Bao Ping River is a tributary of Yu Sui River, starting from the most turbulent section of Yu Sui River, Bao Ping River traverses from northwest to southeast, connecting a dense network of rivers and mountains for thousands of miles, creating the lushest grasslands in the southern wilderness.
Due to the presence of eighteen prominent lakes within the water network, Bao Ping River is also known as the Nine Curves Yin Yang Jade Mirror River.
In the most beautiful and picturesque legends about this river, it was once the Daoist site of a great cultivator suspended in the sky, but as time passed and changes occurred, the cultivator's Daoist treasure fell to the mortal realm along with the site.
Some say the treasure was a crystal jade bottle.
While others claim it was a colorful jade mirror.
Regardless of the treasure's form, as the site descended from the heavens, the treasure shattered into pieces, merging with the eternal mountains and rivers, leaving behind only the remnants of the treasure and the eighteen clear lakes.
To outsiders, recalling the ancient legend, the scenery before them appears beautiful and enchanting.
But only those who truly tread this path can understand the hidden dangers beneath the seemingly lush grasslands—hidden currents, whirlpools, marshes...
The vast three-story boat, cutting through the shimmering waters of Bao Ping River, ripples through the lush water grass, steered by the most experienced hands, sailing on the broad and flat river surface.
In the third level of the boat, Chu Weiyang sits by the window, gazing into the distance at the river and grasslands.
In his broad field of vision, occasional splashes of mud from the riverbank and ripples caused by birds in the sky can be seen.
Within the shimmering waves, glimpses of decaying wood and rotten beams buried in the mud can be seen.
As Chu Weiyang contemplates, a young man instinctively flicks his wrist, plucks a pill from his sleeve, and consumes it.
Meanwhile, in his mind, a faint and mocking voice controlled by divine consciousness emerges, seemingly ridiculing Chu Weiyang's actions.
"Chu, on the boat on the river, consuming pills to cultivate the 'Five Organs Nourishing Qi Technique,' your actions... seem to be as famous as that lady. How about I teach you some eyebrow and eyeliner techniques?"
The beautiful voice carries a hint of sarcasm.
However, perhaps accustomed to the steward's mockery, Chu Weiyang remains indifferent.
He slowly draws out his sword from its sheath, meticulously refining it with a dark aura that seems to be enveloped in dust, applying it to the sword's bright yellow and silver-white blade.
Throughout the process, Chu Weiyang's movements are careful and meticulous, leaving no detail on the sword untouched.
With each of Chu Weiyang's movements, the prohibition formed by the thunder and cloud patterns intertwined in the bright yellow patterns on the sword becomes brighter, indicating a growing power with each breath he takes.
Even the originally silver-white fragments, hidden behind the dark curtain, seem to reveal a starry sky shining brightly, resembling a night sky covered with dense clouds, revealing a myriad of shining stars.
The long sword appears more spirited, absorbing the dark aura and dust wiped by Chu Weiyang.
However...
In Chu Weiyang's mind, at the end of the prohibition controlled by divine consciousness, the mocking laughter gradually fades away, replaced by intermittent sounds of sorrowful inhalation.
At this moment, Chu Weiyang flicks his finger on the sword edge.
With a buzzing sound, he lifts his fingertip, holding the thinning dark aura and dust, bringing it close to his nose.
As he sniffs, his eyebrows furrow, as if a pungent taste invigorates his spirit.
Subsequently, sword qi clashes through the upper dantian, piercing through the central meridian, crossing the twelve levels, and heading straight towards the magpie bridge!
Beginning of Spring, Rain Water, Waking of Insects, Spring Equinox, Pure Brightness, Grain Rain!
The six sword intents intertwine and resonate with each other, from early spring to deep spring, and then to the end of spring.
It is the essence of spring, nurturing the body and spirit, born from hunger, pain, and anger.
It is the six stages of sword intent, the thirty-six techniques.
It is the Springtime Sword!
Suddenly, the pungent sensation in the breath dissipates.
The pure dark aura flows smoothly through Chu Weiyang's meridians under the guidance of the sword intent.
