Demon Immortal

Weeks passed in a blur…

When a cultivator enters the state of enlightenment, time and other things hold no meaning to them. Duncan wasn't an exception to that either. He completely lost himself in figuring out his sword moves that he lost track of time.

A small beard also began to grow on his face, due to him not taking care of himself for several weeks. Duncan was completely unaware of his state as he immersed himself in figuring out his sword moves.

However, Duncan soon ran into a problem.

The intent domain in front wasn't a pure sword-based intent domain. It was combined with other aspects as well. Like the masking of sword techniques in the form of petals, flowers, and wind, the intent domain wasn't pure. It also had some aspects of Dao of slaughter and assassination mixed into it.

What this meant was that, ultimately what Duncan could gain from the intent domain was still limited. It wasn't a neverending fountain. Once Duncan perceived as much as he could from the intent domain, his insights started running out.

Moreover, with Duncan's cultivation level, the amount of things he could perceive was also limited. It too made for a roadblock to him when it came to figuring out the way of the sword.

Last but not least, the nature of the intent domain was also different from Duncan's straightforward approach in regards to the way of the sword. What he could glean from it and use it for his own Sword Dao was also limited.

Thus, one fine day, Duncan woke up from his comprehension with a sigh on his lips.

Duncan understood clearly that this was his limit when it came to figuring out the way of the sword with the help of the intent domain. No matter how he tried, Duncan didn't think he would be able to obtain any more insights from the intent domain at his present stage.

"While I am still not satisfied, I really did understand a lot from this intent domain. I had already understood how to condense sword qi. I have also reached the threshold of creating a sword domain. I have taken inspiration and created my own sword art as well from this intent domain."

"Whatever else I obtained were mere fringe benefits. Now, I need to sort out these insights I have obtained and try to create my sword domain first. I couldn't truly grasp the concept behind <Absolute Slash Sword Art>, but I do have a direction in which I can travel next in my cultivation of the sword art," Duncan said closing his eyes.

"Regardless, there is nothing more to be gained here. Now, I need to consolidate my insights and see where they lead," Duncan mumbled to himself and opened his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Duncan once more closed his eyes and tried to consolidate the knowledge and insights he had gained from his recent enlightenment regarding the way of the sword.

*****

Two days later…

Sword aura started emanating from Duncan's body all around. 

A dome-like structure was being created from the sword aura enveloping Duncan's body in it. Countless crisscrossing sword qi swam through the dome making it look as if Duncan was going to be shredded into pieces.

However, none of that qi harmed Duncan one bit. Even his remaining pants were undamaged from the sword qi that was present everywhere in the dome-like structure. 

Duncan's eyes opened and he took in the sword qi swimming in front of his face with fascination in his eyes. There was a small amount of surprise and satisfaction in his eyes as well.

"So, this is how a sword domain is formed, huh?" Duncan mumbled looking at the countless sword qi roaming inside the dome. "A domain is a collection of sword qi that is operating under a certain principle. In this region, I am the king. I can control any sword qi and attack anyone inside it however I want."

Duncan muttered to himself as if he was in a trance while looking at the dome-like structure. However, he soon began frowning seeing the size of the domain.

"What is this? Why is my domain so small? Is this related to my cultivation? Or do I not have enough knowledge to expand it to a bigger size? This size is really pitiful. It is not even reaching one meter outside of my body," Duncan said frowning a bit.

"How can I attack someone with my domain like this? This isn't practical at all. The domain should at the minimum cover ten meters from my body. At least this will give enough room for me to engulf my opponent in this," Duncan said thinking out loud.

"I should concentrate on figuring out how to increase the size of this domain. But, that's for later. I need to name this domain first. So, what should I name it? Should I name it based on the characteristics of the domain? Or should I follow the pattern of other cultivators and name it based on the original intention of the domain?"

"I didn't create this domain from any martial art. This is purely made on my understanding of the Sword Dao. I need to figure out how to name this first. I can't go ahead calling it a sword domain. That will be ludicrous. Moreover, anything I create must have an awesome name as well," Duncan frowned and dismissed the sword domain that was engulfing him.

"Let me get back to that later," Duncan shook his head and decided not to bother with it currently.

With the current state of the domain, he would be hard-pressed to use it in real combat. No enemy will be foolish enough to come so close and get enveloped in this domain. For now, this domain could only be used defensively to negate other attacks that came towards him.

Duncan turned and looked at the garden with a curious glint in his eyes. He wanted to see if his sword domain could stand against the countless sword intents in the intent domain in the garden.

Deciding to check it out, Duncan took a small twig from the ground and tried to encompass it with his sword domain. The first process ended in failure as the sword domain obliterated the twig without any mercy.

Duncan's lips twitched seeing this.

He had indeed taken inspiration from the garden's intent domain. The way in which the intent domain obliterated the weapon was the inspiration for him to create such a sword domain that was very aggressive.

Unlike the intent domain which acted passively, the sword domain he created was very active in attacking as well. This also ensured that the twig wouldn't last for a moment inside his sword domain.

Duncan also realized that his control over his sword domain was abysmal. He was barely able to form it at this moment. He had no control over its state and the actions it took. The domain had a basic purpose and acted on it without even his prompt.

This was unacceptable.

A cultivator must have full control over his domain. If not, the domain will become a burden for the cultivator. It can even harm allies and other things that the cultivator would want to be preserved. Even an unintentional exposure will cause damage to whatever comes into contact with the domain.

Duncan shook his head as he realized he was trying too hard. Even though he had obtained a large amount of knowledge regarding the way of swords, the extent of it is limited as well. There are still a lot of things he needed to understand about the way of swords.

Duncan also recognized the fact that trying to enter the garden with this little piece of sword domain would be idiocy at its peak. Even though he had modeled his domain after the intent domain engulfing the garden, the quality between the two is on different levels.

The intent domain was enveloped by sword intents that were formed from sword techniques. His was just sword qi that he had emanated from his own understanding. So, comparing them would be like comparing an ant and an elephant.

Just because both ant and elephant ended with the same letters, it wouldn't mean that they were in the same league. Duncan recognized this fact and put away the idea of entering the garden with his sword domain as a shield.

"Let's not be hasty. This intent domain had remained here for several eons. It is not going to go anywhere. I can always give it a shot after comprehending my own sword intent. That way, I won't be immediately shredded into a mincemeat," Duncan chuckled and took out a jar of wine.

"I think I better relax here for a while before going back the way I came and finding another way through the battlefield," Duncan took a swig from his wine jar and sighed. 

"Somehow, I have the feeling that I will be taking a lot of detours just to save my life in this Ancient Battlefield. Anyway, I don't have any pressing matters to attend to. Let me relax here for a bit. The scenery is very nice here… ha… ha… ha… "

Duncan laughed heartily taking more and more sips of his wine. He was really in a great mood currently. After relaxing for a while, he would once again march on the road and try to find a way to exit this Ancient Battlefield.

For now, only the wine in his hand and the beautiful scenery mattered…

*****

A/N: Check out my other stories and let me know your thoughts...

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