Refining the Sword into Threads, Demon Beasts Stir
At Demon-Suppressing Pass, in the Kong Household's quarters, inside a secret chamber for secluded cultivation.
A white peacock feather hung upside down before Kong Wenxuan. The entire feather had now taken the shape of a sword, just one step away from becoming the White Metal Divine Sword.
He circulated the Law Power in his Dantian's Qi sea and formed seals with his hands, sending the final set of artifact-refining restrictions for the White Metal Divine Sword into the white peacock feather.
At once, a ray of spiritual light resembling Sword Qi shot from the sword-shaped feather. It swallowed the last bit of Dark Iron spiritual metal beneath it and completely refined it.
Buzz!
In that instant, the white peacock feather buzzed and shook. White metal sword light flowed over it, completely shaping it into the First-Tier Superior-Grade Law Artifact, the White Metal Divine Sword. At the same time, a stream of Law Power refined through the sword flowed into his Dantian's Qi sea, breaking through the bottleneck and exceeding its limits. It pushed his Law Power cultivation up to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.
Refining the sword was refining Qi!
A year and three months had passed since the Du Household moved the Dark Iron spiritual mine. Because the Du Household had promised to offset a year and a half of taxes, Kong Wenxuan had spent most of that time in the Lineage's quarters at Demon-Suppressing Pass, refining the White Metal Divine Sword and cultivating his Qi.
Now, after a year and three months, he had finally used the white peacock feather to completely devour and refine nine pieces of First-Tier Superior-Grade Dark Iron spiritual metal. He had completed the White Metal Divine Sword, the last of the Five Elements Divine Swords, and smoothly broken through to the final layer of the Qi Refinement Realm, the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.
It could be said that his cultivation at the first-tier Qi Refinement Realm was now essentially complete. Next, he needed to focus on how to safely attempt a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm, and on successfully inlaying a star if possible as he advanced, raising the Lineage's Peacock Bloodline to the rank of a Ninth-Grade True Spirit.
The year and three months of cultivation had taken roughly as long as he had calculated.
Kong Wenxuan guided the newly completed White Metal Divine Sword as it circled him, experiencing its power and mysteries.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and the sword seal formed by his hand abruptly changed. The White Metal Divine Sword circling him instantly stretched and grew thinner, becoming a golden thread that sliced into the floor before him.
Without a sound, the golden thread cut an extremely fine fissure in the floor, extending who knew how deep.
Only after a long while did he summon the golden thread back from the fissure of unknown depth. It became the White Metal Divine Sword again and circled him.
That was the mystery and power of the White Metal Divine Sword: Refining the Sword into Threads!
Refining the Sword into Threads brought extreme killing power, destructive power, and offensive power through extreme sharpness. Within the same tier, it could be said that nothing could stop it.
With that, Kong Wenxuan had successfully refined all five peacock feathers of five colors formed by his Bloodline Divine Ability into their corresponding Five Elements Divine Swords. The mysteries and powers of all five swords had now revealed themselves.
The Azure Wood Divine Sword's Sword Light Differentiation, the Black Water Divine Sword's Sword Momentum Like the Tide, the Crimson Fire Divine Sword's Sword Qi Thunderclap, the White Metal Divine Sword's Refining the Sword into Threads, and the Yellow Earth Divine Sword's edgeless heavy sword, whose great craftsmanship needed no ornament!
With the mysterious powers of these five Five Elements Divine Swords, strengthened by his Bloodline Divine Ability and capable of being unleashed at will, Kong Wenxuan was confident that among those of the same tier, whether Qi Refinement Realm cultivators or first-tier Demon Beasts, he would have great difficulty finding an opponent who could withstand five strikes of his swords.
Even against a Foundation Establishment cultivator or a second-tier Demon Beast a tier above him, as long as he could withstand the pressure of the opponent's Spiritual Consciousness, Kong Wenxuan would first swing his swords and ask who would win and who would lose.
As these thoughts turned in his mind, Kong Wenxuan summoned the other four divine swords from his Dantian's Qi sea. Each of the Five Elements Divine Swords shone with mysterious sword light as they circled him. For a time, the room where he cultivated in seclusion seemed filled with brilliant sword light and piercing Sword Qi.
Kong Wenxuan controlled all five Five Elements Divine Swords at once, sending them crisscrossing through the little room and weaving them into a net. Fierce as flood dragons, graceful as swimming fish, fluttering like butterflies, and heavy as mountains, they moved entirely at his command without causing the slightest damage to the room.
