A pitch-black hilt, a blood-red blade.
A faint gleam of cold light flickered like a solitary star; only upon closer inspection did one realize with a start that it was an incomparably sharp sword tip.
This was the God-Slashing Blood Sword that had once shaken the world.
"God-Slashing" was not its true name, but merely arose from the legend that it had drunk its fill of Soul Formation blood.
Luo Chen looked at it, feeling somewhat hesitant.
By now, he was no longer that penniless Qi Refining rogue cultivator of Dahe Market.
As a noble Nascent Soul True Person, the magic treasures at his disposal could be called countless.
Yet among these many treasures, only three truly caught his eye.
The first, naturally, was his long-nurtured life-bound magic treasure, the Hunyuan Cauldron. Already richly endowed, it had successively absorbed the nameless gray light and the power of Tribulation Lightning. Ever since its elevation to a True Artifact, he wielded it as effortlessly as an extension of his own arm, yielding extraordinary power.
In external combat, the Hunyuan Cauldron bound and suppressed with boundless might. In internal cultivation assistance, it could temper divided souls as well as concoct pills and forge artifacts. Regarding the latter in particular, that Luo Chen had managed to concoct Great Soul Pills and Hongyuan Pills in such a short time was largely credited to the Hunyuan Cauldron, alongside his superb alchemy skills.
The second treasure Luo Chen cherished was the White Tiger puppet.
Boasting combat strength on par with late Nascent Soul, being able to control it would mean Luo Chen instantly gained an assistant equivalent to a Great Cultivator.
Luo Chen had originally intended to master the White Tiger puppet first; cultivating a divided soul and studying puppetry had all been preparations toward this end.
However, after careful deliberation, Luo Chen suppressed that impulse for the time being.
For no other reason than that the White Tiger's spirit soul within the puppet was simply too powerful; with Luo Chen's current soul strength, he might not be able to enslave it perfectly.
Even Han Zhan back then had expended tremendous effort just to barely command it to a degree, yet had still been unable to unleash its full might.
Luo Chen acknowledged that in both soul strength and puppetry attainment, he still fell short of Han Zhan at his peak.
What was more, refining this puppet required ample space.
If he brazenly brought it out here on Mount Xiaoqiong—someone else's territory—it would likely stir up considerable trouble.
Just like his recent exchange and Dao discussion with Zhou Yunshen, where their Nascent Souls had clashed; that scene had undoubtedly caught the attention of many watchful eyes.
For now, Luo Chen did not wish to expose this trump card.
Therefore, after much thought, Luo Chen turned his attention to this blood sword, which was not the slightest bit inferior to the White Tiger puppet.
"A True Artifact capable of slaying a Soul Formation almighty—even if not a spirit treasure, it is hardly any different.
"Yet unlike refining a spirit treasure, which requires the artifact spirit's acknowledgment, this sword is ultimately still within the realm of a True Artifact. It can be forcibly refined!
"Even if the refining fails and destroys its inner spirit soul, it will not affect the sword's might in the least.
"Blood Nightmare Moluo was also an early Nascent Soul cultivator. What he could do, why shouldn't I?
"And once I master this sword, my combat prowess is bound to take a qualitative leap!"
Luo Chen's expectations were by no means arrogant conceit.
All along, though formidable and boasting combat abilities far outstripping his peers, he had relied mostly on his own powers, depending very little on external objects.
To put it bluntly, Luo Chen had never possessed any truly formidable offensive weapon.
During the Qi Refining stage, his primary means of combat had been spells, and the same had held true in Foundation Establishment. Though he possessed many treasures in the Golden Core stage, he still lacked a handy offensive magic treasure.
In all these years, only that Profound Fire Sword had been relatively well-suited to him.
Yet that Profound Fire Sword had been crudely made, ranking merely as low-grade.
Whereas the blood sword in his hand had slain a Soul Formation almighty as a True Artifact—it was absolutely the finest of the fine, and perhaps held hope of ascending to the rank of spirit treasure in the future.
At present, Luo Chen's realm was only Nascent Soul, so this sword matched him well. Once refined, it would not result in embarrassing situations like the Heaven Refining Cauldron threatening to self-detonate at every turn.
As for how to refine the blood sword's spirit soul, Luo Chen already had a few ideas.
His hesitation faded, his solemn expression hardening with resolve.
His divine sense spread outward, creeping into the blood sword bit by bit.
Even though it was enveloped in bloody light, nothing could thwart Luo Chen's persistence.
Within the Hunyuan Cauldron, Luo Chen was master!
This sword was merely a prisoner—how much resistance could it possibly muster?
Soon, Luo Chen found that wisp of spiritual light.
