Others wielded nothing more than cold Magical Artifacts, or perhaps magical treasures.
But what he would one day wield were his junior brothers and sisters, capable of infinite growth!
Once he mastered the *Myriad Swords Return to One* and the junior brothers and sisters practicing the *Sword Refining Skill* achieved mastery, every one of them would become a living sword—able to automatically seek out enemies and even coordinate their attacks!
Even if he were ambushed, they could immediately provide support!
What's more, they would grow stronger as they cultivated, improving their quality as flying swords. He would even be spared the trouble of ever needing to replace his magical treasures!
How incredibly satisfying!
KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE!!!!
...
"Junior Sister, just imagine it. In a future sect war, an ordinary Sword Cultivator would be at their limit controlling a hundred or even a thousand swords. But what about when a Sword Cultivator from our Guixi Sect makes a move?"
"Then! What answers the call of our sect's Sword Cultivators will not be those lifeless things! It will be the hundreds, even thousands, of fellow disciples who have cultivated the *Sword Refining Skill* and share a telepathic link with us!"
"They are the very swords of our Guixi Sect! Each 'human sword' will possess its own mind, capable of finding openings, striking in concert, and even... sacrificing themselves by self-destructing!"
"This torrent of the Sword Dao, a flood of blades with thousands of minds as one, their very bodies forming an Array... Who could possibly stop it? What sect could possibly oppose it?"
"This is the heaven-defying path that we, mere mortals, have carved out by banding together for survival in desperate straits! This is the true future of our Guixi Sect!"
"And I truly believe... that this is the most suitable path for you!"
Su Ling'er stared blankly at Lin Qingfeng's sincere face.
'Wait a minute... let me get this straight.'
'He's talking about... human swords? Not a person controlling a sword, but using a person *as* a sword?!'
'Isn't... isn't this the *Myriad Swords Return to One* you read about in storybooks?'
'No, that's not right! In the stories, *swords* return to one. You guys are making *people* return to one!'
'This isn't *Myriad Swords Return to One*, this is clearly *Myriad People Go to Their Graves*!'
'So how do you use them in a fight?'
'Do you have to shout, "Go, Mr. Li!" and then Mr. Li just goes WHOOSH and flies out?'
'And where's the hilt? Do you grab them by the hair or by the ankle?'
'What if they need to use the outhouse midway through flying? Do they just hold it in, or... relieve themselves on the spot?!'
'If not, then does that mean you use some demonic art to erase your fellow disciples' free will, turning them into killing tools that only obey orders?!'
'No... they might not even be as good as tools!'
'You can still fix a broken tool, but these people... they're part of the self-destructing contingent?!'
'So, is this the true face of the *Sword Refining Skill*?!'
'It's not just a cruel, demonic Body Refining technique, but a demonic art for cultivating... living magical treasures and suicide soldiers!'
'And the best candidates for this art are the expendables—those with mediocre talent, whose deaths would be of no consequence!'
Su Ling'er instantly understood everything.
He had repeatedly emphasized her poor aptitude, using a cruel truth to tell her: *You are not qualified to walk the normal path of cultivation! You have neither the time nor the talent to hone your skills slowly!*
With her level of talent, by the time she cultivated conventionally to the peak of the Qi Refining stage, she'd likely be old and faded, with one foot in the grave.
He praised this demonic art so highly because it was specifically designed for mediocre people like her!
This was a dead end!
But for them, perhaps it was also a path of 'survival'? Because without this technique, those with mediocre talent could only live a life of insignificance.
This was reality. The cruel reality that all disciples with mediocre talent had to face!
'Break their spirit with horrifying sights, then wrap the core message in gentle reasoning, and finally lead them to face this reality...'
'He's trying to personally shatter my last shred of fantasy, forcing me to realize I have no other choice!'
'And I'm supposed to just gratefully lie down on that Forging Platform and become a part of their demonic art?!'
'Or... become a sword?!'
If she became a treasured sword, she could at least be wielded by someone; at least she'd still be 'alive'.
But what about those who were used as flesh-and-blood essence, becoming sacrifices melted into a medicinal soup?
Although she still couldn't recall the face of the disciple who had been sacrificed to the sword—she just remembered him as being utterly unremarkable, though she couldn't say in what way.
But the mere image of flesh and blood dissolving was enough to send a chill down one's spine.
