Chapter 7

"Come." The three-inch flying sword hovering in front of him quickly grew to three feet long, resembling an ordinary sword.

Qin Yun reached out to grasp this divine sword.

Although the great work is not yet complete, it remains incomparably sharp, slicing through ordinary iron and stone like tofu. However, Qin Yun was reluctant to use it, for if it were slightly damaged, it would be too late to regret.

"When I was thirteen, I received the inheritance of a Sword Immortal, filled with joy, but I never expected the path to the Immortal Gate to be so difficult," Qin Yun sighed. "If one does not enter the Immortal Gate before the age of twenty, there is no hope for the rest of their life. I was almost nineteen when I finally opened the Immortal Gate."

Cultivation can be divided into three major realms: Postnatal, Prenatal, and Primordial Spirit.

Postnatal can be further divided into twelve levels of Qi Cultivation, each level being more difficult than the last.

Prenatal can be further divided into the Void Core, Solid Core, and Golden Core realms.

Primordial Spirit? That is already a legend!

"Opening the Immortal Gate" refers to breaking through from the ninth level of Qi Cultivation to the tenth level. This breakthrough involves the liquefaction of true qi into true essence, marking the beginning of cultivation.

It also invites the envy of heaven.

Ordinary paper cannot retain the tenth level of Qi Cultivation method; the words written on it will disappear immediately! Attempting to describe it verbally will result in a loss of speech.

The saying "If one does not enter the Immortal Gate before the age of twenty, there is no hope for the rest of their life" is because before the age of twenty, the body is still growing, full of boundless vitality, and the meridians are full of infinite potential. At this time, the hope of opening the Immortal Gate and condensing true essence is the greatest. Once past the age of twenty, the body reaches its peak and begins to decline, making it almost impossible to open the Immortal Gate.

"When I was thirteen, I achieved the state of man and sword as one, and reached the ninth level of Qi Cultivation in the same year! Joining some second or third-rate cultivation sects would not have been difficult, and opening the Immortal Gate should have been easy. However, I received the inheritance of a Sword Immortal from a Prenatal Golden Core realm predecessor, Chen Daoist, who lived eight hundred years ago," Qin Yun sighed. "The inheritance of a Sword Immortal is one of the top inheritances in the cultivation world, and the difficulty of cultivation is ten to a hundred times greater than ordinary cultivation methods."

"In the cultivation world, there is a saying, 'One sword breaks all methods.' This sword refers to the flying sword of a Sword Immortal," Qin Yun shook his head. "But I only received the inheritance without the help of a master or senior, making the Sword Immortal inheritance ten to a hundred times more difficult than ordinary methods."

"At thirteen, I received the inheritance, at fifteen, I left home, and experienced many life-and-death battles, and even went to the northern border."

"Almost nineteen, I finally opened the Immortal Gate."

Qin Yun sighed, reflecting on his journey.

He opened the Immortal Gate without the help of a master or senior, relying entirely on his own efforts.

"Hmm? It's already dawn?" Qin Yun noticed the faint light outside the window.

"Retract." With a thought, the three-foot divine sword in his hand rapidly shrank to the size of a hair, quickly piercing his skin and traveling along the meridians to return to his dantian. Inside the dantian, it spun and coiled into a small, bright silver metal ball.

This sword pill is nurtured by the soul and true essence within the body.

Rising from bed, Qin Yun glanced at the remaining slag of the star-patterned steel on the ground, which had been refined. He released his true essence, instantly enveloping the slag into a small ball, and with a wave of his hand, the ball fell into a bamboo basket nearby. He picked up the wrapped star-patterned steel from the bed and placed it in his wardrobe, hiding both packages under some clothes and leaving a true essence mark before closing and locking the wardrobe.

He opened the door and walked out of the room.

In the early morning, the air was cool, and the servants of the Qin family had already begun cleaning and preparing breakfast.

...

After washing up, Qin Yun changed into a brocade robe, dressed as a noble young master. When away from home, he naturally dressed modestly, but now, as the second son of the Qin family, he could not lose face for the Qin family.

"Good morning, Second Young Master."

"Good morning, Second Young Master."

As Qin Yun strolled through the manor, the servants bowed and greeted him.

Looking at the plants, paths, and winding corridors within the manor, he felt a deep sense of familiarity and soon arrived at the training ground.

On one side of the training ground was a weapons rack, and on the far wall were archery targets.

"Training ground," Qin Yun smiled. His father and elder brother had trained here, and he himself had endured hardships and sweat here in his youth, practicing swordsmanship. His mother often sat at a stone table nearby, watching with a smile.

The next level above the "man and sword as one" state is the "flawless" state.

Flawless is almost the pinnacle of postnatal beings, where the body is flawless, and every hair is perfectly controlled. Sword techniques learned, even if not practiced for a long time, will not become rusty.

