novelraw Chapter 417 - 151: Departure
Chapter 417 - 151: Departure
On Cang Mountain,
a white-haired man sat cross-legged, his hair disheveled.
Amidst the yellow earth,
the Black Sword and White Sword were tightly intertwined, arcs of electricity and evil qi lingering on the blades like residual waves, flickering mysteriously.
At least, no one had ever seen a spiritual artifact emerge in such a manner.
In tales told with a strike of a gavel in some teahouses, it would be "The Demon Sword Emerges, the World Cannot Tolerate It."
Otherwise, why would thunder descend, why would Earth Fiend surge, why would they converge here... was this not all to stop the weapon forger, so that the Demon Sword could not emerge?
But stories are just stories, the heavens are indifferent, and there is no such thing as the world being intolerable.
This is merely a natural phenomenon that outsiders cannot understand.
To Li Yuan, he was also in a state of confusion, yet he had some epiphanies.
Life force is an abstract concept; if you stand still and lose decades of life, where does it go? How does it disappear?
Humans are inherently a product of Yin Yang Balance, much like all things in the world.
Life force may be a mystical condensation of yin and yang.
Li Yuan used the Ghost Hammer to infuse a large amount of life force into the spiritual artifact, creating a massive "Yin Yang Annihilation," like a gigantic void forming in the deep sea, naturally drawing the surrounding seawater.
This was Li Yuan’s conjecture for the cause of "Celestial Thunder, Earth Fiend."
At the same time, he also tested the "life force infusion limit" that the Blood Crystal Marrow could withstand.
Five hundred years, no more, no less.
Li Yuan originally wanted to infuse more life force, hoping the blade he "borrowed to kill" would be sharp enough.
But after consuming five hundred years of life force, he could no longer infuse it. The Ghost Hammer, like an extremely experienced old weapon forger, frantically advised him: add more and this weapon will explode.
Li Yuan heeded the advice, sensing that the sword had reached a certain extreme, and further improvement might require focusing on the material itself.
A blade of thirty years’ life force is a Demon Blade.
What would a sword of five hundred years’ life force, that could summon Celestial Thunder and Earth Fiend, be?
Li Yuan was curious.
Everyone was curious.
Gu Xuejian was no exception.
This experienced Lady Hall Master, who had fought on all fronts, felt a trace of nervousness and excitement. She stepped forward to the strange sword, grasping its hilt, feeling a "blood connection" arise, along with many other sensations she had never experienced.
This sword, not only had a blood connection, but also an aura of time’s vicissitudes and the might of the world...
Gu Xuejian closed her eyes, sensing deeply for a long time, and only then seemed to understand the horror of this spiritual artifact.
She opened her eyes, her gaze filled with delight and awe.
Ignoring the surrounding curiosity, she looked at Li Yuan and said, "I’ve heard that Array Dao is the realm endlessly pursued by weapon forgers.
Although I don’t know what true Array Dao looks like, this sword can be called an Array Dao."
An ancestor behind her exclaimed, "Array Dao is said to require a Fourth Grade weapon to be wielded, Lady Hall Master... how can you manipulate this Array Dao?"
Gu Xuejian glanced at the man with his head hanging low, his face obscured by white hair, and declared, "Because this sword allows me to temporarily break through realms, from Fifth Grade Perfection to Fourth Grade, and then gain additional Fourth Grade Domain power!"
Silence fell upon the surrounding area.
What did this mean?
This meant... the Divine Wood Hall now had a second Fourth Grade, and one wielding an Array Dao weapon!
As for boasting and exaggerating?
Even Gu Xuejian’s enemies knew she was not that kind of person.
As the mountain wind lifted his white hair, the man surveyed the white-robed heroine before him with tired eyes.
Initially, the data beside Gu Xuejian was "2588~6636," only slightly higher than when they first met eight years ago, indicating she was truly stuck at Fifth Grade Great Perfection, unable to break through.
But now, when Gu Xuejian picked up the sword, Li Yuan saw her data drastically change to "2588~23100."
He knew the weapon he forged.
This weapon, the White Sword, using the Extreme Yang Qi of Celestial Thunder, stimulated the wielder to temporarily, unimaginably breakthrough "Fifth Grade Great Perfection," reaching the power level of "Fourth Grade."
Meanwhile, the Black Sword could generate an Evil Array, Earth Fiend surging, and all within a dozen meters around the sword would be attacked by the Earth Fiend, slowing down, weakening, and falling into frailty. This contrasted with the Willow Return Technique’s Source Blood, which typically "increased speed and agility."
Besides these points, the sword’s most terrifying trait was "blood drinking."
Seemingly adding some "evil factor" to the "life force depletion," the sword’s "blood drinking" was quite exaggerated.
As long as this sword cut someone, even leaving just a red mark, the blood would uncontrollably flow from the wound towards the sword, providing the wielder with endless power.
Nevertheless, the range was only about a dozen meters, just over a hundred, yet it was enough in a duel of experts.
So, strictly speaking, the "23100" data required Gu Xuejian to strengthen her body with Celestial Thunder, ignite blood drinking, and successfully drink blood to attain.
However, "23100" could not fully encapsulate this sword’s strength, because... it also had a hidden feature of weakening the enemy, and this advantage wasn’t it enhanced once more?
At this moment, a special relationship formed between the weapon forger and the wielder, like a father handing his daughter’s hand to another, one filled with anticipation, the other with emotion...