Earthly Fiend Divine Ability: Sword Art

Bai Xue seemed startled by the ugly soul body. With a shriek of "Meow, meow, meow!" she leaped from Shen Yuan's shoulder and darted beneath the collapsed bed.

Shen Yuan's heart jolted as well. Just as he was about to strike at the soul before him, the ugly spirit took the initiative to beg for mercy.

"Senior, please be magnanimous and spare this lowly one!"

"I know many secrets—how to control this sword, methods of artifact refinement, and long-lost spells and divine abilities.

As long as you spare me, I'll tell you everything!"

Shen Yuan halted his movement, his gaze deep and steady as he carefully examined the ugly soul body before him.

It seemed to have endured inhuman torment in life. Dense resentment lingered upon it, sustaining its soul form before others.

Yet it possessed not the slightest cultivation or magical power. It was nothing like a ghost cultivator, and instead more closely resembled an ordinary person whose soul had left the body.

Moreover, the ugly soul body seemed linked to the Candle Dragon Immortal Sword's aura, even relying to some extent on the bone-chilling cold radiating from it.

There was something about it that felt rather familiar to Shen Yuan.

Suddenly, Shen Yuan turned his gaze toward Old Master Fu, who had already collapsed in the room.

The soul that had possessed Old Master Fu had vanished from his body, while his original soul was now awakening.

Understanding flashed through Shen Yuan's eyes. "So it was you!"

This ugly soul body was the very person who had previously possessed Old Master Fu.

"I thought you controlled this sword. I never expected that you had sacrificed yourself to the sword, borrowing its power to possess another's body.

"Your soul dwells within the sword. During the possession process, the sword cannot leave that body. Otherwise, once the possession fails, you will return to the sword.

"That is why, after I trapped the Bronze Ancient Sword, you suddenly lost control of Old Master Fu's body."

At this point, Shen Yuan could not help clicking his tongue in wonder.

"I thought you had enough talent and brilliance to subdue this sword. Yet though you appeared to be its master, you were, in essence, merely a Sword Slave dependent on this sword."

How could the Sword Slave dare refute him now? He forced a fawning smile onto his ugly face.

"Senior is indeed vastly experienced and knowledgeable. Lowly people like us have no hope of immortality, so we could only resort to this desperate measure for a chance to step onto the path of cultivation."

"Ten thousand years ago, the immortals foresaw through Heaven-Earth Severance that spiritual energy would inevitably wither in the future. Thus, together with the deities, they set the Spirit Tide in motion and decreed that it would return every three thousand years.

"This sword has endured who knew how many cycles of spiritual energy's decline. Its blade is battered and ruined, yet even so, it still retains the power of a magical artifact. Its origins must be extraordinary.

"I exhausted my thoughts and painstakingly studied for decades before, in an age of depleted spiritual energy, developing the method of sacrificing myself to the sword to obtain a trace of permission to control this ancient sword.

"My offense against Senior this time was entirely because I failed to recognize Mount Tai. I am willing to become Senior's Sword Slave and assist Senior in wielding this sword."

The Sword Slave had humbled himself greatly, but he was also deliberately reminding Shen Yuan that ordinary methods could not wield the Candle Dragon Immortal Sword.

Only with the aid of him, who had already become a Sword Slave, could one control this immortal sword.

This was his means of preserving his life. If Shen Yuan truly wished to obtain this precious magical artifact, he had to spare him.

Shen Yuan's brow rose imperceptibly. This was his first time hearing of the Spirit Tide returning every three thousand years. Though the Sword Slave was weak, he possessed quite a bit of information.

That alone was enough to make him valuable.

"You are right. The quickest way for me to master this sword is indeed to wield it through you.

"And I am also very interested in some of the information you know."

Joy immediately appeared on the Sword Slave's face, but Shen Yuan abruptly changed his tone in the next instant.

"But compared to a magical artifact that I cannot fully control, I prefer to strangle danger in its cradle."

The Sword Slave's smile instantly turned to panic. His soul body hurriedly fled into the Candle Dragon Immortal Sword as he roared angrily.

"Don't think that defeating me while I had a body means you can kill me.

"This sword's rank is far beyond your imagination. As long as the blade remains undamaged, your methods cannot harm me in the slightest!"

Holding the Candle Dragon Immortal Sword in his left hand, Shen Yuan looked toward Fu Hua, whose expression was somewhat panicked as he wondered what to do.

