Chapter 108: Chapter 106: Sword Control Skill
Five Elements Sword Point!
The legacy of the Bright Void Sect’s Celestial Sword Lineage.
This technique is a finger technique, a sword technique, and even more so, a Qi manipulation method.
It uses the spirit to control Qi, with Qi as its foundation. It incorporates the transformations of the Five Elements, evolving endlessly through its seventy-two styles of Sword Pointing.
Fire Separation Sword Point.
Characteristics: Grand and sweeping, with a majestic momentum.
Earth Guard Sword Point.
Characteristics: A powerful and relentless sword path.
Wood Sword Point.
Characteristics: Radiates life force from within, capable of Soul-Capturing and Soul-Seizing.
...
Zhu Ju sat cross-legged on a large rock. He raised one hand, lightly forming a Sword Pointing sign as streams of Sword Qi shot out from his fingertip.
Each Sword Momentum was distinct.
Some were nimble and ever-changing, others were earth-shattering. Some were unadorned and archaic, while others were subtle and intricate. No two were the same.
Then, with a sudden retraction, the Sword Qi became as heavy as a mountain, the Powerful Qi letting out a deep, muffled boom. Abruptly, it transformed again, becoming so light, ethereal, and swift that it was impossible to track.
"What a Sword Technique!"
Zhu Ju retracted his hand and praised aloud, ’As expected of the Celestial Sword Lineage’s legacy. If not for my considerable skill in Magic and a Divine Soul Power far exceeding my peers, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to reach the Entry Level of this Cultivation so quickly.’
The Five Elements Sword Point was exceptionally intricate. It was easy to injure oneself, especially when circulating Inner Qi through the body.
The more transformations there were, the more unpredictable and dangerous it became.
Fortunately, Zhu Ju was accomplished in Magic and had Micro-level control over his own body, which was why he could master this Sword Technique so quickly.
"Five Elements Unity!"
"Go!"
With a flick of his five fingers, five streams of Sword Qi shot out. They converged mid-air, transforming into a torrential wave of Sword Qi that pressed down ahead of him.
The rocks in a ten-foot area were instantly riddled with holes by the Sword Qi, a pockmarked sight to behold.
Zhu Ju’s expression remained unchanged. His eyes narrowed slightly as he suddenly changed his finger sign to a palm, and an invisible Palm Force descended fiercely from a distance.
Five Elements Palm!
Upon closer inspection, one would discover that his palm strike this time was different.
The Palm Force seemed to contain five different transformations. Five types of Powerful Qi intertwined in his palm, finally converging into a single, massive hand.
"THUMP!"
The earth trembled lightly.
The pockmarked rock had been smashed into fine powder.
"Phew..."
Beads of sweat appeared on Zhu Ju’s forehead. His body swayed slightly as he let out a long, turbid breath, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
’It worked!’
’Cultivating the Five Elements Method really does help my comprehension of the Five Elements Palm. Even someone who has just entered the Innate Realm would have trouble withstanding that palm strike.’
The reason he had chosen the Five Elements Sword Point was precisely because he sensed this finger technique would help him comprehend the Five Elements Palm.
And it turned out to be true.
The Five Elements Unity method within the Five Elements Sword Point gave Zhu Ju an epiphany, and the Five Elements Palm naturally began to transform.
’And there’s an unexpected bonus...’
Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up as he muttered to himself.
"SWISH!"
A streak of jade-green light appeared out of thin air.
The Jade Hairpin!
This ’item’ from the Magic World trembled lightly in mid-air, then transformed into a streak of light and shot forward.
"Fire Separation Transformation!"
Zhu Ju barked a low command.
The Jade Hairpin moved in response to his voice. A red glow appeared on it, making it look like a Fierce Flame streaking through the sky.
He was actually using the Object Controlling Technique from the Magic World to execute the finger techniques of the Five Elements Sword Point.
No!
It would be more accurate to call it a Sword Technique!
’Strange.’
