Chapter 1934 - Vandore

Pressed for time, Liu Wuxie had no choice but to finish the divine steed as quickly as possible. Only after weighing every detail with painstaking care did a rough design crystallize within his mind.

He disappeared into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, where he intended to enlist Blackie's help. Forging the divine steed alone would take more time than he could spare.

Blackie followed him inside the cauldron and looked around in bewilderment, knowing nothing whatsoever about divine steeds.

"Blackie, lend me your staff. I need it to forge several materials," Liu Wuxie said.

The bond between Liu Wuxie and Blackie had long since grown as deep as family, so Blackie didn't object. Even so, Blackie promptly raised five fingers, making a demand that Liu Wuxie had grown thoroughly accustomed to. Without hesitation, he produced five hundred diamond-shaped crystals and passed them over.

After pocketing the crystals, Blackie swiftly planted its feet and readied itself.

Liu Wuxie sorted through the available materials, emptied the interspatial rings, and spread a vast assortment throughout the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. Every piece hovered weightlessly around him.

Before long, several additional groups ventured into the rear mountain. Like Liu Wuxie, they sought an isolated place where they could forge their constructs undisturbed. Fortunately, he had already entered the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, sparing him an unavoidable encounter with them.

"Blackie, hammer these materials into shape with your staff," Liu Wuxie instructed, choosing several rare meteorites and handing them over. Once Blackie finished forging them, Liu Wuxie would still need to inscribe runes upon each one.

Every newly constructed divine steed began as a lifeless shell, no different from an artifact. Runes were essential to awaken spirituality within an artifact, and the same principle governed divine steeds. Only by combining the artifact runes with those belonging to divine steeds could the construct be activated.

Although Liu Wuxie knew only a few runes designed specifically for divine steeds, the Celestial Forge Art had given him mastery over countless others embodying the essence of the Celestial Forge Clan. In his previous life, he had aided the clan by chance, and they had repaid that kindness by teaching him the Celestial Forge Art.

As an Immortal Emperor in his previous life, Liu Wuxie had naturally found little practical use for the Celestial Forge Art. To his surprise, however, the art had become invaluable in this lifetime.

Blackie's staff was astonishingly tough. Each thunderous blow crushed the meteorite irons closer to their desired forms while steadily driving out every impurity within them.

Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie traced a succession of strange runes above the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. These symbols were so obscure that few had ever witnessed them. He drew them from the Celestial Forge Art and fused them with artifact runes, creating an entirely new set of runes suited to the divine steed.

The runes assumed countless shapes. Some spread their wings like eagles soaring through the heavens, while others resembled cheetahs racing through a crowd. Such imagery revealed the unfathomable profundity of the celestial forge. Every rune looked vivid enough to spring to life, far surpassing the comparatively limited runes employed in blacksmithing and alchemy.

Liu Wuxie intended to completely reforge the unfinished divine steed he had taken from the couple, since its existing design prevented it from reaching its utmost speed. A flawless divine steed needed more than extraordinary swiftness. It also required formidable defenses and a certain degree of offensive capability.

......

Eastern Emperor City had undergone a violent transformation. The Eastern Emperor Pavilion lay in ruins, while its surviving members had either fled or perished. The Shen and Zhu Clans soon suffered the same fate, and the Yue and Kang Clans swiftly absorbed everything they left behind.

With every competitor eliminated, the Azure Flame Dao Hall expanded at a terrifying rate. In just a little over ten days, it recruited tens of thousands of disciples, pushing its numbers more than ten thousand beyond its former peak.

The Southern Lake had become Liu Wuxie's private territory. Any student hoping to study there first had to survive multiple rounds of examination, and only those blessed with exceptional talent earned the right to enter.

On this particular day, an unexpected visitor entered Eastern Emperor City. The newcomer was a short elf whose appearance on the streets immediately attracted countless curious stares.

At first, many cultivators pointed openly at him. Yet every person who did so abruptly sprouted a pair of pig ears. Terror seized the remaining onlookers, and they scattered as though they had encountered a ghost.

"That is unmistakably the aura of the Siren's Perish Song and Doom Tempest," Vandore muttered with a troubled frown as he walked along the streets. "How strange. I never brought either spell into the celestial realm. Could one of my descendants have ascended from the mortal realm?"

He had traveled here from the Ten-Mile Slope after discovering traces of magical force lingering in the atmosphere.

Word of Vandore's presence quickly reached the experts throughout Eastern Emperor City. Even Xiang Zicheng was alarmed and rushed over with a large company of experts who promptly surrounded the elf.

Pig ears now protruded from the heads of numerous people along the streets, lending them an absurd appearance. Vandore's spell had punished everyone who had mocked him.

"Senior, why are you attacking these people without cause?" Xiang Zicheng asked, respectfully cupping his fists. One glance had already told him that Vandore was a powerhouse.

Despite Vandore's unusually short stature, an immeasurable aura surrounded him. Even with Xiang Zicheng's cultivation, he could not perceive the depths of the old elf's true cultivation.

"They insulted me," Vandore answered simply.

The Elven Race possessed an innocent and straightforward nature. Though Vandore had lived for thousands of years, a childlike temperament remained deeply rooted within him.

Since they had insulted him, he had taught them a small lesson.

"Manor Lord Xiang, you have to save us," the cultivators with pig ears begged Xiang Zicheng. How could they possibly show their faces anywhere while burdened with such a ridiculous appearance?

"They were wrong to insult you, Senior. I apologize on their behalf. Please reverse your spell," Xiang Zicheng requested while secretly gathering his strength. If Vandore attempted to harm these people, he would strike without hesitation.

