Chapter 581: Sword Scripture in Hand (2)

The scorching heat of the Fire Element True Essence slowly faded, transforming into a brand new, colorless True Essence. It was sharper and completed a full Circulation more quickly.

“Ugh…”

A flash of pain appeared on Nascent Soul Xiaobai’s face, but it subsided a moment later.

Changing one’s Basic Cultivation Technique was no easy task. Fortunately, with the foundation of his Five Crystal Glaze Body, he could afford to be a little reckless and didn’t have to worry about damaging his physical body.

Then there was the Immortal Cave True Bone. The newly formed True Essence had just caused minor hidden injuries in seven or eight places on his body.

With a slight activation of the Immortal Bone, he was restored to perfect condition.

Of course, he couldn’t completely switch his Cultivation Technique in this environment. He was only experimenting with the most basic, first layer.

After all, it was only equivalent to the True Essence of the Late-Stage Core Formation. He could withstand any potential mistakes.

Truly changing his Cultivation Technique from the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture to the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture would likely take several years, if not longer.

‘What an overbearing Cultivation Technique,’ he thought. ‘It doesn’t refine nature’s spiritual energy so much as it plunders it, devours it whole… All things being equal, the cultivation speed of the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture is likely more than double that of the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture.’

He didn’t need to delve deep into his Cultivation. Just by comparing its efficiency to when he was refining nature’s spiritual energy during his Late-Stage Core Formation, he could reach a rough conclusion.

When cultivating with the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture, the Sword Seed would release a faint glow, like a formless greatsword, cleaving off chunks of the nature’s spiritual energy from the surroundings.

There was no refinement process at all. The formless greatsword would shatter the spiritual energy and let him devour it whole.

It would be a wonder if one’s Cultivation didn’t advance rapidly with such a method.

The drawback was that a rapidly increasing Cultivation would lead to an unstable foundation. When trying to break through a Great Realm bottleneck, one would have to stop and reconsolidate.

This was especially true for major breakthroughs like advancing to the Nascent Soul or Divinity Transformation Realm.

However, the Taibai Sword Sect had also developed a set of countermeasures that could shorten the time needed to consolidate one’s foundation to a third of the usual duration.

Bai Zichen looked at the intricate methods. Each one required Top-Tier Spiritual Objects whose names he had never even heard and piles of Top-Grade Spirit Stones.

He didn’t pay it much mind, just giving it a cursory glance.

It was a later entry that piqued his interest, and he read it over several times.

‘Possessing a Sword Bone can increase the cultivation speed of this Sword Scripture by ten percent… It seems I must prioritize cultivating the Formless Sword Bone. This is an unexpected bonus.’

Besides this, he also figured out the most striking feature of the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture: the ability to refine an unrestricted number of Lifebound Flying Swords.

For each layer of the Sword Scripture he mastered, he could refine one additional Lifebound Flying Sword.

At Bai Zichen’s current Realm, he could immediately gain four more Lifebound Flying Swords. The resulting improvement to his Star River Sword Array would be unimaginable.

All in all, aside from its strange connection to the Demon Race, he was extremely satisfied with the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture.

…

“Po Jun, you never intended to share the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture with us!”

Even though the Deity of the Moon wore a mask, one could feel the frosty expression on her face and see the dangerous light glinting in her eyes.

“This Sword Stele only opens for disciples of the Taibai Sword Sect! No matter how much effort we expend, it’s impossible for us to receive the Cultivation Technique’s inheritance! You knew this all along and deliberately hid it, using the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture as bait to get us to do your bidding!”

“It’s not just us, but all the past Star Lords of the Star Palace… So many Nascent Soul Sword Cultivators came here with the same goal, and several of them, like Tianliang, even lost their lives. In the end, it was all a scam! The Star Palace is just a tool you use to fool its members!”

Tiann Xiang Star Monarch, who rarely showed anger, erupted. His voice held the suppressed fury of a volcano on the verge of erupting.

“Po Jun, impart the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture to us and swear a Dao Heart Oath that the contents are accurate. If you do, we can pretend this never happened. Otherwise, even with the restrictions of the Dao Heart Oath, do you really think the Deity of the Moon and I can’t touch you?”

Jumeng Star Monarch, by contrast, reined in his agitation. His gaze was like a torch as he spoke, enunciating every word.

“We all know who you are in the real world. You can’t escape!”

“Everyone, there’s no need to be so agitated. Even within the Taibai Sword Sect, there are instances of failing to inherit the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture; otherwise, how could it be called a Supreme Sword Cultivation Technique? Look, Ziwei is still trying. Perhaps he’s already on the verge of a breakthrough.”

A strange, not-quite-a-smile expression appeared on Po Jun Star Monarch’s face. Paired with his twisted mask, it looked as though he were silently mocking them.

“He’s just refusing to give up. We can tell whether it’s his aptitude that’s lacking or if the Sword Stele hasn’t even begun the inheritance process…”

The Deity of the Moon’s voice grew shriller, and the spiritual fluctuations of a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator caused her ornate robes to flutter in the still air.

“I will say this one last time: impart the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture to us. Otherwise, we’ll all be trapped in this Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven together. None of us will leave.”

“Let me think… Very well. I can give it to you. But if you can’t manage to cultivate it, you can’t blame me.”

Po Jun Star Monarch’s expression turned grim. He pondered for a long while, seemingly intimidated by the trio’s unyielding determination, and finally softened his stance.

He simultaneously swore a Dao Heart Oath, guaranteeing he would reveal the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture he had obtained from the Sword Stele in its entirety, without holding anything back.

The three exchanged a glance, finding his 180-degree turn in attitude rather strange. But with the strict constraints of a Dao Heart Oath, it should be impossible for him to conceal parts of the Cultivation Technique.

As Po Jun Star Monarch waved his Sword Qi, fluidly transcribing all fifteen layers of the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture onto the stone wall, Bai Zichen, who had been motionless by the Sword Stele, finally withdrew his hand, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

He turned and saw the scene, understanding dawned on him.

Several hours later, the entire stone wall was covered in dense, fly-sized characters and over a hundred diagrams.

“There, that is the complete version of the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture, verbatim… However, since you couldn’t even receive the inheritance by comprehending the Sword Stele, it will be even more impossible for you to begin cultivating the Sword Scripture directly.”

Po Jun Star Monarch dispersed his Sword Qi, dusted off his hands, and spoke with a mocking tone.

“That’s our business, and it has nothing to do with you!”

The Deity of the Moon responded coldly, taking out a Jade Scroll and quickly inscribing the contents from the stone wall onto it.

‘It’s actually real?’

Bai Zichen took two steps forward, pretending to record the Cultivation Technique while simultaneously comparing it with the contents of his Sword Seed.

He discovered the two versions were identical; it was the genuine Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture.

‘I thought Po Jun Star Monarch would try to obscure some of the finer details or alter a few words. I didn’t expect him to be so honest.’

‘That’s right! Without the Sword Stele to form a Sword Seed, one can only cultivate one or two layers at most. They won’t even be able to reach the Nascent Soul Realm!’

No matter how powerful a Sword Cultivator was, if their Cultivation was limited to Core Formation Perfection, the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture would be completely useless.

“Everyone, shouldn’t we search for other things? Po Jun, do you think any Flying Swords left behind by Sword Sect seniors might be here?”

Having obtained the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture in the ruined Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven, Bai Zichen’s greatest concern was resolved, and he was already quite satisfied.

But thinking of the Divinity Transformation Sword Cultivator who had perished here, and the Grotto Heaven shattered into countless fragments, he couldn’t help but get greedy and start thinking about the Flying Swords of the Taibai Sword Sect.

Besides the famous Seven Cultivator Swords, the Taibai Sword Sect possessed a considerable number of High-Tier Flying Swords.

The cultivators of this Sect were particularly fond of practicing Sword Arrays and would refine their Flying Swords in sets.

Bai Zichen didn’t expect to find a Tier Five Flying Sword; finding a few Tier Four Flying Swords would be more than enough for him to upgrade his Star River Sword Array.

Looking at the carnage of the battle, Hek Feng’s Tier Five Flying Sword was either destroyed in the fight against the Divinity Transformation Level Outer Celestial Demon, or its Sword Spirit had left on its own.

Given the spiritual nature of a Tier Five Flying Sword, it was unlikely to remain waiting in one place for long without some external restraint.

“That’s right. As far as I know, the Sword Sect had over twenty Tier Four Flying Swords back then… If we can find even one, or even just some Flying Sword Fragments or other Sword Dao scriptures, it would be a great boon for us.”

Po Jun Star Monarch had just returned from digging a deep pit to bury his Ancestor.

“Fine. I have a feeling this place is incredibly strange.”

The Deity of the Moon exchanged glances with the others and nodded slightly. With a wave of her sleeve, she erased all traces of the Cultivation Technique from the stone wall, leaving it perfectly smooth.