Chapter 542 - 476: Refinement of Slaying Immortals

Three days after Qingyuan True Monarch’s departure, Qi Yun left the Cyan Mountain Daoist Temple.

He did not make a grand fanfare of it. On an ordinary morning, he simply tucked the Mountain and River Cauldron into his sleeve and stepped out through the Daoist Temple’s mottled wooden doors.

The withered tree remained, as did the courtyard, but the figure that had sat cross-legged beneath the tree for an untold number of days and nights was no longer there.

Cai Shen poked his head out from the Mountain and River Cauldron. "Where are we going?"

"The Sword Pavilion," Qi Yun said flatly.

Cai Shen paused in surprise but didn’t ask further. He knew Qi Yun had his own considerations.

A Nine-Colored Auspicious Cloud supported Qi Yun and the Mountain and River Cauldron, slowly rising toward the southeastern horizon.

At the very moment he left the Cyan Mountain Daoist Temple, the wisp of residual thought in his sleeve gave an extremely faint throb. Qi Yun sensed it but paid it no mind.

"Once the matters at the Sword Pavilion are settled, I’ll make a trip over there," he thought to himself.

At the Sword Pavilion, seventy-two Sword Peaks thrust into the firmament like colossal sky-supporting swords, their Sword Qi soaring into the heavens.

Qi Yun’s Auspicious Cloud came to a halt at the periphery of the Sword Pavilion. A moment later, a streak of cyan sword light shot out from deep within and landed before him, transforming into the figure of Qingyuan True Monarch.

He cupped his hands in greeting. "Please."

The two of them passed side-by-side through layers of sword formations, crossing over numerous Sword Peaks, before finally alighting upon an isolated, precipitous peak.

Atop the summit lay only a single slab of bluestone. A massive character for "Sword" was carved into the rock, its strokes so sharp and fierce they seemed capable of cleaving Heaven and Earth apart.

"This place is called Dao Inquiry Peak, where generations of Sword Pavilion True Monarchs have proven their Dao," Qingyuan True Monarch’s voice rang out. "The bluestone on this summit carries ten thousand years of Sword Intent. It is the most suitable place to conduct the Refinement of a Sword Dao Supreme Treasure."

Qi Yun’s gaze fell upon the bluestone, a glimmer of colored light shifting in his eyes.

He could sense that this seemingly ordinary piece of bluestone contained an extremely majestic and pure foundation of the Sword Dao. Ten thousand years of accumulation was no trivial matter.

"You are quite generous to part with this, Fellow Daoist," he remarked flatly.

Qingyuan True Monarch’s expression remained unchanged. "The lineage of the Sword Dao has been stranded for eternities, with countless Sword Cultivators halted at the Realm of the Great Master, unable to prove their Dao. If refining the Immortal Slaying Dao Fruit can shatter these shackles, what does a mere bluestone matter?

"Furthermore, this Dao Fruit was always meant to be refined by you, Fellow Daoist Primordial. Aside from you, no one in Profound Yellow can control it."

Qi Yun said no more. He raised his hand, and a Dao Fruit swirling with an ashen-white luster slowly materialized in his palm. This was precisely the Immortal Slaying Dao Fruit he had carried with him all this time.

The moment the Dao Fruit appeared, the bluestone atop Dao Inquiry Peak suddenly flared with light. The ten thousand years of Sword Intent, like a colossal beast newly awakened, let out a low rumble!

The Immortal Slaying Dao Fruit in Qi Yun’s hand began to tremble violently as well. A profound resonance formed between the two.

"Just as I thought." A hint of complexity flashed through Qingyuan True Monarch’s eyes. "The Sword Intent carried by this bluestone shares the same origin as the Immortal Slaying Dao Fruit. Refining it here will yield twice the result with half the effort."

Qi Yun nodded. He sat down cross-legged, rested the Immortal Slaying Dao Fruit on his palm, and slowly closed his eyes.

The process of Refinement was even more perilous than Qi Yun had anticipated.

The Immortal Slaying Dao Fruit was far too domineering and fierce. The Sword Intent contained within it was enough to shred an ordinary True Monarch’s Dao Foundation. Even with the Power of Domination from Qi Yun’s Primordial Dao, he still needed to exert his full strength, not daring to slacken in the slightest.

The ten thousand years of Sword Intent radiating from the bluestone atop Dao Inquiry Peak acted like an invisible hand, carefully guiding the violent power within the Immortal Slaying Dao Fruit so that it would not spiral out of control.

Qingyuan True Monarch stood at the edge of the peak, his own Sword Intent swirling around him as he stood guard for Qi Yun.

On the seventh day.

The wisp of ashen-white residual thought inside Qi Yun’s sleeve began to throb violently without any warning!

Those frozen, Broken images began to flow once more—a majestic ancient city, a high-hanging plaque, indistinct traces of Sword Intent... And in the deepest depths of that nothingness, the slumbering figure seemed to twitch.

Qi Yun furrowed his brows slightly, splitting off a sliver of his Heart and Spirit to probe into his sleeve. The residual thought pulsed even more intensely, seemingly urging him on or offering guidance.

Stirred by this, he followed the direction of the pulse, sending a thread of Primordial Power deep into the residual thought.

In that very instant...

He "saw" it.

In the deepest depths of that nothingness, the slumbering figure remained a blurry silhouette. Yet swirling around it was a terrifying Sword Intent that made even Qi Yun’s heart palpitate.

This Sword Intent shared the same origin as the Immortal Slaying Dao Fruit, but it was far more ancient, far purer, and infinitely more overbearing. The Immortal Slaying Dao Fruit felt like nothing more than its lingering echo, a mere shadow cast by its presence.

Qi Yun’s pupils contracted slightly.

He tried to get a clearer look, but the figure fell silent once again, disappearing without a trace like a boulder sinking into the deep sea. The throbbing of the residual thought gradually subsided, returning to a state of complete stillness.

Qi Yun withdrew his Heart and Spirit, resuming the Refinement.

He did not tell anyone what he had just witnessed, for he knew that the existence of that figure was not something he could afford to touch at his current level.

On the fifteenth day, the Refinement neared its end.

Qi Yun had refined seventy to eighty percent of the Immortal Slaying Dao Fruit, and the remaining portion was being steadily absorbed and assimilated. The ten thousand years of Sword Intent atop Dao Inquiry Peak had been largely depleted, and the glow of the bluestone had dimmed considerably.

Right at that moment, an unimaginably terrifying Sword Intent descended from the heavens!

Its sharpness and tyranny far surpassed any Sword Dao Qi Yun had ever encountered. Like an invisible blade, it slashed straight toward Dao Inquiry Peak!

Qi Yun abruptly opened his eyes, raising a hand to press against the void.

A burst of chaotic colored light erupted from his palm, clashing viciously against the descending Sword Intent!

"BOOM!!!"

Dao Inquiry Peak trembled violently as crushed rocks tumbled down its slopes.

Qi Yun remained immovable, though the colored light in his eyes began to swirl at a frantic pace.