This demonic blade, which can only be forged using the Demon Marrow Drill, has such a fearsome reputation that anyone who hears of it would be startled.
It is said that this treasure possesses a sinister ability to absorb the flesh, blood, essence, and soul of slain cultivators, refining them into its own power. In other words, the more cultivators it kills, the stronger the blade becomes. In the past, a demonic cultivator even wielded the Demon Dragon Blade to slay a cultivator at the Deity Transformation stage.
Thus, many believe that given enough time and continuous refinement through slaughter, this blade could even surpass the might of a Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure.
Of course, both the Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure and the Demon Dragon Blade have long vanished from the human realm, making any real comparison impossible. Yet, when the elder of the Yin Luo Sect suddenly mentioned this treasure, Han Li’s expression darkened noticeably.
“If it’s only seventy to eighty percent similar, and given his cultivation level, there was still a chance for his Nascent Soul to escape, then it likely wasn’t the Demon Dragon Blade. It might be another rare demonic treasure,” Gui Ling, who had been silently listening to their conversation, remarked with a flicker in her eyes.
“That should be the case,” Han Li nodded.
He then raised his head and gazed intently toward the direction of the Demon Tower. Indeed, part of the distant mountain peak seemed to have vanished.
“Kunwu Mountain is hailed as the ‘Fairyland of the Human Realm,’ so it’s no surprise that a Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure would appear here,” he murmured, his heart pounding slightly as he thought of the Void Heaven Cauldron in his possession.
With Gui Ling’s assistance and the humanoid puppet, he might just have a chance to seize this treasure. Moreover, he had obtained seven or eight high-grade spirit stones from Qian Laomo’s storage pouch, greatly alleviating his concerns about using the puppet.
“Master! Let’s go take a look. For some reason, ever since leaving the hall, I’ve felt something amiss. It’s as if something from the direction of the Demon-Suppressing Tower is calling to me. It feels familiar, as if it’s related to my lost memories,” Silvermoon suddenly spoke hesitantly in Han Li’s mind.
“Something is calling you?” Han Li was startled.
“Yes. I have a vague feeling that if I miss this opportunity, I might lose the chance to recover all my memories,” Silvermoon’s voice carried a rare note of pleading.
Han Li fell silent. After a long pause, he suddenly chuckled and said in a seemingly light tone, “Since you put it that way, let’s go take a look. After all, I’m quite interested in this Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure myself.”
“Thank you, Master!” Silvermoon replied joyfully.
“Fellow Daoist Gui, since a Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure has appeared over there, it seems we can’t avoid joining the commotion,” Han Li turned to Gui Ling and said slowly.
“I defer to your decision, Fellow Daoist. However, what should we do with this one?” Gui Ling bowed slightly, her expression unchanged.
With such a treasure appearing, no cultivator could simply ignore it. She had anticipated Han Li’s change of heart and wasn’t surprised.
“You promised not to harm me! That’s why I told you everything I knew!” the Nascent Soul trapped by the giant hand cried out in panic.
“I never said I wouldn’t harm you earlier, nor did I say I would. Besides, you know full well that refusing to speak would only have prolonged your suffering. Blame your misfortune for being a Yin Luo Sect elder who happened to fall into my hands,” Han Li said nonchalantly before opening his mouth and releasing a thick golden arc that struck the Nascent Soul.
A scream later, both the Nascent Soul and the giant hand dissipated into golden light, leaving behind a pale green banner.
Han Li’s eyes lit up as he flicked his sleeve, drawing the banner into his hand for closer inspection.
It was another Yin Luo Banner!
Through soul-searching, Han Li knew this banner was extraordinary. If all eighteen banners were gathered, their combined power would be unimaginable.
Having already made enemies with the Yin Luo Sect, he saw no reason to hold back and promptly stored the banner in his pouch.
Even if this treasure was of limited use to him, he wouldn’t let the Yin Luo Sect easily complete the set.
Throughout its history, the Yin Luo Sect had lost or destroyed some of these banners, but given their influence, they either recovered them quickly or forged new ones.
However, such incidents were rare. With several banners now missing, even the Yin Luo Sect’s vast resources wouldn’t make it easy to replace them. And even if they did, restoring the banners to their full power would take considerable time.
“Let’s go. Who knows if someone’s already claimed the treasure,” Han Li muttered, glancing toward the Demon-Suppressing Tower before descending the stone steps with Gui Ling close behind.
