Chapter 70: The Immortal of Golden Sword

  The two of them walked down the long stone steps, unknown how deep they went underground, and finally saw a thick stone gate in front of them. The rugged texture of the bluestone made the stone gate look ancient and weathered.

  Tu Shun stretched out his hand and exerted force, the stone gate slowly pushed open, a burst of flowing light suddenly poured out from inside the door, illuminating the stone cave with a dazzling display of colors, as if trapped in a dream world.

  Li Ruo's eyes widened in amazement as the two of them squeezed through the stone gate, and suddenly found themselves in a mountain cave the size of a stone house. The square mountain wall from the top to the center was filled with countless mysterious patterns shining brightly, just like the Milky Way hanging in the dark night, creating a fairy-tale-like atmosphere throughout the entire cave.

  In the center of the cave, a one-foot-high small tripod was firmly inlaid at the end of all the flowing patterns, and the body of the tripod emitted a greenish-blue glow.

  Li Ran's mouth was slightly ajar, and the brilliant light emanating from the ancient tripod made him involuntarily excited. He knew that the clear glow emitted by the flowing patterns was a seal to suppress the Xuanhuo fire, and only when the seal was tightly connected to the ancient tripod could the heavenly fire be firmly suppressed beneath it for human use.

  There is a kind of coolness in this cave despite the oppressive atmosphere outside.

  Tu Shun walked into the cave, turned back with a smile and said: "Ran Jian, this is one of the twenty furnace tripods we guard. When it's your turn to be on duty in the wheel of the cave, if there are brothers from other schools who come to request entry, you first verify their identity, check if they have registered within six months, if not, collect 100 points from them and then let them enter."

  After saying this, Tu Shun took two steps forward to Xiao Ding and turned his head to say to Li Ruo Dao: "Come, Ruo Dao, I'll teach you the method of starting the seal. In the future when you're on duty, if some fellow disciples don't understand these things, you can also tell them."

  Before he could finish his sentence, Li Ran's eyes lit up and he walked over, stretching out his hand to gently stroke the small tripod. Suddenly, he made a circular motion with both hands around the small tripod, his palms following the direction of the flow pattern, and then lightly patted it. A surge of energy poured in, and with a loud "clang", the lid of the small tripod automatically popped open.

  Tu Shun was stunned again, his mouth slightly open as he stared at Li Ran in shock and asked: "You... you can do it again?"

  Li Rando smiled, "If Dan Medicine Master doesn't know how to operate the furnace and cauldron, what kind of Dan Medicine Master is that?" Li Rando's mind carefully examined the small cauldron, slowly rotating along with it. The fire energy inside was pure and gentle, extremely easy to control. With just a slight movement, he could feel the fire energy cleverly jumping around in the small cauldron, making Li Rando extremely delighted.

  If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools. With this wonderful tool, I won't have to worry about refining the elixir from now on.

  Tu Shun gazed at Li Ruo Dao with a daze, still just a thirteen-year-old youth in front of him, but the mysterious air of maturity on his body made Tu Shun no longer dare to underestimate him, knowing that Li Ruo Dao must have also been a broad-minded person before entering the Unrivaled Sect.

  Tu Shun saw Li Ran stop probing the small tripod and cover it with his hand, then let out a long sigh and sincerely exclaimed: "Younger brother, you indeed have good vision. With such experience and this heaven-defying talent, older brother bets that if you work hard for five years, you will definitely be able to fight for a place on the Golden Sword List."

  "Five years?"

  Li Ran took a deep breath and furrowed his brow.

  In five years he can't wait, in half a year he has two chances to enter the Phantom Cave, and once with the strong man of the Golden Sword List. In this half year, who knows what will happen?

  Tu Shun led Li Ran to the inner and outer parts of the Xuanhuo Cave, then helped him put on a brand new gray robe, along with an exquisite iron token engraved with the pattern of clouds, mist, mountains, and rivers, as proof of being a disciple of Xuanshi Mountain.

  Li Ran's diligent cultivation over the past few days had filled his body with energy, and the nourishment of the spiritual medicine and ambrosia had caused his body to grow a few inches taller, becoming more robust and well-proportioned. The grey robes he wore fit tightly on his body, making him look refreshed and revitalized. Even Tu Shun couldn't help but let out a loud cheer of admiration.

  Tú Shùn told Lǐ Rán Dāo that the Xuan Huǒ Cave takes turns every three days, which means it will take a month for Lǐ Rán Dāo's turn to come. Arriving at the secret cave assigned by Tú Shùn, he covered the stone door and let out a light breath, thinking back on these days since his rebirth, as if in a dream.

  Save his brother, explore the misty valley, ascend to the mysterious machine mountain. These things that Li Ruo could not do in his past life were all done by him now. The heroic spirit that had been suppressed for a long time also gradually recovered.

