I Have a Compass for Opportunity

Liou Zhen is Liou Yuan’s support in this world.

Nothing is more reliable than a bond of blood.

The stronger he becomes, the more at ease Liou Yuan feels, after all, his eldest brother is his confidence in the Cultivation Realm.

Thinking of this, Liou Yuan’s eyes regained clarity, and his gaze once again locked onto the two beams of sword light on the Canglan Sword.

"Now that the two major sword lights, Green Tide and Sushui, have both achieved Great Success, according to the cultivation technique, my swordsmanship has already reached the Great Achievement Realm."

The Green Tide Pure Water Sword received extremely high praise from Liou Zhen. Now that Liou Yuan has achieved great success in swordsmanship, he believes that the full exertion of this sword technique would definitely not be weaker than a Grade C Lower magic.

Moreover, now that Liou Yuan’s Green Tide and Sushui sword lights have already achieved Great Success, this sword manual also begins to reveal its hidden secrets.

Carefully looking at the blade of the Canglan Sword.

At the intertwined point of the Green Tide and Sushui sword lights, there is already a slow tendency to fuse.

In the process of their fusion, a subtle energy is being born.

That kind of energy is extraordinarily sharp, even if it’s just a sliver, it exceeds the Green Tide and Sushui sword lights.

"Sword Qi!" Liou Yuan sensed the presence of that energy and had already made a firm guess in his heart.

When he obtained the Green Tide Pure Water Sword back then, Liou Yuan identified it with the Fixed Star Compass.

It described the Green Tide Pure Water Sword like this.

’There is a sword technique wherein one may cultivate two kinds of sword lights, one called Green Tide, and the other Sushui. If this sword technique reaches its highest state, the Green Tide and Sushui lights can merge into one, which may afford the opportunity to comprehend Sword Qi.’

Moreover, in the past, Liou Zhen also comprehended the Snow Shattering Sword Qi by cultivating this Green Tide Pure Water Sword.

Therefore, it was not unexpected that after achieving Great Success, Liou Yuan would manifest Sword Qi.

If there is an unusual point to note, it is that Liou Yuan comprehended the Sword Qi rather quickly.

Liou Yuan understood very well why the Green Tide Pure Water Sword could make such rapid progress: "Thanks to the observation of that battle, there’s no way I would have comprehended Sword Qi this quickly otherwise."

The power of Sword Qi should naturally be ranked above that of sword lights.

Liou Yuan is already eager to see the power of his Sword Qi.

However, the birth of Sword Qi still requires time; it seems it will take about ten to fifteen days for the Sword Qi to successfully manifest, so Liou Yuan can only wait patiently for the result.

"My eldest brother comprehended the Snow Shattering Sword Qi; when the Sword Qi emerged, the surroundings suddenly plunged into winter, traversing the Inner Sect with ease, and his fame spread even in the Jin Dynasty, earning the title of Snow Shattering Sword Liou Zhen."

"I wonder what kind of power the Sword Qi I comprehend will have."

Liou Yuan thought with a smile.

After fiddling with the Canglan Sword, Liou Yuan immediately began meditating on the green stone bed without delay.

Logically speaking, he is not far from reaching the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer and should be in seclusion to break through to the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer.

But back when Liou Zhen left the Spirit Ascension Platform, he mentioned that he would come to see Liou Yuan.

So, he had to postpone his seclusion and continue his regular cultivation, avoiding complete isolation.

With the initiation of the Five Mansions Facing the Stars Breathing Skill.

Whoosh! In the cave residence, a storm suddenly arose.

The two Five-Star Star Acupoints within Liou Yuan’s body began to swallow the spiritual energy in the cave residence like whales.

The Spirit Gathering Array had accumulated spiritual energy for over three months, previously so dense that the furnishings inside the cave residence were obscured.

But in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, it visibly thinned.

All the spiritual energy converged on the green stone bed where Liou Yuan sat, forming a vortex of spiritual energy centered on his body.