"Is this the blood sword's spirit soul?"
Neither human nor beast, it was curled together like a placenta, faintly exuding a foul, fishy stench.
Luo Chen frowned, finding no corresponding species in his memories resembling this creature.
A demon beast? A demonic beast? An artificial chimera, or perhaps an inherently spiritual creature of the sprite kind?
Setting aside its origins for the moment, his divine sense began probing along the spirit soul, seeking an easy breach.
Time trickled by.
Gradually, Luo Chen detected clues from this motionless spirit soul.
"Three layers of seals in total!
"One layer has already been broken, covered in pervasive blood-filth that is exceedingly corrosive. If I am not mistaken, this should be the doing of the Yuan Demon Sect's Blood Sea Patriarch. He attempted to refine this sword, only to be gravely wounded in the end. Afterward, his lifetime of cultivation took up residence within this sword until it was inherited by Blood Nightmare Moluo.
"This second layer of seal is riddled with gaps—was that Blood Nightmare Moluo's doing?
"This works out well. Following these breaches, perhaps I can plant my soul seal onto the spirit soul."
Luo Chen withdrew his divine sense, a look of enlightenment washing over his face.
Blood Nightmare Moluo had definitely harbored thoughts of thoroughly refining this sword before, but failed; the breaches in the seals were proof.
Could he succeed, then?
The corners of Luo Chen's lips curled upward; he had already made up his mind.
...
Three days later.
Luo Chen sat cross-legged before the Hunyuan Cauldron, eyes closed, hands forming incantation seals.
Inside his purple palace, the miniature Nascent Soul mirrored him from within, its chubby, fair little hands forming the identical seal.
With every breath, the muscles of Luo Chen's face trembled slightly until a wisp of golden light slowly drifted out from between his eyebrows.
Upon close inspection, it was an insignia shaped like a flame.
This was the soul seal condensed according to puppetry techniques.
Once planted inside a puppet, it was far more convenient than thread manipulation, magic power control, or threading with divine sense.
However, an ordinary puppeteer could never condense such a lifelike soul seal with a complete form.
Only those who had mastered soul division and possessed profound divine soul foundations could achieve this.
As the soul seal flew out, Luo Chen wasted no time and cast it straight into the cauldron.
Instantly!
Bloody light surged within the cauldron. The blood sword seemed to realize what was happening, erupting with layers of spiritual glow in an attempt to stop the soul seal's intrusion.
Unwilling to submit?
Refusing to wait for death?
Right then, Luo Chen gave a cold snort.
"Suppress!"
The Hunyuan Cauldron shuddered, its five colors—gold, azure, blue, red, and yellow—intertwining like soft ribbons of silk, binding the blood sword in layer upon layer.
Not only that.
Crack!
Wisps of silvery-white electric arcs crackled inside the cauldron, lashing around the blood sword like whips in continuous intimidation.
Moreover, within those silvery-white arcs, faint wisps of black lightning could be seen.
The Tribulation Lightning power the Hunyuan Cauldron had absorbed back then had come from a manifested black thunder beast!
The silvery-white arcs were merely the superficial layer.
The black electric arcs were the true essence of Tribulation Lightning.
Even Luo Chen dared not summon the black Tribulation Lightning lightly in regular combat; at this moment, he merely commanded a trace of it.
Under this formidable suppression and intimidation, the blood sword trembled constantly, letting out ring after ring of sword cries.
Only, to Luo Chen's ears, those cries sounded more like the wails of powerless struggle.
"Just yield to me!"
Luo Chen chuckled softly and directed the soul seal through the gaps, slipping past the second seal to begin merging with the spirit soul.
In that process, several visions surfaced in his mind.
A small beast born from its mother's womb, ferociously devouring its eight siblings.
A dazzling, magnificent sword emerging from a furnace and nurtured upon a mountain of weapons.
Then one day, the sword broke through the mountain and plunged straight into a gloomy, dim world.
In that world, exotic beasts were countless, and visitors diverse.
Many tried to subdue the sword, only to meet with tragic failure.
A few succeeded briefly, yet none made it out of that world in the end, becoming sacrifices to the sword instead.
Among them was an old man wearing a plum-blossom blood robe of a style familiar to Luo Chen, gripping the sword with his own hands.
The visions shifted.
The blood sword was carried out of that dim world in the jaws of a mindless dragon soul, only to break free mid-flight and tumble into the delicate hands of a woman.
The woman lacked the ability to refine the sword at all, and could only use it as bait to hook larger prey.
Yet the sword proved too sharp, leaving a sword scar between the brows of a middle-aged man.
