With the abundant reserves of the dwarves to support him, Shui Miao acted without hesitation, operating the Tower of Time at full capacity. Crystals were consumed like flowing water, and time was altered to its maximum extent. However, drawing from previous experience, Shui Miao now understood formations more deeply, so he no longer needed to spend as much time as before.
This time, the key focus for Shui Miao was to become familiar with the properties of the one hundred thousand immortal artifacts and the techniques for combining them.
Immortal artifacts, like people, each had their own attributes.
The advantage of these artifacts was that, despite possibly having a spirit, they remained extremely loyal.
Except for Shui Miao’s Tower of Time, which was originally the discarded spirit of Luo Tong. Sensing Shui Miao’s efforts, the Tower willingly acknowledged him as its master, making it an exception.
After understanding the attributes of all the immortal artifacts, Shui Miao combined them with his knowledge of Luo Tong’s various formation techniques and began attempting to modify the formations.
Formations were extremely complex; a single mistake could ruin the entire structure.
Modifying formations was even more complicated—especially when fusing several major formations together, which made the process terrifyingly intricate.
Because of this complexity, few immortals were willing to waste their time on such tedious formations, which was why immortal artifacts were so valuable.
Another crucial point was that improper fusion of formations could lead to irreversible damage. As the saying goes, “A single tug can move the entire body.” This was precisely the case. Many master artisans lacked the wealth or the artifacts to experiment with extensively, so even if certain formations had flaws, they could not be corrected.
However, this was no obstacle for Shui Miao.
Shui Miao possessed the Realm Planet, which could simulate various artifacts at will for experimentation.
Other immortals could not do this, as very few cultivators practiced the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Spirits. Even if some did, they would often have to stop cultivation due to the immense consumption of energy.
Shui Miao’s path was forged by opportunity and blessed by fortune.
Sometimes Shui Miao himself wondered why his luck was always so good.
According to conventional wisdom, an ordinary cultivator could only have extraordinary fortune with the help of a powerful immortal. Shui Miao’s luck was extremely rare. At one time, he suspected that the Buddha of the Western Paradise, Sakyamuni, had been helping him, since his Yuan Shen (Primordial Spirit) had been refined by the Buddha himself, thus bringing him great fortune. But when he learned that all of that had been an illusion created by the thousand-year-old female ghost using the Phantom Mirror, Shui Miao truly didn’t know which powerful immortal was watching over him.
Thinking about it endlessly was useless; what was meant to be known would eventually be revealed.
Shui Miao had no intention of pondering such trivial matters and immediately accelerated his simulation of formation combinations within the Realm Planet.
“Boom!”
It failed. The spiritual energy ran wild, and the formation vanished into thin air.
Again!
Shui Miao tried once more. After all, it was just a simulation within the Realm Planet. It wasn’t real—only some immortal energy was consumed.
“Boom!”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Failure, again and again.
“How can this be?”
“Why can’t they fuse? They have the same attributes—why won’t they combine? What exactly is the problem?”
Shui Miao had hit a bottleneck. No matter how hard he tried, the result remained failure.
Could something be missing here?
After calming himself for a while, Shui Miao slowly entered meditation and began to contemplate deeply…
※※※
In the Sea of Rakshasas, on the Isle of Evil Dragons,
The ghostly port was now in ruins, completely devastated, with not a single ghostly figure in sight.
As Bu Yi and Meng San Niang arrived, they knew something major had occurred.
Evil Dragon Isle was enormous, covered with towering trees and teeming with fierce beasts, making it a perilous place.
Just as Bu Yi and Meng San Niang spread their divine senses to search for survivors and uncover the truth, a swift boat approached the sea surface.
It wasn’t a large vessel—merely a small skiff.
There were no oars on the boat. At the bow stood a man clad in a black brocade robe. His face was pale, his eyes sharp like an eagle’s, and he held a ghost-headed saber in his arms.
“It’s actually the Reaper Hunter?”
Upon sensing the figure on the skiff, Bu Yi immediately sent a mental message to Meng San Niang. “This man is Wu Chang Yi Dao (One Cut Wu Chang), the top hunter in the Underworld. Don’t underestimate him just because he looks ordinary. That ghost-headed saber in his hands may seem ordinary, but it’s actually a supreme Underworld artifact, tempered with dragon’s blood. It ranks among the top ten ultimate weapons in the Underworld.”
