Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

"bang bang bang"

After fully seeing the array patterns engraved inside the halberd, Song Changsheng's heart pounded wildly. No wonder it felt familiar; the array pattern engraved inside was actually the [Third Killing Array in the World].

To be precise, it was a damaged array, similar to the one he had seen at the Array Dao Academy, but this one was far too dilapidated, with only a very small portion remaining, most likely less than one percent of the original array.

So although he initially felt that the aura was very familiar, he did not make any connection in that direction.

The [Third Killing Array in the World] within his body was inscribed with the Daoist charm of the incomplete array from the Array Dao Academy. Even if he was very confident in his array skills, he dared not say that he had imitated the essence of that incomplete array.

This is clearly demonstrated in the power of the two battles. In the first battle, he used the true essence and killing intent that Yingyue Zhenjun had sealed in his dantian. After it was released, even Nascent Soul Zhenjun had to retreat. In one battle, he annihilated more than thirty demon kings, including Yin Jue.

Of course, the price he paid was also quite heavy.

In the subsequent battle at Qingfeng Mountain, he again used the [Third Killing Formation in the World], but at a lower cost, and its power was greatly reduced, simply because the formation he inscribed was merely in form and lacked true essence.

It's not that he lacks skill; looking at the entire cultivation world, it's estimated that no array master can replicate its true essence. It's a product of the workings of the laws of heaven and earth, unique and unparalleled.

In other words, only the original array patterns of the [Third Killing Array in the World] can unleash its true power.

The Array Dao Academy does exist, but he doesn't have the guts to ask.

He had planned to visit the Array Dao Academy again after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage to study and copy the array patterns once more, but unexpectedly, Yin Jue directly presented the original array patterns to him.

Although it's only a very small part, it's more than enough for him right now.

He scraped the crescent blade with his fingertip, producing a slight tremor, and a low roar could be faintly heard, echoing in the weapon-refining room for a long time.

"My precious baby!" Song Changsheng's joy grew even stronger.

After a careful inspection, he discovered that there was a seal inside the halberd, which was extremely well hidden. If he had not been proficient in formations and weapon crafting, he probably would have subconsciously overlooked it.

“The true essence of killing intent has been sealed, no wonder I can only sense the presence of bloodthirsty energy.” A glint of light flashed in Song Changsheng’s eyes.

The true essence of killing intent is the fundamental power of a killing formation. The malevolent aura is merely a byproduct of slaughter. However, the excessive killings and accumulation of malevolent aura give the impression of usurping the main power, causing confusion about the primary and secondary aspects.

In reality, compared to its near-perfect killing intent, the power that these malevolent energies can unleash is negligible.

Sealing the killing intent is equivalent to sealing most of the power of this magical artifact.

Clearly, Yin Jue himself was also unaware of the existence of this seal; otherwise, given his personality, he would have definitely broken it and perished with it.

It is probably precisely because of this that the person who crafted this magical artifact set up this seal, fearing that Yan Jue might do something irrational in the face of power.

"After being sealed for so many years, it's time for you to unleash your brilliance once more!"

Song Changsheng murmured softly, activating the killing array within his body, condensing a wisp of pure killing intent and injecting it into the remnant array of the [Third Killing Array in the World] inside the halberd.

The moment the killing intent was injected, the hidden seal loosened instantly, and the halberd lying across his knees also began to tremble violently, its entire body glowing with a scarlet blood light, and a fierce aura continuously surging out, even spreading outward through the defensive array of the weapon-refining room.

Song Changsheng frowned, waved his hand, and personally set up a barrier to imprison all the malevolent energy in the weapon-refining room.

Surrounded by this malevolent aura, he needed to recite the "Heart-Cleansing Mantra" to completely isolate himself from its influence; those with lower cultivation levels would likely lose their minds instantly.

"buzzing"

The halberd trembled more and more violently, occasionally emitting a deep, chilling roar, as if a ferocious beast might burst out from within at any moment.

"Click"

With a faint, crisp sound, the last seal was broken.

In an instant, the remnant of the [Third Killing Array in the World], which had been dormant for countless years inside the halberd, began to operate again, and an extremely powerful killing intent descended upon this place.

