Chapter Seven: Practicing the Ninth Yin, Cultivating the Divine Sword

  It has been several months since Ling Muyun sneaked into the ancient tomb through the underwater secret passage to steal the Nine Yin Manual. During this period, Ling Muyun did not leave after obtaining the Nine Yin Manual, but instead moved out of his original residence in the inn and settled down at the foot of Mount Zhongnan, devoting himself to practicing the martial arts described in the Nine Yin Manual.

  Ling Muyun was well aware that with his original skills, he was not worth mentioning in the Jianghu, and it was far from enough to make a name for himself. Previously, he had no choice but to travel long distances to come to Zhongnan Mountain because of his lack of ability. Now that he had obtained the Nine Yin Manual, if he didn't calm down and work hard to cultivate it, wouldn't he be stupid? Moreover, the security in the territory of Zhongnan Mountain was good, so Ling Muyun simply stayed here to practice martial arts and cultivate his skills without going anywhere else. It would still take two years before he would meet Guo Jing and Yang Kang, that pair of arch-enemies destined by fate, in Jin Country, and only then would it be time for him to show off his skills.

  As his practice deepened, Ling Yun's understanding of the Nine Yin Manual also became more profound. The Nine Yin Manual was indeed the highest martial arts secret book in the world of Shooting Eagles, and when it first appeared, it immediately stirred up countless bloody storms on the rivers and lakes. It even led to a duel between the five most powerful warriors in the land at the summit of Mount Hua, deciding the fate of the Nine Yin Manual and spreading the legendary names of the Five Absolutes throughout the land, revealing just how significant the Nine Yin Manual was.

  The Nine Yin Manual is indeed profound and comprehensive. This classic manual encompasses everything, including internal skills and mental methods, as well as external skills such as swordplay, palm techniques, claw techniques, fist techniques, whip techniques, and more. In addition to these, it also includes secret techniques for breath control, acupoint locking and unlocking, soul transference, muscle contraction and bone shrinkage, sonic attacks, and many other highly practical auxiliary skills.

  Moreover, the martial arts contained in the Nine Yin Manual are all-encompassing and profound. Any one of them is a top-notch, extraordinary skill in the martial world. And yet, so many incredible skills are contained within this single true scripture of martial arts, truly leaving one in awe.

  Taking the half of Jiuyin Zhenjing obtained by Ling Muyun from Chongyang Yike, the mysterious and wonderful techniques of closed air secrets, point hole resolution secrets, soul transfer, shrink bone law, no phase sound halo and other Xuan Gong secrets are not to be mentioned. Spiral nine shadows, horizontal space shift, snake walking technique and other light body methods are all top-level light work secrets in the world. Even the great magic fist, Tianxia Wudang's magic sword and other martial arts can be compared with the five absolute techniques of the world. The Easy Tendon and Bone Tempering Chapter is even more the ultimate foundation-building internal skill method.

  In the martial arts recorded in the Nine Yin Manual obtained from the heavy Yang relics, Ling Mu Yun was most surprised by the two techniques of Easy Tendon and Bone Tempering Chapter and Tian Gang Fu Mo Sword.

  The Sinew Changing Classic is the foundational chapter of the Nine Yin Manual's inner skill mind methods, and it is the basis and root of all the inner skill mind methods in the Nine Yin Manual. If we only consider the effect of cultivating internal power, the Sinew Changing Classic is superior to most other inner skill mind methods in the world, but compared to the later inner skill mind methods contained in the complete Nine Yin Manual, it is somewhat inferior. However, its most wonderful aspect lies in its ability to wash the sinews and pound the marrow, allowing practitioners to increase their martial arts abilities through practice.

  Generally speaking, a martial artist's innate talent is determined at birth. Although postnatal training can improve one's actual strength, potential is decided by innate factors. If one has poor innate talent and insufficient potential, even if they work hard in their postnatal training, their achievements will generally not be too high. This is also why many masters choose their disciples carefully and often use methods like "examining the bones" to check a disciple's talent before accepting them as students. However, the Nine Yin Manual's chapter on "Changing Tendons and Grinding Bones" goes against this common martial arts understanding that innate talent determines one's abilities. It actually allows one to improve their innate talent through postnatal training, breaking free from the constraints of innate talent on a martial artist.

  In the original work, Guo Jing was finally able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with masters of his time like Huang Yaoshi, and this was largely due to the help of the "Easy Muscle and Bone" chapter in the Nine Yin Manual. Otherwise, given Guo Jing's innate abilities, it would have been impressive if he could reach the level of the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan; it would be impossible for him to achieve the heights he later reached without the manual. The importance of the "Easy Muscle and Bone" chapter can thus be imagined.

  In Lingpai Yun's eyes, the most precious part of the Nine Yin Manual is this easy-to-understand and straightforward "Yi Jin Jing" (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic) as a foundation-building internal skill, even if it is compared to the Sanskrit summary that records the true essence of Jiuyinxin martial arts.

  After all, even without the Sanskrit Compendium, it's just that people don't fully comprehend the profound martial arts in the Nine Yin Manual, and can't integrate the recorded martial skills. Relying on Ling Yun's ability to enter various martial worlds, he could go find other powerful martial arts manuals that are not inferior or even stronger than the Nine Yin Manual to cultivate, but without the Easy Tendon and Bone Tempering Chapter, he wouldn't be able to improve his innate talent and increase his potential during his youth, which would inevitably affect the ultimate height of his martial arts.

