Of the insights Li Qing transmitted, the black sword automatically filtered out almost everything that did not pertain to the Dao of the Sword.
It did not accept a single shred.
Yet this was within Li Qing's expectations.
The wooden sword wonder of Heaven was a pure creation of the laws of the sword. How could it easily accommodate other laws?
Li Qing was not discouraged and tried varying his methods in every conceivable way.
Time drifted slowly by.
The black sword grew ever more solid, and the aura it harbored grew increasingly powerful.
Then, one day, the black sword—which had persistently resisted anything external—suddenly absorbed a fraction more of the insights Li Qing fed it!
Li Qing's eyes lit up. Sifting through them swiftly, he immediately pinpointed what had managed to merge with the black sword!
It was "clumsiness"!
"Conceal the edge and keep to clumsiness; rein in the sword's sharpness. By not attacking, one can achieve ten thousand victories..."
In Li Qing's mind, a ceaseless stream of inspiration suddenly burst forth.
Some images felt familiar, though he did not know where they came from.
Yet Li Qing paid it no mind, using this wellspring of inspiration to continuously pour into the black sword.
And the black sword, previously aloof and indifferent to anything besides the Dao of the Sword, proved extraordinarily cooperative now.
As though harboring a degree of craving, it proactively welcomed Li Qing's nourishment.
As the Dao of Clumsiness was steadily integrated, the black sword, which had been revealing its sharp edge as it neared full completion, now gradually lost its sharpness once more.
It reverted to being pitch-black and utterly inconspicuous.
Yet Li Qing knew this was a sign that the black sword had transcended the shackles of ordinary sword daos, taking a breakthrough step forward.
Within the Sword Tomb, the tens of millions of abandoned swords noticed nothing at all.
Only the wooden sword wonder of Heaven at the center emitted a faint, barely discernible hum, as if expressing its own joy.
Because of this hum, the myriad swords bowed once more. Only the black sword beside Li Fan, while seemingly bowing as well, was actually completely motionless.
"It worked!"
Li Qing knew that from here on, completely subduing this black sword wonder of Heaven was not far off.
Closing his eyes immediately, he channeled the final essence of his insights regarding the Dao of the Sword into the black sword.
Following the hum of the wooden sword wonder of Heaven, the Sword Tomb fell into an even deeper, deathly stillness.
It was terrifyingly quiet—so much so that various auditory hallucinations began ringing in Li Qing's ears.
It was as though tens of thousands of abandoned swords were whispering softly, bewitching Li Qing, urging him to abandon claiming the black sword and take other swords instead.
Scenes of those swords unleashing earth-shattering, brilliantly colorful might flashed continuously across Li Qing's mind, attempting to disrupt his resolve.
Yet who was Li Qing? How could he be so easily swayed?
He knew this might be a subtle trick played secretly by the wooden sword wonder of Heaven.
As for the reason, it was perhaps the final trial set because it was uneasy about having the black sword taken from it.
Or perhaps it was an instinctive obstruction born of reluctance to part with the black sword.
Whatever the case, these little tricks ultimately failed to affect Li Qing.
Facing the myriad illusions, Li Qing remained as steady as a mountain throughout.
His mind and the black sword became one, untainted by anything else.
Thus, three months passed.
On this day, Li Qing suddenly opened his eyes.
The next instant, he extended his right hand and naturally gripped the hilt of the black sword.
Then, he gave it a gentle pull.
There was no earth-shaking rumble heralding the birth of a divine artifact.
Strictly speaking, not a single sound was made.
Calmly and effortlessly, the black sword fell into Li Qing's hand.
The myriad abandoned swords in the Sword Tomb seemed completely unaware.
Even the wooden sword wonder of Heaven at the very center showed no sign of opposition.
Silence was consent.
The deathly stillness of the Sword Tomb was proof of Li Qing's success.
"Borrow the wonders of Heaven and Earth to build the Dao Foundation."
Li Qing chanted silently in his heart. The black sword in his hand instantly transformed into a beam of dark light and merged into his body, flying into his dantian to settle down.
A moment later, the spiritual energy of the peak Golden Core realm within Li Qing's body boiled violently.
Like ten thousand converging torrents, it surged toward the black sword.
Like hundreds of rivers flowing east into the sea, under the scouring of the surging spiritual energy, the black sword gradually grew ethereal.
It dissolved completely into Li Qing's dantian, turning into his Dao Foundation.
"Peer into the laws of Heaven and Earth to forge the Golden Core."
Li Qing chanted in his heart once more.
The surging spiritual energy in his body did not pause, continuing to rush furiously into the black sword Dao Foundation.
Within the great vortex of spiritual energy, the phantom of the black sword grew fainter and fainter.
Ultimately, as it vanished without a trace, it seemed to form an abyss that swallowed all the spiritual energy whole.
Boom!
A brilliant flash of light erupted like the dawn of creation, thoroughly illuminating the interior of Li Qing's body.
The radiance flickered, lasting for several breaths.
When this blinding light finally receded, a unique Golden Core—pitch-black throughout and exuding an ancient, unadorned aura—rested in Li Qing's dantian.
Looking closely, one could faintly make out patterns of countless sword silhouettes spread across the black Golden Core.
Yet it seemed almost like an illusion brought on by staring into the gloom; upon closer inspection, they vanished once more.
The Golden Core was formed!
From start to finish, it took only a few breaths.
The clone Li Qing had transformed from a cultivator who held merely the empty shell of the peak Golden Core realm into a true Golden Core cultivator who had established his foundation and formed his core with the black sword wonder of Heaven.
Yet Li Qing was not satisfied.
"Devour the essence of Heaven and Earth to form the Nascent Soul."
Li Qing continued to chant inwardly.
Ordinary cultivators wishing to reach the Nascent Soul realm had to rely on a grotto-heaven.
Those who established their Dao Foundation with a wonder of Heaven, however, did not need one.
Because a wonder of Heaven was itself a part of the Heavenly Dao, it could evolve into a grotto-heaven all on its own!
With a shift of Li Qing's mind, the newly formed black Golden Core suddenly burst apart with a roar.
The dense spiritual mist lingering within instantly pervaded Li Qing's entire body.
Countless fragments of the black Golden Core also scattered to every corner of his physique in an instant.
Seemingly distributed without order, they secretly harbored profound mystery!
In the distribution of the Golden Core fragments, one could faintly discern the shape of the original black sword!
Taking these remnants as a foundation, Li Qing's spiritual energy, flesh, and bones—everything within his body—began melting like liquid, absorbed by this foundational framework.
From the outside, Li Qing instantly looked like a torn rag doll, deformed and grotesque.
As his flesh and bones were forcefully extracted, terrifying creaking and crunching noises sounded out.
Paired with the gruesome sight of compressed flesh and blood, the entire scene appeared utterly sinister yet profoundly wondrous.
Confronted with the surging agony, Li Qing paid it no heed.
He only accelerated the process by which the Golden Core remnants devoured his body.
Once the airborne remnants of Li Qing's flesh and blood were completely consumed, something resembling human meridians seemed to form between the scattered pieces of the Golden Core.
Threads of dark red tissue connected them, demonic and uncanny.
Suddenly, a radiant glow surged simultaneously from within the Golden Core remnants.
In an instant, it circulated throughout his entire body.
Amid the shimmering brilliance, a miniature Sword Grotto-Heaven slowly took shape.
Chapter 914