“A divine weapon? Perfect. We can take it for Shui Miao to study.”
Meng San Niang smiled inwardly but kept a calm exterior.
Bu Yi was momentarily stunned. “San Niang, you’ve changed too?”
“This is a different time. When you lack strength, you must remain low-key. Now that we’ve formed a team with Shui Miao, we naturally have to consider more things. Though the Three Realms seem orderly, in the end, it’s still survival of the fittest and rule by the strong.”
Meng San Niang was no pushover. If her Meng Mo Clan hadn’t lost several Holy Demons, they wouldn’t have fallen to the Rakshasa Realm.
“Alright, no more talking. Before he recognizes me, I must act low-key.”
“Low-key…”
Bu Yi never expected to hear such a modern term from Meng San Niang.
In fact, after sensing many of Shui Miao’s experiences, Meng San Niang had already developed a strong curiosity for the novelties of the mortal world.
“Whoosh!”
Wu Chang Yi Dao leapt onto the shore, landing before Bu Yi and Meng San Niang. His eyes, cold and sinister, scrutinized the two.
Bu Yi quickly smiled apologetically. “Brother Yi Dao, it’s been a long time since we last met at the auction in the Department of Underworld Affairs. It’s been over two thousand years.”
“I never expected to meet you here, Brother Yi. A pleasure to see you again!”
Wu Chang Yi Dao’s tone was eerily ambiguous. As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Meng San Niang.
Meng San Niang’s Meng Mo cultivation technique was extremely unique. Though Wu Chang Yi Dao had roamed the Underworld for millennia, he had never encountered someone like her. He couldn’t help but feel wary and remained on high alert.
Meng San Niang suddenly smiled coldly. “Wu Chang Yi Dao, isn’t your gaze a bit too bold?”
“Ah… Hehe, habit. Just a habit. As the top hunter of the Underworld Legal Bureau, I naturally pay more attention to strangers. Friend, could you be one of the legendary Meng Mo Clan?”
Wu Chang Yi Dao chuckled sinisterly, his expression never shifting from its eerie grimace.
“Excellent eyesight. I am indeed Meng San Niang. But rest assured, I’m just passing through. I originally intended to ask Brother Yi to help me purchase a few treasures to take back and forge into immortal artifacts for fun. But upon arriving, I found the place already looted. Now that Brother Yi Dao has arrived, perhaps you could enlighten us on what exactly happened here?”
Meng San Niang spoke calmly, showing no hostility, only curiosity.
Hearing this, Bu Yi quickly feigned confusion. “Brother Yi Dao, do you know what happened here?”
“It was the Evil Dragons…”
Wu Chang Yi Dao sneered coldly and replied in a lackluster tone, “A wounded ghost hunter returned to report. Those old eel-like dragons have surfaced to create chaos, so the King of the Underworld specially sent me to investigate. Who would’ve thought! It’s actually those wicked dragons causing trouble. I guess they’re tired of living. By the way, since you’ve come here, what kind of treasures are you looking to buy?”
“Oh, this is dragon’s blood, used for tempering magical treasures.” Bu Yi quickly clasped his fists in apology. “By the way, Brother Yidao, what makes you so certain that a malicious dragon is behind this?”
“Hehehe… I grew up drinking dragon’s blood. I don’t have time to chat with you folks. Wait until I kill them—then you can just come and collect the blood!”
“Whoosh!”
The impermanence blade transformed into a black lightning bolt, vanishing in an instant without a trace.
“What quick movements!”
Meng San Niang couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration—the speed of the Wuchang Knife’s technique was unbelievably fast.
“It’s indeed impressive. He has grown a lot over these years, and with such strength, he’s definitely among the top martial cultivators in the Underworld,” Bu Yi nodded in agreement. “Seeing how confident he is in his words, and even claiming he can kill the Dragon Sovereign, I’m actually curious to see what means he has to back up such bold words.”
It is extremely inconceivable to think that a single divine weapon alone could slay an expert at the Xianzun level.
