“What’s wrong? Why are you unhappy about it? This is your fortune,” Jian Jingtian scoffed. “I was still wondering why you were so lucky. It looks like there’s a reason for your good fortune.”
Was that the case? Lin Yun held onto his chin and wondered if Jian Jingtian was serious about that. It was so much so that he even wondered if his good fortune was all because of Lil’ Purple.
“Let’s not talk about that for now. Did you obtain the Fleeting Cloud 13 Swords’ cultivation method?” Jian Jingtian asked. Since he had already taken a step out and became a Heavenly King, he did not need to be troubled about making a breakthrough anymore. He could spend all his energy on the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect now.
“I’ll make a copy now.” Lin Yun nodded and they went to a nearby mountain, to the pavilion where Lin Yun often met Su Ziyao.
When Jian Jingtian retrieved a brush and some papers, Lin Yun recalled the Fleeting Cloud 13 Swords and the sword sutra before writing them down. The Fleeting Cloud Sword Sutra recorded on the stone tablet was much more complete than the one that Lin Yun had grasped, not to mention that the cultivation method even contained the Elysium Core Realm and Dragon Pulse Realm versions of it.
As Lin Yun wrote them down, he was also comprehending them simultaneously. At this moment, he slightly regretted that he didn’t wait. If he continued cultivating the Fleeting Cloud 13 Swords and the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sutra, it would be fearsome even in the Elysium Core Realm and Dragon Pulse Realm.
Furthermore, the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sutra was connected to lightning intent and was compatible with Lin Yun, who had grasped the azure dragon intent. But now that he had already practiced the Carefree 9 Swords, he wouldn’t be able to manage his time if he practiced another sword technique.
So Lin Yun could only use the Fleeting Cloud 13 Swords and Fleeting Cloud Sword Sutra as a martial comprehension to digest and strengthen his foundation.
Jian Jingtian was silently watching from the side without saying a word. But he would occasionally nod his head and have shock on his face because the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sutra was much stronger than he had imagined. Furthermore, there were many places that could be further excavated.
When Lin Yun was done, he handed the papers over and exclaimed, “The real holy spirit of the Fleeting Cloud 13 Swords can only be brought out with the sword sutra. Reaching the Elysium Core Realm can even be comparable to ghost spirit martial techniques.”
Above the holy spirit martial techniques were the ghost spirit, dragon spirit, and the legendary deity spirit martial techniques. Each of them was further categorized into three levels. Generally speaking, ghost spirit martial techniques could only be found in powerful sects, so Jian Jingtian’s evaluation was already high enough.
“Mhm? Your words are a little interesting…” Jian Jingtian exclaimed before he smiled, “I didn’t realize your handwriting was so beautiful, looking like a sword technique. Not only beautiful, but one can comprehend it.”
Lin Yun was surprised because he didn’t think that there was anything special about his handwriting, nor did he practice calligraphy. But when Lin Yun suddenly thought of something, he took another blank piece of paper and started writing. He asked, “Senior Brother, do you recognize this word?”
When Jian Jingtian came over to take a look, he wasn’t bothered about it, at first. But when Lin Yun was done writing, Jian Jingtian’s face changed completely as he muttered, “This is an ancient word…this means ‘heaven’…”
Lin Yun wrote down the thirty-six strokes that formed the Heaven Sword Form of the Carefree 9 Swords. That was the oldest character born at the beginning of the era. But now, the legacy of those words was already incomplete, and not many people could recognize an entire word.
Lin Yun only knew about the origin of those ancient words from the Southern Emperor’s mutter. But when Jian Jingtian praised his handwriting earlier, Lin Yun suddenly wondered if the change in his handwriting might be related to the Carefree 9 Swords. Since the sword technique was in the form of writing with the sword, he would have to practice his calligraphy in the future. This had opened a whole new door for him.
“This seems to be a sword technique. The mood behind every stroke is different when you were writing it earlier. When you finished, the sword technique in your brush also became a lot stronger.” As Jian Jingtian said, he finally figured something out and smiled, “It’s no wonder why you’re willing to leave behind the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sutra. So it turns out that you have something better.”
Stowing the brush, Lin Yun said, “Senior Brother, you misunderstand me. If possible, I would also like to leave behind this sword technique. But this sword technique requires a painting to learn, and others might not understand even if I write it out. I’ll try and see if I can figure out a way in the future and send it back to the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect.”
Lin Yun naturally had feelings for the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect, and he also wished that the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect could rise one day in the entire Profound Azure Prefecture.
“It’s good as long as you have the heart. But you don’t have to rush that. You can wait till you reach the Samsara Edict Realm before you try,” said Jian Jingtian. He naturally wouldn’t be polite to Lin Yun when he saw that Lin Yun was serious about what he had just said.
Right then, the entire Sword Saint Mountain started to glow. A sword ray pierced the sky and broke through several layers of restriction that Jian Jingtian had left behind. This instantly made Jian Jingtian’s face change as he unleashed his sword aura to suppress the light coming from the Sword Saint Mountain.
When Lin Yun squinted his eyes and looked over, he discovered the Iris Sword Box in the light, and the light didn’t come from the Sword Saint Mountain but the sword box. Did that mean that the Sovereign Divine Rune was successfully collected?
