Ringing the Bell for a Hundred Years, I Became the Sect’s Ancestor – Chapter 44

Chapter 44: A Flash of Inspiration

Summer turned to autumn, winter passed, and spring arrived.

More than two years had passed since Li Qian’s sword intent breakthrough.

Life on the mountain was very peaceful.

As he didn’t need to do inner sect missions, he hadn’t left the Divine Sword Sect for more than two years.

Every day, he diligently practiced bell-ringing cultivation.

However, the Divine Sword Sect was not peaceful.

In recent years, the Moon Worship Cult rebellion had swept across various provinces of the Great Chang, and although the imperial court tried its best to suppress and quell the rebellion, it intensified.

The number of inner sect missions in the Divine Sword Sect also increased dramatically, mostly related to suppression missions.

This also led to a significant increase in the risk of missions.

Many inner sect disciples were injured or killed as a result.

Therefore, the Divine Sword Sect had to increase the mission rewards.

Afternoon.

Chen Yong came to the mountain.

Half a year ago, Chen Yong had successfully achieved first place on the Combat Power Rankings for three consecutive years and smoothly obtained the qualification of an inner sect disciple.

Although he was only an ordinary formal disciple, to the odd-job disciples, it was no different from a carp leaping over the dragon gate.

Cultivation resources that odd-job disciples could only dream of.

And genuine internal skill manuals.

“Brother Qian, there’s a rumor circulating in the inner sect that the Mission Hall is preparing to issue missions, and the mandatory inner sect mission has been temporarily increased from once a year to twice a year.”

Chen Yong said.

Every time he came up the mountain, he would bring Li Qian some news from the inner sect.

“Is the situation that serious?”

Li Qian’s face showed a look of surprise, and then he said, “Then you must cultivate diligently. In another half a year, you will also participate in inner sect missions.”

“Don’t worry, Brother Qian, I will cultivate diligently. However, I’ve encountered some trouble while cultivating internal skills.”

Chen Yong nodded and said.

In fact, he was somewhat looking forward to participating in inner sect missions. As long as he completed them, he could earn contribution points.

Without contribution points, relying solely on the cultivation resources provided by the inner sect, it was difficult to meet his cultivation needs.

He came from a poor background, and his family couldn’t provide him with any cultivation resources. He had to rely on himself to obtain everything.

“Tell me, what’s the problem?”

Li Qian knew that Chen Yong’s visit to the mountain was definitely for cultivation matters.

As an ordinary formal disciple who had been promoted from an odd-job disciple, he was at the bottom of the inner sect. He didn’t even have the qualifications to become a registered disciple of an elder or peak master, let alone have a master.

Therefore, Chen Yong usually needed to spend contribution points to ask for guidance on cultivation matters.

Without a strong background or sufficiently high root bone talent, cultivation was indeed difficult.

Chen Yong quickly explained his problem.

Li Qian answered them one by one.

Anyway, he stayed on the mountain every day, and besides cultivation, he had plenty of free time.

Not long after Chen Yong left, his master, Zhou Buping, strolled up the mountain with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Master, is the situation outside very bad?”

Li Qian couldn’t help but ask.

He was mainly worried that the chaotic situation would affect the Divine Sword Sect. Only when the Divine Sword Sect was stable could he feel at ease practicing bell-ringing cultivation at the Time Bell Pavilion.

“Whether the situation is good or bad is relative. For ordinary people, the chaos outside is naturally terrible, but for our Divine Sword Sect, a major martial arts sect, the impact is limited.”

Zhou Buping said with a smile.

As a major martial arts sect renowned throughout the three provinces and twelve counties, the Divine Sword Sect had a profound foundation. Even if the dynasty were to fall and chaos engulfed the land, they could still protect themselves.

Moreover, the current situation was far from reaching the point of dynastic collapse and widespread chaos.

“Therefore, just focus on your cultivation and strive to master the Immaculate Sword Body as soon as possible.”

Zhou Buping added.

“Yes, Master.”

Li Qian nodded.

Zhou Buping waved his hand and walked towards his wooden house.

After his master left, Li Qian summoned the system interface to check the latest information.

Host: Li Qian.

Cultivation Level: Postnatal Ninth Level 99/100.

Sacrificial Instrument: Time Bell, Law Instrument 2314/10000.

