Autumn leaves swirl in the air, covering the ground with a carpet of withered gold.
Behind the attic where Master Kui Ling resides, there is a modest courtyard surrounded by tall trees.
Perched on the branches of the trees in the yard is a jade-green giant serpent, its single horn pointing skyward as it seems to swallow clouds and exhale mist.
Its na is Min Min, a powerful Spiritual Beast nurtured by Taoist Kui Ling.
Not far from the lengthy serpent, on the open ground of the courtyard, a pigtailed young girl and a teenage boy with large deer antlers are standing together, whispering sothing to each other.
The girl is dressed in a trim green outfit, adorned with lotus flower patterns on the edges. Since technology has not developed in this place, many light industrial items are absent. Therefore, the pattern work is mostly hand-painted and sewn, exhibiting a rough and asymtrical beauty even from afar.
The girl is Yun Chen, the direct disciple of Taoist Kui Ling.
"Our Sword Sect, the Faceless Sword Sect under Panguang’s jurisdiction, is one of the four great sects today, possessing imnse strength and extraordinary potential. It was once ho to Ancestor Chi Yuan, a peerless powerhouse from the legends. Thus, our sect’s techniques, the Seven Spirit Holy Technique and the Faceless Sword Technique, are top-tier thods that could directly lead to The Great Path."
Yun Chen was bragging at the mont.
Although Ancestor Chi Yuan was rely a legendary figure in records, that didn’t stop her from using his na to impress others.
"So impressive...!" Li Chengyi exclaid with an appropriate mixture of shock and admiration.
"Hmm... The ancestor had the power to cleave open the heavens with one palm and extinguish the earth with another, creating the world and, after leaving behind a legacy, ascended to the heavens. As his disciples, our lifelong goal is to emulate the godly might of the ancestor. Legends say that by cultivating our sect’s supre canon, the Thousand Face Sword Canon, to the highest level, one can beco one with The Great Path and recreate the might of the ancestor."
She paused for a mont.
"What I am going to teach you now is the most fundantal technique of our Sword Sect, the Faceless Sword Technique!"
"Additionally, there’s the Seven Spirit Holy Technique. Since its practice is difficult and requires a certain level of ntal fortitude, I will pass it on to you when you grow a bit older," Yun Chen said earnestly.
"Do not underestimate the Faceless Sword Technique. It is a premier sword thod created specifically to accompany the Holy Spirit Technique, capable of amplifying its power by dozens of tis! When cultivated to its limits, even the sword technique alone can draw in the vitality from the Sea Essence, transcending three barriers, and stepping into the Primordial Seal Realm."
Origin Seal?
Li Chengyi imdiately thought of Imprints.
"Senior Sister, what is this Sea Essence you ntioned?" he hurriedly asked.
"The Sea Essence... It refers to the Sea of Profound, intangible and unsllable. It’s a place of endless void and cycles, only accessible to those who have reached a certain realm."
"You are too early to concern yourself with these things. Co, first get the stance of the sword technique right. A towering skyscraper begins from the ground up; the most basic foundation is the core, the most crucial aspect."
As she spoke, she positioned Li Chengyi in a posture with slightly bent legs, lowered center of gravity, resembling a squat.
"Now, follow my lead."
Li Chengyi, who possessed terrifying physical qualities and was an outstanding warrior of Dragon Realm, had unsurpassed control over his body. Naturally, this basic stance was simple for him.
He only needed a glance to understand the essence and where the center of gravity should be.
He imdiately assud the sa posture.
"Hmm... very good, quite standard." Yun Chen remarked as she circled around to check his form, ensuring there were no issues.
She felt a surge of joy in her heart, now that it seed her little junior brother’s talents were quite promising...
"Stay in this stance for one hour to start with; this helps stabilize your core and accustom your body to this power-deploying posture."
"Yes," Li Chengyi responded seriously.
Seeing how proper his stance was, Yun Chen didn’t say much else and instead began to chat with him.
They talked about everything under the sun, shifting from the Sword Sect to the secular world outside, from Demon Beasts and Spiritual Beasts to other sects.
Through her, Li Chengyi learned that the place they were in, known as Panguang, was vast in size and its boundaries had not yet been fully explored.
The Faceless Sword Sect had control over an imnse territory spanning millions of miles. Within this territory, the rise and fall of dynasties, the cyclic pattern of prosperity and decline among mortals, went on without interference from the Sword Sect. The sect’s cultivation needs were mostly acquired from untouched, perilous environnts, with higher-grade resources coming from the Sea Essence, so their dealings with the ordinary world were minimal and mostly involved purchasing mundane items.
From Yun Chen, Li Chengyi gradually understood that the powerful beings here were completely detached from the secular world.
Sect disciples were not limited to the human race; Demon Beasts and Spiritual Beasts alike could join, and among humans, only those with exceptional talent were qualified to face a choice.
The choice was whether to forsake all worldly attachnts and pursue the path of cultivation or to remain imrsed in the mundane world and continue to wallow and enjoy life.
At the mont of choice, their future paths were destined to diverge.
"Then, are there no sect mbers who go into the secular world to wreak havoc among the populace?" Li Chengyi could not help but ask.
"Create havoc? How would they create havoc?" Yun Chen blinked, "Once cultivation is achieved, looking at ordinary folk, they seem dirty all over, unclean within, infested with countless tiny bugs, weak and fragile. A re breath could accidentally kill them. Who would bother with such a pointless act, tornting a bunch of insignificant ants?"
She sighed.
"Once you have made progress in your cultivation, you will understand. The gap between us and ordinary humans is probably even greater compared to the difference between ants and humans. At least ants don’t get blown to bits by a re breath."
Li Chengyi was perplexed as he listened.
