Chapter 89

The last time they ate together was the first time Huang Laoliu and the Sword Pavilion Elder sat at the same table.

He thought the Sword Pavilion Elder had come to see him off, even bringing half a flask of wine.

Thinking about it now, the Elder’s decision to eat a meal of secular food after thirty years might have been his own wish to taste it one last time.

"Brother Han, is there any way to save the Elder?"

Huang Laoliu looked at Han Muye and asked in a low voice.

Han Muye shook his head.

At this moment, although he had eight sword intentions residing in his sea of knowledge, even if he could fully activate them to summon ten thousand swords, it would not help the Sword Pavilion Elder in the slightest.

The disputes between such great cultivators, as Elder Suliang said, were related to the overall situation in the Western Border. Not to mention a mere observer like Han Muye, even a few Earth Realm cultivators or even Core Formation experts would be powerless to intervene.

This was a game of power, a gamble on destiny.

"Guard the Sword Pavilion well, Brother Liux, didn’t you say it’s the destiny of an observer?" Han Muye lowered his head and walked into the Sword Pavilion.

Huang Laoliu nodded and then said, "Brother Han, you stay at the Sword Pavilion, I’ll go to the Cao family."

"Given the relationship between the Cao family and the Sword Pavilion, we should pay a visit."

A faint sword aura emanated from his body as he raised his hand and beckoned.

A light sound came from the Sword Pavilion, and the sword that had accompanied him for six and a half years landed in his hand.

At this moment, Huang Laoliu no longer had the air of an old man; he was sharp and his eyes gleamed with determination.

With the Sword Pavilion Elder gone, he had taken on more responsibility.

"I’ll go with you, Brother Liux." Han Muye turned and said.

Going down the mountain to the Cao family now might lead to an ambush.

If the Tai Ling Sword Sect had made a move, they might be very ruthless.

"Hehe, Brother Han, you stay at the Sword Pavilion. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket." Huang Laoliu waved his hand and turned to look at Lu Gao: "Guard the gate well."

Lu Gao chuckled and patted the door frame.

Huang Laoliu strode away, and Han Muye looked at the mountain protection array still shimmering in the sky before walking into the Sword Pavilion.

In the quiet room, he put away the spirit stones, placed the spirit medicines, and sat down in meditation for a moment. Then he took out the jade slip given to him by Elder Suliang.

He had never been more eager to improve his cultivation than at this moment.

The jade slip touched his forehead, and a stream of information was perceived by his divine sense.

The jade slip contained not only the formula for the Spirit Fusion Pill but also several other formulas for cultivating the foundation, condensing qi, and even the Core Formation stage.

However, the most precious should be the formula for the Spirit Fusion Pill.

The text in the formula transformed into scenes of alchemy in his mind. Han Muye closed his eyes and continuously observed and comprehended.

He grasped the method of refining the Spirit Fusion Pill.

Apart from this formula, the other formulas could only be refined after reaching the foundation stage. Han Muye just memorized them without spending time pondering.

After comprehending the formula, he directly took out the alchemy furnace, and sword qi surged from his palm, emitting a green light.

He put the spirit medicines into the alchemy furnace one by one, and the flame formed by the sword qi enveloped the furnace. Han Muye gathered all his strength to the extreme.

His spirit qi cultivation drove the alchemy furnace, and the sword qi probed inside to purify and harmonize the spirit medicines.

A faint vibration sound came from inside the alchemy furnace.

After half an hour, Han Muye raised his hand, and the lid of the alchemy furnace flew up, three pills glowing with spirit light flew out.

At the moment the pills flew out, the already cracked alchemy furnace shattered into pieces.

The damage to the alchemy furnace from sword qi alchemy was indeed significant.

Fortunately, the pills were successfully refined, and the precious spirit medicines were not wasted.

Han Muye looked at the pills in his palm, which were clear and crystalline, clearly of extraordinary quality.

Two were of the highest grade, and one was of high grade.

Still not proficient enough.

Shaking his head, he put the pills away and neatly stored the remaining spirit medicines.

