Chapter 142 The Person Behind the Nine Heavens Secret Realm Who Is Seizing the Inheritance
Sword practice is different from alchemy; sword practice is more tiring, so Song Yin gave up her seat.
"Given the unspoken understanding between us—you raised me from childhood—you know what I mean, right?"
Song Yin felt that with high-level cultivators present, telepathic communication was ultimately unreliable. If a high-level cultivator intentionally eavesdropped, the secret could not be kept.
She prefers to make a fortune quietly. With so many people vying to be her sword-practicing partner, how can she improve herself or learn new sword techniques?
Shen Yuzhu: "Don't worry, junior sister, I understand."
Senior Brother Guan only needs a rough idea of how much he understands. Song Yin moved further away, clearing the battleground, and said, "Go for it, Senior Brother, I need to rest first."
Kang Ping shook his head: "Tsk tsk tsk, you're giving up already? I thought you could last longer. Everyone's trial period is limited to three years. We've already been in this godforsaken place for a year, and we can leave in two more years. You just got in. By then, everyone else will have left, and you'll be all alone. How pitiful."
Song Yin opened her eyes. "If you want to leave, you can quit anytime, and so can I."
Kang Ping is really noisy.
Kang Ping: "Withdrawing early is considered giving up. As a sword cultivator, even if you fail the test, you cannot give up easily."
Song Yin smiled sweetly: "I'm sorry, I'm a pill cultivator, I don't mind being embarrassed. Also, you're really noisy, like a fly buzzing in a village outhouse in the mortal world on a summer's day, it's so noisy."
"You! You! You! This is an insult to civility!" Kang Ping was so enraged by Song Yin that he drew his sword on the spot, "I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!"
Song Yin: "Senior Dou, someone is trying to cause trouble here."
The fact that dozens of people could calmly regulate their breathing indicates that someone is keeping things under control. The black-clad swordsman is only responsible for being challenged, so the one who can keep order on site must be Senior Dou from the Yuancang Sect; only he has that kind of strength.
Kang Ping: "Song Yin, if you're so capable, then fight me!"
Song Yin is the number one sword cultivator in the Xuan Tian Tournament. If you defeat her, you will prove that you are stronger than the number one sword cultivator in the Xuan Tian Tournament!
It's time for him to take the top spot among those at the Nascent Soul stage.
If he hadn't been too old to participate, Song Yin wouldn't have won first place.
Kang Ping overlooked one point: of all the first-place winners in the sword cultivator group of the Xuan Tian Tournament, only Song Yin won the recognition of everyone, making them genuinely acknowledge that Song Yin was the number one Nascent Soul cultivator in the cultivation world. Not every number one can be called the number one Nascent Soul cultivator. Kang Ping himself didn't realize that his desire to challenge Song Yin stemmed precisely from his deep-seated belief that Song Yin was the number one Nascent Soul cultivator.
Song Yin: "Fine, fine, you're the best. I can't beat you, so don't bother me. Sword cultivators should be upright and honorable. I believe you wouldn't do something like a sneak attack, so I need to meditate. Shut up and be quiet."
With a better sword-sparring partner, Song Yin wouldn't waste her energy on Kang Ping.
Kang Ping felt as if he had punched cotton.
An Xin noticed that after Song Yin finished speaking, Kang Ping really quieted down.
An Xin looked at Song Yin in disbelief. How amazing! Is this the number one Nascent Soul cultivator? She can stop Kang Ping from causing trouble with just words. I really want to learn from her!
Within a few incense sticks' time, Shen Yuzhu challenged the black-clad swordsman multiple times. Surprisingly, he didn't feel the frustration of previous failed challenges. Instead, he felt it wasn't enough and wanted to continue training. This was probably because the black-clad swordsman's sparring was time-limited, so he didn't want to waste a single second.
"Let me take over." Song Yin took a pill to help regulate her breathing and quickly adjusted her physical condition to its best.
