The Xuan Heavy Sword before him had once failed to be refined into a mid-grade treasure weapon, but the materials used were substantial.
The key was that the sword had enough "weight" and could amplify attack strength.
Moreover, Chen Yu had also trained in a swordsmanship skill.
"I'll choose this one."
Chen Yu picked up the token in his hand and swiped it on the counter where the Xuan Heavy Sword was located.
Buzz!
A layer of crimson array light suddenly lit up in front of the counter, flashed, and then disappeared.
At the same time, the token in Chen Yu's hand emitted a burst of burnt smoke.
Chen Yu's face showed happiness as he reached out and took the Xuan Heavy Sword from the counter.
As soon as he held the sword, Chen Yu's arm sank slightly, giving him a sense of weight and solidity.
He estimated that this sword weighed at least 1,500 pounds.
Generally, at the Body Refining Stage, one might not even be able to hold this sword with one hand and would be lucky to pry up a corner.
At the Late-stage Meridian Passage, one might barely manage to swing it.
At the Organ Refining Stage, swinging it would make it difficult to maneuver.
Even Chen Yu felt the sword was somewhat heavy, but it shouldn't affect his combat effectiveness.
"When my Copper Statue Technique reaches Copper Sinews Mastery or the Copper Bone level, I should be able to fully utilize this sword."
Chen Yu thought to himself.
"Huh! Is this the Xuan Heavy Sword?"
At the door, an elderly man with a flowered beard showed a look of astonishment.
Seeing Chen Yu holding the sword with ease surprised him greatly. From what he knew, even a Postnatal Qi Transformation expert had tried this sword, but due to its impact on flexibility, had to give it up.
After obtaining the treasure weapon Xuan Heavy Sword, Chen Yu returned to his dwelling and began to familiarize himself with it.
Previously, he had casually practiced the intermediate martial art Wind-cutting Sword, which he seldom practiced but had reached the Small Success Realm.
Chen Yu practiced with the Xuan Heavy Sword in the yard for several hours.
However, this sword was ultimately somewhat cumbersome and did not match the Wind-cutting Sword's extreme pursuit of speed.
Thump! Thump!
Chen Yu tried to stimulate his heart, and his strength and speed increased severalfold.
Wind-cutting Sword!
The Xuan Heavy Sword in his hand turned into a blur of silver sword shadows, and only the rush of wind was left in his ears, with invisible gusts of sword wind slicing a leaf in front of him into nearly equal four parts.
And this was without infusing internal energy.
Slash!
Chen Yu infused his internal energy, "Yun Sha," and the Xuan Heavy Sword in his hand gathered a dense silver-black sheen.
At that moment.
He felt the heavy sword in his hand become even heavier, seeming like a maddened bull ready to charge out of its cage.
Boom—
A heavy silver-black sword arc, with an awe-inspiring sound, carved a shallow trench half a foot deep and several feet long in the rock layer of the ground, with sparks and stone chips flying.
"What a powerful force!"
Chen Yu couldn't help but be amazed. The inner sect's station where he was based had a layer of hard rock soil, and ordinary weapons could hardly carve it open.
After testing the Xuan Heavy Sword,
The next day, Chen Yu got up and headed straight for the Heavenly Martial Pavilion.
After the Outer Sect Grand Competition, Chen Yu had exchanged thirty thousand contribution points at the Sect Affairs Hall.
In addition, he had previously earned 4,500 and 2,000 contribution points from killing the Bandit King and the Blood-Handed Bald, respectively (and exchanged for cultivation technique manuals), which were quite sufficient.
Even considering consumption, he still had over thirty-six thousand contribution points left!
He went straight to the second floor.
Chen Yu selected a high-level sword skill, Iron Gang Sword, which cost him five thousand contribution points.
The Iron Gang Sword, unlike the Wind-cutting Sword, emphasized stability, weight, and momentum. Once trained to a small success, it could form a sword net into gang qi, using momentum to overwhelm opponents and protect oneself with sword gang qi, adept in both offense and defense.
If this martial skill was mastered, the spinning sword gang could have group attack capabilities.
"Very suitable for the Xuan Heavy Sword."
Chen Yu was quite satisfied with this high-level martial skill.
On the second floor, he continued to search for a while.
