Sword Opens Heaven's Gate and Man and Sword as One

As a dual-cultivation genius in both sword and spells, Lu Yang's talent was naturally beyond doubt. In terms of talent for spells, he could rival Yun Zhi. In terms of talent for swordsmanship, he showed faint signs of surpassing Daoist Buyu. "Originally, Master intended to teach you how to properly execute basic sword moves, but it seems there's no need to teach you that now." Basic sword moves were the foundation of swordsmanship; a deviation of even a single angle would noticeably alter their power. "The sword techniques Master knows all have very high cultivation requirements, so I can't teach them to you. 'One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords' requires a vast reserve of spiritual energy. Your spiritual energy reserves rank among the very best in the Golden Core stage—hardly anyone even in the Nascent Soul stage matches what you have—but you're still some distance away from unleashing One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords." "Once you cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage, Master will be able to pass One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords on to you." One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords was actually a sword move meant to be executed at the Soul Formation stage. With a single strike of the sword, ten thousand swords followed in succession like an army, blotting out the sky and covering the sun—a move that all sword cultivators yearned to perform. Considering Lu Yang's talent in the Sword Dao and his immense reserves of spiritual energy, he would be able to execute it by the Nascent Soul stage. "Flying on a sword goes without saying; you already know that without being taught." "'No Sword Surpasses a Sword' is too early for you to learn right now; it's easy to go astray. Besides, you have the Green Blade Sword, and having no sword can never beat having a sword." "The baseline cultivation requirement for 'Return of Ten Thousand Swords to the Origin' is the Soul Formation stage; you're still far from ready." "As for Master's ultimate technique, 'Sword Opens Heaven's Gate,' that is even more difficult. Don't even dream of using it without being at the Body Integration stage." Daoist Buyu listed various sword moves, none of which were quite suitable for Lu Yang to learn. "Sword Opens Heaven's Gate? Did you comprehend that move yourself, Master?" Lu Yang had never heard of this move before. Daoist Buyu shook his head and sighed. "Forced by circumstances, contrary to my wishes." That was essentially an admission. Lu Yang looked at Daoist Buyu with admiration. Sword cultivators actually didn't have many moves; techniques like Man and Sword as One, One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords, and the like had all been passed down from ancient times, and sword cultivators dutifully followed tradition and learned them. For the same sword move, differing comprehensions of the Sword Dao resulted in worlds of difference in the power unleashed. Someone who created their own sword move, like Daoist Buyu, was an exceedingly rare exception. The only other cultivator Lu Yang knew of who had created their own sword move was the Sword Tower Supreme. There were plenty of sword art styles in the cultivation world, such as the Falling Rain Sword Art, Hundred Flowers Sword Art, Daybreak Sword Art, Carefree Sword Art, and so forth. Some sword cultivators weren't very good at naming things, so duplicate names were far from rare—Lu Yang knew of at least four distinct Carefree Sword Arts. *Forced by circumstances?* When his master created that move, he must have already been a Body Integration cultivator. There should have been very few opponents left for him in the cultivation world. Could it be that Master had provoked too many enemies, and they ambushed him from the shadows when his guard was down? Besieged by a hundred peers of equal rank, even someone as strong as Master struggled to escape. Battered and covered in wounds under their relentless assault, hanging by a thread between life and death, Master had a sudden insight in that crucial moment, comprehending a strike that saw through life and death—Sword Opens Heaven's Gate. The moment that strike was unleashed, a rift tore open across the heavens! Stroking his white beard, Daoist Buyu said, "That was over a thousand years ago. Back then, Master got into a bit of trouble, and your Grandmaster locked me up on Tianmen Peak, forbidding me from leaving for ten years. You know Master—I'm a secular cultivator, so how could I survive without going outside?" "But there was no helping it. Your Grandmaster's cultivation was higher than mine, and he was skilled in sealing techniques. He sealed the entire peak." "Master thought, *this won't do. If this goes on, won't I really be locked up for ten years?