Chapter 9

Zhou Heng couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

He walked to the edge of the pond and looked down, but it was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything. Undeterred, he extended his right hand into the water, and a sudden chill struck him, making his blood feel as if it were about to freeze.

The moment his hand touched the water, ripples immediately formed, and the shadows moving on the mountain wall began to sway.

This was enough to prove that the shadows were indeed emanating from the bottom of the pond.

Zhou Heng quickly withdrew his hand, his brows furrowing even more tightly.

The water was so cold that just a touch almost froze him. If he were to immerse his entire body, wouldn't he be frozen to death instantly? Strangely, the water, despite being so cold, had not frozen!

Yet, someone could walk on the bottom of the pond as if it were flat ground. How could this be possible? Moreover, even if they didn't freeze to death, how could they have survived for so long without suffocating?

His body was filled with a spirit of adventure, and his curiosity drove him to want to jump into the pond and swim to the bottom to see what was happening. But his reason told him that this would be pure suicide!

Zhou Heng was fearless, but he certainly didn't want to die.

The figure on the mountain wall continued to move, its steps graceful, as if following a very special rhythm. Zhou Heng couldn't help but focus intently, even trying to mimic the movements. When he realized it, he was already moving in sync with the figure.

Thump!

He stumbled and fell flat on his face.

The steps of the figure were as graceful as a deity, but when Zhou Heng tried to imitate them, it looked awkward and clumsy, like a drunkard who couldn't even walk, and he ended up tripping himself.

Zhou Heng leaped up and looked at the figure still moving on the mountain wall. He couldn't help but wonder if he could hit the figure on the wall with the Nine Heavens Sword Technique.

The steps seemed to carry a spiritual aura, appearing in front one moment and behind the next, completely unpredictable!

He must learn this!

Zhou Heng put aside his doubts and focused his gaze on the figure, closely observing the steps, moving forward and backward, left and right, perfectly executed and marvelously executed!

He continuously deduced the changes, gradually understanding the subtleties.

The more he watched, the more he understood, and Zhou Heng couldn't help but feel elated, his face breaking into a silly smile, his expressions rich and varied.

Unconsciously, the first rays of sunlight of the morning shone into the valley, and the figure on the mountain wall immediately disappeared.

Zhou Heng felt a sense of loss, like a child whose favorite toy had been taken away, filled with reluctance. But in the next moment, he felt a soreness in his waist and legs, and involuntarily sat down on the ground, feeling as if his bones were about to fall apart.

Practicing the mysterious steps all night had exhausted him to this extent?

Zhou Heng looked at the sky, a strong drowsiness overcame him, and he soon closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, he felt extremely hungry and quickly got up to find something to eat.

The cave was so long that it took him almost two hours to get out, and he was so hungry that his eyes were seeing stars, and he felt he could devour a whole cow!

He caught a wild rabbit, quickly found a river to clean it, and started a fire to roast it. After a ravenous meal, he patted his belly, a look of satisfaction on his face.

Continuing his hunt, Zhou Heng caught seven wild rabbits and a mountain goat, then chopped a large pile of firewood and carried it back to the valley in batches—he planned to stay in the valley for some time.

After a busy day, Zhou Heng finally had a moment to rest, then began to ponder the Nine Heavens Sword Technique and the mysterious steps he had seen the previous night.

Although the sword technique and the steps seemed unrelated, Zhou Heng felt there was a subtle connection between them, and comparing and verifying them gave him a sense of sudden enlightenment.

"This step is incredibly ingenious. If I can perform the Nine Heavens Sword Technique with such steps, who in the world could evade it?"

Zhou Heng was filled with anticipation.

As the moon rose, he was anxious, fearing that the figure on the mountain wall might not appear again, which would dash all his hopes.

At midnight, the black broken sword released its energy on schedule, and Zhou Heng quickly sat down to absorb the benefits. After nearly twenty minutes, he stopped and opened his eyes, only to see the figure on the mountain wall moving again.

It's here!

He was overjoyed but forced himself to calm down, focusing his mind to memorize the wondrous steps.

Complex, mysterious, and infinitely variable!

Zhou Heng couldn't help but feel fortunate. If he hadn't been practicing the Nine Heavens Sword Technique for over a month, he might not have been able to remember the mysterious steps, as the figure was not actively teaching him, and the speed was incredibly fast, with a single blink missing a crucial change.

Unconsciously, the sky in the east turned light, and soon the sunlight shone, and the figure immediately disappeared.

Tired! Extremely tired!

Zhou Heng sat down on the ground, feeling his eyelids heavy as a mountain, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, it was already afternoon. He hurriedly ate something and spent the time pondering the Nine Heavens Sword Technique and the steps, continuously increasing his understanding, always finding new insights.

At midnight, after Zhou Heng had absorbed the benefits from the black sword, he indeed saw the figure on the mountain wall again.

His life became monotonous again. He slept in the morning, practiced the sword technique and steps in the afternoon and evening, and cultivated at night, then observed the mysterious figure's steps. He only left the valley when he ran out of food.

Fortunately, he now spent less time cultivating, and his food consumption had greatly decreased; otherwise, he would have eaten up ten days' worth of food in one day!

Although he spent less time cultivating, the benefits from the black broken sword were so immense that his cultivation still increased significantly every day. After ten days, he reached the peak of the fourth level of Body Tempering.

In just over two hours, Zhou Heng completed the small realm breakthrough and entered the fifth level of Body Tempering!

He was already somewhat numb to his almost monstrous rate of improvement. After a brief moment of joy, he focused his energy on studying the sword technique and steps, almost obsessed.

After another twenty days, he broke through again, reaching the sixth level of Body Tempering, catching up to and even surpassing most of the younger generation of the Zhou family. What delighted him even more was that the black broken sword had been secretly transforming his body, though very subtly. After two months, he could still feel the changes.

His thinking became more agile, his vision sharper, and his memory better!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

In the valley, Zhou Heng's figure was graceful, his steps indescribable, as if he had merged with the entire world. Even though he was there, it always gave people the illusion that they couldn't see him.

"After more than a month, I have finally mastered the entire set of steps!"

"However, any step requires the corresponding true essence flow to fully unleash its power, which I cannot achieve! But even so, this set of steps is still incredibly mysterious, greatly enhancing my self-preservation ability!"

"Although I learned it secretly, I will give it a name: Flying Cloud Step!"

Now, when he performed the Flying Cloud Step, Zhou Heng no longer felt the soreness and pain in his waist and legs, as if every bone was about to fall apart.

Just like the Nine Heavens Sword Technique, at first, it felt as if he was fighting against the world, making each step extremely difficult. But now, he had merged with the natural world, and it was effortless, with no restraints.

"I have completely mastered the form of the Flying Cloud Step, but the essence can only be understood with the corresponding technique, which I cannot do!"

"There is no longer any reason to stay here. It's already December, and there are only twenty-two days left until the end of the year. It's time to go back!"

"It's already late today, so I'll stay one more night and leave early tomorrow!"

Zhou Heng made up his mind. After dinner, he didn't practice the Flying Cloud Step but instead focused on the Nine Heavens Sword Technique—over the past month, he had spent most of his time on the Flying Cloud Step.

The long sword moved, creating silver streaks, like flying dragons, extremely mysterious.

But Zhou Heng was never satisfied. So far, his mastery of the first form of the Nine Heavens Sword Technique was still at the level of form, and he couldn't grasp its essence.

This made him very frustrated.

Unlike the Flying Cloud Step, which he had learned secretly, the Nine Heavens Sword Technique was directly imparted by the black sword, though without traditional techniques, it was directly integrated into his blood and body, which should have made it easier to master.

Was he so stupid?

Zhou Heng stood with his sword, carefully pondering, feeling that he was always missing a key moment, preventing him from truly understanding the essence of the Nine Heavens Sword Technique.

He closed his eyes and thought quietly. The final step seemed to be right in front of him, but he didn't know how to take it.

He stood still like a stone statue.

After a long time, a chill came from his face, and Zhou Heng suddenly opened his eyes. He saw that it was snowing, with each flake as large as a goose feather, making the night sky incredibly beautiful.

It was already the coldest part of winter!

The snow was heavy, and the valley quickly turned white. Zhou Heng didn't move, and the snow made him look like a snowman, merging with the world.

A world of white!

Zhou Heng looked at the pure white, his thoughts drifting to the infinite stars, looking down on the world, imagining the vast expanse, and suddenly feeling a surge of passion, his blood boiling.

Buzz!

The black broken sword in his dantian sensed something and trembled slightly.

This was the key moment he had been waiting for!

Zhou Heng laughed loudly, his figure suddenly moving, and he raised his sword.

A miraculous scene unfolded. All the falling snowflakes suddenly stopped, as if controlled by an invisible hand!

The first form of the Nine Heavens Sword Technique!

The long sword moved, like the birth of the universe, filled with indescribable mystery, and it seemed like a great Zen chant, with all things responding!

This sword finally had a spiritual aura!

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