Cultivating To Immortality

Wipe Sword Peak, Earth Character Two One.

Inside the Immortal Cave, the bitter scent of medicine filled the air.

"Open them a little, open them a little, open your eyes wider!"

"They’re already open as wide as they can be!"

"Hehehehe..."

The scene in the Immortal Cave was a bit strange.

Xiao He, in human form, was squatting on a stone table, holding a small medicine bottle in her left hand and reaching out with her right.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

"You can’t do it like this, I’ll help you, don’t move, don’t move."

"Alright, alright, then be gentle."

Song Yan was sitting on a chair by the table, his head slightly tilted back, allowing the cool, small hand to pull open his eyelids.

"Hehehehe..."

"What are you laughing at, really?"

Xiao He kept secretly laughing, making Xiao Song feel uneasy, always sensing that this child had ill intentions.

She aimed at Song Yan’s eyes and slightly tilted the small porcelain bottle, within which a medicinal liquid faintly sloshed.

After leaving Nanshan Temple that day, Ju Luyi did indeed help him find a few Seven-Leaf Yang Huang. There weren’t many, but enough for a period of time.

However, upon returning to the Immortal Cave and preparing the medicinal liquid, applying the medicine became a problem.

He couldn’t normally pull open his own eyelids. It was very strange to say, but that was the situation—his eyes would close uncontrollably.

He had no choice but to ask Xiao He for help.

"Ouch!"

Her small hand trembled, and a clear mass of medicinal liquid suddenly gushed out, "splashing" onto Song Yan’s eyes.

Caught off guard, he abruptly lowered his head.

"Are you looking for a beating?!"

"Hehe, Xiao He didn’t do it on purpose~"

"I’ll do it myself."

"No, I’ll apply it carefully for you." Xiao He stubbornly hid the small porcelain bottle behind her back, her tone brooking no refusal.

After some playful bickering, the medicine was finally applied.

Song Yan’s eyes were tightly closed. As he slightly rolled his eyes, a sensation of coolness spread, and the faint burning and stinging pain caused by Cultivating the Insightful Void Sword Eye immediately subsided somewhat.

As that coolness slowly diffused, this feeling became even more apparent.

"Whew—"

He let out a long breath.

Xiao He made a popping sound as she sealed the small porcelain bottle, then climbed down from the table using another chair.

She mumbled, "You should have used it earlier. If you had endured two more days, you would have turned into a little rabbit."

Song Yan chuckled. Xiao He’s words were not without reason.

Now that he had just begun to Cultivate, his eyes already felt uncomfortable. It was likely that his progress was too fast, and his eyes had not yet adapted to such pressure.

In the first few days after returning to the Immortal Cave, his eyes were bloodshot.

From now until the end of the Sect Sword-Wiping Tournament, he planned to only moderately Cultivate his eye technique, focusing instead on Spirit Refining and Sword Cultivation.

It hadn’t been long since he made a Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Stage Seventh Level, and his Spiritual Qi accumulation was far from sufficient, not enough to allow him to Breakthrough to Level 8 Qi Refining in a short period.

This was even after his understanding of Sword Intent and the formation of his Lifebound Flying Sword, which had pushed his Cultivation forward significantly.

In terms of swordsmanship, his Cloud Piercing Sword was already perfected, so the focus of his Cultivation naturally shifted to the Sleeve Green Snake sword routine.

The Sleeve Green Snake had an extremely high upper limit. According to the Essentials of Swordsmanship, there were Sword Cultivator Seniors in history who used this method as their primary Dao of the Sword.

Putting effort into it would not be wasted at all.

As for Divine Sense, Song Yan found it more troublesome.

From the moment he obtained the Five Stars Seizing Meridians technique until now, he had practiced it daily without fail, and often took time out to practice calligraphy and play chess.

As the Spiritual Qi in Changping was meager, Song Yan simply worked even harder to Cultivate his Divine Sense.

However, the growth rate of his Divine Sense was becoming slower and slower.

"Perhaps it’s a limitation of the Realm?"

