Chapter 853: Sword Fiend Thunder Sound

The calligraphy of Patriarch White Light was incredibly simple: just a horizontal and a vertical stroke on plain white paper.

The horizontal stroke was short, the vertical long!

It looked like a pitch-black sword.

Chen Mobai sat on the balcony sofa, suspending Patriarch White Light’s calligraphy in mid-air. He refined and purified his spiritual sense using the Lamp Lighting Technique while gazing at the piece.

With Immortal Jade Flute in the Myriad Treasures Cave and Che Yucheng, Zhuang Jialan, and others managing various duties at the external Daoist Academy, Chen Mobai found himself with unexpected free time.

This allowed him to spend his daily post-cultivation hours observing the calligraphy.

Chen Mobai had also asked Zhuang Jialan to inquire about the sword-mark calligraphy. He learned that after Patriarch White Light left it, only two directors from the Sword Control Department and Immortal Chengxuan had ever attempted to comprehend it.

However, both directors of the Sword Control Department were merely at the Core Formation stage and dared not delve too deeply into the sword dao realm it contained.

Immortal Chengxuan, despite not being a sword cultivator, had used his natal artifact, the Scarlet Heart Treasure Mirror, to reflect the sword-mark calligraphy. This method allowed him to simulate a small portion of Patriarch White Light’s sword intent.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai was immediately struck by Immortal Chengxuan’s genius.

To think of such a method!

However, he also knew that other secret techniques must have been involved. After all, Patriarch White Light’s sword intent was undoubtedly Fifth-tier. An ordinary Fourth-tier artifact, even if it could reflect it, would likely suffer severe damage.

Chen Mobai had no intention of experimenting with his own Vast Heaven Mirror for this purpose.

After all, he had no particular aspirations in the sword dao.

Furthermore, his Vast Heaven Mirror was with Yin Qingmei, and retrieving it would be too much hassle.

Yet, one night, inspiration struck Chen Mobai. He condensed water into a mirror on his balcony and used it to reflect the sword-mark calligraphy.

Immediately, the two ink-black strokes reflected in the water mirror suddenly emanated an endless surge of sword intent.

*Crack!*

The water mirror technique shattered instantly on the balcony, even waking Meng Huang'er, who was asleep indoors.

Chen Mobai told her to go back to sleep, while he continued to cast the water mirror technique, reflecting Patriarch White Light's sword-mark calligraphy.

Under the mirror’s reflection, the Fifth-tier sword mark, which had appeared perfectly seamless before, seemed to degrade and drop in realm, suddenly becoming discernible and observable to Chen Mobai.

One water mirror after another formed and shattered. To avoid disturbing Meng Huang’er, Chen Mobai moved to his wooden hut down the mountain.

As time passed, Chen Mobai began to discern the profound truths of the sword dao embedded within the infinite sword intent of those two strokes.

It was early morning.

As the first rays of sunlight streamed through the window onto the sword-mark calligraphy in the mirror, an unusual light flickered in Chen Mobai’s eyes, and a look of sudden realization dawned upon his face.

He gazed once more at the seemingly simple horizontal and vertical strokes, his heart stirring with profound emotions.

He then closed his eyes, formed a sword-finger with his right hand, and began to verify the insights he had gained over the past few days.

With each breath, the surrounding spiritual energy began to fluctuate, igniting like sparks and condensing into an invisible fiery sword aura at his fingertips.

This was the foundational sword dao technique, "Sword into Aura"!

The moment Chen Mobai executed it, a portion of the sword intent from the calligraphy allowed him to perceive and reveal the flaws and weaknesses in his own cultivation at this stage that he hadn’t even noticed himself.

Chen Mobai was practicing with the Crimson Flame Sword Art, and it was then that he realized how rudimentary this sword art from the Heavenly River Realm truly was.

Its most basic "Sword into Aura" stage was like a dilapidated house full of drafts.

Under the illumination of the sword-mark calligraphy, Chen Mobai instinctively corrected all the flaws in the Crimson Flame Sword Art related to the "Sword into Aura" stage.

