Zhang Fei turned to them with a wide grin, causing them to shake their heads repeatedly. He then summoned the demon extermination sword out of his body. "Since I have successfully manifested my sword qi, I want to try manifesting both sword spirits."
"I donāt have a sword spirit, so I canāt help you with that." Xian Xianqin replied in a disappointed tone.
"Hehe." Yun Xinyue chuckled and patted her shoulder. "Why should you be so disappointed? Our husband has been dual-soul cultivating with Jian Heiāan and Jian Guangāan for several years, remember? This way, their bond is already so deep, and the two of them are no different from us, so Iām sure he can manifest them easily."
"I think the same as you, Xinyue." Xian Changyue then spoke to Zhang Fei. "Give it a try, and the process should be no different from manifesting your sword qi."
"Youāre right, the process is the same, but I can make it easier." Zhang Fei immediately sat cross-legged and placed the demon extermination sword on his lap. Then, he released his three cultivation souls and merged them into one, confusing everyone present. āCan you two hear me?ā
Zing... Zing... Zing...
The demon extermination sword answered Zhang Fei with a strong vibration. āWe are younger than them, but I believe our bond is much deeper than that of Old Han and his sword spirit, and our souls have been bound together for a long time now. I hope my method will work, and the two of you can get out of the swordās soul space. Letās do it now, Heiāan and Guangāan.ā
Zing... Zing... Zing...
"Hmm?" Xian Xianqin and the others raised their eyebrows as Zhang Fei and the demon extermination sword emitted the same aura, and both glowed repeatedly in sync. "What did he actually use?"
"Could he be using another sub-technique from the forbidden lotus codex?" Bai Tianāer suddenly asked.
Xian Changyue nodded her head. "I think youāre right, Tianāer. He told us that there are still some sub-techniques of the forbidden lotus codex, but he has never told us in detail."
"Oh?" Bai Tianāer was momentarily surprised. "He channeled his soul power into his sword, and he probably wanted to use it to support the two spirit women."
After they waited for some time, they saw two lotus buds appear on either side of Zhang Fei, one black and one white. They also saw that there were several transparent things circling him, making Xian Xianqin fall into a daze.
"Whatās wrong with you? Whatās wrong with those transparent things?" Xian Changyue asked her niece.
Xian Xianqin took a deep breath first. "Those transparent things are his sword will."
"Sword will?"
"Yes." Xian Xianqin nodded at them. "Sword Will is a sword cultivatorās determination, mentality, and spirituality that a sword cultivator possesses. It is the sword cultivatorās purest desire and thought to wield the sword, to cut through obstacles, and to live and die by the sword. Although Sword Will seems intangible, it is more deadly than tangible sword intent, and not all cultivators can perceive it."
Yuan Luo suddenly spoke. "I canāt see Zhang Feiās sword will, Princess."
"Me too." Ye Zhiqiu then asked the others. "What about you guys? Can you see them?"
"No." Xin Xianzi, Long Chen, Long Tian, āāand several others shook their heads.
"I can see them, and they are not as transparent as you say." Xian Xianqin and the others turned to Xime Chuixue directly. "In my eyes, they are clear, and they exude his killing intent. If he attacked me using them, Iām sure I would die on the spot before I even realized it."
"How could he master it so quickly?" Guo Jihai asked.
"What else?" Xian Xianqin shrugged. "He must have used all his clones to master the sword will."
Guo Jihaiās wife, Su Zhen, pointed at Zhang Fei. "Both lotuses are starting to bloom."
"They are beautiful!" Not only women, but men also admire the beauty of the two lotuses.
A few minutes later, the two lotuses had fully bloomed, and they saw two female spirits emerge from each of them. "Master."
Zhang Fei immediately opened his eyes and looked at the two spirit women. "Phew! Iām relieved that it worked! This way, you guys donāt have to stay inside the sword anymore, and you can live in my tiny soul world now."
"No." Jian Guangāan and Jian Heiāan immediately refused. "Master, the demon extermination sword is just an ordinary sword without us, so we must stay inside it."
"My sister is right, Master." Jian Heiāan said with a nod. "Even though we live inside the sword, we can come and go freely now, so you donāt need to worry about us."
Zhang Fei sighed softly. "All right, I wonāt force you two, and you guys can come out whenever you want if you get bored of staying inside the sword."
"Yes, Master." After that, Jian Guangāan and Jian Heiāan entered the sword again, especially since they were not used to the outside world after living in it for so many years.
Xian Xianqin immediately asked Zhang Fei. "What did you use just now to summon them out of the sword? Is that one of the sub-techniques in the Forbidden Lotus Codex? Although I have never summoned a sword spirit, I am sure that it is not a spirit manifestation."
