Qin Yun stood on the thick layer of ice that had formed on the mirror-like lake. It was completely silent other than the sound of the sword singing through space. Qin Yun would occasionally notice his wife who was boiling hot tea by the lake as she spectated his sword practice. He could not help but smile.
He had spent his recent days very happily.
He had frequently toured Grand Dominance City with his wife and discussed which restaurant’s food was better.
They would even watch some street-side performances together and throw copper coins just like any other normal citizen.
The couple even secretly visited brothels like Swallow Phoenix Brothel and watched the performances of the renowned courtesans…
They had cast Divine Concealment Spell, keeping very low profiles.
At home, they would occasionally have drinks with their parents and elder brother or give pointers to their nephew and niece on their swordplay.
He discussed the Dao with his wife. Although his wife focused on the Divine Firmament Lightning Dharma and he focused on sword arts, they still cultivated in some common Dharma spells.
“Eating and drinking, cultivating with my wife. It would be quite nice if this carries on for the rest of our lives.” Qin Yun had seen too many separations as a result of death on the battlefield. Such happy days made him cherish them even more. The great fiendish demons believed that Qin Yun could not tolerate the boredom but deep down, Qin Yun was not a cultivator that thirsted for battle.
“Hu! Hu! Hu!”
Qin Yun became more immersed in his sword arts as he practiced.
Perhaps it was because he had returned to his hometown or perhaps it was the happy days in recent times, it made Qin Yun feel an unprecedented calmness. The sword arts he produced became purer and more delicate.
The Misty Rain Sword Intent was a sword intent that Qin Yun figured out on the battlefield. In its nascent form, the Misty Rain Sword Intent was used to deal with demons on the battlefields. Its first goal was to protect his comrades-in-arms around him! Defense was prioritized before they struck the enemy! This was the core nature of the Misty Rain Sword Intent. The happy days he had recently experienced, with the numerous great fiendish demons lurking outside, made Qin Yun feel the imperative need to protect everything.
He had to protect what he treasured!
By cultivating Elder Sword’s seven sword arts and even grasping the seven sword intents had indeed widened Qin Yun’s horizons. By understanding sword arts from seven different angles, it made him realize that the Misty Rain Sword Intent was most suitable for him. He took portions of the seven sword intents and gradually fused them into his Misty Rain Sword Intent, perfecting his sword intent.
Some people would be led astray if they cultivated in different sword intents!
Qin Yun had grasped sword intent directly through Expertise Nearing Dao at the Postnatal realm. He had his own understanding towards the Sword Dao and subconsciously, it pointed towards an intrinsic nature. Even though he learned numerous sword intents, they only provided him nourishment that he could use it for his own.
“Phew! Phew! Phew…” The sword flashes were like misty rain as they whistled for dozens of feet as they increasingly grew in might.
It made Yi Xiao, who had been preparing and drinking tea by the lakeside, stand up. She watched nervously but did not dare to disturb him by making any sound. “Has Brother Yun entered a special state of mind?”
“Boom!”
The sword flashes’ might became more terrifying, as though a massive sphere was revolving around his surroundings.
Very suddenly, the sword flashes converged.
The flying sword in Qin Yun’s hand vanished and had long been stored away in his body. He stood above the frozen lake with his eyes closed.
His surroundings gradually quietened as it turned into a still silence.
Qin Yun stood on the ice with his eyes closed for a long while before he gradually opened his eyes. There was a formless sword intent permeating a thousand feet around him. In every direction, sword intent that had quantitatively transformed pervaded every spot.
“Only by abandoning the superficial can I see the true nature of the core. This is the core of the Heavenly Dao. This is the Paramount realm!” Qin Yun stretched out his right hand. Above his palm, a formless sword intent condensed and formed a visible sharp beam!
“When sword intent reaches a limit, it is extremely pure and delicate, allowing it to condense into something corporeal.”
Qin Yun looked at the sharp beam above his palm. It contained the profound circulations of the Heavenly Dao and it was one of profundity at the very core.
Just the slightest contact with the core gave one the right to call it the Paramount realm.
Qin Yun was feeling infinite joy. Having seen through the superficiality of several sword intents, he had truly gained a little insight into the core of the Heavenly Dao. The feeling of grasping the core was a wonderful feeling. It felt like he had gained the truth to what Sword Dao was.
“Only by grasping the core, no matter how tiny it is, will I have the right to figure out my own Sword Dao,” thought Qin Yun. “But to enter the Dao, it’s not something that can happen in a short period of time.”
The increment in realms was very difficult.
The Heavenly Dao concepts were rather difficult to grasp. Once it was grasped, it meant that one had a good chance of entering the Connate Golden Core realm.
As for intent domain? The difficulty was even more obvious. Before Qin Yun rose to prominence, only Sect Master Gong had accomplished that in the Jiang Prefecture.
As one’s insights grew, the intent domain would constantly expand. It would go from a hundred feet to three hundred feet and more… The size of the intent domain only represented how much one’s accumulation was. No matter how much accumulation there was, one would never reach the Paramount realm if one didn’t make contact with the core nature. Some cultivators might attain intent domain by the age of hundred but even when their end came at the age of five hundred, they would still fail to enter the Paramount realm.
Many would have their intent domain reach a range of five or six hundred feet but they would never make the final step. They might even gain insights into one or two dozen sword intents but it would be a haphazard mix. They might end up complicating matters further for themselves and eventually become somewhat crazy after their cultivation.
