Chapter 342 - 340: Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword

Chapter 342: Chapter 340: Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword

The moment the Enlightenment Bodhi’s effects wore off, Bai Zichen instantly felt his thought process slow down. The previous state of effortless comprehension, of knowing everything at a glance, was gone.

Now, problems that entered his mind had to be turned over a few times before he could find the right answer.

’What a pity. If only this Enlightenment Bodhi could last for half a year, or even a whole one...’

The Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword was different from the Thunder Sound Sword. As a traditional Flying Sword refined from the Five Metals Spirit, the refinement of every Spiritual Material and the tempering with every burst of Earth Fire had to follow exacting standards.

It was nothing like the Thunder Sound Sword, which relied heavily on the power of Celestial Thunder to take shape, making the process highly unpredictable.

Without three to five months of smelting with Earth Fire, it was impossible to forge a single Flying Sword.

Compared to this lengthy process, the seven-day period of Celestial Grade Comprehension provided by the Enlightenment Bodhi seemed utterly insignificant.

Even if he used the last Enlightenment Bodhi stored in the Secret Hall, it would be of little use.

The subsequent steps of Sword Refinement would be a true test of Bai Zichen’s Artifact Refining skill.

His Pill Fire burning steadily, Bai Zichen monitored the changes in the Spiritual Materials inside the cauldron while simultaneously refining two brand-new Thunder Sound Swords.

With these, he had nearly gathered enough Flying Swords for half a Sword Array.

One hundred days later, the Bronze Cauldron began to hum and vibrate. Bai Zichen quickly formed a hand seal and lifted the lid, revealing a mass of green Sword Embryo thrashing about inside.

"This is the moment! Halt!"

Bai Zichen steadied the Sword Embryo and raised his hand, pulling out a Banner Flag—the very same one that had captured the Black Flood Dragon’s Essence.

The tiny Black Flood Dragon had lost its ferocious, clawing and snarling demeanor from that day. Having been trapped on the banner’s surface for too long, it had inevitably grown listless.

After all, it was only a temporary vessel. It hadn’t been specially refined to merge the Dragon Soul and the Banner Flag into one.

It was a good thing this was the Essence of a Tier Three Top-Grade Black Flood Dragon, which was incredibly powerful. Had it been the Essence of an ordinary Tier Three Demon Beast, its power likely would have dissipated over time, and the Essence would have simply faded into nothingness.

’I hope this won’t affect the Flying Sword’s formation...’

Bai Zichen grabbed the Banner Flag and gave it a shake, and the miniature Black Flood Dragon flew involuntarily toward the Sword Embryo in the cauldron.

The two touched and merged seamlessly into one. A trace of spirituality appeared within the Sword Embryo.

The cauldron lid fell heavily back into place, and the Sword Refinement continued.

Another hundred days passed. Bai Zichen had already taken two Elixirs to restore his True Essence, and the Bronze Cauldron finally let out a dragon’s roar.

An Azure Dragon twisted its body, burst from the Bronze Cauldron, and tried to fly out of the Artifact Refining Chamber.

The Bronze Cauldron tipped over, sending Earth Fire shooting out in all directions. In a flash, the Artifact Refining Chamber was thrown into chaos.

With a flicker, Bai Zichen appeared in front of the Azure Dragon. Facing the whistling Sword Light, he unhurriedly raised his right hand.

SMACK!

An ancient, timeless palm descended from the sky, swatting the Azure Dragon to the ground. In the next instant, the giant palm seized the Azure Dragon’s body.

The azure light spun rapidly, shrinking into a sharp, chilling Flying Sword, a majestic Azure Dragon coiled around its blade.

When swung, it was wreathed in moist water vapor, as if it were cutting through waves.

’If I let a Flying Sword I just refined run away, I’d become the laughingstock of the entire Northern Domain...’

Bai Zichen felt the defiance of the Flying Sword in his hand. It was struggling powerfully, trying to break free from his grasp.

Some Sword Refiners would go through great pains to forge a powerful Flying Sword, only for it to gain significant spirituality the moment it was completed and try to escape.

