139: Chapter 139 Stealing the Beads

"Golden Sharpness True Intent..."

He murmured in a low voice, his voice hoarse but trembling with uncontrollable emotion.

Ecstasy.

It was an Opportunity right before his eyes, a Breakthrough within reach, the excitement of the Dao being right there, ready to be grasped!

He sat cross-legged, ignoring the depletion of his True Qi, ignoring the faint pain in his Sea of Consciousness, and ignoring that he was currently in the perilous Dragon Slaying Cave Mansion—

He closed his eyes and focused, sinking that captured tail of "Metal Sharpness" deep into his Sea of Consciousness.

Visualizing it over and over.

Gaining insight over and over.

Polishing it over and over.

The golden light flowed slowly in his consciousness; although faint, although incomplete, although it was merely a tail, it truly existed.

As long as it existed, it could grow.

As long as he grasped it, he would not let go.

He did not know how much time had passed.

Perhaps it was the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, perhaps an hour, perhaps even longer.

Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes.

The light in his eyes was even more burning than before.

"Golden Sharpness True Intent..."

He stood up and clenched his fists.

The True Qi within him was still depleted, but that excitement, that longing, that impatience—

Was enough to support him as he continued forward.

He looked down at the pale cyan bead in his palm.

This bead's memory had mostly faded.

The scene of the Dragon Slaying True Person killing thirteen evil cultivators at seventeen might only be viewable once or twice more before it completely dissipated.

But it was enough.

He had already grasped the most precious thing.

"Thank you."

Jiang Hanzhou whispered to the bead, then placed it into his sumeru pouch, putting it together with the first milky-white bead.

Then he looked up, gazing into the deeper parts of the bamboo forest.

Through the sparse bamboo shadows, one could faintly see mountains undulating in the distance, clouds swirling, and—

Light spots were falling.

One, two, three... dozens of brilliant light spots were tearing through the sky of this Small World, falling in every direction.

Every light spot represented an intruder.

Every intruder was searching for Opportunity.

Everyone was fighting for the beads.

Everyone was coveting the Legacy of the Dragon Slaying True Person.

The burning heat in Jiang Hanzhou's eyes gradually turned into calm sharpness.

He had already obtained two beads.

One was a memory of the Dragon Slaying True Person at seven or eight years old, of limited value.

One was a memory of the Dragon Slaying True Person at seventeen, of immeasurable value.

But this was only the beginning.

How many more beads were in this Small World?

How many more memories?

How many more martial arts insights, cultivation experiences, and Cultivation Technique Legacies of the Dragon Slaying True Person remained?

He did not know.

But he knew one thing—

He must snatch them.

The faster, the better.

The more, the better.

Because he was not the only one who had obtained beads, and he was not the only one who had gained Opportunity from the beads.

Those intruders were also hunting for memory fragments, also absorbing the martial arts essence of the Dragon Slaying True Person.

Every time they obtained a bead, there was one less bead.

Every time they absorbed a memory, there was one less memory.

This was a zero-sum game.

Either you die, or I live.

Either it was your Opportunity, or it was his.

Jiang Hanzhou took a deep breath, took the tiger soul saber out of his sumeru pouch, and gripped it in his hand.

Although his True Qi had not recovered, it was enough to support basic movements.

He needed to find new beads as quickly as possible, recover his strength as quickly as possible, and as quickly as possible—

Truly grasp that tail of the Golden Sharpness True Intent.

If he could comprehend the Golden Sharpness True Intent, with three True Intents added to his body, his strength would skyrocket once again.

By then, in this Small World where only those in the Primal Form Realm could enter, he would be one of the top-tier existences.

"Let's go."

He gave a low shout, his figure darting up as he sped toward the direction of the nearest falling light spot.

The bamboo shadows retreated rapidly behind him, and the wind whistled in his ears.

Jiang Hanzhou's gaze was as sharp as a blade, staring fixedly at the flickering light spot ahead.

There, there were beads.

There, there were memories.

There, there was the martial arts essence left behind by the Dragon Slaying True Person.

And he was determined to have it.

Meanwhile.

In another part of the Small World.

On a desolate Gobi desert.

A silver stream of light descended from the sky, landing on a huge rock.

The stream of light dissipated, revealing a burly figure.

It was a middle-aged man, about forty years old, with a rugged face, hair and beard standing on end like a halberd, wearing black tight-fitting clothes, his aura as deep and heavy as an abyss.

The moment he landed, his Divine Sense was fully unfurled.

The Gobi was silent, with only the rustling sound of the wind blowing across the gravel.

In the distance, there were undulating mountains, nearby there were jagged giant rocks, and further away—

A figure was slowly walking out from behind a giant rock.

It was a youth.

About fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing coarse cloth short garments, barefoot, with messy hair tied into a small bun.

He held a wooden sword in his hand.

The sword body was rough, and there was even unpeeled bark on the hilt.

The middle-aged man's pupils constricted.

He could not perceive the youth's aura.

He could not perceive it at all.

It was as if it were just a phantom, a wisp of a ghost, a puff of air.

But he knew it was not.

Because of those eyes.

In those eyes, there was not a ripple.

Calm like stagnant water, and deep like a bottomless abyss.

The middle-aged man suddenly laughed.

He licked his lips, bloodthirsty light flashing in his eyes.

"Dragon Slaying True Person?"

He spoke, his voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing together.

"I have long wanted to meet you."

The youth did not speak.

He simply raised the wooden sword in his hand.

And then—

He struck with his sword.

Above the Gobi, the sword light shone.