The six sword intents hovering above the dantian flow with a clear change, absorbing the pure and majestic dark aura, shining brightly with each breath.
Starting from a faint thread, it seems to be growing into a world-shaking sword that spans heaven and earth!
The six springtime sword intents hang high above the dantian, rotating with the light, resembling a radiant sun.
Gradually, a layer of luminous mirror wheel unfolds.
As the six sword intents change, the starry sky within the thirty-six dull silver-white fragments integrated by Chu Weiyang's handcrafted prohibition also shines brightly.
The sword, imbued with Chu Weiyang's breath, vibrates and trembles, reflecting an endless starry sky in his deep eyes.
It seems to resonate with a blend of spiritual charm and divine consciousness, revealing a vast and boundless expanse.
It is a universe constructed by boundless sword qi.
With the rotation of the six sword intents, a galaxy hangs above Chu Weiyang's head, pouring endless sword qi like a Milky Way pouring down, roaring silently, as if rushing towards Chu Weiyang's mind, ready to engulf his entire being.
In this resonance between the person and the sword, they gradually reach the ultimate harmony and unity.
At that moment, even the most ferocious killing intent within the sword intent, even the smallest meridian in Chu Weiyang's body, all become gentle and transparent in this harmony and unity.
Similarly, almost boundless joy arises from Chu Weiyang's mind, flooding almost all his thoughts.
This kind of cultivation and transformation is what Chu Weiyang wanted to see, the very purpose he began practicing the sword path for!
Sword practice is for refining dark aura!
As Chu Weiyang feels the dissipation of the dark aura and the clarity and unity in his mind, he gently rubs his nose, flips his wrist again, picks up a Dragon-Tiger Returning Yuan Pill, swallows it, and continues.
After a while, the slightly trembling voice of Chunyu Zhi, which had a hint of exhaustion, reaches Chu Weiyang's mind.
"Resonating the spiritual object with the orthodox inheritance of the Qianyuan Sword Sect's sword intent is the most exquisite method of refinement in the world! Chu Weiyang, you better truly understand what you are doing! If you really refine this half-spiritual object in this way, even if you perish, the spiritual object will be deeply imprinted with your sword intent aura and can no longer be used by others...
And with a complete spiritual object, not to mention the ethereal and elusive tribulations, just the essence of the spiritual object, shining in the visible and hidden realms, existing in both form and spirit, resembling the imagery of a Golden Core cultivator condensing the Dao fruit! Mastering the spiritual object is like possessing a treasure embryo! It's like opening the door to the Golden Core realm! You are forcing them to kill you!"
As Chunyu Zhi speaks more smoothly, her voice gradually rises, almost turning into a thunderous roar at the end.
But Chu Weiyang doesn't say much, he just presses his finger on the sword spine, and suddenly, like a clear sky after rain, the thunderous roar vanishes into thin air.
At the same time, Chu Weiyang's hoarse voice is transmitted through the prohibition to the other end of the sword.
"Miss Zhi, things are not as you see them. Since the day I escaped from the Demon-Sealing Cave, some things can only be resolved by life and death. I won't involve myself with these spiritual objects. They also want me dead. If I get involved, can they kill me again?
So, once this half-spiritual object falls into my hands, it's an opportunity that cannot be missed. Just like Miss Zhi said, once you understand the balance of power, you think it's all the world's truths. From the moment you only have a soul and true spirit left, why bother desperately seeking a way out?"
After a moment of silence, Chunyu Zhi's thoughts seem to return to the edge of Lingqiu Mountain.
After a long time, Chunyu Zhi's clear voice, tinged with a hint of indignation, speaks again.
"Chu Weiyang, remove your hand!"
Chu Weiyang obediently lifts his finger, and his hoarse voice flows through the prohibition to the other end of the sword.
"You see, Miss Zhi, you can understand this truth, or perhaps you already understand it. You suddenly focus on the sword, unable to comprehend this layer, or instinctively unwilling to accept it.
But let me tell you, Miss Zhi, it's better to understand it quickly. Otherwise, living in self-deception, lost in confusion, has already lost the body, and now losing the clarity of mind, is this really the way Miss Zhi wants to live?
