The morning sun crept over the horizon, casting long, golden shadows across the Valley of Morning Dew. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of dew and the faint, lingering aroma of spirit herbs, with a dense spiritual aura.
Within the chamber, sitting within a cosmic primordial green lotus costing over five hundred million Saint-grade spirit stones, Tianmo floated in a meditative state.
The air around him distorted, heat waves rippling outward as the dense spiritual energy of the Heaven and Earth surged into his body, greedy and unrelenting.
Crack!
A sound like breaking glass echoed within his Dantian. The Qi swirling within his lower abdomen, previously a turbulent storm, suddenly condensed. It grew heavy, viscous, transforming from a gas into a shimmering, liquid-like state.
He has successfully broken through the mid-seven stage of the Foundation Establishment realm.
The liquid spiritual energy in his Dantian flowed like a river of mercury, denser and more potent than the gaseous state of the previous realm. It roared through his meridians, scouring away impurities and strengthening his physical body with every cycle.
Tianmo opened his eyes, his eyes were now glowing with bright green light due to the effect of the primordial green lotus.
Clad in the finest silk robes, made out of refined Spring Autumn Cicada with void silk, produced by the celestial void silkworms that fed on spatial rifts. The fabric was a deep, shifting black that seemed to absorb the light, time & space around it, embroidered with refined silver and copper thread that formed the intricate patterns of coiling dragons and soaring phoenixes.
He looks like a true immortal far from mundane existence.
Tianmo stood up, the lotus beneath him dissolving into motes of pure spiritual light that absorbed into his skin.
"System," he thought, his mental voice calm. "Status."
[Ding!]
[Host: Wang Tianmo]
[Spirit root: Immortal-grade formless spirit root. ]
[Cultivation: Seventh stage foundation realm. ( Mid ) ]
[Supreme Dao Bones: 8/268— 3 Unsealed, 5 Sealed]
[Physique: Immortal Dao Physique ( sealed ) ]
[Bloodline: Primordial Void Dragon (14% Awakening).]
[Diantian: Immortal Dantian ]
[ Meridians: 8 Main supreme zodiac meridians. ( Unsealed 63%) ]
[Techniques: Heavenly Finger ( small success ), void Step ( small success ) ]
[ Assets: Infinite wealth pouch, Seven shadow needles, direct disciple token, primordial green lotus ]
It seems cultivating with the primordial lotus is highly useful, it can even increase the awakening of the Supreme Zodian meridians.
The human body has 12 Heaven meridians and 8 Earth meridians. There are around 208 heavenly meridians constitution and 18 earthly meridians constitution.
Tianmo stepped out of the cultivation chamber. The Wang family members were busy gathering and refining the energy of heaven and earth, excluding Wang Yufei.
..
The morning mist clung to the mountain peaks like a shroud of white silk, the air thin and crisp, carrying the scent of pine and ancient stone. At the edge of the cliff, where the land dropped away into a sea of clouds, a solitary figure stood motionless.
Wang Yufei.
She wore a simple set of training robes, her long black hair tied back in a severe ponytail, exposing the elegant curve of her neck. In her hand, she gripped a rusted iron sword—a mortal weapon, blunt and heavy, ill-suited for a cultivator of her potential.
Her eyes were closed, her breathing rhythmic, but her brow was furrowed in frustration. She could feel closer to their sword as if she and the sword were one.
Swish.
Thud.
She lunged forward, the sword cutting through the air with a sharp whistle. The tip struck a large rock a few paces away, chipping off a piece of stone the size of a fingernail.
"Again," she whispered to herself, her voice tight. "Focus. Feel the flow."
She adjusted her stance, lowering her center of gravity, visualizing the energy.
She lunged again. And again. And again.
The rusted iron sword felt heavier with every swing, the vibrations rattling her bones, but she did not stop. Her palms were blistered, the skin raw and weeping, staining the hilt of the sword with blood.
She was chasing a feeling, a feeling of intent that remained elusive, dancing at the edge of her consciousness like a will-o'-the-wisp in a swamp.
"Too stiff... Your mind is cluttered with the noise of the world."
The voice was calm, devoid of mockery, yet it carried a weight that made the air around her feel suddenly dense. Wang Yufei froze, her sword arm trembling as she spun around.
"Young... Younger Brother," Yufei stammered, quickly sheathing the rusted blade and bowing low. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She had not heard him approach, there was no movement at all. She couldn't even feel a presence with her sixth sense.
