Chapter 338: Five Elements Sword Fiend

“Teacher Zuo, what’s the difference between ‘One Sword Generates All Methods’ and ‘One Sword Breaks All Methods’?” Chen Mobai continued his inquiry. There was abundant information within the Immortal Sect regarding “One Sword Breaks All Methods,” as sword cultivation was a highly esteemed profession, attracting the most aspirants. However, details on “One Sword Generates All Methods” were scarce. As Zuo Gong had explained, its incredibly high cultivation threshold meant that related information was primarily held by the Sword Dao Association, accessible and comprehensible to only a select few.

“Actually, the distinction isn’t that great. Both paths ultimately lead to the same destination, or rather, they were originally one path that diverged in the middle, giving rise to ‘One Sword Generates All Methods’ and ‘One Sword Breaks All Methods.’” Although Zuo Gong appeared somewhat unapproachable, he was, in fact, an excellent teacher. Since Chen Mobai had come to ask, he certainly wouldn't hold back. He extended his right index finger and began drawing in the air.

First, he drew a horizontal line. Midway through, the line branched off, extending both upward and downward. “For example, this is ‘One Sword Breaks All Methods,’” Zuo Gong indicated the upper branch. “And this is ‘One Sword Generates All Methods,’” he said, pointing to the lower branch. Subsequently, these two diverging diagonal lines each formed a curve, eventually converging and merging back into another horizontal line at a certain point.

“The divergence between them occurs in the steps after forming the sword light. Do you know why one needs to refine baleful sword energy?” Zuo Gong began to question. He hadn't discussed this knowledge for over twenty years, and suddenly explaining it to Chen Mobai felt quite satisfying. The last time he spoke of these matters was when a graduate from the Daoist Academy, having achieved the sword light realm, specifically returned to seek his guidance. Now, before him was someone who had reached the sword light realm two or three years ago, which gave him a greater sense of accomplishment in teaching.

“It’s because while the power of sword light is extremely condensed, it can easily be countered by specialized defensive spells and artifacts,” Chen Mobai replied. For instance, his previous purple fire sword light would at best perform at sixty to seventy percent of its full power against water or earth-attributed artifacts. But after refining azure flame baleful sword energy, it was different. With the triple augmentation of scorching, armor-piercing, and blood-burning, even if the surface defense couldn't be breached, an invisible force specifically targeting vital essence and physical bodies could penetrate the defenses, making it impossible to guard against.

“Precisely. Take my Geng Jin baleful sword energy, for example. It pushes penetration and speed to their extremes. But this is because the cultivation method I practice was designed from the outset for this purpose, and the sword light I formed was specifically imbued with the necessary properties using gold spirit energy for refining hardened iron baleful energy. However, this poses a problem.” Zuo Gong paused at this point, looking at Chen Mobai as if to test him.

“While baleful sword energy is more powerful than sword light, it’s still limited by the foundation of the sword light established by the cultivation method. If it encounters defensive power of the same cultivation level, it will still be countered and be at a disadvantage.” Chen Mobai pondered this, drawing upon his hundreds of battles in the Minor Scarlet Heaven, and pointed out a flaw he had perceived. After he had long held the top position on the Heavenly Ladder rankings, many people devised various tactics to defeat him and gain renown. The most arduous battle Chen Mobai encountered was against Nangong Xiu from Kunpeng Daoist Academy. Nangong Xiu had mastered the Rain Division of the Six Imperial Sutras, unleashing a storm against him that nearly overwhelmed his purple fire sword light due to elemental suppression. However, Chen Mobai ultimately relied on the Sun Ascension Art to detonate Pure Yang Fire, forcibly enhancing the sword light's power and breaking through the rain domain with sheer force. In that battle, if Nangong Xiu hadn’t been only at the third level of Foundation Establishment and her spiritual energy hadn't depleted by the end, Chen Mobai might not have won.

Zuo Gong listened to Chen Mobai’s answer and glanced at him with a touch of surprise, thinking, *As expected of the most outstanding graduate of the Sword Cultivation Department of this era; he even grasped this point.* “Indeed. Although sword light is enhanced by earth baleful energy, it is still subject to elemental limitations. If my Geng Jin baleful sword energy encounters Primal Yang baleful sword energy, it would take two of mine to neutralize one of his. However, ‘One Sword Generates All Methods’ has no such trouble. Do you know why?”

*Why are you still asking why?* Chen Mobai couldn't help but scratch his head, utterly unable to come up with an answer. He had never before encountered “One Sword Generates All Methods,” so he had no knowledge whatsoever in that area. “Please enlighten me, Teacher Zuo.”

Finally having stumped Chen Mobai, Zuo Gong nodded with satisfaction. He then stopped teasing and revealed the most crucial point. “Because the sword light formed by following the path of ‘One Sword Generates All Methods’ possesses no attributes whatsoever. This means it can transform into any phenomenon of heaven and earth. So, if you encounter a water-attributed sword light, you can transform your sword light into an earth attribute to counter it. Conversely, if you meet an earth-attributed sword light, you can change it back into a wood-attributed sword light.”