This sort of thing only happened with Flying Swords whose power far surpassed that of an ordinary Tier Three Flying Sword, usually when powerful Spiritual Materials had been added during the refining process.

He hadn’t expected the Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword to behave this way as well. It seemed the Dragon Soul was to thank for that.

Back when he killed that Black Flood Dragon, he had sensed its bloodline was exceptional; its Dragon Race lineage must have been quite pure.

With his Close as the Palm of Your Hand, Far as the Ends of the Earth technique—which was comparable to short-range spatial shifting—combined with a physical body even stronger than a Body Refining Cultivator’s, there was no way a Flying Sword could ever escape from him.

After subduing the Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword, he examined it from all angles. Forging a Tier Three Flying Sword without the aid of the Enlightenment Bodhi was a monumental achievement.

Although he had been fumbling in the dark for many steps of the process, with no confidence at all.

Fortunately, fate was on his side. The entire Sword Refinement process had gone smoothly, and he had unbelievably completed every single step.

Even with this experience, he had no confidence that he could replicate the process of refining the Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword again.

’When wielded, this sword can transform into an Azure Dragon and naturally emits a Dragon’s Majesty that can intimidate foes... It’s only moderately effective against human Cultivators, but for Demon Beasts, Dragon’s Majesty inspires a fear that is etched into their very bones.’

Furthermore, the wielder of the Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword could part the waters, was impervious to water pressure, and could move freely underwater.

’It’s rather well-suited for use in the Outer Sea. Liang Country doesn’t even have any large lakes. It’s like casting pearls before swine here.’

Once the final refinement was complete, the Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword was no longer irascible and stubborn, lying obediently in Bai Zichen’s hand.

The two Enlightenment Bodhi had been a tremendous help.

Not only had he successfully forged four Tier Three Flying Swords, but his Sword Refining Skill had also improved by leaps and bounds.

It had saved him at least twenty to thirty years of grinding away at his Sword Refining. Next time, he would have a chance of successfully forging a Tier Three Flying Sword even without an Enlightenment Bodhi.

’It’s a shame I’ve used up most of my Sword Refining Materials. Otherwise, I would have loved to press on and truly elevate my Artifact Refining Realm to Tier Three Top-Grade in one go...’

Bai Zichen walked out of his courtyard. Just as he was about to go find Genggeng to play for a bit, his Divine Sense picked something up, and he looked toward the Celestial Thunder Wall.

He took two strides and was already in the air above the bamboo forest. There, he saw a lean, elderly man squatting on the ground, studying some Thunder Crystal Fragments.

"Brother Ge, when did you arrive? Why didn’t you have someone call for me?"

Master Ge Cang’s sudden visit could only be related to the Tier Four Spirit Land, so Bai Zichen asked.

"Did you discover something new while exploring that volcano, Brother?"

"I haven’t been here long. I heard you were in the middle of Artifact Refining, so I just wandered about... I didn’t pay much mind to these Thunder Crystal Fragments before, but I’ve just discovered they have great potential. I’ll have to try out a few ideas with them when I have the time."

Master Ge Cang clapped his hands, dusting off the dirt and soil, and began to solemnly recount what he had seen deep within Black Mountain.

Bai Zichen’s expression grew progressively more solemn. Although he had long known there was a Tier Four Great Demon in Black Mountain, he had never seen it with his own eyes.

Now that Master Ge Cang had confirmed it, it instantly meant that their main base in the Black Mountain Range was not safe.

It was even highly probable that Ancestor Qingfeng had died because of this Cyan Simurgh.

’A Cyan Simurgh without its True Feathers... its strength greatly diminished...’

Bai Zichen muttered to himself as he raised his wrist. The band of Flowing Colored Silk on it fell away, transforming into a magnificent, crimson Feather Robe.

"This Rainbow Feather Robe is only a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact, yet the Spiritual Materials used were enough to refine a Top-Grade Magical Treasure... I was very puzzled by this at the time. Now that you’ve explained things, Brother Ge, a lot of pieces are falling into place."

Ever since obtaining this heirloom of the Fire Phoenix Mo Family from Mo Changzhi, Bai Zichen had worn it on his wrist without ever taking it off.

