47: Chapter 46 Sword Storage Pavilion Prologue 47: Chapter 46 Sword Storage Pavilion Prologue Three days later, Hou Niao entered the Sword Storage Pavilion, which by then was deserted, empty and quiet; after experiencing the bustling first few days, it had returned to normal.

Initially, choices in skills were limited for low-rank cultivators like them, as it was the time to lay their foundations, and dabbling in too many areas was not advisable; some complicated and tedious techniques learned now might seem glorious momentarily, but as soon as their realm increased, these would become useless, merely a waste of time.

These newly initiated disciples were mostly experienced and knew what to learn and what was a waste of time, opting only for two or three skills they lacked before departing, with few lingering around.

Hou Niao showed his sword talisman and smoothly entered the Sword Pavilion, which was actually a stone tower, seven stories high.

For those cultivators who hadn’t yet crossed into the Tongxuan Realm, only the first three floors were accessible, the higher levels were forbidden.

The Quanzhen Sect’s branch in Shan Country had Sword Storage Pavilions that were five stories high in some of the important cities.

In a central hub like Jin City, there were seven-story Sword Pavilions; and only the capital of Shan Country, Yujing, had the true nine-story Sword Pavilion where the original and rare collections were kept, the others were merely replicas.

The stone tower was very spacious, reflecting the overall architectural style of Shan Country – rugged, simple, and durable, yet the interior decoration was several notches below that of Anhe Country, but each had its own style, which was not easily comparable.

The first floor contained numerous cultivation techniques, many of which were imported from other schools, available for selection but not recommended; in the path of cultivation, with myriad laws and techniques, without trying, one would never know which suited them best.

The foundational cultivation techniques truly belonging to the Quanzhen Sect were only five types.

After careful consideration, Hou Niao understood what constituted the fundamental principles of Dao learning; fundamentally, they were more or less the same, with no essential differences.

Understanding this, he no longer hesitated.

He wouldn’t touch these techniques.

With his Dragon and Tiger Meeting and Participation in the Origin, he had enough to cultivate to Tongxuan without needing to change.

His real concern was that changing his cultivation technique might cause the mysterious vortex to disappear!

After all, he was now a proper cultivator with his unique understanding of the Dao.

He was well aware that the mysterious vortex within his Purple Mansion wouldn’t change due to a change in cultivation techniques, nor would it disappear from swallowing elixirs; the impact of elixir ingestion merely kept it from manifesting, but it didn’t mean it ceased to exist.

Thus, he proceeded to the second floor, which catered to foundational supplements for low-rank cultivators, including basics like Alchemy Dao, Talismanic Dao, Formation Dao, and Artifact Dao.

Mastering these areas was a good support for maintaining cultivation.

For instance, mastering alchemy meant never lacking elixirs, mastering talisman creation significantly increased one’s combat abilities, and mastering artifact making allowed for the crafting of basic battle tools.

All these were paths to wealth.

The prerequisite was that you had to learn them well!

The initial investment was incredibly substantial, time-consuming, and laborious, and one had to endure countless failures before possibly succeeding.

For most cultivators, whether they could endure up to this point was an issue.

Only those recognized by powerful forces and willing to provide basic materials for them to expend stood a chance of success; besides this, there were no other options.

Hou Niao didn’t believe he had talents in these areas, even if he did, they were not for him to delve into at present.

He chose another set of supplements, the Sword Net.

Sword Net was not swordsmanship, but the Six Consciousnesses!

It was a supplemental means most suitable for sword cultivators, devised by the founder of the Quanzhen Sect from the perspective of sword cultivators, comprising Eye Recognition, Ear Recognition, Nose Recognition, Tongue Recognition, Body Recognition, and Consciousness.

These formed a mental net that made escape impossible for opponents caught within the Sword Net.

The Six Consciousnesses were practiced not only by the Quanzhen Sect but also by the Daoist Sect and Buddhist Sect.

In fact, all disciples from every Cultivation Sect practiced this as it was basic yet practical for battles, explorations, everyday life, or even spying.

It enhanced your vision to see farther, your hearing to discern truer sounds, your smell to detect subtler scents, your taste to enjoy finer flavors, your touch to feel more sensitively, and your intuition to judge more accurately!

In every application of cultivation, what could escape this scope?

The Quanzhen Sect’s Six Senses skill was merely more inclined towards combat, more inclined towards swordsmanship, which was different from the Daoist and Buddhist Sects, which were more inclined towards longevity.

This was the only skill set he had picked up on the second floor of the Sword Storage Pavilion, and it was also the skill set that most Quanzhen disciples would choose.

The only reason some didn’t was that they had already learned some other form of the Six Senses Skill!

Therefore, in the Cultivation World, having studied the Six Senses Skill didn’t necessarily mean you could see farther than others, since everyone had studied it; but if you didn’t study it, you were definitely short-sighted!

He then ascended to the third floor, which was the last floor low-rank cultivators were allowed.

This floor was all about swordsmanship, spells, and body skills—in a nutshell, everything here was about teaching people how to fight.

Swordsmanship was the most abundant, with well over a hundred types, including the Sweeping Central Army Sword, Yanhui Thirteen Slashes, and Cross Quick Sword, all taught to him by Wang Daoist.

Kunwu Sword, Canglang Play, Three Light Shadows, No Return Sword, Taiji Fast Sword, Windmill, Beheading General Chain, Eagle Fighting Skill, Mother and Child Yin Yang Sword, and others, were numerous enough to make one’s head spin, each one a top-tier swordsmanship of the continent, dizzying to any onlooker.

But Hou Niao wasn’t overwhelmed, for he had grasped the essence of the sword during his battle with the Sword Soul in the Soul Realm.

In fact, the moves were no longer important; what was crucial were the unique Qi characteristics of these different swordsmanships!

That was the essence of each swordsmanship.

Once he mastered this, the rest could be freely expressed, extravagantly indulged, just like the Sword Soul, who didn’t stick to any fixed moves, but rather achieved natural brilliance and serendipitous mastery.

Only when each strike was naturally fitting, suited to the environment, and was a flash of inspiration, endless in its brilliance, was it truly masterful swordsmanship, the kind of swordsmanship that brought despair to opponents!

He too had been defeated countless times, only managing to sneak in a win with a fortuitous strike, relying on his substantially stronger Soul Body Energy, thus winning dishonorably.

From the Sword Soul, he had learned the essence of the sword, but to realize this essence, he still needed the basics, which had to start from scratch; these basics were something the Sword Soul couldn’t teach him, so he had to search in the Sword Storage Pavilion, in every sword skill!

For instance, the Taiji Fast Sword was about smoothing the Qi in one’s body into a circle, finding the sudden, emerging force amidst numerous large and small circles, soft and yielding movements!

Canglang Play, on the other hand, likened the Qi around one’s body to waves, one wave after another, unending!

Three Light Shadows was a trick of illusion swordsmanship with two feints and one real strike, though naturally, with deep practice, you could also use two real strikes and one feint, or even three feints and one real strike—importantly, not being confined to any fixed form.

These were the fundamentals, the basics of sword control, and all were essential to learn, not one to be missed!

He was already feeling regretful.

Initially, he shouldn’t have been eager to kill that Sword Soul.

Instead, he should have learned these sword skills before challenging the Sword Soul again, matching him strike for strike until he was able to defeat the opponent without a scratch.

That was the true skill, the real learning.

Had he done so, he wouldn’t have struggled so much in later fights.

It was truly a mistake not to have spared that Sword Soul!

Now, if spirits have consciousness, to whom would it return?

…Books spread under various lamps, swords enter who’s precious box.