Chapter 260: The Sword Soul of the Dark Dragon

Two men appeared before Rod at this moment, and the place he was in transformed into a deep mountain. The two men had already begun fighting. Wasn’t the weapon in the hands of the burly man with pale purple hair the Dark Dragon? Yet the Dark Dragon in his hands seemed even more striking, shimmering with pitch-black light under the sunlight—most eerie.
The man across from him was clearly no weakling either. His dark purple combat energy was dazzling—neither the purple of the sacred level nor the white of the divine level, but dark purple. This type of combat energy was something Rod had never heard of before. It was exactly the same as the energy displayed by the man he had seen in the desert earlier. This made Rod convinced that their realm might have surpassed the divine level, reaching a level unimaginable to modern people. But why, if they had reached such a height, had they regressed so much now?
Filled with endless doubts, Rod raised his head to watch further. The intense battle produced a roaring sound, shaking the entire land. With a loud crash, the large mountain ahead was split in two by the man wielding the Dark Dragon—with just one swing! No, the power of that single swing split the mountain in two!
Eyes wide, Rod swallowed hard, his heart filled with utter shock. What he had seen just now seemed like a casual swing, seemingly not using full strength—even weaker than the previous moves. Yet it still produced such an outcome! It was hard to imagine such terrifying attacks hidden within what appeared to be a casual back-and-forth battle. It was hard to imagine how powerful one would need to be to withstand such attacks. Rod couldn’t even fathom what level these two men had reached. Could true gods really exist?
Perhaps only they could possess such immense power, Rod thought to himself, shaking his head.

This battle lasted three days and three nights, growing increasingly fierce and terrifying. The once beautiful land was destroyed in their fight, leaving everything in darkness, as if the world had collapsed. Dark clouds covered the sky, accompanied by lightning and thunder! The beautiful scenery on the ground vanished, leaving only a mess of craters and ruins. Rod was surprised to find that the ground beneath his feet was also severely damaged, beyond sight. It seemed true what the Sword Spirit had said—so long as one guarded their heart and did not harm themselves, no one other than the Sword Spirit could hurt them.

Rod didn’t know how long he had watched this battle that darkened the entire world—sun, moon, stars, lightning, and thunder all changed rapidly. After an unknown amount of time, the two finally perished together in reluctance, closing their eyes in despair. No one could predict the outcome of this battle.

Before Rod could be troubled further, the scene shifted to a quiet place, filled with cold winds carrying stench and the smell of blood. “This isn’t a good place!” Rod told himself, feeling a piercing chill.

As Rod opened his eyes and saw the gloomy surroundings, the entire world began to spin, causing dizziness. Various scenes flashed by like slides, constantly changing, with more memories emerging in his mind. The only common element was the sword—indeed, in every scene he saw, the protagonist was holding the Dark Dragon Sword.

Rod knew these were the things Xuan Yuan had told him about. Every great sword, to be considered unparalleled, not only had a Sword Spirit and was sharp and durable but also had an internal world that recorded its glory.

What he saw now was the glory the Dark Dragon had experienced through its successive owners. With this realization, Rod no longer felt anxious or worried. The fact that he could see these things meant the Sword Spirit recognized his existence; otherwise, they wouldn’t have appeared before him.

Now, all he needed to do was quickly memorize these things, understand the events related to the Dark Dragon, and learn about its past glory. Then he would search for the Sword Spirit’s whereabouts.

In this world, Rod gradually lost sense of time, putting it aside and focusing entirely on his own tasks.