Shen Yuzhu was engrossed in the game: "Do you want to take another break?"
Song Yin: "No, let's plan a time. How about this, each of us will take two incense sticks' worth of time, and we'll take turns."
Black-clad swordsman: ...
So nobody cares whether he's tired or not?
"Senior Dou, what do you think of those two from the Immortal Cloud Sect? Should we remind them to stop wasting their energy?" someone asked Senior Dou.
Senior Dou: "Young people like to stir things up, let them be, as long as they don't incite infighting and chaos among everyone."
Senior Dou sighed inwardly. What a pity! He had finally found the inheritance and was only one step away from obtaining it, but who knew that the last step would be so difficult. If only he were at the Tribulation Transcending stage, perhaps he would have a chance to defeat the black-clad swordsman.
What is the true identity of the swordsman in black, a sword cultivator at the peak of the Mahayana stage? Has he been guarding the Nine Heavens Secret Realm all along? If so, what kind of power could possibly have a Mahayana stage cultivator guarding the secret realm and orchestrating all of this?
Song Yin and Shen Yuzhu began taking turns, one adjusting their breathing while the other fought, for the duration of two incense sticks burning.
Later, it became a situation where one person fought while the other supervised and reminded them.
When Shen Yuzhu challenged the black-clad swordsman.
Song Yin: "Pay attention, don't expose any openings on your left side. Change this habit, otherwise your left waist will be your fatal weakness."
When Song Yin challenges the black-clad swordsman.
Shen Yuzhu: "You're only focusing on offense and not defense right now. You need to improve that. You need to pay attention to both offense and defense..."
The two continued their challenge, and after a while, the others stopped watching. They sat on the ground, set up a barrier for themselves, and meditated. Some even entered a deep meditation. It wouldn't end anytime soon.
Mingzhu floated not far away, regretting why she hadn't collected some ghost cultivation techniques during her lifetime, otherwise she could cultivate now.
After she returns to the Wuji Sect, there is a high probability that she will embark on the path of ghost cultivation, and once her cultivation reaches a certain level, she will be able to re-form a physical body.
Ghost cultivation and possession are two options for cultivators who wish to continue cultivating after death but do not wish to enter reincarnation. The former is extremely difficult to cultivate, and passing through the tribulation of lightning is a major challenge; the latter involves too much karma, and it is easy for the path of cultivation to collapse.
Mingzhu's heart actually leans towards ghost cultivation. Choosing ghost cultivation means she won't be involved in too many karmic entanglements. No matter how difficult it is, it doesn't matter. As long as she perseveres in the early stages, she will still have a physical body later on.
As time went on, Shen Yuzhu noticed something different about his fight with the black-clad swordsman. Incredulous, he exclaimed during his turn, "Junior Sister, he—"
Song Yin: "Ahem, good to know."
Before Shen Yuzhu could finish speaking, Song Yin interrupted him, and Shen Yuzhu's thoughts changed again.
In Shen Yuzhu's eyes, the black-clad swordsman went from being a sparring partner to a senior who taught swordsmanship.
...
Kang Ping awoke from his meditation and saw that several familiar faces had already left when their time was up.
"Still fighting?" Kang Ping began to doubt that he had been in meditation for long, otherwise why would Song Yin still be fighting with the black-clad swordsman?
No one answered him, and a few minutes later, he was teleported away.
When Kang Ping was teleported back to the lakeside, he learned that only a few days had passed in the outside world. He immediately said to his companions, "Do you know how I got through these past few days? The inheritance test is awful. Our whole group of us fought relentlessly, but we still couldn't beat a single black-clad swordsman."
Shen Yuzhu emerged even earlier than Kang Ping. He overheard Kang Ping speaking by the lake, saying, "It wasn't perseverance; he gave up the challenge and entered a meditative state."
Kang Ping: "You—!" He suddenly laughed, "You came out earlier than me, do you want to know how Song Yin is doing inside?"