Ancient restrictions lined both sides of the steps, preventing any shortcuts to the tower.
This time, Han Li ignored the signs of battle along the way and soon returned to the white jade plaza where they had started, then ascended the steps leading to the Demon-Suppressing Tower.
Not far along, they encountered another chaotic scene—craters and scattered rubble everywhere.
Han Li paid it no mind and was about to pass through when Gui Ling let out a low exclamation and looked toward a particular spot.
Puzzled—he had sensed nothing—Han Li followed her gaze and noticed something unusual.
Beneath a pile of unremarkable rubble protruded a small, pale object: a skeletal arm.
With a flick of his sleeve, a gust of azure wind scattered the rubble, revealing a prone skeleton.
Han Li’s expression changed.
The clothing and hairstyle adorning the bones were unmistakably familiar—it was the Nine Serenities Sect’s Elder Fu. The Purple Nether Pearl, clutched in one bony hand, was shattered beyond repair.
Han Li said nothing, his eyes flickering as he stared silently.
“After all the effort he put into refining the Nascent Soul Nurturing Pill, to think he’d perish here… The path of cultivation is truly unpredictable,” he sighed after a long moment, his voice tinged with complexity.
Though he hadn’t been close to Elder Fu, seeing someone he’d recently traveled with meet such an inexplicable end left him with a strange sense of melancholy.
“Do you know this man, Fellow Daoist Han? His death seems peculiar. Though he appears to have died recently, his flesh and blood were mysteriously stripped away. There’s no sign of his Nascent Soul escaping either. And this wound on his back…” Gui Ling trailed off, eyeing a narrow, unnatural gash on the skeleton’s spine.
“You were about to say it resembles the work of the blade the Yin Luo Sect elder mentioned, weren’t you?” Han Li exhaled deeply.
“Indeed. While other demonic techniques can strip a cultivator’s flesh, none leave marks like this. Moreover, the Yin Luo Sect elder managed to escape with his Nascent Soul, while this man perished completely. Could that blade truly be the Demon Dragon Blade? Otherwise, why such a stark difference in power?” Gui Ling mused gravely.
“No. While the Demon Dragon Blade grows stronger by consuming cultivators’ flesh and souls, the refinement process takes considerable time. It couldn’t have gained such power so quickly,” Han Li countered after some thought.
“True enough,” Gui Ling conceded, realization dawning.
“What concerns me more is how this ‘Loose Cultivator’ acts without restraint—daring to attack not just the Yin Luo Sect but the Nine Serenities Sect as well. No ordinary rogue cultivator would dare such a thing. And after killing a demonic elder, he didn’t even bother to conceal the body. Is he unafraid of retaliation from both sects?” Han Li’s gaze lingered on the skeleton, his eyes clouded with confusion. The missing storage pouch suggested the Nascent Soul Nurturing Pill had fallen into the Loose Cultivator’s hands.
Having only recently escaped confinement, Gui Ling knew little of the current cultivation world and couldn’t offer insight.
After pondering fruitlessly, Han Li finally summoned a fireball to cremate the remains, ensuring Elder Fu wouldn’t lie exposed in the wilderness.
“Let’s proceed carefully. After devouring another Nascent Soul cultivator, who knows how powerful that demonic blade has become. We mustn’t let our guard down and suffer the same fate,” Han Li said coolly before leading the way up the mountain, his expression grimmer than before.
Gui Ling shuddered at his words, her grotesque face twisting into a sneer as she followed.
As they ascended, they encountered no further anomalies and soon reached the end of the stone steps—or so it seemed, for the steps simply vanished into thin air.
Before them stood a sheer cliff, the rest of the mountain peak having mysteriously disappeared.
Han Li studied the distant precipice and the unfathomable abyss below, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“It seems the others have descended. The Demon-Suppressing Tower truly collapsed inward. Who knows what happened down there,” Gui Ling murmured, awed by the sight despite having heard of it earlier.
“Fellow Daoist Gui, do you know what kind of demon was sealed in that tower?” Han Li asked abruptly.
“I’m afraid not. Back then, I was merely a guardian beast for Kunwu Mountain. The ancient cultivators wouldn’t have shared such details with us. However, before being relocated, I did sense an immensely powerful demonic aura emerge briefly on the mountain before vanishing—likely sealed within the tower. Sadly, my cultivation was too weak then to discern the demon’s true strength,” Gui Ling admitted after a brief hesitation.
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