499: 492 499: 492 Returning to his room at the hotel, Zhang Yushan found a reason to leave Yang Jin and the others to watch over Li Ying, so he could be alone.
He then began to take inventory of the possessions he had on him.
As a Sword Cultivator, if his Lifebound Flying Sword exists, so does he.
If his Lifebound Flying Sword perishes, so will he.
Fortunately, his Lifebound Flying Sword, the White Cloud Sword, was still by his side.
It seemed that although the Demon Path elder knocked him unconscious, he harbored little intent to kill.
Otherwise, the place where he had fallen would have become his grave.
The Sword Map used for detecting talent, although it bore the imprint of the Sword Tomb’s essence from the Ten Thousand Sword Sect’s legacy, would dissipate in at most seven days.
Aside from testing talent, this object served no other purpose.
Once the essence faded, the Sword Map would be rendered useless.
It wouldn’t matter if it was gone; all the eligible children in the small city had already been tested, and their mission was perfectly completed.
The Spirit Coins in his pouch had been plundered by that Demon Path elder.
He could only blame his own bad luck for that and grudgingly accepted it.
But the loss of the two Secret Bones grieved him tremendously.
The true advanced Dharma Methods couldn’t be carried by ordinary objects.
It was said that in ancient times, when the human race had just been born, ignorant of everything, there was no such thing as Cultivation.
Back then, with their lowly status in the eyes of demon beasts and Fierce Beasts, humans were regarded as nothing more than food.
Who knows which human ancestor, by chance, discovered that the patterned bones left behind by dead Exotic Beasts contained certain Mysteries.
Those with fortune who observed these patterns could glean some Cultivation methods from them.
These bones were referred to as Secret Bones by the human race.
It was the discovery of the Secret Bones that allowed humans to escape the tragic fate of being mere food, and step by step, they began their journey of Cultivation.
In the thousands of miles under Ten Thousand Sword Sect’s control, which was already a remote area, Exotic Beasts possessing Secret Bones were extremely rare.
Zhang Yushan’s acquisition of those two Secret Bones was due to a serendipitous misstep into an ancient relic, making them his greatest gain.
Unfortunately, perhaps because he was a Sword Cultivator, and the legacy within the Secret Bones was vastly different, he couldn’t comprehend anything from them.
Even so, the value of the Secret Bones was irrefutable.
Even if he didn’t need them, as long as he found the right opportunity, he could trade those two Secret Bones for the Cultivation resources he needed.
But now, the Secret Bones he had hidden in his sleeve were gone…
Just thinking about it made Zhang Yushan feel a sting in his heart.
“Forget it.
If something’s gone, it’s gone,” he comforted himself.
“To have encountered such a powerful practitioner of the Demon Path and still have my life, that’s already lucky.”
He sighed, trying to console himself.
“How could such a high-level practitioner of the Demon Path suddenly appear in this small city?”
“Could it be that they also have an interest in the humans of the new world?” Frowning, he suddenly pondered this question.
Bordering their Ten Thousand Sword Sect, there were only two Demon Sects.
One was the Bloodthirsty Demon Sect, the other was the Seven Kills Demon Sect.
In recent years, these two Demon Sects had been infiltrating the territories under the Sword Sect’s control rather aggressively.
Practitioners from these sects were frequently spotted in the Four Great Cities and Twelve Small Cities.
Conflicts between the Ten Thousand Sword Sect and these two Demon Sects had occurred more than once or twice.
The Immortal Path Nine Realms are respectively sensing, Soul Stabilization, soul departure, Storage, Coexistence, Sky Control, Manifestation, Primordial Spirit, and Heavenly Tribulation.
Sensing refers to the resonance one feels with a sword within the Sword Tomb through the visualization method, capable of detecting its essence.
The second realm, Soul Stabilization, is when one’s Divine Soul acquires the essence of the Divine Sword, taking on a sword shape.
Once the sword-shaped Divine Soul is able to depart from the body, one has entered the third realm, soul departure.
Subsequent Cultivation involves using the Sect’s secret techniques to forge a Lifebound Flying Sword, with the Divine Soul housed within.
When the Lifebound Flying Sword and the Divine Soul become perfectly unified, entering into a state of Coexistence, with one sword in hand, one can effortlessly cast out sword light several feet long.
As for Zhang Yushan himself, he was in the Sixth Realm, Sky Control.
Controlling his sword with his Divine Soul, he could cross distances of over a dozen miles to slay enemies.
When up against an adversary whose strength and realm were inferior to his, they might not even catch a glimpse of him before they were slain by a sword out of the blue.
Such strength made him far from weak within the Ten Thousand Sword Sect.
Regrettably, when he encountered that Ghost-faced Man, he didn’t have any chance to fight back.
As for whether the Ghost-faced Man came from the Bloodthirsty Demon Sect or the Seven Kills Demon Sect?
