227: Today and Yesterday

Yao Delong felt an overwhelming and irresistible surge of scorching power flow into his body through his arm, merging seamlessly with his own Blazing Sun True Qi, becoming indistinguishable from one another!

A flash of inspiration struck him. He brought his fingers together like a sword and lightly slashed at the void in front of him!

Sssh—! There was no earth-shattering roar, only a thin, golden-red sword thread, refined to the extreme and as fine as a strand of hair, appearing out of thin air!

Wherever the sword thread passed, the space seemed to be instantly melted through by the intense heat, leaving behind a twisted black rift that lingered for a long time!

A terrifying Sword Intent, capable of burning all things and annihilating the Eight Desolations, spread out, causing all the Nascent Soul Elders on the second floor to change color in shock!

"What a terrifying Sword Intent!"

"It can actually stir ripples in space... This child's comprehension of the Dao of the sword is simply that of a Prodigy!"

"The burning silence sword... it actually fits him so perfectly!"

Yao Delong retracted his fingers and stood still, the phantom of the Nine Suns behind him slowly dissipating.

The burning silence sword hovered quietly in front of him, its blade flowing with crimson light. It was incredibly docile, no longer possessing a shred of ferocity, as if it were connected to his Bloodline.

"Good sword!" Joy filled Yao Delong's eyes.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Yao. The divine sword has chosen its master!"

The Elder in charge clapped his hands in admiration, his eyes filled with shock.

He had seen many Geniuses claim Heaven-Grade Weapons, but it was rare to see someone like Yao Delong, who handled it with such ease and even caused the Heaven-Grade Weapon to actively harmonize with him!

With a thought from Yao Delong, the burning silence sword let out a joyful, clear ring, transformed into a streak of crimson light, instantly submerged into his brow, and sank deep into his Sea of Consciousness.

A Magic Treasure at the Heaven-Grade Weapon level already possessed rudimentary spirituality.

By placing it in the Sea of Consciousness to nurture it, soaking it day and night with one's own Divine Soul and Origin True Qi, there was a slim chance of giving birth to a true artifact spirit in the future!

Once an artifact spirit was born, the Magic Treasure's power would skyrocket, allowing it to be controlled like an extension of one's own arm and unleashing power that surpassed its grade.

However, for a Heaven-Grade Weapon to nurture a spirit was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Even among supreme grade heavenly artifacts, successful cases were rare, requiring the accumulation of long years and immense Opportunity.

Only the legendary Dao Artifacts generally possessed artifact spirits with powerful intelligence.

Even if it could not nurture a spirit, placing the burning silence sword in the Sea of Consciousness for nurturing could make its connection with him tighter, allowing for a meeting of minds and unleashing greater power.

Yao Delong could clearly feel that the small crimson sword in his Sea of Consciousness was greedily absorbing his pure Blazing Sun Yuan power, its blade's light flowing as it seemed to become a bit more agile.

"Thank you, Elder."

Yao Delong cupped his hands to thank the Elder in charge, then without further delay, turned and went downstairs.

Under the gaze of countless Disciples on the first floor, whose eyes were even more fanatical and seemed almost capable of burning through his figure, Yao Delong turned into a blazing streak of light, broke through the Treasure Pavilion's Restriction, and soared into the sky!

His target was straight ahead—Tuyao Peak!

The streak of light was as swift as lightning, tearing through the sky. Within a few breaths, the heavy, majestic Tuyao Peak, with its deep brown mountain body, came into view.

Yao Delong did not head directly to Earth God Ravine at the back of the mountain but instead landed in front of the great hall at the peak, which was built of massive brown stones and filled with a primitive aura.

"Yao Delong of Luoxia Peak requests an audience with Peak Master Black River of the Earth."

Yao Delong's voice was clear and resonant, containing an invisible pressure that spread across the square in front of the hall.

When the Disciples on duty in front of the hall saw it was him, they immediately shuddered, their faces filled with awe, and they said repeatedly:

"Senior Brother Yao, please wait a moment! This Disciple will go and report it immediately!"

After saying this, he rushed into the great hall, almost scrambling on his hands and knees.

In just a moment, a loud laugh like muffled thunder rolled out from the hall:

"Hahaha! Martial Nephew Yao! A rare guest! A rare guest indeed!"

