Chapter 122: Liu Qiyue's Secret

Meng Chuan held the Black Iron Heavenly Book with both hands, examining it carefully. His consciousness was involuntarily drawn in, and he didn't resist, allowing his awareness to penetrate the book.

A powerful sensation enveloped him.

Meng Chuan then saw a woman in a loose robe standing amidst a vast landscape. She stood with her hands behind her back, seemingly admiring the beautiful scenery.

She immediately began to demonstrate a palm technique. Her palms moved like blades, and each casual flick of her hand had a captivating magic for Meng Chuan. A palm strike seemingly cut through the air before her, yet it cleaved a rift in the very fabric of heaven and earth! Heaven and earth seemed like cloth, and this single palm strike sliced them apart, creating a long, gaping spatial rift. Her figure then ascended, directly twisting and vanishing into thin air, only to reappear high above the clouds, tens of thousands of feet up. With another palm strike, the endless sea of clouds parted, forming a chasm tens of thousands of feet deep.

As she performed her movement technique, her trajectory was completely indiscernible; she seemed to be everywhere, both in the sky and on the ground.

She demonstrated a total of one hundred and eight saber techniques.

During the final saber technique, eighty-one identical figures of the woman appeared simultaneously throughout the world. All eighty-one of her simultaneously performed the saber technique, causing the space within a hundred-mile radius to plunge into complete darkness.

This scene of the saber technique being performed was imprinted in Meng Chuan's mind, representing the pinnacle of the "Heaven and Earth Roaming Dragon Saber" and revealing the profound mysteries contained within this martial art.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Meng Chuan suddenly withdrew from the scene within the Black Iron Heavenly Book, holding the book in his hands, his heart filled with profound shock.

"This is the Heaven and Earth Roaming Dragon Saber—it's truly terrifying," Meng Chuan exclaimed, shaken. "It's no wonder it's one of humanity's supreme arts, ranked alongside the 'Heart Intent Saber' and 'Lightning World-Ending Saber'! It truly possesses incredible aspects. This saber technique is performed with a 'willow-leaf long saber,' but the senior who created it demonstrated it with palm strikes, and the explanation was remarkably clear."

Every one of the one hundred and eight saber techniques was executed to its utmost perfection.

In terms of raw power, the Heaven and Earth Roaming Dragon Saber ranks lowest among the three rapid saber arts, even though it can cleave open spatial rifts with a single strike.

However, when it comes to movement techniques, it is unparalleled among humanity. At the creator's level, instantly crossing dozens of miles to another location is commonplace. Most terrifyingly, one can simultaneously manifest eighty-one avatars within a hundred-mile radius! Each avatar can become the true body! At this stage, one is practically invincible.

Even if an enemy could launch a large-scale attack covering a hundred miles, the dispersed power would pose no real threat to the creator of the Heaven and Earth Roaming Dragon Saber.

"This saber art is essentially a movement technique; the saber techniques are merely another application of the movement," the Venerable One said, setting down his calligraphy brush and smiling as he looked at a fan. "In the early stages of cultivation, one can transform into a roaming dragon, traversing heaven and earth. Before becoming a Marquis Godfiend, there are very few methods for flying and escaping underground. Most have flaws. But this one truly has no weaknesses. Venerable Roaming Dragon 'Ye Hong' was truly remarkable; in terms of movement techniques, he can be called the best in humanity's history."

Meng Chuan nodded.

Ye Hong was the creator of the Heaven and Earth Roaming Dragon Saber.

Meng Chuan placed the Black Iron Heavenly Book on the stone table. These were all priceless treasures of Yuanchu Mountain, and Meng Chuan was not permitted to take them away; he could only receive the inheritance on the spot.

"This one is the Heart Intent Saber," Meng Chuan said, picking up the remaining Black Iron Heavenly Book. He was relatively more eager about this one.

His consciousness sank into this Black Iron Heavenly Book.

An old man, holding an ordinary woodcutting knife, executed the first strike.

Meng Chuan immediately recognized it: this was the 'Heart Blade Form,' the foundation of many techniques within the "Heart Intent Saber"! After the first strike was unleashed, there was a flash of lightning, and then the blade was withdrawn.

He then executed the second strike. As soon as it was performed, Meng Chuan's heart leaped. If he could understand ninety percent of the first strike at a glance, this second strike was far too profound. After the woodcutting knife struck out, it directly transformed into a violent bolt of lightning! The lightning boomed, striking a large rock dozens of feet away, yet it was the woodcutting knife that had actually struck it.

