Chapter 3

The碧眼大蛇, in a rampage, sent everyone flying. Lin Xuan had very little spiritual energy, and his body was severely injured in multiple places.

Fortunately, he had swallowed the Fire Spirit Mushroom in advance, and the powerful medicinal force was gradually healing his injuries. However, despite this, he still spat out large mouthfuls of blood.

His body fell into a ravine, and the impact nearly broke all his bones. The front of his shirt was already stained red, and Lin Xuan did not notice that his blood, when it touched the sword-shaped pendant, mysteriously disappeared.

Boom!

Another strike from the snake's tail sent Lin Xuan flying again. This time, he fainted outright, and the dragon-shaped pendant completely merged into his body, transforming into a beam of light and disappearing in a flash.

The sword-shaped pendant drilled into his dantian, trembling continuously. The surrounding spiritual energy rapidly surged toward Lin Xuan, forming a small black hole in his abdomen that absorbed all the incoming spiritual energy.

Some of the spiritual energy penetrated Lin Xuan's body, rushing around and constantly colliding with his meridians. It was important to note that Lin Xuan's spiritual meridians had not been unblocked, so when these leaked spiritual energies entered, the pain was ten times worse than if he had unblocked his meridians himself.

Lin Xuan was awakened from his unconsciousness by the pain. He gritted his teeth and endured it, not knowing what was happening.

When he discovered the culprit, he almost went mad. The small sword inside his body was his pendant, and it was now疯狂地吞噬着spiritual energy.

Although most of the spiritual energy was devoured by the small sword, the small portion that overflowed was still more than Lin Xuan could handle.

"Damn, this is already at the ninth stage of Body Tempering. If this continues, it will be Meridian Breaking!"

The human body has nine major spiritual meridians, which run through the body. Only by unblocking these meridians can spiritual energy circulate within the body, generating power.

Lin Xuan's cultivation rose rapidly like a rocket, quickly reaching the peak of Body Tempering. He gritted his teeth and prepared to use this power to break through his meridians.

He endured the pain, focusing his mind to prepare to break through his first spiritual meridian. With his hands forming seals, Lin Xuan exerted all his strength, and the spiritual energy within his body gathered and rushed toward the first meridian.

Boom!

As if an invisible wall blocked the way, the spiritual energy was scattered, and Lin Xuan's cultivation rapidly declined, finally dropping back to the third stage of Spirit Apprentice.

"Again!" Lin Xuan roared in frustration. He had already attempted to break through twice, each time being repelled. It seemed there was a mysterious force within his body that firmly sealed him.

"Again!" Lin Xuan refused to believe in evil and once again gathered the spiritual energy within his body, rushing toward the meridian.

Rumble

The two forces collided, creating a thunderous sound within Lin Xuan's body. He was struck and spat out a large mouthful of blood again.

At this moment, a gentle force appeared within his body. Lin Xuan knew it was the medicinal force of the Fire Spirit Mushroom. If he hadn't taken it in advance, he would probably be dead by now.

The spiritual energy accumulated more and more within Lin Xuan's body, causing him immense pain.

"Damn, you're still absorbing! Stop it now!" Lin Xuan could clearly see everything inside his body and shouted in desperation, but the small sword showed no reaction.

With so much spiritual energy now, it should be enough to break through the seal. Lin Xuan decided to make one more attempt, but if this failed, he would be burst by the spiritual energy.

"Let's go, even if there's just a sliver of hope, I have to try!" Lin Xuan was the kind of person who would never give up until the very end.

This time, the endless spiritual energy formed a raging torrent, rushing toward the unopened meridian.

Boom! The impact sounded like a thunderclap, and black ripples appeared within Lin Xuan's body. These ripples wrapped around his meridian, forming a black lotus.

Mysterious and eerie, the black lotus emitted wisps of black mist, like thick ink, exuding an ancient aura that blocked the spiritual energy outside.

"What, what is this?" Lin Xuan's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the black lotus within his body. "How could such a thing be inside me?"

He vaguely guessed that his inability to open his meridians might be related to this mysterious black lotus. "Am I doomed to be a Spirit Apprentice for life? I refuse to accept it!"

Suddenly, a surge of anger rose within Lin Xuan. He hated his fate, hated the black lotus within his body, and hated the fact that his fate was controlled by others!

Buzz!

The small sword seemed to sense Lin Xuan's emotions and trembled violently. A dreamlike light shone on its blade, and in a flash, the black lotus was cut in half.

Lin Xuan did not expect the small sword to be so powerful, cutting through the mysterious black lotus in one strike. He immediately gathered his spiritual energy and rushed toward the meridian.

Without the black lotus blocking the way, Lin Xuan quickly unblocked his first meridian with the abundant spiritual energy. The meridian, like a river, guided the spiritual energy, forming a complete circulation within his body.

