262: Chapter 257 Undercurrents

In fact, it was just as Sect Master Li Daoxuan had predicted.

After he left, the undercurrents on Hidden Sword Peak began to surge even more violently.

Over the next half month, Chen Zhiwen did not fully immerse himself in his cultivation. He separated a sliver of extremely hard-to-detect Divine Sense, like a spectator suspended above the Nine Heavens, silently watching every move of those six "special Disciples."

These six individuals behaved extremely professionally and cautiously.

During the day, they were no different from the other newly joined Disciples in the Sect.

Either they went to the Outer Gate Hall of Skill Transmission to listen to the Elders explain basic sword techniques, pretending to be suddenly enlightened, or they went to the Sword Testing Ground to spar with other Disciples, deliberately suppressing their strength to the high levels of the Qi Refinement Stage, fighting back and forth without appearing out of place at all.

They would even intentionally or unintentionally ask Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters in the Sect for some "rumors" about Hidden Sword Peak, showing intense curiosity about this mysterious peak.

Everything seemed flawless.

However, whenever night fell and all was silent, these six lurking Dragons would quietly extend their claws and teeth.

The Body Cultivator Disciple from the Panshi Sect would use a secret technique to blend his aura with the earth, like a ghost, scouting every inch of the mountain's soil, trying to find any possible underground secret rooms or hidden Formations.

The young woman from the Bai Huan Sect would release her eerie spiritual insects. Those insects, even smaller than gnats, could crawl into the narrowest stone cracks, scouting corners that ordinary Divine Sense could not reach.

The Thunder Cultivator from the Tian Lei Pavilion would draw a faint trace of thunder power to sense abnormal Spiritual Qi fluctuations within the mountain body.

The assassin from the Ying Sha Tower, relying on ghost-like movement techniques, explored every cliff and precipice of Hidden Sword Peak.

The Formation Master even took out several exquisite compasses and Formation Flags, tirelessly calculating the Spiritual Vein flow and terrain pattern of the entire peak, attempting to find the invisible grand array said to protect the secret technique.

As for the Alchemist, he collected soil and vegetation from different areas of the peak, analyzing their Spiritual Qi attributes, hoping to deduce the special environment of the secret technique's hiding place from these clues.

They had clear divisions of labor and each displayed their own Divine Abilities, almost turning the entire Hidden Sword Peak upside down.

Chen Zhiwen watched all of this quietly.

He had to admit that these people were indeed elites within their respective Sects; whether in strength, wit, or patience, they were far beyond ordinary Disciples.

Unfortunately, they were looking in the wrong direction.

Chen Zhiwen himself, as the Revered Master of Hidden Sword Peak, had also used his much stronger Divine Sense to scout the mountain inside and out countless times after moving in, but had similarly found nothing.

If that so-called "Supreme Secret Art" was not a fabrication, it must be hidden in a dimension that transcended conventional scouting methods.

Time passed day by day.

The patience of these six people was also being worn away bit by bit.

From their initial full confidence to later suspiciousness, and finally to anxiety and helplessness.

Finally, on the night of the fifteenth day.

These six individuals, through a secretive method, held one last secret meeting in a dense forest on the back of the mountain.

Chen Zhiwen's Divine Sense clearly "heard" their conversation.

"Half a month, and not a single clue! This Hidden Sword Peak, besides having denser Spiritual Qi than other places, is basically just an ordinary mountain!" This was the voice of the Thunder Cultivator from the Tian Lei Pavilion, filled with impatience.

"All of my cave-seeking spiritual insects have been sent out; they've even burrowed through stone layers a hundred feet underground, but found nothing." The voice of the young woman from the Bai Huan Sect was cold and carried a trace of fatigue.

"The ley lines are stable, and the Spiritual Qi flow is also normal; there are no traces of large-scale hidden Formations. Either our methods are wrong, or... that legend is simply false." The Formation Master's voice was full of rational disappointment.

After a brief exchange, there was a long silence.

Finally, the Body Cultivator from the Panshi Sect, seemingly acting as the temporary leader, made a decision.

"Mission failed, everyone withdraw."

"The Sect Elders' speculation was incorrect; that thing might not be here at all, or perhaps it has long been lost."

"Staying any longer will only increase the risk of exposure."

The next morning.

These six Disciples submitted their applications to leave the Sect to the Outer Gate Elders, using various reasons such as "sudden changes at home" or "feeling their Aptitude is dull and not wishing to waste Sect resources."

To this, the Outer Gate Elders only gave a token attempt to persuade them to stay before readily approving it.

It was as if everything was within the expectations of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect's upper management.

The departure of the six caused a small ripple among the new Disciples of the same period.

But within the vast Ten Thousand Swords Sect, these were just a few insignificant splashes that soon returned to calm.

Only the four remaining Disciples on Hidden Sword Peak felt extremely confused and puzzled by this.

"Revered Master, why did Senior Brother Wang and Senior Sister Li leave so suddenly?"

A Disciple named Zhao Qian plucked up his courage and asked Chen Zhiwen.

These four Disciples were Chen Zhiwen's true first-generation Disciples. Their Aptitude was average, and they came from ordinary small cultivation families, truly coming to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect to seek the Dao.

Looking at the pure confusion on their four faces, Chen Zhiwen smiled faintly and did not offer much explanation.

There are some things that knowing would bring them no benefit.

"Everyone has their own ambitions; there is no need to force it."

"They have their path, and you have your Dao."

"Rather than focusing your mind on others, it is better to focus on your own cultivation."

After saying this, his gaze swept over the four of them, and his tone shifted.

"The four of you have been under my tutelage for half a month. Today, I shall see how your progress is."

In the days that followed, Hidden Sword Peak finally began to look like a place of Legacy should.

Although Chen Zhiwen did not spend too much time systematically teaching them.

He was, after all, a Peak Golden Core powerhouse who was about to touch the threshold of the Nascent Soul. His vision and insight were far beyond what an ordinary Elder could compare to.

Every morning, while the four were practicing, he would only need to give a casual pointer or two.

"Zhang Meng, your temperament is bold, and your sword moves are grand, but your lower body is unstable, and your Spiritual Qi operation is too coarse. From today, stand in a horse stance under the waterfall for one hour every day, practicing the control of every sliver of Spiritual Qi flow."

"Sun Jing, your mind is delicate, and your sword style is light and agile, but it lacks strength and killing intent. Go to the bamboo forest at the back of the mountain and swing your sword ten thousand times every day, practicing only the most basic 'Thrust' move, until your sword can pierce the wind."

"..."

Every word and action of his pointed directly at the core flaws of the four's cultivation, hitting the mark.

At first, the four were somewhat puzzled, but when they followed Chen Zhiwen's guidance to Cultivate, they immediately felt a transformative change.

The previously obscure and difficult points of the sword manual suddenly became clear.

The Spiritual Qi that was previously hard to control also became as easy to use as one's own fingers.

In just half a month, under Chen Zhiwen's occasional pointers, these four Disciples, who originally had average Aptitude, saw their cultivation progress by leaps and bounds, collectively breaking through the Qi Refinement Stage Bottleneck, successfully condensing a Qi vortex and stepping into the Foundation Establishment realm!

On this day, the four of them knelt together before Chen Zhiwen's Immortal Cave, their faces filled with uncontrollable excitement and gratitude.

"Thank you, Revered Master, for the grace of remaking us!"

Looking at these four vibrant faces, a rare sense of satisfaction from being a teacher rose in Chen Zhiwen's heart.