Volume Two: Snow in the Qin River Chapter 24: Tempering the Body with Sword Intent (Part Two)

When Feng Qi arrived at the Illusory Dream Pool, the other five had already been there for quite some time.

Because Mu Linhan had broken through his realm, he exceeded the restriction of sword intent tempering, and his qualification was consequently deferred to Wu Fan.

The other practitioner at the Primordial Origin realm was a disciple of Treading Snow Peak. Feng Qi did not have much of an impression of him, only remembering that this person's sword angles were tricky and insidious. If one had to use a single word to describe him, it would be treacherous.

The Treading Snow Sword Technique was free and unrestrained, and Feng Qi could not fathom how it could produce such a sly character.

Perhaps... it was related to his personality?

Perhaps precisely because of this reason, this treacherous fellow deliberately kept his distance from the other four, guarding the mountain path alone.

Seeming to sense Feng Qi's gaze, He Liuqi smiled kindly at him, revealing white teeth.

Feng Qi reflexively returned the courtesy, then slowly walked over to the edge of the pool.

All the disciples present cast their gazes over.

Zhang Chen was cold, Zhou Zihan calm, Qiu Yue gentle, Wu Fan bellicose, and He Liuqi full of curiosity.

"Why have you come so late?" Zhou Zihan asked.

Feng Qi shrugged. "No one told me I had to arrive by a specific time."

Zhou Zihan asked, "Didn't the sword attendant of Traceless Peak tell you?"

Feng Qi glanced at the visibly intoxicated Founding Master of Chasing Moon Peak, Yang Zhengyue, and uncharacteristically felt a hint of cowardice.

He who adapts to circumstances is a wise man; this was Chasing Moon Peak after all, so it was better to be cautious.

Although he said to be cautious, these were figures of the grandmaster generation; there was no telling where they might pick up such gossip.

If those romantic chronicles had not deceived him, even if Yang Zhengyue were to beat him to death on the spot, his master and the other three peak masters would not dare to let out a single fart.

The little junior sister naturally enjoyed some special treatment, most likely the so-called pet of the group.

The beautiful little junior sister was like this.

The little junior sister secretly yearned for by all senior brothers was even more so.

Seeing that Feng Qi did not speak, Zhou Zihan wanted to ask something further.

Yang Zhengyue uttered a grunt, interrupting them and motioning for them to enter the pool.

Unfortunately, no one understood. A crowd of disciples cast gazes of crystal-clear stupidity toward Yang Zhengyue, and even Feng Qi was no exception.

Yang Zhengyue unconsciously felt a trace of annoyance. Without further ado, she kicked them one by one into the Illusory Dream Pool. Without any explanation, she gave a flick of her dainty hand and scattered twelve sword pills.

Generally speaking, even if Primordial Origin disciples pushed themselves to the limit, it would be extremely difficult for them to fully absorb the medicinal efficacy of the sword pills. Those at the Soul Concentration realm could ideally absorb the complete medicinal power of one sword pill. If one possessed extraordinary natural talent, absorbing two was also somewhat understandable. The best performance in the past century was said to belong to the sword prodigy of Treading Snow Peak, who absorbed the medicinal power of nearly three sword pills in one breath during the sword intent tempering, turning all other participants of that generation into mere runners-up. This was especially true for the Primordial Origin realm disciples, who gained almost no tangible improvement.

However, scattering twelve pills all at once was still somewhat wasteful.

There were three Soul Concentration and three Primordial Origin practitioners in the pool. Even if they were all supreme talents, it was impossible for them to absorb every drop without leakage.

The Grand Elder of Chasing Moon Peak looked at this scene with a heartache-inducing expression, unable to help harboring a trace of resentment toward the Founding Masters of Traceless Peak and Thousands of Precipices... If not for their insistence, this tempering would have used at most eight sword pills, unlike now when twelve were tossed out with a single wave of the hand!

One never knows how expensive firewood and rice are until one manages the household... Those were all heavenly treasures!

