117: Man and sword as one

[Ten days later,]

[Liu Jinfeng returned to the Tianshu Pavilion, her expression colder than ice.]

["Why can that Detoxification Pill only alleviate the poison and not completely eliminate it?!" Her voice suppressed monstrous fury, along with a trace of barely noticeable anxiety.]

["Huh?" Your face instantly filled with shock and disbelief, your acting incredibly realistic. "This... how is this possible? After I took it, I clearly felt the toxins in my body were completely cleared out!"]

[Your tone carried complete "grievance" and "confusion."]

[Liu Jinfeng's icy gaze swept across your face, seemingly trying to find a flaw, but your performance was flawless.]

[She snorted coldly: "Perhaps you were not deeply poisoned, which is why you were able to alleviate it by chance. But the effect of this Medicinal Pill is still far from sufficient!"]

[You rejoiced secretly, but displayed "solemnity" and "unwillingness" on your face:]

["How could this be... This Junior is incompetent! Please, Senior, give me some more time. I will definitely put all my effort into improving the Pill Formula and refining a true Detoxification Pill!"]

[Liu Jinfeng stared at you for a long time, finally suppressing the urge to strike immediately. An Alchemist who could refine a pill that offered relief was better than having no hope at all.]

["Fine! I will trust you one more time." Her tone was chilling. "Starting today, you don't need to do anything else; focus solely on refining this Medicinal Pill for me. If there are any more problems..."]

[She didn't finish, but the murderous intent conveyed everything.]

[You bowed with "fear and trepidation" and agreed: "This Junior obeys! I will certainly live up to your expectations!"]

[The fifth year,]

[For over a year, you were "Alchemy" in the stone chamber, but you were actually comprehending the Divine Ability of the immortal slaying sword—Lonely Slaying Annihilation.]

[Not only that, but you also "feathered your own nest"—mass-refining ningyuan pills, totaling two thousand bottles.]

[Based on your Aptitude, you estimated that breaking through to Golden Core Perfection would require at least five hundred years. In other words, you needed a total of over six thousand bottles of "ningyuan pills."]

[Liu Jinfeng only came to you once a year to collect the Detoxification Pills, and then disappeared.]

[However, Yin Wenyu stayed outside, patrolling constantly.]

[The tenth year,]

[By "feathering your own nest," you finally accumulated five thousand bottles of "ningyuan pills." Combined with the original thousand bottles, this was enough for you to Cultivate to Golden Core Perfection.]

[On this day, Yin Wenyu happened to be absent from his patrol inside the Pavilion.]

[You were immersed in the comprehension of "Lonely Slaying Annihilation" when suddenly—]

[An ancient, profound Divine Thought, as if having undergone Transmigration through countless ages, sounded directly in the depths of your Divine Soul:]

["The time... has come... help me... escape the trap..."]

[You woke up abruptly. This Divine Thought was boundless, yet it sounded exceptionally exhausted.]

[You instantly understood that this voice came from the top floor of the Tianshu Pavilion—the "tianshu giant eye"!]

[You responded with Divine Thought: "Senior, I am also a prisoner. How can I help you?"]

[That deep voice rang out in your mind: "Come to the ninth floor first."]

["Every floor entrance has Protectors guarding it. How can I go up?" you replied.]

[The voice sounded again: "I have used a Secret Technique to temporarily incapacitate them."]

[Your eyes lit up—this might be your only chance to escape.]

[You did not hesitate and quietly left the stone chamber.]

[The Tianshu Pavilion had nine floors in total, and the entrance to each floor was guarded by two Protectors.]

[When you arrived at the entrance to the second floor, you saw two Protectors whose pupils were unfocused, their eyes vacant, as if they had fallen into a dream.]

[You mustered your courage and walked past them; the two Protectors showed no reaction.]

[You quickly walked up to the third floor, the fourth floor... The two Protectors at the entrance of every floor were in a state of stupor.]

