Borrowed Sword

Chapter 47: Spirit Embryo Divine Ability — Sword Heart Clarity

By the Cold Pool, those Enrolled Disciples showed no reaction at all, completely unaware of anything.

They merely noticed that the longsword carried on Vice Captain Liu Chenggong’s back suddenly began to tremble.

These people were only at the Qi‑Opening Stage, without any Spiritual Energy in their bodies, and had yet to formally begin cultivation.

Thus, they were entirely incapable of sensing the strange phenomenon between Heaven and Earth.

But Liu Tianfeng and the others were different.

The old man abruptly stood up, eyes wide with shock as he looked toward the Cold Pool.

Niu Yuanshan couldn't help but walk forward, gazing down into the bottomless pool.

With their cultivation, they could sense another mysterious “ripple” spreading outward in all directions.

The change in Liu Chenggong’s longsword must also be due to this!

The two Outer Sect Stewards exchanged a glance. At their level, they still couldn’t make sense of it.

They immediately walked over to Liu Chenggong’s side to examine the sword.

“You obtained this sword from the 【Hidden Spirit Mountain】?” Niu Yuanshan asked.

Liu Chenggong removed the longsword—this was his life-bound magical treasure, and in theory, it should have been in perfect resonance with his mind. Yet now, even while gripping it with both hands, he couldn’t control it!

“Steward Niu, this sword is called ‘Cangsong.’ It was indeed acquired on the 【Hidden Spirit Mountain】. It’s a mid-grade sword embryo and my life-bound Spirit Sword.” He responded honestly, eyes full of shock.

This was his prized possession. Ordinary Outer Sect disciples didn’t even qualify to go to the 【Hidden Spirit Mountain】 for magical treasures.

Everyone harbors some vanity—Liu Chenggong carried this sword precisely to draw envious gazes.

But now, what was going on?

“Something’s not right.” Liu Tianfeng looked at the Cangsong Sword.

Niu Yuanshan, however, spoke with considerable certainty: “I suspect that mysterious force beneath the Cold Pool is affecting more than just this one sword!”

Neither he nor Liu Tianfeng were Sword Cultivators…

But one thing they could confirm: the treasure within the secret realm had certainly been taken. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a strange phenomenon!

They just didn’t know who the final recipient was!

......

......

Outer Sect, Medicine Mountain.

Mo Qingmei, one of the nine great stewards, was practicing swordsmanship in her own courtyard.

Among all the Outer Sect stewards, only three were women—half the number of male stewards. She was one of them.

Mo Qingmei was middle-aged but maintained herself well—a charming and mature beauty, the type Liu Chengqi would viciously fantasize about at night.

Though not overwhelmingly beautiful, her fair skin and refined features gave her a pleasing look, marked by graceful charm.

Add to that the plump allure of a woman her age, combined with a gentle temperament, she was quite popular among the Outer Sect disciples.

In recent days, Mo Qingmei had acquired a new Profound-grade sword technique called Falling Cherry Blossoms.

It was created by a senior female Sword Cultivator and suited her taste well—it looked very elegant when performed.

Just then, halfway through her sword practice, she suddenly turned her head in surprise.

She sensed a mysterious force, rippling outward like waves, now passing through her courtyard.

The life-bound Spirit Sword in Mo Qingmei’s hand began to tremble uncontrollably!

Although the tremor wasn’t as dramatic as Liu Chenggong’s Cangsong, it was still partially out of control.

“What’s going on!” she exclaimed in shock.

Anomalies in a life-bound magical treasure were no small matter.

“It seems to be coming from the direction of the Cold Pool?” Mo Qingmei glanced westward.

She immediately sheathed her sword and headed toward the Cold Pool.

Strangely, even with the sword sheathed, it still trembled faintly.

Mo Qingmei was a cultivator at the peak of the Third Realm—unlike Outer Sect disciples like Liu Chenggong.

She had been nourishing her life-bound Spirit Sword for many years; the sword’s spirit must be more sensitive than that of the Cangsong Sword.

“It seems... excited.” Mo Qingmei couldn’t understand.

She swiftly moved toward the Cold Pool, her expression solemn.

......

......

The ripple continued to spread outward and soon exceeded the bounds of Medicine Mountain.

The Dao Gate’s Outer Sect had three peaks, with Medicine Mountain being the closest to the Inner Sect.

Within the Inner Sect’s Purple Bamboo Forest, Elder Ten of the Dao Gate, Chu Yinyin, was flying through the air.

She held her life-bound Spirit Sword in hand, face solemn.

Due to her cultivation method, her physical appearance still resembled a little girl. Thus, her solemn expression gave her the air of a miniature adult.

She soon flew deep into the Purple Bamboo Forest, her face grim, as though facing a formidable enemy.

Ahead stood a stone wall, with a boulder before it. Atop the boulder, a woman sat cross-legged.

She had a slim frame—overly thin, appearing extremely frail.

The woman wore Daoist robes, her long jet-black hair tied into a Daoist bun with a simple wooden hairpin inserted.

She faced the stone wall, her back turned to Chu Yinyin.

She was so thin that the Daoist robe looked slightly loose on her.

As the Tenth Elder of the Dao Gate, Chu Yinyin had cultivation at the Great Perfection of the Sixth Realm.

She deliberately concealed her aura and silently flew to the spot, suddenly thrusting her life-bound Spirit Sword toward the Daoist woman sitting on the boulder.

