Chapter 162

Chapter 162: Ye Guan, Ye Xuan!

For the next while, Ye Tianming began chatting with Xiaohun about the special abilities she had once possessed.

Because she had been modified and enhanced, she had once possessed many special abilities, but those abilities were not ones she had cultivated herself — they had been bestowed upon her.

Although those special abilities were not ones she had cultivated on her own, she had once possessed them, and so she understood them well.

Ye Tianming was using Xiaohun’s words to learn about the various abilities her former master had once held, as well as the woman in the plain skirt who had granted her those special abilities.

Before long, Ye Tianming and Xiaohun had grown quite familiar with each other.

After chatting for a while, Ye Tianming suddenly asked with some curiosity, “You also followed the Sword Master of the Human Realm and the Sword Master of Guanxuan?”

Xiaohun replied with some excitement, “Yes, yes! Master Ye Xuan was wonderful, and very kind to me too. It was because of him that I was modified. Ah, I miss him so much. And Master Ye Guan…… to balance his own order, he sacrificed himself…… I’m so worried about him, so worried……”

At that, she stopped and said no more.

Ye Tianming was somewhat surprised. He had not expected that this sword had once followed the former Sword Master of the Human Realm and the Sword Master of Guanxuan. After a brief pause in thought, he said, “Could you tell me about the Sword Master of the Human Realm and the Sword Master of Guanxuan?”

Xiaohun said, “Of course I can!”

Then she began to speak at length — how they had met, and various things they had experienced together afterward. She told it all in great detail.

After a moment, Ye Tianming said, “Could you tell me about their cultivation journeys? The Sword Master of the Human Realm’s, and the Sword Master of Guanxuan’s — I’d like to learn about both.”

Xiaohun smiled and said, “Of course.”

Xiaohun had followed two generations of Sword Masters, so she knew the full details of both their cultivation journeys.

And what Ye Tianming needed most right now was experience — he knew far too little about the path of cultivation.

When it came to talking about her former master Xuan, Xiaohun grew more and more excited as she spoke, because following Master Xuan had led to so many wonderful and interesting things.

When she later spoke of the Sword Master of Guanxuan, she was equally excited, and held deep respect for him as well, for it was the Sword Master of Guanxuan who had brought her to the peak of her power.

The Sword Dao of Order!

She had been bestowed with the attribute of all living beings at that time — one could say that across the entire universe, she ranked just below the Three Swords.

Of course, she was certainly not content to be limited to that.

Ye Tianming listened attentively, and at a certain point he suddenly murmured softly, “Human nature…… divine nature……”

Xiaohun said, “Yes, yes — the most incredible part is how a thread of human nature suppresses divine nature…….”

But Ye Tianming shook his head. “I don’t see it that way.”

Xiaohun asked in puzzlement, “Master, what do you mean?”

Ye Tianming smiled and said, “Don’t call me Master — just call me Tianming. Remember, from now on, you are your own master.”

Xiaohun said, “But Kexing Dao and Sword Ancestor both have masters…….”

Ye Tianming said, “There’s no need to follow their example. Just be yourself.”

Xiaohun fell into thoughtful silence.

Ye Tianming said, “Just now we were talking about human nature and divine nature…… My view is that whether it’s human nature or divine nature, both are part of oneself — that is to say, the heart. Subdue the heart, and there is no longer any such thing as divine nature or human nature. The heart is the original heart, the initial heart. If the initial heart never changes, then one is invincible……”

Xiaohun: “…….”

Ye Tianming added, “I interrupted you just now — please continue. I want to know more.”

Xiaohun smiled and said, “Alright, let me tell you — Master Xuan was incredibly persuasive. He could even talk a Dao Heart back into place. He was amazing. Old Tower was completely won over by him back then.”

Ye Tianming simply listened quietly.

And as he listened to the legendary experiences of the Sword Master of the Human Realm and the Sword Master of Guanxuan, Ye Tianming was also deep in thought — particularly regarding certain aspects of their cultivation paths, which fascinated him greatly.

Suddenly, Ye Tianming interrupted Xiaohun. “Xiaohun, did you just say ‘Invincible Sword Body’?”

Xiaohun smiled and said, “Yes, yes — that one is incredibly powerful. After Master Xuan cultivated it, he became immune to all sword dao damage.”

Ye Tianming said, “Why was he able to become immune?”

Xiaohun said, “I don’t know — it was a cultivation technique that the woman in the plain skirt gave to Master Xuan.”

Ye Tianming said, “Do you still remember that technique?”

Xiaohun smiled and said, “I do, I do — but it seems like this technique can only be cultivated by Master Xuan. I’m not sure whether you’d be able to cultivate it……”

Ye Tianming said, “Let me take a look at it first.”

Xiaohun said, “Alright, I’ll recite it — you take note……. Spirit and qi unite, sword intent condenses and manifests, circulating within the viscera…….”

Before long, Ye Tianming had committed the Invincible Sword Body Formula to memory, but he fell into deep thought.

Xiaohun suddenly asked, “Are you thinking of learning this technique?”

