Chapter 414 – Swinging Sword to Slay Ancient Jiao, Refining Innate Qi, Achieving Great Dao…

Mars Lord was the only ancient Immortal who had appeared before Lu Chen since he entered the Celestial Sanctuary of Nine Luminaries.

Not only had Lu Chen learned numerous ancient secrets from him, but he had also discovered the unique applications of the Longevity Sword.

For instance, as a sword forged from the fusion of multiple Minor Thousand Worlds, the Longevity Sword could seal the True Spirit of Ancient Fiends—naturally, it could also seal the True Spirits of Immortals.

Thus, Immortals could seal a portion of their power within the Longevity Sword.

Depending on the situation, Lu Chen could unleash this power by expending a certain amount of his Lifespan.

Without such a trump card, even if it were merely a Clone, Lu Chen would never have ventured lightly into the Ancient Domain—the most perilous and enigmatic place within the Ancient Fiend Nine Realms.

Now, Jiao Immortal Ao Chi was experiencing the might of an Immortal-level technique.

Above the Fallen Dragon Lake, as Mars Lord’s Divine Ability unfolded, violent flames akin to the blazing morning sun instantly dispelled the perpetual mist and moisture shrouding the lake.

Along with the mist and moisture, the ‘Knowledge Obstruction’ veiling the area was also swept away.

The ‘forests’ on both sides of the Fallen Dragon Lake now revealed their true forms: skinned, desiccated corpses of various shapes, inverted and embedded in the soil.

Each ‘corpse tree’ bore at least three bodies, with the larger ones holding up to a hundred.

Though many of these corpses were cultivators, the vast majority were Mortals devoid of any cultivation.

Lu Chen did not know where these Mortals came from or how they had encountered Jiao Immortal Ao Chi, but he was certain they had all met their end at Ao Chi’s hands.

The number of corpse trees lining the lakeshore was so immense that they stretched beyond sight—at least a million.

And this was only the situation along the shore.

If one included the trapped souls, forever bound and unable to find release within the Fallen Dragon Lake, Lu Chen estimated the number would multiply tenfold.

The sheer quantity of lives extinguished by Jiao Immortal was beyond calculation, even in estimation.

To call him a malevolent fiend or a wicked dragon was no exaggeration.

As a manifestation of the twisted Dao of the Nine Realms, Jiao Immortal, in a sense, embodied the will of the local Dao.

The distortion of the Nine Realms’ Dao once again revealed but a fraction of its horrifying nature to Lu Chen.

‘If the Immortal Cultivation World were to fall to the Nine Realms, perhaps it too would become a living hell like this.’

With this thought, Lu Chen, having fully unleashed the power of Mars Lord sealed within the Longevity Sword, swung the sword without hesitation.

Simultaneously, sensing the threat posed by Mars Lord, Jiao Immortal Ao Chi exerted his full strength.

From the vast Fallen Dragon Lake, a Corpse Dragon emerged slowly—its body severely decomposed, covered in festering sores and grotesque tumors.

Upon closer inspection, the Corpse Dragon’s form nearly encompassed the entire Fallen Dragon Lake; what appeared to be lake water was merely the putrid fluids and blood oozing from its corpse.

Though consumed by the urge to kill Lu Chen and halt the release of the eerie Immortal Sword,However, bound by the Great Dao Contract, the Celestial Being Ao Chi was currently unable to take the initiative to attack Lu Chen.

Otherwise, the moment Lu Chen first showed killing intent toward him, Ao Chi would have already found a way to suppress him completely, leaving no room for resistance.

Before today, Ao Chi hadn’t thought much of the Great Dao Contract. But after today’s events, he resolved in his heart that if he could successfully overcome this crisis, he would even risk a fallout with the Great Thousand Mountains to have them revise the terms of the contract. Otherwise, he was far too passive.

These restrictions on Ao Chi had long been investigated and understood by Lu Chen. After all, Lu Chen’s actions over the past few days weren’t just about verifying Ao Chi’s true condition—they were also about testing the rules of this place. His repeated provocations toward Ao Chi weren’t merely idle trouble-making but served to gauge the extent of Ao Chi’s constraints under the Great Dao Contract.

Thus, Lu Chen obtained the answers he sought. If Ao Chi had been able to act earlier, he surely would have. His continued inaction and repeated concessions could only mean one of two things: either Ao Chi was extremely weak, not daring to provoke even a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator like Lu Chen, or he was prevented from acting freely due to special circumstances. Either scenario was favorable for Lu Chen—the former meant Ao Chi was vulnerable and easily bullied, while the latter meant that as long as Lu Chen adhered to the rules, no matter how furious or resentful Ao Chi became, he could not harm him.

