Bathed in spiritual rain, Mu Jinyu walked slowly to the pond at the center of the garden.
This pond was the Heavenly Sword Pool.
The pond contained an extremely dense and powerful Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Power, so thick that it almost transformed into a viscous spiritual paste...
It looked a bit like jelly, bouncy and elastic.
But don't let its appearance fool you into thinking this jelly-like spiritual paste can be easily absorbed and refined.
It had been said before that the Heavenly Sword Mountain was transformed from an Immortal Sword, so the mountains here were infused with a certain Sword Intent.
Even the best cultivation spot in the Heavenly Sword Faction was imbued with strands of Sword Qi within it.
Cultivators entering the Heavenly Sword Pool for cultivation must endure the excruciating pain of having Sword Qi slicing through their bodies.
It was impossible to stay submerged in cultivation for long, as one would need to jump out of the pool periodically to refine the accumulated Sword Qi in their bodies before continuing.
Of course, the torment of Sword Qi was not without benefits.
If one was exceptionally talented, they could not only temper their bodies with the Sword Qi but also comprehend the Sword Intent from it!
Mu Jinyu chose the second secret manual, "Dragon-Elephant Prison Suppression Technique," for this very reason!
Mu Jinyu glanced at the Heavenly Sword Pool and, without further delay, jumped straight into the viscous spiritual liquid!
Then he struggled to sit down in the pool, crossed his legs, and began to operate the "Green Emperor's Wood Sovereignty Technique" to absorb the immense spiritual power in the pool!
"Hiss!!"
As threads of dense Sword Qi, along with the spiritual liquid, poured into his body, Mu Jinyu felt the slicing pain of a thousand cuts.
But he endured the pain and used the "Dragon-Elephant Prison Suppression Technique" to guide the Sword Qi to temper his body!
"Sizzle!!"
"Pfft!"
In an instant, Mu Jinyu's skin split open, blood all over his body, causing him to stifle a groan.
He then gritted his teeth and pushed through.
He continued to multitask, using the "Green Emperor's Wood Sovereignty Technique" to devour the immense spiritual power, converting it into True Yuan to improve his cultivation, while also using the "Dragon-Elephant Prison Suppression Technique" to guide the Sword Qi to temper his body!
The Heavenly Sword Pool, the greatest Heaven Cave Blessed land in the Heavenly Sword Faction, had already helped Mu Jinyu break through the bottleneck of the Seventh Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm to the Late Divine Transformation Realm after just ten minutes of cultivation!
Though the Sixth and Seventh Layers of the Divine Transformation Realm were only a minor realm apart, there was a vast difference between the Mid and the Late stages in terms of power, unimaginable for someone at the Sixth Layer.
"Great, in just about ten minutes, I've broken through to the later stage of the Divine Transformation Realm. I still have three days; if luck holds, reaching the Eighth Layer isn't a problem!"
Feeling the breakthrough in his strength, Mu Jinyu joyfully muttered to himself.
"However, the Sword Qi tempering really hurts!"
Mu Jinyu operated the "Dragon-Elephant Prison Suppression Technique" to guide the Sword Qi to temper his body, the gut-wrenching pain contorting his face.
"The Dragon-Elephant Prison Suppression Technique is the best technique available to Inner Sect Disciples; it shouldn't be this simple..."
"Prison Suppression, Prison Suppression... What does it take to truly suppress the prison?!"
As Mu Jinyu struggled with the pain, almost wanting to jump out of the Heavenly Sword Pool for relief, a mirage suddenly appeared in his mind.
With a dragon coiled on his left arm, an elephant supported by his right hand, his body covered in injuries, bleeding profusely, as if he had endured countless cuts.
Yet, there was no trace of pain in his blurred face; his expression was calm and serene, as if no suffering could overwhelm him!
He could subdue both dragon and elephant, so how could mere physical pain fail to be subdued or suppressed?!
Seeing this, Mu Jinyu felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck his heart, dispelling all his suffering and confusion.
"Eliminate all suffering!"
Mu Jinyu softly murmured.
As these words were spoken, Mu Jinyu no longer felt the excruciating pain of Sword Qi tempering his body, and his contorted face gradually relaxed.
He appeared serene and harmonious.
Mu Jinyu had succeeded.
He had successfully cultivated the "Dragon-Elephant Prison Suppression Technique" to the stage of initial insight.
From then on, he no longer needed to endure the pain while cultivating in the Heavenly Sword Pool, nor did he need to jump out periodically to refine Sword Qi as others did.
"Huff, huff, huff!"
No longer feeling pain, Mu Jinyu began to feel dissatisfied with the spiritual power of the Heavenly Sword Pool, finding the Sword Qi tempering too slow. He summoned his storage bag, from which dozens of Second-Grade Elixirs with Six Paths Elixir Patterns flew into his mouth!
Mu Jinyu quickly swallowed them, and the spiritual power once again surged wildly within him, almost overwhelming his body!
But he didn't care about this pain at all and continued to cultivate calmly.
His True Yuan kept skyrocketing, and his originally not-so-strong body grew increasingly robust with the integration of Sword Qi tempering and spiritual power.
The three days passed in such cultivation in the blink of an eye.
When it was time, Mu Jinyu, still immersed in cultivation, was gently forced out of the garden by a soft power.
"Time's up?"
Mu Jinyu quickly noticed that he couldn't absorb such a vast amount of spiritual power anymore; he opened his eyes and said somewhat confusedly.
"Yes, three days are up, you may leave now."
The two Supreme Elders guarding the Heavenly Sword Pool looked at Mu Jinyu in astonishment as he was sent out and spoke.
"Alright, thank you both, elders."
Mu Jinyu snapped back to reality, thanked the two Supreme Elders, and began to check his condition.
Indeed, his cultivation had reached the Eighth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm, though he was still some distance from the Ninth Layer—not too regretful that being driven out of the Heavenly Sword Pool might have almost led him to the Ninth Layer.
Then, Mu Jinyu saw that his physique had become much stronger than three days ago.
Though not overly muscular, it appeared balanced and perfect, with terrifying power hidden beneath his muscles!
From the occasional glimmer of white fluorescence in his healing flesh, one could glimpse that strength.
Soon, the wounds on Mu Jinyu's skin, caused by the Sword Qi tempering, healed, hiding the white light within his flesh.
After finishing his inspection, Mu Jinyu bade the two Supreme Elders farewell once more and started heading home.
The two Supreme Elders watched Mu Jinyu leave, then were shocked to exclaim, "Such terrifying potential, to advance from the Fourth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm to the Eighth Layer in just three days of training in the Heavenly Sword Pool!"
"And it seems he also successfully cultivated the Dragon-Elephant Prison Suppression Technique!"
"Incredible, absolutely incredible!"
Mu Jinyu had always hidden his strength, suppressing his cultivation from the Sixth Layer to the Fourth Layer, but this time, having left seclusion, he naturally did not use the Concealment Art, so the two Supreme Elders could clearly see his cultivation at the Eighth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm!
They were filled with amazement!
After their admiration, they suddenly sensed something was amiss.
No one else was cultivating in the garden where the Heavenly Sword Pool was, so why was the spiritual power still so low?
So, they looked at each other and said, "Let's go check how much spiritual paste he consumed from the pool..."
The two quickly entered the garden, and soon, there were wails and cries of anguish...