Chapter 163: Return
The scene before him dissolved like ink dispersing in water. “…”
His scattered thoughts gradually cleared, and Song Yan regained consciousness within the Twin Jade Realm.
This was his third descent into the illusory realm, and he had grown accustomed to the discomfort that followed each exit.
But unlike the previous two times, this time there seemed to be no lingering spiritual essence left by the predecessor for him to absorb and refine.
Perhaps it was because the Qilin Lord was merely an ordinary iron sword, and had later been replaced by Senior Nie Chao.
No matter. The gains from this trip had already been plentiful.
Now he knew what those two treasures left by the predecessor truly were.
Nie Chao, with the aid of the Sword-Robed Taoist, had obtained three scales from that fierce qilin—the beast’s heart-protecting scales—along with three drops of qilin blood essence.
He had used one portion himself, leaving the other two here.
One of these had likely already been taken by the Sect Master.
The heart-protecting scales could be used to refine flying swords, enhance the grade of a sword body, or craft other magical treasures.
The qilin blood essence could be used to strengthen the physical body.
The Useless Sword Box could only hold two flying swords within it, so the Qilin Lord had no choice but to remain in the Twin Jade Realm.
In Song Yan’s subconscious mind, the Qilin Lord was merely an ordinary weapon, and would likely see little use in the future.
He would keep it in the Twin Jade Realm as a keepsake.
After all, it was once wielded by a sword cultivator predecessor.
Hum…
Just as Song Yan prepared to leave the Twin Jade Realm, he keenly noticed that the black and white runes surrounding him were cycling through birth and death at a far faster rate than usual.
And growing faster still.
“Hm?”
Immediately, one by one, ink-black rune patterns broke free from the array, circling around him.
This scene was so familiar.
At one precise moment, these rune patterns surged directly toward him, flooding into the space between Song Yan’s brows.
The sensation of dizziness lasted only a moment.
“This is…”
After sorting through the information in his mind for a moment, a look of astonishment crossed Song Yan’s face.
If he was not mistaken, this was the body-tempering technique the Sword-Robed Taoist had taught to Senior Nie Chao!
A method for refining demonic beast blood essence to strengthen the physical body.
Song Yan’s heart surged with delight.
Such was human nature—when one had already steeled himself for “loss,” yet that misfortune never came, the joy of regaining what was lost far exceeded that of having possessed it from the start.
But after a moment of elation, he sank into contemplation.
Until now, Song Yan had never spoken of the Twin Jade Pearl to anyone.
All knowledge of its miraculous effects, its functions, its patterns of use—everything was based entirely on his own experience and speculation.
His previous two encounters had both involved deceased former owners, with the remnants of their Dao hearts and sword intent still lingering within the blades.
So he had naturally assumed that all ancient swords were like this.
These flying swords had endured centuries of change, and the will of their original owners had long since been worn away by countless events.
These lingering essences could strengthen his own sword qi and increase his cultivation.
They were like a kind of…
Medicine—one without pill toxins, without any side effects whatsoever.
However, the appearance of the Qilin Lord had overturned his previous assumptions.
The situation seemed rather different from what he had imagined.
For a sword cultivator, it was perfectly understandable that inheriting a predecessor’s legacy might slightly elevate one’s Sword Dao cultivation.
But why could the Twin Jade Realm enable him to learn techniques that the predecessor had once practiced?
This sort of knowledge should have reached the level of memory itself.
“…”
“Regardless, it is a good thing.”
After not dwelling on it for long, Song Yan decided to wait until the Sword-Tempering Competition concluded before beginning to cultivate this body-tempering technique.
Within the Small Heavenly Realm, many people might be observing him through the illusory realm. It would not be convenient.
He withdrew from the Twin Jade Realm and opened his eyes.
Xiao He had taken human form and sat primly upon a stone she had fetched from somewhere, watching her with an anxious expression.
Seeing him finally open his eyes, the snake let out a sigh of relief. “You’re finally awake!”
Xiao He did not know what Song Yan had been doing, but he must have her reasons.
What troubled her was that the barrier had already moved past them.
She transformed back into a small snake, her tail wrapping around Little Song’s neck.
“Hurry, hurry! Or we’ll lose!”
Song Yan drew the jade token recording his spirit markings from his waist and discovered that much of the “five” displayed upon it had already dimmed.
Such was the rule of the Sword-Tempering Competition—if a cultivator remained outside the barrier for too long and their spirit markings completely faded, they would be teleported out.
This was primarily to prevent those cultivators who avoided combat from climbing the rankings.
Fortunately, this was only the second barrier movement, and the rate of spirit marking dissipation was still not too rapid.
He had actually spent nearly two hours within the Twin Jade Pearl…
The second barrier movement was already nearing its end.
Xiao He was registered as Song Yan’s personal spirit pet for this assembly. If Song Yan was teleported away, Xiao He would be eliminated as well.
The little snake’s competitive spirit burned fiercely.
“We should still make it in time!”
Song Yan bowed three times toward the self-portrait on the cave wall.
He strode out of the cavern and oriented himself.
Then, with sword qi surging throughout his body and the Cloud-Traversing Intent fully unleashed, he bounded toward the central region of the Sword Tempering Domain.
…
Flowing Cloud Cliff.
Three cultivators lay hidden in a concealed position atop the cliff, their full attention fixed on the hazy white mist beyond the barrier.
Judging by their Daoist robes, they appeared to be disciples of the Sitting Forget Peak.
One at the eighth level of Qi Refining, two at the seventh level.
“Brother Guo, at this hour, will anyone still come?”
One of the cultivators asked, “It doesn’t feel like there are many people around here.”
The cultivator addressed as Brother Guo slowly shook his head.
“Though the distribution is random, there are far too many fellow disciples participating in the Sword Tempering. Overall, the number of people in each region should be roughly equal.”
“However, it’s normal for no one to be here. There are few resource points in the southwest. To the west and northwest, there are some zones marked with spiritual herbs.”
“If we can’t ambush anyone, they’ve probably moved upward.”
The three were naturally lying in wait, hoping to catch any lone cultivator who had just stepped in from beyond the barrier, to earn some spirit markings.
A cultivator who had just crossed into the safe zone from outside the barrier would typically let their guard down, making them easy prey.
Moreover, the terrain of Flowing Cloud Cliff was complex, giving them an excellent tactical advantage, and making concealment simple.
“…Brother Guo!”
The young cultivator was about to say something when he suddenly caught sight of a figure within the white mist beyond the barrier, approaching with astonishing speed.
“Oh?”
The cultivator surnamed Guo also noticed the movement and made an immediate decision. “Zhe, take the left. Long, take the right. I’ll attack from the front. There’s only one of them—we finish this quickly.”
“Understood.”
The three steeled themselves, waiting in silence.
But the speed at which that figure approached felt somehow wrong.
In the blink of an eye, the person’s form had already appeared before them.
Clad in the Daoist robes of the Sword Trial Peak, a sword box strapped to his back.
It was none other than Song Yan.