Chapter 136: Perfect Foundation

Within the immortal cave on Cloudfirmament Peak.

Pang Yue sat in cross-legged solitude, his aura profound, serene, and tranquil.

All of his consciousness and focus were concentrated entirely on the newly acquired *Nine Swords of the Human Sovereign*.

Upon finishing the perusal of this legacy, he finally understood the true origins of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

This heritage originated from a ninth-tier magical treasure passed down from the ancient era.

—The Myriad Swords Diagram.

Rumored to be the treasure of the primordial Human Sovereign, this artifact was subsequently lost during the great cosmic cataclysm.

The founding patriarch of the Heavenly Sword Sect discovered this treasure on Immortal-Sinking Island, comprehended swordsmanship from it, achieved the Primordial Spirit realm, and established the vast foundation of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

The *Nine Swords of the Human Sovereign* were the supreme sword techniques evolved from the Myriad Swords Diagram!

This sword manual demanded executing slaughter on behalf of heaven, entering the Dao through the sword, and cleaving the heavens to become an immortal!

Its sword intent was vast and mighty, slaying gods and demons of the nine heavens above, annihilating the living beings of the three realms below, manifesting the boundless expanse of heaven and earth, and containing within it the brilliant essence of the five elements. It could cleave the heavens and shatter the earth, possessing peerless might.

The very name of the Heavenly Sword Sect was derived from this.

It was divided into a general outline and nine distinct sword forms.

The ancient book *Explication of Heaven* states: Since the opening of heaven and earth and the reign of the Human Sovereign, up until the chaos of the heavenly demons, one million, twenty-six thousand, and nine hundred years have passed, divided into ten epochs known as: Nine-Headed, Five-Dragons, Sheti, Heluo, Liantong, Xuming, Xunfei, Yinti, Chantong, and Shuguo.

Both the general outline and the nine sword forms of the *Nine Swords of the Human Sovereign* were named after the ancient ten epochs.

Each sword form consisted of nine variations, and each variation contained the true intent of eight sword maneuvers.

In other words, the prerequisite for cultivating this sword manual was to fully master the inheritances of all seventy-two peaks of the Heavenly Sword Sect one by one!

Only then could one synthesize these sword techniques, combine and transform them, and master the nine heaven-cleaving swords.

The profundity of the general outline of the *Nine Swords of the Human Sovereign* alone was no less than that of the *Heavenly Demon Myriad Transformations Profound Changing Scripture*.

Only the formidable divine sense, dharma power, divine soul, and physical body cultivated through the methods of the general outline could support the final nine sword forms, which exhausted all the sword techniques of the world with infinite transformations!

When Pang Yue activated the Innate Wuji Monument, he felt an abstruse will transmitted over.

...One year!

Even with the marvelous nature of the Innate Wuji Monument, comprehending merely the foundational realm portion of the general outline of the *Nine Swords of the Human Sovereign* would require a full year of effort!

This was something that had never occurred with any other cultivation technique or secret manual.

One must know that whether it was the Ten Directions Freezing Demon Path, the Magic Talisman Secret Canon, or the Heavenly Demon Myriad Transformations Profound Changing Scripture, none had ever consumed such a long period of time.

Pang Yue vaguely perceived that although the *Nine Swords of the Human Sovereign* was also a Primordial Spirit-grade heritage, compared to other Primordial Spirit-grade heritages, it seemed to possess a fundamental difference!

He let out a long breath and began to quietly comprehend it.

* * *

Twenty years later...

Demonic Talisman Sect, Mount Zhuoguang.

Deep within the Ice Demon Hall.

Inside a massive icy cavern.

A man and a woman sat facing each other, seated upon thick, blue, unyielding ice that gleamed with a faint crystal light and radiated intense coldness.

Countless translucent white, illusory runes flickered in and out of existence around the two of them like drifting snow, emitting all sorts of abstruse intents.

The man was a tall, handsome adolescent Daoist priest. Dressed in grey Daoist robes with a straight posture and slightly greyed temples, he exuded an air of scholarly elegance.

The woman was a peerlessly breathtaking and coldly elegant female cultivator with stunning beauty and temperament. Brilliant radiance circulated around her entire body, as if she had gathered ten thousand rays of light into herself.

The aura about her was concentrated and translucent, and every movement of hers exuded an abstruse intent, vaguely carrying the profound sense of Yin and Yang cycling and endlessly repeating.

She had impressively already reached the Golden Core realm!

Her skin surpassed fresh snow and resembled flawless white jade, and her pair of lovely eyes were as clear as spring water.

Sitting there, she gave one an otherworldly, graceful, and unconstrained feeling.