Just like the current situation…

As Lu Chen swung his sword, Ao Chi, who had been restrained by the Great Dao Contract, was finally able to move. The dragon corpse that had surfaced leaped up, attempting to bite down on the Mars Lord’s manifestation above. But a dragon corpse that had been dead for who knows how many years was no match for a manifestation imbued with a fraction of an Immortal’s True Spirit.

Scorching Mystical Flame poured down from the sky, engulfing the dragon corpse and immediately causing it to let out a piercing shriek. The Fallen Dragon Lake below visibly dried up under the influence of the sea of flames. Though Ao Chi had abandoned this dragon corpse years ago, it was still his original body, with remnants of his True Spirit lingering on it. As the dragon corpse suffered damage, Ao Chi himself was inevitably affected. Burn marks appeared out of nowhere on his body, and his charred skin combined with his fierce dragon visage made for a terrifying sight.

Although the Mars Lord’s manifestation could suppress Ao Chi’s dragon corpse, it was unrealistic to expect it to kill him outright. After all, what mattered most for a Celestial Being was the True Spirit. In a sense, the dragon corpse was merely a Puppet for Ao Chi. If the Puppet was destroyed, so be it—Ao Chi might feel some regret, but it was far from putting him in peril.

Thus, even as he watched his dragon corpse being suppressed by Lu Chen, Ao Chi didn’t panic excessively. In fact, after the initial shock at the Mars Lord’s power, he quickly grew excited. He could sense that Lu Chen was merely borrowing the Immortal’s power—it wasn’t his own strength. If he could capture this mere ‘Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator’ Lu Chen and devour the Immortal’s power within the sword…Perhaps he could immediately reshape his physical body.

And completely rid himself of the curse of the Black Lotus Buddha Mother.

“Kid, you may have some tricks up your sleeve, but your understanding of Celestial Beings… is far too lacking!”

Ao Chi extended his hand, then suddenly clawed at his own chest.

Squelch!

Sharp claws easily pierced through his chest, and purple blood soon stained his arm.

But Ao Chi wasn’t engaging in self-mutilation.

He was using a special method to fully unleash what he called the power of a Celestial Being.

As Ao Chi forcefully pulled his hand out,

A purple dragon pearl immediately appeared in his palm.

This dragon pearl was quite unusual.

Ordinary dragon pearls are perfectly smooth and extraordinary in appearance.

But the one in Ao Chi’s hand was the complete opposite.

Its surface was not only uneven but also covered with numerous tiny holes.

It looked as if it had been eaten through by insects.

However, after this dragon pearl appeared, significant changes indeed occurred around Ao Chi.

A distorted force began to slowly spread in the surroundings.

Even the long-dead skeletons and dried corpses started to change.

Purple patterns emerged on the surfaces of the skeletons.

The dried corpses slowly melted, as if corroded by something.

“Poison…”

With just one glance, Lu Chen discerned the Dao that Ao Chi had mastered.

Seeing that Lu Chen could immediately recognize the essence of his Dao, Ao Chi smiled and said, “It is poison, but not entirely.”

“Don’t worry, kid. You’ll soon experience the power of this Dao Fruit. Go!”

Under Ao Chi’s control, invisible waves of poisonous gas began converging toward Lu Chen from all directions.

Although Lu Chen was holding the Longevity Sword and was within the Mars Lord’s Immortal Divine Power,

These invisible poisonous gases seemed to possess a strange penetrating ability.

They could bypass the Mars Lord’s flames and reach Lu Chen directly.

Faced with this bizarre poisonous gas, Lu Chen first threw an ordinary flying sword from his storage bag.

The moment the flying sword came into contact with the poisonous gas, it was immediately corroded into a pile of scrap metal.

Then, Lu Chen repeated his earlier tactics, employing other methods.

But whether it was talismans, magic treasures, magical artifacts, or divine abilities, none could affect the poisonous gas.

This was undoubtedly very peculiar.

After all, the fact that talismans and magic treasures couldn’t suppress the poison could be explained by Ao Chi’s Realm being far higher than Lu Chen’s.

But even divine abilities couldn’t influence the poisonous gas, which made Lu Chen’s gaze deepen.

At the Realm where Lu Chen and Ao Chi now stood,

So-called magical battles were essentially collisions of their respective Daos.

Yet, Ao Chi’s poisonous gas felt as if it contained no Dao power at all.

But this was clearly impossible.

No, this isn’t ‘poison.’

As if realizing something, a flash of understanding crossed Lu Chen’s eyes.

