Chapter 339: Chapter 216: Explanation
Li Yuan Ba had been a disciple under Elder Jian for a year now, and throughout this year, he had hardly ever left Ten Thousand Sword Peak.
The main reason was that he needed to switch his main cultivation technique, which for a cultivator meant shattering the Spirit Lake within the body and cultivating anew.
Luckily, both “Ten Thousand Sword Cultivation Technique” and “Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique” belong to the realm of Sword Cultivation Techniques, and even though he was recultivating, he could still maintain his Foundation Establishment Stage without falling back to the Qi Refinement Realm.
If he had chosen to recultivate a Magic Cultivation technique or some other non-sword cultivation technique, he would have needed to start over from the Qi Refinement Realm, which would have taken much longer.
A cultivator’s time is precious. While cultivators have a lifespan of over a hundred years in the Qi Refinement Realm and can live up to two hundred years in the Foundation Establishment Stage, the time available for cultivation is always tight.
One can cultivate at most for one hundred and fifty years in the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment stages combined, if one doesn’t break through to the Golden Core Stage, there’s no chance for further progress.
The reason it’s said to be one hundred and fifty years is that after reaching the age of one hundred and fifty, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s body begins to age, and if they can maintain their level of cultivation without decline, that’s already an accomplishment, it’s essentially impossible to make another breakthrough.
Li Yuan Ba was gifted with a Heavenly Spirit Root, and also because his Qi Refinement foundations were extremely solid, he was able to switch to cultivating the top-level sword cultivation technique “Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique” successfully within a year.
His realm was roughly the same as it had been a year prior, yet the change in his strength was significant.
Only after encountering “Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique” did he understand the gap between the two techniques.
“Ten Directions Sword Cultivation Technique” focuses on constantly honing Sword Intent within the body, while “Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique” not only has the effects of honing Sword Intent as “Ten Directions Sword Cultivation Technique” does, it can also absorb external Sword Intent for one’s own use.
Whenever he practiced the “Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique,” he could absorb the Sword Intent surrounding Ten Thousand Sword Peak into his body, enhancing his own Sword Intent.
Li Yuan Ba also gradually became aware of the secret of Ten Thousand Sword Peak; the peak itself could be considered a colossal magic artifact.
Indeed, Ten Thousand Sword Peak as a whole is a magic artifact, originally a magnetic mountain, into which the Sword Cultivation sect poured a vast amount of resources over generations. The sword cultivators who had mastered Sword Intent left their own flying swords on the mountain.
This process of crafting the magic artifact took countless years.
A sword cultivator experiences several instances of changing flying swords in their lifetime, each time, corresponding to a major leap in their cultivation realm.
During the Qi Refinement Realm, sword cultivators use magic artifact flying swords. In the Foundation Establishment Stage, they use spiritual artifact flying swords, and in the Golden Core Stage, they wield treasure-level flying swords.
The discarded flying swords, having been nourished with the sword cultivator’s Sword Intent for a long time, contain a sliver of that Sword Intent.
Perhaps one such flying sword might not be considered significant, but when the number of such swords reaches ten thousand, with five treasure-level flying swords containing powerful Sword Intent at the core, an inconceivably vast legacy magic artifact is created.
The magic artifact like Ten Thousand Sword Peak is beyond what science of the past world could imagine, its forging having taken tens of thousands of years—longer than even the duration of the civilization from the past world.
Li Yuan Ba could surmise that the Sword Cultivation sect, which Elder Jian never named, must have been an extremely splendid one in history; otherwise, they couldn’t have undertaken such a grand project.
Not to mention the materials needed to fill such massive mountain body like Ten Thousand Sword Peak, just acquiring ten thousand flying swords imbued with Sword Intent would probably be more than could be obtained by capturing all the sword cultivators on the Beishu Continent today.
Such a Sword Cultivator legacy magic artifact like Ten Thousand Sword Peak became the root cause of the sect’s destruction when it fell into decline.
Of course, Li Yuan Ba did not feel any sympathy for that Sword Cultivation sect. Sword cultivators were almost non-productive by nature; their resources were almost entirely plundered from others.
When the few elders of the Senluo Sect took over Ten Thousand Sword Peak from that Sword Cultivation sect, it could be considered retribution.
In any case, the benefit was his to enjoy; the spiritual power within him had become more consolidated, and his Sword Intent was now three times what it had been a year ago, all thanks to Ten Thousand Sword Peak.
Li Yuan Ba hadn’t seen his master, Elder Jian, for over a month. Elder Jian held a somewhat special position within the Senluo Sect; he was the strongest Golden Core Stage presence in the sect. Most of the conflicts involving Golden Core Stage cultivators from outside the sect were resolved by Elder Jian.
As he stood at the summit of Ten Thousand Sword Peak, contemplating the Sword Intent, a streak of sword light approached from afar.
“I pay my respects to Master!” he promptly ceased his practice and bowed deeply.
Elder Jian’s aura of Sword Intent was fierce, which was exceedingly rare.
After cultivating “Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique,” Li Yuan Ba understood that restraining the aura of Sword Intent was to better nourish it and ensure that its explosive power would be even more potent when needed.
Elder Jian’s Sword Intent had been restrained for who knows how long, but now that it was emanating from him, it suggested he had faced a powerful enemy and employed his strongest Sword Intent.
“Yuan Ba, prepare yourself to accompany the sect’s cultivators to Jieshan Mountain Pass. A sword cultivator needs combat to temper their Sword Intent, and yours is growing a bit too fast!” Elder Jian said with a smile.
He was very satisfied with Li Yuan Ba’s cultivation speed. Switching one’s main cultivation technique was not easy; the pain of shattering the Spirit Lake and the necessary resolve were not something ordinary people could bear.
Li Yuan Ba’s talent for Sword Cultivation was top-notch, his spirit robust. Everything was simply ideal as Elder Jian had envisioned.
Therefore, his expectations of Li Yuan Ba were even higher, and so were the demands he placed on him.
In the Senluo Sect, only he and Li Yuan Ba were cultivators of the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion, and he was willing to cultivate Li Yuan Ba with all his might.
Elder Jian longed to return to the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion, which was his ambition, but the difficulty was indeed vast.