Chapter 152: In Cultivation, There Are No Trivial Matters

Looking at Lingling, Ye Junze smiled and nodded. He beckoned to Lingling and said, "Come here."

Upon receiving Ye Junze's instruction, Lingling flew over to him without a moment's delay, moving with a speed comparable to a bolt of lightning.

When Lingling stopped right in front of him, Ye Junze handed over the assorted desserts he had already packed.

Seeing Lingling take them obediently, Ye Junze said, "These are those delicious treats I told you about before. Have a taste. If you like them after eating, I'll bring you more next time."

Lingling curiously examined the desserts brought by Ye Junze. Hearing this, it obediently replied, "Okay, got it, thank you, Master."

Ye Junze waved his hand and smiled, "You're welcome. I promised you in the first place, anyway."

Then, Ye Junze continued, "Hurry up and eat. See how they taste."

Lingling nodded and responded, "Master, I know, but what about Mengyuan? It should like eating these too, right?"

Hearing this, Ye Junze was just about to explain when Mengyuan, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up.

Mengyuan's voice drifted over from some unknown location, listening to the two of them as it said, "Don't worry about me. For some reason, I can't eat these things right now. Just eat them yourself and don't mind me."

Hearing this, Lingling looked at Ye Junze with a gaze full of confusion and asked, "Ah? Master, is that true?"

Ye Junze nodded and said, "Indeed it is. I actually wanted to tell you just now, but I didn't expect Mengyuan to be listening as well."

That's right; Ye Junze had understood this matter a long time ago.

He still remembered back when he had first started cultivating. On one occasion, on a whim, he had brought some delicious food he bought into the Illusory Void Realm, intending to share it with Mengyuan.

However, back then, Mengyuan had refused Ye Junze's kind gesture with a reason very similar to today's—roughly that Mengyuan did not possess a physical form at the time and, naturally, had no function that allowed for the consumption of food.

Because of this, after listening to Mengyuan's explanation back then, Ye Junze had no choice but to abandon the idea, ending up eating the delicious treats he had intended for Mengyuan all by himself inside the Illusory Void Realm.

Even so, Ye Junze had said these words to Mengyuan at the time: "Well, never mind for now, but if you ever get a physical form in the future, you must tell me whatever you want to eat!"

Hearing him say that, although Mengyuan didn't know when it would ever acquire a physical form, it still promised, "Alright, it's a deal."

"Then it's settled, it's a deal!"

Thus, the human and the spirit, who hadn't known each other for very long at the time, made a pact regarding food.

However, there was no need to tell Lingling all of these past details.

These thoughts flashed through Ye Junze's mind before he looked back at Lingling beside him.

Although Lingling had just received affirmative answers from both Mengyuan and Ye Junze, it still hadn't started eating the desserts in its hands. Instead, it looked at Ye Junze with a cautious expression, as if asking him, "Master, is it really okay for just me to eat?"

Seeing that it was so easy to guess what was on Lingling's mind, Ye Junze rubbed its little head and said, "Alright, what are you worrying about? It's completely fine, just eat away without any worries. Mengyuan won't mind. The day it can actually eat, it certainly won't stand on ceremony with you."

Hearing Ye Junze say this, Lingling nodded and said, "I know then. I'll just keep a tally for Mengyuan. How much I eat today, I'll make sure Mengyuan gets even more when it can eat in the future!"

"It's best that you have this kind heart." Hearing this, Ye Junze smiled, rubbed Lingling's little head, and continued, "However, no matter what it wants to eat, it still seems like I, the master, am the one who has to bring it, hmm?"

Lingling scratched its head in embarrassment and said, "Then I'll still have to trouble you then, Master."

Ye Junze smiled, waved his hand, and said, "What trouble is there in that? Alright, stop overthinking it and hurry up and eat, or else they won't taste as good if left too long."

Lingling nodded obediently.

Afterwards, Lingling opened the bag, hugged the desserts given by Ye Junze, and began to eat.

As the very first bite of cake entered its mouth, a happy smile instantly bloomed across Lingling's face.

Lingling couldn't help exclaiming, "Wow, so delicious!"

At the same time, Lingling occasionally made smacking sounds with its mouth, as if this piece of cake was exceptionally tasty.

Then, Lingling began to devour it with big mouthfuls, *mia~ mia~*.

Seeing this, Ye Junze smiled and said, "As long as you think it's delicious, there's still plenty left. Don't rush; if it's not enough, I'll bring you more next time."

Lingling gave a muffled, incoherent response with its mouth full, "Mm-mm, ah-wu, mm!"

Ye Junze smiled, rubbed Lingling's little head, and let it be.

After all, looking at the little fellow's current appearance, it was probably completely immersed in the happiness brought by these delicious desserts, incapable of taking in anything anyone else might say.

Ye Junze shook his head and stopped paying attention to Lingling, letting it eat on its own. As for himself, it was time to begin his cultivation.

With a thought, Ye Junze summoned the Lingxu Sword.

After all, since the Lingxu Swordplay was a cultivation method related to the Sword Dao, a sword was naturally indispensable. Fortunately, Ye Junze already possessed the Lingxu Sword.

Ye Junze examined the Lingxu Sword, which had changed a great deal compared to before.