  Li Ranno's eyes were firm and resolute, his fists clenched tightly together. He knew that this was only the beginning, and the road ahead would be long and arduous. But for now, the most important thing was to rescue his father, and he couldn't afford to slack off even a bit in his bitter training to increase his strength.

  He gently shook the medicine gourd, and there were only four days' worth of medicine left inside. He didn't know if it would be enough to support his breakthrough to the Seventh Realm of Jingyuan Qi.

  Li Ruo sat on the stone bed, quietly recalling memories of his past life.

  In his vast knowledge of Dan medicine, Li Ruo knew that only one kind of primary-stage Washing Marrow Pill required bitter hemp as the main herb. The bitter hemp in his hand had a very strong medicinal property and was excellent for entering the pill. With the addition of Ling Xi's horn, the root of the ginseng tree, heavy water, and nine other ordinary herbs, he should be able to refine a Washing Marrow Pill that was quite decent.

  Nine kinds of common medicines are easy to find, Lingxi's horn, and the roots of the ginseng tree are also considered ordinary things, which should be available for purchase in the Treasure Pavilion. However, that requires points, but now I don't have a single penny...

  Li Ruo was smiling wryly when he suddenly heard a knock at the door, and quickly got up to open the stone gate. There stood Ma Kong with a smile on his face:

  "Brother Fu, to welcome the new disciple, tonight at the Performing Immortal Hall, Elder Xiao's chief disciple, Master Fang Ziyuan, will be lecturing on the path of cultivation. Let's go together."

  Li Ruo Dao was delighted when he heard this. As the top disciple of Dan Sheng, who had ascended to become a Supreme Immortal, he should possess peak strength that is close to achieving an immortal physique. The path of cultivation for such a strong individual would also be greatly beneficial to Li Ruo Dao.

  Li Ruo hesitated and asked, "Ma Kong Shixiong, I have a question for you. If we new disciples need to buy something urgently with our sect's contribution points, can we borrow some from other brothers first..."

  Ma Kong suddenly looked quite excited: "Ran Jian, you want to borrow points? No problem, I'll lend them to you. There are several hundred senior brothers who can still afford it."

  Li Ruo's growth potential is astonishing, who knows what brilliant achievements he will attain in the future. Ma Kong naturally would be happy to establish a relationship with him first.

  Li Ran let out a long sigh and put down his worries, shaking his head with a smile: "Senior brother, don't worry for now, I might need to rush to the Treasure Pavilion in a few days to buy some things, at that time..."

  Ma Kong smiled: "No problem, whenever you need it, just find me."

  Zhuan Yan smiled and said, "Ran Jian, you don't feel it strongly now, but when your skills improve and your cultivation deepens, you'll realize how important sect points are. Alas, for now, you still need to exchange them one-to-one for goods. But once you enter the Golden Sword List and become a Golden Sword disciple, you'll have the privilege of using an 80% discount to exchange for spiritual treasures in the Cang Zhen Pavilion... Let's not talk about it anymore, let's go to the Yan Xian Hall..."

  "Eighty percent off..."

  Li Ran Dao's heart suddenly lit up when he heard this, 20% off means that to buy that Red Practice Ginseng, originally 130 points, now only needs around 100 points, how much "money" can be saved!

  Jin Jian Bang's disciple actually had such privileges, making Li Ruo Dao filled with endless expectations for Jin Jian Bang at the moment.

  As Ma Kong and others walked out of the Xuanhuo Cave, they followed the winding mountain road, turned over the mountain wall, and in front of them, a magnificent pavilion came into view. Many disciples had already arrived and were waiting here. Li Ruo's gaze swept around, suddenly seeing Qin Fengchuan and Gu Lieyang quickly squeezing towards him from the crowd.

  "Flaming Sword, you've arrived."

  The two squeezed forward, turned their heads to smile and greet Ma Kong, then pulled Li Rengdao aside. Qin Fengchuan lowered his voice and said mysteriously: "Rengdao, let's go, I'll help you find a good spot near the front with Lieyang. Since our master is in the Performing Immortal Hall, we still have this privilege."

  Suddenly felt the importance of human relationships, three people smiled and squeezed forward together.

  Qin Feng entered the Performing Immortal Hall, wanting to get closer to the senior disciples under the gate of the elders, in order to receive guidance. Gu Lieyang joined the Mountain Guard Corps, focusing on martial arts and actual combat, wanting to temper himself in that crazy place.

  Both of them were proud and arrogant, far from being satisfied with just entering the mountain gate.

  Everyone sat on a mat in one place, as the time drew near, from behind the open window, a green-clad and a grey-clad figure emerged, walking proudly to sit at the high head seat.

