“Yes, as you’re probably aware, I’ve never faltered before, Young Noble.” She looked up to answer.

“True, you can indeed persevere.” He nodded and praised her persistence on the dao path.

“Please give me pointers, Young Noble.” Xi Yue lowered her head again.

“Rise.” Li Qiye smiled: “Fate brings us together today and your wisdom seals the deal.” 

“Thank you, Young Noble.” Xi Yue brought her head up, being overwhelmed with excitement despite maintaining a calm demeanor.

“Your dao has more than flaws, it is damaged.” He said.

“Your insight is impeccable, discerning it with one glance.” She sighed and revealed: “I met a powerful foe and suffered a setback to my dao. This plus facing a bottleneck stopped me from improving. That’s why I have no choice but to search for a method.”

“Because of this, you’re looking for perfection, something even more magical.” He chuckled.

“Yes, Young Noble.” She continued: “I have been assiduous in my search in recent years, only to find nothing. Perhaps the timing wasn’t right, or the thing never existed in the first place.”

“No, it’s there.” Li Qiye said.

His answer shocked her because this thing she was pursuing was highly coveted in history. Numerous masters planned and some even paid with their lives only to fail.

She didn’t want it before but due to the damages to her dao, this became her method.

Now, he confirmed the validity of this theory. They were strangers but she believed in him. His tone left no room for doubts either.

“Do you know where it is?” She blurted out before realizing how silly she was being. “I’m sorry, I’m being senseless.”

After all, the news of this item would cause a bloodbath all over Sword Continent. Everyone desired it and would hide all information pertaining to it.

“It’s fine. The problem is that it might not actually be that beneficial to you.” He shook his head.

“Please elaborate, Young Noble.” She asked respectfully.

“I know your plan, wanting to use it to fix your dao. However, relying on external means isn’t the right way. It is time to take a leap given your current cultivation.” He explained.

“You’re right, Young Noble. I can follow the logic.” She agreed and actually knew this already. Alas, there was nothing else she could do.

“It’s just that I am trapped in a predicament. If I can’t get out, I’ll keep on deteriorating.” She smiled wryly.

It was dangerous for one’s cultivation to continuously recede. That’s why she had to resort to external help.

“I’ve thought about using pills first.” She added.

“But you didn’t because you knew that it wouldn’t solve the actual issue. Using alchemy is only effective for a weaker cultivator. For someone like you, it’s only temporary unless it is an immortal item.” He smiled.

The problem for her was finding alchemy ingredients at the immortal level. That would be tougher than resorting to external means.

“Leap out of your grand dao, replace it with something newer and better.” He suggested.

“Please show me the way, Young Noble.” She cupped her fist and bowed after finding hope again.

“Very well, I shall aid you.” He said before reaching for her forehead with one finger.

The forehead was a vulnerable position. One powerful attack would definitely take her down. However, she trusted him enough to not be wary.

A tiny law looking like a golden string circled around his finger. It entered her mind and created a ripple effect.

“Clank! Clank! Clank!” Sword hymns could be heard as she became resplendent with this affinity.

Fortunately, the area around the house has been sealed so no destruction happened to the outside world.

A sword dao erupted inside her mind like a supreme dragon. It started an endless tsunami with enough power to kill everything.

She started shaking and immediately got into the meditative position. She absorbed energy and channeled her own sword dao in order to fuse it with the new law.

The sword aura emanating from her prevented anyone from getting close. The individual rays could pierce through any cultivator.

This wasn’t her strongest state - only an internal activation of her sword dao. Once she chose to actually use it, one slash could cut Ancient Crimson Island into two halves.

The golden law pierced through her sword dao, causing it to roar and struggle. Its scales extended like swords in a magnificent manner.

The law continued with an incredible speed and made it to a particular position in this sword dao. There was a damaged portion that couldn’t be repaired before until now. The law weaved back and forth and instantly fixed this problem.

Meanwhile, this process put her in unimaginable pain. She mustered all of her willpower in order to endure it.

Of course, the joy due to the successful repair eventually overwhelmed the pain.

“Buzz.” The golden law began affecting the entire sword dao. A golden color eventually took over.

This made the pain even worse since the sword dao realized that it was being changed. Xi Yue felt as if her body was being burned by branding irons all over.

The dragon-like sword dao struggled but this was futile. It eventually succumbed to the golden law, culminating in a refreshing aura.

This went beyond a transformative process, akin to starting a second life. The golden dragon soared to the sky and then landed again. It kept on playing in this manner, seemingly enjoying itself.

What came after the pain was an equal level of pleasure and happiness. Xi Yue could tell that her sword dao had leap out of the previous constraints.

She had trained for years to no avail, unable to break through this bottleneck. However, Li Qiye helped her fix her dao damages and let her reach the next cultivation realm.