Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture

A journey of a dozen or so miles.

Zhou Yi arrived in half an hour.

According to his memories, Xiahou the Swordsman had seen Xiaoqian bathing by the river, then been consumed by lust and killed by the Old Granny.

"Number One Swordsman Under Heaven, even if he knew no Daoist arts, should not have been killed so easily..."

"The tree demon sent her female ghosts as the vanguard. It was absolutely not as simple as lowering her guard!"

Zhou Yi searched along the riverbed. There was only this one river nearby, unless Xiahou the Swordsman had survived or someone else had gotten there first.

On the first day, he searched an area of several dozen miles and found nothing.

By evening, Zhou Yi had returned to the Golden Saber Sect. The ghosts of Black Mountain and even the Number One Swordsman Under Heaven had fallen there. He did not wish to risk himself.

For the next three days, Zhou Yi carefully searched around the river. Finally, beside a cold pool, he discovered a dried corpse.

The corpse seemed to have been dead for over a century. Its bones broke with the slightest touch.

A long sword stood embedded in the ground nearby, along with a discarded bundle.

"Who could have imagined that the Number One Swordsman Under Heaven would die silently in the wilderness?"

Zhou Yi packed away the bundle and the sword, dug a pit, and buried the dried corpse. He piled stones into a grave. He did not erect a marker to state whose grave it was. Otherwise, if someone discovered the grave of the Number One Swordsman Under Heaven, they would most likely dig it up.

Only after returning all the way to the Golden Saber Sect in Guo Bei County and finding no trace of the tree demon did Zhou Yi finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhou Yi tested Xiahou the Swordsman's sword. It could cut a hair blown against its edge and slice through iron like mud. His Ghost Head Saber, forged through a hundred refinements, was left with a half-inch notch by a single strike.

Two words were carved on the sword's hilt: Purple Lightning.

"Good sword, good name!"

Zhou Yi used the Purple Lightning Sword to perform the Wind Breaking Saber Technique. It was smooth and fluid, without the slightest sense of awkwardness.

Having reached great mastery in the Wind Breaking Saber Technique, he was no longer bound by the distinction between saber and sword techniques.

He opened the bundle. Inside was a stack of banknotes worth at least a thousand taels, which he casually tossed aside.

There was also a sandalwood box. Inside, after it was opened, were two volumes of scriptures.

"Xiahou Sword Scripture... A sword technique named after himself. That truly carries the arrogance of the Number One Swordsman Under Heaven!"

Zhou Yi read through the sword scripture. It contained not only various sword techniques, but also Xiahou the Swordsman's notes and insights in the margins.

"Judging from this writing, Xiahou the Swordsman had no shallow attainments in Daoist arts. Some of the principles explained here faintly align with Daoist classics..."

Zhou Yi read it several times until he had thoroughly memorized it. The Xiahou Sword Scripture appeared under the spell section of his attribute panel.

Spell: Xiahou Sword Scripture

Proficiency: None (+)

Description: A sword technique created by the mortal swordsman Xiahou. Only its sword speed is worth a look.

"The Gateway to Myriad Wonders truly has high standards. The sword technique of the Number One Swordsman Under Heaven is merely worth a look."

Zhou Yi set aside the sword scripture and opened the other volume.

The Xiahou Sword Scripture had been recorded on ordinary paper, but this volume felt as though it was made from some kind of tanned beast hide.

"Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture."

"It is actually a method for cultivating sword qi!"

Zhou Yi looked delighted as he opened it and began reading.

Compared to the Xiahou Sword Scripture's tens of thousands of words, the Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture contained only a few hundred words, along with nine illustrations marking the human body's acupoints.

Spell: Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture

Rank: Tier 1

Proficiency: None

Description: Created by True Person Ziyang of the Daoist tradition. Refine Internal Qi into sword qi. Purple Sun Qi is grand and righteous, and restrains demons and evil beings.

"Previously, whether it was stance training, saber techniques, sword techniques, or palm techniques, none had a rank marked. Does that mean they are rankless, at Tier 0?"

Zhou Yi found that somewhat difficult to accept. In half a year, he had brought his stance training to perfection. Though he had relied on Origin, it had still made him rather proud.

From an ordinary person unable to restrain even a chicken, he could now wrestle a fierce tiger without difficulty.

Yet the Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture had dealt him a harsh blow. His stance training, saber techniques, and palm techniques were all merely low-class martial arts methods.