Martial Arts: Sword-Piercing Fist （Perfection）, Heartless Sword Manual （Perfection）, Immaculate Sword Body （Major Completion 99/100）.

Martial Intent: Heartless Sword Intent （Illusory Image 19/100）.

Secret Techniques: Myriad Transforming Sword Qi, Blood Burning Technique.

In fact, his Immaculate Sword Body had already reached 99% of Major Completion eight months ago.

He was just short of this last bit, unable to break through to Perfection.

◈◈◈

Unfortunately, he had no experience to draw upon, and Zhou Buping couldn’t teach him anything.

After all, no one in the entire Divine Sword Sect possessed the Flawless Vajra Method.

He could only rely on his own exploration.

“Perhaps my blood and qi strength is still insufficient.”

Li Qian thought to himself.

In reality, the strength and abundance of his physical body’s blood and qi had reached a terrifying level.

Even Innate martial artists who specialized in body refinement might not be as strong as him.

“If I could enter the Sword Grinding Cave again and observe the murals, maybe I could figure out the reason.”

Li Qian returned to his room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and recalled the murals he had seen in the Sword Grinding Cave.

With his astonishing memory, even though several years had passed, he could still remember them clearly.

However, remembering the murals and seeing them in person were two different things.

“Using perfected Postnatal Internal Qi to nourish the physical body.”

After reminiscing, he pondered the content of the Immaculate Sword Body cultivation method.

“Essence, Qi, and Spirit are the essence of the physical body. Qi can be transformed, and it can nourish the spirit. Internal Qi nourishing the physical body is equivalent to replenishing essence with Qi. So, should I also replenish essence with spirit?”

Li Qian’s thoughts raced, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him. “Could it be that my sword intent has improved too quickly, causing the Illusory Image level sword intent to affect the perfection of the Immaculate Sword Body?”

At the same time, his attention fell upon the sword shadow in his mind.

This sword intent itself was also condensed from a large amount of spiritual essence.

No matter what.

He felt it was necessary to give it a try.

Over the past six months, he had analyzed every aspect, except for sword intent.

But he wasn’t in a hurry.

It was still daytime.

It wasn’t convenient to try at the moment.

It wasn’t until nightfall, after the gongs and drums had sounded, that Li Qian stood atop the bell tower, with the Time Bell beside him.

Moonlight cascaded like water.

It bathed Li Qian in a hazy glow.

The cool air, carried by the night breeze, was very comfortable.

Li Qian closed his eyes and connected with the sword shadow in his mind.

As the sound of a bell echoed in his mind, the sword shadow vibrated and descended, merging with the Internal Qi in his Qi Sea Dantian.

Immediately, he assumed a stance and began practicing the Immaculate Sword Body.

Boom!

Li Qian felt a tremor throughout his body. As the retrograde Internal Qi dissipated, the sword shadow representing his Heartless Sword Intent seemed to be affected as well, starting to crumble and dissolve.

An astonishing transformation occurred.

His physical body, nourished by both Internal Qi and Sword Intent, seemed to break through a certain limit in an instant.

Buzz!

A strange power emerged within his body, as if replacing his blood and qi. It coursed through every inch of his muscles, organs, tissues, and even cells.

A true transformation.

Not only internally, but even the hair and skin on his body began to wither and shed, quickly replaced by new skin and hair.

After a long time, this transformation finally completed.

At this moment, Li Qian only felt one thing.

Freedom.

It was as if his physical body had broken free from some kind of shackles, experiencing true liberation and freedom.

He slowly opened his eyes, which shone like stars. He raised his hand and examined it carefully.

His skin had become much fairer.

It was delicate and smooth, as if it had a faint jade-like luster.

Whoosh!

With a movement, he arrived in front of a bronze mirror.

The young man’s facial features in the mirror hadn’t changed much.

But his aura was divine.

Li Qian finally understood what true otherworldly elegance meant.

“I didn’t expect that the Immaculate Sword Body would ultimately require the integration of one’s own sword intent.”

Li Qian was filled with emotion.

No wonder it was called a sword body.

Without sword intent nourishment, how could it be a sword body?

He had indeed missed something when he comprehended that mural in the Sword Grinding Cave.

If it weren’t for his sudden inspiration, the perfection of the Immaculate Sword Body would have been delayed for who knows how long.