"Now, as for you..."
"You have a fine constitution. Although mixed-blooded, surprisingly, the mixing is harmonious, relatively pure, with a natural physique much stronger than that of ordinary people. Be grateful to your ancestors; otherwise..." Yun Chen shook her head.
She had noticed Li Chengyi’s extraordinary constitution early on. Precisely such an exceptional and robust physique t the initial requirents to join the Faceless Sword Sect.
Here, unless one is inherently anomalous or has a potent lineage, surviving is a challenge in itself.
"Just talking about you, if you were in the mundane world, regular weapons would hardly even breach your defenses," Yun Chen said with a smile.
Hearing this, Li Chengyi felt a chill in his heart.
He had originally thought that the tens of tons of his body weight, lightened by the power of Blood Essence, were perfectly concealed.
Who would have thought... that the people here had already seen through it.
However, upon reflection, if it weren’t for such a formidable sect, it’s unlikely that they could have cultivated a terrifying aberration like the Faceless Scholar.
"Alright, having said all that, let’s talk about this place. My Sword Sect resides amidst pure Vitality, with an extrely high concentration of Vitality inside. To ordinary people, this place appears as a piece of solid white rock. But in reality, these white rocks are the natural Sea Essence that we absorb and exhale," Yun Chen explained.
"It’s only because ordinary humans are too fragile, mistaking Vitality for rock, that they get this impression. Whereas we, with our extrely strong physiques, far surpassing Vitality, see them as gas."
Li Chengyi suddenly understood...
This place...is kind of terrifying...
How dense must one’s body be to see Vitality, solid as rocks, as a thin gas?
"Enough idle talk, let’s discuss the hope of our Sword Sect," said Yun Chen, suddenly no longer sleepy.
The boredom from explaining to Li Chengyi had also dissipated a great deal.
"Many years ago, our sect’s master adopted a naturally born spiritual embryo from outside the Sea of Profound, who is now Brother Huo Qingkong of the main lineage."
"Brother Qingkong is a natural-born sword whiz. He can learn any sword technique and related Sword Technique upon first glance, one day is equal to a hundred days of cultivation for ordinary people. His talent is unmatched. Moreover, Brother Qingkong is also gentle by nature, patiently and peacefully explaining things to anyone who asks... He respects his elders, cares for the young, looks good, and has a pleasant voice..."
As he spoke, admiration naturally filled Yun Chen’s eyes.
Li Chengyi was speechless on the side, knowing from her look that Sister Yun Chen had long beco a little fan of that Huo Qingkong.
Li Chengyi had been practicing basic techniques all morning, seemingly cultivating on the surface but actually tempering his Blood Essence and recovering his physical state.
The state of the Five Seals remained unchanged, with no abnormalities, but the lack of change was actually the greatest change.
Because before the Five Seals, everyone would be infinitely blocked and stuck, unable to sublimate and transform, no matter how much power they accumulated, unable to break through the Five Seals.
To open a new horizon of limits, that is the greatest benefit of the Five Seals.
After the morning practice, it was ti for lunch—one large piece of unidentifiable beast at and a huge leafy green vegetable about half as tall as a person.
There was no cooking; they just gnawed on it as it was.
"Because different bloodlines and species have different habits, the food is basically left to be handled freely.
You’re still young, so I roasted it for you, picked out the various worms, and washed it with spring water," Yun Chen said as she placed the giant green vegetable, towering two heads above Li Chengyi, with a thud onto his wooden dining table.
The chunk of at, as big as Li Chengyi’s head, lay next to it.
"Eat up," Yun Chen smiled.
"...." At a loss for words, Li Chengyi turned to see how she ate.
Yun Chen now sat beside him, with the sa at and vegetable on her table.
On the brown wooden table, the jade-like leafy vegetable still dripped with water, and the piece of at was much larger than Li Chengyi’s, about three tis as big.
Yun Chen’s face shifted, and in an instant, her entire head transford into a unicorn monster with yellow manes.
Ssss!
She opened her mouth, which was originally big enough to fit a fist, and it suddenly expanded to over two ters wide.
Then, in one bite forward.
Plop.
The entire table along with the at and vegetable on it vanished in an instant, swallowed into her maw.
"You’re not eating?" Yun Chen’s mouth shrank back to her pretty face, looking at Li Chengyi with a puzzled expression.
"...." Li Chengyi, who had thought he might co off as odd, now realized... this sister was no simple character either...
He sighed inwardly and imdiately started tearing into the chunk of at with big bites.
Contrary to his expectations, the at was unexpectedly tender and delicious.
After the al,
Yun Chen then took him to the central Faceless practice field, where all the disciples gathered to practice swordsmanship.
As a newcor like him, he first needed to observe basic swordplay, learn the basic techniques of holding and wielding a sword, before he could practice the Faceless Sword Technique.
In this way, Li Chengyi rapidly spent over half a month.
During that half a month, it was not an unproductive ti for him.
Having completed the breakthrough of the Five Seals, he imdiately pushed forward, starting to condense the Three True Seals of the Triple Yin Canon Techniques.
With sufficient Essence of True Spirit, what remained was the fusion with the True Seal’s Essence; while there was no Essence of True Seal here, it was actually artificially created before.
As long as one has enough accumulated energy, transforms enough Blood Essence cultivation, and understands the form of the True Seal’s Essence, one can naturally rely on the Yin Canon to break through and sublimate, and condense Imprints.
Half a month of cultivation left Li Chengyi with more questions about the Faceless Sword Sect.
And while enduring the hardship of approaching the Six Seals naturally, he also genuinely ca into contact with the current top talent, Brother Huo Qingkong, who imparted techniques and taught all disciples.
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