Where the Sword Point Reaches, My Sword Dao Extends

He was just about to establish his foundation, and his senior sister already had an Eight-Pattern Foundation Establishment Pill on hand.

She also happened to have a Spirit-Gathering Array and a vast supply of spirit stones ready.

And there happened to be a sword cultivation manual that suited him perfectly.

His current condition also happened to be at its limit: his spiritual energy was completely depleted, and he had been swept into a killing frenzy.

Though every step had been calculated, warmth rose in Li Yang's heart.

For once, his unreliable master had actually put some thought into him.

However, this Eight-Pattern Foundation Establishment Pill must have been a personal gift from Senior Sister Ning Xinyao, since his master had already given him a Seven-Pattern Pill.

As expected of an elite from an Ancient Immortal Lineage-she was remarkably generous.

He had heard that the Ning Lineage excelled at alchemy, and its head was also the leader of the Kun Province Alchemy Alliance. Perhaps his senior sister had refined it herself.

Li Yang immediately calmed his mind.

After swiftly comprehending the Blood Sea Asura Sword Art, he began circulating it.

With the Spirit-Gathering Array's help, vast quantities of spiritual energy surged wildly into his body through his acupoints.

Along with the pure spiritual energy from the high-grade spirit stones, the killing intent filling his body inside and out circulated through his meridians, merging completely with that energy.

The killing intent was viciously sharp, and sweat beaded on Li Yang's forehead.

It felt as though his meridians were being ravaged.

In ordinary combat, killing intent merely clung to his attacks.

Now, however, the Killing Intent had fully entered his body, forcing his tender flesh and meridians to endure its terrible torment.

But if he mastered this art, his combat strength would be terrifying. Fighting above his cultivation level would become as commonplace as eating a meal.

Yet Li Yang felt that something was wrong.

The Blood Sea Asura Sword Art was a sword cultivator's cultivation method, but his current state felt more like the path of Demon Cultivators pursuing the Dao of slaughter.

"Junior Brother, why did you stop?" Ning Xinyao asked, startled.

She was pouring all her strength into the inverted pill furnace's defenses, keeping every one of Golden Dragon's attacks outside.

"This isn't my Dao." Li Yang opened his eyes and shook his head.

Despite its name, the Blood Sea Asura Sword Art's foundation establishment process contained nothing belonging to a sword cultivator.

Still, this cultivation method had shown Li Yang clearly what path he wanted to walk.

"Then you're not going to break through?" Ning Xinyao asked in astonishment.

Li Yang stroked his broken sword.

It had lost all its spirituality, but after his many years of wielding it, the sword intent upon its blade had never dispersed.

"My sword intent..."

Li Yang could sense how frighteningly sharp his sword intent was. It pressed relentlessly forward, just like his killing intent.

It possessed the utmost sharpness, carrying his determination to slay his enemies.

This was the Dao contained within his sword intent, and the direction his sword Dao followed.

"I fear neither power nor karmic consequences. Where the sword point reaches, my sword Dao extends!"

Understanding seemed to dawn on Li Yang, and his heart grew ever clearer.

The nascent form of a sword heart suddenly appeared.

Though it had yet to fully coalesce, Li Yang's entire aura seemed to transform, becoming even sharper!

Ning Xinyao was startled.

Vaguely, she sensed in this junior brother an aura she had only ever felt from the ancestors of the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect.

Its strength was nowhere close. What mattered was that "intent," which stood above ordinary sword cultivators.

This junior brother will probably form a sword heart very soon. What a monster!

Compared to him, I'm just a jack-of-all-trades wearing a sword cultivator's cloak.

Li Yang had already given up.

But suddenly, as though inspiration had blessed him, he began forming a sword heart, saw his path clearly, and understood how to walk it.

He immediately closed his eyes again and absorbed spiritual energy with all his strength.

But first, he dispersed the small amount of spiritual energy stored in his dantian and began establishing his foundation anew.

He still merged killing intent into the spiritual energy.

This time, however, another intent joined it-sword intent!

Killing intent was a fusion of thought and will accumulated through slaughter.

It was powerful, with its sharp edge fully exposed.

But the Dao of slaughter was a demonic Dao.

Li Yang took it upon himself to eradicate demons and defend the Dao. If he simply infused his spiritual energy with killing intent, how would he differ from the demon cultivators he hated and despised?!

Killing intent could only assist him. It could never govern the sword Dao Li Yang cultivated.

Sword intent, however, was a sword cultivator's understanding of heaven and earth, of being human, and of the sword Dao he cultivated. It was an extension of his own will.

This was his Dao.

Once he understood this, his breakthrough came as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

He swallowed both Foundation Establishment Pills at once, and their immense medicinal power erupted within him.

Spiritual energy, killing intent, and sword intent-three different energies and wills merged, gathering in his dantian.

A sea of blood slowly appeared!

It had been red before as well, but this sea of blood was now more condensed, thicker than the Blood River Path's blood river.

Yet within this sea of blood,

countless phantom figures appeared.

They were all beings Li Yang had killed since beginning his cultivation: humans, evil fiends, and demonic beasts.

They packed his dantian so densely that they filled every inch.

But in the next instant-

Clang!

A sword's cry erupted within his dantian.

It was born from every drop in the sea of blood, rising from the ground and slaughtering every phantom in an instant.

They could not even utter cries such as "Give me back my life" or "Do you regret killing me?" that might give rise to heart demons.

They were not worthy.

