Star-defying cultivation

The Sword's source

The Sword's source ? he wonders inwardly, having never heard of such a name. He decides to first hear what Zhuo Yin has to say, however.

"Here in this sect, we have to warn newcomers about what awaits them. It's much better that way, especially since you're my roommate and your mistakes could cause me trouble. I'll just tell you about this first part of Elder Zhao's Peak," said Zhuo Yin firmly while looking at Ye Xian. Noticing that he understood nothing, he then simply explained.

"Elder Zhao is the 'elder' of the sect who governs this Peak. Don't pay attention to that for now."

"What's an elder?" Ye Xian asked as he listened attentively. Zhuo Yin lowered his voice a little this time as he explained, "An important member of the sect, usually a powerful cultivator who holds an official position."

"I'll use a simple term for you... The 10 mountains you surely saw when coming here, five on the right and five on the left, each have a peak where an elder resides. Each of these mountains is also divided into three parts. The first part is for the aspiring disciples, the second for the outer sect disciples, and the third part for the inner sect disciples. Hehehe, try imagining the number of disciples here."

Ye Xian couldn't help but ask his own question about what he wanted to know as he asked with a smile, "What's this story about a tournament in a year already?"

"Oh, that! So you've heard about it." Zhuo Yin's eyes began to shine brightly as he answered, "Let's say it's not a very big tournament, but it's important, and many outer and inner disciples come to watch. It's led by the sect leader, and it's a tournament just for us aspiring disciples."

"Just for us?" Ye Xian asked, not really understanding.

"We all fight each other, all the aspiring disciples from every peak, and the winners will advance to the outer sect." Then, as if he had just remembered something, he seriously warned Ye Xian.

"This is a little where I was going! Watch out for Chen Badao... First, he's the leader here and is more experienced than us, being in the middle stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Next, he'll also participate in this tournament, and finally... He has a group of crazy people who can make you lose this tournament if they target you."

I understand! But well, I've never provoked him, that's the important thing. Ye Xian sighs inwardly.

"Do you know where the Source of the Sword is? What is it even? I only heard the name on my way here," he asks afterward. Chen Badao looks at him for a moment before answering with certainty, "It's a source of water that can be used to cultivate sword techniques." Then he pauses before swallowing heavily. "But I strongly advise against it."

"Why?" Ye Xian asks with an obvious frown. "It's a place behind the forest where the Gu brothers spend a lot of time, and they don't give others access. Besides, those people have members of their family throughout the entire sect... Provoking them is putting yourself in danger."

Zhuo Yin wanted to continue, but light footsteps could be heard as the wooden door of the room in the center opened.

Their rooms had no door, allowing them to see outside even while sitting.

"Alright! See you tomorrow... If Chen Badao sees us awake at this hour, we're dead!" Zhuo Yin said as he backed away.

Chen Badao isn't very nice... Ye Xian muttered pitifully before starting to think about how he could go to the Source of the Sword if it was already occupied.

[ You have completed the mission! ]

[ Reward: You can cultivate the Wood Technique if you wish. ]

[ But that will have to wait until tomorrow, when you are in front of the Spiritual Trees. ]

Spiritual Trees? Ye Xian's eyes lit up, eager to see the wonders of cultivators once again. He could never have guessed that Spiritual Trees even existed.

Zhuo Yin, who was watching him being happy, couldn't help but scratch his head, wondering why he had suddenly become so happy.

__________________

The next day, Ye Xian stood with Chen Badao and Zhuo Yin, looking at a small forest with trees of a supernatural black color.

Like them, Ye Xian was wearing yellow-colored clothes, contrasting with his handsome face and height. According to Zhuo Yin, these were the clothes worn by aspiring disciples.

The aspiring disciples, both boys and girls, couldn't help but freeze when they saw Ye Xian's height, hair, and face.

Some were envious of everything except his height, while some of the boys frowned.

