Seeking the Flying Sword Path

The handsome youth and the white-dressed woman were stupefied.

“He really cultivates a mortal Dharmic formulation?” thought the white-dressed woman, finding it impossible to believe.

“Brother Qin Yun, sorry for any disrespect I might have implied by saying those words. Please do not take it to heart.” Lu Fan felt a little embarrassed and immediately apologized. He had just belittled the mortal sword immortal Dharmic formulations.

Qin Yun said with a smile, “This is definitely not your fault. Back when I was starting out, I was simply delighted to receive a Dharmic formulation for cultivation. How could I know anything about condensing an Essence Soul or overcoming the tribulations to become a Skyimmortal? And it is because I obtained that Dharmic formulation that I was able to settle a vendetta early in my life. To be honest, I’m very happy to have received that opportunity which allowed me to embark on the cultivation path.”

“Yes, yes.” Lu Fan nodded and said, “Although the conversion of the sword immortal lineage is impossible, with your talent, I believe you’ll be able to reincarnate and have a fresh start if an expert senior were to help you.”

Qin Yun did not respond to that and instead asked, “Brother Lu, can you tell me in detail about the direct sword cultivation line of the Grand Supreme lineage?”

“Yes, Senior Brother. Please tell us,” said the white-dressed woman immediately.

“We have never heard of it before either,” added the handsome youth.

“Haha…”

Lu Fan laughed and said, “This is something I happened to learn about when I chatted with a Skyimmortal I am acquainted with. I believe all of you know about the Three Pure Ones of Daoism.”

Everyone nodded. Qin Yun had also long heard of them.

“Grand Supreme, Primordial Beginning, Numinous Treasure. These three Dao Ancestors were existences that stood at the pinnacle of endless space-time,” said Lu Fan. “The Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasure is well-known for imparting knowledge to all people without discrimination. He has the largest number of personal disciples. As for the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning, he is stringent when it comes to taking in disciples. But he is extremely dedicated in teaching them. Therefore, all of his personal disciples become Golden Immortal-level mighty figures. Our Scenic Jade Palace is from the Primordial Beginning lineage.”

Qin Yun nodded slightly.

Primordial Beginning Dao Ancestor painstakingly taught his disciples.

Numinous Treasure Dao Ancestor was more whimsical when teaching disciples. He showed no discrimination, resulting in the huge number of disciples.

“The Grand Supreme Dao Ancestor engages in tranquil inaction,” continued Lu Fan. “He has the fewest number of disciples! Becoming his personal disciple is extremely difficult. And the sword immortal lineage is the most famous one Grand Supreme Dao Ancestor teaches. There are two from this lineage that have cultivated to become a Golden Immortal. In the massive and endless Three Realms, these two Golden Immortals have engaged in warring expeditions everywhere. The reason why the Grand Supreme lineage possesses such shocking power is mostly thanks to these two Golden Immortal mighty figures. The saying ‘destroying all Dharma with a single sword’ came from them. It’s said that they have even killed several beings at the Ancestral Fiend level.”

Qin Yun was sent reeling when he heard that.

The magnitude of their killing spree was intense.

“I heard the sword immortal lineage is very strict when it comes to taking in disciples,” said Lu Fan. “These two Golden Immortals travel the Three Realms and will only recruit the most extremely talented seedlings. Brother Qin Yun, I even thought that you were from the direct sword cultivation line of the Grand Supreme lineage. After all, this lineage is only a legend in all of the Three Realms. There aren’t any who have actually seen a sword cultivator from the direct lineage.”

Qin Yun nodded slightly.

“Brother Qin Yun, since you cultivate in a mortal-level sword immortal Dharmic formulation, you likely haven’t have joined sects that stem from the lineages of Primordial Beginning or Numinous Treasure, right?” asked Lu Fan. “Then, there is still hope of you coming under the direct sword cultivation line of the Grand Supreme lineage.”

“I understand. Thank you, Brother Lu Fan,” said Qin Yun.

“I hope I helped,” replied Lu Fan with a smile.

“As long as your realm gets higher and higher, I believe you will attract the notice of the Grand Supreme sword cultivation lineage sometime in the future,” said the white-dressed woman.

“Brother Qin Yun, the more famous you become, the more hope there will be,” said the handsome youth. He had belittled the weak mortal originally, but after Qin Yun displayed his strength, he began treating him seriously. When he learned that Qin Yun was only a mortal sword immortal, he even felt some pity. His attitude towards him turned a lot more mellow as well.

He naturally felt pity for a person who had no chance of condensing an Essence Soul.

They also knew that the chances of being recruited under the direct sword cultivation line of the Grand Supreme lineage were low. Therefore, Qin Yun was likely to return to dust once his five hundred years were up.

“We still need to continue exploring the Ancient Augury World. We shall bid you farewell for now.” Lu Fan and his two fellow disciples bade farewell and quickly flew off.

Qin Yun stood by a lake.

“The direct sword cultivation line of the Grand Supreme lineage?”

