Jiangnan, Extreme Heaven Cliff.
Inside a quiet room, Lu Yang's consciousness fully occupied the Sword Incarnation through the [Marionette]. As his eyelids opened and closed, a wisp of cold light suddenly flashed.
Crack!
In an instant, a crack appeared on the floor of the quiet room.
Almost simultaneously, as if having waited for a long time, the door of the quiet room was pushed open. Then Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon walked in with slightly hurried steps.
At first glance upon entering, he saw the crack on the floor.
"...Hmm."
Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon's eyes lit up, and he immediately praised: "It seems that during your seclusion, the [Sword Intent] you refined has become increasingly close to perfection."
What he valued was not that Lu Yang left a crack on the floor—what difficulty was there in that for a Foundation Establishment Perfected One? What was truly important was that this crack had no residual aura... This meant Lu Yang didn't use any divine ability or spiritual power, but left the mark purely relying on [Sword Intent].
This was extraordinary.
After all, no matter how strong [Sword Intent] was, theoretically, it was still intent, not a physical entity. It was completely different from divine sense and required spiritual power enhancement to exert great power.
But affecting reality purely with intent...
Such a realm, even within [Sword Intent], such a level is considered quite advanced. For a time, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon clicked his tongue in wonder at Lu Yang:
"Incredible."
"It seems that earth vein was really effective for you. To make such progress in [Sword Intent]... theoretically, it's very difficult to achieve without a great battle."
"Good. Very good!"
After speaking, he looked at the [No-Kill Sword] placed in front of Lu Yang: "Since you have already refined your own [Sword Intent], it is no longer appropriate to observe my [Sword Intent]."
As his voice fell, the [No-Kill Sword] was put away by him.
At the same time, Lu Yang flicked his sleeves and stood up, bowing respectfully to Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon: "This disciple is dull; many thanks to Master for his attentive teaching."
"What are you saying?" Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon waved his hand, looking at Lu Yang with increasing satisfaction, as if looking at a leek growing extremely well, a unique and rare treasure. Then he changed the subject: "Since you are out of seclusion, no time to lose. Come with me to the Jade Pivot."
Lu Yang felt a slight joy in his heart upon hearing this.
The so-called Jade Pivot was actually the manifestation pavilion of the Sword Pavilion, specifically storing Dao arts for the Foundation Establishment level of the Sword Pavilion. It was also the purpose of Lu Yang's trip.
Now that I have refined the [Xuandu Blessed Land], it's unlikely to improve my realm further in a short time. After all, Golden Nature requires a soul to extract, and my soul in this life is still on the Natural Immortal Spirit's body... So to further improve combat power, I can only strengthen dao arts and secret techniques.
But the problem was still the same problem.
Lu Yang didn't have his own Golden Nature, so he couldn't cultivate [True Techniques]. As for other Dao arts, their boost to his combat power couldn't be said to be completely nonexistent...
It could only be said to be better than nothing.
Therefore, he focused on [Sword Intent]. If he could obtain a sword technique matching his [Sword Intent], the effect wouldn't be much weaker than a [True Technique].
However, what surprised Lu Yang was that he originally thought the Sword Pavilion would guard sword techniques very strictly. He was still thinking about how to probe Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon for information. As a result, before he even opened his mouth to ask, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon took the initiative to propose letting him go to the Jade Pivot, obviously intending to impart sword techniques.
Yet there wasn't much joy in Lu Yang's heart.
Too enthusiastic...
Showing care without cause, either hiding evil intentions or plotting theft. The intuition developed over several lifetimes made Lu Yang increasingly wary. No matter how he looked at it, he felt Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon had ulterior motives!
But soon he felt relieved.
Anyway, this Sword Dao Incarnation will be discarded sooner or later. Get the benefits first. No matter what conspiracy he has, at most, the incarnation will suffer a bit more...
Extreme Heaven Cliff, Jade Pivot.
What surprised Lu Yang somewhat was that although named Jade Pivot, it was actually just a piece of jade, enshrined in the ancestral hall of the Sword Pavilion's successive sect masters.