[When you reached the ninth floor—]

[It was extremely vast and empty before you. Only a massive, complex Formation in the center was slowly operating, emitting heart-palpitating energy fluctuations.]

[At the Formation Core, the most crucial point of the Formation, a colossal eye, half-open and half-closed, whose pupil seemed to contain stars and the Universe, was tightly bound and imprisoned by countless Rune Chains, appearing painful and suppressed.]

[Seeing the giant eye before you, your heart couldn't help but tremble; it felt as though a single glance from it could annihilate your Divine Soul.]

[Such a powerful "giant eye" could actually be suppressed here.]

["Destroy... the Formation Core..." The giant eye's Divine Thought came again, its tone revealing infinite yearning.]

["Senior, I heard this top floor is guarded by Protectors of the Liu Clan Immortal Family. Why is there no one here?" you asked in a lowered voice.]

["The Liu Clan Chief has summoned all high-ranking members to discuss important matters. Right now is our only chance to escape," the giant eye's deep voice echoed in your mind.]

["But I only have Golden Core Cultivation. This Formation is so profound; how could I possibly destroy the Formation Core?"]

["The immortal slaying sword—it can sever the Foundation of this Formation!" The giant eye's voice sounded extremely urgent.]

["But I... I haven't comprehended the Sword Art yet; I don't know how to unleash 'Lonely Slaying Annihilation.'" You moved your consciousness, gripping the immortal slaying sword. You could feel a faint resonance coming from the sword body, but you didn't know how to unleash its power.]

["It doesn't matter! I will help you!" The giant eye's voice grew more frantic.]

[Your heart trembled—]

[It actually knew long ago that you would forge the immortal slaying sword!]

[Could it foresee the future?]

[But there was no time to think further now; this was indeed the only way out!]

[Determination flashed in your eyes, and you stopped hesitating.]

[You fully activated your Golden Core, and the Qi and blood of the Heavenly Human Realm Perfection erupted, pouring all your power unreservedly into the immortal slaying sword!]

["Now! Strike toward the four directions: Qian, Kun, Xun, and Gen!" The giant eye's voice boomed in your mind like a great bell.]

[You swung the sword as instructed—]

[And in that instant, you clearly felt a vast, ocean-like torrent of silver-gray Divine Thought, nearly solidified, surge forth from the giant eye!]

[It was like the Milky Way pouring down from the Nine Heavens, instantly injecting itself into the immortal slaying sword in your hand!]

["Zheng—!"]

[The immortal slaying sword let out an unprecedented Dragon roar, filled with extreme excitement and murderous intent!]

[The sword body's light surged dramatically. The previously restrained killing Sword Intent now roared, wanting to tear apart everything, like a Vicious Beast that had slept for ages suddenly awakening.]

[What shocked you even more was—]

[The moment the two powers converged, you and the immortal slaying sword abruptly vanished from the spot, transforming into a dark stream of light, fine as a hair yet dazzling to the extreme!]

[This stream of light seemed to become the sole existence between heaven and earth.]

[Wherever it passed, space fell into brief silence and darkness, all things losing color. All vitality seemed instantly withdrawn, leaving behind only an eternal, heart-palpitating trace of lonely Sword Scar.]

[So, the first move of "Lonely Slaying Annihilation" was like this—Man and Sword as One, transforming into a stream of light that slays everything.]

[At the tip of the stream of light, the sword aura was no longer just a foot long; it frantically extended and condensed, turning into a hundred-zhang dark-gold Divine Edge that spanned the sky and was condensed to the extreme!]

[That sharp aura seemed capable of slicing open even heaven and earth.]

[The entire Tianshu Pavilion violently shook and wailed under the impact of this power, which was the Fusion of the giant eye's Divine Thought and the immortal slaying sword's Sword Intent!]

[The originally sturdy Defensive Runes on the walls frantically flickered, alternating between bright and dim, before shattering one after another like colored glass!]