"See those trees over there? You're going to cut down 10 of them, remove the leaves, and take only the wood, which you'll then bring in front of my room," Chen Badao said disdainfully while looking at Ye Xuan from the corner of his eye.

Zhuo Yin was stunned.

"Elder Chen! He's just a child. Even I can't cut down more than 5 trees a day," he tried to convince Chen Badao, who then looked at him with a frown, making him take a slight step back and lower his head in fear.

"Idiot! I don't care! Besides, the elders of the sect need more Spiritual Wood for the chosen ones before the great events to come. I'm just doing what I have to do," Chen Badao growled before turning around and leaving.

Zhuo Yin couldn't help but sigh, but his gaze fell when he saw Ye Xian with illuminated eyes, as if he were looking at gold.

"..."

For Ye Xian, this wasn't work without a reward, since he had finally found what the Heavenly Voice had called Spiritual Trees... Not only had Chen Badao called them that, but he could also sense spiritual energy within them.

"Alright, I'll start my work!" he said as he advanced like a treasure hunter approaching a treasure.

Zhuo Yin scratched his head in confusion before shrugging and heading to the other side of the forest, saying, "If you need help, I'm not far from here!"

Ye Xian didn't listen to him as he asked the Heavenly Voice.

"How do I cultivate the Wood Technique?"

[ I advise cutting down the 10 trees first, which shouldn't be difficult if you use your sword technique. ]

Cutting down Spiritual Trees was not difficult at all, but it was for the aspiring disciples simply because they were "aspiring" and therefore most of them weren't even at the final stage of Qi Condensation, and even those who were didn't have powerful sect techniques suitable for this kind of thing.

But Ye Xian had the technique of the "Sanctuary of a Thousand Swords."

Finally finding an opportunity to test a magical technique, Ye Xian moved forward until he reached the center of the forest, wanting to make sure he was truly alone. He didn't want the others to realize that he had the means to get through this very easily for the moment.

Thus, a considerable amount of spiritual energy emerged from his right hand, condensing into a large, starry blue luminous sword. It wasn't ordinary spiritual energy, but one could see what looked like tiny stars swirling around inside it, making the sight of this energy pleasant.

The Heavenly Voice could make others believe that he was simply a talented Earth Cultivator, but it couldn't hide the fact that his spiritual energy showed that he possessed a Star Cultivation, which was beyond its capabilities.

He looked at it with exasperation before looking at one of the trees near him and smiling as he took a step.

Immediately, he leaped into the air before making a sword movement, slicing through the center of the abnormally black tree and dispersing a small amount of spiritual energy that spread a little farther into the forest.

The tree split in two before the upper half fell backward with a dull thud.

"I really like this technique, damn," Ye Xian said excitedly, wondering if he should go help Zhuo Yin... But he immediately gave up on the idea.

He turned toward other trees and continued cutting them down again and again.

After quite some time, Ye Xian stood in the center of a good amount of wood. It was almost more than Chen Badao had asked him for. This was not only to make a good impression, but also because it was useful to him according to the Heavenly Voice.

As he wondered whether cultivating with this wood would cause him problems, since it was meant for the sect's chosen ones, a slight explosion resounded in the distance behind him, forcing him to jump before turning around.

Immediately, he felt a prickling sensation throughout his entire body, forcing him to massage himself here and there.

"Fuck, what the hell is that?"

[ The technique of the Sanctuary of a Thousand Swords is reacting in some way. I think it's because of the Source of the Sword a little farther away. ]

The Source of the Sword? So the explosion came from there? Ye Xian couldn't help but walk toward that place. After walking for a few seconds, he saw, at the end of the forest, a water source, beside which 3 large men stood dumbfounded for some unknown reason, staring at the water inside.

It was like a vast hole filled with water, and it wasn't just any water. It was water in which one could see what looked like illusory swords of different sizes. And even worse, this water, as if it had noticed Ye Xian's appearance, began to ripple wildly toward him, as if trying to catch him.