Chapter 62: nine profound, Burning Sword Bone
As the fierce winds, carrying scarlet flowing fire, swept across Broken Sword Cliff, Lu Qingyang was squatting deep in the rift valley, prying at the crimson flame crystals in the rock crevices. His Storage Pouch at his waist suddenly vibrated, and three Soul-Chasing Orders from Taiyi Pavilion automatically floated into a formation, illuminating the surrounding magma with a bluish-purple glow. He spat out a mouthful of saliva mixed with the smell of sulfur, and a wisp of qingmu spirit pearl shot from his fingertip, enveloping the crystal: "That fellow Ye Wuchen certainly knows how to pick his moments; I just found the Blazing Sun Jade Marrow…"
Before he could finish speaking, the thousand-zhang rock layer above his head exploded. Twelve ancient bronze swords broke through the air, their sword tassels, strung with skulls, clattered, revealing them to be the remains of the Xuanjian Sect Elder who had perished here a hundred years ago. The qingmu spirit pearl in Lu Qingyang’s arms suddenly grew hot, and the medicinal field within the pearl revealed a formation diagram similar to the ancient sword's patterns, with the ancient seal script "Burn Sword Bone, Forge Dao Foundation" faintly visible in the damaged areas.
"So the Sword Tomb of Burial Dragon Abyss is here," He licked his chapped lips, and the Bone-Corroding Powder that slipped from his sleeve mixed with the magma, congealing into a poisonous mist. The Soul-Chasing Orders suddenly changed direction, pointing southeast, and three sound transmission talismans wrapped in lightning broke through the mist. The leading one was imprinted with Su Li's unique ice lotus pattern.
"The remnants of the Xuanjian Sect have activated the Burning Sword Grand Formation, leave quickly!" The clear, cold female voice carried a rare sense of urgency, "Taiyi Pavilion's Seven Elders have arrived with the Soul-Suppressing Bell; they intend to refine the entire earth pulse…"
Lu Qingyang crushed the sound transmission talisman with a backhand, and the qingmu spirit pearl condensed into a three-inch small sword in his palm. The memory of Xuanjian Sect Disciples snatching half of a dragon blood grass from him in the Nether Abyss surged into his mind. He narrowed his eyes, gazing at the crystal-clear sword bone in the center of the sword formation, and suddenly grinned, saying, "Su Xianzi, what are you saying? Do I look like someone who would stand by and do nothing?"
The crimson flame crystals on the rock wall suddenly ignited, and the twelve ancient swords fell into the magma in response. Lu Qingyang stepped on the surging flames and soared into the air. The hourglass of time within the qingmu spirit pearl reversed three times, and the magma within a ten-mile radius solidified into obsidian in an instant. Thirty-six Spirit-Devouring Vines flew out from his sleeve, their tips precisely piercing into the ancient sword's formation eyes. The sword formation's patterns immediately twisted and struggled like living things.
"Who dares!" A furious roar from an old man shook the rock wall, causing dust to fall. The Soul-Suppressing Bell's phantom, belonging to the Seven Elders, enveloped the entire rift valley. The hairs on the back of Lu Qingyang's neck stood on end, and the painful memory of his Dantian being shattered by the aftershock of this bell years ago surged forth. He decisively bit his tongue and sprayed out a mouthful of vital blood. The dragon scale patterns appearing on the surface of the qingmu spirit pearl resonated with the sword bone, actually deflecting the Soul-Suppressing Bell's sound waves towards the Taiyi Pavilion's pursuers.
Taking advantage of this momentary gap, Lu Qingyang flashed like a ghost before the sword bone. This entirely golden-red skeleton sat cross-legged on a lotus platform formed by magma, with a cracked sword pellet embedded in its spine. The moment his fingertip touched the sword pellet, a blood-red Dragon shadow suddenly rose from the medicinal field within the pearl, fiercely colliding with the Sword Intent remaining in the sword bone.
