Chapter 195 - 194: Practicing the Sword

Chapter 195: Chapter 194: Practicing the Sword

The Five Elements Sword pulsed with light in Chen Qingyang’s hand, its glow reflecting on his face. His handsome profile was sharp and chiseled, as if carved by a blade.

His black hair fell naturally, and dressed in black robes, he looked exceedingly cold.

This sword was formed from condensed qi, about a foot long, resembling a Flying Sword.

With a single thought, it shot forward, piercing the night. The trail of light it left behind shone like a meteor, a testament to its power.

The qi of wood, water, and fire was dense on the sword. Regardless of whether they were countering or generating each other, a trace of earth qi was added to the center. With these three present, Chen Qingyang could use the principles of generation and counteraction to enhance his Perception Power of the earth element of the Five Elements.

He moved with the sword, the sword with him, while his Conscious Fish swam around him. Moments passed in the blink of an eye. As he practiced his Enlightenment Method and perceived the Five Elements Essences, his technique grew more and more refined.

Finally, in the endless darkness, he felt a pulse of light from the Five Elements Sword. Chen Qingyang fixed his direction and walked toward it.

He sent the Conscious Fish ahead, and in an instant, it had scouted the entire surrounding area.

Nothing in heaven or earth could exist in this endless darkness. But amidst the vast emptiness, an apricot-yellow light spread out, blanketing everything. Chen Qingyang moved through it and saw an object the size of a fist, like a rock, embedded in the darkness.

He held it in his hand, carefully perceiving it. It was the Earth Element Essence. The Essence Qi stored within it far surpassed the one he had bought at Gentle Breeze. ’This truly is Cyan Bamboo Peak’s ultimate treasure-filled Cave Mansion.’

He didn’t know how much of the seven-day limit had passed. Without lingering, he immediately unleashed his Mingtang True Fire to begin the Refinement.

The process consumed a great deal of his strength. He grabbed a handful of Spirit Stones and meditated briefly to restore the Qi Mechanism in his body.

The Earth Element Essence in his hand dissipated, leaving only its Qi Mechanism flowing through his body. The Five Elements Sword instantly rose to a new level.

Now that he had wood, water, fire, and earth, only metal was missing. With his current method, finding it shouldn’t be too difficult.

He then focused his senses once more. After an unknown amount of time, he finally detected the Metal Element Essence in the darkness.

There was no light here, no sound, no wind. Much of the time, Chen Qingyang felt like he was just treading in place, with no idea if he was even moving forward. Only after persisting for a long time would he feel a change in the Qi Mechanism ahead, letting him know he had changed position.

It was a mental ordeal, like living in a world with only himself for company. Everything became nothingness, and his body and senses were rendered almost useless.

In such a situation, even someone like Chen Qingyang found it hard to suppress his anxiety and unease. Fortunately, after a brief period of torment, he began to see it all as a test.

He began to think, to feel his own being... or perhaps, to understand his true self.

The benefits of the Five Elements Cave Mansion were not limited to the Five Elements Essences. This path to Enlightenment was one of them...

A brilliant golden light shone, dazzlingly bright.

After another unknown period of time, it appeared abruptly in the darkness, making one’s heart skip a beat. It spread out in cascading layers, like splashes of golden splendor.

Chen Qingyang wandered through it. The farther he went, the stronger the vibrations from his Five Elements Sword became. There, beneath the layers of gold, a perfectly square, golden block of metal was embedded in the darkness.

The Metal Element Essence.

He reached out, clasped it firmly in his palm, and then, using the Inner Nourishing Five Elements Sword technique in conjunction with his Mingtang True Fire, slowly began the Refinement.

Within his Dantian, the Five Elements Sword once again achieved Five Elements Perfection, and as a whole, it ascended to an even higher level.

