Chapter 2: The Sword Immortal
1048 Words
Ye Xuan stared at the obsidian tower before him, heart pounding with awe.
This defied all logic he knew.
He forced himself to steady his breathing. Opportunity or death?The question hung heavy. Turning back now was unthinkable. With a determined shove, he entered the Prison of Worlds Tower.
Inside, bestial murals writhed on walls etched with violet-gold sigils. His gaze snapped to a skeleton seated cross-legged nearby, a silver longsword planted upright beside it. Before the bones, words scored the stone floor:
"I am the Sword Sovereign of Cangjie. Mastered the sword at twelve, unparalleled in Cangjie by twenty-one. At twenty-seven, shattered my heart with the blade to ascend the supreme Sword Dao. Trapped here twelve centuries, my life spent within these walls. Dying now, I bequeath my legacy. Heed this: if gratitude moves you, protect the Cangjian Sect."
Sword Sovereign? Ye Xuan frowned. Unfamiliar. His eyes dropped to a fist-sized jade stone beneath the inscription.
Inheritance Stone!
His blood surged. A Sword Cultivator’s legacy!
In all Qing Province, martial artists were legion—but Sword Cultivators? Rarer than phoenix feathers. They demanded unique Spiritual Roots, a concept as elusive as it was coveted.
He lunged for the stone.
Thud.
An invisible barrier threw him back.
"New arrival?" A woman’s voice echoed, sharp as steel.
Ye Xuan recoiled, scanning the empty chamber. "Who’s there?"
"Who holds dominion over the Heavenly Dao in this realm?"
"Heavenly Dao? What’s that?"
A pause. "Why are you so... weak? You weren’t imprisoned here."
Confusion knotted Ye Xuan’s thoughts.
"An Innate Dao Body?" The voice sharpened with surprise. "And Dual Spiritual Roots? No wonder the Tower chose you."
"Innate Dao Body? Dual Roots? Senior, who are you—?"
"You’re grown. Should be at least Soul Journey Realm. Yet your foundation is gutter trash."
Ye Xuan stiffened. "How did you cultivate your body?"
"Push-ups. Weighted runs. Body striking."
"Primitive methods for a primitive era." Ice coated the words. "Wasting such gifts."
"That’s how we train in Qingcheng," Ye Xuan countered flatly.
Silence.
His eyes drifted back to the Inheritance Stone, burning with need.
"Crave the sword?" The voice sliced through his thoughts.
"Yes." Visions of soaring among clouds, sword as his wings, flooded his mind.
"Your Dantian is shattered. That legacy before you?" She dismissed it coldly. "Forever beyond your reach."
Desolation crashed over him. No Dantian. No martial path. Just... a struggling initiate.
"However," the voice mused, "I possess an... alternateSword Dao. Unconventional. Dangerous. Interested?"
"Without a Dantian?"
"Betterwithout one."
Hope detonated in his chest. He clamped it down. "Your price, Senior?"
"This Tower was crippled. Its nine foundational Dao Principles scattered across Qingcang Realm. Seals weaken. You only breathe because the Sword Sovereign died before you stumbled in."
Ye Xuan’s throat tightened.
"Twelve floors," she continued relentlessly. "Each cages apex predators—humans, spirits, demons, even the soul of a realm’s Heavenly Dao. Once, this Tower bound them. Now? Seals crumble. They will break free."
Her tone hardened. "Find the lost Dao Principles. Restore the seals. Or... release them."
"Release them?"
"Two outcomes: They s*******r you and claim the Tower. Or you dominate them. Given your current... state? s*******r. Guaranteed."
A poisoned chalice.
"Are youimprisoned here, Senior?"
"No."
"Then why—?"
"Enough questions."
Ye Xuan swallowed.
"Tower Master now," she stated. "Each Dao Principle reclaimed will surge your strength and control. Reclaim one? Command the first floor. Crush foes within these walls. But now? Zero Principles. Zero function. Seals decay. When the Tower shatters... this realm dies. You die first."
"You want me to save the world?"
"Save yourself. The Second Floor’s tenant? Malice incarnate. One year. Maybe less. Then? Farewell, bright world."
Ye Xuan bowed low. "Teach me, Senior. The path without the Dantian."
"Pain," she warned. "Agony like shattered glass in your veins. Still want it?"
He laughed bitterly. "Do I have a choice?"
"True. Listen well: You lack a Dantian? Perfect.We forge your core from steel.Sword as Dantian. Your path isn’t martial arts—it’s the Sword Dao itself."
"Sword... as Dantian?"
"Your core’s quality depends on the sword’s power. No Qi absorption. You devour swords.Better blades? Faster ascension. Master the first stage? Your flesh becomes Sword Body—immune to lesser blades." Her voice dropped, resonant. "You will command ten thousand swords to bow."
Ten thousand swords bowing!His spirit ignited.
"See the three swords atop the Tower?"
He nodded.
"They embody the pinnacle of Sword Dao. Absorb them? Forge your core from their might? Power beyond imagining."
"But... they anchor the Tower! Removing them—"
"Harmless." The reply came too fast. "Trust me. I shield you."
Doubt flickered. No alternatives.Only the gamble.
"Now," she commanded, "the sword before you. Lingxiao Sword."
His gaze locked on the silver blade beside the skeleton—three feet long, slender, etched "Lingxiao".
"Caged twelve hundred years. Ninety percent of its Spiritual Power depleted. Perfectfor your crucible." A pause, deliberate. "I impart the Invincible Sword Body Art.Succeed? You leap from 5th Layer: Unceasing Realm’s peak... to 6th Layer: Qi Transformation Realm."
"Might fail?"
"Possible."
"This method..." Dread coiled in his gut. "Has anyone... survivedit?"
Silence stretched. "You’d be the first. Succeed? History remembers your name."
His blood froze. "Failure means...?"
"The sword shreds you from within. Probably.Maybe.Death."
A grim smile touched his lips. Shattered Dantian. A dead end either way.
"Fight," the voice hissed. "For yourself. For your sister Ye Ling."
"Do it."
White light seared his mind. Knowledge flooded in—Invincible Sword Body Art:
"Body as blade. Blade as core. Core devouring all swords. Swords tempering the flesh. Cycle unbroken..."
A beam struck Lingxiao Sword. It quivered—then impaledYe Xuan’s chest.
"ARRRGH!"
Agony exploded. Every nerve screamed as if flayed by razors.
"Endure!" The voice cracked like a whip. "The sword reshapes your core! Yield? Death!"
He locked his jaw, teeth grinding against the torment. Fail? Perish.
Hours bled into a day. His body convulsed, features contorted beyond recognition. Consciousness frayed—hold! Hold or die!
Then—
A crystalline chimeresonated within him.
He collapsed.
Spiritual Power erupted from his form—a surging tide!
Qi Transformation Realm!
Where his Dantian had been, a miniature silver sword now hovered, pulsing with light.
From the shadows, the woman’s whisper hung, unheard by the fallen youth:
"It actually worked..."
- Writer
