Immortal Soaring Blade

Seeing Zhao Jiuge, Jian Wuxian said, “How about it? Teacher wouldn’t hurt you. Now do you know the benefits of the Marrow and Meridian Cleansing Soup?”

Then Zhao Jiuge and Jian Wuxian looked at each and both of them laughed. This laughter contained far too many emotions. Only they who had experienced it themselves understood.

Only now did Jian Wuxian finally like Zhao Jiuge. Before, it was due to the gap in the sect’s generations that he decided to take Zhao Jiuge as his disciple. It was purely Zhao Jiuge’s heart and character that had caught Jian Wuxian’s attention. Otherwise, with Zhao Jiuge’s talent, Jian Wuxian wouldn’t even have bothered looking at him.

However, after this affair, Jian Wuxian’s perception of Zhao Jiuge had changed a bit. As someone who had endured the same thing, he knew how painful it was. He still trembled when he thought about it, and Zhao Jiuge had managed to stick through it.

Jian Wuxian suddenly said, “Jiuge, you have been reborn. All that remains is for you to properly cultivate. The competition between the seven holy lands is in two years.”

Zhao Jiuge originally wanted to say something, but he was stunned by Jian Wuxian’s words. He blinked and said, “So close?” He knew about the competition between the seven holy lands and knew about his teacher’s hopes for him. However, there was barely any time left. Was it enough for him to cultivate?

Jian Wuxian suddenly remembered what happened a few days ago and said, “Just try your best. A few days ago, Elder Waning Moon came over while you were inside the cold pool. Since you are out now, go over and visit her.”

Looking at the wordy Jian Wuxian, Zhao Jiuge was speechless. From the beginning, he hadn’t managed to get a single word in. He couldn’t help but interrupt Jian Wuxian and loudly say, “Teacher, I think I’m about to form my spirit core!”

“What? Condense your spirit core? What is the situation inside your body now?” Jian Wuxian was shocked. He didn’t think Zhao Jiuge would be able to condense his spirit core so soon. He thought it would still take another half-year.

What he didn’t know was that Zhao Jiuge had absorbed a grade-7 spirit vein already. Due to Zhao Jiuge’s roots, most of the spirit force he had absorbed had not been properly absorbed into his body. Now that his body had been reborn, the situation had changed completely. The cold pool contained a large amount of spirit force from all the poison herbs thrown inside. The spirit force from the spirit vein he had absorbed had also erupted. These factors had allowed him to break past the bottleneck he was facing.

“The spirit force in my dantian had begun to liquefy.” Zhao Jiuge was very excited. He didn’t think this would happen when he tempered his body. The spirit force inside his body was turning from gas to liquid. When all of it turned to liquid, he could condense his spirit core.

Zhao Jiuge was a bit excited because he would soon know what grade spirit core he could form. The grade of one’s spirit core would tell you how far you could  go!

Even Jian Wuxian was a bit excited, but he quickly calmed down. He only pondered for a bit before reacting.

“Let’s do this: I’ll take you to the Cold Sky Sword Spirit Vein and let you cultivate inside until you form your spirit core. As for Elder Waning Moon, I’ll go talk to her and then you can go visit her after you condense your spirit core.” Jian Wuxian’s voice was somewhat different. He couldn’t be blamed for being a little excited. On the path of cultivation, there were three calamities. The first was when one formed their spirit core. The second was when one formed their dao fruit. The third was when one ascended.

Spirit cores were split into nine grades. The grade of one’s spirit core was an indicator of how far that person would go in the future. More importantly, if one failed to condense their spirit core, they would never be able to form one again. There was just one chance. Although the chance was very low, with good cultivation and a wealth of experience, it was still possible. This was why people who cultivated trash cultivation methods could never condense a spirit core.

“Teacher, aren’t we only allowed inside the spirit veins to temper our bodies when we reach the Foundation Realm?” Zhao Jiuge would naturally obey Jian Wuxian, but he still had doubts in his heart.

“Generally, that is true—this is to protect the spirit veins from being depleted due to overuse. Although it shouldn’t happen with grade-2 spirit veins, it might still happen one day. After all, there is a limit to the amount of spirit force in a spirit vein. This is why these three rank 2 spirit veins still exist since the foundation of the sect.” Jian Wuxian paused for a moment and then continued, “But direct disciples like you have some special privileges. You are the core of the sect.”

After seeing Zhao Jiuge nod, Jian Wuxian quickly carried Zhao Jiuge and rushed toward the Cold Sky Sword Spirit Vein.

Zhao Jiuge couldn’t help but feel a bit depressed. He had just undergone a massive transformation in his body and hadn’t gotten any time to rest. He merely got to change his clothes and was then dragged off to the spirit vein.

Although he was a bit depressed, his mood was still very good. He clearly felt the difference in his body—everything was much clearer. Most importantly, he felt like the bottleneck he was facing had loosened. It was only a little bit, but that was the sign that he was about to begin condensing his spirit core!

