The First Sword, Winter Is Coming!

After hearing Jiang Xuan point out the flaw, Wu Shan's first reaction was to frown in thought. Then he walked over to the great cauldron, pinched up a few grains of leftover rice, put them into his mouth, and savored them carefully.

A few breaths later, Wu Shan suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze at Jiang Xuan was filled with incredulous excitement and wild joy.

"This is actually true... You can detect the shortcomings in spirit food?!"

Without arguing, Jiang Xuan replied calmly, "My tongue is simply a little more sensitive."

"This is far more than being a little sensitive." After saying that, Wu Shan's expression turned solemn, as if he had made some decision. He stepped forward, gripped Jiang Xuan's shoulders tightly, and said in a deep voice, "Jiang Xuan, come to our Summer Valley!"

"Not only did you comprehend the Warm Sun Dao Resonance after one meal, you also possess such heaven-defying discernment! This is simply a match made in heaven with the inheritance of our Summer Valley! If you are willing to come, then within ten years, the position of Summer Valley's chief disciple will surely be yours!"

"Huh?!" Wu Shan's impassioned words, along with his praise for Jiang Xuan's future, left Xia He completely dumbfounded.

Jiang Xuan, however, remained very calm. "I will learn Summer Valley's cultivation method."

The moment those words came out, Wu Shan immediately understood. Jiang Xuan still intended to walk the path of the Four Seasons Reincarnation Art.

This left him looking as though he wanted to speak but stopped himself.

Previously, he had not opposed Jiang Xuan taking this path.

The road was dangerous, but if one succeeded, the rewards would be immeasurable. Besides, he and Jiang Xuan had not been particularly familiar before; they had only met once. Naturally, it would not have been appropriate for shallow acquaintance to invite deep counsel.

But now, things were different.

He had comprehended the meaning of warm sun from a single meal, and he could detect flaws in spirit food simply by tasting it. Such talent was an invaluable treasure to Summer Valley.

At the very least, as long as Jiang Xuan lived and regularly ate the spirit food Wu Shan made, he could continually point out the deficiencies in Wu Shan's cooking, allowing his culinary skills to advance steadily without ever encountering another bottleneck.

And in Summer Valley, culinary skill was closely intertwined with cultivation realm.

Moreover, Wu Shan held even greater expectations for Jiang Xuan.

Within the Divine Firmament Sect, the grades of each lineage's cultivation methods were not set in stone. If prodigies and experts emerged, they could add to, remove from, correct, and optimize those methods to a certain degree.

Some supreme prodigies could even directly raise a cultivation method's grade.

And in Wu Shan's eyes, Jiang Xuan possessed precisely such potential.

"No one is more compatible with Summer Valley than Jiang Xuan, and his talent is also among the finest. If he can remain in Summer Valley and cultivate wholeheartedly, he may well be able to eliminate the core hidden danger of the Flameglory Supreme Profound Canon and elevate it to the level of a mid-tier lineage."

"At that time, not only will Summer Valley's standing rise with the tide, my own Dao Path will also become a hundred times smoother."

Upon realizing that Jiang Xuan's safety was so intimately tied to his own Dao Path, Wu Shan naturally became even more unwilling to let Jiang Xuan cultivate that exceedingly dangerous Four Seasons Reincarnation Art.

However, he also knew that, clumsy with words as he was, he could not persuade Jiang Xuan otherwise. Thus, after Jiang Xuan refused, he said nothing further.

But neither did he put the matter aside.

When the full and satisfied Jiang Xuan followed Xia He off to learn swordsmanship, Wu Shan did not even spare a glance for the great cauldron he usually regarded as a treasure. He turned and raced madly toward the heart of Summer Valley.

"I must report this to the Valley Master immediately!"

While Wu Shan hurried frantically toward the Valley Master, Xia He led Jiang Xuan to a small courtyard north of Yellow Mud Village, beside Winter Lake.

In the courtyard, a kind-faced old granny was dozing in a bamboo chair. Not far away, Di Chuan was contemplating the sword with his eyes closed, though he looked rather miserable at the moment—not only was his face pale, his entire body was dripping wet, as if he had just been fished out of the lake.

"???"

While Jiang Xuan stood there in astonishment, Xia He immediately greeted the old woman with cheerful affection upon seeing her.

