A Divine Treasure

The Godslayer Sword in Tang Xuan's hand began absorbing the power spilling from the divine origin grass on its own, and he clearly felt the baleful energy within him settle considerably. That baleful energy resided in the Godslayer Sword, and its presence had always been a grave hidden danger to him. His violent killing aura was all too easily influenced by it. The two clung to him like festering sores embedded in bone, and removing them was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

With the divine origin grass's help, however, removing it would become much easier. As the Godslayer Sword devoured it, the energy spilling from the divine origin grass rapidly diminished. Perhaps letting the sword continue absorbing it would break the restriction surrounding the grass, leaving this supreme treasure within easy reach. Tang Xuan looked at the divine origin grass before him, then planted the Godslayer Sword in the opening of the boulder so it could keep devouring the grass's power.

Tang Xuan lowered his head and discovered something else unusual. Beside the spot where the divine origin grass grew was a small hollow filled with dark yellow liquid, which flowed out through a narrow crack in the ground. He noticed that the liquid was brimming with spiritual qi. Curious, he walked around behind the boulder and followed the little crack to investigate.

The crack led straight to the magma fissure several dozen meters away where those Lava People had been born. He first walked to its edge. As the dark yellow liquid slowly dripped into the magma, dozens of Lava People took shape within it and soon began climbing the rock walls.

Tang Xuan blocked the opening with a stone, took out an empty medicine bottle, and pushed it into the crack to catch the dripping dark yellow liquid. He glanced at the climbing Lava People. Sword energy gathered at his fingertips, and he thrust out his fingers like a sword, sending the energy sweeping through the air. Every Lava Person climbing upward was killed in an instant. Once again using his fingers as a sword, Tang Xuan struck the opposite rock wall. His sword energy brought it crashing down, burying the magma below.

The liquid held an absurd abundance of spiritual qi. It seemed the magma had drawn on its power to coalesce into those forms. Otherwise, with no spiritual qi in the surroundings, the underground magma could not have amounted to anything like this even after tens of thousands of years.

The little bottle soon caught all the dark yellow liquid remaining in the crack, and Tang Xuan returned to the central boulder. He guessed that the liquid was moisture the divine origin grass had absorbed from the air, then separated out and discharged through its roots. Having been imbued with the grass's spiritual essence, even this water had become a treasure.

"I can't let this go to waste." Tang Xuan took out several small bottles and began filling them with the dark yellow liquid. As he reached into the hollow, some splashed onto a wound on his hand, and the wound healed immediately.

"Whoa, this water can even do something that amazing!" Tang Xuan exclaimed.

"With healing power like this, calling it water of life wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

"Can't waste it. Absolutely can't waste it." Working with both hands, he quickened his movements and bottled the liquid. Including the small bottle he had filled at the crack, Tang Xuan collected eleven bottles of water of life. The hollow, which had nearly been overflowing moments earlier, was now drained to the bottom. Tang Xuan removed his upper garments, revealing his muscular body. He had accumulated many scars since becoming a Soul Master, as well as several minor wounds from his recent battles with the Lava People. He tore a scrap of cloth from his clothes and placed it at the bottom of the hollow, soaking up every last trace of water of life. Then he used it to wipe the scars on his body. Each scar vanished as soon as he wiped it, and the skin touched by the water of life became as soft and delicate as a newborn's. Once he finished, he took a fresh robe from his Heaven and Earth Ring and put it on.

His long hair flowed freely over his tall, straight frame. The Gray-White Robe further accentuated his extraordinary, otherworldly bearing. After storing the eleven bottles of water of life in his Heaven and Earth Ring, Tang Xuan sat cross-legged on the ground to receive and refine the spiritual energy and divinity the Godslayer Sword had devoured.

