Chapter 103: Transcending Sword Intent (Third Update)

  On a summer evening, the sun has sunk to the west mountain, red clouds are all over the sky, and the colorful clouds have dyed a piece of the sky red.

  A gentle and soft north breeze blew over from the mountain, sweeping through the branches and leaves of the forest, to the Li family's villa. The wind blew gently, causing the willow leaves to sway and the bamboo leaves to flutter and shake. The wind quietly stilled, then lightly rippled the calm surface of the water, creating wave after wave of ripples.

  This gust of wind blew away the sweltering heat and noise of summer, awakening the lilacs and hawthorns in the courtyard.

  A gentle breeze flows quietly among the green leaves, and the fragrance of flowers floats lightly under the eaves.

  This gentle breeze seems to come from the mountains and forests, and also seems to come from the cold moon and stars.

  On such an evening, leaning in the courtyard, enjoying the feeling of the wind, the blessing of the wind.

  Lu Yuan sat beside the pool, leaning on a bamboo rocking chair.

  Leaning against the rocking chair.

  One shake, one shake.

  The whole body is relaxed and shaking slightly.

  Every inch of skin all over the body has relaxed to the extreme.

  The wind is really comfortable.

  The wind of nature and the wind under one's own sword are different.

  Although I have grasped the intent of the Wind Sword, when compared to the natural wind, it still feels far inferior.

  If one's own sword, with the intent of a windy sword, can be used like the wind in nature, what kind of state would that be?

  Can your swordsmanship be further improved?

  Lu Yuan was deep in thought, and also relaxed his whole body, feeling the wind flowing by every inch from his side.

  A gentle breeze passes by, the wind is a spirit of nature, omnipresent, sometimes still, sometimes flowing ceaselessly, making people feel its existence. As he continues to sense this gust of wind, Lu Yuan draws his sword, and Nourishing My Sword lightly sways, trying to mimic the cool breeze blowing through the mountain forest at dusk.

  The sword move shouldn't be so stiff, it should be more casual.

  A sword is launched from the heart, rather than a sword move recalled from memory in the brain.

  Everything depends on one's own understanding.

  ……

  As the night deepened, the wind grew cooler, with a considerable chill, especially in the mountains and forests. Even on summer evenings, the wind was like a cold knife, cutting through the trees with a rustling sound, countless leaves colliding with each other, merging into a roar like the anger of the wind. Lu Yuan's Yangwu sword also changed involuntarily, transforming into another sword technique, this one colder and more solemn than the previous one.

  ……

  Night goes day comes, the sun gradually prospers, the wind is still rising, but in the scorching sun, it's no longer a cold wind, but a hot and dry wind that blows everything on the ground like a fire, making all living things want to hide, losing their vitality, only cicadas are still happily chirping.

  ……

  Nature has countless winds.

  In the howling past big wind, there is a gentle breeze, there is an evening cool breeze, there is a hot wind under the scorching sun, there is a cold wind in the midnight mountain forest, there is a light breeze that blows the water surface, and also a black wind that blows the willow leaves wildly, the sky is dark, and there is also a slanting wind accompanied by fine rain.

  In the past half month, Lu Yuan has been experiencing all sorts of winds and in the process of experiencing these winds, he has been constantly modifying his sword moves. The overall style of the 108 Wind Cloud Sword hasn't changed, but in the details, it has become more suitable for himself, making it easier to use.

  This day, slanting wind, light rain.

  Swallows fly together from the eaves.

  In the courtyard, Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

  After opening his eyes, with a wave of his hand, the sword in its scabbard was already unsheathed. The heavy wind and powerful technique had been unleashed, this technique originally seemed to be quite violent, but now that it had been unleashed, it seemed as if he couldn't see his own sword, as if it were like the great winds of nature, whizzing by.

  I've finally mastered it.

  All along, the sword intent has only had three levels: one is the initial mastery of the sword intent, one is the mid-term sword intent that can be stabbed at the opponent's weakness at will, and one is the complete understanding of the sword intent that can completely control the opponent under one's own sword. Only now did I discover that there is actually another level above the complete understanding of the sword intent.

  This level is what I have now come to realize, a level that although I don't know how to call it, absolutely exists and surpasses the realm of completely understanding the sword's intention.

  I sheathed my sword and just now tested myself, discovering that I had reached this level. Withdrawing my spirit from the long sword, I suddenly found that in the courtyard's half-moon-shaped pavilion, an old man with the surname Lu was standing with his hands behind his back. Lu Yuan involuntarily shouted: "Uncle Lu." This was how he always addressed him on North Peak, but Lu Yuan discovered that when he called out to Uncle Lu, the old man seemed not to have come back to himself, as if he were astonished by something.

  The old man with the surname Lu finally came back to his senses: "Young master, was that the Transcending Sword Intent you used just now?"

  "Transcendental Sword Intent?" Lu Yuan asked back: "What is this?" It seemed that this old man with the surname Lu, who had followed Master Xu for a long time, knew some knowledge that was not recorded in books.