Under the influence of another consciousness, it was forced back into that sunless world until someone brought it out once more.
These visions also contained the various methods used by predecessors attempting to refine the sword:
Binding by blood drops, containment through magic power, soul enslavement, and even sacrificing one's own body to nurture it!
Through so many tortuous means, the blood sword's spirit soul had been corrupted, turning utterly foul and putrid.
Now, Luo Chen was adding his own mark!
The spirit soul slowly opened its eyes; with a gaze both cruel and deeply affectionate, it looked at Luo Chen once before slowly shutting its eyes again.
At this moment, Luo Chen felt the resonance between the sword and himself.
"Success?!"
Luo Chen's eyes snapped open, filled with surprise and joy.
Yet immediately after, he shook his head.
Deep within the blood sword, the thickest, third seal remained unbroken; he had merely attained a tenuous command over the blade.
The proof was...
"Sword, come!"
With a beckoning wave, the Hunyuan Cauldron's five-colored ribbons loosened, the silvery arcs withdrew, and the blood sword fell into his hand.
The sword tip quivered, turning around in an attempt to point at Luo Chen himself.
Thick bloodlust emanated from it.
"Still craving to drink my blood? Wishful thinking."
Undaunted, Luo Chen held the hilt with one hand and wiped his other palm across the blade. As his magic power surged, the blood light vanished in an instant.
Only now, without the blinding blood light obscuring divine sense and sight, did he finally see two archaic characters inscribed where the blade met the hilt:
[Yuan Tu]
"Is this your true name?"
Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief. He gave the blood sword two casual swings, finding it wonderfully agreeable and peerlessly sharp, as if it could shear through space itself.
"Quite a fitting name. The Yuan Demon Sect's Blood Sea Patriarch was indeed slaughtered by you."
Though he knew the name could not have carried that meaning when it was originally inscribed, Luo Chen was happy to attribute such a connection to it.
Then, Luo Chen rested the Yuan Tu Sword across his knees. Magic power enveloped it like an ocean, while his divine sense continually drilled into the blade.
Claiming ownership via the soul seal was only the first step.
To truly unleash this sword's power, he still needed continuous tempering, deeper familiarity, and even discovering its rhythm of absorbing the world's spiritual energy.
Take it one step at a time!
...
Luo Chen intended to take things one step at a time, but matters clearly did not go as wished.
Because Fu Chaosheng had returned.
Some things were simply like that, rarely swaying according to personal will.
Earlier, Luo Chen had been anxious for Fu Chaosheng's return so they could set off for the Central Plains; now, he wished he had returned a little slower.
Yet now that Fu Chaosheng was back, he ultimately had to face that eagerly anticipated yet dreaded reality.
"Time is short. We depart tomorrow!"
So said Fu Chaosheng.
Seeing Luo Chen's confusion, he explained, "Word has come from the sect. An almighty is about to ascend, and I must return ahead of time to make preparations."
All the questions filling Luo Chen's mind dissolved into nothingness before those words: "an almighty is about to ascend."
He asked only one question: "Who?"
Fu Chaosheng shook his head. "When the time comes, you will naturally know. Get ready; we depart first thing tomorrow morning."
...
In Shenyuan City, Fu Chaosheng made no secret of his return.
Likewise, news of his imminent departure was broadcast that very day.
Such urgency seemed almost calculated to force people to take a stance.
Several high-level cultivators who had still been waiting on the sidelines were forced to make their choices in short order.
Early the next morning, a grand procession of over a thousand people marched out of the city and arrived before an immense ship at Giant Whale Port.
Luo Chen looked up at the great vessel, actually sensing an aura from it no weaker than his own.
It did not belong to any living person, but radiated from the ship itself.
Zhou Yunshen said in a low voice beside him, "Rumor has it that this vessel was crafted entirely from the carcass of a sword-halberd whale that had reached the fourth-tier Demon Sovereign realm in life. That is why it gives us such a soul-shaking impression."
"A ship made of a whale?" Luo Chen was quite surprised. "Wouldn't the head of the Northern Sea's whale clan, that Sea Emperor Whale almighty, be infuriated by this?"
Yet the moment the words left his mouth, he gave a self-deprecating smile.
This was a ship belonging to the Tianyuan Dao Sect!
Forget a fourth-tier Demon Sovereign—even if the Sea Emperor Whale appeared in person, the Tianyuan Dao Sect would hardly give him any face.
It was not that Luo Chen exaggerated the Dao Sect's renown; Shenyuan City's utter defiance of its surroundings in the Northern Sea already proved everything.
Countless demon beasts prowled on all sides, yet not a single beast dared attack the city.
