Chapter 22: Two Thousand Years of Evolution, Tai Cang Divine-Shocking Sword

"I can't take the sword your mother left you," Gu An said hastily, waving his hands. He was being honest; such a sword with its origins surely had many complicated ties and could bring trouble.

Li Ya lowered his eyes to the sword sheath, his thoughts drifting into memories: "This sword is named Celestial Star Sword. Since I was three, it has been with me. I am no longer able to wield its full power, nor do I qualify to use it. It would be better for you to have it—perhaps it will meet its fated one in Medicine Valley."

"Why wouldn't you qualify?" Gu An asked, confused. "It doesn't have something to do with the Royal Family, does it? Then I really couldn't accept it."

The mere thought of being entangled with the Li Family gave him a headache.

Admittedly, the sword was extraordinarily beautiful and he cherished it, but he preferred not to have his life disrupted.

Li Ya looked at him and smiled, "Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. Don't worry, this sword won't bring you trouble, and the Li Family wouldn't dare to snatch it, because it was a love token from my father to my mother. With it, the Li Family would rather not mess with you. If you encounter problems you can't solve, you can bring this sword to find my father in Changluo."

"How can someone of my low status meet the emperor?"

"Rest assured, as soon as Celestial Star Sword appears in Changluo, my father will sense it. In any case, you must take it, otherwise I won't eat this fruit."

Then don't eat it!

Gu An almost blurted out but restrained himself.

He looked again at the Celestial Star Sword. It struck him that he did not own a single Magic Artifact; Cheng Xuan Pill's legacy only included Talisman Papers and no Magic Artifacts, not even a sword.

What's there to fear!

I am a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator!

If I truly encounter insurmountable trouble, I could always throw the sword at them!

Gu An took a deep breath and reached for the Celestial Star Sword. It had some weight to it, and his right hand trembled as he lifted it, making Li Ya burst into hearty laughter.

"Junior Brother Gu, even if you have modest talent, don't forget to cultivate. The Seven Swords Technique of the Li Family I passed to you must be practiced," Li Ya said earnestly.

Gu An held the Celestial Star Sword with both hands and forced a smile.

Hehe.

Young man, you really need to train your eyes more!

Thus, Li Ya settled down in Medicine Valley, and Gu An personally arranged a courtyard for him where no one would disturb him.

Li Ya was meditating on his bed, beside him was a Cang Teng Fruit bitten in half. His hands formed spell signs, continuously cultivating energy to heal his injuries.

A pale blue silhouette emerged from Li Ya's body and circled around the room; it was an elderly man, kind-figured, dressed in a Daoist robe that gently fluttered, fully embodying the air of a highly cultivated being.

Li Ya opened his eyes and spoke, "Ancestor, what is this fruit? Its medicinal effects are so fierce..."

The Soul Body elder waved his hand, causing ripples in the space of the room. He then stroked his beard and laughed, "It must be the Cang Teng Fruit born from the Sacred Tree, the Cang Teng Tree, in the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion. Even the lowest tier of Cang Teng Fruit is Tier Six. You are quite fortunate."

"The fruit from the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion? No wonder the Supreme Sect sees it as a formidable foe," Li Ya murmured to himself.

The elder looked at the Cang Teng Fruit and said, "The Thousand-Autumn Pavilion and the Supreme Sect have had grievances for over a thousand years. The spies they've planted in each other's sect are not few. Your Junior Brother Gu is lucky; had he not met you, the Cang Teng Fruit would have brought him disaster."

Li Ya shook his head, "It's not that he's lucky; it's because he's kindhearted and values loyalty. People like him always receive good karma. On the contrary, I am the fortunate one."

The elder nodded, "You speak the truth. In the Immortal Cultivation Realm, such people are indeed rare, but you shouldn't feel too guilty. Gifting him the Celestial Star Sword holds more significance for him than the Cang Teng Fruit."

Hearing him mention the Celestial Star Sword, Li Ya sighed, "I have let down my mother's expectations, but I really do not wish to vie for the throne. I just want to avenge her and then wander the world, far from the strife of court politics."

"Celestial Star Sword is one of the three Great Emperor Swords of Tai Cang. To fully utilize its power, one must master the Emperor-Level Sword Technique. Your Nine Devastating Swords is only at a beginning stage; it might take another hundred years before you master the Emperor-Level Sword Technique," the elder pondered aloud.

Li Ya remained silent.

The elder quipped, "You can't even easily defeat that kid named Shi Yang; you need to work harder, considering your fourth brother has already reached the Core Formation Realm."

Li Ya took a deep breath, did not respond, and closed his eyes to continue healing.

The elder then looked out the window; although it was tightly shut, he could hear the laughter of Xiaochuan and others.

"This place is good, far from worldly conflicts, but alas, someone burdened with missions is not suited for this place."

"Never mind, no more sentimentality; time to go back to sleep and restore spirit."

...

In the dead of night, Profound Valley was silent.

Gu An used the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill to conceal his Qi, silently leaving Profound Valley. He traveled over twenty miles to a forest.

He sat under a tree, summoned the Attribute Panel, and fixed his gaze on the Li Family Seven Swords.

How much Life Span should I invest?

After pondering, he decided to invest more to increase his actual combat ability.

Let it be two thousand years!

With such investment, he could then peacefully accumulate lifespan up to a hundred thousand years!

He immediately chose to invest two thousand years of Life Span, and as soon as he thought it, the leading digit of his Life Span changed from four to two.

