Cultivation of Immortality: Start by Improving Spiritual Root Qualifications

Chapter 942 The decisive battle is approaching, the power of body tempering!
Zhou Xun flashed away and sped off, appearing two hours later in a sea area a million miles away from Twin Fish Island.

With a thought, a flash of purple light appeared in his palm, and a flying sword, entirely blue-purple, appeared before him.
Surrounded by lightning, it was the Xuan Ting Thunder Sword, a spiritual treasure he had just successfully refined.

This sword is seven feet two inches long, its blade carved like purple jade, with fine, flowing lightning patterns all over it.
A wisp of dark golden lightning condensed at the tip of the sword, and its slight tremor caused ripples to spread in the surrounding void.

Nine tiny, illusory lightning dragons coiled around the sword's blade, each dragon holding a pearl in its mouth, the pearl containing a trace of tribulation lightning power.
Just holding it in your hand, you feel a domineering, thunderous will wash over you, as if you are not holding a sword, but the very essence of killing.

Zhou Xun clenched his fists, channeling his spiritual power into the Thunder Sword—

"Buzz!"

The sword suddenly trembled and floated up.

The dark golden lightning at the tip of the sword surged several inches, transforming into an unpredictable arc of lightning. Wherever it passed, the air was silently torn apart, leaving behind a thin, dark line that lingered for a long time!
"What powerful thunderous might!" Zhou Xun's eyes burned with excitement, his heart filled with secret joy.

With a thought, spiritual energy surged like a river, flowing into the sword without any obstruction. He could even clearly sense the rhythm of every lightning pattern within the sword, as if the sword had become one with his mind!
He waved it lightly—

"Hey!"

A streak of purple-gold lightning ripped through the sky, like a divine punishment descending upon the world, instantly splitting open a thousand-foot layer of clouds!

Wherever the lightning passed, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was instantly drained, turning into a vacuum zone that could not be filled for a long time!

"This power... is more than ten times stronger than when it was a half-spiritual treasure!" Zhou Xun was shocked.

With another thought, the Purple Jade Thunder Sword suddenly shrank, transforming into a bolt of purple lightning that entered his palm and traveled through his meridians.

Wherever the sword passed, the spiritual energy was tempered by the lightning and became even purer!
He suddenly thought of something, and a slight smile appeared on his lips: "Since that's the case... then let's try using this sword to perform the Sword Shadow as One, and combine it with the Thunder Grass Sword Intent."
With a slight thought, Zhou Xun made a hand seal and pointed it at the sword.
Just then, beams of sword light instantly split out, enveloping Zhou Xun.
Upon careful counting, there were as many as seven hundred and twenty.
They flew up and down around Zhou Xun.

"Sword Shadow Becomes One"

A soft shout,
These sword lights, like birds returning to their nests, merged one by one into the Xuan Ting Thunder Sword. With each merge, the power of the Thunder Sword increased by one point!
The entire Thunder Sword became extremely bright, just like a lightsaber!
At the same time, Zhou Xun's Thunder Grass Sword Intent surged forth like a tide, and the Xuan Ting Thunder Sword suddenly burst forth with dazzling golden light.
A swaying shadow of a thunder-patterned grass appeared at the edge of the sword, its delicate leaves bearing a sharp edge that seemed to cleave through space!

"go with!"

Zhou Xun turned his gaze to an uninhabited island, several tens of miles in size, a hundred miles away.
The Xuan Ting Thunder Sword suddenly transformed into a streak of purple-gold light, tearing through the sky and shooting towards the uninhabited island.

Wherever the sword light passed, the sea was cleaved open by the invisible sword energy, forming a deep chasm thousands of feet deep. The seawater on both sides solidified like walls, unable to close for a long time.

"boom--"

As soon as the Thunder Sword touched the island, it unleashed a deafening roar.

The wisp of dark golden lightning at the tip of the sword exploded instantly, transforming into thousands of lightning snakes that raged wildly.

The entire island seemed to have been struck by a god's hammer, and began to crumble from its center.

Huge rocks turned to dust in the lightning, and towering ancient trees didn't even have a chance to burn before they vaporized and disappeared.

