Chapter 392 - 390: Moonlight in the Sleeve, Abundant Courage

Chapter 392: Chapter 390: Moonlight in the Sleeve, Abundant Courage

"The Thunder Sound Sword?"

There were countless Flying Swords in the world; it was normal for them to share similar designs.

If the Core Formation Cultivator opposite him hadn’t raised and activated the sword, causing Sword Light to gather and thunder to rumble, Bai Zichen truly wouldn’t have recognized it as the Thunder Sound Sword.

There were slight differences in the luster of its blade compared to the Thunder Sound Sword he had refined, but once it was activated, he could still confirm the Flying Sword’s origin.

It wouldn’t be surprising if other Tier Three Flying Swords, whose Sword Refining Secret Techniques had spread, were refined by outsiders who had learned them.

But for Flying Swords like the Sound Bamboo Sword and the Thunder Sound Sword, their primary refining materials were unique. In the entire Cultivation Realm, besides those cultivated with the Wood God Skill, almost no identical Spiritual Bamboo had ever appeared.

The moment you saw a Cultivator wielding one of these two Flying Swords, you could immediately determine their identity.

’A Youlong Sect Cultivator? No, it’s a Fish Dragon Sect Cultivator who escaped from Hornless Dragon Island!’

Upon seeing the Thunder Bamboo Sword, a Water Dragon behind his opponent let out a long cry as water vapor gathered into a river—a clear sign of having mastered the Dragon Transformation Scripture’s Core Formation Scroll.

Once they entered the Nascent Soul Realm, a Cultivator who had practiced the Dragon Transformation Scripture would possess the power of a dragon in every move, their True Essence as vast as the sea.

Bai Zichen’s first instinct was to identify him as a Youlong Sect Cultivator. He thought the events of the past had been exposed and that they had tracked him down.

But a moment later, he realized something was wrong. How could the Youlong Sect, which only had the Fish Dragon Sect’s legacy but lacked the Holy Beast Essence Blood, possess a Thunder Sound Sword?

Back when Hornless Dragon Island was breached, a Fish Dragon Sect Cultivator had used the Nine Yang True Flame to burn all the Spiritual Bamboo on the island to ashes, not leaving behind a single Spirit Seed.

On the other hand, the team of Core Disciples selected by the Fish Dragon Sect had each taken their lineage’s heirloom treasures with them. It was perfectly normal for a Thunder Sound Sword to be among them.

Looking closer at the corner of the man’s robes, he saw an embroidered pattern of a sea fish leaping high, half its body already transformed into that of a dragon.

Half-Dragon Half-Human—the symbol of the Fish Dragon Sect!

"You recognize the Thunder Sound Sword and know of the Youlong Sect... You must be that Bai Zichen, the descendant of Bai Mucheng!"

There was a teeth-grinding hatred in Li Hansi’s voice. When a million members of the Demon Race attacked from the sea, he had been chosen as the Sect’s last hope, escaping Hornless Dragon Island with the Holy Beast Essence Blood and Cultivation Resources.

After confirming the Sect had been destroyed and fleeing all the way, he had planned to use Bai Mucheng as a pawn to lure away their pursuers.

Unexpectedly, Bai Mucheng struck first, trapping Li Hansi and another disciple in an encirclement of Merfolk, and took the opportunity to steal the Holy Beast Essence Blood Crystal Stone.

Fortunately, Li Hansi had numerous Secret Treasures. He pulled out one Tier Three Talisman after another, brutally carving a bloody path out.

The other disciple wasn’t so lucky. Just as he was about to escape the encirclement, a flying harpoon pierced his skull, splattering red and white all over Li Hansi’s face.

He didn’t dare look back. He slapped on a Tier Three Escape Talisman and fled the Ten Thousand Stars Islands directly.

After reaching the mainland, he had been living in the Central Domain, the region where Human Race Cultivators were most concentrated and powerful, terrified that the Dragon Monarch’s subordinates would pursue him.

He had a complete legacy of Cultivation Techniques and Divine Powers, a bracelet-style Storage Magical Treasure filled with enough resources for several people to cultivate to Core Formation Perfection, and a casket packed with a full one hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones.

With such Cultivation Conditions, Li Hansi’s path to Core Formation was incredibly smooth. He successfully reached the Core Formation Realm less than thirty years after leaving the Ten Thousand Stars Islands.

But after reaching Core Formation, he was filled with endless regret.

