Chapter 0055: The Fall of the Magic Sword

After emerging from the Demon King’s Temple in the underground dimension, Huang Long did not leave the desolate island. Now, he needed to use the life force of the Netherworld Divine Tree to advance to the state of “Refining the Divine and Returning to Emptiness.” He had to stabilize the rapidly changing forces within his body and also re-cultivate his various magical artifacts.

The journey to hell ahead would likely be even more dangerous. If he could upgrade all his artifacts— the Five Hells Divine Cauldron, the Thunder Gathering Vessel, the Green Lotus Flag, and the Eight Trigrams Purple Immortality Robe—from top-grade treasures to supreme-grade ones, combined with his own power from “Refining the Divine and Returning to Emptiness” and the strength of people like Bogge, he would be unafraid, as long as no peak warriors from the Holy Realm came.

Peak of the Holy Realm? The Demon King Weifu from the demon race? That was impossible.

After releasing Bogge and the others from the Immortal Pavilion, Huang Long asked them to protect him. Then he sat cross-legged and practiced the “Water-Fire Primordial Dragon Art” to cleanse and organize the suddenly increased forces within his body, absorbing them all.

Over and over again, Huang Long concentrated the energy of his internal organs in his dantian, continuously nurturing his vital essence, primordial energy, and spirit. His mind became broader, and as if by some mysterious force, he seemed to merge with heaven and earth. Everything within hundreds of miles around him appeared clearly in his mind.

After “Refining the Divine and Returning to Emptiness” and mastering spells, one could achieve divine powers. Now, Huang Long had reached the levels of Heavenly Eye, Heavenly Ear, Divine Realm Perception, Fate Perception, Mind Perception, and Heart Leakage Perception. Although their power wasn’t great, he could already use some minor divine powers.

The Thirty-Six Heavenly Methods and the Seventy-Two Earthly Techniques were also forms of divine powers. For example, techniques like Manipulating Fate, Reversing Yin and Yang, Moving Stars and Changing Constellations, Turning Back the Sun and Moon, Summoning Rain and Wind, Shaking Mountains and Earth, Riding Mist and Clouds, and Turning Rivers into Land—of course, Huang Long didn’t yet possess such great powers.

A strong divine sense allowed him to sense everything around him, but he couldn’t truly see or hear everything. However, Heavenly Eye and Heavenly Ear could.

After practicing the “Water-Fire Primordial Dragon Art” for several cycles, the forces within Huang Long’s body gradually became more controllable. What surprised him, however, was the change in the Immortal Pavilion. Originally, behind the main hall of the Immortal Pavilion, there were hundreds of floating palaces in a vacuum-like space. Now, the Netherworld Divine Tree stood among those palaces, with clusters of white spiritual energy surrounding it, filling the space of the hundreds of palaces like clouds formed by immortals. At first glance, these palaces resembled immortal palaces floating among the clouds, just like those in the Heavenly Court of the Pangu World.

A few meters around the Netherworld Divine Tree, there was a lush green glow, full of vitality. It was truly a paradise-like realm for immortals.

