Devour

As midnight approached, the sound of swords gradually rose from within the Burial Sword Tomb, sometimes melodious like the roar of a dragon in the heavens, and sometimes ethereal like the cry of a phoenix in a secluded valley.

Cheng Bai opened his eyes, took out the Inheritance Cube, and asked the artifact spirit, "Li Tong, can you feel it? The change in the Yuan Qi of the Burial Bone Sword Tomb is too abnormal."

Li Tong responded, "I know the stories circulating locally. The root of it all is the evil spirits that are rooted here, and they are all under the control of the First Sword Emperor."

Cheng Bai repeatedly weighed the movement of the power of all things and sensed the changes, saying, "So it is a sword spirit that has become sentient! At first, I thought there were many of them, but in fact there is only one core, like the king of an anthill controlling the entire ant colony and providing for his cultivation."

Li Tong wholeheartedly agreed: "That Sword Spirit Emperor is truly remarkable. With the passage of time and transformation, he is expected to ascend to the rank of Immortal Spirit in the future!"

Cheng Bai asked curiously, "You just said that you know about the history of this place, right?"

“Of course,” Li Tong answered truthfully. “Before the Poison Crystal Cave on the Qiongqi Continent became a secret realm, the seven great families were dispatched by Emperor Yunmen and moved away from there one after another. The last to leave was the Li family, who left behind a lot of documents, including records about the origin of this sword tomb.”

Cheng Bai urged excitedly, "Great! Tell me about it!"

Li Tong recounted in detail: "In the East Sea, there was a dragon princess surnamed Ao who was on good terms with Li Boren, the head of the Li family at that time. She once built a series of luxurious palaces on the banks of the Wangchen River, named 'Xiaoyao Lingjian City', as the place where she and the young master of the Li family agreed to spend their lives together."

Cheng Bai couldn't help but interject, "This must be the city. How did it become the Burial Ground of Swords?"

Li Tong continued, "At that time, Li Boren had just become a Celestial Immortal and was able to follow Emperor Yunmen in conquering the world. Later, he even entered the imperial court as an official and held a prominent position. Meanwhile, Princess Ao's cultivation and status were increasingly different from his. She waited bitterly in the city for her beloved to return, but after nearly a thousand reincarnations, there was still no news. In the end, she died in depression and turned into a handful of yellow earth."

Cheng Bai asked in surprise, "She was a Sword Saint, and a long-lived dragon. She should have lived for at least tens of thousands of reincarnations, just like Master. How could she have passed away in less than a thousand reincarnations?"

Li Tong was slightly taken aback, then checked the inventory information and said after a while: "According to detailed records, when the Dragon Princess Ao Qiushui reached her end, she was only at the late stage of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Among those of the same level, her lifespan was slightly shorter, but it was still reasonable. She was far from the Sword Saint Realm."

Cheng Bai suddenly realized, "The so-called title of 'Sword Saint' was added to her by later generations... Is it actually a story about encountering a faithless man? The neglect and indifference over nearly a thousand reincarnations is exaggerated beyond expectation!"

Li Tong explained, "That's not quite right. Some ancient books indicate that Li Boren had made preparations for both advancement and retreat, but unexpected events always occur... However, the details of what happened are not recorded."

Cheng Bai thought for a moment and said, "Prepare for both possibilities? That does fit Master Li's wise style. I'm afraid that he is following Emperor Yunmen in his quest for the imperial star, and the road ahead is fraught with difficulties. Ao Qiushui probably believes that her beloved is already dead."

Li Tong added details: "The time difference between the two places is also huge. One cycle on the Ziwei Emperor Star is only three years, while one cycle on the Five Continents is a full thirty years. It's like 'one day in heaven is equivalent to ten dynasties on earth.' In the Five Continents, the world changes without you even realizing it."

Cheng Bai sorted out the relevant clues and deduced the general outline of the matter: "Master Li returned to the Five Continents out of remorse, not because he was demoted. In fact, he voluntarily returned after being demoted in peacetime. Unfortunately, it was too late, and the beauty had passed away. In addition, the current head of the family, Li Fengtian, should be the heir of the family, not Master Li's direct descendant."

Li Tong chimed in, "The Li family is a prominent clan within the Xuanyuan clan, with numerous branches of its descendants."

Cheng Bai said thoughtfully, "Lifespan is always an insurmountable gap between the immortal and mortal realms."

The melodious sword cries from the Burial Sword Tomb rose and fell, growing ever sharper and more mournful.

"If I'm not mistaken, the First Sword Emperor may have some connection with Ao Qiushui. Perhaps it was her remnant soul that merged with the sword spirit, allowing her to be reborn and thus stand out from the crowd."

After speaking for a moment, Li Tong reminded him, "At midnight, the sword spirits are at their most active and prosperous. It is the perfect opportunity to search for the First Sword Emperor and borrow the power of thousands of sword spirits to completely repair the Killing Blade."

Cheng Bai went a step further and said, "Not only that, let's forge a new sword!"

