Cultivating To Immortality

Chapter 725: Innate Sword Spirit

The young man, fresh out of the mountain, suddenly became the Sect’s only remaining heir.

This kid seemed to have grown up all of a sudden.

It wasn’t the silent, pretentious brat from before, but genuinely much more mature.

Sometimes, he talked to himself.

"My Aptitude is dull, and my Cultivation progresses slowly. Going would only be a burden, adding trouble for my Master and Senior Martial Uncle."

"Staying to guard the Sect is perfectly normal."

"Master and Sect Leader only gave me this one task; I must do it well, no matter what."

However, he didn’t stay at the mountain gate for too long.

He didn’t know when it started, but the worried expression between Bai Tao’s brows grew increasingly deep.

News of Sword Cultivator mountain gates and Daoist temples being destroyed became more frequent... Many small Sects, also Sword Cultivators, were slaughtered overnight.

There were even many mountain gates whose very existence was erased.

Finally, one day, Bai Tao gathered all the important items from the Sect, left a mark, and then took the raven, leaving the mountain gate.

His worries were indeed not unfounded.

Even though he had a vague premonition, a group of Cultivators of unknown origin still caught up to him.

After a life-and-death battle, Bai Tao killed those Cultivators one by one.

However, he himself was also seriously injured.

He continued his journey without stopping, taking the raven back to his hometown, Qing Valley, and living in seclusion in the nearby deep mountains.

It was also the secluded valley where he and the raven first met.

More than ten years had passed since he left that place, and the raven Immortal was already showing signs of old age.

But here, it seemed nothing had changed... In the following years, Bai Tao took in a few Disciples.

Once each Disciple officially entered the Sect, he would tell them where the former Sect was located.

He would let the Disciples visit the mountain gate on their own when they traveled in the future, which could be considered acknowledging their ancestors.

However, the injuries from the previous great battle left Bai Tao unable to fully recover.

On the contrary, they became increasingly severe.

Until one day, Bai Tao passed on all the Sect Legacy to his Disciples, allowing them to leave on their own.

He sat alone on the mountaintop, looking distantly towards the direction of the mountain gate, with Qing Valley behind him.

"I wonder if Master and the others are doing well."

Facing the mountain wind, Bai Tao stood up and danced with his sword, while the raven perched on a stone.

As the sun set, it felt like he had returned to his youth.

Suddenly.

The raven cried out, its call mournful.

Bai Tao seemed to sense something, but laughed loudly: "For us to know and accompany each other, it has been the fortune of a lifetime."

"Why the sorrowful cry?"

He plunged the Flying Sword into the ground beneath the tree and walked back into the house alone.

He passed away silently.

From then on, the world lost a young Sword Cultivator.

However.

The raven did not leave... This kid Bai Tao truly had a bitter fate.

He saved my life before, but I couldn’t help him much.

He left nothing behind in his life. How can this Master Raven repay him...

It seems the only people related to him in this world are these villagers in Qing Valley.

Fortunately, this Master still has a few years left to live, and can still fly with some effort, so I’ll watch over them a bit...

As the new snow first melted, the raven flapped its wings for the first time, flying down to Qing Valley.

It smelled death.

The old village chief in Qing Valley was kind and highly respected, but he was terminally ill and unaware of it.

Caw!—

The raven landed on a tree in the village chief’s courtyard and cried out.

A woman hanging clothes looked up for a moment, then continued to beat her laundry, while children laughed and threw stones at it.

A few days later.

The energetic old village chief of Qing Valley suddenly passed away... At the summer solstice, the raven flew into Qing Valley for the second time.

From the cliff, it saw a group of bandits who had fled from elsewhere.

The raven circled above Qing Valley, crying out loudly.

Caw!—

The night watchman in the village, half-asleep, just mumbled.

"Where did that wild bird come from?"

He turned over and continued to sleep soundly.

Bandits attacked Qing Valley.

Although the raven’s strange cries woke many people, and there were many martial artists in the valley, they managed to drive away the bandits.

But several households were still plundered, and Qing Valley was filled with blood and fire.

Thankfully.

The losses were not severe... Another year of heavy winter snow.

The raven flapped its wings for the third time, braving the severe cold, and flew into Qing Valley.

At that time, the state of Chu was embroiled in war, with refugees fleeing everywhere and plagues spreading.

It landed on a tree closest to the valley entrance and began to cry out strangely.

"Caw!—"

Passing villagers drove it away with annoyance: "Go away, go away, you’re so noisy."

And a village woman splashed a basin of water at it, chasing it away.

A few days later, the plague broke out.

Countless old and weak in the valley died from the illness... Winter finally passed.

