Chapter 834: Chapter 558: Taiyin Amber
Several days later.
Qingyun Realm.
The tribulation land of the Great Dream Heart Sutra.
This is a world of Sword Cultivators.
Sword Man, Sword Master, Great Sword Master, Sword Dao Master, Great Sword Dao Master, Sword King, and the legendary Sword Venerable whose single sword light chills fifty provinces, whose Sword Qi defends against a million divisions.
In the past ten years, a Nameless Swordman appeared out of nowhere in the Qingyun World, fighting across the eight directions, beheading every Demon Emperor beneath the heavens with his sword.
All living beings in Qingyun Realm are endlessly amazed.
"The Qingyun Ancestor has manifested!"
The Qingyun Ancestor, a Dao Pioneer of the Sword Cultivator’s path in Qingyun Realm, was said to have reached the Sword Venerate Realm three thousand years ago, then vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the heritage of Qingyun Sect.
Qingyun Sect, the greatest sect in this realm, possesses six Sword Kings, more than a hundred Sword Dao Masters, and the Sect Master—Qingming Sword Lord—has half a foot stepped into the Sword Venerate Realm.
And on this day—
The entire Qingyun Sect was watching and waiting.
From afar, a white-robed swordman with an obscured face, clad in a rain cape, walked in the drizzle as fine as ox hair; a faint green light wafted around him, not a drop of rain daring to touch.
"The Nameless Swordman is here."
"What fearsome Sword Intent!"
"Is this the reincarnation of the Qingyun Ancestor?"
"None of the eight Demon Emperors can withstand him."
The white-robed swordman landed before the mountain gate.
Qingming Sword Lord bowed with clasped hands and said:
"Fellow Daoist, what brings you here?"
The white-robed swordman said, "It is said the Qingyun Sect houses a supreme Divine Sword. May I have a look? These, take them as a greeting gift." With a wave of his white robe, many mighty demon-monster heads tumbled to the earth.
There were thirteen in all.
The weakest among them all had Demon Emperor-level cultivation. The strongest bore a blue, tusked face, scarlet hair blazing like fire, and brimmed with Heavenly Ghost aura nearly as powerful as a Demon Venerable.
All the Qingyun Sect disciples’ eyes narrowed.
Even Qingming Sword Lord sharply drew a breath of cold air.
"The Red-haired Ghost Emperor!"
The Red-haired Ghost Emperor is the fiercest demon ghost of the Qingyun Realm. He commands the Redcloud Yuluo Palace and the Ten Halls of Ghost Emperors—instigators of the Demon Monster chaos. Ever since the Qingyun Ancestor departed, the Qingyun Sect has languished, unable to produce another Sword Venerable. For a hundred years, Qingyun Sect has struggled against Redcloud Yuluo Palace, losing more than winning, forced to contract their lines, holding fast to the Qingyun Mountain Territory while surrendering most of the realm to the Yuluo Palace—a paradise for demon ghosts.
All these years, he tried to commune with the Ancestor.
But the Ancestor never manifested.
Qingming Sword Lord sighed.
"Fellow Daoist, truthfully I tell you: our Qingyun Sect did once possess a Supreme Divine Sword, obtained by the Ancestor from a Secret Treasure, called the Qingyun Sword.
In those days, our Sect stood at its peak—three Sword Venerables in one house, invincible, unassailable by demon monsters.
But three thousand years ago, the Ancestor sought to Breakthrough Realm, and used an ancient Transmission Array to depart the Qingyun Realm, whereabouts unknown; he took the Qingyun Sword with him. Since then, our sect’s fortune has waned, never again birthing a Sword Venerable. As demon monsters rose, we could do nothing but cling to life, muddling our days."
Lu Chenzhou frowned slightly.
Qingming Sword Lord hurried to add, "You are our savior, the savior of Qingyun Sect, with strength far beyond this old man—I would not dare deceive you! If you don’t believe, I’ll lead you personally to the sect forbidden grounds to verify. I can even open my mind, let you inspect my memories."
On hearing this—
Lu Chenzhou felt a flicker of disappointment within: "As I expected, it’s been too long, it’s already been taken."