Ye Tianming shook his head. “This technique is very powerful, but simply learning it doesn’t mean much. I want to understand its essence — I want to know the principle behind why it makes the practitioner immune to sword dao damage. As long as I grasp that principle……”

As he spoke, a strange light suddenly flickered in his eyes.

Essence!

Principle!

This was something he had learned while exchanging ideas with the monk in the secret realm — when looking at things, one must see their essence, their core, not merely their surface.

This applied to how one lived and acted, and it applied to cultivation as well.

Only by grasping the core and the essence could one truly possess real knowledge — knowledge that truly belonged to oneself.

But the Invincible Sword Body Formula was far too profound, and there were passages he could barely understand. Yet before long, he identified several key points.

Rules!

Within this technique, he sensed something: rules.

Ye Tianming murmured softly, “Rules…… what kind of rules are these exactly?”

Xiaohun said, “Rules? Little Master, what are rules?”

Ye Tianming said in a low voice, “Rules refer to the laws that govern the patterns by which things operate and function……”

At that, he suddenly froze. The next moment, he leapt to his feet. “I understand now.”

Xiaohun: “…….”

Ye Tianming said excitedly, “Rules — in this world, the strong make the rules, and the rules made by the strong must be followed by the weak. The kind of ‘rules’ contained within this technique are her sword dao rules…… I now understand why this technique can grant immunity to sword dao damage.”

Xiaohun asked curiously, “Why?”

Ye Tianming said, “Because she stands at the pinnacle of the sword dao, and she established a kind of sword dao rule. Unless one’s sword dao reaches her level, that rule cannot be broken…… It’s just like the laws of the mortal world — the strong establish the laws, and ordinary people must abide by them. A single law can bind countless ordinary people, leaving them unable to strike back when struck, unable to speak back when spoken to…….”

Xiaohun said, “So can this be learned?”

Ye Tianming said excitedly, “It can be learned — her rules leave traces that can be followed…… However, I still can’t quite make out those traces. I need to cultivate for a while first and experience it for myself.”

With that, he sat down cross-legged directly.

He slowly closed his eyes, spread his palms open, and steadied his mind and breath. Before long, ripples of spacetime began to emanate from all around him.

And shortly after, sword dao energy suddenly surged forth from his soul.

Seeing this, Xiaohun immediately grew excited. “Little Master, you can actually cultivate — you can actually cultivate too……”

She had not known Ye Tianming’s identity at first. She later learned that he had been formed from condensed blood…… Of course, the reason she had chosen Ye Tianming was not because of that — it was because she truly wanted to change.

She was not Tazu.

She, Xiaohun, had dreams!

Why should she be suppressed by the Three Swords?

But just then, the sword intent within Ye Tianming’s body suddenly vanished without a trace, and the great dao fluctuations between heaven and earth dissipated along with it.

The backlash of misfortune!

Ye Tianming was not surprised, but Xiaohun drooped with disappointment. “Little Master, although you can cultivate, the misfortune on you right now is far too great. It will devour everything — you simply cannot cultivate normally.”

Ye Tianming said, “It’s fine. I’ve gotten a bit of a feel for this technique now. As long as I fully digest it, once my physical body recovers, I’ll be able to immediately cultivate this ‘Invincible Sword Body’. And not only that……”

He took a deep breath. “Not only the ‘Invincible Sword Body’ — as long as I master these rules, I can become immune to other forces as well……”

Xiaohun said excitedly, “Little Master, I believe you can do it…… Ah, it’s just this misfortune on you — if my cultivation were still intact, I might be able to try and share some of it for you.”

Ye Tianming glanced at the misfortune clinging to his soul. He had to admit, this was indeed his biggest headache at the moment. If this misfortune was not resolved, he could do nothing.

And right now it was still manageable because he was with Sister Qianqian — but if he were out in the open, this misfortune would make it impossible for him to survive.

What worried him most right now was whether he might bring trouble upon Sister Qianqian and the Tianlong Clan, because he knew that the Guanxuan Universe would certainly not let this go.

But that was beyond what he could control right now. What he could do was read, cultivate, and build up his strength — waiting for the day to come.

Three days later, countless terrifying auras suddenly appeared in the skies above the Tianlong Clan, and the surrounding stellar universe began to shimmer and distort.

The great army of the Guanxuan Universe had arrived.

This time was different from before. This time, a full 189 Circle-Breaking realm powerhouses had come, among whom over a hundred were at 90% of the Circle-Breaking realm.

The moment this lineup appeared, every civilization below was instantly stunned.

Over a hundred Circle-Breaking realm powerhouses at 90%!

It was absolutely overwhelming!

Countless civilizations trembled with fear. Was this truly the strength of the Guanxuan Academy?

Of course, some were also puzzled — hadn’t it been said that the powerhouses above could not come down? So what was going on here?

Above the Tianlong Clan, Ao Qianqian appeared before the black-robed elder and the others. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she stood alone, facing all the powerhouses of the entire Guanxuan Universe.

Confronted by so many top-tier powerhouses, her gaze remained perfectly calm.

The black-robed elder fixed his eyes on Ao Qianqian. “Hand over Ye Tianming, or else…….”

Ao Qianqian said, “Or else what?”

The black-robed elder stared at Ao Qianqian. “The Tianlong Clan will be annihilated.”