Chapter 1571 - 172: Forging the Sword, Concealing the Spirit, Awaiting Its Edge

Chapter 1571: Chapter 172: Forging the Sword, Concealing the Spirit, Awaiting Its Edge

In the Sword Furnace at the Bie Tian Platform, Zhang Yan sat for a mere blink of twenty years.

Within the Broken Jade, eighty-odd days passed, while outside, only a day elapsed. Over twenty years, he had immersed himself in this path for what felt like sixteen hundred years.

The Dharma technique for refining the Sword Embryo had been thoroughly understood through his repeated deductions, with each step etched deeply in his mind.

A Nascent Soul cultivator can live for a millennium, but in terms of time spent on the sect’s secrets alone, he far surpassed his contemporaries in the Shaoqing Sect. Without any accidents, his sacrificial refinement of the Qinghong Mystic Sword was guaranteed to succeed.

After withdrawing his Heart and Spirit from the Broken Jade, he examined the prohibitions around him, realizing there were no anomalies. Seeing no signs of anyone from Shaoqing, he decided not to delay and formally began the sacrificial refinement of the sword ball.

With a push of his mind, the Sword Embryo flew out swiftly, hovering right before his nose.

His gaze shifted slightly and, with a turn of his Heart and Spirit, he channeled Dharma Power Spirit Mechanism into it, proceeding on with the sacrificial refinement at an unhurried pace.

In an instant, another decade had slipped by.

Within the Sword Furnace, Zhang Yan’s sword sacrifice reached its most crucial step.

He stood solemnly, his eyes flashing with Divine Light, watching ahead as the sword ball shimmered radiantly. He meticulously unleashed dozens of spells according to the sacrificial refinement technique, causing the sword ball to tremble lightly with a series of metallic clinks, before it spun rapidly, forming a vortex drawing in surrounding Spiritual Energy.

Finally, the sword light abruptly stalled, and a forceful surge emerged, as if attempting to fly away.

Zhang Yan smiled, first stabilizing it with Mana until it was tamed and no longer agitated, then released it.

The Sword Ball, forcibly suppressed for several days, instantly emitted a jubilant call, and in that moment, a rushing sound echoed in the Sword Furnace as all the Spiritual Energy seemed drawn in, before a resounding sword cry pierced the Heavenly Vault, a Clear Qi, like a practiced line, effortlessly broke the prohibition and surged into Yunxiao!

In Qinghong Palace, Ying Chunqiu put down the scroll he held, gazing outside the palace, he mused, "Has Mingcang Envoy been inside the Sword Furnace for already thirty years?"

Ran Xiushu, although seated below the table, was already nodding off. Unwilling to deal with mundane matters, yet as Ying Chunqiu’s Senior Disciple, he was obligated to await orders daily. Hearing his master’s question, he rallied his spirit to respond, "For sect elders performing sacrificial sword refinement, it generally takes at least a decade. True Master Zhang, not being of our sect, may take even longer; I feel it won’t be less than sixty-seven years, perhaps even a hundred. It’s no surprise."

Ying Chunqiu nodded, acknowledging the reasoning. Zhang Yan wasn’t a Sword Cultivator, no matter how exceptionally talented, undertaking sword crafting for the first time would inevitably involve some mishaps. Thirty years might just be enough to organize his thoughts.

He said gravely, "If successful, that would be ideal, as recent years have seen Demon Cultivators stirring once more. In the coming decades, if he fails to refine the Sword Ball, he will miss his chance."

Ran Xiushu, moved by this thought, whispered, "Teacher, is the Demon Cave about to emerge?"

Ying Chunqiu, glancing at him, did not conceal the truth, "The Sect Leader recently observed the aura, confirming that the first Demon Cave will appear at most after thirty to forty years."

Ran Xiushu’s face immediately lit up, with the emergence of the Demon Cave, the Six Great Demon Sects would inevitably dispatch forces to protect it, no longer remaining elusive. A perfect opportunity to strike and eliminate them.

His excitement eventually subsiding, he pondered, "In this case, True Master Zhang indeed doesn’t have much time left."

Zhang Yan, as Ten Disciples Leader, not only cannot reside long within the Shaoqing Sect, but if the Demon Cave appears, he would be summoned back to the Mingcang Sect. If the sword isn’t refined by then, then this journey would be in vain.

Not only that, without a Flying Sword, this would be bad news for the impending Xuanmen conflict.

Initially, Ran Xiushu held some confidence in Zhang Yan, but now he started to doubt.

Ying Chunqiu was about to speak when he suddenly sensed something, let out a curious sound, stood up, and gazed in the direction of the Bie Tian Platform. After watching for a while, a long, resounding sword cry pierced the skies, echoing with a sharp sound, a sword light like a rainbow soared, hanging as a star, radiating bright light, illuminating the Void.

Ran Xiushu was astonished by the sight, exclaimed, "Could it be that True Master Zhang has completed the Sword Ball?"