“The sword light is unrestrained and endlessly variable. No matter who the opponent is, you can use the most countering force to deal with them.” He continued, “A sword cultivator capable of walking the path of ‘One Sword Generates All Methods’ can be called the ‘Perfect Sword,’ without any flaws.”

Chen Mobai’s eyes widened after hearing this. So, that’s how “sword light transformation” is used! Didn’t that mean that once he reached this realm, he would essentially be a hexagonal sword cultivator? Was this perhaps too cruel for students from other Daoist Academies? Chen Mobai himself felt a bit embarrassed to participate in the upcoming offline exchange and sparring session. At his current level, he felt that only Lan Haitan could offer a challenge.

“By the way, Teacher Zuo, this is still sword light. What if I encounter an opponent who has refined baleful sword energy? How should sword light transformation respond?” But immediately, Chen Mobai discovered a blind spot. While sword light was formidable, to be truly invincible at the Foundation Establishment stage, one still needed baleful sword energy.

“There’s nothing to be done about that. That’s the downside of ‘One Sword Generates All Methods.’ After sword light transformation, one cannot refine baleful sword energy, because once earth baleful energy is integrated into the sword light, it can no longer maintain its pure, un-attributed state. In other words, once you advance, you can’t go back.” Zuo Gong helplessly waved his hand. Compared to “One Sword Breaks All Methods,” which progresses systematically and has a clear path, “One Sword Generates All Methods” lacks sufficient experience and examples due to the scarcity of individuals who can even cross its threshold. Therefore, between sword light transformation and the eventual entrustment of the soul, several crucial transitional realms are missing.

So after all that, there was no path forward after “sword light transformation.” No wonder the Immortal Sect didn’t allow sword cultivators below Core Formation to access “One Sword Generates All Methods.” It truly was a waste of time and led people astray.

“Then how did Old Ancestor Baiguang succeed?” Chen Mobai remembered the successful example Zuo Gong had mentioned. If someone could traverse the path, there must be a small trail.

“Old Ancestor Baiguang left behind two concepts: ‘Sword Intent Forms Momentum’ and ‘Sword Heart Clear.’ However, in the thousand years of our Sword Dao Association, those who could comprehend these two realms are few and far between,” Zuo Gong explained. “Nangong Xuanyu is probably the closest. When he fought Revered Master Qingping, he wielded Primal Yang baleful sword energy with Pure Yang sword intent, unleashing power comparable to a Nascent Soul Revered Master in a short time.” He continued, “Besides him, Hao Cao from Mountain Sea Academy, Cai Yu, the president of the Sword Dao Association, and Gongsun Jielu from the Immortal Sect’s Orthodox Law Hall are also recognized as highly skilled sword cultivators who have made significant progress in ‘One Sword Generates All Methods.’”

As Zuo Gong spoke of Nangong Xuanyu and the other three, his face was filled with emotion. Sword cultivators were all very proud individuals, but these four seemed to have earned his complete respect.

“My ‘Collection of Sword Baleful Energies’ was compiled with their help. The original intention was to compensate for the weakness of a singular baleful sword energy being easily countered. Unfortunately, while the theory is complete, it’s practically impossible for ordinary sword cultivators to actually master it.”

Upon hearing Zuo Gong mention this, Chen Mobai remembered the “Collection of Sword Baleful Energies” that Zuo Gong had given him. Indeed, if one could master a dozen or twenty types of baleful sword energies, they would naturally have no fear of being targeted. However, to achieve this, one would first need to cultivate the corresponding sword lights. For example, to cultivate Two Extremes baleful sword energy, one would need to practice the Primal Yang Sword Art until they formed Primal Yang sword light, and then cultivate another balancing Mysterious Yin sword light technique. After both Yin and Yang sword lights were formed, one would also need to hire a Geomancer to artificially synthesize the Fire Yang and Mysterious Yin earth baleful energies. The human, material, and spiritual resources required for such a feat would exhaust even Core Formation cultivators.

“All four of them mastered sword light transformation, allowing them to transform their sword light into myriad forms. This directly bypasses the initial step in the ‘Collection of Sword Baleful Energies’ of cultivating different sword lights; they only need to refine the desired earth baleful energy.” Zuo Gong further explained, “Although the sword light cannot revert once baleful energy is condensed, the power of a sword baleful energy formation significantly boosts their combat strength.” He then added, “However, the artificial synthesis of earth baleful energy is also troublesome. To my knowledge, Gongsun Jielu, through the Immortal Sect’s resources, has completed one such sword baleful energy formation. Nangong Xuanyu should also have completed the Two Extremes baleful sword energy, as he already possessed Primal Yang baleful sword energy and only needed to refine the other kind.”

