Chapter 602 - 575: Purple-Blue Spirit Wood, Creating a Clone

"BZZZZ!"

The Sword Monarch’s avatar quickly dissipated, and a palm-sized, vibrant green leaf appeared in the void. Light blue veins, not unlike human Meridians, covered the leaf’s surface. A faint light flickered within it, exuding an indescribable mystery.

The Fire Spirit was already grievously injured from its head-on battle with the Sword Monarch’s avatar, its flames flickering unsteadily. But upon seeing the leaf, it grew excited and cried out, "Master, that’s a leaf from a Purple-Blue Spirit Wood! It contains the memories and insights of the Sword Monarch’s avatar! Grab it, quickly!"

Zhaang Ye had already suffered considerable injuries from desperately unleashing the Cloud-Breaking Slash. But when he heard the Fire Spirit’s voice, his hand shot out like a bolt of lightning and snatched the vibrant green leaf.

"BOOM!"

The moment the leaf entered his grasp, countless memories and insights flooded the depths of Zhaang Ye’s soul. An excruciating pain instantly wracked his entire body. From inside to out, from the depths of his soul to the finest hairs on his skin, every part of him was subjected to a terrifying impact. Under this assault, Zhaang Ye’s soul nearly scattered, his Meridians and Dantian were on the verge of collapse, and he was instantly and severely wounded.

"Hahahahaha! Junior, did you think the will of this Sword Monarch was so easy to refine and fuse with? Did you think my memories and insights were so easy to obtain? You have repeatedly provoked my majesty. The only path for you is death!" The Sword Monarch’s avatar’s maniacal laughter echoed from the depths of Zhaang Ye’s soul, pushing him to the brink of collapse.

"PFFT!"

A torrent of blood spurted from Zhaang Ye’s seven orifices, and even his pores oozed fine streams of blood. It was an absolutely ghastly sight.

Zhaang Ye knew in his heart that he had once again arrived at the threshold of life and death. ’If I can stabilize my mind, I can successfully obtain the Sword Monarch’s memories and Sword Dao insights, taking my own Sword Dao to a new level. If I fail, my soul will scatter, and I’ll be damned beyond recovery!’

In that instant, Zhaang Ye’s Heart Spirit suddenly grew tranquil. He entered a state of "embracing unity, Specializing in Qi to Achieve Softness." His Heart Spirit became as steadfast as a rock, guarding his Spirit Platform, preserving his origin and maintaining unity. He stood perfectly still, like a stone statue, not a single trace of life leaking from him.

At this point, the Fire Spirit finally reacted, saying in a low voice, "Master is currently fusing with the Sword Monarch’s avatar’s memories and insights; he has no time for Healing. Wood Spirit, Water Spirit, your powers contain infinite life force. Act now and treat Master’s injuries."

The Wood Spirit and Water Spirit nodded in unison. They had signed a Soul Contract with Zhaang Ye. If he died, their own souls would be severely damaged, and their power would never be able to increase. Therefore, with Zhaang Ye in peril, they had to help.

"PFFT! PFFT!"

The Wood Spirit and Water Spirit both spat out a breath of vibrant life force. The two breaths landed on Zhaang Ye and quickly seeped into his body.

The breaths exhaled by the Wood Spirit and Water Spirit were their original essence, the very breath of life. This original essence was far more potent than any Marvelous Elixir. With the help of the two life breaths, the blood that had been gushing from Zhaang Ye’s body slowly stopped, and his injuries improved somewhat.

"PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!"

Without needing another command from the Fire Spirit, the Wood Spirit and Water Spirit each spat out two more streams of Original Essence Qi. With the help of these four streams of Original Essence Qi, Zhaang Ye’s injuries finally stabilized.

The Wood Spirit and Water Spirit were already injured themselves. After spitting out three mouthfuls of Original Essence Qi, their colors dimmed, and they quickly returned to the Fire Spirit Realm to recuperate.

The Fire Spirit and Gold Spirit exchanged a glance. They did not enter the Fire Spirit Realm for Healing, but instead flew to Zhaang Ye’s side, silently standing guard.

Zhaang Ye remained standing perfectly still, like a lifeless statue. Even the Fire Spirit and Gold Spirit could not sense any life force from him.

He stood like this for two days.

On the third day, a massive aura suddenly erupted from Zhaang Ye. Above his head, two flowers—one green, one black—rose up, spinning round and round.

"WHIRRR—"

The two flowers spun faster and faster, and the aura on Zhaang Ye’s body grew increasingly powerful. Just as he was about to break through from the Peak of True Dao Fourth Layer to the True Dao Fifth Layer, the flowers suddenly faltered and stopped spinning.

"Ah."

Zhaang Ye let out a soft sigh and shook his head slightly. He had fused with the Sword Monarch’s avatar’s memories and insights, and his Sword Dao had reached a new level. He had been on the verge of breaking through to the True Dao Fifth Layer. Unfortunately, his preparations were insufficient; there wasn’t enough Heaven and Earth Essence in the surroundings for him to absorb, so he failed to enter the True Dao Fifth Layer.

Zhaang Ye opened his eyes, and strange lights flashed through their profound, unfathomable depths. At the same moment, the aura on his body changed, becoming more tyrannical. Though it was clearly the aura of the Peak of True Dao Fourth Layer, it gave off a feeling of being completely unfathomable.

Seeing Zhaang Ye awaken, the Fire Spirit breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Master, you finally succeeded with the fusion. You must have gained quite a lot this time, right?"

Zhaang Ye smiled slightly and nodded.

From this fusion, Zhaang Ye’s understanding of the Sword Dao had deepened by another level. A petal of his Top Three Flowers could bloom at any moment, allowing him to enter the True Dao Fifth Layer. Furthermore, his self-created Cloud-Breaking Slash had also achieved a new breakthrough after the fusion. Not only could he launch the attack from five li away, but its power had also increased.

