159: Chapter 158 Sword Sharpening Cliff

The five days of rest passed in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Hanzhou's Immortal Cave was located on the eastern side of the waist of Red Fire Peak; it had originally been an abandoned natural grotto.

The two young attendants sent by Elder Xue were nimble and efficient, taking only two days to tidy up this small space perfectly.

The stone bed was covered with a futon woven from soft grass, the stone table and stools were polished smooth, and in the corner stood a waist-high incense burner, in which calming Spiritual Sandalwood incense was burning.

What satisfied Jiang Hanzhou most was the Spirit Gathering Formation engraved on the floor of the cultivation room.

The Formation was not large, about a zhang square, using thirty-six Low-Grade Spirit Stones as its foundation to outline complex patterns.

When the Formation was active, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from all directions would slowly gather. Although it was not as dense as the main Formation in Elder Xue's Lihuo Hall, it was already a rare treasure land for someone at the Early Stage of the Primal Form Realm.

This expenditure made Jiang Hanzhou feel quite moved.

As an Outer Sect Disciple, he usually only received two Low-Grade Spirit Stones per month.

Having just become Elder Xue's Disciple, he was already able to enjoy such luxury.

Therefore, he cultivated diligently without pause.

During these five days, apart from his daily breathing exercises, he spent his time studying the three volumes of classics he had confiscated from the Ten Thousand Gu Sect Cultivator.

He already knew the "secret record of blood gu" by heart. The volumes he had obtained this time were mostly miscellaneous texts regarding the cultivation of Gu insects and the arrangement of Gu Formations. Although they were not as essential as the "secret record of blood gu," they gave him a deeper understanding of the Gu Dao.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

The sixth day.

At the third quarter of the Mao hour, the horizon just began to show a fish-belly white.

Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes, ending his final round of breathing exercises.

Very light footsteps came from outside the Immortal Cave, followed by a young attendant's respectful voice:

"Senior Brother Jiang, it is time to go to the Lijian Cliff."

Jiang Hanzhou stood up and pushed the door open to exit.

Standing outside the door was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy with delicate features, wearing short grey cloth garments. He was one of the two young attendants sent by Elder Xue, named Qingzhu.

"Thank you for your trouble," Jiang Hanzhou said.

Qingzhu shook his head and led the way.

The two followed the winding mountain path upward, passing through the red bamboo forest and bypassing several scattered Immortal Caves. After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the mountain terrain ahead suddenly changed.

The mountain, originally as red as fire, abruptly turned grey-white here.

That grey-white was not the original color of the rock, but a desolate hue formed by the weathering of time after being covered by countless crisscrossing sword marks.

Lijian Cliff.

Jiang Hanzhou stopped and looked up.

The cliff was a hundred zhang high, standing as if carved by blades and axes.

The cliff face was densely covered with sword marks.

Some were several feet deep, like giant pythons slithering;

Some were as thin as a hair, like spring silkworms spinning silk;

Some were fierce and overbearing, as if they wanted to split this hundred-zhang-high cliff in one strike;

Some were long and continuous, like a stream flowing for thousands and ten thousands of years.

Every sword mark exuded a biting Sword Intent.

Those Sword Intents were either scorching, cold, sharp, heavy, treacherous, or righteous... The hundred-zhang cliff face was an ocean where hundreds of Sword Intents intertwined.

Jiang Hanzhou only looked for three breaths before his eyes felt a stinging pain, forcing him to look away.

"Senior Brother Jiang, I will leave you here," Qingzhu said softly. "Elder Xue ordered that you may meditate under the cliff for three hours every day. At the third quarter of the Wu hour, I will bring food. If you wish to leave earlier, simply return along this path."

Jiang Hanzhou nodded, his gaze still fixed on the grey-white cliff.

Qingzhu quietly retreated.

It was very quiet under the cliff.

It was so quiet that one could hear the extremely faint echoes emitted by the sword marks when the wind blew across the cliff.

That was the vibration of Sword Intent in the wind, like countless invisible swords humming gently in the Void Realm.

Jiang Hanzhou took a deep breath and walked to a green stone in the very center of the cliff base.

The green stone was about a zhang square, its surface as smooth as a mirror, clearly polished by the countless Disciples who had come to meditate and sit upon it.

He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

First, he regulated his breathing.

After the time it takes to burn one incense stick, his state of mind was completely calm.

Then he opened his eyes and looked at the various sword marks.

He did not rush to comprehend them, but instead watched quietly.

Looking at them one by one.

The first sword mark was located at the very bottom of the cliff, about the thickness of an arm, cutting diagonally into the cliff wall to a depth of over three feet.

The edges of the sword mark were as smooth as a mirror, without a trace of cracking.

This was the mark left after a sword strike, where the Sword Intent did not disperse, "ironing" the inside of the cliff smooth.

This strike was fierce and pure.

The second sword mark was located three feet above the first one, as thin as a hair, yet winding and tortuous, like a slithering silver snake.

Although the sword mark was thin, it was bottomless. When his gaze probed into it, he only felt a vast darkness, as if being swallowed by that Sword Intent.

This strike was treacherous and profound.

The third sword mark—

Jiang Hanzhou's gaze fell upon it, his pupils slightly contracting.

That sword mark was located slightly to the left of the center of the cliff, about two fingers wide, straight as a line, piercing through the entire three-zhang-long cliff face from top to bottom.

It had no curves, no unnecessary turns.

It was just a line.

A straight, sharp line that seemed as if it wanted to split the Heaven and Earth open.

Although the sword mark had endured thousands and ten thousands of years, the moment Jiang Hanzhou saw it, he felt as if he saw a sword descending right before his eyes.

That sword was not fast.

It could even be said to be very slow.

So slow that every inch of its trajectory was clearly visible, so slow that every bit of its edge was within reach.

It was as if this strike was meant to be executed this way, meant to strike here, meant to create such a straight, line-like sword mark that pierced through three zhang.

Jiang Hanzhou closed his eyes.

Deep in his Sea of Consciousness, that golden light pulsed gently.

Golden Sharpness True Intent.

This was what he was looking for.

He did not hesitate and made his decision immediately.

Today, he would focus on comprehending this third sword mark.

He opened his eyes again, his gaze locked onto that straight, sharp sword mark.

His Divine Sense slowly probed out.

At first, he could feel nothing.

The sword mark was quietly embedded in the cliff, like an ordinary stone crack, without any abnormality.

But Jiang Hanzhou was not impatient.

He just watched quietly, sensing quietly, letting his mind establish some kind of faint connection with that sword mark.

One incense stick.

Two incense sticks.

Three incense sticks.

He did not know how much time had passed, when suddenly—

Boom!

Inside his Sea of Consciousness, a sword light exploded!

That sword light was straight as a line, incomparably sharp, as if it had been unleashed from the deepest part of his Sea of Consciousness, intending to split his consciousness in two!