Zhang Yushan couldn’t tell.
In his eyes, although the Ghost-faced Man was strong, his methods didn’t seem quite in line with those two major Demon Sects.
“Could it be that other Demon Sects have entered the picture, aiming to target our Ten Thousand Sword Sect?”
“There must be a conspiracy.
Absolutely a conspiracy.”
“No, I have to return as soon as possible and inform the head of the Sect about the Ghost-faced Man…”
With a grave face, Zhang Yushan pondered for a long time, talking to himself.
…
The next day, early morning, within the Eastern Pearl Community.
Chen Hai had stayed up all night, fiddling with those two pieces of Secret Bone, the whole night through.
From one of the pieces of Secret Bone, he had obtained the Nether Shadow Step, and he continued to stare at the patterns on the other piece, pondering them for quite some time.
Unfortunately, no matter how he looked at it, he just couldn’t enter that profound and mysterious state to truly gain anything from it.
Why was this happening?
He had no idea, and could only guess blindly on his own.
Truth be told, his Cultivation journey had been without guidance from the start; much of what he knew, he had figured out himself.
He was already used to such situations, too familiar in fact.
His mind spun with countless possibilities.
He believed that he was able to acquire the Nether Shadow Step from one of the pieces of Secret Bone mainly because that Dharma Method resonated well with him.
After all, once his Divine Soul merged with his Physical Body to achieve the Half-Saint Body, his greatest strength was his formidable physique.
As for the Flame Control Ability, it worked fine against ordinary people, but if he faced a Cultivator…
For example, those from the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, they each had Vestment robes for protection, and his flames sweeping over them would be withstood by their robes for a while.
If their robes were of a higher grade, Chen Hai’s flames would likely have trouble causing them any significant harm.
But if he were to resort to punches and kicks, as long as he was powerful enough, a single punch might just knock them down instantly.
He had only inherited Nether Shadow Step and hadn’t truly begun to practice it.
But with a little thought, he knew this technique would definitely allow his physical strength to be utilized better.
As for not gaining anything from the other piece of Secret Bone, maybe it was because the Dharma Method it contained didn’t match him and wasn’t suitable for him at all.
“Chen Hai, you’ve been up all night again, didn’t sleep a wink?” Wearing sleepiness, Ye Qingqing walked out of the bedroom.
Seeing Chen Hai on the sofa with a worried frown, she rolled her eyes and complained.
Last night, she had looked at the Sword Map and came up empty-handed.
Seeing Chen Hai pondering over those two bones and being extremely tired herself, she had gone to her room to rest alone.
After all, as an ordinary person no longer young, and having experienced so much lately, she was already feeling physically and mentally exhausted.
In terms of mental state, she naturally couldn’t compare with Chen Hai.
“You know my condition, Qingqing.
Staying up all night is nothing to me!”
Chen Hai laughed it off.
After a brief pause, he added, “Come over here, take a good look at this bone.”
“The patterns on it might hold mysteries, allowing one to acquire some kind of inheritance.”
“I’ve been pondering over this thing all night and haven’t figured anything out; maybe you’ll have better luck and gain something from it?”
He gestured for Ye Qingqing to sit beside him.
Then he handed her the piece of Secret Bone he was holding.
“Again with these strange and curious objects; didn’t you say I have a cognitive barrier, that I could not comprehend anything related to Cultivation?”
Though she muttered this, she still took the Secret Bone and began to examine the patterns as Chen Hai had suggested.
“These patterns are all over the place.”
“A total mess, illogical; no idea what it’s trying to show!”
After staring at the patterns on the Secret Bone for a good fifteen minutes, Ye Qingqing finally came to this conclusion.
Perhaps, in her view of the world, not just these patterns but Cultivation itself was nothing but illogical nonsense.
What could Chen Hai say to that?
He could only respond with a wry smile.
“Well, Qingqing, if you can’t discern anything from these patterns, it just means this object is not meant for you.”
“But that’s perfectly normal, nothing strange about it.”
“Even I couldn’t figure out anything after contemplating it for so long.”
He put the Secret Bone back into his Storage Pouch, casually comforting Ye Qingqing.
“I’m going to wash up; what’s for breakfast?
I’ll make something,” said Ye Qingqing as she stretched and stood up.
“Anything’s fine; I’ll have whatever you’re having.” Chen Hai replied with a smile.
He could live without food, surviving on energy from the heavens and the earth, but sharing breakfast with Ye Qingqing was a small pleasure between them.
After breakfast, the two went to the balcony to chat leisurely.
“A flying ship?
More Cultivators have arrived?” Suddenly, Chen Hai paused, he got up and looked southwest from the balcony.
“Such a big ship, actually flying in the sky, is that really a flying ship?”
Seeing Chen Hai’s reaction, Ye Qingqing also stood up curiously, following his gaze.