Because it had absorbed a piece of mysterious iron fragment, the body of the Lingxu Sword now continuously radiated a faint golden light, looking rather profound.

Recalling the contents of the Canghao Swordplay, Ye Junze slowly channeled the sword intent within his body into the Lingxu Sword.

Following his actions, the sword Qi on the Lingxu Sword suddenly increased. At the same time, an extremely pure Canghao sword intent emanated from the blade, intertwining with the sword Qi as if slicing the entire space apart.

Seeing this, Ye Junze's eyes naturally revealed pleasant surprise.

Then, Ye Junze withdrew his sword intent. In an instant, the sword Qi and sword intent that had just filled the entire space dissipated completely, as if they had never appeared at all.

After finishing this, Ye Junze recalled the contents of the Canghao Swordplay, grasped the Lingxu Sword, and continuously executed various sword stances with different postures as he had learned from the manual.

Although the Canghao Swordplay stated that the emphasis was on sword intent, certain sword stances capable of bringing out the maximum utility of this sword technique were naturally indispensable.

Therefore, following the contents of the manual, Ye Junze continuously practiced.

As he did so, Ye Junze felt a strange sensation in his heart.

It was as if, due to his cultivation of the Canghao sword intent, handling the Lingxu Sword today felt much more effortless and smooth. At times, Ye Junze could even sense faint, joyful humming sounds emanating from the Lingxu Sword—though he somewhat suspected that might just be his imagination.

Ye Junze shook his head and cast the thought aside, but the effortless feeling was undeniably real.

Consequently, while practicing the sword techniques, Ye Junze's mood was quite pleasant.

After all, a flying sword that made its user feel completely at ease undoubtedly made cultivation much more convenient.

Under such cultivation, Ye Junze's understanding of the Canghao Swordplay deepened continuously. Meanwhile, the Canghao sword intent within his acupoint vessel grew stronger and stronger through his practice.

Moreover, amidst his continuous movements, an ineffable quality seemed to gather around his body.

Lingling, who had been peacefully enjoying the desserts brought by Ye Junze, twitched its brows as it suddenly sensed something. It turned its head to look at where Ye Junze was.

Shortly after, Lingling felt that strange aura coming from Ye Junze; it felt somewhat familiar, yet it couldn't quite put into words what it was.

"This feeling?" Lingling couldn't help muttering softly to itself.

In the vast expanse of Lingling's past, it had occasionally sensed the aura emanating from Ye Junze a few times, but by now, it could no longer remember what it signified.

If forced to say, it must have been felt from its previous master before. However, the words that master had spoken back then had become rather hazy in its memory.

If Lingling's former master, the senior Canghao, were here right now, seeing Ye Junze as he was, he would surely be able to discern some clues.

Presumably, he would have repeated to Lingling what he had said many times before: "That feeling you sense right now is the manifestation of a cultivator growing close to and harmonizing with the Sword Dao. If you couldn't tell anything before, once you sense this phenomenon, have no fear—this person is destined by fate to become a sword cultivator. As for whether they can eventually become a Sword Immortal, that remains to be seen in the future."

Yet Ye Junze, the person directly involved, lacked any such conscious awareness; he merely kept changing his sword stances over and over according to the Canghao Swordplay.

At this moment, he was not yet a sword cultivator, yet he surpassed one.

Meanwhile, the Illusory Void Realm seemed to have returned to its usual state. Ye Junze was cultivating, Mengyuan's whereabouts remained unknown, and the only difference was the addition of Lingling nearby, happily hugging and eating a pile of candies and pastries.

The three of them each had their own affairs to attend to, without disturbing one another.

Yet if any unexpected situation were to befall any one of them—no matter who it might be—the others would never stand idly by. Instead, they would wholeheartedly contribute their own strength to help resolve the matter and handle the problem.

Though the time they had spent together was not particularly long, they had already regarded each other as confidants.

Otherwise, Lingling would never have handed over its Sword Dao inheritance without reservation to Ye Junze with complete peace of mind.

...

After practicing his sword techniques for an unknown length of time, Ye Junze felt the sword stances becoming increasingly familiar, accompanied by the slight growth of sword intent within his body. With joy that he could barely conceal, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

He slowly put away the Lingxu Sword and murmured to himself, "Today's swordplay cultivation should be about enough for now. It's time to go cultivate other things."

Reflecting on the practice of his sword stances just now, his understanding of the Canghao Swordplay had continuously deepened. Some points he couldn't comprehend previously had become crystal clear once he personally tried them out in practice.

Resolving those problems so smoothly naturally made Ye Junze very happy. Although the process was slightly tiring, it was ultimately a good thing.

Shaking his head, Ye Junze cast those thoughts aside.

He walked over to the spot where he usually sat in meditation, crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and once again slowly circulated his spiritual energy, guiding it through cycle after cycle.

After all, strong as the Sword Dao might be, the cultivation of one's foundational techniques could certainly not be neglected.

Thus, at this moment, Ye Junze truly resembled a busy, diligent cultivator.

Yet Ye Junze immensely enjoyed this state of being, finding a sense of delight within it without feeling tired in the least.

And indeed, cultivation was bound to be repetitive and tedious day after day; it required the cultivator to find their own joy amidst the hardship.