*" "At that moment, Master entered an enlightened state and sat meditating on the spot, turning my body into a furnace. Every insight into the Sword Dao from my entire life was refined, transformed, tempered, and honed within that furnace. In the end, Master unleashed a single sword strike, breaking open the seal on Tianmen Peak!" "And so Master named this move 'Sword Opens Heaven's Gate'!" Lu Yang: "..." *Master, why does your process of comprehending a sword move differ so drastically from what I imagined?* "Speaking of sword cultivators, this Immortal actually encountered one before becoming an immortal," the Immortal Fairy recalled, prompted by Daoist Buyu's tale of insight. "Truly living up to sword cultivators having the fiercest offensive power among peers of the same realm. Terrifyingly strong, a formidable rival." "Do tell, Fairy." Hearing of someone in his own field, Lu Yang grew intrigued. It was rare to hear stories of ancient sword cultivators. "That sword cultivator was named Liu Ningxuan, a master of both zither and sword, bearing the honorary title of Zither Sword Venerable. You know the move 'Man and Sword as One', right? He was the one who created it." Lu Yang's eyes widened slightly. Man and Sword as One was a renowned sword move capable of elevating one's combat power dramatically in the shortest span of time. Everyone said it had been passed down from ancient times, yet no one knew where it originated or who had created it. He never expected to learn the answer from the Fairy. "That kid Liu Ningxuan was quite the fighter. Like all sword cultivators, what he believed in was the sword in his hand. Once he held a sword, his whole spirit and aura completely changed—intimidating as could be. With a longsword in hand, piercing space, shattering the void, and slashing through time were nothing to him." Lu Yang drew in a sharp breath. Piercing space, shattering the void, slashing through time—these sounded extraordinarily powerful, far beyond anything he could achieve right now. Surely this senior named Liu Ningxuan had been an elite among ancient sword cultivators—perhaps even the number one sword cultivator of antiquity. "When he swung his sword, even someone as strong as this Immortal had to back away and avoid taking it head-on." "Yet in the end, he still couldn't best this Immortal, and he was defeated at my hands." "Impressive, Fairy! How did this Zither Sword Venerable lose?" "That battle was truly dangerous. The two of us fought fiercely, shattering heaven and earth and shaking the stars. Perhaps sensing a mortal crisis from this Immortal and feeling the immense pressure, he experienced a deeper, transcendent comprehension of the Sword Dao." "He also realized he couldn't defeat me with his original moves and had to innovate. Seizing the insight gained from his mid-battle breakthrough, he pushed the move 'Man and Sword as One' to a brand-new realm that no one had ever reached before." "He merged man and sword, transforming into an immortal sword. His aura surged exponentially, as though parting heaven and earth." Lu Yang's eyes shone as he listened, completely immersed in that cosmic-scale battle. He asked eagerly, "And then?" The Immortal Fairy scratched her head awkwardly. "And then? There was no 'and then.' After turning into a sword, he found he had fused too closely with it and couldn't change back." Lu Yang: "..." *Fairy, did you not encounter a single normal opponent before you became an immortal?* At that moment, Daoist Buyu smacked his forehead as something suddenly occurred to him, interrupting Lu Yang's thoughts while the boy was listening to the Fairy's glorious history. "Master just remembered—there is a move I can teach you." "Which one?" "'Man and Sword as One'! This move is an ancient, signature technique of sword cultivators, capable of unleashing unbelievable power in an instant. It's the most suitable for defeating the strong as the weak, mounting a desperate counterattack..." "Not learning it." Lu Yang refused flatly. Daoist Buyu was bewildered, unable to fathom why his youngest disciple had refused so decisively and cleanly. Since he wouldn't learn Man and Sword as One, it seemed that with Lu Yang's current cultivation realm, he couldn't learn any other sword moves either. "Very well. Then Master will teach you how to comprehend the Sword Dao."