The little book spirit smiled and said pleasingly, "Don't be angry, Master. A sword body is powerful; its strength lies in possessing a keen perception of any sword intent, and its comprehension of the Dao of the sword is far beyond that of ordinary people. It can learn and master ancient sword moves and techniques in an extremely short amount of time. When cultivated to the extreme limit, one can use all things as a sword, or even use one's own body as a sword, erupting with sword aura that can destroy the heavens and the earth. Naturally, it also possesses unique advantages in cultivation."
"In the mortal land of Fanzhou, your acquired sword body reigns supreme over immortal bodies and Saint Bodies, rivaling a divine body. Between those of the same realm, no one can hope to break through your physical defense. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say you are invincible within the same realm..."
After Xu Xian finished listening, his concept of this acquired sword body remained vague, but that wasn't important. He only needed to know that with this sword body, his path to the Great Dao would be much wider.
The little book spirit paused for a moment and continued, "However, that isn't the most important part. What's most important is that your sword body can become more powerful and perfect as your realm increases. In the future, it might even surpass the ten great innate sword bodies."
This was a 'cake'—a massive one—and Xu Xian wasn't biting. What he hated most was being fed empty promises.
He gave a dismissive "Tch."
He was merely going through the motions of listening.
The little book spirit held up a second finger and shook it, smiling as she said, "The second piece of good news is to congratulate you on gaining the recognition of the Heaven Beyond the Sword and becoming the new master of this entire Sword Mound."
Xu Xian's interest shifted away from his physical body, and he raised his eyes in confusion. "Master?"
"That's right. According to the rules of the Heaven Beyond the Sword, whoever can ascend the Fifth Sword Heaven and reach this Divine Sword Pool becomes the new master of the Sword Mound. You will control the entire Sword Mound, and every sword within it, regardless of its grade, will obey your commands alone."
It sounded mystical, and Xu Xian felt even more bewildered as he heard it.
He asked suspiciously, "For real?"
The little book spirit affirmed, "Of course it's real."
Xu Xian felt like he had hit the jackpot. He asked excitedly, "Does that mean I can take as many swords from here as I want?"
The little book spirit affirmed again, "Yes, all the swords here belong to you."
Xu Xian felt his head buzzing. He rubbed his hands together and laughed foolishly in his heart, 'I'm rich, I'm rich, I'm rich.'
According to what Xu Xian knew...
In Fanzhou...
A single spirit sword was worth anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 high-grade spirit stones.
An earth sword was worth between 10,000 and 100,000 high-grade spirit stones.
As for a heaven sword, it was practically a priceless item. Whenever one appeared in the world, it would surely fetch a sky-high price of a million.
Not to mention immortal swords.
Immortal weapons in Fanzhou were non-renewable resources.
They could only be unearthed from massive ancient ruins or immortal tombs.
Each one was a well-deserved, priceless treasure.
This single Sword Mound contained a million spirit swords, a hundred thousand earth swords, thousands of heaven swords, and eighty-six immortal swords... One could say without any modesty that Xu Xian was only half a step away from being the richest person in Fanzhou.
That step was simply walking out of here.
"Heh heh!"
The little book spirit seemed to have guessed Xu Xian's fantasies. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she spoke, pouring a bucket of cold water over his excitement, chilling him to the core.
"Master, the swords here cannot be sold."
"Huh?" Xu Xian froze.
The little book spirit explained, "The swords in the Heaven Beyond the Sword are sentient swords. They choose only one master in their lifetime. If you take a sword out of here, it recognizes you as its master; no one else can use it. After you die, the sword returns to the sword pool. The only difference is that others can only take one sword in their lifetime, while you can take many, or even all of them... provided you can endure it, of course."
It felt like a blow to the head.
Xu Xian was dumbfounded on the spot.
"Uh?"
But on second thought, he waved his hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. If I can't sell the swords, I can still sell tickets. I'll just let others come in and take them themselves. It's a guaranteed profit with no risk, heh heh."
The little book spirit stared at him as if looking at a fool.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Am I wrong?"
The little book spirit said honestly, "Master's idea is good, of course, and it is feasible. But Master, have you thought about how the Wendao Sword Sect would feel?"
