A Portable Pocket World

Lu Yang slowly came around to find himself lying on the ground, with Yun Mengmeng looking down at him with concern. "How long was I out?" Lu Yang's head felt a bit fuzzy; he only remembered fighting until he was utterly drained, after which he lost consciousness. "About ten breaths," said Yun Mengmeng, who lived a carefree life and had never been particularly sensitive to time. "Lu Yang, take this medicinal pill." An elder of the Sword Tower hurried over, quickly fishing out a top-grade pill to help Lu Yang recover. Cool and refreshing as it touched his tongue, the pill slid down into his belly, making his whole body feel as if it were submerged in water—cool, soothing, and comfortable. Now fully alert, Lu Yang was helped to his feet by Yun Mengmeng. He sat down cross-legged on the spot, channeled his cultivation technique, and adjusted his breathing rhythm. Soon enough, he was able to move freely again. The strength of his spiritual consciousness was already comparable to the Body Integration stage, so once depleted, it could swiftly bounce back to normal. As the sword spirit of an immortal sword, Mingtai also recovered very quickly. "Senior Brother Lu Yang, I'm truly impressed," Mingtai said as he walked over. In the battle just now, he had unleashed every trump card he possessed, yet he had still lost to Lu Yang, entirely convinced of his defeat. This was the nature of all sword cultivators: straightforward and direct. A win was a win, and a loss was a loss; there was nothing embarrassing about admitting it. "Not at all, it was merely a stroke of luck," Lu Yang said modestly. His final execution of Return of Ten Thousand Swords to the Origin had only been an experiment with a fifty-fifty chance of success. After watching that battle, many sword cultivators had gained varying degrees of insight. Not daring to delay, they sat cross-legged right where they were. Such an opportunity was hard to come by. The trip to the Sword Treasury, originally scheduled to begin immediately after the Sword Inquiry matches concluded, had to be postponed. Sword Tower elders stepped forward to set up formations, shielding the sword cultivators from outside disturbances so that they could gain as much enlightenment as possible. With all the sword cultivators meditating in seclusion on the spot, Lu Yang actually ended up as the idlest person around. "Speaking of which, Mingtai's Hanguang Sword can turn invisible. Doesn't my Green Blade Sword have any other special functions?" Lu Yang examined the Green Blade Sword closely. The Hanguang Sword was merely an immortal treasure, whereas his Green Blade Sword was a genuine immortal artifact, the personal sword of Wu Yao. Reason dictated that beyond its sheer quality, it ought to have some unique feature as well. "It does. Isn't the inside of this sword quite spacious? Other swords don't get this kind of treatment," said the sword spirit of the Green Blade Sword. "What do you mean... Wait, Fairy, are you saying there's an extra space inside the Green Blade Sword?" Lu Yang realized. The Immortal Fairy rolled her eyes. "Otherwise, where did you think this immortal lived?" *Fairy, you have vast supernatural powers,* Lu Yang thought to himself. *I thought you were literally just attached to the Green Blade Sword.* *Turns out you moved in!* "Wait, this immortal will pull you in." The Immortal Fairy felt that Little Yangzi was rather dull-witted—he didn't even know how to walk through the door, so she had better just yank him inside directly. Lu Yang vanished on the spot without a trace, and the Green Blade Sword hit the ground with a clatter. "This is the interior space of the Green Blade Sword?" Lu Yang spun around in astonishment, taking in his surroundings. "To be precise, it's called the Green Blade Sword's self-contained pocket world," the Immortal Fairy said, using more professional terminology. Inside the pocket world of the Green Blade Sword, spiritual energy was abundant, high mountains stood alongside flowing streams, and the scenery was picturesque. Cut off from the outside world, it felt like an idyllic haven. Lu Yang was standing on a bamboo raft, drifting down a river while the mountain ridges receded like slides in a projector. The bamboo raft had been crafted by the Immortal Fairy out of boredom during her time as the sword spirit, for which she had chopped down a large swath of trees. "How is it?" The Immortal Fairy looked thoroughly pleased with herself, though it was unclear whether she was boasting about this pocket world or the bamboo raft she had made with her own hands. "That kid named Wu Yao had some skill, fixing up the inside of the Green Blade Sword quite decently." "Has this small space been here