Chapter 834: Sword Killing Intent
Chapter 834: Sword Killing Intent
The broken sword obtained from the Blood Fishing Village had never been taken out by Mo Hua before, nor had it been handed over to the sect. This was mainly because its origins were a bit unclear.
Moreover, the broken sword still contained the karma of the "Tai Xu Divine Consciousness Manifestation Sword," and he wanted to keep it for further study.
Once handed over, everything would be lost.
However, the true manual of the Divine Consciousness Manifestation Sword, aside from the basic "Manifestation Sword Form," required a deep understanding of the Sword Dao and guidance from a master to comprehend the higher realms. It wasn't something he could grasp just by glancing at it a few times.
After studying it several times to no avail, Mo Hua had temporarily set it aside.
Later, with too many things occupying his mind, he forgot about it.
He had too many secrets and too many items of unclear origin, and one more didn't make much difference.
So, the broken sword was naturally left at the bottom of his storage.
Now that he had obtained the Water Prison Restraining Box and learned about the "Prohibited Diagram" of the Dao Prison, Mo Hua finally remembered this broken sword.
Mo Hua touched this ancient and battered sword, broken after a bitter battle, and a sigh escaped his lips.
The owner of this sword should have been a senior from the Tai Xu Sect.
To be able to manifest a sword with divine consciousness to such a degree, that senior must have been an exceptionally talented genius in his youth.
From the sparse scenes deduced from the karma of the broken sword, one could see that this senior, even as a youth, had refined sword qi and profound sword intent, exuding a startling might. He must have been an extraordinary talent in the Sword Dao.
Mo Hua sighed.
"Such a brilliant senior, and yet his life-bound sword is broken."
"I wonder what happened to him?"
"With a life-bound spirit sword broken, his vitality must have been greatly damaged, and his cultivation path set back..."
This train of thought startled Mo Hua, "Could this senior... have already perished? If so, his remains should be buried in the back mountain?"
Mo Hua felt a pang of sorrow.
"If I have the opportunity in the future, I should pay a visit to the back mountain and find a way to return this broken sword to its original owner..."
After all, to a Sword Cultivator, a sword is as good as a second life. Sword and Cultivator live together, fight together, and are buried together.
Doing so would also be a way to repay this senior for the gift of the Divine Consciousness Manifestation Sword technique, guided by fate.
Mo Hua nodded.
Then, Mo Hua pondered, "I think that senior's name was 'Xuan'?"
This was how elders addressed their juniors, and Mo Hua felt it wasn't respectful enough, so he silently addressed the senior in his heart.
"Senior Xuan."
Mo Hua remembered this name and then began to seriously study the sword manual.
"Startling God Form" was the next level of the Tai Xu Divine Consciousness Manifestation Sword technique, built upon the foundation of the Manifestation Sword Form.
Mo Hua once again deduced the karma from the broken sword, reviewing the process of "Senior Xuan" learning the Startling God Form in his youth.
This time, the scenes within the broken sword were dimmer, and the sounds were more intermittent.
Evidently, the karma on the broken sword was slowly fading away.
And deducing the karma was accelerating this process.
Mo Hua only deduced it once and dared not continue, fearing that the karma on the broken sword would dissipate completely. Instead, he firmly imprinted the scenes he saw and the sounds he heard in his mind, and then carefully put the broken sword back into his storage ring.
The images and sounds regarding the "Startling God Sword" in the karma were identical to before, perhaps even more blurred.
But Mo Hua was no longer the same as before.
Previously, he couldn't understand it.
But now, having mastered the Manifestation Sword Form and comprehended the principle of "divine soul projection," as he recalled the scenes from the karma, enlightenment gradually dawned on him.
The Tai Xu Divine Consciousness Manifestation Sword technique took the Manifestation Sword Form as its foundation.
According to the theory of "divine soul projection," the so-called Manifestation Sword Form was, in essence, the "mental image" of the sword.
In other words, to have a sword in one's heart.
And the Startling God Form, built upon the Manifestation Sword Form, integrates this "mental image" of the sword into the "divine soul," thereby refining a true "sword intent" imbued with the power of the divine soul, capable of killing and destroying.
The Startling God Sword, with its overwhelmingly sharp and mighty sword intent, strikes fear into the hearts of others and all evil spirits, making them tremble in fear without even fighting.
This was identical in principle to the Water Prison Sect's Seven Blood Prison Eye Techniques, where the mental image of the execution ground was integrated into the divine soul, and the evil energy was nurtured into the soul.
The only difference was that the two techniques stemmed from vastly different paths—one from the Sword Dao and the other from the execution ground—and their specific applications were also vastly different.
