After working nonstop for four days and nights, the two disciples finally managed to concoct a few sword pills. Although they looked unremarkable, these pills had consumed several tons of medicinal ingredients. Without the Silver Dew Cauldron’s refining capabilities, they could not have been easily created.
“Unfortunately, the materials we currently have only allow us to refine the most basic Sword Formation Pill,” said Hun Yuanzi with great regret. His disciple had finally reached the Nascent Soul Stage, a moment when he should have learned all the sword techniques at once. However, due to their hectic schedule lately, they hadn’t had enough time to prepare the necessary materials earlier.
Yang Hao didn’t have time to feel regretful together with others. He was busily sorting and placing the pills into his pill pouch. The pills produced this time were different from those he’d made before—they seemed almost alive. He grabbed a pale red pill, upon which flickered what seemed to be flames, and murmured, “Flame Dragon Pill. After consuming it, one can unleash the first attack sword technique: Flame Dragon Slash.”
“The Flame Dragon is an ancient divine dragon. The ultimate sword technique it has cultivated is based on its attacking power, and its offensive capability is much stronger than your previous Five Dragon Slash.” Hun Yuanzi explained each move in detail.
Yang Hao’s hand was almost frozen stiff by the second sword pill. This thing, resembling a blue ice cube, was more like a super-charged version of ice cream. It was easy to imagine that swallowing it would freeze even his intestines.
“Icefall Jade Frost Pill, this is truly a remarkable item,” sneered Hun Yuanzi proudly. “Back then, after I swallowed this pill and wielded my Icefall Sword, icefalls filled the sky. My senior and junior brothers froze into ice popsicles, which made my woman so happy.”
Yuanzi rarely had such warm and happy memories, so Yang Hao couldn’t help but smile. Yuanzi’s era had passed a millennium ago—it was truly a golden age of cultivation, nothing like the secretive and furtive practices of today. Back then, sword immortals flew everywhere, and Yuanzi was among the top experts of that time.
“It’s all in the past now…” he murmured softly. Deep down, he understood that for him, the past held more pain than joy. Now, the only way to restore the glory of the Dan Ding Sect and seek vengeance was to train his apprentice well. “Disciple,” he said, “try out your sword.”
“Testing the sword?” Yang Hao’s heart skipped a beat, and he actually felt a bit nervous.
He had been in seclusion for seven days, and today was the day he would come out. However, during these seven days, he had done nothing other than setting up formations and refining pills.
Testing the sword?
Yang Hao took a deep breath to steady himself, then reached into his pill pouch and retrieved a Flame Dragon Pill. The small pill remained as composed as ever, but the flames surrounding it flared up fiercely, as if aware of its imminent use and stirred with excitement.
Yang Hao placed the sword pellet into his mouth. The pill quickly dissolved, sending down a stream of fiery heat.
Yang Hao felt a strange sensation, as if he had traversed the passage of time. Over the past thousand years, he was likely the first person to swallow the Sword Elixir again. The once-buried top-tier immortal cultivation sect, now truly stood resurrected from the rubble.
He closed his eyes, extending one palm flat, the Flame Sword already unsheathed and hovering above his hand. Around Yang Hao, the air seemed still and quiet; deep within the dark mine shaft, an uneasy presence stirred restlessly. Yet Yang Hao remained motionless, and everything else stood still as well.
Darkness remained darkness, silent and still, without a sound or a whisper of wind.
Keep… making soft scolding sounds.
In an instant, the flames erupted like a long-pent-up flood, bursting forth violently. The fire actually began at the top of Yang Hao’s head, flowing down mysteriously and encircling his body. It spread outward like a skirt around him.
The air had ignited completely, turning even the stones a glowing red within an instant. The mine had transformed into a blazing inferno in the blink of an eye.
Yang Hao raised his head and opened his eyes. His entire body suddenly transformed into a long, fiery dragon, surging straight upward under the guidance of the flame sword. Endless flames continued to spew out, expanding the entire cave to more than triple its original size. The fiery dragon’s flames melted even the stone blocks.
The fiery dragon transformed by Yang Hao surged forward fiercely. A massive stone weighing several tons, which had been sealing the mine shaft, was completely obliterated without even providing the slightest resistance.
The fire dragon stretched for several kilometers, piercing directly into the sky, as if in this place of the Sanjing Sea, there had been an eruption of a ultimate volcano.
That heat even evaporated the clouds in the sky, leaving the blue sky more intensely blue. Under the fiery dragon’s illumination, the sunlight actually became less intense.
The Flame Dragon Sword is the most fundamental sword technique of the three major sword systems in the Dan Ding Sect, specifically belonging to the offensive system. It is also the first sword technique learned by sword immortals. However, the power it unleashes surpasses any sword technique Yang Hao has ever used before.
The combination of the Sword Pill and the Sword Technique was truly extraordinary. This day was of utmost importance, both for Yang Hao and the Dual Cultivation Sect of the Elixir Cauldron—perhaps even more significant than the day Hunyuanzi found Yang Hao.
Because on this day, after a thousand years, another great swordsman of the Dan Ding sect was born.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The astonishing power of the Flame Dragon Sword left Yang Hao both amazed and delighted. Even after the sword’s momentum in the air had subsided, he continued flying for quite a distance on his sword before finally coming to a stop.
