The Asura Sword
Chapter 57- The Asura Sword
"Senior Ling looks quite old, right?"
"Yeah, our father looks young compared to him, but then again, Senior Ling's cultivation is above our father's."
Walking through the Black Wind Forest, Hu Jiao'er and Hu Mei'er chatted with each other, and soon, the former turned towards Su Mu, who was walking in front of them.
"Su Mu, what is Senior Ling's Cultivation?"
"The Peak of Immortal Ascension Realm."
"Then, why hasn't he already broken through to the Transcendent Realm?" Hu Mei'er asked, expressing her confusion.
Su Mu had already told the Hu Sisters about the Cultivation Realms, all the way up to the Saint Realm, so Hu Mei'er's knowledge about the Transcendent Realm wasn't surprising, something that other people in this Small World referred to as Above Immortal Ascension Realm.
"If I'm not wrong, he's suffering from a Heart Demon, which is hindering his cultivation. Although, I could be wrong."
That was just Su Mu's observation because as far as he could tell, Ling Tai Xu had all the capabilities one needed to break through to the Transcendent Realm.
"Do you think Senior Ling can overcome his Heart Demon?" Hu Mei'er asked, her curiosity rising.
"I don't know." Su Mu shook his head. "There are only a few ways to overcome Heart Demons, with the most common being eliminating the reason that created the Heart Demon, or by accepting the reason and moving on, but I don't know if Ling Tai Xu has the willpower to do the second one."
There were other ways to eliminate Heart Demons, but explaining them wouldn't do any good, so Su Mu decided to not talk about them.
Not to mention, Ling Tai Xu's Heart Demons had nothing to do with Su Mu.
"Did you ever encounter any Heart Demons in your previous life?" Hu Jiao'er asked, making Su Mu chuckle a bit.
"Unlike Dao Heart, those who cultivate a Sword Heart will never encounter Heart Demons or Qi Deviation- is what I told you before your training, Jiao'er." [1]
'But if I wasn't a Sword Cultivator, I definitely would've encountered a few Heart Demons before reaching the Open Heaven Realm.' Su Mu thought.
"... I remember that, but I randomly asked that question without thinking it through." Hu Jiao'er admitted.
"By the way, Mei'er..." Su Mu turned towards Hu Mei'er, and soon, the Demon Mystic Tome appeared inside his hands.
"What's this?" Hu Mei'er and Hu Jiao'er curiously looked at the Black Book, not knowing what it was.
"It's an artifact that has a Storage Space inside of it, allowing me to store things within it." Su Mu explained.
"Oh! Like the Storage Rings, the common tool that you told us about? Where did you get it from?" Hu Jiao'er asked.
"I found it lying on the ground." Su Mu replied with a smile.
Hu Mei'er and Hu Jiao'er exchanged glances, clearly suspicious of what Su Mu had told them, but since he had said it, they decided to not ask any further, believing in him.
Opening the Demon Mystic Tome, Su Mu summoned a small flower from the thousands of herbs that the insects had collected for him on the Treasure Island, handing it over to Hu Mei'er.
"Thank you, Su Mu. It's beautiful." Hu Mei'er smiled, gently holding the flower.
"Silly girl, at least ask what's it for." Su Mu smiled slightly, storing the Demon Mystic Tome inside his body again.
"I don't mind, as long as it's a gift from you, I'll cherish it, regardless of what it is." Hu Mei'er replied, not hiding what she was thinking about.
'It's astounding how Mei'er can be honest with her feelings without feeling embarrassed.' Hu Jiao'er had to admit, she could never beat her little sister in that regard, but even then, her feelings in that matter were similar to Hu Mei'er.
"I don't know what the name of this herb is, but from what I can tell, it enhances a Cultivator's vision by several times, so it should be fairly useful to you." Su Mu explained.
Su Mu was originally born inside a Universe World, so he had little to no idea about the herbs that were found in Star Fields, much less in a Small World like this.