“The three Daoist lineages are Grand Supreme, Primordial Beginning, and Numinous Treasure,” thought Qin Yun. “Daoism’s Three Pure Ones stem from the same family. It’s impossible that they would snatch disciples from each other. My homeworld, the Great Chang world, had Numinous Treasure Dao Ancestor preach the Dao on Numinous Treasure Mountain in ancient times. All the Daoist cultivators in the Great Chang world no doubt belong to the Numinous Treasure lineage. The Grand Supreme lineage would never snatch disciples from another lineage. No matter how powerful I become, they will never take me in as a disciple.”

“Ancestral Master Zhang once told me that, for the sword immortal lineage to condense an Essence Soul, there are only two ways. One is to create it myself and the other is to have a Dao Ancestor impart the teachings to me.”

“Later on, he said that it was practically impossible for the Dao Ancestor to impart the teachings. Creating it independently is the only way.”

“That’s true.”

“If Numinous Treasure Dao Ancestor is willing, all he needs to do is ask. I believe Grand Supreme Dao Ancestor would take Numinous Treasure Dao Ancestor’s opinion into account, allowing me to become a member of the Grand Supreme sword cultivation lineage.” Qin Yun shook his head. “But this is only theoretically possible! Why would the high and mighty Numinous Treasure Dao Ancestor seek the help of another Dao Ancestor… for a mere mortal like me?”

“Furthermore, how can a Dao Ancestor so easily ask for help?”

“That’s why it’s impossible for the Dao Ancestor to impart the teachings.” Qin Yun understood this point. “Therefore creating it independently really is the only way.”

“Aren’t Dharmic formulations created by generations of people?” Qin Yun’s eyes lit up. “Many powerful Dharmic formulations were created by later generations.”

“For instance, Ancestral Master Zhang perfected the Divine Firmament Lightning Dharma using the foundations of his predecessors. Furthermore, he created a Skyimmortal-level Dharmic formulation for the Divine Firmament Lightning Dharma,” thought Qin Yun. “Although the talisman amulet lineage has many of the same kind, he was even able to create one at the Skyimmortal level, an extremely powerful one at that… It is even more powerful than the Lightning Dharma that the Dao Ancestor imparted, making it the best Lightning Dharma in the Great Chang world.”

“I, Qin Yun, believe that I can create an Essence Soul Dharmic formulation for the sword immortal lineage,” thought Qin Yun. “I’ll first condense an Essence Soul to gain a massive increase in lifespan. Once my realm goes higher, I’ll create my own Skyimmortal-level Dharmic formulation.”

“If the Grand Supreme Dao Ancestor can create a sword immortal Dharmic formulation, I, Qin Yun, can do so as well! Perhaps I might even create a better one. After all, many of the powerful Dharmic formulations in the Three Realms were created by future generations.” Qin Yun was filled with fighting spirit.

It was very common for Dharmic formulations of the later generations to surpass those of the earlier generations!

After all, to the Dao Ancestor, he had only casually created those Dharmic formulations. Lightning Darma, alchemy, talisman amulets, sword cultivation… many of them were simply created on a whim. They were not the true thing the Dao Ancestor focused on. But disciples of later generations would focus their entire lives on one path. They would create a more perfect and excellent Dharmic formulation that what the Dao Ancestor imparted in what they were best at. It was not that surprising.

It was even possible that the three Dao Ancestors would be happy to see this happen.

For example, Divine Firmament Chapter’s Ancestral Master Zhang had succeeded in doing it. It delighted Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasure and he was made his personal disciple.

******

After learning about the direct sword cultivation line of the Grand Supreme lineage, Qin Yun gave up the thought of learning it from anywhere else. He placed all his thoughts on creating one independently.

In fact, a Dharma treasure like the Grotto-heaven Sword Calabash that only sword immortals could use, especially one so powerful at that, had made Qin Yun speculate a lot. He speculated that there were more powerful sword immortals out there! Now, everything was revealed. There were indeed more powerful sword immortals. However, they were from the Grand Supreme Dao Ancestor lineage. And their recruitment of disciples was extremely stringent. He could forget about it considering how he was from the Numinous Treasure lineage.

“I still have a long life ahead.”

“I’ll first rescue my wife and attain strength at the Skyimmortal realm. Once my realm undergoes a qualitative change, I can slowly figure out an Essence Soul Dharmic formulation for the sword immortal lineage,” thought Qin Yun.

Cultivation was very important but saving Yi Xiao was even more important.

“Sou!”

Qin Yun rode a cloud again. He went back to seeking treasures while flying around the Ancient Augury World.

…

“Oh?”

Qin Yun used his Eye of Lightning to look around as per usual.

When he looked east, he saw something alarming.

Four hundred kilometers away in the east, there was treasure aura that surged straight into the clouds! The treasure light was completely concealed but the treasure aura was immensely rich. Qin Yun was stunned. “This is the greatest treasure trove I’ve seen since I came to the Ancient Augury World.”

He took another look.

“Oh? There are many people there.” Qin Yun looked on from afar. There were already dozens of cultivators gathered there, mostly at the Essence Soul realm.

“I’ll go take a look.” Qin Yun had an idea of the situation after some slight observation. He flew there straight away. As a mortal, he naturally had nothing to fear.