309: Chapter 303 The Tempering of the Hidden Edge Sword

The root cause of this lies in the only, and most mysterious, meridian within a Cultivator's body—the "Origin Meridian".

This meridian is constant and unchanging, traversing the small Universe of the human body.

It is the bridge connecting the mortal frame to the Dao.

All Spiritual Qi, magical power, and even the life Origin must flow and sublimate through this meridian.

For a Spell Cultivator, what flows in the Origin Meridian is pure Spiritual Qi and magical power.

For a Body Cultivator, what surges in the Origin Meridian is the violent power of blood and Qi.

These two are completely different.

One could even say they are incompatible, like water and fire.

If a person were to delusionally try to specialize in both Spell and Body cultivation simultaneously, attempting to make these two completely different forces flow through the Origin Meridian at the same time, the result would be singular.

The two forces would collide within the Meridians, triggering a terrifying explosion that would completely destroy the Cultivator's Dao foundation, or even cause them to explode and die.

This is the fundamental reason why, throughout history, it has been difficult for Spell Cultivators and Body Cultivators to advance side by side.

Although legend has it that in the ancient era, some great figures found a certain Heaven-Defying Heaven And Earth Treasure that could artificially open a second Origin Meridian for a Cultivator, allowing for true Dual Cultivation of both Spell and body, stunning the ages.

But such things have long since gone extinct.

Chen Zhiwen currently knows nothing of this and does not dare to hope for it.

This has created his current awkward situation.

"It seems that my so-called Body Cultivator Realm is, in the end, just an empty name."

Chen Zhiwen touched his chest, feeling the powerful heartbeat beneath.

His Physical Body strength had already reached the standard of the Golden Core Stage.

But this was merely "hard."

He lacked the matching blood and Qi circulation method and could not mobilize the power of blood and Qi to unleash those earth-shattering core Divine Abilities of Body Cultivators.

For example, things like "Law of Heaven and Earth," "Rebirth from a Drop of Blood," or "Star-Shattering Fist."

Even if he were to find a top-tier Body Refining Cultivation Technique now, he could not Cultivate it.

Because his Origin Meridian was already occupied by magical power and could not accommodate the power of blood and Qi.

Therefore, strictly speaking, his current state was more like a humanoid Magic Treasure.

"A walking Third Grade High Grade defensive Magic Treasure."

Chen Zhiwen defined his new state.

Although a bit regretful, he was already satisfied.

This Physical Body was incomparably hard and possessed infinite strength.

Even if all his Spiritual Qi were exhausted—a situation where other Nascent Soul Cultivators would likely be in trouble—Chen Zhiwen's Physical Body would allow him to ignore an enemy's Spell bombardment when facing a Late Golden Core Stage enemy and charge in for melee combat while tanking the damage.

It was like a fragile mage suddenly putting on a set of heavy tank armor.

Just thinking about the scene was enough to make people feel despair.

However, Chen Zhiwen quickly calmed down.

He looked at his arm, from which the silver light was gradually fading, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

"Although this Physical Body defense is strong, it cannot be used often."

"In fact… unless it is an absolute last resort, it cannot be used recklessly."

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

Since he could not drive his Physical Body through normal Cultivation Technique circulation, he had to pay a price to activate this massive power.

And that price was essence blood.

For those who specialize in Body Refining, their essence blood is as vast as the sea and can endlessly regenerate through specialized meridian circulation.

Consuming a little essence blood to them is like pulling out a hair; it grows back after a sleep.

But for a Spell Cultivator, essence blood is the essence of life and the embodiment of Lifespan.

A Spell Cultivator's essence blood can only be replenished by swallowing extremely rare Heaven And Earth Treasures or through slow, long-term nourishment over time.

Every drop is extremely precious.

Once too much is consumed, the best case is a regression in cultivation, and the worst case is damage to the foundation, or even direct death.

"That impact just now, although it looked suave," Chen Zhiwen looked within himself, his brows slightly furrowed.

"But I burned a full drop of my life essence blood just to activate that layer of silver protective light."

One drop of essence blood.

If it were an ordinary Golden Core Stage Spell Cultivator, they would only have a few dozen drops of essence blood in total.

This one impact was equivalent to burning away one-several-thirtieth of his life.

If he were to continue to resist enemies with his Physical Body in high-intensity combat, he would likely turn into a dried husk from excessive loss of essence blood before the enemy was killed.

This was definitely a losing strategy.

"Fortunately…" Chen Zhiwen's brows quickly smoothed out, and a smile returned to his lips.

"When I advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage, because of the uniqueness of the System and the Cultivation Technique, my foundation was far beyond that of ordinary people."

