Chapter 501: Sword of Time, Swift and Neat
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
“The Tree Progenitor will always stand guard beside the blood pool. Given my current martial cultivation, I am not a match for him.”
“Since it is so, I will practice first and raise my strength. It will not be too long before my Spiritual Power increases to 42nd level.”
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged at the bottom of the blood pool. A layer of space pushed the blood water away and formed a sphere.
Placing the Yin Yang Wooden Graph on the ground, he stretched out his hands and slowly unrolled the picture.
The world in the picture was expansive and wide, the mountains were extraordinary, the rivers surged, and every flower and blade of grass seemed to contain boundless spirituality.
Particularly the Sacred Prime Tree. It was lifelike. Each brush stroke was grand and majestic, and it gave one a sense of the transformations of the world.
Zhang Ruochen stretched out a palm and pressed it against the scroll. He injected his Genuine Qi into it.
SWISH!
Gradually, a portion of the inscriptions began to activate and give off a brilliant light.
It was so bright it hurt his eyes. It was like a light sword had flown up and pierced his eyes.
Zhang Ruochen could only close his eyes against his will for the time being.
When he opened his eyes again, he found that the scenery before him had changed completely.
He was now standing below a steep black mountain. Compared to the mountain, he was as insignificant as a speck of dust.
No, it was not a mountain.
It was the giant trunk of an ancient tree.
It was so thick. At first glance, it appeared like a mountain, completely blocking one’s gaze.
Zhang Ruochen looked up.
He could not tell how tall the ancient tree was. Its branches passed through a layer of cloud and only a few thick branches and giant leaves could be seen through the clouds.
A single leaf was like a giant green boat floating in the sky. If it fell, it could probably cover a small mountain entirely.
This entire world was overflowing with Spiritual Qi.
“Could this be the legendary Sacred Prime Tree?” He wondered.
Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He felt his eyelids become heavier and heavier as his body became soft. Sitting under the tree, half his body was leaning against the tree as he slipped into a deep sleep.
In his dream, Zhang Ruochen heard an old voice call out, “Heaven and Earth become one to create millions of lives. Yin and Yang meet to create the four seasons. The sun and moon across to create the Cycle of the Universe.”
“Who is talking?”
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes with great difficulty and his sight gradually cleared to see an elder not far away. He was performing a sword technique.
As he did so, he chanted.
Zhang Ruochen couldn’t see the elder’s true body.
The elder’s body was like an illusory image. Sometimes it coalesced and sometimes it dissipated, even his voice was intermittent. It made it very difficult to hear what he was saying.
After an entire day of observation, Zhang Ruochen found that the elder’s bodily movements and sword technique had reached an extraordinary level. It was like he was using the sword to tell some incredible truth between heaven and earth.
That truth was related to “time”, so it had to be about the origin of time.
A moment, an hour, a quarter-hour, a day, a month, a season, a year, a cycle of sixty years, a Yuanhui.
It was like the origin of space: Infinity created the Tai Chi, Tai Chi created the Yin and Yang, Yin and Yang created the Four Images, and the Four Images created the Eight Trigrams.
The origin of time also came from nothing: a moment created two hours, two hours created half a day, and half a day created 365 circulations. Afterward, it created the 12 months, the four seasons, the rapid passing of time, a cycle of sixty years, and a Yuanhui.
Time was divided into nine scales: a moment, a quarter-hour, an hour, a day, a month, a season, a year, a cycle of sixty years, and a Yuanhui.
At this moment, the sword technique the elder was demonstrating seemed to be the process of the birth of time. Every move and every pose was full of mystery, it gave one an expansive and profound feeling.
“If you want to practice the Sword of Time, you must first catch the Time Mark. A mark is just a moment.”
As the elder chanted, he walked through his paces and swung his sword.
However, his sword did not have a shadow, rather, it was a streak of light and it moved at a terrifying speed.
“The first movement of the Sword of Time, Swift and Neat.”
