"

An Jing could also feel it; the outer layer of the Sha Sword, which was like an extension of his arm, had gained a bit more sharpness. The Sword Spirit instructed: "Although I am half-destroyed, the spirit soul's enhancement can make your weapons and blade-related divine abilities sharper, and it can also deepen the damage dealt to ghosts, demons, and other evil entities."

"This is just the most intuitive feeling. My existence is connected to your Divine Sea, and perhaps it can subtly improve your sword talent—but your talent was already very high. Even in my era, I had never seen a twelve-year-old who could cultivate martial arts to such a level."

Speaking of this, the Sword Spirit became interested: "Speaking of which, the flying sword technique you used to kill that Demonic Cult manor lord was very proficient. I remember that should have been your first time using it, right?"

"To have such results on the first use, you are worthy of being the one who awakened me. Your sword talent is truly high!"

...That was a firearm, not sword talent.

Forget it, let it be a flying sword then.

An Jing didn't have the energy to refute this point, but upon closer reflection, he also found it strange.

He didn't know why he was so proficient with this gunpowder firearm, which made him wonder what he actually did in his previous life.

I clearly remember I was just a martial arts school disciple... why would I know how to use a gun?

All kinds of martial arts... it seems there was no ban on guns?

No, it's a flying sword! A flying sword is a part of martial arts, so it's definitely fine!

"It's time to prepare for action."

Shaking his head and pulling back his thoughts, An Jing turned his head and scanned the area.

After confirming with the Sword Spirit that there was nothing of value left here, he immediately walked quickly away from the hall, where the jade-like color had receded and it had begun to turn into an unremarkable stone cave.

Utilizing Mysterious Steps, An Jing did not return to Xuanming Manor by the original path, as a team of Red Armor Guards was already guarding it, though they dared not enter to search due to the devilish qi.

Avoiding the Red Armor Guards, he climbed up the sloping cliff, using the strength of a martial artist with Internal Breath like a river, and easily circled around to the back courtyard of Xuanming Manor, where the river at the source of the cold pool waterfall was located.

An Jing followed this river—the 'escape route' he had once considered—and returned to the rear side of Xuanming Manor at top speed.

This place was almost entirely unguarded.

The Red Armor Guards were still locked in street-to-street combat with the Demonic Cult guards, their progress agonizingly slow. The Red Armor Guards were unwilling to suffer casualties in a meat-grinder battle, and since the Demonic Cult's primary goal was to stall for time, they were more than happy to drag things out.

Both sides were fighting at the main gate and the Xishan Manor, leaving the east side and the rear of the manor looking empty.

Luck is on my side; the battlefield isn't in the east.

After roughly assessing the situation from a high vantage point, An Jing slowly approached Dongshan Manor.

With his mastery of cultivation techniques and his familiarity with the manor, ordinary instructors and guards had no chance of discovering him, let alone the Red Armor Guards.

While slowly approaching Dongshan Manor, An Jing also sorted through the items he had obtained from Manor Master Yao.

Three iron-bamboo medicine tubes, according to the Sword Spirit, contained Soul-Calming Powder for inducing sleep, Pulse-Severing Powder for incapacitating people—the same drug An Jing had been poisoned with earlier—and Life-Ending Powder for killing.

A jade dagger, not meant for combat, but for ritual sacrifice.

A small bottle containing three pills; judging by the scent, they were likely something like heart-saving medicine.

There were also two crystalline jade stones. Their edges were translucent, fading into a pale cyan gradient toward the center, with a bright cyan speck at the very core.

They looked quite valuable, but given An Jing's limited knowledge, he had no idea what they were, nor did he understand why Manor Master Yao would carry these high-grade jade stones on his person.

Even so, An Jing understood that these jade stones were definitely worth a fortune, so taking them was certainly the right move.

"That jade dagger carries a 'thought of sacrificial worship' and has been steeped in it for a long time; it counts as a Dharma Artifact, so it might be useful to carry," the Sword Spirit said. "As for those pills, they are Qi-Boosting Pills that can stimulate blood energy and surge one's Internal Breath. Martial artists can use them to recover Internal Breath, and even those without martial arts skills can gain immense strength from them."

"Good stuff. They might be of great use in the upcoming fight."

"As for those two Spirit Jades... their quality is average, but they can assist in cultivation and can also be used to activate certain tools that only cultivators can operate."

"Can martial artists use them too?" An Jing knew that cultivators were 'Qi Refining practitioners', so he asked. After receiving an affirmative reply from the Sword Spirit, he carefully tucked the two Spirit Jades away.

Cultivation resources—can't let them go to waste!

Before he knew it, An Jing had arrived at Dongshan Manor. He was just about to scale the wall to enter the manor when he abruptly stopped, his brows furrowing.

Someone is here.

Utilizing Mysterious Steps, An Jing leaped lightly onto the wall, crouching silently on the top to conceal his presence as he peered into the manor.

Then, he gritted his teeth.

Because he saw three Demonic Cult members holding a dark gold vessel, aiming it at one after another of the opened medicine vats, siphoning out the medicinal paste within!

Crimson blood energy and white life force fused into a pink blood-medicinal power, which then refined and sublimated within the vessel, transforming into crystalline, translucent... Blood Pill Great Medicine!