Chapter 3010: A Passive Dao Skill
"A... passive skill?"he muttered aloud.
This was unlike any Dao Skill he had obtained before. His previous Dao Skillsâlike those from his True Earth Heart Dao Embryo or from his Four Faceted Nebula Spatial Dao Embryoâwere powerful, active manifestations of his comprehension. Techniques he could wield, project, and manipulate outwardly.
Even the Rune Shaping Brush Formation Dao Embryo had an active application when making runes and arrays.
But this skill...
This one didnâtdoanything in the traditional sense.
Yet the more Lin Mu read into it, the more terrifying and profound it became.
Its name was simple and unassuming:
Endless Nurturing.
But the implications behind it were anything but simple.
The Sword Cradle Divine Sheath, unlike ordinary sheaths or storage artifacts, functioned as an incomprehensibly powerful nurturing matrix. It was, in essence, an evolved, near-divine version of a Sword Nurturing Boxâbut on a scale Lin Mu could barely imagine.
Within it, swords didnât just restâthey grew.
They evolved.
The sheath acted as a medium of incubation, development, and ascension. As long as a sword was housed within it, it would be nourished by Lin Muâs Dao, Immortal Qi, and the Endless Nurturing principle of the sheath.
What stunned him most was that it didnât just improve the swordâs edge or durability. It refined the swordâs soul, raised its spirit, and elevated its gradeâpermanently.
"So I can... evolve even low-grade swords?" Lin Mu said in awe, feeling the Dao Skill etch itself into his mind.
He confirmed it a moment later.
As long as he provided the right materials, the sheath could take an Low-grade sword and slowly reforge it into a Mid-grade sword. Or perhaps... even beyond.
And unlike many nurturing treasures that worked once or twice before breaking or reaching their limit, the Sword Cradle Divine Sheath could do it endlessly.
Hence the name.
The only limiting factor was time and resources.
And perhaps... Lin Muâs own comprehension and power.
He realized something else too: swords nurtured within the sheath would slowly become extensions of himself. The more they stayed within, the more they aligned with his Sword Heart and his Dao, making them easier to wield and more responsive in combat.
It wasnât just an arsenal.
It was a cradleâin the truest senseâfor growing sword spirits.
"So this is why the Sword Spirit chose this..." Lin Mu whispered, reverently brushing his fingers over the sheathâs surface.
No cultivator could ever hope to understand every sword Dao in existence, but this sheath allowed Lin Mu to embrace all of themânot by mastering every form himself, but by nurturing swords along different paths, each aligned to a specific sliver of sword Dao.
Over time, he would wield not just swords, but entire philosophies of the sword.
"Afternoon Pine... Ocean Raker..." he muttered, remembering the two swords already within the sheath.
He could already sense the changes beginning inside them. Their auras had grown more refined, more spirited. They were evolving. And they were happy to be thereâas if they had found their rightful home.
Even the sword nurturing boxâwhich had been devoured earlierâwas not destroyed out of malice. The sheath had absorbed it, refining its principles, making them a part of itself.
"Itâs not greed," Lin Mu murmured. "Itâs integration."
He looked at the sheath again, heart pounding.
A powerful new realization dawned on him.
"This isnât just a Dao Embryo... itâs the foundation for an entire Sword Sect."
If he had enough swords, enough time, and enough understanding, he could become a one-man armyâan arsenal of sentient blades, all evolved, all nurtured, and all carrying a piece of his Dao.
And at the heart of them all would be the Sword Cradle Divine Sheathâhis ultimate companion and the chosen vessel of the Xian Sword Spirit.
As the night deepened and the stars wheeled overhead, Lin Mu continued to sit with the sheath in silence, letting his understanding settle and his heart steady.
What he held was not a mere weapon.
It was a legacy.
And now that it had accepted him, he would have to prove worthy of carrying it into the battles to come.
The night winds were soft, and the courtyard quiet under the waning moonlight when Lin Mu finally decided: it was time to put theSword Cradle Divine Sheathto the test.
While its potential seemed boundless, he needed to understand itslimits. It wasnât just about theory anymoreâhe needed practice, data, and experience to truly master this new legacy.
As he sat cross-legged, the sheath resting upright beside him, he reached into his spatial ring and retrieved amundane low-grade spirit sword. It was a plain iron bladeâone of the many that filled the sectâs armory, used for training new outer court disciples. Unremarkable in every way. Just the kind of sword no one would bat an eye at.
"Letâs see what you can do," Lin Mu murmured to the sheath.
He gently placed the sword into the sheathâs opening.
The moment the blade slid inside, a faint hum echoed from the sheath. It was not loud, but it resonated in Lin Muâs bones. He couldfeelsomethingâlike the pulsing of a sleeping heart beginning to stir.
He closed his eyes and extended hisImmortal Sense, keeping track of both the swordâs aura and the sheathâs response. At first, there was nothing unusual. Just quiet, slow warmth. But within ten minutes, he noticed the spirit swordâs energy signature begin to shift.
An hour later, Lin Mu opened his eyes and pulled the sword back out.
His brows lifted in surprise.
"Mid-grade?" he muttered. "Already?"
Indeed, the once mundane blade now pulsed with a far denser spiritual aura. Its edge was sharper, its qi flow more fluid. The metallic sheen was brighter, more refined. If an outer court disciple had this sword now, theyâd feel like they were wielding a treasured weapon.
And yet, Lin Mu noticed something else: the draw on hisImmortal Qihad beennegligible. Heâd barely noticed it leaving his dantian.