,/.

Su Fan retreated several steps, his lifespan burning frantically as the Forbidden Art: Life-Sacrificing Sword was already primed and ready.

He lifted his eyes to look at the person who had suddenly appeared, only to be taken aback.

Dressed in white robes as pristine as snow, her face was breathtakingly beautiful, cold and aloof like a plum blossom in a blizzard, her bright eyes calm and rippleless.

She just watched him quietly.

This was a peerless beauty.

Her features were unmatched in their elegance, yet cold as frost, her figure graceful with a statuesque silhouette.

"Su Fan greets Senior Sister!"

Su Fan stood stunned for a moment, bowing while remaining vigilant.

His mind raced with frantic thoughts; could it be that she had come to kill him?

She didn't look like it at all.

The woman before him was simply too beautiful, possessing a cold and refined temperament.

"The Cliff of Reflection is desolate, and there is nothing to eat here; take these."

The woman's voice was cold and melodious.

She set down a box she had been holding.

Only then did Su Fan notice the food box she had been carrying the entire time.

She was bringing him food?

Something was wrong!

Su Fan grew even more vigilant; he had no close friends on Sword God Mountain, let alone a Senior Sister as stunning as this.

It's poisoned!

The first thing that crossed Su Fan's mind was that the food was poisoned!

She was here to poison him to death!

"Many thanks, Senior Sister!"

Despite his inner wariness, Su Fan feigned a look of delight.

The cold woman nodded and turned to leave.

Su Fan was surprised; she wasn't going to watch him eat the poison?

"May I ask for Senior Sister's name?"

Su Fan called out.

"Ling Rushuang!"

Ling Rushuang paused for a moment before speaking coldly.

Arriving at the edge of the Cliff of Reflection, Ling Rushuang did not leave via the iron chain, but instead stepped directly into the air and departed.

Su Fan's heart trembled.

To walk through the air like that—she was an expert at the Void Sword Realm or higher!

At this moment, Su Fan changed his previous assessment.

If a Void Sword Realm expert wanted to kill him, why would they need to use poison?

So, was this Senior Sister really just here to bring him food?

But why would she bring him food?

Su Fan frowned, unable to understand why this Senior Sister would bring him food.

He couldn't help but reach up and touch his own face.

"Could it be because I'm too handsome?"

"I'm just a piece of trash; other than being handsome, I have no other merits that could attract a Senior Sister's attention."

Su Fan sighed with emotion.

He picked up the food box from the ground and returned to the cave.

Inside the box were some pastries and a flask of wine.

To be cautious, Su Fan found some small insects to test if the food was poisoned.

After confirming it was safe.

He took the food box into the Forbidden Art Graveyard.

He picked up a pastry and put it in his mouth, immediately tasting a burst of fragrance.

"These aren't made from ordinary ingredients; I'm in for a treat. Senior Sister Ling Rushuang may look cold, but I never expected her to be captivated by my handsome face."

Su Fan muttered to himself as he ate.

"Could these pastries have been made by Senior Sister herself?"

He still couldn't figure out why Ling Rushuang had brought him food.

Could it really be that she was attracted by his handsome face?

"Whatever, improving my strength is what matters!"

With this box of pastries, he could hide in the Forbidden Art Graveyard and cultivate in seclusion for several days.

"Time to upgrade my talent."

It was time to upgrade his talent once again.

Su Fan burned his lifespan again to enhance his natural talent.

This time, he burned a full hundred years of lifespan, and his talent saw a significant improvement.

After upgrading his talent, Su Fan burned more lifespan to cast the Heavenly Enlightenment Technique, seeking an epiphany on the incredibly powerful forbidden art, the Heaven-Shattering Sword.

Boom!

His lifespan was burning away.

He entered a state of epiphany immediately.

That wonderful, blissful feeling of enlightenment returned.

Su Fan felt that he probably wouldn't be practicing techniques step-by-step anymore; from now on, no matter what technique he cultivated, he would just cast the Heavenly Enlightenment Technique and go straight into an epiphany.

Epiphany was just too addictive.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

With a loud boom.

