Chapter 407: Wan Jian Xia (Second Update)

Sword Casting Master's hut, Wan Jian Xia Secret Realm.

This massive gorge, deep and bottomless, is an important Secret Realm of the Sword Casting Master.

The land on both banks is barren, covered everywhere in crimson iron sand; when a gale blows through the gorge, it whips up the iron sand, causing stinging pain when it strikes a person, and some larger particles can even leave blood-holes in the bodies of mortals.

Because the terrain is treacherous and absolute, birds are nowhere to be seen, and human shadows are extinguished.

Yet, although Wan Jian Xia has natural Heaven-sent barriers, it is not a desperate situation for cultivators; it does not rely on this scenery to be one of the most important Secret Realms of the Sword Casting Master.

The true rarity of this place lies in the cliffs on both sides of the gorge.

On both sides of the gorge, those steep rock walls are embedded with sword blades of all sizes and various shapes.

Some of those blades are complete, some are broken, and some are even just sword embryos that have been hammered only a few times.

These thousands upon thousands of discarded swords are the failed products left behind by generations of Sword Casting Master disciples after gaining insights into forging here.

Or rather, these are the discarded paths they abandoned.

But the discarded paths that were unsuitable for them might not necessarily be unsuitable for other descendants; looking at it solely from the perspective of broadening one's thinking, these discarded swords also possess very high reference value.

For the disciples of the Sword Casting Master, the value of this place is equivalent to the Scripture Pavilion of other sects; it is an important way for the Sword Casting Master to cultivate younger disciples.

However, because this place is dangerous and the Sword Intent is too mottled, which can damage the Divine Soul, it is only open to disciples at or above the Earth Realm, and one can only stay for half a month per entry.

Yet at this moment, the Wan Jian Xia Secret Realm is uncharacteristically quiet; the thatched huts on both sides of the gorge are devoid of disciples who would usually be here in seclusion to gain insights.

However, it is not entirely devoid of human presence; on one side of the gorge, there is an inconspicuous figure who has already stayed in this place for nearly two months.

If Ren Yidao were in this place, he would surely be surprised by this figure with eyes closed.

This figure is none other than the Li-surnamed younger sister he speaks of, the Ninth Princess of the Northern Qian Dynasty, Li Qiushui.

Hmm, she is also his niece in name...

And beside her, there is another figure, constantly pestering her and chattering away.

"Qiushui! Qiushui!"

"Just once!"

"I promise just once! It really doesn't hurt!"

"Just give in to me!!!"

Surprisingly, this "lecher" full of dangerous remarks is actually an acquaintance.

Gongsun Changshou, who parted ways with Ren Yidao at Death Valley, is hiding her hands behind her back with a shy expression, twisting and leaning in front of Li Qiushui, saying with a thick-skinned face:

"How about it? Really just once!"

"Your Sword Spirit Body hasn't been developed yet, there are too many impurities in your body right now!"

"Na na na, just let me tap you once! I guarantee all the impurities in your body will be gone, you will be reborn, and you will be brand new!"

"How about it? Say something, Qiushui!"

"Just pretend your elder sister is begging you!"

Li Qiushui: "..."

But no matter how Gongsun Changshou pestered her,

Li Qiushui, who had submerged her consciousness among the ten thousand swords, remained completely unresponsive; she turned a deaf ear to the clamor filling her ears.

Let you tap me once?

Put down the big hammer behind your back before you talk!

She ignored the shameless Gongsun Changshou and continued to stir the Sword Intent filling the gorge.

This is Wan Jian Xia; to outsiders, this is nothing more than a big pit filled with various discarded swords, and apart from looking a bit spectacular, it has no other use.

It is not even as good as collecting those discarded swords to forge an Iron Throne, or casting twelve golden men or something.

But this deep pit, when viewed through the eyes of a Sword Casting Master, is a different kind of scenery.

Here lie various ingenious ideas of predecessors; although they are all discarded semi-finished products, one can see different styles.

For a Sword Casting Master, personal style is their different Dao.

And here, in the eyes of Li Qiushui, it is an entirely third kind of scene.

Ordinary people see magnificent scenery, Sword Casting Masters see the Dao of their predecessors, and she... sees the resentment and anger of the discarded swords!

In her eyes, where is this a treasure land for cultivation?

Wan Jian Xia?

No, no, no, this is simply a mass grave!

A place of great misfortune!

The thousands upon thousands of discarded swords accumulated by the Sword Casting Master over generations—their unwilling resentment and anger almost destroyed her spirit!

As someone with a Sword Spirit Body, she can hear the wailing and roaring of the discarded swords.

The anger accumulated over these thousands of years all poured out through Li Qiushui, this vent, and rushed toward her.

These incomplete sword souls want to seize her body, want to take her body as their own; they want to use her body as a bridge to convey their anger and resentment to the world!

This feeling is extremely painful.

Staying in this place, every minute, every second, is an unbearable torment for Li Qiushui.

But she did not leave.

Li Qiushui persisted.

No, she not only wants to persist here, she has even greater ambitions.

Li Qiushui wants to use the anger of these ten thousand swords to temper and hone herself, and even fuse their Sword Intent into her body.

She is not daydreaming; as someone with a Sword Spirit Body, she can theoretically do it.

And after enduring here for a month, Li Qiushui truly succeeded, successfully absorbing a complete strand of Sword Intent!

The beginning of everything is difficult.

After succeeding once, Li Qiushui's confidence grew greatly, and in the month that followed, she was unstoppable, successfully absorbing ten strands of Sword Intent.

Just a few days ago, she had already successfully used the eleven strands of Sword Intent to break through to the Transformation Realm.

If this trend continued, it would not take her much time to successfully absorb all the Sword Intent in this place.

By rights, Li Qiushui, not being a disciple of the Sword Casting Pavilion, should not have appeared here.

Let alone not having the qualifications to enter, let alone enjoying this place exclusively and driving away other Sword Casting Pavilion disciples.

Yet the current generation's Sect Leader Gongye of the Sword Casting Pavilion had a good personal friendship with Li Long, so he made an exception to let her enter this place and even enjoy such high-standard treatment.

Of course, Li Long's face was big enough, but not to the point where the Sword Casting Pavilion would lower its dignity to fawn over her.

Li Qiushui had occupied this place alone for two months, and it was not without a price to pay.

To obtain the ticket to enter this place, Li Qiushui had to do one thing for the Sword Casting Pavilion.

"Calculating the time, it is almost time, so I should stop for now and come back to continue my insights after I finish the task."

"I wonder if Xiaoxue has left yet..."

The aura on Li Qiushui's body slowly subsided as she took the initiative to cut off the connection with the discarded swords; this was something she had only figured out half a month ago.

"Hm?"

Seeing Li Qiushui stop her cultivation, Gongsun Changshou's eyes lit up, and he did not even bother to hide the large hammer behind his back, excitedly greeting her:

"Have you finally figured it out!!?"

"Come, come, I am very fast, just for a moment!"

Li Qiushui was already deeply affected by the discarded swords, and at this moment, she could not help but rage:

"So noisy!"

In an instant, ten thousand swords rang out in unison, and the Secret Realm shook!