Lin Yun washed his face after Guardian Plum left and changed his clothes before he came out of the house. This was a manor, filled with greeneries in the surroundings. The plum blossom trees in the surroundings were trimmed, and there was a faint chill permeating in the air.
“Great place!” Lin Yun exclaimed. He now knew why Guardian Plum chose this place. The energy here wasn’t something that the Locket Mountain could be compared to, and he couldn’t waste his three days here.
Lin Yun walked while he enjoyed the scenery. He passed through the artificial mountains before he finally came to a stop by an icy lake. There were petals lying around in the lake, and the bottom could be easily seen. It was untainted like a mirror.
The lake also had a huge space, with traces of martial techniques being performed here. Lin Yun instantly figured out that Guardian Plum must’ve practised his cultivation and martial techniques here.
“This is…” Joy suddenly appeared on Lin Yun’s face as he quickened his pace. When he looked at the mist above the lake, he instantly knew that this was a spiritual lake. He cupped his hands together and scooped the lake water before drinking a mouthful. He soon felt refreshed when it flowed through his body.
“This is great!” Lin Yun had envy in his eyes. He mumbled, “Lord Guardian is truly formidable to enjoy a spiritual lake all to himself. I’ll cultivate here for the next three days then.”
Lin Yun sat down and retrieved a few second-grade spiritual jades and started to cultivate. Lin Yun had an astronomical sum of second-grade spiritual jades, and if he spent three days here, the efficiency wouldn’t be lesser than cultivating for half a month.
His violet origin energy coursed through his meridians and Lin Yun was shocked to discover that the violet energy also contained traces of chill. After reaching the eighth stage in the Iris Sword Sutra, Lin Yun had been constantly in battle. He didn’t have time to examine himself.
When he looked at it carefully, he noticed that the Iris Flower had undergone a drastic transformation. The flower now looked like a jade sculpture, with violet chill shrouding it. It was naturally the Violet Sacred Flame. After reaching the eighth stage, the Violet Sacred Flame converted into this form, like a layer of mist shrouding the flower.
“This also means that my origin energy has another attribute. What a pleasant surprise!” Lin Yun was shocked, and at the same time, he wasn’t. The Violet Sacred Flame had the attribute of cold flames. Not only could the flames form into the Iris Sword Array, but it could also summon icicles.
The Iris Sword Sutra had just revealed a ferocious side of it. As time gradually passed, Lin Yun used dozens of second-grade spiritual jades in just half a day and was shocked to discover another petal forming.
“This is truly a great place. It has just been half a day, and there’s a clear sign of improvement in the Iris Sword Sutra…” Lin Yun was pleasantly shocked. After all, the Iris Sword Sutra exhausts a lot of resources, and it was slow in progress.
When Lin Yun cultivated, he had no idea that there were two people looking over. One was a middle-aged man, Guardian Plum. The other was an elderly man that Lin Yun couldn’t recognize.
But the aura coming from the elderly man was several times stronger than Guardian Plum. He was the Sword Firmament Pavilion’s mysterious pavilion master, Jian Xuanhe.
The pavilion masters have all used ‘Jian’ as their surnames, which represented their respect for the ancestor, Jian Wuming.
“I can see through this fellow’s cultivation technique. I bet he must have a fortunate encounter,” said Jian Xuanhe.
“I’ve noticed it as well. If it’s not for his cultivation technique, there’s no way he can defeat Chang Wu and Chu Haoyu when he was just in the fifth stage of the Martial Realm previously. Just his cultivation technique alone puts a distance in him and the inner disciples,” said Guardian Plum.
“I’m satisfied with this candidate that you’ve chosen. He’s not any inferior compared to Bai Lixuan to show so much potential at seventeen,” smiled Jian Xuanhe. When he noticed the helplessness on Guardian Plum’s eyes.
“But never place your hope in someone. If you’re able to make a breakthrough into the Heavenly Soul Realm, then there’s nothing for us to fear,” Jian Xuanhe said a glow in his eyes.
Guardian Plum smiled bitterly. How would it be so easy to reach the Heavenly Soul Realm? It was a problem if there was one in the Great Qin Empire, to begin with.
“What do you think of the Demonic Lotus Realm two months from now? Should we include him?” Jian Xuanhe also knew the difficulty of reaching the Heavenly Soul Realm. He changed the topic back onto Lin Yun.
