219: Origin Divine Weapon

Inside the solitary peak's cave, a deathly silence reigned, like myriad ages of profound ice.

The oppressive pressure, so thick it almost solidified, bore down heavily on every inch of Cao Yunqing's flesh and bones. Each heartbeat was like a drum nearing its breaking point.

He moved his steps with difficulty; his demonic armor groaned and cracked subtly and despairingly under the terrifying pressure. His footsteps fell silently, as if even sound itself had been completely swallowed by the entity deep within this cave.

The cave walls were not ordinary rock, but a kind of warm, jade-like green crystal. Within them flowed an indescribable, vibrant vitality, yet it was firmly locked down by an extreme, chilling stillness.

Two diametrically opposed auras intertwined bizarrely, forming a viscous, scalp-tingling sensation that tightly clung to any intruder.

As he delved deeper, at the end of his vision, a faint but exceptionally pure emerald glow, like the sole star at the end of a dark night, stubbornly shone in the absolute darkness, drawing all his greed and instinct.

Cao Yunqing's heart pounded, almost breaking through his chest.

He endured the severe pain of his Physical Body, which was on the verge of collapse, and the chill of being spied upon from the depths of his Soul, moving step by step towards the light source.

Finally, it opened up suddenly.

A huge, inverted bowl-shaped natural dome appeared before him.

At the center of the dome, a verdant pillar of light silently descended. The source of the light pillar was a strange crystal, the size of a human head and containing endless vitality, embedded in the rock ceiling above.

And the landing point of the light pillar was the core of this cave—a weapon that was neither quite a saber nor quite a sword!

It was obliquely inserted into a huge jade base, completely translucent and green.

The sword body was not metal; it was more like the essence of some living, ancient divine wood, with fine textures, condensed into form. Its entire body presented a warm, deep dark green hue, as if it had absorbed the essence of forests for billions of years.

However, within this rich, unyielding vital wood Qi, countless crimson bloodlines, as fine as hair yet condensed to the extreme, were deeply embedded within the dark green sword body like living veins, winding and flowing, emitting a terrifying sense of destruction and greed.

Blood and wood, born as one!

Below the jade base was not solid ground, but a gigantic, bottomless hole.

Around the edge of the hole, intricate and dizzying dark gold runes were inscribed. They connected end to end, forming a massive Formation that covered the entire cave floor.

At this moment, this Formation was operating extremely slowly, at an almost imperceptible frequency.

Each imperceptible pulsation was accompanied by faint reddish auras, almost invisible to the naked eye, which were drawn up from the depths of the hole, as if guided by an invisible hand, continuously merging into that divine wood blade.

That faint red aura contained incomparably pure Origin of life and fragments of a Soul that had not yet completely dissipated!

Cao Yunqing was instantly struck by lightning, his mind blank, then completely engulfed by boundless coldness.

The mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the Enlightenment Abyss, the cruel hunting in the core zone, and even the Cultivators who died fighting for Spirit Medicine... all these scenes flashed like fragments.

“Blood sacrifice... the entire Myriad Ages Evergreen Realm... is actually just a... giant blood sacrifice artifact-nurturing Formation!” Cao Yunqing’s voice was dry and hoarse, with an uncontrollable tremor.

He finally understood why a Small World would be left here by the Evergreen True Immortal! Every time this realm opened, the essence blood and Divine Souls of the Prodigies who died in battle, if not collected on the spot, became nourishment for this divine weapon!

This Formation silently and greedily sucked every drop of powerful blood, nurturing this fierce weapon destined not to belong to this realm!

That sword stood quietly at the intersection of the light pillar and the blood Qi, emitting a fatal temptation.

The vitality of wood and the violent greed of blood perfectly fused, forming a unique Dao rhythm capable of driving any Cultivator mad.

It was like a life embryo that had slept for billions of years, waiting only to absorb enough nutrients to break out of its cocoon and stir up a storm of blood.

Greed instantly overwhelmed all reason and terror.

Cao Yunqing's eyes only saw that strange weapon.

He bit his tongue sharply. Under the stimulation of the severe pain, his languid Qi forcibly mustered a trace, burning his dwindling essence blood. Like a moth to a flame, he rushed recklessly towards the jade base!

Closer!

His blood-stained hand, with slightly cracked finger bones, trembled with immense desire, reaching for the hilt entwined with dark green and blood threads!

His fingertip was only an inch away from the warm, slightly cool hilt!

At that very moment!

Buzz!!!

An indescribably brilliant azure-green immortal light exploded without warning from the Void above that sword!

Where the light reached, Cao Yunqing's body was as if struck by a colossal peak of billions of tons. All the power he had mustered by burning his essence blood instantly disintegrated!

He was like a broken puppet, violently flung by an irresistible force, crashing heavily against the cave wall covered with green crystals. He spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood with a "wah," his demonic armor completely shattered, and his bones groaned and cracked under the unbearable strain.

Within the immortal light, a figure solidified from the Void.

His green robe was like the bark of an ancient pine tree that had stood for myriad ages, his face blurred behind the flowing immortal light and Dao rhythm. Only his eyes were exceptionally clear, indifferent, cold, and high above, like a deity from the Nine Heavens looking down on an ant in the dust.

Merely being swept by that gaze, Cao Yunqing's Soul felt as if it had been frozen and torn apart.

He lay paralyzed on the cold crystal ground, unable to move even a single finger. Only the most primitive fear gripped his entire mind.

This was an absolute suppression on the level of life itself!

A voice, devoid of emotional fluctuation yet containing supreme majesty, directly exploded in the depths of Cao Yunqing's Sea of Consciousness, like a Heavenly Dao decree: “A mere ant, dares to covet this Venerable’s possession?”

The voice was not loud, but it carried the will to crush a Soul.

Blood instantly overflowed from Cao Yunqing's seven orifices, his Sea of Consciousness was a chaotic mess, and his consciousness was about to completely sink under this boundless immortal might.

It's over! A projection of a mighty one from above the Immortal Realm!

The shadow of death completely enveloped him.

Just as Cao Yunqing's consciousness was about to be completely crushed by the projection's gaze, a sudden change occurred!

In the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, a blood-colored imprint suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, blinding crimson blood light!

Rumble—!

It was as if a sea of blood had burst its banks, or the roar of an ancient fiendish demon awakening!

A monstrous, malevolent Qi, a thousand times fiercer and a billion times more chaotic than that of the Dragon Python, mixed with boundless gore and filth, erupted from Cao Yunqing's glabella like a world-destroying deluge!

The crimson light instantly filled the entire cave, actually forcing back and distorting the descending emerald light pillar!

The runes of the giant Formation covering the ground flickered violently, letting out wails of unbearable strain.

Blood light, so dense it couldn't dissipate, rapidly surged and condensed before Cao Yunqing. In an instant, a vast, boundless phantom of a terrifying sea of blood, with floating corpses and wailing vengeful spirits, majestically stood in the cave, confronting the projection of the green-robed Immortal Venerable!

At the core of the phantom sea of blood, a blurry figure, yet emanating a terrifying will that made all the heavens and myriad realms tremble, slowly condensed into form.

This sudden drastic change caused the indifferent green-robed figure to pause slightly.

Those cold immortal eyes showed clear fluctuations for the first time. His gaze pierced through the surging blood waves, firmly locking onto the core of the phantom, and his voice took on a hint of solemnity: “Heh heh! I didn’t expect this child to actually carry the imprint of you, junior!”

The sea of blood churned, countless vengeful spirits screaming and surfacing within the phantom.

A low whisper, as if from the deepest layer of the Nine Nether Purgatory, hoarse and broken, yet carrying supreme majesty, like the convergence of myriad evil spirits' babbling, came faintly from the core of the surging sea of blood. Every syllable carried terrifying pressure: “Evergreen? I also didn’t expect to be able to meet an ancient existence like you across space!”

A figure in a blood robe slowly stepped out from among the layers of blood shadows. This person had blood-red hair and eyebrows, crimson pupils, and a majestic, stern face.

It was Blood Heaven, the true master of the Blood Palace and the king of the Blood Demon Realm!