Even more terrifying was the sword energy contained within those 720 sword shadows, which poured down like a torrential rain.

Each sword strike precisely pierced the island's ley lines, triggering a chain reaction. Muffled thunderous roars echoed from the ground, and the island began to disintegrate from within.

"Rumble--"

With a series of explosions, the island, spanning dozens of miles, crumbled in an instant.

Only a huge whirlpool remained on the sea surface, swallowing the remaining rubble.

When everything dissipates and the ghost realm is at peace,
The area where the island once stood was now empty, with only a calm sea surface.
It was as if the island had never existed.

"Is this the power after being upgraded to a spiritual treasure? I'm confident I can fight even a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!"

Meanwhile, the Lu clan cultivators were rushing towards Twin Fish Island.

In the void, three figures stood side by side.

Lu Xinghe lightly tapped the jade belt at his waist with his fingertips and sneered, "That old bastard Que Tianming, this time we will definitely let him taste the 'Starfall Combination Technique' of my brother and me."

"Don't worry, brother," Lu Xinghai said, stroking the sixth-tier talisman hidden in his sleeve, a cold glint in his eyes.

"With Fellow Daoist Xu Lingzi holding off Que Wuji, we brothers can kill Que Tianming within ten breaths if we join forces!"

Xu Lingzi chuckled upon hearing this, and the bronze compass slowly rotated in his palm:

"Fellow Daoists, please go ahead and do your best. My 'Great Void Compass' is best at trapping enemies. Although Que Wuji is not yet in the late stage of Void Refinement, once he is trapped in my compass, he will not be able to escape for even half an hour!"

The three exchanged a smile, their auras surging around them.

A vast star map appeared behind Lu Xinghe, with countless stars twinkling and fading; a phantom of a vast ocean, its waves surging, appeared hidden in Lu Xinghai's sleeve.
Above Xu Lingzi's head hung a blue moon, and the space distorted wherever the moonlight shone.

Five days later, a crimson light suddenly appeared at the horizon where the sea meets the sky.

"It's a patrolling cultivator from the Que clan!" Lu Xinghe's pupils contracted. A hundred miles away, a red-robed cultivator was frantically crushing a communication talisman.

"Que Yuan?" Lu Xinghai sneered, "A mere mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator dares to spy on our whereabouts!"

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Xinghe had already raised his hand.

In an instant, the world changed color, and a gigantic hand of stars, obscuring the sky and the sun, appeared out of thin air.

A galaxy surges between the lines of the palm, and a black hole-like vortex rotates in the center of the palm—this is the unique artistic conception of a Void Refinement cultivator!
"No—" Just as Que Yuan unleashed his natal spiritual treasure, he was enveloped by the giant palm of stars.

The magical treasure shattered instantly, its spiritual light vanishing like fireflies. His protective aura crumbled inch by inch, and he was eventually suppressed within a star in the palm of his hand.

Xu Lingzi flicked his sleeve and put away the unconscious Que Yuan, saying calmly, "Continue on your way."

Two days later, the clouds over Pisces Island suddenly turned blood red.

Que Tianming, who was meditating, suddenly opened his eyes, and the jade pendant at his waist cracked open with a "crack".

He flashed into the sky, his divine sense sweeping across the thousand-mile sea area, and his expression changed drastically:

The sound echoed throughout the entire island.

"Enemy attack!"

The entire island was instantly activated, and everyone took to the air.

This also includes Zhou Xun.

Almost simultaneously, three terrifying auras approached within a hundred miles.

On the left, the Milky Way swirls; on the right, the ocean roars; and in the center, a blue moon hangs high in the sky—it is none other than the Lu brothers and Xu Lingzi!

"Second Brother Que!" Lu Xinghe arrived, his voice like thunder, his feet treading on starlight.
"Today, I will use your nascent soul to sacrifice to my Lu Clan's battle flag!"

Que Tianming's natal spirit sword "Cangming" hummed as it was unsheathed, its azure sword intent soaring into the sky.

Just as he was about to speak, a hoarse laugh suddenly came from behind him:
"Two juniors dare to be so arrogant?"

