Chapter 35: Signs of Birth
Qu Yi visited eight islands in succession, controlling a person in the early stage of fusion within each of the eight factions. After already taking control of Li Heng from Cangyang Valley and Liang Qu from Taiyuan Gate, he now had people under his control in all eight factions. Thus, Qu Yi had planted insiders among all those sent by the ten major factions to compete for the Eight Directions Sword. Through these ten insiders, he also learned about the leaders sent by the ten factions and gained insight into their situations.
The leaders of the four major cultivation factions—Taiyuan Gate, Qingyun Sect, Lanyang Palace, and Yingtian Sect—were Liang Jue, Cui Tong, Rong Ju, and Tan Shang, respectively. The leaders of the three major demon cultivation factions—Jinyang Sect, Biyan Peak, and Cangyang Valley—were Shuojin, Yanjin, and Li Zhen, respectively. The leaders of the three major beast cultivation factions—Bai Shou Peak, Jiugong Island, and Xianyue Cliff—were Baofeng Qinglong, Huanggu Bing’e, and Xiaoyue Canglang, respectively.
It took Qu Yi three years on Baiyin Star to complete his plan of controlling one person in each of the ten factions. After all, Baiyin Star was vast, and traveling between the ten islands in the northern hemisphere took a long time. Of course, during this process, Qu Yi also killed dozens of strong individuals in the early stage of spirit separation, collecting a large number of Yuan Ying. Now, with his soul realm reaching the late stage of exiting the body, he had enough Yuan Ying to advance further.
Moreover, over these three years, Qu Yi had continuously scanned the One Yuan Dao Formation with his spiritual awareness, and his soul realm was about to break through to the late stage of exiting the body. He was also familiar with many types of materials for refining artifacts. However, compared to the countless materials in the cultivation world, the number he had processed was negligible. Therefore, he would need more time in the years to come to become more familiar with various materials.
Bai Man, after obtaining the vertical eye of the Three-Eyed Whale King and successfully refining it, finally reached the late stage of Yuan Ying. Huanwu Die, after fighting several strong individuals in the early stage of fusion on the ten islands, stole a great deal of energy knowledge, reaching a nearly perfect state in the late stage of spirit separation. It seemed that just one opportunity would be enough for her to break through to the early stage of fusion.
Jin Qilin could automatically understand the energy properties of ores by consuming them, thereby improving its cultivation level. When Qu Yi attacked the strong individuals in the early stage of fusion on the ten islands, he also obtained some spirit artifact-level materials from their storage bracelets.
Among them was a colorful scaled gold stone, a medium-grade spiritual artifact-level material of the metal element. After obtaining it, Qu Yi gave it to the Golden Qilin. After refining this stone, the Golden Qilin finally reached the later stage of the Divided Mind realm.
Wuyuan, as long as it consumed a cultivator’s vital essence, could advance smoothly, seemingly unaffected by the level of its soul. However, Qu Yi followed the advice of the Artifact God and deliberately slowed down Wuyuan’s progress, so Wuyuan remained at the peak of the later stage of the Divided Mind realm and had yet to advance to the early stage of the Combined Body realm.
Now, Qu Yi himself was living on Chenbo Island, waiting for news of the birth of the Eight Directions Sword.
……
On Baiyin Star, in the northern hemisphere, there was a Sea of Ten Islands, along with ten islands evenly distributed across it. In the southern hemisphere, the entire hemisphere was one vast landmass called the Icefield Continent—a purely snow-white world.
At the South Pole, a white beam several miles wide suddenly burst forth. Reflected by the sky, the beam transformed into an aurora rainbow that covered the entire Icefield Continent.
Cultivators at the northern end of the Icefield Continent could also see the colorful rainbow in the sky—the entire sky was filled with endless bands of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple, a sight of breathtaking beauty.
Naturally, the ten major forces in the cultivation world, whose representatives were sent to the Icefield Continent, immediately understood that this was a sign that the Eight Directions Sword was about to be born.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The representatives from various factions immediately reported the strange phenomenon in the Icefield Continent to their leaders.
The Eight Directions Sword was about to be born!
After receiving the news, the ten leaders promptly confirmed it and quickly gathered their people to head toward the Icefield Continent.
Chenbo Island, Panhu Mountain—the headquarters of the Chenbo Sect.
Li Zhen, the leader sent by the Cangyang Valley Sect, was currently talking with Chen Han, the leader of the Chenbo Sect.
“Chen Han, the signs of the Eight Directions Sword’s birth have appeared. I believe the representatives from the other nine factions have already rushed to the Icefield Continent. Our people from the Cangyang Valley should also go there. Your Chenbo Sect only has two cultivators at the Combined Body realm, so there’s no need for you to go. Going there won’t provide much help and might instead give the other nine factions an opportunity to strike,” Li Zhen said calmly.
The struggle for the Eight Directions Sword ultimately depended on the strength of the ten leaders. Li Zhen didn’t want to risk other nine sects on Baiyin Star launching a surprise attack just because he allowed Chen Han to join the expedition—it would be counterproductive.
“Elder Li Zhen, I understand your concern,” Chen Han said respectfully.
Chen Han still understood Li Zhen’s meaning. As a character in the mid-stage of fusion, he didn’t possess any powerful magic artifacts. If he went to the Ice Continent, he wouldn’t have a chance to compete for the Eight Directions Sword in the final battle. Moreover, if he left Chenbo Island, the other nine factions might attack, leading to the destruction of the Chenbo faction—something extremely serious.
