Chapter 632: Qian Flame Fire Bamboo Sword (2)

One was from Celestial Fire, the other from Celestial Thunder.

The main difference was that the latter had been nurtured and blessed by the Wood God Skill, which guaranteed a certain rate of mutation.

Otherwise, it would be like the Bitter Bamboo. A thousand stalks were burned by Celestial Fire, yet only one became a Tier Four Spiritual Bamboo.

If cultivating Thunder Sound Bamboo had such a low success rate, the Fish Dragon Sect could have planted the entire Hornless Dragon Island with Spiritual Bamboo and still not have gathered enough Tier Three bamboo to refine the Thunder Sound Swords.

The Qian Flame Fire Bamboo Sword itself was refined from Tier Four Spiritual Materials, which was why it could successfully advance with the establishment of the Grotto Heaven Prototype.

By that logic, he could do the same, upgrading one of his Tier Three Flying Swords to Tier Four.

After all, they had been nourished by Pure Qi in the Sword Box for years, so their accumulated foundation was certainly sufficient. The main factor would be which of their original materials were superior and could better withstand a higher level of power during the refining process.

‘Among my many Tier Three Flying Swords, the Great Sun Celestial Furnace Sword is definitely the highest quality. After all, it was forged from Outer Heaven Divine Iron and Great Sun Celestial Fire. If not for the poor Sword Refining Skill and the fact that its previous owners had no significant achievements in the Sword Dao, it would have had a chance to break through to Tier Four long ago.’

Bai Zichen summoned the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box and scanned all of his Tier Three Flying Swords.

‘Then there are the Snow Forged Sword, the Hundred Poison Cold Python Sword, and the Ruo Wood Sword. All of them were clearly made with Sword Refining Materials that reached Tier Four, giving them the potential to advance. In the future, once I make progress with the Daoist Classic Cantongqi, I can prioritize these swords.’

‘When he thought about it, he really did have quite a few flying swords with Tier Four potential.’

‘Assembling twelve Tier Four Flying Swords to deploy an unprecedented Tier Four Star River Sword Formation no longer seemed like such a distant dream.’

‘I want in! I want in!’

Upon seeing the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box, the Qian Flame Fire Bamboo Sword quivered with excitement. Though it didn’t recognize the Sword Box, it could immediately sense the treasure’s importance to a Flying Sword.

It was an irresistible, instinctual attraction for a Sword Spirit.

“Don’t worry, there’s a spot for you.”

Bai Zichen tapped the Sword Box. A vacant mass of Pure Qi floated up, opening wide like a welcoming embrace, and the Qian Flame Fire Bamboo Sword dove right in.

He glanced at the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword in the far corner. It still maintained its cold and aloof attitude and hadn’t communicated with him once since entering the Sword Box.

Flying swords came and went as the Sword Box opened and closed, but the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword remained motionless, as if it had fallen into a deep slumber.

But of one thing he was certain: no flying sword, after experiencing the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box, would ever be willing to leave.

‘Once I reach the Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm, I believe the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword will truly acknowledge me as its master, not like it had with the Blood God True Monarch, where it put in the bare minimum effort.’

Having dealt with these matters, Bai Zichen activated the Spirit Gathering Array in the main hall. He watched as the mist-like Spiritual Qi on the Immortal Reception Platform surged like a tidal wave. Pulled as if by an unseen tide, it all rushed toward the center—the council hall used by generations of Sect Leaders.

This mist-like Spiritual Qi layered upon itself like mountain ranges, so dense it was becoming faintly tangible, stirring his Daoist robe.

He took a long, sharp breath, and a huge patch of Spiritual Qi in the air caved inward, forming a vortex.

The Spiritual Qi was so dense that it even emitted faint crackling sounds, suffused with boundless vitality.

A Tier Five Spirit Land, which Ancient Cultivators called a Grotto Heaven Blessed Land, was in a completely different league from other Spirit Lands.

It wasn’t just that one had to be within a Tier Five Spirit Land to achieve the Divinity Transformation Realm.

In such an environment, even inanimate objects could undergo mutation.

For cultivators of an insufficient Realm, entering a Tier Five Spirit Land was more harmful than beneficial, as it would cause severe damage to their physical bodies.

Only Nascent Soul True Monarchs and above could withstand a Tier Five Spirit Land without being overwhelmed by the near-tangible Spiritual Qi.

This phenomenon—a cultivator absorbing excessively concentrated Spiritual Qi and falling into a coma, or even having their Sea of Consciousness descend into a permanent slumber—was known as “spirit intoxication.”

‘Of all the Spirit Lands I’ve ever seen, this is undoubtedly the best… Neither the peak of Flame Mountain nor the Star Palace Secret Realm can compare. Such pure Wood Element Spiritual Qi would also be perfect for Senior Brother Ge Cang.’

Ever since Bai Zichen started cultivating the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture, the True Essence he refined had become attributeless. He could absorb any type of Spiritual Qi directly, without needing an extra conversion step.

