Chapter 226 - 128: Nine Flames True Fire
"Little girl, put that saber down! Don’t let its saber qi wound you."
An Gongyu shouted in warning.
"No, that’s not right. Given the Red Blood Saber’s usual malevolence, she should have been severely wounded by its saber qi by now. There’s no way she could just carry it out. Could it be that the Red Blood Saber was in the treasury for so long that it lost its Spiritual Essence and became an ordinary Magical Artifact?"
Meng Sima said, puzzled.
He inspected it with his Dharma Eye. The Red Blood Saber was gleaming with Spiritual Light, its Spiritual Essence concealed deep within. It was clearly an Upper-Grade Spiritual Artifact, showing no signs of its Spiritual Essence having faded.
"Meng Sima, is there something unusual about this saber?"
Seeing their reactions, Yang Jing knew that the Red Blood Saber was no ordinary Spiritual Artifact.
"There’s a long story behind this saber," Meng Sima said gravely.
"Yang Jing, have you ever heard of the Profound Yin Blood Demon and the Heavenly Capital Bone Demon? This very saber was forged from the spine of the Heavenly Capital Bone Demon and the True Blood of the Profound Yin Blood Demon. The Four Demon Sects arrived on the Western Continent almost six thousand years after our Six Sects. They were originally known as the Western Demon Sect but broke into five factions after internal strife. Our Six Sects destroyed one, leaving the remaining Four Sects, whose lineages have persisted for tens of thousands of years. However, the Four Great Demon Sects in the Northern Continent never split. This Red Blood Saber was the Magical Treasure of a True Disciple from the Eastern Demon Sect."
"That demon lord came from the Northern Continent to the Western Continent five hundred years ago, claiming he would use the Western Continent’s turbid, baleful qi to achieve Core Formation. Back then, much like you, he was utterly unrivaled in the Northern Domain. The Foundation Establishment Disciples from our Northern Army Governor’s Mansion couldn’t even withstand a single one of his strikes. Often, they would only see a flash of red light before dropping dead."
When the Central Continent fell from the Upper Realm, it had no Demon Sects. They are all natives of the Northern Continent who were absorbed by the Central Continent’s Heaven and Earth Embryonic Membrane, becoming a new continent in the Nine Heavens World, just like the Western Continent.
Some sects from the Central Continent also relocated to the Northern Continent. The wars there are far more intense than on the Western Continent. Even today, the Central Continent must periodically send large armies to support the Northern Continent’s sects and prevent the Demon Sects from becoming too powerful.
"Sword Cultivators from the Taixu Sword Sect came to engage him in Magical Combat, and a full three True Disciples died. Only the current Demon-slaying Hall Master, Flying Crane Master, managed to best him by a half-step during their duel."
"Both the Demon Cultivator and Flying Crane Master were gravely wounded. Fearing a sneak attack, he didn’t dare return to the Four Demon Sects. Instead, he slaughtered mortals within the Northern Domain, absorbing their Essence Blood for Healing. The Governor struck down his guardian Golden Core Cultivator from afar, and then the Golden Core experts of the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion finally managed to capture and behead him after a great deal of effort, making him a public example."
Meng Sima said.
"The Red Blood Saber was originally a Magical Treasure. In a last-ditch effort to take his enemies down with him, the Demon Cultivator pushed it past its limits, damaging its origin and causing it to degenerate into a Spiritual Artifact. But the saber is simply too malevolent. Even as a Spiritual Artifact, its vicious nature remains. Many disciples who earned the right to choose a Spiritual Artifact have tried to claim it, only to be wounded by its saber qi."
If the materials used to forge this saber weren’t so exceptional, the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion would have destroyed it long ago.
"Chi Yu practices the Black Death Seven Tribulations Scripture. The saber’s acceptance of her might be related to that."
That was the only explanation Yang Jing could offer.
The treasury was so vast that he hadn’t even noticed this vicious saber the last time he was inside.
