Richard King always felt that this matter was too strange, neither real nor unreal, as if shrouded in a cloud of deception. Yet after pondering for a long time, he gritted his teeth and left his stone cave in the rain.

After all, the temptation of immortal swords and magical treasures was truly great, especially since the flying swords personally refined by Dean were famous throughout the world, even surpassing those of ancient immortals and the flying swords used by elders of various sects.

The Tianxin Temple where Richard King was born possessed only two flying swords, both of extremely poor quality, yet even so, they were treasured by the ancestor Futuo Shangren as precious items, never shown lightly to others.

The young man braved the rain, heading straight for the back mountain of Emei, his heart burning with excitement. He thought to himself, “A flying sword personally refined by Ancestor Dean must be the best of the best. Besides its superior quality, it might have many wondrous uses, able to break through various spells. If I could get this Yuanyang Sword, just the reputation of it being personally refined by Ancestor Dean would be enough—who would dare to challenge me with a lesser flying sword? In the future, as I travel the world, except for those elders with profound cultivation, I would fear no one in a sword duel.”

Although Richard King knew some minor rain-avoiding spells, he dared not use them recklessly, letting the heavy rain drench him completely. Yet his chest felt hot, not cold at all. He rushed to the rear cave of the Wuling Immortal Mansion, searched for a while, and indeed found a mountain wall covered with vines, just like the one depicted in the painting.

Richard King was overjoyed, gathered his strength, and tore down the vines one by one. After half an hour, he finally discovered a pitch-black cave entrance.

Richard King knew he had found the secret path and was overjoyed. Without a moment’s hesitation, he plunged into the darkness, silently counting his steps. After walking more than 2,500 steps, he began tapping on the cave walls on both sides. After another half a mile, he finally heard a faint hollow sound when his fist struck the wall.

Richard King took out a dagger from his sleeve, a simple magical tool refined for him by Mr. Smoke.

To those in the immortal world, this dagger was of very ordinary quality, but at the mortal level, it was already a fine weapon. Though not sharp enough to cut iron like mud, it was more than sufficient for carving into the cave wall, making it the perfect tool for excavation.

Richard King dug randomly at the cave wall for a while, and soon felt the dagger grow heavy and unable to go any further. He reached out and felt a smooth, warm surface—the dagger had struck a jade plaque.

“This is it! This is the sword case of the Yuanyang Sword. The immortal sword is hidden inside, and in three years it will gain a spirit and fly out of the case, causing a great disturbance.”

Richard King was certain in his heart. He carefully used the dagger to dig around the jade plaque, then used his strength to pull with his fingers. A flat jade case, over three feet long and four fingers wide, emitting a faint green glow, fell into his hands.

Richard King dared not open the sword case, fearing the Yuanyang Sword would fly away. He sat cross-legged and played with it for a while, when he suddenly noticed countless characters on both sides of the jade case.

By the faint light from the jade case, Richard King looked closely and saw the writing clearly.

One side of the jade case had several hundred characters, which turned out to be a sword manual. The other side had tiny, mosquito-sized human figures demonstrating twelve sword techniques.

After studying it for a while, Richard King couldn’t help but smile to himself, secretly thinking, “Old Daoist Dean engraved his own Yuanyang Sword Manual and the twelve Yuanyang Sword Techniques on the sword case, yet never expected that one day the demon Paul Grant would sneak into Emei, defile the sealing spell, and cause the Yuanyang Sword to emerge early, shattering the case and flying away, thus causing this sword technique to be lost. If I hadn’t retrieved the Yuanyang Sword in advance, no one in the world would ever know this sword manual and technique again. In a way, old Daoist Dean should thank me.”

Richard King silently memorized the contents, spending half an hour to commit the Yuanyang Sword Manual and the twelve sword techniques to memory. He was extremely talented in the Daoist arts; otherwise, he would not have mastered the “Five Senses Demon Scroll,” which only two ancestors of Tianxin Temple had ever achieved since its founding.

As for the power of the Yuanyang Sword Manual and the twelve sword techniques, Richard King had already formed his own judgment, secretly praising, “The Yuanyang Sword Manual and techniques are truly extraordinary. The Emei Sect indeed deserves its reputation as the number one sword art in the Daoist world.”

Chapter One: Becoming a Disciple of Mount Emei (Part Four)

The Yuanyang Sword Manual ranked third among the eighteen orthodox sword techniques of the Emei Sect, second only to the Taishang Daoist’s Formless Sword Technique, known as the number one Daoist sword art, and the Five Fires and Seven Birds Sword Technique brought into Emei by Robert Wise from another sect. Even among the orthodox sword arts of all righteous and evil sects in the world, the Yuanyang Sword Manual could rank in the top ten—it was truly a supreme sword manual and technique!

For a cultivator to possess such a profound sword manual and technique was like placing the world’s finest delicacies before a glutton.

Richard King hesitated only briefly before he could no longer resist. He circulated his true energy and began to practice the Yuanyang Sword Manual.

This sword manual was extremely domineering, and its cultivation method was unlike that of any other sect in the world.

Every other cultivation method in the world started with the dantian to refine true energy, but the Yuanyang Sword Manual began with the three yang meridians of the hand. The very first meridian to be cultivated was the Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian, one of the twelve principal meridians.