The Su Zhen Building should have an alchemy furnace. When Huang Laoliu returns, he can ask for one.

Huang Laoliu hadn’t returned yet, and with no one in the Sword Pavilion, he couldn’t take the pills.

After putting away the remaining spirit medicines, he pondered for a moment and walked out of the quiet room, looking at the stairs leading to the second floor of the Sword Pavilion.

He slowly walked up the stairs, paused slightly on the second floor, and then went straight to the third floor.

On the third floor, the windows were wide open, and a faint golden glow flickered in front of them.

This was the Sword Pavilion’s protective array, which had been activated along with the mountain protection array.

He slowly walked to the seat where the Sword Pavilion Elder had sat, took a deep breath, and gently sat down.

The Sword Pavilion Elder had said that if he didn’t return, this seat would be Han Muye’s.

Han Muye didn’t sit here for the position.

He wanted to see if the Sword Pavilion Elder had left any instructions or contingency plans.

If he had foreseen that he wouldn’t return, Han Muye believed the Elder would have left something.

His gaze fell on the long table in front of him, and Han Muye reached out to open the wooden box where the Sword Pavilion Elder had placed the sword techniques.

Two scrolls and a jade slip.

Indeed.

He picked up the jade slip and touched it to his forehead, and the image of the bearded Sword Pavilion Elder appeared before him.

With a smile on his face and kind eyes.

"I know you would look at this jade slip, but I don’t know if I’m dead or alive at this moment."

"In the image, the Sword Pavilion Elder’s expression remained unchanged as he spoke softly.

"Every Sword Pavilion observer has a dream of reaching the Celestial Realm, right?"

"Seeing Huang Laoliu now reminds me of myself back then."

"I didn’t have his good fortune."

"Sixty years of hard cultivation, I condensed a divine soul sword, possessing the power of a hundred breaths in the Celestial Realm."

"Unfortunately, I never had the chance to display this sword before the person I wanted to."

The image of the Sword Pavilion Elder didn’t show the dominance of flying a thousand miles and slicing through the sky with a single sword. Instead, he was more talkative.

"Hehe, let’s get to the point."

"You must cultivate the Sword Nurturing Technique well. Only by mastering it can you protect yourself with the sword bone after using the divine soul to control the sword."

"I started too late, so it probably won’t be of much use."

"From two hundred years ago to sixty years ago, three elders in the Sword Pavilion cultivated the Sword Nurturing Technique, the Sword Condensing Technique, and the Sword Weapon Technique, respectively."

"It’s said that combining the three techniques can bring unexpected changes."

"But don’t think too much, the major sects in the Western Border won’t let you have the chance to master all three."

"A hundred years ago, two Sword Pavilion elders who cultivated the Sword Nurturing Technique and the Sword Condensing Technique fell."

"Out of necessity, the Sword Pavilion’s ancestor, Zhu Shen, carried half of the Sword Weapon Technique down the mountain and cut down three eighth-stage Core Formation cultivators, but he himself perished."

"The other half of the Sword Weapon Technique is nowhere to be found."

"After that, the major sects reduced their suppression of the Nine Profound Sword Sect."

"You should understand the reason behind this, right?"

"The current situation is very similar."

...

The jade slip contained a thorough analysis of the overall situation.

This made Han Muye feel even more helpless.

After a long time, he sighed and put the jade slip down, then took out a small bronze sword.

This was given to him by the Sword Pavilion Elder, a token for a formal disciple of the Sword Pavilion, and also the key to activate the Sword Pavilion’s array and to reach the Nine Profound Sword Seal below the Sword Pavilion.

This was also the token for the next Sword Pavilion Elder.

Putting the jade slip back, Han Muye spread out the half of the Sword Weapon Technique.

He had memorized the Sword Condensing Technique and the Sword Nurturing Technique. The three techniques were only missing the Sword Weapon Technique.

However, the Sword Weapon Technique was already incomplete, and the other half, according to the Sword Pavilion Elder, was likely in the hands of one of the nine sects in the Western Border.

"Using the sword as the body, and the body as the weapon?"