10 The Sword Qi and Sword Intent Skillfully Unravel the Stone: What is the Reason Behind Cultivating the Way of Qi?

Zhi Tian's choice of stones seemed completely random, as if he were simply testing his luck. But in reality, it was not.

Zhi Tian lacked the methods to detect the presence of Gu insects, and few others had such abilities.

However, the stubborn stones containing Gu insects gradually became unique due to the influence of the fragments of laws embedded within the Gu insects' bodies.

Experienced masters could predict the likelihood of a Gu insect being opened from the shape and quality of the stone.

Zhi Tian had some experience in this regard, but it was not of much use.

Why?

It was because the gambling stones in the casino had already been evaluated by the casino's professional stone experts and divided into various grades. Unless Zhi Tian's experience surpassed that of these experts, his experience would not have much effect.

However, Zhi Tian had the advantage of reincarnation.

Before his reincarnation, Zhi Tian had deliberately collected many biographies and records, gaining knowledge about many important Gu insects obtained from gambling stones.

Although it was impossible to know every stone that would reveal a living Gu insect, he knew that in the lower zone of the Youlan Stone Workshop, there was a giant ice stone containing a legendary Gu. Due to the poor quality of this stone, it could only be classified as inferior, and because the difficulty in unraveling the stone was great, it had been left unselected for decades.

It wasn't until years later that the family elder of the stone workshop gave it to his grandson as a target. The grandson was fortunate enough to obtain this legendary Gu and eventually became the young master of the Blue Family Village, which grew into a large mountain stronghold under his leadership.

However, Zhi Tian did not want this Gu to be exposed, so he planned to personally unravel the stone.

Zhi Tian picked up a piece of purple-gold stone with his left hand, activated his Gu insect, and a sword qi appeared in his right hand. He wielded the sword intent to control the sword qi, which precisely shaved layers off the stone's exterior.

"Such a sword technique! Could this person be a master of the sword?"

"To control it so skillfully! It's impossible to achieve without countless refinements!"

Zhi Tian's advanced skill in unsealing stones quickly attracted the attention of others.

Many gazes were cast his way, and people started whispering.

Even a few of the stone masters began discussing him.

"This young man can control sword qi so delicately; he must be using another Gu insect for assistance."

"Using sword qi to unravel stones is too rough. This is just the simplest purple-gold stone. If it were… What? Even unraveling the mysterious ice stone is so skillful!"

Although Zhi Tian was involved in the Way of the Sword, his level was not that high. His exquisite control was mainly due to the sword intent Gu and his rich experience.

Intention is a form of wisdom, and the sword intent Gu enhances the sword path Gu insects, especially in terms of fine control.

Of course, to the common Gu masters, Zhi Tian's method appeared advanced. However, to Gu Immortals, this level could be achieved with time, as this was not Zhi Tian's area of expertise.

Quickly, Zhi Tian had unsealed nine stones, which were either hollow or contained smaller stones inside. Only the massive Ice Stone remained.

Having previously activated two third-tier Gu insects consecutively, Zhi Tian's true essence and mental energy were somewhat depleted. Other third-tier Gu masters would likely need over half an hour to recover, but Zhi Tian just needed a slight adjustment and quickly returned to peak condition to begin unsealing the stone that had been left untouched for decades.

The Ice Stone gradually weakened. Due to its hard texture and large size, Zhi Tian lacked the right Gu insects to restrain it, making the process particularly laborious.

Eventually, the stone revealed a blue stone inside.

"So much effort for this... turns out it's a stone within a stone…"

"Good thing I didn't pick it, or it would've been a waste of effort."

Zhi Tian secretly rejoiced, but outwardly, he feigned disappointment.

"Since this is the first time unsealing a stone, this stone within a stone isn't bad. I'll keep it as a souvenir."

Without showing any emotion, he carefully pocketed the blue stone and left the casino.

Others thought of the blue stone as just a beautiful stone, but Zhi Tian understood that this was a new type of gambling stone confirmed decades later—Ancient Ice Stone.

Ancient Ice Stones were formed over long periods, and there was a possibility they contained ancient Gu insects.

This particular Ancient Ice Stone contained an ancient Qi-path Gu insect.

Back at his residence, Zhi Tian borrowed the special Gu insects from a stone master in the caravan and unsealed the Ancient Ice Stone.

