"The Dark Moon Sword packs considerable power, more than enough for you during the Golden Core stage. Once you reach the Nascent Soul stage, however, this sword won't be worthy of your strength," the Fifth Elder said with a chuckle. The Dark Moon Sword was a Nascent Soul-grade dharma treasure, but that did not mean it was suited for Lu Yang once he became a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Lu Yang nodded to show he understood. Dharma treasures were divided into distinct grades; if a treasure failed to match one's cultivation realm, it could easily turn into a liability. For that reason, cultivators favored growth-type dharma treasures. However, growth-type treasures were hard to acquire even for vast sums of money, and forging one demanded exceptionally high skill, making them elusive for most seekers.
"Then what grade of dharma treasure is the Green Blade Sword?" Lu Yang recalled the Green Blade Sword he used regularly. It had been a gift from Eldest Senior Sister to celebrate his successful Foundation Establishment.
"As for the sword Junior Niece Yun gave you, one can't tell what grade it is," the Fifth Elder said, shaking his head slowly. He had long noticed that Lu Yang's Green Blade Sword was out of the ordinary.
"Is it a growth-type dharma treasure?"
Lu Yang had used it from the early Foundation Establishment stage all the way to the early Golden Core stage without a hitch, never encountering any mismatch between the treasure and his realm. In his mind, only a growth-type dharma treasure could fit the bill.
Besides, this was a treasure gifted by Eldest Senior Sister. Could anything that passed through her hands possibly be ordinary?
The Fifth Elder corrected Lu Yang's misconception: "No, growth-type treasures don't work like that. For a Foundation Establishment-grade treasure to advance to the Golden Core grade, it requires upgrading with all kinds of spirit irons and divine ores.
"To put it simply, a growth-type treasure is like a framework. To raise its quality, you must continuously pack materials into that framework—things like spirit irons and divine ores. Think about your Green Blade Sword. Have you ever packed anything into it?
"Furthermore, growth-type treasures advance by entire major realms. Wielding one at the early Foundation Establishment stage feels distinctly different from wielding it at late Foundation Establishment. Have you ever felt that sort of difference?"
Lu Yang gave it some thought and realized that was indeed the case.
"Then what on earth is my Green Blade Sword...?"
"Junior Niece Yun placed seals on it—so many layers that they're practically countless. That's why I said its grade is impossible to discern.
"Every time your strength rises a little, the seals recede a bit. That's why no matter what realm you reach, the Green Blade Sword always feels perfectly natural in your hands.
"Junior Niece Yun truly put a great deal of care into you. This Green Blade Sword, along with the seals upon it, are priceless treasures."
Lu Yang had not expected Eldest Senior Sister to have poured so much thought into the Green Blade Sword, and he was deeply moved.
"All right, I still need to file a patent for Junior Niece Tao. No more chatting."
Lu Yang hurriedly said, "Thank you for forging the Dark Moon Sword, Elder. Please, don't let me keep you."
The Fifth Elder waved a hand, brought out his flying shuttle, and vanished with a whoosh.
"Fairy, can you tell what grade the Green Blade Sword really is?" Lu Yang remembered that aside from relying on his sect elders, he also had his golden finger—the Immortal Fairy.
The Immortal Fairy looked the Green Blade Sword over from left to right, then shook her head bluntly: "It's pasted over too tightly. Can't tell."
It took Lu Yang a moment to grasp what she meant—there were too many layers of seals to see through to its true quality.
Lu Yang returned to Tianmen Peak, but found no trace of Eldest Senior Sister. He guessed she was likely still interrogating Venerable Calamity under torture; either Venerable Calamity was stubborn and tight-lipped, or he simply knew so much that it couldn't all be recounted in short order.
"What a pity. This Immortal was hoping to ask about the patent royalties on your behalf," the Immortal Fairy said, secretly breathing a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
Lu Yang gave her a sidelong glance, thinking, *Fairy, you might as well have written 'terrified' across your face.*
"Time to cultivate." Lu Yang remembered that he was still a cultivator, and a cultivator's duty was to cultivate.
