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Chapter 59: Chapter 59 Visitors at Home
The night was deep and people were silent.
Li Qian sat cross-legged atop the bell tower, with Sword Eighteen placed horizontally on his lap.
He communicated with Sword Eighteen through the Heartless Sword Intent to nourish and refine it.
Sword Eighteen contained a powerful Sword Intent, inherited from generations of Divine Sword owners, which, while aiding his comprehension of Sword Intent, also affected his control over Sword Eighteen.
In a sense, he could only be considered a user of Sword Eighteen, but had yet to truly refine it and make it his lifebound cultivation sword.
No wonder Master Zhou Buping said that to completely refine Sword Eighteen, one might need Sword Intent to reach the Myriad Phenomena Level.
He had only just reached the True Image Level.
The enhancement of Illusion Level Sword Intent was extremely difficult before, and now, the True Image Level Sword Intent would undoubtedly be even harder, even with the aid of the Divine Sword. 𝚗ovp𝚞b.𝚌om
But he was in no hurry.
He had plenty of time.
Perhaps once the Magic Artifact Chen Bell was upgraded again, the enhancement of Sword Intent would become easier.
Feeling slightly fatigued in spirit, Li Qian retracted his Sword Intent, opened his eyes, and exhaled deeply.
The moonlight was hazy, and all around was quiet.
He could hear a faint breathing sound in the bell tower; it was the servant disciple Liu Ming sleeping.
More than ten days passed this way.
Every day he did nothing but ring the bell, cultivate, and nourish the Divine Sword.
After his Sword Intent broke through to the True Image Level, his cultivation speed increased significantly.
Originally, it took him ten days to make a little progress after entering the late stage of the True Qi Realm.
Now it only took two days to see the same amount of progress.
This meant that he would need just over half a year to advance from the late stage of the True Qi Realm to the early stage of the True Essence Realm.
No wonder Master Zhou Buping said that even with just average root bone talent, as long as one has sufficient comprehension, the Martial Intent realized can greatly accelerate the speed at which one’s cultivation realm advances.
"Once I break through to the True Essence Realm, perhaps I can start studying that demon stone."
Li Qian pondered to himself.
According to Master’s words, the demon stone could enhance the Pure Sword Body.
Once the Pure Sword Body was enhanced, it would also accelerate his cultivation progress.
In the early morning, after ringing the Chen Bell, Li Qian left the Bell Platform and headed down the mountain.
He planned to visit the girl in Lijian City.
Lijian City.
Inside the residence.
The girl sat there dully but immediately looked up restlessly when she saw Li Qian arrive.
"Master, you’re here."
Ning Mama greeted him eagerly, looking very happy.
"Ning Mama, have you not been resting well?"
Li Qian noticed Ning Mama’s weary face with serious dark circles, expressing his surprise.
Ning Mama had a lot of distress, "Master, the young miss is too difficult to take care of... She sleeps very little, always cries inexplicably, throws tantrums, breaks things... Sometimes she runs off in the middle of the night..."
Although Li Qian paid her well, she really didn’t want to continue.
If she kept on like this, she would surely be exhausted to death.
"Ning Mama, how about this, I’ll double your salary, and I’ll also buy two maids to help you take care of her."
Li Qian said.
"Alright."
Ning Mama couldn’t resist the generous pay; it was several times higher than what she would earn elsewhere.
"Ning Mama, get a cup for me, pour half a cup of warm boiled water."
Li Qian spoke.
"Okay."
Ning Mama hurriedly went to fetch a cup, poured half a cup of warm water, and brought it over.
Li Qian took the cup, and from his bosom, he took out a vial, poured out a pill, scraped a little powder, and dissolved it in the water.
This was a Spirit-Nourishing Pill.
The girl was mentally troubled; this pill might have some effect.
After mixing it, Li Qian fed the girl the water from the cup.
The girl obediently drank it.
After she finished, Li Qian gently pressed a spot on the back of her neck, making her fall asleep.
"Ning Mama, let her have a good sleep."
Li Qian said.
Ning Mama hurriedly carried the girl into the room.
After a while, Ning Mama came out.
"Ning Mama, this pill... every day before she sleeps, scrape a little and dissolve it in warm boiled water, and feed it to her."
Li Qian handed the vial to Ning Mama.
Though there was only one Spirit-Nourishing Pill, it would suffice for the girl to use for two or three months.
"Master, rest assured, I will feed it to the young miss every day."
Ning’s mother quickly said.
Li Qian nodded his head, feeling quite satisfied with Ning’s mother.
