Pei Ye found a tail end, laid a finger against it, and began trying to absorb it.
"Be careful. They can still cause harm." Ming Qitian stood ready to intervene at any moment.
But the Dragon Blood clung together extremely tightly. Pei Ye tried for a quarter of an hour before two crystal fragments finally broke away from the main mass and slowly swam through the Sword Body toward his finger.
Ming Qitian flicked a finger, sending a wisp of white true qi around Pei Ye's finger, ready to protect him at any moment.
Like tadpoles, the two crystal fragments swam closer and closer, finally emerging from the Sword Body and pressing against the pad of Pei Ye's finger. He felt a cold sting, and his hand jerked away from the sword.
The coiled white true qi immediately darted into Pei Ye's finger like a swift catching an insect.
"No, there's no need." Pei Ye raised his hand. "It has no desire to hurt me."
The two ice crystals entered his body, then rapidly broke down, melting into a thin thread of Dragon Blood that entered his Dantian. A moment later, it emerged as pure true qi and joined the slender stream.
They could indeed still cause harm. Even now, they were biting away at this Famous Sword without a moment's pause, but the instinct to bite was all they had left.
With the Immortal Lord dead, they had lost their sentience. The last command they had received was simply to destroy this Famous Sword.
They were now a nest of snakes that had sunk their teeth into Heart-Slaying Glaze and refused to let go. Pei Ye seized their tails and strained to pull them out. They certainly still had the ability to turn around and bite him, but no