The next day, at noon, Zong Shou sat on the soft couch inside the carriage, swaying gently with the movement of the vehicle.

He was completely dazed, lost in thought. It took some time before he finally sighed, his expression etched with profound bitterness.

“What am I to do? This debt of gratitude I owe to that founding ancestor of the Lingyun Sect is becoming heavier and heavier—”

Ever since learning that the twelve Heavenly Talisman Seeds, once nurtured to a certain degree, could help him draw the Twelve Heavenly Talismans, Zong Shou realized the depth of the Lingyun Ancestor’s gift far exceeded his imagination.

The eighteen wisps of the Shocking Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword Intent alone were already a tremendous boon; with the addition of these Heavenly Talismans, the benefits were beyond measure.

Yesterday had been exhausting, and he hadn't dwelled on it. It was only after sleeping soundly for a full day and night, and upon waking to begin his routine of Qi refinement and meditation, that the distress truly began to set in.

In his previous life, he was one of the seven Sovereigns of the Cloud Realm. His martial arts prowess could stand equal with the peak masters of the Cloud Realm’s sects and the Ten Great Sacred Lands.

But that was the past life, and a virtual illusion at that.

For this current body, both the Shocking Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword Intent and the Heavenly Talismans needed to be cherished immensely.

What troubled Zong Shou most was how he could possibly move against the Lingyun Sect in the future, having received these gifts today?

He could have magnanimously let go of the grudges from his past virtual life, the coercion in reality, and even the incident that nearly shattered his meridians, choosing not to pursue them.

Only the Lingyun Sect’s Scripture Vault and the Ancestor Hall were simply too alluring.

“Forget it! With my current cultivation, I cannot possibly draw out this Sword Intent or these Talismans immediately. If opportunity arises later, I can find a way to repay this favor. Speaking of which, if I can’t survive my own impending mortal tribulation, what point is there in talking about the future? Am I merely worrying over trivialities?”

Thinking this way, Zong Shou felt a sense of peace and resumed his interrupted cultivation practice.

The path of Qi refinement and meditation relies on focus. The moment Zong Shou entered stillness, all thoughts vanished.

Filaments of True Essence were forcefully drawn out from the Beast Crystal held in his hand, guided into his Sea of Qi. Then, clusters of True Qi were forcefully gathered, condensing like a long spear, piercing towards the yet-unconnected sections of the Meridians of Breath, recklessly excavating the blockages!

However, unlike before, this spear of True Qi now carried all eighteen spiritual seeds of the Sword Intent!

The already powerful surge of energy possessed a sharpness and fierceness it lacked previously. It swept through the Meridians of Breath, shattering every unrefined Aperture in a near-overwhelming fashion.

Inside the Sea of Qi, bursts of cracking sounds erupted, like rolling thunder. His entire body’s vitality surged, causing his pale skin to flush entirely crimson.

Zong Shou remained unmoved. After a soft shout, he took a deep, sudden breath. Immediately, air currents churned within the carriage, forming a miniature vortex that funneled all the surrounding air and spiritual energy into his mouth and nose. His lungs acted like bottomless pits, faintly emitting sounds of wind and thunder.

With a forceful exhale, another resounding sound echoed as the inhaled air, now infused with potent Qi, was expelled.

In just one inhalation and one exhalation, both Meridians of Fetal Breathing—all their Apertures—were completely opened, resembling two turning wheels surrounding his Sea of Qi and navel.

“After the Meridians of Breath, it must be the Marrow Meridians!”

Without hesitation, Zong Shou commanded the residual True Essence within the rotating Meridians to surge directly into the Marrow Meridians.

The entire Marrow Meridian formed an irregular ‘wheel’ encircling his body, possessing twenty-four Apertures, just like the other wheel-like meridians.

Zong Shou pressed his advantage, breaking through two of these Apertures in succession. Before his True Essence could be depleted, he forcibly stopped.

Aided by the Shocking Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword Intent today, the damage inflicted upon his wheel-like meridians from the forced excavation was far less than he anticipated. Opening one or two more Apertures would have been permissible.

However, both Qi refinement and meditation required moderation. His progress through the Meridians of Fetal Breathing had been too rapid; having opened them completely in just three months left no time for accumulation.

That set of Fetal Breathing Spiritual Fists had only reached minor accomplishment; it hadn't yet truly reinforced his Fetal Breathing Meridians to the state where the Fetus was like bedrock and Qi erupted like a spring.

