What exactly was Pang Master trying to do?
After Fang Hua left, Du Youqian racked his brain but couldn’t come up with an answer.
He didn’t know how Pang Master had survived.
But after repeated Divinations, Du Youqian had confirmed beyond a doubt that the man was indeed Pang Master.
This was a man who had been a Supreme Elder of a First-class Sect, a position only a half-step below Shi Shentong’s. He was a Core Formation Master who stood at the absolute peak of the Momenan Cultivation Realm.
And now, he was shouting a slogan: This world is rotten. The rules are rotten.
For hundreds of years, he had been a beneficiary of the system. ’Anyone could shout that slogan,’ Du Youqian thought, ’but for him to do it is just a joke.’
Of course, Pang Master was no clown, entertaining the masses for laughs.
He had to have an ulterior motive.
But... what was his real intention?
’What does he mean by "smashing the world to pieces?" Does he really want to break the boundary between heaven and earth?’
’To bring about a whole new era?’
’But why would he do that?’
Then again, Pang Master’s slogans could certainly incite some of the frustrated and discontented.
But at most, he could probably only sway those at the Foundation Establishment realm.
As for Core Formation, every Core Formation Master was a favorite of the heavens, a child blessed by fortune, a member of the true upper echelon of Momenan.
How could Pang Master possibly incite Core Formation Masters to follow him?
Not every Core Formation Master was desperate to break through to Nascent Soul Formation.
For most Core Formation Masters, maintaining order was equivalent to protecting their own advantageous positions. The last thing they wanted was to shatter this world and its rules!
For the moment, the situation was bewildering. Du Youqian couldn’t guess what Pang Master’s methods might be.
He felt that Momenan was surging with undercurrents, with countless people wanting to stir up trouble.
’I have to reach Core Formation as soon as possible. Only then can I be a player in the coming chaos, rather than just a pawn moved against its will.’
However, since he had already remedied the hidden dangers in the Illusion Realm and obtained a perfect body, Du Youqian had no intention of giving up halfway.
He began to patiently hone his body, using the Red Lotus Sect’s resources to advance his Body Refining Cultivation further.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celestial Dog Mountain Blessed Land Market, You De Commerce Association.
Ai Miao finished reading the Jade Slip sent by his sect with his Divine Sense and opened his eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips.
His master had agreed to let him return to the sect to be taught more advanced Sword Formulas.
And with the Spiritual Jade he’d earned working at the You De Commerce Association for over a decade, he had enough to exchange for the resources needed to advance to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
’At this rate, I should be able to reach the Foundation Establishment Late Stage within three to five years. If everything goes smoothly, I can reach Foundation Establishment Perfection before I turn one hundred and thirty and begin refining my Lifebound Sword Pill.’
The cultivation path of the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion was vastly different from other sects, especially when it came to the Core Formation step.
Disciples of the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion, particularly the inner-sect and True Disciples who cultivated the "Celestial Dao Sword," "Heartless Sword," and "Extreme Emotion Sword" from the *Sword Collection Annotation of Zong Wu True Monarch*, had to use a special method for their Foundation Establishment. Immediately after achieving it, they could begin refining their Lifebound Sword Pill.
Then, during their cultivation, they would use a special Secret Technique to pour their entire Essence, Qi, and Spirit into this Sword Pill.
Finally, when the time was right, they would form their core with the Sword Pill.
This Sword Pill was both the Sword Cultivator’s Golden Core and their Lifebound Treasure.
This was the unique characteristic of a pure Sword Cultivator.
That was why the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion emphasized "No Regrets in Foundation Establishment." From the moment one established their foundation and began refining their Lifebound Sword Pill, their future path was set in stone.
As for disciples who joined with prior training, if they couldn’t join the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion before Foundation Establishment, they couldn’t use the sect’s unique method to build their foundation. After establishing their foundation, they wouldn’t be able to refine a Lifebound Sword Pill, and thus couldn’t undergo Sword Pill Formation.
With this method of Core Formation, the subsequent paths to Nascent Soul and Divinity Transformation were even more difficult—though it wasn’t as if one could reach Nascent Soul or Divinity Transformation in Momenan anyway.
Furthermore, undergoing Sword Pill Formation created a significant obstacle to comprehending Magical Divine Abilities.
It wasn’t that Sword Cultivators truly believed one sword could shatter all techniques; it was that they had no other choice. The struggle was real, but they couldn’t complain about it.
In terms of life extension, Sword Pill Formation was also far inferior to orthodox Core Formation.
However, when it came to killing power, Sword Pill Formation was second to none.
Impressive, right? They traded their lifespans for it.
Moreover, the success rate of Sword Pill Formation was close to that of becoming a Fake Pill Cultivator, much higher than orthodox Core Formation.
This was why the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion was a Major Sect whose number of Core Formation Masters was second only to the Taihe and the two Saint Blood Sects.
However, disciples who cultivated the "Human Dao Sword" from the *Sword Collection Annotation of Zong Wu True Monarch* could not use Sword Pill Formation.
The path Ai Miao cultivated was precisely this rarely practiced "Human Dao Sword."
The other three paths—the "Celestial Dao Sword," "Heartless Sword," and "Extreme Emotion Sword"—all had lineages of True Disciples and Core Formation Masters.
Only the "Human Dao Sword" had not produced a True Inheritor in nearly a thousand years, let alone a Core Formation Master.
Ai Miao had his own ambitions.
He hoped to become the sect’s first disciple in nearly a millennium to become a True Inheritor—and perhaps even a Core Formation Master—through the "Human Dao Sword."
Otherwise, why would he come to garrison this small Marketplace instead of cultivating arduously back at the sect like his martial brothers?
On one hand, he was here to earn the Spiritual Jade needed for his advancement. On the other, it was to observe the hearts and minds of the mortal world, so that he could smoothly comprehend the higher realms of the Human Dao Sword in the future.
Putting away the Jade Slip from his master, Ai Miao mulled over his master’s instructions.
In a previous letter to his master, he had mentioned encountering a young man with a natural Sword Heart, who he suspected was the reincarnation of a Sword Cultivator.
Baili Jianxin... Ai Miao still remembered the name clearly.
His master had only said that he had reported it to his own master, the grandmaster, who had offered no comment. So, Ai Miao’s master hadn’t pursued the matter.
But this time, his master mentioned in the letter that during a lecture, the grandmaster had casually brought up the young man and asked how he was doing now.
’Looks like I can’t return to Yu Kun Mountain just yet,’ Ai Miao thought. ’I need to go to the Wu Kingdom first and check on that boy, Baili Jianxin.’
’I wonder where the boy is cultivating now, and whether he has joined a sect?’
Ai Miao wasn’t worried about not being able to find him. He was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion, a Second-class Sect. Although he wasn’t a Guardian Envoy, he still held a very high status.
He only needed to put out the word, and he could command the various sects of the Wu Kingdom, large and small, to run errands for him.
He calculated on his fingers; more than a decade had passed. ’That boy’s talent was exceptional,’ he thought. ’I wonder if his cultivation has reached the Qi Cultivation Late Stage by now?’
’If he worked hard enough, he might even be close to Qi Cultivation Perfection.’
’Perhaps I can use this opportunity to guide the boy onto the path of the Sword Dao and have him join the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion.’
~~~~~~~~~
So, Ai Miao traveled east and soon arrived within the borders of the Wu Kingdom.
To find someone, you couldn’t just look for a needle in a haystack; you had to ask the local powers for help.
And in the Wu Kingdom, the local power was, of course, the Chongzhen Sect.
The Chongzhen Sect, like the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion, belonged to the Profound Sects Orthodox Camp.
So, Ai Miao paid a formal visit to their mountain gate, requesting an audience with the Chongzhen Sect’s Guardian Elder—the Guardian Supreme Elder was not someone he was qualified to meet on a whim.
The Chongzhen Sect had three Guardian Elders on duty recently. One of them, He Mingzi, received Ai Miao. After the two exchanged a round of pleasantries, He Mingzi listened seriously to Ai Miao’s request.
Finally, He Mingzi asked, "Fellow Daoist, the person you’re looking for is named Baili Jianxin? He should be thirty-four this year, from a major noble family in the Wu Kingdom, and possesses a natural Sword Heart, is that correct?"
"That’s him," Ai Miao said with a smile.
He concealed a crucial piece of information: that Baili Jianxin was suspected to be the reincarnation of a Core Formation Master.
He was afraid the Chongzhen Sect would try to poach him.
He Mingzi then picked up a thin, blank Jade Slip, closed his eyes to inscribe something on it, and a moment later handed it to Ai Miao. "Is this what you mean?"
Ai Miao took the Jade Slip and scanned it with his Divine Sense.
Well now, the Jade Slip depicted a person wearing a worn Crane Robe and a Seven-Star Cap, with a short sword stuck in their chest.
Ai Miao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "A natural Sword Heart, not a heart that’s literally grown into the shape of a sword!"
He Mingzi chuckled. "I was just joking. Please don’t take offense, Fellow Daoist."
Ai Miao was exasperated. He looked closer at the person’s facial features on the Jade Slip and nodded. "Yes, this is the Baili Jianxin I’m looking for."
"So it’s him," He Mingzi said. "He is now the National Guardian Celestial Master of the Wu Kingdom. He’s given himself the title ’Qingxu Tongxuan Guanmiao True Monarch.’ The arrogance is off the charts."
Ai Miao was a bit embarrassed. "This young friend... is he that flamboyant?"
He Mingzi’s expression was strange. "Fellow Daoist, you call him ’young friend’? Are you perhaps an elder from his sect?"
Ai Miao stroked his beard. "That is my intention. The boy’s talent is exceptional, and I intend to take him as my disciple. Does Fellow Daoist perhaps find that inappropriate?"
"Well..." He Mingzi pondered for a long time before finally saying, "I am an outsider and shouldn’t comment. Please, do as you see fit, Fellow Daoist. This Master Baili usually handles official business and meets with officials at the Grass Tower Temple in the Wu Kingdom Royal Palace. If other cultivators want to find him, they also typically go to the Grass Tower Temple. But after sunset, he returns to the Celestial Master’s Mansion. When do you plan to find him?"
"I’ll head over right now."
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