Chapter 9: Enlightened Sword

  Zhou Heng couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

  He walked to the edge of the pond and looked down, but it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything. He stretched out his right hand into the water, and a strange chill came over him, making his blood seem to freeze.

  The water in the pool was touched by him, and immediately a ripple was born. The shadows moving on the mountain wall also shook with it.

  This is enough to prove that it was indeed a shadow rising from the bottom of the water.

  Zhou Heng hastily withdrew his hand, and his eyebrows furrowed even tighter.

  This water was incredibly cold, and he almost froze to death just by touching it lightly. If his whole body were soaked in it, wouldn't he be frozen to death instantly? What's strange is that this icy water didn't even freeze!

  It's unbelievable that someone can walk on water as if it were flat land. What a ridiculous thing to think about! And even if they weren't frozen to death, wouldn't they have suffocated by now after such a long time?

  His body was filled with a spirit of adventure, and under the influence of curiosity, he really wanted to jump into the pool and swim to the bottom to see what it was all about. But reason told him that this was simply suicide!

  Zhou Heng is fearless in the face of danger, but it doesn't mean he's living a life of boredom.

  The figure kept moving, with a floating pace, as if it had an extremely special rhythm, which made Zhou Heng involuntarily focus his attention and even constantly ponder, until he came to himself and found that he was already following the figure.

  Boom!

  He tripped and fell heavily on his backside.

  That step was like a celestial being, but Zhou Heng imitated it in a clumsy and uncoordinated manner, as if he were drunk, and couldn't even walk properly, and ended up tripping himself.

  Zhou Heng's fish leaped up, looking at the figure that was still swaying on the mountain wall. He couldn't help but think to himself: If I were to use the Ling Tian Nine Forms, would I be able to hit the person on the mountain wall?

  This step method seems to have a spiritual aura, it's as if it's in front of you one moment and suddenly behind the next, completely impossible to grasp!

  Must learn by doing!

  Zhou Heng put down the doubts in his heart, focusing his gaze on that figure, staring tightly at the footwork under that person's feet, front and back, left and right, turning and shifting, just right, wonderful beyond words!

  He has been constantly exploring the changes within it, gradually grasping its subtleties.

  Every time he looked at her, he gained a deeper understanding, and Zhou Heng couldn't help but feel overjoyed, his face constantly breaking out into silly smiles, his expressions incredibly rich.

  Unconsciously, the first ray of sunlight in the early morning projected into the valley, and the figure on the mountain wall immediately disappeared.

  Zhou Heng couldn't help but feel a pang of loss, like a child who had been robbed of his favorite toy, filled with reluctance. But the next instant, he felt a wave of fatigue wash over him, his waist and legs aching, and before he knew it, he had plopped down onto the ground, his entire body feeling as if it had come apart at the seams.

  Practicing mysterious footwork for a whole night, could it be that he's exhausted to this extent?

  Zhou Heng gazed at the azure sky, a strong drowsiness suddenly washed over him, and he quickly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

  When he woke up, he felt an unusual hunger in his stomach, so he quickly got up and went out of the valley to find something to eat.

  This cave was really too long, and it took him almost two hours to walk out. He was so hungry that his eyes were seeing stars, and he seemed like he could swallow a whole cow in one gulp!

  He caught a wild rabbit, Zhou Heng hurriedly found a river to clean it up, roasted it over an open flame, and after devouring it in big bites, he patted his belly contentedly.

  Continuing the hunt, Zhou Heng caught seven wild rabbits and a mountain goat, then chopped a large pile of firewood, which he brought back to the Valley of Extremes in batches - he planned to stay there for a while.

  After a busy day, Zhou Heng finally had time to stop and rest for a moment, then began to ponder the Lingyun Nine Swords and the mysterious footwork he saw last night.

  Although the swordsmanship and footwork were completely unrelated, Zhou Heng felt that there was a common thread between them. By comparing and verifying each other, he constantly gained new insights.

  "This footwork is incredibly ingenious. If I can execute the Lingyun Jiujian with such a step, who in the world can still dodge?"

  Zhou Heng's heart was filled with anticipation.

  The moonlight descended, and he was anxious in his heart. If the figure on the mountain wall didn't appear again, all his expectations would be dashed.

  At midnight, the black broken sword released its abundant energy on time. Zhou Heng hurriedly sat down cross-legged and first digested this benefit. Nearly twenty minutes later, he stopped, opened his eyes for a moment, and saw that there were people walking on the mountain wall again.

  Here!

  He was overjoyed, but forcibly suppressed it, concentrating his mind on remembering that wonderful footwork.

  Complex and mysterious, with endless changes!

  Zhou Heng couldn't help but secretly feel fortunate. If he hadn't been diligently practicing the Ling Tian Nine Forms for over a month, he probably wouldn't have been able to remember this mysterious footwork. The figure wasn't actively teaching him, and its speed was incredibly fast - in the blink of an eye, he would miss some crucial change.

  In the midst of Zhou Heng's complete unawareness, Dongfang once again appeared as a white fish, and soon sunlight poured down, that figure instantly vanished.

  Tired! Extremely tired!

