Seeking the Flying Sword Path

"I shall have the Hundred Great White Yang Metal Sword Art as my primary focus and the other four sword manuals as my secondary focus." Qin Yun liked all five sword manuals and so decided to use all of them.

One primary and four secondary manuals... would accumulate to form the foundation of his Sword Dao.

"Master said that I’ll be stuck in the Essence Soul for some time and so this period would be suitable to cultivate some divine powers?" Qin Yun mumbled to himself. "What relationship does the Essence Soul realm share with the cultivation of divine powers?"

With that said, he continued heading up.

On the eighth level of the Myriad Dharma Repository, Qin Yun found a large collection of divine power Dharmic formulations.

"True Samadhi Fire."

"Buddhist Nation in Palm."

"Two Realms Evasion Art."

Qin Yun looked at each of the rather eye-catching divine powers as he read through them.

After reading each manual, Qin Yun fell into thought. Moments later, he had flipped through about twenty books that contained some of the more famous and potent divine powers in the Three Realms.

"I see." Qin Yun muttered softly. "It’s no wonder Master said that I’m suited to cultivate in divine powers since I’ll be stuck in the Essence Soul realm for some time. It’s because the top great divine powers in the Three Realms can only be cultivated at the Essence Soul realm. That would explain why Arhat Tenside and Ape Fiend Junior of the Effulgent Great World remained in the Essence Soul realm... For instance, in the Buddhists’ Western Paradise, there are eighteen Arhats. Legend has it that their strength has already reached close to that of Golden Immortals and Buddhas but they remain in the Arhat realm. It’s because of these great divine powers."

"Top great divine powers are sufficient for one to reign supreme in the Three Realms," thought Qin Yun.

Ordinary divine powers could be cultivated at the mortal stage.

Even his Eye of Lightning, which was considered quite a potent divine power, was not qualified to be labeled a great divine power.

A potent great divine power... could allow one to match Golden Immortals and Buddhas when it was cultivated to its limit!

"The Essence Soul is purer. After one survives the tribulation to become a Skyimmortal, it requires spirit and body to fuse as one! The Essence Soul and body perfectly fuse and, as a result, the Dharmic powers transform to become Skyimmortal Dharmic powers. It creates great might as a result but it contains one’s physical strength. That drastically reduces the effects of cultivating a divine power."

"The only way to resolve this problem is to cultivate an Intrinsic Divine Power at the Essence Soul realm, making it a part of one’s life. By doing so, even when spirit and body fuses as one as a Skyimmortal, one can continue cultivating the divine power."

"But there can only be one Intrinsic Divine Power! Just like my Intrinsic Flying Sword, there is no way to cultivate a second one simultaneously."

"And while I’m in the Essence Soul realm, I can only cultivate in several powerful divine powers."

"According to the divine power Dharmic formulations’ descriptions, there are some experts in the Three Realms who have remained in the Essence Soul, willing to stay as Earth Immortals. There are also a bunch of Buddhists who are willing to remain as Arhats. They mainly focus on cultivating great divine powers, and the best among them can match Golden Immortals and Buddhas." Qin Yun shook his head in self-derision. "However, my Intrinsic Flying Sword requires the infusion Dharmic powers to be triggered. The stronger my Dharmic powers, the stronger my Intrinsic Flying Sword is! Therefore, staying in the Essence Soul realm in order to cultivate in divine powers is not worth it for me."

"I’m a sword immortal. An Intrinsic Flying Sword is the strongest card I’ll ever have up my sleeve." Qin Yun knew this.

"Speaking of which..."

"Divine Firmament Chapter’s Ancestral Master Zhang can be considered quite unlucky. He was already at the Skyimmortal realm when he was taken in as a disciple, making it impossible for him to cultivate in these great divine powers." Qin Yun sighed.

Many of the Green Touring Palace disciples that were recruited by the Dao Ancestor were at the Skyimmortal level; therefore, few of them had Intrinsic Great Divine Powers.

And those that cultivated in Intrinsic Great Divine Powers were mostly illustrious at the mortal stage or at the Essence Soul stage. During that period, they could come into contact with top great divine powers of the Three Realms.

Although Qin Yun now had the luxury of flipping through a huge bunch of great divine powers, it was truly difficult for anyone elsewhere to learn them.

...

Qin Yun kept reading.

"Cultivating a divine power is not easy. There are many requirements and restrictions." Qin Yun flipped through the precious divine power Dharmic formulations one by one and pondered. "And most of time should be focused on my Sword Dao. Therefore, I need to choose one that suits my needs, a great divine power that can be easily cultivated."

He chose one by one.

There were really a lot of divine powers in Myriad Dharma Repository’s collection. Many of them had what it took to be labeled as a great divine power.

"There are a total of 82 Buddhist divine powers and 155 Daoist divine powers. There are also divine powers for demons and dragons. So much has been accumulated from the era of the Ancient Heavenly Courts to this day." Qin Yun did a brief browse, since he could memorize a manual in seconds. He finished browsing all of them very quickly.

"There are two that suit me the best. They were rather famous great divine powers during the era of the Ancient Heavenly Courts."

