C14 Advancing by Leaps and Bounds!

Qin Fei couldn't shake one persistent question.

Why, when the sword light of the Sword Soul merged with the colossal sword, did a set of Sword Spell materialize? "I need to acquire the Sword Truth as soon as possible. Only by truly grasping the essence of the Sword Soul will I unravel this mystery. What secrets does the Sword Soul conceal?"

He took a deep breath, striving to quell the turmoil within.

His prior notions had been wildly ambitious.

He was aware of the Sword Soul's complexity.

Yet now, it appeared the Sword Soul's nature was even more intricate than he'd surmised.

"The Sword Spell consists of twelve characters: Fire, Power, Tyrant, Giant, Extermination, Demon, Blood, Life, Death, Saint, Spirit, Darkness. Each character embodies a distinct force, and mastery of these forces requires control through the sword light..."

Qin Fei absorbed the explanations written behind the Sword Spell.

The twelve characters were deceptively simple, yet each harbored the essence of swordsmanship, resonating within the recesses of his mind like intersecting beams of sword light.

Mastering them was a formidable challenge.

"I never imagined that words could contain the force of a sword," Qin Fei mused with a wry smile. "But the sword's power within these characters is overwhelming. Each one exists as if it were a sword itself. I wonder what might be unleashed if I harnessed my own sword light?"

After meticulously examining each of the sword forms, Qin Fei finally allowed himself to relax.

By the standards of his sect, disciples below the Qi Gathering Stage were not entitled to practice Profound Skills or other cultivation methods.

Yet here before him lay the Sword Spell, which required no profound energy, only the sword light from within his own being to cultivate.

One week later.

At the base of a waterfall outside the sect's mountain, a burly man about 1.8 meters tall wielded a massive sword, two meters in length and five feet in width, brandishing it at the water's edge.

His sword techniques were straightforward: Horizontal Sweep, Straight Chop, Uppercut, Sprint.

Each of the four movements was executed with a fluid sweep, creating ripples that dispersed like a strong breeze.

To the distant observer, it seemed unremarkable, but up close, the power was palpable.

The sensation was akin to a hurricane slashing across his face, leaving behind a raw, stinging pain. This fierce wind wasn't the result of an overly potent aura; rather, it was the sword's movement generating a razor-sharp breeze, which in turn caused the surrounding space to naturally contract.

"Weng!"

In that instant, the big man's eyes flashed. His sword burst forth with a blinding white light. As the white light emerged, the giant sword became incredibly sharp, and a rich, intense sword glow surged forth, captivating and brilliant.

Qin Fei's expression grew intense as he faced the sword now enveloped in the radiant light. With a swift motion, he unleashed the massive sword, accompanied by the dazzling glow.

"Sword Spell, Fire."

With this move, Qin Fei bellowed. Centering on his dantian, the dense Gang Qi fueled the sword glow, propelling it into the giant sword and up to the very tip. A powerful, fiery red light burst forth from the tip, extending five meters in length and two meters in width, descending with the force of a mountain.

"Boom!"

The fiery sword struck down, piercing the void and plunging into the pond. The water erupted, sending up sprays and forming two columns that shot in opposite directions, while the smoke dissipated into the air.

"Crash!"

As the sword light retracted, the water droplets settled back into the pond, but the smoky haze continued to spread outwards.

Witnessing the spectacle, Qin Fei allowed himself a weary smile. "Such formidable power. It took a whole week to grasp the 'fire' character from the Sword Spell. But the strength of 'fire' is overwhelming. Using it not only depletes my aura-qi significantly but also drains a considerable amount of energy from the sword glow itself."

Qin Fei surreptitiously wiped away a bead of sweat. He had dedicated the entire week to mastering the Sword Spell, and though he had only unlocked the 'fire' character, he was acutely aware of the immense difficulty in mastering and wielding its power. It required not just the support of his body's aura-qi but also a precise level of control over the sword glow.

Otherwise, there's always a risk of succumbing to the overwhelming force of the 'Fire' character in the Sword Spell and spiraling into a dangerous state of Qi Deviation.

Qin Fei had faced this peril during his previous cultivation sessions, narrowly escaping death.

However, over the course of this past week...

Qin Fei found some solace in the fact that cultivating the Sword Spell resulted in rapid depletion of his aura-qi. It was this intense regimen of cultivation that propelled his core cultivation level to the ninth tier of the Astral Refinement Stage.

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