By this time, the raven was already very old; its feathers had become sparse, and its wings were somewhat weak.

However, it still tried its best, flying into Qing Valley for the fourth time.

It landed on the tree closest to the valley entrance.

"Caw!—"

After suffering a few times before, these villagers should finally believe Master Raven, right?

The villagers all came, gathering in front of it.

Every face was filled with malice and hatred.

"It’s it..."

The villager trembled, pointing at the raven, his face distorted.

"It brought disaster!"

...This time, what awaited the raven was a net.

Master Raven was thus pinned to the ground by a pitchfork.

It died in spring.

Joy and celebration at finally killing the "ominous creature" filled the faces of every villager.

On this day, several households in the valley even set up banquets to celebrate the elimination of the root of all evil.

However, not long after, the state of Chu suffered a drought.

Qing Valley’s crops yielded nothing, and famine followed.

For a time, corpses of the starved lay everywhere.

Not many people in Qing Valley survived this famine, and those who fortunately lived did not connect the drought or famine to that raven.

After all, it was already dead... The moment the pitchfork pierced its bird body, the raven’s soul began to wander.

It was not a demon, nor had it ever Cultivated; it merely accompanied Bai Tao on the Immortal mountain, eating mist and drinking dew, living a little longer than ordinary birds.

Its soul should have dissipated then, but a certain wondrous obsession kept its spirit wandering near Qing Valley.

Gradually, it forgot who it was.

It forgot the cold stares and pitchforks of Qing Valley.

It even forgot why it died.

It only remembered that when disaster was imminent, it had to go to Qing Valley to warn the villagers.

In the dark, it flew towards that desolate secluded valley.

An incredibly familiar feeling pulled it, landing on the hilt of the Flying Sword "Crying Moon."

Strands of Sword Qi surged from the sword body and blade, slowly merging with the raven’s wandering soul.

Days? Months? Or years?

He didn’t know how long had passed.

One day, a black-purple sword light shot into the sky, transforming into a raven, circling above Qing Valley.

The villagers drove it away, cursed it, and performed rituals.

It felt no anger, nor resentment, only stubbornly cried out until the Sword Qi dissipated.

There were some elders in the valley who remembered that raven.

Thus, the rumors of the raven Demon Beast calamity began to circulate again... The ink-like blackness before his eyes transformed into scattered black raven feathers, slowly dissipating.

Coming back to his senses, Song Yan’s Divine Thought had returned to the Liangyi Realm.

The black raven still perched on the hilt of Crying Moon, tilting its head to look at him, as if discerning something.

"Senior Bai Tao had a bitter fate, and you, this raven Immortal, are no less so..."

This raven had already died; it was just a coincidence that its soul merged with Senior Bai Tao’s remaining Lifebound Flying Sword, becoming something akin to a ghost.

Now that he had refined this Crying Moon Flying Sword, Senior Bai Tao’s Sword Qi would soon dissipate.

Correspondingly, this raven Immortal would also soon dissipate into this Heaven and Earth.

"The villagers were ignorant; you have done all you could. Go be reborn sooner."

Song Yan gently stroked the raven’s head and neck.

Just then, a wisp of black-purple spiritual light floated out from the Flying Sword "Crying Moon," circling around the Seed of Dao of Sword, and then merging into it.

A sensation of Qi came.

Song Yan, already prepared, was not unfamiliar with this.

It seemed to be the same as with the previous Linked Flying Sword; refining the Senior’s remaining Sword Qi allowed his Cultivation to advance a few steps.

Thinking of his previous experience in Linghua Valley, he subtly began to anticipate it.

If he could make such great progress in Cultivation, he might be able to Breakthrough to Level 9 Qi Refining sooner.

His Divine Sense left the Liangyi Realm.

Song Yan sat cross-legged directly under the withered tree, calming his mind and concentrating, holding a Qi Condensation Pill in his mouth.

He began to refine this Sword Qi.

However, this Sword Qi was not as abundant as he imagined, and the Spiritual Qi supplemented by the Qi Condensation Pill also seemed to have a lot of surplus.

His Dantian and Meridians felt no discomfort, only a slight swelling sensation.

The Sword Qi that flew out from Crying Moon this time was merely similar to the feeling of taking a Spirit Gathering Pill.

Moreover, this refinement ended very quickly, leaving him slightly disappointed, as his Cultivation had not advanced much.

"Perhaps it’s because the raven Immortal used Sword Qi to condense a physical form, consuming a lot of Sword Qi over the years."

He quickly adjusted his mood.

This trip was an unexpected one after all, and being able to obtain a High Grade Spiritual Artifact like Crying Moon was already very good.

Hmm... Besides that, he also obtained the corpse of a Demon Beast equivalent to a Cultivator at Qi Refining Perfection.

