Blazing Sun Divine Flame, Burning Demons

But buying them a few breaths of time had already been enough.

In the sky, the Great Elder activated the Blazing Sun Divine Flame Formation. His snowy hair and beard whipped wildly as killing intent shot from his eyes.

"Bold fiends, you still dare run rampant."

"Behold my Blazing Sun Divine Flame!"

As his words fell, the Blazing Sun Divine Flame Orb in the heavens burst forth with incomparably dazzling radiance.

A pure stream of Blazing Sun Divine Flame descended from the sky, illuminating the pitch-black night and enveloping the demonic cultivators.

"Ah..."

The demonic cultivators' screams rang without end. Before flames that specifically countered demonic cultivators, even mid- to late-stage Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators would not dare touch them, much less a few mere Qi Refining realm demonic cultivators.

In just a single breath, the demonic cultivators were burned into tribulation ash. Even the Blood-Refining Demon Saber, that demon treasure, was refined away.

The demonic qi within it was burned clean, while its fierce baleful blood aura melted like ice and snow before the Blazing Sun Divine Flame. Only the pure Thousand-Year Scarlet Iron remained.

"Whew..."

Chen Nianzhi panted heavily. He stared solemnly at the Blood-Refining Demon Saber and could not help revealing a grave expression.

"A Tier 2 Low-grade demon treasure actually possessed such power."

Though this battle had begun suddenly and ended quickly, its dangers needed no explanation.

No one had expected those demonic cultivators to possess a Tier 2 demon treasure. They had nearly been caught completely off guard.

"They were Zhang Old Devil's men."

After the battle ended, Chen Changyan stepped forward and picked up the saber blank as he spoke.

"Throughout the Eastern Wilderness, only Demon Cave possesses the method for refining the Blood-Refining Demon Saber."

"Zhang Old Devil inherited a portion of Demon Cave's legacy. In all of Yu Commandery, he alone knows the refining method for this demon treasure."

Hearing this, the Great Elder said gravely, "Three years ago, when the Foundation Establishment Pills were being escorted, several Foundation Establishment Cultivators jointly besieged the Clan Chief."

"Zhang Old Devil also meddled in that battle. The Clan Chief destroyed his Life-bound Demon Treasure then. It seems he intended to refine another demon treasure."

Chen Nianzhi nodded slightly. The Clan Chief was, after all, one of Yu Commandery's only three Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators. Among the more than twenty Foundation Establishment Cultivators in Yu Commandery, he ranked among the top three.

With his cultivation, even while besieged by several Foundation Establishment Cultivators, he had still slain one of them. Zhang Old Devil naturally would not have fared well after attempting to attack him amid the chaos.

In truth, Zhang Old Devil's Life-bound Demon Treasure had been destroyed in that battle, and he had nearly been slain by Chen Changxuan. In the end, he had only barely escaped with his life by using the Blood Escape Art.

It was precisely because of this that Zhang Old Devil had been scared out of his wits after that battle. Even though he knew Clan Chief Chen Changxuan had been seriously wounded, he still did not dare personally take the field against the Chen Immortal Clan.

"That must have been the case."

Chen Changyan stroked his long beard, looking somewhat delightedly at the saber blank.

"To refine a demon treasure like the Blood-Refining Demon Saber, one is destined to bear immense karmic burden."

"Now that the Old Devil's scheme has failed and he has lost this incomparably precious saber blank, it is only fitting that he suffers such a calamity."

The others smiled as well.

The Blood-Refining Demon Saber was made of exceptionally extraordinary material, and the Thousand-Year Scarlet Iron used to forge its saber blank was also a precious Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.

Now that the Blazing Sun Divine Flame Formation had erased its Blood Baleful Intent, the Blood-Refining Demon Saber had become a pure magical artifact. Although its power had fallen drastically, it could still be considered a quasi-Tier 2 magical artifact.

"Unfortunately, the Clan Chief suffered grave injuries and cannot act for the time being, lest his wounds worsen."

