Then Xu Mo set his sights on the dragon tooth staff lying beside the pile of dirt.
The dragon tooth staff, having lost its wielder, lay quietly on the ground, its radiance dimmed. Yet, the aura it exuded hinted at its extraordinary nature.
Xu Mo landed and picked it up. The moment it touched his hand, the dragon tooth staff vibrated, seemingly resisting its 'new master'!
"A weapon dares to have a rebellious spirit?" Xu Mo raised an eyebrow and slapped the dragon tooth staff, causing it to tremble incessantly before gradually calming down.
He then began to examine the dragon tooth staff closely. This was a sacred artifact, something he had never possessed before.
Probing the dragon tooth staff with his spiritual power, Xu Mo grew increasingly pleased. He couldn't help but exclaim, "What a treasure! Truly worthy of being a sacred artifact! With its blessing, my combat power can at least double!"
The sacred artifact contained immensely powerful Dao rhyme energy. Its shaft was forged from rare celestial materials, inlaid with the teeth of a Saint-level true dragon, and inscribed with various top-tier rune formations.
No wonder those in the Quasi-Saint realm could wield sacred artifacts and possess combat power comparable to Saints. Sacred artifacts themselves held a portion of a Saint's authority. To put it crudely, an ordinary sacred artifact was equivalent to a half-Saint.
Even more powerful sacred artifacts could rival Saints.
Xu Mo was very satisfied with the dragon tooth staff. He swung it a few times, finding it comfortable and well-balanced in his hand.
Although it wasn't as exhilarating as smashing enemies with the Chaos Furnace, it was sufficient for everyday combat.
However, when he attempted to refine the dragon tooth staff, he encountered an obstacle.
Traces of Ancestor Shan's aura still lingered on the staff, stubbornly resisting. This indicated that Ancestor Shan had possessed the dragon tooth staff for a considerable period.
"Troublesome. If I were to slowly wear it down with spiritual energy, it would take at least ten days," Xu Mo felt a headache coming on. He had expected to use it immediately after refining it, but this issue had arisen.
Soon, however, he devised a solution. He materialized the Chaos Furnace and tossed the dragon tooth staff inside.
Black, inky Chaos Fire billowed, and Xu Mo controlled it to burn away the residual aura of Ancestor Shan. In a short while, it was completely incinerated.
When he retrieved it, the dragon tooth staff appeared 'brand new.'
Xu Mo began the refinement process. In less than a few minutes, he had etched his mark onto the dragon tooth staff, successfully refining it.
Holding the dragon tooth staff now, he could clearly feel a connection, a resonance. With a mere thought, he could instantly control it.
The drifting bottle circled Ancestor Shan's 'corpse' and then said, "You are fortunate. Ancestor Shan was only a single step away from entering the Great Saint stage. Facing an Ancestor Shan in the Great Saint realm, wielding a sacred artifact, you might not have been his match."
The Great Saint stage referred to the late and peak stages of Sainthood, collectively known as Great Saints.
The early and middle stages of Sainthood were the Minor Saint stages, collectively known as Minor Saints. Xu Mo was currently a Minor Saint.
As for the Ultimate Saint, that was a transitional realm beyond the peak of Sainthood, a single step away from Immortality.
Therefore, Ultimate Saints were also referred to as half-step Immortal realm.
Xu Mo did not deny the drifting bottle's words. Relying purely on raw strength, it would indeed be difficult for him to defeat a Great Saint.
The gap between a Great Saint and a Minor Saint was not merely in terms of realm and power. In many aspects, Great Saints had achieved a qualitative leap, far beyond what Minor Saints could compare to.
However, if his Dao foundation were to be fully reconstructed, or if he were to use the Chaos Furnace, the outcome might be different.
"Hindsight is 20/20. When Ancestor Shan was fighting me, why didn't you offer any assistance? You just hid behind and watched. Were you enjoying the show?"
Xu Mo glared at the drifting bottle, his gaze unfriendly.
This bottle, though casually bullied by him, possessed no small amount of power, capable of rivaling an ordinary Minor Saint.
The drifting bottle flickered, quickly explaining, "You misunderstand. I am a Ferrying Envoy, the 'referee' of the ferry. When have you ever seen a referee enter the field to assist a contestant? If I were to intervene, I would be breaking the rules, affecting both of you, and I myself would suffer consequences!"
It had other unspoken words: Who do you think you are? Demanding that this bottle help you? It would be good enough if I didn't secretly strike you down.
Xu Mo stared at the drifting bottle's 'expression.' Feeling that it wasn't lying, he let it go.
The drifting bottle, seeing this, breathed a sigh of relief. It truly feared this madman, Xu Mo, who constantly threatened to refine it, scaring the bottle half to death.
Of course, now that they were on Earth, escaping would be easy. It could simply communicate with the main will to be recalled.
However, the drifting bottle did not wish to do so, as it wanted to remain by Xu Mo's side.
Although this fellow was somewhat ferocious, he held many secrets. Setting aside other things, his Dao foundation, rebuilt through the Nine Tribulations Heavenly Thunder, alone made it immensely curious.
"This guy is dead. His dojo should still have some good stuff. Let's go and ransack it!" Xu Mo's eyes lit up with a thought, and he immediately set off towards Ancestor Shan's dojo.
The drifting bottle followed closely behind, inwardly grumbling about Xu Mo being a tyrant who ransacked dojos at every turn.
Ancestor Shan had emerged from the Kunlun Mountain range, so his dojo should be there as well. Xu Mo headed directly towards the Kunlun Mountain range, determined to find Ancestor Shan's dojo, even if it meant digging three feet into the ground.
...
Meanwhile, the people of Earth, who had witnessed the entire event through ultra-high-definition satellite broadcasts, were stunned!
They had all personally watched the Emperor of Da Gan, punch after punch, shatter the divine spirit of Ancestor Shan. The process was swift and decisive, incredibly powerful and overbearing, ultimately succeeding in killing Ancestor Shan!
A divine spirit had thus perished!
"Ancestor Shan's divine spirit is dead? This can't be real, can it? That was a being close to a god, how could he have died so easily?"
"It's real. Didn't you see Ancestor Shan's grave mound automatically form? To be honest, that grave mound is quite high. Should we call it a 'God Tomb'?"
"My goodness, the Emperor of Da Gan is too brutal, too overbearing! He literally hammered a divine spirit into pieces, it's so shocking!"
"Wuwuwu, Ancestor Shan, my Ancestor Shan! I just started cultivating the Ancestor Shan technique, and you're already dead? I regret it so much. Is it still too late to cultivate other techniques?"
"Long live the Emperor of Da Gan! He truly is an ally of our Huaxia, he should be this domineering."
"Speaking of which, with the Emperor of Da Gan's strength, isn't he comparable to a divine spirit? What realm in the cultivation world does this correspond to?"
"Judging by the combat footage, it's at least the Saint realm described in cultivation techniques, which is the ceiling level. The 'divine spirits' that appeared on Earth should also be extraordinary beings with Saint realm strength."
"Saint-level powerhouses, terrifying indeed!"