Jiang Chen had never been bottlenecked by anything cultivation-wise since coming to Divine Abyss. Once inspiration hit, his breakthrough to sixth level empyrean was as smooth as ever. In less than ten days, he was able to stabilize his new advancement.
Sixth level empyrean increased his strength considerably in every area once again. Only after the breakthrough did he tally up his gains and losses from the fourth and the fifth palaces.
Each palace had given him something drastically different, though everything was extremely valuable. This time was no different.
He brought forth the Taiji Pisces Swords and laid them out in front of himself, extending his consciousness in intent communication. He was an expert on weapons in general, but he found the swords more and more intriguing every time he examined them.
“The taiji conceives two poles, which birth the four cardinals. Then come the eight trigrams, and hence the rest of creation. These swords must have been brought into being at the beginning of the celestial heavens. It combines the essences of yin and yang to enact the five elements and six connections. In short, they are anything but ordinary. Even the current me can’t accurately comprehend how much potential they have.”
Jiang Chen was very pleased with the Taiji Pisces Swords. Though Mad Fiend had been true to his name, the old man wasn’t hard to understand after his inner world was laid bare. The young man was curious though, why the old expert hadn’t used the swords himself. Why had they been gifted to him?
Mad Fiend was the type of person that if he wouldn’t tell Jiang Chen the reason then, he never would.
The Taiji Pisces Swords emboldened Jiang Chen and increased his strength. The only thing that remained was for him to choose an appropriate sword technique to match. He never had a shortage of those.
He did need to pick one out very carefully this time though. A sword technique that fit the Taiji Pisces Swords had to embody a balance of yin and yang as well.
Any technique with a degree of finesse had its own style. There existed many tendencies: might, ferocity, and broad strokes; or trickery, complexity, and general sophistication.
Speed was another popular one. If one could overwhelm one’s opponent with alacrity, it was trivial to win any fight.
In short, good sword techniques that possessed a balance of two styles were hard to find. Only the most authoritative of martial masters could come up with something so different.
A technique that succeeded on this front would become an instant classic, towering above all the rest.It was quite possible such techniques didn’t exist in Divine Abyss at all. One or two would definitely be brilliant exceptions to the rule.
However, Jiang Chen did know of a few from his previous life in the heavenly planes.
So many geniuses had congregated in the wider world of his previous home. Any that arrived were the cream of the crop in their original planes – one-in-a-millions or rarer.
Their intuitions and martial dao levels were outrageous to imagine.
These geniuses usually commanded great power wherever they arose. That meant there wouldn’t be many survivors, which made the associated martial techniques scarce as well.
Jiang Chen searched his mind and discovered several appropriate sword techniques, eventually ending up with a single one.
The technique’s name was the Sword of Genesis, so named because it sought to materialize the notion of primordial conception, when yin and yang were first parted. Once a martial cultivator trained it to perfection, they would have a significant advantage in battle. Cutting down an opponent on their level would be easier than breathing.
The Sword of Genesis was a very high-level and elegant technique. Though it was designed for killing, it was much more classy and graceful than its more brutal peers.
Because of its difficulty, Jiang Chen had a hard time instantly learning it completely. His superior intuition would help him along, but his present level of actual cultivation was a concerning barrier.
The first thing he did was to mull over the method in his mind to analyze all its changes and potentialities. Despite his edge in understanding, the technique initially defied him with sheer mystery. He would have to take it slow, one step at a time.
Still, he could jog along just fine.
As expected, the Pisces Swords and the Sword of Genesis were a perfect fit.
Time passed away as he engrossed himself in study.
After a month, he finally learned the opening move of the Sword of Genesis. The Taiji Pisces Swords amplified its strength to incredible levels.
Jiang Chen was greatly encouraged. “This opening strike is called the Yin Yang Twilight Slash. It certainly has the potential to blot out the sun.”
He was overjoyed. He knew that he was only starting out with the technique, but he had a strong feeling that it would benefit him in unknowable ways in his future battles.
Though he had learned only one move, he was sure that he could cut down an advanced empyrean expert.
The practice of the Sword of Genesis would take far longer than a few days. Instead of thirsting for completion, Jiang Chen put away the Taiji Pisces Swords.
In its place, he took out A Comprehensive Guide to Pill Dao and flipped through it. He didn’t need any tomes on the topic, really. Though the book was written at a high level, it barely helped him at all theory-wise.
The principles behind the suspended runes were a different matter. He was particularly interested in them. If he could grasp their manner of creation, he would have an ability that others did not. In fights, this would provide him with an element of surprise.
