Eventually, his gaze returned to Jian Ling. "You've been maintaining this place alone all these years?"
Jian Ling's expression remained unchanged. "A fragment does not experience loneliness."
A smile appeared on Li Yan's face. "That wasn't my question."
Jian Ling remained silent.
Several moments passed before she finally replied. "The tower maintained itself. Some automated functions remained active while the rest entered dormancy."
Her gaze drifted upward toward the distant ceiling. "For most of that time, there was nothing to do."
Li Yan nodded slowly.
Thousands of years. A fallen sect. An abandoned inheritance. Even if she was only a fragment, existing within such silence could not have been pleasant.
The hall became quiet for a time.
Then Jian Ling suddenly looked at him. "When do you intend to return?"
The question caught Li Yan slightly off guard.
After a brief moment of thought, he answered honestly. "Often."
Something flickered within her eyes. It disappeared almost immediately. "The tower welcomes diligent swordsmen."
Li Yan laughed. "Is that your way of saying you don't want to wait another thousand years?"
Jian Ling looked at him calmly. Several breaths passed.
Then she replied in the same tone she used when discussing cultivation realms and trial evaluations. "The probability of your survival for another thousand years is currently insignificant."
Li Yan's smile froze. A moment later, he shook his head helplessly. Somehow, every conversation with Jian Ling eventually arrived at the same destination.
The Tower Spirit possessed an extraordinary talent for transforming ordinary remarks into brutally objective observations.
Yet this time, Li Yan noticed something unusual. After delivering her response, a trace of amusement appeared in her eyes.
Only briefly.
But it was there.
His gaze sharpened slightly. The expression had appeared naturally. Too naturally. Not like a programmed response. Not like the behavior of a simple projection.
"You said you're only a fragment."
"Correct."
Li Yan studied her carefully. "Then why do you feel so... alive?"
Jian Ling did not answer immediately. Her gaze shifted away from him and settled upon the memorial swords embedded throughout the central platform.
The silence stretched for several moments.
Finally, she spoke. "Because memories remain."
Li Yan listened quietly.
"The original Tower Spirit carried countless memories accumulated throughout the history of the Eternal Sword Sect. When it entered dormancy, fragments of those memories remained behind."
A brief pause followed. "I inherited some of them."
Understanding gradually appeared in Li Yan's eyes. Jian Ling was not truly alive. Yet neither was she a simple remnant acting according to predetermined instructions.
She existed somewhere between the two. A fragment carrying echoes of a vanished age—a witness who remembered things that no longer existed anywhere else.
No wonder traces of emotion occasionally surfaced despite her efforts to remain detached. The rise of the Eternal Sword Sect. Its years of prosperity. Its destruction—the countless lives represented by the memorial swords.
She had witnessed all of it.
As Li Yan looked at her, his perspective shifted slightly. Until now, he had viewed Jian Ling primarily as the guardian of the inheritance and the guide of the Sword Tower.
Now he saw something more. A remnant left behind by history itself. Someone who had not merely lost a sect. But an entire world.
Jian Ling suddenly broke the silence. "You have exhausted a significant portion of your Spiritual Energy."
She pointed toward his chest. "Remaining here for too long will place unnecessary strain on your Spiritual Consciousness."
Li Yan immediately understood.
Everything within the Eternal Sword Tower existed inside his Spiritual Consciousness. Although the tower itself provided the environment, maintaining his presence still required Spiritual Energy. After spending hours exploring the Knowledge Hall, studying the Insight Hall, and challenging the Trial Arena, his reserves had already been consumed considerably.
His current condition remained stable, but continuing to push forward would accomplish little. A cultivator who ignored exhaustion often made poor decisions.
Li Yan nodded. "Then I'll return soon."
Jian Ling gave a small nod. "Continue studying in the Knowledge Hall. Visit the Insight Hall regularly. Challenge the Trial Arena."
Her gaze met his. "If you do those three things consistently, your Swordsmanship will improve rapidly."
The advice was simple.
More importantly, it was correct. Knowledge built foundations. Insights broadened understanding. Trials transformed understanding into experience. Neglecting any one of the three would slow his progress.
Li Yan smiled. "I'll remember that."
Jian Ling stepped back toward the central platform. "The tower awaits your return, Inheritor Candidate."
Li Yan laughed. "You truly refuse to call me anything else."
Her expression remained completely serious. "Earn a different title."
Before Li Yan could respond, her figure gradually dissolved into countless silver particles and disappeared.
The central hall fell silent once more.
Only the memorial swords remained beneath the golden light, standing as silent witnesses to a history long forgotten by the outside world.
Li Yan stood there for several breaths before slowly withdrawing his consciousness.
The Eternal Sword Tower faded.
The Spiritual Sea receded.
Moments later, he opened his eyes inside the treehouse. The familiar wooden chamber greeted him.
Nearby, the Qi Gathering Array continued operating quietly. Streams of Heaven and Earth Energy flowed through the formation, circulating throughout the treehouse. However, Li Yan immediately noticed that the Fire Qi Stones supplying the array had nearly exhausted their energy.
Only faint traces remained within them. A few more minutes, and the array would shut down on its own.
After gathering Heaven and Earth Energy continuously for nearly two days, allowing it to disperse now would be a complete waste.
Li Yan glanced toward the window. The night was already nearing its end. Only an hour or two remained before dawn.
With a wave of his hand, two fresh Fire Qi Stones appeared from his storage ring. Guided by his Qi, they floated toward the array disc and smoothly replaced the depleted stones without interrupting the formation's operation.
Li Yan closed his eyes and resumed cultivation.
This time, he focused on Soul Cultivation.
The Spiritual Energy hidden within the gathered Heaven and Earth Energy was extracted and guided toward his upper dantian. Following the cultivation technique Yao Fuhuo had given him, he continuously absorbed, refined, and purified the energy before allowing it to merge with his Spiritual Sea.
The process continued until dawn.
By the time the first rays of sunlight filtered through the leaves outside, not only had his Spiritual Energy reserves fully recovered, but several additional drops of purified Spiritual Energy had merged into his Spiritual Sea, further stabilizing his newly advanced Soul/Spiritual Cultivation.
Only then did Li Yan shift his focus.
The Soul Cultivation technique ceased operating as he began circulating his Body Cultivation method instead.
Martial Energy, hidden within the surrounding Heaven and Earth Energy, was drawn into his body and guided through his meridians toward the middle dantian—the Martial Core. The process lasted for more than an hour before he finally stopped.
Without resting, Li Yan immediately transitioned into Qi Cultivation.
Darkness Qi, Fire Qi, Earth Qi. The three elemental energies gathered within the array flowed toward him simultaneously.
His Qi Core rotated steadily within his lower dantian. A Qi Node orbiting it absorbed and refined the incoming energy without pause.
Time passed quietly.
The amount of energy accumulated in his body continued to increase until it finally reached a critical point.
A wave of Qi erupted from his body. The surrounding Heaven and Earth Energy stirred briefly before settling again. Li Yan remained seated with his eyes closed as the breakthrough completed itself.
His Qi Core became denser. The Qi circulating through his meridians grew stronger. Another Qi Node appeared and started orbiting the Qi Core like the first one. His cultivation had successfully advanced another step.
Qi Channeling Realm (Stage-2).
Several minutes later, Li Yan stabilized the newly advanced cultivation before slowly opening his eyes.
The sun had already risen. Golden light filled the treehouse, illuminating the wooden floor and casting long shadows across the room.
Li Yan briefly examined his condition and nodded in satisfaction. The gains from the past two days had exceeded his expectations.
He had successfully refined the Golden Feather Peacock Flame.
His Spiritual Cultivation had broken through.
The Eternal Sword Tower had finally opened.
His Sword Intent Level had advanced.
And his Qi Cultivation had advanced another stage.
Very few cultivators would experience so many improvements within such a short period.
After a moment, Li Yan summoned the Spiritual Beast Egg from the mark beneath his ear. The melon-sized egg appeared before him. The two lightning-shaped cracks remained visible on its shell.
Without hesitation, Li Yan directed the remaining Heaven and Earth Energy gathered inside the array toward the egg.
The egg absorbed everything greedily. Only after the last traces of energy disappeared did Li Yan store it away again.
With nothing left worth preserving, he deactivated the array. The surrounding energy gradually dispersed.
Moments later, Li Yan activated a teleportation crystal. Space distorted briefly around him.
The treehouse vanished.
His residence appeared.
As soon as he arrived, Li Yan walked toward the couch and lay down.
For two days, he had spent every moment cultivating, exploring the Sword Tower, refining a Beast Flame, and advancing multiple aspects of his cultivation.
Even with his strong mental discipline, a short rest was still welcome.
Within moments, he closed his eyes. The living room fell silent, and Li Yan simply slept.
*****
After resting for several hours, Li Yan gradually woke.
The exhaustion accumulated from nearly two days had mostly disappeared. After washing away the fatigue with a bath, he left his residence and made a brief trip to the food stalls within the sect. By the time he returned, the afternoon was already approaching.
He ate quietly while organizing his plans for the coming days. The Golden Feather Peacock Flame had been successfully refined.
The Eternal Sword Tower had opened. His Qi Cultivation, Spiritual Cultivation, and Sword Intent had all advanced.
Now it was time to return to the task that occupied most of his daily schedule.
Alchemy.
After finishing his meal, Li Yan entered his alchemy chamber and sat cross-legged before the pill furnace.
For a moment, he remained still.
Then he circulated his Qi.
The Flame Seed near his lower dantian immediately responded.
A golden flame appeared above his palm, dancing quietly in the air. Faint rainbow-colored traces occasionally flickered within it, giving the flame an elegant appearance entirely unlike the violent Beast Flames described in many records.
Li Yan examined it briefly before guiding it toward the pill furnace. The Golden Feather Peacock Flame enveloped the furnace, immediately heating it.
Compared to his previous Refining Flame, the difference was obvious. The temperature rose faster. More importantly, it remained remarkably stable.
The fluctuations that normally accompanied the heating process were almost nonexistent.
Li Yan's eyes brightened slightly.
Even before beginning the refinement process, he could already understand why this flame had been reserved for the future Head of the Alchemy Hall.
Once the required temperature was reached, he opened the furnace.
Several prepared herbs and ingredients rose from the floor near the pill furnace and entered it one after another before the lid closed once more.
Today, he was continuing his work on the third of the eleven Tier-3 Peak-Level pill recipes.
The Azure Poison Resistance Pill.
Before Yao Fuhuo's arrival, Li Yan had already successfully refined sixteen of these pills. The highest purity he had achieved so far was ninety-one percent.
Now he wanted to see how much difference a genuine Tier-3 Beast Flame could make. His Spiritual Sense extended into the pill furnace.
The first step began.
The Golden Feather Peacock Flame simultaneously enveloped five different herbs and ingredients. Under Li Yan's precise control, their medicinal essences gradually separated from the impurities contained within them.
The extraction process proceeded smoothly.
The stability of the Beast Flame significantly reduced the amount of attention required to maintain proper temperatures.
Soon, five refined medicinal essences floated within the furnace.
Li Yan immediately began the second stage.
Impurity removal.
The Golden Feather Peacock Flame displayed another advantage.
The flame's control was exceptional.
Li Yan could alter its intensity with almost no delay, allowing him to remove impurities with greater precision than before.
Once the impurities had been sufficiently reduced, he moved on to the next step.
The five medicinal essences gradually merged.
Their properties intertwined.
Their energies balanced one another.
Under Li Yan's control, the combined medicinal mass slowly condensed into the shape of a pill.
The final stage soon followed.
Refinement.
The newly formed pill remained suspended within the furnace while the Golden Feather Peacock Flame carefully tempered it from all directions.
Additional traces of impurities were gradually burned away. Several moments later, a soft sound echoed from within the furnace.
Success.