Torrential Rain Sword Diagram, Memories of an Old Acquaintance

On the way back from the bamboo house, Lin Chen's eyes turned thoughtful.

Spirit Mist Mountain had always been a place of natural beauty and abundant spiritual energy.

Since the Four Seas Merchant Guild arrived, it had spent centuries gradually transforming the mountain into a blessed land.

The Spirit Pool had not formed entirely on its own. A Five Elements Array gathered the earth energy that had accumulated in the mountain over countless years into one place, until it broke through the ground and formed a deep pool.

What gathered in those waters was the essence of the earth.

The guild then refined several thousand-year-old Spirit Herbs and infused the resulting liquid into the pool. Only then was the Spirit Pool truly born.

It was no fortunate accident of nature. People had used an array and spiritual treasures to reshape the mountain's bounty. Human effort had triumphed over nature.

"The earth can nurture all things, and thousand-year-old Spirit Herbs are powerful medicines. Only something like this could cleanse a martial artist's bones and marrow and improve their aptitude."

"This chance at a Spirit Pool Baptism is even more precious than I thought!"

"No wonder Medicine King Valley was willing to pay such a steep price to send someone in."

Lin Chen murmured to himself.

He could already imagine how fierce the competition would be during the Spirit Pool Baptism, even with only four participants.

After all, according to the law of conservation of energy...

The more benefits someone else gained from the Spirit Pool Baptism, the less would remain for him.

"My comprehension is excellent, but my martial arts aptitude is only average. This is my chance to make up for that weakness. I have to seize it!"

Lin Chen made up his mind.

As for his conversation with Sun Rong in the bamboo house...

Sun Rong had not told Lin Chen exactly what to do. He had merely let a few details about the Spirit Pool slip.

But Lin Chen already knew what he needed to do.

"In the end, strength does the talking!"

With that thought, Lin Chen unleashed his Sword Intent.

Within its reach, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth obeyed him as though he were a king whose every command was answered.

"The liquid in the Spirit Pool contains a trace of earth energy. It's a kind of spiritual energy too, but unlike ordinary spiritual energy, it's denser and more solid, making it harder to refine. Normally, it has to be done gradually."

"That's why each Spirit Pool Baptism usually lasts more than half a month. The participants slowly refine the liquid and improve their aptitude bit by bit."

"But if my Sword Intent is strong enough..."

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes at a bluestone in the distance. The next instant, it was silently cut in half.

The sword energy had been so sharp that the two halves still appeared to fit together.

"Every ten-percent increase in Sword Intent multiplies its power severalfold."

"If I can raise my Sword Intent to twenty percent, I should be able to refine the liquid several times faster during the Spirit Pool Baptism!"

Lin Chen had previously hesitated between saving enough experience for Attribute Allocation to reach the third level of the Profound Martial Realm and raising his Sword Intent to twenty percent. Now the choice was clear.

Compared to advancing one level in martial cultivation, stronger Sword Intent would help him far more during the Spirit Pool Baptism.

Lin Chen looked at the [Sword Dao] entry.

[Sword Dao]: Sword Intent 10% (2863/10000)

Lin Chen silently did the math.

Even if he invested all the experience he had accumulated, he would only have a little over seven thousand points. He would still be more than two thousand short.

But there was a way to solve that.

The Spirit Pool Baptism would begin in six months. He could keep grinding for that long and reliably gain over two hundred experience points each month.

Besides...

Lin Chen smiled faintly. It was time to let his money do the work.

He had spent these years on Spirit Mist Mountain, but a wisp of his divided consciousness had been grinding in the Astral Wind Wasteland day and night.

Since he entered the Profound Martial Realm, the grinding area had risen in level. Along with the advancement of his Life-Bound Divine Artifact, both the drop rate and the quality of items he obtained in the Astral Wind Wasteland had improved significantly.

Tier-two equipment and rare ores, once seldom seen, now turned up from time to time.

For instance, over the past three years, Lin Chen had obtained a top-grade tier-two Purefire Sword. But his Life-Bound Divine Artifact had swallowed every weapon and piece of equipment he found.

Most of the other materials and crystal cores had been sold directly to the Four Seas Merchant Guild's branch on Spirit Mist Mountain in exchange for Spirit Stones.

After years of saving, he had amassed a considerable sum of Spirit Stones in his Storage Ring.

Now was the time to put them to use.

Once back at his courtyard, Lin Chen immediately summoned Liu Yun.

"Liu Yun, go to the Book Pavilion."

Lin Chen took out a bag of Spirit Stones and handed it to Liu Yun, who stood beside him. "Borrow an ancient illustration from the collection that can help me comprehend the Sword Dao. Choose the Torrential Rain Sword Diagram."

Liu Yun accepted the bag and answered at once.

"Rest assured, Young Master. I'll borrow the Torrential Rain Sword Diagram right away." Efficient as ever, Liu Yun set off immediately.

A few hours later, Liu Yun returned with a long, narrow black iron case.

"Young Master, this is the Torrential Rain Sword Diagram."

"According to Elder Xu of the Book Pavilion, it was painted centuries ago by a senior swordsman skilled in water and lightning techniques, after he witnessed a sudden change in the heavens. The painting contains the true essence of his Sword Intent."

"It costs eight thousand Spirit Stones to borrow for a month."

Lin Chen nodded, took the iron case, and went to his cultivation room.

Inside was no jade slip, only a dark-colored scroll made of something that was neither silk nor paper.

Lin Chen slowly unfurled it. A damp, oppressive air seemed to spill from the painting.

He looked closer. Ink-dark clouds rolled like raging waves, layer upon layer bearing down on the earth.

Deep within their swirling mass, lightning writhed, illuminating a rugged mountainside. Though the flashes had not yet struck, thunder seemed to rumble in his ears.

Not a single drop of rain appeared in the painting. Yet the heavy clouds and dancing lightning brought the tension of an approaching downpour to its peak.

"The storm is coming, but it hasn't arrived yet."

After that, Lin Chen rarely left his quarters.

He hung the Torrential Rain Sword Diagram in his cultivation room and sat before its storm clouds and lightning each day, quietly contemplating it.

His mind seemed to sink into the violent sky. He felt the shifting clouds, the paths of the lightning, and the overwhelming force of a downpour that had yet to begin but was certain to come.

Whenever inspiration struck, a faint sword hum echoed through the quiet room. At times the air grew heavy and still, like the hush before a storm; at others, a flash of sharp energy vanished as quickly as lightning split the sky.

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and Lin Chen returned the Torrential Rain Sword Diagram.

"It can't compare to the Sword Diagram that young man gave me."

"That one drew me right into the scene and brought me straight into the Sword Dao."

"This Sword Diagram has a trace of the Sword Dao's essence and is no ordinary object, but it still falls far short."

Lin Chen sighed.

Only after comparing two things could he truly see the gap between them.

"More than ten years have gone by in a flash. I wonder what opportunities that young man has found. Anyone who could give away a Sword Diagram like that can't be ordinary. Perhaps I'll meet him again someday..."