Crimson Firmament Sword, Hundred Beast Blood Refining

"Was that really a monster just now?"

Li Mo thought about it, then felt something was off.

Divine Blade Cave was inside Clear Abyss Sect, and an inner sect deacon was guarding the cave entrance.

How could a monster get in?

Maybe it was just some especially ugly senior brother...

Li Mo stopped dwelling on it.

Tap—

His foot had already stepped onto the ground of the fourth level.

The sharp killing aura that came rushing at him head-on made him feel an almost heavy pressure in an instant, even though his body-tempering had begun to show results.

His fleshly body, comparable to a peak Mortal Weapon, actually gave off a faint stabbing pain.

"Just the aura leaking out is already this terrifying."

"How is it only ten times stronger than the third level?"

Li Mo drew in a soft breath, and even his internal organs seemed to feel a slight tingling numbness.

Fortunately, he had trained his organs and meridians together; otherwise, he probably would not have been able to hold on at all right now.

"What kinds of weapons are being nurtured on this level?"

Li Mo lifted his eyes and looked.

He saw that the vast fourth level was half sealed in frost, while the other half was so scorching that the air twisted.

One had to know, this was inside a mountain cave.

This sight was far too unbelievable.

There were also far fewer weapons left here.

In total, there were only nine stone platforms, and on each stone platform, a weapon was inserted.

On the first one lay a longsword whose entire body was crystal-clear crimson.

Li Mo walked closer and discovered that words had been carved in front of the stone platform:

"Zhu Zizhong, the first master of Divine Weapon Peak, gained insight from watching twin suns hang in the sky. He forged this in imitation of the 'Burning Sky' sword, fifth on the Nine Provinces Divine Weapon Ranking. When the weapon was completed, it became a Mystic Weapon, and he named it Crimson Firmament."

This was the first line of words on the stone platform.

A Mystic Weapon!

Weapons were divided into Mortal Weapons, Fine Weapons, Sharp Weapons, and Famous Weapons.

Above Famous Weapons were fifth-tier Mystic Weapons.

A Mystic Weapon.

As for what lay above Mystic Weapons?

Li Mo did not know. He had never even heard of it.

But according to the words left on the stone platform, if this Mystic Weapon was merely an imitation, then its original, the Burning Sky Sword, was definitely even more formidable.

"The Nine Provinces Divine Weapon Ranking..."

"The first master of Divine Weapon Peak."

Li Mo clicked his tongue inwardly.

As far as he knew, the current Divine Weapon Peak took a very long time to produce even a Famous Weapon.

In the past, they had actually been able to forge Mystic Weapons?

Did that not mean that when this sword was forged, the Great Yu Dynasty had only unified the realm not long before?

There were still words below, so Li Mo continued reading down.

[Qin Xiaomeng, fourth master of Jade Cluster Peak of Clear Abyss Sect—takes the sword today!]

[Luo Rulong, sixth master of Jade Cluster Peak of Clear Abyss Sect—respectfully requests the Crimson Firmament Sword!]

[Yue Hong, thirteenth master of Sunset Glow Peak of Clear Abyss Sect—having brought the Blazing Sun Sword Art to the realm of transformation, requests the Crimson Firmament Sword!]

The further back it went, the longer the intervals between the peak masters who came to take the sword.

Li Mo could not help his thoughts from surging.

This showed that within Clear Abyss Sect, there were fewer and fewer people qualified to control this Mystic Weapon.

And...

This sword seemed to have been lost for a period of time as well.

[Shang Wu, thirty-third master of Jade Cluster Peak of Clear Abyss Sect—killed a Heaven-rank assassin of Drizzle Pavilion and recovered the Crimson Firmament Sword.]

Li Mo swept his gaze over the nine stone platforms.

The times were clearly ordered, but the contents recorded were all more or less the same as the first.

Three of them were blank. Whether they had been lost, or were in the hands of some high-ranking member of the sect, he did not know.

He more or less understood now.

What was placed here were all Mystic Weapons forged by Divine Weapon Peak throughout the generations.

As long as one could obtain a Mystic Weapon's recognition, one could become its master.

When one no longer had the ability to wield the Mystic Weapon, one had to return it.

"How do I become a weapon master?"

It would be a lie to say Little Li was not tempted.

A Mystic Weapon.

He had dreamed of owning a cool longsword.

On these stone platforms, there were only two swords in total.

One was named Heavenly Frost, and the other was this Crimson Firmament.

Buzz—

Suddenly, the sound of a sword's cry rang out.

It seemed to have sensed Li Mo approaching.

The Crimson Firmament Sword was thrust into the stone platform, trembling without cease.

The next second.

Li Mo's vision blurred.

Not far away, a swordsman actually appeared, standing tall with a sword on his back.