"Is there a meditation chamber?"

Fu Hua snapped awake from his earlier wild imaginings and answered repeatedly.

"Yes! Of course there is!"

Fu Hua then hurried ahead to lead Shen Yuan onward.

Carrying the Candle Dragon Immortal Sword, Shen Yuan followed behind as Fu Hua led him to a room in the corner of the second floor.

"This is the meditation chamber my father prepared before. Servants clean the house at all times, so it should be usable."

"May I ask whether Mr. Shen needs anything else prepared?"

Shen Yuan shook his head and walked into the meditation chamber, while Fu Hua tactfully prepared to leave.

Just then, Shen Yuan seemed to remember something and spoke to Fu Hua.

"Old Master Fu is already out of danger. The injuries on his right hand are nothing to him now; he only needs to rest and recuperate properly."

Upon hearing this, Fu Hua's face immediately lit up with wild joy.

After the battle had just ended, seeing Old Master Fu lying in a pool of blood, Fu Hua had thought Shen Yuan had failed to save him.

Now that Shen Yuan had given him this answer, it was nothing short of a delightful surprise.

"Thank you, Mr. Shen!"

Fu Hua thanked him again and again, but Shen Yuan merely waved a hand indifferently and shut the meditation chamber door.

This meditation chamber had been specially modified. The moment the door closed, all surrounding sounds vanished.

An incense burner and a meditation cushion sat in the center of the chamber. Holding the Candle Dragon Immortal Sword, Shen Yuan sat cross-legged upon the cushion.

Within the immortal sword, the Sword Slave's shrill voice was still clamoring.

"Don't waste your efforts. No matter what means you possess, you will never be able to damage this immortal sword in the slightest."

"This sword's power is beyond your imagination. If we work together with one heart, it may not be impossible for us to glimpse the realm of Qi Refinement Transformation in the future."

"If you continue like this, we will only end up mutually destroyed."

Shen Yuan ignored the Sword Slave's words.

His gaze fell upon the system interface as he silently thought.

"Claim the reward."

In the next instant, a small, exquisite, nearly transparent flying sword appeared before Shen Yuan.

The flying sword was less than the length of an index finger. The moment it appeared, it became a streak of light and pierced into Shen Yuan's brow. Then, Shen Yuan could clearly sense the flying sword appearing upon his spiritual platform.

Sword Art (Thirty-Eighth of the Earthly Fiend): Sword-Qi Unity, wield the sword with the spirit. This is the source of all sword arts in the world. No matter how infinitely myriad techniques transform, when the Primordial Spirit Sword emerges, all can be shattered with a single stroke!

The Earthly Baleful Sword Art divine ability seed fused into Shen Yuan's spiritual platform, and an aura began changing around him from the inside out.

At this moment, he seemed to embody a sword, becoming the source of countless sword arts. All techniques, spells, and divine abilities would bow before him.

For some reason, the Sword Slave hiding within the Candle Dragon Immortal Sword felt a trace of fear.

"No! Impossible! The Spirit Tide has only just returned. Absolutely no one can wield this sword!"

Shen Yuan brushed his fingers over the scabbard, then curled his index finger and flicked the Candle Dragon Immortal Sword.

"Hui Ming, it is time to awaken!"

A dragon's roar, as though descending from beyond the Ninth Heaven, resounded through heaven and earth. The rust-covered scabbard began to tremble ceaselessly, like a divine dragon bound in chains struggling to break free.

The divine sword that had slumbered for ten thousand years sought to descend upon the mortal world once more.

Ten thousand miles away, within the Sword Mound, one of Great Xia's Grotto-Heaven Paradises, Sword Qi crisscrossed the air as countless famous swords rang in unison, as though celebrating the return of an unparalleled immortal sword.

The many powerful figures within the Grotto-Heaven stared helplessly at the scene before them, while even more people forcibly suppressed their bonded life swords to prevent them from joining that chorus of sword cries.

The sword's cry circled the Grotto-Heaven for three days without ceasing!

Yet ten thousand miles away, the Candle Dragon Immortal Sword in Shen Yuan's hand ultimately fell silent once more. The shackles of ten thousand years were not so easily broken.

Only at the hilt did a speck of mottled rust flake away, swiftly dissolving into the air.

And dissipating alongside that rust was the Sword Slave's soul, which had already been shattered by the sword cry.