The old man actually remained completely still. His arm did not lengthen, yet as he swung the woodcutting knife, it wasn't a blade light that flew out, but the woodcutting knife itself striking dozens of feet away.

"The distance in space... was it twisted? Did it change?"

"Dozens of feet away, yet before this strike, it was seemingly within arm's reach?" Meng Chuan was deeply astonished.

The old man then unleashed the third strike.

The third strike transformed into lightning a hundred or even a thousand times brighter, so much so that at that moment, this single strike was far more dazzling than the sun in the sky.

Immediately after, he withdrew the blade.

"This... this..." Meng Chuan couldn't comprehend it. This strike possessed an even more terrifying power, making him vaguely feel it was far more formidable than the second, but he couldn't grasp its true strength at his current level of understanding.

The old man then unleashed the fourth strike. Blurred saber shadows appeared in all directions dozens of miles away, each shadow cleaving a large spatial rift. The old man had clearly struck out from his original spot, yet large spatial rifts appeared dozens of miles away in all directions.

The old man withdrew his blade.

This time, he waited for a moment, concentrating with great solemnity.

"Rip!"

In the distance, a grand canyon dozens of miles long appeared on the ground.

"What happened?" Meng Chuan was utterly stunned. He vaguely sensed a terrifying strike had cleaved open the great canyon, yet the old man hadn't moved at all.

The old man then proceeded to demonstrate the other seventeen forms of the "Heart Intent Saber." He performed each technique as clearly as possible, and once all were complete, he smiled and looked towards Meng Chuan. A vast amount of information then flooded into Meng Chuan's consciousness! It caused Meng Chuan's mind to rumble as he fully received the complete inheritance of the "Heart Intent Saber."

Holding the Black Iron Heavenly Book of the "Heart Intent Saber" in his hands, he was utterly shaken by the complete inheritance.

The foundation of this Black Iron Heavenly Book was the Heart Blade Form. Therefore, the creator senior performed the Heart Blade Form five times in succession; this move was both the most fundamental and the most terrifying. The fifth strike of the Heart Intent Saber was simply a legendary and fearsome saber technique.

"Among the three rapid saber arts, the Lightning World-Ending Saber is the most dominant, the Heaven and Earth Roaming Dragon Saber's movement technique is invincible, and the eighteen forms of the Heart Intent Saber ultimately converge into a single 'Heart Blade Form'—the greatest drawing-saber technique in the world," the Venerable One said, his voice tinged with admiration and respect. "Although Senior Guo Ke could not reach the Creation realm due to his physical body, he was already invincible in the world at that time. The final strike he comprehended transcended time itself; under that strike, time had already come to a standstill. You wouldn't even notice, and he would have already completed his strike. Therefore, among the creators of the three rapid saber arts, Senior Guo Ke is the one I admire the most."

"It is a consensus among all Creation realm cultivators throughout history that Senior Guo Ke's final strike is the strongest among the three rapid saber arts."

Meng Chuan was also deeply moved.

Senior Guo Ke's fourth strike of the Heart Intent Saber was not far from the highest realm of the Heaven and Earth Roaming Dragon Saber. The fifth strike, however, completely surpassed it! It was a strike that transcended time.

In fact, with that dazzling third strike of the Heart Intent Saber, the flow of time was already distorted. That's why Meng Chuan hadn't understood it at the time, only comprehending it after receiving the full inheritance. The fifth strike was even more unimaginable.

"It's truly exquisite."

"I spent eleven years on the mountain comprehending Saber Soul, but compared to the saber techniques demonstrated by Senior Guo Ke, mine are truly crude, full of flaws," Meng Chuan thought. He wasn't disheartened in the slightest; instead, he was incredibly excited. He wasn't afraid of not knowing what was good, only of not having anything to compare with! Especially when practicing the same saber art! Comparing his own saber technique to Senior Guo Ke's same move...

He immediately discovered countless areas for improvement!

For a moment, inspiration flowed like a spring, and he felt his saber technique urgently needed a complete transformation.

"Every disciple who independently cultivates the Black Iron Heavenly Books, upon first receiving an intent inheritance, will discover their own various shortcomings and experience a period of rapid progress. Go back. For now, you can disregard all other matters on Yuanchu Mountain; just focus on comprehending the 'Heart Intent Saber'," the Venerable One instructed.

"Yes, disciple will take his leave," Meng Chuan replied. He put down the Black Iron Heavenly Book, eager to return, as he had too many ideas he wanted to test.

The Venerable One nodded slightly.

He had seen this many times.

