Chapter 274 : Three Thousand Scrolls of the Sword Dao

Chapter 274: Three Thousand Scrolls of the Sword Dao

The changes in the Dao Ancestor Inheritance Secret Realm caused by the black bead were, for now, only Chu Huaixu’s speculation.

He still couldn’t figure out why, whenever he poked that bead, the Dao Ancestor would “look” toward him, as if sensing something.

Everything before his eyes should have merely been the Dao Ancestor’s personal memories—his past experiences.

“How the hell is there even an interactive segment in this?”

For a moment, he couldn’t understand the nature of this inheritance secret realm, nor the properties of the black bead. He could only let his thoughts run wild and make guesses.

“This can’t be some kind of guidance spanning a thousand years of time and space, right?”

For some reason, he began to feel like that might actually be the case.

Yet many aspects still didn’t quite make sense.

Chu Huaixu steadied his mind and continued practicing swordsmanship.

In the following scenes, he essentially witnessed, in fragments, the Dao Ancestor’s cheat-like life.

He continuously created new additions to the 《Dao Canon》, constantly learned various sword techniques, and his alchemy skills became increasingly refined.

Not long after entering the realm of major cultivators, he had already become a grandmaster of alchemy.

In the alchemy world, he was hailed as a once-in-ages prodigy.

“At the Fifth Realm, he could already refine seventh-grade, top-grade Spiritual Pills,” Chu Huaixu observed from the side.

“And if I were at the Fifth Realm, my Medicinal Cauldron could probably only refine fifth-grade pills.”

So where the problem lay was obvious at a glance.

So it’s not the limit of the Medicinal Cauldron—it’s my limit!

But when he thought about how he hadn’t invested much Experience Points into alchemy, he immediately felt better.

Rather than doing everything personally, it was better to have a workhorse do it for him.

The Medicinal Cauldron was now like a fully automatic pill-refining furnace. It saved him both effort and worry, allowing him to focus his time and energy elsewhere.

“Being a bit weaker in alchemy isn’t a big deal.”

Aside from that, Chu Huaixu noticed that the chubby black cat the young Daoist had bought was growing at an astonishing rate.

He constantly fed it various Spiritual Pills and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, continuously stimulating its bloodline.

Yet for some reason, its hearing problem never improved—perhaps it was a flaw in its bloodline.

The only thing that bored Chu Huaixu was that, up to now, the young Daoist still hadn’t obtained a single Earth-rank Technique.

But soon, he figured it out.

“My thinking went in the wrong direction.”

“I’ve been looking at this from the perspective of a Dao Gate disciple.”

“But in reality, at this point, the Dao Ancestor is just an independent cultivator.”

“Even for the Dao Gate, Earth-rank Techniques are considered precious.”

“For many major sects, Earth-rank Techniques are already their supreme inheritance.”

“After all, across the entire Xuanhuang Realm, Heaven-rank Techniques can be counted on one’s fingers.”

For an independent cultivator, obtaining an Earth-rank sword technique was extremely difficult.

For most powerful sects, Earth-rank Techniques were secrets that could not be passed outside.

At auctions, it was even more impossible to see Earth-rank Techniques being sold.

—True treasures never circulated among the masses!

Even if someone did try to sell an Earth-rank Technique at an auction, it would most likely be intercepted by a major sect beforehand and never make it to the auction floor!

As the saying went, a good Technique could be used for a lifetime. Even at very high cultivation levels, it would still remain useful.

A Heaven-rank Cultivation Method at the Fifth Realm might only be comparable in value to an Earth-rank Technique.

“I really have been in a privileged environment for too long.”

He even felt a bit like someone asking, “Why not just eat meat?”

He silently scolded himself.

Most of the time, for independent cultivators to rise, they needed a certain amount of luck.

Fortuitous encounters and opportunities were what they needed most.

Perhaps these were even more important than talent.

“Of course, none of this affects the Dao Ancestor’s combat power.”

“Because from what I’ve seen, when he fights at this stage, he doesn’t use sword techniques at all—just basic attacks.”

“So he’s really conquering the world with ‘normal attacks’.” He let out a player-like sigh of amazement.

And yet, he truly had no equal within his realm.

During the Eastern and Western Continents’ Grand Competition, cultivators of the same realm all tried to force Chu Huaixu to draw his sword.

Likewise, these cultivators all tried to force the Dao Ancestor to use Techniques.

But in reality?

Do you think I don’t want to draw my sword?

Do you think the Dao Ancestor doesn’t want to use flashy sword techniques?

“Sigh… only one knows their own hardships.”

“The bitterness behind it cannot be shared with others.”

The scene shifted again. Before Chu Huaixu appeared a steep mountain peak.

It wasn’t very tall, but it was extremely steep—like a long sword plunged into the earth.

“Huh, isn’t this the Nameless Peak of the Sword Sect? The cultivation ground of successive Sword Sovereigns.”

As a seasoned player, Chu Huaixu naturally recognized it.

He often saw posts about this mountain on the forum, where players would even draw abstract sword shapes using the mountain as a base.