Zhu Ju raised his hand, retrieving the hairpin. He frowned in confusion and thought, ’Why does it feel so much smoother to execute the Sword Pointing by Controlling Objects? Don’t tell me this Sword Technique was originally a Sword Control Skill?’
The Main World also had its own Artifact Control Methods.
However, such techniques had extremely high requirements for the user. At the very least, one had to be in the Late-Stage Innate Realm.
Therefore, such methods were very difficult for ordinary people to come into contact with.
The same was true for Immortal Sect Disciples.
The core legacy of the Bright Void Sect’s Celestial Sword Lineage, the Nine Heavens Sword Control True Technique, was a method of Qi Sword Control.
’Perhaps... the Five Elements Sword Point was originally a Sword Control Method. It was only changed into a Qi Manipulation Method to make it easier for disciples to reach the Entry Level of its Cultivation.’
Zhu Ju’s eyes widened brightly as he thought, ’If I could get my hands on a Flying Sword or a Magical Artifact...’
’No!’
’To unleash the full power of the Five Elements Sword Point, I would need five matching Flying Swords.’
*
*
*
At the foot of the mountain.
Zhu Ju, Yan Bohu, the Ding Brothers, and the others were gathered together.
"She’s here."
Someone spoke up, and everyone rose to their feet, looking toward a great hall built of massive stones not far away.
A graceful figure was slowly walking toward them.
"Senior Sister!"
"Senior Sister Pei!"
"..."
Pei Jingque, a Core Disciple of the Bright Void Sect’s Dragon Head Lineage. Despite her young age, it was said that she had already opened her Seven Acupoints and had the potential to reach the Dao Foundation Realm.
Just as outstanding as her talent in Martial Arts was her unparalleled, world-stunning beauty.
The Flying Phoenix Lineage had many female Cultivators, quite a few of whom were stunningly beautiful, yet none could compare to her.
The lone beauty of the Dragon Head, outshining all of the Flying Phoenix!
This saying was about none other than Pei Jingque.
"Mm."
Her beautiful eyes swept over the group, and Pei Jingque nodded slowly.
"Since everyone’s here, let’s go."
As she spoke, she flicked her finger.
A Jade Leaf floated out from her sleeve and landed on the ground. It immediately expanded in the wind, growing to a length of thirty feet.
It looked just like a small boat.
A Magical Artifact!
Looks of shocked surprise appeared on everyone’s faces.
All the disciples of the Bright Void Sect had heard of Magical Artifacts, but few had ever had the chance to see one in person, let alone touch one.
This Jade Leaf before them was clearly a Magical Artifact.
"Get on."
Pei Jingque leaped onto the ’boat’ and gestured to the others.
"This trip to the Marketplace is the last one before the new year. We’ll make it quick and won’t stay overnight."
"Yes."
Everyone responded and leaped onto the ’boat’ one after another.
As Pei Jingque raised a delicate hand, without any discernible motion, the ’boat’ slowly lifted off the ground.
It paused for a moment in mid-air, then shot toward the horizon like a sharp arrow.
The ’boat’ flew at an incredible speed, yet those aboard felt no rushing wind against their faces, as if they were standing on solid ground.
It seemed an invisible layer of Qi Force enveloped the ’boat’.
"Junior Brother," Yan Bohu asked in a low voice once he recovered from his shock.
"Why didn’t Junior Sister Ning come?"
The mine organized a trip to the nearby Marketplace for trade every month or two, led by a Core Disciple from the Sect.
Compared to going alone, this was a much safer way to travel.
This time, even an ’Ascetic’ like Zhu Ju was here. There was no reason for Ning Ruxue, who always loved to join in on the excitement, not to come.
"Senior Sister is in seclusion," Ding Peng answered first.
"She’s preparing to break through to the Innate Realm."
"Break through to the Innate Realm?" Yan Bohu looked astonished. "Did she get an Innate Pill?"
"No." Ding Hu shook his head. "To get an Innate Pill, at our current pace, we’d have to serve the Sect for at least ten years."
"After ten years, we’d be long past thirty!"