[Chen Qingyang]

[Essence Condensation Third Realm]

[Great Soul Scripture: (28/999,999)]

[Tai Xu Star Pivot Purple Micro True Skill (Spiritual Constellation Scroll): (19/20,000)]

[Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual: (4,024/24,000)]

[Tier Five Nameless Elixir: (19/10,000)]

[Nine Luminaries Array: (1/1,000)]

[Tier Five Earth Root Life Transformation Pill: (14/3,000)]

[Nanming Red Emperor’s Celestial Burning and Sea Boiling Daoist Truth: (251/3,000)]

[Nine Refinements Forging Technique: (186/200)]

[Inner Nourishing Five Elements Sword: (19,999/20,000)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 213]

After completing the Refinement, Chen Qingyang turned his attention to the small golden characters. Over the past several days, many of his Dharma Gates had progressed. Ever since his Ziwei Scripture had broken through to the Spiritual Constellation Scroll, its progress had reached 19/20,000.

In the past six months or so, his Danxia Nourishing Truth Sword Manual had also reached 4,024. Compared to before, such a cultivation speed could be described as divine. Besides the increase in his own comprehension, this was partly due to the nourishment from the Cyan Nether Sword Embryo.

The biggest change was to the Inner Nourishing Five Elements Sword. As an Artifact, its advancement essentially relied on the Five Elements Essences. Therefore, after Chen Qingyang collected them all, its progress shot straight to 19,999. It was just one small bit of refinement from his Mingtang True Fire away from reaching the next stage.

There was also an elixir, the Breaking Yuan Formula, which Chen Qingyang had hidden from the list. He didn’t need it, nor did he need to trade it for Spirit Stones, so there was no reason to continue researching it.

After recovering some of his Primordial Energy, Chen Qingyang once again began to use his Mingtang True Fire to refine his Lifebound Magical Artifact. He had thought it would only take a moment, but even after a long period of nurturing, there was no change.

’It seems even this last bit will require a long time to refine with the Mingtang True Fire.’ He decided not to waste any more time. He took out a wisp of Immortal Seedling and broke through instantly.

[Inner Nourishing Five Elements Sword (Dust): (1/40,000)]

Looking at it now, the progress requirement had doubled, and the word "Dust" had been added.

Rated Magical Artifacts were divided into nine grades, with Dust being the lowest.

In other words, this Lifebound Magical Artifact had only been an Artifact Embryo before. Only now had it fully formed and entered the realm of Dust Artifacts.

In terms of grade, it was naturally not as high as the Jade Peach Incense Burner, which was on the verge of producing an Artifact Spirit. In terms of power, however, it was certainly no inferior. And that was to say nothing of the Five Elements Sword’s future potential.

Qing Yao True Monarch had said that when the seven days were up, everyone would be sent out. As long as time remained, Chen Qingyang had to seize the opportunity and find a way to raise his Lifebound Magical Artifact another level. If he missed this chance, he might never get another one like it.

Chen Qingyang continued using his previous method. First, he used the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl to obtain a Fire Element Essence. Then, he used the Jade Peach Incense Burner as a guide to get a Wood Element Essence.

Water generates wood, and wood generates fire, while water and fire counteract each other. Following this principle and using the Five Elements Sword as a guide, he found the Water Element Essence. He then did the same for metal and earth.

This opportunity seemed tailor-made for him, fully showcasing the usefulness of the Five Elements Sword. He wondered if the other ten senior brothers and sisters were finding things as smoothly as he was.

He refined all five—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—and the Five Elements Sword in his Dantian grew once more.

[Inner Nourishing Five Elements Sword (Dust): (19,999/40,000)]

The progress requirement for the Five Elements Sword had doubled, but the amount of Five Elements Essence he could obtain remained the same. To break through, he would have to go through the whole process again. And this was just the beginning. The quantity required later would be unimaginable.

Only now did Chen Qingyang slowly begin to understand the biggest trap of the Inner Nourishing Five Elements Sword. To achieve anything with this technique, the cost in Spirit Stones was beyond imagination. Most people who cultivated the Five Elements focused on two at most. Someone like him, who was cultivating all five, was extremely rare.