"Granny Blue, I came to see you."

Her crisp, lively voice roused the granny.

"Little Xia He is here." Opening her eyes, Granny Blue first smiled at Xia He as she ran over. Then her gaze fell upon Jiang Xuan, and her brows creased almost imperceptibly.

Xia He did not notice that at all. As she skillfully kneaded Granny Blue's shoulders, she introduced him excitedly, "Granny Blue, this is Jiang Xuan, the one I told you about yesterday! He is amazing! Yesterday, he only tasted the seasonal vegetables once, yet he comprehended all of the Four Seasons Dao Resonance!"

"Today, Senior Brother Wu Shan also said Jiang Xuan's talent was unparalleled..."

"To comprehend the Four Seasons Dao Resonance simply by tasting vegetables and fruit, your comprehension truly is not bad. Judging by the aura on you, it is no wonder that blockhead Wu Shan values you so highly." Hearing Xia He's praise, Granny Blue first nodded. Then her tone abruptly shifted. "But are you certain you have not come to the wrong place? With that warm sun aura around you, learning Grain in Ear: Blossoming Flame Tree would suit you better."

Jiang Xuan cupped his hands and answered with calm resolve, "Reporting to Elder, I will learn Grain in Ear as well. But the Returning to Stillness Annihilation Sword is more deeply connected to the mysteries of Four Seasons Reincarnation. I wish to learn this first."

"Hehe... Another one who thinks his life is tough enough to cross Four Seasons Reincarnation." Granny Blue sneered. "But do you know that, because of the dangers of Four Seasons Reincarnation, anyone who dares cultivate this Dao art either possesses peerless talent or has an unyielding will and fears neither life nor death? Over all these years, I have never seen a single person here merely to make up the numbers. Yet even so, the chance of successfully passing through Four Seasons Reincarnation is still only thirty percent!"

Those words did make Jiang Xuan's expression turn grave, and he raised his assessment of the Four Seasons Reincarnation Art's danger by another level.

Yet even as he took the matter seriously, Jiang Xuan trusted his Dao Foundation Contract even more.

That was why his reply held not the slightest hesitation. "I will pass through reincarnation."

After Jiang Xuan spoke, Di Chuan, who had awakened, also chimed in, "So will I."

"Hehe..." Yet Di Chuan's words only made the mockery on Granny Blue's face grow stronger. "You? You have learned the meaning of extinction rather well, but Withered Wood Meets Spring does not look at extinction—it looks at vitality. In your current state, your chance of succeeding in reincarnation is not even ten percent."

After mocking Di Chuan, Granny Blue turned her gaze toward Jiang Xuan. "Since you insist on seeking suffering, this old woman will grant your wish."

"You want to learn the Returning to Stillness Annihilation Sword? Then sink into the lake for me!"

Boom!

"Huh?!"

Before Jiang Xuan could react, an irresistible force suddenly erupted from Granny Blue. Like lightning, it instantly coiled around Jiang Xuan's body.

The next moment, that force swept him up and smashed him viciously into the icy lake of Winter Valley.

"Hiss..."

The instant he entered the lake, bone-piercing cold invaded Jiang Xuan's body.

This was a special spirit land. The lake water's temperature was far below freezing, and even though Jiang Xuan had spiritual power protecting his body, he could barely resist the erosion of that terrifying chill.

—Only two or three breaths after being thrown into the lake, the cold had invaded Jiang Xuan's body, making it feel as if countless ice needles were piercing every limb and bone.

Even the spiritual power within his meridians became sluggish beneath the chill's erosion.

But in the face of such danger, Jiang Xuan did not panic or grow anxious. He did not even try to leave the icy lake.

He knew that within the Divine Firmament Sect, with Xia He beside him, Granny Blue would never harm his life without reason.

Thus, after being cast into the icy lake, he quickly calmed down.

The next moment, he drew Qingli, the bamboo sword he always carried at his side, and sat cross-legged within the freezing water.

Granny Blue sensed this scene, and she first nodded in satisfaction. "Calm in the face of danger. He truly is good material."

After praising him, she noticed Xia He beside her and sneered again. "But he is also foolish. Of all the lineages in the Divine Firmament Sect, he had to come to Four Seasons Valley and choose this cultivation method that sends people to their deaths. He is foolish beyond salvation."

