"What great timing!
"Let the storm pour! Bring it on!"
With a look of utter determination on his face, Xu Xiaoshou stood on the smooth surface of the cultivation platform, his hands shielding his head.
His body was covered in bloody gashes. But he remained unmoved. Real men never backed down.
This was already his dozenth attempt. He'd realized that not only did the crushing weight of the waterfall serve as a great way to train his physical body, but every slash from a sword energy also served to bring him a little closer to his next cultivation level. He wasn't going to let such a fine opportunity at cultivation slip through his fingers.
As for the Passive Points that he was accumulating every 1.35 seconds… well, it didn't hurt, but he definitely wasn't doing this for a few miserable Passive Points.
[Passive Points: 6666]
Clang.
As he reached the verge of collapse, a tiny bathtub popped out of his chest and violently shook, the force of its vibrations sending him flying from the relentless waterfall.
Xu Xiaoshou swiftly shoved the bathtub back into the ring hanging from his neck.
This was the backup plan he'd come up with to save himself, as he couldn't count on the slippery surface of the cultivation platform to slide him back into the pond. That wasn't a bet he was willing to take!
He floated like a dead fish on the surface of the black pond. After a long while, his injuries finally healed, and he got back on his feet again.
"Well, look at all those Passive Points… Isn't the difficulty level of this training exercise a little overboard?"
He reached into his energy reserve and found that the crushing weight of the black waterfall and the relentless onslaught of sword energies weren't hindering his passive training at all.
His spiritual source sat like a thick heavyweight inside his energy reserve. If it wasn't for him having to expend spiritual energy on his training under the black waterfall, he had a feeling that he would have reached the final stage of Spiritual Cultivation Level Ten by now.
"The [Breathing Technique] is simply incredible. All you need is an environment with rich spiritual energy. This is like a hack!"
Xu Xiaoshou was speechless. He was reaching near invincibility because of a single [Fundamental Passive Skill], and he still had another [8 Passive Skills]…
His arsenal of [Passive Skills] was beginning to reveal its true capabilities!
He believed that his increasing strength would only serve to further develop the potential of these [Passive Skills] instead of weakening them.
After all, [Passive Skills] were typically skills whose strengths were fully revealed in the later stages.
Xu Xiaoshou's eyes fell on the black waterfall again. He wasn't in a hurry to get back under the waterfall. Instead, he pulled out the jade scroll containing [10 Sections of the Finger Sword] and went through its contents again.
Elder Sang had said that the Black Cliff was the perfect place to practice [10 Sections of the Finger Sword]. He hadn't realized why then, but he knew now.
Somehow, the white sword energies that descended from the Heavens could cleave through his foundational roots. In addition, if he examined them closely, he could catch a glimpse of fleeting profound wisdom hidden in them before said wisdom faded away.
It might be only a glimpse, but he'd already had countless glimpses flash past him.
This was definitely an excellent place to practice one's [Sword Will] and swordsmanship, and it explained all the numerous names on that stele: they were all the names of swordsmen.
Xu Xiaoshou wasn't going to waste any time on the First Step of [10 Sections of the Finger Sword], as he knew that his Innate Level Physique met the requirements. What he needed to do was understand what "[the Sword Will was to materialize and take possession]" meant.
According to the jade scroll, should one's [True Sword Will] materialize and assume visible shape, its form wouldn't resemble the plain blade-like appearance of the sword energy. Instead, it would look indistinct and almost indiscernible. It would be there and yet not there.
The jade scroll called it the ordinary power of thought!
That was right. Not psychokinesis, but the ordinary power of thought.
At first, he thought he'd misread the term. But after rereading the line repeatedly, he realized that that was actually what it was called.
He couldn't help but feel puzzled by it all.
Why was it named the ordinary power of thought instead of the normal power of thought?
Secondly, if there existed an ordinary power of thought, did that mean that extraordinary power of thought existed as well?
Of course, these weren't his primary concerns. At the moment, he couldn't even figure out the concept behind the materialization of this supposed thought that was the [Sword Will].
The information in the jade scroll was extremely vague and didn't include a clearly defined and comprehensive definition.