“Open!” Lin Yun formed the Sky Unlocking Seal. When the restriction on the surface of the sword box opened, he turned into a streak of light and entered the sword box. When he entered the Iris Secret Realm, the world had changed with lightning everywhere.
Lil’ Purple was standing at the center of the Iris Secret Realm. There was a sapling where the Phoenix Tree had withered. Lil’ Purple was standing before the sapling with excitement and joy written all over her face.
“Lin Yun, you’re here!” Lil’ Purple flew over and pounced on Lin Yun. “Lin Yun, the tree has come back to life! It has come back to life!”
The impact of Lil’ Purple pouncing on him made Lin Yun briefly stagger. Seeing that Lil’ Purple has no intention of letting him go, Lin Yun could only helplessly carry her, “You’re a phoenix, so why are you acting like a child?”
“Hehe, that’s because I’m too happy today. One of the Sovereign Divine Runes is finally back. When all seven Sovereign Divine Runes are found, this secret realm will return to how it once was!” Lil’ Purple said happily.
“It’s the Myriad Lightning Divine Rune, right?” Lin Yun asked.
“Yeah. With the Myriad Lightning Divine Rune, the secret realm is slowly recovering. But you still need to spend resources in the future to nurture the Phoenix Tree because the tree is the core of this entire secret realm,” said Lil’ Purple.
“So, where’s the Myriad Lightning Divine Rune?” Lin Yun asked.
“It’s in the Myriad Lightning Lake.” Lil’ Purple pointed in a direction.
If Lin Yun remembered correctly, the Myriad Lightning Lake should be in the south. When he turned his head over, he could see lightning enveloping an entire patch of land with the lightning flickering into the sky before forming thunderclouds.
After a pair of Golden Crow Wings appeared behind him, the wings flapped, and he began to shuttle amongst the lightning. He had to admit that after finding one Sovereign Divine Rune, the Iris Secret Realm that looked dead finally had a wisp of vitality.
Half an hour later, Lin Yun landed outside the Myriad Lightning Lake. In the past, the Myriad Lightning Lake was just a huge crater. But now, the crater was filled with lightning.
Separating herself from Lin Yun’s embrace, Lil’ Purple explained, “The Myriad Lightning Lake hasn’t fully recovered yet. This is just the beginning. It will have to give birth to rainbow-colored lightning to be fully recovered. At that time, you can temper your body with it. The progress in your body-refining technique will be much faster than others by at least ten or even a hundred times!”
“So, how can I let it recover?” Lin Yun asked. He had to admit that the sound of it attracted even him. After all, the Azure Dragon Saint Art had always been a trump card to him, aside from his sword intent before encountering Qin Cang.
“The Sovereign Divine Rune shares a symbiotic relationship with the Phoenix Tree. The more Sovereign Divine Runes you gather, the more complete the Phoenix Tree will be. At the same time, the bigger the Phoenix Tree, the more energy the Sovereign Divine Rune can absorb to strengthen itself,” explained Lil’ Purple.
Lin Yun instantly understood what Lil’ Purple meant and asked, “So you’re saying that before more Sovereign Divine Runes are found, I have to find a way to let that Phoenix Tree grow?”
“Hehe, bingo. You’re truly the servant that this empress has picked,” smiled Lil’ Purple.
But when Lin Yun glared at her, Lil’ Purple stuck her tongue out and became quiet. As Lin Yun observed the Myriad Lightning Lake, he noticed that it had just started to form, and he still couldn’t temper his physique.
They returned to where the Phoenix Tree sapling was located. This sapling was even shorter than Lil’ Purple. So Lin Yun had to bend down to take a closer look at it.
“The growth of the Phoenix Tree is slow. Without external help, it can barely grow to a meter in a hundred years,” said Lil’ Purple.
“So, what does it require to grow?”
“Saint liquid! True Dragon Saint Liquid! If you have a bucket of it, it’ll be equivalent to ten years worth of growth for the Phoenix Tree!” Lil’ Purple said seriously.
“Isn’t that a little too much?” Lin Yun nearly threw out blood. A bucket of True Dragon Saint Liquid? Did Lil’ Purple have any idea how ridiculous that was? The half-year he was in the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect, the amount of True Dragon Saint Liquid he obtained were counted by drops, and he had already owed Jian Jingtian a considerable favor. So he couldn’t imagine how many droplets were there in a bucket.
“It’s not that exaggerating!” Lil’ Purple said softly. She didn’t dare to tell Lin Yun that as they gathered more Sovereign Divine Runes, the quantity of True Dragon Saint Liquid needed would also increase. So a bucket was not much for now.
“A bucket is roughly about 500 kilograms.” Lil’ Purple calculated for Lin Yun.
Lin Yun didn’t say a word because there was nothing he could do about that for now. But he could look forward to the potential of the Iris Secret Realm. The spiritual energy near the sapling alone was better than the best cultivation spot in the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect. So Lin Yun wanted to water it with some True Dragon Saint Liquid and see if there would be any changes.
But even without the density of spiritual energy near the sapling, just the effects of the Myriad Lightning Lake alone was extremely attractive to him.
“Let’s think about that when we go to the Ancient Barren Domain,” said Lin Yun calmly. There was no way he could gather so many resources in the Profound Azure Prefecture, so he could only wait till he was in the Ancient Barren Domain.
