"Come." Qin Yun waved his hand.


    Whoosh! The silver flying sword in mid-air darted like a fish and fell into Qin Yun''s hand. It quickly grew larger, becoming about three feet long, resembling an ordinary sword.


    "Unfortunately, I can''t perform Sword Control Technique yet," Qin Yun said with a self-deprecating smile. "What I can do now is only to control objects using my true essence."


    True essence can control objects, from sand and gravel to even heavier items, directly manipulating them.


    However, simple object manipulation is merely using true essence as a ‘hand’ to control the flying sword for attack. The force generated by this method is nowhere near as powerful as when the true essence is utilized inside the body, where the strength is multiplied by the physical form. Moreover, controlling a flying sword with true essence is not powerful enough; against a real expert, the sword can even be forcefully taken away!


    Thus, even when disciples of Sword Immortal sects descend from the mountains, the treasures bestowed upon them—like flying swords—are meant for close combat!


    Unless they have perfected the Sword Control Technique.


    "Sword Control Technique…" Qin Yun couldn''t help but feel excited.


    The Sword Control Technique requires reaching the Innate Void Dan realm. At that point, the true essence in the body undergoes a qualitative change, and the refined Innate Void Dan true essence can use the Sword Control Technique, gathering the power of Heaven and Earth into the flying sword! How vast is the power of Heaven and Earth? After concentrating that power into the sword, its might is far greater than the strength of one''s body.


    In the acquired realm, to use the Sword Control Technique, one must achieve the state of Unity of Man and Heaven. Once in this state, the forces of Heaven and Earth will gather automatically, making the use of the Sword Control Technique much easier. Acquired practitioners can also use it.


    "It was only after comprehending the Rainy Sword Intent that my spirit has greatly increased. Now, I can project my spirit energy about five to six meters," Qin Yun mused. "I''m still quite far from reaching the Unity of Man and Heaven."


    The breakthrough of one''s spirit is an elusive process.


    Comprehending sword intent greatly enhances the spirit.


    Understanding life and existence, gaining insight into the meaning of life, all of these can contribute to spiritual growth. But spiritual progress is typically slow. Once the body is perfected, the soul naturally grows stronger. The strength of the soul is also the strength of the spirit.


    Given the current rate of growth of his spirit, Qin Yun estimated he would reach the Unity of Man and Heaven within a year.


    "Ha." Qin Yun waved his hand, and a large axe fragment flew to his side. He grabbed it with one hand, holding his sword with the other. True essence poured into the flying sword, and for a moment, the sword''s edge gleamed brilliantly before slashing at the axe fragment.


    "Poof."


    A faint white streak appeared on the large axe fragment, about the size of a pot lid.


    "Simply relying on the sword''s sharpness isn''t enough to break through a divine weapon," Qin Yun muttered. He swung his sword again, but this time, he used the Rainy Sword Intent. The silver sword in his hand became blurred, almost invisible to the naked eye, and it cut down on the axe fragment. With a sharp sound, it sliced through more than half of the fragment, about an inch deep.


    "Good heavens." Qin Yun exclaimed in surprise. "I haven''t even used my full strength yet. Just infusing true essence and applying sword intent gives this much power? If I were to fight the White Tiger Great Demon now, I could probably slice through his giant axe and easily slay him!"Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    "Impressive, impressive," Qin Yun said with excitement. "My flying sword, just recently completed, is already an eighth-grade treasure. But because it''s my life sword, the power it exudes is comparable to a sixth-grade treasure, especially when combined with sword intent! The power is truly terrifying!"


    For a Sword Immortal, no other treasure is more valuable than their own life sword! Even though Qin Yun had not yet reached the Innate realm, the most powerful treasure he could summon would only be a seventh-grade item. But with his life sword, even a ninth-grade sword could rival the power of a seventh-grade treasure in his hands. Moreover, the true essence consumption is less by ten times, making it easier to control.


    Naturally, no other treasure can compare to a life sword.


    Qin Yun''s life sword, in terms of power, was already at the level of a sixth-grade treasure.


    "My life sword, combined with the Rainy Sword Intent, can even slice through divine weapons like this," Qin Yun marveled. "The Sword Immortal title is well-earned. A sword can break through all techniques, the best offense. Only now do I truly feel the might of a Sword Immortal!"