  Zhou Heng plopped his butt onto the ground, feeling his eyelids grow heavy as a mountain, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

  He woke up in the afternoon, hastily ate something, and once again spent his time pondering Ling Tian Jiu Shi and footwork, constantly increasing his understanding, always gaining surprising insights.

  At midnight, after Zhou Heng had refined the benefits bestowed by the Black Sword, he saw a figure on the mountain wall as expected.

  His life became monotonous again, sleeping in the morning, practicing swordsmanship and footwork in the late afternoon, meditating at night, and then observing the mysterious figure's mysterious footwork. He only left the valley when his food was running out.

  Fortunately, he now spends less time practicing his skills, and his food consumption has also decreased greatly. Otherwise, he could eat away a dozen days' worth of food in just one day!

  Although he had not been cultivating for a long time, the black broken sword gave him an astonishingly great benefit every time, and his cultivation was still increasing greatly every day. After more than ten days, he reached the peak of the fourth layer of body refinement.

  In just two hours, Zhou Heng completed his breakthrough in the Small Boundary and stepped into the fifth layer of Body Refining!

  He had become numb to his own near-abnormal promotion speed, and after a brief moment of joy, he threw himself into the study of swordsmanship and footwork, almost obsessively entranced.

  Twenty days later, he broke through again and reached the sixth layer of body refinement, catching up with or even surpassing most of the young generation in the Zhou family. What surprised him even more was that the black broken sword had been quietly transforming his body all along, although it was extremely subtle, but over two months' time, he could still feel it.

  His thinking became more agile, his vision became sharper, and his memory became more excellent!

  Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

  In the valley, Zhou Heng's figure floated and fluttered, his feet treading on a step that couldn't be described in words, as if he had merged with this entire world. Although he was clearly there, he always gave people an illusion of seeing without seeing.

  "After several months, I finally mastered the entire set of footwork!"

  "However, any form requires a corresponding true yuan force circulation route to fully exert its power, which I am unable to do! But even so, this set of footwork is still incredibly mysterious and has greatly increased my self-defense capabilities!"

  "Although it was learned in secret, I'll still give it a name... Flying Cloud Step!"

  Now that he's practicing Flying Cloud Step again, Zhou Heng is no longer like he was at the beginning, stopping and having his waist ache and back hurt, as if every bone in his body were going to fall apart.

  Just like the Ling Tian Jiu Shi, at first he seemed to be opposing this heaven and earth, so every step was extremely laborious, but now he has merged with the natural world, naturally doing as he pleases, without any restraints.

  "I've already fully grasped the form of Flying Cloud Step, but the subtle charm within can only be understood by obtaining the corresponding mantra, which I have no way to do!"

  "There's no point in staying here anymore. It's already December and there are only 22 days left until the end of the year, so it's about time to go back!"

  "It's already late today, let's just stay here for another night and leave early tomorrow!"

  Zhou Heng made up his mind, after dinner, he didn't practice Fei Yun Step again, but instead practiced Ling Tian Jiu Shi - for more than a month, he spent most of his time on Fei Yun Step.

  The long sword dances, swinging out silvery streaks like a flying dragon in the sky, extremely mysterious and profound.

  Ke Zhou Heng was still dissatisfied, and so far, his grasp of Ling Tian's first move had remained at the level of form, unable to grasp the divine rhyme within.

  This was very frustrating for him.

  Unlike Fei Yun Bu's stolen skills, Lingyun Jiushi was formally taught by Hei Jian, although there is no traditional mantra, it has been directly integrated into his body and blood, in fact, it should be easier to grasp.

  Is he that stupid?

  Zhou Heng stood with his sword held horizontally, thinking carefully, but felt that he was always missing a key opportunity, leaving him wandering on the periphery and unable to truly grasp the subtleties of Ling Tian's Nine Forms.

  He closed his eyes and thought quietly, this one kick seemed to be right in front of him, but he was at a loss as to how to kick it out.

  He was as still as a stone statue.

  After a long time, a faint chill crept up his face, and Zhou Heng suddenly opened his eyes to find that the sky was snowing heavily, with each flake as big as a goose feather. The entire night sky had become breathtakingly beautiful.

  It's already the cold winter month!

  The snow was very heavy and soon the valley became a vast expanse of silver white. Zhou Heng didn't move, under the flying snow he also turned into a snowman, merging with the whole universe.

  A silver makeup covers a white face!

  Zhou Heng gazed at the simple white color, his thoughts seemed to fly into the infinite starry sky, looking down at this world, imagining that vast scene, and suddenly a boundless heroic spirit rose in his heart, his blood surging.

  Buzz!

  The black broken sword in Dantian seemed to have a feeling and trembled slightly.

  This is exactly the opportunity he has been waiting for!

  Zhou Heng burst out laughing, his body suddenly moved, and a sword rose!

  A magical scene appeared, and all the falling snowflakes suddenly froze in place, as if an invisible giant hand was controlling everything!

  Ling Tian's First Move!

  The long sword slashes out, like the universe at birth, full of ineffable mystery, and yet it seems to chant the great Tao, with all things in harmony!

  This sword finally has spirit!