His Sect had been destroyed, he had nearly died during his escape, and he had arrived in the unfamiliar Central Domain. Li Hansi had no sense of security.

He had only thought of reaching Core Formation as soon as possible to gain some ability to protect himself.

Having been chosen as the heir of the Profound Clarity Lineage, his aptitude was naturally outstanding.

With no shortage of Cultivation Elixirs and Core Formation Spiritual Objects, and not striving to achieve a Pill Discussion, he rushed through the Core Formation Realm.

But his failure to achieve a Pill Discussion caused Li Hansi’s cultivation progress to slow down drastically after Core Formation; it was no exaggeration to describe it as an arduous struggle.

Back on Hornless Dragon Island, he, with his Top-Grade Water Element Spirit Body, had once been praised by a Nascent Soul True Monarch as the most suitable candidate to cultivate the Dragon Transformation Scripture.

There was no reason that, despite possessing abundant Cultivation Resources, he would only reach the Perfect Core Formation Realm when his lifespan was nearly at its end.

The negative consequences of not achieving a Pill Discussion during the Foundation Establishment Stage were displayed in him to their fullest extent.

After reaching Core Formation, Li Hansi established a merchant guild in the Central Domain, which he operated for several hundred years. Then, a century ago, it finally brought him news about a disciple from the Red Bright Lineage.

A Steward from the Northern Domain, who had returned after acquiring a batch of Spiritual Materials from Liang Country, was chatting with his colleagues. He mentioned that in Black Mountain, there was a Clan that had started by cultivating Spiritual Bamboo and had now produced a Core Formation descendant.

This Core Formation Cultivator, due to his astounding Sword Dao Talent, had already become famous throughout the Northern Domain.

Li Hansi, who had come to hold a meeting with the guild’s Stewards to assign tasks for the coming year, felt his heart skip a beat when he heard the words "Bai Family" and "Spiritual Bamboo." He immediately rushed to Black Mountain.

The loss of the heirloom Supreme Treasure, the Holy Beast Essence Blood, had become a thorn in his side. The inability of the Bamboo Sea to mutate and produce Thunder Sound Bamboo, thus preventing him from refining a Thunder Sound Sword, was a minor issue. The Fish Dragon Sect had other Tier Three Sword Refining Secret Techniques.

The most critical problem was that the cultivation path for the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword was now severed.

The Qing Emperor Longevity Sword was a major reason why the Fish Dragon Sect had been able to conquer the entire Ten Thousand Stars Islands in the Outer Sea—a savage place where only strength mattered.

There had once been three Core Formation True Men who had mastered the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword and joined forces to ambush a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

When the three swords struck as one, they directly afflicted their target with the Celestial Five Declines, exhausting his lifespan.

Although his counterattack before death claimed the lives of two of the Core Formation True Men.

But the deterrent power of such a Great Divine Technique was immense. As long as a few people in each generation mastered it, the Fish Dragon Sect could maintain a firm foothold in the Ten Thousand Stars Islands, even without a Nascent Soul True Monarch presiding over them.

No Sect dared to challenge it or attempt to usurp its position.

This lasted until the Dragon Monarch gathered multiple Transformed Great Demons, assembled a million Sea Beasts, and had an inside agent destroy the Grand Array, leading to the fall of Hornless Dragon Island.

Furthermore, the Holy Beast Essence Blood had always been kept by the Profound Clarity Main Lineage, meaning they had the final say on who could obtain the Holy Beast Aura and gain the right to cultivate the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword.

This was also the Profound Clarity Main Lineage’s most effective tool for controlling the other lineages.

Upon arriving in Black Mountain, Li Hansi quickly confirmed that the Ink Bamboo Bai Family was indeed the Clan founded by Bai Mucheng.

But though he infiltrated the Bai Family and searched it several times, he found no trace of the Holy Beast Essence Blood.

He possessed a Secret Technique from his lineage; if the Holy Beast Essence Blood Crystal Stone were nearby, it would react regardless of any Forbidden Array separating them.

No Forbidden Array in the world should be able to block the aura of the Holy Beast Essence Blood.

Unwilling to give up, Li Hansi returned to Black Mountain many times over the years, trying to find a clue. He even secretly used a Soul Search technique on the Bai Family’s Clan Leader.

Afterward, he made the old man’s death look as if it were from natural causes.

Due to the man’s advanced age, no one grew suspicious.

But the Soul Search yielded nothing.