Every disciple who received an intent inheritance from a Black Iron Heavenly Book reacted this way, though most of them only received the inheritance long after becoming Great Sun realm Godfiends and solidifying their Ethereal Souls.

Compared to them, Meng Chuan had received the inheritance quite early.

Meng Chuan used his movement technique to travel through the mountain forest, his mind completely consumed by thoughts of the "Heart Intent Saber" as he made his way.

Soon, he returned to his cave dwelling on Jingming Peak.

"My Lord," Liu, the steward of the cave dwelling, greeted respectfully.

Meng Chuan nodded and headed directly for Liu Qiyue's quiet room.

Inside the quiet room.

Liu Qiyue, clad in a light red dress, sat cross-legged. Flames rose and burned around her entire body, forming the shape of a phoenix with outstretched wings behind her. As the phoenix illusion soared, the aura emanating from Liu Qiyue was also terrifyingly potent. The intense heat even caused the surrounding air to subtly warp, though this heat was completely contained within a ten-foot radius.

It was clear that her cultivation over the years had fully unleashed the terrifying potential of her Phoenix Divine Body.

Every Phoenix Divine Body Godfiend is a genius in the path of fire! They don't even need to deliberately cultivate Black Iron Heavenly Books, because their greatest strength lies in the 'flame' contained within their divine body, a natural ability. For them, the earlier they improve their strength, the stronger their divine body becomes, and the more terrifying their Phoenix Flames grow.

Therefore, Liu Qiyue was actually cultivating a Heaven-ranked Godfiend art, guided by a complete intent, taught by Marquis Tianxing, and cultivated relentlessly in the precious lands arranged by Yuanchu Mountain. Over these eleven years, Liu Qiyue's cultivation progress had actually surpassed Meng Chuan and Xue Feng! Of course, if she were cultivating a Black Iron Heavenly Book without intent guidance, her progress would likely be much slower.

This was not suitable for Phoenix Divine Body cultivators.

According to historical experience, Phoenix Divine Body cultivators generally have very smooth cultivation, able to relatively easily grasp the 'Dao of Fire' realm. However, that is usually the extent of their progress; most of them stop at the Marquis Godfiend stage! Historically, the number of Phoenix Divine Body cultivators who became King Godfiends can be counted on one's fingers. As for reaching the Creation realm? Not a single one!

This special bloodline brought various benefits, but also numerous limitations.

"Hmm?" Liu Qiyue opened her eyes. The flames abruptly retracted into her body, and the phoenix illusion also subsided, naturally containing its terrifying power.

"A'Chuan," Liu Qiyue said, delighted to see Meng Chuan enter. "You look so excited. Did you receive an inheritance from Master today?"

"Yes," Meng Chuan nodded. "After receiving the inheritance, I realized how far I am from Senior Guo Ke; there are so many areas in my saber technique that can be improved. I must cultivate now! From today onwards, unless it's a world-shattering event, block all distractions for me. Master also instructed me to disregard all matters on Yuanchu Mountain and focus solely on my cultivation. I even have a feeling that it won't be long before I reach the perfected Saber Soul stage."

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm," Liu Qiyue nodded repeatedly, joyfully adding, "Then I need to cultivate even harder. I've been stuck, unable to reach the 'perfected Soul Realm' stage."

"Let's cultivate diligently so we can descend the mountain together when the time comes," Meng Chuan said, smiling at Qiyue. "Alright, I'm going to cultivate now." He simply couldn't wait any longer.

"Go, go," Liu Qiyue said with a smile, watching Meng Chuan head to the training grounds. "Today, I'll personally cook some of your favorite dishes."

Liu Qiyue also let out a sigh of relief, silently thinking, "Once A'Chuan reaches perfected Saber Soul, I'll just take another month or two to also reach the perfected Soul Realm."

Indeed.

Her cultivation progress had indeed been quite fast. After reaching the Intent Realm at nineteen, her path in fire cultivation had been smooth. She reached the 'Soul Realm' at twenty-five, and just a month ago, she had already achieved the perfected Soul Realm! She could become a Great Sun realm Godfiend at any time! However, she had never revealed this publicly. Marquis Tianxing had descended the mountain to guard a pass five years after teaching her, and she had deliberately concealed her cultivation progress, so no one had discovered it.

Because she deliberately concealed her progress, and also due to her cultivation of a Heaven-ranked secret manual, the most brilliant cultivator on Yuanchu Mountain remained Meng Chuan, followed by Yan Chitong, with her being third.

"It won't be long before we can descend the mountain. Then, A'Chuan and I can get married," Liu Qiyue thought, a look of anticipation in her eyes.