Born with immortal seed

Chapter 117 The Sound Bamboo Sword

Vast old forests, rolling hills.

A group of boar demons with protruding tusks and black thorns on their heads charged wildly, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Raise your shield!"

In a square formation of five hundred people, a thick earthen shield rose up, resembling a giant city gate. The boar demons crashed into it, staggering and falling. Two of them even broke their tusks.

"Golden Spear Technique, activate!"

Twelve golden halberds gathered at the four corners of the formation, unleashing a terrifying force as they were swung out with a whooshing sound.

Several pig demons were killed on the spot, but most of them were still alive and kicking.

Several boar demons that had been grazed by the Golden Spear Technique were sent flying several feet away, rolled twice on the ground, and then got up again with grunts.

The attacked boar demons grew increasingly violent, their protruding tusks glowing red, like heavy chariots, smashing the earthen shield and sending sand and gravel flying.

"Hold on, increase the infusion of mana!"

When the leading deacon saw a few cracks appear on the earthen shield, he hurriedly started yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Junior Brother Ma, Junior Sister Long, let's attack together... These boar demons are tough and thick-skinned, an anomaly among first-tier demon beasts. They can protect themselves with their battle formation alone, but we can't wipe them out. If we take too long, the boar demons will scatter, which will only delay things."

Three Foundation Establishment cultivators hovered in mid-air, commenting on the battle below.

"Hmph, we'll have to train them properly later. To perform like this in the very first battle, they couldn't even aim their Golden Spear Techniques correctly..."

Ma Ming's face was gloomy as a small, emerald-green knife flew out of his hand and pierced the pig demon's body as easily as cutting tofu.

It circled around inside before shooting out to find its next target, leaving the pig demon, whose body had been churned to a pulp, crashing to the ground behind it.

"Fortunately, those cultivation families and rogue cultivators haven't gathered yet, otherwise, if they saw this, it would be a disgrace to the Azure Maple Sect!"

“Junior Brother Ma is overthinking it. In the pioneering war, the sects have absolute dominance. Who would dare to say anything? Anyone who is outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, disobeys orders, or retreats can be taken down and dealt with directly. Apart from a few rogue cultivators who don’t know the gravity of the situation, the rest will only gravitate towards us to try to increase their chances of survival and to receive more consideration when the rewards are distributed after the war.”

Elder Zhang of the Law Enforcement Hall used his two silver grappling hooks to grab a pig demon, and with a pull, tore it in two.

On the other side, the voluptuous junior sister Long was taciturn. With a wave of her hand, she spun a crescent moon, driving back several pig demons that were trying to escape.

After an incense stick had burned, the group of pig demons was finally wiped out.

With the battle formation lifted, each cultivator had expended a considerable amount of mana. Apart from the guards, the rest of them sat down to recover their mana.

After the battle, everyone was unharmed except for a few who were exhausted.

Without a battle formation, the five hundred cultivators would be in complete chaos, and if the boar demon charged, dozens of them would surely be killed or wounded.

Along the way to the front of Jade Moon Lake, there are at least dozens of such groups of monsters, and monsters may suddenly appear from nowhere at any time.

Without the coordination of battle formations, the Qi Refining cultivators would likely suffer heavy casualties halfway there.

Once everyone had recovered, they began cleaning up the battlefield and collecting useful monster materials.

Another group of monks cleared away the overgrown vines and weeds, creating a habitat spanning several acres.

Two array masters, carrying array plates, carefully identified the location, inserted array flags, and set up a second-tier low-grade defensive array.

"According to the plan, this is the first stop on the way to the pioneering war, and the resources that are replenished later will be stored here... Will a single second-tier low-grade formation be enough?"

Ma Ming volunteered to join the first batch of teams in the pioneering war. Only after leaving the sect did he realize that this pioneering war was completely different from his previous explorations deep in the Black Mountain.

The monsters encountered cannot be avoided; they must be cleared away one by one.

Even venomous snakes and insects should be eliminated as much as possible to reduce the burden on subsequent troops.

"This place itself barely has the strength of a second-grade low-level spiritual vein. Any higher-grade array would not be able to support it... Besides, according to the General Affairs Hall's plan, a total of six transfer stations need to be built, all of which will use high-level arrays. Even if the Array Hall is emptied out, it will not be enough."

Inside the formation, under the guidance of two stewards, they have begun to build a simple pavilion and storeroom.

Elder Zhang landed on the ground. For the next month, they would clear out the surrounding monsters and wait for the second team to join them.

"This mere General Affairs Office dares to meddle with us..."

Ma Ming muttered something to himself, and seeing that Junior Sister Long had already walked far away, he quickly followed.

……

Bai Zichen waited anxiously outside the weapon-refining room, pacing back and forth.

Three days ago, he received a message saying that the forging of the flying sword had reached the final stage and that he should wait at the site.

"Why isn't it over yet? The final step of condensing the sword shouldn't be that slow, right?"

At this moment, Bai Zichen became a little nervous and asked anxiously.

I hadn't thought about it before, but now I'm really worried about the possibility of failing to forge the sword.

Successfully forging a top-grade spiritual weapon does not guarantee success in forging a second-tier flying sword.

If we fail, we really won't be able to find another Sacred Bamboo in a short time.

"Don't rush. Since Senior Brother Dai has been studying it for a month before starting to refine it, he must be confident..."

Peng Chong stayed by his side, mainly because he was curious about the second-tier flying sword.

As a weapon refiner, who wouldn't want to forge a few famous swords in their own hands?