His current Divine Sense had already reached the Level 9 Qi Refining and Level 10 Qi Refining stage. To make further progress, he would likely need to make a Breakthrough in his Cultivation Realm.

His thoughts collected.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Xiao He was staring at him. Seeing him open his eyes, she said, "Yan Yan, Grandpa said that if your eyes are sore and tired, you should go out more, walk around, and look at green mountains and clear waters."

"Shall we go out and play?"

"Hmm... that’s not a bad idea."

Since moving to Wipe Sword Peak, he had been cooped up in his Immortal Cave and small courtyard Cultivating, and hadn’t really taken a good look at the scenery elsewhere here.

Xiao He slipped into his sleeve and went out with Song Yan.

Rain fell in the mountains, pattering through the trees and leaves.

The Wipe Sword Peak was a place where debates and duels were prevalent, and the vegetation on the mountain was mostly green pines and spiritual bamboos.

The mountains were faintly visible amidst the clouds and mist, and as the mountain wind blew, the sound of rustling pines echoed.

He didn’t know if it was Song Yan’s illusion, but the Disciples coming and going on the mountain seemed to be much more numerous than usual.

And there were many Inner Sect Disciples from various main peaks, their expressions either furrowed in distress or full of vigor.

Some walked alone, deep in thought.

Others walked in groups, talking loudly.

"Brother Li, I don’t think that Senior Brother Kong You is as formidable as rumored. If you’re a bit more careful, you still have a chance to win if you encounter him at the Sect Sword-Wiping Tournament in half a year."

Two Cultivator Disciples passed by. Judging by their attire, they should be Disciples from Zuowang Peak.

One of them shook his head: "He’s not an opponent."

"That battle just now, it seemed like Senior Brother Kong and I were evenly matched, with him slightly superior."

"But in reality, for him, it was just a sparring match, while I had already used almost all my trump cards."

"This..."

The two chatted as they walked away, but their conversation reminded Song Yan.

It was probably because the Sect Sword-Wiping Tournament was approaching, and many Disciples wanted to hone their strength during this period.

No wonder Wipe Sword Peak had been so lively these past few days.

"Come on, let’s go take a look too."

"Okay, let’s go watch them fight~"

Speaking of which, when Song Yan was promoted to Inner Sect Disciple, his main hope was to spar and compete with others more often, in order to comprehend Sword Intent.

Later, he went to Changping and comprehended Sword Intent under life-and-death crises.

He had, however, lost his original purpose.

But he didn’t feel that it mattered. The path of a Sword Cultivator requires brave and diligent progress, and the strong atmosphere of competition on Wipe Sword Peak could only benefit his Dao.

Now that his Lifebound Flying Sword was formed and he had officially embarked on the path of a Sword Cultivator, his ambition also carried a hint of sharp prominence.

Song Yan slowly ascended the mountain stone steps.

Wipe Sword Peak actually had suitable places for sparring and competition everywhere, but the best venue with the most people was the Sword Debate Platform.

The Sword Debate Platform was located on the east side of Wipe Sword Peak. Although called a "platform," it was actually a convergence of five battle locations.

The central one was the largest, about twenty zhang square, while the other four were ten zhang square, distributed in the southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest directions.

Around the central Sword Debate Platform, Cultivator Disciples were gathered in a bustling crowd.

Before even getting close, the roar of Dao techniques could be heard from all directions, occasionally interspersed with the exclamations and cheers of the Disciples.

Song Yan, with Xiao He, moved a little closer.

However, he didn’t recognize either of the two people currently sparring in the arena.

"They’re both in the Late Stage of Qi Refining, but how do I feel that Senior Brother Kong You’s Spiritual Qi is endless..."

"Indeed." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The Disciple who replied gave a bitter smile: "He just fought Senior Brother Li Xin, but now he shows no signs of Spiritual Qi consumption."

"It’s truly terrifying."

Senior Brother Kong You?

Song Yan had no impression.

The Sect Sword-Wiping Tournament is about to begin.