  Qin Feng lowered his voice to introduce Li Ruo and Gu Lieyang: "See that tall, green-robed man? He's the chief disciple of Elder Xiao Baiyi - Fang Ziyuan, with a peak Divine Movement skill. Among the thirteen peaks, he is the strongest below the Dan Xing period. Back then, he broke through to Divine Movement with an impressive ranking of 39th on the Golden Sword List and was taken in as a disciple by Elder Xiao."

  "That sturdy man in grey clothes, I suppose you've also heard of his name. He's Shanzhi, the senior brother."

  Li Ran's eyes widened in surprise: "Shan Zhi, isn't that the Grey Robe ranked 80th on the Golden Sword List?"

  Qin Fengchuan continued, "Shan Zhi is also one of our Thirteen Peaks. Today, let's have Fang and Shan brothers discuss the confusion in their cultivation through a Q&A session. Listen carefully, it'll be an eye-opener."

  Li Ran nodded, sitting upright and straight.

  Several hundred people sat in an orderly manner, and Shan Zhiqing coughed and began to speak: "Today's performance at the Xian Tang is said to be co-hosted by me and Master Fang, but actually I am just throwing bricks to attract jade, and I am here to ask for advice and let Master Fang answer questions and dispel doubts for everyone. Otherwise, with so many young masters below, how could Shan Zhi dare to monopolize?"

  As the Golden Sword disciple, he had no arrogance, and everyone nodded in secret at the same time.

  Shan Zhi turned his head and looked at Fang Ziyan with a smile, asking respectfully:

  "Fang Shixiong, Shan Zhi will ask a question on behalf of the younger martial brothers - regarding the state of unity between body and sword, what kind of feeling is it when one truly reaches that state? From which aspect should we strive?"

  Fang Ziyuan's long eyebrows were slightly raised, and he nodded slightly: "The unity of body and sword is actually not a realm, in the path of the sword, only the sword intent can be called the way of the realm. The unity of body and sword is just a state, but after truly entering that state, the sword technique will be perfectly harmonious and unobstructed, allowing you to unleash your greatest potential..."

  Li Ran Dao nodded below, his body and sword united as one. He had achieved this in his past life, but in this life after rebirth, his body had not yet undergone long-term training and was still only a rough draft, unable to achieve that state.

  Now listen to Fang Ziyuan's detailed explanation, and it is indeed unique and wonderful. With just a few words, he clearly explained that state, making Li Ruo have a deeper understanding of that state.

  After hearing this explanation, many people below looked delighted, scratching their ears and cheeks, apparently touching the itchy spots in their hearts.

  After a while, Fang Ziyuan finished speaking, and Shan Zhi frowned and asked:

  "Master Fang, I'd like to ask a most fundamental yet deeply troubling question, one that you just mentioned - what exactly is 'sword intent'?"

  Fang Ziyuan's eyes also lit up suddenly, and he nodded slowly:

  "The sword intent is a momentum of heaven and earth, those who understand the sword intent can borrow the power of heaven and earth to use for themselves. That kind of boundary of the way, only by understanding the way can one experience it, cannot be expressed in words, and even more so cannot be passed on through mouth or heart. As far as I know, even among the cultivators with great innate talent, those who understand the sword intent are extremely rare, and those who have enlightened to the sword intent, some are already enlightened during the divine movement period, while others are after the elixir ascension period, only by understanding the sword intent, can one refine the sword elixir in the elixir ascension period, and become a sword immortal, holding the sword and roaming freely, traveling through the world."

  When they heard this, the whole crowd erupted in shock and a boiling discussion started.

  The legend of the Sword Immortal has long been deeply ingrained in people's hearts, and that kind of mysteriousness has made countless people's hearts burn with passion. It is said that the Sword Immortal's swordsmanship is divine and magical, transforming the tangible into the intangible, with a body surrounded by a halo of sword energy, immune to all harm, soaring through the skies in an instant, traversing hundreds of miles. Those who can wield the sword and become immortal, transcend the mortal realm, possessing a soul that can turn the universe upside down...

  In the Immortal Realm, Sword Immortals are extremely powerful beings, looking down on all other immortals.

  However, the Sword Immortal was too mysterious, countless people caught wind of clues related to the Sword Immortal, hoping to have the chance to enter the door of sword cultivation, but none were able to get in.

  It turns out that one must first comprehend the sword's intent, break through the Dan Xing period and then condense the sword dan, only then can one be considered a Sword Immortal.

  Li Ran's heart seemed to have ignited a fierce flame.

  The mysterious pattern in the small sword is a kind of heavenly law, and the pattern is imprinted on his heart. Li Ran's knife can clearly sense the trend of heaven and earth. If he cultivates himself to exceed the Dan Xing period in the future and condenses into a spiritual sword golden elixir, wouldn't he be a sword immortal?

  A realm that had never been reached in his past life was suddenly unfolding before his eyes, and Li Ran felt a magnificent blueprint slowly unfolding in his heart.