Chapter 743: The Sword-Riding Genius

Inside Lianyao Mountain, morning mist spread across the hills, and grass and trees thrived in lush greenery.

Though this was a dangerous forest teeming with demonic beasts, Mo Hua walked as if on a spring outing—calm, brisk, humming a tune.

At the foot of a slope, Mo Hua stopped, took out fruit wine, pastries, and dried meat from his storage pouch, ate with relish while watching the morning mountain scenery.

After a while, a figure appeared in the distance.

Mo Hua immediately stood up, waving happily.

"Sister Situ, over here!"

A tall, handsome youth with a Li Huo Sword on his back smiled and waved back, walking toward Mo Hua.

The newcomer was indeed Situ Jian.

He was the "sparring partner" Mo Hua had sought for sword-riding practice.

Both hailed from Lizhou—they ought to be fellow townsfolk.

When Mo Hua had been in Lizhou, he had interacted with the Situ clan, knowing Situ Fang and Situ Xiu, the siblings, as well as Elder Situ Jin and several other cultivators.

But the Situ clan was large; these people were likely distant branches, probably unfamiliar with Situ Jian.

Mo Hua said nothing about it.

The two of them, amid morning mist and mountain hues, drank fine wine and feasted on delicacies.

After eating and drinking their fill, they began sword training.

Before training, Situ Jian still had doubts:

"Little Brother, you're not a sword cultivator—why suddenly want to learn sword-riding?"

Mo Hua put on a serious face and made up an excuse:

"The Duanjin Sect is naturally stingy and underhanded. Though they've temporarily laid low, who knows when they'll return—so we must prepare in advance, study sword-riding methods thoroughly."

"And not just Duanjin—this Qianxuezhou region has so many sword cultivators; we must learn more, lest we fall victim to them in the future…"

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles."

"Oh." Situ Jian nodded slowly, praising, "No wonder you're Little Brother—you think so far ahead."

"Far ahead?"

"Yes," Situ Jian said. "True 'sword-riding' is only taught after Foundation Establishment, and only mastered at the Jin Dan stage."

Mo Hua froze. "So far?"

Situ Jian stared silently at Mo Hua, thinking: So Little Brother doesn't know anything at all…

Situ Jian sighed, sat on a large rock, and began explaining from the beginning:

"All sword cultivators begin by cultivating sword qi—transforming spiritual energy into sword qi is the foundation of sword arts."

"But at the start, the sword qi formed by spiritual energy is weak, so cultivators rely on spiritual swords to amplify sword qi and enhance killing power."

"The earlier the stage, the lower the cultivation, the weaker the sword qi, and the greater the dependence on the sword weapon."

"But later, as cultivation deepens and sword qi strengthens, one can reach the point of having no sword in hand—the body itself becomes the sword, and dependence on weapons diminishes."

"Of course, sword cultivators with swords remain extremely powerful."

"That's because the 'sword-riding' technique unites sword qi with the weapon, combining their power to produce extraordinary lethality."

"How powerful?" Mo Hua asked, deeply curious.

Situ Jian shook his head. "I don't know…"

Mo Hua: "..."

Situ Jian looked slightly embarrassed. "It's definitely powerful… but I haven't yet learned the true 'Li Huo Sword-Riding Scripture,' so I don't know how strong it is."

"So the Duanjin Sect senior we encountered earlier—the one who used the Duanjin Sword-Riding Scripture—wasn't truly using 'sword-riding' either?"

"Which Duanjin Sect senior?"

"The one who got stripped, hung on a tree, and had a turtle drawn on him."

"Oh." Situ Jian remembered, nodded. "Yes."

Situ Jian explained to Mo Hua: "He did study the sword-riding scripture, but with his cultivation and sword mastery, he's far from capable of true sword-riding—his technique remains only at the superficial level of sword qi…"

"True sword-riding…"

Situ Jian's expression hardened, his eyes filled with longing:

"First, you must cultivate sword qi to extreme strength."

"Then, attempt to fuse that sword qi with the weapon."

"Finally, use your spiritual sense to control the sword fused with sword qi, lock onto an enemy, and launch it from afar to kill."

"Only this method—where spiritual sense controls the weapon, fuses with sword qi, and unites all three—when deeply cultivated, can one gradually develop 'sword intent'…"

"Sword intent?!"

Mo Hua's expression changed, stunned.

Situ Jian was startled, whispering:

"Little Brother, is something wrong?"

Mo Hua realized he'd reacted too strongly, immediately feigning calmness, patting Situ Jian's shoulder:

"No, you're absolutely right!"

