Upon waking Xing Zheng had discovered himself inside a small cave on the tallest mountain in the Azure Rain Sword Sect inner sect, within the basin. Leaving the small cave abode Xing Zheng found a middle-aged man meditating at the very peak of the mountain. The man sat in a lotus position with his dark azure robe completely dry even though a drizzle fell everywhere even on this peak.
Examining the man Xing Zheng was surprised to discover he was of medium build and physically he seemed to be around Xing Zheng's age. However the power radiating off him bespoke a different story, it was an ancient power one that had seen rain weather away the tallest mountains. After speaking with his savior Xing Zheng was astonished to find out that he was speaking to the founder of the Azure Rain Sword Sect. What was even more astonishing was that he was a Nascent Soul realm cultivator who had retired to this lesser region to cultivate in seclusion.
The man had grown lonely cultivating in isolation and so had taken in some disciples many years ago which eventually led to the establishment of the sect. Eventually, even without active recruiting, word had spread of a powerful sect in a circular mountain range that was perpetually surrounded in misty clouds and rain within the twisted territories and so many came to join the growing sect. The man was named Lin Qiu and he had reached the Nascent Soul realm around 10,000 years ago.
If not for the absurd amount of power the man was displaying, Xing Zheng might not have believed him. Even for his clan, whose empire stretched over a far larger region than the twisted territories, at that time having a few Qi Condensation ancestors with an initial step foundation stage supreme ancestor was already extraordinary. As far as Xing Zheng, even the overseer of the entire supreme greater region was a peak Core Formation Cultivator.
From his lessons at the Xing royal palace, he knew that lesser regions were typically 150,000,000 km in size, give or take a few million kilometers depending on geography. A greater region contained 300 lesser regions and supreme greater regions contained 100 greater regions. Trying to think of the scale of this boggled Xing Zheng's mind, the size was simply too big for him to imagine!
Even then Nascent Soul level figures could slay Foundation realm cultivators in the millions and make hundreds of normal Core Formation cultivators kneel in submission with a single attack. It was said that when angered, Nascent Soul Cultivators could destroy dozens of Supreme Greater Regions!
How had someone so powerful ended up in this backwater Lesser Region? Lin Qiu had been less than forthcoming about this matter and had instead offered to take him as a direct disciple. It turned out that what Xing Zheng had done in his last offense against the insect swarm had been enlightenment through directly touching the Dao Laws that governed Lin Qiu's Azure Rain Sword style.
Touching Dao Laws, Lin Qiu had explained, was something cultivators normally only did regularly at the nascent soul stage, perhaps at the core formation stage if they were talented. To touch the Dao Laws, and at that, the ones associated directly with Lin Qiu's sword style at the mere mortal realms meant that Xing Zheng truly had some fate with cultivating this path. Thus began Xing Zheng's path as the youngest member of the Azure Rain Sword Sect to become a personal disciple of the Patriarch.
Immediately Lin Qui gave him a cave abode on his mountain and instructed him to meditate on his enlightenment to consolidate his breakthrough to the master realm. This cultivation cave was on the primary peak within the inner sect itself and was furnished accordingly. Although the space was only medium-sized, about 25m2, now the Xing Zheng was in the master realm he was able to focus his mental energy he could feel the abundant Qi in the air
At the center of the chamber was a plain sleeping mat with a scroll that detailed the usage for the various maintenance formations that were inscribed incredibly subtly into the walls. They were able to control the temperature, airflow, and lighting within the cave itself. On the back wall, a small bowl was carved from the raised earth and a water-condensing formation was carved into the upper inner edge of the bowl.
After taking some time to look over the rest of the instructions in the scroll he finally found the one that would seal the cave and allow him to enter secluded meditation. This would inform anyone who came to the cultivation cave that he was cultivating and did not wish to be disturbed, only allowing his master and senior apprentice disciples to enter during an emergency. With a deep breath, Xing Zheng pushed his mental energy outward and became gathering the slightest bits of Qi from the air.
Near his sleeping mat was a supply of dried food rations that seemed like enough to last for a year. Inside the rations were dried meats and fruits as well as a set of basic cooking supplies that could be used with the heating formation by the water condenser. With these Xing Zheng could stay in seclusion for months without needing to leave and resupply.
It only took Xing Zheng nine days of cultivation to increase the number of raindrops he could see to the limit of the small success stage, 1,000 raindrops a second, and breakthrough to the master realm. This enlightenment attained through touching the Dao Laws had been truly heaven-defying, accomplishing in nine days what he had failed to do in 15 bitter years of cultivation! Following this he continued to practice his techniques, honing and sharpening them for the next three months before miraculously breaking through to the master realm
During his training Xing Zheng felt all of the years of experiencing hardship and disappointment coming back to him, allowing him to realize that those years were not wasted. The solid foundations that had been set by his determined training had now allowed him to soar upward after finally making a breakthrough!
Lin Qiu had been full of praise for him and had immediately given him the 10,000 Drops Birthed from the Sword technique and the 10,000 Years of Looping Rain Weathered the Mountain Cycling technique. The Sword technique benefited greatly from Xing Zheng's small success with his Rain Reflecting 10,000 Visions Mental technique as it directly combined the martial artist's swordsmanship with the mental exercise to mark each point. Each marked point would act like a raindrop the user had perceived and their sword could flow through to hit each perceived point without the worry of missing allowing for an incredibly fluid and swift assault.
