Crow Immortal: I Can Duplicate Infinite Resources

Chapter 192: Condensing the Soul

It doesn’t make sense.

Han Yu narrowed his eyes as he watched Hua Qi and Qi Feiyan approach the inspection station. They were chatting and laughing, their demeanor entirely too relaxed for people about to undergo a soul-searching probe by a high-level cultivator.

Han Yu knew Hua Qi. The one-armed disciple was honest to a fault, unlikely to harbor ghosts in his heart. But he was also naive—a perfect tool for someone else to wield.

Qi Feiyan was a different story. Her arrival at the sect had been a masterpiece of coincidence. Even if Bai Shiqi wasn’t a spy, Han Yu was almost certain she was.

Yet, standing before the judges, she showed no fear.

Han Yu noted her appearance. Gone were the subtle hints of seduction. Today, she wore simple, unadorned robes. Her hair was held back by a single wooden hairpin. It was a calculated transformation—a visual plea of innocence and modesty.

Elder Lü stepped forward. He placed his hands on their shoulders, driving his Spirit Breath into their dantians and meridians.

He probed deep.

Minutes passed. Elder Lü retracted his hands, his expression blank.

“Normal,” Elder Lü announced. “Both practice the Green Grain Qi Cultivation Method. No foreign energies. No hidden seals.”

He checked Hua Qi’s Storage Bag. Clean.

Qi Feiyan, being a new Novice disciple, didn’t even have a Storage Bag to search.

“You are cleared,” Elder Lü said, though his tone was guarded. “Step down. Do not return to your quarters yet; we are conducting a physical search of the dormitories next.”

“Yes, Elder.”

Hua Qi and Qi Feiyan bowed respectfully and retreated into the crowd of cleared disciples, resuming their quiet conversation.

Elder Lü glanced at Han Yu. The silent question passed between them: How?

How is she clean?

Was the rescue staged perfectly? Did she truly possess the sect’s Keepsake Token by luck? Elder Lü’s inspection was invasive; it shouldn’t be possible to hide a secondary cultivation base or a spy’s seal. Yet, Han Yu’s gut instinct—honed by paranoia and survival—screamed that she was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

The purge continued until sunset.

Every Outer Disciple, every Laborer Disciple, and every room in the sect was turned inside out. If Wanchun Valley weren’t a cultivation sect where people could fly between peaks, this process would have taken weeks.

The results were sobering.

The “old guard”—those who had survived the siege of the four sects—were clean. The loyalty forged in blood held true.

Only three new disciples were identified as spies, unrelated to the high-level threat Han Yu feared. It seemed that Li Xuan and his cell, captured the previous night, were the extent of the rot.

But the suspects Han Yu and Elder Lü had flagged? Clean. All of them.

This result was a double-edged sword. On one hand, it unified the sect, proving that 99% of the disciples were trustworthy. On the other hand, it terrified Han Yu.

Either there are no deep-cover spies… or they are so good that even a Golden Core-level inspection can’t find them.

With the purge over, the sect returned to a tense normalcy. Han Yu threw himself into a punishing schedule.

Two hours of teaching at the Battle Hall. Then, a rotation of cultivation methods: Green Grain Qi Cultivation Method, Blood Refining Technique, Wood Spirit Body Refining Technique, and the Star Luo Traction Technique.

Any spare moment was spent raising his crows or studying Jade Slips on Formations and Artifact Refining.

He studied Formations to counter people like Lin Lingxiu, whose Spirit Eye techniques relied on spotting structural flaws. If Han Yu could layer enough variability into his arrays, he could burn out the eyes of anyone trying to peek.

He studied Artifact Refining because he had a stockpile of raw materials—18 blocks of Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart that had been drained of their Wood Spirit aura. They were useless for cultivation now, but they were still top-tier crafting materials. He had ideas for defensive gear.

Ten days passed in a blur.

Finally, his System’s replication energy recharged.

Han Yu immediately replicated the Sword Heart Spirit Crystal.