  If Yijin Quan gave Ling Muyun a beautiful future, then the Tianxia Fumo Sword enhanced his present.

  The Tian Gang Fu Mo Sword is a very high-level swordsmanship, but compared to the Nine Yin Divine Claw and Crushing Heart Palm in the second part of the Nine Yin Scripture, its power is still somewhat inferior. Among the various martial arts recorded in the Nine Yin Scripture, it does not have any particularly outstanding features.

  What surprised Ling Yun was that this sword technique actually had a subtle connection with his family's 72-road Evil-Expelling Sword Technique. During one practice session, he unexpectedly entered a state of enlightenment that ordinary martial artists could encounter but not seek, and under the influence of a certain will, he merged the Heaven-Defying Demon-Slaying Sword into his family's Evil-Expelling Sword Technique, forming a brand new and exquisite sword technique.

  The Evil-Repelling Sword Technique is an extremely formidable sword technique, with a total of 72 routes, each with dozens of variations. The moves are swift and deadly, with no equal in their strangeness and ferocity. However, the majority of this sword technique's moves are strange and swift killing techniques, with almost no defensive or evasive maneuvers. As such, the requirements for speed are extremely stringent, requiring a level of speed that is almost superhuman. Only when the practitioner reaches this level can they execute the technique smoothly and showcase its true power; otherwise, it will be disjointed and full of openings, not even comparable to an ordinary second-rate sword technique.

  To truly wield the power of the Evil Vanquishing Sword Technique, one must cultivate a unique inner energy that matches it, obtaining a speed akin to that of ghosts and demons. However, if one wishes to cultivate this inner energy, they must first cut off their own desires, or else they will fall into madness upon practicing it, making it an evil path without equal. Therefore, even though Ling Mu Yun understood the underlying principles, he did not dare to seek out the inner energy method in the Evil Vanquishing Sword Technique to cultivate.

  The Tianxia Fumo Sword is a profound swordsmanship that Huang Zong, the author of the Jiuyin Zhenjing, gained from his understanding of ancient Taoist scriptures. As its name suggests, the swordsmanship embodies the true meaning of the Taoist concept of "Tianxia Fumo" (Conquering Demons). Each move and style is vigorous and intense, with a majestic aura. There are 36 routes in total, each with dozens of variations, making it a quintessentially yang and orthodox Taoist swordsmanship for subduing demons and protecting the Tao.

  The Tian Gang Fu Mo sword and the Bi Xie swordsmanship are two extremes, one orthodox and one evil, just like the yin and yang, although they are in two extreme positions, but also have a place where they match and attract each other.

  The Tianxia Fumo Sword, although its power is slightly inferior to the real Bixie Swordsmanship, its strong and positive energy can be used to neutralize the strange and evil aura in the Bixie Swordsmanship. The 36 routes of the Tianxia Sword can also be used to connect with the various strange and sharp moves of the Bixie Swordsmanship, making up for its weaknesses and flaws. When combined with the ultimate lightness skill and body method from the Jiuyin Zhenjing, it is a perfect match.

  After integrating the Tian Gua Fumo Sword into the Pi Xie Swordsmanship, a new Pi Xie Swordsmanship was created with 81 routes, each route having 81 variations. This combined the orthodox and unorthodox aspects of the two swordsmanships, creating a brand-new top-tier swordsmanship. Compared to the original 72-route Pi Xie Swordsmanship, this new 81-route version has more varied techniques, removing some difficult-to-integrate evil and cunning sword moves. Its power is comparable to the complete 72-route Pi Xie Swordsmanship, without having to endure the suffering of self-palace, with its superiority evident at a glance.

  Ling Yun Cloud named the newly acquired 81st Route of Evil-Expelling Sword Technique as "Evil-Expelling Divine Sword" to distinguish it from the original 72nd Route of Evil-Expelling Sword Technique. The 81st Route of Evil-Expelling Divine Sword is a fusion of the Tian Gang Fu Mo Sword into the Evil-Expelling Sword Technique, and adding a "Divine" character to the name of the sword technique is quite fitting.

  Ling Muyun was also somewhat perplexed, as this matter was indeed a bit bizarre. How could he possibly combine the strengths of two top-level swordsmanship styles and create a new one with such ease? Even if it were an epiphany, it didn't make sense - after all, his foundation wasn't even sufficient, so how could he comprehend such profound intricacies?

  In fact, he had only a superficial understanding of the two swordsmanship styles and yet managed to synthesize their strengths to create a new top-level swordsmanship style, achieving what many sword masters may not have accomplished.

  At a loss for what to do, Ling Yun had no choice but to attribute the cause to the game system he was bound to. Apart from this, he really couldn't think of anything else that could have been possible.

  Ling Muyun couldn't understand, so he didn't delve deeper and just focused on practicing martial arts and sword fighting. With the divine technique in hand, coupled with his good comprehension skills, Ling Muyun's martial progress was rapid, advancing by leaps and bounds every day. In a few months, Ling Muyun's strength had made tremendous progress, far surpassing what it was when he first arrived at Zhongnan Mountain. However, since learning the Nine Yin True Classics, Ling Muyun had never engaged in combat with anyone, making it difficult to accurately gauge his martial arts level.