254: Chapter 253 Sixth-Order Destiny!

"You are right," he spoke, his voice as calm as still water. "I have killed many people. Some deserved to die, some perhaps did not."

The figures of the Heart Demons swayed slightly.

"I have become stronger," he continued. "So strong that sometimes I forget why I picked up the blade in the first place."

He stood up, facing the hundreds of Heart Demons, and said word by word:

"But there is one thing you got wrong."

"I have not become you."

He raised his right hand, and the Heart Blade shot out from the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, hovering above his palm. The dark gold dragon patterns on the blade flowed frantically, and four-colored radiance intertwined at the edge, forming a mass of chaotic, indistinct light.

Within that light was the long-reaching flow of the Tide, the blazing heat of the Pure Yang, the sharp edge of the Metal Sharpness, and the shifting nature of the Heavenly Fire.

And there was also his heart.

"He Yunqi, you slaughtered a village to refine Gu just for longevity."

"Bai Tianxiao, you trafficked people just for power."

"Blood Bone Venerable, you refined living people just for a Breakthrough."

"You kill for yourselves."

He gripped the Heart Blade tightly. The light on the blade grew brighter and more intense, illuminating the entire Sea of Consciousness as if it were broad daylight.

"I kill so that more people can live."

"That is the difference between me and you."

As his voice fell—

He swung his blade!

This strike was not aimed at the Heart Demons, but at himself.

The moment the blade light entered his body, all the Karma, all the slaughter-sins, and all the black aura born from killing within him were simultaneously severed from his body!

Those black auras surged frantically in the Sea of Consciousness, transforming into ferocious black dragons that pounced toward him with bared fangs and claws!

But he did not retreat.

He simply stood his ground, spreading his arms to welcome the biting of those black dragons.

The black dragons bit into his Divine Soul, the intense pain nearly causing him to faint. But he gritted his teeth, using his Heart Blade to shatter, extinguish, and wipe out those black dragons strike by strike.

With every black dragon shattered, his Dao Heart became a degree clearer.

With every black dragon extinguished, his will became a degree firmer.

With every black dragon wiped out, his Divine Soul became a degree stronger.

One hundred strikes.

Three hundred strikes.

Five hundred strikes.

One thousand strikes.

When the last black dragon dissipated under his blade, his Dao Heart was already as clear as a mirror, without a single trace of Impurities.

The figures of those Heart Demons slowly dissipated within the light.

Before disappearing, the figure of He Yunqi suddenly smiled.

That smile was complex, containing relief, admiration, and a trace of indescribable... envy.

"Jiang Hanzhou," his voice was very soft, almost inaudible, "you are stronger than me."

"Not just in cultivation."

As his voice fell, his figure turned into points of starlight, merging into the lake of the Divine Soul.

The lake surface was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the golden light of the Heart Blade above the Sea of Consciousness. Those starlights fell into the lake, transforming into golden lotuses that slowly bloomed on the surface.

Within each lotus, a blurred figure sat cross-legged.

Those figures were all the people he had killed.

But they were no longer ferocious Heart Demons; they were Karma.

They were the Karma of his slaughter, the Foundation of his Dao Heart, and the unavoidable milestones on his path of martial arts.

He no longer avoided them.

Nor was he trapped by them anymore.

He simply bore them.

Bore all the slaughter-sins, bore all the Karma, bore all the doubts and interrogations.

And then, he continued to walk forward.

In the depths of the Sea of Consciousness, the Heart Blade suddenly vibrated!

The dark gold dragon patterns on the blade suddenly lit up at this moment, the brilliant golden light illuminating the entire Sea of Consciousness like broad daylight. That light merged with the golden lotuses in the Divine Soul lake, condensing a new layer of ice on the lake's surface.

That layer of ice was ten times thicker and ten times tougher than before.

On the surface of the ice layer, four-colored radiance flowed—a sign of the perfect Fusion of the four types of True Intent and Divine Soul power.

The Divine Soul Armor, reshaped.

Stronger than before.

The Heart Blade hovered above the Sea of Consciousness, the four-colored radiance on the blade growing brighter and more intense. Those lights intertwined on the blade, finally condensing into a tiny pattern—

That pattern wound like a dragon, dark gold in color, slowly moving on the blade.

A dragon pattern.

It was not the blurred, incomplete dragon pattern from before, but a complete, clear True Dragon Pattern containing an indescribable pressure.

The Heart Blade had transformed.

From a newly formed Divine Soul artifact, it had evolved into a true Natal Soul Weapon.

Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes.

In his eyes, a four-colored light flashed and vanished.

He looked down at his hands.

Beneath the skin of his hands, those dark gold dragon patterns were deeper than before, and at the edges of the dragon patterns, there was an extra layer of lustrous white halo—the traces of the Fusion of Divine Soul power and dragon blood.

