121: Innate sword bone

The streets were bustling with traffic, pedestrians jostled against each other, and the sounds of hawking and laughter were incessant.

"The third stage of the trial: Questioning the Dao Heart." An ethereal voice echoed in his ear.

"The Jinghong Swordsman once said: 'The Way of the Sword is not about avoiding the world, but entering it and then transcending it.' You will experience a Mortal World Tribulation here to see if your Dao Heart is steadfast."

Before the voice could fade, Lin Yan was swept into one "life" after another:

He was once a wealthy Young Master, enjoying all the glory and riches, only to suffer a sudden misfortune and see his family decline;

He was once a hero of the Jianghu, acting with justice, yet burdened with infamy due to a misunderstanding;

He was once a simple rustic in a mountain village, living a plain life, but encountered natural disasters and man-made calamities... With every "death," Lin Yan would return to the city gate to continue his next life.

At first, he would still feel joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness over gains and losses, but as his experiences grew, his state of mind gradually became calm.

He understood that wealth, fame, and fortune were but fleeting clouds, and the opinions of others could not shake his original heart; life, death, honor, and disgrace were all part of cultivation.

Each "life" was incredibly vivid, causing Lin Yan's Divine Sense to fall into a daze.

"Only by experiencing the many facets of the Mortal World can one know that the Great Dao is simple." The ethereal voice sounded again:

"You have already understood the principle of 'entering the world,' but whether you can 'transcend the world' depends on your final choice."

Two paths appeared before Lin Yan: one led to the mountains and forests outside the city, and the other led to the imperial palace in the center of the city.

He knew that the mountains and forests symbolized seclusion, while the imperial palace symbolized entering the world.

Based on the message conveyed by that voice, it seemed to want him to choose to enter the world.

But Lin Yan did not choose the imperial palace; instead, without the slightest hesitation, he turned and walked toward the mountains and forests.

At that moment, the trial came to an abrupt end... "Why didn't you choose to enter the world?" asked the voice from the water mirror.

"The Way of the Sword cultivates the original heart, not external things," Lin Yan replied.

"I do not know how the Senior hoped this Junior would choose; I only wish to follow my own heart."

The voice fell into silence.

Only after a moment did it say leisurely, "A thousand people have a thousand faces, and the Dao Heart is the same; perhaps there was never a right or wrong to begin with."

"However, cultivating the Dao is like fish struggling to cross a river. No matter how god-gifted your talent is, how can you avoid 'entering the world'?"

Lin Yan was speechless.

He knew that his choice did not meet the requirements of the Jinghong Swordsman.

The meaning expressed by this voice was similar to what the Grand Elder had told him a few days ago.

Cultivating immortality and the Dao is not about working in isolation; one must enter the world, one must compete!

Secular Mortals believe that an indifferent nature is most suitable for cultivating the Dao.

Yet the reality is quite the opposite.

Those who are indifferent find it difficult to achieve the Dao... With a flash of white light, Lin Yan returned to the tomb.

He found himself in the inner layer of the tomb.

The environment here was dark, and at the edges, he could see a few stalks of Sword Grass growing tenaciously.

However, these stalks of Sword Grass were very small and immature, not even reaching the first transformation.

Beside them was a small clump of withered Sword Grass, which had lost all its spiritual resonance and was worthless.

"These two stalks of Sword Grass are still very small; they can be transplanted to the spiritual fields."

Lin Yan crouched down, his fingertips gently brushing aside the surrounding withered Sword Grass, intending to dig up the two smallest stalks.

Suddenly, in the gaps where the grass stems overlapped, he glimpsed a few specks of faint light.

"This is..." His heart stirred, and he leaned in closer.

Those glimmers were hidden at the base of the withered leaves, like scattered stardust; if one didn't look closely, they wouldn't be noticed at all.

Lin Yan held his breath and carefully used his fingernail to pick apart the outermost layer of dry, hard stems, revealing more tiny particles.

The small oval particles were the color of black jade, with fine silver patterns on the surface that looked like forged metal.

"Sword Grass seeds!" His eyes lit up.

He had obtained this stuff from Su Wan Yue before, so it wasn't unfamiliar.