Now that Xing Zheng had reached the master realm he could actively control his mental energy to cycle into his dantian and out into the world allowing him to gather and refine the qi of heaven and earth. This allowed him to generate phantom attacks, by starting an attack and injecting qi into his body and weapon the energy would continue forward creating a Qi phantom to finish that attack. Simultaneously hitting with his physical weapon through a completely different path of attack. This would multiply the speed and number of his sword strikes while rapidly draining his mental energy. What's more, with the ability to nourish his body with that Qi he needed less and less food. With this his capability to take long bouts of seclusion increased, giving him more time to dedicate to his martial arts!
In this way, Xing Zheng spent the last years studying the Azure Rain Sword style. Honing his mastery of these three techniques while occasionally using his sword in service of the sect in the surrounding city-states.
During this time he progressed to the grandmaster martial artist realm after helping the wandering cultivators and nobles of the nearby state of Renhu put down a rebellion. The bandits from the civil war had started targeting the villages and venturing disciples of the sect, thus involving them in the matter of the war. At the time Xing Zheng had felt a burning passion in his heart to spread good in the world and had tracked down many bandit groups that harassed villagers while spreading the teachings of his martial arts and Dao throughout the state of Renhu.
Warmth came to his mind thinking of the wandering martial artists and mortals he had helped during that period. It had fulfilled something deep inside of him that he had thought lost and forgotten, a sense of righteous goodness at being able to help those in the world in some small way. Afterward, he returned to the sect and spent 13 years to finish contemplating and reflecting on those experiences.
Long years of meditating, serving the sect, and teaching his Dao to the disciples. At the end of it all, Xing Zheng reached a new point of enlightenment, realizing that he had always seen the world through his understanding of the sword. What seemed like such a simple connection completely changed his perspective on his entire life, allowing him to breakthrough into the Supreme Grandmaster realm.
Since then he had been taking him time to acclimate to his new increase in power and mental energy. Ten long years of waiting and honing his skills all led up to today. Finally, he felt as if the first true steps of his immortal journey would begin.
Thinking back, all those years ago he had been utterly awed by the Qi Condensation ancestor coming to oversee the heir assessment, Xing Zheng couldn't help but feel that this all may be a dream. He, the discarded trash of the clan, was now about to rise to the same cultivation realm as that revered figure. A broad smile attached to Xing Zheng's face as he started up the mountain path, reviewing all the preparations for today.
Today the tribulation of ascension was his alone to face, all of the preparations for this needed to be done by his own hands. The heavens were already angry enough when a mortal upturned them to ascend, let alone when one tried to do it by receiving outside help. His master had told him the stories of countless powerful cultivators who had brought their entire sects to ruin by trying to cheat heaven's will and secretly receive help. He was no coward however, he was a proud son of Xing! Today Xing Zheng would be facing the heavens on his terms.
Checking over his equipment, Xing Zheng listed them quickly. Firstly a set of array flags refined by him meticulously over the last two years from spirit treasure stone that bathed in the waters of the sect rivers. They were designed to form a defensive shield of neutral energy, with enough spirit stones to power them equivalent to his current qi levels. At first, he had insisted to his master there was no need for such things; however, the patriarch was stubborn and insisted he learns to refine his own defensive array.
Initially, it had been Lin Qiu's intention for him to spend twenty years before attempting this ascension so that he could practice the basic utility skills that most cultivators were proficient in. Things such as basic spells, talisman refining, treasure refining, and so on. As a compromise Xing Zheng had agreed to learn how to refine this array and no others, he was simply sure that his martial arts were ready to take the next step!
Next, he had his sect robes that offered a defensive power strong enough to block anything under the master martial artist realm and eased conversion of Qi to Azure Sword Qi. At first, he had been reluctant to take the robe as it was not made by himself; however his master had assured Xing Zheng that the robe was not refined at all simply made from natural treasures that formed in the world. The heavens could no more increase his tribulation for the unrefined clothes on his back than they could for the natural treasure stone in the mountain he stood on!
Confident in Lin Qiu's words he resolved to wear the robe during his breakthrough. Finally, his prized possession was his azure water sword strapped to his side in its deep blue azure sheath.
This sword was a Quasi-Nascent magical treasure that was equal to a supreme qi treasure. Each one of Lin Qiu's direct disciples received one of these swords personally refined by him using his nascent fire. The Azure Water Sword was the most precious thing Xing Zheng owned and when he used his Azure Rain Sword style in conjunction with it the techniques displayed 140% increased effectiveness.
Much of his time during the past decade that hadn't been spent honing techniques or dealing with sect affairs was spent refining mental energy into this sword. This refined mental energy would assist him when using the sword and allow his body to handle the increased amount of Qi. Normally if he used the full power of the weapon without mental energy stored in it the Qi would go rampant and cause him internal damage.
Speaking of technique, Xing Zheng, in preparation for this tribulation, had solely focused on increasing his attainment in his core three techniques: rain reflecting 10,000 visions, 10,000 Drops Birthed from the Sword technique, and 10,000 years of looping rain weathered all of which he had attained master level attainment in.
Working his way up the mountain path Xing Zheng cleared his mind of all emotions becoming one with the rain that fell counting each drop within 3 feet of him. Centering himself in such a state the peak of the mountain seemed to arrive in mere moments. Determination was all that remained today, Xing Zheng's true journey towards the Eternal Dao would start or end there was simply no other result.