Chapter 1554: Teacher, Friend, and Lover
Zhang Ruochen was certain that what he had heard was a sword soul, not a sword intent or a sword spirit.
Ling Feiyu's slender, graceful figure floated lightly like a feather, landing on the surface of Cloud Lake without causing even a single ripple.
"Clang!"
With the sound of a sword cry, a sacred sword appeared in her snow-white jade hand.
The sword was as cold as frost.
Only at this moment did Zhang Ruochen realize that the sword in Ling Feiyu's hand was the Burying Heaven Sword, which had been taken by the Azure Heaven Blood Emperor. It was one of the six swords used to seal the Nether King.
The Azure Heaven Blood Emperor had been killed by Chi Yao, and the Undying Blood Clan of the Kunlun Realm had been nearly wiped out.
The current Kunlun Realm was an era of great unification, with humanity as the rulers, all factions submitting, myriad races paying homage, and the Empress reigning supreme. It was only natural that the Burying Heaven Sword had returned to Ling Feiyu's hands.
Ling Feiyu raised the Burying Heaven Sword, stepped onto the water's surface, and began to wield it.
The person, the sword, and the lake water seemed to merge into a breathtaking landscape painting, ethereal and transcendent, each movement refined through a thousand repetitions.
As she danced with the sword, she also explained to Zhang Ruochen.
"Ordinary sword practitioners train in sword techniques."
"Those who have achieved initial success train in sword qi."
"True sword cultivators train in sword intent."
Ling Feiyu's movements were clumsy at first, like a martial artist just learning the sword. Gradually, her techniques became more exquisite, and sharp sword qi began to emanate, as if a sword practitioner was continuously growing.
"Mastering Sword One counts as minor success, a preliminary step across the threshold."
"Mastering Sword Seven counts as entering the hall, where the sword is drawn without regret, and one can be titled a Sword Saint. With a single thrust, sword intent can take form and kill from a thousand miles away."
"Mastering Sword Eight allows one to cultivate Sword Dao Mysterious Force, which is unbreakable and unstoppable, capable of severing mountains and shattering stars."
"Mastering Sword Nine allows one to cultivate the soul of sword intent, known as the sword soul."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen's eyes grew incredibly bright, and he murmured, "The soul of sword intent... Can sword intent even possess a soul?"
"Splash—"
On the lake surface, Ling Feiyu's graceful figure gradually faded until it disappeared entirely, leaving only the Burying Heaven Sword suspended above the water, emitting a sword glow.
It was as if everything that had just happened was a dream.
Only at this moment did Zhang Ruochen realize that Ling Feiyu had been standing beside him the entire time and had never left.
"Return."
Ling Feiyu called out, and the Burying Heaven Sword flew back, vanishing into her body.
"Who was the one wielding the sword just now?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Ling Feiyu replied, "That was my sword soul, the soul of my sword intent."
Zhang Ruochen was filled with envy and asked, "How powerful is the sword soul?"
"The sword soul is ten times stronger than Sword Dao Mysterious Force. What's more terrifying is that it can directly attack an enemy's sacred soul. With my current cultivation level, relying solely on raw power, I can at most contend with weaker Four-Step Saint Kings. But by using the sword soul, I have some chance of severing the sacred souls of Five-Step or Six-Step Saint Kings, severely wounding or even killing them. Of course, I might also die at their hands, given the vast gap in cultivation," Ling Feiyu said.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What is your current cultivation level?"
"Two-Step Saint King or Three-Step Saint King. I haven't tested it on the Nine-Step Ascending Heavenly Path, so I'm not sure of the exact level," Ling Feiyu said.
Zhang Ruochen drew in a sharp breath. With her cultivation level, she had some chance of killing a Six-Step Saint King. Truly, she was someone who had mastered Sword Nine to perfection.
Saint Kings comprehended the rules of the sacred path, and each step represented a massive gap. Being able to fight across a single realm was already an extraordinary feat, marking one as a top-tier genius in any major world.
According to Zhang Ruochen's calculations, even he, upon reaching the Saint King realm, could at most fight across two steps. To cross three steps, he would need significant breakthroughs in the Way of Time and the Way of Space.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Your sword dao talent is comparable to Sword Emperor Xue Hongchen. How about I crown you Sword Empress?"
Ling Feiyu rolled her eyes and said, "Your sword dao talent actually surpasses mine. But you've spent far less time on the sword than I have. You have to understand, I've been cultivating for over three hundred years. Moreover... I cultivated for seven lifetimes inside the *Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram*, experiencing all the joys and sorrows of life. That's something others don't have. Back then, my cultivation level was far above yours, so I naturally gained much more than you did."
Inside the *Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram*, the higher one's cultivation, the greater the benefits.
It had to be said that the relationship between Ling Feiyu and Zhang Ruochen was quite unique—teacher, friend, and lover all at once.
Zhang Ruochen remained seated cross-legged, toying with the Merit Divine Seal in his hand, and nodded. "You're right. My biggest disadvantage is that I've cultivated for too short a time and lack a solid foundation. Fortunately, the insights from my six lifetimes in the *Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram* have kept me from falling behind. What if I merged the memories and cultivation insights of my seventh lifetime to become stronger?"
Hearing this, Ling Feiyu's cold, sharp face showed a hint of unease, but she forced herself to remain calm and said, "It's up to you."