Lin Yan counted them; there were actually over a hundred seeds hidden under this small clump of withered Sword Grass. Each one was plump, and he could vaguely sense the weak Sword Qi contained within.

For an ordinary Cultivator, obtaining a hundred Sword Grass seeds wasn't much of a surprise.

Because there was a high probability they wouldn't even be able to cultivate a first-transformation Sword Grass.

But Lin Yan was different.

He was a Genius who could cultivate three stalks of Sword Grass from ten seeds.

No one understood cultivating spirit plants better than him.

He quickly took out a jade box and carefully picked up the Sword Grass seeds one by one.

Having put away the Sword Grass seeds, Lin Yan was very satisfied.

"This is an unexpected joy!" Lin Yan smiled and muttered to himself, "This trip was not in vain!"

Although he didn't receive the reward for the third stage, these Sword Grass seeds were the best reward!

Just as he was preparing to leave and end his trip to the Sword Tomb.

A brilliant light suddenly erupted in the center of the tomb chamber!

A figure slowly coalesced—it was a handsome young man dressed in white, with a hint of aloofness and world-weariness between his brows.

"Holy crap..." Lin Yan felt a chill run down his back.

He steeled himself and bowed to the figure, saying, "Junior... greets... the Jinghong Swordsman!"

"I am not him, but merely a Sword Spirit he left here," the figure said calmly.

"I have been observing you since you began the trial. To be honest, your performance... does not entirely meet Jinghong's requirements."

Hearing this, Lin Yan was not very surprised.

"In the third trial, 'Questioning the Heart in the Mortal World,' you chose to retreat to the mountains and forests. While it seems transcendent, it is actually a fear of the Mortal World."

"What Jinghong pursued was tempering the Dao Heart within the Mortal World to eventually reach a Realm of 'having no attachments,' rather than escaping."

Lin Yan said somewhat helplessly, "This is my original heart."

"Originally, you should have been eliminated..." The Sword Spirit's tone shifted.

"However, I sense the aura of the Azure Blade Willow and the Qingfeng Bamboo on you."

"The Azure Blade Fairy and the Qingfeng Swordsman were both close friends of my master. The person they chose must have something unique about them."

"The path of cultivating immortality emphasizes 'fate.' This final reward will be a bargain for you, kid!"

The Sword Spirit raised his hand, and a piece of crystal-clear white bone appeared in his palm. The bone was covered in profound patterns, emitting a dense Sword Intent and vitality.

"A thousand years ago, the Jinghong Swordsman gouged his own Innate Sword Bone from his body and nurtured it here, waiting for someone destined."

"Today, I have decided to pass this Sword Bone to you."

Lin Yan's eyes were filled with curiosity and shock. "Innate Sword Bone... What is this?"

"The so-called Innate Sword Bone is a special Physique."

"Once the Sword Bone enters your body, you will possess a sword dao affinity far beyond ordinary people, and your cultivation speed will also increase significantly!"

"A special Physique?" Lin Yan asked in confusion. "I have only heard of Spiritual Roots. What is this special Physique?"

Sword Spirit: ?

"Looking at you, you're quite young, yet you've likely established a Sixth-Grade Dao Foundation in the Qi Refining Realm."

"You should be a Genius Disciple whom the Sword Pavilion is focusing on nurturing. How can you not even know about special Physiques?"

"Or has it come to the point where, in just a short thousand years, Genius Disciples of your level are now a dime a dozen?"

"Ahem... Not exactly." Lin Yan gave a couple of sheepish laughs.

I am a genuine Genius, even if I'm still just an Outer Sect Disciple.

"Senior has misunderstood... My situation is a bit unique, so I'm not very familiar with this information yet," Lin Yan explained.

"Very well," the Sword Spirit said. "Then I shall give you a simple explanation."

"A Cultivator's Aptitude is mostly judged by their Spiritual Root, and the limit of a Spiritual Root is merely a Peak-Grade Spiritual Root. However, this is not the upper limit of a Cultivator's Aptitude."

"Above the Peak-Grade Spiritual Root, there are special Physiques!"

"Those with special Physiques are one in ten thousand. Once discovered, they are taken in as Personal Disciples of the Sword Pavilion!"

"Back then, the Jinghong Swordsman was exactly like that!"