Chapter 38: The Might of the Heart Sword
Chapter 38: The Might of the Heart Sword
The battle soon attracted more ferocious beasts, trapping Cheng Lingyu in a small grove.
Most of these beasts lacked beast pills and were relatively weak.
Cheng Lingyu wielded the Cheng family’s Crimson Sun Slash along with his black curved blade, engaging in brutal combat within the forest.
The ferocious beasts were mostly massive in size, possessing terrifying strength and reckless charging power.
Cheng Lingyu’s robust physique granted him arms of immense divine power. Combined with his explosive power, a single punch could repel a charging beast.
Against ordinary beasts, Cheng Lingyu fought bare-handed. His steel-like fists and tidal wave-like true essence, paired with the Magic Eyes technique, allowed him to defeat or kill any beast within ten strikes.
The blood-soaked forest trembled under the roars of gigantic beasts.
Drenched in blood, Cheng Lingyu’s fists emitted a crimson glow like a smiling demon. Each earth-shaking punch sent beasts fleeing in terror.
Over two days, he slaughtered eighteen beasts and consumed all eight obtained beast pills.
At dusk, Cheng Lingyu reached an unusually dense patch of weeds – eerily quiet and beast-free.
Noticing something strange, he discovered clusters of spiritual grass growing where the weeds were thickest.
Delighted, he counted exactly one hundred and eight stalks arranged in a rectangle.
Upon closer inspection, the spiritual grass grew atop a decaying coffin that lay completely empty, its spotless interior oddly unsettling.
Sensing spiritual energy fluctuations, Cheng Lingyu realized this energy-rich coffin made an ideal cultivation site.
Circling the coffin, he suddenly floated upward and lay flat inside it.
The area’s unnatural stillness kept beasts at bay, as if repelled by invisible forces.
Relaxing completely, Cheng Lingyu swallowed a monster core and low-grade spiritual herb before sleeping.
Using the Dreamless Technique, he entered boundless darkness where three glowing stars – his storage spaces – shone brighter than ever, marking his improved cultivation level.
Within the coffin, green light coalesced from countless energy streams flooding into his body.
The coffin’s decaying frame still radiated potent spiritual energy that nurtured the spiritual grass above.
Cheng Lingyu’s unique constitution allowed him to merge diverse energies through his special storage spaces – an ability no others possessed.
Inside him, the monster core’s animal energy and herb’s plant energy merged with eight beast pills’ power and surrounding coffin energy, creating a raging storm of true essence.
The Dreamless Technique induced deep sleep, optimizing his energy absorption beyond normal cultivation efficiency.
This calculated method worked perfectly as Cheng Lingyu’s cultivation surged overnight.
The next day remained undisturbed by beasts or cultivators.
This marked Cheng Lingyu’s first sleep cultivation outside Green Island’s central area. The island’s abundant animal, plant, and mineral energies silently converged on him, channeled through his body’s unique storage spaces acting as conduits.
Cheng Lingyu could constantly absorb various energies, but the speed of his cultivation growth remained slow.
Nevertheless, he gained considerable benefits. Throughout this process, his physical body merged with multiple energies, undergoing extraordinary strengthening.
In the Soul-Luring Forest, the Purple Jade Alchemist Cauldron within the well grew increasingly restless over two days. Many speculated this spirit artifact would soon emerge, prompting cultivators to force their way into the Great Chasm, clashing violently with monsters.
Those with weaker cultivation levels stayed in the central area, closely observing developments in the forest.
Three days passed swiftly. Though the cauldron remained unemerged, its energy fluctuations intensified.
Cheng Lingyu slept inside the coffin for five consecutive days, fully absorbing eight beast pills, one monster core, and a spiritual herb. His cultivation skyrocketed, reaching the peak of the True Martial, Third Level – Wave Stage as his true essence saturated completely.
Upon awakening, he found the coffin decayed beyond use, all spiritual energy drained. The 108 spiritual grasses within appeared withered.
In his dantian, the sword-shaped true energy within the pyramid had fully converted into sword-shaped true essence. His dantian’s energy sea transformed into a True Essence Sea, marking his entry into a new phase.
Focusing his mind, Cheng Lingyu channeled the pyramid’s sword-shaped true essence. Awe-inspiring sword intent erupted instantly. The vibrating true essence emitted divine light and a fearsome aura before shooting from his dantian—striking a giant tree ahead and triggering a colossal explosion.
The blast carved a hundred-foot-wide crater dozens of feet deep, obliterating nearby vegetation. The resulting energy wave hurled Cheng Lingyu backward.
Even he stared in disbelief at the devastation. Reflecting, he realized the attack’s immense power far exceeded his control. His current cultivation proved too feeble—executing it left him drained and weakened.
“Heart Sword Leaves No Trace is fearsome… but the energy cost is staggering. I must grow stronger.”
Rising, he gathered the 108 spiritual grasses before departing.
Cheng Lingyu retained three monster cores, one mid-grade Seven-Leaf Butterfly herb, and four low-grade spiritual herbs—sufficient resources for continued cultivation. He returned directly to the central area.
Qu Wei had completed her breakthrough, advancing from True Martial Fourth Realm to Fifth Realm with noticeable strength gains.
Miao Sanxu gaped. “You reached the True Martial, Third Level – Wave Stage?”
Fang Zhuqing yelped, “In just over a month? That’s absurdly fast!”
Cheng Lingyu smiled, handing Qu Wei sixty spiritual grasses.
Jin Miaoyi remarked, “The first three True Martial Levels focus on power accumulation—resources speed progress. But from the Fourth Realm’s River Stage onward, advancement slows due to complexity. Cheng Lingyu’s at the Wave Stage’s peak. His next step—the River Stage—requires expanding meridian capacity. Ordinary cultivators achieve tenfold growth here, but he’ll likely fall short.”
“Why?” Cheng Lingyu challenged, his physique superior to most.
Qu Wei chuckled. “Your solid foundation eases the River Stage transition, but diminishes growth magnitude. Suppose someone’s maximum meridian capacity is ten. If they enter the River Stage at capacity one, they struggle but gain tenfold. You entered at five, transitioning smoothly but only doubling. Your growth percentage trails theirs.”
The explanation clarified everything. Cheng Lingyu recalled Thousand Layers of Snow’s standards—threefold meridian expansion qualified for the River Stage, fivefold denoted excellence, eightfold perfection.
Given his robust constitution, achieving perfection would prove arduous. Still, growth magnitude didn’t dictate combat prowess—even River Stage Fourth Realm cultivators couldn’t best him currently.
“The Soul-Luring Forest’s treasure nears emergence. Nightly divine light intensifies, and cultivators’ interference weakens the well’s containment formation.”
Cheng Lingyu raised a previously overlooked point. “That well’s Purple Jade Alchemist Cauldron is clearly medicinal. But why is it there? Accident? Or intentional sealing? If deliberate, what secrets might the well hold?”
Fang Zhuqing slapped his forehead. “Brilliant! Why didn’t I consider this?”
Jin Miaoyi added, “Green Island’s coastal—the well might connect to underwater springs, perhaps spiritual or cold varieties.”
Qu Wei shrugged. “Testing’s required for answers.”
Hearing “cold spring,” Cheng Lingyu tensed, recalling his father Cheng Yun—injured years ago by fire poison, needing ice dew or Minghe Cold Spring for treatment.
If the well contained cold spring water…
Cheng Lingyu’s expression hardened with resolve. “Miss Qu, your medical expertise—may I ask something?”
Qu Wei smiled. “Proceed.”