In his mind, the Sword Spirit could not hold back and said:
[Damn that Qingyun geezer—he took the master’s lineage and vanished! Lu Chenzhou, ask him whether the rare treasure ’Taiyin Amber’ is still here. Within it is the Ancient Wood Tiger Ancestor’s Blood. Wood Tiger Ancestor reached the Nine Realms, one of the top ten Divine Generals of Lu Wu. If Brother Tiger can take this, he can wash marrow and exchange blood... (see Chapter 363)]
The reason Lu Chenzhou chose the Qingyun World,
First, to undergo tribulation and save the world, raising his spiritual power,
Second, to take away the Sword Immortal’s Secret Treasure and bring it back to Da Xia.
Though he does not wield swords, he can trade with Da Xia’s Heavenly Realm strongmen.
Or leave it to his descendants in the future.
An Eighth Rank Magic Sword—even if not as valuable as the Aurora Palace,
if he can gather a full set of seven, to form a Sword Array, that is another matter altogether,
enough to rank among the top of the Spiritual Weapon List, second only to Supreme Treasures.
"Take me to the forbidden grounds."
Lu Chenzhou said calmly.
"Very well."
Qingming Sword Lord made a gesture of invitation.
...
Soon after, Lu Chenzhou left the Qingyun Realm.
The Sword Spirit said: [Lu Chenzhou, next select the Moon Cold Realm, there’s another Sword Immortal’s Secret Treasure there.]
Lu Chenzhou looked at the World Tree.
[Moon Cold World (High Class)]
"A High Class World? Not for now—a High Class World is no weaker than Da Xia. I’ll wait till after the Seventh Realm to go. Besides, the Moon Cold World doesn’t look heavily saturated by Demon Energy; it probably hasn’t suffered a severe invasion, no need for salvation just yet."
Lu Chenzhou found a quiet mountaintop.
He took out an ancient volume.
"This Qingyun Records is an ancient scripture recording the Qingyun Ancestor’s words and deeds, written down by disciples—maybe there’s a clue in it."
What Lu Chenzhou desires most is not the Spiritual Weapon, but the Taiyin Amber—with the Wood Tiger Blood inside, it may aid his future cultivation.
The Four Symbols Personnel’s Ling Kong Four Symbols Fist can use Heavenly Realm behemoth bloodlines as a guide to perform four transformation divine abilities.
He wanted his Four Symbols Fist to imitate this.
Even go further.
He needs at least one Seventh Realm bloodline each for tiger, dragon, phoenix, and Mystic Turtle—for research experiments.
This Wood Tiger, being Nine Realms blood, could not be more suitable.
Having finished reading, Lu Chenzhou meditated alone atop the mountain.
A gentle breeze rose, and a faint blue figure emerged.
"Thank you, Your Excellency."
"You are the Qingyun Realm’s will?"
"Yes."
"Do you know where the Qingyun Sect Ancestor went?"
"Three thousand years ago, the Qingyun Ancestor visited me. I told him where an ancient Transmission Array was. He left through it—I believe to the land of Kunxu."
"Thank you."
"The favor of salvation can never be repaid. I wish you smooth and Ruyi’s Cultivation journey—there is no end to the path of Qingyun."
...
Dragon Transformation Ancient Road.
Lu Chenzhou awoke.
"Kunxu Realm?"
Lu Chenzhou looked at the World Tree.
Searched for a moment.
[Kunxu Realm (Great World)]
"Isn’t this the world that the Yaochi Immortal headed to?"
After the parting in Mystic Sky Realm, Lu Chenzhou was recognized by Da Xia’s strongmen, so he keeps in regular contact with them.
Among them, he chats most with the Yaochi Immortal, who often shares amusing "save the world" stories—Lu Chenzhou finds them endlessly entertaining.
The last message from Yaochi Immortal was that she’s headed for the Kunxu Great World, where a Great Power Cave Mansion has appeared, and only Heavenly Realm experts qualify to enter.
"When the Fairy returns, I’ll have her help me inquire—since Qingyun Ancestor pioneered the Azure Cloud Sword Dao, and though Great Worlds teem with powerhouses, if he lives, he can’t be just a nameless nobody—he likely already broke through to Eighth Realm."
