Su Xin's closed-door cultivation had been going on for a month.During this time,he meticulously reviewed all his martial arts,but he still had no clue about the spiritual reliance he should condense.
At this moment,Su Xin couldn't help but envy the disciples of major sects.The advantage of being a disciple of a major sect was that whenever you encountered any unresolved difficulties,there would naturally be senior sect members to enlighten you.
Suddenly,Su Xin remembered something.Since he started practicing martial arts,there had indeed been someone who lectured him,and that was Master Kunyang.
Although Master Kunyang only spoke of his own path,Su Xin had benefited greatly from him.Master Kunyang had once said that all things in the world followed their own rules of operation and possessed their own paths,and humans were also a kind of path.
But if that's the case,why couldn't a person become their own spiritual reliance?
Yes,Su Xin had a sudden insight that he should take'himself'as his spiritual reliance.
Visualizing himself in his mind,harmonizing his primordial spirit with himself,and venerating'himself'as a deity!
This idea flashed in Su Xin's mind and couldn't be dispelled.By taking himself as the spiritual reliance,Su Xin's future martial arts path would be to prioritize himself and achieve his primordial spirit.
However,what Su Xin didn't know was that this technique had already existed in ancient times.While the current sects in the Central Plains were dominated by Buddhism and Taoism,in ancient times,there was a diversity of schools of thought.Among them,there was a sect advocating self-worship,claiming that everyone could become a god.However,their radical actions led to their quick demise.
The warriors of that sect,when breaking through the realm of primordial spirit,visualized themselves as their spiritual reliance.
Using a sword as a spiritual reliance,the gathered elemental forces were incredibly sharp.Using fire as a spiritual reliance,the strikes were fierce and explosive,extremely hot.
But by using oneself as a spiritual reliance,the elemental forces of heaven and earth converged within oneself.The stronger one's own self,the greater the benefits brought by the spiritual reliance.
This method can be said to greatly test one's own cultivation.If your strength is mediocre,even if you successfully break through to the realm of primordial spirit by using yourself as a spiritual reliance,you will still be weaker than other warriors.
Su Xin,of course,didn't know any of this.He just followed his intuition and felt that he should do it this way,so he did.
Visualizing his own spiritual reliance in his mind,Su Xin's image was outlined in his mind,with the elemental forces of heaven and earth condensed in the divine palace,combined with the outlined'Su Xin'.
Suddenly,Su Xin felt a cool sensation spreading throughout his body,as if he had been submerged in water before and was now surfacing for a breath,extremely refreshing.
Opening his eyes,Su Xin felt that his strength had taken another big step forward,not physically,but spiritually.
At this moment,Su Xin could be said to be the closest he had ever been to the realm of primordial spirit.Now,as long as given an opportunity to fully mobilize the power of heaven and earth to refine his spiritual reliance and achieve the primordial spirit,he would become a martial arts master of the realm of primordial spirit.
However,this depended on chance.Su Xin could feel that he was very close to this realm,perhaps about to break through to the realm of primordial spirit at any moment,or it might take several months.
Having obtained what he wanted from this closed-door cultivation,Su Xin directly left the quiet room.Two warriors at the door saw Su Xin coming out and quickly said,"My lord,Lord Huang Bingcheng has come and says there is something important to discuss with you."
Su Xin nodded and said,"Alright,let him come see me in a while."
This time,Su Xin's seclusion wasn't a matter of life or death.If there was anything important,Huang Bingcheng would definitely interrupt his seclusion.
After a while,Huang Bingcheng came to Su Xin's room.
"Is there something happening in Jiangnan?"Su Xin asked.
Huang Bingcheng shook his head and said,"Boss,it's not about Jiangnan,it's about Lord Tie Zhan.He needs our help with something."
"What's the matter?"Su Xin asked.
Huang Bingcheng detailed the matter to Su Xin.
It turned out that three days ago,spies from the Six Fan Sect had sent a message to Su Xin,but at that time,Su Xin was in seclusion,so Huang Bingcheng received it on his behalf.
The content of the message was to ask Su Xin to help retrieve a map obtained by a mole from the Eastern Jin military in Xiaoyang City in Eastern Jin.
Originally,this matter should have been handled by local spies,but the local spies in Eastern Jin encountered some difficulties,so they couldn't deliver the map.Hence,they could only ask for Su Xin's help.
Su Xin frowned and said,"Why did they come to me for such a thing?The Six Fan Sect has so many Wind Pursuers and Secret Agents;it seems more appropriate for them to handle this,right?If they go in secret,their ability to conceal their identities is much stronger than mine.Moreover,if I,as the chief catcher of the Jiangnan branch of the Six Fan Sect,openly go to Eastern Jin's territory,wouldn't that be seeking death?"
Huang Bingcheng explained,"Lord Tie Zhan specifically instructed you to go openly.Xiaoyang City is different from other cities in Eastern Jin.It's the border between Da Zhou and Eastern Jin.Although Da Zhou and Eastern Jin have been hostile for a long time,don't they still engage in trade?Xiaoyang City is the center of trade between the two sides.Therefore,people from Da Zhou and Eastern Jin don't differentiate so clearly here."
Moreover,your trip to Xiaoyang City has a legitimate reason.Three months from now,Prince Cheng,Zhao Yuandian of Eastern Jin,will host a Sword Appreciation Conference and has invited martial heroes from all over the land.The invitation was sent to you just as you came out of seclusion.
