Chapter 47 - 47: Hidden Treasure in the Little Sacred Token, All the Sword Qi in the World Draws Near
On the way back, the spring rain no longer scattered. The setting sun in the sky ran in the wind, and the light secretly shone from behind, casting a layer of golden light on the long way back to Lin’an.
In the luxurious carriage, Lin Zhuifeng chattered non-stop, venting the shock and excitement in his heart.
Lin Qingyin, on the other hand, sat quietly inside. She pursed her lips and listened, smiling from time to time.
An Le sat upright with the bamboo sword Green Mountain at his waist. The Ink Pool Sword was placed horizontally on his leg, and he was very calm. If outsiders saw him- they would think that the genius who had won the favor of the Mountain Lord and the Little Sacred Token was Lin Zhuifeng, who was swinging a fire stick and was so excited that he could not control himself.
At the peak southwest of the setting sun, the rays of the sun shone for a thousand miles.
Accompanied by the sunset after the spring rain, the carriage drove all the way back to Lin’an Prefecture.
After alighting from the carriage, An Le held two swords at his waist and bid farewell to Lin Zhuifeng and Lin Qingyin with a smile. When the carriage gradually disappeared at the end of Qingbo Street, he turned around and walked towards Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley.
An Le was dressed in white and had a smile on his lips. He was in a good mood.
After breaking through and obtaining the Ink Pool Sword and the Little Sacred Token, he was naturally happy.
When he reached the entrance of the courtyard, he was slightly stunned. He saw a plain-clothed, wide-sleeved old man standing in front of the courtyard with a bamboo cane in his hand. He was holding a pot of wine and a bag of oil paper beef.
Seeing An Le return, the old man’s long eyebrows spread slightly as he raised the wine and meat in his hand.
The smile on An Le’s lips widened as he quickened his pace. He jogged to the courtyard door, took out the key, and entered.
A moment later.
In the courtyard after the new rain, there was wine and meat at a small table.
An Le and the old man drank a cup of wine to celebrate obtaining the Little Sacred Token on the Sixth Mountain today.
Multicolored light shone brightly on the mortal world.
The old man held the Ink Pool Sword and narrowed his eyes as he sized it up. “There are 3,000 hidden swords in the Sixth Mountain Lord’s box. It’s said to contain all the swords in the world. Be it the immortal swords in the sky and the mortal swords on the ground, they are all there.”
The old man’s old tree-like fingers brushed past the sword edge. The Ink Pool Sword trembled slightly, and the sword cry filled the courtyard.
“This Ink Pool Sword is quite interesting. It’s made of ink and is a calligraphy sword. Its current rank can only be considered a sixth-grade sword, but it’s quite suitable for you. You’re good at painting and nurturing the sword with paintings. It can increase the rank of the Ink Pool Sword. Coupled with the Little Sacred Token inside, its rank might be able to break through the limit of this sword in the future.”
The old man praised.
When An Le heard this, he also smiled. “I’ve just entered the second realm of Body Tempering. The Ink Pool Sword is most suitable for me. It’s useless to pursue a high-rank sword if I can’t unleash its power. There’s not much meaning.”
The old man picked up a piece of beef and chuckled. “It’s naturally great that you can be so carefree.”
“Now that you’ve obtained the Little Sacred Token, I should remind you that those who obtain the Little Sacred Token will naturally enter a ranking. It’s called the Little Sacred Ranking, and those who hold the Little Sacred Token will be listed.”
“Obtaining the Little Sacred Token is one of the conditions for conversing with a Sacred Teacher. However, you have to be in the top three of the rankings to have a chance. This is also a test.”
An Le was stunned when he heard this.
“The way to increase your ranking on the rankings is very simple. Challenge.”
“If you win, you can increase your ranking, but every Little Sacred Token holder only has two chances to fail.”
“Once you lose twice, the Little Sacred Token will shatter and you will be removed. Therefore, you have to be careful in the challenge.” The old man chuckled as he drank.
When An Le heard this, his expression gradually turned solemn.
“As for the specific rankings, you’ll know when you go to the Lin Residence. I won’t say anything else.”
