Chapter 473 - 455: The Lifebound Flying Sword Smuggled to the Lower Realm

Chapter 473: Chapter 455: The Lifebound Flying Sword Smuggled to the Lower Realm

Bai Zichen’s chubby, white Nascent Soul was like a child with a new toy, running and jumping barefoot through the realm, laughing joyfully.

’I’ll never have to lug around seven or eight cumbersome storage bags again. I can store anything and everything inside my own realm now.’

The longer one lived, the more miscellaneous junk one accumulated.

There were always Magical Treasures that were no longer suitable, Spiritual Materials with no current use, Spirit Stones, Talismans, Elixirs, Jade Scrolls...

A Cultivator who had lived for several hundred years was practically a walking warehouse.

Older Core Formation True Men would often choose to refine a Mustard Seed Storage Magical Treasure to avoid the hassle of carrying a whole pile of storage bags whenever they went out.

Bai Zichen’s cultivation had progressed so quickly that he hadn’t yet had time to experience this particular annoyance.

Just when his storage bags were starting to feel inadequate, he had already reached Late-Stage Core Formation, only a single step away from the Nascent Soul.

A personal realm was the best Storage Magical Treasure for a Nascent Soul Cultivator. Once it was expanded to a range of dozens of miles, no Mustard Seed Treasure could compare.

The Blood Crystal Core was just an appetizer; the real main course was the other Space Spiritual Object, the black-and-white Crystal Stone.

Another black-and-white Crystal Stone appeared in his hand. This time, his method wouldn’t be as crude as before.

This Space Spiritual Object contained a wisp of the Power of Void, not just a simple aura of the void.

Crushing it directly would be far too wasteful.

It might even cause the entire space to collapse, plunging him into the terrifying turbulence of the void.

He wasn’t suicidal enough to challenge the void turbulence—something that even Divinity Transformation Great Powers regarded with dread—while he was only at the Early-Stage Nascent Soul.

He selected a spatial rift only a finger’s width wide and placed the black-and-white Crystal Stone before it. Using the method for refining a Space Spiritual Object, he struck it with streams of True Essence.

The chubby, white Nascent Soul’s expression turned serious, its small face taut, as a Fire Dragon rose up behind it.

A few golden threads ran through its crimson body, and it had magnificent horns that looked as if they were forged from gold.

Its one hundred and eight thousand fiery scales were vividly lifelike.

In terms of size, it was nowhere near as massive or impactful as the Fire Dragon manifested when he fully channeled the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture.

But this Fire Dragon possessed a trace of spiritual grace. Its draconic eyes were as deep as the sea, its body teemed with power, and every single Dragon Scale shimmered with Spirit Light.

It was as if a real Fire Dragon had crossed the river of time to appear behind him.

The chubby, white Nascent Soul spat out thirty-six mouthfuls of True Essence in succession. Its small body slumped, and it had to use the Sword Box in its hand as a crutch to stay upright.

The black-and-white Crystal Stone tumbled over and over, emitting a dense aura of the void that poured into the spatial rift.

After half a day, the first wisp of the Power of Void arrived, and he seized it with both hands.

Without even taking the time to refine it into his realm, he immediately focused on capturing the next wisp of the Power of Void.

The amount of the Power of Void attracted by the black-and-white Crystal Stone far exceeded his imagination.

This wasn’t a situation where there was only one wisp of the Power of Void to capture, which would have been an easy catch.

A dozen or more wisps of the Power of Void roamed and collided, stretching the spatial rift much wider.

At the same time, ripples stirred in the void, and countless tiny, wave-like cracks and fragments spread out.

They mercilessly devoured anything that drew near. Even the whistling, swirling Gang Wind and the slanting rays of the Great Sun were sucked in as they passed the vicinity of the spatial rift.

’No wonder they say a top-tier Space Spiritual Object lets you quickly get past the step of collecting the Power of Void... but nobody told me so much would come at once!’

He watched as the Gang Wind, which could easily tear refined iron to shreds, and the formless, intangible rays of the Great Sun, which could melt stone and liquefy gold, fell into the spatial rift and were shattered to pieces by the Power of Void.

Bai Zichen raised his guard to the absolute maximum, always ensuring his Nascent Soul stayed more than a hundred zhang away from the spatial rift.