The swordsman's face could not be seen clearly. He wore nothing more than an utterly simple short shirt, yet a sharp, fierce intent naturally radiated from him.

The other party did not speak, but Li Mo seemed to understand what he meant.

"Please draw your sword."

Draw his sword?

Li Mo took out a returned Green Steel Sword from the System Space.

This was his first time using swordsmanship in actual combat, and he felt a little excited.

My newly minor-achieved superior sword art—would I be afraid of you?

Ten minutes later.

Li Mo subconsciously clutched his chest and abruptly opened his eyes.

Just now, in that daze, he had felt as if a sword had pierced through his chest. Though he had not truly been injured, there was still a burning phantom pain.

His minor-achieved sword art had not even lasted five strikes.

The Crimson Firmament Sword no longer hummed and once again sank into silence.

"Looks like I have to train a superior martial technique to the transformation realm before I can become a weapon master."

Looking at the words left on the stone platform, Li Mo came back to himself.

After hesitating for a moment, he shook his head, sat down on the ground, and began tempering his body.

The further one went with martial techniques, the more the difficulty multiplied.

Seventy-six years of martial comprehension was not enough to push Fire Crane Thousand Feathers to the transformation realm.

If he saved up a hundred years' worth, he could give it a try.

Thinking of this, he cast his gaze toward the stone wall not far away.

"From the first day I entered Divine Blade Cave, I felt like something was calling to me."

"But there's clearly no path ahead."

"Could it be that I have to smash this stone wall?"

At the entrance of Divine Blade Cave.

Everyone fell silent.

Because Yin Huacheng, who had still been so high and mighty before, was now walking out from the cave entrance in quite a sorry state.

His eyes were filled with gloomy fury, the cloud-patterned robes on his body torn into strips, and blood marks covered him from head to toe.

The injuries he had suffered were not serious. After all, those famed weapons had no one controlling them and had only activated on their own. With his physique, it amounted to little more than some superficial wounds.

But what he could not understand was that every famous weapon rejected him with utter hostility, yet flocked eagerly to a newly initiated disciple.

It was no different from chasing a goddess for years, only for her to turn around and throw herself into the arms of a strange man she had only known for a few days.

It was enough to make him die of rage!

"I'm still not strong enough."

Yin Huacheng clenched his fists and walked to the rear mountain of Divine Weapon Peak.

From far away, he could see someone waiting there.

The man was tall and burly. It was Futu.

"What happened to you?"

Seeing him in such a wretched state, Futu could not help raising a brow.

"Where's the new vessel I asked for?"

Yin Huacheng stood with his hands behind his back and did not answer his question.

"His name is Wang Hu. Tiger arms, leopard waist. I've already fed him the Beast Seed."

A sneer touched the corner of Futu's mouth. "He even thanked me for it."

"Good."

Yin Huacheng nodded, his eyes flickering.

Futu knew he was the sort who could not stomach the slightest loss, so he added, "You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. You'd better follow the old rules and wait until the sect trial before making your move."

"I know what I'm doing."

Yin Huacheng sounded somewhat impatient.

A moment later, he spoke again.

"Recently, there should be a batch of outer sect disciples leaving the sect and returning home."

"You're not even letting them off?"

Futu carefully studied his expression.

Yin Huacheng snorted coldly. "They took the benefits of the Clear Abyss Sect. How could it be that easy to return home in glory? Those useless wastes can still give off a little residual heat for me. That counts as fortune from three lifetimes for them."

Hundred Beast Blood Refining. No wonder it was a forbidden art.

Practice it too much, and even your brain would start going wrong.

Futu sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he put on a hesitant look.

"Don't forget who vouched for you to enter the Clear Abyss Sect."

A thread of threat entered Yin Huacheng's tone.

Futu had never intended to refuse in the first place. After showing just the right hint of reluctance, he nodded.

"Fine. I'll think of a way for you."

Futu was just about to leave, but he had not taken two steps

when Yin Huacheng's questioning voice came from behind him again.

"That newly promoted true disciple surnamed Li—what's his background?"

"He's the sole seedling of Jade Cluster Peak."

Futu narrowed his eyes with a smile that was not quite a smile. "You'd best not get any ideas about him. If you make Shang Wu furious, even Peak Master Yin won't be able to protect you."

"Jade Cluster Peak... Li Mo."

Yin Huacheng murmured to himself, as if he meant to carve the name into his heart.

The fourth level of Divine Blade Cave!

Only the elders of the various peaks, or a Divine Observation Realm expert with fully mastered external cultivation, could possibly enter and face a Mystic Weapon directly.

That brat definitely had some extraordinary treasure on him!

Yes, it had to be because of an extraordinary treasure.

The anger in Yin Huacheng's heart dispersed, replaced by a thick, burning heat.