"Startling God Sword Form..."
Mo Hua closed his eyes and sat down, sinking his spiritual sense into his sea of consciousness.
In his sea of consciousness, his divine consciousness incarnation opened its eyes and began to gather divine consciousness, manifesting a crude sword in his hand.
"This is the 'mental image' of the sword in my heart..."
Mo Hua sighed, feeling helpless.
How shabby...
Although it shone with golden light, its shape was too simple and primitive, merely a rudimentary form of a "sword."
"Oh well, it'll have to do..."
Mo Hua shook his head.
It was already impressive enough to pick up the Sword Dao midway through one's cultivation journey.
Then, following the method of the Startling God Sword Form deduced from the broken sword, he officially began to cultivate the sword technique.
He integrated his insights into the Sword Dao into the "mental image."
He imprinted this sword's "mental image" into his divine soul.
At the same time, following the Startling God Sword manual, he repeatedly tempered his divine soul, stimulated his sword qi, and merged his divine soul with the mental image, fusing them into true "sword intent."
The methods of the divine soul were intangible and abstruse.
But for Mo Hua, who was already proficient in divine consciousness techniques, manipulating his consciousness and performing various transformations was a familiar process.
Mo Hua could feel his divine consciousness sword gradually merging with his divine soul.
This process was accompanied by a slight pain.
And this pain also made Mo Hua's perception of his life soul and seven souls clearer.
He felt that his divine soul was being tempered by the sword technique.
And after repeated tempering, a strand of startling and awe-inspiring sword intent gradually emanated from the sword intent within Mo Hua's divine soul.
The sharp sword intent made one's heart tremble.
Mo Hua's gaze gradually sharpened, and the sword intent within him grew more and more powerful.
But after a while, it stopped, unable to progress any further.
It seemed that this was his limit for now.
Even as he continued to cultivate the Startling God Sword Form, tempering his divine soul and fusing his sword intent, the might of his sword technique failed to increase any further.
Mo Hua felt that this was probably the best he could do at the moment.
He opened his eyes and took out a mirror, gazing at his delicate and handsome features. Then, he focused his gaze and activated the Startling God Sword Form.
Through the mirror, he could clearly see his eyes growing brighter, the sword intent within them so sharp that it was difficult to look directly at them.
But that was it.
Compared to Shui Yanluo's bloodline ability, it was far inferior.
At the very least, when Shui Yanluo used his bloodline ability, his eyes turned crimson, as if soaked in blood, with demonic creatures inside screaming wildly, exuding a strong murderous aura.
Whether it was might or effect, his bloodline ability far surpassed Mo Hua's sword-based bloodline ability.
"Not even comparable to Shui Yanluo... That won't do."
Mo Hua propped his chin with his hand, thinking about what could be the problem.
After much contemplation, he concluded that there were two main reasons: one was the depth of his understanding of the Sword Dao, and the other was the method of soul projection.
Subjective divine consciousness is built upon objective external objects.
In other words, "sword intent" should be based on a solid foundation in the Sword Dao.
The depth of understanding of the Sword Dao refers to the amount of effort a sword cultivator has put into their sword cultivation since they were young.
This includes years of learning, practicing, sparring, and refining their sword techniques, as well as the accumulation of thoughts and insights about the Sword Dao.
These things don't come out of thin air.
They are the result of a sword cultivator's hard work and dedication, the fusion of their sword techniques, insights, and understandings.
You either have it or you don't.
And Mo Hua clearly lacked it.
Moreover, this was not something that could be suddenly "enlightened" or "realized."
Enlightenment comes from prolonged practice and reflection.
Just like how he draws array formations every day and constantly ponders their principles, only then will he have a chance to gain enlightenment about array formations in the future.
But someone who doesn't study array formations will never gain such enlightenment.
Similarly, someone who doesn't practice the sword will never gain enlightenment about the Sword Dao.
Before entering the Qian Xuezhou Realm, Mo Hua had barely touched a sword, and since childhood, he hadn't learned even a single sword technique. Naturally, he wouldn't have any skills, experiences, or insights into the Sword Dao.
His foundation in the Sword Dao was extremely weak.
This also meant that the "sword intent" he cultivated would be inherently weak, and the eye technique imbued with sword intent would fall short of his expectations.
This was the first reason.
Additionally, there was another factor—the method of soul projection.
The owner of the broken sword, Senior Xuan, used a technique called "Sword Incarnation."
After projecting his sword intent, he infused it into his sword, amplifying both the power of his sword qi and the killing intent of his sword intent.
Not only Senior Xuan, but also the previous generations of sword cultivators in the Tai Xu Sect, might have used the same "Sword Incarnation" technique.
