Qin Yun looked at the seven manuals that resembled carved jade. He picked up one book and on it was the word ‘Starlight.’ As he flipped through them, the pages were soft and lustrous. Each page was filled with dense text and attached figures that described a sword formulation. Qin Yun guessed that they were personally drawn by Elder Sword since each figure contained sword intent that inundated him.
“What a powerful sword formulation. It leads directly to the Sword Intent Paramount realm,” exclaimed Qin Yun. “However, everyone has their own understanding when it comes to the implications of the Heavenly Dao. By referencing the ancients, one can at best gain a sliver of insight but the differences will only be magnified in the future. It’s impossible to gain insight into the same Sword Intent Paramount realm.”
For example, back when Qin Yun was cultivating the Gossamer Setting Sun Sword Art, he had done so because he noticed that the Misty Rain Sword Intent shared similarities with it.
But the further he delved in, the more magnified the differences became.
“If you learn this sword formulation, will you be able to grasp the sword intent?” asked Yi Xiao.
“Elder Sword must have decided on leaving behind his heritage. Therefore, the sword formulations that are recorded are very detailed.” Qin Yun nodded. “There is still chance of grasping a sliver of the intent.”
Qin Yun flipped through the other six manuals.
The seven great sword formulations were: Starlight, Desecrated Moon, Blazing Sun, Profound Theory, Heavenly Change, Dark Shadow, and Formless. Each sword formulation led directly to the Sword Intent Paramount realm! The seven sword intent combined could form the complete Seven Kills Sword Dao.
“Logically speaking, once one reaches the Sword Intent Paramount realm, it only takes one more step to enter the Dao,” commented Qin Yun. “As for Elder Sword, he had seven sword intent at the Paramount realm. It’s no wonder the Seven Kills Sword Dao he eventually combines is that powerful, allowing him to leapfrog a realm to kill a fiendcelestial. However, his Dao is not my Dao.”
Yi Xiao said worriedly, “Qin Yun, would it affect your cultivation if you were to ponder over the seven sword intents?”
“It won’t,” Qin Yun said with a smile. “To have the heart aligned to the sword and to the Dao! I would not take the path of the sword arrays. To me, all sword intent are just parts of the Heavenly Dao’s charm. If I study it in greater quantities, my insights will only go deeper. The advice from others can help to overcome one’s shortcomings. By drawing on Elder Sword’s experience, my Misty Rain Sword Intent will eventually only become stronger.”
“Alright, I’ll give it a try to see if the array formation set up by Elder Sword has any flaws,” said Qin Yun. “He put away the seven manuals and walked out the stone chamber with Yi Xiao following behind him.
Qin Yun casually walked to a corner of the garden.
“Break!”
His sword intent domain caused the stone wall in front of him to crumble to dust. A passage was dug out instantly.
Qin Yun led Yi Xiao forward as thick rocks constantly crumbled along the way.
“Using intent domain for digging is surely fast,” joked Yi Xiao.
“You are impressive too. You got an intent domain expert to do the digging.” Qin Yun laughed as well. However, after digging a few hundred feet, Qin Yun and Yi Xiao saw the circulation of the array formation’s lustrous streams of light.
“Break!”
He released his flying sword.
After repeated attempts of his flying sword arts to no avail, Qin Yun could only shake his head. “He did not leave any chance at all. Forget it. Let’s make plans for our future.”
“Make plans for our future?” Yi Xiao was puzzled.
“We need to have a place to stay, right?” smiled Qin Yun.
“Yea.” Upon thinking of something, Yi Xiao’s face blushed slightly.
…
With the means available to cultivators, it was naturally not a problem for them to dig out a cave abode within the thick rocks. There were a hall, rooms, cultivation chambers, with doors and windows.
Qin Yun and Yi Xiao worked together; yet, they felt a sense of bliss because this was their shared residence.
“Alright.” Qin Yun and Yi Xiao stood in the hall and looked at their residence.
Tables, chairs, and beds were set up.
“I’ll stay in this room.” Yi Xiao chose a room.
“I’ll take this one.” Qin Yun went to the side.
Yi Xiao nodded. At the same time, she walked into Qin Yun’s room and took out bedware from her Cosmic Bag. It surprised Qin Yun. “This…”
“When I travel the world outside, I dislike using the bedware provided by the inns. I always carry them with me.” Yi Xiao blushed slightly. “Why? Do you dislike it? Then, I’ll take them away.”
“No, not at all. Now, Even if I were to pay a million taels of silver just to buy a blanket, there’s nowhere to buy one.” Qin Yun sat on the bedding and took in the faint fragrance. He knew Yi Xiao had used it before.
Yi Xiao blushed and turned to return to her room.