His speed in absorbing spiritual power increased at least threefold compared to before he entered the Erosion Land.

Streams of spiritual energy were refined into threads of spiritual power, flowing into Liou Yuan’s internal organs.

This terrifying cultivation speed made even the closed-eyed Liou Yuan show a hint of emotion on his face.

"The overlapping of two Five-Star Star Acupoints, my cultivation speed is more than three times my previous pace."

Before, when he cultivated inside the cave residence, it took fifteen days to condense a thread of spiritual power.

With this cultivation speed, Liou Yuan felt he could condense one in five days.

He now has seventy-six threads of spiritual power, just four threads short of the eighty threads needed for the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer.

"Twenty days!" Liou Yuan roughly estimated his time to break through to the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer, and he couldn’t help but marvel at his cultivation speed again.

A night passed.

After cultivating all night, Liou Yuan felt invigorated.

Due to the endless dark days in the Erosion Land for three months, his somewhat weary spirit was completely revitalized.

Bam!

The stone door opened, and Liou Yuan stretched lazily toward the outside of the cave residence.

When he entered the Erosion Land, it was the beginning of autumn; after three months, it was already the Winter Solstice outside.

The outside air was starting to get cold, and the ancient trees next to his cave residence had only a few withered yellow leaves left, sparsely hanging from the branches.

A thin layer of frost covered the stones exposed on the ground, sparkling with tiny glimmers in the faint sunlight.

"It’s winter. After this winter passes, it will be my fourth year in this world." Liou Yuan quietly calculated how long he had been in this world, his eyes showing a hint of sentiment.

Suddenly, Liou Yuan’s eyes flicked toward the path in front of the cave residence.

A short youth, looking about fifteen or sixteen years old, was treading briskly along the frost-covered path toward Liou Yuan’s cave residence.

Liou Yuan had already sensed the youth’s spiritual power fluctuations early on, indicating he was only at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer.

Moreover, he lacked the outer sect disciple’s waist token, which meant he was likely a miscellaneous disciple.

Upon seeing Liou Yuan appear at the entrance of the cave dwelling, the miscellaneous disciple’s eyes lit up instantly, and before he reached the entrance, he shouted loudly, "Is that Senior Brother Liou Yuan?"

"I’m Zhang Quan, a miscellaneous disciple from Fei Niao Tower, and I have a letter for you."

"A letter for me?" Liou Yuan raised his eyebrow.

There were only three possibilities for someone to correspond with him.

One is his mother, Bai Xin; another is his informant planted at Qiwen Mountain; and the third is Gong Linqing.

After handing over a spirit crystal as a messenger fee, Liou Yuan returned to his cave dwelling with the letter, glancing at the sender’s signature; it was from Gong Linqing.

"Could it be news about the Evil Corpse?" Before entering the Erosion Land, Liou Yuan had written to Gong Linqing, asking him to keep an eye on the Corpse’s information and report back if there were any developments.

He immediately unfolded the letter and began to read it carefully.

Gong Linqing first responded to Liou Yuan’s previous explanation about attending the outer sect training, which delayed his return to the outer sect.

He mentioned that such training matters must not be taken lightly and that he had been waiting for the training to conclude before writing back to avoid disturbing Liou Yuan.

Then Gong Linqing shared some recent intelligence about the Evil Corpse.

Half a year ago, Linxiao Sect used a mystical artifact to pinpoint the location of the hidden corpse, which was within a certain forbidden land in Jiuli State.

One of the three major sects, Linxiao Sect dispatched five Foundation Establishment cultivators alongside several others from other sects in Jiuli State to keep vigil outside the forbidden land day and night.

Due to the fear of the dangers within the forbidden land, none of the Foundation Establishments dared to enter.

The name of that forbidden land was Spirit Erosion and Decay Abyss.

"Spirit Erosion and Decay Abyss." Liou Yuan murmured the name of the forbidden land with a frown.

He naturally knew about Jiuli State’s Spirit Erosion and Decay Abyss.

