At the summit of Celestial Capital Peak, the cloud sea rolled like waves, layered billows dyed in shades of gold and red by the morning light, resembling a flowing tapestry of splendor.

A radiant array enveloped the entire mountain peak, completely obscuring the scenery within, its array patterns refracting beams of rainbow light.

From afar, the place appeared shrouded in celestial mist, glowing with a seven-colored brilliance, truly an Immortal Cave Mansion!

At the pinnacle of the cloud sea, in a crevice of the thousand-foot cliff, a streak of azure sword light darted wildly back and forth.

At times, the sword light transformed into hundreds or thousands of fine rays, sweeping over the mountain like a torrential rain, slicing the fluffy clouds into scattered fragments resembling snow.

Occasionally, it condensed into a sword qi flood dragon over a yard long, its dragon scales formed from sword gang, roaring as it stirred the winds and clouds, raising immense waves in the cloud sea.

Finally, all the sword light abruptly converged, weaving into a vast sword net that covered the sky, its meshes crafted from golden sword threads, intricate like a woven fabric.

With a soft sound, the sword net suddenly tightened, shredding the boundless clouds and mist into fine powder, revealing a sky clear and pure as if freshly washed.

As the sword light dissipated, Chen Sheng stood with his hands behind his back, eyes closed, his robe fluttering fiercely in the mountain wind, surrounded by the lingering resonance of sword gang.

Meanwhile, at the Zhang's Peach Blossom Brew tavern in Tingyu Market, a child with a topknot was squatting in a courtyard corner, counting ants.

A cold drop of water landed on his head, and the child looked up sharply at the sky, clear and cloudless, his face full of surprise:

"Grandpa, there aren't any dark clouds in the sky, so why is it raining?"

Zhang Houming, standing before the main hall and wiping a wine jar, responded with a gentle smile:

"That's the Sword Master listening to the rain."

The child's eyes widened in awe, his face brimming with admiration: "Wow! That's amazing!"

Zhang Houming patted his grandson's head affectionately:

"Don't get distracted, go to the backyard and practice the 'Vessel Expansion Technique,' Grandpa will start brewing a new batch of wine."

Watching the child bounce towards the backyard, his gaze gradually became deep and thoughtful.

This child was the most gifted descendant of the current Zhang Clan, with a middle grade gold spirit root talent. With proper cultivation, achieving qi cultivation perfection was within reach, capable of shouldering the family's legacy.

"I've reached the sixth layer of qi cultivation in this life, and that's as far as I'll go. From now on, my focus will be on nurturing Li'Er."

Zhang Houming murmured to himself, turning to a pillar where he took out a soft silk cloth, carefully wiping the words inscribed upon it.

[Having long heard of the renowned name, I came with great interest, drank without reserve, the reputation well-deserved, I return with satisfaction!]

[The finest brew of a thousand peaks, Zhang's Peach Blossom Brew, left by Tingyu Daoist.]

These few lines served as an enduring advertisement for the Zhang family, and also as a protective charm. With the Sword Master's inscription here, even the market's steward had to show some respect.

Just as he finished wiping, a commotion sounded from outside the tavern.

A group of merchant personnel wearing uniformly styled clothing entered, led by a dark-faced man with a foreign accent who called out:

"Innkeeper, bring out ten jars of your most famous Peach Blossom Brew here! The very same praised by Master Tingyu!"

Zhang Houming hurried to greet them with a warm smile:

"Excellent choice, dear guest! I'll bring it out for you right away!"

He signaled the attendants to serve the wine, watching the merchant personnel drink and converse heartily, his heart filled with endless gratitude towards the Sword Master.

If it hadn't been for the Sword Master subduing the thousand peaks with a single sword back then, how could the Zhang family enjoy such peaceful days today?

...

At the peak of the cloud sea, Chen Sheng slowly opened his eyes.

In an instant, two tangible sword qis shot from his eyes, piercing through the cloud sea ahead like sharp swords, leaving faint traces across the sky.