Reaching the flawless state, theoretically, one does not need to practice daily, but although Qin Yun reduced his sword practice time, he still maintained the habit of practicing daily.

"Whoosh."

The long sword at his waist was drawn.

Qin Yun stood still, occasionally moving his steps slightly, casually wielding the long sword. The sword movements seemed slow, but the sword light was hazy, like the misty rain of March, dreamlike and enchanting, with a beauty that could captivate one's heart. It no longer seemed like a sword for killing, but rather a poem or a painting.

A figure appeared at the edge of the training ground, it was his elder brother Qin An, who watched curiously without interrupting.

Qin Yun did not stop but continued practicing for a while before finally stopping and sheathing his sword.

"Second Brother, why is your sword so slow?" Elder Brother Qin An asked in confusion. "Although I find your sword beautiful, more beautiful than the sword dances of courtesans, it's too slow. How can such a slow sword kill enemies?"

"Haha..." Qin Yun laughed. "This is my self-created sword technique, the Misty Rain Sword. What you see is just one aspect of it."

"One aspect?" Elder Brother Qin An pondered. "Alright, you defeated me when you were ten, and at fifteen, you were the best among the young generation in Guangling City. Back then, I could still see how powerful your sword was, but now I can't understand it at all."

Qin Yun smiled and changed the subject. "Elder Brother, you came so early. It's not even breakfast time yet, and you came from the southern city to the western city?"

"Brothers haven't seen each other for six years, so we should spend more time together," Qin An sighed. "While you were away, I often worried, fearing you might never return. Well, let's not talk about that! It's also a bit strange. For the past half year, I've felt tired every morning, and the doctor said I wasn't sick, but today I feel quite good."

Qin Yun's heart stirred.

Feeling good today? It must be because the cat demon didn't absorb your yang energy last night.

"Could it be because you were worried about me? Now that I'm back, you feel better?" Elder Brother Qin An muttered.

"Worried about me? If you were worried about me, why were you fine for the past five years but not the last half year?" Qin Yun smirked. "You have demonic qi in your body."

"Demonic qi in my body?" Elder Brother Qin An's face changed.

Qin Yun didn't hide it from his elder brother, as they had both endured great hardships and suffered greatly in their youth. His elder brother could easily accept the concept of demonic qi in the body.

"I noticed it yesterday," Qin Yun said.

"Why didn't you say anything yesterday?" Elder Brother Qin An asked in confusion.

"If I had, it might have alerted the demon, and it could have become more dangerous. So, I pretended to know nothing and investigated secretly. Last night, I cleared everything up and eliminated the threat, so I can tell you now," Qin Yun said. "By the way, don't tell anyone about this."

"Of course, I know that," Elder Brother Qin An nodded. "Is my body okay?"

"Don't worry, there's still hope," Qin Yun smiled.

He took out a prepared talisman from his pocket and said, "This 'Healing Talisman' was taken from a friend; I can't draw it myself!" He infused true essence into the talisman, and it spontaneously ignited, releasing an invisible force into Elder Brother Qin An's body. Qin An felt a refreshing coolness, and the heaviness he had felt before disappeared, making his body much more comfortable.

"Most of the demonic qi has been removed," Qin Yun said. "However, some of it has deeply penetrated your organs, and the Healing Talisman can't remove it all."

"What should we do then?" Elder Brother Qin An asked.

"Haha, without the demon to harm you, the demonic qi in your body is like water without a source. You are young and strong, so even without the Healing Talisman, your body would gradually recover over three to five years. Now that the Healing Talisman has removed most of it, the remaining bit won't affect you much and should be naturally eliminated in a few months," Qin Yun sighed. "The vitality of the body is truly amazing."

Elder Brother Qin An breathed a sigh of relief and then asked curiously, "Second Brother, why would a demon target me? I'm just a small merchant; why would a demon notice me? Is it because of Father?"

"Um." Qin Yun nodded. "I'll explain everything in detail when Father returns."

Elder Brother Qin An soon felt at ease and smiled. "Second Brother, when you were thirteen and reached the ninth level of Qi Cultivation, I knew you would surely open the Immortal Gate and enter the path of cultivation. Now, seeing that you can detect demonic qi and deal with demons, you have indeed entered the path of cultivation."

Qin Yun smiled.

When he received the inheritance of the Sword Immortal, he only told his father! His father strictly ordered him not to reveal it, not even to his mother or elder brother, for fear of accidentally letting it slip and inviting disaster.

"Opening the Immortal Gate is not easy," Qin Yun simply said.

...

The brothers accompanied their mother for breakfast and chatted for a while. Suddenly, a servant came to report, "Second Young Master, there is someone outside the manor who wants to see you, saying they are your friend."

"Friend? You just returned yesterday, and someone already wants to see you?" Elder Brother Qin An asked in confusion.

"Let's see who it is," Qin Yun stood up.