Chapter 733: Sword Qi Circles The Core

Fallen Immortal Realm, Heavenly Sword Sect.

Three days later.

Li Fan sat cross-legged in the secret chamber, eyes closed in cultivation.

Beside him, dozens of sword qi streams coiled and spiraled.

They had condensed into nearly physical forms, seemingly capable of slicing through the toughest metal. A faint metallic sheen clung to them. Anyone who scrutinized them closely would see countless blurry sword silhouettes flickering and shifting within.

Before Li Fan floated a Sword Embryo, its inner essence completely drained.

This Swordbreath Art has some real tricks to it. Li Fan opened his mouth, and the dozens of razor-sharp sword qi streams howled as he inhaled them, sending them back into his abdomen to be nurtured.

Within his dantian, ten thousand streams of sword qi now circled the gaseous, planet-like Golden Core. Together they formed a ring of magnificent radiance, mesmerizing to behold.

Only Li Fan knew the terrifying power hidden within that ring of sword qi. If he exhaled all ten thousand streams at once, even a Nascent Soul cultivator of this era would die instantly.

Ji Zhaoxuan's memories hold nothing about the technique's origin. It seems to be nothing more than the Myriad Swords Art that every hereditary disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect cultivates. But clearly, very few in the entire sect experience such a startling anomaly at the Golden Core realm.

And this technique... it resembles Situ Yao's Swords, To Me.

As Li Fan pondered, he reined in the full might of the myriad sword qi streams in his dantian, concealing every trace of sharpness. He looked like nothing more than an ordinary Golden Core cultivator.

After leaving the cultivation chamber, Li Fan handed over the Sword Embryo before Senior Brother Chu could come looking for him.

Senior Brother Chu's expression seemed to say, "At least you know what's good for you." He examined the Sword Embryo, then pocketed it without ceremony.

"Big Senior Brother is about to gather everyone. It seems there’s another important matter. Come with me," he ordered.

Li Fan's mind stirred. He nodded and followed.

The main hall of the Heavenly Sword Sect sat at the very center of the mountain gate, on a peak that stabbed into the clouds like a straight sword.

Many cultivators had already gathered in the hall, all of higher seniority than Li Fan.

Unsure why Senior Brother Chu had brought him, Li Fan stood with him at the edge of the crowd and waited for Situ Yao's arrival.

Before long, the hall, which had been buzzing with noise, fell into abrupt silence.

A thick aroma of wine drifted in. A flash of sword qi accompanied Situ Yao as he staggered to the center of the hall.

He belched, then haltingly explained why he had summoned everyone.

The prototype of the World-Breaching Divine Armament was complete. The next step was to forge the sword blade.

To breach the world's boundary, the Divine Armament's blade had to be unshakably tough. The most crucial material for that was Taiyuan Essence Gold. The sect's treasuries held a fair amount, but nowhere near enough to meet the demands of forging a World-Breaching Divine Armament.

Situ Yao was a formidable fighter, but this problem left him helpless. He wanted everyone's opinions.

He laid out two requirements.

First, no one could leak the fact that the Heavenly Sword Sect was forging a World-Breaching Divine Armament. He wasn't afraid of a fight, but if the other sects joined forces and came knocking, dealing with them would be extremely troublesome.

Second, though the Heavenly Sword Sect was wealthy, the resources needed for the forging were immense. Besides the Taiyuan Essence Gold, they needed over a thousand other rare and esoteric treasures, enough to drain the entire sect's coffers. Therefore, they had to be as economical as possible. They needed enough Taiyuan Essence Gold while spending as little as they could.

Every cultivator present showed distress at Situ Yao's words.

"Everyone, speak your minds freely. Whoever pulls this off will become the next sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect!" Situ Yao slumped to the ground, utterly without dignity, yet his mouth spouted shocking words.

Huo Yuzhu, the current sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect, could only offer a bitter smile. He didn't dare contradict him.

The great hall erupted into an uproar.

After all, who wouldn't covet the position of sect leader among the Ten Immortal Dao Sects? Even with limited real authority, the status and privileges it carried outstripped anything an ordinary disciple could hope for.

Expressions shifted across the crowd, but Li Fan noticed Senior Brother Chu's gaze sweep across him, almost imperceptibly.

Hm? What does he mean by that?

Li Fan did know where to find a large quantity of Taiyuan Essence Gold, but that knowledge came from a Time Mirage he had experienced in the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens during his previous life, outside the Fallen Immortal Realm.

It had nothing to do with Ji Zhaoxuan, whose body he now inhabited.

What did Senior Brother Chu know, to single him out like this?

Li Fan flipped through the memories of this body and found no close relationship between Ji Zhaoxuan and Senior Brother Chu. The two were just nodding acquaintances. He kept still and gave nothing away, pretending not to notice the man's expression.

When the meeting ended and he walked back toward his residence on the mountain peak, Senior Brother Chu sent a voice transmission. "Junior Brother Ji, your Ji family should have quite a bit of Taiyuan Essence Gold, am I right?"

Li Fan started. "What?"

Senior Brother Chu's face showed displeasure. "Don't play coy with me, Junior Brother. Your Ji family is the number one merchant guild in the world. They're said to possess even half-Immortal artifacts. How could they not have Taiyuan Essence Gold?"

As if a switch had flipped, memories of Ji Zhaoxuan's origins came flooding in.

The original body had been only five or six years old when the family elders took him from his parents and sent him into the Heavenly Sword Sect.

There had been instructions of some kind, but years of daily life had long buried them.

Had Senior Brother Chu's words not reached back and stirred these distant memories, Li Fan, as the possessing soul, would have remained in the dark indefinitely.

He connected this to his own slightly odd behavior earlier, and something clicked into place. His face, though, showed nothing but bewilderment. "The Ji family?"

A beat passed. His eyes flashed with anger, then a shadow of gloom settled. His voice turned cool. "I haven't been in contact with my family in years. Those ties were severed long ago. Even if they have Taiyuan Essence Gold, it has nothing to do with me."

Senior Brother Chu gave a low chuckle as his tone turned coaxing. "Don't be difficult, Junior Brother. I know you carry grievances, but think about it. With the full backing of the Ji family's World Commerce Guild, you'd be a genuine contender for sect leader this time.

"Our Heavenly Sword Sect is preparing to breach the world and leave. There are some things we simply can't take with us, like the vast territory of the mountain gate, and jurisdiction over the numerous subsidiary sects. Passed along to the World Commerce Guild, it would be an immense windfall.

"This is a mutually beneficial arrangement, Junior Brother. Why not strive for it? Think it over carefully. If you're interested, I'll accompany you home and speak on your behalf."

Senior Brother Chu clapped him on the shoulder, a meaningful look on his face.

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