Chapter 61: The Jade Pavilion Scripture

After revealing her cultivation process, Jiang Min shared her insights into the practice of the Spirit Communion Technique with Master Qingyou. Master Qingyou, true to her word, asked Jiang Min if there was anything she wished to know or anything she desired.

"Master, I would like to know about the Ancient Battlefield. What preparations should someone of my cultivation level make before venturing there?" Jiang Min had no intention of asking about anything else or requesting any reward.

As a low-ranking outer disciple, she was well aware of her position. Master Qingyou’s willingness to offer her a reward after questioning her was a sign of kindness, but this was no time to be greedy—asking a minor question would suffice.

Had the senior in front of her been a calculating or shrewd old fox, Jiang Min would have prefaced her question with something like, "It is only natural for me to help ease Master’s concerns, there’s no need for compensation, Master must be jesting, but I do have a trifling doubt..." She had always known how to tailor her words to her audience. However, facing the straightforward Master Qingyou, such pleasantries were unnecessary.

At the moment, her curiosity about the Ancient Battlefield was genuine, so she asked about it directly.

Jiang Min’s question made Master Qingyou’s willow brows rise slightly, a flicker of surprise passing through her eyes.

Just this? She was letting Jiang Min off easily.

So she decided to give her a bit of advice.

A profound gleam rippled in Master Qingyou’s violet eyes, and her red lips curved in a subtle smile. "The Ancient Battlefield, you ask?"

"Each time we visit the Myriad Swords Sect, only two places are open to us: the Sword Comprehension Cliff and the Path of Sword Intent."

"The Sword Comprehension Cliff is engraved with many ancient and profound sword arts. Though much was destroyed in the past and many of the techniques are now incomplete, even the fragments contain the true meaning of the highest sword principles. If one is highly gifted in the sword, observing these fragments can easily induce a state of sword enlightenment."

Jiang Min listened intently.

The Sword Comprehension Cliff of the Myriad Swords Sect reminded her somewhat of the ancient inscriptions in Spirit Gathering Valley—the same stone walls she had once been so curious about.

Only after becoming an outer disciple had she learned that the stone walls in Spirit Gathering Valley were inscribed with advanced techniques left by ancient cultivators. That was why disciples spent countless days and nights pondering them, hoping to grasp their essence.

She heard Master Qingyou continue, "The Path of Sword Intent, as its name suggests, is an ancient road suffused with sword intent. It’s said to have been a deadly place where ancient sword cultivators’ wills converged. After tens of thousands of years, the sword intent within remains undiminished, though it has lost its power to kill. Now, it serves as a place to comprehend sword intent and temper one’s spiritual consciousness."

"The sword intent on the Path grows stronger when met with strength and weaker when met with weakness. The longer one endures and the farther one travels, the more intense the sword intent becomes."

Master Qingyou’s brows arched, her tone casual. "Every visit to the Myriad Swords Sect includes a contest with their sword cultivators to see who can last longer on the Path of Sword Intent. I expect this time will be no different."

"In these contests, the firmer your will and the stronger your spiritual consciousness, the longer you can persist."

At this, she smiled faintly, looking directly at Jiang Min and offered a candid hint: "If you have trained in techniques that temper the spiritual consciousness, you may have an advantage."

With that, she finished her explanation.

Master Qingyou rose from the couch.

"If you have no further questions, continue your cultivation," she said, lightly brushing her purple robe as she headed for the door.

Just as she reached the threshold, she paused, glanced sideways at Jiang Min, her violet eyes glimmering with interest, and said, "Did you know, to secure your place in the Sword Contest, He Liang nearly resigned his steward position?"

Jiang Min raised her hand, ready to bow and see Master Qingyou off, but hearing these words, she was startled.

Uncle He had intervened to keep her spot? It had even come to the point of threatening resignation?

Her brows furrowed with a hint of urgency as she bowed and asked, "Master, this matter—"

"I hope to see the day you form your Foundation," Master Qingyou interjected, sidestepping the topic with a meaningful smile before turning and leaving.

Once the graceful figure vanished through the door, Jiang Min’s frown deepened.

"Kept my place for me?"

"Could it be that Qi Yan used his brother’s connections, or some other influence, to pressure Uncle He?"

"But Uncle He, to keep my place, even risked his stewardship..."

Jiang Min was unaware that her guesses were nearly spot on.

Still, the realization left her with a sense of regret; her brows knitted as she paced the room, finally sighing, "Ah, this is a great debt I owe."

Throughout her journey, Jiang Min sought only a clear conscience, yet there were matters that weighed on her.

First, in leaving home for the immortal path, she felt she owed her parents and grandmother the most.

Second, her senior sister had given her a sword, shielding her from countless fatal blows and cutting down many foes—she owed a great karmic debt for that.

Now, there was yet another.

Jiang Min pondered for a long time, finally exhaling gently and murmuring, "Gratitude alone is no longer enough for this. If one day my way of the sword prospers and my cultivation reaches new heights, I will do all I can to repay Uncle He’s protection..."

Thus, the urgency to advance surged in her heart once more.

In cultivation, she must reach Foundation Establishment as swiftly as possible.

In the way of the sword, she must perfect her sword aura without delay.

Jiang Min reactivated the protective wards on her room and returned to the couch. Now that she had obtained information about the Ancient Battlefield, there was no need to seek further news—she could focus on preparing for the journey ahead.

From Master Qingyou’s words, she had keenly caught the phrase: "If you have trained in techniques that temper the spiritual consciousness, you may have an advantage."

"Techniques to temper the spiritual consciousness..."

Jiang Min mused, flipping her palm.

In her hand appeared a perfectly round jade disk, its surface etched with ancient patterns, gentle radiance flowing across it.

She had acquired this jade disk as loot after turning the tables on an ambushing cultivator in the Five Finger Mountains. Careful study revealed it contained a precious technique for refining spiritual consciousness, known as the Jade Abode Sutra.

Cautious by nature, she had not dared to study this unfamiliar technique immediately. Instead, upon returning to her sect, she spent considerable time in the library, confirming that the method was genuine, not some demonic or heretical sorcery. Only after ensuring its safety did she set her mind at ease.

In recent days, her attention had been entirely on the way of the sword, so her study of the Jade Abode Sutra had been delayed.

But now, since Master Qingyou had said that an advantage on the Path of Sword Intent depended on spiritual consciousness, it was time to cultivate the Jade Abode Sutra.

"Practicing swordsmanship on a flying vessel is inconvenient, and I cannot take out demon cores to cultivate either. It’s the perfect time to study this spiritual consciousness technique."

Jiang Min calmed her mind, sending her awareness into the jade disk. The mysteries of the Jade Abode Sutra unfolded before her eyes:

"Immortals impart to me the Jade Abode Sutra, mysteries concealed, never revealing their form. Today I reveal Heaven’s secrets for you, to help you build an abode and commune with the divine. In the sea of consciousness lies the divine aperture, reflecting the twelve stars through the eternal night. The twelve luminaries move, and the mind follows; thus, yin and yang divide and cast their jade shadows..."

An abode is a dwelling.

The Jade Abode of the spirit is the anchor of spiritual consciousness, solid as a house of jade and stone.

Thus, the practice of this method meant connecting the twelve divine apertures within the sea of consciousness, forming the Jade Abode, and refining the spirit within.

In this way, spiritual consciousness would grow stronger and the sea of consciousness become more resilient.