The moment Meng Fan saw the sword in Elder Lin's hand, his eyes lit up.
From this sword, he sensed an extremely unique aura.
This aura was close to demonic energy, but distinctly different.
"Master, what kind of sword is this? It seems to have a very strange aura," Meng Fan asked proactively.
"We'll talk about it back at the Sword Pavilion!" Elder Lin smiled at Meng Fan and then led the way back to the Sword Pavilion.
Meng Fan quickly followed Elder Lin, hurrying back to the Sword Pavilion.
He then closed the main door of the Sword Pavilion. The sun was setting, and it was indeed time to close up.
Elder Lin went up to the second floor of the Sword Pavilion, and Meng Fan followed.
"Are you interested in this sword?" Elder Lin stroked the scabbard of the sword in his hand and asked Meng Fan.
Meng Fan nodded; he was indeed very interested.
Among all the sword weapons in the Sword Pavilion, he had never felt such an aura from any other sword.
Curiosity is a natural thing!
Elder Lin smiled and said, "Even if you're interested, I won't give this sword to you. In fact, even I don't dare to draw this sword easily; it would backfire!"
Meng Fan showed a trace of surprise on his face. Someone of Elder Lin's stature, who could draw even divine swords, didn't dare to draw this one?
What kind of sword was this?
Meng Fan was extremely curious!
But curiosity aside, he knew his limits and wouldn't act recklessly.
If even his master didn't dare to draw it, he certainly wouldn't touch it. He was sensible enough not to mess with even a Law Sword, let alone this mysterious "strange sword."
"Master, what is the origin of this sword? Why can I sense an aura I've never seen before?" Although he didn't dare to touch it, it didn't stop him from asking.
"Actually, this sword is just a 'Spiritual Sword.'" Elder Lin placed the sword on the sword rack, then sat back on his usual meditation cushion and said to Meng Fan.
Meng Fan was instantly dumbfounded.
The strange aura from this sword had given him an illusion, making it hard to discern its level.
Elder Lin's words left him bewildered.
"A Spiritual Sword?"
A Spiritual Sword that gave him such a strange feeling and even made Elder Lin afraid to draw it for fear of backlash.
What kind of Spiritual Sword was this, to be so terrifying?
More exaggerated than a divine sword?
Meng Fan couldn't understand.
He even thought Elder Lin was joking with him, although Elder Lin wasn't someone who liked to joke. But maybe today he was in a rare mood?
"Hard to believe, right? Haha, it is indeed a Spiritual Sword, but not an ordinary one!" Elder Lin said with a somewhat solemn tone.
That explanation was as good as none.
Regardless of whether it was a Spiritual Sword, any sword that made Elder Lin wary was no ordinary sword!
"Master, please don't keep me in suspense!" Meng Fan said helplessly.
Elder Lin smiled, stroked his beard, and then looked at the sword on the rack and said, "This sword is called 'Black Spring.'"
The name wasn't the point; Meng Fan remained calm and continued listening.
Elder Lin continued, "The reason this sword is not ordinary is that it comes from the Underworld. It is a… Ghost Sword!"
The Underworld?
A Ghost Sword?
Meng Fan frowned, unable to understand.
Just because it was a Ghost Sword from the Underworld, it made Elder Lin so wary?
"Master, what's so special about a Ghost Sword from the Underworld? I once saw a Demon Sword from the Demon Realm on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion. It was unique, but not as terrifying as you describe."
Previously, Meng Fan had encountered a Demon Sword on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion and had seen some insights from the Sword Wraith Memory about the Demon Realm.
It left a deep impression!
However, that sword hadn't caused Meng Fan much harm!
It was only when he absorbed the Essence of the Sword that it caused him significant trouble.
The Essence of the Sword from that sword belonged to the Demon Realm, and Meng Fan's body wasn't "compatible."
In the end, he had to use a basic Qi Refining technique from the Demon Realm to refine that Essence of the Sword into demonic energy!
Since then, Meng Fan had his first trace of demonic energy within him.
Among all the cultivators in the Human Realm, those with demonic energy were extremely rare!
Later, Meng Fan found a Demon Realm technique called the "True Scripture of Scarlet Blood" and began to slowly grow the demonic energy within him. He believed that once he reached the Condensation Pill Realm, he could refine the demonic energy into demonic essence.
"If I come into contact with this Ghost Sword, could I obtain the Essence of the Sword from the Underworld and then cultivate a trace of ghostly energy?"
With his experience of cultivating demonic energy, Meng Fan couldn't help but have this thought.
Having more skills never hurts. Since he already had demonic energy, he didn't mind having ghostly energy as well.
If he could cultivate demonic energy, he could cultivate ghostly energy.
If he could cultivate demonic essence, he could cultivate ghostly essence!
That's what Meng Fan thought.
However, since Elder Lin described this Ghost Sword as so terrifying, Meng Fan didn't dare to act rashly.
He had to listen to what Elder Lin had to say next and figure out what was so special about this Ghost Sword.
After a moment, Elder Lin continued, "Disciple, comparing a Demon Sword to a Ghost Sword shows your lack of knowledge."
"Please enlighten me, Master!"
Elder Lin continued to explain, "The six realms of the world—Human Realm, Demon Realm, Monster Realm—are all on the same level in a certain sense.
But the Underworld and the Immortal Realm are on a higher level.
As for the God Realm, it is even more elusive. The legendary God Realm is said to be higher than both the Immortal Realm and the Underworld.
However, many people doubt the existence of the God Realm. After all, the Immortal Realm and the Underworld are recorded in the Human Realm, but the God Realm is just a legend, with no real records."
The Underworld is on a higher level than the Human, Demon, and Monster Realms?
This was something Meng Fan had never known.
But thinking about it, it made sense!
Because the level of the Immortal Realm was clearly higher than the Human Realm, and the Underworld corresponded to the Immortal Realm, surpassing the others was normal.
"So, Master, you mean that the Spiritual Swords from the Underworld are much stronger than those from the Human Realm?" Meng Fan asked.
"Exactly, just like the sword weapons from the Immortal Realm. Even the weakest is an Immortal Sword, surpassing anything in the Human Realm."
Hearing this, Meng Fan began to understand and smiled bitterly, "So, Master, when you said this was a Spiritual Sword, you were just teasing me? You might as well have said it was an Immortal Sword-level weapon!"
Elder Lin shook his head, "This sword, in the Underworld, is indeed considered a Spiritual Sword. It's just that the Underworld is much stronger than our Human Realm, so even a Spiritual Sword from the Underworld is not weaker than a divine sword from the Human Realm."
Hearing this, Meng Fan gave up the idea of contacting this Ghost Sword to gather ghostly energy.
According to his master's words, the level of this ghostly energy would be equivalent to immortal energy?
Just because he could cultivate demonic energy didn't mean he could cultivate ghostly energy. Messing around could get him killed!
No, it would definitely get him killed.
Meng Fan smiled bitterly, moved his gaze away from the "Black Spring" sword, and silently warned himself not to have any designs on this sword.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan