From a Zhengyi Taoist Child to a Master of All Laws

Chapter 659 Celestial Calamity

This Nanming Origin Crystal is indeed extraordinary; even the Nanming Sword reported feeling of being overfed after half an hour.

In contrast, Nanmingyuan Crystal only used less than one-twentieth of its capacity.

"Are you full? Then go back and digest your food first, and come again tomorrow!"

Li Yang sheathed the Nanming Sword, feeling a little guilty. For some reason, he had a sense of unease, as if he were pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth. Although the tiger was fast asleep, something inexplicable was locking onto him.

"Anything can be done in Purgatory Valley without any restrictions!"

"No matter your karma or who you are, just come to my Purgatory Valley! I, Immortal Lord Lingguang, will receive you all!"

Li Yang shouted, which slightly dispelled the unease in his heart, but when he saw the Nanming Sword shining with auspicious light, his heart immediately became joyful again.

This Nanming Yuan Crystal is indeed extraordinary. The blue line on the Nanming Sword is now fully highlighted, flowing to the tip of the sword, making the entire Nanming Sword a perfect work of art with its gold and blue intertwined.

Like an old father watching his daughter grow into a beautiful young woman, Li Yang couldn't stop smiling. In a flash, he disappeared out of the cave.

He dared not move the entire piece of Nanmingyuan Crystal, fearing he might disturb the golden skeleton inside.

Even now, he still has doubts about whether this golden skeleton has its own consciousness.

With Li Yang's disappearance, the entire underground area, 2,500 meters underground, returned to deathly silence. There were no living creatures here, except for the Nanmingyuan Crystal emitting a hazy blue light.

"Stab, sting, sting..."

After an unknown amount of time, a faint, grating sound suddenly emanated from the previously deathly silent underground mine.
It was like the sound of something sharp scratching across a blackboard—faint, persistent, and chilling…

During the hour Li Yang disappeared, nothing went wrong at the base. Although Gu Yunzi and the others noticed Li Yang's disappearance, they dared not ask any questions. They never imagined that Li Yang would be so audacious as to return to the mine.

Li Yang naturally had no interest in dealing with these guys. If he wasn't worried that casually killing them would arouse suspicion within the valley and affect the upcoming Yaochi Dharma Assembly, he would have already wiped them out with a single sword strike.

The image of the miner who was skinned alive while the flagpole was fluttering still had a significant psychological impact on Li Yang.

For the next two weeks, Li Yang kept a low profile, spending his days in the palace studying the "Extreme Dao Treasure Mirror," consuming the resources he brought from the valley and the pills refined by the fire crows like a gluttonous beast. At night, he would secretly sneak into the underground mines to absorb the Nanming Source Crystal with the Nanming Sword.

Seeing that half a month had passed and Li Yang still hadn't mentioned how to deal with the things in the mine, Gu Yunzi and the others assumed that the immortal envoy had only spoken arrogantly to save face. However, they all tacitly refrained from exposing him and would occasionally try to get acquainted with Li Yang, hoping that this noble immortal would give them a few words of guidance so that they could return to the valley.

They weren't panicked. Judging by the time, their new plea for help should have reached the valley by now.
Li Yang was so annoyed by these guys harassing him every day that he issued a seclusion order, declaring that he was researching how to solve the troubles in the mine and would no longer see outsiders.

In the empty hall, Li Yang stroked the Nanming Sword, which had become as lustrous as jade, his face filled with immense joy.

"You seem to be almost full..."

Li Yang murmured softly. He could sense that after absorbing such a massive amount of Southern Sea Origin Crystal, the Southern Sea Sword was undergoing some kind of inexplicable change, both inside and out.

It should be known that a piece of Nanming Yuan Crystal the size of a fist can become the main material of a terrestrial immortal's magic weapon, and the Nanming Sword has absorbed a hundred times that amount of Nanming Yuan Crystal in the past half month.

Li Yang could sense that the amount of Nanming Yuan Crystals absorbed by the Nanming Sword had been decreasing recently. It didn't seem like it had overeaten and hadn't digested anything, but rather that it had reached a critical point and was full, like a pupa about to transform into a butterfly, needing a qualitative change.

"The matter of opening the gates needs to be put on the agenda!"

Li Yang frowned slightly, beginning to worry whether he could complete the opening of the Southern Sea Sword with his current strength.

Regardless of Li Yang's opinion, the Nanming Sword at this moment had already transcended the ordinary realm of a terrestrial immortal's sword...

"In that case, we have no choice but to rely on external help..."

"Tonight is the last time we'll absorb that Southern Bright Source Crystal. After that, we can't go again. The Celestial Immortal skeleton sealed inside that crystal is clearly a huge bombshell. It's better to let the people from Purgatory Valley step on it..."

Having made up his mind, at dusk, with the bright moon in the sky and a gentle breeze blowing, Li Yang, familiar with the route, once again infiltrated the mine.

