The Sword Dao Seed throbbed like a heart!
Sword Qi surged all around, crying out without restraint!
At a certain instant, all the Sword Qi abruptly withdrew, and time seemed to stop.
Then something seemed to gently cut a slit in the seed.
A wisp of spiritual light with an unmistakable sharpness drifted out, forming a tiny sword that hovered upright above the Dao Seed. It then slowly descended, sinking halfway into the Sword Dao Seed.
The Sword Dao Seed, once like a lifeless object, now seemed alive, trembling slowly.
The tiny sword atop it hummed softly in turn.
"This is..."
Understanding suddenly dawned in Song Yan's heart.
"An embryonic sword intent?!"
"...No, something isn't right."
Delight first filled his heart, but doubt soon followed.
"It isn't sword intent..."
The Sword-Planting Technique stated that sword intent was sword Dao will. Song Yan had barely spent a few days properly practicing swordsmanship, so how could he possibly possess sword intent?
Upon examining it closely, he found that this so-called "sword intent" did not contain the spiritual spark described in the Sword-Planting Technique.
Then what was it...?
He thought through the entire Spirit Transformation Chapter from beginning to end, but still found no mention of this strange situation.
Aside from Sword Qi and spiritual power, only two things could exist upon the Sword Dao Seed: the "heart of the Dao-seeker" and "sword Dao will" mentioned earlier in the Sword-Planting Technique.
"...The heart of the Dao-seeker?"
In the past, a sword cultivator's sword comprised two things. One was the sword's physical body, equivalent to today's flying sword.
The other was the true foundation: the Life-Bound Flying Sword.
A Life-Bound Flying Sword required a heart of the Dao-seeker and embryonic sword Dao will, supplemented with Sword Qi and spiritual power and refined day and night, before it could take shape.
When attacking, the Life-Bound Flying Sword could attach itself to the sword's physical body or be wielded independently.
If the physical sword shattered, it could still be remade, but if the Life-Bound Flying Sword was damaged, the cultivator would suffer a fall in cultivation at best, or death and the extinction of their Dao at worst.
Truly, as long as the sword endured, its wielder lived; when the sword shattered, its wielder died.
The heart of the Dao-seeker originally had neither form nor substance. Once life-bound sword intent took shape, it would naturally merge with that sword intent.
For some sword cultivators, the two were in fact mutually complementary, each containing a part of the other.
However, there was also a rarer possibility.
That was when the heart of the Dao-seeker and sword Dao will shared one origin and appeared simultaneously.
Perhaps Xie Tianji's intense devotion to the Sword Dao had now been conveyed through this sword calligraphy and, through the wondrous effects of the Two-Pole Bead, resonated with Song Yan's intense obsession with pursuing the Great Dao of Longevity and the Dao Seed within the Sword Mansion of the Dao-Subduing...
The heart of the Dao-seeker had actually become part of a Life-Bound Flying Sword first, appearing within the Sword Mansion of the Dao-Subduing!
"But... even if it is the heart of the Dao-seeker, it seems incomplete."
Of course it was incomplete.
Because this was actually Xie Tianji's heart of the Dao-seeker, not Song Yan's.
It was only because this Dao heart and intent had much in common with his own "thoughts," and had drawn upon the Two-Pole Bead and the Sword Mansion of the Dao-Subduing, that the present situation had arisen.
Comprehending the Dao was no easy feat.
Even the mortal Xie Tianji, an unparalleled prodigy in his own right, had exhausted half his life before attaining such a state of mind.
At last, Song Yan roughly sorted out his conjectures.
"It's a good thing, at least."
He let out a long breath and gazed calmly at the calligraphy before him. After a moment of silence, he carefully put it away.
To be honest, Song Yan had always considered himself dull-witted and had never imagined he could touch upon such intangible things, which sounded so dependent on insight.
"A chance encounter, a moment of blessed inspiration-truly beyond words."
He gathered his thoughts, sat cross-legged on the stone bed, and carefully contemplated this heart of the Dao-seeker.
Mountains and rushing rivers, swaying grasses and trees, roaring beasts and singing birds, flying insects and swimming fish...
Wind and rain lashing together, lightning flashing and thunder rumbling, clouds parting and mist dispersing, the sun rising and snow falling...
Joy, anger, sorrow, delight; love, hatred, affection, enmity; life, death, parting, separation; the myriad faces of living beings...