On the Nameless Peak stood a small hut.

The young Daoist was seated across from a middle-aged man, drinking tea.

This man had a sturdy build and an imposing presence. His identity was obvious—he must be the current Sword Sovereign of the Sword Sect.

“Thanks to Dao Friend’s assistance, otherwise my Sword Sect might have faced total destruction.”

“You are too polite, Sword Sovereign,” the young Daoist replied with a smile.

His demeanor was always gentle.

But within that gentleness was neither arrogance nor servility—he treated everyone the same.

Watching from the side, Chu Huaixu realized he had stumbled upon gossip not recorded in historical texts.

“I’ve never heard that the Dao Ancestor once saved the Sword Sect from disaster.”

“This must be a hidden matter—perhaps he secretly resolved some great crisis.”

“Ordinary disciples wouldn’t know, so it was never spread.”

At this point, Chu Huaixu could no longer gauge how strong the Dao Ancestor truly was.

“Dao Friend’s great kindness—how can my Sword Sect repay it?” The Sword Sovereign asked directly, clearly a straightforward man.

Chu Huaixu could already guess what he would ask for.

It had to be sword techniques—otherwise this scene wouldn’t have appeared.

But what he didn’t expect was that the Dao Ancestor really dared to ask.

“I’ve heard that within the Sword Sect’s Sword Pavilion, there are tens of thousands of Yellow-rank sword techniques, and over three thousand above Yellow-rank—collectively known as the Three Thousand Scrolls of the Sword Dao.”

“May I ascend the pavilion and take a look?” he asked sincerely.

The Sword Sovereign looked at him in surprise. “For such a great favor, Dao Friend only wishes to select a few sword techniques from the Sword Pavilion?”

The young Daoist also looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected this interpretation—or was this a polite refusal?

The two stared at each other for a while before finally understanding.

—Good heavens, you’re not picking a few… you want to read all of them!

This was the Sword Sect’s foundation!

Even as Sword Sovereign, he couldn’t make such a decision—it wasn’t allowed.

Yet he knew the weight of the Dao Ancestor’s favor, and for a moment, he was torn.

After a long pause, he spoke carefully:

“Dao Friend, according to sect rules, sword techniques above Mystic-rank cannot be passed outside. I hope you can understand.”

“In fact, most of the so-called Three Thousand Scrolls of the Sword Dao are Mystic-rank techniques.”

“I can make the decision to allow you to enter the Sword Pavilion once. I will give you my Sword Sovereign Token—stay as long as you wish and read as much as you can.”

Chu Huaixu immediately understood the subtext.

The key point was—only once.

How much you could read and learn depended entirely on your own ability.

But there would be no second chance.

This was actually a huge limitation.

A person’s energy was limited, and one was constantly entangled in worldly affairs. It was impossible to enter the Sword Pavilion and not come out until finishing everything.

No matter how obsessed one was with the sword, it wouldn’t reach that level.

You could dedicate your entire life to something—but you couldn’t spend your entire life doing only that one thing.

Moreover, this was three thousand sword techniques—the content was far too vast and complex.

Trying to learn too much could lead to Qi Deviation.

From a sword fanatic to a sword madman!

Most importantly—

“I didn’t expect that although Dao Friend isn’t a Sword Cultivator, you have such a strong interest in the Sword Dao,” the Sword Sovereign couldn’t help but remark.

You don’t even cultivate the Sword Dao at all!

The young Daoist only smiled faintly and said nothing.

Soon after, he entered the Sword Pavilion with the Sword Sovereign Token.

A full three thousand jade slips were arranged on this level.

Among them, Mystic-rank, Low-grade made up about seventy percent.

Mid-grade accounted for roughly twenty-five percent.

High-grade only made up about five percent.

But even five percent meant 150 jade slips!

Looking at these jade slips, Chu Huaixu’s head started to ache.

“No way… no way!”

With his Comprehension 7, he looked at the young Daoist in disbelief.

“Don’t mess with me!” His scalp was already tingling.

If he weren’t cultivating Fearless Sword Intent, he might already be afraid.

But before the Dao Ancestor began seriously comprehending the Sword Dao, he still didn’t know how much he would ultimately read or learn.

As always—human effort had its limits.

However, the next moment—

The Dao Ancestor waved his hand, and a mass of cyan energy emerged from the black bead.

It looked extremely familiar—this was exactly what Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang had absorbed upon entering the secret realm.

It not only increased Chu Huaixu’s Comprehension by 1 point, but also allowed him to easily enter a state of selflessness, with heightened focus and no mental fatigue.

And now, he watched as the young Daoist absorbed all of it!

“Damn it! A top student secretly taking performance-enhancing supplements before studying!”

Chu Huaixu could already guess the outcome.

So in the end, I’m the one getting trapped in this Sword Pavilion!

However, at that very moment, something strange happened.

The Dao Ancestor took down the black sword scabbard from his back, then reached out and gently touched the black bead.

Then, he turned his head and looked directly toward where Chu Huaixu was standing, speaking warmly:

“Come, let’s try to read all of them together.”