Song Changsheng's vision blurred, and the scene before him suddenly changed drastically, placing him in a completely unfamiliar, pitch-black void.

Below lies a brightly lit and bustling city of cultivation, spanning thousands of miles. Such a city would be extremely rare even in the era of the Immortal Dynasty, which was filled with giant cities.

Because it is a place where immortals and mortals live together, its population is at least tens of millions.

Just as he was somewhat confused, the sky and earth suddenly changed color, and the dark night sky seemed to be stained with blood, turning into a crimson color.

A figure descended from the sky, his face obscured, only a scroll visible in his hand.

He stood in the sky, slowly unfurling the scroll in his hand towards the city below. A flash of blood-red light appeared, and countless array patterns spread out, instantly covering the sky and enveloping the entire city.

A vast killing intent erupted, and in just a moment, a magnificent city with a population of ten million fell into deathly silence, completely losing its life force.

The mastermind behind all this didn't even glance at it, and after putting away the scroll, disappeared into the void.

Soon after, the sky once again glowed with a scarlet blood-red light.

Song Changsheng watched all this silently. He knew that yet another city had been destroyed.

At this rate, the amount of bloodshed they cause in one night will exceed the total number of demons in the cultivation world of Lu.

"Is this the origin of the infamous killing formation..."

Hearsay and firsthand experience are two completely different things. A few simple words in ancient books summed up this mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood, a living hell.

Song Changsheng closed his eyes, and the scene before him receded rapidly like a tide, his consciousness returning to clarity.

"Roar--"

Just then, a deafening roar suddenly rang in his ears.

Upon opening his eyes, he saw a ferocious beast-like figure burst forth from the halberd.

The halberd lay horizontally on his knees, only a few feet from his head, theoretically leaving him almost no time to react.

However, under the influence of the laws of time and space, the speed at which the beastly shadow rushed out was as slow as a tortoise in Song Changsheng's eyes. A flash of lightning appeared in his eyes, and the beastly shadow was instantly pierced by a bolt of azure lightning, letting out a mournful cry and dissipating into a bloodthirsty aura, but it quickly reformed, and the overwhelming killing intent caused the surrounding space to tremble violently.

Looking at the beast's constantly twisting and changing features, Song Changsheng couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly, secretly surprised: "It's almost developed intelligence."

Heaven's way is impartial; all things in the world have the opportunity to develop sentience, even a cloud, a grain of sand, or a drop of water.

When malevolent energy gives birth to sentience, it becomes a malevolent spirit. He had previously come into contact with it and used a secret method to refine it into the spirit of the [Hundred Fiends Qiongqi Cauldron].

The reason we are surprised right now is that the stronger the accumulated power, the lower the possibility of the emergence of intelligence.

The malevolent energy accumulated within the Third Killing Formation of the World has been passed down from ancient times. Such immense karma, once it develops sentience and transforms into a spirit, would undoubtedly be a terrifying entity. Apart from true immortals, probably no one could subdue it.

The laws of Heaven would absolutely not tolerate the birth of such a being.

It can only be said that fortune and misfortune are intertwined. After the killing formation was broken, the karma was also dispersed. This remnant formation has less than one percent of the karma, which obviously has not yet touched the bottom line of the Heavenly Dao. Therefore, it also has the opportunity to give birth to intelligence.

Spirits can be divided into benevolent and malevolent spirits. Spirits formed from malevolent energy are undoubtedly malevolent spirits, and devouring their masters is almost an instinct.

Using it as a spirit is a double-edged sword with high risk and high reward.

If you can suppress it, it's an invincible treasure; if you can't, you'll be the first to die.

The safest approach is to nip it in the bud before it fully develops its intelligence.

Even without a spirit, this is still a supreme weapon for killing.

However, as a weapon refiner, Song Changsheng considered such behavior to be a waste of talent.

This evil spirit has extraordinary potential. If we keep it, this halberd may very well grow into a Dao artifact in the future.

Just look at the Myriad Manifestations Palace's [Mysterious Thunder Soaring Spear] to see how powerful a Dao artifact can be; even before it underwent tribulation, it caused the entire East Sea Clan to feel threatened.

The risks are real, but he chooses to believe in his own abilities.

"Roar--"

Seemingly sensing his thoughts, the beastly shadow formed from the fierce aura let out an angry roar, radiating a pure and extreme killing intent.

