Sword Cultivator

The river waters surged and flowed vigorously. A figure rode the wind along the riverbank. "Star Valley shouldn't be far ahead..." Recalling the topographic map, Qin Sang surveyed the surrounding terrain. He flew up a high mountain, observed for a while, and made his judgment. Departing from the riverbank, he traveled more than a hundred li north before coming to a halt before a dense bamboo forest. Looking down from above, this bamboo forest spanned a full thousand li. Purple bamboo grew in thick clusters, unusually stout, with some stalks rivaling ancient trees in size—a sight rarely seen in the outside world. A night breeze blew past, rustling the bamboo leaves. Tonight was moonless. Amidst the bamboo sea blanketed in darkness, faint clusters of light could be seen flickering from time to time. Sensing their auras, Qin Sang discerned that these were all spirits nurtured within the sea of bamboo. Pausing for a moment, Qin Sang vaulted toward the center of the bamboo sea. Reaching a certain spot, he stopped, and his figure plummeted swiftly. *Rustle, rustle...* Passing through layers of branches and foliage, Qin Sang felt softness beneath his feet, formed from countless years of accumulated decaying leaves. Without slowing down, he plunged straight through the leaf litter, and the space suddenly opened up before him. Below lay an underground valley. Withered bamboos crisscrossed here, forming a skeleton that supported the heavy layer of rotting leaves and concealed the valley from view. In this sea of bamboo, such places were everywhere. The terrain had originally been undulating mountains rather than flat plains, now completely covered by the lush bamboo sea and thick rotting leaves. Because of the remote location and the immense thickness of the leaf litter, one had to deliberately sweep the bamboo sea with divine sense to discover this valley, so very few knew of its existence. Hovering above Star Valley, Qin Sang did not see darkness, but rather faint gleams flickering within the valley. Qin Sang was intimately familiar with this—those flecks of light were astral essence stones! In the Storm Realm, outside of Pointing Sky Peak, astral essence stones were exceptionally rare. Only places where astral essence gathered, like Pointing Sky Peak, could gradually nurture astral essence stones from the dense astral essence. Seeing this, Qin Sang immediately brought out the Astral Spirit Net. His Senior Sister had given it to him back when she was still Granny Jing, specifically for collecting astral essence stones. Qin Sang remembered that the Yuanshen Sect had several array restrictions that could be deployed using astral essence stones. He was in no rush to collect them. Flying from one end of Star Valley to the other, he pondered for a moment before descending deeper into the valley. Before long, Qin Sang stopped, a trace of disappointment on his face. The concentration and quantity of astral essence power in Star Valley were both inferior to Pointing Sky Peak. Back then, even without reaching the summit of Pointing Sky Peak, he had been able to make a rough assessment. Even returning to Pointing Sky Peak would barely suffice to aid his breakthrough; this place was definitely not enough. Adopting the mentality of "since I'm already here," Qin Sang activated the Astral Spirit Net to collect the astral essence stones. As he reached the valley depths, he suddenly let out a soft exclamation, unexpectedly discovering a cavern in the valley floor that seemed to lead deep underground. Astral essence power flowed within the entrance as well. Qin Sang sized it up with a few glances, stowed the Astral Spirit Net, and slipped into the cavern. The cave entrance was narrow, widening gradually within, but the terrain was extraordinarily rugged—winding up and down, left and right, twisting and turning—yet it undeniably extended ever deeper underground. After advancing briskly for a time, Qin Sang found that the astral essence did not grow richer as he had imagined. Once past a certain threshold, it actually began thinning out again. Not yet at the end of the tunnel, Qin Sang was reluctant to leave like this and continued descending, while also attempting various methods to uncover the cause of Star Valley's formation. *Crash, splash...* The faint sound of flowing water drifted from ahead. Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. "Have I reached an underground river?" He quickened his pace. After traversing another ten-odd li, the subterranean space abruptly opened up, revealing a vast underground river several li wide. The rocky cavern walls glittered with rice-grain-sized luminescence, likely from some special ore. By this point, the astral essence had become exceedingly sparse. Disappointed, Qin Sang was about to investigate briefly before leaving, when an unprompted chill swept over him, and a sudden sense of alarm flared! *Danger!* Qin Sang's heart tightened. At the same time, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly sent a warning. *In the river!* A sharp glint flashed in Qin Sang's eyes. The moment he sensed the anomaly, he swiftly formed a mental seal. Faint golden light instantly surfaced around him, draping him as though in golden armor. The Vajra Heavenly Armor Seal! Almost the very instant the seal was completed, the surface of the subterranean river exploded. Amidst the splashing spray, a dazzling sword ray thrust forth like lightning, aimed straight at Qin Sang's face! "A sword cultivator!" Qin Sang's pupils constricted slightly. Since arriving in this realm, this was the first time he had encountered a Daoist sword cultivator. The three major branches of the Daoist sects—the Dragon Tiger Altar, the Golden Seal Altar, and the Divine Soldiers Altar—each had distinct characteristics. Even when they used swords, pure sword cultivators were rare; their spirit swords were mostly ritual swords used to assist in casting incantations. Yet this opponent was different. The sword intent in this strike was remarkably pure, clearly demonstrating profound mastery in the sword path. Qin Sang was practically a sword cultivator himself, so his perception could not be mistaken. A sword cultivator fused with the Dao of talismans—what methods would such an adversary possess? Qin Sang had no time to ponder further. This strike posed a genuine threat, and he dared not treat it lightly. His expression tightening, Qin Sang let out a cold snort and formed four seals in rapid succession: the Auspicious Seal, the Lotus Seal, the Turning Altar Seal, and the Demon-Subduing Seal! Thus, of the six seals he had mastered, only the Vajra Great Wisdom Seal was absent. This seal was the fifth of the Seven Master Buddha Seals. Unlike the others, which produced obvious changes upon execution, it had no external manifestations; its primary function was to anchor wisdom and concentration, keeping the mind as still as water in battle, undisturbed by internal or external factors. To anyone else, its importance might rival that of the Vajra Heavenly Armor Seal, but to Qin Sang, it was of little use. Five seals were unleashed together. By now, the sword ray was less than three feet from his brow. At this hairsbreadth moment, Qin Sang's body gave a slight shudder. The blood and qi within him surged like the roars of dragons and tigers, and brilliant gold light flared before him. An eccentric golden Buddhist seal materialized out of thin air, perfectly blocking the sword ray's path, and slammed down from midair. *Boom!* The subterranean cavern shook violently as massive waves churned. The golden light shattered, fragments scattering across the air. Within the golden radiance, the seal locked stubbornly against the sword ray, preventing it from advancing an inch as the two mighty forces continued to batter one another. One could now see that inside the sword ray was a three-foot green blade, slender and radiant with brilliant spiritual light—extraordinary in every way. "A pseudo-spirit treasure!" Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. Given the opponent's sword mastery and the grade of this spirit sword, this person's true strength certainly went far beyond what was on display. Qin Sang reckoned that only after he cultivated the seventh seal, the Vajra Great Sovereignty Seal, to great completion would he stand a chance of subduing such an opponent without resorting to other methods. Just as the thought arose, Qin Sang tapped his foot and retreated rather than advanced. Just as expected, the sword ray paused for a fraction of an instant, then erupted with a deafening roar, piercing clean through the Buddhist seal. Had Qin Sang moved forward instead of retreating, his predicament would have been dire. *Bang! Bang! Bang!