The Blood Demon Sect disciples sensed the sudden change, their expressions abruptly shifting to horror.
“Quickly stop him! He’s attempting to fuse elements!” their leader shouted desperately, launching ferocious attacks filled with urgency.
But Shen Yuan decisively opened his eyes, determination blazing within. He swiftly moved his scythe, expertly deflecting their frantic assaults.
With a fierce yell, he channeled his newly merged elements into the scythe, feeling it tremble uncontrollably in his grasp.
“Only got a single technique that can utilize two types of Qi at once!” Shen Yuan decisively concluded. He immediately decided on his Heaven and Earth Severance, the mighty peak Emperor Grade technique.
Deciding instantly, he firmly gripped his scythe, taking a deep, resolute breath.
‘Dao Armor! Heaven and Earth Severance—Third Form: Ocean Splitting!’ Shen Yuan formed his Dao Armor before he executed his technique, swinging down fiercely with the unstoppable force of merged Tribulation Thunder and Blazing Fire that was combined perfectly within his weapon.
A colossal, radiant crescent of brilliant lightning-infused flames erupted forth, fiercely cleaving toward the three panicked disciples.
“Impossible! This aura—!” The leader’s eyes widened drastically, terrified and desperate.
Their blood Qi dispersed instantly beneath the overwhelming presence of the fusion, their regeneration rendered utterly useless as tribulation lightning and blazing flames viciously tore through them, obliterating their bodies thoroughly.
A terrifying explosion resounded, violently shaking the entire area as dust and debris flew wildly.
When the dust finally settled, nothing remained of the Blood Demon Sect disciples except charred earth and scorched marks, their sinister blood Qi vanquished completely.
Shen Yuan exhaled heavily, feeling immense exhaustion sweep over his body. Merging elements had drained him significantly. He collapsed briefly to one knee, breathing deeply and calming his turbulent Qi.
“Haa… finally done. This battle was too exhausting,” he muttered softly, wiping sweat from his forehead.
CRACK!
Just then, a crack was heard. He glanced to the side, seeing that his scythe was splitting into pieces before shattering into dust.
“…Haa…it was a good weapon.” Shen Yuan muttered, looking at the remains of his scythe.
Yue Lan’s voice sounded amused in his mind,
[Your power was too much for the poor weapon to handle. Look for a King Grade or higher scythe next time.]
He chuckled softly, standing slowly with effort. “Yeah yeah, stop lecturing me. I barely won against these demonic bastards.”
[All three of them were at the Ninth Level of the Dao Core Forming Realm. And the leader was even decently ranked among the disciples who entered the Mystique Realm.]
“And I had to use nearly all of my strength just to win against them.” He exhaled a sigh and looked around.
All of the formations that he had placed around were destroyed by their talisman. His heart ached at all the effort he had put into it.
[You could’ve used a better weapon.]
She reminded.
“But that wouldn’t change much. My attack’s maximum potential was achieved when the weapon was destroyed to perform the attack.” Shen Yuan stretched his arms.
Just then, he glanced at the slowly retreating Yao Shuo, but he ignored him and walked deeper into the ruin.
[Going to let him leave?]
“He did his work; it would not be right of me to go back on my words now.” Shen Yuan nodded and took out his sword.
He felt at ease after wielding it again following the past few consecutive battles. “A sword indeed feels the best in my hand.” He smiled and nodded in reassurance.
[But you have weirdly high compatibility with a scythe. Even more than the rest of your weapons. I would place your scythe and sword compatibility at the same level.]
Yue Lan said with confidence.
“I might have been a reaper in my last life, decimating celestials to take their lives.” Shen Yuan joked.
Yue Lan, however, disagreed with his joke,
[I doubt you can hide your last life from me if you had one before you were born on Earth.]
Shen Yuan playfully smirked, “Why don’t you analyze my bloodline to see if it’s true or not?”
[…There is no need to go so far; I believe you. You must be a reaper in your last life.]
Yue Lan speechlessly agreed with him; if one thing terrified her, it was Shen Yuan’s bloodline. She had never seen something so… unique and weird.
Shen Yuan repeatedly nodded his head, “Thought so much.”
He soon entered the ruin, looking forward to seeing what kind of weapon he could find.
[Why are you so eager to find a weapon? Don’t you have a whole treasury filled with them?]
“You won’t understand the joy of treasure hunting. I used to rejoice if I found 10$ lying on the ground in my last life. And this here is a damn King Grade Treasure. I could sell the entire Murica economy and still wouldn’t be able to afford one.” He excitedly explained.
[…You thought about selling an entire country?]
“Well… I mean, who doesn’t have grand dreams at a young age?” Shen Yuan chuckled and stopped after arriving inside a large hall.
Shen Yuan looked around the hall before his gaze focused upon the ancient stele before him, its surface covered in dust and weathered marks from countless passing ages.
With a gentle wave of his hand, he swept away the dust, revealing ancient inscriptions written in an old language. But he had read about a lot of old languages as well as forgotten powers.
His eyes brightened, sensing the gentle yet grand aura emanating from the words:
[To the worthy cultivator who has reached this far, If your comprehension is vast, then you may challenge the trial of melody. Comprehend the Music Martial Technique, ‘Echoing Heartstrings.’ Play the song inscribed below upon the mortal instrument. Should you master this art, my Cultivation Technique as well as my sole King Grade Treasure shall be given to you. Do you dare accept this challenge?]
Beneath those bold words lay lines of exquisitely intricate musical notations, the complexity was around the Peak Heaven Grade martial arts scripture he had seen before.
Shen Yuan furrowed his brows slightly, smiling faintly as excitement and curiosity filled him.
“Interesting… a music martial technique? I haven’t tried my hand at such things before. This could be enjoyable.” He softly spoke to himself.
Yue Lan’s teasing voice echoed softly in his mind, filled with amusement.
[This should be perfect to test the limit of your Supreme Grade comprehension, Yuan’er. You have never tried any musical instrument before, neither in this life nor in your previous life.]
Shen Yuan laughed lightly, nodding his head confidently. “Of course! How can I back away from such an intriguing challenge?”
Without hesitation, Shen Yuan decisively extended his palm, gently placing it against the ancient stele’s surface. He carefully infused his Qi into it, clearly declaring:
“I accept the trial.”
Instantly, the stele shook slightly, ancient symbols glowing softly, and with a flash of dim light, an ordinary-looking guqin materialized from thin air, gently landing in Shen Yuan’s hands.
Shen Yuan carefully examined the instrument, noting its seemingly unimpressive appearance. Its wood was plain, slightly worn with age, and devoid of any spiritual presence—it was indeed a Mortal Grade instrument.