He would rather lose a few wisps of the Power of Void than let himself fall into a perilous void zone.

This was the price that had to be paid for the Qingfeng Sect’s incomplete legacy, for having no patriarchs who had left behind their insights and teachings on the Nascent Soul Stage.

In many areas, they knew what to do, but not why.

He knew that a Space Spiritual Object was useful for capturing the Power of Void and refining a realm, but the specific details were unknown.

To put it simply, it was impossible to know if no one told you.

Otherwise, Bai Zichen could have prepared corresponding measures and restraining Magical Treasures in advance, and he wouldn’t have let the Power of Void escape.

As pathfinders for the Qingfeng Sect, he and Ge Cang would ensure that when disciples of later generations encountered a similar situation, they would have the experience not to make the same mistake.

This was why even a heaven-gifted genius who occasionally appeared in a small sect would find it difficult to compare to a disciple cultivated through the standard procedures of a Super Sect.

The paths those disciples walked had been verified thousands of times by their predecessors and proven to be truly effective.

But you, on the other hand, faced an unknown, rugged path that you had to explore entirely on your own.

One wrong step would not only waste precious years but could also leave you with no path of retreat, your fate sealed.

Only a true prodigy of monstrous talent could ignore external resources and the training environment to overcome all these disparities.

’Every wisp of the Power of Void that slips away means I’ll have to spend several more years making up for it later...’

Wary of the risks, Bai Zichen only managed to snatch three wisps of the Power of Void before deciding to try something else.

The chubby, white Nascent Soul slapped both hands on the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box. With three overlapping, clear sword cries, three Flying Swords shot out simultaneously.

’Moon Xuan and Splendid Youth are only Tier Four Flying Swords. If they recklessly enter the spatial rift and get hit by a concentration of the Power of Void, I’ll suffer a huge loss if my Divine Sense link is severed and they’re lost in the void. They’re better off sweeping the periphery and receiving the wisps of Power of Void that I capture.’

Bai Zichen communicated with the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword through their spiritual connection. After receiving a confident reply, he decided to let it try.

’The Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword says that in its memory, it has experienced void turbulence thousands of times more violent and chaotic than this. It doesn’t even bat an eye at this tiny spatial rift... That must have been back in Ancient Times, when it traveled through Void Nodes while following its previous master to the Lower Realm. It seems that Sword Immortal didn’t take the Ascension Platform to descend and traveled back and forth to the Human World more than once.’

If the Ascension Platform was the official, safe, and reliable channel...

...then Void Nodes were private routes with no guarantees. There were even precedents of Void Refining Cultivators getting lost in the void turbulence.

Even if they didn’t die, being trapped in the void for several hundred years or being transported to a strange, small world was no different from being exiled.

Since the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword had experienced the terrifying void turbulence, it certainly hadn’t taken the Ascension Platform. Instead, it must have forcibly crossed through a Void Node, like a stowaway, to reach the Human World.

A flash of Thunder Radiance shot out, charging into the spatial rift with a feeling of joyous abandon.

Just as it had said, it showed no signs of distress upon entering the void, moving just as it would in normal space, which made Bai Zichen breathe a sigh of relief.

He dared to make such a bold attempt not only because he knew the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword’s true quality was above Tier Five and because of the Sword Spirit’s confidence, but also because it was his Lifebound Flying Sword.

Their minds were linked as one, a connection far more intimate than what he had with any ordinary Flying Sword.

If he wished, he could already wield the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword, sending his Divine Thought with it to slay a target a thousand miles away while he remained seated.

Primordial Spirit Sword Control, taking a life from a thousand miles away—he could now recreate the tales from legends and storybooks.

But with his other Tier Four Flying Swords, the strength of his Divine Thought was not enough to support such a feat.

The Thunder Radiance Sword Light was incredibly fast. For a moment, the spatial rift was filled with lightning and thunder, almost forming a great net.

Every strike precisely hit a wisp of the Power of Void, driving them out of the spatial rift one by one.

At the entrance, the dual swords Moon Xuan and Splendid Youth acted like two door gods, their Sword Light circling to collect everything that came out.

This chase continued until the black-and-white Crystal Stone gradually faded, at which point they finally stopped.

The Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword shook itself tirelessly before leading its two little brothers back to rest in the Sword Box.

