Cao Bing's Profound Ice Sword had been forged from a piece of Millennium Cold Iron. The metal had developed a spirit of its own, so the weapon forged from it had surpassed the realm of ordinary weapons.
Grade: Low Grade.
But among Low Grade magical artifacts, it was still considered one of the better ones.
Cao Bing was dead, and the Profound Ice Sword had lost its master. So in Li Ye's hands, it no longer struggled.
What Li Ye needed to do now was claim the sword.
"I haven't reached the Qi Gathering Realm, and I don't know if I can refine this Spirit Sword."
Li Ye sighed.
The Saint Son's memories contained many secret methods for refining magical artifacts, but they all required Qi Gathering Realm cultivation.
Li Ye had no other choice, so he could only try and see if he could bring a dead horse back to life.
The first step in claiming a sword was to temper it with blood, letting the divine sword soak up his blood and take on his aura.
Li Ye gripped the Profound Ice Sword in his left hand and slashed hard.
Pfft!
Blood spurted out, soaking the blade crimson.
The next moment, the blood sank into the Profound Ice Sword and disappeared.
Hum!
After devouring Li Ye's blood, the Profound Ice Sword glimmered faintly.
At that moment, he could already sense a slight connection between himself and the flying sword.
Seeing this, Li Ye moved on to the second step—nourishing the sword.
He formed hand seals with both hands and circulated the power of the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art, instantly conjuring an ancient, profound seal.
Did it work?
Li Ye was astonished. He hadn't expected to form a Dao Seal with nothing but the strength of his physical body.
But after thinking it over, he immediately understood.
Although he hadn't entered the Qi Gathering Stage, the breathing method of the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art could devour Spiritual Energy from Heaven and Earth to temper his body.
So even though Li Ye's dantian had not yet opened, he did in fact possess Spiritual Power.
Hum!
The ancient Dao Seal struck the Profound Ice Sword and sank into its blade.
The next moment, the Profound Ice Sword began to tremble violently.
Li Ye immediately felt a bond forming between himself and the Profound Ice Sword, as intimate as milk and water, with no distinction between them.
"It worked."
Li Ye was overjoyed.
Only now could he unleash the Profound Ice Sword's full power.
Hum!
A bead floated out of Li Ye's body, enveloping the entire courtyard and preventing any sound from escaping.
—The Star Bead.
After bringing out the Star Bead, Li Ye began practicing the Immortal Slaying Devil Sword, moving through each form in the courtyard.
The Saint Son had practiced swordsmanship and had reached the Object Manipulation Realm Great Perfection.
So Li Ye's swordsmanship fundamentals were already incredibly strong—on par with the Object Manipulation Realm.
The moment he gripped the sword, a familiar feeling welled up inside him.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Li Ye's wrist turned nimbly as he swung the sword with ease.
The sword moved like a raging gale and a flash of lightning, its moves fierce as a flood's crashing waves, growing faster and faster.
Gradually, his energy flowed through his whole body, and he wielded the sword with effortless ease. The power of his moves soared; his fierce Sword Qi could pierce anything, as if it could cleave even the Eternal Azure Sky in two.
He quickly finished a full run-through of the Immortal Slaying Devil Sword.
"So this is the Immortal Slaying Devil Sword, the sword technique the Corpse Incineration Furnace gave me?"
"It's nothing special. I mastered it so easily."
"Even if the Saint Son came back to life, he still wouldn't match my talent for the sword. Ah, no—that's not right. I have an Exquisite Sword Heart."
Li Ye muttered to himself.
He could feel that the Immortal Slaying Devil Sword was incredibly powerful and intricate, stronger than any sword technique the Saint Son had practiced.
And yet Li Ye had managed to perform it flawlessly in one go.
So it was his Exquisite Sword Heart.
No wonder!
Li Ye didn't stop. He kept practicing.
By the second run-through, his swordplay had grown more fluent and refined.
His energy surged through him, rushing like a flood.
By the third run-through, his sword's power had risen again, and he began to grasp its essence.
Again and again.
By dawn, after practicing forty-nine times, Li Ye suddenly entered a wondrous state.
Boom!
A terrifying aura burst from the Profound Ice Sword, as if it could devour all things in Heaven and Earth.
One-tenth of a Sword Intent!
Li Ye cried out inwardly. He had actually developed a Sword Intent.
And it was Destructive Sword Intent.
Li Ye was utterly shaken. He could clearly feel his attack power entering a whole new realm, transformed from the ground up.
