Chapter 58 56, why are you taking off your clothes?
After Liu Ruoxue left, it was only then that a faint, barely perceptible smile appeared on Xu Yuan's lips.
"When it comes to effectiveness, blood is indeed the best."
Liu Ruoxue's attitude toward him had undergone an obvious shift, her response seemingly the same as before, merely a cold snort.
However, the mere fact that she asked that question in the first place already represented a change in attitude.
...
When Liu Ruoxue returned to her dwelling, she intended to cultivate in stillness.
But for some reason, this time, as she sat cross-legged on the bed, she just couldn't settle her mind.
After gazing at the bright moon by her window for a long while, recalling the dream-like, strange sensation she experienced, she finally made up her mind.
With a delicate hand, she slowly removed her Sword Robe, revealing skin as white and flawless as mutton-fat jade, which under the moon's glow, was as bright as snow.
However, thereafter Liu Ruoxue started to feel perplexed.
She didn't understand what she was doing.
But Liu Ruoxue knew that if she didn't rid herself of the compulsion rising from deep within her body, her cultivation would certainly be hindered.
So, Liu Ruoxue closed her eyes, bit her red lips gently, and surrendered everything to the voice in the depths of her mind.
A moment later, a profoundly suppressed sound emanated from her room.
The cool Sword Immortal's dress lay in disarray on the bed, her hair scattered in a mess, her eyes lifelessly staring at the ceiling; her beautiful brows now unfolded. Explore more at empire
"Why... did his image suddenly flash through my mind for no reason? And why, that sort of thing, turned out to be so..."
Talking up to there, a blush had already spread across her snow-white cheeks.
After resting for a short while, Liu Ruoxue sat up, but her mind involuntarily revisited the scene under the moon at Ancient Moon Town that day.
"I can't keep thinking about this."
Liu Ruoxue took a sharp breath, immediately shook her head, and quickly cast those thoughts away.
"The Sword Sect's grand competition, the Sword Cleansing Pool, are opportunities for me to showcase myself. If I want my Master's gaze to stay on me, I must continuously demonstrate my strength."
...
The rising sun heralded dawn, and the first light of morning broke.
When the Sword Bell rang, Xu Yuan was sitting on his bed, cultivating.
Utilizing the Spirit Stones obtained from Zhen Dan, after a night of cultivation, he had finally stepped through the gate to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
Of course, concealed by the Illusory Realm, to the perception of others, the façade of Fang Yuan still maintained the aura of a cultivator in the late stage of Foundation Establishment.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Unlike in the game, after stepping into the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, he could clearly feel the increase in his own strength and the changes in his Spiritual Power.
First and foremost was the noticeably faster speed at which Spiritual Power flowed through his meridians; second was the enhancement in his field of vision and Divine Sense.
Each breakthrough for a cultivator was an overall enhancement.
It was for this reason that Xu Yuan felt even more that the game planner's design was simply too heaven-defying.
Lin Qingque and Tian Liuli, these two were only in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, how could they possibly defeat those cultivators in the Nascent Soul Stage?
If he could return, he would definitely have a serious talk with that planner.
Fortunately, he had snatched a magic artifact that was meant to be exclusive to Lin Qingque—the Illusory Realm.
With that, coupled with the basic cultivation he had practiced at the Sword Sect and the Thunderfire Sword and Ruyi Gold Lock Rod hidden in the shadows, his strength wasn't bad at all by now.
Well, he was probably capable of escaping from the hands of a mid Core Formation cultivator.
When Xu Yuan pushed open the door and stepped out, he unexpectedly saw streaks of sword light continuously rising into the sky, which from afar looked like hundreds of rainbow swords soaring through the air.
"What's going on?"
As he was marveling, a voice cold and unchanged from before drifted over from beside him.
"That's the Sword Cleansing Pool... it's been opened."
Xu Yuan turned his head and saw Liu Ruoxue walking leisurely toward him from midair.
"Come, I'll take you to the Sword Cleansing Pool, so you don't blow your cover,"
she said, as if explaining something.
"Okay."
Xu Yuan smiled.
The two of them rode on sword light and joined the thousands of sword rainbows in the high sky.
It was only at this moment that Xu Yuan truly understood the terrifying aspect of the Sword Sect sect.
Not counting those cultivators out on missions, just on Yin Peak alone, there were thousands of Foundation Establishment disciples eligible to enter the Sword Cleansing Pool, all under fifty years of cultivation.
If he could harness the power of these thousands of Foundation Establishment disciples, their combined force, even Lin Qingque and Tian Liuli might find them a handful.
The more he thought about it, the more Xu Yuan felt the need to execute his plan.
Although it was extremely dangerous, the rewards were definitely going to be immense.
If successful, he could turn this place into a cultivation holy land solely for himself, practically securing half of the future Sword Sect under his control.
"According to the information I've gathered these days, a Nascent Soul cultivator usually watches over the Foundation Establishment cultivators when they enter the Sword Cleansing Pool for purification, to prevent any accidents,"
Xu Yuan mused silently, "and that Nascent Soul cultivator will always use their Divine Sense to monitor for unusual activity in the Sword Cleansing Pool."
"So, when contaminating the Sword Cleansing Pool, I'd better proceed step by step, and be ready to be discovered at any moment. Even if discovered, I must not reveal any flaws."
"Over the past few days, I have conducted three experiments on the Sword Sect disciples... It seems that saliva works the least effectively; blood is the best."
"But to mix blood into it is the most difficult, after all, the areas in the Sword Cleansing Pool are clearly designated to assist the Sword Sect disciples in sculpting their bodies with Sword Intent."
Xu Yuan's gaze flickered, then settled on Liu Ruoxue in front of him: "To deliberately create bloodstains, I'd have to go to a place that currently doesn't match my rank."
He did not know what Liu Ruoxue's personality was like, whether she would have the same possessiveness as Lin Qingque and the others, but for now, he could only pin his hopes on this.
Otherwise, he would have to try to challenge a higher-ranked disciple for their spot, just like Yun did before.
However, he couldn't be sure that the other party would accept his challenge.
Soon, Liu Ruoxue riding on her sword brought him to a hot spring engulfed in mist behind the mountain.
Below them, many people were already standing in it, starting to receive the baptism of Sword Intent.
"This is it."
Just as Liu Ruoxue was about to dive into the Sword Pool, she suddenly frowned, turned to Xu Yuan, and asked, "Why are you taking off your clothes?"