As for Ge Cang, with his Wood Element Celestial Spiritual Root, a Wood-attribute Spirit Land was his ideal choice. Following the Great Dao principle that ‘Wood Nourishes All Things,’ a Fire-attribute Spirit Land that could accelerate the circulation of his True Essence was his next best choice.

He circulated his cultivation technique for a full cycle to experience the effects of cultivating in this new environment. When he opened his eyes, he couldn’t suppress his delight.

“Excellent, excellent, excellent!”

The faint green hue on Bai Zichen’s face faded as he carefully savored the growth of his True Essence.

At the same time, his Time True Intent clearly informed him of the time remaining to reach the peak of the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul Realm.

‘This Tier Four Top-Grade Spirit Land saves me at least fifteen years. If everything goes smoothly, I can complete the entire Mid-Stage Nascent Soul Realm in seventy years at most. If I can successfully cultivate Cyan Dragon Spirit Rice, that time will be even shorter!’

With a superior Spirit Land for his cultivation, half of Bai Zichen’s purpose in taking Qii Mountain had been accomplished.

The long-lost feeling of being saturated with Spiritual Qi left him unwilling to stop, and he immediately began the next round of his cultivation.

The Tribulation Cultivators of the Central Province were primarily divided into three categories.

First, there were career Tribulation Cultivators, who engaged in petty skirmishes and never amounted to a major threat.

Second, there were local cultivators. Their greed spurred them to take advantage of the chaos, or, with their sects and clans destroyed, they simply drifted along with the tide.

The last category consisted of outsiders, hailing from beyond the Central Province or even from outside Liang Country.

These were already notorious gangs of Tribulation Cultivators who, sensing vulnerable prey in the Central Province, had flocked to the region.

The Sect war had dragged on for so long that the first type of Tribulation Cultivator had all but vanished, unable to survive caught between the “local bullies” and the “overseas dragons.”

As the foreign Tribulation Cultivators grew stronger, the locals who had turned to tribulation cultivation found themselves outmatched and were forced to cede much of their territory.

The Qingfeng Sect’s strategy was straightforward: using Qii Mountain as their base, they would pacify one county and then govern it, leaving no room for the Tribulation Cultivators to counterattack.

In just over a month, they officially pacified Xingyang County, executing more than a thousand rebels.

The army of cultivators led by Ma Ruoxi formed a Battle Array, crushing the Tribulation Cultivators with overwhelming force.

Even when they encountered Core Formation Cultivators, defeating them with a four-to-one advantage was no trouble at all.

Or rather, five against one, as the surrendered Hong Xuan had also joined the Qingfeng Sect’s forces with a few of his disciples.

It wasn’t until the final wave, when three Tribulation Cultivation Organizations joined forces and their three Core Formation True Men coordinated their attacks, that the situation became tricky.

Ma Ruoxi stepped forward alone, drew the flying sword from her back, and with a single slash, sent a thunderclap tearing through the sky.

When the Thunder Radiance faded, the three Core Formation Tribulation Cultivators were decapitated, their bodies plummeting from the sky.

That single sword strike shattered the last of the Tribulation Cultivators’ will to resist. After a few more die-hards were cut down, the rest quickly surrendered.

After a brief interrogation, the most heinous criminals were beheaded and their heads put on public display. Those with lesser crimes were spared and sentenced to hard labor in the ore veins.

Hong Xuan was among those who had been beaten into submission. He had witnessed Ma Ruoxi unleash her sword and instantly kill three cultivators of the same realm.

She was wielding True Monarch Bai’s own Lifebound Flying Sword and could even channel his power through it. How could any Core Formation True Man possibly resist that?

This was the kind of treatment reserved for a true successor, and it made Hong Xuan all the more deferential toward Ma Ruoxi.

After several days of rest, Lu Songx arrived with reinforcements: thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators and two thousand Qi Refining Disciples.

Ma Ruoxi took this opportunity to reorganize her forces. She and Qi Yue took fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators and several hundred Qi Refining Disciples and headed straight for Sanchuan County.

The rest remained in Xingyang County to govern the region, build their reputation, and secure their rear.

“Fellow Daoist Ma, the renowned Profound Ice Wind Fruit is in Sanchuan County, owned by the Shen Family, a Distinguished County Family.”

Hong Xuan had eagerly sidled up to her, impossible to shoo away.

Since he was a former Elder of the Holy Lotus Sect and undoubtedly knew the Central Province better than they did, he had been permitted to join them.

“Because of this fruit, the Shen Family of Sanchuan excels at Body Refining. They don’t necessarily have a Core Formation True Man in every generation, but they always have several Tier Three Body Cultivators. Every 60-Year Cycle, they would only offer two Profound Ice Wind Fruits as tribute to the Holy Lotus Sect. We always suspected they kept at least three for themselves.”

“This Body Refining Family relied on its formidable strength and offended many people in the past. When the Tribulation Cultivators arrived, the Shen Family bore the brunt of the attacks, and it’s hard to say how many of those attackers were just looking for a chance at revenge. According to the latest intelligence, their situation is dire. Several of their Tier Three Body Cultivators have already been killed in battle, and they’re in an extremely precarious position.”