Of course, Ling Xiao raised his sword intent to the eighth level of minor accomplishment, and for this he consumed a full ten sword intent wandering souls.
There was still some distance to go before fully cultivating minor accomplishment sword intent to its peak.
He calculated that he would need at least twenty more sword intent wandering souls to successfully break through next.
Because of the sword intent improvement, he was getting closer and closer to the source point.
The couple and the bald man, seeing this scene, were so shocked that their mouths hung open.
They were also here, and Ling Xiao was here too.
They had no time to cultivate because they were busy fighting for sword intent wandering souls.
Yet Ling Xiao was clearly growing stronger.
His whole person seemed to have turned into a sharp blade, completely unafraid even as the yin wind swept over him.
“It looks like there’s no chance now. He’s so close that any more sword intent wandering souls will be snatched by him. Let’s wait a bit longer and see. If it really doesn’t work, we’ll start cultivating.”
The old man said to the old woman.
“Agreed.”
They also had to improve their strength, otherwise they would be at an increasing disadvantage in this competition.
Another hour passed, and more and more sword intent wandering souls flew out.
It was probably because Ling Xiao was approaching the sword intent source point that the sword intent wandering souls became furious.
A full forty or fifty sword intent wandering souls rushed towards him.
If it had been the previous Ling Xiao, he would probably have had to temporarily avoid the edge.
But this time, he directly grabbed thirty of the sword intent wandering souls.
Twenty slipped away.
Five were snatched by the couple, three by the bald man.
The rest fell into the hands of the other hundreds of warriors.
Shangguan Hong also obtained two.
“Almost done.”
Ling Xiao could feel that after this wave of frantic eruption, there were no more sword intent wandering souls inside. What remained was only the terrifying sword intent erupting from the sword intent source point.
“Time to cultivate first.”
He sat cross-legged, intending to break through his sword intent to the great accomplishment realm in one go.
Thirty sword intent wandering souls were more than enough.
This time, a full three hours passed.
Not a single sword intent wandering soul flew out again.
The couple began cultivating, knowing the sword intent wandering souls were probably gone.
The bald man also chose to cultivate.
But at that moment, Ling Xiao’s eyes slightly opened.
In that instant, an incomparably terrifying sword intent shot out from his eyes, piercing through the pitch-black night and seeing through everything at the source point.
There lay a delicate girl.
Beside the girl stood a black ghostly soul quietly.
In the ghostly soul’s hand was a sword, with overwhelming sword intent erupting from it.
“That is not a ghostly soul, it is the girl’s martial soul!”
What Ling Xiao saw through with his Tai Chi eyes was naturally the truth.
Things others could not see through, he could.
What exactly martial souls are has never had a precise answer all this time.
But Ling Xiao knew that many martial souls actually have life, especially humanoid martial souls and beast martial souls, where this was particularly obvious.
Seeing the tenderness this martial soul showed towards the girl, Ling Xiao knew that the martial soul was actually protecting the girl.
It was just that a martial soul was still a martial soul. Although it had some autonomy, it could not make complex judgements.
It did not know that Shangguan Hong wanted to rescue the girl.
It could not judge whether those who came were friends or foes.
So whoever tried to take the girl away, it would attack them.
Perhaps because too much time had passed and the martial soul had been separated from the girl’s body for too long, it was on the verge of collapsing.
That was why the ghostly villa had ended up in such a strange state.
“This martial soul is not simple. Shangguan Hong’s junior sister might have even better aptitude than him.”
Ling Xiao smacked his lips, then slowly stood up.
Sword intent soared to the sky!
Great accomplishment sword intent first level successfully cultivated!
Not only that, because of the sword intent breakthrough, it drove Ling Xiao’s cultivation to rise. His cultivation had now reached the peak of the third Dongtian Realm.
He could break through almost at any moment.
What was needed might just be one battle!
Anyway, Ling Xiao knew that battles helped his cultivation breakthroughs tremendously.
Of course, apart from cultivation, the biggest benefit Ling Xiao gained was that his Soul Judgement obtained a brand new ability.
Burning Heaven!
Divine Tomb!
Immortal Pot!
Sacred King!
And this time it was Sword Spirit!
This seemed to be a change produced by the sword intent improvement.
The Sword Spirit ability could instantly convert all of Ling Xiao’s sword intent into the most terrifying killing power and release it.
It could cause serious damage to both body and soul.
Among Ling Xiao’s Soul Judgement abilities, Burning Heaven and Sword Spirit were both attack techniques.
One clearly had a larger range, while the other focused on killing power and was more helpful in one-on-one fights.
Finally, Ling Xiao reached the sword intent source point.
He had originally thought he would have to go through a hard battle to rescue Shangguan Hong’s sister.
But the process turned out to be unexpectedly easy.
He tried communicating with the martial soul, and surprisingly succeeded.
With the powerful assistance of his Mountain and River Martial Soul, he actually used his soul power to have a complete conversation with that martial soul.
“Block one sword from me, and I will believe you!”
The martial soul said coldly.
Although it basically believed Ling Xiao’s words, it seemed not to trust that Ling Xiao had the ability to protect the girl.
“Come on then.”
Ling Xiao stood there, beckoning with his hand.
The martial soul suddenly transformed into a slender red long sword, then stabbed towards Ling Xiao with a sharp sound of tearing air.
The entire ghostly villa’s sword intent converged into one point, bringing huge pressure to Ling Xiao.
However, Ling Xiao remained unmoved.
His pitch-black pupils turned into Tai Chi eyes blending black and white.
“Sword Spirit Eye!”
As the words slowly came from his mouth.
The Tai Chi eyes rotated fiercely.
Then, an aura terrifying to the extreme shot out from Ling Xiao’s eyes.
This was a strike that condensed all his sword intent! It contained his terrifying soul power!
Boom!
A huge sound exploded in the ghostly villa, and everyone cultivating outside stood up.
“What the hell?”
“What is that kid doing inside?”
“Has he gone mad?”
But at this moment, Shangguan Hong was extremely nervous. He knew Ling Xiao had reached the place where his junior sister was trapped.
And this earth-shaking sound was probably caused by Ling Xiao to save his junior sister.
“It has to succeed!”
Shangguan Hong prayed in his heart.
At the sword intent source point.
The martial soul had disappeared.
Ling Xiao looked somewhat dishevelled.
“What on earth is this girl’s martial soul? How can it be so powerful? Could it be one of the Twelve Human Immortals?”
Ling Xiao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He had blocked the martial soul’s attack.
But the other side had clearly held back.
According to his estimation, this girl’s martial soul was probably stronger than a seventh Dongtian Realm warrior.
Moreover, this was still limited by the girl’s cultivation restricting the martial soul’s power. Otherwise, it might have been even stronger.
Anyway, no matter what, the task Shangguan Hong entrusted him with was completed.
He even advanced his cultivation from the third Dongtian Realm to the fourth Dongtian Realm thanks to the martial soul’s deliberate help.
This could be considered a blessing in disguise.
