Chapter 327: 336 Sword Heart

"Before you cultivate, there are some things you must understand. Otherwise, if you start off skewed, the harder you work, the more skewed you become; if the foundation is laid incorrectly, it cannot be corrected."

Chi Deputy Envoy's expression was very serious, lacking any of the usual tipsy look from his drinking days, and his gaze was very bright.

"The first thing is the relationship between the sword and the Sword Guest. You know this, right?"

Tang Zhao replied, "I know, it is the relationship between host and guest." Xing Ji had specifically reminded him of this.

Chi Qianli nodded and said, "Exactly. It is not master and servant, nor is it master and object, but host and guest. The relationship between host and guest is relatively equal, but in the end, there is the issue of the East wind and the West wind. As far as our cultivation goes, it is better for the guest to offend the host than for the host to bully the guest."

In other words, it is better for the Sword Guest to overwhelm the sword than to let the sword overwhelm the Sword Guest.

Tang Zhao said, "This is what you just said, taking 'self' as the foundation."

Chi Qianli said, "Exactly, you have aptitude. In our Sword Guest cultivation, Sword Essence must be accumulated using the sword weapon as a container. The Sword Heart must be in spiritual communion with the sword weapon, and while Sword Arts are primarily based on self-realization, they must also follow the Sword Intent. Back and forth, one ends up putting the sword first in everything, and we Sword Guests become the caterpillar fungus of the sword. Some people, greedy for progress, often follow the sword and humble themselves; at first, their cultivation speed is lightning fast, but later they inevitably lose themselves—at best, they find it hard to take a single step, and at worst, their Soul is shaken, and they end up as idiots."

"But there is another type of person who, regardless of the Sword Intent, is single-mindedly following their own rhythm, even treating the sword as an enemy to be conquered. Such people are too self-righteous; they don't even need to wait for the future, they immediately find it difficult to progress. Although they might still cobble together a few Sword Techniques and be able to fight, their Sword Heart is in constant danger of collapsing. If they aren't careful, the sword body itself can directly shatter. Some of these people are too stubborn and overconfident. Others, however, lack reliable inheritance and do not know the sense of proportion in this; they might have luckily obtained a sword, cultivated in ignorance, realized the sword in a muddled way, and cannot even distinguish between Sword Intent and Sword Image—one can only say that fortune is where disaster hides."

Tang Zhao nodded; he had seen one such person, a Sword Guest of a gathering-treasure sword whose name he had already forgotten, but he was a mountain bandit anyway. Because his Sword Heart collapsed, a proper Sword Guest was beaten to death head-on by him while he was still a Loose Practitioner. At the time, he only thought this person was stupid and greedy, not understanding Sword Intent, and thus suffering the consequences of his own actions; only later did he think: he might really have understood nothing, and no one had ever taught him what to do.

The sword gave some lucky people of humble origins a chance to reach the sky in a single bound, but there was no one to guide them on the path thereafter, and walking it was truly full of thorns at every step. Just like the first batch of native Sword Guests, most died on the path of exploration, and those who could reach Sword Hero were one in a hundred. They summarized the lessons learned using themselves as examples, which made the path easier for those who came after.

"In the earliest times, some proposed that the truly perfect path is for the sword and the Sword Guest to be of one mind, where it doesn't matter who follows whom, but rather they walk forward hand in hand, pursuing that state of unity of heart and spirit, like fish and water."

Chi Deputy Envoy sighed and said, "But it is actually too idealistic; reality is not a play, nor is it a dream. Things will not happen just because you want them to. Some people are born intelligent and have excellent luck, finding the sword that matches them best, so they want to pursue this path. But very few reach the end. Because humans and swords are not born as one heart. Rather than saying you and the sword have no hierarchy and are of one mind, it is merely that you have temporarily shelved your disputes, and the time for an explosion has not yet come. Once it explodes... well, that is how many 'power swords' come to be."

Tang Zhao thought of the Xiezhi Sword—such a righteous senior judge, such a righteous sword; logically, it was a match made in heaven, yet it ended in tragedy. Even now, no one knows: why did he and the sword perish together?

Chi Deputy Envoy was slightly distracted and said, "So the second thing we must know is that you and I are both mortals. Matching with a sword is luck; it does not mean the sword was born for you. Do not presume to think of the sword and yourself as naturally one, and certainly do not think that because you are excellent, the sword will love you and change for you."

When he said this, he paused, suddenly thinking that Tang Zhao's sword really was born for him, forged by his own hands, matching instantly—wasn't this a match made in heaven?

But at this moment, Tang Zhao still nodded to receive the teaching. Chi Deputy Envoy breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "It means you must face the fact that you are an ordinary person. Do not keep your eyes fixed on legendary paths, pursuing some immortal sword-couple, but rather cultivate in a down-to-earth manner. You must maintain both humility and confidence. While taking yourself as the foundation, you must also do your best to manage the Sword Heart."

Tang Zhao said thoughtfully, "The two words 'manage' are very interesting."

Chi Deputy Envoy said, "These two words were proposed by the Lord. Ordinary sects would use words like 'cultivate and maintain'. But we are people who do practical work; we are not like those high-ranking sects that do not eat the food of the Human World, so using more vulgar words is fine. 'Manage'—treat the Sword Heart like a business where you have invested your entire net worth, a business where you succeed or die, managing it carefully and conscientiously, keeping alert at all times; instead, you can walk more steadily. Once you reach Sword Hero, you can adjust it yourself when you have the realm and your own unique insights, right?"

Tang Zhao nodded repeatedly, feeling he had benefited greatly.