Shen Yuzhu said enviously, "You must be having a blast. It's a real shame I was sent out first."
Kang Ping: You're crazy! I don't know what you're envious of!
An Xin then came out and, upon hearing their conversation, said to Shen Yuzhu, "Song Yin is doing well inside; she's still challenging the black-clad swordsman."
Kang Ping: "Junior Sister An Xin, you talk too much nonsense."
In the tone of scholar Song Yin, An Xin tried to say, "Okay, okay, fine, I'm rambling, please forgive me, senior brother. This is just my habit. If you don't like it, then... then you don't like it."
Kang Ping looked disgusted and said, "What kind of tone is that? It's disgusting. Let's go, don't follow me."
An Xin almost blurted out, "Who would want to follow you?" At this moment, her eyes lit up. Hehe, learning Song Yin's way of speaking is useful. She has found a way to make Kang Ping less annoying!
During the challenge between Shen Yuzhu and the black-clad swordsman, his swordsmanship improved by leaps and bounds. He focused on the moves taught to him by the black-clad swordsman, and eventually he even learned a new sword technique.
"It's a pity I didn't learn it completely, and it's even more of a pity I didn't receive the inheritance," Shen Yuzhu said regretfully.
At this moment, Senior Dou from Yuan Cangzong also came out.
Because he had been in seclusion since realizing he couldn't win, he wasn't in any disheveled state at all, displaying the demeanor expected of a sword cultivator in the Integration Stage.
The three people hiding in the trees by the lake became interested.
"Look at that sword cultivator in the Integration stage, he looks like he has received an inheritance."
"Let's go and test the waters."
Just as Senior Dou came out to reunite with his sect members, three men in black suddenly darted out of the nearby woods.
Senior Dou immediately launched a defensive counterattack, startling the Yuancang Sect members, who then quickly followed suit to cooperate with him.
The changes on Yuan Cangzong's side attracted the attention of others.
Shen Yuzhu and Elder Pei both assumed defensive stances.
Han Wuyue said, "It's them."
Shen Yuzhu also recognized them: "They entered first, so it's normal that they came out early. But why did they launch an attack on Senior Dou of the Yuancang Sect?"
Han Wuyue: "They didn't come out of the door."
Elder Pei and Elder Cang appeared behind the two. Elder Pei pulled Han Wuyue behind him, and Elder Cang pulled Shen Yuzhu behind him.
Elder Cang: "Let's go, don't join in the fun here."
Those three are probably vying for the inheritance. Right now, no one knows that Han Wuyue also possesses the inheritance, so it would be safer to keep a low profile and reduce his presence.
Senior Dou asked the three men in black who had suddenly appeared, "Who are you three? I have no grudge against you, so why did you launch a sneak attack right away?"
"Why? Naturally, it's to seize the inheritance from you."
Does the Yuan Cang clan possess a lineage? Many eyes were fixed on Senior Dou.
Senior Dou realized that things were not good. Today, he would probably not only have to fight three men in black, but also have to fight a major battle with other people who coveted the inheritance.
Senior Dou: "I have failed the test of inheritance. I have no inheritance. It is useless for you to target me."
“You are a sword cultivator in the Integration Stage, the most likely among them to receive the inheritance, and besides, you don’t look like you failed the test.”
A string of curse words flashed through Senior Dou's mind.
The others agreed with him; those who didn't receive the inheritance felt disappointed to some extent, unlike him who remained calm.
"Old Dou, we've known each other for a long time. Tell your younger brother the truth: have you obtained the new inheritance? If you have, I'll help you fight them, as long as you're willing to share the inheritance with me." An elder from the Heavenly Stems Sect approached with a smile.
Senior Dou laughed in exasperation: "The test of inheritance is to defeat a sword cultivator at the Great Ascension stage. Do you think I, a mere Integration stage cultivator, can possibly win?"