    In the past, Qin Yun had never fully realized the power of a Sword Immortal.


    This was because the weapon he had used was an ordinary divine weapon, and his sword techniques were of his own making. His remarkable combat ability stemmed from his comprehension of the Rainy Sword Intent. These had nothing to do with the Sword Immortal legacy—only his more refined true essence had made the difference.


    But today!


    Now that his life sword had been completed and combined with sword intent, Qin Yun was thoroughly amazed.


    If he were to encounter the White Tiger Great Demon again, it would likely take just ten or eight strikes to claim its life!


    "My life sword, sharp as it is, can also unleash the Rainy Sword Qi." Qin Yun lightly swung his silver sword, and wisps of misty, ethereal sword qi emerged, like a gentle rain. These sword energies swirled around the room before dissipating.


    "Return."


    Qin Yun focused his mind, and the silver sword melted into his arm, disappearing.


    With a flick of his tongue, a streak of sword light shot out of his mouth and hovered in mid-air—it was his life sword.


    "They say Sword Immortals can spit out a river of stars from their mouths," Qin Yun laughed. "Only by refining a life treasure can one achieve such a feat. But I don''t particularly like spitting out flying swords from my mouth."


    Unless he was deliberately using it to deceive an enemy during battle, otherwise… he wouldn''t want to make a habit of it.


    Qin Yun sat cross-legged on his bed. The flying sword returned to his dantian, curling up into a sword pill. The sword pill naturally absorbed and exhaled true essence, with each cycle of absorption and release gradually refining the true essence, making it purer and sharper.


    When he first refined the life sword…


    His life sword also helped with the refinement of his true essence.


    The progress of his cultivation that night had been substantial.


    By the time dawn broke, Qin Yun''s true essence had gone through several cycles of absorption by the sword pill, becoming slightly more refined. The true essence in his dantian had even begun to naturally form a stable vortex. Qin Yun smiled, "True essence is condensing into a vortex? I''ve finally crossed into the Twelfth Layer of Refining Qi. Now, it’s just a matter of time! Let the true essence gradually refine in the vortex and finally transform into an empty dan."


    The transition from the Twelfth Layer of Refining Qi to the Void Dan is also difficult.


    But with his comprehension of the Rainy Sword Intent, Qin Yun believed that breaking through the bottleneck wouldn''t be hard. It would just take time—gradually, day by day, letting the true essence undergo a gradual transformation. There was no rush.


    "Hum."


    He opened his eyes and looked at the light streaming through the window. Qin Yun felt exhilarated.


    That night, he had refined his life sword and, in doing so, had made a significant leap into the Twelfth Layer of Refining Qi.


    "Water God, prepare to die," Qin Yun''s eyes flashed coldly.


    The night of June 25 arrived, the night before their mission to deal with the Water God.


    At the Qin household.


    Qin Yun sat with his parents, older brother and sister-in-law, and his nephew and niece, eating dinner.


    "This is mine."


    "I want that too."


    His nephew and niece were excitedly eating, their faces covered in food.


    "Second brother, you''re too kind! You made all this good food, but Shu Yan and Shu Bing should eat at a separate table. It''s getting too noisy!" his older brother, Qin An, laughed, clearly a bit exasperated by his kids'' antics.


    "Let them eat together, it’s more lively that way," Qin Yun smiled, watching his messy, food-covered nephew and niece.


    His nephew and niece were only three or four years old, and once they became familiar, they were fearless and always lively.


    Seeing them, Qin Yun was reminded of his childhood with his older brother and little sister.


    "Younger sister..." Qin Yun''s heart ached slightly. "Soon, tomorrow, second brother will avenge you."


    "You two, don’t rush! Big pieces of meat can choke you, let Grandma tear them up for you." Grandma Chang Lan cheerfully began tearing pieces of roasted leg meat for her grandchildren.


    "I want it, I want it."


    "I want the bone."


    "Eat the meat, the bone isn’t tasty."


    The whole family was happily coaxing the two little ones.


    Qin Yun sat by, drinking wine, smiling as he watched.