After stating the purpose of the sect, Chi Deputy Envoy continued to talk about practical dry goods: "Straighten out your position, and then talk about the Sword Heart. The most important thing for a Sword Guest is the Sword Heart. Although it is said that becoming a Sword Hero is marked by realizing the first Sword Technique, in fact, if the Sword Heart reaches the realm, there are no obstacles. The rest is nothing more than accumulating Sword Essence and waiting for the opportunity to realize the most suitable Sword Technique. Those are all things that happen naturally when the conditions are right."

Tang Zhao deeply agreed; just take the Sword Manual for example. Sword Heart is listed after Sword Intent, with the realm following it. Sword Technique is at the very bottom, and Sword Essence is not displayed at all. It is evident that the Sword Manual considers the Sword Heart the most important, and it is directly related to the realm.

"The first realm of the Sword Heart is 'Gold and Stone Open'; this only requires you to realize it yourself, which is to face your inner heart and be sincere to the sword. The more of a pure heart one has, the easier it is to achieve. Therefore, young children have an advantage in becoming Sword Guests. But the second realm, 'Heart has Spiritual Rhino', is much harder. One must have certain experiences and opportunities to achieve it."

"'Heart has Spiritual Rhino' means a point of connection. You must have a spiritual connection with the sword. When realizing the Sword Heart, you must communicate more with the sword, increase understanding, and cultivate tacit understanding; over time, it will happen naturally. Don't shut yourself away to build a cart, and don't play that 'soul-knowing, all in silence' game. Speak when you should speak, solve problems as early as possible, and don't let things drag on."

Why does it sound more and more like falling in love?

Tang Zhao said, "I know the principles, but are there any specific methods?"

Everything in the books involving sword realization only talks in generalities; there is no specific operation, let alone cultivation techniques.

Chi Deputy Envoy said helplessly, "There really isn't. Realization is thinking, and it is thinking while facing your own unique Sword Image and Sword Intent; everyone is different. Never mind methods, even the train of thought cannot be shared. If you use an old sword, there is a slight advantage in this regard. If the previous Sword Guest was a Sword Hero and left behind detailed insights, those who come after should be able to reach Sword Hero by following the book. It is just that going further is difficult; this is the price of laziness."

"There is no shortcut for a new sword. Sword realization is just you holding the sword and pondering; when your heart moves and you can sense each other in the dark, it is about there. Compared to 'Gold and Stone Open', 'Heart has Spiritual Rhino' just adds an 'each other'—it is not you being honest with the sword unilaterally, or the sword listening to your orders unilaterally. There are a few small points. First—interact with the sword; the simplest method is to often call out the Sword Image to play. Like Lao Xing's Xiezhi, he often calls it out to play games like teasing a cat; the more familiar, the better. Our Sword Images are relatively empty, but it doesn't matter; call them out often and try to delay the descent time, which is good for mutual understanding."

Tang Zhao nodded, planning to keep the Sword Image in a state of descent as much as possible in safe places in the future.

"Also, experience more, fight more. So-called tacit understanding is ground out bit by bit; even if you don't use the sword to fight, even just often flying around on the sword is good. Furthermore, improve your own Mental Power; do not give up cultivating the Mysterious Technique, especially cultivating the Spirit. With high Inspiration and strong Spirit, the Sword Heart is realized quickly."

Speaking of this, he said solemnly, "There was a period of time when it was popular to directly visualize the Sword Image, cultivating Mental Power on one hand and increasing tacit understanding with the Sword Image on the other; it could be called killing two birds with one stone. But it was quickly abandoned."

Tang Zhao pondered, "Is it because the host bullies the guest?"

Chi Qianli praised, "You are truly smart; that is exactly it. If you use the Sword Image for visualization and keep immersing yourself, you will gradually take the Sword Image as the main body and distort your own stance. The harm is not apparent at first, but it is terrifying over a long time. However, your visualization method should best not deviate too far from the Sword Intent. Otherwise, it will also hinder your own sword realization. As a Sword Guest, never forget balance at any moment."

He suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, there is one more thing. Originally, it doesn't need to be said now, and saying it might even be harmful, but you are so intelligent that I can tell you in advance. You have already sensed the Original Technique, right?"

Tang Zhao nodded.

The so-called Original Technique can be said to be a cultivation technique, or it can be said not to be. It is a circulation path for accumulating Sword Essence.

This path is not taught by others, but is realized from the Sword Seed after 'Gold and Stone Open'.

This path connects the sword and the Sword Guest into a whole, performing a large circulation. Through this circulation, one can quickly accumulate Sword Essence, much faster than the sword alone. In essence, this is extremely similar to internal energy circulation techniques. But this circulation takes the sword as the main body, because the Sword Essence is ultimately stored in the sword; the Sword Guest can draw on the power of the Sword Essence at will, but cannot store the Sword Essence themselves. The Sword Essence only passes through the Sword Guest's body and meridians and acupoints, making the Sword Guest accustomed to the sword's Sword Essence and tempering the body in the process.

Every sword's Sword Essence path is unique, so this cannot be taught to each other, and thus it cannot be called a cultivation technique, but out of habit, it is still called the "Original Technique".

Aside from the extremely difficult-to-quantify sword realization, a Sword Guest's daily cultivation is practicing the Original Technique, accumulating Sword Essence, and tempering the body; this is also the most visible and tangible progress for a Sword Guest. The biggest advantage a veteran Sword Guest has over a novice is the thickness of their Sword Essence.

Chi Qianli said, "A senior from the Inspection Department told me that although the Original Technique is unique, Sword Guests will more or less change their circulation path in the later stages; even if the efficiency decreases, it is good for the Sword Heart."