Jian Wuxian didn’t blade soar; he directly flew with Zhao Jiuge. He was carrying one person, but his speed didn’t lessen at all. They quickly arrived on the peak where the spirit vein was located.

This time, because Jian Wuxian had come personally, no one questioned them. When they arrived inside the small, stone room, the old man that had always been sitting there was standing up and on his guard.

When he saw that the two people who appeared were Head Teacher Jian Wuxian and Zhao Jiuge, he relaxed.

The skinny old man bowed slightly and asked, “Head Teacher, why did you come personally?”

Jian Wuxian pointed at Zhao Jiuge and smiled. “I’m here with my disciple to form his spirit core with the help of the spirit vein.”

Hearing this, the doubt on the old man’s face lessened a bit and then he looked at Zhao Jiuge. He had a faint impression of Zhao Jiuge from when they met last time. He hadn’t expected this boy who had just laid down his foundation to condense his spirit core so soon, nor that he would become the Head Teacher’s direct disciple.

“Oh, in that case, you guys should quickly enter.” Afterward, the skinny old man nodded and moved out of the way.

Jian Wuxian only nodded gently and didn’t say more. He led Zhao Jiuge deeper into the mountain.

Soon, they turned a corner and a blue and white light lit up the inside of the cave. They had arrived at the edge of the Cold Sky Sword Spirit Vein.

Zhao Jiuge’s body trembled slightly. It wasn’t due to the tension in his heart, but the excitement he felt in his bones. He would soon condense his spirit core here!

Jian Wuxian’s expression became serious once more. He stood there and solemnly said, “Jiuge, go inside and condense your spirit core with the help of the rich spirit force here. I’ll take a trip outside before coming back.

“That’s right, don’t be nervous when you condense your spirit force. And don’t force anything. Once you gather enough spirit force, your body will naturally change.” Jian Wuxian still seemed a little uneasy about his disciple and added a few words of advice.

Zhao Jiuge nodded at his teacher and excitedly walked into the depths of the spirit vein. He looked back and saw that his teacher hadn't left yet. Jian Wuxian was just standing there, looking at Zhao Jiuge.

Zhao Jiuge took a deep breath and resolutely walked into the depths. He had to succeed! As for what grade his spirit core would be, that was up to fate!

When he was here last time, due to his strength, he could only cultivate at the edge of the spirit vein. However, the Zhao Jiuge of today was not the same as the Zhao Jiuge of back then. Not only had his cultivation increased greatly, even his physique had drastically changed. He continued to walk deeper into the spirit vein. The blue and white light around him got stronger and the temperature continued to drop.

Finally, after walking for a while, the spirit force around him became visible. The empterature had dropped so much that even Zhao Jiuge felt it penetrate his bones. He decided to stop here and cultivate to condense his spirit core. Any further and he wouldn’t be able to endure it.

Thin layers of cold spirit force could be seen. Zhao Jiuge thought that cultivating here would be less than half the effort compared to normal. Unfortunately, the spirit force inside a spirit vein was limited.

No wonder spirit veins were all priceless and everyone wanted to find them. He was really lucky to find that grade-7 spirit vein. Although the Blue Thunder Rage Lion had absorbed a lot of the spirit force, it had still allowed his cultivation to improve by leaps and bounds.

Zhao Jiuge sat down and no longer wasted any time. He quickly entered the state of cultivation. He really wanted to condense a spirit core and see what it was really like. As for what grade it would be, he had no idea.

The spirit force inside his dantian was already extremely bright and his spirit force was slowly turning into golden drops of liquid. He was going to use the spirit force here to accelerate this cultivation and speed up the rate at which his spirit force turns to liquid.

Zhao Jiuge activated the Sanskrit Heart Sutra and spirit force rapidly entered his body. He found that the spirit force inside his body was flowing much more smoothly and that he could absorb spiritual energy at a much faster rate.

The surrounding spiritual energy flowed into his body like a river. Then his body converted it into spirit force and the spirit force gathered inside his dantian.

The speed at which his spirit force turned into liquid inside his dantian sped up. Drop by drop, his spirit force turned to liquid.

Zhao Jiuge immediately calmed down when he began to cultivate. He was not agitated; he calmly and methodically cultivated.

Just like this, his cultivation method operated cycle by cycle. More drops of golden spirit force formed, and the fog-like spirit force inside his dantain reduced in volume.

Time slowly passed, and everything was happening in an orderly manner. Zhao Jiuge was completely focused on absorbing spirit force and had thrown aside all other distractions.

He had completely forgotten about whether he would succeed or what grade his spirit core would be. He had even forgotten the most important thing: whether his spirit core would trigger a phenomenon.

The inside of the spirit vein was almost completely silent. Only the faint sounds of Zhao Jiuge absorbing spiritual energy could be heard.