Chapter 67 The Sword Box Recognizes Its Master, and the Sword Intent Advances Greatly

Watching Ling Wei's departing back, Lin Yue's expression appeared somewhat serious.

Conquering Ling Wei might not be difficult; the hard part was balancing her relationship with the other girls—if Ling Wei, with her Family's support, were to lord over the others, that was something he truly could not accept.

However, his biggest headache right now wasn't this, but how to complete the conquest of his Revered Master, the Sect's youngest Golden Core Elder, Liu Qingyan.

A Qi Refinement Stage Outer Sect Disciple actually attempting to make a move on the Sect's Golden Core Elder. In any Sect, this would be considered a monstrous act of rebellion.

But Lin Yue had no other choice; he had to complete the System's mission. But how could he achieve this? Just thinking about it gave him a massive headache.

For the moment, he didn't have any good ideas, so he could only shift his attention back to the Hongmeng Space. Watching the slowly decomposing Golden Core treasures, he thought to himself: Once Wu Tianli's entire fortune is decomposed, the Spiritual Qi in the space might increase further, and perhaps even stronger functions could be unlocked then.

As time passed, the speed at which the Hongmeng Space decomposed treasures was clearly accelerating. The decomposition rate had gone from 12% to 22%, and the richness and purity of the spiritual energy within the space far exceeded his imagination.

What he didn't know was that at this moment, inside Wu Tianli's Immortal Cave, Wu Tianli was clutching his chest, rolling on the ground in agony. His Divine Thought, which he used to try and recall his treasures, was repeatedly shredded by the power of the Hongmeng Space, the intense pain in his Sea of Consciousness making his vision go dark.

The tearing sensation from his Sea of Consciousness was even worse than before, as if countless poisoned needles were repeatedly piercing his divine soul mark. "No—!" a shrill scream squeezed out of his throat, his eyes as blood-red as gore.

Just now, that "Mystic Yin Soul Jade" he had carried for thirty years to nourish his Golden Core suddenly lost its connection with him!

That jade was something he had obtained from an ancient Secret Realm in his early years. It could autonomously absorb yin-cold Spiritual Qi. Holding it in his palm every night before sleep could increase the rotation speed of his Golden Core by twenty percent; it was one of his most cherished Lifebound Treasures.

Probing his Sea of Consciousness with his Divine Thought, the light that originally belonged to the Mystic Yin Soul Jade had completely extinguished, leaving only a void of stabbing pain. He could clearly feel that the divine soul mark on the jade was being forcibly devoured by a strange power, and even the last trace of his aura was rapidly dissipating.

"Lin Yue! You beast!" Wu Tianli suddenly propped himself up, the Golden Core in his Dantian vibrating violently as he spat a mouthful of black blood onto the prayer mat in front of him. "That soul jade was the Foundation for nourishing my Golden Core! You destroyed my Magic Treasure and cut off my path of cultivation; I will definitely grind your bones to ashes!"

The intense pain in his Sea of Consciousness made his vision go dark, but at the thought that the Mystic Yin Soul Jade still contained three strands of yin-cold spiritual power he had refined in his early years—which were key to his planned Breakthrough to the Golden Core Middle Stage—he trembled all over with rage.

Without the soul jade, his Breakthrough plan would be delayed by at least five years. During these five years, Liu Qingyan's cultivation would only get higher, and that kid Lin Yue might continue to rise. By then, seeking revenge would be as difficult as reaching the heavens!

"No... I can't let it go like this..." Wu Tianli leaned against the stone wall, stumbling to his feet, his gaze falling on a communication talisman in the corner of the Immortal Cave. That was a talisman he specifically used to control Gongsun Lüe. The surface was engraved with the clan crest of the Gongsun Family, and it was currently glowing with a faint spiritual light.

Gongsun Lüe was the legitimate daughter of the Gongsun Family, a clan of medicinal botanists. She had been proficient in identifying herbs and refining medicine since childhood, and her skill in nurturing Spiritual Plants had even been praised by the Elders of the Sect's Medicine Hall.

But half a year ago, when the Gongsun Family refused to hand over a thousand-year-old Purple Reishi to him, he acted in the shadows, imprisoning Gongsun Lüe's parents and her young brother. He even placed Spirit-Devouring Restrictions on the three of them, using this to blackmail Gongsun Lüe into obeying his orders.

This girl looked gentle but possessed a certain tenacity. If he hadn't held her Family's lives over her head, he really might not have been able to make her bow—and her medicinal botany skills were the perfect bargaining chip for infiltrating the East Mountain Medicine Garden.

"Gongsun Lüe, come to my Immortal Cave immediately!" Wu Tianli crushed the communication talisman, his voice hoarse from pain, every word carrying an irresistible threat.

In less than the time it takes for half a stick of incense to burn, the stone door of the Immortal Cave was gently pushed open.

A young girl dressed in a light green dress walked in. She was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a hairpin woven from dried Spiritual Plants in her hair. Her fingertips still bore some unwashed soil—traces left from when she was just forced to cultivate poisonous herbs for Wu Tianli.

She was indeed Gongsun Lüe. Seeing the mess all over the floor and Wu Tianli's pale yet hideous face, her fingertips subconsciously tightened around the hem of her clothes, but she still suppressed her fear and stepped forward: "Elder Wu, you were looking for me..."

Wu Tianli looked at her forced composure, the hostility in his heart growing stronger, yet he deliberately slowed his tone, speaking with sinister calculation: "Gongsun girl, do you know how many times your parents called your name in the secret room today?"

