If not for that incident, he wouldn’t have been placed under house arrest by his father, forbidden from stepping out of this cave abode. Even his mother’s pleas had no effect.
Because of this, even highly important tasks had to be entrusted to others.
He had even been harshly scolded by his father over the matter.
In his entire life, he had never been subjected to such reproach.
In his anger, Jin Yicai let out a "crack," crushing the teacup in his hand into fragments.
Jin Gui was startled.
Soon, the beautiful female disciple from earlier gracefully walked in upon hearing the sound. She wiped the spilled tea for Jin Yicai, replaced the cup, poured a fresh one, and then retreated with a seductive glance and a graceful sway.
Jin Gui lowered his head, but couldn’t help sneaking a few glances through the corner of his eye.
These women were the finest in the Sect, completely out of his reach.
Jin Yicai noticed the minutiae of Jin Gui’s expression.
Jin Yicai let out a faint smirk and said indifferently:
"Have you memorized everything I told you?"
Jin Gui hurriedly replied, "I’ve memorized it."
"Good." Jin Yicai stirred the floating tea leaves with the lid of the teacup. "This matter is of utmost importance and must not fail. If you can handle it well..."
Jin Yicai took a small sip of tea:
"I’ll take you onboard."
Jin Gui trembled all over, his face lighting up with joy. Regardless of rank, he immediately knelt and kowtowed:
"Thank you, Young Master!"
"Thank you for your guidance, Young Master!"
"Jin Gui will henceforth go through fire and water, following you unwaveringly!"
Jin Gui swore loyalty with trembling excitement.
Jin Yicai nodded approvingly, glancing down at Jin Gui kneeling on the ground, but in his heart, he couldn’t help but think:
"He looks exactly like a dog..."
...
The next day, Mo Hua led his team back into Refining Demon Mountain to continue scouring the area.
However, this time he noticed something was off.
The disciples of the Sever Gold Sect had suddenly grown stronger.
Although they wore the same golden Taoist Robes, their gazes were more arrogant, their Spiritual Roots more superior, their cultivation deeper, their Sword Qi sharper, and even their golden Spirit Swords were noticeably different.
Additionally, they were using advanced sword techniques.
When the two sides clashed, the pressure on the Taixu Gate side abruptly increased.
Mo Hua had no choice but to personally step in.
Fortunately, despite the strength of the Sever Gold Sect disciples, they were all at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. Given Mo Hua’s current cultivation level, his powerful Divine Sense, near-instant Fireball Technique, and various cunning and disruptive control spells were sufficient for him to shine in this kind of large-scale battle among cultivators.
Not to mention, he also had Formations.
Thus, while the battle was arduous, Mo Hua and his comrades still emerged victorious, though many of them sustained injuries.
The Sever Gold Sect suffered a loss, but the damage wasn’t too severe.
At least the number of disciples hung on trees and painted with turtle drawings had significantly decreased.
Both sides ceased their fighting, exchanged harsh words, and then retreated to their respective Sects.
Back at the Sect, the disciples of the Taixu Gate tended to their injuries.
Mo Hua examined everyone’s wounds and became aware of a problem:
The Gold-breaking Armor seemed to have lost its effectiveness...
The Gold-breaking Armor, inscribed with the Kejin Formation, was specifically designed to counter gold-series spells, with exceptionally high resistance to Golden Spiritual Power.
But the newly arrived Sever Gold Sect disciples appeared to be core disciples of the Sever Gold Sect.
The Taoist Skills they practiced were the true and complete Sever Gold Sword Control Jue.
The Sword Qi they unleashed, while technically gold-series Sword Qi, was, in essence, "Sword Qi."
Gold-breaking Armor solely countered gold-series spells, but its defense against Sword Qi was negligible.
As a result, this confrontation left more Taixu Gate disciples injured.
But... how could one defend against Sword Qi?
Sword Qi itself, how did it differ fundamentally from ordinary Spiritual Power? And why was its power significantly greater than that of standard spells?
There were still eight days until the next resting period.
Mo Hua decided to investigate these questions during this time.
Otherwise, in future confrontations, even more fellow disciples might be hurt, and engaging in this feud with the Sever Gold Sect would ultimately prove disastrous.
Mo Hua specifically sought out Elder Yi, who taught Taoist Skills, for guidance.
Afterward, he also consulted several sword cultivators, including Situ Jian, to gain clarity.
He began to understand.
The power of sword cultivation was most directly manifested through "Sword Qi."
And the potency of Sword Qi partly relied on the "Sword Weapon."
Sword Weapon...
Mo Hua recalled the luxurious golden Spirit Swords hanging at the waists of the Sever Gold Sect disciples, and a spark of inspiration lit up in his eyes.
"The Spirit Swords of the Sever Gold Sect..."