The problem also lay in this "sword."
Mo Hua did not possess a spirit sword.
Due to his weak foundation in the Sword Dao, he wielded a self-destructing spirit sword, not the kind that other sword cultivators nurtured and bonded with, intending to use as a powerful artifact in the future.
Therefore, he couldn't use the Sword Incarnation technique.
His sword intent was lacking, and as a result, his eye technique was not as powerful as he wanted it to be.
Without the amplifying effect of a sword artifact, its power was further diminished.
As a result, this Startling God Sword Form of the Tai Xu Sect seemed lackluster and fell short of its potential.
However, Mo Hua was not satisfied.
How could a divine soul transformation be so weak?
"What should I do?"
Mo Hua frowned and thought hard, but after a long time, he still couldn't figure it out. Feeling dejected, he lay back on the meditation mat, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
One was a sword technique, and the other was an eye technique...
The sword technique emphasized sword intent and sword projection.
The eye technique cultivated murderous aura and eye projection.
Now, he had replaced the murderous aura with sword intent and was using eye projection instead of sword projection.
Without the intimidating presence of the murderous aura and the sharp sword intent, and without the amplifying effect of a sword artifact, he had essentially discarded the advantages of both techniques and instead highlighted his own weakness in the Sword Dao...
"Should I patiently practice the sword from now on?"
Mo Hua shook his head.
That would be too slow.
Cultivating a solid foundation in the Sword Dao required persistent effort, and it was not something that could be achieved overnight.
Moreover, if he started practicing the sword now, who knew how long it would take for his sword technique to reach a level where the Startling God Sword could display its true power?
"I need to come up with a solution..."
"When faced with challenges, one must be flexible and adaptable."
"The myriad ways of the world are ever-changing, and the key to success lies in one's ability to adapt."
Mo Hua continued to ponder.
At the moment, he was using the soul projection method of the Water Prison Sect's Seven Blood Prison Eye Techniques to cultivate the Startling God Sword.
If the Startling God Sword were powerful enough, there wouldn't be a problem.
But because his foundation in the Sword Dao was weak, the Startling God Sword was not strong enough.
So, for now, he couldn't abandon the framework of the Seven Blood Prison Eye Techniques.
"Then..." Mo Hua's eyes lit up, "...what if I integrate the Startling God Sword Form into the framework of the Seven Blood Prison Eye Techniques?"
"But how?"
Mo Hua continued to frown as he thought deeply.
The Startling God Sword cultivated sword intent and sword projection, while the Blood Prison Eye Techniques cultivated murderous aura and eye projection.
Firstly, since he was not a sword cultivator, he could disregard the "sword projection" technique.
So, all that was left was to cultivate sword intent, cultivate murderous aura, and project through the eyes.
In other words, he would integrate sword intent and murderous aura, projecting them through his eyes?
If his sword intent was not strong enough, he could make up for it with murderous aura...
And at the same time, use the noble and upright sword intent of the Tai Xu Sect to neutralize the sinister murderous aura of the Execution Ground Path?
Mo Hua's eyes widened, and his gaze became brighter.
"Perhaps... I can give it a try?
Mo Hua suddenly sat up, then took out the Water Prison Restraining Box once more.
Now that he had a plan, the next step was to figure out how to execute it.
How could he fuse the sword intent of the Startling God Sword with the Water Prison's evil energy of the execution ground?
Mo Hua pondered for a long time, then scratched his head in frustration.
One was a sword technique, and the other was a forbidden diagram—completely unrelated. How could he merge the two?
"It seems that some things are easy to think of but difficult to actually do..."
Mo Hua sighed inwardly.
He recalled the process of Senior Xuan cultivating the "Startling God Sword" from the causal image, then stared intently at the Water Prison Restraining Box with wide eyes.
Sword, prison, instruments of torture, criminals...
Suddenly, Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat.
Swords are weapons of slaughter.
When used to kill or injure, they will be imbued with evil energy.
Prisons and executions are for punishing criminals.
So, using a sword to replace the instruments of torture and punish criminals would also be a way to nurture evil energy, wouldn't it?
Moreover, it would be nurturing sword intent and evil energy together!
This way, he could merge the Startling God Sword seamlessly into the Blood Prison Eye Technique without altering the original structure of the Water Prison Restraining Diagram.
Replacing instruments of torture with a sword, fusing sword and evil energy as one! Mo Hua's eyes lit up with excitement.
He immediately began meditating, following his idea to merge the two techniques.
The method of cultivation remained the same as before: visualizing the Execution Ground Heart Image and imprinting it onto his divine soul, thereby nurturing the killing power of his divine soul.