"Otherwise..."

Chen Changyan trailed off and sighed again.

If this kind of Tier 2 precious iron fell into the hands of a highly skilled artifact refiner, and Tier 2 refining formation patterns were inscribed upon it, it could at least be forged into a Tier 2 magical artifact.

After speaking, he looked again at Chen Nianzhi. "In the battle just now, your flying sword clashed head-on with a demon treasure and has suffered great damage to its spirituality. I fear it will need many days of nurturing."

"In my view, this item should go to Little Nianzhi."

"This..." Chen Nianzhi hurriedly declined. "This item is far too precious. It would be better kept for the Clan Chief."

Chen Changyan shook his head. "To the Clan Chief, a quasi-Tier 2 magical artifact is nearly useless. On the contrary, it can greatly increase your combat strength."

"Besides, should you have the fortune to break through to Foundation Establishment in the future, you may melt this item down and use the Thousand-Year Scarlet Iron to forge a Life-bound Magical Treasure."

As the eldest cultivator in the Chen Clan aside from the Clan Chief, Chen Changyan held extremely high prestige.

Once he spoke, the others naturally had no objections. The Great Elder was the first to support him.

"Among the Lineage, your talent is the highest. The Lineage will have to rely on you in the future."

"Take it. With this saber in hand, you will have one more means of dealing with demonic cultivators should you encounter them again."

"Besides, doesn't the Lineage still owe you more than two hundred Spirit Stones? Consider this payment of the debt."

Hearing this, Chen Nianzhi no longer exchanged courtesies. He accepted the saber blank and looked at it with delight.

He caressed it for a while, unable to put it down, before finally storing it away and saying with a smile,

"Let this be valued at fifteen hundred Clan Merit."

"My Spirit Peaches are now entering the Clan Treasury. I earn quite a bit of merit every year with nowhere to spend it."

The Clan Chief's Tier 2 Mid-grade Life-bound Magical Treasure had sold for only two thousand Spirit Stones back then, while an ordinary Tier 2 Low-grade Magic Treasure was worth merely around one thousand Spirit Stones.

However, this blank was no ordinary item. Thousand-Year Scarlet Iron was a Tier 2 Top-grade refining material, so valuing it at fifteen hundred was fairly reasonable.

In the future, thirty Spirit Peaches from his annual yield would enter the Clan Treasury, earning him one hundred and fifty merit each year. In roughly ten years, he would be able to settle this account.

In a few words, they had divided this precious treasure, then turned their gazes toward the others nearby.

Although the Chen Clan had slain several demonic cultivators in this battle, they had not come through unscathed. The main reason was that they had suffered greatly from the Blood-Refining Demon Saber.

Han Mo had caught everyone off guard in this battle. A single demon saber had displayed tremendous might, killing three Chen Clan cultivators in an extremely short time, while another four or five had suffered serious injuries.

The pensions for the fallen cultivators and the healing expenses for the injured cultivators would both be no small expenditure.

After some discussion, the injured cultivators were awarded one to ten years of salary according to the severity of their injuries.

As for the three fallen cultivators, their descendants would be granted three hundred to five hundred Clan Merit according to their cultivation levels. If they had no descendants with Spirit Roots, it would be recorded in the accounts. Should cultivators emerge among their descendants in the future, the merit would then be credited to them.

Chen Nianzhi knew this work had to be done. If those who died for the Lineage received no compensation, who would be willing to fight for the Lineage in the future?

If a cultivation Lineage could not do even this, its people's hearts would inevitably scatter over time. Like a heap of loose sand, it would sooner or later vanish like passing clouds and drifting smoke.

The Chen Immortal Clan had existed for several hundred years, and its cohesion had always been strong. Naturally, it would not fail to recognize this.

Moreover, considering that the Clan Treasury was now empty and Clan Merit could not be exchanged for Spirit Stones or supplies, Chen Nianzhi and several other elders pooled over a hundred Spirit Stones to first pay out part of the compensation in cash.