Chapter 235: Chapter 235: Abi Sword Evolution

With Ye Guyue gone, Lü Yang turned his attention to Sui Ying. They exchanged a glance, and both saw the wariness and urgency in the other’s eyes.

The wariness stemmed from their mutual strength. Lü Yang’s position was exposed, robbing him of the element of surprise. Taking down this True Dragon King was clearly unrealistic, and the same held true for Sui Ying. The urgency, on the other hand, was because their recent combat had been far too conspicuous, attracting some genuinely formidable foes.

With this in mind, Lü Yang spoke immediately.

“Split it in two?”

Upon hearing this, Sui Ying’s golden eyes darted, but he didn’t hesitate, nodding at once. “Agreed!”

The moment he agreed, they both appeared, each grabbing a corner of the [Shade Dragon Water]. They tore at it simultaneously, ripping the Spirit Embryo in half!

The next instant, Sui Ying’s figure vanished into the distance.

Lü Yang, for his part, stored away his half of the [Shade Dragon Water]. He then formed a series of Magic Formulas, once again using [Star Concealment] to hide his physical form and Qi trace, and vanished from sight.

A few moments later, a streak of Flying Light arrived at the scene.

Its Divine Sense swept the area, revealing only the ruins left in the wake of a great battle. The cultivator within the light was startled, for the sight before them was a vast and spectacular ruin.

The ground was a web of cracks, but more astonishingly, a huge swath of the mountain forest had been sheared away. High above, the clouds had been violently split down the middle, parted to reveal a colossal, chasm-like scar left by a sword. Even now, streams of clouds were still pouring in to fill the gash.

The power of that single sword strike was unimaginable.

’It’s a good thing I was a bit late,’ the newcomer thought. ’How could I possibly have taken a blow like that?’

After circling the area a few more times and finding nothing, the cultivator in the Flying Light decisively gave up and sped off toward the next site of opportunity.

Meanwhile, Lü Yang had found a secluded forest to rest for a while.

’This half of the [Shade Dragon Water] should be usable.’

Although being torn in two had drastically reduced its value as a Spirit Embryo, the [Shade Dragon Water] was no longer suitable for refining Spiritual Treasures or Spirit Pills.

Lü Yang, however, didn’t mind.

After all, he wasn’t skilled in Artifact Refining or Alchemy anyway. His only reason for seizing the Spirit Embryo was to feed his [Abi Sword], treating it as a consumable.

“Master!”

Soon, as Lü Yang summoned the Abi Sword, the Spirit Light on the blade flickered, and the Sword Spirit Girl, dressed in a red, padded-cotton jacket, leaped out cheerfully.

She couldn’t be more satisfied with Lü Yang as her Sword Master. Not only did he let her kill a few Foundation Establishment cultivators for a treat every now and then, but he even fed her such an Upper Grade Spirit Embryo. She had once thought her old master, Blood Demon Zhenren, was impressive, but compared to Lü Yang, he seemed weak and incompetent.

“Eat this,” Lü Yang said, patting the Sword Spirit’s head.

“GULP!”

The Sword Spirit’s mouth suddenly split wide open, and she devoured the [Shade Dragon Water] in a single bite. After patting her round, bulging belly, she transformed into a streak of light and flew back into the sword.

In the next instant, the Qi trace of the Abi Sword transformed.

Just as Lü Yang had expected, after consuming half of the [Shade Dragon Water], the Abi Sword, already pushed to its limits, truly began to birth its fourth Profound Mystery!

For a moment, streams of splendid light flickered across the surface of the Abi Sword.

[Man Slaughterer], [Li Wei], and [Famous Artifact]… The three Divine Effects clustered around the blade like stars around the moon, jointly birthing the fourth.

A moment later, a brand-new radiance emerged, and with it, the flow of karmic links became visible.

Lü Yang made a quick divination with his fingers, and information about the new Divine Effect instantly flooded his mind.

Its name: [Chi Long]!

This Ability was exceptionally insidious. It allowed the Abi Sword to project a separate Sword Light, but this light was not a physical entity. It was an illusionary projection, incapable of harming anyone.

That was because this projected Sword Light specialized in one thing: slashing through Merit and Fortune!

With this, being struck by the Abi Sword was no longer a simple matter of injury. The victim’s Merit and Fortune would also be damaged. Continuous strikes would be no different from receiving a heavenly punishment!

’Take Ye Guyue, for instance. If the Abi Sword had been empowered by the [Chi Long] Divine Effect back then, he wouldn’t have rationally turned to flee. Instead, with his mind clouded by Tribulation Qi, he would have single-mindedly insisted on a head-on clash, completely disregarding the consequences. Inevitably, I would have slain him with a single strike!’

