Celestial Dragon Sword Venerable-Chapter 153: First Layer of the Immortal Sword Technique
A flame burned, yet it didn’t scorch the surrounding tree hollow. It was as if the flame had no heat at all.
This was a testament to Ye Tianling’s perfect control over energy.
This was an instinctive control of his body and soul, independent of his conscious mind.
Ye Tianling was immersed in a single-minded obsession—the obsession to become stronger.
In this state of the Returning Butterfly Cocoon, it was as though Ye Tianling had undergone a complete Nirvana, and within that state of rebirth, he began his hard cultivation anew.
The Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Immortal Sword Technique began to circulate quietly within him.
His internal meridians began to reshape themselves.
The acupoints along his Martial Veins also began to open, one by one.
The North Nether Divine Skill began to ravenously absorb the spiritual power from the world around him.
His mastery of the Kunpeng Carefree Travel body technique also began to deepen.
From his Huaxia inheritance, deeper layers of knowledge—on subjects like astronomy, geography, astrology, and the Eight Trigrams—gradually began to surface.
Combining this with Dugu Qiubai’s memories, Ye Tianling’s comprehension of this knowledge deepened. At the same time, he pushed all of his other cultivation techniques from the eighth layer to the Ninth Layer, including the Nine Swords of Dugu, Nine Yin Scripture, Muscle Strengthening Scripture, Turtle Breath Technique, Disguise Technique, Six Meridian Divine Sword, Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, Finger Snap Divine Technique, Nine Yang Divine Skill, Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, Wave-Riding Light Step, Celestial Mountain Six Yang Palm, Little Faceless Technique, Purple Mist Divine Skill, Innate Technique, and the Star Absorption Technique.
After he gradually brought the Ninth Layer of these techniques to perfection, Ye Tianling’s understanding of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Immortal Sword Technique deepened, and he finally took the crucial first step to mastering it.
BOOM—
Ye Tianling’s body shuddered. The Blood Cocoon shattered, turning into a fine, crimson powder.
The Spiritual Lotus Armor he wore had already retracted on its own. He now stood naked, his skin seemingly imbued with an unparalleled spiritual quality.
His skin was like jade, shimmering with a soft halo. The aura of Dao Marks manifested around him, as if he were blessed with an unparalleled Daoist grace.
Ye Tianling exhaled a murky breath. In his mind, the abilities of his numerous cultivation techniques were deconstructed and recombined in countless ways.
Ultimately, these techniques merged to become a purer component of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Immortal Sword Technique.
The other components transformed into true Immortal Techniques, part of a genuine Immortal Dao Inheritance.
’So, the Huaxia Dragon Soul’s inheritance is about achieving the Dao through martial arts. And all these cultivation techniques, even the Innate Technique, were just to lay a true foundation for the Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Immortal Sword Technique.’
Realization dawned on Ye Tianling.
With numerous techniques now integrated into it, Ye Tianling’s Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Immortal Sword Technique had reached the first layer, marking his official entry into its practice.
A thought was all it took for the Xuanyuan Celestial Evil Sword to appear in his hand.
He could now control it with perfect ease. It could become transparent and formless, its transformations endless, all subject to his will.
Now, as long as he refrained from using the Celestial Evil Heaven-Breaking Annihilation Dao, the energy drain from the Xuanyuan Celestial Evil Sword would be significantly reduced, thanks to the boon of his Immortal Sword Technique.
After this session of cultivation, his power had returned to its peak.
His realm had also stabilized once more at the Sword Soul Third Heaven Perfection Realm.
Tempered by the Celestial Tribulation, the strength of his physical body had also become immense.
The potential of his Emperor’s Qi Sword Body—a type of Sword Venerate Dominating Body—had been pushed to its absolute limit. It was now flawlessly integrated with the Golden Bell Shield and Iron Cloth Shirt techniques.
’I’ve exhausted all my resources, and even with the help of almost all of my sister Tianyu’s Dragon Soul Origin, I still couldn’t break through to the Sword Spirit Realm. With my current strength, how can I possibly enter the Celestial Dragon Sword Tomb Land and contend with those Sect Masters and Elders at the Sword Tribulation Realm to seize the Life Soul Spring and the Elemental Magnetic Aurora?’
Ye Tianling stood up, his face etched with a newfound world-weariness and anxiety.