When Li Yang killed, he sought only a clear conscience.

Every being he had slain had deserved its death.

I killed you while you lived. How could you affect me in the slightest after death!

They were all cut down, piling into a foundation platform of white bones within the sea of blood.

There was not a trace of sinister evil in it, only a murderous solemnity that could shatter an evil fiend's liver and gall with terror.

At last-

His foundation was established!

Now that he thought about it, when he had first reached the perfection of Qi Refining, Li Yang had felt that it was essentially Foundation Establishment.

But now that he had truly entered this realm, he no longer thought so.

Perfection was perfection, and Foundation Establishment was Foundation Establishment. They could not be compared. Qi Refining perfection remained in the mortal dust; Foundation Establishment crossed the threshold into immortality.

The difference was clouds and mud, sky and earth, worlds apart, utterly distinct, a gulf as vast as heaven and the abyss...

Li Yang had not opened his eyes, yet he "saw" everything around him.

Ning Xinyao, gritting her teeth as she maintained the pill furnace's defenses;

Maid Xiao Feng, casting worried glances his way;

Golden Dragon and Gu Zang outside the pill furnace, doing everything they could to break it open;

And-

Li Yang's divine sense extended farther beyond his body, sweeping outward in an instant.

One hundred meters... five hundred meters... one thousand meters... two thousand meters!

He had only just established his foundation, yet his divine sense already exceeded the reach of an ordinary cultivator at Foundation Establishment perfection, spanning a full four li!

Even Li Yang found it unbelievable.

He knew perfectly well that a Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense ranged from ten to one thousand meters.

Cultivators of the divine or soul paths naturally had a greater reach.

But he was a sword cultivator!

Could it be because I've lived two lives? Li Yang speculated.

Once his divine sense covered four li,

Li Yang saw four cultivators enter that range first. They were unmistakably outstanding prodigies.

He had sensed their auras before in Yongning Commandery. They must have belonged to the group of prodigies lying in wait for the Qiu Lineage young lady's wedding.

There had been nine prodigies in total, all formidable.

"Where is Miss Bai Nishang?"

Their objective was clear.

Gu Zang frowned. "What do you mean by this? Weren't you courting the Third Miss of the Qiu Lineage?"

A male cultivator snorted coldly and tossed over a woman's severed head.

"Court her? Is she worthy?"

Another male cultivator likewise snorted. "She actually concealed the fact that she was already at the second level of Qi Refining, trying to muddy the waters so her Qiu Lineage could profit.

"She played us prodigies from our various sects in the palm of her hand. Once this is over, I'll wipe out every last member of the Qiu Lineage!"

Another male cultivator spoke harshly. "Enough nonsense. Where is Miss Bai? Hand her over!"

Hearing this, Gu Zang furrowed his brows.

"The second level of Qi Refining? What if a mortalized body really can cultivate with the help of various rare treasures?"

A handsome male cultivator holding a feather fan scoffed and shook his head.

"Absolutely impossible! With the complete Mortal Transfiguration Reincarnation Secret Art, no method can set someone upon the path of immortal cultivation. Otherwise, why would it be called 'Mortal Transfiguration'? Unless the cultivation method is incomplete-but the Ning Lineage is an Ancient Immortal Lineage. The authenticity of its cultivation method is beyond question."

The male cultivator's gaze turned searching. "Judging by your words-Miss Bai Nishang has also become a Qi Refining cultivator?"

At those words,

Gu Zang's eyes immediately darkened like deep water.

He promptly brought Bai Nishang out of the pendant.

With a smile that never reached his eyes, he asked the others, "Miss Nishang is here, but she has already given her heart to me. If you don't believe it, feel free to verify it."

He had no way to prove whether Bai Nishang was the Household Ancestor Ning's mortalized body, so he used these words to get someone else to confirm it.

The male cultivator was extraordinarily handsome and wore the inner disciple robes of the Supreme Truth Jade Radiance Palace.

The Supreme Truth Jade Radiance Palace was one of Kun Province's foremost Dao lineages, and this man really did have a way to verify it.

With a turn of his hand, he produced a Formation Plate containing a miniature third-grade Spirit Sword. Its blade was slender, making it obvious at a glance that it had belonged to a woman.

"The Ning Lineage's ancestor who underwent Mortal Transfiguration is named Ning Qingfeng. In her youth, she cultivated at our Supreme Truth Jade Radiance Palace. This sword was once hers, and my master paid an enormous price to obtain it.

"The Formation Plate is called the Karmic Tracking Array.

"However, because she has a mortalized body, it can only locate her within a certain distance."

As he activated the Formation Plate, a red light soon appeared.

He rejoiced. "It lit up! That means the Household Ancestor Ning's mortalized body is right here!"

Hearing this, Gu Zang breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he had not turned hostile just now on the strength of one-sided claims.

But that was not the end of it.

Not only did the Formation Plate glow red, but the red light also formed an arrow.

The male cultivator was startled. "Not only is her mortalized body right here, but she has also gained some insight recently, strengthening the array's detection!"

Then everyone saw that the arrow pointed unmistakably toward-Maid Xiao Feng!

Everyone was shocked.

Gu Zang in particular had not only a dark gaze, but a terrifyingly grim expression as well.

Bai Nishang vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

All the beautiful visions of her future in her mind were gradually shattering.

She looked at Xiao Feng, gritting her teeth.

"Xiao Feng! As your mistress, I order you to kill yourself immediately!"