Ning Fa carefully examined the Sword Soul Pearl before him, but found nothing unusual.
After a moment's thought, he meticulously scanned the area again. Confirming there were no other discoveries, he departed.
"Thank you for your trouble, Fellow Daoist. I have indeed gained quite a bit here," Ning Fa called out to Ni Yan, who was waiting outside, before gracefully leaving.
Ni Yan cast a curious glance back at the Sword Valley, then cast a spell to reseal the area.
Not long after, Ning Fa returned to his Cave Mansion.
The Sword Soul Pearl floated quietly before him, shimmering with a faint sword light.
Ning Fa couldn't help but ponder, hesitating whether or not to trace its origin.
After all, the cost was not insignificant.
He only had a small amount of Fourth-Tier Origin Points on him, and he had no idea if there were other ways to obtain them.
Did he have to kill cultivators of the Spirit Transformation Stage from the Sea Race or Demon Race?
If that were the case, then these Fourth-Tier Origin Points would be even more precious.
Ning Fa deliberated for a long time before finally resolving to trace the Sword Soul Pearl back to its origin.
He didn't know what other uses Fourth-Tier Origin Points might have, and he urgently needed to increase his strength.
With that thought, Ning Fa let out a soft sigh. With a slight shift of his mind, he summoned the Source-Crossing Heavenly Book.
As the surface of the book flashed with intense white light, a ball of white radiance floated out, enveloping the Sword Soul Pearl.
Ning Fa watched intently.
At the same time, the Fourth-Tier Origin Points of the Source-Crossing Heavenly Book dropped to zero, and only one hundred and fifty Third-Tier Origin Points remained.
After about three breaths, the white light dissipated, and the Sword Soul Pearl reappeared. Other than being slightly smaller, it looked no different.
"The Sword Soul Pearl has now become the Sword Origin Pearl?"
Ning Fa was somewhat confused.
After thinking for a moment, he simply sent a wisp of his Spiritual Sense into the pearl.
After a slight dizziness, Ning Fa found himself in another place.
He was high in the sky, surrounded by heavy snow, and in the far distance, a small island floated in the air.
Simultaneously, a rope bound him around the waist, its other end disappearing into the void.
Ning Fa was very familiar with this scene. It was the space of the original Sword Soul Pearl, used to temper Sword Intent.
He had to comprehend the first layer of Sword Intent, "Condensing Sword into Intent," to break the rope that now restrained him.
Ning Fa had already attempted it dozens of times. Although he had made considerable progress, he was always just short of the final breakthrough.
However, Ning Fa's expression was now quite grim.
If the Sword Soul Pearl had truly been traced back and become the Sword Origin Pearl, why did this space show no changes at all?
Just then, a flash of black light appeared not far from him. A cultivator in black robes appeared, his face indistinct. This was the Sword Puppet of this place.
The Sword Puppet looked at Ning Fa with a calm expression.
Ning Fa's heart stirred. He sensed that this Sword Puppet was different from the ones he had seen before.
Although its face was still blurry, its eyes were much more lively, lacking the previous mechanical feel.
The next moment, something even more astonishing happened to Ning Fa.
As his gaze fell upon the Sword Puppet, his Spiritual Sense suddenly blurred.
When he regained clarity, he found that the Sword Puppet was no longer there.
Ning Fa also felt a loss of control over his own body.
Ning Fa was surprised to find that his current body was actually condensed from countless sword qi.
Ning Fa instantly understood—his consciousness had merged into that Sword Puppet.
Immediately, the Sword Puppet moved.
A sharp sword momentum emanated from its body. Then, it formed a sword with its fingers and slashed fiercely.
A white, misty light sword flashed with a dazzling sword light, and the rope around his waist was cleanly severed.
Then, the Sword Puppet vanished, and Ning Fa's slightly ethereal figure reappeared in the space, the white rope still wrapped around his waist.
Ning Fa's eyes were tightly closed, and his hands were unconsciously forming sword gestures. A mysterious sword momentum rose around him, growing stronger and stronger.
After a while, Ning Fa's eyes snapped open, his gaze sharp as a sword.
He looked at the rope around his waist. A similarly white, misty light sword appeared and effortlessly severed the rope.
Ning Fa looked at his hands, his eyes filled with wonder.
He had mastered the first layer of Sword Intent, "Condensing Sword into Intent"!
The reason for this was precisely the anomaly that had occurred earlier.
His consciousness merged with the Sword Puppet. At that moment, it was as if he had become the Sword Puppet itself. When the Sword Puppet unleashed its Sword Intent, it felt as if he were doing it himself.
This allowed him to directly experience the process of condensing Sword Intent, something that was previously only understood but not expressible.
It was like a person who had lost their memory for many years suddenly regaining it and then re-familiarizing themselves with the skills they once possessed.
In his practice within this space, Ning Fa had already made some progress in condensing Sword Intent, but he had encountered a bottleneck.
After this immersive experience, it was as if a thin veil had been lifted, allowing him to successfully grasp the first layer of Sword Intent.
Ning Fa couldn't help but feel a sense of astonishment.
After all, when he had observed the Sword Puppet displaying Sword Intent before, he could only see its actions, not grasp its essence. Now, however, he had directly obtained its divine essence.
This also allowed Ning Fa to understand the meaning of the Sword Origin Pearl.
The "Origin" actually meant the source. To allow cultivators to comprehend Sword Intent through such means was simply unimaginable.
