Innate Immortal Seed

Being a Wood Element Flying Sword, its durability and lethal edge were naturally a step below those of a Five Metals Flying Sword.

But the Ink Bamboo Sword had its own advantages. Since its primary refining material was Spiritual Bamboo, the Flying Sword was lighter and more agile. When used for Sword Flight, its escape speed could even be a fraction faster than that of a Five Metals Flying Sword.

Furthermore, the Jade Scroll contained not only the complete Refining Method for the Ink Bamboo Sword and several Sword-Controlling Techniques, but also a method for repairing Flying Swords called the Sword Nurturing Technique.

In the future, if the Ink Bamboo Sword was damaged when clashing with another’s Magical Artifact, he could perfectly restore it by slowly repairing it with the Sword Nurturing Technique.

Even if the Flying Sword broke in two, the Sword Nurturing Technique could still save it.

However, the repair time for something like that could take decades, or even a century.

’The Sword Nurturing Technique might not seem like much now, but it will be incredibly useful if I ever get a Tier Two Flying Sword in the future.’

Bai Zichen saw the importance of the Sword Nurturing Technique at a glance. It could greatly extend the lifespan of a Flying Sword.

When a Flying Sword was used in Combat for many years, it accumulated marks and hidden cracks. If left untreated, they would become more and more severe over time, and one could only ask an Artifact Refining Master to repair it.

But not only would that cost Spirit Stones every time, multiple repairs would also affect the quality of the Flying Sword itself.

With the Sword Nurturing Technique, however, he wouldn’t have to worry about this at all. He could use his Flying Sword in clashes without any hesitation or heartache.

Unfortunately, the Sword Nurturing Technique only worked on Wood Element Flying Swords. Otherwise, it would be madly sought after by every Sword Cultivator in the Cultivation Realm.

’I wonder how the Ancestor managed to get this Sword Refining Secret Technique from the Fish Dragon Sect. This is only a third of the whole thing; there are still the refining methods for two other flying swords... And I have no idea where the Fish Dragon Sect is, or what kind of power it is. The texts passed down in the clan don’t mention it at all.’

According to Bai Xianzhong, in the Jade Scroll left by the Bai Family’s Ancestor, the materials needed to refine the other two Flying Swords were even more precious, something the Bai Family couldn’t even dream of obtaining.

Therefore, for hundreds of years, not a single one had been refined, and the methods had been left unused.

From the portion he had, Bai Zichen could already get a sense of the whole. This Sword Refinement inheritance was clearly extraordinary, especially since it was paired with a wondrous method like the Sword Nurturing Technique.

’After I reach Foundation Establishment, I’ll ask the Clan Leader for the complete Sword Refinement inheritance and see if I’ll have the chance to refine the others in the future...’

For the Bai Family to not even dare to think about it, they had to be Tier Two Flying Swords. Generally, only Late-Stage Foundation Establishment or even Foundation Establishment Perfection Cultivators would dare to dream of them.

In fact, due to the special nature of Flying Swords and the scarcity of Tier Three Flying Swords, many Core Formation Ancestors’ personal swords were only Tier Two.

For several days in a row, Bai Zichen focused on familiarizing himself with the Ink Bamboo Sword.

No matter where he went, even when eating or sleeping, he kept it close to him.

Only after a week did he dare to attempt Sword Flight for the first time. He found a desolate mountain nearby, rode the Sword Light, and flew up, staying low to the ground.

After all, Sword Flight was different from activating a Flying Magical Artifact; the difficulty of using them was not on the same level.

Flying Magical Artifacts were all steady and stable. One only needed to activate them twice according to the instructions to get the hang of it.

But Sword Flight was different. The starting speed was too fast and it was too agile. Incidents of people crashing into a mountain wall, destroying their sword and dying, were not unheard of.

Flying only several yards off the ground, he circled the mountaintop at a speed slower than a mortal’s full sprint. Bai Zichen felt dizzy and unsteady.

’This is so hard. No wonder some cultivators still use Flying Magical Artifacts to travel even when they have a Flying Sword. This thing might look cool, but it’s definitely not as convenient as the Peach Blossom Pocket... Luckily, I have Divine Sense, which is a huge help for Sword Control. I’ll surely learn much faster than anyone else.’

The test flight was a success, and Bai Zichen’s confidence surged. Not only did he have the help of his Divine Sense, but he also seemed to have a good aptitude for Flying Swords.