"Youāre correct; it was indeed not a spirit manifestation." Zhang Fei then returned the sword to his body and stood up. "By the way, I did not use one but two sub-techniques from the forbidden lotus codex, and one of them has the same principle as a spirit manifestation."
"What kind of technique is that?"
Zhang Fei continued his explanation directly. "The Soul Lotus Spirit Summon summons spirits or souls, but I canāt use it without the Lotus Soul Pact. I canāt use the second one if my bond with them is still too shallow, especially since making the pact requires a deep bond."
"What are the benefits of the Lotus Soul Pact?" After all, Bai Tianāer was a soul cultivator, so she was curious about it.
"The Lotus Soul Pact is actually similar to my act of replicating another personās soul and merging it with mine, but that technique is different because their souls are truly merged with mine." They stared at Zhang Fei in shock. "Actually, we have long since merged our souls since I first entered the swordās soul space, and the technique gives them another advantage from the merging of our souls. Their soul strength becomes equal to mine, and their soul strength will continue to increase along with the increase in my soul strength, which makes the demon extermination sword even more effective for demons."
"How about you use it with us?"
"No." Zhang Fei immediately rejected Yun Xinyueās idea. "The weakness of the Lotus Soul Pact is that they will die if I die, and I donāt want any of you to die with me, so I wonāt use it on any of you."
"Do you think we can live if you die?" Yun Xinyue asked in a bitter tone.
Zhang Fei immediately rubbed her cheek. "That is why I am striving to become stronger, particularly because I do not wish for you all to experience sadness due to my death."
"Hey! Stop being lovey-dovey in front of us!" Xin Xianzi protested.
Zhang Fei immediately turned to the female fairy, pulled her to him, and kissed her directly, stunning her. "Haha! Why are you stunned now?"
"Ahh!" Xia Xianzi screamed and immediately flew in another direction, making Zhang Fei and the others laugh out loud at her antics.
"Sheās still so innocent even though sheās lived with us for years." Zhang Fei then spoke to the others. "Letās continue; I want to reach the fourth floor as soon as possible."
Everyone became excited as they couldnāt wait to go to the fourth floor. "Letās go! We will clear all the tests on the third floor today!"
.
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On the top floor of the star tower, the old man could only sigh as he watched all of Zhang Feiās women go to the secret room of the enlightenment challenge.
Hua Meiāer immediately spoke to Wan Jiang. "Master, I told you not to let that annoying kid go to that place, but you insisted on doing so, and you see the consequences now! He tells all his women about that place, and they will get lots of good techniques there! If the higher-ups find out about this problem, they will definitely punish us severely."
"Why are you so timid?" Helian Xunāer asked with a shake of her head, causing Hua Meiāer to frown. "The higher-ups would not possibly check in such detail, so Iām sure they wonāt know about this matter. Even if they do, we can ask Sect Master Luo to talk to them; Iām sure weāll be fine."
"Youā"
"Enough." Wan Jiang sighed softly. "Even if they could enter that place and obtain excellent techniques, they wouldnāt necessarily succeed in learning them. If they fail, those techniques will vanish from their minds, so your worries are unfounded."
"Butā"
"I said enough, Meiāer." Hua Meiāer immediately covered her mouth with her hands after seeing Wan Jiangās angry expression. "Xunāer is right, and Iām sure Sect Master Luo wonāt mind helping us, especially since all these women will be Luo Yunxiaoās sisters."
āTch! I still donāt understand how that annoying kid could win Luo Yunxiaoās heart! A perverted man like him is not worthy of a god like him!ā Hua Meiāer immediately left the place afterward, as did Helian Xunāer.
Sima Yun immediately asked the old man a question. "What will happen if they succeed in mastering the techniques of their choice, Master? All the techniques in that room are extraordinary, and there are many immortal-grade techniques there."
"If they manage to obtain and master those immortal-grade techniques, then so be it." Wang Jian suddenly received a voice transmission from several people who were on duty at the other towers. "A group of people managed to reach the top of the Dark Tower. The same thing happened at the Moon Tower, and their numbers are even greater."
"Have they reached the 5-Moon Divine Ascension Realm, Master? Are the people who managed to reach the top of the Dark Tower demons?"
Wan Jian nodded. "All of those people are humans, and they came from the Sovereign Heaven Realm, the planet that used to border our realm. Most of them have reached that stage, so they can directly ascend to our realm."
"Isnāt Zhang Feiās clone in that realm now, Master?"
"Yes." Wan Jiang then contacted the people in both towers to ask about the identities of those who managed to reach the peak. "The people in the Dark Tower said that they donāt want to ascend now, and they asked that old man to help them instead."