"Are there any other methods? For example, if I passed techniques like the Muscle Strengthening Scripture or the North Nether Divine Skill to Tianyu, would that work?"
Left with no other choice, Ye Tianling asked the Little Dragon Girl.
He didn’t want to wait a single moment longer.
He wanted to see his sister, Long Tianyu, recover at once.
"Not at the moment. Perhaps, if you gradually enhance the Mechanical Heart’s data, or open more layers of the Space-Time Soul-locking Tower—for example, by awakening the ’Nirvana Rebirth Skill’—then new methods should become available."
The Little Dragon Girl’s voice manifested in Ye Tianling’s mind, sounding noticeably more mechanical.
Ye Tianling’s heart trembled. He then said gently, "Little Dragon Girl, thank you. I know you’ve expended a tremendous amount of energy, whether it was summoning Long Tianyu, helping me refine the Celestial Tribulation’s power, or even enabling me to control the Xuanyuan Celestial Evil Sword to kill Long Tianxiao.
I’ll get stronger, so the Mechanical Heart can grow faster!"
"Mhm," the Little Dragon Girl responded, sounding somewhat gratified as her mechanical voice once again echoed in Ye Tianling’s mind.
"Although you’ve taken that crucial step and grasped the core cultivation method of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Immortal Sword Technique, your own power is severely overdrawn from using the Xuanyuan Celestial Evil Sword twice in short succession. On top of that, Ye Fengyang’s Divine Blood, which was once perfectly compatible with you, has completely dispersed...
In the short term, I’m afraid it will be very difficult for you to break through to the Sword Spirit Realm.
You still have six months. You must proceed methodically. Don’t be rash or anxious."
Ye Tianling nodded gravely, taking the Little Dragon Girl’s counsel to heart without the slightest bit of carelessness.
After the Little Dragon Girl had explained a few more things, her presence grew faint.
Then, Ye Tianling felt a faint chill seep into the depths of his body and mind.
As the chill spread, Ye Tianling understood. The ’Mechanical Heart’ had also fallen into a state of dormancy. For the time being, it would probably be unable to ’guide’ him any longer.
’The Celestial Evil Heaven-Breaking Annihilation Dao, although extremely powerful, is clearly a case of draining the pond to catch the fish. Every time I use it, it’s almost no different from crippling my own cultivation. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I can’t use it again.’
Ye Tianling muttered to himself.
Afterward, Ye Tianling settled into deep meditation, reviewing his recent experiences and repeatedly contemplating potential responses to everything that had occurred.
「Two days passed in this manner.」
Two days later, having completely settled his mind, Ye Tianling disguised himself as Dugu Qiubai and returned to the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range.
The moment he set foot in the area, Ye Tianling felt a powerful sense of danger.
It was a hidden killing intent.
’Assassins! And they’re using the concealment methods of assassins from Blood Killing Heaven!’
In that single instant, Ye Tianling had already sensed it.
...
「Cyan Lotus Sacred Land.」
Within an ancient Sword Essence Pool, Ouyang Ruoxue was cultivating quietly.
But she found she could not calm her mind.
The blood-soaked figure of Ye Tianling kept flashing through her mind, as if he might perish at any second.
OMM—
A moment later, the process of her realm’s transformation came to a halt.
Her face paled slightly, a lost expression appearing in her beautiful eyes.
"Ruoxue."
A voice drifted over.
The voice was soft, yet it filled Ouyang Ruoxue with an immense sense of panic and unease.
"Granny."
Ouyang Ruoxue scrambled to her feet and bowed, like a child caught in the act.
"Child, don’t be afraid. This time, Granny has come to ask a few things. Ruoxue, you are to answer truthfully."
The voice was very gentle.
A long moment after the voice spoke, a figure shrouded in cyan light gradually coalesced, taking the form of Granny Qinglian.
"Granny."
Ouyang Ruoxue’s heart grew even more unsettled. Those two words, "answer truthfully," were enough to make her envision a tragic end for Ye Tianling—hunted down and killed by her Granny.
Ouyang Ruoxue already knew that Granny Qinglian had been making inquiries about Ye Tianling lately.
It was this knowledge that filled Ouyang Ruoxue with such immense worry.
Ouyang Ruoxue didn’t know if she loved or hated Ye Tianling.
But one thing was certain: she absolutely did not want to see him slain by Granny Qinglian.