The small sword also stopped absorbing spiritual energy and floated within Lin Xuan's body.

Everything returned to normal.

Lin Xuan slowly exhaled, his spirit completely relaxed. The scene that had just unfolded was too unbelievable, and he still found it hard to believe.

"What is that black lotus, and why is it inside me?" Lin Xuan couldn't figure it out. He also wondered about the sword-shaped pendant, which had somehow entered his body and seemed even more mysterious than the black lotus.

The sword-shaped pendant was given to him by his father and had just helped him cut through the black lotus, allowing him to unblock his meridian. Therefore, Lin Xuan believed that the mysterious small sword would not harm him.

Lin Xuan checked his body and found that his injuries had already healed, and his cultivation had reached the late first stage of Meridian Condensation, soon to break through to the second stage.

"No matter what, I have unblocked my meridian and can now cultivate. I must return to the Sword Pool Manor and fulfill my father's last wish!"

He was originally from the Sword Pool Manor but was expelled due to being framed. Now that he could cultivate, he was no longer a waste, and he would reclaim everything he had lost!

"If I can become a core disciple of the Xuantian Sect, I should be able to return to the Sword Pool Manor smoothly." Lin Xuan made his decision and immediately set off. The Xuantian Sect had a strict hierarchy, with disciples divided into outer sect disciples, inner sect disciples, and core disciples. Standing out among countless young disciples would not be easy.

"Every month, there is an entrance examination at the beginning of the month. Passing the examination allows one to become an outer sect disciple." Lin Xuan had been here for three months and had already figured out the basic situation. He leaped up and ran toward the sect.

...

In the forest, several white-clad youths were fleeing in a disheveled state, their originally clean clothes now stained with blood and mud.

"Damn, we almost died here!"

"If it weren't for the碧眼大蛇 startling another fierce beast, which intercepted us, we would have been done for today!"

These disheveled youths were Zhang Bin and his group. They had survived, but out of the original dozen or so, only four remained.

"It's all the fault of that sword slave, Lin Xuan, who made us return empty-handed and wasted a Fire Spirit Mushroom!"

"I wonder if he's dead. I hope he's not, so I can have the chance to make him suffer more than death!"

"Hmph, a third-stage Spirit Apprentice, after such an attack, he must be dead. There's no way he could still be alive. Let's go back quickly; we need to replenish the sword slaves."

The four rested briefly and then rushed back, not stopping until they finally emerged from the dark forest.

"Hey, Feng, look at that person!" one of the youths exclaimed.

Chen Feng and Zhang Bin looked over and saw a figure covered in mud, wearing gray cloth and linen, running toward the Xuanjian Sect.

"It's that kid, he's still alive!" Chen Feng exclaimed. "Damn, watch me kill him slowly!"

"Let's go, let him know that my Fire Spirit Mushroom isn't so easy to eat!" Zhang Bin said with a sinister look.

Swoosh!

The four accelerated, creating a gust of wind, and quickly caught up to Lin Xuan.

Huff

The four surrounded Lin Xuan, and Chen Feng said with a cruel smile, "Kid, I didn't expect you to still be alive. This is better; I'll kill you bit by bit!"

"Don't kill him. He ate the Fire Spirit Mushroom, so his blood should be full of medicinal power. Take him back and bleed him daily for our cultivation. Isn't that better?" Zhang Bin said with a demonic grin.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. The Xuantian Sect was right in front of him, but he didn't expect to be ambushed.

The four in front of him, with Zhang Bin at the third stage of Meridian Condensation (third-stage Spirit Scholar), and Chen Feng at the second stage, while the other two were about the same as Lin Xuan, at the first stage. Normally, Lin Xuan would have no chance of winning.

However, Lin Xuan was not panicked. His face was calm, and his hand on the sword was steady and powerful. His gaze was fixed on Chen Feng.

The sect was very close, and if he could break through, he had a good chance of entering the sect, where he would be relatively safe.

These people underestimated him and would not take him seriously, giving him a good opportunity to act. Once he acted, he had to succeed, because these people would not give him a second chance. In other words, he only had one chance to act.

Thinking of this, Lin Xuan felt a surge of excitement. The sword technique he had practiced for three years, how powerful would it be with spiritual energy?

"Break his legs first to prevent him from running!" Chen Feng drew his long sword and swept it toward Lin Xuan's legs.

At that moment, Lin Xuan moved. He quickly drew his sword, leaped into the air, and shot forward like a meteor.

Pfft! Lin Xuan thrust his sword and ran toward the sect without looking back, his speed astonishing the others.

"Ahh! My hand!" At the same time, Chen Feng clutched his right arm, screaming in pain as blood gushed out, staining the ground red.

...