Accompanied by the laughter, an iron-tower-like figure strode out.

The person who arrived was none other than the Peak Master of Tuyao Peak—Black River of the Earth!

He was nearly a zhang tall, his bronze skin shimmering with a metallic luster, and his muscles were knotted like the hardest carved rock, full of explosive power.

With every step he took, the ground seemed to tremble slightly.

His entire body radiated a majestic aura as heavy as a mountain and as dense as the earth; he was clearly a great Cultivator at the Soul Transformation Stage!

At this moment, the look in Black River of the Earth's eyes toward Yao Delong was worlds apart from when Yao Delong first came to Tuyao Peak half a year ago to request Earth Vein Qi for Alchemy!

Back then, Yao Delong was just a small character at the Qi Condensation stage who needed to rely on connections to barely enter the outer perimeter of Earth God Ravine; he couldn't even catch the Dharma Eye of a Peak Master like him.

But now, the young man in white before him was a peerless Prodigy who had suppressed all heroes and topped the Core Disciple rankings!

The potential he displayed was so highly valued even by the Sect Head, with signs that he was implicitly being groomed as the next "Dao Changge"!

"Senior Martial Uncle Black." Yao Delong bowed with neither servility nor overbearingness.

"No need for formalities, no need!"

Black River of the Earth waved his palm-leaf-sized hand, his voice like a great bell, while he scrutinized Yao Delong with burning eyes, making no attempt to hide his appreciation.

"Good lad! You fought beautifully in the ranking battle! When that Heart Sword came out, even I was startled! Tell me, what business brings you to my Tuyao Peak? Surely you didn't come just to see this old fellow, right?"

He had a straightforward personality and spoke directly.

Yao Delong got straight to the point: "This Disciple has come to request the use of your peak's 'Earth God Ravine' again."

"Earth God Ravine?" Black River of the Earth raised his thick eyebrows, a flash of realization passing through his eyes, "To draw Earth Vein Evil Qi? To refine your Physical Body?"

He naturally saw that Yao Delong's Physical Body was formidable, not inferior even to Lei Qianjun, who specialized in Body Refining.

"Exactly." Yao Delong said frankly, "This Disciple found a Body Refining technique in the Scripture Pavilion and needs to borrow the Earth Vein Evil Qi to hone myself."

"Good! You have guts!" Black River of the Earth laughed loudly, his voice shaking the tiles of the roof, "As expected of the Core Disciple leader! My Tuyao Peak doesn't have much else, but this Earth Vein Qi is plentiful! Li Ya!"

He shouted loudly.

"This Disciple is here!"

A young man with a similarly burly build, a steady aura, and wearing the Core Disciple attire of Tuyao Peak appeared in response; it was Li Ya, who had taken Yao Delong into Earth God Ravine last time.

At this moment, Li Ya's gaze toward Yao Delong was filled with awe and a hint of imperceptible sycophancy, no longer possessing a shred of the arrogance he had before.

He was ranked outside the top one hundred; compared to this radiant leader before him, the difference was like clouds and mud!

"Take Martial Nephew Yao to Earth God Ravine and open the outer Restriction!"

Black River of the Earth ordered, then looked at Yao Delong again, his expression becoming a bit more serious, "Martial Nephew, the Evil Qi is dangerous and extremely violent; it erodes the Physical Body and Divine Soul, so you must act according to your ability! Do not venture deep into the core area!"

"This Disciple understands. Thank you for the reminder, Senior Martial Uncle." Yao Delong nodded.

"Senior Brother Yao, please follow me." Li Ya hurriedly bowed and led the way, his attitude extremely respectful.

The two turned into streaks of light and flew toward the depths of the back mountain.

On the way, Li Ya wanted to speak several times but held back, ultimately just accompanying him with a careful smile.

Soon, the familiar entrance of the massive rift valley, exuding a decaying and violent aura, appeared before their eyes again.

"Senior Brother Yao, we have arrived at Earth God Ravine."

Li Ya stopped and pointed to the cave entrance covered with earth-yellow Restriction runes, saying respectfully: "You... you are not entering for the first time, so this Disciple will just wait outside. If you have any instructions, feel free to call me at any time."

This time, he did not dare to turn and run away.