"I was merely... practicing."
She looked at him, his robe was very ethereal and he looked like a celestial being, far from the mortal world. What a noble temperament. He looks completely different from when he was merely a mortal brother of hers.
Woosh!
With a wave of his hand, a table and two chairs made of fragrant sandalwood materialized out of thin air, accompanied by a pot of steaming spiritual tea that exuded a refreshing, floral aroma.
"Sit," Tianmo said, taking the seat opposite her. He poured a cup of tea, the liquid golden and swirling with mist creating a "A sword is not a hammer, Sister. You are treating it as a tool to break stones, when in truth, it is an extension of your arm, a breath of your soul..."
Wang Yufei hesitated for a moment, then sat down, her posture straight. She accepted the cup of tea, the warmth seeping into her bruised fingers, soothing the ache in her palms, and causing her blood to boil.
"T-This?!... What is this tea?!" Wang Yufei gasped, her eyes widening as the golden liquid slid down her throat.
It didn't just settle in her stomach instead it exploded into a stream of warmth that rushed through her meridians, scouring away the fatigue in her muscles and sharpening her senses to a razor's edge. The blisters on her hands itched as the skin began to knit together, the rawness fading under the influence of the spiritual energy. It felt like she was getting closer to the sword Dao.
A strange sword energy moved through her entire body.
"This is Sword enlightenment tea," Tianmo said, his voice calm, watching the steam rise from his own cup. "It does not merely heal the flesh; it tempers the mind. The sword is not in the hand, it is in the intent of their wielder... This will allow you to comprehend the ways of the sword easily."
S-Sword enlightenment tea?! It must cost a fortune. She has never heard of those things.
"Here are the sword breathing manual, sword technique, sword refining technique, and a spiritual sword of growth type suited for your current cultivation," Tianmo said, placing a jade slip and a storage bag on the table.
Wang Yufei's hands trembled as she reached for the items. The storage bag felt cool to the touch, and when she peered inside, her breath got stuck. Resting within was a sword of pale blue crystal, the blade humming with a faint, melodic resonance. It was a powerful artifact, a treasure that would cost the entire annual revenue of the Wang Family in the past.
Weapons are divided into: Weapons grading: Fifth-grade, Fourth-grade, Third-grade, Second-grade, First-grade, Earth-grade, Saint-grade, Heaven-grade, Emperor-grade.
Weapons can be refined into: grade fifth to first, Holy, Divine, profound, and spiritual.
Mystic weapons are special with initiate magical power.
The sword is the powerful path of Dao. It is the path of slaughter, of severing karma, and of cutting through the illusions of the heavens to reveal the naked truth. It is a lonely road, paved with the bones of those who lacked the resolve to see it through.
And this is also the path forged with the blood of enemies, since you reach a bottleneck, you can only progress further by a life-and-death battle.
Sword cultivators also refine their weapons in early stages, later anything can become a sword in their hands.
She put the jade slip before her forehead and the first chapter of sword cultivation was revealed to her: One is all, One is none, the only truth is the cut, let the sharpness hidden inside you cut the shackles of heaven and rise above everyone else.
It was a simple concept, yet the profundity of it made her head spin. The sword was not a weapon; it was a philosophy. It was the rejection of complexity, the embrace of the singular truth that all things could be severed.
She closed her eyes, the image of the rusted iron sword in her mind slowly being replaced by the concept of the 'Cut'. The rusted blade was not a tool; it was a lie. The truth was the edge, the separation of one thing from another.
As she contemplated this, the spiritual energy in the air around her began to move. It didn't rush into her body like water into a cup; it gathered around her, forming a vortex that spun slowly, like a galaxy being born.
It was faint, barely a spark, but it was there. It was a sharp, piercing feeling in her chest, a needle of cold light that demanded to be released like a caged beast.
Wang Yufei opened her eyes. The world looked different. The colors were sharper, the edges of the leaves on the trees more defined. She could see the wind as it brushed past the branches, not as a blur of motion, but as a series of distinct currents.
She stood up, her hand moving to the storage bag. She withdrew the pale blue crystal sword. The moment her fingers wrapped around the hilt, a connection was forged. It wasn't just a grip; it was a handshake. The sword recognized her, and she recognized the sword.