“What is that?” Yang Hao squinted his eyes, looking towards a spot about ten kilometers ahead. There, a long black plume stretched straight up into the sky, resembling what might be seen during a volcanic eruption.
“Go check it out.” Hun Yuanzi also seemed to sense something.
Without hesitation, they set off immediately. Now Yang Hao had the advantage of swift movement; even a distance of hundreds of kilometers was but an instant’s work when traveling by sword.
However, when they arrived at the destination, it came as a surprise to Yang Hao, the newly promoted Great Sword Master.
Of course Yang Hao recognized this place; he had just been here a few days ago. Wasn’t it the seat of the governor of Sanjinghai? The Sanjinghai star system had three primary stars, and accordingly, three buildings had been constructed for the governor’s residence. All of them were in the standard silver color of Sanjinghai, and under the sunlight, they were extremely dazzling and eye-catching.
In the eyes of the Sanjing Sea Star people, the Administrator’s residence is naturally a landmark building. Therefore, not only is it a source of pride for everyone, but it is also forbidden for others to construct buildings of similar scale nearby. Within a radius of one kilometer, all large structures have been completely cleared away.
But now, standing very oddly between the three buildings, there is a large and ugly structure. It is as tall as a ten-story building, narrower at the top and bottom and wider in the middle. If viewed in a smaller scale, it somewhat resembles a jar.
However, it was much sturdier than a jar. Judging from the black patterns on its outer wall, it should have been made from an alloy used for spacecraft, though how it had been cast into such a massive shape remained a mystery. Inside this “jar,” a fierce fire was actually burning, fueled by more than two hundred nuclear flame throwers continuously blasting their flames into it. The temperature of this enormous bizarre object was extremely high; without wearing special protective clothing, one would probably find it difficult even to get close.
Near the Consul’s residence, the appearance of such a bizarre structure was undoubtedly a major news event on the planet. As a result, tens of thousands of people had gathered from as far as five hundred meters away, watching and discussing. Some expressed anger, others outrage, yet not a single person dared to step forward and demand the perpetrator immediately tear it down.
After Yang Hao arrived, the surrounding crowd let out a gasp of amazement. This was naturally due to Yang Hao’s invincible image of descending from the sky, but there were also some people who secretly hoped that Yang Hao, as the leader of the alliance, could stop that person’s reckless behavior.
However, no one saw the expression of mixed amusement and frustration on Yang Hao’s face. While others didn’t recognize the huge, dark object standing there, Yang Hao immediately knew what it was. Something spewing fierce flames and shaped like a giant jar—what else could it be but a pill cauldron? Normally, pill cauldrons were small, and the more refined ones were almost inconspicuous in size. Yet the one standing before him was simply too terrifyingly enormous and majestic.
Who else would dare to cause trouble at the residence of the governor? Without Yang Hao even needing to call out, Amanda came rushing out on her own. The woman, wearing a heat-resistant suit, was excited upon seeing Yang Hao, as if she had just accomplished some great feat.
“What are you doing?” Yang Hao asked, suspecting she had become an idiot out of jealousy. “Competing to see who can build the uglier house?”
“House?” Amanda sneered, reverting to her usual disdainful attitude toward Yang Hao. “This is my Dan Cauldron, an unprecedented and unparalleled Great Dan Cauldron under the heavens.”
The term “Dan Ding” was actually taught to her by Yang Hao back then. Amanda’s greatest contribution was helping Yang Hao create his very first Dan Ding.
Master Hunyuan disagreed, “What do you mean by the largest? The Great Alchemy Cauldron from our sect’s prehistoric era is truly the largest.”
“Anyway, what I’ve made is definitely the most useful,” Amanda said with a smile. “To set it up, I spent hundreds of millions of currency and even enlisted seven top technicians under my father’s command.”
Yang Hao felt an immense regret churning in his stomach. He bitterly regretted not leaving his retreat sooner. Billions of currency units were at stake. If only he had intercepted Amanda earlier, perhaps all that wealth would have ended up in his own pocket.
Speaking of that, having seven great technicians in the Tri-Crystal Sea is indeed an amazing thing. According to legend, the development of the Tri-Crystal Sea star system was entirely due to seven great technicians who migrated from Earth long ago. These seven individuals possessed knowledge spanning various fields such as architecture, technology, and forging. Thus, in a short period of time, the Tri-Crystal Sea was able to rapidly develop into the second-largest technology hub in the universe.
Nowadays, the Seven Great Artisans are naturally descendants of the former Grand Artisans, yet their skills are in no way inferior. The fact that they managed to construct this hideous creature within seven days alone proves they are geniuses.
But the real genius was definitely Amanda. Yang Hao was truly in awe of her: “Miss, why did you create this thing?”
“Let me refine something for you,” Amanda began to pout, clearly implying that Yang Hao would be upsetting her if he didn’t appreciate her offer.
“Make pills for me?” Yang Hao quickly lowered his voice, afraid that others nearby might overhear, which would damage the shining image he had just established. “Miss, I can make pills myself. Even if you wanted to help me, you wouldn’t bring out such a big cauldron in public, right? If people found out I used it to make love potions, I’d surely be cursed to death.”
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