"It's actually the Legacy of a Soul Transformation Cultivator's Sword Dao…" His pupils contracted, and the Old Drunkard's drunken ramblings from years ago suddenly echoed in his ears, "The last Sword Cultivator on the Qingxuan Continent was surrounded and killed by twelve Elders of Taiyi Pavilion in the Burial Dragon Abyss."
The Soul-Suppressing Bell roared again, and the Seven Elders' purple-ribbon immortal robe had already pierced through the poisonous mist. Lu Qingyang violently pressed the sword pellet against his chest, and the sword bone exploded into a sky full of golden powder. These golden powders, imbued with Soul Transformation Sword Intent, touched the qingmu spirit pearl and condensed into three thousand illusory and real Flying Swords, which surged upwards like a rainstorm.
"You brat, how dare you!" Nine Dragon-Trapping Nails flew out from the Seven Elders' sleeve, but they were ground into dust by the Flying Swords. Lu Qingyang took the opportunity to escape into the qingmu spirit pearl space, watching as the aftershocks of the collision between the external Sword Intent and the Soul-Suppressing Bell deepened the entire rift valley by a hundred zhang. Cracks appeared on the hourglass above the medicinal field within the pearl, warning him that the backlash from forcefully activating the Law of time was imminent.
Three days later, on the night of the full moon, Lu Qingyang crawled out of an underground river, clutching a half-melted sword pellet. The crooked boundary marker on the riverbank was carved with the words "nine profound Sea," and the salty sea breeze carried a strong scent of blood. He narrowed his eyes, looking towards the fishing village a hundred miles away, where flames soared into the sky, and saw the tattered banner of the Xuanjian Sect fluttering in the night wind.
"This Fellow Daoist is quite tenacious," A playful female voice came from behind the reef. A Cultivator wearing a bronze mask was toying with a blood-stained Jade Slip. "To be able to steal the Heaven-Burning Sword Bone from under the Seven Elders' nose, no wonder that girl Su Li would defy her master's orders for you."
Lu Qingyang smelled the unique dragon's saliva incense of Taiyi Pavilion on the other person, and the Spirit-Devouring Vines in his sleeve quietly wrapped around his wrist bone: "If Fairy is here to collect a debt, Mr. Lu still has half an ounce of Blazing Sun Jade Marrow here…"
Before he finished speaking, a hundred-zhang giant wave suddenly rose from the sea. A bronze palace emerged from the bottom of the nine profound Sea, and the carved Jiaozi beast head on its gate resonated with the sword pellet in Lu Qingyang's arms. The masked woman chuckled and flicked her finger, and the three Soul-Chasing Orders in Lu Qingyang's Storage Pouch flew out on their own, forming the Taiyi Pavilion's Restriction key before the palace gate.
"The Heaven-Burning Sword Bone needs to be tempered with nine profound Weak Water. Fellow Daoist, why not make a deal with me?" She took off her mask, revealing a face seven parts similar to Su Li's, but the tear mole at the corner of her eye added a touch of Weird, "You help me retrieve my ancestor's remains, and I will tell you where the missing Dao pattern of the qingmu spirit pearl is located."
Lu Qingyang caressed the cracks on the sword pellet, then suddenly kicked the Soul-Chasing Orders into the vortex: "Mr. Lu hates being used as a sword the most, this deal…" He deliberately drew out his words, and while the woman was distracted, seventy-two poisoned ice needles flew out from his sleeve, "Needs more money!"
A Dragon roar suddenly came from the seabed, and the moment the bronze palace gate opened, ten thousand zhang of Sword Qi shattered the sky full of dark clouds. Lu Qingyang used the Rebound force to fly backward into the sea. The Sword Intent absorbed by the qingmu spirit pearl exploded at this moment, actually cleaving a hundred-zhang gully in the nine profound Weak Water. He glimpsed the Azure Dragon remains wrapped in chains at the bottom of the gully, and finally understood the true meaning of the Old Drunkard's dying words, "Spirit Pearl illuminates eternal life."