Bai Zichen calmed himself down and realized that he was too concerned about the second-tier flying sword, which had disturbed his mind.

I simply found a place to sit down, sketched out the furnace of heaven and earth in my mind, and sank into a state of neither joy nor sorrow.

He maintained the Heaven and Earth Furnace for the full duration of an incense stick's burning before voluntarily withdrawing his divine sense, allowing the scene to vanish as if scattered by the wind.

When I opened my eyes again, everything was as calm as still water.

Peng Chong nodded secretly to himself, thinking, "As expected of someone who set a record for the Path of Inquiry in the True Inheritance Trial, he recovered so quickly."

If it were me, and I were in the final stage of crafting a top-grade spiritual artifact, not knowing whether I would succeed or not, I would definitely be extremely anxious.

"Brother Peng, have you heard anything about the reclamation war lately?"

Bai Zichen took the initiative to start a conversation, asking about unrelated matters.

"The Law Enforcement Hall has already acquired the first second-tier spiritual vein and established a transit station. The sect has also sent an elder with a hundred disciples to go there... This time, there are also four hundred family cultivators and five hundred people selected from thousands of applicants."

Peng Chong shared the information he had gathered.

"Oh, with the addition of family cultivators, it means that all twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators leading the team are now in place. I estimate that the progress can be greatly accelerated."

Bai Zichen thought of the Bai family. Last month, his uncle Bai Jiu'an wrote a letter saying that the clan had received the batch of resources that had been sent back.

It is unknown which ten clansmen Bai Xianzong selected for the first batch of teams.

"The second transit point we've chosen has several second-tier snake demons; it'll probably take some time to clear them out..."

A clear, melodious voice interrupted Peng Chong's words, and the flames in the Qi Refining Chamber blazed brightly, illuminating the area.

Immediately afterwards, a chorus of instruments began to play, hollow and melodious, drowning out all the other sounds.

Bai Zichen and Peng Chong exchanged glances, then stared intently at the door of the weapon-forging room, knowing that the sword-forging process had reached its most crucial moment.

Half an hour later, a loud shout was heard, and the light in the weapon-refining room dimmed, returning to silence.

Dai Hui pushed open the door and walked out, his face ashen, with bloodstains still on his Taoist robe.

Bai Zichen's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother Dai, how did the sword forging go?"

"Fortunately, I live up to my fate!"

Dai Hui's eyes shone brightly, although he looked like he had lost all his energy and no longer had his previous refined demeanor.

"At the last moment, the sword was just a hair's breadth away from taking shape. It almost ran out of firepower and was about to fail... I, Fu Lingxin, spat out a mouthful of blood essence to fuel the fire and finally forged the sword."

Dai Hui raised his hand, and a white, smooth surface, like a swimming fish, emerged.

After being forged, the white flying sword, which had shrunk to a length of three and a half feet, hovered in the air, its color shining brightly.

It seemed to possess sentience, spinning around on its own.

"The Sound Bamboo Sword!"

Upon seeing the white flying sword and comparing it with the image in the secret manual for sword forging, Bai Zichen knew that this second-tier flying sword had been successfully forged.

Seeing Dai Hui's appearance, he quickly bowed and greeted her.

"This time, we owe a lot to Senior Brother Dai. He even suffered from exhaustion."

"It's nothing. Compared to mastering the crafting method of a second-tier flying sword, this minor injury is nothing!"

Dai Hui clearly gained a lot from the sword-forging process and was in a very good mood.

"And that Tianxin Sword, if you still want to forge it, you can gather the materials and come to me... It won't be this dangerous next time, but I'll have to charge you a forging fee."

"There will be times when I need your help, senior brother."

Bai Zichen was overjoyed; others might have been satisfied with just a flying sword.

However, due to the Star River Sword Formation, he had developed a habit of collecting flying swords, accepting any flying sword that came his way, the more the better.

Moreover, Bai Zichen has already mastered the ability to use two swords simultaneously, making two flying swords a basic requirement for him.

After bidding farewell to Dai Hui, Bai Zichen immediately took out the Yinzhu Sword and carefully examined it upon returning home.

"Unlike the Ink Bamboo Sword, the Sound Bamboo Sword's original quality is somewhat unrecognizable. It resembles bamboo and jade, and also has some metal characteristics..."

Bai Zichen placed the Yinzhu Sword in front of him, took a deep breath, and began refining the flying sword.

As it was indeed a second-tier flying sword, the Bell of All Beings completed its refinement in just a few hours that day.

It took Yinzhu Sword three days and three nights to achieve perfect harmony between mind and body, making it as easy to control as an extension of his own arm.

"With this sword in hand, I wonder where I would rank in terms of combat strength among Foundation Establishment cultivators..."

Since Bai Zichen established his foundation, he has not yet fought against any cultivator of the same level.

The only way to make a judgment is to put yourself in the shoes of the battles you've observed before.

“A typical early Foundation Establishment cultivator shouldn’t be a match for me… At least that Senior Brother Zhang from the Enforcement Hall, if he didn’t have too many trump cards up his sleeve when he wiped out the Mo family, he doesn’t seem like someone who could block my sword light.”

Bai Zichen held up several familiar faces and compared them to himself.

"As for Senior Brother Pei, a cultivator who has accumulated years of experience in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, I'm afraid I can't defeat him; the difference in magical power is too great."

Bai Zichen brandished the Sound Bamboo Sword, growing happier with each glance.

With a long roar, he rose and flew out of the sect on his sword.

The first time one has ever possessed a second-tier flying sword is naturally a moment worth commemorating.

(End of this chapter)