Born with immortal seed

Chapter 553 Qianyan Fire Bamboo Sword

"Apart from the herb garden secret realm, there is no need to rush to reclaim the rest of Qishan."

Bai Zichen squinted, holding the piece of fire bamboo horizontally between his palms, letting the specks of flame on it climb up his palms and forearms as if they had a mind of their own.

These bright orange flames, pure and radiant, exude boundless light and convey a sense of purification and dispelling evil.

It had absolutely no warmth; instead, it felt cool to the touch, and the Taoist robe on his body was perfectly intact.

“There are tens of thousands of mortals in that secret realm, all of whom are direct relatives of the disciples of the Holy Lotus Sect. They have all been moved out... We have residents from two towns in Black Mountain transferred here to fill the vacancies.”

"Furthermore, there's no need to argue between Lingzhi Hall and Lingtian Hall. Send people from both halls to ensure that the next batch of medicinal herbs in the herb garden will be harvested without any problems."

"The two guest elders I invited from the Divine Tree Sect, have them set off immediately. Any suitable spiritual fields within and outside Qishan, including the Herb Garden Secret Realm, can be requisitioned."

"I want to quell the unrest as soon as possible. I want a stable rear area, not a Central Plains where war rages and everyone, from cultivators to mortals, feels that their lives are in constant danger."

"Don't be afraid to kill. To stop the chaos, we need to use swift and decisive measures... This sword will stay with you for a while. If you encounter a powerful enemy, you can call on Little Purple for help. No one below the Nascent Soul stage can withstand a single strike from this sword."

Many of the cultivators who have undergone tribulations in Zhongzhou were originally cultivators from various sects who have changed their identities.

There are quite a few Core Formation cultivators here, and Ma Ruoxi and her companions cannot intimidate them.

In order to speed up the pacification of Zhongzhou, Bai Zichen communicated with the Ziwei Xuanlei Sword and lent out his natal flying sword.

Ma Ruoxi merely served as a catalyst; she used the original power of the Ziwei Xuanlei Sword to unleash her sword strikes.

Under normal circumstances, the sword spirit would not agree, but with the Wushangqing Micro Sword Box, the lost source power can be returned in a year or two.

Moreover, opponents at the Core Formation level don't require much of the Purple Star Thunder Sword's power to kill; they can be killed with ease.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this treasure. I will surely eradicate the calamities as soon as possible and restore peace to the Central Plains."

Ma Ruoxi presented the sword with both hands, kowtowed to express her gratitude, and seeing that her master had no further instructions, she retreated and left the main hall.

"Whether you can take advantage of the opportunity to control Xiao Zi and comprehend the realm of refining swords into silk depends on your own fate..."

Bai Zichen gazed at the figure of his fourth disciple, murmured a word, and slowly closed his eyes.

The Purple Star Thunder Sword is of a higher grade than the fifth rank.

As his natal flying sword, it is constantly influenced by the realm of swordsmanship.

Sword cultivators like Ma Ruoxi, who have long been stuck in the realm of sword qi and thunderous sound, are essentially leaping two levels ahead of time, vaguely grasping the mysteries of sword light differentiation.

If she accumulates enough knowledge, a single moment of enlightenment can save her decades of effort.

The Qingfeng Sect already has quite a few Core Formation cultivators, but none have truly shown signs of Nascent Soul.

If given the opportunity, I will definitely help my disciple.

"Unexpectedly, the Holy Lotus Sect also had a fourth-tier flying sword hidden away, without a word from the outside world... Perhaps it was because they had only recently acquired it, and there had been no sect leaders skilled in swordsmanship in recent generations, so it remained unknown to the public."

Bai Zichen asked Hong Xuan, the Core Formation Elder, who only knew that the Holy Lotus Sect Leader possessed a fourth spiritual treasure, but did not know what kind of spiritual treasure it was or its origin.

With his swordsmanship skills, which ranked among the top in the entire cultivation world, he immediately realized that the essence hidden deep within this bamboo was a flying sword.

However, although both are bamboo-type flying swords, the Thunder Sound Sword is at least forged into a sword shape, while this bamboo seems to have been barely trimmed.