Although I can't obtain the divine origin grass and root out the baleful energy within me yet, I can't let it grow unchecked. Once the evil thoughts mixed into my killing aura and baleful energy develop into an inner demon, they'll become even harder to deal with. The divine power spilling from the divine origin grass should suppress it and slowly wear away a small portion. Within his sea of consciousness, he sat cross-legged in the void. Before him was a mass of black energy bound by chains formed from the power of divinity. To escape its restraints, it occasionally assumed the forms of people Tang Xuan cared about, trying to shake his resolve.

"Brother, stop! It's me, Xiao San!" Tang San's face appeared, twisted with pain. Next came Tang Hao. "Xiao Xuan, I'm your father!" Then came Grandmaster. "Xiao Xuan, I'm your teacher! I'm the one who guided you onto the path of a Soul Master!" The forms conjured by the black energy were incredibly lifelike, but no matter how many transformations it made, Tang Xuan remained unmoved. He did not even open his eyes. He was staking everything on stripping the black energy from his body completely. Although it resided in the Godslayer Sword, it had invaded his body over this period. Tearing it out was like scraping poison from his bones. Every moment brought immense pain, as though his bones were being smashed to pieces.

Through Tang Xuan's persistence, wisps of black energy were stripped from his body and merged back into the main mass. Yet that mass did not seem to grow larger. Instead, it shrank considerably. Sweat covered Tang Xuan's forehead. Gritting his teeth, he continued using the pure power of divinity to suppress the black energy and prevent it from growing further. Once he obtained the divine origin grass, dealing with it would be easier. The weaker he made it, the less of the grass's power he would need to expend. The divine origin grass was a heaven-sent opportunity; wasting it here would be a terrible pity.

Time slipped away, second by second, until an entire month had passed. Although Tang Xuan remained in meditation, his spiritual power still sensed the outside world. He was keenly aware of time passing and the restriction around the divine origin grass weakening. He had forced all the baleful energy out of his body and compressed it into the Godslayer Sword.

During this time, he had deeply experienced the benefits of divinity's power. Once refined, the divinity flowed into his body and nourished it. The divinity spilling out could not be wasted either. For a Soul Master seeking to reach level one hundred and become a god, divinity was a key. The so-called affinity accumulated through Divine Trials was actually the process of accumulating divinity. Once enough had been accumulated and soul power had been converted into divine power, the opportunity to become a god would arise. Tang Xuan continued absorbing the divinity. Even a tiny sparrow still offered a mouthful of meat. Refining it through his cultivation art and merging it into himself would also greatly benefit his physique.

The power of divinity poured into his soul cores, beginning to illuminate the first one as golden power filled it. Then the second and third soul cores were dyed gold in succession. Nourished by divinity, the three great soul cores began spinning rapidly, shining brightly within Tang Xuan as golden light circulated without cease. His soul power was also undergoing a qualitative transformation, rising toward a higher level and greater purity. Even his body radiated golden light, making him look incomparably sacred. It veiled his cold, savage aura and released an air of peace and serenity.

As his Nine-Turn God-Slaying Art circulated, it quietly broke through to the third layer, and his soul power naturally reached level forty!

Throughout this entire process, Tang Xuan had absorbed only a third of the divinity spilling from the divine origin grass. He intended to carry his momentum through and refine all the remaining divinity before collecting the grass. That would give him a better chance of success.

The divine origin grass's divinity may be excellent, but ultimately, it's still the grass's power, not mine. Only what belongs to me truly suits me best. I must forge a path of my own. These treasures can help me, but I cannot become dependent on them. Only by refining away the divine origin grass's aura can I turn it into my own power. As Tang Xuan continued absorbing it, the energy spilling from the divine origin grass diminished considerably, and its radiance grew fainter.

The source of the black energy lay hidden within the Godslayer Sword, which served as Tang Xuan's medium for absorbing the divine origin grass's divinity. As divinity entered the sword, it suppressed the black energy to a degree. The Godslayer Sword had become eerily sinister, but now its black energy was being restrained by divinity. Some of the dark, savage energy surrounding the blade dissipated, revealing its original dark blue sword light.