Chapter 34: Xiao Jian's Secret (Part 1)

  Cultivating one's power, the higher the level, the more energy is required. At Li Ruo's current level, if he wants to continue breaking through, it's no longer possible with just a few spiritual herbs.

  But what Li Ruo Knife lacks most now is still spiritual medicine.

  The medicine in the gourd has been exhausted for a long time, and the remaining amount of Hei Wuchang and Hong Hua is also very small. Unfortunately, neither Xiaoshan nor this Qingyi Shixiong had any spiritual medicine on them.

  But Li Ran's smile returned, and he pushed the swollen corpse of the green-robed man to one side. He stood up, turned his head back, and looked towards the deepest part of the cave. From more than a dozen exploded beehives, golden wild honey flowed out, filling the air with its fragrance.

  The wild bees were buzzing around the hive, vainly trying to gather these densely packed bees.

  All of this was actually within Li Ruo's plan. The Ling symbol exploded the beehive, killing the Green Robed Man and obtaining the Wild Bee Secret in one move.

  Wild honey's spiritual power is mild and its energy is diluted, far from the fierce and rapid effects of spiritual medicine. However, if a person's cultivation always relies on spiritual medicine to break through, their powers will grow rapidly and forcefully, but it will inevitably lead to an unstable foundation. When cultivating to higher levels, it will be extremely difficult to make further progress.

  Wild honey is better in quantity, after taking it, the power will be improved little by little, and also can take this opportunity to solidify the foundation of cultivation. Moreover, what's more important is that the honey brewed by these spiritual bees is a great tonic, and long-term consumption has unimaginable benefits for the body.

  Li Ruo Dao carefully took the empty gourd from behind his back and slowly approached the beehive, step by step. With a buzzing sound, the nearby wild bees sensed the smell on Li Ruo Dao's body and flew away in all directions, circling at a distance and unwilling to get close.

  Li Ruo's knife eyebrows opened with a smile, squatting beside the beehive, using his dagger to carefully scrape the honey into a gourd for storage. More than ten beehives were cleaned out by Li Ruo's knife, and amazingly, they filled up an entire gourd. This time, the weight of this gourd was no longer as light as before, feeling quite heavy in hand, making Li Ruo extremely delighted.

  Walked alone in the deep cave and sat down at the foot of a mountain.

  This wild mountain cave, combined with the constant influx of wild bees, is a place where ordinary cultivators dare not enter recklessly. For Li Ruo Dao, this is the safest place to cultivate. Li Ruo Dao needs time to refine the energy in the honey and raise his skills to the fifth level of Jingyuan Qi, and he also needs time to thoroughly study the secrets of the small sword.

  Thinking of Xiao Jian, Li Ruo's heart was once again burning with passion.

  In his previous life, he entered the Misty Valley and went through all sorts of hardships but gained nothing. In this life, however, he obtained a great opportunity.

  Li Ran Dao held the small sword in his hand, feeling its weight and a slight chill on top. However, its color looked dull and unremarkable.

  It's only as big as a palm, much shorter than that dagger.

  What's the use of such a small sword? Is it a spiritual artifact? Or is it a flying sword that needs to be refined?

  Li Ran's heart was filled with curiosity, not knowing where to start researching the small sword's divine power. After some thought, he held the small sword in his hand and slowly channeled his vital energy into it.

  He persisted in the effort of a cup of tea, and Li Ran suddenly gave up. After the essence was poured in, it scattered out from the body of the small sword again, dispersing into the air, and the small sword didn't react at all.

  Generally, a spiritual instrument can store energy due to its material and forging craftsmanship, which is why the power of a spiritual instrument can be surprisingly strong. However, this small sword couldn't store any energy at all, just like ordinary iron. But Li Ran didn't believe that such a sword was just an ordinary sword.

  After some thought, Li Ran's mind flashed back to the scene of the man in green clothes acknowledging his master with a drop of blood.

  Li Ruo knew that in the Xianxia world, some high-quality spiritual artifacts were so magical that they could recognize their masters through bloodlines. Once recognized, they could be controlled by the master's mind and even stored inside the body.

  Such a divine weapon, Li Ruo Dao had never seen it before in his past life. Thinking of this possibility, the fire in Li Ruo Dao's heart slowly ignited:

  "The people of Qingyi were unsuccessful, but that doesn't mean I won't be. Everyone's bloodline is different, perhaps my immortal fate is deep and can make this small sword recognize its master."

  Li Ran Dao thought to this point, no longer slow, using the dagger to fiercely slash open a wound on his finger, smearing fresh blood onto the small sword, quietly waiting for the sword's transformation.

  After a while, the blood had all dried up, and the small sword was stained with a dull grey color on which there was a dark red streak, as if it didn't care about this smudge of fresh blood.

  Li Ran's sword seemed somewhat lifeless, and he turned his head to think. Suddenly, he took down the package behind him, took a small portion of Tengshouwu and Canghonghua, chewed them up, spat out the liquid, and wiped it on the blade with his fingers.

  Use the energy of the spiritual medicine to probe and see if there is any reaction from the small sword.

  Li Ruo's eyes were like fire, staring tightly at the sword body, smelling the fragrance of medicine slowly drifting in the air. After a long wait, the small sword still looked dull and lifeless, apparently having reached an impasse with Li Ruo.

  Li Ran let out a long sigh and dropped his hand, feeling a wave of powerlessness rising in his heart.

  "What kind of sword is this after all? Does it really have spiritual power? Is it really extraordinary iron? How can there be no reaction at all when I try to test it like this? What else should I do?"

  Li Ruo suddenly remembered a legend that some superior immortals hid their secret manuals in the interlayer of swords and knives to pass them down to future generations.

  "Could this little sword also have a hidden layer?"

  Li Ran lightly flicked the sword with his fingers, but he didn't feel any difference in its body. He didn't dare to smash it open with a stone to take a look, what if he was wrong and wasted such a precious treasure?

  "What's so special about Xiao Jian?"

  Li Ran's sword was somewhat impatient, and he unconsciously swung it towards the mountain wall beside him. He heard a soft "chi" sound by his ear, and the small sword entered the stone straight to the hilt, as if it had been inserted into soft mud, without any resistance along the way.

  Li Ran's knife was slightly surprised, with his mouth wide open, carefully pulling out the small sword and trying it on another mountain stone. Once again, there was no handle under the small sword, and those hard mountain stones were like soft tofu, without any hindrance.

  Li Ruo knew that he didn't use even half of his strength, but it wasn't like the time before when he had concentrated all his energy and infused it into the dagger.

  Xiao Jian's sharpness was like cutting iron as mud, causing Li Ran's knife eyes and eyebrows to gradually relax.

  Could it be that Xiao Jian's greatest divine ability is here? But... Li Ruo Knife sighed again.

  If it were just extremely sharp, then this weapon would be somewhat useless for Li Ruo Dao. In battle, what effect can such a small thing have? Unless it's used to suddenly cut through the enemy's armor in close combat, otherwise, relying solely on its sharpness, Jing Yuan Jin could also make ordinary iron produce such an effect.

  Holding the small sword in his hand, Li Ran's knife was disappointed. He furrowed his eyebrows and thought deeply, finally letting out a long sigh.

  I thought I had a deep fate, and after rebirth, my good fortune would be long-lasting. But it turned out to be just an empty joy. After competing with the man in green for wisdom and strength, I finally got the small sword in hand, but unfortunately, it was just a useless thing.