However, what was different this time was that Mo Hua, while visualizing the Water Prison Restraining Diagram, "deceived himself" by altering some details.
Using his expertise in divine consciousness techniques, he "tampered" with his own cognition, replacing all the instruments of torture in the Execution Ground Heart Image with the Startling God Sword.
Thus, the Execution Ground Diagram became a Sword Prison Diagram.
All the criminals were sanctioned under the sharp edge of the Startling God Sword, wailing in fear.
This was a minor divine consciousness technique that Mo Hua had figured out on his own, similar in principle to "Seeding Demons in the Dao Heart." It was more like planting a "suggestion" in his own dao heart through self-deception.
With the Sword Prison Diagram complete, the entire Dao Prison underwent a transformation. The gloomy atmosphere turned sharp and imposing, resembling a divine consciousness "Sword Prison" filled with sword qi.
This Sword Prison, fused with sword intent and evil energy, was imprinted into Mo Hua's divine soul.
A majestic and imposing sword evil energy burst forth from Mo Hua's eyes, the sharp sword intent swirling within it. It was so awe-inspiring that it seemed capable of sweeping away all evil and making evil spirits and demons tremble in fear.
In an instant, Mo Hua seemed like the ruler of the Nine Springs, his sword evil aura so powerful that it was difficult to look directly at him.
This was the true Startling God Sword! And it was different from the one cultivated by all the previous generations of the Tai Xu Sect because it could be cast with just his eyes, imbued with evil energy!
A moment later, all the sharp aura faded away, and Mo Hua's eyes returned to their clear state.
He looked around with a disappointed expression.
"It's a pity that Water Yanluo isn't here; otherwise, I could have stared at him and seen whose eyes were more powerful..."
But there wasn't a single enemy around, and Mo Hua felt strangely lonely.
"There's not even an evil person around for me to show off to..."
But at least he had finally learned it!
"Startling God Sword!"
Mo Hua smiled foolishly, then suppressed his excitement and sank his consciousness into his sea of consciousness to continue practicing array formations.
He remained unaffected by external influences, maintaining a calm mind at all times. No matter what, he would continue to study array formations diligently, without slacking off.
Mo Hua closed his eyes, focusing on drawing array formations on the Dao Monument within his sea of consciousness...
...
Before that.
In the moment Mo Hua took out the broken sword, a wisp of causal energy had already escaped.
In the Sword Tomb on the back mountain, an elderly man with white hair and a long beard suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils quivering.
"Xuan'er..."
"How is there a trace of Xuan'er's energy within the Tai Xu Sect?"
He released his spiritual sense, and his powerful divine consciousness spread out in a subtle way, sweeping across the entire Tai Xu Mountain Range to trace the source of this energy.
But he was not the same as before; his spiritual sense had been greatly damaged, and using it now caused a piercing pain, like needles stabbing his mind.
Although his spiritual sense spread out, his search was slow.
At the same time, "Xuan'er's" energy was growing stronger.
It seemed that someone was tampering with Xuan'er's karma, deducing something.
"Who is it...?"
The elderly man's heart chilled, and he continued to trace the source of the energy with his spiritual sense. But just as he was about to sense its origin, everything disappeared.
It vanished completely.
It was as if someone had intentionally hidden it.
Moreover, it had been hidden in a place outside the state and beyond karma.
The elderly man's face turned angry, but he gradually calmed down.
However, he made a mental note.
Suddenly, the pain in his spiritual sense intensified, and a heavenly demonic sound rang in his ears.
The elderly man's eyes narrowed, and he immediately retracted his spiritual sense, suppressing his entire aura and calming his mind.
After a long time, the demonic sound subsided, and his spiritual sense stopped acting up.
The elderly man slowly opened his eyes, but he looked weary, as if he had aged a few years.
He was all alone, gazing at the countless sword tombs, the countless rusty broken swords, and the bones buried within.
These swords had all been sharp and glorious once.
These people had all been his junior and senior brothers, as well as his teachers.
And Xuan'er had been his last hope, the one he had pinned his desperate wishes on when he had felt despair and unwillingness, the last sword cultivator he had passed on his legacy to.
But he had been wrong.
He shouldn't have passed it on...
The broken swords of his junior and senior brothers, senior sisters, and teachers were still buried in the Sword Tomb, keeping him company in his old age.
But Xuan'er's remains were nowhere to be found, and even his sword had been lost...
The elderly man's back couldn't help but stoop, a lonely and desolate figure.
A bitter voice echoed in the Sword Tomb:
"Is it truly... going to end like this...?"
(End of Chapter)
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