Chapter 20: A New Realm, A New Ability

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: A New Realm, A New Ability

A month had passed since Ye Xuan began cultivating to break through to the next realm.

Threads of qi connected his body to each spirit stone floating beside him, providing him with a significant amount of additional qi.

Qingyu, meanwhile, continued waiting for Ye Xuan. From time to time, she would wake up to keep watch before falling asleep again with her tail curled around herself.

She had her own way of continuing to cultivate while Ye Xuan was occupied with his training.

The longer Ye Xuan cultivated using spirit stones, the more steadily spiritual energy flowed through his meridians and filled his dantian.

Deep within Ye Xuan’s dantian, his soul consciousness could clearly see an area covered in thick mist.

The dense fog limited his field of vision, making it impossible for him to see what lay ahead.

He reached out and tried to touch the mist in front of him. It felt soft and slightly damp, yet carried the fresh, soothing scent of water.

"Is this what they call a dantian?"

Ye Xuan felt as though he were trapped in an illusion created by the mist.

However, he had once read records about cultivation stages in the Sky Cloud Sect, including descriptions of what a dantian looked like.

Those who had yet to reach Foundation Establishment had dantians filled with water mist.

This mist was formed from the spiritual qi they had absorbed over time.

"To break through to Foundation Establishment, I need to transform this spiritual qi and refine it properly."

Ye Xuan sat cross-legged on the mist-covered ground again.

He formed a hand seal and activated his cultivation technique.

Slowly but surely, the spiritual qi that had taken the form of mist was completely absorbed into the projection of Ye Xuan’s soul consciousness.

With that, Ye Xuan began refining the spiritual qi within the projection of his soul consciousness itself.

The spiritual qi flowing in from outside also began entering his body without turning into water mist.

After refining the qi within his soul body for quite some time, Ye Xuan felt a pleasant sensation throughout his body.

Before long, the spiritual qi within him began flowing outward in the form of water, gushing from beneath his body and creating an immense, seemingly endless sea of qi.

The sky turned orange above the boundless sea of qi. Small waves rolled across its surface, but the sea remained relatively calm.

Not long afterward, a powerful surge of qi erupted. It occurred not only within his soul consciousness but also in his physical body.

The sudden burst of qi would have startled anyone nearby, as it was accompanied by fierce gusts of wind and slight tremors.

Qingyu, who had been sleeping, immediately woke up.

She was the one who felt the surge most clearly, as she was the only one there capable of sensing the spiritual qi within another person’s body.

[He did it!]

The surge of qi didn’t last long, only a few minutes. Ye Xuan opened his eyes and felt that his body was lighter and more energetic than before.

"I succeeded... I broke through?"

[Congratulations, Ye Xuan. You’ve successfully broken through to Early Foundation Establishment.]

[With your current cultivation base, you should now be able to fight on equal terms with Spirit Beasts.]

"You’re right."

Ye Xuan paused his cultivation and stood up. He could feel that the spiritual qi within his body was far greater and more powerful than before.

To confirm this, he needed to put his newfound strength to the test.

He walked to the edge of the island and summoned his sword, activating both the fire element and crimson lightning along its blade.

Gripping the sword firmly, Ye Xuan swung it sideways and unleashed a flaming sword slash toward the lake.

The resulting explosion was far greater than usual, accompanied by powerful gusts of wind.

Ye Xuan stepped back and raised his hand as the explosion in the water sent splashes flying all over his body.

"My strength has increased more than I expected," Ye Xuan remarked.

[Increasing your cultivation base also increases your strength. You should already know that.]

"There’s one thing I haven’t learned yet, and I’ve really wanted to try it."

[What is it?]

"Flying sword techniques."

Qingyu fell silent for a moment before slithering toward Ye Xuan and winding her way back around the young man’s neck.

The white snake told him that she could teach him how to use a flying sword.

[The method is almost the same as when you control your sword using threads of qi. All you need to do is concentrate your attention and power on the sword.]

[You must make the sword feel like a part of your body. The spiritual qi within you must form a strong bond with your sword. Once you accomplish that, you’ll be able to fly like a true cultivator.]

[Give it a try.]

Ye Xuan listened to Qingyu, but he still couldn’t be certain whether he would succeed.

However, if he didn’t try, it would only make things more troublesome for him in the future.

Mastering the flying sword technique would benefit Ye Xuan in many ways, especially by saving him travel time when moving from one place to another.

In the end, Ye Xuan decided to follow Qingyu’s instructions. He laid his sword on the ground and connected it to his qi threads.

Once the sword was connected to his qi threads, Qingyu explained that Ye Xuan needed to stand on it. Ye Xuan gave a brief nod.

He stepped forward and stood on the sword. Following Qingyu’s advice, he tried channeling his spiritual qi into both feet, binding his body to the sword.

It worked! Ye Xuan could feel that his feet were firmly connected to the sword, making it difficult for him to lift them as though they had become one with it.

[Now you just need to make it fly. It’s as easy as controlling your sword with threads of qi. However, since you’ve already broken through to Foundation Establishment, you can control it through your thoughts and instincts.]

[If you think about moving forward, your sword will carry you forward. If you think about turning, your sword will take you around.]

[Simple, right? Even an idiot could do it. Are you one of them?]

"I’m not an idiot. I’ll prove it to you!"

Ye Xuan looked down at the sword beneath his feet. He swallowed nervously, closed his eyes, and issued a command through his thoughts.

Slowly, the sword began to rise into the air on its own. Ye Xuan broke into a wide smile, even though he hadn’t yet gotten used to balancing his body.

"I did it! I’m flying! Did you see that?"

[Impressive! Now try moving.]

Using his thoughts, Ye Xuan commanded the sword to fly forward.

Unexpectedly, the sword shot ahead at such incredible speed that Ye Xuan let out a startled scream.

"AAAHHH!"

"Slow down! Don’t go fast!" Ye Xuan shouted.

Even so, his flying sword continued speeding forward. Qingyu turned sharply and pecked Ye Xuan on the shoulder.

[It’s moving based on your thoughts. Control your head!]

"Control my head. All right!"

Ye Xuan closed his eyes and focused on commanding the sword to move slowly, as though he were controlling it through threads of qi.

The wind gradually became gentler. He opened his eyes and stared in amazement as he realized he could now control the sword properly.

The sword’s flight became stable. It was neither too fast nor dangerous.

Ye Xuan smiled with satisfaction before trying to control it again by issuing different commands.

The sword could carry him through turns, dive sharply toward the ground, and soar high into the air.

However, something happened when Ye Xuan attempted to practice flying between the trees in the forest.

He failed to dodge a tree branch and struck his head against it with considerable force.

The impact disrupted his concentration, causing him to fall from the sky and collapse helplessly onto the ground.

His sword flew away and embedded itself in the trunk of a nearby tree

Ye Xuan, meanwhile, grimaced in pain while holding his forehead, where a large bump had formed.

[HAHAHA!]

[Looks like you need a lot more practice controlling your sword in a forest.]

"Yeah," Ye Xuan muttered, "Flying isn’t as easy as I imagined."