Chapter 262: The Great Battle Against the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit

The sudden occurrence turned Rod’s expression pale. Even though he had been prepared, he could hardly withstand the sudden onslaught from the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit at this moment. In an instant, it rushed into his mental realm, delving into his consciousness sea and attempting to control him by harnessing his energy. Realizing this, Rod was horrified and quickly resisted with all his might.

He concentrated all his mental energy in his consciousness sea while simultaneously using his combat energy to drive away the evil energy emitted by the Dark Dragon. This time, Rod finally understood the Dark Dragon’s true purpose: it simply wanted to merge with him, to take control of his body. At the very least, it aimed to seize control of his consciousness, turning him into its puppet.

“Relax and let me merge with you. Gahahaha… Merging with you won’t harm you. What a perfect vessel! If you become my puppet, you’ll become even more famous than ever!” The Dark Dragon Sword Spirit, now in control of Rod’s consciousness sea, spoke arrogantly.

“Bastard, get out of here!” Rod struggled desperately within his consciousness sea, mobilizing every ounce of his mental energy to resist.

“I didn’t expect that after such a long time of sealing you, your mental energy still hadn’t diminished, and your combat energy remained so abundant. It seems I underestimated your strength!” The Dark Dragon Sword Spirit was also surprised that Rod could still resist it.

“Never expect to succeed!” The consciousness sea had become a battlefield, a seemingly illusory place where a fierce battle was unfolding. Rod’s life and fate hinged on this single struggle.

Fortunately, he had been prepared in advance, so he wasn’t caught off guard. With Xuan Yuan’s help, he managed to protect his vital energy and mind, allowing him to fight back against the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit in his consciousness sea.

At this point, the two sides were engaged in a fierce battle. If Rod won, the Dark Dragon would fall under his control. If he lost, the consequences would be unimaginable—he would become a living puppet, even a more tragic fate than that of the Nash family’s patriarch.

The Dark Dragon Sword Spirit released waves of evil energy, covering Rod’s entire body. It laughed triumphantly, believing everything was already within its grasp. All it needed now was to enjoy watching Rod struggle.

Yet, things often took an unexpected turn. In just a few minutes, the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit’s expression changed drastically, and it suddenly panicked. “What’s going on? What’s happening? Why is this happening now? Damn it, what trick did you play?”

At this moment, its composure vanished, replaced by utter panic. A cold smirk appeared on Rod’s face.
“My energy! Why has it been assimilated by you? Why absorbed? Damn it, let go of me! Release me now!” Trapped by Rod, the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit turned pale and shouted loudly.
Just a moment ago, it had felt the gases spreading across Rod’s body being assimilated and absorbed by Rod’s combat energy, while the impurities were easily expelled. What was going on?
It didn’t understand. Logically, it should possess the most evil murderous aura in the world, the most terrifying killing intent, along with infinite bloody energy and demonic energy! Not to mention ordinary people—even those at the Yin Huang realm would be helpless against such auras and could only wait for death under its control. But why wasn’t it working this time? Instead, it was being counterattacked and violently consumed?
After all, its master had once stepped into the Yang Xuan realm—a king among those at the Yin Huang realm. Even he, who was extremely powerful, couldn’t withstand such an aura. After its successful ambush, it had easily eliminated him and taken control of his consciousness. And now…
The more it thought about it, the more panicked it became. For the first time, the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit felt powerless and caught off guard.
Was it the same as that old man? It wondered secretly. But soon, it dismissed that thought. Even that old man had been controlled by it. The reason it was sealed away was because of its own carelessness, allowing the old man a few moments of clarity to seal it using his own life force. At that time, it had also sacrificed its voice, the life force of a Yang Xuan realm warrior, and all its combat energy.
But now? The Dark Dragon Sword Spirit was nearly going mad. At this moment, it seemed to understand why Rod had unhesitatingly helped it before! Did Rod already know it wasn’t afraid of its aura? Or had he anticipated this move and prepared thoroughly?
Damn it! There was also another aura it hated deeply—the aura of the righteous path, pure and untainted. It wasn’t Rod’s own energy but an external force. Could it be that this guy had allied with something to fight it?
“Damn you, bastard! Let go of me!” It struggled frantically, but Rod held it tightly. Though it could sense everything happening outside, it had no time to pay attention.

At this moment, he was finally panicked. Why was this bastard Rod’s mental power so strong? It wasn’t something a god-tier warrior should possess. Even a god-tier warrior at the highest level shouldn’t have such terrifying mental power. Ordinary warriors at the Yin Huang realm certainly didn’t have such strength either—only those old monsters might be able to do this. There was also this inexplicable act of devouring, swallowing one’s own energy.