"This object was left by the Ancestor."
Entering the ancestral hall, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon said solemnly: "It is said that the Ancestor searched all over the world back then to find such a piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Consonance Bright Jade to refine into a supreme treasure."
"Successive Perfected Ones who refined [Sword Intent] only need to stand in front of the Jade Pivot and project their own [Sword Intent] into it. It will automatically present a corresponding sword technique. Afterward, diligently cultivating the sword technique and polishing the [Sword Intent] to perfection... This is the root of why we sword cultivators are hard to find opponents in the same realm."
As his voice fell, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon walked to the Jade Pivot.
The next second, Lu Yang saw surging spiritual light suddenly flow on that smooth, mirror-like bright jade, finally gathering into a line of clear small characters:
[Upholding Dao and Severinig Karma Sword Art]
This was Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon's sword art, corresponding to his [No-Kill Sword Intent]. Polished for hundreds of years until now, it had long reached the peak of perfection.
Ordinary [Sword Intent] was merely [Sword Intent].
But for Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon to crown it with the name [No-Kill] was a symbol of [Sword Intent] perfection, in which the sword art also played a considerable role.
Both a technique for attacking and killing, and a method for cultivation.
Lu Yang understood in his heart. Seeing Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon step aside to the right and gesture with his hand, he dared not neglect and immediately paced to the front of the Jade Pivot.
With a thought, Lu Yang's [Sword Intent] spread out and projected into the Jade Pivot before him. The next second, this piece of bright jade bloomed with light again, shining directly into the bottom of Lu Yang's eyes, piercing his heart and mind. It instantly captured all of Lu Yang's mind, almost immersing him in it.
However, it was precisely at this moment.
Beside Lu Yang, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon restrained all expressions on his face. Suddenly, his lips and teeth opened and closed, spitting out a sentence faintly:
"Fellow Daoist Lu?"
This call came at just the right time, perfectly seizing the moment when the Jade Pivot illuminated Lu Yang's [Sword Intent], causing him to respond almost subconsciously:
"Huh?"
Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon stared tightly at Lu Yang's Sword Dao Incarnation. Seeing that his blankness didn't seem feigned and his soul fluctuations were completely normal, his expression relaxed slightly:
"...Nothing."
Meanwhile, Lu Yang's main body far away in Jiangbei sucked in a breath of cold air: He's testing me... suspecting that my memories of the previous life weren't washed away!
Damn it, even a kind-hearted person can pits people!
This is f**king like Sky-Shrouding. Being a good person for most of his life, then suddenly pitting people all at once—it's completely beyond all expectations!
Thinking of this, Lu Yang was still somewhat surprised.
If not for the fact that the Sword Dao Incarnation's soul was indeed washed clean, and he was controlling it remotely using the [Marionette], he probably would have been exposed!
At the same time, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon looked as usual.
Who says good people can't be cunning? Could he not see through Lu Yang's strange behavior? He might as well test him out; if there were no problems, he would feel more at ease.
"Just cultivate here."
Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon said calmly: "The Jade Pivot needs time to deduce the sword technique and also needs to constantly sense your [Sword Intent]. Come find me after it's over."
"This disciple obeys."
Lu Yang hurriedly bowed, then continued to immerse his mind into the Jade Pivot. Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon was satisfied seeing this, then turned and left quietly.
Leaving the ancestral hall, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon looked up at the sky.
All he saw was a long rainbow of destiny soaring into the sky, manifesting the scene of a dragon and phoenix in harmony. This was his current destiny, which could be said to be at its peak.
However, as the saying goes, decline follows prosperity.
My time is running out.
Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon sighed. The next second, a burst of charming laughter like silver bells rang in his ears. It was impressively the previous generation's Buddha Child of the Pure Land, Jing Guan.
"Not killing for a moment is easy, but not killing for a lifetime is as difficult as ascending to heaven."
"As the saying goes, it's better to guide than to block. Benefactor Ye, can you truly achieve your so-called no-killing? I'm afraid you'll end up going mad and slaughtering everyone in the world!"