  The old man with the surname Lu nodded: "I have been following my master for a long time, and I have seen every kind of sword intent. Normally, there are three levels: initial understanding of sword intent, mid-level sword intent, and complete comprehension of sword intent. However, in reality, after completely comprehending sword intent, there is another level, which is transcending sword intent."

  "When you reach the state of transcending sword intent, when your sword is released, it's no longer just a sword. Whatever sword intent you are, it will basically revert to its original form in nature, for example, if you're practicing the 108 Wind and Cloud Swords, and you've just grasped the transcendent sword intent, your sword and sword moves can transform into something like the wind in nature."

  "When you just made that sword move, I wasn't in your opponent's position, so I could still see your sword. If I were in the position of your opponent, I wouldn't be able to see the sword, only feel the wind." The old man with the surname Lu praised: "At such a young age, you've already reached this level, it's simply genius! You've mastered the Wind Sword Intent, one of the Three Thousand Sword Intents, and have reached the pinnacle!"

  Transcendental Sword Intention

  It turns out that this is the ultimate form of sword intent, transforming the sword and sword moves into the shape of nature itself, transcending the sword and also transcending the sword moves, returning to the origin of heaven and earth.

  I have made another step forward in kendo, and it's a very crucial one.

  Unfortunately, this step is not complete. I have been practicing the Wind Cloud 108 Swords, which combines the sword intent of the wind and the cloud. My own wind sword intent has reached its most fundamental state, transcending sword intent, but my cloud sword intent has not yet reached the level of transcending sword intent.

  To put it simply, one is not considered a true master of swordsmanship until they have cultivated the Cloud Sword Intention.

  ……

  In the following days, Lu Yuan observed the clouds and mist in the sky, wanting to practice the Cloud Sword Intent to transcend the sword intent and return to its original state. However, it was still too difficult. After half a month of continuous effort, Lu Yuan finally acknowledged that his efforts had failed, and he was unable to practice the Cloud Sword Intent to transcend the sword intent's state.

  Forget it, I'll give up for now, there's no point in continuing anyway.

  Mastering swordsmanship is not a one-day task. When sudden enlightenment does not work, it requires daily accumulation over months and years, and cannot be rushed.

  ——————

  The progress of practicing sword here will stop, and it's better to practice internal strength instead.

  Sitting cross-legged in his own room, five talismans shot out and a soul-sealing array was set up.

  He had last hit Sun Family Manor's Sun Tian Gang, and now he had 230 spirit stones on him. Such a large amount of spirit stones was truly a huge sum, and not using them would be a waste. He took out 50 spirit stones from the Shura Bag, and the Flying Sword pierced through them quickly, shattering them instantly. A large amount of heavenly energy burst forth.

  He began to absorb the heaven and earth's yuanqi without stopping, Lu Yuan was absorbing the heaven and earth's yuanqi while contemplating.

  You are currently in the initial stage of the 9th major cycle of Qi cultivation, and the bottleneck of the 10th major cycle, Dacheng, is not actually a real bottleneck. The real bottleneck should be the second major boundary, the physical training period. The physical training period is completely different from the Qi cultivation period. Cultivators not only need to have strong magical powers but also a strong body.

  The Qi Refining stage has ten levels, and the Body Refining stage also has ten levels.

  First layer: Qi leaves the void, Second layer: Five organs and six viscera, Third layer: Essence of sun and moon, Fourth layer: Cultivating blood, Fifth layer: Original life essence and blood, Sixth layer: Skin and bones are refined, Seventh layer: Refining the great brain, Eighth layer: Sword moves through the void, Ninth layer: Resurrection of the residual body, Tenth layer: Great perfection.

  For example, after mastering the first level of "御气离空", one can fly in the air.

  The fifth heavy lifeblood essence, after practicing it, can be used to refine flying swords by oneself.

  The eighth heavy sword can be used with the sword technique, and the flying sword can be used to control the enemy at a distance. At that level, there is already a bit of a swordsman's demeanor.

  The ninth heavy body rebirth, even if the body is severely damaged, it can still be quickly reborn. From then on, cutting off the tendons and veins will no longer be able to hold people back. If you cut off the tendons and veins, immediately regenerating the damaged body will be possible, but there is a limit. Cutting off the tendons and veins can regenerate, but if it's a fatal injury, one will still die.

  Of course, for now, don't think that far ahead, what I need to think about is first reaching the tenth heaven of Qi Refining, then breaking through from Qi Refining to Body Refining.

  The power of the physical cultivation period is far beyond what can be achieved in the energy cultivation period. It is only during the physical cultivation period that one truly enters the gate of a cultivator.

  Practice breath, practice breath, store one breath, transform into immortal energy.

  Practicing the body, refining the physical form, transforming into an immortal body.

  No matter which period, it is actually transformed from human to immortal.

  ……

  Digressing, after a period of time spent hammering away with the Spirit Stone, Lu Yuan finally managed to push his own magical power to reach the middle stage of the Ninth Major Cycle of Qi Refining. Now that he wasn't in a rush to charge into the later stages, cultivating magical power should be done gradually and not hastily; taking steady steps was the royal path.

  The third update is here, seeking monthly ticket support and there will be another one, but it should be later tonight.