Qin Yun looked at the two divine power Dharmic formulation manuals in front of him.

One of the divine powers was named Heavenly Cycle Stellar Realm. It was a very famous domain-like great divine power. Once it was cast, 360 stars would appear. It would induce boundless stellar powers to descend, suppressing and trapping the enemy. Furthermore, the 360 stars could be used to attack the enemy. When it was cultivated to its pinnacle, this great divine power could trap 18 Golden Immortals and Buddhas within, preventing them from escaping the Heavenly Cycle Stellar Realm.

There was another divine power named Heavenly Cycle Stellar Robes. It formed a robe that appeared like stellar light. It looked like a thin piece of cloth but the robe was actually a world in and of itself!

With one’s body covered by a world, they could be insulated from the effects of space, Samsara, and even Karma when cultivated to its pinnacle. It was a very powerful great divine power.

The Massive Stellar Heavenly Cycle Array was an massive array that had existed since the Ancient Heavenly Courts era. And these two divine powers stemmed from the Ancient Heavenly Courts.

"My Sword Dao is best at producing the Heavenly Cycle."

Qin Yun looked at the two divine powers. "Cultivating these two great divine powers would be relatively easy. Which one should I choose?"

"Forget it."

"I’ll choose both!" Qin Yun smiled. After all, he would be stuck in the Essence Soul realm for a very long time! His creation of a Skyimmortal Dharmic formulation for the sword immortal lineage appeared bleak at the moment.

"By cultivating both great divine powers together, I will know which one suits me more with time."

...

Qin Yun continued reading the manuals in the Myriad Dharma Repository. Even though he was not cultivating, it still broadened his horizons.

He learned of the many powerful skills employed by Daoists, Buddhists, Fiends, and the other lineages. He would be more grounded when he fought such enemies in the future.

Unknowingly...

It was noon of the next day.

Having read for an entire day and night, Qin Yun felt as though he had broadened his horizons greatly. He also learned of many of the Three Realms’ most powerful techniques.

"The Dao exchange banquet is about to begin." Qin Yun immediately left the Myriad Dharma Repository and headed for Clear Wind Hall.

Green Touring Palace occupied a huge area.

There were many important grounds as well as places specially meant for disciples to spar and discuss the Dao. Clear Wind Hall was one of them.

The three pig demons were receiving guests outside Clear Wind Hall. When Third Pig saw Qin Yun, he immediately came forward to welcome him. At the same time, he said quickly, "Brothers, Junior Brother Qin Yun is here."

"You came, Junior Brother Qin Yun?"

The two pig demons joyfully came to receive him.

"Junior Brother Qin Yun, this is my eldest brother and this is my second eldest brother," said Third Pig with a smile.

"Greetings, Junior Brother Qin Yun." The other two pig demons were rather affable.

Qin Yun looked them over and saw that, based on the looks of the three pig demon brothers, the eldest was rather honest-looking. The second was taller and more bulky while the youngest was a little unctuous. Their auras placed them at the eighth or ninth firmament Skyimmortal realm. After all, they definitely had to fairly strong to organize a Dao exchange banquet.

"Greetings, Senior Brothers," said Qin Yun politely.

"Come on in! Junior Brother Qin Yun, you are early. Less than half have arrived. Third Brother, bring him in," instructed the eldest.

Third Pig warmly brought Qin Yun into Clear Wind Hall.

Inside, there were already more than two hundred fellow disciples. There were both humans and demons. Everyone appeared quite casual as they chatted and discussed over drinks.

"Look, that’s Qin Yun." Five female cultivators that sat together looked at Qin Yun as they drank.

"It’s him?"

"This young junior brother of ours is quite handsome." One of the female cultivators had very foxy eyes. She was a fox demoness who had succeeded in her cultivation.

"Yes, that bearing of a sword immortal in his bones makes him different." Another female cultivator beside her looked at Qin Yun with interest. She was a snake demon that had attained the Dao.

...

Qin Yun was quite well-received when he entered Clear Wind Hall.

Among the fellow disciples, about thirty percent of them were female cultivators. And female cultivators in Green Touring Palace were usually rather bohemian. To be precise, it was common for female demon cultivators to be bohemian in the Three Realms.

"Junior Brother, come be my guest. I live in Azure Fox Mountain in the Crimson Flames Great World." The fox demoness had already approached him passionately.

Qin Yun smiled. "I’ll visit when I have the chance."

"Junior Brother Qin, why don’t you dual cultivate with me in my cave abode?" A blue-robed female cultivator had an enamoring look in her eyes.

"Senior Sister Lan, sorry, but I do not dare to," said Qin Yun.

"You are afraid? Are you afraid I’ll eat you? You are my junior brother. I won’t steal your Yang aura," said the blue-robed female cultivator with a smile.

Qin Yun could only remain polite.

There were just too many kinds of people among the Green Touring Palace disciples. Some senior sisters would directly hook up with other senior brothers. With respect to this, Qin Yun was already accustomed to the practice.

After all, he had tens of thousands of senior brothers and sisters. Nearly half of them were demons and they were usually more unrestrained than humans in their dealings.