In the cultivation world, those at the Integration stage are considered powerful. However, compared to those at the Mahayana stage, the Integration stage is nothing special.
Elder of the Heavenly Stems Sect: "Really? You defeated a sword cultivator at the peak of the Mahayana stage? That can't be right, Old Dou, where would a sword cultivator at the peak of the Mahayana stage come from in the Nine Heavens Secret Realm?"
Senior Dou ignored his friend and instead asked the three people opposite him, "You three must also be seniors at the Mahayana stage, right?"
As soon as the words were spoken, the scene fell silent. The cultivators who were close to the three men in black slowly retreated, and no one could utter a word.
One of the three men in black stepped forward and said, "You're quite clever."
Senior Dou: "It's not that I'm clever. I'm at the Integration stage, yet I couldn't sense your cultivation levels. Excluding the possibility that you were deliberately concealing your cultivation, the only remaining possibility is that you are at the Mahayana stage. Seniors, I truly did not obtain the inheritance, please spare me."
It's best to avoid fighting if possible; he'll definitely suffer if a fight breaks out. If we can persuade these three people, that would be ideal.
Senior Dou's hopes were ultimately dashed, because the three people opposite him simply did not believe what he said.
...
Many people came out of the door one after another.
Shi Heming flew out the door and landed steadily.
Elder Pei, with his sharp eyes, spotted Shi Heming at a glance. "Come over here."
Shi Heming was completely bewildered by the situation. Some were fighting, some were watching the spectacle, while the people of the Immortal Cloud Sect stayed away from the battlefield and used the surrounding objects to shield themselves.
"Elder Pei, haven't Yin Yin and the others come out yet?" Shi Heming asked as soon as he came out, looking for Song Yin's figure.
Shen Yuzhu: "Junior sister is still undergoing the inheritance test. I'm envious."
Elder Pei's temper flared up again, and he didn't care that Shen Yuzhu wasn't his disciple. He grabbed Shen Yuzhu and started scolding him: "What are you envious of! You have to fight against a Mahayana stage sword cultivator and win to pass the test. Is that a good thing? You're envious!"
Shen Yuzhu understood why Elder Pei was angry and explained, "Elder Pei, you misunderstood. Let me tell you about what happened during the trial..." It was also his fault for not explaining beforehand.
After Shen Yuzhu finished speaking, everyone fell silent.
Elder Cang said, "Song Yin is such a clever child. It's a pity that such a clever mind doesn't learn formations." Back then, he also wanted to take Song Yin as his disciple, but unfortunately, Song Yin was taken in by Qi Zibo early on and protected like the apple of his eye.
Han Wuyue looked on with endless envy: "Elder Pei..."
Elder Pei quickly covered Han Wuyue's mouth, "No, you don't want to."
Shi Heming felt both absurd and reasonable. This might be strange for others, but it seemed quite normal for Yinyin.
Relieved to know she was safe, Shi Heming then asked about other matters: "Why is there a battle over there?"
Shen Yuzhu: "The three men in black are all at the Mahayana stage. They believe that Senior Dou obtained the inheritance from within the sect, so they are trying to seize it. I came out relatively early, so I don't know if Senior Dou really obtained the inheritance. As for the others, I guess they are trying to take advantage of the chaos."
The overwhelming temptation caused them to abandon the decorum expected of high-level cultivators and rob others like bandits.
Elder Pei: "Elder Wen and Elder Feng came out earlier. They said that since everyone else was rushing to grab it and no one from the Immortal Cloud Sect was going, it would attract the attention of others. So they also joined in to pretend to participate."
After some time, Xia Xining also flew out of the door and was called away by Elder Pei.
Xia Xining: "Good news, I—mmmmm!" Before she could finish speaking, Elder Pei covered her mouth with his hand, giving her the same treatment as Han Wuyue.
Xia Xining emerged radiant; it was obvious she had obtained something valuable. To be bold, it wasn't impossible that she had acquired a legacy.
