Chapter 353: Sword Lord’s Secret Chapter on Discussing Mysteries
When Lü Yang emerged from the Hall of Reception, he was met with Demon-Slaying True Person Ye Guangji's somewhat resigned gaze: "I truly didn't expect you to actually offer incense for the Ancestor."
"Follow me."
With a sigh, Demon-Slaying True Person said no more. Instead, he summoned a beam of light and took Lü Yang with him. In no time, they arrived at the highest peak of Sword Pavilion's mountain gate.
Standing atop this precipitous summit, overlooking all below, was a grand hall. At this moment, numerous figures had already manifested—each one a Foundation Establishment True Person at first glance. After bringing Lü Yang here, Demon-Slaying True Person wasted no time. With a wave of his hand, he retrieved a thick Daoist scripture.
"Today, disciple Yan Xiao entered the Hall of Reception and offered incense for the Ancestor."
Holding the scripture solemnly, Demon-Slaying True Person declared: "In accordance with the Ancestor's decree, he is hereby designated as a Sword Seed of the sect. For the remainder of his lifespan, he shall diligently cultivate, uphold righteousness, and rectify the world."
With that, he inscribed the name of Lü Yang's current incarnation into the scripture.
"As my first disciple, your seniority falls under the 'Ming' generation. Today, I bestow upon you the Dharma name [Ming He]. May you strive diligently."
"Disciple pays respects to Master."
Lü Yang bowed respectfully and accepted the token symbolizing his status as a [Sword Seed] from Demon-Slaying True Person before withdrawing on his own initiative.
"The status of a Sword Seed is comparable to Foundation Establishment."
"With this token, you may freely seek out a cave dwelling within Ji Tian Cliff. Given your profound past-life origins, you must cultivate diligently and swiftly restore yourself to your former True Person status..."
As Lü Yang departed, Demon-Slaying True Person's expression abruptly darkened.
Almost simultaneously, another Foundation Establishment True Person approached with a smile: "Congratulations, True Person. With the addition of a beloved disciple, the day when karma is resolved draws near..."
This person was named Ye Cheng.
As a disciple of the Ye Family, his face bore an expression of unrestrained delight: "I've heard that this man harmed Xing Feng. He deserves to repay the evil karma of the past!"
Demon-Slaying True Person's expression grew increasingly grim at these words.
For external cultivators joining Sword Pavilion, the sect had a streamlined process for "cleansing" their backgrounds—with the Hall of Reception being the most crucial step.
"All outsiders who join Sword Pavilion first have their past-life memories erased, then enter the Hall of Reception to offer incense, draining their fortune and reshaping it into Sword Pavilion's fortune... I had thought Fellow Daoist Lü's talent insufficient—that if he couldn't master the Sword Lord's Secret Chapter on Discussing Mysteries, there might still be room for redemption. Yet, spilled water cannot be gathered again..."
At this thought, Demon-Slaying True Person sighed once more.
"...Heaven's will."
The Sword Lord's Secret Chapter on Discussing Mysteries was a universally known first-class true art within Sword Pavilion. Yet, surveying both inside and outside the sect, very few actually practiced it.
Genuine Sword Pavilion disciples of direct lineage rarely cultivated this method.
A closer examination would reveal that only those who had been True Persons in their past lives and later reincarnated before joining Sword Pavilion practiced this art!
Within the quiet chamber of his Ji Tian Cliff cave dwelling:
"Sword Lord's Secret Chapter on Discussing Mysteries..."
This art was vast and profound, spanning over ten thousand words and encompassing all phenomena. More importantly, it overturned all conventional cultivation systems!
What was a sword cultivator?
Generally, any cultivator who used a sword could be called a sword cultivator. Yet, according to the Sword Lord's Secret Chapter on Discussing Mysteries, this was mere heterodoxy.
A true sword cultivator was one who cultivated the sword itself!
Focusing solely on the sword, forsaking all else, with only a single blade as their lifelong companion—day and night in communion, sincerity leading to divine connection—only by taking the sword as their Dao could one truly be called a sword cultivator!
Lü Yang frowned as he read this. Having encountered numerous Sword Pavilion cultivators by now, by the standards of this scripture, perhaps only Demon-Slaying True Person Ye Guangji within the entire sect could truly bear the title of "sword cultivator"!
