Firmament Sword

Master Mao desperately wanted to argue, but he knew Xu Luo had a point. He rolled his eyes and didn’t say another word.

Just then, Xu Su took the foot-square box and gently opened it. Inside, he found a palm-sized bottle, so emerald green it was almost transparent!

”Whoa, a Jade Marrow Bottle!” Master Mao suddenly cried out. He leaped onto the lid of the chest, his eyes fixed on the box in Xu Su’s hands.

”Shoo, shoo, no snatching! Is this how a Guardian Beast is supposed to act? You have no class!” Xu Luo rolled his eyes, pushed Master Mao away, and then looked at Xu Su. ”Are those... Elixirs inside?”

Master Mao retorted, disgruntled, ”Of course it is! A Jade Marrow Bottle is specifically for storing Elixirs. No matter how many years pass, the medicinal properties of the Elixirs inside will never degrade! Aaaaaah! A Jade Marrow Bottle! That’s a true treasure! Even the great masters of major sects would fight to the death for it! The Elixirs inside must be something incredible! AAAAAAH!”

Just then, Xu Luo found a small plaque inside the box, which also looked as if it had been cast from black iron. Inscribed upon it in Ancient Texts were the uses for the Elixirs within the Jade Marrow Bottle.

”Blood Pill...” Xu Luo’s eyebrow twitched as he read the name of the Elixir from the black iron plaque. He continued reading down the inscription.

”Refined using Holy Beast Essence Blood, combined with over ten types of Top-Grade Spirit Medicine. Each pill can increase one’s power by two Jiazi cycles... The Blood Pill ignores the user’s constitution and takes effect in an extremely short amount of time...”

”Two Jiazi cycles...” Xu Su exclaimed from the side. ”That’s a measurement from the Ancient Era. In today’s terms... that’s one hundred and twenty years!”

Master Mao’s eyes widened as well, and he stared greedily at the Jade Marrow Bottle in Xu Su’s hands, looking ready to pounce at any moment.

Xu Su and Xu Luo exchanged a look, both seeing the shock in the other’s eyes. Many Top-Grade Spirit Medicines today claimed to increase one’s power by several hundred years, but those were empty boasts. The actual effect always depended on an individual’s constitution and absorption rate. But these Blood Pills from the Jade Marrow Bottle could completely ignore the user’s constitution! They didn’t even require a long period of secluded meditation to digest the energy. A person could achieve a massive power boost in a very short time!

This was a true Top-Grade Elixir!

A true, priceless treasure!

For a Martial Artist, the only true path was to increase one’s own strength. Any Martial Artist understood this. But how could raising one’s strength ever be a simple task?

Xu Luo continued reading from the plaque. ”The Blood Pill has no negative side effects. The power gained is permanent, and it can even improve the user’s constitution. With long-term use, one’s strength can rise indefinitely, with no bottlenecks!”

Xu Su couldn’t help but gasp. He stared at the vibrant, dew-kissed green jade bottle in his hand, his eyes filled first with disbelief, then with overwhelming joy. Noticing Master Mao beside him, Xu Su immediately tucked the Jade Marrow Bottle into his robes for safekeeping.

”Stingy!” Master Mao grumbled, pouting. ”What’s the big deal? Hmph, I just absorbed the Essence Blood of a Holy Beast myself! You think I’d care about that little thing?”

That’s what he said, but the greed in his eyes gave him away.

Xu Su was unmoved. Looking at Xu Luo, he said, ”This is an incredible treasure. With this... we can forge a team of warriors powerful enough to rival the major sects!”

Xu Luo gave a wry smile. ”Brother, did you hear exactly what these things are made of?”

Xu Su frowned, thought for a moment, and then his expression turned wry as well. ”Forget Holy Beasts, even getting the essence blood of a Spirit Beast is incredibly difficult. Holy Beasts are practically extinct these days. Besides, even if we managed to find a Holy Beast, trying to get its Essence Blood would be a fool’s errand...”

”If a Spirit Beast’s blood could be used as a substitute...” Xu Luo trailed off, glancing at Master Mao with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Master Mao’s fur stood straight on end. He sneered, ”Kid, I just absorbed the Essence Blood of an Ancient Sacred Beast. My power has skyrocketed, and I was just looking for someone to spar with. If you’re getting any ideas, I’d be happy to teach you a lesson!”

Xu Luo flashed a grin and casually turned away. ’Spar with you?’ he thought. ’I’m not that bored.’

”Still,” Xu Su said, ”for the Ancient Emperor Tribe to be able to refine such a powerful Elixir means their Alchemy must have reached a breathtaking level! And the Holy Beast Essence Blood used in the Blood Pills... that couldn’t have been easy to get. This shows that the Ancient Emperor Tribe must have been incredibly powerful!”

Xu Luo nodded. ”Exactly. It seems if we can fully master the secrets of these three extraordinary books left behind by the Ancient Emperor Tribe, our collective strength will take a quantum leap! Maybe we really can build a force capable of standing against the major sects!”

