Chapter 297: Chapter 295: Tong Huan’s Rapid Growth
While the cultivator army was being organized, Bai Zichen laid the White Bone Cold Light Sword across his lap, his hands pressed against the blade as he began refining the Flying Sword.
’Although it fell into the hands of the Ghost Spirit Sect, and their successors developed an unholy Sword Refining Secret Technique involving the blood sacrifice of ten thousand cultivators and the quenching of a million human bones, the sword itself is not the problem... There wasn’t much skill involved in its refinement. It relied more on the high quality of the Tier Four Great Demon’s spine.’
With the complete Sword Refining Secret Technique, his Refinement speed was astonishing. In less than two days, he could wield it freely.
Controlling it as if it were an extension of his own arm, his will and the sword’s actions perfectly synchronized—that was the bare minimum.
’From now on, I won’t need to use the Moon Xuan Sword against ordinary Cultivators. That would be too extravagant and wasteful... I’ll save it for critical moments. Although there’s a gap in quality between the two Flying Swords, I can still use them together for a Dual Swords Unification.’
The White Bone Sword Light circled and spun, casting a ghastly, cold gleam throughout the makeshift cave.
In the space of a few breaths, a stone pillar was whittled down to a pile of rock dust.
Bai Zichen summoned the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box. He tapped a vacant wisp of Pure Qi inside, and the White Bone Sword Light shot into it.
The Tier Three Flying Sword had not yet birthed an Artifact Spirit, but the moment it entered the Sword Box, its Sword Light flickered and swayed, almost failing to maintain its form.
After successfully securing a spot, it emitted a clear, ringing cry. The entire state of the White Bone Cold Light Sword had clearly changed for the better.
’You’re a lucky one. Since Ancient Times, you must be the first Tier Three Flying Sword to be accepted into the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box... In the hands of its previous owner, you probably wouldn’t have even been qualified to come near it.’
Recalling how even the Moon Xuan Sword had hesitated before the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box, overcome with a sense of its own unworthiness, he could only imagine what tier of Flying Swords were deemed worthy to enter the Sword Box in the hands of that Upper Realm Immortal.
Fortunately, the Sword Box was different from other Treasures; it actually didn’t have an Artifact Spirit.
Otherwise, the Tier Three Flying Sword might not have been able to enter the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box at all. Some arrogant Artifact Spirits would even refuse their master’s commands.
The wisps of Pure Qi containing the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword and the Moon Xuan Sword both silently shifted a couple of spaces away, leaving the White Bone Cold Light Sword off to the side by itself.
’Looks like there’s a pecking order among Flying Swords, too. If you’re not at least Tier Four, they won’t even hang out with you...’
A Tier Three Flying Sword, sought after by countless Sword Cultivators in the Cultivation Realm and an unobtainable dream for so many, was receiving the most humble treatment in the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box.
However, the White Bone Cold Light Sword was perfectly content, basking in the nourishment of the Sword Box’s azure light, like a fish in water.
The storage bags he had obtained from those two secretive Holy Lotus Sect Core Formation True Men had extremely complex spiritual marks left on them. Bai Zichen had scoured them several times with his Divine Sense in the usual manner, but they remained completely unaffected.
Those two Holy Lotus Sect Cultivators were both at the Early-Stage Core Formation Cultivation level, and the difference in Divine Sense strength between them and Bai Zichen was immense.
Logically, with such a massive disparity in Divine Sense, he should have been able to break the marks instantly; they shouldn’t have been able to resist at all.
It was impossible that both Core Formation True Men just happened to have powerful Innate Divine Sense. The only explanation was that the Holy Lotus Sect’s storage bags were special in some way.
If they fell into the hands of someone who didn’t know the trick, opening them without damaging the bags themselves would indeed be very difficult.
’I’ve heard there are forms of Magic in the Cultivation Realm that can quickly erase Spiritual Marks...’
Bai Zichen thought to himself, resolving to keep an eye out for such a thing in the future.
...
Over the next three days, the atmosphere of the sect war grew thicker as large numbers of Sect Disciples gathered at the foot of Xiaoluo Mountain.
Several days later, group after group of Clan Cultivators arrived, their numbers soon approaching a thousand.
As for the Loose Cultivators, this time there were several Elders serving as leaders, organizing the recruited Cultivators into teams for training.
By the seventh day, the army for the sect war had finally begun to take shape.