Aside from the fact that the Rainbow Feather Robe could change its form and be worn unobtrusively as a colored silk band on his wrist, the Spiritual Artifact itself exuded an extraordinary aura. It made him unable to simply shelve it like other Spiritual Artifacts or gift it to his disciples and juniors.

In terms of Artifact Refining Materials, the Rainbow Feather Robe had been made with three Cyan Simurgh True Feathers, a hundred Tier Three Firebird Feathers, and several types of extremely precious woven silks.

When the Spiritual Artifact first fell into his hands, he had muttered to himself about how atrocious one’s Artifact Refining skill must be to waste such high-grade Spiritual Materials and only produce a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact.

Now, it seemed, he could at least confirm the origin of the most important material used to refine the Rainbow Feather Robe.

He just couldn’t figure out how that crazed ancestor of the Mo Family had managed to pluck three True Feathers from the Cyan Simurgh’s tail. A mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator could try for days and still not be able to pull out a single True Feather.

As a result, this Tier Four Great Demon had been unable to regrow its True Feathers for a thousand years. It had to pour all of its Demon Power into their regeneration, leaving it unable to even heal minor flesh wounds.

As for the Rainbow Feather Robe’s ability to make the wearer as light as a goose feather, fearless against the Gang Wind, and immune to most magical damage below Tier Three—after discovering that these three True Feathers contained the entire source of a Tier Four Cyan Simurgh’s Demon Power, these effects were no longer surprising.

’In the records passed down to his descendants, the Mo Family’s ancestor gave a detailed description of the Cyan Simurgh’s location and how to utilize the bloodline... In that case, could the Mo Family truly be the descendants of this Transformed Great Demon?’

The Fire Phoenix Mo Family had begun to live and multiply in Black Mountain even before the Qingfeng Sect was established there.

Back then, only a few villages struggled to survive at the foot of Black Mountain, getting by on hunting and gathering from the mountain’s outer edges.

The Mo Family boasted of having the Fire Phoenix Bloodline, a claim that Cultivators from the Qingfeng Sect had always scoffed at. They just assumed the Mo Family was passing off some random Demon Beast bloodline as that of a Divine Beast.

If they truly had a Divine Beast’s bloodline, how could their only talent be procreation? After so long, not a single true genius had been born among their descendants.

But now, it seemed the Mo Family’s claim of having the Fire Phoenix Bloodline wasn’t a complete lie.

After all, the Cyan Simurgh was a descendant of the Fire Phoenix, and the Mo Family had the Cyan Simurgh’s bloodline. Rounding things up a bit, that meant the Mo Family did have the Fire Phoenix Bloodline and should be counted among the most revered Divine Beast clans in the Cultivation Realm.

"There’s no need to delve into a thousand-year-old story," Ge Cang said. "The Mo Family’s own records don’t mention it, which means no one besides their ancestor knew the truth."

A look of delight appeared on Master Ge Cang’s face. Without its True Feathers, the Cyan Simurgh couldn’t use most of its Tier Four Divine Techniques, and naturally, it couldn’t achieve Transformation either.

If they could really slay the Tier Four Demon Beast, its body and blood would provide enough resources to cultivate three or four more Core Formation True Men.

What’s more, they could also claim the Tier Four Spirit Vein, which was the most important prize for the two Core Formation Ancestors.

"My thinking is this: we study the Cyan Simurgh’s habits, prepare our Secret Treasures, and strive to take down this Demon Beast in one fell swoop, ridding Black Mountain of its Tier Four Demon Beast for good."

"Since you have such a grand ambition, Brother Ge, I shall naturally accompany you!"

Bai Zichen had met several Nascent Soul Cultivators, and he had even sent one to its death beneath his sword.

But facing a Tier Four Demon Beast? That would be a first.

He had a sufficient understanding of his own strength and would never attempt something completely beyond his capabilities.

If this Cyan Simurgh hadn’t lost its True Feathers, he would have only advised Master Ge Cang to reconsider and find another way.

But since this was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity to face a featherless Cyan Simurgh, he certainly couldn’t pass it up.

’This is the perfect chance to slay this beast and avenge Ancestor Qingfeng!’