Next, he continued to apply the Crimson Flame Sword Art, progressing through sword aura transforming into qi, sword qi like a rainbow, sword rainbow splitting light, sword light solidifying into fiend energy, and other sword dao stages.

As expected, numerous flaws and imperfections were still present.

Chen Mobai used the sword-mark calligraphy as a reference, diligently practicing and correcting each one.

Through this process, he rebuilt his sword dao foundation, and his comprehension of the sword dao deepened considerably.

He stopped after practicing the "Sword Light Solidifying into Fiend Energy" stage.

This was because his cultivation only extended to that level.

Both the Blazing Sun Slash and the Extreme Sun Slash were, in essence, applications of sword fiend energy.

He had never comprehended the higher stage of "Sword Fiend Thunder Sound," let alone practiced or performed it.

After the Crimson Flame Sword Art, Chen Mobai had a flash of inspiration and began practicing the Primordial Yang Sword Art.

The Primordial Yang Sword Art was created by Patriarch Primordial Yang, whose cultivation was even higher than Patriarch White Light’s. Theoretically, this sword art should have no discernible flaws to Patriarch White Light.

Yet, under the reflection of the sword-mark calligraphy, Chen Mobai’s Primordial Yang Sword Art still revealed numerous imperfections.

It was then that Chen Mobai finally understood the true purpose of this sword-mark calligraphy.

This was a sword dao mirror left by Patriarch White Light. Any cultivator could use it as a reference to identify and correct the flaws and deficiencies in their own sword dao.

While a sword art itself might be flawless, the practitioner might not be.

Chen Mobai, using the sword-mark calligraphy as a guide, re-comprehended and cultivated his poorly founded Primordial Yang Sword Art.

This was understandable, as he had self-taught this sword art. Even with instructional videos, it couldn't compare to the accumulated teaching prowess of generations at the Pure Yang Academy.

After practicing the Primordial Yang Sword Art to the Sword Fiend stage, a sudden flash of insight struck Chen Mobai. As he compared it to the sword-mark calligraphy suspended in mid-air, he felt as if he had grasped something profound.

He opened his eyes, his gaze as sharp and piercing as a sword's edge.

With his right hand forming a sword-finger, an orange-red glow appeared, like an invisible sword. As he lightly flicked his finger towards the window, a thunderous sword hum echoed through the valley, instantly slicing off the crown of a tree on the mountaintop.

*So, "Sword Fiend Thunder Sound" is this simple!*

Filled with delight, Chen Mobai crooked his finger, and the Primordial Yang Sword Fiend energy instantly condensed into a vibrant red sword pellet at his fingertip.

The sword dao realm that had puzzled him for so long now, guided by the sword-mark calligraphy, became as simple as one plus one equals two, bringing him a profound epiphany.

He looked at the sword-mark calligraphy again, and then found further reference points for the "Sword Fiend Thunder Sound" stage within it.

Chen Mobai pressed on with his comprehension. Soon, his Primordial Yang Sword Fiend energy became more fluid and natural amidst resounding thunderous hums. Each time he flicked his finger to cast a sword, it seemed to perfectly align with the profound truths embodied in the sword-mark calligraphy, becoming incredibly fiery and sharp.

A month later, he had completely mastered the "Sword Fiend Thunder Sound" stage.

While mastering this at the Nascent Soul stage might be considered normal, for Chen Mobai, it represented a significant breakthrough.

*Indeed, the path of cultivation still relies on external aids!*

Chen Mobai looked again at the sword-mark calligraphy suspended in his room. A thought struck him, and he began to practice the "Sword Light Manifestation" stage.

After all, every sword cultivator in the Immortal Sect knew that Patriarch White Light had achieved Dao by manifesting myriad techniques with a single sword and entrusting her Nascent Soul.

Chen Mobai's "Sword Light Manifestation" was precisely the orthodox "One Sword Manifests Myriad Techniques" stage.

He wondered if he could use this to comprehend the sword intent most suitable for himself.