Sima Yun turned to Wan Jiang with a frown. "Did he agree to help them, Master?"
"Haha." Wan Jiang laughed at that. "Do you think he dares to do that? I know he has some ties with the Nine Nether Demon race, but Iām sure he wonāt be stupid enough to help those people and interfere in the affairs of the three mortal realms."
"What about those in the Moon Tower? Do they all intend to ascend to our realm?"
"No." Wan Jiang replied with a shake of his head. "Some of them have not reached the 5-Moon Divine Ascension Realm, so they cannot ascend there. The number of candidates exceeds the quota of ten, which means not everyone can ascend to our realm. According to Yue Liangyu, only seven out of ten intend to ascend directly, and the rest have decided to return to their realms with their younger generations."
Sima Yun then looked at the qi screen, which showed the activity in the enlightenment challenge. "Why is no one interested in this tower besides them, Master? Is it because this realm is too far from the upper realms? Look at them; there are only two of them who have reached the 5-Moon Divine Ascension Realm, but they are clearly Zhang Feiās women, so Iām sure he wonāt let them ascend to our realm if they manage to reach this floor."
"Youāre right." Wan Jiang nodded in agreement. "Among them, only Huli Zhishen and Feng Xueying have met the qualifications to ascend to our realm, but the others are not bad, especially the Nameless One and Hun Di. Although their cultivation has not reached that stage, I think they are already worthy to ascend, but I have to discuss this matter with those two people."
"Who are the two people you mean, Master?"
"Kong Bai and Hun Lingwu." Sima Yun immediately understood what Wan Jiang meant. "Old Hun will be interested in Hun Di, as well as Old Kong, who Iām sure will be interested in the Nameless One. However, I will not contact them now, and I will wait for these two to arrive on this first floor."
Sima Yun suddenly remembered someone. "Are you going to contact Senior Feng Bingxin? She is an ice phoenix, and her race is no longer numerous, so Iām sure she will be thrilled to meet Feng Xueying."
"Didnāt you say yourself that Zhang Fei would not allow them to ascend before him?" Wan Jiang asked with a shake of his head. "If Feng Bingxin comes here and meets Feng Xueying, Iām sure she will forcefully take him to our realm, and it will make that kid furious."
"Why do I feel that you are afraid of Zhang Fei, Master? Youā
*Bam*
Sima Yun suddenly slammed the wall. "Fuck! That hurts, Master!"
"Donāt talk nonsense, then." Wan Jiang narrowed his eyes, causing him to shudder. "Iāve never been afraid of Zhang Fei, but Iām afraid of the people by his side."
"Sect Master Luo?"
"Ma Kuangyu." Sima Yun just remembered that the person was with Zhang Fei now. "Have you forgotten his status? Heās dead now, but heāll be alive again after he reshapes his body, and those traitors will be the first to die. Not only him, but Nalan Yushu is also not an ordinary member of the soul-devouring demon race, so we shouldnāt anger that kid."
Sima Yun nodded his head repeatedly, but he saw the old manās expression suddenly change. "What happened, Master?"
"My previous guess was wrong!! I will meet the higher-ups now." Wan Jiang immediately disappeared from his spot after saying that.
Sima Yun became panicked by that. "That crazy old fart! Has he gone mad? Why would he help them?"
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"Iām really speechless about you, kid." Han Ling spoke to Zhang Xiaolong [3] as soon as he opened his eyes. "You only learned the sword intent today, but youāve already mastered the sword will, and youāll probably master the sword condensation soon. Youāve even managed to summon your sword spirits, but I didnāt expect them to be twins."
"Please tell me about the sword condensation, Old Han."
"Why are you so impatient?" Zhang Xiaolong [3] rubbed his nose in response to Han Ling. The old man then took a small tree branch beside him. "Sword condensation is an advanced version of the sword intent, and it is several times stronger because a sword cultivator uses their understanding of the sword to create a single powerful force. Moreover, as a soul cultivator, you can combine your sword intent with your soul power to create a sword from nothing using various objects."
Zhang Xiaolong [3] listened as he looked at the tree branch in Han Lingās hand, and it suddenly turned into a sword, but it was not a real sword and was only made from his sword intent.
"This is the sword condensation, and you only need to channel your sword intent into any object. Controlling your sword intent is the most challenging aspect of this stage, particularly since a mishandled sword can destroy the object." Zhang Xiaolong [3] looked left and right before picking up a fairly large tree branch, and he began to try to study the sword condensation. āThis kidās tenacity reminds me of my younger self, but heās more tenacious than me.ā
- To Be Continued -