Back when she traveled, she did not only bring one set of bedware. She had even brought many daily items. As for Qin Yun? He wasn’t as meticulous, so now, he reaped the benefits of Yi Xiao.
******
In the following days, the two spent all their time together. It was like an immortal’s paradise with no one else but them.
Whatever rules and customs of the mortal world were a great distance from them.
They cultivated, discussed the Dao, and chatted daily.
One day, the duo was snuggling on a bed of flowers. Yi Xiao was leaning in Qin Yun’s embrace.
“The Yi family is a thousand-year-old family clan,” said Yi Xiao softly. “With so many people in the family, pretty much everyone in the provincial city is from the Yi family. After my father abandoned me, I was all alone… Thankfully, I had garnered success in Qi Refinement and had better days. Before I stood out, few clansmen would bother with a little girl that had no father or mother like me. For example, my Second Uncle. Although I address him that… in fact, he has quite a bit of talent in cultivation. When I was young, he was already at the Connate True Core realm. But before I had any success in Qi Refinement, I had never seen him before.”
Qin Yun listened by the side.
“Even in the Divine Firmament Chapter, there are only normal lessons between master and disciple. Master has her own cultivation as well, and would occasionally give me pointers,” said Yi Xiao. “Only as I gradually grew up were there more senior and junior brothers that showed me attention.”
“It’s because you are beautiful,” said Qin Yun with a laugh.
“Did you like me also because I’m beautiful?” Yi Xiao looked at Qin Yun.
“There are so many beauties in the world but it’s not I like them either,” said Qin Yun immediately.
Yi Xiao chuckled and did not probe further.
The couple chatted casually in an engaging conversation. They chatted about anything under the sky.
“Yi Xiao.” Qin Yun said suddenly.
“Yea?” Yi Xiao responded.
“When we exit this place, I’ll go to your family to ask for your hand in marriage. How about that?” Qin Yun asked.
Yi Xiao was taken aback as she sat straight up. She looked at Qin Yun with reddened eyes. “Ask for my hand in marriage?”
“Yea.” Qin Yun looked at Yi Xiao.
“Why do you need to wait till we leave this place?” asked Yi Xiao.
Qin Yun was taken aback as he muttered, “Do you mean we do it here?”
Yi Xiao said softly, “In this world, I do not care about anyone else. All I care about is you. Why should we care about anyone else when we are the ones getting married?”
Qin Yun looked at Yi Xiao and understood her thoughts.
“Haha, I guess I’m caught up with abiding by the customs of the mortal world.” Qin Yun laughed as well. “We are both cultivators, so why do we need to care about other things? This place is like an otherworldly paradise, and it’s also an immortal abode. Let us get married here!”
“Yea.” Yi Xiao nodded. She was long prepared. After all, other than Qin Yun, she did not want to marry anyone else.
…
The couple began to make meticulous preparations.
Thankfully, the garden had many flower petals that could be used to adorn the bridal room to mark the joyous event.
Much of what they obtained from the expedition to the immortal abode such as Dharma treasures and natural treasures were used to embellish the area, making the residence extremely beautiful. It began resembling an immortal’s cave abode. Extravagant items were used, like a fist-sized immortal rock or East Sea Flood Dragon Oil for the lighting of a fire. There was no other way around it either since the both of them could not find anything cheap or ordinary.
The duo’s clothes were Dharma treasures as they transformed them into red gowns.
A Dao Ancestor’s portrait was hung in the central wall of the hall.
Qin Yun and Yi Xiao looked into each other’s eyes before they knelt down amid smiles.
“Esteemed Dao Ancestor, your disciple, Qin Yun, is willing to marry Yi Xiao as his wife. I wish that the both of us will live to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss, never to separate from one other.” Qin Yun said as he held his breath. At that moment, he felt nervous but he also felt joy coursing through his entire body.
Yi Xiao said as well, “Esteemed Dao Ancestor, your disciple, Yi Xiao, is willing to marry Qin Yun as her husband, never to separate from one other.”
Following that, the both of them stood up and looked into each other’s eyes.
“My groom,” said Yi Xiao softly.
“My bride.” Qin Yun held Yi Xiao’s hand.
The couple entered the bedroom.
Under the illumination of the candlelight, Qin Yun and Yi Xiao crossed their arms to drink from their wine cups.
“It’s our wedding night. My bride, it’s time we have some rest,” said Qin Yun.
Yi Xiao nodded gently.
Qin Yun pulled Yi Xiao as she fell to the bed. Her blushed face exuded anxiety as she whispered, “Might my dear husband be tender.”
That night, quilts naturally ruffled as the new husband and wife engaged in matrimonial bliss.