"Unexpectedly, a sword made of bamboo and wood can be upgraded to the fourth tier. It seems that this has never happened before in history."

Bai Zichen gripped the fire bamboo tightly, and the flames instantly disappeared into the bamboo, leaving it looking completely bare.

"I ask you, are you willing to acknowledge me as your master and serve me?"

Huozhu nodded repeatedly, his emotions filled with eagerness and elation, as his true essence easily entered the refining process.

Back then, Bai Zichen used the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword in the Sword Tomb Secret Realm to make the fourth-tier Moon Spin Sword actively target him when he was still a Foundation Establishment cultivator, which shocked the Heavenly River Sword Sect.

Tang Fei and Yan Yuanzai were both amazed by his unparalleled swordsmanship talent, which could only be compared to the few predecessors of the Taibai Sword Sect ten thousand years ago.

Today, he can genuinely make a fourth-tier flying sword recognize him as its master, without even needing to use the Supreme Pure Micro Sword Box.

The number of cultivators in the entire cultivation world who meet the conditions of being in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm and having their sword light differentiated is in the single digits.

If you also consider Bai Zichen's age, he is truly unique in the entire world.

A sharp stream of true essence refined the Fire Bamboo Flying Sword, and the initial information about the sword's forging was transmitted back.

The Qianyan Fire Bamboo Sword was originally made of third-tier bitter bamboo, which grows one section every sixty years and takes hundreds of years to mature.

Unexpectedly struck by heavenly fire, only one spirit bamboo out of thousands of bitter bamboo trees survived the fire, absorbing the power of the heavenly fire and becoming a unique fourth-tier spirit bamboo.

The owner of the Bitter Bamboo Forest invited a master swordsmith to forge a third-tier flying sword, which later ended up in the hands of a young sword cultivator.

When this person broke through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm and was in the process of transforming his domain into the prototype of a grotto-heaven, the Dry Flame Bamboo Sword accumulated enough power and miraculously advanced to a fourth-order flying sword.

Unfortunately, this sword cultivator passed away at the Nascent Soul Perfection stage, never taking a single step forward in his life. Thus, the Qianyan Fire Bamboo Sword never had the opportunity to challenge the fifth rank through its master's Divine Transformation stage.

"I didn't expect that my natal flying sword could advance without waiting for the cave heaven to take shape... However, that little bit of cave heaven power was just a small boost. The key is that the daily accumulation is already enough."

Bai Zichen keenly noticed that the main material used to forge the Qianyan Fire Bamboo Sword was very similar to that of the Thunder Sound Bamboo, both of which were mutated by the power of heaven.

One is heavenly fire, the other is heavenly thunder.

The biggest difference is that the latter has the protection and blessing of the Yi Mu Qing Shen Technique, which ensures a certain probability of mutation.

Otherwise, it would be like the bitter bamboo, where a thousand were burned by heavenly fire, and only one became a fourth-tier spiritual bamboo.

If the cultivation of Thunder Sound Bamboo only had this probability, even if the Fish Dragon Sect planted the entire Chi Dragon Island with spirit bamboo back then, they still wouldn't have enough third-tier bamboo to forge the Thunder Sound Sword.

The Qianyan Fire Bamboo Sword was forged using fourth-grade spiritual materials, which enabled it to successfully advance with the help of the establishment of the nascent cave heaven.

In that case, he could do the same and advance a fourth-tier flying sword from a third-tier flying sword.

Having been nurtured by pure energy in the sword box for many years, its accumulation is certainly sufficient. The main question is which materials are better used during the forging process to withstand higher levels of power.

"Among all my third-tier flying swords, the Great Sun Furnace Sword is definitely the best in terms of quality, after all, it is forged from extraterrestrial divine iron and Great Sun Heavenly Fire. If it weren't for the poor sword-forging skills and the fact that its previous owners had not achieved much in the way of the sword, it would have had the opportunity to break through to the fourth tier long ago."

Bai Zichen summoned the Supreme Pure Micro Sword Box and scanned all the third-tier flying swords.