Compared to half a month ago, the Nanmingyuan Crystal in the mine has shrunk considerably. Li Yang can even see the clear outline of the golden skeleton inside, which makes him feel a chill.

He was extremely focused, and when the Nanming Sword was gnawing on the Nanming Origin Crystal, he was gnawing in circles, afraid that he might accidentally gnaw too much and stimulate the thing inside.

"Just a little bit left!"

Li Yang licked his lips and summoned the Nanming Sword again, devouring the remaining Nanming Origin Crystals.

While the Nanming Sword was consuming the Nanming Origin Crystal, Li Yang carefully examined the golden skeleton inside once more.
Rather than gold, it's more like a vitrified golden substance, radiating an eerie glow.
The entire skeleton was extremely large and tall, nearly two meters, the skeleton of a strong man. Moreover, the glassy skeleton had many knife and sword wounds, especially around the heart, where a halberd-shaped fragment was still stuck, as if it had been killed with a single blow and nailed there.

"The mere remnants of the skeleton exert such immense pressure on me; if it were the original owner, what terrifying cultivation level would they have possessed?"

"But can such a terrifying being be killed with a single halberd strike?"

Li Yang frowned, sensing the cruelty this skeleton had experienced in its lifetime.

What has been unsettling Li Yang is the energy fluctuation emanating from this skeleton. It gives Li Yang a feeling of unease, just like the fire-based root technique and earth-based root technique from before, but it is also violent and ruthless, giving Li Yang a very contradictory feeling.

Just as his thoughts were wandering, Li Yang's gaze suddenly stopped on the right hand of the golden skeleton, and then his expression changed drastically. He immediately recalled the Southern Sea Sword and retreated hundreds of meters!

What did he see? On the right hand skeleton of the golden skeleton, there were white scratches.

The scratches are very slight, but they are there, like they were made by animal claws!
This skeleton was created by rubbing its bones out from inside with its hands!

"This thing has its own consciousness?"

A terrifying thought suddenly entered Li Yang's mind, and his instinctive reaction was to flee.
This is terrifying! If this skeleton is still conscious, watching him secretly nibble away at his savings every day for the past two weeks, just thinking about it sends chills down Li Yang's spine!

"No, Nanming Sword is still a tiny bit hungry..."

"If we run away now, where can we find such a rare and precious material as Nanmingyuan Crystal again?"

"We've been munching on it for a month already... so it shouldn't be a problem to munch on just a tiny bit more, right?"

Li Yang thought guiltily, his eyes fixed on the skeleton inside the ore.

"Silence means consent..."

Hesitating for a moment, Li Yang released the Southern Sea Sword again. In the cramped and confined space, the atmosphere was incredibly eerie, and Li Yang was ready to run away at any moment. The Southern Sea Sword seemed to sense its master's emotions, and its light dimmed slightly as it stealthily approached the raw stone, slowly devouring it.

"I was careless! There's a reason this golden skeleton appeared in the Nanming Origin Crystal! This Nanming Origin Crystal is a top-tier material for harmonizing Yin and Yang, where the extreme of Yang gives rise to Yin. This skeleton is using the Nanming Origin Crystal to suppress something! Is it because my Half-Moon Nanming Sword consumed too much Nanming Origin Crystal that some kind of balance was broken?"

Li Yang pondered for a moment, then swallowed hard.

He's been practically dancing on the brink of death these past few days!

"Have you eaten enough? Hurry back!"

Li Yang urged him in a low voice, and Nanming Sword seemed to sense this and obviously increased its speed.

The feeling of unease grew stronger and stronger. Li Yang had a persistent illusion that two green flames were burning in the empty eye sockets of the skeleton inside the ore, coldly staring at him.

"I am full!"

A cheerful aura emanated from the Southern Sea Sword, and Li Yang was overjoyed, quickly calling it back.

To Li Yang's surprise, the Southern Sea Sword seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if reluctant to part with such delicious spirit stones. Then, to Li Yang's astonishment, it unleashed its sword light...

'Whoosh!'
A large chunk of Nanming Yuan Crystal was forcibly shaved off the raw stone, impaled on the Nanming Sword like a barbecue grill, and brought back to Li Yang's side.
"You're going to kill me!"

An unprecedented sense of crisis suddenly erupted, every cell in his body was screaming, and to Li Yang's astonishment, the skeleton in the ore... slowly raised its head...

"run!"

With his mind blank, Li Yang turned and ran without looking back, unleashing golden light, the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Divine Powers, Man and Sword as One, Five Thunder Dharma Body, and the Zhu Rong Technique...

Ode!
With his speed instantly increasing beyond a sonic boom, Li Yang flew out of the mine in just two seconds and flew away quickly without looking back.

A powerful and overwhelming pressure appeared again, just like the one Li Yang felt when he first arrived at the base half a month ago. The mountain-like force was like a rope, trying to pull Li Yang down from the sky.

"Damn it, could that guy really have woken up?"

Li Yang was still in a state of perfect harmony with his sword, but it was clear that the Nanming Sword, after being well-fed, had become even more powerful than Li Yang had imagined.