Unlike the previous reclamation war, the cruelty of a sect war aimed at total annihilation was far beyond imagination.
Crucially, the experience they had gained in forming Battle Arrays during the reclamation war had very few applications now that their opponents had changed.
The advantage of a Battle Array was its ability to unify disparate elements, truly binding hundreds of Qi Refining Disciples into a single force.
Combined with the corresponding Array Banners and Array Plates, their offensive and defensive power could match that of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
Its disadvantage, however, was its slow reaction time; it was mechanical and lacked flexibility.
This kind of Battle Array was very effective against Demon Beasts, giving Qi Refining Disciples a chance to face Tier Two Demon Beasts head-on.
But in a sect war, the opponents were once again Human Cultivators. Using a slow-moving, inflexible Battle Array would just turn them into a stationary target taking a beating.
Fortunately, thanks to the experience of repeated reclamation wars, the participating Cultivators were disciplined and followed orders without question. The cultivator army was well-organized.
After every soldier was enhanced with Light Body Talismans and Divine Movement Talismans, several complex, thousand-man cultivator armies braved the elements, crossed mountains and rivers, and successfully entered Hejian County on the third day.
Wei Chuming, who knew Hejian County extremely well, acted as the leading Elder for one of the columns, directing his Cultivators to seize two of the Ghost Spirit Sect’s outposts.
"Three hundred miles ahead, there’s a mine that produces over a thousand catties of Red Fire Elemental Copper annually. It’s an excellent ore for forging Fire Element Top-Grade Spiritual Artifacts... A thousand miles to the southwest, there’s a small Spirit Stone Ore Vein. The exact reserves are unknown, but the Ghost Spirit Sect has eight Foundation Establishment Cultivators stationed there year-round."
In the Ghost Spirit Sect, not every Foundation Establishment Cultivator held the position of Elder.
The number of Elder positions was fixed, while the number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators far exceeded it; it was common for three people to compete for a single spot.
For example, when Wei Chuming was infiltrating the Ghost Spirit Sect, he had no Elder status and was only considered part of the Sect’s middle management.
"Both locations are extremely important. Junior Brother Tong, why don’t we each lead a contingent and seize them simultaneously?"
In Wei Chuming’s eyes, this sect war was the perfect opportunity to earn merits and establish his reputation.
Within the Qingfeng Sect, every position was already filled. Even though he was the disciple of a Core Formation Ancestor, if his Cultivation and merits were not outstanding, no one would be convinced if he were suddenly promoted.
But as long as they could bring Hejian County into their territory, the Sect’s current manpower would be insufficient to manage such a large area, and they would inevitably have to expand and recruit.
If he could earn enough Merit Points on this campaign, he would have sufficient reason to be pushed into a higher position.
"How about we take the Spirit Stone Ore Vein first? The mine can’t be significantly damaged anyway. At worst, the Ghost Spirit Sect will just run off with whatever Red Fire Elemental Copper they’ve already extracted."
Tong Huan did a quick calculation. This thousand-man cultivator team included twelve Foundation Establishment Elders.
If they tried to take both locations at once, their manpower might not be enough.
He was not his master, whose combat prowess had dwarfed his peers since the Foundation Establishment Stage, and for whom winning against multiple opponents at once was a common occurrence.
Failing the mission and losing face would be a small matter, but for the Sect’s vanguard to suffer a setback and damage morale—that would be a major problem.
"Junior Brother Tong, you are very thorough. We’ll do as you say. Let’s seize the Spirit Stone Ore Vein first!"
Wei Chuming smiled, showing no displeasure at having his idea rejected.
After reorganizing their formation, the thousand Cultivators changed direction and advanced on the Spirit Stone Ore Vein.
In the days that followed, news of White Bone True Man’s demise and the complete annihilation of the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples sent to Black Mountain had been spreading. Even if it hadn’t reached every corner of Hejian, everyone in the Ghost Spirit Sect, from top to bottom, could feel that something was wrong.
First, their allies from the Joyful Union Sect had packed up and left, abandoning even a medium-sized Spirit Stone Ore Vein without any kind of handover.
Then, the Sect Grand Array was raised to its highest alert level, and all disciples had to pass the strictest inspections to enter or leave.
Unless one had a direct order from Fairy Taohua, no one was permitted to leave the Sect.
All these events made the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples begin to wonder if the seemingly absurd news of White Bone True Man’s death was actually true.
