Chapter 440 - 308: Intending to Establish a Sect

Chapter 440: Chapter 308: Intending to Establish a Sect

He was also only a dozen or so years older than Su Xue and had always played with her. Moreover, whenever a young Su Xue got into trouble, it was this uncle who would make up all sorts of excuses for her, allowing her to escape punishment.

In comparison, Su Xue’s perpetually stern father, who never seemed to smile, was clearly not as dear to her as her uncle. In fact, back when Su Xue experienced the first stirrings of love, her uncle was the one who had captured her heart the most! This feeling had nothing to do with anything else; it was merely the innocent, wistful dream of a young girl.

Su Xue’s husband, Ye Tianheng, the Western Garrison General of the Zichuan Empire, shared many similarities with her uncle in every aspect except for his strength, which was not as great. This was a major reason why Su Xue, despite seeing that he was from the Mortal World, had been so determined to marry him back then.

Whenever she thought of this, Su Xue would feel a pang of heartache and dread. ’Uncle, you couldn’t have done it on purpose. I know you’re in pain, too... aren’t you?’

...

Early the next morning, Ling Xiao rose. He had been getting up extremely early recently. The moment the sun crested the horizon, when the violet qi flowed from the east, was the favorite time for all cultivators. At that instant, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was at its most abundant. A few moments of cultivation then were worth more than half a day of normal practice.

The aura emanating from the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword in Ling Xiao’s hand grew increasingly pure and natural. Yet with every gentle swing, the sheer killing intent radiating from the blade was enough to chill one to the bone, even from a distance.

Killing intent knows no good or evil. A kill is a kill.

A so-called righteous kill is still a kill, and a wicked kill is also a kill.

An evil person would channel their wicked aura through their Sword Qi, giving others the impression that the sword carries a malevolent killing intent.

But that wasn’t the case. Killing intent was a real, existing thing, yet it was something that could neither be seen nor touched. It wasn’t mysterious—much like the breath a person exhales. Everyone knows it exists, but no one has ever seen it.

The true mystery of the Star Sword Formulas was that after cultivating it to the highest level, every move could borrow power from the stars themselves. The stars were countless, and their power was infinite!

If this was combined with formidable strength, then every single strike could even carry the power of an entire planet.

How astonishing would that be!

On the Canglan Continent, forget about experts at the Sword Venerable Realm; even powerhouses like Sword Saints... or Sword Gods would not dare claim they could overcome the might of heaven and earth.

Ling Xiao had once heard that the creator of this set of sword techniques was a senior from the early days of the Shushan Sword Sect’s founding—the junior martial brother of the first Sect Leader.

Back then, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was abundant. That senior from the sect took just over a hundred years to go from a Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Stage, through the Tribulation Crossing Stage, and finally into the peak of the Mahayana Stage!

Just as the Cultivation Realm of that era could no longer contain his power and he was about to ascend, this highly eccentric Shushan senior actually created this set of sword techniques a quarter of an hour before his ascension! And he left behind these words: If one cannot master all three levels, then this sword technique can only be called superior. But if all three levels are cultivated to their peak and the technique is fully comprehended, then one would be invincible under the heavens and on earth!

That ancestor’s temperament was actually quite similar to the brilliantly gifted Dugu Qiubai of old. Both were extremely self-centered and arrogant individuals.

The Star Sword Formulas had been passed down for countless years, but by Ling Xiao’s generation, very few people still practiced it. Despite having only three levels and being extremely easy to start, the first level, Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect, was very easy to learn. It could be used by anyone past the Golden Core Stage, and by the Mid-Golden Core Stage, one could almost cultivate this first level to the Great Perfection Realm.

Furthermore, the second and third levels also appeared to be quite simple. Any set of sword techniques accumulated by Shushan Sword Cultivators over innumerable years could easily achieve the same kind of state as this technique.

Using one’s will to control the sword... the unity of man and sword. These were the ultimate pursuits of achieving the Sword Dao. Therefore, on the surface, this set of sword techniques had nothing special about it. Many even found it too simple and disdained to practice it.

After all, someone from that ancestor’s generation was, even in the Cultivation Realm, far too ancient and remote. It was just like how mortals in the Mortal World might know that their ancestor from over a dozen generations and two thousand years ago had been a high official and was incredibly illustrious. At most, they would feel a faint sense of pride, and many wouldn’t even feel that. It was all simply too distant. No matter how formidable their ancestors were, by the time it got to their generation, they still had to live their lives as they were, didn’t they?

Therefore, aside from Ling Xiao’s "Fleeting Light and Passing Shadow" move, which some had found rather novel back then, that was all there was to it. After all, according to the records on the Star Sword Formulas, a few Shushan Cultivators had once cultivated it to the third level. However, because they had failed to achieve a state of complete mastery, they were completely unable to unleash that feeling of every strike moving the stars. In the end, it was abandoned by everyone, as no other benefits could be found.

The Star Sword Formulas couldn’t be like the Sword Control Skill, which any Shushan disciple at the Golden Core Stage could use. The Sword Control Skill was powerful, and almost no one disliked a sword technique that was both impressive to use and effective.

But Ling Xiao was different. He had read the notes left behind by that Ascender from the ancestor’s generation, along with some other materials about him. He felt that the ancestor had a lot in common with him—even their personalities were very similar.