Artifact Spirit

A flying sword?! How could there be a flying sword?! This sudden turn of events startled not only Yaoguang—who had just executed the "God Descent" secret technique and was preparing to deliver the finishing blow to Leng Tianfeng—but also Xie Yushu, who was watching from afar; even several nearby demons were momentarily stunned. In the next instant, as if a camouflage had been shattered, several auras appeared simultaneously within Yaoguang's perception. Moreover, not a single one of these auras was more than three hundred meters away from them. At such a short distance, and while both sides had been engaged in fierce combat that stirred up ripples of destructive energy fluctuations, neither of them had detected these auras in the slightest under such conditions. "I sense Jiang Bairen's aura... It's a concealment talisman! They used talismans!" Xie Yushu immediately deduced the situation at hand. However, whether it was talismans or not was irrelevant. What mattered was... "What bold audacity!" The power beneath Yaoguang's feet erupted violently. His figure shot forward like an artillery shell straight out of the barrel, whipping up flying sand and rocks as he blasted toward the origin of those auras. Along the way, weeds, brambles, and even trees were smashed head-on, wood chips flying wildly around him. Leng Tianfeng! Leaving aside how vital the memories in his mind were for Yaoguang to understand the current situation, his tier alone was immense... A Divine Path cultivator suspected of having cultivated an Origin Spirit—if he could kill him, how much experience would his [Demon Hunting] branch gain?! Even if it didn't advance his [Martial Path] Star Lord tier into a new realm directly, it would push progress forward by a massive leap. With "wealth" providing less and less experience to the [Merchant] branch, this lump sum of experience was crucial. Yet now, his kill had been stolen?! "Chixing! You are courting death!" *Bang!* Yaoguang shattered a large tree, and his vision abruptly opened up. He saw clearly that three heavily armed figures were operating a pentagonal treasure furnace a full person tall, covered in intricate formation patterns, fully activating it. The flying sword that had pierced Leng Tianfeng had already returned to the furnace. Inside the furnace, numerous translucent figures—or rather, remnant souls—were wailing, relentlessly clawing and pulling at a phantom shadow contained within the flying sword. This phantom shadow was exceedingly ferocious. Even reduced to a mere remnant soul, it had not perished completely, instead continuously tearing apart and scattering the remnant souls clutching at it. Judging by the faint features visible on the remnant soul... It was precisely Leng Tianfeng. However... There were far too many remnant souls within the furnace—hundreds upon thousands. Even though Leng Tianfeng's remnant soul fought with extreme ferocity, shredding and dispersing soul after soul, more surged forward in endless waves to latch onto him, dragging him deeper inside. As the three heavily armed figures poured an endless supply of spirit stones into the perimeter of the treasure furnace, the entire vessel vibrated faintly, releasing streams of flames as if seeking to forge Leng Tianfeng and those remnant souls into a single entity. Yaoguang could not tell what these Chixing people were doing, but from that treasure furnace, he sensed an aura that struck fear into the soul. If the Chixing people truly mastered the power of this furnace, then let alone his current state—holding on at the end of his tether only through the God Descent state—even if he restored himself to his peak, only death would await him. Therefore... Stop them! "He's at the end of his tether! Block him!" One of the men controlling the treasure furnace growled. It was Jiang Banzi's voice. Upon receiving the command, Lei Ting—something of an old acquaintance—stepped forward alongside another armored figure. As they stepped up to intercept him, several points on the fully armored figure lit up simultaneously, the points of radiance originating from spirit stones. With the infusion of energy from the spirit stones, the armored figure raised a hand, and a beam of flowing light shot forth once more, breaking the sound barrier almost the instant it was unleashed. Just as it was about to strike Yaoguang, it executed an agile tactical turn... A flying sword! This suit of battle armor was clearly equipped with two flying swords! *Whoosh!* Yaoguang slashed with the Thunderstrike Sword. His sword momentum took hold. A crushing gravitational pull heavy as a mountain bore down. The flying sword—previously moving at extreme speed and continuously veering—suddenly appeared like a bullet fired into water, its trajectory becoming distinct and visible. In the next instant, his left hand snapped forward, seizing the flying sword in an ironclad grip. *Clang!* The armored gauntlet collided with the flying sword, producing a screech of grinding metal. He could feel the connection between this flying sword and the battle armor ahead. That was... Spirit intent?! Or rather, spirit intent converted into divine sense! This divine sense was amplified by the formation patterns etched into the armor, allowing the wearer to command this flying sword with precision to execute supersonic kills within a thousand-meter radius. Relying on the sword's sharpness and speed, facing any enemy—even a Martial Saint—would be as easy as chopping vegetables. Unfortunately, he had encountered Yaoguang. Having just battled Leng Tianfeng, Yaoguang's Earth Furnace, Life Force Field, and Child of the Stars traits were all stimulated to their utmost limit. Without exaggeration, within a radius of a dozen—or even dozens—of meters around his body, there existed a terrifying gravitational field sufficient to crush the internal organs of ordinary people. Especially when he leveraged this gravitational field through his Life Force Field and directed it toward a single target... Even a Heavenly Being body would have to exert every ounce of strength to withstand it. What hope did a flying sword controlled by formations and reliant on speed have? It was only when Leng Tianfeng and Yaoguang had fought to utter exhaustion that this flying sword had managed to exploit its agility to deliver a surprise lethal strike against Leng Tianfeng. In a direct confrontation... a flying sword launched purely through battle armor formations could not have come within a single meter of Leng Tianfeng. *Buzz! Buzz!