Although the sword pills were primarily composed of sword arts, sword intent, and grand origin essence, the other medicinal herbs for alchemy still had to be purchased by them—the moneybag of Snow Cloud Sect. Such waste was simply unacceptable to a diligent and thrifty Grand Elder.

Yet this was the finalized outcome of the Five Peaks Conference, and she could not interfere excessively.

The moment the sword pills entered the water, Yang Zhengyue waved her hand, and an extremely formidable surge of primal energy also fell into the pool.

The sword pills dissolved like ice and snow in an instant, and the immense medicinal power instantly diffused across the entire Illusory Dream Pool. The murderous aura within the sword pills seemed to dye the pool water several shades redder.

At this moment, this lake became the place with the densest primal energy in the Dao Abyss Continent; no matter what grade of primal gathering array it was, it would pale in comparison.

Immediately afterward, the pool water began to gurgle, and countless tiny bubbles rose from the bottom of the pool, growing larger as they ascended until they reached the surface and burst into countless delicate bubbles.

Every single bubble contained a strand of sword intent, and the scattered sword intent instantly slashed the flowers, plants, trees, and rocks around the Illusory Dream Pool into smithereens.

Yang Zhengyue's pretty eyebrows stood on end as she shouted, "Presumptuous!"

An even more domineering sword intent surged from her body, instantly suppressing the scattered sword intent back into the lake.

The sword intent howled and surged everywhere, but it dared not go to challenge that madwoman again.

Thus, they turned their spearheads toward the little fellows in the pool.

He Liuqi furrowed his brows slightly.

His comprehensive strength was the weakest. It was already very arduous for him to endure the fierce medicinal power of the sword pills, and at this moment, being disturbed by the sword intent, he was so terrified that he almost suffered a deviation in cultivation. Had Zhou Zihan not released her own sword intent to come to his rescue, he very well might have set the worst record in history for sword intent tempering.

"Do not think of blocking it. How many supreme talents' sword intent has been left behind since the dawn of the Dao? If you can block one strand, can you possibly block countless strands?" Yang Zhengyue's cold voice came from above. "The Snow Cloud Sect shares the same origin. These sword intents cannot kill you, nor will they kill you. Relying on the medicinal power within your bodies, feel them, utilize them, surpass them, and then step out into a sword path that belongs exclusively to you—that is the original intent of sword intent tempering."

With Yang Zhengyue's guidance, He Liuqi no longer allowed his mind to be distracted by the scattered sword intent; he sat in stillness and emptiness.

Yet the medicinal power of the sword pills was too fierce, feeling as though it were scorching every inch of his skin and gnawing at every inch of his bones and flesh.

Blood seeped out.

And healed instantly.

Had he not been in the pool, he surely would have cried out in pain.

Between wounding and healing, a wisp of black Qi abruptly shot out from his body.

That was the impurities generated from years of cultivation.

Had he not been in the pool, he surely would have cried out with ecstatic pleasure.

The so-called pain coupled with happiness had previously only existed in unspeakable books and the words of his senior brothers, but now he could experience it firsthand. From then on, he would also be able to speak of this unforgettable feeling to the newly inducted junior disciples. Thinking of this, He Liuqi actually felt a twinge of excitement.

Time knows no years in the pool.

In the blink of an eye, a day had passed.

He Liuqi could no longer endure the fierce medicinal power emitted by the sword pills and withdrew.

In the short span of a single day, his primal energy actually showed signs of overflowing, and his sword intent was round and flawless, lacking only a hair's breadth to break through the origin residence to form the sea of consciousness. Had he not considered the dangers of breaking through his realm, he might have gone with the flow and achieved the Soul Concentration realm.

Breaking through the origin residence to form the sea of consciousness held back nearly seventy percent of cultivators.

Even with the highest-tier talent, one might still be blocked outside the gates or perish in the attempt.

Both Snow Cloud and Profound Supremacy lost disciples to this very step every year, which showed how harsh the conditions were.

"Rest by the side for a while, and leave together once they all awaken." Yang Zhengyue had already departed at some unknown point, leaving only the Grand Elder of Chasing Moon Peak behind to instruct him upon seeing He Liuqi wake up.