"How do you even know that without knowing what the herb is?" Hu Jiao'er looked somewhat dumbfounded, but she didn't doubt Su Mu's words, and asked only out of pure curiosity.
"I am a fairly accomplished Alchemist, if I say so myself." Su Mu smiled, enjoying Hu Jiao'er's surprise before turning towards Hu Mei'er. "You should ask Senior Sister Xia to refine it into a pill for you."
"Mmh." Hu Mei'er nodded with a smile, and the three of them made their way towards the central parts of the Black Wind Forest, approaching the wooden houses that they lived in while talking about random topics.
"Before we go to that place with Senior Ling, can you train me, Su Mu?" Hu Jiao'er asked, looking at Su Mu, and the latter shook his head.
"I have an Artifact I need to refine, so I don't think that's possible, Jiao'er." Su Mu replied.
The Artifact he was talking about was the Asura Sword, the Asura Sect's Ancestral Artifact, which was a Heaven Grade Low-Rank Artifact.
If Su Mu only wanted to refine a Heaven-Grade Low-Rank Artifact, it'd take him around one day, but since he had other plans for the Asura Sword, the time increased to a week.
"... I see." Since that was the case, there was nothing Hu Jiao'er could do about it, and she nodded.
"Why don't you train with Su Yan instead?" Su Mu asked.
"Training with you is a lot better, not only are you stronger than Elder Sister Su, but fighting you helps improve my mastery over the Heavenly Sword." Hu Jiao'er explained.
"Mastery?" Su Mu chuckled lightly, a bit amused. "Jiao'er, you haven't even scratched the surface of what the Heavenly Sword is truly capable of."
"I know, but..." Hu Jiao'er was about to say something, but Su Mu continued.
"I understand what you're trying to say. Fighting those with similar Dao is always more beneficial than fighting other opponents, regardless of how much stronger they are, but even if you were to fight me for a week, the results won't be anything outstanding. So for now, I'd say that the two of you should cultivate another Secret Art."
"Another Secret Art?" Hu Mei'er asked, expressing her confusion.
Su Mu didn't reply, directly placing his index fingers on Hu Mei'er and Hu Jiao'er's foreheads.
The sisters were confused about his actions, but they didn't say anything, letting Su Mu do what he wanted to.
"Ah, this is..." Hu Mei'er seemed surprised at the familiar feeling, and soon, information started appearing inside her head, with the same happening to her elder sister.
"The Harem God's Cultivation Scripture?" Hu Jiao'er unknowingly muttered, skimming through the information that had just appeared inside her head.
After a few seconds, Su Mu retreated his hands, and Hu Mei'er giggled lightly.
"I thought you forgot to give us the Secret Art." Hu Jiao'er said, smiling a little.
"I told you that wasn't the case, Big Sis." Hu Mei'er replied.
"I would never forget about the two of you." Su Mu smiled at Hu Jio'er. "But for now, you should start cultivating the Harem God's Cultivation Scripture."
"Mmh." Hu Mei'er nodded, but Hu Jiao'er looked like she was confused about something.
"Is something wrong, Jiao'er?" Su Mu asked.
"The Harem God's Cultivation Scripture, the Secret Art is even shorter than the Siblings Divine Art, so I was just confused about that." Hu Jiao'er explained.
"The more you cultivate this Secret Art, the more benefits it will reveal. Think of it as walking through the night with a single candle—which can only illuminate the things right in front of you, and as you keep moving forward, the path will reveal itself. In reality, the more profound a Secret Art or Technique is, the lesser explanation it needs while passing it down through written means, as practitioners can gain knowledge as they move forward on their path of Martial Dao."
"... I see, so that's how it is."
After hearing Su Mu's explanation, Hu Jiao'er nodded in return, knowing that there was a lot she needed to learn in her life.
After a few minutes, the three of them arrived at the wooden houses, with Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang patiently waiting for them.
---
"Senior Sister Xia, I brought some herbs for you."
Standing inside an empty room, Su Mu summoned the thousands of herbs that the insects had collected for him on Treasure Island, surprising Xia Ning Chang, and causing her to exclaim.