* Retreating rapidly, Qin Sang smashed through layers of rock walls, his eyes fixed on the oncoming sword ray as he barked coldly, "Who goes there? This poor Daoist has no grievance with you—why stage a sneak attack against me?" No response came from the subterranean river. The sword ray pursued him relentlessly, moving a fraction faster. His adversary was a sword cultivator, and due to the complex subterranean terrain, where the rock had absorbed astral essence and grown exceedingly tough near the surface, escaping would not be so easy. A fierce gleam flashed in Qin Sang's eyes. Instead of bringing out the Grey Oriole Sword to confront him head-on, he decided to test the power of the Postcelestial Wooden Man Stele! With a shift of his thought, a burst of emerald brilliance erupted from Qin Sang, brimming with vigorous vitality, faintly outlining the silhouette of a tree. The Dao Manifestation Tree had an extraordinary origin. Qin Sang did not dare expose the spirit medium tree seed as the scar-faced man had, so he intentionally concealed it. After refining the Dao Manifestation Tree, it had essentially taken root within Qin Sang's body, regaining its vitality. Qin Sang quietly formed a hand seal, whereupon the green light retracted and the tree silhouette sank into the earth, vanishing from sight. At the same time, Qin Sang's feet planted heavily upon the ground, creating thudding vibrations that echoed through the underground cavern. The moment he touched the ground, his appearance underwent a drastic transformation. His torso and limbs lengthened rapidly, his skin turned dry and rough like tree bark, and his arms and fingers took on the semblance of branches, making him look like a treant spirit taking form. Most peculiar was his aura, which now seemed fused as one with the earth. Qin Sang felt the teeming vitality all around him, an unprecedented sensation of invigorating ease welling in his heart. This was underground, surrounded by the boundless sea of purple bamboo—arguably the ideal battlefield for this secret art! Qin Sang's perception extended along with the secret art, and the surrounding purple bamboo resonated in kind. The bamboo forest rustled as leaves from every direction swayed toward Star Valley. The spirits in the bamboo sea also sensed something amiss, especially those formed from vegetation, an instinctive dread impelling them to flee as far away as possible. A continuous influx of wood spirit qi surged forth. At this moment, Qin Sang felt as though inexhaustible strength coursed through his entire body! Having transformed into a wooden man, the subterranean space suddenly felt cramped. Standing upright, Qin Sang could nearly touch the cavern roof. His eyes shone exceptionally bright as he glared at the sword ray, forming a seal with his right arm before slamming it down! *Bang!* His bare fist struck the sword ray dead-on. Wood chips seemed to fly through the air, and golden light flickered over his rough skin. Deploying the Seven Master Buddha Seals with the body of a spirit tree made its power truly incomparable to before. With a resounding clang, Qin Sang's blow smashed the sword ray on the spot, directly meeting the blade's edge! The Turning Altar Seal already possessed the property of suppressing magic treasures. Struck head-on, the spirit sword's light dimmed, and its forward momentum was instantly checked. Cultivated with the Dao Manifestation Tree, the power of the Postcelestial Wooden Man Stele was truly extraordinary! Moreover, the secret art cautioned that absorbing wood spirit qi placed a severe burden on oneself and required vigilance, yet Qin Sang's discomfort was far less severe—doubtless also credit to the Dao Manifestation Tree. This blow gave Qin Sang a surge of confidence. He had integrated the Dao Manifestation Tree into his body only three years ago, and many divine abilities remained unmastered—such as leaping and shifting between surrounding vegetation—yet he was already able to withstand a sword cultivator! Letting out a hearty laugh, Qin Sang lunged his arm forward, forming a claw with his hand to seize the spirit sword directly. However, a sword cultivator's sword was not so easily snatched. The spirit sword shuddered, chiming sharply, and vanished into thin air with a flicker. The next moment, a sword ray suddenly emerged from the flank, slashing fiercely toward him. Without batting an eye, Qin Sang swung a heavy fist, smashing the sword ray to pieces. Immediately afterward, sword rays appeared from other directions, one after another in what seemed an endless onslaught, forcing Qin Sang to stay fully on guard. Against any other opponent, this tactic might well have exhausted them to the point of collapse. Yet Qin Sang was rooted in the earth, and the surrounding flora was his fountain of power. How could he fear a battle of attrition? Sword ray after sword ray shattered before him. Qin Sang's attention, however, remained fixed on the center of the river. Even now, his opponent had yet to show himself. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly saw through to the riverbed. Though it did not see the opponent directly, it detected anomalies in the subterranean earth and stone. Having locked onto his opponent's position, Qin Sang smashed another sword ray and surged forward at full speed, reaching the riverbank in the blink of an eye. Right then, the spirit sword reappeared above the river's surface, its point aimed straight at Qin Sang, unleashing a slash like a swath of white silk! At that moment, the space above the river seemed locked down by the sword ray—inescapable, with nowhere to dodge. Forming the Demon-Subduing Seal, Qin Sang thrust it forward. The golden seal clashed against the sword ray with a thundering boom. His body shuddered slightly, halting his forward momentum as he stood firmly by the river's edge. *Splash!* The river waters parted, and a green-robed Daoist flew out. He was of slender build, appearing around thirty years old, with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes that shone with piercing vigor. Calling the spirit sword into his hand, he looked at Qin Sang with unconcealed astonishment. "Eh? A demon? No, wait! What kind of talisman incantation is that?" Seeing him, Qin Sang's pupils constricted slightly. He did not continue attacking, but asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?" "You don't know me?" The Daoist paused, looking him up and down. "You aren't from Mount Lingdu?" "Mount Lingdu?" Qin Sang could recall no such power and shook his head slightly. An embarrassed expression crossed the Daoist's face, and he waved his hand. "A misunderstanding! All a misunderstanding! This poor Daoist assumed a formidable enemy had tracked me here; I never imagined an outsider would visit such a place." "A misunderstanding?" Qin Sang frowned. He had been ambushed; had his skills not been sufficient, he might well have lost his life under that blade. Could this be brushed aside as a mere misunderstanding? The Daoist sheathed his sword and made a meticulous Daoist bow. "This poor Daoist has offended you. I hope Fellow Daoist will not take offense." Qin Sang did not revert from his spirit tree form, nor did he press the attack, merely watching him indifferently. The man's apology might be a pretense born from realizing Qin Sang was hard to deal with, or it might be sincere. None of that mattered much, however. From this person, Qin Sang faintly sensed an aura of danger. His strength was very likely far greater than what had been shown! Though Qin Sang's divine sense was currently restricted, his spiritual perception was still far beyond that of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators, yet he could not see through this person. Could he also be a Deity Transformation cultivator? At this thought, Qin Sang's heart tightened. His full strength had not yet recovered, leaving him constrained against cultivators of the same rank, with very little chance of victory. Scrutinizing the man in secret, Qin Sang could not be certain, but feeling that latent threat only heightened his vigilance. He also realized that if the opponent clearly possessed strength but did not exert it, he likely had unspeakable difficulties of his own, just like Qin Sang. Judging from his words, his enemy was formidable; perhaps he had been injured by that adversary or subjected to other restrictions. "This poor Daoist is at a critical juncture in refining a treasure. Most of my mind is tied up in it, and I dared not lose focus. Fearing my enemy might disrupt it, I had no choice but to strike first. Fellow Daoist should understand," the Daoist explained evasively, seeing Qin Sang unmoved. *So that's how it is.* Qin Sang nodded inwardly. The man's inability to deploy his full might was indeed likely tied to that treasure. "Since it was all a misunderstanding, this poor Daoist is willing to make amends. So long as Fellow Daoist does not make things difficult for me, I shall perform a favor for you in the future, or obtain any treasure you may need, provided it lies within my power," the Daoist said, bowing once more. "Aren't you afraid that once I leave, I will inform your enemy?" Qin Sang said indifferently. The Daoist smiled wryly. "To be frank, I would very much like to detain Fellow Daoist for a time, but this is hardly the moment to make new enemies. Furthermore, standing before Fellow Daoist leaves me somewhat uneasy—you must possess means that can threaten me."