The Eternal Wraith Sword Art was separated into three different stages, each of them a sword skill in its own right. Beginning from the first stage, they were namely the Howling Wraith Sword, the Returning Wraith Sword, and the Eternal Wraith Sword.

What Xihuang Yuanfeng mentioned – the Returning Wraith Sword – was exactly the second stage of the Eternal Wraith Sword Art.

Seeing that Lu Tianzi had practised the Howling Wraith Sword to such a high level, Xihuang Yuanfeng had naturally imagined that Lu Tianzi would have touched upon the second stage as well.

But contrary to his expectations, Lu Tianzi had not done so at all!

It had not been long since Lu Tianzi truly mastered the concepts behind the Howling Wraith Sword. In fact, this was the very first time that he had ever performed it to such a level!

How, then, would he have the time to look into the Returning Wraith Sword?

Lu Tianzi could only laugh awkwardly while looking away, unwilling to match his master's gaze.

With how experienced Xihuang Yuanfeng was, how could he not tell what this meant?

"Are you already contented after mastering the first stage of the Eternal Wraith Sword Art?" Xihuang Yuanfeng questioned. "So much so that you can't even be bothered to practise the second stage?"

"That's not it!" Lu Tianzi shook his head vehemently. "I have only just managed to master the Howling Wraith Sword, so I haven't had the time to touch on the Returning Wraith Sword yet. If I had just a little bit more time, I will definitely master it as well!"

"Hmm? Is that really the case?" Xihuang Yuanfeng eyed him doubtfully.

"It's true!" Lu Tianzi hurriedly added. "I have been busy settling in after entering the Scarlet Moon Kingdom. But now that I am finally well settled in, I am planning to devote all of my time into mastering this precious and profound technique that Master has chosen to impart to me! All I ask for is a little more time!"

"Well said!" Xihuang Yuanfeng finally smiled in satisfaction. "Now that you seem to have it all planned out, then you definitely have to devote your all into mastering the Eternal Wraith Sword Art, ignoring all distractions! Do not let down my expectations of you, understood?"

Hmm?

Lu Tianzi blinked blankly.

Why did it feel like there was something wrong with this situation?

But no matter what, appeasing his master was the most important thing to do at the moment!

"Understood, Master!" Lu Tianzi clasped his fist towards his master in acknowledgement.

"It is good that you understand," Xihuang Yuanfeng nodded. "And since you need to devote all of your time into mastering the Eternal Wraith Sword Art, as your master, I ought to help you clear your mind of all distractions. For that very reason, I shall not be passing you any spear techniques for now!"

Lu Tianzi's eyes widened in shock.

Shit!

How did things come to this?

Did his petty master plan out the course of the conversation since the beginning?

How cunning!

Still, if his master thought that he would give up just like that, then he was gravely mistaken!

"But master, there are always two sides to a coin! Even though any distraction could possibly bring about a slight delay on the martial path, I believe that as long as one is able to overcome it, it can also be treated as a great grinding stone for the mind. Such an individual will ultimately possess greater mental strength than others, allowing them to stand head and shoulders above everyone else in the future!" Lu Tianzi placed his hands behind his back in a confident pose. "And as your disciple, I believe that I will certainly be able to achieve something as simple as overcoming mere distractions!"

Xihuang Yuanfeng immediately sneered in contempt. "Do you think that I am an idiot? You have been trying to get spear technques from me since the very start. If you are ever able to overcome the distraction of learning a spear technique that is already in your hands, then I will be willing to call you my master instead!"

Lu Tianzi felt the corner of his mouth twitching wildly in response. "Can't you just trust your disciple a little more?"

"I will when you deserve that trust!" Xihuang Yuanfeng was adamant about his decision. "Now that you are here, you might as well just get started on the Returning Wraith Sword!"

"Got it already.." Lu Tianzi grudgingly agreed.

Since his master was so insistent, there was nothing he could do about it either.

Deep in his heart, Lu Tianzi knew very well that his master was right.

If he were to obtain a profound spear technique on the level of the Eternal Wraith Sword Art right now, there was absolutely no way that he would completely ignore it just to hone the Eternal Wraith Sword Art to perfection!

Seen through by his master, Lu Tianzi could only do as he was told.

Under the watchful gaze of Xihuang Yuanfeng, Lu Tianzi sat down at a corner of the cave chamber and pulled out the jade slip containing the Eternal Wraith Sword Art, quickly entering a state of deep meditation.

Each of the three stages of the Eternal Wraith Sword Art was a sword skill in its own right.

The Howling Wraith Sword worked on the principle of striking with sufficient power to induce the howling of the wind, at the same time adding an illusory layer, making it seem as if the sword itself was nothing but a ghastly apparition. When performed to perfection, a martial artist would be able to prevent his opponent from determining the true position of the sword, rendering the sword strike almost impossible to block.

As for the Returning Wraith Sword, it was about creating a true illusion, capable of dealing significant mental damage to the opponent even if the physical sword strike was blocked. At the same time, it granted the ability to call back the attack that had already been sent out, allowing the user to deal a secondary strike from behind.