He shook his head gently, a slight melancholy in his voice:

"Sword Heart Clarity, this realm is truly difficult to achieve."

Through nearly a hundred years of sword dao cultivation, he had refined skills such as "Sword Qi Thunder Sound," "Sword Refining into Gang," "Sword Refining into Silk," and "Sword Light Division" from the Supreme Profound Sword Scripture to a refined skill level.

As to the intricacy of swordsmanship, even the creator of the Supreme Profound Sword Scripture might not be his equal. With these techniques, his combat prowess had already reached tier two top level.

Yet Chen Sheng's sight was set higher.

He gazed at the surging cloud sea, his eyes sharp as swords:

"Comprehending the Sword Heart and understanding Sword Intent, this is the foundation for a Golden Core Sword Cultivator to dominate their tier."

"If I could grasp even a sliver of it, I would benefit endlessly, and even when facing a Golden Core Cultivator, I could contend."

Unfortunately, over the past decade, he remained just a step away from realizing the Sword Heart, like a thin veil obscuring the contours, visible yet intangible.

The Supreme Profound Sword Scripture's accounts of the Sword Heart were vague, suggesting that even the predecessor who developed this cultivation technique likely hadn't truly grasped the Sword Heart and Sword Intent, offering little guidance.

Chen Sheng flicked his finger, causing a palm-sized jade box to fly from his storage pouch, hovering in the cloud sea.

"Open!"

With his soft command, the jade box opened with a boom, a crisp sword hum emanating from it, akin to birds soaring towards a phoenix.

The next instant, one hundred and eight small, inch-long flying swords streamed out of the jade box, extending in the wind to become three-foot blue peaks.

The sword blades were a deep azure, intricately engraved with wind and thunder patterns, precisely the Tier Two Top Grade Magical Artifact 'Wind and Thunder Sword' that Chen Sheng had painstakingly refined over many years.

"Inference Array!"

Chen Sheng formed hand seals, chanting mantras continually.

In an instant, all the Wind and Thunder Swords gleamed simultaneously, their lines emitting a mysterious azure light.

Countless complex, profound array runes overflowed from the swords, rapidly proliferating in the air. The runes emitted a mysterious sheen, intertwining and connecting to form an immense network.

In the blink of an eye, the array light erupted, enveloping the entire cloud sea in a massive array canopy.

Within the sword array, the air became suddenly stagnant, violent winds howling while churning the clouds, purple thunder light weaving and thundering within the clouds.

Countless majestic sword lights crisscrossed within the array, at times transforming into roaring thunder dragons, at times into slicing wind blades, with overwhelming momentum.

This was the ultimate means of Chen Sheng, integrating the three great domains of the Artifact Dao, Array Dao, and Sword Dao, refined into a Tier Three Lower Grade Grand Array 'Celestial Spirit Wind-Thunder Sword Array.'

For this sword array, he nearly depleted the high-tier spiritual materials left in the Secret Mansion from his previous life, taking nine full years just to refine these one hundred and eight Wind and Thunder Swords.

"However, it's worth it!"

Chen Sheng felt the terrifying power contained within the sword array, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

This sword array could perfectly showcase all his skills, elevating his combat power to a whole new level:

"Even if a Golden Core Cultivator falls into the array, they would be severely wounded."

He flicked his finger, causing a lustrous white pill to fly from his storage pouch, encased in a faint spirit light.

This was a Tier Three Replenishing Essence Pill he had refined, capable of replenishing a vast amount of mana in a short time.

"With this pill sustaining me, I can maintain the sword array's operation for some time. Perhaps I could truly defeat foes beyond my rank."

The winds calmed, the thunder ceased, and the sword array slowly retreated; one hundred and eight Wind and Thunder Swords shrank back to mere inches, returning to the jade box.

Chen Sheng transformed into an escape light, descending into the cave mansion to commence qi cultivation.

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