Sword intent tempering required a powerhouse to preside over it; otherwise, even the Grand Elder would not have stayed behind.

He Liuqi subconsciously nodded, sat cross-legged, and spent three periods of time completely absorbing the insights gained from the sword intent tempering.

After struggling over whether to break through his realm or not, he ultimately chose to give up.

Opening his eyes, no one else had left the pool except him.

His expression was somewhat unsightly, thinking to himself that senior brothers and sisters at the Soul Concentration realm were one thing, but why could the two sword prodigies of Thousands of Precipices and Traceless Peak also persist until now?

Could it be that sword prodigies truly could not be surpassed?

He cast his gaze into the pool.

The Soul Concentration realm disciples were in much better shape than him; even Wu Fan, who had been stripped of the prestige of a sword prodigy, looked relaxed and at ease. It seemed they could persist for at least another day or more.

As for the Primordial Origin realm... when He Liuqi's sight fell upon Zhou Zihan and Feng Qi, his pupils shrank slightly.

He could have imagined that the performance of those two might be better than his, but he had not expected them to be such monstrosities.

Feng Qi's skin was smooth, resembling an unblemished piece of jade, and his body radiated a hazy glow due to absorbing excessive medicinal power, yet not a single trace of impurity was expelled.

This meant that Feng Qi's cultivation path was utterly flawless.

The so-called utter flawlessness meant that in his first sixteen years, he had not consumed a single medicinal pill nor made a single misstep.

He truly was... the Prince of Yansbei. No wonder the elders of the clan poured their entire efforts into him; only thus could he display such performance.

"Do not let your imagination run wild. It is known throughout the world that the Yansbei Prince's Estate takes a laissez-faire approach to raising its two young masters. The reason the sword prodigy of Traceless Peak can reach this point is simply because of her Dao Spirit physique."

Harmonizing with the Dao, she naturally filtered out impurities when absorbing the primal energy of heaven and earth.

He Liuqi was somewhat unconvinced. "Could every Dao Spirit physique be such a monster?"

The Grand Elder of Chasing Moon Peak shook her head. "Naturally not. Aside from the Dao Spirit physique, the sword prodigy of Traceless Peak has also read widely through the Daoist canons, naturally knowing how to proceed at every step. With these two methods applied simultaneously, she has achieved what she is today."

Pausing for a moment, she continued, "Senior Brother Legal Sword... has taken in a fine disciple."

He Liuqi was speechless and had no choice but to turn his gaze toward Zhou Zihan.

If the feeling Feng Qi gave him was shock, then the feeling Zhou Zihan gave him was sheer horror.

Countless strands of sword intent fluttered up and down as if celebrating or currying favor, but Zhou Zihan remained indifferent to their performance, only casually selecting two strands of sword intent to incorporate into her body whenever she expelled impurities from within.

It was possible to do even this!

He Liuqi widened his eyes in utter disbelief.

Only then did he remember... Zhou Zihan... possessed the Innate Formless Sword Physique.

This was a monster who could incorporate multiple strands of sword intent into her body while still at the Primordial Origin realm!

For a moment, he gained a vivid understanding of the gap between human beings.

The Grand Elder of Chasing Moon Peak looked at He Liuqi, knowing what he was thinking. "During the sword discussions, Sheng Yun once said something to the group of seventh-generation disciples. You can ponder it carefully."

He Liuqi fell silent for a moment, then said, "Rather than Senior Brother Sheng Yun's enlightenment, I prefer what Senior Brother Zhang Chen said when he was at the Primordial Origin realm: 'Are supreme talents and monsters born of noble stock?'"

The Grand Elder of Chasing Moon Peak arched an eyebrow, smiled, and said nothing more.

At that exact moment, two wisps of hazy mist suddenly rose within the Illusory Dream Pool.

He Liuqi abruptly turned his head, staring at Feng Qi and Zhou Zihan, speechless.

How could they dare?

To actually choose to break through their realm at a time like this?

Did they not know that stepping from Primordial Origin into Soul Concentration was a cultivator's very first hurdle of life and death?