Qin Sang flipped through the genealogy to the very end without finding a single Foundation Establishment cultivator. The highest cultivation belonged to a man from Song Hua's grandfather's generation named Song Yi, who had only reached the seventh layer of the Qi Refinement stage before disappearing without a trace on an outing.
The Sword Intent decree from Shaohua Mountain was quite likely still lying inside the Song family ancestor's tomb!
Fingering the Song family genealogy, Qin Sang's eyes flickered with shifting thoughts. Although his understanding of the cultivation world remained limited, the benefits of joining a sect were plain to see.
Just like the shopkeeper next to Shenqi Pavilion, the envy that rogue cultivators held toward sect disciples could be heard in just a few passing remarks.
Yet Song Hua had saved his life after all. Whether intentional or unintentional, Qin Sang had to acknowledge that debt. He never flaunted himself as a good man, but nor would he deliberately plot against someone who had saved his life.
Besides, Shaohua Mountain was a major righteous sect. If he truly lacked a spiritual root, even obtaining the Sword Intent decree would likely be useless.
Qin Sang gave a soft sigh and set aside the Song clan genealogy. He picked up the other untitled book while also drawing the ebony sword from where it rested against his chest.
The untitled book was in fact the *Song Family Sword Art*, the sword mantra used to drive the ebony sword!
The so-called *Song Family Sword Art* was actually adapted by the Song family ancestor from Shaohua Mountain's sword manipulation arts, reworked into a new guise.
Once cultivated, it allowed one to manipulate a sword with spiritual sense, soaring through the azure skies. With a single thought, sword light would streak across the firmament, graceful as a startled swan and supple as a swimming dragon, darting away and returning in the blink of an eye, slaying foes from a thousand li away.
Cultivating the sword art to a certain realm would even allow one's sword qi to transform into a rainbow and enable sword flight—a vast, divine prowess that stirred yearning in anyone's heart.
Qin Sang had craved sword flight for a long time. Among the basic incantations in the *Nether Scripture*, the Wind-Walking Art merely increased movement speed, and the Sky-Riding Technique only let one stand suspended in midair for a brief period, rather than flying at will.
The reason Qin Sang had been unable to drive the ebony sword was precisely because he had lacked this sword art.
According to the Song family genealogy, the fourth-generation ancestor of the Song family had once explored an ancient cultivator's abandoned cave dwelling and obtained a fragment of a flying sword magic treasure.
Though merely a remnant, it was still of the substance and caliber of a magic treasure.
Only cultivators at or above the Core Formation stage could forge magic treasures. Every magic treasure was crafted from exceedingly precious spiritual materials, tempered day and night by a Core Formation cultivator. Their might was terrifying, far beyond the reach of even the finest top-grade magic tool.
Overjoyed upon acquiring the flying sword fragment, that Song ancestor spared no expense, spending his entire family fortune to hire a renowned artifact-refining master from the cultivation market to forge the fragment into this ebony sword.
Because of this, the ebony sword both resembled and was not quite a true magic treasure, yet it differed vastly from an ordinary magic tool. Born from a magic treasure remnant, it was far harder and sharper than common sword-type magic tools, and it required a sword art to activate.
However, its drawback was equally obvious: its consumption of spiritual power was enormous. Only a Foundation Establishment cultivator could easily sustain it; cultivators at or above the tenth layer of Qi Refinement could barely manage to drive it.
Those below the tenth layer possessed far too little spiritual power and had to hold spirit stones in their hands, accumulating sufficient spiritual power beforehand, just to unleash a single sword strike.
Given Qin Sang's current assets, he could unleash at most eight strikes.
Of course, the ebony sword's power was extraordinary, something an opponent at the same cultivation level would find nearly impossible to withstand.
With the *Nether Scripture* in one hand and the *Song Family Sword Art* in the other, Qin Sang sank into deep thought.
Neither the sword art nor the incantations could be mastered overnight; both required long stretches of painstaking effort.