That night, after completing his routine, he sat in his quiet room. He dismissed the newly formed eighth Star Luo Thread and focused on the object in his hand.

The Sword Heart Spirit Crystal was clear as water, but inside, a wisp of smoke curled and twisted. It wasn’t smoke—it was Sword Intent. It vibrated against his skin, a living thing responding to his touch.

Han Yu took a deep breath. He recalled the mnemonics of the Soul Condensing Sword Art.

He pressed the crystal to the center of his forehead.

Close eyes. Condense spirit.

BOOM.

The world fell away.

Han Yu found himself standing in a desolate, gray landscape. It was a graveyard of blades. Broken swords, rusted halberds, and shattered spears littered the ground, stretching to the horizon. The air was sharp, smelling of iron and ozone.

On a distant peak, a blurred figure stood against the gray sky.

The figure raised a sword. A flash of light, white as snow, severed the heavens.

“The sword,” a voice echoed, sounding like metal grinding against stone, “is the blade of the heart.”

Before the words faded, the figure exploded into light. Thousands of sword beams cascaded down like a meteor shower, aiming directly for Han Yu.

Han Yu tried to dodge. He couldn’t move.

The sword light slammed into him.

There was no blood. The beams passed through his flesh, ghost-like, but they left something behind. Slivers of Sword Intent embedded themselves in his psyche. It felt like ice shards driven into his marrow, like fire cauterizing his nerves.

Pain.

Not the dull ache of the body, but the screaming, white-hot agony of the soul being shaved down, tempered, and re-forged.

This was the shortcut. He didn’t have decades to practice the sword, so the crystal was forcing decades of “intent” into him in moments.

“The path of the sword cultivator begins with the Sword Heart.”

The voice boomed again, shaking the foundations of his mind.

Han Yu gritted his teeth, sweat pouring down his physical face in the real world. He forced his mind to remain open, to accept the agony.

The Soul Condensing Sword Art… it doesn’t use the sword to kill enemies. It uses the sword to kill the weakness in the self.

Refine the soul until it is as hard and sharp as a blade.

The crystal, originating from the Spirit Sword Sect’s Sword Washing Pool, contained the purified essence of countless swordmasters. It was stripping away Han Yu’s hesitation, replacing it with instinct.

Time lost meaning. Eventually, the sword light faded.

Han Yu opened his eyes.

A cold, metallic glint flashed in his pupils.

He raised a hand and swiped his finger through the air. A faint, invisible ripple of Sword Qi followed the motion. It wasn’t strong enough to kill, but it was there.

I see.

He finally understood why Li Tonghai could see through illusions. When the soul is refined into a sword, intuition becomes a blade. It cuts through lies.

Han Yu drew his flying sword. He didn’t use Spiritual Energy to guide it; he just willed it. The sword hummed, vibrating in perfect resonance with his mind.

“Soul Condensing Sword Art… success.”

He laughed, tossing the partially drained Sword Heart Spirit Crystal into the air.

Star Luo Thread, bind.

Invisible threads lashed the crystal to the hilt of his flying sword. The crystal fused with the metal, bonding tighter than any weld. The sword let out a clear, singing ring, its spirituality elevating to a new tier.

The next day, Han Yu arrived at the Battle Hall for his shift.

He had just finished critiquing a duel when he saw a familiar pair walking toward him.

Qi Feiyan was supporting the one-armed Hua Qi. She leaned into him, her posture intimate, her voice dripping with concern.

“Senior Brother Hua, slow down. You’re injured; you shouldn’t be pushing yourself at the Battle Hall.”

Hua Qi’s face was flushed red, his empty sleeve swaying as he walked. He looked embarrassed but pleased.

“I… I’m fine,” Hua Qi stammered. “Junior Sister Qi, your Spirit Root is excellent. You should focus on your own cultivation. You don’t need to waste time taking care of a cripple like me…”

Han Yu watched them, his new Sword Heart cold and still in his chest.