And she still couldn't understand why that person would willingly become a sacrifice, turning into flesh-and-blood essence to nourish someone else.
'Could it be... that disciple's entire family was threatened by this demonic sect, and he had to sacrifice himself to save them?'
'It really is a demonic sect of the evil path!'
Although Su Ling'er was having a frantic brainstorm, she still managed to reply with difficulty:
"S-Senior Brother, this Great Dao is too profound. Ling'er... needs to contemplate it a bit more."
"The Great Dao has three thousand paths, each with its own destiny. Perhaps Ling'er's understanding is not yet sufficient. I feel we shouldn't be too hasty, otherwise it could easily breed a Heart Demon, which would be... less than ideal."
Lin Qingfeng sighed.
'Looks like just watching isn't enough. The forging process from before, at least from an outsider's perspective, must have seemed like it was a hair's breadth from death. It left too deep of a psychological scar on her.'
'Since this girl is so afraid of death, I'll take her to see how our sect yanks people back from the brink of it!'
"Junior Sister has a point. The heart of the Dao is indeed the foundation of cultivation. In that case, let's not talk about cultivation."
"I'll take you somewhere else, Junior Sister, to witness another side of our Guixi Sect's foundation."
"Let's go. We'll go have a look at the Hundred Herbs Valley."
"There, you will understand why the disciples of our sect dare, time and time again... to face death and be reborn from its ashes!"
...
Su Ling'er followed Lin Qingfeng, step by step, along the stone-paved mountain path.
'The Elixir Furnace Pavilion was a hell where the living were used for Alchemy; the Artifact Refining Pavilion was a furnace where the living were used for Artifact Refining.'
'Each name sounded perfectly normal, but behind each one hid an abyss she could not possibly imagine.'
'This "Hundred Herbs Valley"... its name carried a sense of life, the fresh scent of grass and trees.'
'But in a demon's den like this, the more beautiful the name, the more shocking the rotten scene behind it was likely to be...'
...
「An incense stick's time later.」
As she passed through a valley entrance shrouded in clouds and mist, her steps still faltered involuntarily.
Before her was an extremely vast valley.
A light mist of Spiritual Qi flowed through the valley. In the distance, a mountain stream gurgled, and a waterfall cascaded like a bolt of white silk. The scents of all sorts of Spirit Plants, both familiar and unknown, wafted on the gentle breeze.
'This... this really does look like a paradise, a blessed land of immortals.'
But Su Ling'er's heart only leaped higher into her throat.
'Anything this unusual must be hiding something monstrous!'
"Junior Sister, look over there."
Su Ling'er looked in the direction her Senior Brother was pointing.
In the distance, she saw several medicinal fields shrouded by an Array. The Spiritual Qi there was clearly several times denser than elsewhere. The soil even seemed to gleam, and several stalks of Spirit Medicine were growing robustly within.
At that moment, two groups of disciples were surrounding the best medicinal field, arguing until they were red in the face.
"On what grounds does this 'Spirit Vein Node' belong to you?! You were the one who planted here last month!"
"On the grounds that I spent more Spirit Stones than you! If you've got the guts, why don't you save up two months' worth of Spirit Stones and spend them all at once!"
As they spoke, the two sides started shoving each other. Spiritual Power clashed and Magic flew.
The surrounding disciples were already used to such sights. Some even stopped to watch the fight with great interest.
Lin Qingfeng watched the scene with a smile on his face:
"Junior Sister, do you see? The struggle for the Great Dao is everywhere. Even a tiny medicinal field is a battlefield."
"The Spirit Grass planted at that Spirit Vein Node has medicinal effects twenty percent more potent than that from ordinary soil."
"You want it? Then spend more Spirit Stones than anyone else. Or, go fight for it, snatch it, take it by force!"
"Our Guixi Sect never coddles its disciples like flowers in a greenhouse. The resources are right there, laid out fairly before everyone."
"The powerful possess it, the able obtain it. That is the most basic, fundamental truth in heaven and earth."
'I'll let Junior Sister see the consequences of not cultivating the *Sword Refining Skill*. With her aptitude, she can only end up as one of the weak, destined to be plundered!'
'She needs to contemplate this deeply!'
'I, her Senior Brother... am truly going to great lengths for her own good!'