Then he looked at Ao Chi with astonishment.

After guessing the essence of Ao Chi’s Dao, Lu Chen was truly surprised.

This feeling was like stumbling upon a legendary piece of equipment in an ordinary instance—one that shouldn’t appear there at all.

And it was the kind of ultra-rare, nearly unique, super-grade equipment.At this thought, Lu Chen spoke with rare delight: “After extreme adversity comes bliss, indeed. I never expected your Dao Fruit to be so unique—truly an unexpected boon.”

Hearing Lu Chen’s words, Ao Chi was stunned.

Impossible. How could this brat guess the nature of his Dao Fruit so quickly? He had been disguising it perfectly all along.

But Lu Chen’s subsequent actions defied Ao Chi’s expectations.

Upon understanding the essence of his Dao Fruit,

Lu Chen even abandoned all resistance, focusing entirely on using the Mars Lord to deal with his dragon corpse.

This unusual behavior found perfect explanation when those “poisonous gases” touched Lu Chen.

The “poisonous gases” that could easily corrode Magic Treasures and ignore Divine Abilities

now couldn’t affect Lu Chen in the slightest.

Or rather, some power within Lu Chen neutralized the effects of this “poisonous gas.”

Most others would likely fail to discern the truth behind this phenomenon,

but Ao Chi grasped its profundity in an instant.

“Impossible! This cannot be! How do you also possess the Years and Time Way?!”

Indeed, Ao Chi’s Great Dao was never “poison,” but the extremely rare and uncommon “Years and Time”—

what is known as the “Time Dao.”

This was the first time since Lu Chen began cultivating that he encountered another being who had mastered a portion of the Time Dao.

This might also be why the Black Lotus Buddha Mother personally intervened, not hesitating to use curses to relentlessly hunt down Ao Chi.

Even within the Ancient Fiend Nine Realms, the Years and Time Way was absolutely rare and precious,

especially when this power resided in an ordinary dragon celestial being.

The same thought arose in Lu Chen’s mind.

If previously he only intended to absorb the Primordial Violet Qi from Ao Chi to enable his Clone’s Deity Transformation Breakthrough,

now he was no longer limited to just the Primordial Violet Qi on Ao Chi.

He would gladly take his Dao Fruit as well.

“Rise!”

As the Mars Lord completely suppressed the dragon corpse in the Fallen Dragon Lake, Lu Chen ceased holding back.

A small bell flew out, directly enveloping Ao Chi’s surroundings.

A terrifying suction force immediately emanated from it, continuously pulling at Ao Chi’s True Spirit.

Were this an ordinary celestial being’s remnant spirit, it would have long been drawn into the Soul-Suppressing Bell.

But Ao Chi, relying on his own Years and Time Way, constantly restored his condition, counteracting this suction force.

Naturally, the original Years and Time Way wasn’t limited to these effects.

However, Ao Chi, lacking a Physical Body and possessing only a fragmented true spirit, had lost most of his means.

Originally, by remotely controlling his dragon corpse,

he could still demonstrate half-celestial being level strength.

But Lu Chen, utilizing the power the Mars Lord left in the Longevity Sword, directly suppressed this dragon corpse,

creating a one-on-one situation between Lu Chen and Ao Chi’s True Spirit.

With numerous means at his disposal, dealing with a mere incomplete true spirit was naturally no difficulty for Lu Chen.

After restraining Ao Chi, Lu Chen swung his Sword once more.

This strike was extraordinary—a true celestial being-slaying technique.

An intangible Dao Sword Intent ignored the constraints of time and space, directly striking Ao Chi.

Splash!

A blood line appeared from between Ao Chi’s eyebrows, extending down his entire body.

Finally, cleaved in two with a single sword stroke!

The bisected Ao Chi immediately released vast amounts of Xiantian Qi.

This Xiantian Qi was precisely the Primordial Violet Qi Lu Chen needed.Without any hesitation, Lu Chen immediately employed the methods of the Creation Pill Art to gather the scattered Xiantian Qi.

In the process, Ao Chi’s own Dao Fruit was also collected by Lu Chen.

Although he cared deeply about this Dao Fruit,

at this moment, it was best to refine these precious Primordial Qi as quickly as possible.

“Gather!”

As Lu Chen formed hand seals with his fingers,

vast amounts of Samadhi True Fire appeared around him.

At this very moment, Lu Chen transformed his body into a furnace, aided by the Samadhi True Fire, and began absorbing and refining that Primordial Qi.

He intended to seize the moment and achieve a breakthrough in Deity Transformation here, proving his great Dao Fruit.

(End of Chapter)