Elder Pei covered Xia Xining's mouth with one hand and pressed her down with the other, making them squat on the ground. Elder Pei lowered his voice and scolded, "You brat, put your expression on. I know you had a fortuitous encounter, but we can talk about it later. From now on, you have gained nothing behind the door, and you failed the inheritance test."
Xia Xining fell silent, only nodding after Elder Pei finished scolding her.
Elder Pei counted the number of people. "Now only Elder Fu and Song Yin are missing. Let's wait a little longer. After they come out, we'll call Elder Wen and Elder Feng to leave the lakeside together."
The high-level cultivators who came out afterward were all robbed by the three black-clad Mahayana cultivators, while the Nascent Soul cultivators were spared because of their lower cultivation levels.
When Shen Yuzhu and Shi Heming came out, the three black-clad Mahayana cultivators noticed them, but seeing that they were only Nascent Soul cultivators, they paid them no further attention, focusing instead on the Integration stage cultivators.
Song Yin was the last cultivator to undergo the sword cultivation inheritance test, and in the end, only Song Yin and Mingzhu in their divine soul state remained.
Since no one was around, Song Yin relaxed considerably.
Song Yin: "Senior, I still don't understand that move you just made. Could you explain it to me in detail?"
The black-clad swordsman: "..."
The black-clad swordsman: "Teach you, and then let you defeat me?"
“I know the test has hints, and you are those hints.” Song Yin softened her tone and said, “I don’t ask for the inheritance anymore, I only ask to learn the new sword technique completely from you.”
Black-clad swordsman: How can there be such a shameless person?
Song Yin kept calling him "senior" repeatedly.
The swordsman in black: "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
Song Yin: "Senior is joking. If you had murderous intent, why would I still be alive?"
The black-clad swordsman finally stood up and drew his sword. He was mainly annoyed by the noise; he just wanted to finish teaching quickly so he could go home. As for the Daoist's questions, he'd just give a few casual replies to appease him.
Song Yin's eyes lit up, and she raised the Qingyang Sword to attack without any hesitation.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the black-clad swordsman was far more attentive than when he was seated. Sometimes, when her sword strikes were at the wrong angle, he would use his spirit sword to guide the Qingyang sword to the correct angle after blocking her attack.
Mingzhu followed Song Yin and learned one of Song Yin's fine qualities—shamelessness.
Even Mingzhu, a pure alchemy cultivator, could see that the black-clad swordsman had completely dropped his pretense and was directly teaching Song Yin. How could others not see it?
"Violation! Violation!"
A fourth voice rang out, and Song Yin's heart tightened. She had heard this voice before when she was receiving the Dao of Alchemy inheritance.
It was definitely not a hallucination!
The black-clad swordsman continued, “It’s not against the rules. The fact that Daojun is willing to leave his inheritance in the Nine Heavens Secret Realm means that he is willing to pass on his swordsmanship to others. Besides, it wasn’t me who gave her the hint; she was the one who noticed my hint first.”
Song Yin: "Daojun?" Those who ascend to the upper realm are all called Daojun.
Suddenly, an immense pressure descended, pressing down solely on Song Yin.
Song Yin didn't even have the strength to resist. One knee was on the ground, and the oppressive aura emanating from her hadn't dissipated yet. Large beads of sweat quickly soaked a large patch of the ground. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she gritted her teeth, thinking that she could hold on for as long as possible.
That damned pressure is even stronger than my master's!
The swordsman in black spread his hands, a golden spirit sword floating beside him. "Dao Lord, you've been watching closely, so you must know very well that she discovered the hints in the test herself; it wasn't me who gave her a warning."
The oppressive aura emanating from Song Yin has not yet dissipated.
Mingzhu's heart was filled with turmoil, and then she was ruthlessly thrown out of the space of the inheritance test.
The swordsman in black said, "You should explain it to Daojun of the Nine Heavens yourself. He can hear and see everything in the Nine Heavens Secret Realm."
