"My lord, congratulations on opening the fourth Sword Cultivation Lake!"
Outside the window, Niangzhi said with a smile.
"Hahaha~~~"
Lin Zhao nodded. "Tell Dongcang to add extra food this morning. Everyone eat more, just to celebrate my fourth Sword Cultivation Lake."
"Mmm-hmm."
After breakfast, Lin Zhao didn't rush to refine life and death. Instead, he summoned Lin Zhujie.
"Mountain Lord."
Lin Zhujie, the chief enshrined guest of the Mountain Peak Villa, stood tall. He knew that the previous chief enshrined guest of the Mountain Peak Villa was the Great Sword Immortal Lin Wanhua. The thought of being comparable to Lin Wanhua made Lin Zhujie immensely proud. He cupped his fists and said, "Mountain Lord, please give your orders!"
"I am about to enter closed-door cultivation to refine my sword. Before I do, there is one thing I need to ask you to do."
"Please speak, Mountain Lord!"
Lin Zhao's expression was serious. "Make a trip to Nishang Tianxia. I heard that when Bai Cheng was breached, Old Huang transformed into his heavenly dog form and carried Tong Yu, Zhang Luobai, and Zhuang Yirong to Nishang Tianxia. It's been ten years since then, and I don't know which corner of Nishang Tianxia they are hiding in. They might have already lost contact with the outside world. So, I need you to go to Nishang Tianxia, find them, and tell them they can return to the Mountain Peak Villa."
"Yes!"
Lin Zhujie happily accepted the order and said, "Then I'll leave now?"
"Go, take care on your journey."
"Thank you, Mountain Lord!"
Lin Zhujie turned and disappeared into the sky above the Xueyu Tianchi like a wisp of clear wind.
"What is Lin Zhujie doing?"
Niangzhi walked in with a plate of fruit.
"Going to Nishang Tianxia to find Old Huang and the others to come back," Lin Zhao said. "I'm about to enter closed-door cultivation to refine my fourth Natal Flying Sword. Ask Yu Wannian to guard me. Niangzhi, don't stop refining your sword. You can refine it in the living room. Yu Wannian can guard two people by herself, and it should be fine."
"Okay."
Niangzhi nodded with a smile.
...
In the morning, Lin Zhao began to refine the flying sword, Life and Death.
As he began to refine this flying sword, he discovered that its profundities were far beyond what ordinary people could perceive. As layers of sword intent wrapped around this sword tip, Lin Zhao was immersed in a rich Confucian artistic conception, as if standing on a green peak, able to overlook the movements of literary luck in the world with a glance.
Under the wrapping of sword intent, the structure on the surface of the sword tip was peeled away bit by bit. At the same time, the hilt of the Dragon Slaying Sword on Lin Zhao's back also emitted a golden luster, which was a resonance with the three inches of flowing time.
For a moment, Lin Zhao's vision blurred as if he had traveled through time and appeared in front of a dilapidated bamboo house. In the dimly lit bamboo house, a young scholar was diligently carving with a carving knife on a bamboo slip. Every stroke was extremely meticulous, so much so that streaks of golden literary luck emanated from him, yet he was completely unaware.
That young scholar was the youthful appearance of the Great Sage.
Lin Zhao took a deep breath, immersed in this period of time. Lines of text continuously flowed through his mind, representing the thresholds encountered and the streams crossed by the Great Sage in his studies. In an instant, Lin Zhao felt his chest filled with righteous energy. The literary luck on this sword tip was even richer than Mr. Qin's flying sword, Hao Ran!
Moreover, their qualifications as flying swords were incomparable.
Mr. Qin, although learned, was ultimately just a contemporary Confucian sage appointed by heaven and earth. But who was the Great Sage? He was the ancestor of Confucianism, the true progenitor!
As a result, by the time the flying sword Life and Death was refined, Lin Zhao was already sweating profusely. When he opened his eyes, the sky outside had already turned dark. He had unintentionally spent the entire day.
At this moment, the flying sword Life and Death transformed into a stream of light. When Lin Zhao moved his mind, this flying sword, which had been refined into the shape of a sword tip, became even more dazzling gold. It hovered in front of Lin Zhao, truly a Natal Flying Sword. Reaching out and brushing it, the attributes of this flying sword bestowed by the Great Sage floated before his eyes—
[Life and Death] (Flying Sword)
Rank: Immortal Grade
Level: 1
Damage: Kill Damage +80%
Attack Speed: 2 seconds/attack
Natal Divine Ability: [Rites and Music]
[Rites and Music]: After activating the Rites and Music shield, all damage is reduced by 50% for 6 seconds, ignoring true damage effects. Other damage reduction effects can be stacked. Cooldown: 12 seconds.
...
For a moment, Lin Zhao frowned. These attributes were somewhat outrageous. The flying sword's lethality had surpassed Hao Ran and was catching up to Xin Huo, which was known for its offensive power. The first Natal Divine Ability, "Rites and Music," was also heaven-defying. A 50% damage reduction for 6 seconds, ignoring true damage effects, meant that under the protection of Rites and Music and the Golden Armor Immortal Robe, Lin Zhao's survivability would be even greater. He might even be able to fight against great demons of the Upper Five Realms!
As long as this flying sword was used properly, Lin Zhao would be protected by Rites and Music for 50% of the time! And this was only the first divine ability. The subsequent divine abilities would undoubtedly be even stronger!
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Lin Zhao turned to look out the window. He saw golden clouds rolling in the sky above Xueyu Tianchi, as if a golden rain was about to pour down. His heart immediately tensed. Those golden clouds were clearly very dense sword intent luck. Some came from the lower realm, and some from the upper realm.