all along?" Lu Yang was stunned. He hadn't expected that he had been underestimating the Green Blade Sword this whole time. "It truly has been here all along. However, it was sealed before, so you couldn't enter. Only when your cultivation reached the appropriate level was the seal opened, allowing you in." Lu Yang felt a sliver of comfort. It was because the seal hadn't been undone, not because he lacked the eye to recognize value. "When was the seal undone?" "When you reached the Nascent Soul stage." "..." Lu Yang stared blankly at the Immortal Fairy, the meaning in his eyes plain to see. Feeling embarrassed under the gaze of her Pillar of State, the Immortal Fairy chuckled sheepishly. "Well, this immortal thought you already knew the Green Blade Sword had a space inside and were just too lazy to come in. "After all, besides having nice scenery, there's nothing fun to do here." On second thought, Lu Yang realized she had a point; he didn't really need a portable pocket world either. If he had possessed a portable pocket world in his previous life, every blade of grass and flower here would have been a spirit herb, and taking any single one outside would have yielded shocking wealth. Or he could have farmed inside the pocket world. With such rich spiritual energy, any seeds brought here would surely mutate, which he could then take outside to astound everyone. Unfortunately, he hadn't had a pocket world in his past life; he only got one after transmigrating to a cultivation world, which made it rather useless. After touring around inside the Green Blade Sword, Lu Yang exited the blade. About half a day passed before the sword cultivators gradually emerged from their seclusion, exchanging thoughts with one another and feeling richly rewarded. Coming to this Grand Sword Inquiry Ceremony had truly been worthwhile. A single session of contemplation was worth several years of Sword Dao comprehension. The battle between Lu Yang and Mingtai had shown them the future path of the Sword Dao. One after another, the sword cultivators went over to Lu Yang and Mingtai to express their gratitude, Xue Shilou and Kun Qiu among them. Once the last sword cultivator had concluded their seclusion, Tower Master Guan finally announced the start of the ceremony's third and final stage. "As all of you have likely heard, our Sword Tower's Sword Treasury houses spirit swords left behind by predecessors of past generations. After you enter the Sword Treasury, if there is mutual affinity, a spirit sword will naturally follow you out and acknowledge you as its master; our Sword Tower will in no way obstruct it. "When your affinity is exhausted, our Sword Tower will naturally recover the spirit sword. "If there is no affinity, please do not force the matter. I know some of you possess innate Herculean strength and can wrench a spirit sword out by brute force. "If doing so incurs the collective wrath of the spirit swords and leads to any accidents, the Sword Tower will accept no responsibility." The gathered sword cultivators praised the Sword Tower's righteousness. Other sword sects, even if they had spirit swords, would rather let the swords' spirituality wear away completely than allow outsiders to use them. "Since no one has any objections, please follow me." Tower Master Guan led the way, guiding the crowd down beneath the Sword Tower. The sword cultivators were all very nervous. A spirit sword's acknowledgment depended entirely on affinity, having nothing to do with cultivation realm or natural talent. History was full of such examples: an utterly unremarkable cultivator would be recognized by a spirit sword of immense background, from then on becoming an utterly unremarkable sword cultivator. The Sword Treasury was a colossal cavern, looking as though someone had carved out a hollow beneath the Sword Tower with a sword. It lacked any decoration, remaining completely primitive. Only at the very top hung a supreme-grade night-luminescent pearl that had shone for ten thousand years, providing light for the treasury. All kinds of spirit swords were stuck haphazardly throughout the treasury—some in the ground, some in the walls. This was not because the Sword Tower was negligent with the spirit swords, but because the swords themselves preferred to be arranged this way. "I wonder how many spirit swords will recognize a master this time," an elder remarked. Beside him, Tower Master Guan said, "Perhaps not a single one." "Ah? Why?" The elder was bewildered. Watching Mingtai walk into the Sword Treasury, Tower Master Guan said faintly, "Don't forget Mingtai's identity. He is the Supreme's personal sword, the big brother of all spirit swords. To him, this Sword Treasury is no different from a harem."