In the short time it took an incense stick to burn, he had already gotten a feel for the several Sword-Controlling techniques recorded in the Jade Scroll.

This made Bai Zichen overjoyed. He had finally discovered where his talent lay.

According to the assessment from the Inheritance Stele, aside from his suspected Spirit Body, all his other talents were very ordinary.

His current Cultivation was all thanks to the changes brought about by his special Spirit Body.

Suddenly discovering a talent that was unrelated to his Spirit Body, one that he himself possessed, he excitedly rode his sword into the sky again, flying circle after circle.

Gradually, Bai Zichen became more and more proficient at Sword Control. He no longer flew in straight lines as he had at the beginning, unable to adapt his flight path and having to slow down for slightly more complex terrain.

A streak of inky-cyan Sword Light was seen weaving through the mountains like a swimming fish. Its speed increased, and by the end, its turns were light and agile. It moved as if it were an extension of his own arm, bringing out some of the characteristics of a Wood Element Flying Sword.

"HAH... HAH... The Peach Blossom Pocket? It can’t even eat my dust! Who’d want to use that thing!"

Bai Zichen flew with exhilaration until his Magical Power was depleted, then he unsteadily landed on the ground with his Ink Bamboo Sword and lovingly put it away.

He made up his mind that regardless of whether the Ink Bamboo Sword was damaged or not, he would use the Sword Nurturing Technique to nourish it whenever he had time.

’Unfortunately, the Jade Scroll doesn’t contain much about cultivating the Sword Dao. No matter how much I practice, I can only improve my proficiency in controlling the Flying Sword. This is fundamentally different from a Sword Cultivator.’

Bai Zichen had read a description of Sword Cultivators in a book of miscellaneous records. They specialized in the Sword Dao, aiming for "One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws."

This, of course, involved the cultivation of the Sword Dao.

But in all of Mizhou, there wasn’t a single orthodox Sword Cultivation Sect. The few Cultivators famous for their Flying Swords were, strictly speaking, only Flying Sword enthusiasts, not true Sword Cultivators.

’I can only wait until I go to the Qingfeng Sect and see if the Sect has any Sword Cultivation Techniques in its collection... If they don’t have any either, I’ll have to wait until I reach Foundation Establishment and then venture out to find opportunities.’

In all its years, the Qingfeng Sect had never produced a disciple famous for their Flying Sword. The chances of it having a Sword Cultivator’s inheritance were slim.

Bai Zichen had no other choice; for the time being, he could only study it on his own.

In the midst of this, he also set aside half a day for Bai Qiguang and the others, as he had promised to guide them in their Cultivation.

Bai Qiguang and the others took this very seriously. They pooled their money and bought a Tier One Mid Grade Thunderstruck Talisman as a congratulatory gift.

A single Thunderstruck Talisman was worth nearly five Spirit Stones. Of course, Bai Zichen didn’t think much of a gift of such little value, but for Bai Qiguang and the others, it had probably cost them every Spirit Stone they had.

"It’s the thought that counts."

Bai Zichen tossed the exquisite wooden box containing the Thunderstruck Talisman into his storage bag. He was still satisfied with their attitude.

Although he was willing to give them some pointers, if they were ungrateful and took it for granted, then this little lesson would be a one-time thing, never to be repeated.

Given the current attitude of Bai Qiguang and the others, Bai Zichen felt that it wouldn’t be a problem to set aside half a day each week to answer their questions before he joined the Qingfeng Sect.

After getting to know them, Bai Zichen discovered that this group’s aptitude was indeed quite poor.

Two with Discarded Spiritual Roots, and two with Pseudo-Spiritual Roots. No wonder two of them were still stuck at the Qi Refining First Layer after being in the clan for three years.

Bai Zichen’s own realm breakthroughs had been incredibly smooth, so he naturally didn’t have much experience in Breaking Realm to share. However, as a minor expert at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, guiding a few Qi Refining First Layer newbies was no problem at all.

On the contrary, because he started with the entry-level cultivation speed of someone with Three Spiritual Roots, he was very familiar with the slow progress of Early-Stage Qi Refining. The methods he suggested were practical, and Bai Qiguang and the others found them very useful.

In one afternoon, all four of them felt they had gained a lot.

As they departed, they all bowed respectfully as they would to a teacher, completely won over.