"As expected of a secret method from a Daoist True Man. This is already an immortal path spell. The Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture cannot be improved. It seems the prerequisite is to cultivate Internal Qi first."

Zhou Yi opened his attribute panel.

Name: Zhou Yi (Other Self)

Race: Human

Cultivation: None

Lifespan: 17/89

Origin: 145 (+2 points/day)

Talent: Great Luo;

Aptitude: Earth (1)

Cultivation Method: Primordial Chaos Stance (Perfection);

Spells: Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture (None); Xiahou Sword Scripture (+); Wind Breaking Saber Technique (Great Mastery +); Great Tablet Breaking Hand (Great Mastery +)

Divine Abilities: None

Equipment: None

"After Origin made up for my Innate deficiencies, my lifespan has reached the level of an ordinary person. Practicing External Forging stance training originally harms one's lifespan, yet Origin has also erased those hidden injuries."

"The Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture must be my primary spell. However, mortal cultivation methods and spells consume little Origin, so I should not neglect them either."

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment and settled on his future plan.

With a thought, he spent Origin Points.

Wind Breaking Saber Technique (Perfection).

Countless experiences with the saber flowed into him, allowing Zhou Yi to instantly understand how to strike even faster.

Wind has no constant direction, water has no constant form.

After the Wind Breaking Saber Technique reached perfection, Zhou Yi could strike a little faster whether he was facing the wind or following it.

Great Tablet Breaking Hand (Perfection).

In martial cultivation, a palm technique was indispensable. Though weapons had greater killing power, one could not die without fighting with bare hands.

His two hands and two palms were far more convenient than saber and sword techniques in moments of crisis. Moreover, reaching perfection in the Great Tablet Breaking Hand raised the upper limit of Zhou Yi's hand strength by another measure.

Greater strength naturally meant faster saber and sword strikes, as well as stronger killing power.

Zhou Yi struck the air with a palm. His fierce force compressed the air and produced a bang.

"Palm technique experience is different from saber technique experience. Even after reaching perfection, I must practice daily until my palm force matches my experience. Only then can I exert greater power."

Zhou Yi spent another fifteen Origin Points and directly raised the Xiahou Sword Scripture to perfection.

Xiahou the Swordsman's lifetime of swordsmanship experience was entirely absorbed by Zhou Yi. Some of the principles of swordsmanship brought Zhou Yi great gains.

This sword scripture had already touched upon the cultivation of sword intent. Its true intent was speed: when the eye sees, the sword arrives; when the heart reaches, the sword reaches.

The Xiahou Sword Scripture and the Wind Breaking Saber Technique were both rankless spells, yet there was an enormous difference between them.

At the same level of perfection, the Xiahou Sword Scripture's sword speed was at least more than twice that of the Wind Breaking Saber Technique.

When experts fought, a difference of a hair could decide life and death, let alone a difference of more than twofold.

In theory, two people with the same martial cultivation level—one with a perfected Xiahou Sword Scripture could instantly kill one with a perfected Wind Breaking Saber Technique.

If one understood sword intent, the gap would be even greater.

"The Xiahou Sword Scripture should already be at the pinnacle among rankless spells!"

Zhou Yi closed his eyes and contemplated the swordsmanship experience. Unfortunately, sword intent relied entirely on comprehension. It was not something that could be cultivated merely by filling up one's experience.

According to Xiahou the Swordsman's notes, top swordsmen could have a chance of comprehending corresponding sword intent under extreme emotions such as immense sorrow, immense joy, great hatred, or great love.

Xiahou the Swordsman's sword intent was speed. Its meaning was to seize speed beyond all under heaven. He had comprehended it when he had defeated a hundred swordsmen one by one with a single strike each.

"Such a thing as sword intent is too personal and too dependent on one's mind. There is no need to rush. With my perfected Wind Breaking Saber Technique's understanding of wind, in terms of sword speed alone, I am already a bit faster than Xiahou the Swordsman at the same cultivation level!"

Zhou Yi closed the scripture and buried the Purple Lightning Sword several feet beneath his bed.

There was no need to destroy it. Within a few years, Zhou Yi would reach Xiahou the Swordsman's level of strength, and then he would no longer need to fear the calamity of possessing a precious treasure.

"The most urgent matter now is obtaining a method for Internal Refining. Once I have Internal Qi, I can cultivate the Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture!"

"I wonder how much stronger a ranked spell is than ordinary martial arts!"