Chapter 91 - 37: The First Sword, Winter is Coming

Chapter 91: Chapter 37: The First Sword, Winter is Coming

However, even as he took this to heart, Jiang Xuan had greater faith in his Dao Foundation Contract.

Thus, Jiang Xuan replied without a hint of hesitation, "I will pass through Reincarnation."

After Jiang Xuan, Di Chuan, who had regained his senses, also spoke up. "I will too."

"Heh heh..." But his words only deepened the scorn on Granny Lan’s face. "You? You’ve learned the concept of annihilation well enough, but a withered tree reviving in spring isn’t about annihilation—it’s about Vitality. In your current state, your chances of succeeding in Reincarnation aren’t even ten percent."

After taunting Di Chuan, Granny Lan turned her gaze to Jiang Xuan. "Since you’re asking for a world of pain, I’ll be happy to oblige."

"You want to learn the Guicang Jie Mie Sword? Then go sink in the lake!"

BOOM!

"Huh?!"

Before Jiang Xuan could react, an irresistible force erupted from Granny Lan. Like a bolt of lightning, it instantly wrapped around him.

The next moment, he was completely enveloped by this power and hurled violently into the Ice Lake of the Valley of Winter.

HISSS...

The instant he hit the water, a bone-chilling cold invaded Jiang Xuan’s body.

This was a special Spiritual Land, and the lake’s temperature was far below Zero. Even with his Magical Power protecting him, Jiang Xuan found it difficult to resist the terrifying cold’s encroachment.

Barely two or three breaths after being thrown into the lake, the cold had already penetrated Jiang Xuan’s body. A searing pain followed, as if countless ice needles were piercing his limbs and bones.

Even the Magical Power in his meridians grew sluggish under the encroaching cold.

But facing such a perilous situation, Jiang Xuan was not anxious, much less panicked. He didn’t even try to find a way to leave the Ice Lake.

He knew that within the Shenxiao Sect, and with Xia He around, Granny Lan would never needlessly take his life.

Therefore, after being thrown into the Ice Lake, he quickly calmed down.

The next moment, he drew the Bamboo Sword Cyan Glaze he always carried at his side and sat cross-legged in the frigid water.

Granny Lan sensed this and nodded in satisfaction. "Calm in the face of danger. He really is a promising one."

After the compliment, she saw Xia He nearby and let out another sneer. "But he’s also an idiot. Of all the Dharma Veins in the Shenxiao Sect, he just had to come to the Four Seasons Valley and pick this suicidal Cultivation Technique. The height of stupidity."

Despite her words, she still executed a Sword Technique, activating the Inheritance Array beneath the Ice Lake in the Valley of Winter.

HUMMM—!

As she executed the Technique, a jet-black stone stele beneath the Ice Lake trembled. With this vibration, the profound Dao patterns on the stele’s surface suddenly flashed with spiritual light.

Afterward, a special message passed through the air and entered Jiang Xuan’s sea of consciousness.

HUMMM—!

The influx of information made Jiang Xuan’s mind go blank. When he came to, he found the true essence of the first three levels of the Guicang Jie Mie Sword in his mind.

After briefly processing the information, Jiang Xuan understood why Granny Lan had thrown him into the Ice Lake—it was the ideal place to cultivate this Swordsmanship, the Guicang Jie Mie Sword.

’Winter Solstice·Guicang Annihilation... to think the words ’Winter Solstice’ in this Cultivation Technique’s name aren’t just a reference to the solar term, but the very starting point of this Swordsmanship’s Dao.’

Winter is the pinnacle of yin in a year, but its biting cold doesn’t arrive all at once; it’s a gradual process.

The Winter Solstice isn’t the coldest time of the year, but it marks the true beginning of the harsh winter. From the night of the Winter Solstice, the ultimate yin energy between Heaven and Earth is no longer held back but fully unleashed upon the world. It begins a long, cold season known as the "Nine-Nines of Severe Cold," proceeding in nine-day cycles.

The commonly known "Third Nine" and "Fourth Nine" refer to the third and fourth nine-day periods after the Winter Solstice.

At the same time, from the message on the stone stele, Jiang Xuan also learned the core principle of this Swordsmanship’s first technique, which starts from the Winter Solstice: "the verge of arrival"!

Guicang Annihilation was not a conventional Swordsmanship. It wasn’t about engaging in a prolonged duel, searching for flaws, and then gradually defeating an enemy with exquisite Sword Techniques.

Instead, it was about gathering all of one’s power into a single point (Guicang) and unleashing a single, fatal blow—the Annihilation Sword.

’It’s somewhat similar to the Iaijutsu Slash in Saber Techniques.’

’The difference is that the killing blow of an Iaijutsu Slash relies on the explosive power, suddenness, and stealth of the draw to ambush an opponent. It’s a move that wins through surprise.’

’But the Valley of Winter’s Guicang Jie Mie Sword is different. It’s more than just a Swordsmanship; it’s a tempering of the Heart. It demands that the Cultivator practicing this Swordsmanship have the courage to face the bitter cold and fear neither life nor death. Only then can a Cultivator endure the winter and be reborn in the spring.’

This difference in core principles meant that the Winter Solstice·Guicang Silence Sword did not rely on sneak attacks. On the contrary, it was brazen.

The first technique of this Swordsmanship, [Winter Solstice], did not emphasize stealth like conventional swordsmanship. Instead, it did the opposite, requiring the Cultivator to proactively unleash a transcendent Sword Intent and a chilling aura to intimidate their foe—just as the air between Heaven and Earth fills with a biting wind when Winter is Coming.

This might seem counterintuitive to landing a single, killing blow, but it was not.

Just as darkness can conceal one’s form, a light that is too bright can also blind a person.

And [Winter Solstice] allowed Jiang Xuan to radiate an all-encompassing, desolate killing intent and aura of death.

When this killing intent of annihilation enveloped his enemies, and every corner of their Divine Sense was filled with the threat of death, they would be unable to determine where the fatal strike would come from.

Furthermore, this annihilating killing intent, born of the harsh winter, would freeze an enemy’s body, Magical Power, Divine Soul, and even their thoughts, causing them to panic and lose all composure.