*Gurgle, gurgle… gurgle, gurgle…*
*Splash!!*
A figure shot up from the bottom of the cold pool.
Looking at Li Guanqi with utter disdain, the sword spirit remarked, "You actually fancy trash like that?"
Li Guanqi paid her words no heed. Instead, he happily gathered the Ice Crystal Sprout Algae lining the floor of the subterranean cold pool.
Once he tossed this stuff into the pool back at Yuhu Peak, it would make a wonderful natural healing spring.
Just because the sword spirit looked down on it didn't mean others would!
Even so, Li Guanqi still felt the constricting bottleneck of the Nascent Soul realm.
Even he had to admit that the gulf between the Core Formation and Nascent Soul realms was vast.
Although the previous Colossal Strength Vajra had been only slightly above him in cultivation, the difference in comprehensive combat power had been staggering.
If the sword spirit hadn't taught him that strike, his only choice would have been to flee.
Seeing that his injuries were mostly healed, the sword spirit spoke softly.
"Shattering the core to form the nascent soul is inherently an arduous undertaking. There is no need to rush."
Li Guanqi nodded slightly. It seemed this matter truly could not be hurried.
Immediately after, however, her voice sounded directly in his mind.
"Practice your sword diligently over the coming days. In your battles against the demonic beasts out there, you are permitted to use only Demon Shadow Slash."
Li Guanqi swallowed hard and said, "Only Demon Shadow Slash? Won't that drain me dry…?"
The sword spirit chuckled softly. "Precisely because of that, you are forbidden from using anything else."
"You must learn to wield the power of your sword momentum adeptly according to your enemy's strength."
"Just like during your battle with that giant ape—you could have ended it with only eighty percent of your strength."
Li Guanqi scratched his head. That did seem to be the case.
Back then, a great deal of his power had spilled needlessly into the earth.
"By the way, I have a movement technique suited for you."
"You might as well scrap that garbage art of yours."
With a flick of her hand toward empty air, a wisp of spiritual light materialized instantly within his sea of consciousness.
It was the incantation for a movement technique, accompanied by a manifestation illustrating its circulation pathways.
Within the glowing figure's body, streams of primal energy circulated at blinding speed. Li Guanqi watched, utterly entranced.
*Pop!*
The spiritual light vanished, leaving Li Guanqi longing for more.
The technique was named Star Tread!
A quasi-Heaven rank technique!
If not for the fact that he was blind, Li Guanqi would have put on a tearful performance of weeping with gratitude for her.
Seeing the look on his face, the sword spirit curled her lips into a faint smile and murmured softly, "Before you reach Soul Formation, this technique will be more than enough for you."
"Once you break through to Soul Formation, I will give you others."
"Within seven days, I want you to master Demon Shadow Slash completely! After that, I will teach you the second sword strike."
"And within these seven days, you must gain initial mastery of this movement technique!"
Her words were delivered with utmost severity.
Li Guanqi rose, a surge of primal energy shaking the moisture from his clothes. He bowed deeply. "Understood!"
With a faint flicker, the sword spirit's figure vanished.
Nowadays, whenever Li Guanqi cultivated, he would direct a portion of his primal energy to her.
Her form had grown considerably more solid, though her haughty temperament remained entirely unchanged.
Li Guanqi smiled faintly, drew a deep breath, turned, and dashed toward the Purgatory Mountain Range.
In the days that followed, Li Guanqi drove himself through agonizing torment.
Leaving early and returning late, he soaked himself in the pool the moment he got back.
Within a few days, the water had turned a murky, blood-red hue.
More and more wounds marked Li Guanqi's body, but the corpses of demonic beasts inside his storage ring multiplied as well, several of them colossal in scale.
On the fifth day, Li Guanqi collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, barely able to hold the sword in his hand.
Before him lay the massive carcass of a venomous scorpion.
The beasts Li Guanqi had slain recently were all the ones that had hunted him before.
Yet fighting across realms was perilously dangerous. Looking down at his spilled intestines, he hastily shoved them back inside with his hands.
Rising to his feet, he stored the scorpion's corpse into his ring and slowly stepped into its cavern.
Deep within the cave, pitch darkness reigned, but the damp air bore none of the foul stench one might expect; instead, a refreshing fragrance drifted through the dark.
Li Guanqi was overjoyed. It seemed there was something good tucked away inside this den.
When he emerged, Li Guanqi wore a satisfied expression, but his injuries were far too severe. He hurried back toward the mountain ravine.
A flash of light gleamed beneath his feet. An afterimage lingered in place for half a breath before dissipating!
Meanwhile, his figure had already appeared hundreds of zhang away!
Such speed could no longer be explained by mere movement techniques; it was virtually indistinguishable from the spatial maneuvers employed by Nascent Soul masters.
Back in the pool, Li Guanqi grimaced in pain. Seeing him like this, the sword spirit teased, "In such a state, and you still won't take your medicinal pills?"
Li Guanqi had wanted to act tough, but the injuries this time were genuinely too severe.
Moreover, the flesh around the wounds had blackened, clearly indicating venom.
With a crestfallen face, Li Guanqi retrieved two pills, tossed them into his mouth, and sank into a meditative cultivation state.
Watching the boy close his eyes, the sword spirit curled her lips into a soft smile.
It had to be said, this fellow had brought her far too many surprises.
Both his disposition and talent were exceptional.
The only flaw was that he placed too much weight on personal sentiment—something she considered a grave liability.
A true powerhouse would never allow anything to tether them down!
However, she knew that telling him this now would be useless; it was better to let him experience it for himself over time.
Perched upon a hovering boulder, the sword spirit rested her chin on her hand, looking somewhat conflicted.
"What should I teach him next?"
"That sword strike? No, no… that technique is too formidable; he won't be able to grasp it yet."
"Ah, I've got it!"
A thought struck her, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of her mouth. Looking at Li Guanqi, she felt his arsenal was still far too limited.
Moreover, she had discovered that the medicinal baths he had soaked in since childhood had not only tempered his physique, but had also sealed the Heavenly Gateway of his sea of consciousness!
Because of that, Li Guanqi's divine sense capacity was astonishingly vast.
Even an ordinary third-rank alchemist was likely inferior to him.
Yet Li Guanqi was entirely devoted to the sword, holding virtually no interest in formations, talismans, or alchemy.
He loved nothing but practicing the sword.
Although the sword spirit felt he could learn alchemy to ensure an unrestricted supply of cultivation resources, Li Guanqi had rejected the idea outright.
She remembered it vividly. Back when he was still at the Great Xia Sword Sect, Li Guanqi had told her:
"Actually, I think all of those things are simple, but I don't want to learn them."
"Why?"
"Learning them would only delay my sword practice."
That was the reason he had given her back then, and time had proven he hadn't merely been bragging.
A gentle smile played upon her lips as the woman watched the youth recovering in the pool.
Without realizing it, faint down had appeared at the corners of the youth's mouth.
Slowly pulling her legs up, the sword spirit wrapped her arms around her knees. Her beautiful eyes quivered as she gazed at the youth, murmuring softly in her heart:
"Will you be the one to help me claim my revenge…?"
Chapter 267