Half a year later, Fengyun Wuji finally emerged from the dark underground passage. Lowering his head to step over the threshold of the Sacred Hall, he looked up — and at the moment he once again saw the sky, he felt as if a lifetime had passed.
"I thought it would take you a whole year to get out of there," said a servant standing to Fengyun Wuji's right, his back facing him, speaking with indifference. "I didn't expect you to come out so soon."
"So, have you chosen the martial art you want to cultivate?"
Fengyun Wuji gazed up at the somber sky. Above, the thick, swirling clouds had long blocked out the sun, casting heavy shadows over the land, tinting even the earth itself in gloom. Without answering, he strode past the servant and said coolly, "Yes." In the next moment, he disappeared from the servant's sight.
Outside the Sacred Hall was a vast square, more like an endless plain. For every slab of green stone that paved the square, there was a practitioner seated atop it. Each day, some would rise from their stone slabs and descend the mountain, while new arrivals would ascend from below, seeking their place among the stones.
After waiting for half a day, Fengyun Wuji finally found an empty slab beneath a colossal banyan tree towering dozens of zhang high. He sat down silently.
On the adjacent stone slabs sat four cultivators, cross-legged and fully immersed in their own cultivation, paying no heed to Fengyun Wuji's arrival.
The Spiritual Sword Body Art, First Heaven, was divided into three stages: Clashing Swords, Controlling the Sword, and Commanding the Sword. To Fengyun Wuji, these were legendary sword techniques, and within the system of the Spiritual Sword Body Art, they were merely the most basic of foundations.
In the era of the Primordials, mastering any single martial secret could shake the heavens and move the gods. No ordinary art could be compared to the Devil-Slaying Scripture he had originally created.
Having already made his name through the sword, entering the Dao via martial arts, these three stages—Clashing, Controlling, and Commanding—were difficult and obscure, yet Fengyun Wuji found he could grasp their outlines. His greatest difficulty lay not in comprehension, but in his own internal energy: what was once considered abundant in his original world was, here, utterly insignificant. Even the faint aura leaking from the bodies of the four cultivators near him made him feel an oppressive shock; one of them, practicing an extremely Yin internal force, made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Clashing Sword, Controlling Sword, Commanding Sword—in the mundane world, each was considered the ultimate in sword arts. Yet here, after familiarizing himself with the Spiritual Sword Body Art, as Fengyun Wuji spread his perception across the square, he found that among the tens of thousands present, at least three thousand possessed supreme mastery in sword arts, and several had already successfully cultivated the art of Controlling the Sword.
The square was limited in space; thus, actual combat training was not permitted. Cultivation could only proceed through inner visualization and mental practice.
The Clashing Sword technique emphasized pure swordplay. The character "Clash" consisted of "horse" on the left, symbolizing speed, and a "double X" on the right, indicating twin swords. The essence of Clashing Sword was to use twin swords to parry and redirect, changing the trajectory of attacks — the most fundamental technique for higher sword mastery.
Eyes focused on the nose, nose on the heart, he sat cross-legged and stilled his mind, entering a deep, mirror-like meditation. Even with Fengyun Wuji's natural talent, it took him a full month of meditation to grasp this most basic technique. When he finally opened his eyes, half-inch-long sword auras burst from them. Employing his left-hand's old sword techniques and his right-hand's newly learned Clashing Sword, he fought an imaginary two-sword battle within his mind.
It soon became clear why the Clashing Sword was regarded as an ultimate sword art: even the slightest collision between two blades could completely alter the trajectory of a move, creating vulnerabilities in even the most perfect sword forms, and turning the tide of battle in an instant.
Upon completing the first layer of cultivation, Fengyun Wuji discovered to his shock that the auras he had previously sensed were mere thousandths of these practitioners' true power. Among the tens of thousands present, over ten thousand gave off no life aura at all, resembling corpses.
Fengyun Wuji understood: to reach the level of the servant, one must possess extraordinary skills in concealing one's qi — and, naturally, equally extraordinary martial power. Compared to them, even after completing the first layer of the Spiritual Sword Body Art, he remained the weakest of the weak. Though he knew this was a natural state for new ascendants, a flame of dissatisfaction burned within him, spurring him forward.
