The news of the Sword Mountain's opening spread throughout the server in a single day, and soon the area behind the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool was packed with people. Tang Guangjun, with his ironclad resolve, watched the gate, and Ni Zhi's beautiful eyes nearly bloomed with joy as she collected the fees. Meanwhile, Lin Zhao was idle, continuing to draw talismans and practice his martial arts in the Natural Dwelling. These were things he couldn't let go of.
...
Nishang Heavenly Realm.
Another heavy snowfall descended, pressing down all the treetops in the forest until they bent low. Between heaven and earth, only the rustling of falling snow and the crisp sound of branches snapping could be heard. Beneath an ancient tree, the Ghost King, mounted on his warhorse, shivered. The cold wind howled, and his brow furrowed. He was nearing his limit, his stamina almost gone, his hunger meter about to explode. Energy consumption was high in this icy landscape, and the food he had brought over the past few days was all gone. He was on the verge of being unable to sustain even basic survival.
Just then, with a loud "bang" from the forest ahead, a powerful sword energy erupted from the depths of the woods, transforming into a beam of sword light that shot up into the sky. At the same time, the falling snow seemed to freeze. From all over the Nishang Heavenly Realm, strands of golden sword qi and destiny converged, gathered into one person's hands, forming a golden sphere. Silver dragons coiled around the golden sphere in a spiritual manifestation.
Silver Dragon Sword Immortal Cao Yan had entered the twelfth realm!
This was a rare event for the entire world, and for the Nishang Heavenly Realm, which was already lacking in sword cultivators, the arrival of a "divine race twelfth-realm sword immortal" carried immense weight. Of course, for the Ghost King, this was incredibly good news. Having a twelfth-realm sword cultivator as a master was something any sword cultivator player in the national server dreamed of!
Who would be foolish like Lin Zhao, refusing to be a disciple of the thirteenth-realm Lin Wan Hua, perhaps thinking of marrying her instead? Did he deserve it? Clearly not. I, the Ghost King, would be more suitable...
"Congratulations to Master on breaking through!"
The Ghost King spurred his horse forward, dismounted, and knelt with cupped fists, offering his congratulations with a smile.
"Mm."
Cao Yan took a deep breath, his eyes filled with a smile. "With abundant spiritual energy, I have finally broken through. Jiang Chong, your contribution to my breakthrough is immense, so I must reward you with something."
Saying this, Cao Yan raised his hand and a clump of golden sword qi was kneaded into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, but a tiny wisp of golden sword qi remained at his fingertips. He raised his hand and pressed it into the Ghost King's forehead, saying with a smile, "After consuming such a large mouthful of sword qi, why wouldn't you break through now?!"
The next moment, the Ghost King felt his entire body tremble. The sword dao in his heart suddenly opened up, revealing a completely different realm. As he looked up, he had already broken through, and a bell sound echoed through the heavens—
"Ding!"
System Announcement: Congratulations to player [Ghost King] for successfully breaking through the bottleneck and entering the [Golden Core Realm], gaining the new realm ability: [Sword Control]!
...
It worked!
The Ghost King trembled, tears welling in his eyes. He had initially felt that cultivation and the heavenly dao in this game could only be described by the phrase "the great dao is unfeeling." Now, he had overturned that thought. This master was truly good to him, even sharing a wisp of sword qi gained from his breakthrough. Could such kindness be bought with money?
"Thank you, Master!"
The Ghost King gritted his teeth, tears almost falling.
"No need for pleasantries."
Cao Yan raised an eyebrow and said, "You are the only disciple of I, Silver Dragon Sword Immortal Cao Yan. If I don't treat you well, who else will I treat well? However, Jiang Chong, I see ambition and desire in your eyes. If you truly wish to seek the dao and ascend to heaven, put these things aside and diligently practice your sword with me. Now that I am in the twelfth realm, tell me what you desire."
"Mm!"
The Ghost King nodded vigorously. "Master, your disciple comes from the human realm, where I suffered endless humiliation. Now that I follow you, all I wish is to practice my sword well and seek revenge."
"How do you wish to seek revenge?"
"I still have a group of brothers in the human realm, many of whom are sword cultivators." The Ghost King took a deep breath. "If Master is willing, you could accept them as registered disciples, or even unregistered ones. I only wish that when the time is right, these good brothers can all possess some formidable means of self-preservation. Then, we will form an invincible sword immortal cavalry that will sweep away all those who looked down on us."
"Is that so..."
Cao Yan frowned. "I am naturally lazy and will only take you as my disciple. However... I have also considered establishing a sword sect in the Nishang Heavenly Realm before. I've even thought of a name, Silver Dragon Sword Sect. I have many connections with the court, and they hope I will choose a mountain to establish my sect. Since you've brought this up, and the time is right, let's establish the Silver Dragon Sword Sect together. I will find more eleventh and tenth-realm sword cultivators in the Nishang Heavenly Realm to serve as elders and honored guests. If possible, we will make the Silver Dragon Sword Sect the number one sword sect in the Nishang Heavenly Realm!"
"Yes!"
The Ghost King was invigorated. "Thank you, Master!"
"One more thing."