He probed his Divine Sense into the depths of his Dantian.

There, the Nascent Soul figure sat cross-legged, crystal clear throughout.

And around the Nascent Soul floated drops of blood as brilliant as rubies.

That was his reserve of essence blood.

Dense and numerous, there were a full five hundred drops!

This quantity was simply shocking.

One must know that even for a Cultivator at the Late Nascent Soul Stage, the essence blood in their body is probably only about two hundred drops.

Chen Zhiwen already stood at the pinnacle of the Nascent Soul Stage in terms of essence blood reserves.

"Five hundred drops."

"Even if I consume one drop every time I use my Physical Body defense, it is enough for me to squander for a while."

No worries for now.

This gave him great confidence.

As his thoughts flowed, Chen Zhiwen's mood became increasingly comfortable.

He slowly raised his right hand and gently patted the sword case on his back.

"Old friend, it's time for you to make an appearance."

"Since my Physical Body is already so strong, you cannot fall behind."

Chen Zhiwen moved his Divine Thought.

The sword case on his back emitted a clear mechanical sound.

"Clang—!!!"

A cold light, like a dragon emerging from the sea, whistled out.

That was his life-bound Flying Sword—hidden edge.

The sword body hovered in front of him, trembling slightly, emitting a hum of longing for battle.

Compared to before, the hidden edge sword was no longer what it used to be.

On the sword body, the originally simple and dull patterns now flowed with a faint ice-blue halo.

That was the residual essence of the ice marrow jade stones, which he had melted into the sword body bit by bit using a special secret technique.

Although it was not completely recast, it had improved the sword's quality to a certain extent.

More importantly, in the past month, while refining his Physical Body, Chen Zhiwen had not forgotten to nourish this sword.

He had guided a portion of the massive energy that escaped when he broke through his Physical Body into the sword body.

At this moment, the aura emitted by this sword had surged more than double compared to before!

Sharp and biting with cold.

If he were to let him face that skeleton of the Plague Spider King in the underground cave again, Chen Zhiwen was confident.

Even without using his full strength, just with this upgraded hidden edge sword, he could leave a deep mark on those incomparably hard bones.

"Good sword."

Chen Zhiwen extended his finger and gently flicked the sword body.

"Ding—"

The sound was crisp and pleasant, like striking a jade chime.

It had already undergone a qualitative leap.

The hidden edge sword body was no longer the simple and dull one from before.

It presented a translucent ice-blue color throughout, as if carved from ten-thousand-year black ice, and liquid light could be faintly seen flowing inside.

"Merge."

Chen Zhiwen spat out a word lightly.

As the last Dharma seal was cast, the cold air in the entire secret room suddenly retracted inward, all being sucked into that three-foot azure edge.

"Clang—!!!"

An extremely clear sword hum instantly pierced through the thick stone walls and shot straight into the sky.

The hidden edge sword slowly descended and was firmly grasped by Chen Zhiwen.

It was cold to the touch, but not bone-chilling; instead, there was a warm, connected feeling as if it were part of his own Bloodline.

"Fourth Grade High Grade."

Chen Zhiwen stroked the sword body, a look of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

"But this is not the limit."

He thought of Ren Quanxu, that old Formation Master.

In the previous transaction, although both sides had their own ulterior motives, he did indeed learn some profound Formation essence from Ren Quanxu.

Especially the means of how to engrave micro-reinforcement Formations on artifacts.

Chen Zhiwen did not hesitate anymore.

He condensed a point of brilliant golden light at his fingertip, using his Divine Sense as a pen and Spiritual Qi as ink.

He began to outline rapidly on the crystal-clear sword body.

Threads of Formation patterns, as fine as silk and like spirited dragons, burrowed into the sword body.

That was Ren Quanxu's unique secret technique—"Mount Sumeru Vajra Formation."

This kind of Formation was originally used to reinforce the array eyes of a mountain-protecting Formation.

Now it was improved by Chen Zhiwen, shrunk countless times, and engraved on this Flying Sword.

With the last stroke falling, the hidden edge sword suddenly sank, its weight seeming to increase several times in an instant.

A steady, thick, yet incomparably sharp aura erupted from the sword body.

"Good sword!"

Chen Zhiwen flicked his finger.

"Ding—"

The sound was long and lingering, shaking the surrounding air into ripples.

This sword, after being recast with ice marrow jade stones and reinforced with a high-level Formation, had reached a shocking level of hardness and sharpness.

Although its grade remained at Fourth Grade High Grade, Chen Zhiwen had absolute confidence.