’According to Shopkeeper Wang’s calculations, he’s not going to be satisfied until he’s skinned me alive! Those five million Spirit Stones that day were just the beginning. What a cunning merchant!’

If he hadn’t spent all his energy on the Five Elements, with his abilities, who knows how much Fire Element Essence he could have taken from this place.

It was too late for regrets now.

Sighing was useless. Chen Qingyang could only continue his search for the Five Elements Essences. After another long delay, he finally gathered them all.

In the outside world, seven days was but a fleeting moment, but in here, it felt like a very long time had passed.

[Inner Nourishing Five Elements Sword (Dust): (39,998/40,000)]

Looking at the small golden characters again, his Lifebound Magical Artifact was just two points away from another breakthrough. Without hesitation, he used his remaining Immortal Seedlings.

In an instant, the Inner Nourishing Five Elements Sword went from Dust to Embryo, entering the Second Grade.

Its Sword Qi surged, and the power of its Five Elements rose accordingly. Once he performed Sacrificial Refinement and wielded it, his ability to control and perceive the Power of the Five Elements would also be greatly enhanced.

The technique was difficult to master, but the rewards were plentiful. After a short rest, he continued to use the same method to search.

The world within the Cave Mansion was vast, and the Five Elements Essences were scattered far and wide. He had already collected quite a few. This time, he walked for a great distance without seeing a single one.

Even using the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl as a guide, he could sense concentrations of Fire Qi, but when he went to investigate, he wasn’t guaranteed to find a Fire Element Essence.

Chen Qingyang estimated that not much time was left. He might not have enough time for another full round of searching. Just as he was considering whether to find some Fire Qi to strengthen his Separation Huo Dragon Pearl, he suddenly sensed an abrupt change in the Qi Mechanism ahead.

A wave of scorching heat washed over him.

He had never encountered such powerful Fire Qi since entering the Cave Mansion. Without delay, he sent his Conscious Fish to clear the way. In that brief moment, a blood-red light burst into view, illuminating the entire world.

It was boundless and incredibly dense.

The intense heat forced Chen Qingyang to deploy his Protective Gang Qi just to withstand it.

’So strong! I can definitely find a Fire Element Essence in a place like this.’

The Conscious Fish attempted to measure the size of the area, swimming around the periphery. It soon spotted two figures.

He didn’t recognize one of the men, but the portly figure far away from him was very familiar. It turned out Senior Brother Xu had also found his way here. ’The man really has some skill.’

Both were silent, meditating at the edge of the area. Visible streams of Fire Qi flowed into their bodies.

This was a rare opportunity that couldn’t be wasted. Chen Qingyang immediately gave up on searching for more Five Elements Essences and plunged into the fiery expanse.

As far as the eye could see, there was no darkness. The deeper he went, the more intense the heat around him became. He used the Nanming Red Emperor’s Celestial Burning and Sea Boiling Daoist Truth to absorb a mouthful of the Five Elements Fire, but he found his body burning up, and it took a long time to refine even that small amount.

’No wonder those two only stayed at the edge and didn’t dare go deeper. The stuff is good, but it’s useless if you can’t digest it.’

Chen Qingyang stopped moving forward as well. Instead, he deployed his Conscious Fish and had it manipulate the Separation Huo Dragon Pearl. Flames from all directions slowly gathered and entered the fish’s body.

The meridian-like patterns inside the fish began to circulate, just as if a cultivator were in cultivation.

Chen Qingyang had the fish continue deeper. Perhaps because it had been tempered by True Dragon Fire, the Conscious Fish was completely unaffected by the burning flames and plunged straight into the depths. He could feel that the Qi Mechanism was growing denser the further in it went!

Based on his experience in the Five Elements Cave Mansion, he judged that there had to be a Five Elements Essence here—and a huge one at that. If he couldn’t take it with him, he would just have the Conscious Fish refine as much as it possibly could.