"That must be it. If a Spiritual Artifact isn’t actively refined by a master, its Spiritual Essence will slowly fade. The saber’s own Spiritual Essence must have feared it would degenerate into a mere Magical Artifact if it remained unclaimed. This girl practices an unorthodox Cultivation Technique, and through a stroke of luck, the saber was drawn to acknowledge her as its master."
Surprisingly, An Gongyu completely accepted Yang Jing’s explanation.
"This saber has wounded so many people that it was moved to the deepest part of the treasury long ago. The fact that Chi Yu found it so quickly must mean it actively revealed itself to her."
Meng Sima nodded, his expression turning serious as he looked at Yang Jing.
"This saber is exceptionally vicious, Yang Jing. You must be extremely vigilant. Do not let Chi Yu be corrupted by the Demon Saber’s killing intent."
Yang Jing nodded.
The Red Blood Saber was styled like a Ring-headed Saber. Its blade was three feet long, straight, with almost no curve, and the pommel was fitted with an iron ring. The entire weapon was a deep crimson, as if dyed in gore, so red it looked as if it might start bleeding at any moment.
Seeing that the saber was now hers, Chi Yu happily tucked the Red Blood Saber away into the Storage Bag hanging around her neck.
The Storage Bag was a gift from Zuoqiu Feng. It was exquisitely decorated, embroidered with a lifelike Flying Phoenix. Though it was only the size of a sachet, the space within was a full thirty zhang square—even better than the one Yang Jing used.
"Master, this is the Daoist Technique I chose."
She held a Jade Scroll with both hands, stood on her tiptoes, and handed it to Yang Jing to inspect.
He took it and saw that it was a rare Saber Technique called the Sea Covering Blade Scripture. The technique was an excellent match for the Profound Whale Body she was cultivating, but she would need to reach the Body Refining Foundation Establishment stage before she could practice it.
He nodded and handed the Jade Scroll back to Chi Yu.
The last to enter the treasury was Ji Feng. Seeing that his fellow disciples had all made great gains, he grew anxious, afraid he would be the only one to enter a mountain of treasures and leave empty-handed.
Yang Jing gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. Of the four disciples, he was the least confident.
Ji Feng gave his master a determined nod and walked into the treasury.
Of the four disciples, he took the longest, spending a full two-incense-sticks’ worth of time before emerging from the treasury.
"Master."
Ji Feng had chosen a gourd-shaped Spiritual Artifact. Though it was a gourd, its texture was like jade, and it was a deep crimson color.
"I can’t believe this gourd was chosen. Yang Jing, my boy, all four of your disciples have some extraordinary fortune."
An Gongyu remarked with a sigh. The Spiritual Artifacts chosen by Iron Head and Yinjiao were both Upper-Grade items from the treasury, to say nothing of Chi Yu’s Red Blood Saber.
But in his opinion, of all the treasures in the treasury, this Divine Fire Gourd was the greatest.
"This Gourd can not only nurture and contain the True Fires of the world, but if it holds seven different types, it can even refine them, enhancing their power and helping a Cultivator assimilate them. In battle, it can spew out all the True Fire inside in a single blast. If enough True Fire is stored within, the attack could even have the might of a Golden Core Technique."
An Gongyu said:
"All True Fires require very specific conditions to be preserved; otherwise, they quickly degenerate or extinguish themselves. But if kept inside the Divine Fire Gourd, they will never go out as long as they are supplied with enough Spiritual Qi. In fact, they will grow even purer."
"Right now, the Divine Fire Gourd already contains a wisp of Nine Flames True Fire. This flame is a Spirit Wood Fire, born from the core of a ten-thousand-year-old Pure Yang Apricot Tree. It’s a lost treasure of the Nine Yang Sect, nearly impossible to find in the outside world anymore. This fire can only be sustained upon a ten-thousand-year-old Pure Yang Apricot Tree. If not for this Divine Fire Gourd, it would have degenerated into a common Spiritual Fire long ago."
Of all the Five Elements Spiritual Objects, True Fires are the most difficult to refine. One careless mistake, and you could be immolated by the very fire you’re trying to control. If the Shuijing Yu Family had possessed this Gourd, refining the Kunli Earth Fire would not have been nearly so difficult.