Look at me, even if the escape route to life and death is uncertain, on the path of survival, no matter what means, no matter what methods, as long as there are, as long as I can see them, I am willing to try them!
Refining the spiritual objects, if not for the lack of a way back, I even want to gather all the spiritual objects together, regardless of life or death, first let the Sword Sect thoroughly lose a Golden Core cultivator in the future, which can be considered my way of settling scores with the Sword Sect!
By the way, that day in the Demon-Sealing Cave, Chunyu Huai took half of the spiritual objects, circling around in front of us, what about the remaining half of the spiritual objects? Regardless of the outcome, there must be a resolution... Thinking about it, it's hard to understand."
As Chu Weiyang's words fall, following the young man's thoughts, almost in the next instant, Chunyu Zhi's clear voice with a mysterious meaning resounds.
"Yes, it's hard to understand. Where did the remaining half of the spiritual objects go..."
As if murmuring to herself, but the next moment, Chunyu Zhi suddenly stops speaking.
Next moment, the sword vibrates and hums.
Without Chu Weiyang's palm pressing down, without the nourishment of dark aura, yet Chunyu Zhi's indignation intensifies, becoming more and more intense.
The momentary loss of control, the sudden influence of Chu Weiyang's words, almost drives Chunyu Zhi into madness!
After a long time, a long time.
When Chu Weiyang swallows down almost half a bottle of Hundred Herbs Breaking Calamity Pill, Chunyu Zhi's voice, which is trying hard to calm down, carries a hint of stiffness, shifting the topic abruptly.
"Look behind the corridor, across from the room with the open window, behind the wooden screen, that woman has been staring at you for a long time.
Heh!
A person who is willing to walk the nine thousand miles of life and death has extraordinary implications! Just sitting by the window, she can attract peach blossom luck.
If you carefully sense her aura, if you are willing to sacrifice some appearance, you might even be able to extract the pill formula for cultivating the 'Five Organs Nourishing Qi Technique' from her! This is exactly what you said, that you are willing to try any method and means!"
As she finishes speaking, Chunyu Zhi's voice is filled with sarcasm and narrowness, becoming more and more strange.
Meanwhile, Chu Weiyang remains motionless.
He simply transmits his thoughts once again.
"If you look down on others at first sight, you end up looking down on yourself. Well, as Miss Zhi said, there may be extraordinary implications, but there is one truth, which I understood many years ago—people with stories are indeed intriguing, but people with stories no longer have any reservations. In the world of cause and effect, except for life and death, I may be most afraid of this..."
As he speaks to Chunyu Zhi, at the far end of his gaze, on the boundless grassland shrouded in steam, the outline of a huge Dao city gradually emerges from the mist, like a colossal behemoth.
Taking a deep breath, Chu Weiyang sheaths the sword, preparing to leave from the window.
At that moment, a cold voice suddenly emanates from the room with the open window across the corridor.
"Senior Brother, may I ask boldly, did Senior Brother come from the direction of Yu Sui River?"
Hearing this, Chu Weiyang pauses, then turns to look.
Behind the wooden screen, a vague figure can be seen, even more indistinct than the city in the mist.
The young man nods calmly.
"Yes, I came to search for three senior friends of the Di Shi lineage and stayed in the market of the River Source for a while."
Following this, the cold voice speaks again.
"Then, does Senior Brother know about the recent events involving the Sword Sect and the cultivators of Tingchang Mountain at Lingqiu Mountain? I heard it's related to an escaped prisoner?"
Chu Weiyang just smiles and shakes his head.
"I don't know the ins and outs of the affairs of the Holy Land's teachings... But, I've heard about the escaped prisoner. It is said that he escaped with a cultivator from the Sword Sect and caused quite a commotion at Lingqiu Mountain. I heard he is a sword genius who learned some... Qian Gan Sword Technique, but I'm not sure about the specifics..."
As his words trail off, Chu Weiyang suddenly hears Chunyu Zhi's inexplicably mocking laughter in his mind.
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