After all, the girl was clean and had a rosy complexion, indicating that Ning’s mother must have taken good care of her.
He then left the residence and bought two maidservants through an agency.
The price of maidservants wasn’t particularly high anyway.
Hiring a long-term nanny wasn’t a sustainable solution.
After all, a nanny has her own family and couldn’t possibly devote all her energy and time to taking care of the girl.
After sorting out the girl’s care, Li Qian went straight back to the Divine Sword Sect.
As for strolling around, he felt it was a waste of time and preferred to enjoy himself more by striking the Chen Bell Platform and cultivating.
Time spent in cultivation always flew by.
Unwittingly, more than five months had passed.
The sunshine was warm.
It was the verdant spring season.
Atop the bell tower.
Li Qian stood straight, holding Sword Eighteen in his hand.
He had just finished practicing the Soul Chasing Sword Skill once, surrounded by an intangible aura of desolation, while the Sword Intent True Seed circling in his mind, which was associated with the Chen Bell Shadow, also trembled slightly, indicating a faint change.
Suddenly, he felt a notion and summoned the system interface to check the latest information.
Host: Li Qian.
Cultivation: Innate True Qi (Late Stage 87/100).
Sacrificial Artifact: Chen Bell (Magic 2617/10000).
Martial Arts: Sword Stabbing Fist (Perfect), Heartless Sword Technique (Perfect), Pure Sword Body (Perfect), Soul Chasing Sword Skill (Perfect).
Martial Intent: Heartless Sword Intent (True Image 7/100).
Secret Skill: Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Qi, Blood Burning Technique.
....
"Soul Chasing Sword Skill is finally perfected?"
Li Qian muttered to himself.
Originally he thought that with the support of the True Image Level Heartless Sword Intent, mastering the Soul Chasing Sword Skill would be easy, but, in fact, it took quite a long time.
Soon, his attention fell on the Heartless Sword Intent section.
"Increased by three points?"
He was quite surprised.
Since Heartless Sword Intent broke through to the True Image Level, with the aid of Sword Eighteen and the sound of the Chen Bell, it would typically take about a month and a half to increase one point of progress.
Of course, this was only the beginning.
Based on the comprehension of the Illusion Level and the Virtual Illusion Level before, as progress increased, the pace was bound to slow further.
So over these five-plus months, he had made a three-point progress.
Now the progress of the True Image Level Sword Intent had suddenly jumped to seven points.
"Did it increase by three points all of a sudden because of the perfection of Soul Chasing Sword Skill?"
Li Qian murmured.
He had thought that the mastery of the Soul Chasing Sword Skill would only improve his swordsmanship ability at most.
Who knew it could actually feed back into the progress of the Heartless Sword Intent.
"The perfection of Soul Chasing Sword Skill under normal circumstances should also allow one to comprehend Sword Intent, but... it’s basically impossible for someone to comprehend two different Sword Intents at the same time.... Could it be that the Sword Intent comprehended upon mastering Soul Chasing Sword Skill has become nourishment for Heartless Sword Intent, thus increasing the progress by three points?"
Li Qian thought to himself.
This was the only explanation.
Perhaps he could practice several more sword techniques, and once perfected, they could become nourishment for Heartless Sword Intent, thereby speeding up the improvement of the True Image Level Heartless Sword Intent.
After having lunch at noon, Li Qian walked with his master Zhou Buping and asked him this question.
"In theory, it’s possible... but it’s too time-consuming, and it’s not as quick as directly comprehending Sword Intent."
Zhou Buping chuckled lightly, "Moreover, it’s extremely difficult to master another sword technique to perfection due to the interference from the comprehension of one’s own Sword Intent."
Li Qian did the math in his mind; it had taken about ten months to master the Soul Chasing Sword Skill.
If he normally comprehended Heartless Sword Intent, he could expect to improve by six or seven points.
Compared to the three points improved by mastering Soul Chasing Sword Skill... indeed it seemed less cost-effective.
Moreover, had to consider whether the feedback to Heartless Sword Intent would diminish as he perfected other sword techniques?
After much thought, he decided to abandon this idea.
At this moment, servant disciple Liu Ming ran over.
"Senior Brother Li, Hall Master Xu is looking for you, he said someone from your family has come."
"Alright, I got it."
Li Qian nodded, then said to Master Zhou Buping, "Master, I’ll be going back first."
"Go ahead."
Zhou Buping waved his hand.
After Li Qian and Liu Ming left, he put his hands behind his back, walked to his vegetable patch, and, seeing the weeds that had sprouted among the seedlings, couldn’t help rolling up his sleeves and started pulling them out.
....