"I didn't see the Copper Statue Technique."
Chen Yu hadn't forgotten the main purpose of this trip.
He found a middle-aged steward at the Heavenly Martial Pavilion to inquire about the lower volume of the Copper Statue Technique.
"Oh, you're Elder Mao's disciple?"
The middle-aged steward wore a courteous expression, asking Chen Yu to wait a moment.
A while later,
The middle-aged steward retrieved a wooden box from an unknown corner, taking out the lower volume of the Copper Statue Technique.
Chen Yu looked, realizing it was indeed the lower volume of the Copper Statue Technique.
"How many contribution points?" Chen Yu asked.
The middle-aged steward smiled, "For this obsolete body cultivation technique, it's practically useless for the current era. Just give a few thousand contribution points casually."
Obsolete and useless?
Chen Yu showed a strange expression, lamenting the decline of body cultivation.
Of course, regardless of how much it has fallen, the Copper Statue Technique's level was not low. The middle-aged steward's mention of a "casual few thousand contribution points" was thanks to Elder Mao's reputation.
Under normal procedures, asking for ten to twenty thousand wouldn't be strange.
"Alright."
Chen Yu deducted four thousand contribution points and exchanged for the lower volume of the Copper Statue Technique.
In this way,
He exchanged the Copper Statue Technique and the Iron Gang Sword at the Heavenly Martial Pavilion, using only nine thousand contribution points in total.
Chen Yu calculated, finding he still had over twenty-seven thousand contribution points left, and over a thousand inferior essence stones.
This was Chen Yu's current worth.
...
Back at his dwelling,
Chen Yu first perused the lower volume of the Copper Statue Technique.
"In the lower volume of the Copper Statue Technique, after entering with the Copper Statue, one can form a 'Copper Statue Body,' divided into the Copper Statue Gang Body and True Copper Statue levels..."
Chen Yu read briefly.
The Copper Statue Technique's lower volume was still quite a distance away for him.
According to the description, entering with the Copper Statue should refer to: Copper Skin, Copper Sinews, and Copper Bone.
Above these, there was the true Copper Statue Body, divided into the Gang Body and True Form levels. Chen Yu speculated this might correspond to Postnatal Qi Transformation and Innate levels.
[Copper Statue Gang Body]: A powerful Copper Statue body, adding an invisible Copper Statue force field to the body, akin to a layer of gang qi armor, capable of withstanding treasure weapons, rampaging through thousands of troops, shattering various attacks, and even countering opponents' strikes.
Withstand treasure weapons?
Chen Yu took a sharp breath. Once this Gang Body was achieved, one could potentially rampage and crush obstacles, like an armored and spiked war dragon.
Above this was the [True Copper Statue], whose description was even more mystical!
[True Copper Statue]: By honing oneself with great willpower, one's spirit merges with the Copper Statue, comprehending the true essence of the Copper Statue, achieving a 'living copper statue.' Once the true form is attained, it is impervious to water, fire, and poison, possesses immense strength, and can cause ghosts and gods to retreat. This realm may provide secret techniques to enlarge one's physique, granting certain great powers, resistant to many divine and ghostly powers.
This True Form level's abilities and phenomena surpassed what Chen Yu had seen or heard.
"It seems the first volume is the introduction, while the second volume is the main course."
Chen Yu put away the manual.
Now with the Copper Statue Technique fully assembled, he felt a sense of relief.
In the following days,
Chen Yu immersed himself in practicing the high-level sword martial skill, Iron Gang Sword, in the courtyard.
Previously, his casual practice of the Wind-cutting Sword had a light and agile style; in contrast, the Iron Gang Sword emphasized weight, momentum, and stability.
During his practice, Chen Yu compared the two, understanding the essence within the swordsmanship.
His body seemed to have an innate ability to perfectly integrate all external movements quickly.
First, he achieved perfect integration with the form, then he could grasp the intent more quickly.
Gradually,
Chen Yu, during practice, first achieved perfect integration with the moves, then gradually forgot about the moves, with his body's mysterious ability attuning to the true intent of the swordsmanship.
In the courtyard,
The boy's swordsmanship was sometimes as light and agile as the wind, other times as steady and solid as a mountain.