Gongsun Lüe's body trembled violently, the color instantly draining from her face, and her voice took on a tremor: "You... you promised that as long as I was obedient, you wouldn't hurt them."

"I did promise, but that little beast Lin Yue destroyed my Foundation!" Wu Tianli slapped the stone table, making the porcelain bottles on it clatter. "He stole my Storage Pouch and destroyed my Mystic Yin Soul Jade. If he's allowed to keep causing trouble in the East Mountain Medicine Garden, once his power grows, none of us will have a good end—including your brother who is still waiting for you to save him!"

Gongsun Lüe's eyes instantly reddened, but she bit her lip hard to keep the tears from falling. She knew what Wu Tianli meant; every time he mentioned her Family, it was to make her do something even more difficult.

Seeing her waver, Wu Tianli fished out a palm-sized porcelain bottle from his bosom, its surface glowing with a faint green spiritual light, and tossed it in front of her. "Inside is 'Heart-Eroding Powder.' It's colorless and odorless, most hidden when mixed into spiritual food or tea. You are proficient in medicinal botany, and the East Mountain Medicine Garden is currently recruiting. I will arrange everything and create the conditions for you to sneak in."

He paused, his eyes turning fierce. "After you get in, find an opportunity to get close to Lin Yue and his women, and mix this medicine into their food. If you succeed, I will lift the Restriction on your brother; if you fail..."

He didn't say the rest, but Gongsun Lüe could see the threat in his eyes clearly.

She tremblingly picked up the porcelain bottle, its icy coldness making her fingertips ache. She had spent her whole life with Spiritual Plants and had never thought of using medicine to harm people, but thinking of her parents' weakened state in the secret room and her brother's voice crying "Sister, save me," she finally closed her eyes and hid the bottle in her sleeve.

"I... I understand." Her voice was as light as a breeze, yet it carried a weight she couldn't escape.

...

Meanwhile, in another quiet room of the Lingyun Cave Dwelling, Su Qingyuan was holding the jiaowei sword casket, her fingertips gently stroking the dark gold patterns on its surface.

The resonance between the sword casket and the crimson flame skyfall sword was growing stronger. The rust on the broken sword was fading at a visible rate, and the green-fire spiritual light emanating from the blade was several degrees more intense than before.

Just as dawn was breaking, a slight fluctuation of spiritual power came from the bluestone platform by the spiritual spring.

Su Qingyuan sat cross-legged with the jiaowei sword casket on her lap and the crimson flame skyfall sword leaning against her leg. The green-fire spiritual light on the blade rose and fell slowly with her breath, faintly echoing the dark gold patterns of the sword casket.

She took a deep breath, condensing a strand of pale green Heaven-Burning Sword Intent on her fingertip, and lightly tapped the groove in the center of the sword casket—this was the sacrificial refinement method Lin Yue had taught her yesterday. It required using her own Sword Intent to trigger the ancient spiritual charm of the sword casket to fully establish a connection.

The moment the Sword Intent touched the groove, the sword casket suddenly emitted a clear hum, and the dark gold patterns instantly lit up, flowing across the casket like living star trails.

Su Qingyuan only felt a majestic ancient aura surge through her fingertips into her Meridians, creating a violent resonance with the Innate Sword Body in her body. The spiritual power in her Dantian suddenly boiled, running wildly through her Meridians uncontrollably.

"Ugh..." Su Qingyuan groaned as the Sword Intent of her Innate Sword Body leaked out uncontrollably. The green fire on the blade surged, burning the surrounding spiritual spring mist into white steam.

She quickly gathered her thoughts and guided her spiritual power according to the methods of the Burning Heaven Sword Scripture. However, the power from the sword casket was too overbearing, actually pushing her cultivation to climb crazily—the previously stagnant cultivation Bottleneck shattered instantly like ice broken by spring waters!

In less than half a stick of incense's time, her cultivation broke through to the Ninth Level of Qi Refining and was still steadily rising.

What shocked her even more was that the Awakening degree of the Innate Sword Body was also increasing simultaneously. A faint green sword seal appeared on her brow, and the Heaven-Burning Sword Intent seed in her Sea of Consciousness actually began to spontaneously absorb the surrounding Spiritual Qi, becoming increasingly refined.

"Buzz—"

The crimson flame skyfall sword suddenly moved without wind, its blade breaking free from the scabbard's constraints and slowly floating in front of Su Qingyuan.

The sword casket split open a thin crack, and the sword body, as if drawn by an invisible force, slowly slid into it, perfectly fitting with the dark gold patterns of the casket.

At this moment, the sword casket and the sword completely merged into one. The dark gold patterns spread along the sword body, repairing the notches on the broken sword bit by bit.

Su Qingyuan could clearly feel that the sword casket was drawing Spiritual Qi from the Zhou Tian Star Array into the sword body. Her previously sluggish Sword Intent became incomparably smooth, and she could even use the power of the sword casket to perform the basic form of the high-level sword move "Burning Heaven Sword Qi" recorded in the Burning Heaven Sword Scripture.

"It's a success..." Su Qingyuan opened her eyes, her gaze filled with excitement.

She raised her hand to grasp the hilt. The weight of the sword casket and the sword were perfectly balanced. When she swung the sword, not even a whisper of wind could be heard; only a strand of pale green Sword Qi swept from the tip, carving a smooth crack across the surface of the spiritual spring, which only slowly healed after a moment.