[Hmph! You are too weak to visit that place, you haven’t even formed your Soul yet.]
Yue Lan replied with a grin that seemed like the most beautiful smile to Shen Yuan.
“So, I need to reach the Nascent Soul stage at least to visit you, huh?”
[Hmph!]
She turned her face away and transformed into particles of light before going back inside Shen Yuan’s forehead.
“Hmm? Why leave so soon?” He shook his head as he saw Yue Lan disappearing from his view.
[Because I can’t stay in my true form outside for long, otherwise it will have serious consequences.]
Her voice turned serious as she answered him, but it didn’t take long for it to turn back to her usual lazy voice.
[So, what do you think? Am I not the most beautiful woman in the world?]
She asked with a light chuckle.
Shen Yuan lay down on the rock again as he saw the Mystique Realm turning back to normal. He put his hand on the back of his head and gazed at the sky.
“What do you think I should do? Should I enjoy my life slowly or cultivate until I reach the peak and then enjoy my life with the people I love?” he asked softly, gazing into the night sky, as even inside the Mystique Realm the day and night cycle continued, but it was different than the time outside, even the sun was different.
Yue Lan’s voice turned softer as she contemplated for a bit and replied,
[It really depends on what you want. You can take your time and cultivate slowly or focus only on cultivation and then enjoy. Whichever path you choose, it will lead you toward the peak, but the difference will be the experiences that you will have. And it is not necessarily the case that you will cultivate at a slower pace if you enjoy your life.]
She paused, finding the right words.
[You need to balance out how much you work and how much you give yourself rest, as you remember from your experience what can happen if you cultivate too much.]
Shen Yuan didn’t reply but instead continued gazing into the sky. ‘I wonder when Mom and Sister Bing will be out. I really miss them now,’ he thought to himself, to which Yue Lan surprisingly replied,
[Bing Rong is nearly finished with her seclusion. She will need a few more days before she can come out.]
Shen Yuan’s eyes lit up as he heard the news. “Good!” he sat up straight in excitement.
“Haha, I can’t wait to meet up with my icy sister.”
[You should finish the Mystique Realm before that.]
Shen Yuan nodded and calmed down. He decided to practice his elemental Intents, which he wasn’t able to master due to a lack of exposure to them.
“Hmm…learning an Elemental Intent is really hard when you have no reference to look at,” he muttered as he tried to create fire from his Qi, but his attempt remained unsuccessful.
[You can look out for an Elemental Cultivation Technique here in this Mystique Realm, maybe you can find something nice.]
“That’s what I’ll do. Let’s wait for the others to come out for now.” He lay down on the stone again and closed his eyes for a rest.
…
Some time passed as Shen Yuan finally opened his eyes to see Wan Ling and the others leaving, while Chen Yue was holding a different spear, something which was not present on her previously.
Shen Yuan looked at it curiously, seeing the runes imprinted on it. He understood it was the inheritance treasure of this old temple.
Chen Yue stepped forward and presented the spear to Shen Yuan. “Senior Brother, do you want to take a closer look at the spear?”
Shen Yuan smiled and shook his head. “It’s a good treasure, it will accompany you far on the journey, and you can also upgrade it when you find the right materials.”
He looked inside his storage ring before taking out a blood-red sword. He started unsheathing it, and the sword began releasing a monstrous killing intent.
All the disciples felt their knees weaken under the pressure of that sword, Chen Yue sweating as the spear protected her.
Shen Yuan shook his head and sheathed the sword again. “Sigh, is it mad that I haven’t used it in a while?”
Wan Ling and the others took deep breaths to calm down as Ling Mei asked, “Senior Brother, how high is the rank of that sword? Its pressure alone nearly killed me.”
Shen Yuan placed the sword on his shoulder and smirked. “You wouldn’t believe me when I say this, but this sword was only a basic sword, not even ranked, as I used to practice with it.”
“Then how the hell is it so strong?” Chen Yue asked, her voice filled with shock.
“That’s due to the number of lives this sword has taken. I used it in one of the Ancestral Pagoda’s trials. I think it was the fifth trial where I had to face off against an endless horde of spirit beasts. I killed millions of them with this sword in hand.” He spoke as he brought the sword to his front.
“And that’s probably when this sword gained the preliminary Sword Spirit.” The sword hummed in his hand as if agreeing with his comment.
Shen Yuan smiled seeing its reaction, yet the faces of the disciples changed drastically as one of them shouted,
“That legendary Sword Spirit???”
“I heard only legendary swords that had some of the greatest swordsmen of their time alive can gestate a Sword Spirit.”
…
Shen Yuan chuckled, seeing Ling Mei and the others discussing his sword so enthusiastically, yet he didn’t say anything further to them.
Wan Ling asked curiously, “What is the name of this sword, Senior Brother?”
A silence descended on the disciples as they paused. This question had slipped their minds as soon as they heard that the sword had a Sword Spirit inside.
Shen Yuan calmly replied, “The name of the sword is—Crimson Devourer. A blade forged for practice but instead turned into a tool of slaughter.”
The disciples shivered slightly as they felt a chill on their backs. The name was enough to strike fear into anyone who knew how many beings it had killed.
“What a befitting name.”
“Crimson Devourer, it has a nice ring to it.”
“I really like this name.”
…
“Anyways, we need to move, guys. We can continue this discussion while looking for other places. Chen Yue already got one inheritance, but that doesn’t mean all of you will also get it. Some of you might even return empty-handed.” Shen Yuan stood up from the stone and dusted off his clothes.
He placed the sword on his waist. “Might as well let you taste blood this once, or you might die of thirst inside the storage space.”
The rest of the disciples looked at each other before following after Shen Yuan. They also threw occasional glances at Chen Yue, who held her spear tightly, as if afraid someone would steal it.
Shen Yuan smiled seeing her like this, and the others also giggled softly. They soon encountered another beast, which seemed pretty similar to the previous one.