The little white Nascent Soul looked haggard and grim, its Nascent Soul body having lost some of its luster.

’Without realizing it, I’ve been fighting continuously for seven days. A full twenty-six wisps of the Power of Void... If not for the help of the Space Spiritual Object, this would have taken decades of work.’

The little white Nascent Soul looked at the wisps of the Power of Void accumulated in its Qi Sea and finally felt that all its hard work had not been in vain.

After this ordeal, it would take two or three months of recuperation before the Nascent Soul could return to its peak state.

More than half of the void aura within the black-and-white Crystal Stone had been used up. It could probably be activated one more time, but the effect would definitely not be as good as this time.

To refine the Power of Void and expand his realm, there was no longer any need to remain ten thousand zhang high in the sky.

The Nascent Soul returned to its place, and his body transformed into a bolt of lightning, shooting toward the Peak Master’s exclusive Tier Four Spirit Land on Red Fire Peak.

As soon as he returned to the Spirit Land, he sensed two people waiting outside. He raised a hand and waved the Observation Gate open. "I went out to cultivate a magic technique. My apologies for keeping you two waiting."

"It’s no trouble, we just arrived... For True Monarch Bai to be so gifted and yet still cultivate so diligently, it truly puts us to shame."

The visitors were indeed two old acquaintances, Master Qingmu and Master Hei Shui.

"Thanks to the True Monarch’s Divine Pill, after taking it, my chronic ailment was completely cured, and the Demon Fire was eradicated. Furthermore, though my cultivation level didn’t increase while I was meditating and refining my qi these past years, I was constantly tempering my True Essence in the process of fighting the Demon Fire... I actually managed to use this opportunity to break through the bottleneck of Early-Stage Core Formation in one go. I have come specifically to express my gratitude."

Master Qingmu’s face was glowing with health. His hidden injuries were healed, and his Dao path was restored.

Even his cultivation, which had been stagnant for a hundred years, had miraculously taken a leap forward, advancing him directly to Mid-Stage Core Formation.

"There is no need for thanks. If it weren’t for the Qingfeng Sect, you would have reached this level of cultivation long ago, my friend."

Bai Zichen was also delighted to see this and made a placating gesture with his hand.

"As it happens, I acquired a Qi Collection Technique that seems quite suitable for the Five Elements Sect, so I made a copy... Please, have a look. I hope it can be of some small help."

The Jade Scroll, on which he had already inscribed the Five Elements Qi Gathering Method, was slowly pushed forward and landed in Master Qingmu’s hand.

Master Qingmu took the Jade Scroll, scanned its contents with a complex expression, and handed it to Master Hei Shui without a word.

"First the Desolate God Stealing Sun Technique, and now this Five Elements Qi Gathering Method... True Monarch Bai’s grace to our sect is as heavy as a mountain. We are truly unworthy."

Master Hei Shui sighed deeply. He wanted to decline, but the Jade Scroll in his hand felt as heavy as a mountain, impossible to push away.

For the Five Elements Sect, which possessed the Five Peaks, the Five Elements Qi Gathering Method was a Qi Refining Technique that was simply a perfect, tailor-made fit.

This type of Auxiliary Cultivation Technique, with its low threshold of entry, applicability to all disciples, and ability to increase the probability of breaking realms, was always the most popular and most important type of technique for any sect.

The Five Elements Qi Gathering Method could become a major legacy for a Nascent Soul Major Sect, and the Desolate God Stealing Sun Technique could even be considered an extremely useful foundational technique in a Super Sect.

For a Super Sect, the number of Core Formation True Men represented their core strength.

Large-scale Battle Arrays, High-Tier Battleships, and Profound Mysterious Arrays all required Core Formation True Men to lead them in order to function at a basic level.

The number of Core Formation True Men was a direct indicator of a sect’s war potential.

The combined value of these two Auxiliary Cultivation Techniques was even greater.

The fact that Master Hei Shui mentioned these two things even before Bai Zichen’s act of driving away a Nascent Soul True Monarch and saving the Five Elements Sect from peril offered a glimpse into their importance.

"We came this time to ask for True Monarch Bai’s guidance. Besides handing over the Demon Saint Pearl, is there truly no other way for our sect?"

Master Hei Shui bowed deeply. After accepting the Five Elements Qi Gathering Method, he finally asked his question.