The old man did not continue chatting about this. The two of them drank the old yellow wine and admired the setting sun as they chatted about their insights into ink bamboo painting techniques.
When the moon hung in the sky and the wine was gone, the old man stood up and dusted his plain clothes before leaving the courtyard with his bamboo cane.
“After obtaining the Little Sacred Token, you will become famous in Lin’an. Many riches, splendor, and all kinds of extravagant tests will surge over to add you. You will uphold your heart and advance forward. Only then will you not let down your talent and Green Mountain.”
The old man stood in the alley and reminded him seriously and sincerely.
When An Le heard this, he bowed deeply.
“I’ll remember it.”
When the old man heard this, he turned around and walked away. The sound of the bamboo cane echoed in the alley under the moonlight and gradually disappeared into the distance.
An Le retracted his gaze and returned to the courtyard. He sat upright on a chair with the three-foot-long Ink Pool Sword across his legs. He bathed in the cold spring night wind and gradually calmed down.
Although he had obtained the Little Sacred Token, the pressure he had to face next was even greater.
Since he had obtained the Little Sacred Token, he was naturally unwilling to waste time and not advance. He definitely wanted to climb up and meet the Sacred Teacher who was even more mysterious and powerful than Emperor Yuan Meng.
Therefore, advancing forward on the Little Sacred Ranking, becoming the top scorer of the Imperial Examination, and other goals, were all mountains waiting for him to cross.
In the following days, he had to be wary of arrogance and impatience.
Reading, cultivating, and nurturing the sword. These were his objectives.
Letting out a shaky breath, An Le stood up and simply tidied up the courtyard. He placed the flowers and potted plants left behind by the former landlady to the side and bathed in the moonlight in the courtyard to practice the Five Animals.
His Body Tempering cultivation had stepped into the second realm and he had forged the Sword Qi Spirit Bone. As his Qi Blood circulated, his strength surged and carried the power of the Sword Qi Spirit Bone. His strength was much stronger than the first realm.
The Tiger Form became more and more powerful. As its movements changed, it was really like a living tiger roaring in the forest, even causing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to gather.
Then, he practiced the Deer Form, Bear Form, Ape Form, and Bird Form. The power of each form increased greatly. On the Sixth Mountain, he bathed in the sword rain to forge the Five Animals and gained a lot.
A moment later, the boiling Qi Blood slowly stopped. An Le retracted his mental power and closed his eyes to feel the change in the force between the
Spirit Bone. He was familiar with the sudden increase in strength and eruption.
The moon was high in the sky, and the cold night was getting deeper.
An Le sat cross-legged under the old locust tree and began to close his eyes to meditate and visualize his Spirit Refinement.
On the Sixth Mountain, he had not broken through the Embryonic Breath
Realm and stepped into the third realm of Spirit Refinement, Shedding Mortality, so he had not transcended the mortal world. Madam Hua had once said that this realm was extremely important. It was an evolution of the essence of the mind.
An Le took it very seriously. As he visualized, the moonlight seemed to be attracted by it and scattered around his body, as if he was wearing a clean robe.
In the Niwan Palace between his eyebrows, the phantom of a Sword Pool appeared and spread out.
The sword light floated in the air like a dream.
The Ink Pool Sword on his lap that was nurtured by his mental power trembled slightly as if it was about to soar into the sky and fly around him.
However, he was still a little lacking in the end. If he had reached the realm of Shedding Mortality, he might be able to easily control the sword to rise and fall.
Suddenly, An Le’s mind entered the Ink Pool Sword, and a wisp of sword qi circulated.
In An Le’s perception, it was pure, majestic, and sharp.
His mental power gradually sank into the Ink Pool Sword. It seemed to have really transformed into a pool of black water that wrapped An Le’s mental power and kept sinking into it.
That was the hidden treasure contained in the Little Sacred Token, and it was also a simple gift from the Sacred Teacher.
When An Le opened his eyes, he saw a painting slowly unfolding.
A painting appeared in the dark.
