Autumn.
Red leaves blanketed the mountains. In the early morning, as a gentle autumn breeze blew and the red sun first peeked over the horizon, a young man sat atop the mountain peak. An iron sword lay across his knees. As the first ray of sunlight fell upon him, he slowly opened his eyes, a flash of purple qi visible within his pupils.
He took up his sword and rose, sinking into a half-bow stance. One hand gripped the scabbard, the other clenched the hilt.
The young man took a deep breath, drawing qi into his dantian before slowly exhaling.
"Huuu!"
"A Lotus Appears."
As the young man drew his sword, a green lotus manifested out of thin air beneath his feet, turning from illusory to solid. When the blade emerged, a green fluorescence surged into the scabbard before following the sword outward, slashing toward the front.
"Ceng!—"
"Slash!"
The ring of the sword echoed as the wind turned into a blade, whistling forward.
Boom!
Three meters away, a boulder the size of a person shattered into pieces. As the sword aura passed, the air itself rippled, and a trench about a foot deep was carved into the ground.
It was a display of sheer, overwhelming force.
Dust and fallen leaves swirled through the air.
A moment later...
The wind swept past and the dust settled. The green lotus dissipated. The young man stood with his sword over his shoulder, gazing up at the sky. His eyes burned with a fervent light before he suddenly burst into wild laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"This young master has done it!!"
His voice carried a hint of past sorrow, yet was filled with a mad joy.
There were thirteen moves in the Green Lotus Sword Song, and the first was 'A Lotus Appears.'
For five months—five whole months—Xu Xian had forgotten food and sleep, exhausting his energy until he finally grasped a sliver of the true intent behind the Green Lotus Sword Song and unleashed this single strike.
Clap, clap, clap!
"Congratulations, Master! Blessings, Master! You have achieved the great ascension of the sword dao!"
The little book spirit flew around him, dancing with joy.
Xu Xian smiled calmly. He sheathed his sword with a flick of his wrist, glancing sideways with an air of nonchalance. "What’s with all the fuss? Just a standard performance."
With a wave of his hand, he sheathed his sword and headed down the mountain, heading straight for the Spirit Food Workshop. Now that he had mastered the sword art, a celebration was in order.
"Taozi."
Zhou Tao emerged with a large ladle over his shoulder, chuckling as he said, "Oho, Little Grand-Uncle! You've graced us with your presence. The usual? Spiritual porridge..."
Xu Xian shook his sleeves, looking radiant. "Who are you looking down on?"
"Eh?"
Xu Xian said heroically, "For this young master... add an egg."
Zhou Tao: "...." That’s it?
Just as Xu Xian left, Li Qingshan arrived. He stood before the trench and the shattered stone, one hand propping up his elbow and the other stroking his chin. His brows furrowed and his nose crinkled as his expression shifted between light and shadow.
He muttered to himself, "He actually managed to learn it?"
Originally, he hadn't held any expectations for Xu Xian, dismissing him as young and ignorant.
Later, he had been moved by Xu Xian's persistence.
But now, the shock in his heart was beyond words.
'Could it be... that the Green Lotus Sword Song can only be mastered by someone who gains enlightenment from the stele?'
The world called Li Qingshan a genius of the sword dao, a monstrous talent rarely seen in Fanzhou in a thousand years. He had never been humble about it because he believed it to be true; none of his peers had ever been worthy of his notice. He was lonely at the summit of invincibility.
But today, he had to admit that Xu Xian's comprehension of the sword dao far surpassed his own.
He had practiced the Green Lotus Sword Song himself. Thus, he knew exactly how difficult it was.
Back then, with a core formation cultivation, it had taken him three full months just to barely manage the move 'A Lotus Appears.' Even now, he could only perform seven of the thirteen moves, and even then, they had the form but lacked the true intent.
Yet Xu Xian, in a mere five months and while only at the qi refining stage, had forced out the first strike through sheer grinding.
Furthermore, judging by the marks left by that single strike, it was incredibly pure.
He suspected that in the future, Xu Xian might actually comprehend the legendary final four moves of the thirteen Green Lotus Sword Song strikes:
The first: 'Endless Vitality.'