[You have invested two thousand years of Life Span to evolve and cultivate the Li Family Seven Swords]

[You have cultivated the Li Family Seven Swords for ten years, achieving great proficiency in swordsmanship, beginning to consider more possibilities]

[You have cultivated the Li Family Seven Swords for fifty years, reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship, your Li Family Seven Swords have ascended to the Seven Swords Technique]

...

[You have cultivated the Li Family Seven Swords for three hundred years, your Seven Swords Technique reaching the pinnacle, Seven Swords Technique ascended to Nine Devastating Swords]

[You have cultivated the Li Family Seven Swords for five hundred years, your Nine Devastating Swords reaching completion. You have condensed your own Sword Intent]

…

[You practiced the Li Family's Seven Swords for a thousand years, your Nine Devastating Swords returned to simplicity and truth, upgrading to the Emperor-Level Sword Technique]

[You practiced the Li Family's Seven Swords for twelve hundred years, your Sword Intent began to embody its own Celestial and Earthly Imperial Qi, your comprehension of the Sword Dao improved]

…

[After practicing the Li Family's Seven Swords for eighteen hundred years, your Emperor-Level Sword Technique returned to simplicity and truth, your Sword Intent activated the Sword Dao, grasping the true essence of the Sword Dao, you entered a state of Sudden Enlightenment, the Emperor-Level Sword Technique upgraded to Tai Cang Divine-Shocking Sword]

[You practiced the Li Family's Seven Swords for two thousand years, your Tai Cang Divine-Shocking Sword achieved a state of thorough understanding, your comprehension of the Sword Dao improved]

As a series of alerts popped up wildly, seeing the simulation time hit a thousand years, Gu An immediately activated the Life Span Barrier.

He feared disturbing the mysterious entity underground as well as the soul inside Li Ya.

When all the alerts ceased, a vast amount of memory flooded into his mind, the ground also surged with Spiritual Energy, which did not enter his body but instead circled around him, gradually coalescing into flickers of cold light like Sword Light, emitting an unusual brilliance under the night sky.

Gu An fell into a state of Enlightenment.

He did not know how much time passed before he slowly woke up.

At this time, dawn had not yet broken.

Gu An first checked the consumption report of the Life Span Barrier.

Wow, just by comprehending the cultivation techniques, he had consumed three hundred years of life span!

Fortunately, he had thoroughly mastered the Tai Cang Divine-Shocking Sword, and his understanding of the Sword Dao had reached a transformative level, this profound experience made him feel wonderful.

Looking at the Attribute Panel, he saw in the Sect Skills section that the Li Family Seven Swords had changed to Tai Cang Divine-Shocking Sword, with 'Thorough Understanding' marked in parentheses.

He did not get up immediately but took out the Celestial Residence, laying the sword sheath across his lap, his hands resting on the sheath, his eyes closing afterward.

He was feeling the Sword Intent of the sword.

Once the Sword Intent of the sword merged with his own Sword Intent, he would be able to subdue this treasure sword.

This treasure sword contained several Restrictions inside it, like magic spell checkpoints, waiting for the Sword Master to challenge them with Divine Sense and Spiritual Power.

Gu An did not understand Restrictions, but fortunately, he already possessed his own Sword Intent, which passed through the Restrictions.

Half an hour later.

Gu An stood up, tossed the Celestial Residence into his Storage Pouch, and then headed towards Profound Valley.

Stepping out, he immediately levitated, Sword Qi forming under his feet, and he proceeded by riding on his sword.

As he neared the ten-mile distance to Profound Valley, he landed and continued on foot, suppressing his aura to the extreme.

The night gradually passed, and the eastern horizon began to show hints of pink.

Morning arrived.

Li Ya opened the door, facing the rising sun, he stretched lazily, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

The effects of the Cang Teng Fruit were just too potent!

He was no longer as uncomfortable and felt that he might recover in a few days!

Li Ya smiled, his gaze directed towards the grassy area next to the distant garden where Gu An was leading his junior brothers and sisters in practice.

The series of movements made Li Ya curious.

Although they were slow, he inexplicably felt there was something profound in them.

Li Ya immediately walked over and joined Gu An, who greeted him and received a nod in return.

"What are you all practicing?" Li Ya asked curiously.

Gu An replied with a smile, "This is something I learned from an old man when I was a child. It strengthens the body and keeps the spirit vibrant. I lead them through it daily to start the day on a good note."

Lu Jiujia complained, "I actually don't think it does much."

Xiaochuan glared at him, saying, "That's because you're slow on the uptake."

Li Ya then said, "Actually, it is useful, but it requires prolonged consistency."

His position as an Outer Disciple lent natural credibility to his words.

Gu An glanced at Li Ya, sensing he had grown gentler and was capable of saying such emotionally intelligent things.

In fact, the primary reason he led his junior brothers and sisters through this routine was to completely detach their minds from cultivation and dreams, preventing them from spoiling his herbs.

"Once you're done, how about I teach you a set of sword techniques?" Li Ya said cheerily.

Upon hearing this, Xiaochuan and the others immediately perked up, thanking him profusely and respectfully calling him Brother Li Ya.

Li Ya looked at Gu An, "You join us too, you have a sword now; it's good to practice more."

Gu An nodded with a smile.

Alright.

Let's see if your Li Family Seven Swords are up to the mark!

Li Ya's participation brought an even livelier atmosphere, and watching the junior brothers and sisters chatter, he did not find them annoying but rather felt pleased.

It was not until noon that Li Ya pulled Gu An into the woods.

"Show me your Li Family Seven Swords, master it sooner, and I can impart to you the true sword techniques. This set is just basic sword moves." Li Ya said earnestly.