At that moment, the Daoist woman—back still turned—remained motionless. Only the wooden hairpin in her hair shimmered faintly with a barely perceptible light.

A wave of energy spread out.

Chu Yinyin was flung backward, crashing heavily to the ground—landing squarely on her buttocks.

Her sneak attack had failed. True to her mischievous nature, she cried out in pain and exploded with rage: “You damn woman! You did it on purpose—made me fall on my ass again!”

The Daoist woman—Seventh Elder of the Dao Gate—remained seated facing the stone wall, her back to Chu Yinyin, silent and unresponsive, as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

Chu Yinyin cursed for quite a while, but the other woman never acknowledged her.

She seemed quite used to this already.

After cursing to her heart’s content, Chu Yinyin finally looked up at the slender back on the boulder and said, “Shen Man, when on earth are you going to come out of seclusion? You have no idea how they’ve been bullying me while you were away!”

She began rambling on about her experience in the main hall that day, about how they all spoke in riddles, claiming there was an important matter to discuss, and that anyone below the Seventh Realm had no right to know. The eldest senior brother, acting as the Enforcement Elder, even set up a Magic Array to stop her from eavesdropping...

“They just look down on your big sister here!” Chu Yinyin put her hands on her hips and puffed out her entirely flat chest in anger.

As the youngest disciple, her favorite had always been Seventh Senior Sister, and the one she hated most was Ninth Senior Sister Nangong Yue.

The reason was simple. Due to flaws in her cultivation method, she still looked like a little girl even now, while Nangong Yue was the embodiment of "great capacity."

Not only was she charming, but her chest was also astonishingly large.

Chu Yinyin had bathed with her before, and those two things actually floated in the water. Just seeing it made her dizzy! It was infuriating.

But Seventh Senior Sister was different—she was so thin, just like a budding lotus tip.

Even though her temperament was ethereal, and she gave off an immortal aura despite her frailty, big sister here was cute too!

Not inferior, not inferior!

But Nangong Yue was different—so enormous it was shameful, indecent!

So, don’t be fooled by her constant shouts of “dead woman” whenever her mischief failed. In truth, after Dao Gate’s Seventh Elder Shen Man inherited the Dao Ancestor Inheritance and sealed herself off in the Purple Bamboo Forest, only Chu Yinyin would frequently come to disturb her—because even a few days apart made her miss her.

After chattering on for ages, the Daoist woman on the boulder merely nodded slightly, still silent as ever, like a mute.

But Chu Yinyin, of course, knew that her Seventh Senior Sister couldn’t possibly be mute—she just didn’t like talking.

Even when she did speak, Shen Man was true to her name: she spoke very slowly, with odd pauses between words.

——Because she stuttered.

Just as Chu Yinyin was about to say more, she suddenly turned her head sharply and looked behind her.

That mysterious ripple had already spread to this place.

As it rippled outward, it triggered countless swords.

Even the life-bound Spirit Sword in her hand, 【Joyous Reunion】, trembled lightly twice.

Although the tremor was subtle, Chu Yinyin definitely noticed it.

“Hmm? This kind of phenomenon is...” She suddenly looked up at the Daoist woman on the boulder.

Chu Yinyin’s eyes curiously locked onto the wooden hairpin in her hair.

What followed was a disappointment.

Her Spirit Sword 【Joyous Reunion】 had reacted instinctively, yet the wooden hairpin on the Daoist woman’s head, despite her also being a Sword Cultivator, remained absolutely still.

The entire ripple came to a sudden halt exactly at the boulder’s location.

For the first time, the previously silent Daoist woman responded to her.

She gave an explanation for this strange phenomenon.

Her speech was very slow, the pauses strange, but her voice was pleasant to the ear:

“Jian...... Xin...... Tong Ming.”

“What!?” Chu Yinyin exclaimed, then looked in the direction of Medicine Mountain.

“That’s the Outer Sect!” Her tone rose a few degrees.

Her figure vanished in an instant, flying toward Medicine Mountain, leaving only one line behind in the air: “Shen Man, I’m off!”

The Daoist woman left on the boulder merely shook her head with a chuckle.

“Shi...... shi jie doesn’t even call out properly... s-so rude,” she muttered softly, in a tone full of affection.

......

......

Inside the Cold Pool secret realm, Chu Huaixu sat cross-legged, guarded by Han Shuangjiang, completely unaware of how lively things had become by the Cold Pool outside.

The Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill was being rapidly digested and absorbed, and his whole body felt comfortably warm.

Though his body felt as if it were boiling, he experienced no discomfort whatsoever.

Unlike when he cultivated the 《Sword Refining Art》 or 《Painful Menstruation》, Chu Huaixu felt like he was in pure bliss!

Just half an incense stick earlier, he had heard a system notification: 【Ding! Congratulations, Spirit Embryo Attribute +1】.

And just moments ago, he heard the same message again.

A single Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill had raised his Spirit Embryo Attribute by a full two points!

He had thought it would only increase by one point at most. After all, this pill had a high probability of raising Spirit Embryo grade, and there was even a chance it might not raise it at all.

“As expected of a pill personally refined by the Pill King—absolutely domineering!” he thought to himself in admiration.

Chu Huaixu suspected that regular Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pills were Seventh-grade Spiritual Pills, and this one might even surpass that!

Then, he soon heard a third system notification.

【Ding! You have successfully unlocked the Spirit Embryo Divine Ability: Sword Heart Clarity!】

Chu Huaixu, who had been sitting in meditation with eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes wide upon hearing this.

......