The second: 'A Single Lotus Withers.'
The third: 'Infinite Lotus Rings.'
The fourth: 'Ten Thousand Lotuses on One Stem.'
According to the records in the Wendao Sword Sect's history, the Sword Ancestor had once used that final move, 'Ten Thousand Lotuses on One Stem.' A single sword strike had transformed into a vast ocean, causing lotuses to bloom for a thousand miles, which then turned into countless strands of sword intent that soared into the sky...
The current ruler of the Great Desolation, the Beast God Bai Ze, had suffered a narrow defeat then. Afterward, he led the race of demon beasts to flee deep into the Great Desolation.
Just thinking about that scene was enough to make one's blood boil.
Li Qingshan came and went. Wen Qingxue emerged shortly after. She stood there in a daze for nearly half an incense stick's time before leaving and heading straight for the main peak.
When Ye Xianyu learned that Xu Xian had mastered the first move of the Green Lotus Sword Song, she was also overjoyed. She offered a word of praise: "The student has surpassed the master."
After comprehending 'A Lotus Appears,' Xu Xian spent three days consolidating his gains. The small hilltop was hacked into a mess by his strikes. Once he was proficient, Xu Xian shifted his focus back to his mental cultivation. He used a sliver of the Green Lotus sword intent to fill his sea of qi, nourishing that intent with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
This process was like farming. The Green Lotus sword intent was the seed, and the sea of qi was the field. By planting the sword intent in the sea of qi and absorbing spiritual energy to nourish it, it would take root, sprout, and grow leaves. The moment the lotus fully grew and blossomed would be the moment his cultivation realm broke through.
Since it was like farming, fertile soil meant faster growth, and one could also use external help. The most common method was absorbing the spiritual energy from spirit stones, which was faster than relying solely on meditation and enlightenment. It was much like applying fertilizer.
Unfortunately, Xu Xian's three spirit stones had been pawned by him.
He had visited the spirit stone shop run by the Merchant Hall. A single low-grade spirit stone cost 100 merit points. A middle-grade spirit stone cost 200 merit points. And a high-grade spirit stone cost a staggering 500 merit points.
How was that any different from highway robbery?
Thinking back to how he had only received 120 merit points for all three of his spirit stones, it was clear that Zhou Tao had ripped him off. That master-betraying, ancestor-cheating brat...
Naturally, Xu Xian couldn't afford this 'fertilizer,' so he could only cultivate honestly. However, the trip wasn't a total waste. He learned that the Merchant Hall had a buy-back business. For example, forged swords, refined pills, mined spirit stones, and even cultivated spiritual herbs and medicines could be sold for money.
He had a plan. Once he reached foundation establishment and retrieved a sword from the Sword Mound, he would start making money through farming or alchemy.
After all, he was currently facing a debt of 6,000 merit points.
The days of cultivation passed quickly. Xu Xian, who claimed he didn't want to pursue immortality, remained terrifyingly hardworking. Aside from occasionally going out for daily necessities or taking short naps to prevent himself from dropping dead, he spent all his time in meditation and enlightenment.
His sea of qi expanded bit by bit. Thanks to his sword spirit root foundation, the guidance of the little book spirit, and the enhancement of the Green Lotus Sword Song, Xu Xian's cultivation level rose rapidly.
However, the Green Lotus sword intent was incredibly violent, constantly trying to usurp his control and shatter his sea of qi. Fortunately, the book spirit said that his body contained a sword embryo left by the Sword Tower, which was sufficient to suppress it. This allowed Xu Xian to go all out with his cultivation.
Otherwise, his meridians would likely have been destroyed by the violent sword intent long ago.
As if destined, it took two months for Xu Xian's sea of qi to become full. He had reached the qi refining great ascension, only one step away from foundation establishment.
That day, he knocked on Wen Qingxue's door for the first time.
"Little Grand-Uncle, what is it?"
Xu Xian spoke with a hint of bashfulness, "Um... Little Wen, could you lend your Little Grand-Uncle some merit points?"
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