Chapter 1641 - 1464: Ascending the Heavenly Ladder

In the distance, the Sacred Infant saw the look of yearning on Ye Guichen's face, and a deep sneer flickered in his eyes: "With that puny bit of strength of yours, you'd better not go to the Chaos Sea. Once you go, it's nothing but a one-way trip to your death."

Ye Guichen had just finished sketching out a grand blueprint for his glorious future, only to have the Sacred Infant dump a bucket of cold water over his head. He grabbed the Sacred Infant's little upturned topknot with both hands and started spinning him around in a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree rotation.

"Aaah! Stop spinning, stop spinning!" The Sacred Infant felt the pain from the top of his head and let out a resentful scream.

You had to know that Ye Guichen had only been cultivating for a few decades, yet already possessed strength comparable to the Divinity Transformation Realm. With such talent, he would be a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius in any sect, and now he was actually being looked down on by a little brat—though a little brat who had once become an Immortal. His heart was filled with annoyance.

"I'm begging you, stop! Stop!" Seeing that Ye Guichen had no intention of stopping, the Sacred Infant couldn't help but roar.

Ye Guichen's face was full of mischief. Seeing the Sacred Infant begging for mercy, he grew even more excited. He slowly halted his movements, then let the Sacred Infant drop to the ground with a plop.

Feeling Ye Guichen stop, the Sacred Infant reached up to rub his upturned little topknot, then looked at Ye Guichen warily, retreating rapidly backward, afraid Ye Guichen would suddenly grab him again.

"With your level of strength, sure, you can be king of the hill in this little region. But once you get to the Chaos Sea, monstrous talents are everywhere. With just those few life‑preserving moves of yours, without having fully dug out your own potential, you're nowhere near enough." The Sacred Infant ruthlessly struck at Ye Guichen, not holding back in the slightest.

"At your age, the truly monstrous ones have probably long since surpassed the Divinity Transformation Realm." The Sacred Infant crossed his arms over his chest and glared angrily at Ye Guichen.

Hearing the Sacred Infant's words, Ye Guichen couldn't help but secretly be shocked. He'd originally thought that just having combat strength at the Divinity Transformation Realm was already terrifying, but if he were to face a real Divinity Transformation expert, he still wouldn't be able to compare. After all, his actual realm was only Nascent Soul Early Stage—the gap in realm was something that couldn't be patched over no matter what.

Thinking of this, Ye Guichen felt it was necessary to raise his realm a bit. After all, although he had refined the Life Spring, he had not fully absorbed it for his own use.

"Then tell me: how should I raise my combat strength?" Ye Guichen asked, puzzled by the Sacred Infant's words.

"Hmph! You want my help, don't you think you should show some sincerity first?" The Sacred Infant lifted his little head proudly, putting on the air of an enlightened Immortal, which formed a stark contrast with his tiny body and was downright laughable.

Seeing the Sacred Infant actually daring to make demands of him, Ye Guichen moved as if to step forward and grab the Sacred Infant's upturned topknot.

The Sacred Infant's expression changed dramatically. His hands waved frantically like a rattle drum, signaling Ye Guichen to stop, his eyes full of resentment, like a wronged wife.

Ever since being imprisoned by Ye Guichen in the Jiuyou Tower, he hadn't absorbed any Life Essence in a very long time. Though he had devoured a Chang Hu in the meantime, that was like a distant spring trying to quench a near thirst—nowhere near enough—and he was thoroughly depressed.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

With a flick of both hands, Ye Guichen sent three drops of Life Essence shooting toward the Sacred Infant like falling stars.

"Hm?"

Feeling the surging breath of life, the Sacred Infant's expression turned excited. He guided them with both hands into his mouth, his face showing pure intoxication.

"Guess you still have a bit of sincerity, kid!" The Sacred Infant pouted and glanced at Ye Guichen proudly.

"Take out your Immortal Slayer Sword."

"Immortal Slayer Sword?" Hearing the Sacred Infant's words, Ye Guichen was confused, but he still took it out from his ring, gripping it tightly with both hands.

Seeing the Immortal Slayer Sword in Ye Guichen's hands, the Sacred Infant furrowed his brows, his expression turning pained. His figure flashed forward, snatching the Immortal Slayer Sword from Ye Guichen's grip. He gently caressed the blade, muttering under his breath.

"Senior Brother!" The Sacred Infant gazed sadly at the Immortal Slayer Sword in his hands, as if he could see Li Xiaoyao in person. Scenes of the past surged up in his mind, and tears continuously slid down his childish cheeks.

From a distance, Ye Guichen saw this scene and couldn't help but grow solemn. Ever since his time in the mortal world, this Immortal Slayer Sword had always accompanied him, helping him through countless battles. Not only that, but the Carefree Sword Immortal's help to Ye Guichen was beyond words. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but be moved as well.

The Immortal Slayer Sword in the Sacred Infant's hands seemed to sense something and suddenly let out a series of rumbling hums. The blade trembled nonstop, as if it had met an old friend, responding to the Sacred Infant's sobs.

Feeling the sorrowful cry coming from the Immortal Slayer Sword, the Sacred Infant wiped away his tears and looked at the sword in his hands with delight.

"This is… the Sword Spirit?" Seeing the Immortal Slayer Sword's reaction, Ye Guichen was shocked. He had always tried to communicate with the Sword Spirit, but it had never worked. Only when the Immortal Slayer Sword was provoked and he himself was challenged would the Spiritual Sense within the sword spontaneously emerge.

Now that it was actually being called out by the Sacred Infant, one could imagine how excited Ye Guichen was. Without a Sword Spirit, the Immortal Slayer Sword was nothing more than a sharp blade for chopping vegetables. But with a Sword Spirit, that was an earth‑shaking change—the Immortal Slayer Sword could rely on its own Spiritual Sense to fight autonomously, and the power it unleashed would be on a completely different level.

However, swords that possessed Spiritual Sense were usually unwilling to submit to their wielders. If the wielder's strength was insufficient, it was often impossible to truly control them in battle. Thinking of this, Ye Guichen couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.