He took a deep breath and looked within his body.

Deep within his Dantian, that mass of chaotic, indistinct light had condensed into an inch-sized figure. That figure sat cross-legged, surrounded by four-colored radiance, and with every breath, a wisp of Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence flowed in through its nose and mouth.

The Dragon Fetus, stabilized.

The four types of True Intent, perfectly fused.

Cultivation—

Dragon Fetus, Early Stage.

But that was not the most important thing.

The most important thing was—

The fate within his body had undergone a qualitative change at this moment.

[Late Bloomer] Rank Five, at this moment, broke through its shackles and promoted to Rank Six!

At the moment of promotion, an indescribable power erupted from within him! That power was not blood-qi, not True Intent, and not Divine Soul, but a resonance with heaven and earth.

His fate, at this moment, resonated with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

That resonance was not an Epiphany or an insight, but an acknowledgment.

The Great Dao of Heaven and Earth acknowledged his Dao.

It acknowledged his decisiveness in killing without losing his original heart, acknowledged his pursuit of power without being unscrupulous, and acknowledged the path he found for himself between slaughter and mercy.

His Aptitude, Comprehension Ability, and memory all leaped forward at this moment.

The once obscure and difficult cultivation formulas now flowed through his mind like a clear spring.

The once hard-to-capture Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence now flickered in his perception like a multitude of stars.

The once unreachable martial True Intent now unfolded before his eyes like a scroll.

He closed his eyes, feeling the transformation brought by the promotion of his fate.

This time, it was not an accumulation of quantity, but a leap in quality.

A Rank Six fate brought not just an increase in Aptitude and Comprehension Ability, but an instinctive perception of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. From now on, whatever Cultivation Technique he practiced, he could point directly to the heart; whatever True Intent he comprehended, he could trace it back to its Origin.

This was the Late Bloomer.

It was not about having extraordinary natural talent or excellent bone structure, but about a grand accumulation followed by a sudden release.

Polishing the Foundation over a long period, tempering the Dao Heart through countless trials, and then, in a single moment, turning all accumulation into an unstoppable force to soar to the heavens.

Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

That turbid air contained the lingering charm of the four True Intents, slowly spreading in the quiet room and intertwining with the seven True Intents of the Seven Stars Return to Origin Formation, eventually merging into one.

In the quiet room, the eight True Intents coexisted harmoniously without conflict.

He stood up, feeling the surging power within his body.

The Dragon Fetus Realm Early Stage cultivation, the perfect Fusion of four True Intents, the transformation of the Heart Blade, and the promotion of his fate—at this moment, his strength was more than ten times stronger than before his seclusion.

But he was in no hurry to leave seclusion.

Because he still needed to do one more thing.

He sat cross-legged, took out the tiger soul saber from his sumeru pouch, and laid it across his knees.

The four-colored radiance on the blade resonated with his blood-qi, his True Intent, and his Divine Soul. The blurred consciousness within the blade sent out joyful emotions, as if it were happy for him.

He closed his eyes, communicating with the tiger soul through his thoughts.

This time, it was not forging the weapon, but acknowledging its master.

The final step of the natal heart artifact was not forging, but acknowledging the master. Using the Divine Soul as a guide, essence blood as a medium, and True Intent as a bridge, one would merge the Heart Artifact with their own fate.

From then on, if the blade lived, the person lived; if the blade was destroyed, the person died.

He bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of essence blood onto the blade.

The moment the essence blood entered the blade, the tiger soul saber shook violently! The four-colored radiance on the blade suddenly exploded, illuminating the entire quiet room as if it were broad daylight!

Those lights intertwined on the blade, finally condensing into a tiny pattern—

That pattern was exactly the same as the dragon pattern on the Heart Blade, winding like a dragon and dark gold throughout.

The two natal artifacts resonated at this moment.

The Heart Blade governed the soul, while the tiger soul governed the body. One blade to sever the Divine Soul, and one blade to sever the Physical Body.

Only when the two blades were combined would it be the true Heavenly Blade.

Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes and gripped the hilt of the tiger soul saber.

A clear blade cry came from the blade, like a dragon's roar and a tiger's howl, echoing, surging, and vibrating throughout the quiet room.

That blade cry penetrated the stone door of the quiet room, the isolation Formation of the Fire Cloud Cave, and the mountain-protecting Formation of the Red Fire Peak, resounding through the entire Dragon Abyss Palace.

Everyone who heard this blade cry felt an indescribable pressure.

It was Dragon Might, Saber Intent, and Dao Heart.

It was the martial will tempered by an eighteen-year-old youth through countless life-and-death battles, countless interrogations of the Dao Heart, and countless instances of self-transcendence.