Vast amounts of data were etched into Rod’s mind like by a recorder; the sheer volume of information caused him intense pain, forcing him to cry out in agony. This state persisted for an entire day before gradually subsiding! It felt as though his mind was filled with the contents of those scenes, yet he didn’t have time to organize them. Suddenly, a powerful suction force pulled his mental energy away. Passing through this space, Rod found himself in another realm, filled with endless confusion. If the previous space was a void illusion, this one seemed like a real existence—completely different from before. “Rod, be careful! This place is different from the last one—everything here is real!” Xuan Yuan’s warning in his mind made Rod alert, as he moved forward slowly. It seemed things had gone beyond Xuan Yuan’s expectations—the origin of the Dark Dragon far exceeded his imagination. Looking at the Dark Dragon again, Xuan Yuan couldn’t afford to underestimate it. With the existence of a virtual world and even this real space, combining the virtual and the real, there were no more than ten such entities in the whole world! What Rod needed to do now was find the sword spirit. According to Xuan Yuan’s judgment, the sword spirit of this sword must be sealed or injured and in a dormant state. Rod had to locate it and awaken it. Once the sword spirit revived, the Dark Dragon would be incomparably stronger than it was now. If the current Dark Dragon was already a formidable weapon, it could rise to the level of a divine weapon, advancing by one entire rank. Holding his breath and concentrating, Rod followed the presence he sensed, his heart beating faster and faster. The sensation grew stronger, and he knew he was nearing it—the very entity that had been calling to him since he entered this space! Following its call, he finally found it. Continuing forward, after about a few hundred meters, he saw a house—the source of the calling and pulling force. Taking a deep breath and preparing himself mentally, Rod moved forward toward the small house. If he wasn’t mistaken, the sword spirit of the Dark Dragon must be inside.

“It’s over here. It must be trapped and sealed!” Xuan Yuan’s voice came through, tinged with shock and surprise. In this world of sword spirits, could someone actually trap and seal it? Just how extraordinary must this person’s strength be? Who did this, and why?

“What should we do?” Rod gently touched the barrier surrounding the room and asked Xuan Yuan. Faced with such a situation, Rod didn’t dare be careless.

“Go in. It can’t get out. Find out what this barrier is and see what’s inside!” Xuan Yuan said in a low voice, watching the seal from afar as Rod prepared to enter. He couldn’t make any judgment until he understood the truth behind it.

Nodding slightly, Rod concentrated his mental energy, took a deep breath, and charged forward. The faint barrier rippled like ripples in water but was instantly pierced by his powerful force as he entered the room.

What he saw left Rod astonished and puzzled again—the room was completely empty!

“Master, is it you?” As Rod was filled with confusion and about to seek help from Xuan Yuan, a strange voice came through, sounding like that of a young man in his twenties.

“Are you the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit?” Hearing this voice, Rod’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked.

“Yes. I’ve been waiting for you for so long. Finally, you’ve come!” A sigh echoed through the empty room, carrying a tone of sorrow.

After searching everywhere without finding any signs of people or objects, Rod frowned. Could sword spirits be invisible? he wondered.

“No need to look. You can’t see me because there’s a magic array beneath your feet. I’m sealed here! The reason I could lead you here now is that the magic array has started to weaken. Master, I need your help. Only you can free me from this seal and let me return to my own world!”

Seeming to sense Rod’s confusion, the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit spoke in that deep voice.

“How?” Rod, still puzzled, looked around but saw no magic array as described. He couldn’t help but ask.

“You can’t see him. This formation abhors blood the most. To break it, the Dark Dragon must consume enough blood, and the master’s life force must serve as a medium for it to succeed!” The spirit of the Dark Dragon Sword spoke in a hesitant voice. It was worried that the mention of life force might make Rod give up on saving it. Life force is the most precious thing for any person—it’s limited and resides in the heart, being the essence of one’s vital energy. A deficiency in life force would lead to a series of mutations, starting with a decline in physical condition. When the deficiency becomes severe, it can be fatal. That’s why the Dark Dragon was worried.

“Don’t worry. I don’t need much—just three drops. Three drops will be enough! Once I break the seal and emerge, the Dark Dragon can be revived, and I can travel the world with you to see what changes have taken place on this continent over thousands of years!” Sensing Rod’s hesitation, the Dark Dragon hurriedly added.