Xu Xian raised an eyebrow.
The little book spirit spread her hands.
"If you actually did that, they would probably tear you limb from limb."
Xu Xian was dazed for a moment before the realization hit him, and he began scratching his head in frustration.
That was true.
This was like guarding a mountain of gold that he couldn't take with him.
Xu Xian wasn't discouraged, though. He clicked his tongue optimistically and said, "It's fine. I won't say anything for now. I'll develop quietly. Once I reach the tribulation transcendence stage, I won't be afraid of them. I can sell them then just the same."
The little book spirit smiled gently.
"Judging the situation and waiting for the right moment—Master truly is Master, so clever. Then Master must work even harder in your cultivation from now on."
So fake!
Xu Xian rolled his eyes irritably.
Great, now he had another reason why he had to endure the hardships of cultivation.
He simply sat down on the ground, tilting his head from side to side until his neck joints popped. He said lazily, "There's a first and a second, so there should be a third. What other good news is there? Say it all in one breath."
The little book spirit lowered her floating height and said with a bright smile, "The third piece of good news is the last one. From today onwards, Master can begin cultivating the Heavenly White Jade Capital."
Xu Xian rested his chin on his hand and asked nonchalantly, "How do I cultivate it?"
The little book spirit's eyes shone brightly.
"Using the body as a foundation to cast a high tower."
"Oh."
"Master, do you see these twelve divine swords?"
"Duh, I'm not blind."
The little book spirit asked again, "Then does Master know why these twelve swords are locked by these chains?"
Xu Xian looked at her calmly. "You tell me."
The little book spirit was stunned for a moment, then answered her own question, "The Heavenly White Jade Capital has twelve floors in total. One floor is one sword; one sword is one floor. Twelve swords, exactly twelve floors."
Xu Xian remained silent...
The little book spirit spoke eloquently, "...In the past, the Heavenly White Jade Capital existed, standing tall above the Sea of Chaos. With twelve swords for twelve floors, it guarded Cangming. Whether they were extraterrestrial demons or dark creatures, if they dared to cross the Sea of Chaos, the sword tower would appear and the divine swords would emerge to slay all enemies. It killed countless powerful beings in its lifetime. Later... the Dark Turmoil broke out beyond the Sea of Chaos. Extraterrestrial creatures invaded our Cangming. The powerful experts of Cangming all headed to the Star Sea to resist the external enemies. My previous master also took the White Jade Capital sword tower to participate in the war, fighting until the heavens grew dim and the earth turned dark in the Broken Star Sea."
"Later, the Cangming Realm achieved a tragic victory. My master's strength was exhausted, and he was on the verge of passing away. The sword tower collapsed, and the twelve divine swords became masterless objects."
"However, these twelve divine swords had followed their master through countless slaughters within the sword tower. Their killing intent was extremely heavy. Without the sword tower to suppress them, they generated a monstrous baleful aura. In his final moments, my master feared that the twelve divine swords would be tainted by dark blood, develop their own consciousness, and bring chaos to all living beings. So, he used his own body to cast a Sword Mound and sealed the twelve divine swords within the sword pool."
"And he entrusted me with a task: if a new master was found in the future, they would need to gain the recognition of this Sword Mound before they could rebuild the sword tower. For every floor built, one sword could be unsealed. Using the tower to control the swords, using the tower to suppress the swords. Once the twelve floors are complete, the seal will be fully opened."
"After my master died, I cast a sword stele and left behind a game of remnant chess. I took the Sword Mound and slept within Cangming, waiting for the destined person to become my new master."
"Comprehend the sword stele to obtain the sword embryo."
"Ascend the Sword Heaven to cast the sword body."
"Build the sword tower to take the divine sword, and challenge the Cangming Realm to be unrivaled in the world."
"This is my story, and the origin of the Sword Mound and the sword stele."
"Unfortunately..."
The little book spirit lowered her eyes and sighed, then looked at the twelve swords. She said in a low voice:
"I slept for too long, and many of my memories are missing. I can't remember many things. I've even forgotten what they used to be called."
Looking back at Xu Xian, her eyes were dim. "I can't even remember what my previous master was called."
Rate on N.U.