A single strike could make Heaven and Earth lose their color and shatter mountains and rocks.
"Although I only have thirty thousand jin of strength, it feels like I can now unleash the power of three hundred thousand jin."
Li Ye murmured.
After mastering the Immortal Slaying Devil Sword, his strength naturally began to flow through his body according to the sword technique's methods, circling again and again until it was about to return to his dantian.
Unfortunately, his dantian hadn't opened.
In the end, the power dissipated through his body. Li Ye used the breathing method of the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art to refine it into his flesh and blood, strengthening his physique.
His physical strength was now actually thirty-one thousand jin.
He had gained a thousand jin of strength in a single night.
The wounds on Li Ye's wrist and palm had also healed completely, without even leaving a scar.
"Tonight, I'd like to see who can stop me from getting the Golden Ginseng."
Li Ye thought to himself.
Then he went down the mountain.
He found Zhou Bao and gave him the six Body Tempering Pills he had left.
As a cultivation resource, Body Tempering Pills were beyond measure in their value.
Once someone had swallowed the medicinal power, as long as they could endure it, they could generally reach the first layer of Body Tempering.
"Cultivation elixirs from the legends?"
"Brother Li Bai, where did you get these?"
Zhou Bao asked excitedly.
He couldn't believe he would get to see such a miraculous medicine in his lifetime.
"A friend gave them to me. I can't cultivate, so I'm giving them to you."
"After you take them, use the manual I gave you to refine them. If nothing goes wrong, you should be able to enter the Body Tempering Realm."
"These five pills should be enough to help you reach the Body Tempering Third Layer."
Li Ye said.
He wasn't trying to make Zhou Bao exceptionally strong. He was simply doing what he could for a friend.
It was no trouble.
Was it that expert who saved me last time?
Zhou Bao realized something, but he couldn't figure it out.
Brother Li Bai had such a powerful friend. It shouldn't be hard for him to leave the Corpse Refining Courtyard, so why was he determined to stay there?
Zhou Bao had tried to persuade him to leave several times, but couldn't.
Zhou Bao's injuries had mostly healed, and he could move around without difficulty.
When he saw Li Ye, he was extremely excited.
He told him how profitable his business had become.
"I've got twenty brothers now. We've shipped two batches these past few days and made over three thousand six hundred taels."
"Unfortunately, other people have realized what these spices are for and have started eyeing the business. It might not be so easy to keep going."
"I want to rent some land and plant them on a large scale. But it's a miserable year—we've only had two rains so far, and I'm afraid I'd lose everything. If it comes to it, I'll take the brothers elsewhere and find some other business."
Zhou Bao rambled on.
He was also trying to put Li Ye at ease, so he wouldn't have to worry about him.
Night fell:
It was time to work at the Corpse Refining Courtyard again.
Unexpectedly, before the Corpse Deliverer arrived, the Black-Clad Academicians, led by Wu Qing, came in.
"There are a lot of dead people today. Two bodies each. Is that all right?"
Wu Qing asked Li Ye.
Two bodies?
Damn, they should've been giving him two all along.
He could handle ten.
Li Ye was excited, but still asked, "Sir, what happened?"
Since Li Ye had already refined the Profound Ice Sword, he could freely control its size and draw it back into his body.
Wu Qing sighed. "Something did happen. A Spirit Ginseng escaped from the Devil Sect, drawing sects from all sides to fight over it."
"Some old enemies ran into each other on the road and started fighting. Quite a few people died."
"But don't worry. Even though there are two bodies, there probably won't be any that rise as corpses."
Ha, and they're all sect disciples, too.
I'm rich, I'm rich.
Li Ye was thrilled. He went on to ask, "Did they find the Spirit Ginseng?"
Wu Qing shook his head. "Probably not. Hurry up and get ready."
Li Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
He had actually already eaten and fired up the Hot Furnace.
He'd had beef buns.
They were a reward Old Wu had given him when he burned the Devil Sect genius Jun Wu Ye, with a promise to provide them for three days straight.
Soon after, the Corpse Deliverer brought in two bloody corpses, one after another.
After the Black-Clad Academicians locked the door, Li Ye suddenly thought: There must have been plenty of fights in the Great Barren Forest last night.
Were there any dead?
There were probably quite a few.
Damn it, why had I come back so early? Wouldn't it have been better to stay there and pick up corpses?
"I missed out last night, so I'll make up for it tonight."
Li Ye thought.
Before you continue