Filled with anticipation, Chen Mobai began to manifest various sword lights.

But he soon discovered that his comprehension of the sword-mark calligraphy had stalled.

*What was happening?*

Chen Mobai’s face was etched with confusion.

He was clearly following Patriarch White Light’s path, so why had his progress halted?

Chen Mobai hesitated for a moment, then stopped, choosing not to continue practicing the sword intent beyond the "Sword Light Manifestation" stage.

He possessed the "Sky-Cutting Thread of Longevity Sword Intent," which he had received through the Great Dao Tree’s empowerment. For years, he had been internally observing it whenever he had free time, barely able to exhibit a faint aura.

However, Chen Mobai now knew that this Longevity Sword Intent belonged to a Heavenly Venerate, so he absolutely dared not compare it with Patriarch White Light’s sword-mark calligraphy.

He carefully put away the sword-mark calligraphy, which had noticeably dimmed, a pained expression on his face.

This item felt somewhat wasted on him. If given to a true sword dao genius, it could at least establish a sword dao foundation sufficient to reach the Nascent Soul stage.

Afterward, Chen Mobai also realized that his spiritual sense had been depleted by as much as seventy percent during the comprehension process.

He was dangerously close to the warning threshold that would trigger the morning bell.

He immediately sat upright on his meditation cushion and began restoring his spiritual sense using the "Phoenix Facing the Sun Diagram."

Throughout this process, he continued to ponder the "Sword Fiend Thunder Sound" he had just comprehended, as well as the degraded sword-mark calligraphy he had viewed through the water mirror.

His personal record, Fangcun Book, had thoroughly searched all sword dao knowledge stored in the Heavenly Computing Bead. He had also downloaded information about Patriarch White Light’s life from the internet.

Once his spiritual sense recovered, Chen Mobai had a good grasp of what Patriarch White Light’s sword-mark calligraphy truly was.

It was, he realized, the ultimate sword dao realm of "One Sword Shatters Myriad Techniques"!

This explained why he could easily find a reference when he performed "Sword Light Solidifying into Fiend Energy," but received no reaction whatsoever for "Sword Light Manifestation," which pertained to "One Sword Manifests Myriad Techniques."

After achieving Spirit Transformation and returning to the Daoist Academy, Patriarch White Light evidently understood that the "One Sword Manifests Myriad Techniques" stage was exceedingly difficult—a path that only someone with her extraordinary talent could complete.

Even the grandmasters of sword dao within the Immortal Sect had merely touched upon its threshold.

Thus, the sword-mark calligraphy left by Patriarch White Light represented the "One Sword Shatters Myriad Techniques" realm, which was more accessible to the general sword cultivator.

Given her exceptional sword dao talent, if she could manifest myriad techniques with a single sword, she could naturally also shatter them.

The horizontal and vertical strokes of this sword-mark calligraphy thus encapsulated her entire understanding of "One Sword Shatters Myriad Techniques."

Any sword cultivator who comprehends these two strokes can use her sword dao realm as a reference to illuminate and reveal any unnoticed flaws and weaknesses in their own sword dao cultivation.

Just like Chen Mobai, he not only remedied the Crimson Flame Sword Art but even re-cultivated the Primordial Yang Sword Art.

And after correcting his own imperfections, his sword dao cultivation, which had stagnated for a long time, naturally broke through to the "Sword Fiend Thunder Sound" stage.

For sword cultivators of the Immortal Sect, Patriarch White Light’s sword-mark calligraphy could truly be called the "Origin of the Sword Dao"!

Upon realizing this, Chen Mobai felt an overwhelming sense of reverence for this Spirit Transformation True Monarch, whom he had never met.

She was indeed worthy of being the Immortal Sect's only sword dao Spirit Transformation cultivator in millennia to achieve "One Sword Manifests Myriad Techniques"!

The thought that such a powerful figure was his backing made Chen Mobai even happier.

Fortunately, he had chosen the Instrument Dance Daoist Academy back then; otherwise, he would never have had the chance to behold this sword-mark calligraphy.