Even when facing the legendary Low Grade "Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure" that possessed heaven-reaching and earth-shattering power, this hidden edge sword was enough to contend head-on without falling into a disadvantage!

He sheathed the sword.

Chen Zhiwen did not rush to leave seclusion but fell into deep thought.

The process of upgrading the Flying Sword this time made him realize a serious problem.

That is the scarcity of high-level Ore.

Just two pieces of ice marrow jade stones had increased his combat power by a large margin.

What if he could collect more and rarer Heaven And Earth Treasures?

His Physical Body could be stronger, his Flying Sword could be sharper, and he could even refine more unexpected great weapons of mass destruction.

"Collecting Ore is imperative."

Chen Zhiwen secretly made up his mind.

But this brought a new problem.

If he purchased high-level Ore on a large scale, it would inevitably attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

"As long as I possess Great Master-level Artifact Refining skills, or even control a massive Artifact Refining force."

Chen Zhiwen's eyes gradually became deep.

"Then my behavior of collecting rare Ore from all over the world becomes reasonable."

"There will even be countless people who will take the initiative to bring treasures to me, just to beg me to refine a Magic Treasure for them."

Once this thought was born, it could no longer be suppressed.

His gaze penetrated the walls of the secret room and cast toward the distant East.

There, there was a behemoth named "Artifact Refining Alliance."

It was a powerful organization of Artifact Refiners in the Eastern Continent.

"It seems that I need to pay this Artifact Refining Alliance a visit."

Chen Zhiwen's lips curled into a faint arc.

Even in his plan, it was not just as simple as joining.

If necessary, he wouldn't mind completely taking over this massive force and turning it into his own private logistics supply station.

Having determined the direction, Chen Zhiwen did not hesitate.

He stood up, tidied his robes, and pushed open the door of the secret room.

He summoned a streamlined cyan spirit boat and turned into a streak of light, speeding toward the most prosperous area of the Eastern Continent.

...

A few days later.

Eastern Continent core area, Tianhuo City.

This is where the headquarters of the Artifact Refining Alliance is located.

When Chen Zhiwen drove the spirit boat to the sky above this magnificent giant city, he happened to catch up with the Artifact Refining Alliance's grand event held once every few years—"Heavenly Fire Treasure Appraisal Conference."

The whole city was bustling with activity, the sky was colorful with flowing light, and countless Cultivators were driving Magic Treasures to shuttle back and forth.

Chen Zhiwen did not want to be too ostentatious.

He landed the spirit boat in an uninhabited valley outside the city.

Then he cast a disguise technique to restore his true appearance, a handsome young man of twenty-five or twenty-six.

Because the next plan required him to appear as a "young Genius" to shock everyone.

He restrained most of his aura and suppressed his cultivation to a vague boundary that others could not see through.

Then he drove an ordinary escaping light and landed toward the Artifact Refining Alliance main hall in the center of the city.

At this time, night had just fallen.

But the square where the Artifact Refining Alliance headquarters was located was as bright as day.

There was no other reason.

On the towering dome of the main hall, a crimson orb with a diameter of ten zhang was suspended.

That was an extremely rare auxiliary Spirit Treasure—"Earth Fire Sun."

It emitted a soft and bright light, illuminating everything within a radius of ten miles.

Outside the main hall, the guards were strict.

Teams of Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators wearing crimson battle armor held long spears and patrolled the surroundings with vigilant eyes.

The interior of the main hall was even more extremely luxurious.

The entire second-floor hall gathered nearly a thousand Cultivators.

Most of them were in the Foundation Establishment Stage, and they were chatting in groups of three or five, lingering in front of various display stands.

And in the area close to the core, about fifty or sixty powerful Golden Core Cultivators were sitting on specially made grandmaster chairs, talking to each other in low voices.

And on the third floor of the main hall, there was a circle of suspended mezzanine boxes.

Those were prepared for distinguished big figures.

At this moment, half of the boxes had already lit up with Restriction light curtains, and it was clear that people were already seated inside.

...

East District, the third box.

The layout here was extremely extravagant, with carpets made of Fourth Grade Yao Beast fur on the floor, and the air was filled with expensive incense that intoxicated the mind.

A young man wearing brocade clothes was lying lazily on a large soft couch.

He was Wan Xingwang, the Young Lord of the Wan Family, a top cultivation Family in the Eastern Continent.

At this moment, a female Cultivator with a stunning appearance and a charming figure was kneeling beside him.

Those soft, boneless little hands were pounding his back with moderate force.

Wan Xingwang closed his eyes, looking very comfortable, occasionally letting out a comfortable hum.

And beside the soft couch, a burly man with yellow hair was standing like an iron tower.