The sword energy was gone!
And the black energy had expanded considerably over these three days, reaching one-tenth of its initial size.
His own sword energy had completely devoured that sword energy, which was why the black energy began to swell again.
This meant that no matter how much his own sword energy expanded, it would be impossible for it to expel the black energy like that sword energy did.
Yun Ze smiled helplessly.
It seemed he had to go find Wei Lanshu again.
He got up and walked out of his secluded cultivation room, stopping outside another one and knocking. "Is Fellow Daoist Wei in?"
"I am."
A surge of sword energy instantly pierced through the stone chamber. It stopped less than half an inch from Yun Ze before vanishing completely.
The stone chamber door slowly opened, and Wei Lanshu darted out, looking at him with hopeful eyes. "Can we do it again?"
"Mm."
"That's great!"
Yun Ze simply nodded, and Wei Lanshu exclaimed with anticipation, "When do we start?"
It seemed that in this secluded environment, Wei Lanshu was particularly fond of talking.
It appeared her nature wasn't truly cold and aloof, but rather suppressed by that sword energy, forcing her to be taciturn in front of others.
"We can start now."
Yun Ze extended his right hand as he had last time, holding it in front of him. "But remember, when I say let go, you must let go, or there won't be a next time."
"Mm-hmm! I know!"
Wei Lanshu nodded repeatedly. Instead of touching Yun Ze's right hand immediately, she took out a bag of spirit stones from her spatial ring. "Here, your two thousand spirit stones."
Right, he still had to tell this girl about the 'price reduction.'
Li Po had said to tell her after the second time, so he needed to come up with an excuse.
Yun Ze put the spirit stones into his storage and then clasped Wei Lanshu's right hand.
Instantly!
That feeling of a thousand swords piercing his heart struck him again!
Three breaths passed, and although Yun Ze's brow was furrowed, he still had some strength left.
This time, the feeling seemed significantly weaker than before.
If it were the same intensity as last time, he would probably be close to his limit!
What was going on?
Never mind, he'd absorb enough sword energy first.
A full five breaths passed.
Only then did Yun Ze involuntarily release his grip and immediately sank his consciousness into his Qi Sea, discovering that indeed another thread of that sword energy was residing there.
Since he had held on longer this time, this thread of sword energy was also larger in volume.
However…
Yun Ze felt it carefully and indeed found something amiss!
This sword energy seemed weaker than before, yet it still possessed that power to cleave through everything.
After all, even a weak tiger is still a tiger; it never turns into a dog.
As long as it was useful, one more activation should be enough to completely clear the black energy within him.
Yun Ze opened his eyes and looked at Wei Lanshu, finding her staring at her own right hand as if admiring a rare treasure.
"Is there a problem?" Yun Ze asked curiously.
"No! No!"
Wei Lanshu seemed very excited. She brought her right hand close to Yun Ze and asked with joy, "Yun Ze, look at my hand. Can you see anything?"
"See what?"
Yun Ze looked closely but could only see a mass of spiritual energy swirling around her palm.
But wasn't this a common occurrence?
He was a bit confused but still said, "Spiritual energy?"
"Yes! Spiritual energy!"
Wei Lanshu was extremely excited. Without minding Yun Ze's bewilderment, she turned and entered her secluded cultivation room. "I can have spiritual energy too!"
Bang.
The stone door closed, leaving Yun Ze standing there, stunned.
A moment later, Yun Ze suddenly realized something!
She just said, "I can have spiritual energy too." Did that mean… she couldn't have spiritual energy before!?
That's right!
That sword energy was exceptionally domineering. Even after entering my Qi Sea, it wouldn't allow my spiritual energy to approach. If it did, it would cause an upheaval!
Wei Lanshu's entire body was filled with that sword energy. If she drew spiritual energy into her body, it would be like throwing a spark into a barrel of oil!
It was no wonder she was so excited.
Coming from a cultivation family, to be able to touch spiritual energy at this moment must be even more exciting for her than for an ordinary person embarking on the path of cultivation.
Yun Ze didn't bother with her anymore and returned to his own secluded cultivation room.
He still had seven days. He needed to expel the black energy first, then stabilize his Qi Sea, and use the remaining time to study some cultivation techniques.
After half a month, he would go find the person responsible for reception that Yu Xian had mentioned.
Yun Ze calmed his mind and spirit, and once again used his spiritual energy to activate that trace of sword energy!
"Pfft!"
Another mouthful of blood spurted out, but the amount this time was significantly less than before.
Yun Ze felt his Qi Sea return to normal and finally felt a sense of relief.
Seven days later.
Yun Ze had returned to the peak of the third level of Qi Refining, and he had also roughly read through the three cultivation manuals he had borrowed.
There wasn't enough time.
He had originally planned to cultivate these two techniques in his secluded cultivation room, but after a brief attempt, he felt it was too extravagant.
The Lingyun Swordplay was easy to cultivate.
He had only read through this technique once and achieved the effect of three shadows per sword. After a short period of practice for two days, he reached six shadows per sword!
With at most three more days of hard cultivation, achieving nine shadows per sword was not impossible!