"There are also the Snow-Forged Sword, the Hundred Poison Cold Serpent Sword, and the Ruomu Sword. All of them have clearly been forged with materials that have reached the fourth rank, and they have the potential to be upgraded. In the future, once the Cantong Pact is completed, we can prioritize binding our targets to these flying swords."

After taking it all in, I realized I have quite a few flying swords with fourth-tier potential.

With twelve fourth-order flying swords gathered, setting up an unprecedented fourth-order star river sword formation no longer seemed so far away.

'I want to go in! I want to go in!'

Upon seeing the Supreme Pure Sword Box, the Qianyan Fire Bamboo Sword jumped for joy. Although it did not recognize the sword box, it could immediately sense the importance of this treasure to the flying sword.

It was an instinctive attraction for the sword spirit, something it couldn't resist.

"No rush, there are plenty of spots for you."

Bai Zichen touched the sword box, and a wisp of empty, pure energy rose up. He opened his arms, and the Qianyan Fire Bamboo Sword went straight inside.

He glanced again at the Abyssal Prison Demon Sword in the far corner, still with that aloof attitude; he hadn't spoken to it once since it entered the sword box.

The sword box opened and closed, and the flying swords went in and out, but the Avici Heavenly Prison Demon Sword seemed to be asleep, without making a sound.

However, there was one thing he was certain of: he didn't believe that any flying sword would be willing to leave after experiencing the Supreme Pure Sword Box.

Once I reach the late Nascent Soul stage, I believe the Abyssal Prison Demon Sword will truly recognize me as its master, unlike its previous treatment of the Blood God True Monarch, where it merely went through the motions.

After completing these tasks, Bai Zichen activated the spirit-gathering array in the main hall. He saw that the misty spiritual energy on the Ascension Platform, like surging waves, was affected by the ebb and flow of the tide and all rushed towards the center, which was the council hall of the successive sect leaders.

These ethereal, misty energies, rising from towering peaks, were beginning to take on a tangible form, causing his Taoist robe to flutter.

He took a deep breath of spiritual energy, and the spiritual energy in the air caved in, forming a vortex.

The spiritual energy was so dense that it even emitted faint crackling sounds, and there was an endless flow of vitality.

Fifth-tier spiritual lands, known as blessed lands by ancient cultivators, completely set them apart from other spiritual lands.

Not only does one need to achieve the Nascent Soul stage, but one must also be located in a fifth-tier spiritual land.

In such an environment, even inanimate objects can mutate.

For cultivators whose cultivation level is insufficient, entering a fifth-tier spiritual land is not only useless but also harmful, causing serious damage to their physical body.

Only those at the Nascent Soul True Monarch level or higher can withstand a fifth-tier spiritual land and will not be affected by the spiritual energy that has turned into substance, thus avoiding being directly intoxicated and dying within it.

This phenomenon, where cultivators faint or even fall into a permanent slumber after ingesting spiritual energy due to its extremely high concentration, is known as "spirit intoxication."

"Of all the spiritual lands I've ever seen in my life, this place is definitely the best... Neither the summit of Flaming Mountain nor the Star Palace Secret Realm can compare to this place. Such pure wood spiritual energy is quite suitable for Senior Brother Ge Cang."

After Bai Zichen began cultivating the Dongxuan Lushen Sword Scripture, the true essence he refined lost its attributes. He could directly absorb any kind of spiritual energy without needing an additional conversion process.

As Ge Cang possesses a wood-type celestial spiritual root, a wood-type spiritual land is undoubtedly the first choice. However, since wood nourishes all things, fire can further accelerate the circulation of true essence, making a fire-type spiritual land the second choice.

After circulating the cultivation technique for one cycle and experiencing the effects of cultivation in the new environment, I couldn't contain my joy when I opened my eyes.

"Good, good, good!"

The bluish tinge on Bai Zichen's face faded as he carefully observed the growth and changes in his true essence.

At the same time, the true meaning of time clearly told him the remaining time required to cultivate to the peak of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

"A fourth-grade top-quality spiritual land has saved me at least fifteen years. If everything goes smoothly, I should be able to complete the entire process of the mid-Nascent Soul stage in seventy years at most. If I can successfully cultivate Azure Dragon Spirit Rice, this time will be even shorter!"