“He had just been promoted to an inner disciple. Isn’t it a little too forceful for him to go to the Demonic Lotus Realm…?” Guardian Plum was shocked.
“This brat’s potential is larger than you think. Furthermore, since he’d already decided to participate in the Dragon Gate Competition, how can he possibly win if he can’t even make it through the Demonic Lotus Realm?” Jian Xuanhe smiled mysteriously while stroking his beard.
“Then I’ll include him in the Demonic Lotus Realm,” smiled Guardian Plum.
Lin Yun practised for two days and two nights. On the third sunrise, he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was sharp and cold. Lin Yun let out a long breath with joy on his face. Over the past two days, he exhausted a hundred second-grade spiritual jades, and his Iris Flower had another petal.
“Alright, let’s try the icy sword aura out.” Lin Yun drew the Flower Burial Sword and poured his origin into it. From what emitted from the sword, he could sense a faint chill coming from it. Lin Yun then brandished his sword and performed the Flowing Wind Sword he learned back in the Azuresky Sect.
Under the empowerment of the Iris Sword Sutra, he couldn’t tell that it was a houtian sword technique at all. Whenever the sword went, it left a lingering chill in the air. Lin Yun gradually moved along with the sword. When he landed on the ground, the afterimages formed into an Iris Flower.
Looking at the afterimages, Lin Yun sighed, “I never expected that I would still remember the Flowing Wind Sword.”
Then again, Lin Yun didn’t think that there was an opportunity for him to use it again in the future. The sword technique might seem powerful now thanks to his cultivation technique, but it was still a houtian sword technique.
Lin Yun gently swayed the sword in his hand and the afterimages shattered, forming into smaller Iris Flowers. When his sword intent dissipated, the Iris Flowers then disappeared.
With joy on his face, Lin Yun muttered to himself, “The Iris Sword Sutra has undergone a transformation. In the future, I can easily kill someone by swinging my sword alone.”
Lin Yun sheathed his sword and placed it back into the sword box.
“Time to practice the Dragon-Tiger Fist.” The Dragon-Tiger Fist had nine forms, the Dragon-Tiger Might; Dragon-Tiger Steps; Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger. Dragon Tail; Dragon Painting; Soaring Dragon. Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger; Hundred Beast Wave, and Vanquishing Dragon and Tiger.
Lin Yun was already familiar with the first five forms, and he was left with the last four forms. Aside from Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger, every one of the last four forms were extremely powerful. The previous fight allowed Lin Yun to gain lots of insights to the Dragon-Tiger Fist.
Lin Yun’s eyes suddenly glowed and his aura formed into a golden dragon. When he clenched his fist, the ferocious dragon let out a roar. When he threw his punch out, an immense pressure spread out from him that formed into a dragon and a tiger. He could perform the Dragon-Tiger Fist fluently as he wishes.
Suddenly, Lin Yun’s eyes glowed and executed the Soaring Dragon. A golden dragon formed around his fist, which roared when he clenched his fist. When he threw his punch, the dragon soared out and flew into the sky.
Then, a dragon manifested on his left, while a tiger on his right. When both his fists clashed together, a dragon and tiger mountains suddenly formed that enveloped him. This was a defensive and offensive attack combined.
When Lin Yun’s aura reached the limit, he executed the Hundred Beast Wave. A massive tiger manifested behind him. When he threw his punch out, the tiger opened his eyes and let out a ferocious roar, unleashing the might of a king. At the same time, Lin Yun’s sword intent and origin energy poured into it. It might only seem like a simple fist, but it carried the might of a king.
When Lin Yun retracted his fist, the terrifying aura around him disappeared. He was now left with the last form of the Dragon-Tiger Fist before he learned all nine forms. It wasn’t time for him to comprehend the final form, and he wouldn’t try anytime soon. As for the Heavenly Seal, Lin Yun guessed that it must be related to Buddhism, and it wouldn’t be easy for him to comprehend it since he knew nothing about Buddhism..
But Lin Yun didn’t find it a pity. After all, the current Dragon-Tiger Fist was more than enough for him. As long as he didn’t encounter one of the titles like Drifting Goblet, Lin Yun was confident of fighting any Heavenly Profound Sect’s disciples.
It was still early, and he wasn’t in a rush to leave. Lin Yun’s eyes glowed with excitement. The cosmic artifact was now his greatest trump card. “Let’s test the cosmic artifact out…”