The Nine Heavens Dao Lord, the Nine Heavens Secret Realm, the Nine Heavens Treasure Furnace... everything originated from the hands of this Nine Heavens Dao Lord.
Song Yin uttered broken syllables: "This junior... has not... violated the rules... I beg Daoist... to enlighten me..."
The scene before them vanished completely, and the black-clad swordsman and the pearl's soul disappeared without a trace.
Then a lake appeared, the same lake as the one in the central area of the Nine Heavens Secret Realm. She could see a person dressed in purple robes sitting by the lake, fishing, with their back to her.
Far away in the Danque Peak of the Xianxiao Sect in the Eastern Continent, Song Yin's Soul Lamp flickered a few times, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.
"You're quite bold. You're one of the few minor cultivators in tens of thousands of years who have discovered that the test provides hints."
The person before her was the Dao Lord of the Nine Heavens? Song Yin immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Dao Lord."
At this moment, Song Yin's body felt as if every bone had been crushed by a heavy object, and her whole body was soaked in sweat, as if she had just been pulled out of a lake.
A burst of spiritual energy entered Song Yin's body, and her clothes instantly dried.
Song Yin didn't know why Daojun had personally appeared, so she kept her back bent and didn't dare to stand up.
"It seems your soul is bound to something very interesting."
Song Yin's fingers twitched slightly as he bowed. He didn't recognize Langhuan Cave Heaven? But wasn't Langhuan Cave Heaven a product of the Nine Heavens Secret Realm?
Why aren't you saying anything?
Song Yin: "This junior dares not speak lightly."
"Heh, you were quite the talker when you were pestering my men to teach you swordsmanship."
The Mahayana cultivators were merely his subordinates; just how terrifying were the beings in the Upper Realm...?
Dao Lord of the Nine Heavens: "Alright, get up."
"Thank you, Daojun." Only then did Song Yin dare to stand up.
Nine Heavens Dao Lord: "This is neither the Immortal Realm nor the Xuan Tian Realm. It's quite troublesome to avoid revealing ourselves to the Heavenly Dao. Do you have any questions?"
What does he mean? Just now, the oppressive aura seemed to threaten to kill me, but now he's being all smiles and allowing me to ask all sorts of questions?
Nine Heavens Dao Lord: "Nothing to ask? Then..."
"Does Daoist Lord know what primordial energy is?" Unable to think of a specific question for the moment, and unsure of what the Nine Heavens Daoist Lord wanted to hear, Song Yin said whatever came to mind first.
Nine Heavens Dao Lord: "..."
In Song Yin's eyes, the Nine Heavens Dao Lord slowly stood up and turned around. He had a very young appearance, but Song Yin did not dare to look directly at him and lowered her head and lowered her eyes.
God knows if he might get angry over some trivial matter and then kill her.
"How did you learn of the existence of primordial energy? Raise your head and speak."
Song Yin tried to take out the Heavenly Eight Directions Box, and the magical artifact appeared in her hand. She thought to herself, "If I can take out a magical artifact, then I must have been brought here in physical form."
Song Yin held up the Heavenly Eight Directions Box with both hands. "This all started with a man named Nie Zhengchu..." Song Yin spoke briefly, without omitting the cause, process, and outcome of the matter. "This is all that I know."
Nine Heavens Dao Lord: "Nie Zhengchu is from an unknown world. He previously caused great chaos in the Immortal Realm, intending to seize the vitality of the Immortal Realm. He was later besieged and driven out by the Dao Lords. Unexpectedly, this person actually escaped to the Immortal Cultivation World."
Song Yin attempted to use the Celestial Eight Directions Box to shield her head. Holy crap, is this something I could possibly hear about in the Immortal Realm...?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Song Yin: I heard something I shouldn't have heard. Am I going to lose my head? (Fearful)
Heaven's Way: Don't be afraid, kid, I've got your back. [Sunglasses]
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[Empty bowl]
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