"So many!"
Stepping forward, Xia Ning Chang examined the herbs, quickly identifying them based on their names and grades, utterly shocked.
"The lowest one is Heaven Grade Low Rank, with the highest being Mysterious Grade High Rank."
It was Xia Ning Chang's first time seeing so many precious hers in a single place.
"You can only cultivate while performing Alchemy, so I couldn't think of a better thing to bring for you." Su Mu replied with a smile.
"Are you sure it's alright for her to refine so many pills?" Su Yan, who had been patiently standing next to Su Mu, asked, a bit worried about Xia Ning Chang.
"To her, Alchemy is what Cultivation is to us, so there is no need to worry about that." Su Mu explained.
"Indeed, Senior Sister Su. Alchemy is no trouble for me, regardless of how much I do it." Xia Ning Chang giggled, turning towards Su Yan. "Refining herbs allows me to cultivate, and it is significantly more efficient than when I use orthodox cultivation techniques like everyone else, also, the higher grade of herbs I refine, the greater the benefits are to me."
"Even then, make sure to not push yourself too much." Su Yan replied, making Xia Ning Chang smile.
"I will keep that in mind, Senior Sister Su." With that, Xia Ning Chang turned towards Su Mu. "Brother Su, these herbs that you've brought back are the best gift I've ever received, so thank you."
"As long as it makes you happy." Su Mu replied.
These herbs should be enough for Xia Ning Chang to cultivate for a while, and her cultivation would surely rise a lot.
After all, the inheritor Sacred Spirit Medicine Body will never suffer from any bottlenecks as long as they cultivate through Alchemy, so Xia Ning Chang's cultivation rising was the only natural outcome.
Su Mu decided to give Xia Ning Chang the Harem God's Cultivation Scripture, something the latter was delighted about, before taking his leave.
"Since everyone else is busy, I will also go back and cultivate." Su Yan added.
Hu Jiao'er and Hu Mei'er had returned to the Blood Battle Group to inform their father about the journey they'd be going on with Su Mu, as well as to cultivate the Harem God's Cultivation Scripture for the next week, and Xia Ning Chang was busy cultivating on her own.
"Let's cultivate together after I'm done refining the Artifacts." Su Mu suddenly added.
"... Yes." Su Yan was caught off guard by the sudden proposal, and a light blush appeared on her face, but she still nodded.
After kissing Su Yan for a bit, Su Mu walked inside his room, locking the door before setting up a small Spirit Array around himself to conceal the Killing Intent of the Asura Sword, as it'd be troublesome if it accidentally came in contact with Lan Chu Die or Du Yi Shuang, as his two servants weren't strong enough to resist it, not yet, at least.
---
"Let's see."
Summoning the Demon Mystic Tome, Su Mu used his Divine Sense to guide the Asura Sword out of the storage space, grabbing it with his right hand as the Demon Mystic Tome disappeared before he sat cross-legged on the ground.
"My, aren't you a wild one?"
Feeling the Killing Intent and Evil Qi surging through the Asura Sword, trying to make him fall into the Devil's Path, Su Mu laughed a bit, realising a tiny portion of his Killing Intent, merging it with the Asura Sword's, while also erasing the prohibitions placed on it by the Asura Sect, completely making the Artifact his.
"It'll be a long process, but it's necessary to turn the Asura Sword into an Artifact that grows along with me, so there's nothing much I can do about it."
With that, Su Mu closed his eyes, deciding to think about the following steps after completing the first one.
***
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A/N-
So, I have some bad news.
From 31st May to 19th or 20th June (forgot the exact date), I have my final exams, so yeah, the terrible schedule will remain the same until my exams end.
I don't know anything about the syllabus, so that doesn't help much.
The schedule will be back after my exams end (like a chapter every two days), so don't give up.
Other than that, I found a pic that would describe Su Yan in the modern setting (I think?), so I'll post it here. And if it doesn't show, that means it got deleted by the Webnovel System.
Link for Discord: https://discord.gg/ADpke5DWdF