Five days later,
Chen Yu's Iron Gang Sword reached Small Success.
Buzz, swish!
The Xuan Heavy Sword in his hand flickered, swirling a deep silver shadow of sword gang wind, further condensing into a brilliant silver sword gang.
Sword gang initially formed!
"Could I be a swordsmanship genius?"
Chen Yu was quite surprised.
This time's practice with the Iron Gang Sword, a high-level martial skill, progressed even faster than the Wind-cutting Sword.
Moreover, the Wind-cutting Sword had now broken through to Great Success!
Actually, after the mysterious heart fusion, Chen Yu's body had been continuously transforming and growing, with a powerful instinct surpassing that of a wild beast.
He could easily and perfectly integrate the swordsmanship's "form," then use his body's instincts to pursue the true intent within the swordsmanship.
Another minor reason, the Iron Gang Sword's emphasis on weight, momentum, and balance matched well with Chen Yu's powerful physique and the Copper Statue Technique.
Of course,
Chen Yu merely "dual-trained" these two sword martial skills. The Iron Gang Sword, being a high-level martial skill, contained its own inner breath methods and could serve as a primary practice. However, the developed inner breath, surely couldn't match the Yun Sha inner breath.
Chen Yu only practiced the sword martial techniques to comprehend their true intent and occasionally applied some matching inner breath utilization skills.
On this day,
Chen Yu ceased his practice and headed to the Sect Affairs Hall.
"All other materials, we have gathered the quantities you need, except for the Red-Horned Fierce Bull marrow."
A steward produced some materials.
In fact,
A few days prior, Chen Yu had deposited some contribution points and primordial stones at the Sect Affairs Hall, purchasing rare materials for Body Refining prescriptions under the guise of tasks.
This was the privilege of becoming an Inner Sect Disciple, allowing task releases at the Sect Affairs Hall.
Now, all other materials were assembled, only the main ingredient, the Red-Horned Fierce Bull marrow, was missing.
"All in all, three hundred contribution points and one hundred eighty subpar primordial stones."
The steward handed the materials to Chen Yu.
Chen Yu walked out of the Sect Affairs Hall, letting out a sigh, "Still lacking the Red-Horned Fierce Bull marrow."
Previously,
The Red-Horned Fierce Bull marrow he had obtained from Tong Yuling's family had been exhausted after achieving Copper Muscle Minor Achievement with the Copper Statue Technique.
An hour later,
Chen Yu found Tong Yuling, who was also in the Inner Sect.
"Red-Horned Fierce Bull marrow? My family has run out of it recently too."
Tong Yuling shook her head.
Chen Yu frowned; without the Body Refining elixir, his Copper Statue Technique practice was slowing down.
"However, I do know the whereabouts of the Red-Horned Fierce Bull."
Tong Yuling hesitated to say.
"Oh?"
Chen Yu's eyes lit up. If he could find the carrier for the Red-Horned Fierce Bull marrow, securing that main ingredient would be easier in the future.
"Only, this fierce bull is extremely frenzied and dangerous. My family once paid a great price, sending out two from the Organ Refining Stage and six or seven from the Late-stage Meridian Passage, to barely slay one, suffering great losses. One from the Organ Refining Stage was severely injured and hasn't recovered even now..."
Tong Yuling warned.
"I understand."
Chen Yu didn't give up.
Now, having obtained the treasure weapon Xuan Heavy Sword and initial accomplishments in swordsmanship, it was a good time to go out and hone himself.
"How about this, I happen to need the essence blood of the Red-Horned Fierce Bull; we can collaborate to slay this bull."
Tong Yuling smiled.
She had noticed the long package on Chen Yu's back.
"Alright."
Chen Yu felt joyous; Tong Yuling, having now advanced to the Organ Refining Stage, was a great help.
The next day,
After preparing, Chen Yu and Tong Yuling left Yunyue Sect on horseback.
They had barely left when,
Two figures in straw hats emerged from the surrounding woods, appearing to be young men.
"They even have a female companion at the Organ Refining Stage?"
One of the straw-hatted youths remarked in surprise.
"What are you afraid of? Just a girl who just advanced to the Organ Refining Stage. When they're getting all lovey-dovey, we'll strike, ha ha..."
The other youth seemed utterly unrestrained.