Half-Knowing, Half-Understanding, Dimly Understanding

At this moment, Li Zhengyuan found himself in an utterly absurd state.

To him, there were countless unknown mysteries and bewildering questions surrounding his very existence.

But after thinking it over, he simply gritted his teeth. Forget it! As the saying goes, when there are too many lice, you stop worrying about the itch. Why bother with so much?

Then he abruptly turned his head, and his gaze was instantly drawn to the mysterious Ginseng Fruit Tree behind him.

The towering tree seemed alive, swaying its thick, luxuriant branches in the breeze as though warmly waving to people.

At the same time, the Ginseng Fruits covering the tree flickered in and out of sight amid the leaves like mischievous little spirits, giving off wisps of immortal aura that made one unable to look away.

Li Zhengyuan stared at the miraculous sight before him and thought to himself, It seems the rich wood aura permeating this place is continuously supplied by this Ginseng Fruit Tree.

With that thought, he placed several degrees more importance on the Ginseng Fruit Tree. After all, not just anyone could possess a Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Root.

He then sorted through his treasures. He had the Earth Book, transformed from the Heaven-Earth Fetal Membrane. It was also a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure, only a thread away from becoming an Innate Supreme Treasure. In terms of defense, only a handful could compare to it. The Cloud of All Heavens, the Dao of Heaven exotic treasure that Primordial Heavenly Venerable would possess in the future, was one; Laozi's Black-Yellow Pagoda, a postnatal supreme treasure formed from Pangu's Merit, was another. The rest might not necessarily surpass his treasure.

He had no worries regarding defense. He also possessed the Yang-Earth Apricot-Yellow Banner, one of the Five Directional Banners, and could use it after refining it slightly.

But he lacked a treasure suited for offense. That was somewhat regrettable.

He turned to look at the Ginseng Fruit Tree again. This was a Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Root. If he took a branch and refined it a little, it should make a fine magic treasure.

Thus, Li Zhengyuan stepped forward without hesitation and gently stroked the thick trunk.

Miraculously, the Ginseng Fruit Tree seemed to be in perfect accord with him and instantly understood the thoughts deep within his heart.

Its massive body trembled slightly, and then a branch brimming with dense origin aura drifted leisurely down from the air.

A flash of delight appeared in Li Zhengyuan's eyes. He used his mana again and turned his gaze toward the deeply hidden Geng Metal Ore Vein underground.

With a light sweep of his hands, an invisible force snaked out like a giant python and swiftly swept toward the ore vein.

Before long, a piece of high-quality, brilliantly shining Refined Geng Metal was successfully refined.

Looking at the Refined Geng Metal and the Ginseng Fruit Tree branch before him, Li Zhengyuan fell into thought. What kind of magic treasure would be most suitable to refine them into?

Since he wanted a treasure with formidable offensive power, why not refine them into an incomparably sharp sword? As for weapons such as halberds and spears, he truly had little interest in them.

By comparison, becoming a free and elegant sword immortal, roaming the world with a sword at his side, better suited his wishes—one sword in hand, he could freely settle grudges and sever all karmic entanglements in the world.

With his mind made up, Li Zhengyuan immediately began. He first circulated the vast mana within his body, drawing upon the raging earthfire underground, while igniting Sovereign Fire, Minister Fire, and Commoner Fire within his chest.

The three flames merged together, forming the immensely powerful Samadhi True Fire. Then, at times, he used internal refinement methods to guide the true fire into the magic treasure and carefully temper it; at other times, he employed external refinement techniques, allowing the true fire to envelop the entire sword body and burn it repeatedly. Moreover, he skillfully used the four qi of metal, wood, water, and earth within his chest to temper the treasure, making its material increasingly tough.

Whenever the heat reached the perfect point, he used the power of Jia Wood to draw down rolling heavenly lightning from the skies, ruthlessly striking the still-unformed sword with it. Deafening booms rang out, like the crisp, resounding hammer blows of a blacksmith forging iron.

And so, Li Zhengyuan devoted himself entirely to the long and arduous refining process. Time flowed on, years flashed past, and before he knew it, a full nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years had gone by.

After such prolonged tempering, an unparalleled divine sword was finally born! Its entire body gleamed with icy light, as cold and piercing as winter snow and ice. At the same time, it radiated a terrifying killing intent, as though it could effortlessly tear apart the void.

Yet Li Zhengyuan was not satisfied. He continued using his own pure and rich true qi for the sword's final tempering. Gradually, its originally peerless killing aura began to fade, replaced by a vast, righteous energy that made the entire sword seem naturally formed and perfectly whole.

After nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years, the sword was finally complete.

"Heh, what a fine sword!"