Additionally, Zhaang Ye had another gain: under the pressure from the Sword Monarch’s avatar, his Spiritual Sense had become stronger and more condensed. His Spiritual Sense was now very close to solidifying. With just a period of Cultivation, his Spiritual Sense would naturally undergo Transforming Illusion into Reality, allowing him to directly launch Spiritual Attacks.

Zhaang Ye raised the vibrant green leaf in his hand and asked, "Fire Spirit, what exactly is the origin of this leaf?"

The Fire Spirit said excitedly, "Master, this is a rare Purple-Blue Spirit Wood Leaf! The Purple-Blue Spirit Wood is a First-Grade Spirit Wood, possessing immense Spirituality. In Ancient Times, Cultivators could directly cultivate a Purple-Blue Spirit Wood, then refine it to become an avatar.

The uses of a Purple-Blue Spirit Wood are endless. Even a small leaf possesses a certain degree of Spirituality and can also be refined into an avatar. The Sword Monarch’s avatar from before was an avatar refined from a Purple-Blue Spirit Wood Leaf. In other words, what you were fighting just now was, in fact, this very leaf."

At this point, the Fire Spirit said with some confusion, "The Purple-Blue Spirit Wood is a First-Grade Spirit Wood. In Ancient Times, only the Dragon and Phoenix Clans and a few experts from the Human Race cultivated them. This Sword Monarch was at most a Spirit Dao master. It’s truly strange that he actually possessed a Purple-Blue Spirit Wood Leaf."

Zhaang Ye then thought of a question and asked, "What’s the difference between an avatar refined from a Purple-Blue Spirit Wood and one refined from a Purple-Blue Spirit Wood Leaf?"

The Fire Spirit explained, "An avatar refined from a Purple-Blue Spirit Wood possesses immense Spirituality. Not only can it cultivate, but it can also think for itself and even comprehend various Cultivation Methods. However, an avatar refined from a Purple-Blue Spirit Wood Leaf lacks Spirituality, cannot cultivate on its own, and generally doesn’t think. Moreover, an avatar refined from a leaf can at most withstand the power of the True Dao Sixth Layer."

Zhaang Ye had a realization, then asked, "Can I refine this Purple-Blue Spirit Wood Leaf into an avatar?"

The Fire Spirit laughed. "No problem at all. In my memories, I have a Technique for refining leaves to create avatars. To use this Technique, one’s Cultivation must reach the True Dao Seventh Layer, and one’s Spiritual Sense must have undergone Transforming Illusion into Reality..."

Hearing this, Zhaang Ye felt a little disappointed. "My Cultivation is only at the Peak of True Dao Fourth Layer, which is still a long way from the True Dao Seventh Layer. It seems it will be some time before I can have an avatar."

The Fire Spirit giggled, saying smugly, "If it were just you, you definitely couldn’t refine the leaf. But it’s a different story if I help you. I’ve inherited a portion of a Phoenix’s memories and have been quietly in Cultivation in a volcano for tens of thousands of years. Even if my strength is less than one one-hundred-millionth of my original power, helping you refine an avatar is still doable."

"Oh? So you’re saying I can refine this leaf and create an avatar right now?" Zhaang Ye’s eyes lit up, and his heart pounded with excitement.

An avatar could help its main body in battle, handle simple tasks, and even die in its place. The benefits of having an avatar were simply unimaginable. Experts from the Ancient Wilderness all possessed countless avatars, some of which were so powerful they had the great ability of Moving Mountains and Leveling Seas and tearing open the void.

Zhaang Ye’s current Cultivation was only at the Peak of True Dao Fourth Layer. With an avatar, his combat strength would be greatly enhanced. He would be much more confident when facing powerful enemies in the future.

The Fire Spirit said proudly, "Absolutely no problem! Master, I’ll first pass the refining Technique to you so you can familiarize yourself with it. After we leave the Sword Monarch Ruins, we’ll immediately find a quiet place to create the avatar."

With a wave of its hand, the Fire Spirit sent a faint ray of light flying into the space between Zhaang Ye’s eyebrows. Zhaang Ye’s Heart Spirit stirred, and a Technique instantly appeared in his mind—the very Technique for creating an avatar.

Zhaang Ye briefly tried to comprehend it but felt the Technique was endlessly profound; he was completely unable to grasp it in such a short time. For now, Zhaang Ye had the Fire Spirit and Gold Spirit enter the Fire Spirit Realm to heal, then took out several dozen Top-grade Essence Stones and seized the moment to restore his Celestial River Righteous Qi.

Thanks to the help from the Wood Spirit and Water Spirit, the injuries on Zhaang Ye’s body were already mostly healed. As he replenished his Essence Qi, his injuries rapidly recovered, and the Celestial River Righteous Qi within him also gradually grew stronger.

Three Hours later, the Celestial River Righteous Qi in Zhaang Ye’s body was finally restored to its peak state. After glancing around, Zhaang Ye unhesitatingly executed his Body Technique and headed toward the Sword Monarch Hall.

After flying through the passage for several li, Zhaang Ye’s vision suddenly opened up, and a large hall appeared before him. Before Zhaang Ye could even take in his surroundings, four terrifying auras suddenly locked onto him.

Zhaang Ye’s Spiritual Sense swept out, and his expression immediately changed. He saw a purple-and-blue-colored tree growing in the center of the hall. Around this tree stood four powerful individuals, two of whom were none other than Shui Daimai and the Flower King!

The Flower King’s eyes glinted as he let out a long laugh. "Hahahaha, Zhaang Ye, let’s see you escape this time! Today, I will use your flesh and blood to nourish this Purple-Blue Spirit Wood sapling!"