202: Chapter 201 The Twenty-Third Sword Mark

Jiang Hanzhou listened quietly without saying a word.

Master Xue Mu looked at him, remained silent for a while, and suddenly asked:

"Do you know what this means?"

Jiang Hanzhou thought for a moment and slowly said, "Does it mean... that your Disciple's Samadhi True Fire is different from others?"

"Different?" Master Xue Mu laughed. "It is far more than just different!"

He turned and walked to the window, standing with his hands behind his back, gazing at the churning sea of clouds outside.

"The Samadhi True Fire of others is formed by the Fusion of the three fires of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. The Essence Fire governs the internal, tempering the Physical Body; the Qi Fire governs the external, attacking and killing enemies; and the Spirit Fire governs the center, commanding the overall situation."

"Each of the three fires has its own use and its own strengths."

"But your Samadhi True Fire—"

He turned around and looked at Jiang Hanzhou.

"Your Essence Fire is the Lihuo True Flame, tempered by earth vein baleful fire, blazing and overbearing, incinerating all things."

"Your Spirit Fire is the Heart Blade, forged with the Heart Furnace Artifact Forging Art, specializing in severing the Divine Soul and suppressing all filth and evil."

"Your Qi Fire is the Dragon Blood Power, containing the intrinsic pressure of the Dragon Clan."

"The Samadhi True Fire formed by the Fusion of these three possesses the blazing heat of Lihuo, the sharpness of the Heart Blade, and the overbearing power of Dragon Blood."

"Such a Samadhi True Fire possesses power far exceeding the ordinary."

He paused, his gaze looking directly at Jiang Hanzhou.

"But the greater the power, the greater the risk."

"Your three-fire cycle is forcibly constructed using Dragon Blood Power. Although the Dragon Blood Power has fused with your blood and Qi, it is ultimately not True Qi that you Cultivated yourself. Its stability is far inferior to true Qi Fire."

"With even a slight lapse in caution, the three fires will lose their balance. At best, your Meridians will be completely ruined; at worst, you will suffer Qi Deviation."

Jiang Hanzhou's brow furrowed slightly.

He knew that what Master Xue Mu said was the truth.

The loss of control last night was the best proof.

"Your Disciple understands," he said in a low voice. "Please guide me, Master."

Master Xue Mu looked at him, silent for a moment, then slowly said:

"The stability of Samadhi True Fire requires two things—one is 'balance', and the other is 'control'."

"As for balance, you already have a rudimentary form. That three-fire cycle, though unstable, truly exists. Next, what you need is constant nurturing and constant integration, making the balance between those three fires more and more stable, and more and more natural."

"Control, on the other hand, requires tempering."

"You need to repeatedly activate the Samadhi True Fire in an environment with sufficient pressure, repeatedly engage in combat with powerful enemies, and repeatedly feel the flow of those three fires on the line between life and death. Only in this way can you truly control it and make it a part of your body."

He paused and said in a heavy voice:

"Therefore, I am sending you to the Lijian Cliff."

Jiang Hanzhou was slightly taken aback.

Lijian Cliff.

the twenty-third sword mark.

"That sword mark contains more than just the Dao of 'Fusion'," Master Xue Mu said slowly. "It also contains 'pressure'."

"When the Sect Founding Ancestor left that sword mark, he was already at the Peak of the Mysterious Glimpse Realm. That single strike fused the seven types of True Intent he had learned throughout his life; once that sword was struck, the world itself changed color."

"If you can comprehend before that sword mark, you will be able to repeatedly activate the Samadhi True Fire under the pressure of that Sword Intent, feel its changes under pressure, and temper your control over it."

"And—"

He paused, a flash of sharp light crossing his eyes.

"Within that sword mark, there still remains a trace of the Sect Founding Ancestor's 'Sword Intent brand'. If you can trigger that brand and resonate with it using your Samadhi True Fire, you might be able to realize some methods of 'Fusion' from it."

"It will be of great help to you in condensing your killing moves."

Jiang Hanzhou was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Your Disciple understands."

Master Xue Mu looked at him, a trace of gratification flashing in his eyes.

