Half a day passed in the blink of an eye, and Chen Jinshu left the illusion array exhausted both in body and mind. By the time she arrived at her master's courtyard, her legs were trembling slightly and she could barely stand.
"This round must've been even better than the last, right?" Shui Huanmeng said with a soft smile as she helped Chen Jinshu stay upright.
"The illusion array's strength was twice what it was last time," Chen Jinshu said after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself.
"This time, I raised the difficulty to the peak of the Qi Refining stage. Think of it as a way to prepare you early for late-stage opponents. How does it feel?" Shui Huanmeng nodded lightly and slowly raised her hand to send a stream of spiritual energy into Chen Jinshu, helping to ease her fatigue.
She had increased the difficulty of the array after evaluating Chen Jinshu's current cultivation and combat ability. A basic illusion array no longer held much value for her.
Although Chen Jinshu was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, her spiritual energy reserves and actual combat strength were already comparable to cultivators at the seventh or even eighth layer.
"It was very challenging, but not entirely without a chance of victory. Pushing through it yielded a lot of gains!"
That was Chen Jinshu's conclusion after half a day of being tempered in the array. Though the illusion had nearly overwhelmed her several times, she had gritted her teeth and endured.
The benefits of enduring were clear—her mastery over all her zither pieces had improved, and the simpler ones, The Cry of Cranes Among the Pines and Autumn Dance of Frosted Leaves, had reached proficiency.
Beyond that, she had also found a path toward shaping her Soundwave attacks. With a few more days of practice, she would be able to solidify them—making future confrontations against peak Qi Refining level illusions significantly easier.
"I'm very pleased with your performance this time. Here, this is a Qingyuan Pill. It'll help your body recover quickly. Make sure not to injure yourself before the upcoming competition," Shui Huanmeng said with a nod, handing her a small bottle of pills.
Shui Huanmeng had been worried whether Chen Jinshu could withstand the enhanced array, but it seemed she had underestimated the girl's determination.
It was no less than her own back in the day.
"Thank you, Master!" Chen Jinshu's eyes glimmered with gratitude as she looked at Shui Huanmeng.
Most disciples wouldn't get this kind of tailored training through illusion arrays. She was lucky to have such a good master. Otherwise, it might have taken her another year or two to raise her musical skills and cultivation level to this standard. Shui Huanmeng had helped her immensely.
Moments later, Chen Jinshu took the pill right in front of her master. Her tired, bruised body recovered in an instant, and her spiritual energy was even replenished a bit. The pill continued to heal the hidden injuries within her.
An hour later, Chen Jinshu finished tending to the spiritual fields and returned to her residence at Ink Plum Courtyard.
"This illusion array was definitely a major leap. Even against late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, I can hold my own now."
Her eyes gleamed with confidence, far brighter than two days ago. The training had made her realize just how far her strength had come—no longer on par with regular sixth-layer cultivators.
Clang, clang!
Just as she activated the courtyard's formation and stepped inside, the sound of clashing metal rang out from the rear of the house—like the cry of swords.
"What's going on? Could a cultivator have infiltrated the courtyard?"
Chen Jinshu immediately pulled her Green Zither from her storage pouch and placed it in front of her.
Swish, swish!
She had barely taken a few steps forward when several silver sword auras shot out of the air and sliced into the plum trees nearby, leaving deep sword marks. Her gaze sharpened. She struck her zither, forming a shield of autumn leaves to protect herself.
"These sword strikes came from the rear of the house… Could it be from that sword casket?"
She was sure now—there was no one else in Ink Plum Courtyard.
Her zither's sound swept the entire courtyard—aside from a few Yinyan Sparrows on the tree and surrounding plants, no other living creatures were detected.
Following the trajectory of the sword aura, she had a good guess.
A few months ago, she had dug up a sword casket near the hot spring behind her room. Since its origins were unknown and potentially dangerous, she had sealed it in the back courtyard with numerous restriction talismans.
The formation used was only a high-grade tier-one array—barely strong enough to contain such a mysterious item. And its effective duration was nearly up.
"It's been quiet for months, but now it's making a fuss."
Those sword auras hadn't targeted her directly—they had merely brushed past her. Like a tantrum-throwing child flinging objects in anger, but not wanting to actually hurt her.
"So the sword casket really is sentient… but what should I do now?"
"Cultivator! Let me out!"
Just as she was frowning in thought, a child-like voice echoed from the back of the house, tinged with frustration.
"Who are you?"
"I am the Sword Spirit inside the sword casket!"
"Sword spirit? Shouldn't you be called an artifact spirit? Why call yourself a sword spirit?" Chen Jinshu instinctively questioned.
She had never heard of a sword spirit that could detach from its sword and exist independently—much less one that had possessed the casket.
"I am a sword spirit! The blade became corrupted and bloodthirsty years ago. I refused to follow it down that path, so I chose to inhabit the casket instead," the voice responded with a hint of weariness, piquing Chen Jinshu's curiosity.
"So the spirit had its own will—enough to reject its host weapon? Something major must have happened."
"How do I know you won't hurt me?"
"If I wanted to harm you, why would I wait until now?"
"Not convincing enough."
"Please, let me out. I've been trapped in this pool for centuries. Now that I've finally awakened, I don't want to lose my freedom again," the sword spirit pleaded.
Chen Jinshu didn't dare go near the back courtyard. But this was her home—she would likely be staying here for centuries. She had to do something.
"Then what was that earlier? Throwing sword strikes at me?" she asked.
"I had just woken up—I couldn't fully control myself," the spirit replied, sounding embarrassed.
"Not in control? What if you had injured me?"
"I'm fully awake now. I won't lash out anymore."
"I don't believe you!" Chen Jinshu shook her head and quickly pulled out a few newly purchased high-grade talisman seals, flinging them toward the rear courtyard.
But despite using several, they had no effect—the sword spirit's voice still came through clearly.
"Don't waste your energy. Regular talismans are useless on me!"
"Fine. I swear—I'll never harm you. If I break this vow, may I be instantly reduced to ash!"
Chen Jinshu's guard lowered slightly. A vow like that—if willingly made—meant the spirit had some moral foundation.
"Then swear that you'll never have even the thought of harming Chen Jinshu—or be reduced to ashes in an instant!"