142: The terrifying sword body was on its way to Pingyang City.

Su Chen and Mu Qingling did not travel quickly; it generally took them five years to traverse a single country. The Eastern Region was vast beyond measure, containing hundreds of powers similar to the Cangyun Empire.

In addition, there were many even larger Empires.

In the blink of an eye, ten years passed.

Mu Qingling had broken through from the Middle Stage of the Nascent Soul to the Late Stage of the Void Refining Stage, and her Foundation at the Late Stage of Void Refining was exceptionally solid.

Her cultivation progressed steadily, step by step, consolidating her Foundation before each Breakthrough. Combined with her Sword Physique, her actual combat strength was comparable to the Middle Stage, or even the Late Stage, of the Returning Origin.

Such combat strength was superior even to many members of the Su Family.

Of course, Mu Qingling's ability to possess such strength was greatly related to her own hard work.

She was extremely passionate about the Dao, asking Su Chen countless questions about her doubts in cultivation every day; her heart for the Dao was incredibly pure.

“Boom!”

Accompanied by a loud crash, a terrifying Sword Intent suddenly erupted within a certain mountain forest, snapping trees in half and leaving a scene of devastation.

A deep gouge appeared on a distant mountainside; had the mountain not been thick enough, it might have been sliced clean through.

At the center of the Sword Intent.

Mu Qingling slowly opened her eyes. At this moment, she seemed like a sword herself, her entire being radiating a sharp and powerful aura.

“Revered Master, I have finally reached the third level of Sword Intent.”

Mu Qingling's face was full of joy.

Su Chen glanced at her and nodded with a smile: “Not bad.”

The core of the Sword Physique's cultivation was Sword Intent; every level gained would enhance one's strength, and there was no upper limit.

However, as the levels of Sword Intent grew higher, comprehending them would become increasingly difficult.

Su Chen had seen records in some Immortal Rank items he had drawn about a peerless Sword Physique genius from the past who had only managed to Cultivate Sword Intent to the seventeenth level.

That person was the one who had reached the highest level of Sword Intent in the entire Immortal Realm.

The seventeenth level was indeed incredibly terrifying.

Sword Intent was not like spiritual power; it didn't have the concept of consumption. It was more like an enchantment. If you originally dealt 999 damage, after comprehending Sword Intent, you could deal 9,999 or even 99,999.

Every strike was a critical hit, and every strike dealt true damage.

Therefore, the stronger the Sword Intent, the more Heaven-Defying its power would be, even if your cultivation base was low.

Of course, Sword Intent was ultimately contained within the body. If one's cultivation was too low, they might be directly obliterated by their own Sword Intent.

This was the reason many Sword Cultivators suffered from injuries; although Sword Intent was terrifying, a weak Physical Body could lead to self-inflicted damage.

The Sword Physique was the best constitution for housing Sword Intent. However, with every level of Sword Intent gained, the Sword Physique itself had to be upgraded. Otherwise, even if one could comprehend the next level of Sword Intent, the body would be unable to contain it and would be damaged.

Upgrading the Sword Physique required many Heaven And Earth Treasures.

This was why the upper limit of the Sword Physique was easily restricted.

If your resources were insufficient, even if you were lucky enough to have a Sword Physique Awakening, you wouldn't be able to upgrade it.

The high upper limit of the Sword Physique lay in the fact that its growth was infinite; both the Sword Physique and the Sword Intent could be constantly comprehended and improved.

The low floor was that if resources and Comprehension Ability were lacking, it would be very difficult to make any progress.

In the later stages, if one could not break through the limits of the Sword Physique, they might find it difficult to make any further progress for the rest of their lives.

Simply put, this path was full of thorns and extremely difficult, but the room for growth was greater and the combat power was stronger.

Furthermore, the further one progressed with the Sword Physique, the more terrifying the treasures required for a Breakthrough became.

“Let's go!”

Su Chen stood up and walked into the distance, with Mu Qingling following obediently behind him.

Another half-year passed.

