447: Chapter 447 Discovering the Ferocious Beast - Heartstrings Amidst Calamity

Jiang Chen did not hesitate, immediately mobilizing his Primordial Spirit power to refine the weapon. The hunyuan sword was as gentle as water, offering no resistance, allowing his divine sense to wander through every inch of the blade's patterns, as if it had been waiting for this moment for far too long.

Although this hunyuan sword was formed by the accidental condensation of chaotic ripples dissipated when Pangu opened the heavens, it remained strict in choosing its master, recognizing only the strong rather than mere fortune. As a top-tier spiritual treasure, it possessed a natural air of disdain; although Jiang Chen could not yet fully control it with his soul, simply using physical brute force to strike it had only managed to crack a few blood-colored patterns on the scabbard without truly tearing open the restrictions—such progress was already enough to warm his heart.

“Good sword! From now on, the two of us will join forces to carve out a path that belongs solely to us! You will eventually evolve into a Chaos Supreme Treasure, and I will never have to act according to anyone else's whims again—we shall walk tall, and no one will dare look at us sideways!” Jiang Chen gripped the hilt tightly, his tone resolute, every word striking like a hammer into the void.

The hunyuan sword trembled three times, emitting a clear and melodious hum, as if in promise, and as if in joy.

Once completely refined, the blade suddenly vanished into his Primordial Spirit, hanging steadily in the center of his palm, withdrawing its light and lying quietly, awaiting his command.

He looked down at the cavern—though the hunyuan sword had left its nest, the residual sword intent still wandered through the rock crevices; perhaps one day it would give birth to a Houtian weapon of slaughter. However, such matters were trivial to him; he gave it a glance before turning to leave, leaping to the surface and casting one last look at the deep, bottomless hole: if a fated person stepped here in the future, they might find a lucky chance. With a slight smile, he flicked his sleeves and departed.

A heavy stone fell from his heart; holding such a sharp weapon was truly a godsend. Indeed, closed-door bitter cultivation was not as good as traveling with a sword; opportunities always favor those who take the first step.

With this matter settled, he immediately gathered his thoughts and turned elsewhere. Currently, the Three Primordial Clans were vying for supremacy in the Great Desolation, but that final battle was not for rogue cultivators like them to interfere in. It seemed he still needed to hurry and search for more—who would complain about having too many good things?

“Are the preparations ready? The Lord's great cause must not fail! Do these fools think they are worthy of standing alongside the Lord?”

“Hmph, the Lord's layout has been in motion for many years. That madman surnamed Xie still arrogantly calls himself the Master of the Great Desolation; it's utterly laughable! Everything is ready now... By the way, how are those four Ferocious Beasts?”

“They are very troublesome. They can't be killed or sealed, so they can only be temporarily trapped in the Nine Yin Absolute Chasm. Once the Lord's great enterprise is settled, he will deal with them personally and see if they still dare to bare their fangs!”

“Hmm, that's the only way. Be sure to keep a close eye on them; don't let them ruin the Lord's great plans. Have the spies planted by the three tribes been exposed?”

“Don't worry! The three tribes are arrogant by nature; how could they scrutinize internal traitors? They are too busy suspecting each other. The Dragon Tribe's army has already been assembled and is about to set out in full force to swallow the Phoenix and Qilin tribes.”

“It's coming soon! The Lord's foundation is about to be completed; we must also work harder so people don't point fingers and say we held him back!”

Jiang Chen had just stepped into the south-central part of the northern Great Desolation when his divine sense quietly captured this secret conversation. Undercurrents were surging, and the dark curtain was beginning to lift. Who was the person behind the scenes? He didn't care to investigate deeply—it was likely just Luo Hou. This person was accustomed to stirring up trouble, and his goals were nothing more than personal greed. As for the Three Primordial Clans? They deserved their calamity; who told them to be so arrogant and overbearing!

He had no intention of intervening, but every extra word he heard was another bit of capital for survival. To survive in a chaotic world, the priority was to preserve oneself and break free from the shackles of the Great Calamity. He shouldn't think that his current level of ability could suppress everyone—he knew very well that it was not nearly enough, not by a long shot.