Despite being the Bai Family’s Clan Leader, his memories contained absolutely nothing about the Fish Dragon Sect or the Holy Beast Essence Blood.

However, inside the man’s storage pouch was a copy of the Red Bright Nirvana Scripture Foundation Establishment Scroll, confirming that the Bai Family were indeed Bai Mucheng’s descendants.

’The Holy Beast Essence Blood is so important. How could Bai Mucheng not have passed it on to his descendants or hidden it within the Clan? Could he have hidden it somewhere else...?’

Li Hansi was baffled, but he suddenly sensed an opportunity for a breakthrough. He could only set the matter aside for the time being and enter secluded cultivation.

Not long after he emerged, he sensed that the Treasure Refining Secret Method he had placed in his Sea of Consciousness years ago had been broken. He came to investigate, which led to the current scene.

"You know the inner secrets of the Fish Dragon Sect. Did Bai Mucheng pass the Holy Beast Essence Blood on to you?"

Now it was Li Hansi’s turn to be relentless. When it came to the Holy Beast Essence Blood, he had to get to the bottom of it.

’So he’s a disciple of the Profound Clarity Lineage, here looking for the Holy Beast Essence Blood...’

The moment he recognized the Thunder Sound Sword, Bai Zichen had used a Finger-Wind Technique to knock the two Foundation Establishment Disciples unconscious.

Matters concerning the Fish Dragon Sect were not for outsiders to know.

If the two of them really heard words like "Fish Dragon Sect" and "Holy Beast Essence Blood," it would put him in a difficult position.

Ever since reading the confession left behind by the Bai Family Ancestor on a Jade Scroll, Bai Zichen knew very well that to the other survivors of the Fish Dragon Sect...

...the Red Bright Lineage were not fellow disciples, but traitors—enemies on par with those who had destroyed their Sect.

He had never fantasized about getting along peacefully with the other lineages of the Fish Dragon Sect.

"The Holy Beast Essence Blood really is in your possession... Hand it over at once! Return it to its rightful owner, and I might even let you return to your ancestors and rejoin the Fish Dragon Sect!"

The Sword Light of the Thunder Sound Sword pulsed eagerly. Waves rose beneath his feet, a Water Dragon faintly visible within them, and several Magical Treasures exuding powerful auras were hidden within the churning water.

A sharp glint flashed in Li Hansi’s eyes, and his previously unremarkable features suddenly exuded an indescribable charm.

"All talk. Let’s see what you’ve really got!"

Bai Zichen felt the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword throbbing restlessly in his Dantian Sea of Consciousness and soothed it back into quiescence.

The sword’s spirituality grew stronger by the day, making it increasingly active.

Right now, it was eagerly stirring because it had sensed that the outside Cultivator’s remaining lifespan was within the killing range of the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, and it wanted to execute him.

He had kept this sword hidden for many years. This Supreme Divine Power was reserved for a strike against a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Although using the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword to slay the heir of the Profound Clarity Lineage had a certain sense of fateful Reincarnation...

...in Bai Zichen’s eyes, this man was not worthy of him using the Time Sword.

’Killing him will avenge the dead Sect Disciples and also sever the prying eyes of the Fish Dragon Sect’s remnants from the Bai Family... It will prevent the Bai Family from getting into trouble over the Holy Beast Essence Blood after I leave Black Mountain!’

With a flick of his sleeves, Bai Zichen unfurled a wave of Moonlight that quickly occupied a corner of Cold Crow Gorge.

At the same time, a silvery-white Sword Silk shot out, silently streaking across the entire area.

"Refining Sword into Silk!"

Li Hansi cried out in alarm. He focused with all his might, not daring to be the slightest bit careless.

He had heard of the famous names Ge Cang and Bai Zichen, but he’d assumed the rumors were exaggerated. How could they be that incredible?

Qingfeng Sect was a minor Sect on the frontier; the entire Sect didn’t even have a handful of Core Formation True Men. How could it possibly produce someone truly remarkable?

He figured their reputations were likely the result of ignorant Liang Country Cultivators flattering each other.

While Li Hansi was growing up, the Fish Dragon Sect was the hegemon of the Ten Thousand Stars Islands, with countless Sects and Cultivation Families pledging allegiance to it. As the heir of the main lineage, he had always been arrogant.

Even after arriving in the Central Domain, this habit hadn’t changed much. He never paid any mind to Cultivators from outside the Central Domain.

Only now, as their fight began, did he realize he had been dead wrong.