How could one build a tower reaching the heavens without a solid foundation?

Dispersing all his True Qi, allowing it to circulate naturally within his meridians, Zong Shou noticed the sky remained heavily overcast. Since the Soul Mirroring Technique was unusable, he abandoned meditation altogether. Instead, he retrieved a Willow Leaf Flying Dagger, gripping it in his palm, his eyes showing a subtle gravity.

The Six Spirits Blade Control Art was the purest martial cultivation secret art. It involved integrating the essence, momentum, intent, spirit, soul, and divine will of martial cultivation, step by step, into the flying blade in hand—this was the method of the Six Spirits Blade Control!

Perhaps it wasn't as convenient as the Spirit Cultivators' artifact control techniques, which could take a head from thousands of miles away when executed at their peak.

But once the blade was launched, its agility surpassed that of artifact control arts. And the sheer might and explosive power were incomparable to those Spirit Artifacts or Magic Treasures.

In his past life, Zong Shou was the purest of martial cultivators. After obtaining the Six Spirits Blade Control Art, he naturally practiced it as written, finding no fault with it.

However, in this life, having been forced into dual cultivation of spirit and martial arts, Zong Shou could not suppress the urge to integrate his soul power into this secret art.

Yet, in these short three months, there had been no results. The only outcome was that the five flying blades concealed in his sleeves had developed a tighter connection with his spiritual sense.

Nevertheless, the trials of these past months had unintentionally opened a small backdoor today that could enhance the power of these flying blades—

He pondered repeatedly until the dim sky outside the carriage window completely darkened. A sharp glint finally appeared in Zong Shou’s eyes.

“This method should work. But the measure of control is truly difficult to grasp—”

No longer delaying, Zong Shou once again sensed the spiritual seeds of the Sword Intent within his body. He casually selected one and wrapped strands of his mental power around it. The other end of these mental threads was the Willow Leaf Talisman Blade in his hand.

He was, shockingly, using a method of ‘imprinting’—transforming his intent into a similar form of ‘Sword Intent’ and pouring it into the Talisman Blade.

This was a spiritual master’s technique Zong Shou knew from his past life, called the ‘Talisman Imprinting Art.’ It was originally a Daoist secret, mastered only by a select few top Talisman Masters, though it later spread widely. It was essential knowledge for those studying talismans, often achieving the form but not the essence, yet still possessing profound mystery.

Now, Zong Shou had slightly modified it to become his method for ‘imprinting’ Sword Intent.

However, only Zong Shou, relying on the vast martial experience accumulated in his previous life, could successfully ‘copy’ and simulate the Shocking Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword Intent using his soul (mental power/will).

As time passed, large beads of sweat began to form on Zong Shou’s forehead, and the aura emanating from the Talisman Blade in his hand gradually changed. Cold light flowed, and the blade’s edge appeared even sharper, as if something was trying to burst forth from within the blade itself.

In mere moments, the entire Willow Leaf Talisman Blade exploded into dust. Dozens of specks of white light scattered in all directions, incredibly sharp. Silently, they embedded themselves into the carriage walls, penetrating deep into the steel plating without leaving any trace.

Even though Zong Shou retreated his right hand extremely quickly, he still sustained dozens of shallow cuts from the flying blade fragments.

Zong Shou paid no heed, nor did he feel regret, merely frowning slightly.

“It was forged from fine steel and blood copper, yet it couldn’t withstand it. Is this Sword Intent too powerful? What I managed to imprint was clearly just the most superficial layer. As expected of the Shocking Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword, capable of extinguishing immortals and gods—”

Flipping his hand, he took out another Willow Leaf Talisman Blade and again used the Talisman Imprinting Art to imprint the Shocking Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword Intent.

This time, however, it was also reduced to dust after only a brief moment.

He repeated this process. It was only after the fourth attempt that the color returned to Zong Shou’s face. A single Willow Leaf Talisman Blade lay quietly in his palm.

The blade was still blue, laced with blood-colored veins. But upon closer inspection, one could perceive faint wisps of cloud patterns swimming within the body of the blade.

PS: First time three updates in one day, asking for everyone’s support to encourage this initial foray. Uh, I noticed besides recommendations and collections, there is also a Sanjiang Recommendation Vote; please help me push that when you can. Deeply grateful!