Song Yan pondered. The Body Refining method inherited from Senior Nie Zhao’s memory might be worth trying again, using the tiger Demon Beast’s Demon Beast blood.

Although the Body Refining effect might not be as good as Qilin blood, it could still enhance his Physical Body strength by a few points.

He hadn’t thought of any use for the Demon Beast core yet; he would ask Xiao He later to see if the Demon Beast core would be of great use to her.

If not, he would just sell it at a market.

As he was thinking, in the corner of his vision, a black shadow was subtly rising and falling with his breathing.

...?

Song Yan turned his head.

He found a black raven, which had silently landed on his shoulder at some point, staring at him quietly.

His shoulder didn’t even feel the slightest weight.

"Huh?"

"What’s going on..."

Song Yan was a little confused. The Sword Qi belonging to Senior Bai Tao in Crying Moon had already been refined by him, and this raven ghost had long become a river without a source.

Logically speaking, it should have dissipated by now.

Immediately, he seemed to have thought of something, and a faint hint of surprise appeared on his face.

"Could it be..."

"Is it an ownerless Sword Spirit?"

A Sword Spirit is a spiritual existence born within a sword, created by the resonance of a Sword Cultivator’s Lifebound Flying Sword, sword body, and Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

There are many origins and ways for a Sword Spirit to be born, for example, some Flying Swords that inherently possess powerful Spiritual Qi, after the baptism of time, naturally nurture one.

Or, when a sword smith forges a Flying Sword, they use secret techniques to introduce a soul or spiritual object into the sword, forcibly Birthing a Sword Spirit.

This raven before him clearly did not belong to these two types.

However, Song Yan could also infer seven or eight tenths of the truth from the scattered words described in the Spirit Transformation Chapter.

Perhaps it was because Senior Bai Tao died early from his injuries, and there were still many unfulfilled obsessions within his Sword Intent.

What he cared about most were his Sect, which had no news, and this raven that had accompanied him for half his life.

And the raven was the same; after being killed, its obsession remained.

Because of its familiarity with Bai Tao during its lifetime, its wandering soul naturally merged with the Sword Intent left in Crying Moon.

However, Senior Bai Tao had already passed away long ago.

Thus, this raven actually became an ownerless spirit born of Heaven and Earth!

Song Yan’s heart was filled with wild joy.

A Sword Spirit is not something one can possess easily.

An ordinary Sword Cultivator needs to at least reach the Foundation Establishment Realm and have a sufficiently deep understanding and comprehension of Sword Intent to even have a chance to condense the prototype of a Sword Spirit.

For a Sword Cultivator, the benefits of a Sword Spirit are countless.

The most basic benefit is that it is telepathically connected to the Sword Cultivator and is itself condensed from Sword Qi, so wielding one’s Lifebound Flying Sword requires no mental effort or Sword Qi.

Moreover, as the Sword Cultivator’s Cultivation advances, it will also gradually grow, becoming a truly spiritual Sword Dao spirit with its own autonomous will.

In addition, there are many secret techniques that can only be performed with a Sword Spirit as the core.

"I didn’t expect such a pleasant surprise."

Excited, Song Yan stood up, wanting to return to his dwelling quickly.

This raven was not yet his Sword Spirit; it was only following him subconsciously because he had refined the Flying Sword Crying Moon.

He still needed to refine it together with his Lifebound Flying Sword to condense it into the prototype of his own Sword Spirit.

However, he had never used this method of refining an ownerless spirit and did not know how long the entire process would take. Doing it in these mountains would be somewhat reckless and aggressive.

If the protective formation failed and a few Cultivators happened to pass by, he would truly lose his life here.

It would be safer to return to the City Lord’s Mansion to refine it.

Song Yan took a step, about to walk out of the secluded valley, but then he seemed to think of something and looked back at the unmarked tombstone he had erected.

He slowly raised his hand and pointed out a wisp of Sword Qi from afar.

On that unmarked tombstone, he added a few words.

Bai Tao. Crying Moon.

After a thorough look, Song Yan nodded and turned to leave... Senior Bai Tao and this raven met and accompanied each other for over ten years, until his death separated them forever.

Yet he never gave it a name, only calling it "silly bird," "silly bird."

He seemed to be a careless person.

But those past memories were all what Master Raven saw; how Senior Bai Tao thought in his heart, no one can know now.

How can a Flying Sword cry to the moon?

After much thought, perhaps this was the name Senior Bai Tao gave to Master Raven.

Did he feel that it was too sentimental for a grown man like him, and thus hesitated to say it?

Now, the Master Raven of yesteryear also died here... So, let the name Crying Moon remain here as well.