With a better spiritual cultivation ground, Bai Zichen's goal of taking half of Qishan can be considered achieved.

The long-lost feeling of being filled with spiritual energy prompted him to immediately begin the next round of cultivation without stopping.

……

The cultivators of Zhongzhou are mainly divided into three categories.

They were merely cultivators in a state of tribulation, engaging in minor skirmishes that amounted to nothing.

Local cultivators, driven by their greedy nature, take advantage of the chaos to loot, or when their sects or families are destroyed, they simply go with the flow.

The last type comes from outside Zhongzhou and is not even from Liang Kingdom.

Already notorious bandits, they flocked to the Central Plains, sensing the potential for plunder.

The sect wars have been going on for so long that the first type of Tribulation Cultivator has basically disappeared and has no ability to survive between the local power brokers and the outsiders.

As the strength of the foreign cultivators grew, the cultivators who had transformed from local cultivators also found themselves struggling and relinquished a considerable amount of territory.

The Qingfeng Sect's movements were very direct: centered on Qishan, they swept through and governed an entire prefecture, leaving no room for the plundering cultivators to retaliate.

Within a month, Xingyang County was officially pacified, and more than a thousand rebels were killed.

The army of cultivators, led by Ma Ruoxi, formed a battle formation and dealt with the tribulation cultivators with overwhelming force.

Even if they encounter a Core Formation cultivator, it would be no problem for four against one.

It should be said that it was five against one. Hong Xuan, who had surrendered, also led several disciples to join the Qingfeng Sect's army.

It wasn't until the final wave, when the three calamity cultivator organizations merged together and the three Core Formation cultivators cooperated, that the situation became somewhat difficult to handle.

Ma Ruoxi stepped forward alone, drew the flying sword from her back, and swung it down, causing thunder to rip through the sky.

After the lightning flashed, the three Core Formation cultivators were separated from their bodies and fell straight down from the sky.

This sword strike shattered the last vestiges of the Jie Xiu's courage to resist. After a group of die-hards died, they all quickly surrendered.

After a brief interrogation, those guilty of heinous crimes were beheaded and their heads displayed to the public, while those with slightly lesser crimes were spared and thrown into the mines to do hard labor.

Hong Xuan was also one of those who were defeated and subdued. Ma Ruoxi unleashed her sword and instantly killed three people of the same level.

Holding Bai Zhenjun's natal flying sword, and even being able to borrow its power to control it, how could a Core Formation cultivator possibly withstand it?

This treatment, which was entirely in the manner of being regarded as a successor, made Hong Xuan even more polite to Ma Ruoxi.

After several days of training, Lu Song led thirty Foundation Establishment disciples and two thousand Qi Refining disciples to come and provide support.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ma Ruoxi mobilized her forces, and together with Qi Yue, led fifty Foundation Establishment disciples and hundreds of Qi Refining disciples straight to Sanchuan County.

The rest of the men were left in Xingyang County to govern the county and consolidate the rear.

"Fellow Daoist Ma, the renowned Xuanbing Liefeng Fruit is located in Sanchuan County and is owned by the prestigious Shen family."

Hong Xuan clung to him relentlessly, and no amount of chasing her away seemed to work.

Given that he was an elder of the Holy Lotus Sect, his familiarity with the Central Plains was certainly superior to others, so he was allowed to accompany them.

"Because of this, the Shen family of Sanchuan is known for its body refinement. While there may not be a Core Formation True Person in every generation, there are always several Third-Order Body Cultivators. The Xuanbing Liefeng Fruit is only offered to the Holy Lotus Sect every sixty years, and we guess that the Shen family has kept at least three for themselves."

"This body-refining family has offended many people in the past due to their overwhelming strength. When the Tribulation Cultivator arrived, they suffered the most attacks, and it's hard to say how many of them were plotting revenge. According to the latest intelligence, the Shen family is in a very bad situation. Several third-level body cultivators have died in battle, and the situation is extremely precarious."

(End of this chapter)