The second stage: Controlling the Sword. Also called Guiding the Sword with Qi, it was the legendary art of sword immortals — controlling a sword to strike enemies from a thousand miles away. Here, it was no legend: Fengyun Wuji had already touched upon its threshold.
The character "Controlling " again featured "horse" on the left, signifying speed, and on the right, an added horizontal stroke above the "X", indicating mastery of a sword through qi. Essentially, it was still a matter of manipulating sword trajectories, but now, one sword was replaced by qi itself.
Mastering Controlling Sword demanded immense internal energy and was extremely qi-consuming. Unfortunately, the Spiritual Sword Body Art contained no methods for enhancing internal strength, as its creator assumed that anyone practicing it would already possess formidable martial prowess.
Though Fengyun Wuji had a remarkable memory, even he could not memorize all of the hundreds of thousands of martial scriptures carved into the Sacred Hall's underground tunnels. He selectively memorized only those that radiated powerful auras — numbering in the thousands — already pushing his mental capacity to its limits.
After much deliberation, he chose the Nine Cycles of Life and Death Profound Art — the strongest method he could sense.
The Nine Cycles demanded a harsh price: the practitioner had to survive nine near-death experiences, with each survival doubling their strength. But the first step required one to destroy all existing internal cultivation, crippling oneself completely. For most powerful warriors, this was utterly unacceptable. Yet for Fengyun Wuji, whose "deep" internal strength was shallow by the standards of this world, it was a price he could afford.
The first step: Dissipating all internal energy, severing the seven meridians and eight channels of the body. A note from the art's founder warned: At this step, only six out of ten survive. Only those with unwavering will should proceed.
To sever all meridians was to cripple oneself, practically beyond recovery — no sane martial artist would willingly believe such a technique. In countless eons, those who dared attempt it likely numbered less than ten.
But Fengyun Wuji chose it nonetheless. In his mind, the harsher and more bizarre the training, the more earth-shattering the resulting power.
"Ahhh—!" Fengyun Wuji roared in agony, his voice shaking the heavens. Blood seeped from his pores, eyes, nose, and ears, pooling beneath him.
When all his internal energy was finally expelled, he gritted through the searing pain and initiated the first cycle of the Nine Cycles of Life and Death.
The moment he began chanting the art's profound incantations, the pain lessened. His severed meridians sprouted tiny threads of new flesh, reaching across the gaps to knit themselves together. Though still agonizing, this miraculous process filled him with hope.
Only now did Fengyun Wuji understand why even the art's creator warned about its cruelty — and why the true hardships had only just begun.
Another month passed in silent meditation. Finally, his severed meridians were fully restored, and a tiny thread of pure internal energy emerged within him — far finer and purer than the true qi he had once known.
In martial arts, purer qi always equaled greater power.
Thus, the first cycle — Life and Death Governed by Fate — was completed. From here, it was simply a matter of increasing the quantity and quality of his qi.
The cycle's completion came with an appended secret: a post-foundation inner art. Fengyun Wuji immediately began to circulate his qi accordingly — and was stunned to find his flexible qi suddenly grow sluggish, moving at a mere thousandth of its previous speed, a suffocating force gathering at his chest.
But as a true martial artist, his determination was unshakable. He persevered, pushing through the resistance.
When his qi finally completed a full circulation, Fengyun Wuji felt a sudden shock throughout his body. His pores opened wide, and vast quantities of the world's primal energy rushed in uncontrollably.
Wild joy filled him. He eagerly guided this massive influx into his body, refining it through his new cultivation method.
What he didn't know was that, outside, a massive cyclone had formed over the Sacred Hall's square because of him — and it was growing stronger by the second.
Nearby practitioners were jolted awake by the roar of the gathering storm. One by one, they opened their eyes in shock, watching as torrents of heaven and earth energy poured into the boy's body. Even the strongest among them were stirred: the natural energy they usually absorbed was now being pulled into a vortex centered on Fengyun Wuji, like a black hole.
More and more people stood up, stunned, while fewer than three thousand managed to remain seated.
The entire square turned its eyes toward Fengyun Wuji, marveling at the unprecedented phenomenon. Through their spiritual senses, they could tell that this boy's martial cultivation was not high — the phenomenon could only be explained by the overwhelming power of the technique he practiced.
Finally, even the servants at the gates of the Sacred Hall were alarmed, leaping into the air and speeding toward the center of the storm...