'Something's off...'
His intuition, honed through years of training in the Primordial Saint Sect, told Lü Yang there was a problem here! After all, this was a first-class true art—how could it be so casually given away?
'...Unless it's a trap!'
And a colossal one at that!
Growing increasingly wary, Lü Yang continued reading the Sword Lord's Secret Chapter on Discussing Mysteries. Soon, his expression shifted.
Moments later, he closed his eyes.
'I knew Sword Pavilion wouldn't be so kind... What first-class true art? It's incomplete! The cultivation portion stops at Foundation Establishment Perfection!'
The Sword Lord's Secret Chapter on Discussing Mysteries was indeed a first-class true art—because it was the first genuine "Empty Attainment" method Lü Yang had ever encountered. Its creator clearly intended to achieve a [Sword Dao Fruit Position] from nothingness, an ambition worthy of admiration.
After all, even [Heaven of Non-Existence] wasn't truly an Empty Attainment.
'[Heaven of Non-Existence] isn't so much an Empty Attainment as it is finding a nascent fruit position and transforming it into one's desired form through personal Dao methods.'
By now, Lü Yang also understood what the Myriad Spirits Banner concealed.
That inexplicable, mighty power allowing him to temporarily hold the status of a Grand True Person was actually the embryonic form of a fruit position—obtained and sealed away by the Innate True Person!
Thus, strictly speaking, [Heaven of Non-Existence] still had a foundation.
Yet the [Sword Dao Fruit Position] sought by the Sword Lord's Secret Chapter on Discussing Mysteries was different—it aimed to manifest a true fruit position from absolute nothingness!
The ambition was grand, but at what cost?
'The cost is paid by us!'
'Regardless of whether you reached Foundation Establishment in your past life or what divine abilities you possessed, practicing this art transforms everything into a [Changheng Observant Golden Sword Foundation].'
'Even innate divine abilities are converted!'
This method shared similarities with [Heaven of Non-Existence]—both dragged foundations under other fruit positions into the abyss to fill the gaping maw of [Sword Dao]!
'The [Sword Dao Fruit Position] is difficult to achieve, hence the need for outsiders like us to practice this first-class true art—using our lifetime's worth of talent and comprehension to gradually fill and complete it. If the [Sword Dao Fruit Position] is a painting, then we are the ink and brush used to create it.'
'This art... was probably designed specifically for outsiders!'
Lü Yang realized the truth. External True Persons possessed diverse foundations. Even if their past-life memories were erased, their souls remained unwashed by reincarnation, and their foundations unchanged.
Perfect for another round of cleansing via this first-class true art.
First memories, then fortune, and finally foundations—all while Sword Pavilion harvested fortune and bolstered the [Sword Dao Fruit Position], profiting immensely!
And yet, I still owe them karma!
'Sword Seed... No wonder they're called Sword Seeds!'
'Without us Sword Seeds pouring our lifelong cultivation into it, how could the [Sword Dao Fruit Position] take root, sprout, and grow into a towering tree?'
Yet at this thought, Lü Yang suddenly paused:
"Wait, that's not entirely true. Among Sword Pavilion's direct lineage, Demon-Slaying True Person seems to have practiced this first-class true art! He appears to be a pure sword cultivator!"
Lü Yang had witnessed Demon-Slaying True Person in action. When facing the assault of Heavenly Immortals and Earth Immortals from the Mystic Spirit Realm, this peak Foundation Establishment Grand True Person hadn't employed any divine abilities—merely drawing his sword. That so-called [Sword of No Killing Intent] seemed emblematic of a sword cultivator!
'But why would he practice such a trap?'
'Was he, like me, an external True Person who reincarnated into Sword Pavilion? No, impossible—he's a direct descendant of the Ye Family, a bona fide Sword Pavilion cultivator...'
'...[True Lord of Bearing Heaven's True Virtue]?'
Abruptly, within the Myriad Spirits Banner, Ancestor Nether Whisper—who had been reading alongside Lü Yang—spoke up, his expression peculiar:
"What has been will be again..."
With a sigh, Ancestor Nether Whisper said gravely: "Before this, could Demon-Slaying True Person Ye Guangji have been cultivating [Wall Soil]?"