A sword intent that seemed to annihilate all things in the world surged from Su Fan's body.

It felt as if he could slay the very heavens and earth!

A black sword manifested in his hand.

Su Fan opened his eyes and looked at the black longsword in his grasp.

The Heaven-Shattering Sword was complete!

He had finally succeeded in cultivating this powerful forbidden art.

"For the same hundred years of lifespan, the power of the Heaven-Shattering Sword in my hand is comparable to a perfected Mystic Sword, or perhaps even touching the level of a Spirit Sword!"

Su Fan was overjoyed.

His strength had finally improved once again.

"However, with my current cultivation base, it takes three breaths to consume a hundred years of lifespan—that's too slow!"

The Heaven-Shattering Sword was incredibly powerful, beyond imagination.

Burning the same hundred years of lifespan to condense this sword took a bit more time.

"Keep practicing, strive to condense it instantly, to be able to do it at will..."

The Heaven-Shattering Sword in Su Fan's hand dissipated.

Then, the Heaven-Shattering Sword intent surged from his body again, and another Heaven-Shattering Sword manifested.

In the time that followed.

Su Fan relied on the most basic method, constantly burning his lifespan and condensing the Heaven-Shattering Sword to increase his speed.

He didn't know how much lifespan he had consumed.

Finally, he could burn a hundred years of lifespan in a single thought to condense a Heaven-Shattering Sword.

"Next, let's test where the limit is!"

Su Fan wanted to see what kind of power he could unleash if he burned a thousand years of lifespan to condense the Heaven-Shattering Sword!

Boom!

His lifespan burned frantically.

One hundred years, two hundred years... five hundred years...

When he had burned five hundred years of lifespan, Su Fan realized he was struggling to control the Heaven-Shattering Sword; it felt like it could erupt at any moment.

He had no choice but to stop burning his lifespan.

"Five hundred years, that's about the limit!"

"Five hundred years of lifespan is comparable to a mid-to-late stage Spirit Sword..."

Crossing two major realms was beyond imagination.

"My realm is still too weak, it's dragging down the upper limit of my lifespan burning!"

Su Fan sighed.

He had to improve his cultivation realm.

"I hope there's a forbidden art that allows me to burn lifespan to directly increase my realm."

Su Fan looked toward the Forbidden Art Graveyard, his heart filled with anticipation.

What he needed most urgently right now was a forbidden technique that could directly burn his lifespan to raise his cultivation realm.

"I hope the predecessors of Sword God Mountain do not disappoint me."

Su Fan continued to search for forbidden techniques within the Forbidden Art Graveyard.

Only a forbidden technique that could raise his realm would allow him to elevate his cultivation in such a short amount of time.

Huh? This forbidden technique is somewhat interesting.

Su Fan stopped in front of a forbidden technique tomb.

"Forbidden Technique, Tomb of the Silent Breath Technique."

Silent Breath Technique!

This was a special forbidden technique; when cast, one could freely conceal their own aura, cultivation base, and even the vitality of a living being.

Whether it was for masking one's cultivation or hiding one's presence, it was an extremely powerful forbidden technique.

It was especially effective for ambushes and assassinations, proving invincible in such scenarios.

"This forbidden technique is not bad, I'll learn it!"

Su Fan decided immediately to learn this forbidden technique.

It was nothing more than consuming a bit of his lifespan.

"Sneak attacks, concealment, hiding oneself... this was practically tailor-made for me."

Su Fan was delighted.

He opened the forbidden technique tomb and took out the Forbidden Technique Jade Slip.

After memorizing the forbidden technique manual, he closed the tomb.

Su Fan began to cultivate immediately.

"Heavenly Enlightenment Technique, grant me an epiphany!"

Su Fan directly cast the Heavenly Enlightenment Technique to enter a state of epiphany.

With his talent improved, the enlightenment ability granted by the Heavenly Enlightenment Technique naturally increased accordingly.

Coming back to his senses from the epiphany, Su Fan exhaled a breath, instantly feeling a sense of listlessness, as if he had just finished something exhilarating.