Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 390 - 390 389 Groping in Death

390: Chapter 389: Groping in Death 390: Chapter 389: Groping in Death The Qian Character Mantra of the Elder Ba Quan had form without essence, appearance without spirit, and a facade without intent.

What he intended to do now was to find the pathway into this new realm of swordsmanship.

Having decided to unravel the secrets of the Body Sword Skill, he decided to change his mode of combat with Sword Three.

His Divine Soul entered the Purple Mansion Vortex and arrived at the familiar Soul Realm.

He had persisted in this cultivation for twenty years without interruption.

He had slain countless Soul Bodies and had completely lost track of the number, only knowing that there were many, many of them.

Where did the corridor lead, he no longer cared.

It was enough to just head towards the denser congregations of Soul Bodies; here, distance had lost its traditional concept.

In recent months, he had been constantly contending with this Sword Three.

From the moment he discovered the Soul Realm, its resident Sword Souls became his best opponents, teachers, friends, and also life-and-death enemies.

Because they were merciless in their slaughtering of him, never relenting, just as ruthlessly as the first time, for a hundred or even a thousand years.

When he encountered Sword One, he was still a minor Energy Induction, understanding nothing and knowing nothing, so he settled the matter hastily, winning by the sheer strength of his Soul Body, a regret that persisted to this day.

When he met Sword Two, he had become much more savvy, but Sword Two was the weakest among the three Sword Souls.

Even if he was conservative in his learning, it seemed he didn’t learn much, right?

It was still an upgraded version of the same set of moves with a sword, and against the current him, probably not a match at all.

Sword Three was the strongest Sword Soul he had encountered, terrifyingly, outrageously, despairingly strong.

The most crucial part was that Sword Three had completely deviated from the held-sword pattern.

For it, distance seemed nonexistent; striking instantaneously from afar or up close, moving freely.

After these months of continuous deaths and abuse, Hou Niao at least understood that Sword Three did not utilize a Flying Sword, nor did it wield a sword by hand—it was something in between.

Or rather, Sword Three could switch freely between Flying Sword, held-sword, and Body Sword, making perfect choices that benefited the battle, putting Hou Niao under tremendous strain, much like a robust adult martial artist thrashing a child.

Despite the miserable situation, if one were to look at it from another angle, the greater the anticipation, how did Sword Three manage to integrate itself with its Sword, becoming indistinguishable from one another?

He had some speculation and had been experimenting.

Now, he planned to practice with a new approach.

The Body Sword Skill method.

As the Qian Character Mantra stated, he focused his mind on the Purple Mansion, entered the Flying Sword, then launched it towards Sword Three…

A very unpleasant experience, not just because he ended up dizzy and was decapitated by Sword Three in one strike, but also because of the awkwardness of the process…

the dizziness caused by the excessive speed, unable to keep up with the Flying Sword’s velocity, let alone control it, ultimately delivering himself into Sword Three’s hands…

So he sent himself to his death over and over, repeatedly getting slain, until his Soul Body could no longer sustain it and was unable to enter the Soul Realm.

The results were not obvious, or rather, there were no results at all; but he was a person who, once set on a path, refused to give up easily.

This was just the beginning, what was such a setback in comparison?

With the confidence from his successful ascent to the Upper Realm and the addition of several decades to his lifespan, he became even more self-assured—these were the motivators that kept him moving forward.

He continued this practice not only in the Soul Realm but also after returning to his body, making himself accustomed to the sensation of the Flying Sword carrying him, for the sake of maintaining meticulous observation and rational judgment even during high-speed flight.

For this reason, he even gave up strengthening his cultivation at the Thunder Triangle.

His cultivation level wasn’t the focus now; rebuilding the swordsmanship system was the priority.

In his relentless pursuit, after all, his strength lay there undisputed, being that of a person of the Tongtian two realms, he adapted to the state of being carried by the Flying Sword very quickly.

In less than a month, he had become completely accustomed to this sensation.

Although he would still stiffen up, still unable to control the Flying Sword freely, still unable to fully merge with his own Flying Sword into one, at the very least, he could now manage to maintain clarity of consciousness while accompanying the Flying Sword in flight, observing with meticulous attention.

When he achieved this, the secret of Sword Three Points Sword Skill also quietly lifted its mysterious veil.

One evening, two months later, Hou Niao sat alone in meditation on the desolate island, understanding why Sword Three had achieved this—it was because of the Sword Spirit!

About the Sword Spirit, it was not uncommon within the Quanzhen Sect.

Essentially, it is the process wherein a cultivator’s Flying Sword, after being cultivated within the Purple Mansion for a long time, and when the Sword Consciousness reaches an extremely high degree, begins to develop a consciousness of its own.

Flying Swords that develop a Sword Spirit are generally seen in cultivators at the Golden Core Stage, and it becomes commonplace after Nascent Transformation.

However, in the third realm of Tongtian, the probability of a cultivator’s Flying Sword developing a Sword Spirit is very low, with only a select few possessing exceptional talent in the Sword Dao having this possibility.

A Flying Sword that has developed a Sword Spirit experiences significant improvement in all aspects, and this is an important marker distinguishing the strength of Sword Cultivators.

Hou Niao was uniquely blessed in this regard; his Sword Consciousness appeared relatively early, even before reaching the Upper Realm Tongxuan.

In this sense, he could also be considered as someone with certain talent in the Sword Dao.

But he had never deliberately sought to foster the emergence of a Sword Spirit.

He had always believed that it was better to let something like the Sword Spirit awaken naturally.

This was an attitude that came naturally and also a rare self-confidence, a belief that his own strength did not need to be improved by force-growing a Sword Spirit.

Such an attitude brought him an unexpected delight.

Because Sword Three’s Sword Spirit was not an ordinary Sword Spirit!

It used the will of the cultivator itself as the Sword Spirit!

The Sword Spirit was the Sword Cultivator himself!

This was the reason why the numerous Golden Core and Nascent Transformation great cultivators up and down the Quanzhen Sect could not see the advantages of the Body Sword Skill.

Their relationship with their own Sword Spirit was one of cooperation, sharing life and death, sharing trials and tribulations, much like two inseparable lifelong friends.

However, they were not each other!

Thus, they couldn’t achieve being the person as the sword, and the sword as the person!

Therefore, they couldn’t execute the ferocious killing methods of the Body Sword Skill.

Over time, they stopped pursuing the so-called Body Sword Skill and instead focused on refining the Flying Sword itself.

This wasn’t wrong, of course, as the Body Sword Skill was just one direction, and it didn’t represent everything about the Flying Sword.

If one were to divide the use of swords into several major directions, using a Flying Sword is one, wielding a sword is another, and a Body Sword yet another.

Only, judging by the current situation, the Flying Sword is the most popular, most widely applied, also has the most branches, and encompasses the richest variety—it is the mainstream of Sword Cultivators.

Having understood all this, what he ought to do also became clear at a glance.

Not to wait for a natural opportunity for the Sword Spirit to emerge, but rather to let his own will become the Sword Spirit.

If he could achieve this, he could fully master the true Body Sword Skill contained within the Qian Character Mantra.

He could, like Sword Three, transform into a formidable entity, where every movement spelled life or death.