Chapter 3

The raging white-eyed giant snake sent everyone flying. Lin Xuan had very little spiritual energy, and he was severely injured in many 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 almost broke all his bones. The front of his shirt was already stained red, but Lin Xuan didn't 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. The dragon-shaped pendant completely entered 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 sucked in all the incoming spiritual energy.

Some of the spiritual energy entered Lin Xuan's body, rushing around and constantly colliding with his meridians. It's important to note that Lin Xuan's spiritual meridians had not been unblocked, so when this leaked spiritual energy 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疯狂地吞噬着灵力。

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, I'm already at the ninth stage of Body Tempering. If this continues, I'll be breaking through the meridians!"

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

Lin Xuan's cultivation soared 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 for the breakthrough of his first spiritual meridian. Forming hand seals, Lin Xuan exerted all his strength, and the spiritual energy within him gathered, rushing toward the first meridian.

Boom!

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

"Again!" Lin Xuan roared in frustration. He had tried twice, and each time he was repelled. It seemed there was a mysterious force within him that firmly locked him in place.

"Again!" Lin Xuan refused to give up and once more gathered the spiritual energy within him, charging toward the meridian.

Rumble!

The two forces collided, creating a thunderous sound within Lin Xuan's body. He was hit by the impact and spat out another mouthful of blood.

At this moment, a gentle force appeared within him. Lin Xuan knew it was the medicinal power of the Fire Spirit Mushroom. Fortunately, he had taken it in advance, or he would have died long ago.

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

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

With so much spiritual energy now, it should be enough to break through the blockade. Lin Xuan decided to make one last attempt. 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 never gave 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 meridians, 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 from entering.

"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 destined 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, the black lotus inside him, and the fact that his destiny 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 hadn't expected the small sword to be so powerful, cutting through the mysterious black lotus in one strike. He immediately gathered his spiritual energy and charged 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 bizarre, and he still couldn't quite believe it.

"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 split the black lotus, allowing him to unblock his meridian. Therefore, Lin Xuan believed that the mysterious small sword wouldn't harm him.

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

"No matter what, I've unblocked my meridians 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 a plot. 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 Profound Heaven Sect, I should be able to return to the Sword Pool Manor smoothly." Lin Xuan made his decision and immediately set off. The Profound Heaven 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 it will make you an outer sect disciple." Lin Xuan had been here for three months and had already figured out the basic situation. He leaped up and headed back to 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 white-eyed giant snake startling another fierce beast and being intercepted, 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, only four remained.

"It's all that sword slave Lin Xuan's fault. He 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 make him suffer worse than death!"

"Hmph, a third-stage Spirit Apprentice, after such an attack, he would have died long ago. 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 hemp clothing, running toward the Profound Sword Sect.

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

"Let's go, I'll show him that my Fire Spirit Mushroom isn't so easy to eat!" Zhang Bin said with a sinister smile.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

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

Pant

The four surrounded Lin Xuan, and Chen Feng sneered, "Kid, I didn't expect you to still be alive. This is better; I'll kill you slowly!"

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

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

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

However, Lin Xuan wasn't panicked. His face was calm, and his grip on the sword was steady and strong. His gaze was fixed on Chen Feng.

They were very close to the sect. If he could break through, he was confident he could enter the sect, and once inside, he would be relatively safe.

These people underestimated him, so they wouldn't take him seriously, giving him a good opportunity to strike. Once he struck, he had to succeed because these people wouldn't 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, so he can't run!" 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 past like a meteor.

Pierce! Lin Xuan thrust his sword, then ran toward the sect without looking back, his speed astonishing everyone.

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