"How dare a mere, unenlightened evil spirit act so arrogantly before me!"

Song Changsheng raised his sword-like eyebrows, and a vast power of law condensed in his palm. With one palm, he shattered the body.

A surge of malevolent energy caused the beastly shadow to coalesce once more, though its power had diminished somewhat compared to before.

"boom!"

Before it could even bare its teeth, it was mercilessly slapped away.

After repeating this several times, the demonic spirit, on the verge of collapse, finally could not withstand it and sank back into the halberd.

Song Changsheng forced a drop of blood from his fingertip, which landed on the crescent blade of the halberd.

The star-like essence blood resembled a translucent gemstone, its surging life force exuding a deadly allure. Upon contact, it was greedily absorbed by the evil spirit lurking within the halberd.

For it, this was a much-needed tonic, but little did it know that it was just a lure.

"Gather!"

With a light tap of his finger, Song Changsheng effortlessly imprinted a divine soul mark on the evil spirit, completely subduing it.

A flash of blood-red light disappeared across the surface of the halberd, and a layer of impurities resembling rust peeled off from above, revealing two menacing characters.

With his extensive knowledge, he vaguely discerned the meaning of the two ancient characters: "Desolate...Heaven...[Desolate Heaven Halberd]!"

Reaching out and grasping the [Desolate Sky Halberd], a feeling of blood connection arose spontaneously. The incomplete array from the Array Dao Academy engraved within his body also resonated with it, which was extremely mysterious.

He tried swinging it, and the crescent blade effortlessly slashed a spatial rift ten feet long on his side, which took a long time to heal.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that there were remnants of malevolent energy on both sides of the spatial rift, and it was this force that was preventing it from healing.

If this is the case with space, then if it were to directly affect the human body, it would be a devastating blow.

"No wonder there's a seal. This power is indeed beyond what Yin Jue's cultivation level can control. Even with my current cultivation level, I might not be able to unleash its full power." Song Changsheng's hand gently brushed across the slightly rough surface of the halberd, showing considerable fondness for it.

Just as he was preparing to explore further, Song Qingxi's voice suddenly came from outside the weapon-refining room: "Uncle, I just received news that the Nine Profound Sect is under siege. Master Hou Yu is struggling to hold on and is asking the alliance for help."

Upon hearing this, Song Changsheng frowned and said, "Wasn't the situation in the central region already stabilized by Fellow Daoist Ji?"

During this period, Ji Shinian fought the Crimson Owl Demon Lord several times. Although he defeated him, he also suffered considerable injuries.

Fearing that the Sea Clan and the Thunder King Palace might have other schemes up their sleeves, he did not return to the Myriad Manifestations Palace to recuperate. Instead, he stayed in the Central Region to suppress the rebellion and destroyed many puppet forces secretly controlled by the Thunder King Palace. The Central Region, which was originally in complete chaos, gradually stabilized.

Coincidentally, the Southwest Nine Realms also achieved a great victory at Qingfeng Mountain. After exchanging information, Song Changsheng and Song Changsheng each went to their respective places to cultivate in seclusion and prepare for the upcoming decisive battle.

After this period of fermentation and spread, the news of his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage had already spread throughout most of the border regions. As a member of the Southwest Alliance, who would dare to cause trouble at this time?
Song Qingxi shook his head solemnly and said, "I don't know why, but I just contacted True Monarch Tiger Elephant and haven't received a reply yet. I'm afraid something has happened."

Upon hearing this, Song Changsheng's heart sank to the bottom.

Although Ji Shinian had only recently broken through, with the support of the Myriad Manifestations Palace, his strength was still above that of the Crimson Owl Demon Lord, who had broken through many years ago. If it weren't for the opponent's excellent survival skills, he would at least have been severely injured.

What kind of unexpected event could have caused him to disappear without a trace in such a short period of time?

Could it be that the Thunder King Palace has another trick up its sleeve?
Thinking of this, he could no longer sit still and said in a deep voice, "Contact the Myriad Manifestations Palace immediately. I will go ahead and investigate the situation."

As soon as he finished speaking, he casually tore open a spatial rift, disappeared into it, and vanished...

...(End of this chapter)