Mu Qingling's cultivation reached the Void Refining Perfection Realm. While this speed of improvement couldn't compare to those true prodigies, it wasn't slow either.

“This is...”

Su Chen looked into the distance, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Bright Moon City was a hundred miles away. He hadn't expected that after all his wandering, he would end up back at his starting point.

Actually, Bright Moon City hadn't left him with many deep memories, but Pingyang City, which was also one of the Five Great Cities, remained fresh in his mind.

Because there was a person there.

Ning Yan.

This woman wasn't particularly outstanding—she was even much more ordinary than Lin Yimeng—but Su Chen remembered her vividly.

“Since we're already here, we might as well stop by and take a look since it's on the way.”

Since they had returned to Bright Moon City, this journey could be considered a successful conclusion. Unfortunately, he hadn't taken on three Disciples.

He had encountered quite a few people with decent talent and good Heart-Nature along the way, but Su Chen hadn't taken any as Disciples.

Perhaps the fate wasn't there.

If he were to take Disciples based solely on Heart-Nature and Aptitude, there would be countless people in the Eastern Region who met his requirements.

The Five Great Cities used to be at the very edge of the Eastern Region, but after the Su Family flourished, they never abandoned this place and had even sent people specifically to renovate it. Thus, the current Five Great Cities were much more prosperous than before.

Additionally, because it wasn't far from the Jinghong Empire and the Spiritual Qi was incredibly abundant, several Void Refining Stage experts had moved in, and even Body Integration Realm experts had established their forces here.

With the increase in Cultivators, the Five Great Cities naturally became much livelier.

Su Chen did not stay in Bright Moon City but headed directly toward Pingyang City.

...

Pingyang City.

The Ning Family.

The current Ning Family could be said to be one of the most powerful forces in Pingyang City. Ning Yan had become the Grand Elder of the Ning Family and possessed a cultivation at the Middle Stage of the Void Refining Stage.

When Su Chen left back then, he had upgraded her Spiritual Root and given her many resources, almost enough for Ning Yan to Cultivate to the Body Integration Realm.

Furthermore, since Ning Yan had a connection with the Su Family, the position of Grand Elder naturally fell to her.

At this moment, six people were sitting in the Ning Family hall.

Leading the group on the left was the head of the Ning Family, Ning Huayu, followed by Ning Yan and the Second Elder of the Ning Family.

On the other side sat two middle-aged men and an old man.

“Elder He, your asking price is far too unreasonable.”

Ning Huayu continued with a sour expression: “Those Spirit Stone Veins were found by my Ning Family with great difficulty. Each one has a yield of at least a hundred million Low-Grade Spirit Stones. You want to take them for only five million Low-Grade Spirit Stones? Isn't that a bit too much?”

Since the Spiritual Qi in the Eastern Region had become denser, many new Spirit Stone Veins had been born in various places, and the Five Great Cities naturally had quite a few.

Because the Ning Family had been there first, they had occupied three veins.

These were the Foundation of their Ning Family.

The three people opposite them were the three Half-Step Body Integration experts who had recently moved into Pingyang City.

They were the Sect Head of the Wood Spirit Sect, the head of the Xu Family, and the Sect Head of the Mountain Patrol Sect.

Any one of the three was not someone the current Ning Family could defeat.

The reason the three of them had come to the Ning Family was simple: they wanted the Ning Family's three Spirit Stone Veins to serve as the Foundation for their development.

Although there were quite a few Spirit Stone Veins in the Eastern Region now, they wouldn't be born indefinitely; only one could be born within a certain area.

As long as the Spiritual Vein was not destroyed, a Spirit Stone Vein was similar to a Spirit Accumulation Pool, capable of continuously producing Spirit Stones and even potentially giving rise to a Dragon Vein.

Therefore, they only offered three million Spirit Stones, which was something Ning Huayu could not accept under any circumstances.

Mu Ping, the Sect Head of the Wood Spirit Sect, said indifferently: “Family Head Ning, I recall your Ning Family still has two small-scale veins. Although there aren't many Spirit Stones, if nurtured, they still have a chance to grow into large-scale veins.”