The concepts seemed similar, but they were essentially entirely different techniques.

If the Howling Wraith Sword was about using illusions to rob the senses of the target and conceal the force of the sword, then the Returning Wraith Sword involved combining both the physical and the mental to deal an attack that would directly overpower any opponent!

All that was similar between the two was the need to incorporate a mental aspect in both sword skills.

Thus, even though Lu Tianzi had mastered the Howling Wraith Sword, it was by no means an easy feat to just move on and master the Returning Wraith Sword.

"There is no point in purely thinking about it. Why don't you test it out?" Xihuang Yuanfeng's voice roused Lu Tianzi from his meditation.

Understanding what his master meant, Lu Tianzi stood up with the Sword of Ivory Rock in hand.

Driving the Slaughter Essence in his inner world, Lu Tianzi decisively struck forth with his sword in accordance to his current understanding of the Returning Wraith Sword!

An overwhelming wave of energy surged forth from within him, enveloping the Sword of Ivory Rock with an indomitable strength!

Under Lu Tianzi's direction, this powerful wave of energy slammed towards the walls of the cave chamber, only to dissipate instantly, as if it had never been there in the first place.

"Hahaha! Not too shabby for your first attempt, only that you chose the wrong target!" Xihuang Yuanfeng laughed. "If the walls of the cave chamber were so easily damaged, I would have left this place long ago!"

"Hmm?" Lu Tianzi could not help but feel surprised.

He had only been thinking of testing out the Returning Wraith Sword, and had chosen to strike at the cave chamber walls on a whim.

However, now that he witnessed for himself just how resilient the walls of the cave chamber were, Lu Tianzi instantly felt his interest piqued.

No, rather than say that the walls were resilient, it was more like there was a mysterious layer of energy that had perfectly shielded the walls of the cave chamber!

Lu Tianzi knew that his execution of the sword strike earlier was nowhere near being perfect, but the strength behind it was no joking matter either. Perhaps even Fourth Prince Mosha would have been overpowered by it.

Yet even with that, the attack had been completely neutralised in an instant, unable to even come into contact with the walls of the cave chamber.

This showed that as compared to his sword strike, this layer of protection was on an entirely different level altogether!

But that was only to be expected.

As Xihuang Yuanfeng mentioned, he would have escaped long ago if that was not the case.

Why would he have to remain in this cave chamber for this long?

Thus, what piqued Lu Tianzi's interest was not the strength of the protection layer, but the way in which it had activated.

When his earlier sword strike dissipated, Lu Tianzi had sensed that instead of being countered by an opposing force from the protection layer, resulting in the complete depletion of energy from his attack, the energy from his sword strike had been directly consumed instead.

In other words, it was as if all the momentum and energy that he had put behind his sword strike had been sent into another space altogether!

If it had been the Lu Tianzi from months ago, he would not have been able to detect any difference between the two concepts.

However, practising the Limitless Mirror Eye had allowed Lu Tianzi to come into contact with the power of space, allowing him to make sense of something that even Origin Core realm martial artists should not have been capable of understanding!

"Master, this ancient seal utilises the power of space?" Lu Tianzi asked curiously.

"Oh? You are able to tell how it works? " Xihuang Yuanfeng raised an eyebrow in skeptism.

This Essence Condensation realm brat actually knows a little something about the power of space?

"Only roughly," Lu Tianzi replied uncertainly. "Let me try to make sure!"

"You even want to make sure?" Xihuang Yuanfeng rubbed his chin in interest. "Go ahead. I'm not stopping you."

If anything, Xihuang Yuanfeng was even looking forward to see what Lu Tianzi intended to do!

Lu Tianzi nodded before walking up to the walls.

Limitless Mirror Eye!

A silvery glint flashed across his eyes as he drove the Slaughter Essence within his inner world.

Before his eyes, the flow of energy within the cave chamber was revealed in an instant!

At the same time, as if reacting to Lu Tianzi, the numerous ancient runes etched into the walls of the cave chamber glowed brightly all at once, sending out an immense mental pressure that bore upon him!

This was a mental pressure that far exceeded anything he had ever seen.

In the face of such power, Lu Tianzi's mental defence crumbled in an instant!

Pu-!

Lu Tianzi spat out a mouthful of blood before tumbling back, his inner world in complete disarray.

Not just that, but his mind had suffered a huge mental setback.

Thankfully, he had sensed the incoming danger and cancelled the Limitless Mirror Eye immediately. With that, the pressure from the ancient seals halted as well.

This had limited the injury he received to a bare minimum. Otherwise, he might not even be able to keep standing right now!

But despite escaping the fate of heavy injuries, the shock he received was not small by any measure.

He definitely was not expecting such a heavy backlash just from trying to check out the protection layer of the cave chamber!

Still, the one who was shocked the most was not Lu Tianzi, but Xihuang Yuanfeng who had been watching from the side!

At this moment, Xihuang Yuanfeng was rendered utterly speechless.

This Essence Condensation realm brat was actually able to trigger the defence mechanism of the ancient seal?!