Ten days flashed by in the blink of an eye, and Lin Shiming opened his eyes to grasp a Spirit Talisman in his hand.
He rose from the meditation mat with a sigh and walked to the grand hall where they had previously gathered.
On the nanmu table in front of the hall, the teapot was still steaming hot, and the aroma of tea permeated the air.
The Zi Xuan Hermit sat in the Taishi Chair, eyes closed in meditation, letting the wisps of rising tea mist obscure half of his face.
With a wave of the Zi Xuan Hermit’s hand, another meditation mat appeared behind the group of disciples.
The disciples, respectful and reverent, bowed and began to display their mastery of the Sword Imbuement Technique.
Lin Shiming was no exception. Despite his best efforts, he hadn’t found a solution and could only proceed slowly with his practice, dividing his time between focusing seventy percent on cultivating his Divine Sense and thirty percent on the Sword Imbuement Technique, resulting in much slower progress than the others.
One must know that he wasn’t naturally gifted in swordsmanship; even after cultivating the Sword Intent on the Dao Enlightenment Platform, he still hadn’t reached the realm of Sword Light Transformation.
It wasn’t until he returned to his family and received system prompts and the root of extrapolation that he managed to cultivate Sword Light Transformation.
During these ten days, the system’s prompts appeared frequently, teaching him how to practice the Sword Imbuement Technique, but he ignored them all, immersing himself in tough practice and also cultivating the Split Spirit Decision.
The slow progress was the only thing that gave him a bit of peace of mind.
However, the summons from the Zi Xuan Hermit had once again caused his heart to soar with anxiety.
In front of the hall, streaks of sword light began to condense as each cultivator took out a Supreme Grade magic sword to demonstrate the fruits of their training with the Sword Imbuement Technique before the Zi Xuan Hermit.
Now and then, the Zi Xuan Hermit glanced at a certain disciple, offering guidance in just a few words.
At this moment, as the cultivators revealed their power, it turned out just as Lin Shiming had guessed: Chen Daoyuan was practicing a metal-attribute sword technique, while Xie An was practicing a fire-attribute sword technique.
Ye Yongchang was practicing a wood-attribute sword technique, similar to the Grass Sword Art, and Ye Changqing was practicing a rare earth-attribute sword technique, each with their sword light already formed.
Lin Shiming’s suspicions were confirmed; the Zi Xuan Hermit didn’t summon so many cultivators to compete for treasure in the Secret Realm but to use them to attract the Soul Summoning Sword. Therefore, even though the earlier Lin Xianzhi was old and weary, it didn’t really matter.
After all, they only needed a sword sheath.
Even if he was only at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage!
As long as his Sword Intent achieved transformation, that would be enough.
"Your progress in the Sword technique is so slow, is there something you don’t understand?" the Zi Xuan Hermit approached Lin Shiming, his calm face betraying no emotion.
"Please forgive me, Master, I am slow-witted!" Lin Shiming promptly bowed his head.
The essence of the Sword Imbuement Technique is to nurture the spiritual sword with the Spirit Platform, and at this moment, the other disciples’ sword lights enveloped their spiritual swords with intense radiance.
Only his sword light failed to even cover one-third of the Zilai Sword, not to mention integrating the Zilai Sword into the Spirit Platform.
"These next few days, follow my practice, I will guide you!" the Zi Xuan Hermit said without giving Lin Shiming any chance to refuse.
At that moment, Lin Shiming’s heart was already extremely tense, and at the same time, he felt a profound sense of helplessness.
In front of the Zi Xuan Hermit, he couldn’t even make the slightest gesture unnoticed.
Lin Xianzhi also cast a puzzled look from the side, wondering why Lin Shiming’s progress was so slow, and why Lin Shiming had not once transmitted messages to him using Divine Sense.
Of course, at such a close distance and in the presence of higher-ranking cultivators with Secret Techniques, it was highly possible that their messages could be intercepted.
Lin Xianzhi certainly didn’t dare to take that risk.
"Thank you, Master!" Feeling the Zi Xuan Hermit’s undeniable tone, Lin Shiming kowtowed and quickly expressed his gratitude.
The cultivators once again separated to nurture their magic swords, preparing for the journey to the Secret Realm.
Meanwhile, Lin Shiming went to the room where the Zi Xuan Hermit practiced.
The room was extremely simple in its furnishings, with only a stone table, a stone bed, and an incense burner.
As the sandalwood incense began to smolder, Lin Shiming cautiously spread his Divine Sense, only to discover that the stone table and bed were utterly simple, far from the assortment of spiritual artifacts and magic artifacts he had imagined.
As if aware of Lin Shiming’s confusion, the Zi Xuan Hermit spoke up:
"When you reach a higher realm, you will realize that cultivation is about oneself, the heart, and the Dao, not external objects!"
Without wanting to say more, the Zi Xuan Hermit tossed a meditation mat to Lin Shiming.
Then he had Lin Shiming practice the Sword Imbuement Technique, gradually providing guidance.
Lin Shiming seemed to struggle as he nurtured his sword, causing the Zi Xuan Hermit to frown involuntarily.
The Zi Xuan Hermit was well aware that Lin Shiming was at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
Seeing the Zi Xuan Hermit’s reaction, Lin Shiming felt slightly more at ease.
At least, he didn’t know about his three Spirit Platforms.
And just then, the system prompt appeared again:
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"Use the Spirit Platform bound to the Cave Heaven World to cultivate the Sword Imbuement Technique, with the secret technique to conceal the Spirit Platform!"
Lin Shiming was instantly overjoyed, almost unable to hide his excitement.
Moreover, he suddenly remembered that his first secondary Spirit Platform was connected to the Cave Heaven World and could infuse True Yuan from the Spirit Platform into the Cave Heaven World.
If he nurtured the sword with this Spirit Platform, he might be able to transfer the Sword Imbuement secret technique into the Cave Heaven World.
This technique should not really be called the Sword Imbuement Technique, but rather a Sword Imbuement Secret Technique, targeting the Spirit Platform.
If all the True Yuan of the Spirit Platform were drawn into the Cave Heaven World, then those Soul Summoning Swords would naturally not be able to detect it.
And with the system’s prompts, he was curious whether successfully mastering the Sword Imbuement Technique and binding it with the Cave Heaven World could make this Cave Heaven World nurture a sword for him!
At this moment, Lin Shiming’s thoughts became more agile, but he did not dare to try; the person in front of him was at the Purple Mansion Peak realm. If he were to detect the Cave Heaven World, then there might not even be a need to go to the Secret Realm.