"Keep going…"

Situ Jian paused, then shook his head. "That's all."

Mo Hua blinked. "That's all?"

Situ Jian nodded. "What comes after sword intent is too profound—I'm still too low in cultivation to comprehend…"

Not to mention sword intent—he hadn't even properly learned "sword-riding" yet.

"Alright," Mo Hua sighed.

Although he couldn't ask about the deeper aspects of "Sword Intent," it was a pity, but he at least understood one crucial point:

Only when spiritual sense, sword qi, and sword weapon merge as one can "Sword Intent" be nurtured.

Sword control is the culmination of the method uniting sword qi and sword weapon.

But at the same time, it is also the beginning of "Sword Intent."

This kind of thing is critical, and somewhat "beyond the curriculum"—not even the sect's Dao teachings would cover it.

The method of sword control…

If one can only learn it after reaching the late Foundation Establishment stage, and achieve minor mastery only at the Jin Dan stage.

Then it would be at least for the next cohort of late Foundation Establishment students, or even only after entering the Inner Sect.

Indeed, among three people walking together, there must be my teacher; asking fellow sect members often brings benefits.

Mo Hua nodded silently in his heart.

"Then how exactly does one use spiritual sense to control a sword?"

"Is it the same as controlling objects with spiritual sense?"

"Just use spiritual sense to direct the spiritual sword and thrust it far away?"

Mo Hua asked again, curious.

Sister Situ said, "The general process of sword control is first to accumulate sword qi, then infuse it into the spiritual sword, and finally use spiritual sense to control the sword."

"Once spiritual sense, spiritual sword, and sword qi merge completely into a state of full 'sword control,' then use spiritual sense to locate enemies, control the sword to pierce through air, and kill from afar…"

"Sword control is built upon object control; the stronger your object control, the better your foundation for sword control."

"But sword control is harder than ordinary object control, consumes more spiritual sense, and is more difficult to target…"

Mo Hua memorized every word precisely.

But he skipped the earlier part—"accumulating sword qi, infusing it into the spiritual sword."

Because his sword qi was too weak; infusing it into the sword would be useless.

He planned to replace it entirely with the "Sword Array."

By skipping these two parts, he wouldn't need so much "preparation"—simply use spiritual sense to locate enemies, control the sword to pierce through air, and kill from afar.

The rest, leave to the "array technique."

"Exactly how to use spiritual sense to control the sword, pierce through air, and kill—this is also a special method of spiritual sense application, requiring study of a specific sword control technique…"

Sister Situ said here, her expression slightly apologetic, to Mo Hua, "My Si Tu family does have a 'spiritual sense sword control' technique; before I entered the sect, my father had me carry it with me, telling me to keep it for future study…"

"But it is a family inheritance, cannot be transmitted outside, and I cannot tell you…"

Sister Situ was very candid.

"Mm, it's fine," Mo Hua nodded.

He appreciated Sister Situ's intention.

But he himself already had a method of sword control.

From Jiang Laoda, he had obtained the "Broken Gold Sword Control Scripture" within the broken Jin Yu jade slip, and part of it contained the 'sword control' method.

Mo Hua had secretly studied it last night.

But some sword Dao terminology was obscure, and Mo Hua hadn't fully understood it.

Now, with Sister Situ explaining sword control comprehensively from the basics, Mo Hua gradually began to gain insight.

Mo Hua let out a faint sigh.

His foundation in sword Dao was simply too weak.

Some things, even if Sister Situ hadn't explained them, he couldn't have figured them out by himself.

"Then there's the issue of spiritual sense…"

Sister Situ continued, "To use spiritual sense for sword control, if your spiritual sense isn't strong, you simply cannot control the sword—so spiritual sense is also crucial for sword control…"

"As everyone knows, the range of spiritual sense projection is limited."

"Starting from Foundation Establishment, one pattern of spiritual sense is roughly equivalent to ten zhang; a typical early Foundation Establishment cultivator has about eleven patterns of spiritual sense, allowing projection over a hundred zhang…"

"By late Foundation Establishment, spiritual sense reaches nineteen patterns, and the projection range extends to over a hundred and several zhang, nearly two hundred zhang—but never reaching two hundred zhang…"

"If one breaks through to Jin Dan, it immediately becomes four hundred zhang…"

Mo Hua nodded slightly, "So the usual projection range for a late Foundation Establishment cultivator using spiritual sense to control a sword is around one hundred and ninety zhang?"

Sister Situ shook her head, "Not that far."

Mo Hua was startled, then after a moment's thought, understood:

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