Ling Tian awoke from his slumber. After a period of rest and recuperation, his injuries had healed by more than half.
Upon waking, Ling Tian's first thought was how to avoid encountering the same situation again. Having already stumbled in the same ditch, he could not afford a second fall.
Ling Tian first immersed himself in the inheritance he had received. From this knowledge, he sought to identify what had injured him. Soon, Ling Tian found it: flying swords!
Among the cultivators of Huaxia, there was a type known as Sword Cultivators. As their name suggested, their cultivation and combat methods primarily relied on their flying swords.
To become a qualified Sword Cultivator and kill enemies with a flying sword was not an easy feat. It required many prerequisites.
First, one had to be a master of the sword dao, reaching the state of unity between man and sword. This condition alone eliminated 99.99% of cultivators.
Next, one needed a sword of exceptionally high quality, perhaps even one that had developed a sword spirit. Of course, other weapons could suffice if they were of sufficiently high quality.
Then, through various secret arts, the flying sword would be refined, transferring a portion of one's soul onto the flying sword, and then tempering it with one's own true essence.
To forge a flying sword required at least a decade of arduous effort. Because this cultivation method was so inefficient, very few people practiced it, leading to the near loss of the methods for refining flying swords.
However, once a flying sword was forged, its power was formidable. Because flying swords were traceless and could launch surprise attacks, Ling Tian's injury this time was caused by a suddenly appearing flying sword, leaving him no time to react.
Furthermore, flying swords had a very long attack range. As long as it was within sight, it could be within the flying sword's attack range. Generally, the attack range of flying swords could even reach a hundred zhang!
With such a long attack range, most magical arts found it difficult to reach.
Additionally, when flying sword cultivation reached its peak, one could even fly using their sword. Ling Tian had witnessed this firsthand; when Yun Hantian escaped, he used his flying sword to drag himself across the water, a method of escape that left Ling Tian dumbfounded.
It was said that in ancient times, some powerful Sword Cultivators had refined several flying swords simultaneously. When facing enemies, they would fly in the air, wielding their swords, killing opponents from a distance, and then escaping on their flying swords.
Of course, Sword Cultivators were not without weaknesses. First, their offensive methods were too singular. Apart from close combat or using flying swords to injure others, they had few other offensive capabilities.
Because they had to refine their flying swords, they dedicated a significant amount of time, energy, and resources to this aspect, leaving them no capacity for other forms of cultivation.
Moreover, the way true essence circulated within a Sword Cultivator's body was entirely different from that of other cultivators, making it difficult for Sword Cultivators to use other magical arts.
Furthermore, Sword Cultivators themselves were peculiar existences with strong offense but weak defense. They inherently lacked defensive measures. If their flying swords could not disrupt an opponent's attack, they could only endure the incoming attacks.
And once a Sword Cultivator died, was severely injured, or lost consciousness, their flying swords could no longer be used.
Sword Cultivators had another weakness: their flying swords themselves. Because their flying swords were connected to their minds, any severe damage to the flying sword would also severely damage the cultivator's soul! This backlash was even several times more severe than the backlash experienced by Onmyoji when their Shikigami were destroyed.
Therefore, Sword Cultivators were extremely cautious when choosing flying swords, often opting for divine weapons and sharp blades.
After thoroughly understanding the characteristics of flying swords, Ling Tian fell into deep thought once more. He now needed to devise a way to effectively counter flying sword attacks!
After all, not every time would he be so fortunate. He carried an entire book of Vajra Talismans. If he had been short even one talisman, the severe injury he sustained might have been unendurable, potentially damaging his foundation or even costing him his life on the spot!
Soon, Ling Tian had an idea and prepared to put it into practice. He went directly to the blacksmith shop in the Spirit Realm space.
Ling Tian first searched the warehouse in the Spirit Realm space. He found many precious materials. Following that, Ling Tian took out the Crimson Flame Treasure Sword he had forged and a Fire Spirit, the last Fire Spirit he had subdued.
This Crimson Flame Treasure Sword had hardly been used since Ling Tian forged it. Ling Tian pondered that this sword was quite good, and it was just lying there. It would be a waste not to utilize it, so he decided to refine it anew.
The Crimson Flame Treasure Sword and some precious materials were placed into the Sky Burning Cauldron. The Sky Burning Cauldron was activated, and a large amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth was used as fuel to power it.
Ling Tian's divine sense penetrated the Sky Burning Cauldron, and he discovered that the Crimson Flame Treasure Sword was still intact within.
He calculated that it would take a full three days for the Sky Burning Cauldron to completely refine the sword.
During these three days, Ling Tian had another matter to attend to. He went to the Soul Refining Furnace again, opened the lid, summoned the Fire Spirit, and then placed the Fire Spirit into the Soul Refining Furnace.
Ling Tian had no intention of killing the Fire Spirit or dissecting it. Instead, he intended to use the Soul Refining Furnace to strengthen the Fire Spirit's soul, making it more intelligent and forging a closer soul connection between the Fire Spirit and Ling Tian.
Both of these furnaces were major consumers of spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Ling Tian could visibly see the dense spiritual energy around these two buildings gradually diminishing. Fortunately, the spiritual energy accumulated in the Spirit Realm space over the years was so vast that the depleted portions were quickly replenished by spiritual energy from other areas.
Next, Ling Tian immersed himself in the study, beginning to craft various magical artifacts.
Ling Tian first crafted ten jade rings. These ten jade rings appeared as jade thumb rings on the outside.
Thumb rings were quite popular in the antique collecting circles, but they were very expensive, so fewer people collected them.
However, Ling Tian was now considered a millionaire, so wearing a jade thumb ring for enjoyment was not out of place.
On the surface, this jade thumb ring was inlaid with a piece of emerald. In reality, the emerald was only a thin slice, and beneath it, a piece of ice spirit the size of a peanut, formed from ten thousand years of ice, was embedded.
This thumb ring could, when Ling Tian was subjected to a fatal attack, suddenly release a large amount of cold air, forming a massive ice shell around Ling Tian to resist external attacks.
The strength of this ice shell was sufficient to completely negate Yun Hantian's flying sword attack, with a little to spare.
However, this ring was disposable. After use, the ten-thousand-year ice spirit within would be completely consumed, and the jade exterior would shatter.