A large domain only represented a sizable amount of accumulation. The might of the attacks produced would not have any qualitative enhancement.
And those that figured out a hint of the Heavenly Dao’s core would have said to reach the Paramount realm.
Intrinsically, Qin Yun was aligned towards the core. Unknowingly, he had taken the most appropriate path which allowed him to grasp the Paramount realm when his intent domain was only at a hundred and eighty feet.
“Thinking back to the sword arts that I previously created, it was a little bloated. There were too many nonessential parts to it,” thought Qin Yun. “They can be simplified and modified. It will greatly increase the strength of my attacks.”
After reaching the Paramount realm, his flying sword arts would naturally represent a hint of the Heavenly Dao’s core. Its strength would also undergo an upheaval of change.
…
Yi Xiao, who was standing anxiously by the lake, could not help but be stunned when she saw Qin Yun condense a sharp beam with his right hand.
“Brother Yun,” Yi Xiao shouted immediately as she flew over.
She tapped her feet on the ice a few times and traversed a great distance before arriving beside Qin Yun.
Qin Yun smiled at Yi Xiao.
“This… this is…” Yi Xiao looked at the sharp beam. “I can’t sense any Heaven and Earth powers or Dharmic powers. Is… is this purely the condensation of sword intent?”
“Yea.” Qin Yun nodded.
“Sword intent is a concept, to begin with. It’s not something visible to the eyes. Only those that come into contact with the Paramount realm according to legends can condense them into something corporeal.” Yi Xiao looked at the sharp beam that seemed to be filled with extreme profundity. She turned to look at Qin Yun. “Brother Yun, have… have you reached the Paramount realm?”
“Yes, the Paramount realm,” Qin Yun said with a smile.”I didn’t expect that I grasped the Paramount realm when my intent domain is only ranged a hundred and eighty feet.”
Yi Xiao found it unbelievable.
She knew that Qin Yun was extremely talented and knew that he was what legends spoke of—a peerless sword immortal that had grasped sword intent at the Postnatal realm. She also believed that Qin Yun would reach the Paramount realm in the future. However, he had grasped it when his intent domain was at a mere hundred and eighty feet. It was astounding.
“I finally understand what it means to be a peerless sword immortal as spoken of in legends.” Yi Xiao shook her head gently and said helplessly, “As a genius disciple of the Divine Firmament Chapter, I’m no way a genius when compared to you.”
Qin Yun smiled. “Xiaoxiao, you are very good as well.”
“But I know how much you have suffered.” Yi Xiao looked at Qin Yun. “Without a master to guide you, you have to experiment completely by yourself. You walked the tightrope of death before gaining insights into your sword intent.”
“It was purely dependent on me. Perhaps the cultivation is very difficult but it’s also a way to harden myself,” said Qin Yun.
Yi Xiao could not help but comment, “Brother Yun, do you know how many existences, considering the Daoist and Buddhist sacred lands, the imperial government and some reclusive itinerant cultivators, are at the Paramount realm in the entire world’s nineteen prefectures?”
“I know. Nine,” Qin Yun said with a smile. “Now with me, there are ten.”
“Including you, there are only ten existences in the whole wide world that is in the Paramount realm,” exclaimed Yi Xiao. “Furthermore, you are still a Connate Paramount realm sword immortal. Sword immortals are well known for their powerful offensive… A Connate Paramount realm sword immortals is a lot more terrifying than other Paramount realms.”
Qin Yun nodded in agreement.
Sword immortals were capable of destroying all Dharma with a single sword. They were indeed great at killing enemies. This was based on the cultivation system.
For lineages like the Physical Establishing Sage, they similarly had the Physical Establishing Sage but it signified that they were good at close combat and that they had powerful physiques!
Another example was the magus lineage. At the Paramount realm, they would be great at techniques such as hexes or Gu arts.
Each side had their own advantages.
A Connate Paramount realm sword immortal could leave others shuddering in fear the moment his flying sword flew out! Of course, Qin Yun had his flaws too. For example, his physique was too weak. His body could not even withstand a hex or poisonous art from an enemy. Therefore, the more powerful a sword immortal, the more they focused on defensive sword arts. Some even controlled many flying swords to protect their bodies.
After all once a flying sword’s defense failed, their bodies would instantly be doomed.
As for the Godfiend and Physical Establishing Sage lineages, they were much better at life-preservation than Qin Yun. Even the Divine Firmament Lightning Dharma lineage could reach the Paramount realm as well! Their bodies could manifest as lightning and their speed would be peerless.
“Brother Yun, now that you have reached the Paramount realm, how can the great fiendish demons outside pose any threat?” Yi Xiao was relieved. She had felt a little stressed in recent times.
“There’s no rush. It won’t be too late to take action after I modify and perfect my Misty Rain Sword Art,” said Qin Yun. After reaching the Paramount realm, his state of mind was naturally different.
“Alright.” Yi Xiao nodded with a smile. “It’s almost the new year. Let’s talk about it after the new year.”
“That’s right. We are about to celebrate the new year.” Qin Yun was in a very good mood too.
The couple strolled alongside each other on the ice towards the manor. They planned to busy themselves with the new year festivities. As for the great fiendish demons lurking outside Grand Dominance City in wait? They could continue waiting outside while suffering the cold!