"Senior Sister Ning felt that her Essence, Qi, and Spirit had already reached their peak. Continuing her Cultivation wouldn’t bring much progress. Besides, she’s caught in a vortex of trouble because of the Mu Tian incident and can’t extricate herself, so she decided to risk it and try for the Innate Realm."
"This..." Yan Bohu slowly shook his head. "How reckless!"
"Even without an Innate Pill, she could have looked for other Spiritual Medicines. At the very least, she should have found an Innate master to stand guard for her. How could she just suddenly go into seclusion for a breakthrough?"
He had been through it himself and knew just how slim the chances of breaking through to the Innate Realm were without an Innate Pill or other such Spiritual Medicines.
Especially when one’s foundation was insufficient.
"Forget it."
It was already done. There was no point in saying more. He could only sigh.
"I hope Junior Sister succeeds."
...
「Marketplace」
This Marketplace was built several hundred years ago and is controlled by the Xiao Family, an Immortal Sect Family. It provides a convenient place for nearby Loose Cultivators and Immortal Sects to trade.
The Bright Void Sect also had an outpost in the Marketplace.
The ’boat’ landed, reverted to a Jade Leaf, and was tucked back into Pei Jingque’s sleeve. The group quickly dispersed, as time was short and they needed to be quick.
Treasure Pavilion.
A white-haired Innate Cultivator picked up a bead, pondered for a moment, and said,
"A Yin Sha Pearl, a creation of the Profound Clarity Sect. It contains a small amount of Yin Corpse Evil Qi. One of these can be exchanged for two Spirit Crystals."
"A Mandarin Duck Saber, a common weapon for Joyful Sect disciples. Mortal Grade, and well-maintained. I’ll give you one Spirit Crystal for it."
He then looked up at Zhu Ju, whose face was hidden by a black robe, and chuckled.
"Sir, you have quite a miscellaneous collection of items!"
He picked up an iron box, and upon opening it, his expression turned serious. He sat up straight and examined its contents carefully for a moment before speaking,
"Bamboo Heart Fruit, five hundred years old. A pity it was improperly preserved and has lost most of its medicinal efficacy. It can be exchanged for two Spirit Stones."
One Spirit Stone could be exchanged for ten Spirit Crystals.
Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up.
He had obtained this Bamboo Heart Fruit from a pair of male and female bandits on his way to Hejian Prefecture. He never expected it to be so valuable.
’I’ll have to thank them for this.’
"And this is..."
The old man picked up a piece of Spirit Jade, a look of confusion in his eyes.
"It looks like a Spirit Stone that’s been cut and processed, but what’s the use of it? I’ll count it as one Spirit Crystal."
Zhu Ju pressed his lips together.
’I’m rich!’
In the Main World, one Spirit Crystal could buy three Iron Evil Stones. In the Otherworld, one Iron Evil Stone could be exchanged for five pieces of Spirit Jade.
And here, one piece of Spirit Jade could be exchanged for one Spirit Crystal.
That was a profit of more than tenfold!
’In the future, I can just shuttle Spirit Jade and Iron Evil Stones between the two worlds. That alone will be enough to become a tycoon among Cultivators.’
"That comes to a total of two Spirit Stones and four Spirit Crystals."
The old man looked up.
"Sir, do you want to take the payment directly, or exchange it for some items?"
"I’ll exchange them for items." Zhu Ju took a deep breath to calm his racing heart and handed over a piece of paper.
"Do you have these?"
"Body Tempering Poison, Calming Incense..." The old man scanned the list and said,
"We have most of them, but crafting Calming Incense requires a rather special material that the Immortal Sects control very strictly. We only have two sticks in stock at the moment."
"Is that so?" Zhu Ju hesitated for a moment before asking in a low voice,
"How much do Magical Artifacts go for?"
"Hm?" The old man was taken aback for a second, then chuckled.
"Even the worst Magical Artifact costs several dozen Spirit Stones. Better ones require Middle Grade Spirit Stones. Are you planning on buying one, sir?"
Zhu Ju could only offer a dry laugh in return.
He wasn’t deaf to the teasing tone in the old man’s voice.