Cao Yan narrowed his eyes and smiled. "The people you bring, once they step into the Nishang Heavenly Realm and join my Silver Dragon Sword Sect, will no longer be considered part of the human race. Even if you form a sword immortal cavalry, it will be our divine race's cavalry, and you must not harm the interests of our Nishang Heavenly Realm. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Mm."
The Ghost King nodded. "Since your disciple has already become your follower, I am naturally now a person of the Nishang Heavenly Realm."
"Good."
Cao Yan smiled and nodded. "In that case, I will take you to meet with the people from the court to confirm the selection of the mountain and the establishment of the sect."
"Yes!"
The Ghost King was full of ambition and joy. This was the closest he had ever been to his dream. Now, following Cao Yan, a twelfth-realm sword immortal, he would soon be among the top sword cultivator players in the national server. Once the Sword Immortal Cavalry was established, what if he served the demon race? He would still have a glorious future.
He frowned, regretting that even if he became a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator, a Star River Sword Cultivator, or even a legendary Upper Five Realms Sword Cultivator, he would not be able to win back the beautiful girl Mo Chenxue. Her delicate and beautiful features were perfectly to his aesthetic. It was a pity that he had been too impatient back then and hadn't pursued her patiently. Otherwise, it shouldn't have been difficult to win her over. It was a great shame. Now, Mo Chenxue was by Lin Zhao's side, and perhaps had already been won over.
Damn it!
The Ghost King's heart was filled with hatred. Once he formed the Sword Immortal Cavalry, the first thing he would do was level the Lin Yuan Xian Yu guild for revenge. The second thing would be to trample Lin Zhao and the Scarlet Moon Knights into the mud, ensuring they could never rise again. What if Lin Zhao had good relationships with the thirteenth-realm Lin Wan Hua and the twelfth-realm Su Qingjiu? His personality was too rigid; he refused to accept favors and insisted on upholding principles. Without sufficient financial backing, he would ultimately not be his match.
He sneered. Successful people must be despicable and unscrupulous. It was a pity that people like Lin Zhao would never understand this truth.
...
Evening.
Lin Zhao was still drawing talismans in the Natural Dwelling.
"Sir."
Ni Zhi drifted in, her delicate brows furrowed. "More and more people are coming to select swords from Sword Mountain. It's becoming overcrowded. In just today, we've already invested 500 Golden Mullet coins to maintain Sword Mountain's spiritual energy reserves."
"That much?"
Lin Zhao smiled and asked, "How much have we collected?"
"We collected a total of over 32,000 Flying Fish coins, which adds up to only over 320 Golden Mullet coins. Overall, we're losing 180 Golden Mullet coins on Sword Mountain per day. This isn't a sustainable plan!"
"It's alright."
Lin Zhao smiled and said, "I still have over eight thousand Golden Mullet coins here. They're just sitting there, so let's consume them slowly. We'll find a way. When we can no longer afford to maintain it, we'll just close Sword Mountain."
"Mm."
Ni Zhi nodded. "Then I'll be going out now."
"Go ahead."
After Ni Zhi left, Lin Zhao frowned. In a single day in the game, over 16,000 players had successfully selected swords from Sword Mountain. It wasn't actually that many, given the sheer number of sword cultivator players in the national server, which surely exceeded 30 million. While it was impossible for them all to have their own flying swords, at least the elite sword cultivators of the major guilds should be able to obtain top-tier flying sword embryos. And with so many guilds in the national server, if all these elite sword cultivators were to get flying sword embryos, it would likely involve at least a million people.
In essence, this was a development mode. If the 1 million sword cultivator players in the national server could all obtain top-tier flying swords, their combat power would increase by a level. Then, even if Ding Chunqiu returned from the Ghost Realm with 100,000 ghost cultivators, it wouldn't matter. 1 million powerful sword cultivators in the national server could easily crush them. At least, it wouldn't be like the battles a few days ago, where certain areas were brutally defeated and torn apart.
He continued drawing talismans, not thinking about it any further.
...
At this moment, Lin Zhao was drawing a Speed Talisman.
Since Lin Wan Hua entered the thirteenth realm, Lin Zhao had rarely drawn Sword Illuminating Talismans. Although he was a player, he understood the implications. A Sword Illuminating Talisman nurtured by a thirteenth-realm Sword Immortal was naturally powerful, but the karma it brought would also double. If Lin Zhao used a Sword Illuminating Talisman nurtured by Lin Wan Hua to kill someone, the ultimate karma would fall upon Lin Wan Hua. This was something Lin Zhao was unwilling to see. After all, it was already difficult for the thirteenth-realm Lin Wan Hua to remain in the human world, being confined within the Sword Pavilion. How could Lin Zhao, for his own selfish desires, damage her dao?
Some things must be understood clearly.
Take what is yours to take, and do not even glance at what is not.
Thus, he drew Speed Talismans one after another. However, as he was completely immersed in drawing Speed Talismans, rolling dark clouds enveloped the sky above the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, and wisps of golden lightning flickered within the clouds. In those clouds, it seemed as if tens of thousands of heavenly soldiers and generals were about to descend and wage war!
Without meaning to, he had once again triggered the aura of a military strategist by drawing talismans!