An Le felt that he could see a blade of grass, a leaf, a drop of water… Anything could become a sword. Everything in the world contained sword qi!
Sword qi was all around him!
This was a kind of Sword Manipulation technique, a very pure sword move!
It was also obtained by An Le after obtaining the Little Sacred Token this time!
It was not a Spirit Refinement cultivation technique, nor was it a Body
Tempering cultivation technique. It was just a pure sword technique. It did not even have a name. It was as if An Le had drawn an ink painting and captured it.
Under the old locust tree, An Le’s mental power left the Little Sacred Token in the Ink Pool Sword. A sword light seemed to flash under his pupils.
He stood up and could no longer control his facial expression. He grinned and pressed his two fingers together to form a sword. He gently swiped it in front of him, and his mental power seemed to transform into a wisp of fine sword qi, like the string behind a puppet’s neck.
The quiet Ink Pool Sword suddenly left An Le’s body and whistled out. It quickly floated in the air and rampaged, cutting through the air like a fish in a pool cutting through water.
Although he was not riding a sword, the feeling of being able to control a sword from afar made An Le feel very carefree and unrestrained!
Under An Le’s control, the Ink Pool Sword was stabbed into the old locust tree. It trembled slightly and a leaf fell from the tree.
An Le pointed his sword at the old locust tree from afar. The leaves of the old locust tree were actually controlled like swords and swept through the air like flying swords!
This was the Sword Manipulation technique of the Little Sacred Token!
An Le’s eyes sparkled. A blade of grass, a leaf, a drop of water… Everything in the world could hide sword qi. What a domineering sword move!
In the Niwan Palace, the Sword Pool was boiling. His mental power seemed to have strengthened a little at this moment, and he was getting closer and closer to Shedding Mortality.
Outside the alley, in the Imperial Ancestral Temple with four corners and heavy eaves,
The incense was faint.
Zhao Huangting was splashing ink with a brush when he suddenly sensed something and turned to look in the direction of the small courtyard in the alley.
There was a hint of surprise in his eyes.
“The hidden treasure left behind by the Sacred Teacher in the Little Sacred
Token… has been comprehended so quickly?!”
“What a monster…”
Zhao Huangting took a deep breath and smiled. “I, Zhao Huangting, have sharp eyes.”
After using Sword Manipulation for a moment, An Le’s mental power was greatly exhausted and he was slightly tired.
He had a thought.
A long-awaited light screen appeared.
[Name: An Le]
[Age Qi: 3 wisps]
[Age Dao Fruit: Thousand-year Genius (Molten Gold Age Qi 0/2 wisps, 0/100 wisps), Innate Swordsman (Molten Gold Age Qi 0/2 wisps, 0/100 wisps), Collapsing Sword Force (2/10 wisps), Fearless Heart, Demon Tempering
Treasure Jade]
[Cultivation Technique: Sword Waterfall Diagram (1 wisp), Qi Drawing
Breathing Technique (1 wisp)]
[Skill: Five Animals Body Tempering Technique (18 wisps), Zhao Zu’s Long Fist (Incomplete) (1 wisp)]
What?
An Le was stunned. To his surprise, he realized that this Sword Manipulation technique was not recorded on the light screen.
Even a common technique like Zhao Zu’s Long Fist (Incomplete) could be recorded, but it could not record this technique.
Perhaps, just because this sword move was purely a technique, it could not be recorded?
Standing in the cold spring night, An Le was deep in thought.
“The sword move was comprehended from the Little Sacred Token. It is nameless. Using the sword move, sword qi is all around me and can manipulate all things. In that case, this move will be called ‘Sword Qi Draws Near’.” An Le happily named the sword move.
Then, with a thought, he mobilized the three wisps of Age Qi that he had absorbed from the young girl. After some thought, he added them to the Dao Fruit [Thousand-year Genius].
After adding two wisps, suddenly, a liquid gold light surged in front of him. An Le was very surprised. He actually obtained a wisp of Molten Gold Age Qi from the girl.
Golden Age Qi transformed into an incense pillar and burned. The scene was like a stone thrown into a lake, causing ripples..