The space rippled like water as Que Wuji, with his snow-white hair, stepped out into the air, leaning on his dragon-headed cane.

The dragon's eye on the staff suddenly shone brightly, and nine phantom fire dragons spiraled up, burning half the sky crimson.

He is now the first elder of the Que clan.

Que Wuji, in the late stage of the Refinement of Emptiness.

"So it was you, you old codger!" "Now it's three against two, the advantage is in my hands!"

"Fellow Daoist Xu, proceed according to plan, kill!"

Lu Xinghai laughed wildly, and seventy-two Canghai Pearls suddenly flew out from his sleeve.

Each bead transformed into a hundred-foot-high wave, instantly forming a towering tsunami.

Xu Lingzi remained silent, and the bronze compass rose a thousand feet in the wind.

The "Qian" and "Kun" trigrams lit up on the board, and the entire space instantly felt like it was trapped in a quagmire—it was the "Cage of Heaven and Earth" for cultivators who had just reached the Void Refinement stage!
"Fight!" Que Wuji slammed his dragon-headed staff heavily into the air.

Nine fire dragons roared and pounced on Xu Lingzi, their roars causing the seawater within a hundred miles to boil.

He himself transformed into a crimson rainbow and pierced into the blue moon, intending to use his artistic conception to directly confront artistic conception!
Que Tianming's sword technique changed in succession, and the Cangming Sword split into three thousand water swords, which shot towards Lu Xinghe like a torrential rain.

Where the rain of swords passed, it was like a raging torrent, with stars exploding one after another, but even more stars poured out from Lu Xinghe's sleeves.

Above the sky, five figures at the Void Refinement stage were locked in a fierce battle.

The Lu brothers' vision of the starry sea blended perfectly, transforming into a vortex of stars covering three hundred miles.

Que Wuji's fire dragon clashed repeatedly with Qingyue, each clash creating spatial rifts.

The compass of the Void Spirit further transformed the hundred-mile sea area into a gravity-chaotic wasteland.

The most terrifying moment was the battle of artistic conception between Que Tianming and Lu Xinghe.

Each swing of the Cangming Sword evokes the vastness of the Canglang River, while each strike of the Xinghe Palm causes the void to tremble.

The aftershocks of their battle swept across the sea, obliterating dozens of islands!
"Starfall!" Lu Xinghe suddenly roared.
The star map behind him suddenly contracted, transforming into a giant sword of starlight that slashed down. This sword strike contained the "Starfall Intent" he had painstakingly cultivated for a thousand years; even before the sword's edge arrived, the seawater within a hundred miles had already been pressed down by three zhang!
Que Tianming's pupils contracted sharply, and the Cangming Sword suddenly plunged into his heart.

Azure blood sprayed onto the sword's blade, and ancient runes immediately appeared on its spine: "With my blood, I summon the Azure Sea to appear—"

"boom!"

The entire sea suddenly collapsed. A gigantic phantom, tens of thousands of feet tall, rose from the seabed—it was the legendary "Giant Spirit of the Vast Waves"!
The giant clasped his hands together and caught the giant sword of starlight. The moment the two forces of intent collided, the shockwave tore a thousand-mile-long rift through the clouds.

As expected of a Void Refinement cultivator,
In addition, Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation cultivators also engaged in battle.
A decisive battle has suddenly unfolded in a way that caught everyone off guard!

Zhou Xun immediately flew to the outer perimeter.
His agreement with the Que family didn't include a clause about fighting to the death; if he was outmatched,

He can leave on his own; it's all preordained.
Unexpectedly, they had already reached the outermost perimeter and were already being watched by others.

Between the sea and the sky, Zhou Xun moved like lightning, his feet treading on a blood-red cloak as he rapidly retreated.

Amidst the whistling wind in his ears, he could clearly hear two sharp sounds cutting through the air behind him.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea,
The two sides then traveled nearly 100,000 li!
"Zhou Xun! You can't escape!" The mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from the Lu family shouted fiercely, his voice carrying spiritual power that caused waves hundreds of feet high to erupt on the sea surface.

