46: Chapter 46 Sword Technique Perfected, Gathering Sword Qi

Kill!

Entering deep into the mountain range to search for traces of Hun Tiandi, they encountered an ambush of magical beasts.

The two drew their longswords, and their Dou Qi surged out with a shock, followed by the continuous ringing of swords. Sharp sword qi shot out like rain, dancing through the air.

Before them was a Rank 3 magical beast, a Purple Lion. Its body was as massive as a bull calf, covered in purple scales, and its huge head was the size of a lantern.

The thick mane around its neck swayed like purple flames.

Its tail was like a steel whip, tipped with a curved hook.

"Breeze Slash!"

"Blazing Sun Sword!"

The two youths from the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion roared as their Dou Qi surged like a tide. Azure sword qi erupted around them, soaring into the sky and transforming into a spinning storm of sword qi. As they pointed their longswords, the sword qi rushed toward the Purple Lion like a river bursting its banks.

The youth beside him had Dou Qi like raging flames, incredibly scorching, to the point that the air felt like it was being evaporated.

A crimson sword qi condensed. With a push of both hands, it turned into a bolt of crimson lightning, striking toward the massive and violent Purple Lion.

Roar!

The Purple Lion roared to the heavens as a layer of purple light emerged on its body. It opened its massive maw, and a cluster of brilliant purple energy condensed, with majestic energy flowing through it.

Just as the two sharp attacks were about to close in,

the Purple Lion's ultimate move finished gathering. A Lion's Roar that shook the heavens and earth erupted forth.

Immediately, a terrifying explosion of energy occurred, not only blocking the combined move of the two youths,

but the violent Lion's Roar technique also shook them until they bled from their seven orifices. Their internal blood and qi churned, and their Dou Qi ran wild. After spitting out blood, they fell heavily injured and unable to rise.

Ah...

The Purple Lion stepped forward, opened its bloody maw, and swallowed the two of them alive, its muzzle stained with blood foam.

Burp...

Suddenly, the Purple Lion let out a satisfied burp and, with an arrogant stride, disappeared into the lush jungle.

The two who had gone out looking for Hun Tiandi had now perished in the belly of the Rank 3 magical beast, the Purple Lion, which had almost eaten its fill.

Senior Brother Lin Yunfeng, who was in Tianbei City, was completely unaware of all this.

He was still anxiously waiting for news from the two of them.

Inside the cave.

Hun Tiandi looked at the thunder-struck wood in his hand; strange patterns had surfaced on its surface, looking quite miraculous.

When he stroked it with his palm, there was a tingling, numbing sensation.

With a flick of his hand, he took out a short sword and began carving carefully, wood chips flying as his wrist turned.

Operating the Basic Sword Art with ease, he carved it into a banner pole four feet nine inches long.

"Ten-year thunder-struck wood!"

In Hun Tiandi's mind, ten-year thunder-struck wood was not the ideal material; hundred-year thunder-struck wood was the first choice, and thousand-year thunder-struck wood was extremely rare.

If he could find ten-thousand-year thunder-struck wood, then...

For now, Hun Tiandi did not possess such resources. If he had the chance to find it in the future, he could simply replace it then.

The refining method for the ten thousand soul banner recorded that the banner pole needed to be carved with nine Soul-Attracting Veins...

He calmed his mind and focused entirely on carving. Every cut was extremely precise, without the slightest margin for error.

As the Soul-Attracting Veins were gradually completed, the thunder-struck wood in his hand began to emit faint traces of blue light.

In the dim cave, it appeared very conspicuous.

The banner pole was finally finished.

Next was the processing of the hundred-year green snake skin, a process that was even more tedious.

Following the records in the refining method, Hun Tiandi took out a large black pot, set it up, lit a fire, added water, and medicinal herbs.

Steam bubbled from the large black pot. He took various medicinal herbs from his storage ring and tossed them into the black pot to stew.

Some were poisonous, some were non-toxic...

An hour later, a pot of black, specially prepared medicinal liquid was finished. He placed the green snake skin into the pot.

He let the green snake skin soak in the medicinal liquid, allowing it to permeate within.

Then, with a thought, he condensed Dou Qi onto his palms to knead and refine the green snake skin.

Finally, he stretched the green snake skin into a three-foot-long banner surface, trimming the sides with streamers that moved even without wind.