If practicing incantations hindered his cultivation base, the gains would not outweigh the losses.
He had to weigh the choices for himself.
Qin Sang had never fought another cultivator and had no idea which of the five incantations would be best to choose. Yet pouring all his energy into the *Song Family Sword Art* was undoubtedly inadvisable as well.
Even if he found yin baleful qi and had an uninterrupted supply of Soul Pills, his cultivation speed would inevitably slow down as his realm advanced. Factor in bottlenecks that came and went, and reaching the tenth layer of the Qi Refinement stage within a few years was out of the question.
Before reaching the tenth layer, using the ebony sword required absorbing spirit stones in advance. In a moment of crisis, an enemy would never give him the time to prepare.
He still had to rely on incantations and magic tools like the Purple Soul Bell in battle; the ebony sword could serve as a trump card at best.
Naturally, the *Song Family Sword Art* still had to be practiced.
After tossing out Song Hua's sundry items and packing his own belongings, Qin Sang felt a wave of relief. Carrying all that gold and silver around had grown exhausting, after all.
Leaving the Purple Soul Bell and Ice Silkworm Armor accessible to deal with any sudden danger, Qin Sang lost all interest in cultivating the *Nether Scripture* for the moment and threw himself headlong into the *Song Family Sword Art*.
For an entire day, Qin Sang did not set foot outside the small courtyard, utterly absorbed in the *Song Family Sword Art*.
The first step of sword manipulation was sword nurturing. Only by thoroughly understanding the characteristics of one's spiritual sword and merging one's mind with it could one control the sword at will and unleash the sword art's true might.
Qin Sang reached out with his mind to commune with the ebony sword. Following the sword art's instructions, he first tempered it with his essence blood to win the sword's recognition. It took an entire day, but he finally drew the ebony sword into his dantian to gently nurture it at all times.
This method of nurturing a spiritual sword was Shaohua Mountain's most fundamental Sword-Nurturing Technique.
The *Song Family Sword Art* stated that only when sword nurturing reached great completion and achieved the unity of person and sword could one be considered to have crossed the threshold of the sword dao. To Qin Sang, that was still far too distant.
Even after stepping out of his meditative state, Qin Sang could still feel the ebony sword inside his dantian.
Qin Sang opened his palm. With a single thought, a streak of dark light manifested out of thin air in his hand. The petite ebony sword floated above his palm. The once-unremarkable wooden sword now glimmered with a faint sheen, its aura striking and extraordinary.
Qin Sang looked slightly pale, but his excitement could hardly be contained. He could not resist pointing a finger forward and murmuring, "Go!"
The ebony sword trembled, then wobbled forward at a slow pace. Before it had flown barely a zhang, Qin Sang's face abruptly turned deathly pale. He hurriedly recalled the ebony sword into his body and let out a long breath, lingering dread written across his features.
In his momentary excitement, he had forgotten how much spiritual power he had expended during the sword-nurturing process.
Furthermore, the ebony sword's drain on spiritual power was staggering. Flying just that short distance had nearly depleted his reserves entirely.
After meditating for a while to adjust his breathing, Qin Sang recovered. Knowing that sword nurturing could not be rushed, he brought out the *Nether Scripture* to practice the incantations first.
These basic auxiliary incantations were all quite simple. With his experience from the Object Manipulation Technique, Qin Sang mastered them all in just a few hours.
Of course, using them proficiently would still require diligent practice.
Qin Sang tested each of these incantations on the sheepskin, but the results were disheartening.
In the end, Qin Sang settled on the Cloud Escape Technique and Ten Thousand Li Freeze. One was for escaping with his life and the other for facing enemies—both things he urgently needed.
He had the Purple Soul Bell and the Ice Silkworm Armor on him, which served similar purposes to River-Locking Mist and the Water-Congealing Barrier, so there was no need to prioritize those two.
As for Phantom Shift, Qin Sang felt that even if he conjured an illusionary clone to baffle an enemy, he still wouldn't be able to escape once the ruse was seen through.
Chapter 58