Though she said so, she still formed a sword seal with her fingers and activated the inheritance formation beneath the icy lake in Winter Valley.

Buzz—!

As her hand seals moved, a pitch-black stone stele beneath the icy lake immediately trembled. Along with that tremor, the profound Dao patterns on the stele suddenly flashed with spiritual light.

Then, a special message crossed the distance and entered Jiang Xuan's sea of consciousness.

Buzz—!

The impact of that information made Jiang Xuan's mind stall. When he recovered, he discovered that the true meaning of the first three levels of the Returning to Stillness Annihilation Sword had appeared in his mind.

After briefly coming into contact with it and understanding it, Jiang Xuan also learned why Granny Blue had thrown him into the icy lake—this was the best place to cultivate the Returning to Stillness Annihilation Sword.

"Winter Solstice: Returning to Stillness Annihilation... I never expected that the words 'Winter Solstice' in this cultivation method were not merely the name of a solar term. They were also the Dao's starting point for this sword art."

Winter was the yin extreme of the year, but Winter's chill did not descend all at once. It arrived gradually, step by step.

Winter Solstice was not the coldest time of the year, yet it marked the true beginning of Winter—starting from midnight on Winter Solstice, the world's extreme yin force would no longer hold itself back, but would be fully released into the world. Taking nine days as one cycle, it would enter the long cold season of "nine nines of stern frost."

The third nine and fourth nine spoken of among the people were the third and fourth periods of nine days after Winter Solstice.

At the same time, through the message from the stone stele, Jiang Xuan learned that the core key to the first form of this sword art, which began with Winter Solstice, lay in "about to arrive, yet not yet arrived"!

Returning Extinction was unlike ordinary sword arts, which involved tangling with an opponent in battle, seeking flaws, then gradually defeating the enemy through exquisite sword moves.

It gathered all power into a single point—returning to stillness—and the moment it was unleashed, it became an extinction sword that dealt an absolute kill.

"It is somewhat similar to the unsheathing slash in saber arts."

"The difference is that the one-strike kill of an unsheathing slash relies on the explosive force, suddenness, and concealment of the instant the saber leaves its sheath to launch a surprise attack. It is a move that wins through ambush."

"But the Returning to Stillness Annihilation Sword of Winter Valley is different. This is not merely swordsmanship, but a tempering of the heart. It demands that cultivators of this sword art possess the courage to face bitter cold and fear neither life nor death. Only then can they pass through winter and revive in spring."

The differing core principles meant that Winter Solstice: Returning to Stillness Annihilation Sword did not emphasize ambush. On the contrary, it was ostentatious.

The first form of this sword art, [Winter Solstice], did not emphasize concealment like ordinary sword arts. Instead, it went against the grain, requiring the cultivator to actively release peerless sword intent and chilling intent to intimidate the enemy—just as, before Winter arrived, the heavens and earth first filled with biting cold winds.

Such behavior seemed detrimental to a one-strike kill, but that was not actually the case.

It was not only darkness that could conceal one's form. Extreme brightness could also leave people unable to see anything.

And Winter Solstice made Jiang Xuan release withering killing intent and death intent that covered everything.

When this extinction killing intent shrouded the enemy's entire body, and every place their divine sense reached was filled with the threat of death, they would instead be completely unable to determine from where that killing sword would strike.

Not only that, this extinction killing intent born of Winter would freeze the enemy's body, spiritual power, divine soul, and even thoughts, filling them with terror and causing them to lose their footing in chaos.

"A very good sword art, and its conception is even more marvelous. It is just that cultivating this method is somewhat inhuman."

Winter Solstice was excellent, but there was a common saying in the world: only through practice can one gain true knowledge.

Applied to Winter Solstice, the first form of the Returning to Stillness Annihilation Sword, it meant that if Jiang Xuan wanted to master this sword move, he had to personally experience that endless, terrifying, gloomy cold.

He even had to undergo one—or several—near-death predicaments. Only after truly feeling the despair of death himself could the Winter sword intent he released bring his enemies an equal terror.

After understanding everything, a trace of bitterness first appeared on Jiang Xuan's face.

"I need to actively seek death? No wonder Granny Blue said that cultivating this sword art meant I was seeking suffering for myself."

But that bitterness remained on Jiang Xuan's face for only a breath. Soon, his expression returned to calm.

"Understanding death, feeling death, facing death—these things are difficult. But since someone in Four Seasons Valley has accomplished them, then I can naturally do the same!"

"As a Clear-Heart Sword Disciple, I will not be inferior to anyone in my understanding of swordsmanship!"

"Huff..."

With his resolve set, Jiang Xuan held Qingli, the bamboo sword, in his arms and slowly closed his eyes.

At the same time, he fully activated his Heart: Sincerity and sank all his focus into the frigid cold of the icy lake, resonating with the omnipresent Dao Resonance of extinction.

"Hm?"

Within Winter Lake, Jiang Xuan sank swiftly to the lakebed like a lifeless stone, and quickly entered a state of deep meditation. Naturally, Granny Blue saw it all.

Though this place was far from the icy lake and separated by freezing water, Granny Blue's spiritual power was far greater. Thus, Jiang Xuan's every movement and physical condition could not escape her perception.

And she was ultimately an elder guiding Jiang Xuan, not his enemy. What she was doing now was instruction, not a life-and-death battle. She would not sit by and watch Jiang Xuan die.

Her earlier harshness and indifference toward Jiang Xuan, and the way she had thrown him into the lakebed without a word, had all been partly deliberate.

She wanted Jiang Xuan to worry. She wanted him to watch his body gradually freeze stiff at the bottom of the lake, watch his spiritual power become encased in ice, and watch his divine soul be eroded by cold, so that he could experience true despair within a near-death predicament.

It was cruel, and even more tormenting to the heart, but anyone who wanted to master the Returning to Stillness Annihilation Sword had to endure it—this was a sword of death, a sword of extinction, and even more, a sword of despair.

"I did not force you to cultivate this sword art. I even tried to dissuade you. Since you insist, then you must swallow this bitterness."

Those had been Granny Blue's thoughts when she sank Jiang Xuan into the lake.

At the same time, she was also somewhat curious about Jiang Xuan. Before he arrived, Xia He had pestered her for a long while with praise, exalting Jiang Xuan's performance in every word. This made Granny Blue want to know just what was exceptional about him.

And now, after entering the icy lake, Jiang Xuan had calmed down in merely three to five breaths. Not only was he not panicked, he had swiftly entered meditation within this frigid, bone-piercing lake. This surprised Granny Blue, and she said to Xia He, "To settle down so quickly, the little child you found is indeed not bad."

Those words made Xia He immediately place one hand on her hip, smiling until her eyes curved into crescents. "Hehe, of course! Junior Brother Jiang Xuan is the best! And I was the one who persuaded him to stay. With Junior Brother and me, our Four Seasons Valley will definitely produce two true Inner Disciples in the Hundred-Day Grand Examination. Maybe we can even charge into the top eighteen!"

Granny Blue flicked Xia He's forehead with a finger. "Stop dreaming. The top eighteen are territory for Heaven-grade Spirit Roots. It will already be burning incense to the heavens if you can hold onto the top thirty-six."

"And Jiang Xuan can currently only be considered clever. He likely guessed that I would not simply watch him die, so he can remain steady for now."

"But as the icy force gradually invades his heart and soul, as his spiritual power freezes and his body dies inch by inch, until even the flame of his soul is drowned by frigid cold and falls into endless darkness—if he can still remain steady in such a deathly predicament, then he can be called truly gifted."

As she spoke, Granny Blue raised a hand and summoned a water mirror, which clearly reflected Jiang Xuan's figure at the lakebed.

After a little less than half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, her gaze became exceptionally focused.

According to her past experience, this was when Jiang Xuan should be unable to endure any longer. It was also the moment that most tested a person's heart and temperament.

By then, even Di Chuan had temporarily stopped his own cultivation and come to the water mirror, watching the figure seated cross-legged in the icy water.

Xia He clenched her fists nervously, her heart rising into her throat.

Then the three of them held their breaths and stared at the water mirror for another little less than half the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Yet after an entire cup of tea's time had passed, Jiang Xuan's aura had weakened somewhat, but he did not look as though his foundation had been harmed at all.

He still maintained his cross-legged posture, gripping his sword, as if he had merged into one with the freezing lake water.

That scene left Xia He, Di Chuan, and Granny Blue all stunned.

"?!!"