But hearing the words 'Four Great Ferocious Beasts' made his spine tingle slightly. This matter was even more dangerous than Luo Hou. Luo Hou still had schemes, but these four ferocious creatures were purely condensed from the world's hostility, resentment, baleful fire, and deathly silence, born only to devour and destroy. Appearing in the Great Desolation now, their strength might not have reached its peak yet—otherwise, how could anyone trap them? But the more it was like this, the more he couldn't let his guard down. This calamity was the first great calamity since the opening of the heavens, and the baleful aura it triggered was closest to the source baleful aura from the beginning of Chaos. If they absorbed it all, the consequences would be unimaginable.

They must be sealed off, completely and utterly sealed off.

He struck like lightning, several hand-chops accurately hitting the back of the black-clothed men's necks, instantly shattering their consciousness. Leaning down to investigate, as soon as his fingertips touched the center of their foreheads, memories poured in like a tide—images, sounds, and thoughts flooded his mind. Having confirmed the details, he turned and left immediately, his robe not stopping for a second. When those people slowly woke up, they only felt dizzy, their memories as if rubbed by sandpaper, blurry to the point they couldn't even grasp what they were thinking just now. Someone subconsciously touched their waist, then shook their head with a bitter smile: perhaps they were just too tired and being paranoid—what danger could there be? But at that moment, a transmission talisman exploded, and they immediately cast aside their stray thoughts, not thinking another word about it.

The locations of the Four Great Ferocious Beasts were now in his hands. Jiang Chen's feet didn't touch the ground as he rushed toward that ten-thousand-fathom deep valley in the northwest of the Great Desolation. The closer he got, the heavier the world felt: the air rolled with thick baleful aura, the wind was wrapped in bone-corroding killing intent, and even the light was distorted and dark, with cold, turbid energy rising and coiling like a living thing—yes, this was the place. The seal was at the bottom of the valley, layered and ancient enough to make one's heart palpitate. His divine sense sank in to investigate, and he immediately concluded: this was definitely not something an ordinary cultivator could set up. Luo Hou had planned this long ago, and his purpose was not to destroy the world, but to use the ferocious beasts to suppress disasters and maintain the stability of the Great Desolation.

But no matter how thick this seal was, it couldn't stop the ferocious beasts' instinct to devour the world's hostility, resentment, and deathly energy. Jiang Chen's brow furrowed slightly and then smoothed out—since it couldn't be blocked, then reinforce it; since it couldn't be guarded, then move it. The Ancient Star Realm was vast and deep, perfectly suited to be their cage. When his cultivation progressed further, he would naturally come back to finish the job.

No sooner said than done. His figure was like lightning as he rapidly moved around the periphery of the seal to set up a formation. Now, he was no longer the novice he was when he first glimpsed the Dao of Formations; his magic power was like an ocean, and as his fingers flew, a 'Time-Lost Void Return Formation' took shape, its power far exceeding that of the past. To ensure total safety, he used his source power to directionally connect to the gaps in the Ancient Star Realm, carving out the exile passage perfectly.

Finally, he summoned the hunyuan sword again, condensing four peak sword qi and pinning them into the formation eyes—if the ferocious beasts broke the restriction, they would surely suffer heavy damage, their physical bodies collapsing and their souls dissipating, requiring billions of years of bitter cultivation to recover. Only then did he breathe a slight sigh of relief, raising his hand to inject a wisp of his natal essence into the formation base, which helped the sword qi lie in wait and stabilized the foundation of the great formation to prevent any backlash.

With this matter finally concluded successfully, his heart felt light. Now that he was a part of the Great Desolation, with its magnificent mountains and rivers and the bustling world of mortals, he hadn't experienced enough of it yet; how could he be willing to return to the void of Chaos?

“Heh... stay there quietly.” He laughed toward the valley, his tone light, “Behave, and there might be a turning point in the future; cause trouble, and you'll be locked here for a lifetime—I can't kill you, but I can seal you. I wish you eternal joy and no worries.” As his voice fell, he turned and left; at the moment the formation was completed, the turbid flow of the world had been completely cut off, unable to seep in even a fraction.”

He did not rest after finishing. There was an even more important situation waiting for him to dismantle.