He wasn't merely a genius; he was a hardworking genius!
The Immortal Fairy gave him a sidelong glance of her own. "Ever since your Core Formation, have you actually had a single proper cultivation session?"
Unabashed, Lu Yang began ticking off items on his fingers. "What kind of talk is that? It's not that I didn't want to cultivate—there've just been too many things going on!
"After returning from the dense forest, Eldest Senior Sister first dragged me off to look at the Immortal Ruins, where we visited Master while we were at it. Later, Junior Brother Li was troubled by Qin Haoran's memories, so Old Meng and I took him outside to clear his head, only to accidentally run into members of the Nine Nether Cult and make up a story about the Heavenly Court Cult making contact with them.
"After that, I brought the Fifth Elder along to seek out the Nine Nether Cult again, convincing them that the Heavenly Court Cult is real.
"To continue the *Art of Illuminating the Heart and Seeing Nature*, I stayed in the Scripture Pavilion for the better part of a month and successfully completed the Golden Core chapter.
"And finally, Old Meng and I attended the Grand Qingzhou Festival and ran into ancient cultivators.
"From forming my Invincible Core until now, barely two months have passed in total!"
The Immortal Fairy: "..."
That actually seemed to be true.
Had Lu Yang's experiences been so packed with events that they gave her the illusion a long time had gone by?
Moving into Lu Yang's spiritual space back then had truly been a wonderful choice. Where else could she have encountered so many amusing things?
"Besides, even with so much going on, haven't I still been squeezing in cultivation whenever I could? Have I fallen behind in my progress?" Lu Yang argued self-righteously, and he was telling the truth. Whenever he had a free moment, he opened his mouth to devour spiritual energy; he could cultivate anytime and anywhere, which was exceedingly convenient.
Lu Yang sat upon a massive boulder covered in sword marks. Closing his eyes to contemplate, he could sense the boundless sword intent contained within it.
He had heard from Eldest Senior Sister that in his youth, Master favored this stone most when practicing his swordsmanship. Over time, the boulder had inevitably absorbed sword intent, making it a peerless treasure of immense value to any sword cultivator.
Sitting atop the boulder allowed him to cultivate while contemplating sword intent and deepening his comprehension of the sword dao—killing two birds with one stone.
Lu Yang sat with his five centers facing heaven, eyes closed and mouth wide open, tilting his head back toward the sky. An uninformed onlooker might have thought he had fallen asleep.
Spiritual energy surged into his body, expanding his meridians. His cultivation rose bit by bit, and each tiny gain brought an inexplicable sense of exhilaration. No wonder so many were eager to practice cultivation, entering seclusion for decades at a stretch, or even hundreds of years, emerging down the mountain only to find the world completely changed.
Lu Yang would certainly never enter seclusion for so long. The Dao Seeking Sect did not advocate such a method of seclusion either; even Eldest Senior Sister, who had always loved cultivation, only demanded that Master seclude himself for three days.
"Seclusion only gives you experience, not brains—you know that, right?" The Immortal Fairy thoroughly agreed with the Dao Seeking Sect's philosophy, feeling more and more that her decision to become an honorary elder of the Dao Seeking Sect had been absolutely correct.
"Back in the day, this Immortal fought her way through from beginning to end! How many figures of great renown fell defeated by my hand? Battle after battle, harvest after harvest—that was how this Immortal grew rapidly!
"You ought to learn from this Immortal! Level up through battle, face the vast world and myriad living beings! That kind of cultivation can raise your realm and make you just as clever as this Immortal!"
Hearing this, Lu Yang felt that spending a few more days in seclusion might not be such a bad idea after all.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. Sitting cross-legged upon the great boulder, Lu Yang slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of pure qi. His gaze was sharp as a cold gleam. His aura abruptly expanded, then swiftly contracted, freely controlled at will.
The corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile.
"Mid Golden Core stage at last."
Chapter 379