"Go then." He waved his hand. "On the Lijian Cliff, there are thirty-six sword marks. You already have the foundation of seventeen. Going to comprehend the twenty-third now should be somewhat easier for you than for ordinary Disciples."

"Remember—do not force it. The pressure of that sword mark is no small matter. If you cannot hold on, then step back; do not force yourself to endure."

Jiang Hanzhou gave a respectful bow. "Your Disciple will keep it in mind."

He turned and walked toward the outside of the hall.

The moment he stepped out of Lihuo Hall, the morning light happened to fall upon him.

He looked up at the bright sun on the horizon.

Lijian Cliff.

the twenty-third sword mark.

He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and walked in the direction of the Lijian Cliff.

—

The Lijian Cliff was located at the junction of Red Fire Peak and Heavenly Sword Peak.

It was a cliff face hundreds of feet high, its surface as smooth as a mirror, shimmering with a blue-gray luster under the sunlight.

On the cliff face, from left to right, there were thirty-six sword marks in total.

From the first to the twenty-fourth were left by the Sect Founding Ancestor. Those sword marks were several feet deep into the cliff wall, and each one contained a different Sword Intent—some sharp, some lingering, some blazing, some ice-cold.

From the twenty-fifth to the thirty-sixth were carved by the Prodigies of successive generations. Those sword marks were much shallower than the first twenty-four, but each one represented the Peak work of a Prodigy, containing the essence of what they had learned throughout their lives.

At this moment, below the Lijian Cliff, dozens of Disciples were already sitting cross-legged.

Those Disciples included men and women, young and old; some wore the crimson robes of Red Fire Peak, some wore the blue-and-white martial attire of Heavenly Sword Peak, and there were also a few Disciples wearing the robes of other Peaks.

They each sat before different sword marks, eyes closed in comprehension.

Jiang Hanzhou walked slowly along the cliff wall.

Before the first sword mark sat three Disciples. What was contained in that sword mark was 'Basic Sword Intent', the simplest and easiest to enter the gate.

Before the fifth sword mark sat five Disciples. What was contained in that sword mark was 'Lingering Sword Intent', suitable for Disciples Cultivating water-system Cultivation Techniques to comprehend.

Before the tenth sword mark sat two Disciples. What was contained in that sword mark was 'Blazing Sword Intent', which complemented fire-element Cultivation Techniques.

Before the seventeenth sword mark, there was no one.

Jiang Hanzhou stopped his pace before that sword mark and looked up.

That sword mark was about three feet deep into the cliff wall, its edges as smooth as a mirror, and golden light could be vaguely seen flowing deep within the mark.

That was the light of Golden Sharpness True Intent.

He had spent two months comprehending before this sword mark and realized the Golden Sharpness True Intent, which had now reached twenty percent.

He withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward.

The eighteenth, the nineteenth, the twentieth...

Finally, he stopped before the twenty-third sword mark.

This sword mark was deeper than the ones before, reaching five feet in depth. The edges of the sword mark were not smooth but were covered in fine patterns that wound like dragons, extending from the depths of the mark to the surface of the cliff wall.

Deep within the sword mark, seven different lights could be vaguely seen flowing.

Crimson like fire, azure like water, brilliant like gold, emerald like wood, earthy yellow like earth, blue-white like wind, and dark like soul.

The seven-colored lights were intertwined and entangled, slowly rotating deep within the sword mark. With every rotation, an indescribable pressure would diffuse from the sword mark.

That pressure was extremely faint, so faint it was almost imperceptible, but as soon as Jiang Hanzhou approached, he perceived that tremor from the depths of his Divine Soul.

That was the remnant Sword Intent of the Sect Founding Ancestor.

Even though eight hundred years had passed, and even though it was just a sword mark left casually, that Sword Intent was still enough to make a Primal Form Realm Cultivator's mind and soul tremble.

Jiang Hanzhou took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged three zhang away from the sword mark.

He closed his eyes.

His Divine Sense slowly reached out, extending toward that sword mark.

At first, all was calm.

His Divine Sense passed through the patterns on the surface of the sword mark, went deep into the interior, and touched those seven flowing lights.

The moment it touched—

Boom!!!

An indescribable pressure erupted violently from the depths of the sword mark!