’Incredible… Simply incredible…’

Lü Yang couldn’t tear his eyes away from the Abi Sword. After forming its fourth Divine Effect, the sword’s Qi trace had become even more transcendent.

In short, it was growing ever closer to the level of the [Emperor’s Golden Seal of Tushita]!

’The [Emperor’s Golden Seal of Tushita] is a Quasi-Essence Artifact refined by the Perfected Fortune. If the Abi Sword can gather five Divine Effects, it will likely be on the same level!’

Just as Lü Yang was reveling in his excitement, Progenitor Tingyou quietly manifested.

“Something isn’t right…”

The doubtful voice broke through Lü Yang’s thoughts, forcing him to calm down. He turned to Progenitor Tingyou. “If I may ask, Progenitor, what isn’t right?”

“This Divine Effect. It’s not right.”

Progenitor Tingyou frowned. “[Shade Dragon Water] is the Earth of Chen—the ultimate Yin Earth, the grave of Water. Your [Abi Sword], however, is forged from Geng Metal Qi.”

“Logically, when an Artifact of Geng Metal encounters water and earth, it should be buried and silenced. Metal becomes cold, and water is cold; there’s a risk of it being submerged and lost. While your Abi Sword wasn’t damaged by consuming it, the Divine Effect produced shouldn’t have been particularly powerful… Yet this [Chi Long] clearly exceeds expectations, which means the two elements weren’t at odds with each other.”

“In fact, they seem compatible.”

At this, Progenitor Tingyou’s face filled with confusion. “But Geng Metal is Yang Metal, while the Earth of Chen is Yin Earth. Yang Metal and Yin Earth are inherently incompatible…”

“How could this be?”

Just then, Lü Yang felt a sudden stir within him.

The next moment, his Formless Sword unexpectedly leaped from his sleeve. The strand of Xin Metal Qi that had been refined into the blade began to fluctuate violently, causing the sword to hum and vibrate.

’Master Chong Guang… is looking for me?’

Lü Yang understood at once. This strand of Xin Metal Qi was likely a remnant of the former body that Perfected Chong Guang had deliberately left behind after his reincarnation as an Immortal Spirit.

It was only natural for there to be a connection between them.

’But just because you’re calling… does that mean I have to go?’

Lü Yang sneered. He guessed that even if Perfected Chong Guang was still alive, he had to be incredibly weak right now. This summons most likely meant he was in trouble.

’Trying to use me as a shield again?’

As Lü Yang was pondering this, his brow suddenly twitched. Although he was concealed, he was constantly using his Prophetic Orrery to survey his surroundings, its Light of Bing Fire illuminating everything in all directions.

And just now, he had spotted something unusual.

He saw that within the Blessed Land, the other three Innate Divine Techniques—aside from the [Shade Dragon Water]—had also been claimed one by one. This caused the entire Blessed Land to tremble violently.

The change was like pulling the support beams from a house. In the center of the Blessed Land, from the region of the Void, a vast, boundless golden light was forced to emerge. It replaced the four Innate Divine Techniques, propping up the Blessed Land once more. However, its support was limited to the central region; the outer edges of the Blessed Land had already begun to collapse.

’This is forcing everyone toward the center… forcing me to go?’

Lü Yang’s expression grew grim. Not everyone was so greedy; some Perfected Persons, knowing their own strength was lacking, had simply grabbed a few benefits on the outskirts and gone into hiding.

But now, they had nowhere left to hide.

The Blessed Land was collapsing from its edges inward, shrinking the area of safe ground. Anyone caught in these collapsing zones could be instantly crushed and killed by the Blessed Land’s power!

“What a blatant scheme!” Lü Yang clapped his hands and laughed.

’World Purger Fei Xue has ordered a strict lockdown, making it impossible for me to leave the Blessed Land. But as long as I remain here, I’ll be forced to go to the center and meet Chong Guang.’

Lü Yang had also figured out the origin of that golden light in the Blessed Land’s center.

It was Perfected Chong Guang’s Innate Ability.

The [Clear Flight Scenery Map]!

’If Perfected Chong Guang is really still alive, his Soul must be within it. Moreover, his Innate Ability has manifested on its own to forcibly sustain the Blessed Land…’

’It seems his Dao Heart is firm. He hasn’t given up yet.’

Just then, the Dharma Eye between Lü Yang’s brows suddenly twitched. Illuminated by the Light of Bing Fire, he saw several streaks of Flying Light speeding in from the periphery.

There was one Flying Light in the lead and three in pursuit—someone was clearly being hunted.

Judging from their Qi traces, all four were at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment. The one in the lead, though outnumbered three to one, was managing to hold his own, supported entirely by an arsenal of dazzling Artifacts that shone with Splendid Light.

Lü Yang focused his gaze, and a strange look crept onto his face. The person being hunted was none other than Chongming, the son of Chong Guang!

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