Ling Feiyu's figure swayed, and then she vanished by the shore of Cloud Lake.
Judging by her reaction, Zhang Ruochen knew that something unusual must have happened in the seventh lifetime. He was silent for a long time, but in the end, he chose not to touch those memories. Muttering to himself, he said, "I'll wait a little longer."
Zhang Ruochen put away the Merit Divine Seal and took out the White Bone Sacred Staff left behind by King Hun.
The staff was forged from a complete human spine, joint by joint. At its top was a skull, with strands of long black hair cascading down from it.
"What a heavy staff. It must weigh hundreds of thousands of jin. It was definitely forged from the bones of a Great Saint."
Zhang Ruochen carefully unsealed the sacred power wrapped around the staff. With a thunderous roar, the staff trembled violently.
The skull let out a roar, like rolling thunder striking his face, causing Zhang Ruochen's ears to sting and his body to fly backward.
The staff broke free from Zhang Ruochen's grasp and flew away, trying to escape.
In an instant, wind and thunder intertwined above Cloud Lake, and demonic fiendish aura condensed into black clouds.
"So powerful! It can even escape on its own?"
Zhang Ruochen landed on the ground, shaking his numb arms, then used a spatial displacement to chase after it. He grabbed the staff again and summoned the Purifying Divine Flame.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
Zhang Ruochen dragged the staff back to the shore, thrust it heavily into the ground, and suppressed it firmly, using the Purifying Divine Flame to begin refining it.
After a full half-hour, Zhang Ruochen managed to suppress the fiendish aura, and the staff gradually calmed down.
Zhang Ruochen opened his heavenly eye on his brow and carefully observed. He found that the surface of the staff was covered with intricate patterns, especially on the skull at the top, which was even more complex.
"King Hun said that a wisp of a Great Saint's sacred soul remains in the skull. These patterns must be used to seal it."
Zhang Ruochen channeled sacred qi into the staff.
"Whoosh—"
Dense inscriptions on the staff lit up, emitting a blinding white light.
Zhang Ruochen slowly lifted it and swung it forward. A stream of Great Saint origin power, mixed with fiendish aura, struck Cloud Lake, sending waves dozens of feet high into the air.
"The power it unleashes is still inferior to the Buddha Emperor Relic. That shouldn't be the case..."
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen had an idea. Instead of channeling sacred qi, he separated a strand of spiritual power and injected it into the skull inside the staff.
The next moment...
A pair of ghostly flames appeared in the skull's eye sockets, and a terrifying black fiendish aura surged out of the staff, coalescing into bones—some forming arm bones, others leg bones.
The White Bone Sacred Staff transformed into a black skeleton.
"Haha! So it requires spiritual power to activate!"
Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but laugh, then controlled the black skeleton to unleash a series of attacks.
He quickly tested it and found that the black skeleton's combat power was enough to contend with some Three-Step Saint Kings. In short, its strength far exceeded Zhang Ruochen's current level.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew that strand of spiritual power and muttered to himself, "The inside of the staff's skull is filled with fierce fiendish aura. Clearly, the sacred soul of that human Great Saint has turned into an evil spirit."
"Just by channeling the fiendish aura from the evil spirit, the staff can unleash the power of a Three-Step Saint King."
"What if I directly activate the evil spirit itself?"
The power of a Great Saint was boundless. Even a mere wisp of a sacred soul could unleash strength beyond the imagination of Saints and ordinary Saint Kings.
If he directly activated the evil spirit, the power the staff could unleash would be far greater than it was now.
The key issue was that, with Zhang Ruochen's current spiritual power, he couldn't activate the evil spirit at all.
If he tried to force it, his own spiritual power might be devoured by the evil spirit.
Zhang Ruochen stroked his chin, pondering a solution to this problem. "What if..."
Zhang Ruochen took out the Buddha Emperor Relic, held it in his hand, and stared at the skull's brow. He murmured, "The brow of a human cultivator is the location of the Divine Martial Mark. If I inlay the Buddha Emperor Relic into the skull's brow, it should be able to suppress the evil spirit. Moreover, with the Buddha Emperor Relic providing a continuous supply of Great Saint sacred power, the staff might become even stronger."
The idea was beautiful, but the inscriptions on the skull were too profound. Making the Buddha Emperor Relic perfectly fit with the staff and intertwine with those inscriptions was no easy task for an ordinary cultivator.
"Senior Ling Xiu is a spiritual power Great Saint. Perhaps he can find a way."
Zhang Ruochen temporarily put away the staff and stopped thinking about it. Then, he took out the Rule Emperor Artifact, sat cross-legged by the shore of Cloud Lake, and began to comprehend the rules of the palm path.
Two days later, Ling Xiu's voice reached Zhang Ruochen's ears: "Come to the demon hall to see me."
Zhang Ruochen abruptly opened his eyes, stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and climbed the steps toward the dark demon hall at the top.
As soon as he arrived outside the demon hall, Zhang Ruochen saw Ling Feiyu's figure.
Clearly, Ling Xiu had summoned her as well.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen staring at her, Ling Feiyu's heart trembled slightly. She even seemed to avoid his gaze, and a faint blush of shyness appeared on her snow-white face.
This caught Zhang Ruochen off guard. The always assertive Flying Feather Sword Saint could actually be so bashful?
But soon, he understood and thought to himself, "Could it be that she thinks I've already merged the memories of the seventh lifetime?"