Listening to Zuo Gong’s words, Chen Mobai stood rooted to the spot, lost in thought. He had gained the realm of sword light transformation through empowerment, and he possessed a good amount of earth baleful energy. Those four second-tier earth baleful crystals seemed to perfectly combine with his fire-attributed azure flame baleful sword energy to form the Five Elements baleful sword energy! Thinking along these lines, it truly seemed feasible to attempt.

“Teacher Zuo, are there any precautions I should be aware of when cultivating your ‘Collection of Sword Baleful Energies’?” Chen Mobai cautiously asked. Zuo Gong immediately glared at him, stood up in annoyance, pointed a finger at Chen Mobai, and began to lecture him.

“You’re reaching too high! Is my ‘Collection of Sword Baleful Energies’ something a mere Foundation Establishment sword cultivator like you can cultivate?!” Zuo Gong’s spittle flew. “Let’s not even talk about how many merit points it takes to artificially synthesize earth baleful energy. Even if you were to cultivate different sword lights while simultaneously refining the Five Elements essence, the time cost alone would be unbearable for you.” He continued, “Don’t think you’re so fast just because you break through a realm every year. Even if you were to cultivate the ‘Collection of Sword Baleful Energies,’ you’d have to wait until you reach the peak of Foundation Establishment, when there’s no further progress to be made…”

After severely lecturing Chen Mobai, Zuo Gong, finally satisfied, felt a sense of relief, having appeased the lingering frustration from having to personally graduate this boy early due to his rapid advancements. Just as Zuo Gong finished his lecture and was about to turn to leave, content, he saw Chen Mobai extend the five fingers of his left hand.

*What’s he doing?* Zuo Gong, puzzled, initially thought Chen Mobai had poor psychological resilience and couldn't handle his words, about to clench his fist in silent endurance. But then, a wisp of purple flame sword light rose from Chen Mobai's thumb.

Zuo Gong naturally knew of the purple fire sword light that had swept through Minor Scarlet Heaven. Two years had passed, and it seemed even more refined. This boy’s talent in the sword dao was indeed monstrous. But Zuo Gong became even more baffled by Chen Mobai’s actions. He was a Core Formation sword cultivator; what could a mere wisp of sword light possibly…

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Zuo Gong saw a green sword light illuminate Chen Mobai's left index finger. His face was filled with surprise. *What's going on? He’s actually formed a second sword light. It looks like a wood attribute, and it’s quite refined. Was he preparing to cultivate my Five Elements baleful sword energy this early?*

But what happened next made Zuo Gong’s eyes widen even further. On Chen Mobai’s thumb was the purple fire sword light, on his index finger the divine wood sword light, and on his middle finger, a black sword light of fine ice particles appeared. A total of three sword lights of different attributes: fire, wood, and water!

The Everlasting Life Scripture was very comprehensive and contained a method called “Divine Wood Sword Qi.” Chen Mobai simply evolved it using sword light transformation, and it became “Divine Wood Sword Light.” As for the water-attributed sword light, he used the Black Water Art as a template, which he had not only dabbled in himself but also guided Luo Yixuan in practicing, making him very familiar with it. He simply sublimated and evolved the Black Water Art’s cold breath, and it transformed into this black ice sword light. For the remaining earth and metal attributes, Chen Mobai planned to look for suitable sword cultivation methods in the Daoist Academy library when he had time. Nevertheless, the display of three different-attributed sword lights from his left hand’s three fingers had already completely and clearly conveyed his message to Zuo Gong.

The head of the Sword Cultivation Department of the Weapon Daoist Academy, a Core Formation sword cultivator, and a grandmaster who had compiled the “Collection of Sword Baleful Energies”—at this moment, Zuo Gong was utterly stunned. If it were anyone else, they would surely think Chen Mobai had cultivated three different sword light techniques. But only he knew that to effortlessly manifest three different-attributed sword lights on three fingers like this, one absolutely had to have mastered “sword light transformation”! His mouth hung open, his face a picture of disbelief.

“You… you… you… you…” Zuo Gong pointed at Chen Mobai’s hand, trembling uncontrollably, even struggling to articulate his words clearly.

“Teacher Zuo, I recently had a breakthrough in my sword dao, but I felt the realm I achieved was somewhat different from the Immortal Sect’s ‘One Sword Breaks All Methods.’ The information I found online wasn’t very clear, which is why I came to seek your guidance. After listening to your advice, I realized that sword light transformation can be used to cultivate your ‘Collection of Sword Baleful Energies.’ That’s truly wonderful; my path forward in the sword dao is now very clear,” Chen Mobai said, standing and bowing respectfully to Zuo Gong.

This was genuinely heartfelt. To be honest, without this conversation with Zuo Gong, he would never have conceived that sword light transformation could be utilized in such a way.

“You… what you said at first was true?” Zuo Gong, however, felt a bit awkward. Earlier, when Chen Mobai said he had a breakthrough, Zuo Gong had thought he was coveting the precious Immortal Sect sword art in his possession. Thinking about it now, even for a seasoned veteran like Zuo Gong, his face felt hot with embarrassment.