Even now, as the Jianji was about to carry passengers far away, those demon beasts only dared watch from afar, not venturing a hair's breadth closer.
Black King, hidden in Luo Chen's sleeve, asked curiously, "Why aren't we taking a teleportation array straight to the Central Plains?"
To this, Luo Chen shook his head.
If it were just a few people, a teleportation array would naturally be convenient.
But now...
He glanced around. Thousands of people waited densely at the port, gathered like thick clouds.
Among them were profound Nascent Soul True Persons like himself, shallow Qi Refining cultivators, and even infants cradled in women's arms.
The immense pressure exerted during transmission across such ultra-long-distance sea-crossing arrays was something low-level cultivators could not withstand in the slightest.
Taking a ship was both faster and more accommodating for a crowd like this.
Furthermore, according to Fu Chaosheng, once they reached midway, the group would split: some cultivators would take short-range teleportation arrays to cross natural perils straight to the Central Plains, while others would continue sailing slowly and steadily as planned.
Within Luo Chen's perception, he soon ascertained the number of Nascent Soul cultivators bound for the Central Plains.
Including himself and Zhou Yunshen, there were seven Nascent Soul True Persons in total!
The other five possessed remarkable cultivation and advanced ages; they had once dominated their respective territories in the Northern Sea and were figures of great renown.
Over the years, whether due to the war between the righteous and demonic factions, the demon coalition's invasion, or considerations for their own cultivation paths, they had made the decision to leave their homeland behind and head to the Central Plains to seek refuge with the Tianyuan Dao Sect.
'In this single voyage alone, the Tianyuan Dao Sect brings seven True Persons into its fold. In the three thousand years since ancient times, who knows how many powerhouses from outside provinces the Tianyuan Dao Sect has absorbed.'
Luo Chen took a deep breath and cast his gaze toward Fu Chaosheng, who was conversing with others.
Four people in total—precisely the four great elders of the Northern Sea's Tianyuan Commerce Alliance.
The content of their discussion was known to none, but when Fu Chaosheng bowed in farewell, the three elders led by Shen Wandou all wore solemn expressions.
"Everyone, board the ship!"
Fu Chaosheng led the way, boarding the Jianji first.
The remaining crowd did not rush forward in a chaotic swarm, but boarded one by one under the guidance of the Dao Sect's disciples.
"True Person Luo, this way, please!"
To everyone's surprise, of the seven Northern Sea Nascent Soul True Persons, the first to be escorted aboard was not Zhou Yunshen, who possessed the highest visible realm, but rather the youngest and lowest-ranked Desolate Hermit.
Facing Fu Hongzhang's sincere invitation and feeling the prickling stares at his back, Luo Chen remained placid.
"Let us go."
He stepped forward onto the ship.
Tianxuan, Sang Jinghe, and Zhang Jingqing followed closely behind.
Standing nearby, Zhou Yunshen watched this scene with a complicated expression.
From the boarding order alone, one could already deduce a great deal.
And he had been placed at the very end of the seven True Persons.
'Too late... everything came too late. I arrived too late and am too old. Seemingly possessing the highest cultivation, I am actually valued the least. Only by paying out my family's savings of countless years did I barely secure spots on this vessel. I wonder if this journey will truly be worth it.'
Zhou Yunshen looked back at his clansmen behind him. Their expressions varied—some reluctant to leave their homeland, others filled with longing and hope for their destination.
'No matter. Being able to secure a sanctuary for them is the last thing this old man can do. Children and grandchildren will have their own fortunes; what comes next will depend on themselves.'
"Board the ship!"
He said in a steady tone, ushering his clansmen to follow the Yuan Demon Sect disciples aboard the Jianji.
Once the Zhou family members had all boarded, there were no more passengers.
At the bow, Fu Chaosheng nodded from afar toward the three people at the port, then vanished into the vessel's depths.
The Jianji hummed and shuddered as spiritual radiance erupted, parting massive waves as it slowly set sail.
Beneath rolling tiers of white foam, its sails hoisted high, the Jianji swam toward the distant horizon like an enormous whale.
After their departure,
Shen Wandou released his divine sense in full, sweeping across the surroundings, a sneer spreading over his face.
"You furred and scaled, wet-born and egg-hatched beasts! The grand trend was already set, yet you shrank back in fear. You will never achieve great things after all.
"Return! From this day forth, Shenyuan seals its gates!"
With his command, countless cultivators at Giant Whale Port retreated like a receding tide into Shenyuan City, and the colossal city gates ground shut with a thunderous roar.
One after another, the dark, massive barrels of Tianyuan Spiritual Energy Cannons extended from the battlements, gazing out over the Northern Sea.
Chapter 733