No wonder the Sword Origin Pearl required Fourth-Tier Origin Points for tracing its origins; it was truly an incredibly potent spiritual item.
Although Ning Fa had only comprehended the first layer of Sword Intent, it had already significantly boosted his strength. At the very least, if he were to fight Yougu now, he should be able to defeat him.
And this was just the beginning. He could continue to comprehend Sword Intent through the Sword Origin Pearl.
This immersive method naturally allowed him to comprehend Sword Intent at a much faster pace.
With this thought, Ning Fa deeply felt that the previous tracing back to the source had been very worthwhile.
Next, Ning Fa did not immediately exit the space within the Sword Origin Pearl. Instead, he looked at the heavy snow falling in front of him.
He wanted to test what the next trial would be.
As he took a step forward, the surrounding heavy snow seemed to be drawn to him, surging towards him and directly merging into his body, disappearing without a trace.
The next moment, Ning Fa felt numerous small white swords, about an inch in size, appear in his Sea of Consciousness. They exuded a sharp Sword Intent and slashed towards his Sea of Consciousness.
After a moment of sharp pain, Ning Fa opened his eyes again.
He had already exited the space within the Sword Origin Pearl and returned to the quiet room of his Cave Mansion.
At this moment, Ning Fa's face was pale, and there was a hint of lingering fear in his eyes.
The scene just now was terrifying. He hadn't expected the heavy snow to transform into numerous flying swords and directly attack his Divine Soul. Moreover, within the Sword Origin Pearl's space, his Moon God Heart was unusable.
At this moment, Ning Fa had a realization.
The first realm of the Sword Dao, "Condensing Sword into Intent," centered on using intent to condense the sword.
Not only must one have a sword in hand, but also a sword in the heart. Before the sword edge moves, the sword energy is already condensed, tempering the sword energy with intent, giving form to the intangible killing intent.
He had already comprehended this realm.
The second realm of the Sword Dao, "Sword Soul First Cry," centered on elevating Sword Intent and nurturing a spiritual embryo within Sword Intent, which is the nascent form of a Sword Soul.
This process required using the Divine Soul as a furnace and Sword Intent as fuel. Once cultivated, the Sword Intent could automatically protect the user and possess the power of Divine Soul Attacks. It also helped cultivators temper their Divine Souls and eliminate Inner Demons.
Therefore, the sword lights that attacked the Divine Soul like heavy snow were precisely to help him comprehend this second layer of Sword Intent.
It was just a pity that the Sword Puppet would not appear again for another ten days. Ning Fa eagerly anticipated how he would display this second layer of Sword Intent the next time he merged with the Sword Puppet.
Following this, Ning Fa remained in his Cave Mansion and did not go out.
During these days, disciples from the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion came to deliver some Heavenly Flames treasured by the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion.
Although they were not of the grade Ning Fa required, they were still quite rare, and there were as many as seven types, which would be of considerable help.
Crucially, Ning Fa had finally gathered all the spiritual materials needed to refine the High-Grade Burning Origin Pill.
He began to personally open the furnace for pill refining. With his current pill refining realm, he could almost guarantee at least a Failed Pill, which would then allow him to use the Source-Crossing Heavenly Book for tracing back to the source.
However, tracing back to the source for the High-Grade Burning Origin Pill also consumed Third-Tier Origin Points, though fortunately not many. He could still afford it at the moment.
As the tenth day approached, when Ning Fa could once again borrow the Sword Puppet to comprehend Sword Intent, Sang Wen came to find him.
"Fellow Daoist Ning, the fire pool containing the Earth Core Fire Attraction has been prepared."
Sang Wen said with a calm and serene expression.
Ning Fa, however, looked at her with a hint of surprise.
Sang Wen was no longer disguised as a man. She had changed into a cloud-white palace dress, her figure graceful, her beautiful hair cascading to her waist, her skin like ice and bones like jade, her eyes like cold stars. She looked like a celestial being from a painting, causing Ning Fa to feel a surge of astonishment.
He wondered why Sang Wen suddenly appeared in women's clothing. However, given Sang Wen's inexplicable cold attitude towards him before, Ning Fa didn't ask further. He simply nodded and flew off with her towards a certain location.
Before long, the two arrived at a valley emitting flames. Through an underground entrance, after descending several hundred feet, they reached a hall engulfed in roaring flames.
In the center of the hall was a lava pool, about a mile long and wide. Additionally, a crimson spiritual light barrier surrounded it, seemingly containing its fiery power.
Even so, an astonishingly high temperature radiated from it, causing the air to distort and blur.
Ning Fa's eyes lit up upon seeing this. The fiery power in this fire pool, even if not as potent as the Pure Yang True Fire he required, was definitely not far off.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Sang. I will enter first."
Ning Fa said to Sang Wen. A layer of purplish-red lightning flashed around him – the Supreme Fire Divine Thunder – and he then flew towards the fire pool, plunging into it.
The fire pool immediately began to boil, and streams of crimson light surged towards Ning Fa.
Sang Wen watched from her original spot quietly. After a long while, she sighed and walked step by step towards the fire pool.
At the same time, her clothes began to fall off. Before long, a flawless body also lightly flew into the fire pool.
Ning Fa suddenly opened his eyes, looking at Sang Wen, who was not far in front of him, with a stunned expression.
"Fellow Daoist Sang, what is the meaning of this?"