She didn't swing it wildly this time. She simply stood there, breathing, feeling the weight of the blade, the hum of the metal against her palm. She closed her eyes, visualizing the 'Cut'—the singular truth that separated the air, the light, the very fabric of the moment.
Slash.
A thin line of blue light, barely visible to the naked eye, extended from the tip of the blade. It didn't travel far, perhaps three feet, but the air in its path seemed to vanish, sucked into a vacuum of absolute sharpness. A leaf drifting down from a nearby ancient pine tree, caught in the breeze, drifted into the path of the light.
It didn't fall into two pieces. It disintegrated into fine dust, the cellular structure severed so cleanly that the particles didn't even realize they had been cut until they touched the ground.
Wang Yufei opened her eyes, her chest heaving. A thin line of blood trickled from her nose, the backlash of forcing spiritual intent through mortal channels.
"Sword Intent..." she whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of awe and terror. "I... I grasped it in an instant?... B-Brother, what kind of cultivation manual is that?!"
She felt a cold sweat running down her back. This cultivation technique was not normal. This is a sword cultivation technique that can only be achieved by those who have spent at least a thousand years of study. She has achieved it in a matter of minutes.
"Continue to cultivate. Do not waste time, and do not think of it as a sword in your hand. The sword is a part of you, an extension of your intent to cut," Tianmo said, his voice calm, as if he hadn't just handed her the keys to a path that could shake the foundations of the heavens. "The more you comprehend the concept of the 'Cut', the more powerful your sword intent will become."
It was a heaven-grade sword cultivation manual.
"Once you cultivate to the First stage of the Sword disciple realm then you can practice the Sky-cutting sword."
Sword cultivation: Sword Disciple, sword master, grandmaster, great grandmaster, sword lord, sword king, sword emperor, sword supreme, sword saint.
[Sword intent comprehension: 80% ]
[Sword cultivation: Currently not started ]
Tianmo didn't want to walk into another path for the moment, cultivation is but a long journey that can't be walked in a single day. With his formless spirit root, he can be an arraymaster, alchemist, weapon forger, sword cultivator, mind cultivator, or anything he desires.
He wants to focus on the main cultivation for now. Once he makes a breakthrough to the Golden core realm only then, he will focus on cultivating another path.
However, for now, he plans to focus on muscle cultivation to awaken the Immortal Dao body, once the Immortal Dao body is unrelated he can cultivate a lot faster, automatically.
"Brother... I want to ask something," Yufei said, her voice hesitant.
"Speak," Tianmo said, taking a slow sip of the tea. The steam curled around his face, obscuring his expression for a brief moment, making him look like an enigma carved from mist and stone.
Wang Yufei hesitated, her fingers tightening around the hilt of the crystal sword until her knuckles turned white. She looked out over the cliff, at the sea of clouds that stretched endlessly into the distance, as if seeking courage from the vastness of the world.
"Last night... Third Brother," she began, her voice barely above a whisper, trembling slightly. "Was it necessary to kill him?! He is our brother..."
Tianmo placed his teacup down on the sandalwood table, the soft clink echoing like a judge's gavel in the silence of the cliffside. He didn't look at Yufei immediately; instead, he gazed out at the sea of clouds, his expression as tranquil and unreadable as a still lake reflecting the sky.
"Necessary?!" Tianmo repeated the word, rolling it over his tongue as if tasting something bitter. "Sister, you look at the world through the eyes of a mortal, bound by the fragile chains of blood and sentiment. You see a brother; I see a crack in the foundation."
He turned his head slowly, his eyes locking onto hers. The golden-green irises seemed to pierce through her flesh, reading the trembling flow of her Qi.
"The Wang Family is no longer a clan of mud-dwellers bickering over silver coins and land deeds," Tianmo said, his voice low, carrying the weight of absolute authority.
"We are stepping onto the stage of the heavens. In this world, a single act of disobedience, a single whisper of rebellion, is not a mistake—it is a contagion. If I had allowed Lei to shout, to challenge my authority before the family, what message would that have sent?"
Yufei lowered her head, her grip on the crystal sword loosening slightly. She wanted to argue, to speak of the bond of kinship, but the logic in his words was as cold and sharp as the sword intent she had just grasped. It cut through her emotional defenses, leaving her with the naked truth.
"Everything is but for the greater good of the family..." An evil smirk appeared on his face before vanishing instantly. Family?! What a weird concept, everything is for his use.