However, although each of the five swords had its own mysterious powers and all moved at his command, Kong Wenxuan could only control them as they fought separately, managing a little simple coordination at most. He could not easily combine them into a sword formation to increase their combat power.
That was an inheritance from the Five Elements True Scripture that he could only study, cultivate, and master after advancing to the Foundation Establishment Realm, opening his Sea of Consciousness, and gaining control of his Spiritual Consciousness.
Thus, after controlling the five swords as they crisscrossed the secret chamber and taking some time to familiarize himself with them, Kong Wenxuan chose to come out of seclusion.
The Kong Household's quarters at Demon-Suppressing Pass were deserted. Apart from Kong Wenxuan, who had been cultivating in seclusion, only his eldest brother Kong Wenzhang and fourth sister Kong Wenjun were there. His eldest uncle, third aunt, fifth uncle, and the others were not at Demon-Suppressing Pass, but were scouting and searching for resources and spiritual objects in the mountains beyond it.
Although Du Zhimin had exempted the Kong Household from taxes for a year and a half because of the Dark Iron vein they had been forced to offer up, that was not the whole story.
Over the past year or more, his eldest uncle and the others had scarcely rested at Demon-Suppressing Pass. They had still spent most of their time scouting and searching for resources and spiritual objects in the mountains beyond it.
After all, without the tax requirement, almost everything they obtained beyond the pass during that time belonged to the Lineage and themselves.
Naturally, his eldest uncle Kong Yushuo and the others were all the more motivated to search for resources beyond the pass.
In any case, apart from Kong Wenxuan, almost everyone who came to serve at Demon-Suppressing Pass had long since cultivated to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer and could rise no further.
They simply lacked the confidence to successfully suppress the demonic nature in their bloodlines and break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, let alone inlay a star during Foundation Establishment and raise the Lineage's bloodline to that of a Ninth-Grade True Spirit.
Thus, over the past few years, his eldest uncle and the others had essentially given up on advancing their cultivation and instead spent most of their time gathering resources and spiritual objects for the Lineage.
His eldest brother Kong Wenzhang, fourth sister Kong Wenjun, and the others were much the same. They had stayed at the Lineage's quarters in Demon-Suppressing Pass only because they needed to stand guard while Kong Wenxuan cultivated in seclusion.
As soon as Kong Wenxuan came out of seclusion, he saw his eldest brother and fourth sister waiting to greet him. At the sight of him, his eldest brother immediately smiled and said, "Cousin Wenxuan, I just sensed a terrifying burst of sword intent from your secluded chamber. It gave even me a dreadful, chilling feeling, as if blades and axes were upon me."
"I knew you must have finished refining your divine sword! And sure enough, you came out of seclusion soon afterward. Congratulations! Congratulations!"
Behind him, fourth sister Kong Wenjun, a woman with a quiet, ladylike appearance, also offered her congratulations with a smile across her face.
"Many thanks to you both for standing guard for me, eldest brother, fourth sister."
Kong Wenxuan was also smiling broadly. He thanked the two for standing guard during his seclusion and offered them a few congratulations in return.
The three then spoke of the recent situation in and around Demon-Suppressing Pass, as well as how his eldest uncle and the others were faring beyond it.
On the whole, during the year or more that Kong Wenxuan had spent in seclusion, concentrating on refining the White Metal Divine Sword and making a push for the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, things had been relatively peaceful both inside and outside Demon-Suppressing Pass. Nothing major had happened.
The Du Household had organized no offensive beyond the pass, and the various forces outside showed no intention of attacking Demon-Suppressing Pass. Even the members of the Lang Household, who had disappeared over a year ago, had yet to send any news and showed no intention of returning for revenge.
Consequently, his eldest uncle and the others had also been operating quite smoothly beyond the pass. They had encountered no great dangers and would return safely again in two months at most.
But just as Kong Wenxuan and the others thought the next two months would also pass peacefully, only one month went by before news suddenly arrived from beyond the pass. Large numbers of Demon Beasts were running rampant in the mountains south of Demon-Suppressing Pass, causing considerable casualties among the cultivators and others living, exploring, and gathering resources in the mountains beyond the pass.
The rampaging Demon Beasts even showed signs of gathering into a horde to attack Demon-Suppressing Pass.