Moreover, this sword intent luck was coming straight for him.
Therefore, Lin Zhao walked out of Tianranju and looked up at the swirling sword intent luck in the sky. He took a deep breath, which instantly drew the rolling luck from the sky. In the blink of an eye, it was gathered in Lin Zhao's palm. It looked like a ball of dense golden cotton candy. He opened his mouth and swallowed it. It had no taste, not sweet at all, but he felt incredibly happy inside.
"Buzz buzz buzz~~~"
The Spirit Ruins suddenly expanded greatly. After consuming this dense sword intent luck, the four Sword Cultivation Lakes had nearly doubled in size. The perfect sword heart also emitted radiance, and its aura surged significantly.
"Strange."
Yu Wannian turned and cupped her fists, smiling. "Congratulations, Mountain Lord. However... to be able to attract so much sword intent luck without breaking through your realm is unheard of."
"Indeed."
Niangzhi walked out with her sword, smiling. "Perhaps it's because the sword tip that my lord refined was bestowed by the Great Sage. Items bestowed by a sage naturally have their differences, so it's not surprising that they attract sword intent luck."
"Burp~~~"
Lin Zhao let out an untimely burp at this moment, feeling a bit awkward. He said, "It's indeed thanks to the Great Sage. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had such great fortune."
Niangzhi asked, "Can you break through to the Twelfth Realm now?"
"Not yet."
Lin Zhao shook his head. "There's still a little bit missing. I always feel that breaking through at this moment would be a bit forced, and this Twelfth Realm would be destined to be shaky."
"It's better to be steady."
Yu Wannian said, "Alright, Dongcang has started cooking. I'll go help with the fire."
"Okay, go."
Just then, a figure radiating golden light floated down from the mountaintop. It was Liu Liying, holding a folding fan. She blinked her big eyes and smiled, "Young Master, in the back mountain... someone is coming up the mountain. It seems to be an old acquaintance of yours."
"Ah?"
Lin Zhao was so happy that he had overlooked the changes in the aura of the back mountain. Sensing it now, he indeed detected an extremely dense aura, and two much weaker auras appearing in the back mountain. He immediately said, "Niangzhi, Liying, accompany me to the mountaintop to greet them."
"Yes!"
...
Three figures appeared on the mountaintop, overlooking the mountains behind.
In the mountains, someone was walking step by step along a path obscured by dense forest, ascending the mountain. In fact, it was no longer a mountain path, but just barely passable.
There were three people coming. The one walking in front, clearing the way with a woodcutter's axe, was a young Taoist priest in a tattered Taoist robe. His aura was full, and spiritual energy flowed all over him. At the same time, he channeled two streams of spiritual energy to protect the two youngsters behind him. One youngster was a boy, and the other was a girl. The boy wore a well-fitting new Taoist robe and carried a sword and a bamboo basket on his back. The bamboo basket was filled with medicinal herbs from the mountain.
The girl also looked about sixteen or seventeen years old. She wore a pink cotton jacket like a mountain dweller. Although she looked a bit rustic, her face was extremely delicate and pretty, with a divine radiance flowing in her eyes. Such beauty and demeanor were by no means common for ordinary villagers.
The visitors were none other than Xu Ming'an of Danxia Mountain, and his two disciples, Xiao Han and Xiao Man.
Ten years ago, Lin Zhao had asked Xu Ming'an to take his two disciples south to escape danger, so the entire Danxia Mountain was evacuated. When the demon and demonic races swept through, the Danxia Sect suffered no losses. Lin Zhao had not expected that Xu Ming'an would now appear from the back mountain with his disciples.
Lin Zhao's eyes widened, filled with disbelief. At this moment, Xu Ming'an also carried a bamboo basket filled with medicinal herbs on his back. The Zhenwu Sword was pressed inside the basket. Xu Ming'an's aura was now full, and his spiritual energy was abundant. He had clearly entered the Upper Five Realms, and even beyond the Eleventh Realm. He had already gone through the stages of refining the primordial spirit, the primordial spirit returning to its origin, and the primordial spirit uniting into one, reaching the legendary Twelfth Realm!
"Xu Ming'an!"
Lin Zhao was filled with surprise and joy.
"Ah?!"
Xu Ming'an looked up. The moment he saw Lin Zhao, he was first surprised, then his eyes welled up with tears. He quickly rushed up to the mountaintop. This usually introverted young Taoist priest opened his arms and embraced his good brother Lin Zhao.
Lin Zhao was also filled with mixed emotions. They hadn't seen each other for so long. He had always worried that Xu Ming'an might encounter an accident. After all, he wasn't a major character in the main storyline, and he could have been killed by a great demon in some obscure corner. Now that he saw him, he was already at the Twelfth Realm, which was too surprising.
After embracing each other, the two good brothers who had once roamed the martial world together and faced life and death side-by-side, Lin Zhao patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Not bad! Ten years without seeing each other, and you've already become a Twelfth Realm great cultivator!"
"Ah?"
Xu Ming'an was bewildered. "Wha... what Twelfth Realm?! Are you saying I'm very powerful now?"
Lin Zhao was shocked. "You don't know anything?"
"I..."
Xu Ming'an frowned. "Over the years, as you instructed, I've been traveling in the mountains with Xiao Han and Xiao Man, living a quiet life in the wilderness. In terms of cultivation, I've only been practicing according to the Danxia Manual bestowed by my master. I rarely interact with people from the martial world. As for realms... I really don't know..."
Lin Zhao slapped his forehead, completely speechless.