When the thousand-strong army from the Qingfeng Sect appeared outside the Spirit Stone Ore Vein, the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples inside immediately fell into a panic.
"White Bone True Man has been slain by our Sect’s Ancestor! The Ghost Spirit Sect will be annihilated this very day! Surrender within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and we might just spare your lives!"
Wei Chuming shouted this three times. When the time was up and there was still no movement from the Spirit Stone Ore Vein, he let out a cold snort.
"Did you think hiding in an Array would save you? Now I have to waste a Ban Breaking Talisman!"
A black Talisman floated out and landed on the protective Spirit Light of the Array surrounding the Spirit Stone Ore Vein.
The next moment, the earth shook and the mountains trembled as if the sky were falling. The Array’s Spirit Light immediately faltered, revealing several flaws.
Wei Chuming took the lead, and several Foundation Establishment Cultivators attacked in unison, directly blasting the Array until it shattered and dispersed.
"They’re resisting stubbornly! Leave no one alive!"
Battle cries erupted as Flying Swords, Treasures, Talismans, and Spirit Light collided and flew in every direction.
Tong Huan found himself facing a Ghost Spirit Sect Foundation Establishment Cultivator who had refined a Hundred Ghosts Banner, held a Ghost Crow Pot, and had two sinister, Ghost Qi-wreathed Bone Spears hovering above his head.
Since reaching Foundation Establishment, he hadn’t fought many real battles; most of his experience came from sparring and exchanges.
It had been a long time since he had experienced a desperate, life-or-death struggle like this.
Despite both being at the Early-Stage Foundation Establishment, he was immediately suppressed and put on the defensive. He had several close calls, nearly being pierced by the Bone Spears.
He barely managed to hold on, relying on his Protective Spiritual Artifact to block left and right.
’This person’s Magical Power is denser than mine, he has rich Combat experience, and his attacks are ruthless and precise... I need to calm down. What would Master do in this situation?’
Tong Huan was overcome with shame. His performance was a complete disgrace to his master.
’Then again, Master would never be in this situation. He would definitely just tell me, "What are you dawdling for? Just kill him with one strike!"’
Over the years, Tong Huan had become very aware that his Sword Dao Talent was limited. He couldn’t just copy Bai Zichen’s fighting style.
Deeply understanding the principle of "biting off more than you can chew," he had focused solely on practicing the Star Luo Swordsmanship, never setting it aside for decades.
Finally, a few years ago, he had received a word of praise instead of the usual criticism—
’I really don’t know how you practice. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone practice the Star Luo Swordsmanship to this extent... But since you were able to brute-force it into ten thousand variations, it’s enough to fool an average opponent. Just don’t ever dream of becoming famous for your Swordsmanship.’
The Star Luo Swordsmanship was designed to imitate the movements of the Circulation Stars, but Tong Huan couldn’t grasp how to spontaneously replicate the changes of the stars and the orbits of celestial bodies.
Instead, he had painstakingly derived his Sword Paths move by move, relying on nightly stargazing and the books in the Transmission Hall’s library.
Now, he reined in his emotions, focused his mind, and his Sword Light shone like stars, creating an impenetrable defense around him.
Neither the Ghost Soul Demon Crows, nor the Bone Spears and Bone Prisons could get near him.
After a hundred moves, Tong Huan even found the strength to counterattack, piercing the Hundred Ghosts Banner with his sword.
’So this is the depth of variation in Sword Control... No wonder Master always had that look on his face whenever he watched me demonstrate my Swordsmanship...’
Tong Huan had an epiphany in the heat of battle. His Celestial Xin Sword slashed out in a brilliant flash of Sword Light.
The Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivator’s eyes went wide with disbelief. He clutched his throat as blood spurted wildly from between his fingers.
Having killed a Cultivator of the same rank, Tong Huan let out a long breath and looked around. The Ore Vein was already littered with corpses.
The ground was covered in the bodies of Cultivators, most of them from the Ghost Spirit Sect. Some had died with ferocious expressions, while others had clearly been struck down from behind as they tried to flee in terror.
Many Qingfeng Sect disciples had also fallen, their bodies mangled, limbs severed, their pained cries echoing in the air.
’The Great Dao is fraught with hardship. Only by fighting onward can one find a sliver of opportunity...’
A sentence Song Lian had once told him flashed through Tong Huan’s mind. He sighed, raised his sword, and charged toward the nearest Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivator.