With a Sharp Blade in Hand, Killing Intent Arose on Its Own

The Returning to Stillness Annihilation Sword—three sword forms after Winter Solstice. The sword intent of First Nine and Second Nine was blunt and clear, and their purposes were equally obvious:

The initial zero, Winter Solstice, drew upon the winter of heaven and earth, radiating bone-piercing killing intent and the dead intent of stillness. It struck first and seized the advantage, forcing the enemy's mind to lose its guard and expose its flaws.

The one that followed, First Nine, pursued ultimate speed! It required that the moment an enemy exposed a flaw, Jiang Xuan's sword would arrive like a shadow—when the enemy revealed a weakness, the sword was already there.

Then came the two, which emphasized ultimate lethality. Iceburst Shattered Shadow caused the ice sword, upon striking an enemy, to explode thunderously within their body, tearing them apart from the inside with endless cold.

These three forms built upon one another, forming an impeccable offensive cycle.

But starting with Third Nine: Frost-Sky Divine Sword, everything changed. This move truly touched upon the origin of Returning Extinction, drawing upon the Severe Winter Dao Resonance of heaven and earth. Its difficulty and importance in cultivation were on par with Winter Solstice.

"But I've finally entered the gateway!"

The boosts from Clear-Heart Sword Disciple, Heart: Sincere Sword, and Three Purifications Spell: Truth Communion were this remarkable.

After cultivating like this for half a month, Jiang Xuan's strength had undergone an earth-shaking transformation.

That day, at the training grounds.

Jiang Xuan, pale-faced and looking like a frost-cold ghost, stood facing Xia He in equal opposition.

Standing where he was, gaunt and skeletal, so weak he looked as though a gust of wind could knock him over, Jiang Xuan did not draw his sword. He merely watched the person across from him in silence.

Jiang Xuan's gaze was not particularly ferocious. It was merely indifferent and cold, yet those eyes sent a chill down Xia He's spine and made every hair on her body stand on end.

The next instant, an even more heart-palpitating chill quietly swept toward her.

The sky was clearly bright and cloudless, yet Xia He felt as though it had suddenly turned dark and gloomy. A bone-piercing cold wind swept in from all directions, as if it could pass through flesh and skin to blow straight into her marrow, extinguishing the warmth in her body—even the flame of her life.

After merely three breaths of staring at each other like this, Xia He felt her limbs stiffen, as though even her blood were about to freeze solid.

The bone-piercing chill forced her breathing to quicken. Her grip around her sword tightened and tightened, her fingertips turning white as she nearly failed to suppress the urge to swing it.

Only by drawing her sword could she feel even a little safer.

Yet what they were comparing at this moment was precisely the sword intent of Winter Solstice.

Whoever failed to endure the other's presence first, trembled, or made the first move, would expose a flaw and lose this round.

Naturally, Xia He did not wish to lose, so she forcefully restrained her body's instinctive reactions.

But some bodily instincts could not be held back merely because one wished to restrain them.

As the cold clung to her like rot eating into the bone, coiling tighter and tighter, her limbs had long since frozen numb.

At last, her shoulder gave an involuntary, slight tremble.

"Enough. Stop. Jiang Xuan wins this match."

The instant Xia He's body reacted, Granny Blue noticed it and announced the result.

Yet after making the announcement, she was not happy. Instead, she shook her head speechlessly.

"It's been nearly half a month, and you still haven't even entered the gateway of Winter Intent. Xia He, you simply aren't suited for the Sword of Stillness. Listen to me—go to another lineage and cultivate other arts."

"No! I'm the one who will protect Four Seasons Valley..."

"You... sigh..." Granny Blue looked at her stubborn expression, feeling both helpless and heartbroken. She could not help thinking of her eldest son, who had died young.

Fortunately, things were different now.

She glanced at Jiang Xuan, and several thoughts began to turn in her heart.

"With Jiang Xuan here, as long as he grows up, Four Seasons Valley won't face the risk of falling in rank... Once the Hundred-Day Grand Examination is over, if Jiang Xuan achieves a good result, she should be able to listen when I persuade her again."

Shaking her head and no longer thinking about Xia He, Granny Blue turned her gaze toward Jiang Xuan.

This time, her gaze softened somewhat. "To stir the surrounding heavenly and earthly vital currents through Winter Intent alone is the mark of the second realm of Winter Solstice's sword intent. To make such progress in half a month, you've done very well."

After praising him, her tone suddenly shifted. "But you also have a problem. The winter aura you released just now had enough coldness, but insufficient stillness and death intent. You have no killing intent toward Xia He at all."

"..." Jiang Xuan could not refute that. It was because of Xia He's wholehearted support that his cultivation had gone so smoothly these past half a month.

He regarded Xia He as both a junior sister and a little rich girl, and his heart held only gratitude toward her. Naturally, he could not feel much killing intent—well, part of the reason Xia He took such good care of Jiang Xuan was that she considered herself his senior sister. Experiencing this feeling for the first time, she treated Jiang Xuan like a younger brother.

Granny Blue understood why Jiang Xuan remained silent, and she had no intention of making him change his attitude toward Xia He. "Next, you must comprehend killing intent and death intent, then merge them into the sword of Winter Solstice. This sort of cultivation is not suited to being comprehended from your senior brothers and sisters while staying in Four Seasons Valley."

As she said this, she looked beyond the gates of the Divine Firmament Sect and sighed. "The best way to comprehend killing intent is to travel through the outside world. Once you have seen enough of the world's evils and darkness, the killing intent in your heart will overflow without needing to be brewed."

"Unfortunately, you are still too weak. Going beyond the sect gates to gain experience would be far too dangerous for you."

Shaking her head, Granny Blue withdrew her gaze and stated her arrangement. "Go to the sect's martial arena. Disciples from every peak gather there, each skilled in different arts and sword techniques. They will make suitable opponents for you."

"There, you can not only temper your killing intent through actual combat, but also see different cultivation paths and make up for the shortcomings of shutting yourself away to build a cart behind closed doors. If you want to secure a place in the top thirty-six of the Hundred-Day Grand Examination, sufficient combat experience is absolutely essential."

Jiang Xuan said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. I'll give it my all."

Jiang Xuan felt no resistance toward going to the martial arena to temper his killing intent.

With a sharp blade in hand, killing intent arose on its own.

After half a month of bitter cultivation, Jiang Xuan was also eager to try. He wanted to test whether the edge of the sword in his hand was sharp enough.

Thus, after receiving her guidance, not the slightest thought of hesitation arose within him.

However, though he agreed quickly, Jiang Xuan did not set off at once.

After bidding Granny Blue farewell, Jiang Xuan first headed toward the small courtyard he had in Yellow Mud Village.

By now, he no longer lived in the residence Xia He had originally arranged for him. Instead, he had personally built a set of rooms in a corner of the village near Winter Valley.

He had chosen this place not to cultivate near Winter Valley, nor because others had excluded him.

The main reason Jiang Xuan chose to live here was:

"Whoosh!"

As Jiang Xuan arrived at his doorway, the first thing that entered his sight was three large characters—Profound Heart Abbey.

Pushing open the door, he saw only the words "Heaven and Earth" hanging in the center of the main hall, their brushwork vigorous and forceful, their artistic conception profound.

Yes, Jiang Xuan had moved the Daoist abbey where he had "taken up employment" from Green Bamboo Town to Yellow Mud Village.

And his residence was more than just a Daoist abbey.

Beside the small courtyard stood a two-story building, with three bold characters written upon it—Scripture Repository!