Looking at the Gu insect in his hand, which was about the size of a baby's fist and resembled a tangled root of an old tree, Zhi Tian couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"The Same Qi Linking Branch Gu is finally in my hands."

Although the chances were high, the same kind of complications that happened when Fang Yuan obtained the fully devoted Gu insect weren't impossible. Fortunately, it was successful this time.

---

Ten Days Later:

The Stone Beach.

This vast field of stubborn stones stretched for hundreds of miles, forming a natural stone quarry.

Such quarries were not uncommon in the Baitou Mountain region, with many stone workshops sourcing their stones from these quarries.

In its prime, this stone beach had dozens of strongholds with elders stationed, even including several large strongholds.

However, after centuries of prosperity, the stones here had been excessively mined over the past century, and now even inferior stones were rare.

With new quarries constantly appearing, this place had fallen into decline, and no one was seen around for half a day.

It was similar to the formation of coal or oil on Earth.

At this moment, a handsome young man stood alone before a massive stone, which was as tall as a mountain.

This person was Zhi Tian.

The jade blade in his hand was not a Gu insect, but was made from the legs of the Jade-footed Spider and could match the strength of a third-tier Gu insect.

Zhi Tian stood ten paces away from the giant stone, took a deep breath, and swung the blade to release a sword qi.

"Shing!"

The sword qi struck the stone, leaving a deep mark of three inches.

Zhi Tian released the sword qi again, this time unleashing three consecutive sword qi. As they emerged, they quickly merged into a single, larger and more solid sword qi.

This time, the mark left was a foot deep.

"By merging three sword qi into one, the path loss is reduced, and the attack is more focused. The damage caused is not something three separate sword qi can achieve. Truly a legendary Gu, but the power of the Same Qi Linking Branch Gu is not limited to this!"

This time, Zhi Tian released three sword qi, infused with sword intent, while three puffs of green toxic gas emerged from the green Gu wrapped around his sleeve. The gases intertwined with the three sword qi and quickly merged into pale green sword qi, which then fused into a single, powerful strike.

This time, the mark was only two inches deeper than the previous one, but the opening was wider and carried a faint green hue.

If this strike hit a Gu master or beast king, the effects would be more pronounced, especially as the poison would have a stronger impact on living beings. Moreover, this was the venom from the Green Bamboo Snake, which further enhanced its toxicity.

This final move was powerful enough to pose a threat to fourth-tier Gu masters. With Zhi Tian's rich experience, he could even withstand a regular fourth-tier Gu master head-on.

However, this move consumed a great deal of energy. Zhi Tian's cultivation had reached the third-tier high level, and with the condensed snow-silver true essence and the Tianyuan Lotus formed from the Seven-Fragrance Wineworm, nearly half of his true essence was depleted.

Zhi Tian had three major opportunities in his past life. The first was the inheritance of the Qi Family's blessed land, and the second was the dream realm of the first ancestor of the Qi Family.

In his early years, the Qi Family's first ancestor was a master of Qi-path and reached the seventh tier. Later, he obtained part of the inheritance from the Soul Demon Lord and shifted his cultivation to Soul Path.

It was evident from here how important the Soul Path inheritance was.

Zhi Tian gained immense benefits from entering his ancestor's dream realm. Not only did his Soul Path reach the pinnacle, but his Qi-path also reached the semi-master level.

This was also why Zhi Tian cultivated Qi-path in this life, with the Same Qi Linking Branch Gu being one of the reasons.

This Same Qi Linking Branch Gu, as Zhi Tian knew, was an absolute treasure.

It could unify all types of Qi, whether they were the same or different.

In his previous life, although Zhi Tian had the Gu formulas for Same Qi Linking Branch from fourth-tier to sixth-tier, he lacked a third-tier Same Qi Linking Branch Gu as a material, and ultimately created a substitute with a somewhat different effect.

This killing move was named Qi Yuan Slash by Zhi Tian. It was still in its infancy, but in the future, it could incorporate more Qi-path Gu insects to enhance its power.

At present, its core Same Qi Linking Branch Gu was only third-tier, and could only unleash a Three Yuan Slash. If its tier increased in the future, this technique could develop into Five Yuan Slash, Ten Yuan Slash, and even Hundred Yuan Slash, Thousand Yuan Slash.

The most important thing was that once it reached the fourth tier, it could merge with fourth-tier Qi, and similarly with fifth-tier Qi at fifth-tier.