"Who is it?"

Huangfu Yi looked up at the empty void above him. The eerie female voice in his ears receded like a tide, yet the sensation of being watched lingered.

Despite his Divine Sense revealing nothing and seeing no unusual sights around him, Huangfu Yi was left perplexed, and lowered his head to look at the sword sheath in his hand,

"Non-object? Key of the Gate? What's it for?"

"What else could a key be for, if not for opening a door?"

"Open a door? Flying swords can be used to open doors? How so?"

"Just split it open. This flying sword was originally intended to open doors. But for now, the door isn't the key focus, nor is the key. The main concern is when the door will open, and who will come through..."

The system pondered for a long time, and finally spoke in a somewhat defeated tone,

"Forget it, you don't need to worry about such distant future matters. Talking too much now would only disturb your Daoist Heart, focus on the present instead. Since this sword awaits you here, it is your Immortal Fate. The Basic Sword Control Technique I taught you isn't ready to be revealed yet; the world hasn't seen it, and you must not spread it.

Alas, your cultivation level is really too low, and the capabilities of this sword cannot be fully realized. Whether that is a blessing or a curse remains unknown. This sword carries many karmic ties; save it as a last resort, and don't use it recklessly unless in a life-threatening situation.

Even if you don't use it regularly, you must lay a solid foundation in Qi Gong. Mastering Sword Control requires diligent practice and hard work to refine. If the treasure sword is too sharp at first, you may fall into the Evil Path..."

"Alright, alright, I get it, I get it."

Although he didn't understand why the system suddenly became so nagging at this moment, as long as he obtained the Sword Control Skill, it was enough.

After all, without the position, there's no need to care for the politics; in the army, it's impossible to communicate the battle plan to everyone. Thus, Huangfu Yi suppressed his curiosity about the door and key, focusing instead on practicing his sword techniques.

He pushed the door open and entered this wealthy household's house to search for paper currency. The main hall was a scene of chaos, with leftover bones piled on the table, severed limbs scattered on the floor, and large stains of dirty blood on the bed.

Huangfu Yi inspected the shape and the death state of the bones, then examined the traces left by the perpetrator, forming a rough hypothesis in his mind.

The deceased was likely abducted by rebel soldiers for amusement, dismembered while being assaulted, then consumed completely.

Why not a Demon? Because no Demon would prepare bowls and chopsticks to eat a person, use a pot to simmer the internal organs, and rinse them in a dish, treating it as if preparing a feast of lamb...

From the remnants of flesh, the corpse seemed relatively fresh, having been brought here within the past one or two weeks. It seems there's a rebel army camp not far from this manor, although where the consumed ones came from remains unknown.

Judging by traces inside and outside, and around the windows and beds, aside from those consumed, at least seven or eight people came, with a dozen horses. It appeared to be a scout squad. Yet it's unclear what drove these soldiers to specifically come to this ghostly graveyard for a picnic...

Regardless, Huangfu Yi first tore some sheets and curtains, wrapped the corpse in a bundle, dug a pit in the backyard, and buried it. Seeing no paper, ink, brush, or inkstone around, he used bones from the ground, dipped in the blood and soup left, tore a sheet off the bed, and transcribed the Sword Control Skill the system narrated, before committing it to memory.

Though his natural talent and roots weren't exceptional, Huangfu Yi had his strengths: he was able to concentrate fully and focus on cultivation with great single-mindedness. As long as he began his training, distractions like bones, doors, keys, or the trivialities of tiger, dragon, and crane couldn't interfere.

In essence, the so-called Sword Control Skill was a top-notch Qi Gong from the Mystic Sect.

When cultivating, one must first refine the Innate True Qi in the Qi Sea of the Elixir Shop, purifying it repeatedly until it condenses as fine as a thread, sharp as a needle tip. At this point, one can aim, unleash it, and embed it invisibly into the opponent's Qi acupoint, ending their life.

Once Qi Refining is mastered, and the wielder can expand or contract it, make it visible or hidden, it becomes a Qi Sword. Further, upon acquiring a life-bound treasure, combining it with a top-grade flying sword, merging sword energy with the flying sword until they are one, the power dramatically increased.

By then, regardless of being upstairs or downstairs, inside or outside, within dozens to hundreds of meters, even within ten or hundreds of miles, the Divine Sense can lock on and transmit. What the world calls the Outer Heaven Flying Immortal, taking heads from a thousand miles away with a sword, is the magic of this path.

Such Divine Skills inevitably require the mastery of power to a state where content is spontaneous, withheld at will, reaching the peak before cultivation. Otherwise, misuse of the Qi Sword may lead to the True Qi rebelling, energy spilling, meridians snapped, and the danger of becoming possessed by a demon. Hence, the secret manual is traditionally not disclosed, and according to Mystic Sect rules, only the Inner Sect of Honzan, those in the Realm of True Man, can practice it.

Yet now the nine major sects have mastered the Qi Gong path to the utmost, achieving extraordinary proficiency in the ordinary and extraordinary meridians' cycle. Additionally, practitioners at Hu Temple, refining the Innate Impermeable Golden Pill, are proficient in Qi Gong, far superior to those hurried, Mixed Cultivators.

Although the technique doesn't contribute to longevity or eternal youth, in the Jianghu world, where fights are commonplace, while others need to punch to hit someone, you only need to unleash a long-range strike to cause heads to roll, the advantage is self-explanatory.

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