Though her simple cyan skirt was unadorned with exquisite or luxurious ornaments, she looked as radiant and moving as if she were surrounded by ten thousand ribbons of colored silk.

The two of them were none other than Pang Yue's true body and the Ice Demon Hall's true successor, Ye Xue.

Not long ago, Ye Xue had broken through to the Golden Core realm in one stroke, confirming the fruits of the Ice Demon Hall Master's many years of bitter study.

First-grade Golden Core!

Furthermore, she had integrated the Ice Soul Divine Light into her Golden Core as her innate divine power, bestowing upon it limitless might.

Pang Yue's aura at this moment had also reached the realm of Foundation Establishment perfection.

He had endured bitterly for twenty years, engaging solely in dual cultivation with Ye Xue regarding the Ice Soul Divine Light, never once crossing any boundaries.

His courteous and respectful demeanor as he accepted the gift had almost made Ye Xue doubt whether her own charm was inferior to that of Luo Qingyuan.

Until the moment she broke through to the Golden Core...

Pang Yue finally crossed that line.

Following an indescribably wondrous experience, Ye Xue belatedly realized... what Pang Yue had truly plotted for was the abundant primordial Yin of a Golden Core-grade maiden!

Along with the sheer thrill of using a weaker state to overpower a stronger one and indulging in unrestrained conquest!

"You are now merely a step away from the Golden Core realm yourself."

Ye Xue gazed at Pang Yue with lovely eyes, her expression slightly complex.

Having lived together day and night for twenty years, she knew all too well just how astonishingly brilliant this man's talent and comprehension were!

Had it not been for his inferior spiritual roots, he likely would have broken through to the Golden Core realm long ago.

Only the heaven-defying method of Golden Core Demon-Seizure could possibly allow him to shed his mortal shell, transform his bones, and break free from his shackles like a trapped dragon.

Yet, Heavenly Demon Demon-Seizure was fraught with such immense peril!

A single misstep, and everything would be completely lost!

Moreover, Pang Yue had long since told her that among the three thousand heavenly demons, only those ranked in the top one hundred were his targets.

The degree of peril involved undoubtedly escalated to yet another level!

Could he succeed?

Ye Xue thought to herself wistfully.

What a pity that his lifespans was running thin...

Had it not been for this, with her current Golden Core cultivation, she might well have been able to find another, safer path for him.

"I should also go pay a visit to my master."

Pang Yue mused aloud.

Through his avatar, he had witnessed the abstruse profundity of the Heavenly Sword Sect's *Nine Swords of the Human Sovereign*, which gave him a different understanding of the *Magic Talisman Secret Canon*.

Theoretically, after cultivating the *Magic Talisman Secret Canon*, one's strength would not necessarily be inferior to the *Nine Swords of the Human Sovereign*!

In the outer realms of the void, among the three thousand heavenly demons, there was great disparity.

There were weaklings like the Wolf Centipede, as well as supreme divine powers like the Reincarnation Heavenly Demon.

If one could refine a top-ten heavenly demon into a magic talisman avatar, what kind of monstrous demonic flames would that unleash?

Perhaps in this world, there were no mediocre cultivation techniques.

There were only mediocre cultivators!

...

Mount Zhuoguang.

Upon the gigantic precipice at the peak.

A solitary figure stood with hands clasped behind his back, gazing down at the rolling sea of clouds and the soaring spiritual cranes.

Pang Yue quietly appeared upon the massive cliff, lowered his head, and bowed, "Your disciple pays respects to Master."

By now, he had long since learned his master's true name from the Ice Demon Hall Master, Ye Bing.

—Murong Bi.

This Vice Master of the Demonic Talisman Sect had originated from a impoverished mortal family, later entering the jianghu to practice martial arts, roaming the seas until he encountered practitioners of immortality.

Through all sorts of desperate measures, he managed to apprentice himself to a small immortal-cultivation sect.

Within a mere thirty years, he reached Qi Consumption perfection and broke through to Foundation Establishment.

Subsequently, he married into a second-rate immortal-cultivation family as a matrilocal husband, utilizing their resources to charge all the way to Foundation Establishment perfection.

Later, through a fortuitous encounter, he took the previous Ice Demon Hall Master as his master and became a true successor disciple of the Ice Demon Hall.

Decades later, he broke through to the Golden Core realm and was selected by the Sect Master to enter the True Demon Hall for cultivation.

After a leisurely hundred years, his cultivation, status, and power rose steadily, making him one of the three Vice Masters of the Demonic Talisman Sect.

In the future, he was poised to succeed the position of Sect Master!