This process consumed a great deal of Dou Qi, and beads of crystalline sweat appeared on his forehead.

A day and a night later.

The crude prototype of a ten thousand soul banner was finally completed. The banner pole was a deep blue throughout, four feet nine inches long, and the banner surface was entirely ink-black, about three feet long.

Vaguely, upon closer inspection, the snake scales formed eerie and terrifying patterns.

A single ten thousand soul banner stood before him.

Sizzle...

Hun Tiandi bit the tip of his tongue and spat a drop of heart's blood onto the center of the banner surface.

The moment the blood made contact, it was like red-hot iron being quenched in water, emitting a puff of white smoke.

The banner surface moved without wind, and the temperature in the entire cave suddenly dropped.

"It's done?"

An excited light flickered in Hun Tiandi's eyes. This ten thousand soul banner before him was only the most basic version, yet it displayed a hint of the spirituality unique to Dharma treasures.

"The night of the full moon, the hour of extreme Yin!"

Tomorrow would be the night of the full moon, the time when Yin energy was at its peak, the best opportunity for blood refinement.

He put away the ten thousand soul banner, sat cross-legged on a bluestone, took a pill and swallowed it, then formed hand seals to cultivate. The cave fell into silence.

As time passed, Hun Tiandi woke from his cultivation.

The night of the full moon was about to arrive.

He took out the qingfeng sword with a flick of his hand. Dou Qi flowed through his meridians with a roar and poured into the longsword, causing a sword hum to echo in the cave.

Then, holding the sword with both hands, he slashed upward. The stone wall above was carved with a sword mark that pierced through to the mountain peak.

A thick beam of moonlight poured into the cave from the opening above. The moonlight was like water, cold and clear.

Inside the cave, on the ground where the moonlight fell, lay a flat bluestone.

The ten thousand soul banner was planted upon it. He took out the materials he had prepared long ago: black dog blood, blood-soaked soil...

These materials were all dark and evil items he had collected.

Following the records in the refining method, he crushed and mixed them together, and Hun Tiandi began to draw the Blood Refining Formation.

He used a brush soaked in black dog blood for every stroke, painting and imprinting complex and eerie runes. Under the illumination of the moonlight, the runes appeared dark red.

With a serious expression, he carefully drew every stroke.

When the final rune was completed, the entire Blood Refining Formation suddenly lit up with a crimson glow.

The temperature in the cave dropped drastically, a layer of white frost spread, and the white breath he exhaled looked like celestial mist.

"Blood refinement, the first step is successfully completed."

Hun Tiandi wiped the sweat from his forehead. The ten thousand soul banner remained planted on the bluestone.

The most critical step was to use essence blood as a guide to activate the Banner Spirit of the ten thousand soul banner.

Puchi!

The short sword cut his wrist, letting the dark red blood fall onto the banner surface. Only this time was different from the last; the blood did not evaporate.

Instead, it was absorbed by the banner surface. As it was refined by the blood, the ink-black banner surface gradually took on a bloody hue.

The dense and tiny snake scales moved without wind, wriggling continuously as if they had life.

It absorbed the moonlight's Yin energy, being refined along with the blood.

Suddenly, Hun Tiandi felt a wave of dizziness. He gritted his teeth and persisted, continuously pouring his blood over it.

His face was as pale as snow, and his body staggered before he finally stopped.

By now, the banner surface had turned dark red, and countless tiny blood vessels had surfaced, looking like human veins.

Whew!

Hun Tiandi exhaled. The most critical part was over. Next would be forty-nine days of refinement...

Feeding it one drop of essence blood every day until the Banner Spirit was completely opened.

"Blood and qi deficiency?"

Hun Tiandi gave a bitter laugh. He had lost too much blood. He took out a pill and swallowed it, continuously refining it to nourish his body and recover from his exhaustion.

On the second day, Hun Tiandi fed it a drop of essence blood as usual. The Blood Refining Formation spun continuously, and traces of mysterious power merged into the soul banner.

"Yin Fiend Energy?"

Hun Tiandi only then understood that the Blood Refining Formation was absorbing the Yin Fiend Energy from the mountain range to wash the ten thousand soul banner and enhance its demonic power.

Therefore, all that remained was to wait for forty-nine days for the ten thousand soul banner to be born.