So,Lord Tie Zhan asked for your assistance because the reason is quite appropriate and won't raise suspicions from the people of Eastern Jin."
Upon hearing the name Zhao Yuandian,Su Xin's expression immediately became somewhat strange because he was quite peculiar.
Prince Cheng Zhao Yuandian of Eastern Jin was the younger brother of the current emperor of Eastern Jin,but his personality was quite peculiar.Despite being born into the imperial family,he had an immense love for the life of the martial world and was deeply committed to martial arts.Unfortunately,his talent was extremely poor,to the extent that it was infuriating to both heaven and man.Despite exhausting countless resources from the Eastern Jin royal family,Zhao Yuandian had yet to break through to the Innate Realm,remaining at the peak of the Acquired Realm.Such talent was extremely rare,if not unheard of,in centuries.
Although he had made no achievements in martial arts,Zhao Yuandian still enjoyed making friends with renowned figures in the martial world and was quite generous.Many people liked to associate with him,though most treated him as a simpleton.
This time,for some unknown reason,Zhao Yuandian had decided to host a Sword Appreciation Conference,inviting the top twenty martial artists on the list.However,it was doubtful how many would actually attend.People like He Xiu and Xiao Huang probably wouldn't even bother acknowledging his invitation.
"Why is Zhao Yuandian hosting a Sword Appreciation Conference out of the blue?What kind of swords does he want to appreciate?"Su Xin asked.
Huang Bingcheng replied,"I heard that Zhao Yuandian's men excavated a sword from some ruins.It's said to have been a celestial weapon,but now it's lost its spiritual essence and has become an earthly weapon called the Dragon's Roar Phoenix Blood Sword.Along with this sword,they seem to have excavated several sword manuals,so Zhao Yuandian is flaunting it and inviting a bunch of people to participate in this Sword Appreciation Conference."
Su Xin nodded and said,"Alright,I'll take this task.Just let the spy directly respond to Lord Tie Zhan."
If this task had been given by the Six Fan Sect,Su Xin could have easily used the excuse of being too busy with official duties to decline.But this task was given by Tie Zhan,and as a member of the Tie family now,Su Xin couldn't refuse.
However,the name Dragon's Roar Phoenix Blood Sword sounded somewhat familiar to Su Xin,as if he had heard it somewhere before.
After Huang Bingcheng left,Su Xin's underworld token flashed twice,indicating that someone from the underworld was looking for him.
Upon entering the underworld,Su Xin was surprised to see Judge Cui once again.
This made Su Xin speechless.It seemed that Judge Cui was quite idle in reality,often staying in the underworld and handling all sorts of matters,big and small,as if he were the steward of the underworld.
Judge Cui said,"I've summoned you this time because there's another task.Last time,due to the sudden intervention of the Heavenly Court,the Crimson Fire Flame Dragon Sword was seized.Unexpectedly,this time,a key from the Ninefold Sword Pavilion has appeared,right in Eastern Jin."
Su Xin suddenly interrupted,"Wait,are you talking about the Dragon's Roar Phoenix Blood Sword excavated by Prince Cheng Zhao Yuandian of Eastern Jin?"
Judge Cui was surprised,"You know about it?"
Su Xin told Judge Cui about the task entrusted to him by Tie Zhan.He had long felt that the name Dragon's Roar Phoenix Blood Sword was familiar.
The only commonality among the nine celestial weapons that could unlock the Ninefold Sword Pavilion was that they all contained the word'dragon'in their names.There was the Nine Heavens Dragon Roar Sword,the Crimson Fire Flame Dragon Sword,and now the Dragon's Roar Phoenix Blood Sword.It was easy to make such an association.
Judge Cui said,"That's perfect.This time,when you attend the Sword Appreciation Conference,there's a high chance that people from the Heavenly Court will also intervene.By then,you can seize the Dragon's Roar Phoenix Blood Sword under your original identity.Even if you can't seize it,you can still obstruct the Heavenly Court's people.At least,as long as they don't get their hands on the Dragon's Roar Phoenix Blood Sword,it's good enough.By the way,the reward for this task is the same as last time.You can choose a ground-level weapon from the underworld's treasury as a reward,plus two Shaolin Great Return Pills."
"Will there be martial artists in the realm of primordial spirit from the Heavenly Court this time?"Su Xin asked.
Judge Cui thought for a moment and said,"It's certain that there will be martial artists in the realm of primordial spirit.However,according to the calculations of King Rotation,the Heavenly Court's representatives this time won't be particularly strong.With your current strength,you should be able to handle it,so you don't need to worry about that."
Although Judge Cui said so,Su Xin still felt uneasy about King Rotation,whom he had never met before.
Last time,he had miscalculated regarding the Shen family's matter.This time,he hoped King Rotation would be more reliable and not cause any more trouble.
Since both tasks required a trip to Eastern Jin,Su Xin didn't hesitate.He handed over the affairs of Jiangnan to Huang Bingcheng and the others,while he headed to Eastern Jin.
Su Xin had never been the type to seek power.As long as his subordinates could handle things properly,why should he intervene?Otherwise,what was the point of nurturing these subordinates?Handling all matters by himself would only be counterproductive.
Therefore,even if he often acted as a hands-off boss in Jiangnan,it was still fine.