This man, dressed in a dark green robe with a piece of jade embedded between his brows, was none other than Lu Qingya, the renowned "Azure-Eyed Heavenly Lord" of the Lu Clan.

Zhou Xun's mind swept over the area, and his heart sank slightly.

Aside from Lu Qingya, Lu Qingfeng, a cultivator in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, also summoned his natal spiritual treasure—a bone whip entwined with black mist.

"That's right, you're only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, you're doomed to die today!"

Zhou Xun ignored their provocations and focused solely on fleeing.

Extending beyond the center of the battlefield, there were even cultivators at the Void Refinement stage; even he faced the risk of perishing.
He has already done a great service by managing to lure away two Nascent Soul cultivators.

So Zhou Xun sped up his escape.

Unbeknownst to them, the two sides had already traveled 300,000 miles away from the battlefield.

at this time,

"boom!"

The bone whip suddenly grew to a thousand feet in length, its speed increasing dramatically, tearing through the clouds like a venomous snake and heading straight for Zhou Xun's back.

Zhou Xun suddenly turned to the side, the tip of the whip grazing his cheek, the resulting gust of wind stinging his face.

"Why are you two so aggressive, fellow Daoists?" Zhou Xun asked, feigning alarm.

Lu Qingya sneered upon hearing this, his jade-like pupils flashing with a cold light:
"Begging for mercy now? Too late. Today, my brother and I will kill you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xun was both shocked and furious.
“Fellow Daoist, why be so formal? I am not a member of the Que clan, but merely a guest retainer receiving a salary.”

"If you are willing to make an exception for me, I am willing to defect and join the Lu family. What do you say?"

"Speaking of which, although my cultivation level is not high, I am quite accomplished in the art of formations, and I can now be considered a mid-grade fifth-rank formation master!"

Upon hearing this, the two members of the Lu family exchanged a glance, seemingly tempted.

Fifth-tier array masters are already extremely rare, let alone mid-tier fifth-tier ones.

Moreover, even in the midst of a major war, such 'technical talents' are often among the targets of various forces.

"Brother, why not spare his life? The merit of killing an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator is not as great as capturing a mid-grade fifth-tier array master."

"Moreover, this person might also possess a fifth-order formation!" Lu Qingfeng said.
Upon hearing this, Lu Qingya's heart skipped a beat. After a moment's thought, he said coldly:

"I'll spare your life, but you have to agree to my conditions first!"

Zhou Xun was overjoyed and quickly spoke:
"Fellow Daoist Lu, please speak!"

"Alright, then I'll say it. First, you need to hand over your natal spiritual treasure."

"Secondly, you need to hand over the storage bag,"

"Third, here is a spirit-sealing talisman. Activate it and stick it to your dantian!"

As he spoke, Lu Qingya tossed over a talisman.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xun's face showed a struggle, but he finally sighed in despair: "Fine, I agree!"

He slowly drew the Purple Jade Thunder Spear and then removed the storage pouch from his waist. The two items floated in the air.

At the same time, he activated the spirit-sealing talisman and affixed it to his dantian.
Instantly, Zhou Xun's spiritual energy froze.
Even with his current cultivation level, it would take him at least a dozen breaths to force his way through.

That's enough for the Lu family to kill him!
"Hahaha, very good, very good! Fellow Daoist, you will surely achieve great things if you join my Lu family in the future!"

As they spoke, the Lu brothers slowly flew over and came to Zhou Xun's side.
At this moment,

A burst of lightning flashed in Zhou Xun's eyes, and his long-awaited right fist suddenly slammed out.

The lightning-patterned grass shadows wrapped around the fist suddenly bloomed, transforming into thousands of fine sword threads.

They attacked towards Lu Qingfeng, whose cultivation level was lower.
"puff!"

With a muffled thud, the fist pierced through the opponent's chest without any resistance.

The cultivator stared wide-eyed, looking down at his ruptured chest. The nascent soul within his purple mansion, which had just tried to escape, was torn to pieces by the sword intent that had invaded his body.

Lu Qingfeng, a cultivator in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, has died!

(End of this chapter)