Seeing Chen Han’s expression, Li Zhen knew he had understood his meaning, so there was no need to explain further.
“Li Heng, you and the other ten come here. We’ll set off immediately,” Li Zhen said, relieved after dealing with the Chenbo faction’s matters, and called out right away.
In an instant, Li Heng and the other ten strong warriors in the early stage of fusion appeared before Li Zhen like floating shadows. Meanwhile, the Dimension Ball was hidden in Li Heng’s hair.
The next moment, Li Zhen took out a 20-meter-long golden boat from his storage bracelet. It was the Flowing Gold Boat, crafted from a special kind of flowing stone. The entire boat had a perfect streamlined shape and shone with golden light. Compared to the Wind-Defying Boat, it was one rank higher. When flying at full speed, its speed matched that of warriors in the early stage of fusion—making it a flying artifact of the lower-grade spiritual artifact level.
Whoosh!
Li Zhen and his eleven companions moved slightly before all entering the Flowing Gold Boat. Then, with a whoosh, they disappeared.
The other nine factions—eleven members of the Taiyuan Gate from Xinguang Island, eleven demon cultivators from Bai Shou Peak on Qilong Island, eleven demon cultivators from Xian Yue Ya on Yinhui Island, eleven members of the Jin Yang Sect from Ji Ge Island, eleven members of the Qing Yun Sect from Yu Han Island, eleven members of the Ying Tian Pai from Xiang Lan Island, eleven demon cultivators from Jiu Gong Dao on Miao Yang Island, eleven members of Bi Yan Peak on Huo Yin Island, and eleven members of Lan Yang Gong on Yun Xia Island—also boarded the Flowing Gold Boats and took off one after another, heading toward the Ice Continent.
The competition among the ten major factions for the Eight Directions Sword officially began.
……
Two months passed, and the ten major factions finally crossed the Ten Islands Ocean and arrived at the northern end of the Ice Continent.
Starting from the Ten Islands, they traveled southward and landed in ten separate locations at the northern end of the Ice Continent, all isolated from each other.
In the entire cultivation world, the only one who knew the exact locations of these ten factions was Qu Yi. Among these factions, the ten people under Qu Yi’s control were detected by the Artifact God due to their soul fluctuations, so the Artifact God was aware of all activities related to these factions—meaning Qu Yi also learned about them immediately.
At this moment, the Dimension Ball, where Qu Yi was hiding, was attached to Li Heng’s hair. As the people from Cangyang Valley landed, they arrived at a place filled with various strange ice peaks.
In this land of ice peaks, Yang Di from the Ice Field Continent arrived early and flew over to join Li Zhen. The two disciples in the later stage of the Divination Realm and the ten disciples in the early stage of the Divination Realm who were originally with Yang Di were now only two left—one in the later stage of the Divination Realm and one from the enforcement team. During the three years of exploration, ten out of the twelve disciples had died, which clearly illustrated the harsh environment of the Ice Field Continent.
“Elder Yang Di!” Li Zhen called out immediately when he saw Yang Di flying over. In Cangyang Valley, as the internal affairs elder, Yang Di had provided much convenience to Li Zhen’s enforcement team, so the two had a good relationship. Seeing Yang Di’s gloomy expression, Li Zhen spoke loudly in an attempt to boost his spirits.
“Captain Li Zhen!” Upon seeing Li Zhen, Yang Di’s sense of loss from more than three years of wandering vanished instantly, and his expression brightened greatly. After three years of exploring the Ice Field Continent, filled with loneliness, boredom, and tension as they navigated through dangerous places, coupled with the pain of losing one of his disciples, Yang Di was both physically and mentally exhausted and depressed. Now that he had met an old friend, he finally regained his former feelings.
“Elder Yang Di!” Li Heng and the other ten also called out. Although they were all elders, Yang Di was still the internal affairs elder, so his status was distinctly different. Yang Di’s weathered face finally showed a smile as he nodded at Li Heng and the others. After Yang Di greeted everyone, Li Zhen smiled and took out a porcelain bottle, saying, “Old friend Yang Di, this is a He’e Dan. It can restore your vital energy and help improve your cultivation level.”
The He’e Dan was a pill used to replenish the vital energy of those in the Consolidation Phase. Knowing the hardships of the Ice Field Continent, Li Zhen had prepared some He’e Dan—otherwise, with his own vital energy depleted, he wouldn’t be able to even compete for the Eight Directions Sword, let alone reach the South Pole.
Yang Di took the porcelain bottle and immediately swallowed the He’e Dan inside. His Earthly Vital Energy emitted intense fluctuations, and the physical functions that had been damaged over the past three years due to a lack of vital energy were quickly restored.
“Li Zhen, thank you,” Yang Di said gratefully.
“Haha, old friend Yang Di, don’t say such things between us. Alright, now that your cultivation level has been restored, let’s find a place to sit down and hear about all your discoveries over these three years on the Ice Field Continent,” Li Zhen said with a laugh.
Upon hearing this, Yang Di seemed to recall the hardships of those three years again, and a pained expression appeared on his face. However, he quickly calmed down, no longer troubled by past sorrows. Soon after, Yang Di flew to a platform-like ice peak, and Li Zhen along with the other eleven people also flew over and sat down.