Chapter 58 - 37: Cultivation Aspiration, Honing the Sword Technique

Chapter 58: Chapter 37: Cultivation Aspiration, Honing the Sword Technique

"There are numerous accounts, all different," the woman shook her head. "But as to what the truth really is, I’m afraid only that surviving Daoist and the higher-ups of the Dharma Vein truly know."

Meng Yu fell silent, as an incident of this magnitude completely exceeded her imagination.

"That’s why I was so shocked when you mentioned Xuanzhen Temple," the woman continued. "You must know, Xuanzhen Temple has existed in name only for nearly thirty years. They are scheduled to be disbanded next year. If the Dharma Vein hadn’t taken Xuanzhen Temple’s past contributions and achievements into consideration, it would have been dissolved long ago, and their Spirit Vein would have been distributed to Shouyi Temple."

"Disbanded?" Meng Yu was taken aback.

"It’s impossible now," the woman said. "The Dharma Vein originally wanted to disband Xuanzhen Temple mainly because there was no hope for the revival of its Dao Lineage. But now it seems that Li Yinsheng... who has always hidden his talents and kept a remarkably low profile, is actually a once-in-a-centuries cultivation genius. With him there, the Dharma Vein probably won’t disband Xuanzhen Temple anymore."

At this, the woman suddenly smiled. "Now, Shouyi Temple’s wishful thinking will likely fall through. That bunch is arrogant and condescending. They sit on the throne of the number one Daoist Temple, yet all they do is bully their fellow cultivators and take full advantage of the other Daoist Temples."

She furrowed her brows. "It’s a good thing they won’t get Xuanzhen Peak’s Spirit Vein now; otherwise, they would undoubtedly become even more overbearing."

Meng Yu nodded in agreement, as she disliked Shouyi Temple as well.

"By the way, Yu’Er," the woman added, "you must keep Li Yinsheng’s Cultivation and talent a strict secret. Do not spread it, lest Shouyi Temple makes preparations in advance and hatches some sinister plot."

"Understood," Meng Yu nodded. "But what about Yellow Crane Temple?"

"They were in the wrong and suffered a silent loss, so they probably aren’t willing to broadcast it, either," the woman replied. "Besides, that Daoist Huang He is famously honorable in his actions. He likely won’t do anything unreasonable."

Meng Yu nodded. Soon after, she opened her mouth, about to ask her master about the portrait of Li Yinsheng she had in her hands again.

"Oh, right, Yu’Er, don’t return to the shop for the time being. Send a Sound Transmission Talisman to notify your junior brother and sister, just tell them not to spread rumors," the woman spoke up.

"Yes," Meng Yu asked. "Then what should I do if I stay in the temple?"

"The bamboos planted at Huang Bamboo Temple ten years ago will bear Cultivation Fruit in a few months. When the time comes, they’ll need to guard against nearby awakened monsters sneaking in to steal them," the woman explained. "Therefore, they specifically came to our Jade Altar Temple to request a Daoist and several disciples to handle the Array Formation to prevent any monsters from slipping in. I’ve thought it over carefully. Most of the Stewards in the temple are tied up with other matters, and your Array Dao Mastery has already surpassed many of them, so I must trouble you to make the trip."

Meng Yu nodded and bowed. "Your disciple obeys."

"Alright, there are still a few months left. Go and prepare well. Study Arrays that isolate and counter monsters more thoroughly so that nothing goes wrong when the time comes," the woman instructed.

Meng Yu bowed again and turned to leave. Watching her disciple’s retreating back, the woman quietly breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she had managed to bluff her way through.

"Master," Meng Yu hesitated as she reached the door. "Could you let me trace a copy of that portrait as well?"

The Temple Master of Jade Altar Temple was left completely speechless.

Late at night, in front of Xuanzhen Temple’s main hall.

With the Cold Leaf Sword in hand, Mu Xiaoyu was working hard to practice the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword that Li Yinsheng had taught her earlier that day. Li Yinsheng sat to the side, cracking melon seeds while guiding her. While he could use his fingers in place of a sword to cast Magic, Mu Xiaoyu could not yet do so. At this moment, she gripped the Cold Leaf Sword with one hand to adjust the flow of her Magical Power, and formed a Technique with her other hand.

Almost six hours had passed since she started practicing during the day. Finally, as the Cold Leaf Sword in her hand traced a sharp and fluid slash, a snow-white Sword Light flew from the blade, sweeping across the night sky for over twenty feet before dispersing into countless specks of light.

"Me! Me, me, me!" The sweat-drenched Mu Xiaoyu’s face was flushed with excitement. "Senior Brother, I did it! I did it!"

But at this moment, Li Yinsheng didn’t have the time to respond to Mu Xiaoyu’s excitement. The moment she swung out that Sword Light, a resounding chime rang in his ears like a grand bell, and new Golden Characters emerged.

[Cultivation Aspiration: First Steps on the Sword Dao!

Congratulations to the Master of the Cave Heaven for learning the first high-grade Sword Technique in life. This is the first step on the Path of Sword Cultivation!

The Path of Sword Cultivation emphasizes brave and diligent progress. Please practice the learned Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword painstakingly for the next three years, improving your mastery of it as much as possible, and cultivate more Sword Light!

Once the number of Sword Lights from the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword increases to a certain amount, rewards can be claimed.

This Cultivation Aspiration will last for three years and will close after three years.

Cultivation Rewards:

Cultivate four Sword Lights to be rewarded with two years of Cultivation;

Cultivate eight Sword Lights to be rewarded with four years of Cultivation;

Cultivate sixteen Sword Lights to be rewarded with eight years of Cultivation;

Cultivate thirty-two Sword Lights to be rewarded with sixteen years of Cultivation;

Cultivate sixty-four Sword Lights to be rewarded with thirty-two years of Cultivation;

Cultivate one hundred and twenty-eight Sword Lights to be rewarded with sixty-four years of Cultivation.]

Looking at the goals and corresponding rewards written in the Golden Characters, Li Yinsheng’s mouth twitched. He thought, "Here we go again. Can’t this broken cheat issue a task with a slightly lower difficulty? A person with average aptitude, after three years of painstaking training, might not even be able to cultivate four Sword Lights! Yet the total time limit given is only three years! Three years to cultivate one hundred and twenty-eight Sword Lights?!"

Li Yinsheng felt a splitting headache coming on. Moreover, this Cultivation Aspiration for practicing a Sword Technique was somewhat different from the previous ones. The Cultivation Aspirations of obtaining Cultivation Techniques, promoting his position in the temple, and accumulating talismanic coins could all be achieved through trickery to a certain extent. But for this genuine Magic cultivation, how could he possibly cut corners?