Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior

Su Mu wiped away the spiritual imprint left by Gongsun Xin on the ring, and as if thinking of something, a flash of spiritual light in his hand revealed a blood-stained treasure saber.

Su Mu drew out an inch of the blade, gently pressed his finger against the edge, and left only a very shallow white mark on his slender finger, which quickly disappeared within a breath.

An Eighth-Grade Treasure Saber, even without activating the inscription, could hardly harm Su Mu, and only after he infused a strand of power did he manage to cut his fingertip.

"The Fire Sparrow Blood not only healed my meridians but also enhanced my physique to a higher level."

Su Mu nodded quietly, feeling satisfied in his heart.

At that moment, he dripped his blood onto the unowned Sumeru Ring, while his eyes flickered with a silver light as a strand of spiritual power entered it. Upon sensing the storage space within the Sumeru Ring, he was momentarily stunned.

"So small."

The Sumeru Ring given to Su Mu by the Pharmacist had a space of about half a zhang in diameter. This was Su Mu’s first time acquiring a Sumeru Ring, so naturally, he used this as a standard, assuming that the Sumeru Ring on Gongsun Xin, even if not as large, would probably be similar.

But now, upon seeing it, what was expected to be abundant turned out to be sparse. The space within Gongsun Xin’s Sumeru Ring was several times smaller.

With merely less than two feet in diameter, not to mention the Great Spear, even a normal three-foot sword would be difficult to store.

For a moment, a strange thought arose in Su Mu’s mind.

He couldn’t help but wonder if Gongsun Xin refined that ’Flying Sword’ specifically to suit the size limitations of the Sumeru Ring, as something larger couldn’t fit inside.

However, Su Mu only entertained the thought momentarily, as he naturally understood that the ’Flying Sword’ was for Daoist Cultivators, and it was perfectly normal for it to differ from the swords used by Martial Artists.

Peering into the contents of the Sumeru Ring with spiritual power was akin to introspection; there wasn’t much within Gongsun Xin’s ring.

Two ancient texts, one thick and one thin; three sandalwood boxes containing elixirs; and over a dozen pieces of white jade, irregularly shaped and as pure as mutton fat.

At the instant Su Mu saw the two ancient texts, his eyes lit up. Compared to the elixirs or the jade, he naturally valued these ancient texts more.

"A Daoist Cultivation Method?"

Beneath Su Mu’s chest, his heart beat a little faster, seemingly more anticipated and excited than when battling Gongsun Xin.

A flash of spiritual light in his hand, and the one thick, one thin ancient texts appeared in his hands.

At this moment, the sky had already lightened to a pale white, with the snowmelt clearing and the first sunshine peeking through the layered clouds, casting on the ground, as a beam of light fell upon the determined face of the young man. He took a deep breath and began to open one of the ancient texts.

The thin ancient text had no title on its cover, and at the moment of turning the title page, a surge of sharpness Qi sprang forth from the pages, with four flamboyantly written cursive characters on the title page: "Sword Pill Miscellaneous Talks"!

"Sword Pill Miscellaneous Talks?"

Su Mu’s eyes brightened slightly, and he immediately focused on reading, page after page, as if a new world opened before him. He quickly became absorbed, his eyes flashing with brilliance one after another.

When he finally closed the last page, Su Mu let out a light sigh, his interest far from quenched.

"Sword Pill Miscellaneous Talks" was undoubtedly a Daoist Cultivation Method, but in Su Mu’s eyes, it was also an Artifact Refining Technique, though not for ordinary weapons, but for special Flying Swords.

In the ancient text, Flying Swords were divided into three major grades. The Lower Grade was the Mortal Sword, forged from common metals, stones, and rocks found in the world, controlled by spiritual power within thirty zhang, capable of cutting through gold and jade with unmatched sharpness.

The Middle Grade was the Spirit Sword, refined daily with celestial meteorite iron, ten-thousand-year cold jade, and other Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, along with one’s heart’s blood and Spiritual Qi, nurturing the sword’s spirit. Once damaged, it could absorb spiritual qi to heal itself, strike a hundred zhang away, breaking body protection techniques, and damaging the divine soul.

This was where the ancient text abruptly stopped. Gongsun Xin’s copy of "Sword Pill Miscellaneous Talks" was incomplete, lacking the final Upper Grade Flying Sword realm, but Su Mu could deduce a bit from the text’s name.

"An Upper Grade Flying Sword should be... a Sword Pill, what mysterious wonder must a Sword Pill be?"

In Su Mu’s eyes was a look of shock and earnestness; a Middle Grade Flying Sword, once damaged, could absorb spiritual qi to self-heal, and could attack over a hundred zhang away.

The ancient text specially described how it could break through body protection techniques and directly harm one’s divine soul, a strength far exceeding Su Mu’s current understanding.

Such a terrifying sword was only considered Middle Grade, so what kind of remarkable, earth-shattering artifact would the Sword Pill, the Upper Grade Sword above it, be?!

All at once, Su Mu, who had just felt somewhat elated due to successfully inferring Gang Qi, felt as if a cold bucket of water had been poured over him, awakening him with a solid smack.

Su Mu took a deep breath, calming himself down. He realized he was still very weak, needing persistent cultivation and effort!

He wasn’t disheartened either; on the contrary, his determination in the Martial Dao was hardened even further, becoming more resolute.

"If I don’t cultivate, reading these ancient texts would be like a frog gazing at the moon from the bottom of a well; but if I do, these ancient texts would be as enlightening as a mayfly seeing the vast sky... the path of cultivation is indeed boundless!"

Su Mu’s eyes shone with fervor and longing. If people in this world can reach such an awe-inspiring realm, why can’t he, Su Mu?!

On a whim, a flash of spiritual light in Su Mu’s hand revealed a small Flying Sword.

"The Flying Sword refined by Gongsun Xin is obviously of the Lower Grade, and even within that grade, it’s not outstanding,... though the inscriptions on it might be worth replicating."

Su Mu carefully observed the inscriptions etched on the Flying Sword in his hand. There were three entirely new inscriptions; after studying them for a while, Su Mu’s eyes gleamed, judging that while challenging, replicating them should be within his capabilities.