But the Turtle Martial Art was different.
Yun Ze had tried practicing it for two days, and now he could only reduce damage by half a percent. Reaching the entry level seemed like a distant prospect!
A day in the secluded cultivation room cost ten spirit stones!
Whose wallet could withstand that!
The spiritual energy outside the lone peak wasn't bad either. In a place with such abundant spiritual energy, it was better to focus on cultivation and comprehend the techniques outside after the time was up.
When the time was up, Tie Shan knocked on the door, and Yun Ze emerged from his secluded cultivation room.
As soon as he stepped out, he saw Wei Lanshu, who had also finished her seclusion.
She looked at Yun Ze with anticipation. Without her speaking, Yun Ze knew what she was thinking.
Since he hadn't been injured when absorbing the sword energy last time, and his Qi Sea had recovered, he no longer had any reservations and proceeded with their third transaction.
This time, he still held her right hand.
Yun Ze could already clearly feel the weakening of that sword energy!
It was much, much weaker than last time!
After the sword energy absorption was complete, Yun Ze took Wei Lanshu to a secluded, uninhabited forest outside the cultivation rooms. After confirming no one was around, he asked curiously.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, your sword energy… seems to have weakened considerably."
Wei Lanshu didn't speak, only nodded.
"There's no one around now, you can speak."
Wei Lanshu shook her head and pointed to the tree canopy above.
Yun Ze looked up and saw several birds hovering there.
"Alright, but now your sword energy has been weakened. Speaking shouldn't be a problem anymore."
Wei Lanshu shook her head, pointed to her right hand, and then slid her hand up to her arm.
This meant…
"You mean, now only your right hand is free of sword energy, but your arm… no, to be precise, everywhere except your right hand still has sword energy!?"
Wei Lanshu nodded.
Yun Ze was stunned and instinctively thought of another matter. "Then if I want to absorb all the sword energy from you, won't I have to…"
Wei Lanshu's pretty face instantly flushed red!
No! Absolutely not!
If he really did that, there would likely be only two outcomes.
Either he would have to marry into the Wei family, and they would become one family, so touching would be of no consequence.
Or… death!
"Wei, Fellow Daoist Wei."
Yun Ze's voice trembled slightly. "You should be able to force the sword energy from your body to a specific location, right? For example, your right hand?"
Wei Lanshu first shook her head, then after thinking for a moment, nodded.
"What do you mean by shaking your head and then nodding?" Yun Ze was panicking now.
He knew he was already on this pirate ship.
If he couldn't find a solution, even if he quit now, he would be forced by the Wei family to absorb all the sword energy from her!
In that case, he would also face the same two outcomes.
Although Wei Lanshu wasn't unattractive, her personality was decent, and her family background was impeccable, Yun Ze didn't have feelings for her!
Seeing Yun Ze's anxiety, Wei Lanshu simply drew out the Mountain Specter from his waist and wrote a line on the ground.
[Lower abdomen, Qi Sea, can be attempted after Foundation Establishment.]
Yun Ze frowned. "You mean, I first dispel the sword energy from your lower abdomen, then you can cultivate techniques, and after Foundation Establishment, you can try to force the sword energy from your body to other places?"
Wei Lanshu nodded.
Yun Ze fell into thought again.
This wasn't an impossible method.
But it was still a matter of impropriety between men and women. Hands were understandable, but the lower abdomen…
Wei Lanshu noticed his hesitation and wrote on the ground again with the Mountain Specter.
[You know, I know.]
"...It seems this is the only way."
Yun Ze pondered for a few breaths, swept away the writing on the ground, then took back the Mountain Specter and said to Wei Lanshu, "Wait for me for ten days. I'll come find you in ten days, and we'll find a place to help you dispel the sword energy."
Including the time to join the sect, in at most ten more days, the people from the Immortal Mansion who were responsible for reception should arrive.
He would discuss it further after meeting them.
Wei Lanshu nodded and turned to walk towards the courtyard where she lived.
Yun Ze, on the other hand, walked down the mountain. He didn't look for Chen Xiao, nor did he immediately study cultivation techniques. Instead, he went to the Miscellaneous Hall to find the person in charge of cave dwellings below one thousand meters.
There was no way he could live in Chen Xiao's courtyard anymore. He needed to apply for another cave dwelling.
The person in charge was accommodating and, given Yun Ze's status as a top-grade disciple, approved his application for a cave dwelling.
It was located at a height of four hundred and forty-nine meters, in a relatively good location. After completing the paperwork, he could move in directly.
What was called a cave dwelling was actually a small courtyard, similar to Chen Xiao's, with two rooms in total.
Besides Yun Ze, another person lived in the courtyard.
Just as Yun Ze was about to ask who the other person was, someone else successfully challenged an upper-grade disciple and came to the person in charge to exchange for a cave dwelling.
He didn't linger any longer and turned towards the small house.
It didn't matter who it was, as long as they didn't hinder his affairs.
But as Yun Ze arrived at the cave dwelling, he saw a figure in a red dress busy in the garden, and he froze instantly.
That was…
Su Ling'er!