As the white jade roots of the Netherworld Divine Tree took root in the Immortals’ Pavilion and merged with it, the interior of the pavilion became even more intricate and solid. Although it had not yet evolved into an immortal artifact, it was already at the level of a quasi-immortal artifact. Huang Long believed that, with the influence of the Netherworld Divine Tree, the Immortals’ Pavilion would gradually evolve into an immortal artifact. The space of the Immortals’ Pavilion had expanded by more than ten times, covering an area of nearly a hundred li. The power of major formations such as the Dayan Divine Thunder Array in its center had also increased significantly. With a mere thought from Huang Long, flashes of lightning, billowing smoke, and fierce hurricanes appeared. Huang Long believed that if the Sky Blue Python Ox were trapped inside now, it would surely not be able to escape even without Bogge’s help. With full effort, Huang Long could subdue the Sky Blue Python Ox on his own. After standing up, Huang Long sighed in relief. He never expected this journey to hell to bring such surprises. He was now just one step away from achieving the realm of Perfecting the Spirit and Returning to Emptiness. Achieving the state of the soul leaving the body should not be far off—perhaps just two years. With a thought, Huang Long pointed, and a sharp sword aura shot toward a mountain two li away. With a buzz, a several-meter-wide hole appeared in the mountain, allowing a clear view of another mountain beyond. It was the Xuanqing Great Freedom Sword Aura—a of the sword aura techniques. Huang Long didn’t think much of it, but Bogge and the three beasts standing by gasped in shock, wondering what would have happened if that attack had hit them. Especially the Sky Blue Python Ox, whose gaze toward Huang Long now held a sense of awe. Ignoring the expressions of Bogge and the three beasts, Huang Long took out the Five Hells Divine Cauldron, the Thunder Gathering Vessel, the Green Lotus Flag, and the Bagua Purple Longevity Immortal Robe. Now, he intended to elevate all these treasures to the highest level of artifacts. Earlier, along the way in the Sea of Death, Huang Long had acquired many valuable items, so he didn’t have to worry about a shortage of materials. After summoning the Five Hells Divine Cauldron and other treasures, with a thought, Huang Long released materials such as golden crystals, purple qi spirit stones, cold yang yin soil, moonstones, fire heart stones, nine-cold secret iron, and hellish demon crystals. Piled together, these materials formed a small mountain. Bogge, Piel, and Endi weren’t too surprised, as they had witnessed their master collect these precious treasures along the way. But the Sky Blue Python Ox, looking at the mountain of treasures before it, was dazzled and felt dizzy. Having lived in the Sea of Death for thousands of years, it naturally knew how rare these items were. Were all these belonging to its master?

What exactly is his identity, master?
Under the astonished and puzzled gaze of the Sky Blue Python Ox, Huang Long waved his hands, gathering the materials scattered on the ground into the Five Hells Divine Cauldron. Then he opened his mouth and blew out a ball of Samadhi True Fire toward the cauldron.
At the realm of perfect refinement of the divine spirit, the innate true fire evolved into Samadhi True Fire, undergoing a qualitative change in both power and intensity. Before long, the impurities in the materials within the cauldron were removed through the refining effect of the Samadhi True Fire, turning them into a liquid.
Finally, Huang Long remade the Five Hells Divine Cauldron, the Thunder Gathering Vessel, the Blue Lotus Flag, and the Bagua Purple Longevity Immortal Robes, elevating them to top-tier treasures. He also remade the Immortal Binding Rope once more.
Throughout the entire process, the Sky Blue Python Ox watched in awe as Huang Long conjured spells as if by magic, causing the various treasures to change size at will.
By the time Huang Long finished refining the treasures, the Python Ox still hadn’t regained consciousness.
Hearing what Bog and the others said—that these strange weapons in the master’s hands were called treasures? The Sky Blue Python Ox widened its eyes, staring intently. It could even sense a faint pressure emanating from these treasures.
“Congratulations, master! Your cultivation has advanced greatly!”
“Your divine powers are unparalleled, and your magical strength is boundless!”
At that moment, Pi Er and En Di rushed over to Huang Long, flattering him with congratulations.
Especially Pi Er, the Cave Dragon, swayed its tail, sweeping the ground around clean.
Bog was used to such things and rolled his eyes, while the Sky Blue Python Ox stood there, looking extremely frustrated.
Seeing this, Huang Long smiled and patted the two beasts. “Enough, you two. Stop flattering me. You’ll still get your rewards. Come, let’s leave this place first.” With that, he leaped onto the back of the Sky Blue Python Ox and rode off.
Now, the Sky Blue Python Ox was Huang Long’s sole mount.
After all, riding a cow was still more comfortable than sitting on a Cave Dragon like that scorpion-like beast. Besides, the Sky Blue Python Ox was a mighty ox.
Before long, Huang Long and his group landed on an island in the Sea of Death.
Through the sensing power of his divine consciousness, Huang Long realized that the magic sword was on this island in the Sea of Death. This was also why Huang Long went straight to the Sea of Death after entering hell.