Strangely, this heart of the Dao-seeker was unbound and unrestrained, encompassing all things. Song Yan seemed to glimpse an epiphany, yet no matter what he did, he could not grasp it, and simply let it dissipate.
"What a profound and wondrous realm..."
Song Yan was neither discouraged nor disappointed. Instead, an inexplicable joy welled up within him.
Thinking that even a mediocrity like himself could comprehend a Dao heart through a chance encounter, incomplete though it was, he felt his chest suddenly open with relief. In the end, he did possess one.
Had he not burned his boats that day, severing his spiritual root and dispersing his cultivation to start anew, precisely to defy heaven and change his fate like this?
Why could he not stand at the center of this world, competing for the Great Dao of Longevity alongside those prodigies of the immortal path and outstanding talents of the sects!
Wisps of Spiritual Qi drifted slowly toward him, following the breathing rhythm of the Qi Condensation Scroll into his meridians, gathering in the Qi sea of his Dantian, and slowly nourishing the Dao Seed beneath the Sword Mansion, which had already formed a sword.
"My spiritual power cultivation is much faster than before."
"It's even a little faster than before I severed my spiritual root."
Moreover, he had already traveled this winding path of cultivation once. Thinking about it now, it should not take long for him to return to Qi Refining, fifth layer.
Song Yan did not dawdle and immediately settled into cultivating his spiritual power.
Over the following days, he worked tirelessly, cultivating his spiritual power and practicing the Sword-Controlling Technique every day.
With pills and the Spirit Gathering Formation to assist him, his cultivation advanced a thousand miles a day.
However, his cultivation resources were consumed at an astonishing rate, and he soon found himself stretched thin. Thus, Song Yan occasionally went to the Sect Affairs Hall to take on somewhat challenging sect missions, such as slaying low-tier Demon Beasts or gathering medicinal herbs.
On one hand, he earned Spirit Stones and pills to ensure his cultivation needs were met. On the other, he could combine his daily practice of the Sword-Controlling Technique with actual combat, thereby advancing his Sword Dao.
It was not that Song Yan had never considered taking up the Dao of Alchemy again, but refining Qi-Nourishing Pills, which he had mastered, no longer held much value. The profit in Spirit Stones was simply too low, while taking them himself produced very little effect.
As for other pills, he did not know how to refine them. Starting from scratch would require more time and effort than it was worth.
"As for alchemy, it won't be too late to make plans once I reach the late Qi Refining stage and enter the Inner Sect."
Like many sects, the Dongyuan Sect had a basic advancement system.
If outer sect disciples could reach the late Qi Refining stage-that is, at least the seventh layer of Qi Refining-they could report to the sect and apply for the Inner Sect Trial.
Passing the trial would allow them to advance to become inner sect disciples.
At that point, they would no longer need to be troubled by monthly chores and sundry duties. If he truly wished to take up the Dao of Alchemy again, he only needed to seek guidance humbly, and the Pill Academy elders would offer some pointers.
It could be said that inner sect disciples and outer sect disciples held entirely different positions.
That night, on Lianyou Peak.
A female cultivator came treading through the moonlight. Her bearing was cool and aloof, her frost-colored silk robes unstained by dust, and an Ice-Soul Spirit Jade Hairpin adorned her raven-dark hair.
She lowered her sword light and stepped down, ice lotuses blooming beneath her toes with every step, only to shatter into fine snow an instant later.
"Senior Sister Qin!"
Several female cultivators guarding the mountain came forward to greet her.
"Mm."
"It's late. You should all rest early, junior sisters."
Though this female cultivator's face seemed as cold as frost, her voice was gentle, and she was very kindhearted.
"With me here, nothing will happen."
The female cultivators could not help bowing gratefully.
Guarding the mountain was an extremely tedious chore that also drained their mental strength. Now, with these words from Senior Sister Qin, one of the sect's prodigies, they were spared that toil.
She returned to her cave abode and stopped before the entrance.
A Sound Transmission Jade Talisman hovered above it.
Her brows creased slightly as she took down the Sound Transmission Talisman with apparent reluctance. Only after roughly learning the situation did the worry between her brows slowly ease.
"A sect mission..."
"That works. Younger Sister Qingqing took part in the struggle at Silent Valley before, so she has some experience fighting others."
"I'll send her, then..."
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