At this moment, Hong Qi, though still a mere phantom, exuded an aura that seemed even more radiant and captivating.
To the naked eye, she appeared unchanged, but Meng Fan could sense something different about her.
Especially now, their connection of hearts had deepened, as if Hong Qi had become a part of him.
To be precise, it wasn't Hong Qi who had become a part of Meng Fan, but the Hong Qi Sword had.
Meng Fan smiled and said to Hong Qi, "The Hong Qi Sword has now fully integrated as my personal Law Sword. As I grow stronger, so will you. Once I cultivate my Divine Sense into a Divine Soul, you too will have the chance to transform from a spirit body to a soul body."
At that time, Hong Qi would no longer be a sword spirit, but a sword soul.
The sword soul of the Hong Qi Sword!
This was the true sword soul, not the "sword soul" referred to in the levels of Sword Technique.
"Master, I will not disappoint you!" Hong Qi declared with conviction, her face serious.
Meng Fan chuckled and replied, "No need to be so solemn. Just be ready to reap the benefits of my success."
Admittedly, his words carried a hint of pride, perhaps even a touch of arrogance.
But in a sense, it was also true!
As long as Meng Fan grew stronger, the Hong Qi Sword wouldn't need to do anything and would naturally become more powerful.
A hint of embarrassment appeared on Hong Qi's face, along with a sense of loss.
Previously, as Meng Fan's strength surged at an astonishing rate, Hong Qi had already begun to feel inferior.
Now, Meng Fan's light-hearted words, though meant as a joke, intensified her feelings of inadequacy.
After speaking, Meng Fan felt a twinge of regret, sensing Hong Qi's disappointment.
Since the Hong Qi Sword had become his personal Law Sword, his bond with Hong Qi had deepened.
Meng Fan sighed and said, "My words just now didn't mean you're useless. You don't need to overthink it. In fact, even without relying on me, you have the means to grow stronger."
"What means?" Hong Qi looked up at Meng Fan, her expression one of bewilderment.
"I once came across a technique in the Scripture Pavilion called 'Soul Condensation Art.' It's not a high-level technique, but it should be suitable for a spirit body like yours to cultivate."
If Hong Qi diligently practiced the Soul Condensation Art, it could save Meng Fan a lot of effort.
"Soul Condensation Art?" Hong Qi's interest was piqued, and she felt a surge of excitement.
She knew that Meng Fan had nearly scoured the entire Scripture Pavilion, so finding such rare and peculiar techniques was not surprising.
"Don't get too excited yet. Although I think you should be able to practice it, you'll need to try it out for yourself," Meng Fan told Hong Qi.
Then, he spent the next while teaching Hong Qi the Soul Condensation Art.
The technique wasn't particularly profound, so it wasn't too difficult to learn.
***
An hour later, Hong Qi had committed the Soul Condensation Art to memory and began to attempt cultivation.
After a long while, she stopped practicing, her face filled with disappointment and sorrow.
Meng Fan had been wrong; she was unable to cultivate the technique.
The Soul Condensation Art was ineffective for Hong Qi!
Meng Fan pretended to pat her shoulder, but since Hong Qi was a phantom, he couldn't actually touch her, so it was just a gesture of comfort.
"Don't be too sad. Even though you can't cultivate this technique, there will be others that are suitable for you. I'll keep an eye out, and we'll definitely find one," he reassured her.
Hong Qi nodded, her disappointment palpable, but she still managed to smile at Meng Fan and said, "Thank you, Master!"
Then, her phantom retreated back into the Hong Qi Sword, hiding in a corner to grieve alone.
Affected by Hong Qi's mood, Meng Fan also felt downcast.
After Hong Qi returned to the sword, the room was empty, and Meng Fan noticed Xiao Qing on the table.
Meng Fan rolled his eyes and glared at Xiao Qing, "Silly snake, what are you doing on the table? If you like it so much, I'll serve you up during the New Year!"
Xiao Qing hastily "popped" off the table, looking at Meng Fan with a wronged expression.
A case of being caught in the crossfire!
It had been behaving so well, hadn't it?
Silently, it slithered to a corner, curling up out of Meng Fan's sight, and out of sight was out of mind.
Meng Fan then began to explore his new realm, especially his newly cultivated Divine Sense.
Divine Sense was like a special eye, a 360-degree, no-blind-spot eye with X-ray vision.
And the most terrifying part was that it could kill!
As the saying goes, if looks could kill, then some would have died a hundred times over.
If Divine Sense were likened to a special eye, indeed, its gaze could kill!
After experimenting with his Divine Sense for a while, Meng Fan felt as if he had acquired "special abilities," which was quite intriguing.
However, in the Cultivation World, having special abilities wasn't all that remarkable.
But it was worth mentioning that being able to cultivate Divine Sense upon entering the Heavenly Origin Realm was a one-in-a-million occurrence.
Meng Fan continued to excel as always!
"Stepping into the Heavenly Origin Realm, the opportunities awaiting me are one after another," Meng Fan murmured, a smile curving his lips.
Firstly, Elder Lin had said that once Meng Fan reached the Heavenly Origin Realm, he would consider helping him subdue a Law Sword.
Of course, in Meng Fan's view, the word "consider" could be omitted.
[Elder Lin would consider helping Meng Fan subdue a Law Sword.] = [Elder Lin would help Meng Fan subdue a Law Sword.]
Next, the chance to comprehend the Sword God Stele for ten days and nights could also be moved up the schedule.
Elder Lin had already said there was no need for Meng Fan to compete with Senior Disciple Luo anymore.
When he felt ready to comprehend the Sword God Stele, he could go directly.
Indeed, having Meng Fan compete with Senior Disciple Luo now would be unfair.
What had Senior Disciple Luo done to deserve that?
Thinking of this, Meng Fan felt immense gratitude towards Elder Lin.
Both of these opportunities were made possible by Elder Lin's help!
Without Elder Lin, Meng Fan wouldn't have been able to manage either.
To say that Elder Lin was like a second parent to him was no exaggeration!
Besides these, after entering the Heavenly Origin Realm and cultivating Divine Sense, Meng Fan had a third matter to attend to.
That was the jade bracelet he had obtained from the fox demon in the grand hall of the Demon Realm!
This item was definitely a treasure.
It was filled with valuable items, but being a high-level storage device, it required Divine Sense to open.
Previously, without Divine Sense, Meng Fan had kept the jade bracelet untouched.
Now, he could slowly unveil the mysteries of the jade bracelet!
With this thought, Meng Fan couldn't wait any longer. He took out the jade bracelet and covered it with his Divine Sense.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan