76: Chapter 76 One Sword Slays Three Infants, Tempering the Sword Heart in the Thunder Pool

One strike.

Just one single strike.

Old Man Xuefu's corpse collapsed to the ground, a bloody hole piercing through his chest, with faint blue electric arcs crackling around its edges.

Those crimson eyes were wide open, the shock and disbelief frozen in his pupils forever.

Dead silence.

The entire valley fell into a dead silence.

Even the wild winds and thunder seemed to freeze in this moment.

Qin Mo, the beautiful woman in red, and the tall figure within the blood mist.

Three Nascent Soul Cultivators were all frozen on the spot, their eyes filled with shock and incomprehension.

Core Formation Perfection.

Killing a Nascent Soul with a single sword strike?

This completely surpassed their realm of understanding!

Even if Old Man Xuefu had been injured beforehand, even if Bai Yunzhou had used some secret technique, even if there was an element of surprise in that sword strike!

But that was a Nascent Soul Cultivator after all! A being who had survived a Heavenly Tribulation, condensed a Nascent Soul, and possessed a Lifespan of a thousand years!

Just like that... dead?

Elder Lei was also stunned.

His hand holding the charred wooden staff trembled slightly—not from his injuries, but from excitement.

"Qinglian Thunder Sword... You actually fused them..." he muttered to himself. "The Chaos Green Lotus Body truly can accommodate all methods. Lei Xiaozi's Legacy has no conflict within you; instead, they complement each other."

Bai Yunzhou slowly lowered his sword.

On the edge of the liefeng sword, a phantom of a lotus entwined with purple electric arcs rotated slowly.

With every revolution, the Sword Intent condensed a fraction more, and the power of lightning became a fraction purer.

He could feel earth-shaking changes occurring within his body.

The Qinglian Sword Body reached 45% Awakening, his Physical Body strength surged once again, his Meridians widened threefold, and his Spiritual Qi circulation speed shot up drastically.

Most importantly, the sword heart rune had completely formed.

It was a pale-gold lotus mark imprinted on the surface of his Golden Core; with every heartbeat, it released pure Sword Intent and lightning power, nourishing his entire body.

This was the mark of Minor Achievement in the Sword Heart.

From then on, his Sword Intent no longer needed to be deliberately summoned, but flowed naturally like breathing.

With a single thought, Sword Qi arose of its own accord, accompanied by lightning.

"There are three left."

Bai Yunzhou looked up at the remaining three people.

His gaze was calm, devoid of intent to kill or anger, containing only an almost indifferent scrutiny.

It was as if he was looking at three inanimate objects rather than three living human beings.

This look sent a chill through Qin Mo's heart.

"Little bastard, don't be so arrogant!" The beautiful woman in red reacted first, screaming shrilly. "You only succeeded earlier with a sneak attack! Do you really think you can contend with a Nascent Soul?!"

She brandished the blood-red scimitar in her hand, and its blade erupted with blinding crimson light.

Countless hideous ghost faces emerged within the blood light, uttering sharp, agonized shrieks as they pounced toward Bai Yunzhou.

This was a Blood God Cult secret technique, Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Soul!

Before the blade arrived, the shrieks of the ghosts struck at the Divine Soul first.

When an ordinary Cultivator was struck by this sound, at best, their mind would falter; at worst, their Divine Soul would shatter, turning them into a walking corpse.

Bai Yunzhou did not dodge or evade.

Inside his Sea of Consciousness, the Green Lotus Sword Heart radiated a clear glow, completely purifying the ghost shrieks.

At the same time, he raised his hand and slashed out with his sword.

There were no fancy Moves, just a basic straight thrust.

But the moment this sword thrust out, the electric arcs wrapping around the blade's edge suddenly flared violently, turning into a hundred-foot-long purple lightning Dragon!

The lightning Dragon roared, opening its giant maw, and swallowed the sky full of ghost faces in one gulp!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!!!

The ghost faces were crushed and purified by the lightning inside the Dragon's mouth; before they could even scream, they dissolved into green smoke and vanished.

The beautiful woman in red suffered a dramatic change in expression and tried to retract her blade and retreat, but it was already too late.

After devouring the ghost faces, the lightning Dragon lost no momentum, charging straight at her face!

"Blood Fiend Body Protection!" The beautiful woman screamed as dense blood light erupted around her, forming a crimson shield.

The lightning Dragon slammed into the shield.

Boom—!!!

The explosive shockwave blew away all the rocks within a hundred-foot radius, blasting a giant crater into the ground.

The crimson shield shattered with a crash.

The beautiful woman flew backward, stopping only after crashing through three cliff faces.

She struggled to climb back up, spurting wild mouthfuls of blood, her chest scorched black, clearly heavily injured by the lightning.

One sword strike, heavily injuring a Nascent Soul!

Qin Mo's pupils shrank abruptly.

He knew they could wait no longer.

"Attack together! Kill him!"

Before his voice died down, he had already taken action first.

Youquan Valley's Sect-defining Cultivation Technique—the Netherworld Sword Art!

A jet-black longsword flew out from his sleeve, its blade shimmering with an eerie light that emitted a Soul-freezing chill.

As the sword emerged, the temperature of the entire valley plummeted, frost coalescing on the ground and countless eerie blue ghost flames floating in the air.

This was Qin Mo's famed ultimate skill—the Netherworld Sword Domain!

Once the Domain opened, all living creatures inside it would be corroded by the icy cold, their Spiritual Qi circulation turning sluggish and their Divine Soul freezing.

Combined with his cultivation at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, even Cultivators of the same realm would have their strength suppressed by thirty percent.

Almost simultaneously, the tall figure in the blood mist moved as well.

He slowly raised his right hand, a blood-red rune floating in his palm.

The rune spun, drawing the blood-fiend Qi in Heaven and Earth to gather frantically, finally condensing into a hundred-foot-long blood-red giant blade.

Blood God Cult's secret heirloom, Blood God Slash!

When the giant blade slashed down, even the sky was stained with a layer of blood.

A terrifying pressure locked onto Bai Yunzhou, leaving him nowhere to hide.

Two Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivators unleashing their killing Moves at the same time!

This was a fatal trap!

Elder Lei's expression turned drastically, and he wanted to step in to help, but the toll of the previous fight was too great; right now, he didn't even have the strength to lift his hand.

"Brat, dodge quick!" He could only shout in a hoarse voice to warn him.

Bai Yunzhou did not dodge.

He even closed his eyes.

Not out of giving up, but... listening.

Listening to the beating of the Green Lotus Sword Heart in his body, listening to the sound of lightning surging through his Meridians, listening to the hum of the liefeng sword.

Then, he opened his eyes.

In his eyes, green lotuses bloomed, and thunder light surged.

"Just right, time to try out a new Move."

Holding his sword with both hands, he raised it above his head.

The seventh stance of the Qinglian Sword Canon: Genesis of Chaos!

This stance was originally created by Sword Monarch Qinglian when he comprehended the Concept of the universe's primordial opening and Chaos dividing into Yin and Yang.

In theory, it required the sword body to reach at least seventy percent Awakening to execute.

But at this moment, Bai Yunzhou had fused with the lightning Dragon essence, achieved Minor Achievement in his sword heart, and perfectly blended his Sword Intent with the power of lightning, forcibly driving the rudimentary form of this stance!

The sword fell.

There was no sound.

There was no light.

There wasn't even a fluctuation of Sword Qi.

There was only a sensation of "nothingness"—as if this strike slashed out not Sword Qi, but a rift, a rift that divided Yin and Yang and cleaved open Chaos!

Wherever the rift passed, the Netherworld Sword Domain shattered, and the icy ghost flames were extinguished.

The blood-red giant blade collided with the rift, melting away inch by inch starting from its tip, like ice and snow meeting the sun.

Qin Mo and the figure in the blood mist spat blood simultaneously, flying backward.

Their eyes were filled with horror.

What kind of sword technique was this?!

It could actually break the killing Moves of two Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivators at the same time?!

Moreover, that Concept of "cleaving open Chaos" made them feel an instinctive terror—it was a suppression on a fundamental level!

Bai Yunzhou also let out a muffled groan, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Forcibly executing the seventh stance took a huge toll on him.

In an instant, seventy percent of his internal Spiritual Qi was consumed, multiple Meridians were torn, and fine cracks even appeared on the surface of his Golden Core.

But he held on.

And the power of this sword strike far exceeded expectations.

"Impossible... This is impossible..." Qin Mo stumbled to his feet, his eyes wild with madness. "You're only at Core Formation Perfection! How can you execute a sword technique of this level?!"

Bai Yunzhou wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and raised the liefeng sword once more.

"Because I possess the Chaos Green Lotus Body."

As his words fell, his sword struck again.

This time, it was the second stance of the Qinglian Thunder Sword: Thunder Lotus Bloom!

The sword light divided, transforming into nine green lotus flowers, each the size of a fist.

Purple electric arcs coiled around the surface of every lotus, their petals slowly rotating as they flew toward the three of them.

The lotuses seemed slow, but were actually as fast as lightning.

Qin Mo wanted to dodge, but the lingering force of the previous sword strike remained, making his movement half a beat too slow.

Pfft!

A lotus flower sank into his chest.

There was no explosion, no sound.

The moment the lotus fused into his body, Qin Mo froze completely.

He looked down at his chest.

There was no wound there, but under his skin, a green lotus mark slowly surfaced, with electric arcs crackling around its edges.

"What... is this..."

Before his voice could finish, the green lotus mark suddenly bloomed!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!!!

Countless minute strands of Sword Qi burst forth from the mark, mixing with the power of lightning to instantly shatter his internal organs, Meridians, and Nascent Soul!

Qin Mo's eyes widened, and his corpse slowly collapsed to the ground.

The second Nascent Soul, dead.

The beautiful woman in red shrieked, turned, and fled.

But another lotus flower had already caught up behind her, sinking into her back.

The same green lotus mark, the same blooming, the same shredding.

Her corpse plummeted to the ground.

The third Nascent Soul, dead.

The final lotus flower flew toward the tall figure in the blood mist.

The tall figure roared, the blood mist around him boiling furiously as it condensed into a thick blood shield.

The lotus collided with the blood shield.

Sizzle!!

The blood shield was pierced right through.

The lotus plunged into the blood mist and vanished.

But this time, no green lotus mark surfaced.

[part:gemini-3.5-flash-lite]

The blood mist churned violently, emitting a muffled grunt of pain.

Moments later, the blood mist dissipated, revealing a middle-aged man wearing blood-red robes.

The man had an ordinary face, but his eyes were scarlet, and there was a bloody mark between his brows.

At this moment, there was a fist-sized bloody hole in his chest. The inside of the hole was charred black, with residual Green Lotus Sword Intent at the edges, continuously eroding his vitality.

But he did not die.

In the Late Stage of Nascent Soul, his vitality was far stronger than in the Middle Stage.

"Good... Very good, a Qinglian successor..." The man gritted his teeth, staring fiercely at Bai Yunzhou. "The grudge of today, the Blood God Cult has noted it. Another day, I will surely return it a hundredfold!"

With that, he transformed into a streak of blood light, soared into the sky, and instantly vanished into the distance.

He escaped.

Bai Yunzhou did not pursue.

It was not that he did not want to, but that he could not.

The spiritual power within his body was already exhausted, and his Meridians were severely damaged. If he forced another attack, he feared it would damage his Foundation.

Thump.

He knelt on one knee, plunging the liefeng sword into the ground to support his body.

Elder Lei walked over quickly, took out a Medicinal Pill, and shoved it into his mouth: "Quickly, regulate your breathing and heal your injuries."

Entering his abdomen, the Medicinal Pill transformed into pure spiritual power, rapidly repairing his damaged Meridians.

Bai Yunzhou sat cross-legged and circulated the Qinglian Sword Body.

A Qinglian phantom emerged behind him, slowly rotating and absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

The sword heart rune beat, releasing Sword Intent and lightning to accelerate the recovery of his injuries.

Elder Lei guarded the side, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

Leipeng flew over from afar, landing on the stone pillar, and looked at Bai Yunzhou with eyes full of awe.

That battle just now, it had witnessed the whole process.

Three Nascent Souls, two dead and one escaped.

And the one who accomplished all this was merely a young man at the Core Formation Perfection.

This could no longer be described as a "Genius".

This was... a monster.

Half an hour later.

Bai Yunzhou opened his eyes; his injuries had recovered by thirty percent, and his spiritual power had recovered by half.

He stood up and looked at Elder Lei: "Senior, your injuries..."

"It is fine, a few days of recuperation will be enough."

Elder Lei waved his hand, his eyes filled with emotion.

"Kid, your performance today reminds me of Sword Monarch Qinglian from three hundred years ago."

"At that time, he was also at Core Formation Perfection, with a single person and a single sword, consecutively slaying three Nascent Soul demonic Cultivators, shocking the world."

Bai Yunzhou was silent for a moment and asked: "Senior, what on earth is the Chaos Green Lotus Body...?"

Elder Lei glanced at him and slowly spoke.

"You know that there are various special Physiques in the world."

"Sword Physiques, Dao Physiques, Holy Physiques, Divine Physiques."

"But there is one Physique that surpasses all Physiques, and that is the 'Chaos Physique'."

"The Chaos Physique can accommodate ten thousand dharmas and evolve ten thousand Daos."

Legend has it that those with the Chaos Physique have no Bottlenecks in cultivation, are invincible among peers, and killing enemies across ranks is as easy as drinking water.

But the Chaos Physique is too Heaven-Defying. Since ancient times, a truly perfected Chaos Physique has never appeared.

Most of them are merely incomplete or in an embryonic form."

"Your Qinglian Sword Body was originally created by Sword Monarch Qinglian with supreme wisdom, imitating the characteristics of the Chaos Physique."

But the Qinglian Sword Body is ultimately an 'imitation' and has its limits.

Yet today, you fused with the thunder dragon essence Soul, and the Green Lotus Sword Intent and the power of lightning perfectly blended, actually causing a qualitative change in your Physique.

From the 'Qinglian Sword Body', it evolved into the embryonic form of the 'Chaos Green Lotus Body'."

"Although it is only an embryonic form, it has already touched the threshold of Chaos."

Therefore, you were able to use your Core Formation Perfection cultivation to display sword techniques at the level of 'Chaos Opening'."

Bai Yunzhou was shaken in his heart.

Chaos Physique...

So that was what the "Chaos Green Lotus Body" mentioned by the System meant.

"However, do not rejoice too early."

Elder Lei said solemnly: "The Chaos Physique is too Heaven-Defying and cannot be tolerated by the Heavenly Dao."

In history, everyone who has shown the embryonic form of the Chaos Physique has encountered countless calamities.

Furthermore... your Physique has not truly stabilized yet, and you need a large amount of Heaven And Earth Treasures to consolidate and elevate it."

Bai Yunzhou nodded: "Junior understands."

He looked at the corpses of Qin Mo and the red-robed beautiful woman, walked over, and took off their storage rings.

His Divine Sense probed in.

Inside Qin Mo's storage ring, besides Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, and Cultivation Technique Jade Slips, there was also a black token. The front of the token was engraved with the two characters "Youquan", and the back was the "Elder Token".

"Youquan Valley Elder Token..." Bai Yunzhou pondered: "Perhaps it will be useful."

In the storage ring of the red-robed beautiful woman, there was a blood-red classic, 《Blood God Great Law (Incomplete Manual)》.

The classic recorded many secret techniques of the Blood God Cult, including evil arts such as blood curse tracking and blood sacrifice Soul Refining.

Bai Yunzhou did not look closely and directly put it away.

Finally, he looked at the corpse of Old Man Xuefu.

From the embrace of Old Man Xuefu, he searched out a blood-red bronze mirror.

The bronze mirror was the size of a palm, and its mirror surface was blurry, but he could faintly sense another aura.

It was the aura of that escaped blood-robed man!

"Is this... a messaging Magical Artifact?" Bai Yunzhou tried injecting spiritual power into it.

The bronze mirror lit up, and a line of blood-red text emerged on its surface:

"The Qinglian successor has appeared in Thunder Valley, having slain Xuefu, Qin Mo, and Hongluan. Promptly report to the Cult Master to initiate the 'Blood Sacrifice Plan'."

Below the text, there was a blood-red mark resembling a skull, with flames burning in its eye sockets.

Bai Yunzhou's pupils constricted.

Blood Sacrifice Plan?

What conspiracy was the Blood God Cult plotting again?

He put away the bronze mirror and looked at Elder Lei: "Senior, do you know about the Blood God Cult's 'Blood Sacrifice Plan'?"

Elder Lei frowned: "The Blood God Cult has always used blood sacrifices to elevate cultivation and refine evil items. But anything that can be called a 'Plan' is likely no small matter. You had best report this matter to the Holy Land and let the higher-ups decide."

"Mn." Bai Yunzhou nodded.

He remembered another matter and looked at Leipeng: "Leipeng's essence blood..."

Leipeng sighed, opened its mouth, and spat out a fist-sized drop of golden blood.

The blood hovered in the air, electric arcs darting across its surface, emitting a pure thunder-attribute aura.

"Take it," Leipeng said. "A bet is a bet. However... I have a request."

"Please speak."

"If your cultivation achieves Major Achievement one day, can you help me transform into human form?" Desire appeared in Leipeng's eyes. "For a Yao Beast's cultivation, transforming into human form is a natural chasm. I have been trapped in the Early Stage of Nascent Soul for two hundred years and have never been able to break through. If I have your assistance, perhaps there is hope."

Bai Yunzhou took the essence blood and said solemnly: "If I have the ability, I will definitely assist you."

"Many thanks." Leipeng spread its wings and flew back to the stone pillar.

Bai Yunzhou carefully put away Leipeng's essence blood and looked at Elder Lei again: "Senior, this Junior should return to the Holy Land."

"Go." Elder Lei waved his hand. "Remember, do not mention the matter of the Chaos Green Lotus Body to anyone. An ordinary man is not guilty, but harboring a jade ring becomes a crime."

"Junior will keep it in mind."

Bai Yunzhou saluted, rose into the air on his sword, transforming into a streak of cyan lightning, and galloped away in the direction of the Holy Land.

Elder Lei watched his departing back and muttered to himself:

"The Chaos Green Lotus Body has appeared in the world... This world is going to be in Chaos once again."

Liuyun Peak.

When Bai Yunzhou returned to his Immortal Cave, it was already late at night.

Zhou Zhiting was still practicing her fists in the courtyard. Seeing him return, she welcomed him with joy: "Senior Brother, you are back! Has the mission been completed?"

"Mn." Bai Yunzhou nodded and took out Leipeng's essence blood: "This is for you."

Zhou Zhiting took the essence blood and felt the surging thunder-attribute power within it, saying in shock: "This is... essence blood from a Nascent Soul Yao Beast? It is too precious, I cannot accept it."

"Accept it," Bai Yunzhou said with unquestionable authority. "Your Blood Battle Eight Desolations Fist has excess ferocity but lacks agility. Refining this essence blood can enhance your speed and explosive power, and will also help you with your Breakthrough to Core Formation."

Zhou Zhiting's eyes reddened slightly: "Senior Brother..."

"Go refine it quickly." Bai Yunzhou rubbed her hair: "I still have matters to process."

He walked into the Immortal Cave and set up a Restriction.

He took out that blood-red bronze mirror and injected spiritual power into it.

The mirror surface lit up once more, displaying new text:

"The plan has been initiated. Three days later, assemble at 'Blood Moon Valley'. Target: Qingxuan Sect."

Qingxuan Sect?!

A cold gleam flashed in Bai Yunzhou's eyes.

Was the Blood God Cult going to make a Move against the Qingxuan Sect?

He immediately took out a messaging jade talisman to contact Song Xinghe.

Moments later, the jade talisman lit up, transmitting Song Xinghe's anxious voice:

"Senior Brother Bai! This is bad! I just received a message from the Sect; Youquan Valley has joined forces with the Blood God Cult and is attacking the Qingxuan Sect!"

"The Sect-protecting grand array has already been broken, and casualties are heavy!"

"Old Ancestor Xing Zhan is heavily injured, and Elder Zhou Mu is also being besieged by three Nascent Souls. The situation is critical!"

Bai Yunzhou clenched the jade talisman tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"I know."

Severing the communication, he stood up and pushed open the stone door.

The night wind blew past, his robes rustling.

He looked towards the direction of the Qingxuan Sect in the east.

In his eyes, killing intent was like a sword.