In this way, he was essentially trapped inside this sea of consciousness. Thinking of this, he broke into cold sweat, finally realizing just how precarious the situation was—he was in a desperate situation!

According to the plan, shouldn’t he have succeeded? Shouldn’t it be this guy who was in trouble? What was going on now?

Ignoring the furious roars of the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit, Rod didn’t care at all. Success was within reach, so he had no time to worry about such things.

Indeed, his combat energy was now spread throughout his body, devouring the energy emitted by the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit and integrating it into his own combat energy.

Kill energy, malevolent energy, and demonic energy—these might be terrifying to others, but Rod didn’t think so. To him, these things could even be considered supplements, excellent supplements! After all, his combat energy already contained kill energy, demonic energy, and malevolent energy, which he could easily absorb.

It was precisely because he discovered this—that the energy inside the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit was the same as the energy in the blood he had merged with before, and that he could refine it—that Rod changed his mind and began helping it break through the sealing barrier without hesitation! Now his guess had proven true. Indeed, the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit was a danger to others, but it was ineffective against him.

As time passed, he had refined all the energy in his body. All that remained was the panicked struggle and the roaring Sword Spirit. Xuan Yuan now helped him protect his vital energy, as such shocks couldn’t give the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit any chance to strike suddenly!

His combat energy surrounded his energy sea, while his mental power completely encircled the Sword Spirit. Rod revealed a bloodthirsty smile.

“Damn it, what do you… what do you want? How about this—no further aggression between us. I’ll leave right now. Since you don’t want to be my puppet, I can find someone else. There’s no need to ruin our relationship, right? Over these years, I’ve helped you a lot by staying by your side. If you help me break the seal now, we’ll be even. How about I leave you immediately?” Realizing the situation was going wrong, the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit finally began to compromise, as Rod suggested.
“What do you think? Just let him go after saving him? Then let him find another victim to control and do evil?” With a cold smile, Rod spoke slowly. He certainly wouldn’t give up such a favorable situation so easily.
“Damn it, then what do you want? Bastard! I’ve already taken a step back, and you still want more?” The Dark Dragon roared angrily at Rod.
“Sign a contract and acknowledge me as your master.” Those simple eight words caused the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit’s expression to change drastically.
“Impossible! I’ve never acknowledged anyone as my master, and you certainly can’t. That damned old man was at the top of the Yin Yellow realm, and I didn’t even agree to that. Saving some low-tier divine warrior? Impossible!” Rejecting Rod’s offer outright, the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit launched another counterattack. There was no room for negotiation anymore.
“Hmph, if that’s the case, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” With a cold snort, Rod spoke. After integrating his returned spiritual energy back into his own body, his combat power surged instantly, forcing the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit to retreat step by step. Coupled with the righteous energy given to him by Xuanyuan, which was exactly the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit’s nemesis, Rod quickly gained a decisive advantage.
Seeing that it was hopeless, the Dark Dragon Sword Spirit tried to escape. Unfortunately, Rod wouldn’t give it a chance. Qi from all directions immediately blocked its paths, surrounding it tightly in the center.
“Kid, this is your chance! It seems he’s afraid of your Qi. I’ll give you some righteous energy—merge it with his, and make it part of your Qi core. Hurry up!” At that moment, Xuanyuan suddenly appeared beside Rod, his eyes blazing.
“What’s going on?” Rod looked at Xuanyuan’s Sword Spirit in confusion, not understanding his intentions.
“Hurry up! Stop talking nonsense. I’ll explain later. This is a rare opportunity!” Ignoring Rod, Xuanyuan’s Sword Spirit’s eyes were now filled with madness.

After a brief silence, since the Soul of the Xuanyuan Sword spoke thus, Rod felt it was inappropriate to press further. Out of absolute trust in it, Rod began to reduce his encirclement. As the righteous energy of Xuanyuan merged in, his combat energy underwent a dramatic change, beginning to envelop and assimilate the Soul of the Dark Dragon Sword. With a hint of reluctance in his eyes, he allowed the Soul of the Dark Dragon Sword to become part of himself. But what would happen to the Dark Dragon Sword then? Without its soul, it might merely be considered a sharp weapon, even inferior to before. Yet since Xuanyuan had said so, there must be a reason. It had never harmed him before, and Rod believed it wouldn’t this time either. So what harm could come from following his instructions?