* The flying sword gripped in Yaoguang's hand vibrated violently, desperate to break free and fly away. Yet held firmly by the gravitational field derived from Yaoguang's Earth Furnace, it could not budge in the slightest. With Yaoguang advancing in great strides, the distance between them shrank rapidly... Witnessing this, the figure within the armor pushed his spirit and vitality to their peak. "Stop him!" Vitality was continuously converted into mental energy, which then transformed into divine sense and flooded into the formation, supplemented by the armor's spirit stone power supply, straining to summon the flying sword back. Meanwhile, the other old acquaintance who had received the order—Star Shrine Hall Master Lei Ting—nodded solemnly: "Leave him to me..." Wielding a greatsword as tall as an adult woman, he stood resolute, blocking Yaoguang's path and glaring at him coldly: "Last time didn't count as deciding a victor. This time, we will—" *Hum!* Before Lei Ting could finish his sentence, an unimaginably colossal weight crashed down upon him as Su Yaoguang leveled his sword. Instantly, the exoskeleton armor that had weighed only around a hundred kilograms felt as though it had ballooned to several tons. Even with a physique as mighty as a Martial Saint's, the crushing weight forced him down, nearly breaking his stance. "This..." Lei Ting's eyes widened in sheer horror. How could this be?! Before that shock could fully register, a flash of thunderous light streaked across the corner of his eye, descending upon him at an incredible speed. Catching sight of that lightning-fast gleam, Lei Ting let out a low roar, his blood and qi surging violently like an impending volcanic eruption. However... The burden bearing down upon him was simply too heavy. With several tons pressing upon him, even if he still retained the strength to fight, unleashing a strike as swift as thunder like before was nothing more than a pipe dream. Gripping his sword with both hands, he exerted all his might to parry Yaoguang's thunderous strike. But compared to Yaoguang's speed... He was moving as slowly as a snail! "Faster! Move faster!" Lei Ting roared, his blood and qi blazing like a rainbow as he poured it relentlessly into his sword, driving the speed of his slash... Barely to the level of a Martial Master striking with full force. Bearing a burden of several tons that severely strained even his internal organs, to still deliver a strike of such force proved that this Hunyuan Martial Saint was formidable indeed. Yet before Yaoguang's Thunderstrike Sword, which was too fast for ordinary eyes to track, such a counterattack... Was entirely futile. "No!" Amid the Star Shrine Hall Master's terrified, incredulous roar, he could only watch helplessly as the sword he should have been able to block—now leaving him bound by gravity to await death—pierced straight through his skull. A few months! Just a few months ago, he had been able to clash head-on with this terrifying opponent, falling short by only half a beat. Yet a few months later... He could not even withstand a single strike?! In such a short span of time, the gap between them had widened beyond what his eyes could fathom?! With this profound despair, the Star Shrine Hall Master's consciousness sank into darkness. Not only was Lei Ting killed in despair with a single strike, but behind him, Jiang Bairen—clad in high-tier battle armor—felt uncontrollable terror surge in his eyes as well. Su Yaoguang... Was far stronger than they had anticipated! So powerful that he was slipping entirely beyond their control! "Is it ready yet?!" Jiang Bairen yelled. Two launch ports abruptly surfaced on his battle armor, and two miniature rockets shot out instantly. "Almost... it's almost done..." Jiang Banzi, who was presiding over the treasure furnace, growled in a low voice: "Quick... activate the secret technique, refine qi to transform into spirit, channel the formation with spirit intent, and put everything into refining him into the artifact spirit..." Hearing this, Jiang Zhenwu and Zuo Wendao flushed crimson, the blood and qi within them burning fiercely before being converted into spirit intent through a specialized method, bolstering their divine sense to reinforce their control over the treasure furnace. However... They had clearly underestimated the capabilities of Leng Tianfeng, a Soul-Commanding Envoy. Soul-Commanding! His expertise was rooted in the manipulation of souls. Jiang Banzi and the others intended to use the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace to fuse him with the remnant souls of other Martial Saints, refining him into the artifact spirit of this treasure. Yet the result... "You are courting your own deaths!" Amid suppressed fury, Leng Tianfeng's Origin Spirit surged outward, infiltrating every corner of the treasure furnace. In the next instant... Jiang Banzi let out a cry of terror: "What's happening... Not good! The Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace is losing control!" "It's this demon! He's wresting control of the treasure from us... Ah! He's becoming the master of this treasure!" Zuo Wendao was equally pale with horror! "We Moon Demons are formless and shapeless! Constant in neither state nor form! Any object can serve as our vessel! And this vessel is of the Treasure Weapon tier! How powerful! Far more powerful than a Heavenly Being body!" Leng Tianfeng's Origin Spirit laughed wildly, as if completely fusing with the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace: "Hahaha! Thank you for presenting me with such a mighty vessel! To express my gratitude to you all..." An azure torrent swept out from the treasure furnace, instantly seizing the souls of Jiang Banzi, Zuo Wendao, and Jiang Zhenwu... "I'll send you to your deaths!"