“Follow him. I want to see what he’s really got!”
Even Meng San Niang couldn’t help but feel intrigued and was extremely eager to see what made the Wuchang Blade so arrogantly confident.
※※※
Deep within the heart of Dragon’s Lair Island, hidden in the dense jungle, lies a vast deep-blue lake.
At this moment, the lake was calm and still, with the surrounding trees lush and green, not at all resembling the desolate, chaotic ghost town.
Mysterious Blade suddenly appeared on the treetop of a large tree. He looked at the deep blue lake, then took out a flute from his robe and began playing it with a lingering and melodious tune… Soon after, the lake began to stir with wind, waves rolling vigorously, and an immensely gigantic crab was lifted from the lake’s center by the surging water.
The crab waved its giant pincers, but before it could crawl onto the shore, the flute melody from Wu Changyi suddenly changed. In an instant, the crab’s body exploded violently!
The crab died and sank to the bottom of the lake.
The transience continued to play the xiao, growing increasingly mournful, until the surrounding leaves fell from the trees and scattered upon the ground.
“Whoa!”
Suddenly, a jet of water from the lake shot toward the tree-top where Wu Chang Yi was standing…
With a flash of light, the figure of Wu Chang Yi Dao shifted its position, effortlessly evading the attack of the water arrow.
The water arrows flew up one after another, firing more than a hundred times in total, yet each time, Wu Chang easily dodged them with a single slash of his blade.
“Damn it! Stop blowing your nose, it’s so annoying!”
Beneath the lake, a giant black tortoise, as large as a hill, surfaced, speaking in a human voice and cursing the Reaper’s Blade fiercely!
Who would have known, Wu Changyi coldly smiled, accelerated the rhythm of his flute playing!
“Ahhh! I’m so mad I could die! How dare you look down on me?!” The Xuanwu Tortoise suddenly roared, then fiercely opened its giant mouth, spewing streams of dark, frigid energy. Instantly, the trees surrounding it froze, encased in the icy black aura. After releasing this chilling breath in a full circle, the entire area around the lake became frozen solid, with thick layers of ice forming even on the lake’s surface.
“Haha, I finally managed to kill it!”
The flute music ceased, and the Xuanwu giant turtle chuckled得意地.
But right then, it felt a chill on its neck, and then its shell was split right down the middle!
The shell of the Xuanwu Giant Turtle is comparable to a top-grade immortal artifact.
Now, it had actually been split into two halves with just a single, gentle slash of a blade!
“Ahhhh…”
The Black Warrior Giant Turtle was so frightened that it cried out in alarm, its heart pounding with terror. It quickly dropped its shell and, completely naked, dove into the lake.
Then, the sound of the xiao flute echoed once again.
“This knife is indeed sharp!”
Bu was surprised to see the mark of Wu Chang’s blade on the tortoise shell.
Over the years, Bu Yi has focused only on magical treasures, formations, and defenses, rarely paying attention to divine weapons and artifacts.
Today, upon seeing the divine weapon of Wu Chang Yi Dao, Bu Yi’s mind raced. He quickly used telepathy to notify Shui Miao.
Shui Miao was deeply immersed in contemplation within the realm of his mind when Bu Yi reminded him. He quickly manifested himself from Bu Yi’s ring.
At this moment, Meng San Niang suddenly opened her eyes and quickly sent a telepathic message to both Shui Miao and Bufa: “Bu Yi, quickly put Shui Miao back into the ring. There’s something wrong with this Yichang Yidao—there’s a spatial treasure on him containing high experts from the Yuxu Sect, no less than thirty-six Great Golden Immortals!”
“What!”
Upon hearing these words, Bu was greatly startled and hurriedly attempted to pull Shuimiao back into the ring-shaped magical artifact.
But at this moment, Wu Changyi suddenly stopped playing his flute. He raised his head and stared straight at Shui Miao…
“Oh no, it’s too late!”
Meng San Niang’s heart sank as she realized that trouble was coming.
“You… you are Shuimiao?”
The Reckless Blade suddenly vanished in a flash, reappearing directly behind Shui Miao.
His speed was simply too fast to be defended against.
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