"I suppose that's to be expected. You've only just discovered the different forces of your body after reaching the third stage of the Earth Realm. From what Zhi Qing told us, you haven't really fully adjusted to your cultivation."
That was true. She had only learned about Quintessence Force from Shen Zhong and found out about everything else from her time with Grand Researcher Ou and Zhi Qing.
"Well, it shouldn't matter too much now. You probably have a decent grasp at it all. Anyways, you should return to the Wildwood Pavilion. Cheng Wei is probably done."
Ming Yue went for the doors and bowed to the two seniors before exiting.
"What was actually wrong?"
Mei Zhen looked to Zhang Quang, who sighed and looked at the wind gems.
"It seems that the blade won't just accept anything normal. Even if I were to force a gem onto it, it would ultimately lead to the destruction of both."
"Hmmm, the methods of the Forgelord is very ancient. I suppose that finding something appropriate would be difficult. But what do you think about her?"
"Hard to say but from that move, she has certainly gone through an experience."
"Hm, that is true. I wonder how long she is going to stay here."
"A few months if I remember, I guess you better get to work and find something that works. Else, she leaves with an unfinished sword."
"Of course! It's going to tarnish my reputation if I can't do something as simple as this."
"Simple, huh."
Outside of Zhang Guang's Treasured Gem Hall, Ming Yue went back to the WIldwood Pavilion as the two pets of hers followed along. Returning to the lower floors, She saw Cheng Wei finishing up on the Eternal Heart Ring.
He had a small rod in his hand, rubbing at the surface of the ring before blowing any dust away.
"There... it's finished."
Cheng Wei studied it, looking at the ring from every angle to find any imperfections. He looked satisfied, smiling at the piece.
"Ming Yue! You've returned at the right time. Try it and tell me how it feels."
He handed it to her and watched as she put it on the ring.
Ming Yue felt the familiar energy of the Evergreen Heart flow into her body, a cool but refreshing feeling filled her. The ring itself had easily slipped into her index finger. It was a thin but sturdy wood band with those green specks of light.
"It's amazing."
"Heh, this is probably one of the best pieces I've made. Still, this ring barely fits the price for what you have given me."
"Please, senior, this is more than enough. I cannot accept anymore of your gratitude or I would feel guilty."
Ming Yue seemed a bit flustered for once, the Eternal Heart Ring was more than enough. Not to mention, this wasn't even the reason she came to the Dark Water Kingdom for. All of this was pure luck and coincidence was what she thought.
Cheng Wei gave a short smile as he looked at her.
"Quite the humble one, aren't you? I won't pressure you then but if you return to the shop, come find me."
Ming Yue said her farewell, promising to come back and left returned to her quarters.
There was a lot on her mind but most importantly, she had to address the new capabilities of her sword.
"Soul Energy, Heart Energy, and Mental Force..."
She stared at Drifting Sky, standing still as Hei Yue and Xiao Yin looked at her curiously. Neither really knew what their master was doing but nonetheless, they went into the courtyard and began playing together. Though it seemed more like they were sparring with each other. There were puffs of black smoke and little cuts on the ground as they circled each other and attacked.
Meanwhile, Ming Yue still continued to stare at her sword, scrutinizing it to find what had changed. Even though, Mei Zhen had told her what was done to the blade, she did not believe that there were no physical changes.
"What are you looking for?"
Xue Yue's voice popped in, sounding somewhat irritated.
"If you're going to do it then do it."
Ming Yue sighed and gave up on trying to find anything. Instead, she urged the Heart Energy into her blade first. It hummed with power and with a few swings she found that the sword's weight had changed, becoming heavier. She walked outside and found a stone on the floor. Attacking it with her blade, the small stone cracked at the point where the blade attacked and crumbled.
Heart Energy was one's physical prowess, the main source of power for Body Cultivators. It seems that the vigorous attributes of this energy had transferred onto the blade, leading to less of a sharpness and more brute strength.
If she were to attack someone, it would feel less like cutting them and more like smashing into their innards, a rather brutal way of attacking.
"How interesting. So the sword has such capabilities now", said Xue Yue.
Ming Yue was also taken aback by these things but she still had one more thing to try.
"But the more important thing is what it would be with Soul Energy."
Ming Yue replied and rescinded her Heart Energy, bringing on her Soul Energy and empowering her blade with it. When she was trying to comprehend what the next stage of the Sword Sage Path was, she had tried a multitude of things. Trying to shape her soul into a sword led to nothing as it was too light to compress. Though, it never crossed her mind that her soul energy could be sent into the blade.
Drifitng Sky slowly became transparant, losing its physical capabilites. But, she felt strange feeling coming from it, some sort of unease.
"The sharpness of one's soul..."
She fueled the blade with more Soul Energy, compressing it into the bounds of her blade. Slowly but surely, it took shape, filling every part of her sword with soul energy. Attacking with it led to a strange sensation, she stabbed into the ground and found that it did not pierce it but the soil had loosened, becoming a crumbly texture.
"Strange", she thought.
"Using the sword as the mold..."
Certainly, this was what she had one but what was the next step?
Ming Yue thought back to the manual, remembering that it must be within one's body for them to have reached the next stage.
"What if I seperate it?"
Without missing a beat, she placed both hands onto the sword and pulled them apart. Suddenly, Drifting Sky was in one hand while the other had another Drifting Sky, only this one was made entirely of Soul Energy.
She continued to put more and more of her Soul Energy into the latter until she barely had any left.
Ming Yue felt lethargic from doing this, her knees were about to crumple as she became dizzy.
However the Soul Energy that formed her sword was finished, the blade was glowing in a silvery color. If she wanted to put it back into her body without dispersing it, there was only one way it could be done. The manual described it as merging the sword with the body. In other words, one must strike themselves with the physical manifestion of their soul.
Knowing that and feeling the exhaustion rising, she stabbed the soul blade into her body and fell asleep.