He had read about that place more than once in the outer sect’s library.

One book described the Spirit Erosion and Decay Abyss as:

Whoever enters this domain, regardless of being a living creature or common folk, their bodies gradually decay, with no cure even when sought diligently. Cultivators are no exception. Moreover, spiritual power within the abyss dwindles with each passing day, ultimately dissipating altogether. Even Golden Core realm powerhouses dare not enter lightly, showing its extreme peril.

The Evil Corpse, originally not a living thing, entering the Spirit Erosion and Decay Abyss was akin to a fish in water, wasn’t it?

Liou Yuan continued reading.

Gong Linqing stated that two months ago, the Evil Corpse suddenly emerged from the Spirit Erosion and Decay Abyss, faced attacks from more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators, and eventually retreated back into the abyss.

Currently, only three Foundation Establishments remain outside the abyss, keeping watch day and night, while those led by Linxiao Sect have returned to their respective sects.

"Spirit Erosion and Decay Abyss, no wonder the sects in Jiuli State are helpless against it." Liou Yuan felt quite frustrated by the news.

Being called a forbidden land obviously meant Foundation Establishment cultivators dared not rush in. Even Golden Core powerhouses had to be cautious.

Liou Yuan had read so many books, yet none could explain the origin of the Spirit Erosion and Decay Abyss.

Its birth predates even the arrival of the Star Evil.

"Damn it, what is the origin of this Evil Corpse? It knows to hide in the Spirit Erosion and Decay Abyss, causing even Linxiao Sect from the three major sects to be helpless."

Liou Yuan cursed, then put the letter away.

The Evil Corpse knew about the Spirit Erosion and Decay Abyss, suggesting it did not originate from the intelligence of Han Zhenzi’s remains.

It could well be a Demon Cultivator once lost in the art of corpse refining, whose physical body decayed, and life’s span waned, leading him to separate his divine sense and turn Han Zhenzi’s body into the Evil Corpse.

Unable to pursue the immortal path, he turned to the ghost path to at least preserve his divine sense from annihilation.

This kind of situation was not uncommon over the past few hundred years.

If so, Liou Yuan’s chance to claim the reward on the Evil Corpse would be slim.

"No rush, as long as that guy possesses human consciousness, he won’t stay in the Spirit Erosion and Decay Abyss forever."

"Having been confined in the Corpse Nurturing Land for hundreds of years and now trapped in the abyss, he surely can’t resist coming out."

Liou Yuan mumbled to himself with some consoling words.

Then he picked up a pen to write a letter back to Gong Linqing, instructing him to continue monitoring the Evil Corpse’s information.

Liou Yuan handed the letter to the waiting miscellaneous disciple outside his cave dwelling and rewarded him with a spirit crystal.

Miscellaneous disciples earn their living through hardships, and although a spirit crystal seemed plenty, the reality in his hand suggested maybe just a tenth actually reached him.

So, Liou Yuan gave him an extra spirit crystal as a side bonus.

The miscellaneous disciple thanked him with tears of gratitude and hurriedly returned to Fei Niao Tower.

"The reward for the Evil Corpse is tough to get, might as well see how the Star Evil is going at Qiwen Mountain."

"It’s been over a year, why hasn’t that old man Jin Yingjie sent me a letter yet?"

"Could it be that Jin Dynasty isn’t planning to act against the Star Evil? Or has Jin Yingjie passed away?"

Liou Yuan mumbled.

The life of a loose cultivator wasn’t all that precious, so there was even the possibility he had died in some remote area.

Just as Liou Yuan was about to close the cave dwelling’s door.

Whoosh! A chilly breeze swept through from outside the cave dwelling.

A handsome youth silhouette, appearing in the gentle breeze, entered Liou Yuan’s cave dwelling.

The youth stood tall, like a robust pine in the snow, with eyes shimmering like stars as he looked at Liou Yuan.

Liou Yuan was momentarily surprised, but upon recognizing the youth’s features, a smile spread across his face.

"Big Brother!"