Li Tong readily agreed and suggested, "You've obtained the Thunderclap Blade, and I happen to have the relevant forging recipe. Take advantage of this excellent opportunity, focus on the Killing Blade, and borrow the sharp energy of the sword spirit from the Burial Sword Tomb to refine the two treasured blades, making them one, with power far exceeding what they once were!"

Cheng Bai's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed with delight, "Great idea!"

The night unfolds like a delicate ink painting, with moonlight casting a silvery glow, giving the Burial Sword Tomb a mysterious and enchanting charm.

Cheng Bai raised the Golden Pagoda above his head to protect himself, held the Inheritance Cube in his left hand, and walked out of the Sword Fragrance Pavilion alone.

Guided and protected by the spirits of the two immortal artifacts, Cheng Bai observed the various changes in the sword formation along the way, dodging and weaving freely, heading straight for the Ten Thousand Swords Stele.

The ancient stele, towering over 100 meters tall, is imposing and majestic. It is made from a single piece of water-repelling stone, and nearly 10,000 spirit swords on its surface are bathed in moonlight, shining brightly like the stars in the sky.

Behind the Ten Thousand Swords Monument lies a dark, jagged cliff, its bottom unseen at a glance. Wisps of chilling air drift from below, adding to the eeriness of this dim place.

There was only one person and one sword in front of the monument.

The Venerable Mahamati sat cross-legged like a stone sculpture, quietly facing the sword of wisdom stuck straight into the ground, motionless, as if he had merged into the world.

The once towering golden pillar of light had shrunk to just over a meter tall, and its glow on the sword gradually faded.

Cheng Bai's sharp eyes immediately identified the sword's material: "It is also forged from Feathered True Gold, which is much better than Shadowless Steel, but it is only a Heaven-grade Soul Weapon, which is a pity that it has not been able to unleash its full potential."

Then he frowned slightly, thinking, "It's so late, and Venerable Dahui is still reluctant to leave. I should be able to get right to work, right?"

Looking around, the entire Burial Sword Tomb has the most balanced primordial spirit energy, which is hard to find elsewhere, making it an invaluable treasure.

"Since we're already here, let's just leave it to fate."

Cheng Bai was unwilling to delay, so he placed the Four Symbols Cauldron in the open space in front of the Ten Thousand Swords Stele, and then took out the Killing Blade that he had been nurturing in the Golden Life Pagoda.

The spiderweb-like cracks on the knife have faded considerably since it was first damaged, but it has not yet fully healed itself, as if silently recounting the fierce battles of the past.

"Mo Gui's Gold Melting Hand has reached a state of perfection. Although his power has dropped significantly, he still caused unprecedented damage to the Killing Blade! The fact that he did not destroy the blade on the spot that day was due to an abnormal performance, but it was a great stroke of luck for me."

Cheng Bai carefully placed the Killing Blade into the Four Symbols Cauldron, and then pulled out the Thunderclap Blade from the Golden Pagoda, repeatedly pondering the mystery of its hollow structure.

"The Killing Blade can transform itself and merge into the Thunderclap Blade. As long as it is refined properly, it can become a perfect whole and complement each other's deficiencies. The two have existed to this day to achieve this miracle."

After making sure that Siye remembered the refining method taught by Litong, Chengbai also put the Jingting Blade into the cauldron.

"Currently, the reserves of Danling are insufficient, and the attributes of the materials used for forging the sword are not ideal. Even the best Iron Demon Ant inner core is not satisfactory. If all the inner cores of the Cloud-Piercing Beast were inlaid, it would only be barely usable."

Cheng Bai pondered for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Why should I worry about the pros and cons of the ultimate? How can it be perfect every time? If we have something, we'll use it for now; it's much better than what we had before."

Having made up his mind, Cheng Bai picked out six inner cores of the Moyun Beast he had obtained from hunting in the Wogu Plain. He believed that their attributes were balanced and suitable for use, so he put them into the cauldron without hesitation.

With everything prepared, Cheng Bai, as usual, activated the Brilliant Spirit Lamp to ignite the furnace fire, and solemnly instructed Si Ye: "Open the furnace and forge the blade!"

With a command, the Four Symbols Cauldron began to operate wildly, spewing forth raging flames and drawing in primordial spirit energy like a torrent. Its immense power spread, stirring up the surrounding winds and clouds, and causing strange phenomena to emerge one after another.

Cheng Bai sat cross-legged before the Ten Thousand Swords Stele, his expression serene. He patiently sensed the wonderful resonance between the precious sword inside the cauldron and the essence of heaven and earth, waiting for the refining process to enter a crucial stage.

A moment later, a short, thin old man hurried over, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings with unbridled arrogance. It was none other than Duanmu Jun.

"What the hell!" Seeing that two people were already occupying one side of the scene, Duanmu Jun glared and complained loudly, "In the middle of the night, instead of resting quietly, you're behaving so despicably. Are you all here queuing up to make trouble for this old man?"