The most obvious thing was that Li Yang sensed a hazy consciousness within the Southern Sea Sword, like that of a three-year-old child.
"This is... a sword spirit?"

The sword spirit seemed to know that what it had been munching on for the past two weeks was the coffin of that thing below, and knew that if it were pulled down, it would definitely be melted down and used as material. At this moment, it was even more anxious than Li Yang.

With the combined strength of one person and one sword, they were able to barely contend with this immense suction force.

With the Supreme Dao Mirror and the Sun and Moon Root Method, Li Yang is least afraid of waging a protracted war!

After a full half hour, just as Li Yang was beginning to feel a bit tired, the immense and terrifying suction finally subsided, and the being seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep again, and the earth returned to calm.

This time, Li Yang would never dare to set foot on the ground again.

He could sense that the being from before was not fully awake, but rather in a dazed state, yet it still put him in grave danger!

"What happened?"

The commotion woke up Gu Yunzi and the other immortals, who were slow to realize what was happening. They flew into the sky and saw a blue and gold sword spinning left and right in the air, as if it were wrestling with something. It danced in the sky like a dragon, which was quite a sight to behold.

"Where did this celestial artifact come from? Which powerful cultivator is making a move, engaging in a magical duel?"

None of them noticed the terrifying pressure and immense suction coming from below. Although they couldn't discern the true quality of the Nanming Sword, they sensed it was extraordinary and assumed it was the work of some senior, so they dared not approach.

Once the others below had fallen asleep again, Li Yang withdrew from his state of oneness with the sword. Only then did the others realize what was happening and swarmed up to him.

"It's nothing. I was just trying to comprehend a sword control technique when something went wrong. It's nothing serious."

Li Yang forced a smile: "By the way, I've found a way to solve the problem below, but I need to prepare some things. Are there any other bases for this mine? I need a quiet place to refine the technique."

Li Yang's face was neither flushed nor out of breath, and he showed no signs of having narrowly escaped death, as if he had just finished practicing martial arts.

"Yes, we do. The Nanming Crystal Vein stretches for thousands of miles, and our Purgatory Valley has three mining sites and three bases."

"Okay, then take me to the place furthest away from this base!"

At this point, Gu Yunzi and the others also noticed something was wrong, but judging from Li Yang's appearance, they knew they probably wouldn't get anything out of him, so they had no choice but to take him to the furthest mining base as he requested.

This base is at least tens of kilometers away from the base where the accident occurred. Li Yang carefully sensed it and found that the heart-pounding fear had weakened a lot before he slowly landed.

Li Yang didn't leave for one reason only.
The Southern Sea Sword has now reached a critical point, and has even given birth to a sword spirit. It needs a place to sharpen the Southern Sea Sword!
Under the current circumstances, with his cultivation level, he certainly cannot sharpen the Nanming Sword. With time pressing, the only thing he can think of is to use the fire energy of the Nanming Lijing mine to forge the edge!
"That terrifying thing, as long as I don't provoke it, it shouldn't come back, right?"

Li Yang felt a little guilty and looked towards the mine where the accident had occurred, trying to bolster his courage.

That golden skeleton was definitely not a complete Celestial Immortal, but even just a wisp of its aura made him tremble. He couldn't imagine how vulnerable he would be if he were to truly face a Celestial Immortal in his prime.

Under such circumstances, even if one reshapes their Dao Fruit, would they truly have the power to fight back?

Under these circumstances, the only way Li Yang could think of to rapidly increase his combat power in the short term was to sharpen the Southern Sea Sword!
"All cultivators and miners, get out! This base is now under my control. Go to other bases and await further orders!"

Li Yang flew above the unaffected base and suddenly spoke, his voice like a divine decree. A massive sound wave, carried by spiritual energy, radiated throughout the vast base.

With the help of the lackey Gu Yunzi and a group of immortals, the entire base was cleared out in less than half an hour, leaving only Li Yang.

The Nine Heavenly Ranks of Sword Control Technique: Upper Three Ranks: Gathering Qi, Refining Qi, Nourishing Qi; Middle Three Ranks: Tempering Form, Inscribing Patterns, Nourishing the Weapon.

The final three levels are: Inscription of the Gods, Return to the Void, and there is another level that is not even recorded in the Sun and Moon Root Method.

Li Yang now wants the Nanming Sword to fully enter the upper three realms!
The entire base was deserted. Li Yang sat cross-legged high in the sky, beginning to comprehend the earth vein's fiery energy and construct a weapon-refining array.

"Fortunately, my array formation skills didn't fall behind back then, otherwise we would really be helpless now."

Li Yang murmured to himself, what he was about to construct was a set of formations he had found in the treasure vault of Fangzhang Mountain on Blue Star, called the Eight Trigrams Spirit Locking Furnace.
Like the Nine-Turn Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace of Laozi, it contains the fiery energy of the entire Nanming Li Crystal Mine to forge the sharpness of the Nanming Sword!
(End of this chapter)