”The Pill Scripture is perfect for the Eldest Prince, the Mechanical Skill is suited for Sui Yan, and the Casting Skill is a match for Xu Jie...” Xu Su muttered with a strange look on his face. ”It’s almost as if it was predestined...”

Xu Luo nodded. He felt it too, as if these three extraordinary books had been prepared specifically for his brothers. Especially since the Thunder Beast had mentioned that the two of them had the blood of the Ancient Emperor Tribe flowing through their veins... It made him wonder: could their ancestors from the unimaginably distant Ancient Era have foreseen this very day, countless years later?

Of course, that was a mystery that could never be solved.

The wisdom of the ancients was never inferior to that of the modern world—a truth long acknowledged through countless inherited traditions.

After a moment’s thought, Xu Su took the Jade Marrow Bottle from his robes and handed it to Xu Luo. ”This will be safer with you. It looks like there are a few dozen Elixirs inside. You can decide how they should be distributed.”

Xu Luo didn’t refuse. He knew he was indeed better suited than his brother to be in charge of this bottle of Blood Pills.

As for their distribution, that would require careful deliberation. This was a priceless treasure, and each pill consumed was one gone forever. His own people would, of course, be the first priority.

”The thing in this long box looks like a sword,” Xu Su said, pointing to the last item remaining in the chest.

”It looks like a weapon,” Xu Luo agreed.

As he spoke, Xu Luo reached out and lifted the long box from the chest. It felt surprisingly heavy. He opened it at once, revealing a simple, unadorned Long Sword resting inside.

The Long Sword was without a scabbard, its entire body as black as ink. The three-finger-wide blade gave off no reflection, making it impossible to tell what material it was forged from. The blade and hilt were a single, seamless piece, apparently cast as a whole. It hadn’t been given an edge and didn’t look sharp, though its tip seemed exceptionally keen.

The craftsmanship of the sword gave it a grand, primitive feel, and it exuded an aura of ancient desolation.

Xu Luo reached out and grasped the hilt. Instantly, he felt a connection as if it were an extension of his own body. He was startled, because at that same moment, the Seven Star Souls in his Dantian all flashed brightly in unison!

Just then, seven points of light suddenly appeared on the black Long Sword in Xu Luo’s hand. They flashed one by one in the exact formation of the Big Dipper. It lasted only an instant, but Xu Luo saw it clearly, and a strange feeling washed over him.

’Could it be... I really do have the blood of the Ancient Emperor Tribe? Was I born with some fated connection to the seven stars of the Beidou constellation? Are all the things that have happened to me not coincidence... but destiny?’ Xu Luo wondered, gently swinging the sword a few times.

VWOOM!

A wave of Sword Qi shot out from the black Long Sword, and a biting killing intent instantly radiated in all directions.

Master Mao’s fur instantly bristled. It arched its back, staring at Xu Luo in terror.

Xu Luo immediately stopped circulating his True Essence and praised softly, ”What a sword!”

Master Mao stared at the sword in Xu Luo’s hand, still shaken. For some reason, when faced with that black Long Sword, it felt as if it couldn’t breathe!

Xu Su, however, stood nearby with a completely normal expression, showing no signs of being affected. Master Mao couldn’t help but ask, ”Hey, you! Didn’t you feel awful just now?”

”Awful?” Xu Su raised an eyebrow. ”I feel fine!”

”...” Master Mao rolled its eyes. He was starting to understand. ”There’s definitely something strange about that kid’s sword. I just felt so oppressed I couldn’t breathe! AAAAAAH!”

”Really?” Xu Luo asked, surprised.

”Pah!” Master Mao sneered. ”You think I’d make something like that up to discredit myself?”

”That’s fantastic!” Xu Luo said joyfully. ”I wonder if other people will feel the same way.”

Xu Su nodded seriously. ”Intimidating your opponent before the fight even starts is an excellent advantage!”

”You two bastards!” Master Mao turned its head away, sulking, and ignored the two heartless jerks.

”I’ll call this sword... the Seven Star Sword,” Xu Luo said.

Xu Su had also seen the seven points of light that flashed on the black Long Sword. He smiled and nodded. ”An excellent name!”

”I never thought we’d find such a haul in a single Ancient Ruins. No wonder the major sects are always sending people out to search for them,” Xu Luo remarked. He then looked at Xu Su and said, ”We should be heading back.”

”I’ve been thinking about that exact problem,” Xu Su said, his expression serious. ”But I can’t for the life of me figure it out... how are we supposed to get out of here!”

”Er...” Xu Luo was dumbfounded as well.

They had been violently sucked into this place by an immense, irresistible force. If the Thunder Beast hadn’t helped them, they would have been half-crippled from the fall, if not killed outright.

Now that it was time to leave, they suddenly realized they had no idea how to exit this strange dimension!

Xu Luo stored the metal chest in his Storage Ring and frowned slightly. Then, he happened to notice Master Mao looking incredibly smug.

The look on its face was practically waiting for Xu Luo to beg for help. Its cat-like face was all but screaming: ’Why don’t you come and ask me!’