After this incident, Richard King refused to go out anymore. Every day, he shut himself in and secretly practiced the Yuanyang Sword Technique, barely even speaking to Leonard Shaw, who brought him his meals.

Leonard Shaw simply thought that Richard King was feeling troubled after being falsely accused. He himself had nearly been harmed by Thomas Moore, so he felt a sense of shared grievance. Each time he brought food, he would offer a few words of concern, his attitude genuinely warm. As a result, their relationship not only failed to cool, but actually grew a bit closer.

Richard King spent more than ten days restoring the power he had stored in the apertures of heaven and earth back into himself, refining it into the purest Yuanyang True Qi.

Chapter One: Taking a Master on Mount Emei (Part Eight)

Richard King had once opened both the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Main Meridians. He had thought that, even if the quality of true qi from the two schools differed greatly, once all his demonic sect true qi was converted into Yuanyang True Qi, he would at least be able to open one or two meridians.

Unexpectedly, after converting all his demonic sect true qi, he was only able to open most of the Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian, with a few acupoints still blocked.

It was only then that Richard King realized how superior Yuanyang True Qi was—far beyond the evil sect techniques he had previously practiced. The gap between the highest grade of the seventh rank and miscellaneous qi outside the ranking was like heaven and earth.

During these days of arduous practice, the jade sword case would occasionally emit faint ringing sounds, forcing him to wrap it in a quilt to prevent the sword’s song from being heard.

The Yuanyang Sword had long since become sentient and taken form. That was why, when the demon Paul Grant sneaked into Emei and defiled the sealing spell, the immortal sword immediately shattered the case and flew away.

Now that the Yuanyang Sword had been retrieved, the seal was long gone, and only the sword case kept it contained. Who knew when the sword might break free and fly away again?

Richard King felt uneasy. Of course, he wanted to keep the Yuanyang Sword for himself, but after converting all his demonic sect true qi, he had only managed to open most of the Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian. Without the shortcut of converting old power, even if he worked ten times harder, he couldn’t expect a sudden leap in skill to master the Yuanyang Sword Technique and refine this immortal flying sword.

One evening, after Leonard Shaw brought dinner, Richard King finished his meal and cultivated for a while, but his mind was still unsettled. He took the sword case out from under the bed and held it in his hands, pondering in secret if there was any way to resolve his predicament.

As he was racking his brains, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart. The Yantian Pearl suddenly pulsed, and a cool current surged straight into his brow. In the void, several lines of text appeared, explaining the origin of the Yuanyang Sword Case!

Back when the Yuanyang Sword had just been forged, Dean foresaw his imminent ascension. With no time to pass it on to a disciple or to find suitable heavenly materials to refine and pair with the sword, he simply took a piece of Qingyang Jade, fashioned it into a case, and sealed this treasure with the Yuanyang Sword Technique, leaving it for a destined person in the future.

Thus, within the sword case, a trace of Dean’s true qi and magical power remained. If guided by the sword technique, this power could be merged into oneself, allowing resonance with the Yuanyang Sword’s aura.

At the end, the Yantian Pearl even appended a short secret method, just a few dozen words, instructing how to use the Yuanyang Sword Technique to draw out the true qi and magical power from the sword case!

After reading the origin of the Yuanyang Sword Case, Richard King was overjoyed. He didn’t bother picking an auspicious day, but immediately activated the Yuanyang Sword Technique, channeling a strand of painstakingly cultivated Yuanyang True Qi into the sword case.

Since Richard King had only opened half a meridian, his power was shallow. After just half an incense stick’s time, his true qi was exhausted, and he had to sit and meditate to recover some before continuing to refine the Yuanyang Sword Case.

He refined it through the night, and as dawn broke, a surge of true qi suddenly emerged from the jade case. Its nature was identical to Yuanyang True Qi, and it rushed into Richard King’s Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian.

This true qi entered from the tip of the little finger at Shaoze, traveled along the outer edge of the hand through Qiangu, Houxi, Yanggu, and Yanglao acupoints, exiting at the styloid process of the ulna. It then followed the lower edge of the ulna, passed through Zhizheng to the Shaohai acupoint at the elbow, continued along the posterior edge of the upper arm to the shoulder joint at Jianzheng and Naoyu, wound upward through the scapular region via Tianzong, Bingfeng, Quyuan, Jianwaishu, and Jianzhongshu, converging at Dazhui, then moved forward into the supraclavicular fossa, descended to connect with the heart, passed through the esophagus and diaphragm, and reached the stomach. One branch ascended from the side of the neck to the cheek, reached the outer canthus, and entered the ear! In one go, it cleared dozens of acupoints along the Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian.

With this meridian unblocked, the Yuanyang True Qi immediately transformed. Richard King felt his whole body warm, as if bathed in a spring breeze—utterly comfortable. This was the sign of yang energy being born; from this point, his Yuanyang True Qi had truly entered the path.

Richard King had expected it would take at least three days to see results, but to his surprise, after just one night of refining, he had such a reaction. Before he could rejoice, he sensed a fierce blaze emanating from the sword case. He hurriedly channeled Yuanyang True Qi from the Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian into the case.

He hadn’t expected that as soon as his true qi entered, the sword techniques and forms on the Yuanyang Sword Case would vanish, and twelve talismans would light up one after another.

Each talisman contained a sword intent, each corresponding to a form of the Yuanyang Sword Technique—twelve talismans, each with a different sword intent, matching the twelve forms of the Yuanyang Sword Technique.

Sensing the qi on Richard King, the twelve talismans detached from the sword case and fell onto him, merging seamlessly with his true qi, becoming indistinguishable from one another.