"Perhaps it's ambiguous stuff like this that defies definition that proves to be the most powerful?"
Xu Xiaoshou thoughtfully stroked his chin. He thought of [Pure Sword Will Combat] and how the jade scroll had explained the form of combat as a mystifying and profound art where the absence of techniques triumphed over the presence of Techniques.
That sounded like something that could be done.
"Let's do it then!" he thought.
Xu Xiaoshou pulled on a layer of spiritual source cloak to reduce the damage inflicted by the sword energies and stepped into the waterfall another time.
This time, his aim wasn't to get more Passive Points but to cultivate.
He had to let the white sword energies hit him so that he could fathom the meaning hidden within them. But he also had to prevent himself from getting severely injured, since that would affect his training.
He needed a protective layer that would weaken the force of the sword energies' attacks.
Xu Xiaoshou didn't possess any defensive spiritual weapons, so he could only fall back on his spiritual source as his protective layer. Fortunately, he had [High Spirits]. That would keep him going.
After a few attempts, he realized that he could withstand a longer duration under the waterfall.
His [Sword Will] became infused with the black waterfall and streamed up the dark waters, and the entire Black Cliff seemed to tremble for a brief second.
The next moment, countless white sword energies came slashing downwards in quantities that were tenfold, a dozen-fold more than the previous rounds.
"Shit!"
Xu Xiaoshou reeled back in shock, and he frantically threw himself out of the waterfall.
A loud explosion erupted, and the cultivation platform was turned into dust. Xu Xiaoshou trembled violently with terror.
What just happened?
Did someone have something against him? Why wouldn't anyone let him cultivate in peace?
He stared at the black waterfall that rose into the clouds and began to ponder. "What's up there?"
Why were sword energies and black waters pouring down from the heavens?
They couldn't have appeared out of nowhere. Everything had to come from somewhere…
It struck Xu Xiaoshou then that the sword energies in the black waterfall possessed the wisdom of their own.
"Is it possible that a spirit rests on these grounds?"
Perhaps his wild and thoughtless wielding of his [Sword Will] had disturbed its rest.
He shook his head violently. He shouldn't be thinking about this right now.
"Again!"
He flew into the black waterfall again. The cultivation platform had been smashed into bits, but there were still a few boulders in the waterfall. He picked one and stood atop it.
He cautiously unleashed his [Sword Will], pulling it around his person like a cloak instead of sending it Heavenwards.
"I knew it…"
The number of sword energies that fell upon him remained unchanged and didn't increase.
That sparked Xu Xiaoshou's curiosity. Anyone else in his place would have focused their attention on completing their cultivation within three days and getting the h*ll out of this place, but not him. As soon as something caught his interest, he simply had to get to the bottom of it.
Right now, he really wanted to fly up to the top of the Black Cliff and take a good look.
Unfortunately, he couldn't reach those heights…
"I'll focus on [10 Sections of the Finger Sword]… and breaking through to the [Innate Stage] first!" Xu Xiaoshou made up his mind then.
After that, if time allowed for it, he would take a look at what was going on at the top of the Black Cliff. He would possess the ability to do so then.
He pulled his [Sword Will] in until it became a mere speck on his fingertip. This was so surreal. He couldn't believe that he was attempting to give form to an abstraction that was his will.
Xu Xiaoshou spent a good half of the day attempting to do that to no avail. He had no idea what he was doing at all. He threw himself out of the waterfall so that he could have a break and let his injuries heal at the same time.
"This doesn't seem practical. Will it really work?"
He tried a few more times but to no avail.
Xu Xiaoshou started to doubt himself. He'd failed even though he'd followed the instructions in the jade scroll exactly. How had the Eighth Sword Deity thought of that step, and how had he succeeded in the first place?
He knew it. There was something wrong with the brains of geniuses…
They didn't think like ordinary men at all!
Xu Xiaoshou didn't charge into the waterfall again. He was a man who thought before he acted. Since the method inscribed in the jade scroll wouldn't work…
He would just have to change the rules!
This wouldn't be his first rodeo.
But something suddenly occurred to him. Why did he have to first release his [Sword Will], then resummon it again for the possession to occur?
Wouldn't it be more powerful if it were the other way round?