Gongye Zhang arrived soon afterward. News that a powerhouse had appeared in Eastern Emperor City had also alarmed the students and mentors of the Azure Flame Dao Hall, who were already hurrying toward the scene.

"Answer one question for me. How can anyone here possibly know how to use magic?" Vandore demanded, completely disregarding Xiang Zicheng's request.

"I have nothing to tell you. If you won't remove your magic, then don't blame me for taking action," Xiang Zicheng warned as a powerful aura erupted from him. Liu Wuxie's guidance had brought him much closer to the Golden Immortal Realm, increasing his combat strength in just a few days.

Gongye Zhang also prepared himself for battle. Members of the Yue and Kang Clans also arrived at the scene and stood firmly behind Xiang Zicheng. Following the Eastern Emperor Pavilion's destruction, the Xiang Manor had naturally risen as the city's undisputed overlord.

"You truly intend to fight me?" Vandore asked with a laugh.

A current of water materialized beneath Vandore's feet and carried him upward until he stood level with Xiang Zicheng. Curiosity filled him as he waited to see precisely how these people planned to deal with him.

More cultivators continued converging from every direction. Du Zuo and Ye Chen stood among the growing crowd, immediately bracing themselves for combat. Xiang Rulong, Shi Wa, and the others had also drawn their weapons, ready to enter the fight at a moment's notice.

Ever since Liu Wuxie's departure, pent-up frustration had been smoldering inside them.

"You refuse to dispel your magic, so don’t blame me for casting aside all courtesy," Xiang Zicheng declared. Once it became clear that Vandore had no intention of complying, he had no alternative but to attack. His sword swept toward the elf, unleashing a mighty sword ray that ripped through the air.

"With cultivation that pitiful, you still dare speak to me so arrogantly?" Vandore asked. He casually waved his hand, and the surrounding world instantly froze, locking Xiang Zicheng helplessly in place.

Horror flooded every face. Xiang Zicheng stood at the pinnacle of the Divine Immortal Realm, only an infinitesimal distance from the Golden Immortal Realm. Yet before this old elf, all his strength failed to stir even the faintest ripple.

The Xiang Manor and Azure Flame Dao Hall had forged a close alliance. The instant Xiang Zicheng fell into danger, Xiang Rulong, Shi Wa, and the others refused to stand aside and launched their attacks in unison.

"Everyone, strike together!"

Du Zuo and Ye Chen unleashed their respective magic spells, the Siren's Perish Song and the Doom Tempest. Every other student released their strongest attack as well, sending a devastating torrent of power surging toward Vandore.

Liu Wuxie's arrival had strengthened the unity between Eastern Emperor City and the Azure Flame Dao Hall a thousandfold, and everyone stood as one against an external threat.

A multitude of attacks intertwined overhead until their radiance blotted out the sky.

Vandore vanished without warning. The instant the incoming attacks neared him, every one of them stopped dead in the air. They could not even approach him, much less inflict the slightest harm.

Du Zuo and Ye Chen suddenly froze as well. Vandore dragged them through the air and seized one in each hand.

"How did you learn these two spells?" Vandore demanded, fixing them with his unwavering gaze. "Who taught them to you?"

"Kill us if you must, but we won't tell you anything," Du Zuo declared resolutely. Even with death staring him in the face, he refused to betray Liu Wuxie. Everyone still believed that Vandore had come seeking revenge.

"These spells belong to our Elven Race. Humans should not be capable of casting them," Vandore snapped, stomping his foot in agitation. "Tell me right now! Who taught you?"

Peace lay at the heart of the Elven Race, and its members rarely took lives. Otherwise, Vandore possessed more than enough strength to reduce Eastern Emperor City to ruins.

"Senior, why do these two spells matter so much to you?" Gongye Zhang asked. He had already realized that Vandore bore them no ill intent. Had the old elf truly come as an enemy, he would have already killed them.

"These spells are extremely important to me. Now tell me, who taught them to you?" Vandore replied. "From your level of mastery, neither of you could have practiced them for very long." He then turned toward Gongye Zhang and dragged him over as well.

Before Vandore, Divine Immortals seemed no sturdier than clay dolls. He could manipulate them however he pleased.

"A man named Liu Wuxie taught them," a voice suddenly announced from within the crowd before Gongye Zhang could answer.

Tens of thousands of people had gathered around them, and not all possessed Xiang Rulong's loyalty. Remnants of the Shen and Zhu Clans still hid among the masses, hoping Vandore would kill Liu Wuxie and avenge their fallen patriarchs.

"You have a death wish! How dare you expose Mentor Liu's identity?!" the students of the Azure Flame Dao Hall roared, whirling toward the young man who had spoken.

"Stop!" Vandore thundered. With a sweep of his hand, he unleashed a powerful wave of magic that sent the Azure Flame Dao Hall's students staggering backward. He then seized the young man who had revealed Liu Wuxie's name.

"Say that again. Who taught them their magic?" Vandore demanded, fixing the Shen Clan's remnant member with a ferocious stare as a terrifying aura rolled from his body.

The students and mentors of the Azure Flame Dao Hall could only stand by and watch in fury. The aura pouring from Vandore convinced them that he had come specifically for Liu Wuxie. If their mentor suffered any harm because of this revelation, every one of them would carry the guilt of becoming a sinner.

"A man named Liu Wuxie taught them," the Shen Clan member repeated, deliberately raising his voice until everyone nearby could hear every word.

At the mention of Liu Wuxie's name, Vandore began trembling uncontrollably before bursting into laughter, tears streaming down his face. Everyone stared at him in utter bewilderment. Equally baffled, Gongye Zhang and Xiang Zicheng exchanged uncertain glances.