Then he looked to the Martial Arts Tree.
There was another sub-fortune.
[Qingyun’s Assistance]
[Effect: Increases Seventh Realm success rate by 10%, Eighth Realm by 5%, Ninth Realm by 1%.]
"What a powerful special effect! This means a solid ten percent boost to Breakthrough Seven success rate? What a windfall."
Though Lu Chenzhou’s talent is strong, no one can guarantee a hundred percent breakthrough success after the Heavenly Realm—the further you go, the harder it gets. With this effect, it’s icing on the cake.
In his mind, it’s as if a clear spring gurgled and spiritual power streams poured into his spiritual world, steadying its roots. The World Tree in the starry sky grew even more luxuriant, the thick wall formed of Spiritual Light as firm as bronze and iron.
Among the stars, the Heavenly Demon Relics completed their last mission, merging as pure spiritual power into the giant tree.
Feeling his spiritual leap,
Lu Chenzhou looked again at the Martial Arts Tree.
[Rotten Heart Sutra: Seventeenth Layer (1%)]
"Second tribulation accomplished, Heart Sutra Breakthrough Realm, and with the aid of Heavenly Demon Relics, my spiritual power has reached 400,000 Prajna—nearing the limit."
Lu Chenzhou started seeking a third tribulation world.
"If all goes as expected, with this tribulation, the Heart Sutra will reach the eighteenth layer’s limit. Then by refining it to Seventh Rank, I can become a Spiritual Great Emperor—called True Buddha in Heavenly Heart Sect. At that point, my body is like a Soul Box—hide it anywhere, and my spirit can freely roam outside, manifesting across ten thousand miles at will. As long as my flesh is not discovered, even if my spiritual embodiment is destroyed, I can always rise again. The Spiritual—is indeed wondrous."
After some choosing—
Lu Chenzhou set his eyes on a certain High Class World.
"Kun Gu Realm also hides many secrets yet unearthed. With the power of my current spiritual embodiment, I can even fight a Demon Venerable. Corpse Palace—prepare for death."
...
Kun Gu World.
In the sky.
The three suns hang high, pouring down a baleful blood-red light.
Ever since Three Suns Palace retreated, this world has utterly fallen. The Human Clan left behind—ninety percent have been polluted by demon energy, gradually mutating into Demons, worshiping the Blood Ancient God and Lord of Mountains—these two Evil Gods. Another ten percent of the Human Clan and some cultivators who have not evacuated hide deep in sunless caverns, surviving in despair under the siege of demons and monsters.
On the barren wilds, a sedan chair travels.
Within, a handsome young man with long Flood Dragon horns lounges with several barely clad, voluptuous female cultivators, dallying in pleasure.
He is Blood Flood Dragon Young Master—Jiao Shiba, of the Seven-Pattern Demon Clan. The third-in-command of Corpse Palace, son of Blood Flood Dragon Demon Venerable.
Dragons are naturally lascivious—much more so after becoming demons.
After the Demon Race came to dominate Kun Gu Realm, Blood Flood Dragon Young Master used his formidable fertility to capture female cultivators for breeding.
Suddenly, the sedan chair halted.
"What’s happened?"
The handsome youth’s face darkened.
A Demon King scurried up ingratiatingly.
"Another Human Clan cave was discovered ahead."
The handsome youth licked his lips with a scarlet, long tongue.
"Come, let this king have a look."
He turned into a black wind and sped forward.
Soon, he arrived at the cavern.
A group of ragged mortals watched in terror.
"It’s that pervert!"
"Blood Flood Dragon Young Master is here."
The handsome youth’s gaze swept over the crowd.
He looked on in disgust: "All just old scallions dug from the ground—not worth bringing to the Dragon Palace, only good for eating."
He opened his blood basin mouth.
The cavern fell silent and pure.
Blood Flood Dragon Young Master smacked his lips and left, hands over belly.
Some time later—
A white-robed swordman landed at the cave.
He spread his Telekinesis—what he saw was nothing but human corpses; throughout heaven and earth, evil spirits roamed unrestrained.
"A world approaching Doomsday Level."