“The second movement of the Sword of Time, Eight Changes of Scale.”
…
“The fourth movement of the Sword of Time, Cycle of the Universe.”
…
“The sixth movement of the Sword of Time, Alternate Seasons.”
“The seventh movement of the Sword of time, Light of Fleeting Time.”
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes wide but only saw the first movement of the Sword of Time. He could still see remnants of the seemingly traceless sword technique.
However, the following sword techniques became unpredictable and contained boundless rules of heavenly way. Zhang Ruochen watched until his head was about to explode but he still could not understand it.
The rest of the sword techniques were too profound. If Zhang Ruochen forced himself to try and study it, his Spiritual Power would probably break.
When all was said and done, it was because Zhang Ruochen’s Spiritual Power was too weak.
Since it was so, he would first practice the first movement of the Sword of Time, Swift and Neat.
Zhang Ruochen wanted to summon the Abyss Ancient Sword but found that his hands came up empty. Never mind the Abyss Ancient Sword, he didn’t even have his Storage Ring.
Since he had no sword, he used his hand as a sword.
His index and middle finger closed together, and he straightened out his arm. Following the movements of the elder, he stepped through the paces and executed the sword technique.
After practicing for nine days, Zhang Ruochen lost count of the number of times he had demonstrated and practiced the sword technique before perfecting the elder’s paces and sword movement.
Zhang Ruochen felt his sword technique had improved greatly but he still had not captured the quintessence of Swift and Neat, he had only learned the superficial sword movements.
When he struck out with his sword, there were still traces of his movements. He had not reached the traceless realm.
“Given my current sword technique realm, I’ve probably already reached the Intermediate Stage of Heart Integrated into Sword. Yet I am unable to learn this sword technique?”
He stopped. He felt distressed and confused.
At this moment, the elder’s voice rang out again, “If you want to practice the Sword of Time, you must first capture the Time Mark. A mark is just a moment.”
“A mark is just a moment.”
Zhang Ruochen muttered this to himself. Suddenly, his eyes lit up like he had understood something.
According to the The Mystery of Time and Space , space had an Inscription of Space and time had a Time Mark.
Lines of Inscriptions of Space could be piled together to form an independent space world.
A number of Time Marks could gather together to form a long river of time.
“I understand! The first movement of the Sword of Time, Swift and Neat, is referring to the ‘moment’ of understanding the different divisions of time.”
“What is a moment? A Time Mark, that is a moment.”
“Only by capturing a Time Mark and incorporating it into the sword technique can Swift and Neat be truly demonstrated.”
Where was the Time Seal?
The Time Mark was everywhere. What was important was whether or not one could control the Time Mark and use it themselves.
Zhang Ruochen stopped and closed his eyes. He began to recall the explanation of the Time Mark in The Mystery of Time and Space .
…
If someone, at this moment, dove to the bottom of the blood pool they would see Zhang Ruochen sitting cross-legged inside a round Qi shield with his eyes closed. One of his hands was resting on the wooden graph while the other was holding a sword skill and gesturing.
He’s brows tightened and then relaxed again, over and over.
Just as he was comprehending the sword technique, a Martial Soul shot out from above his head and hovered in the blood water.
The Martial Soul appeared very divine, like God’s shadow. It even managed to absorb the Sacrifice Power in the blood pool.
This was the False God Body Zhang Ruochen had mastered a long time ago.
The False God Body allowed a Martial Soul to become a False God, absorb the power of sacrifice and change it to its own cultivation.
However, at this time, all of Zhang Ruochen’s energy was focused on comprehending the sword technique. He did not know his Martial Soul had felt the power of sacrifice and had flown out of his body on its own to absorb the power.
The Sacrifice Power entered the Martial Soul then transferred into his body and became a large amount of Genuine Qi. It circulated rapidly through his Meridians.
BOOM!
Zhang Ruochen’s Martial Arts realm increased quickly. It broke through the realm and suddenly entered the Completion of the Heaven Realm.