Firmament Sword

A ten-foot section of a corpse, held up by a stand of unidentifiable material, was placed upon Top-level Immortal Spirit Stones that shimmered with light and radiated powerful energy fluctuations.

This section of the corpse was as thick as a water barrel. Its severed ends were perfectly smooth, obviously sliced by a sharp weapon. It had been placed here for an unknown number of years, but from those cut surfaces... fresh red blood was still seeping out!

The blood congealed without scattering, creating a bewitchingly beautiful and bizarre sight!

The corpse was covered in fine, dense scales. Their luster was somewhat dull, and each scale was the size of an adult’s palm. They looked as if carved from cyan jade and inlaid into the body, appearing cold and hard, without the slightest hint of life emanating from it.

It looked like a giant python that had been cut in half and placed here.

But Xu Luo knew this was no mere snake, nor a flood dragon. It was a dragon!

This was a section of a True Dragon’s corpse!

The tremor that came from the depths of his soul clearly and unmistakably conveyed a single thought: ’This is the flesh of a True Dragon!’

’And... it’s the Cyan Dragon!’

A flash of anger crossed Xu Luo’s eyes.

He could not forget the words the Cyan Dragon had spoken at his most perilous moment, as it fused all of its remaining residual energy into his Dantian.

”Star Monarch, if one day you find my true body in the Divine Domain, please pay your respects to me.”

”The Dao begets the One. Star Monarch, you and I are both that One from long ago, born from the same source. Don’t forget, when you find my true body in the future, you absolutely must pay your respects to me!”

Not much time had passed... Xu Luo could not forget what the Cyan Dragon had said.

But now, a restless power thrumming within his body, one that felt as if it could erupt at any moment, was instead conveying a sense of desolate sorrow to him!

’It wanted me to pay my respects... and I promised it!’

’And its physical body has now been destroyed, with a section of it right here... yet it’s been covered with over a hundred seals!’

’Who could be so vicious?’

’To do something like this to an already lifeless corpse?’

’Its life force was forcefully sealed away by these seals and enshrined on this altar.’

When Xu Luo extended his Divine Thought, he could ”see” infinitesimally fine wisps of energy continuously emanating from the Cyan Dragon’s body and flowing into the Everlasting Lamp on the wall.

”This...” The Monkey, standing to the side, was also stunned. He muttered, ”What is this?”

”Do you remember,” Xu Luo said softly, ”when I was refining the Infinite Saint Emperor’s Divine Thought with Karmic Fire? When it was in agony and about to break, it said something...”

”I remember. It said something about this treasury holding something we can’t afford to mess with? Was it talking about this?” the Monkey asked, looking doubtfully at the section of the cyan corpse enshrined on the altar.

Xu Luo slowly walked forward, a sense of sorrow emanating from the depths of his heart. The feeling did not come from him, but from the energy he had fused with... the energy that belonged to the Cyan Dragon!

Just then, the flame within the Everlasting Lamp on the wall suddenly flared, and for an instant, the entire treasury seemed to brighten.

Xu Luo stared coldly at the lamp on the wall, then reached out to grab the Cyan Dragon from the altar, but the Monkey grabbed his arm. ”Are you crazy? There are at least a hundred seals on it, and any one of them could kill us!”

”I know, but I have to save it!” Xu Luo’s tone was incredibly resolute, his eyes shimmering with a light others couldn’t comprehend.

When he was in mortal danger, it was the Cyan Dragon... with its wisp of a remnant soul, it had poured the last of its power into his body, allowing him to survive the crisis.

And now, the Cyan Dragon’s true body had been bound by countless seals, being refined here day and night for who knows how many years.

The fuel for that lamp on the wall was the very source essence of the Cyan Dragon’s body!

”Right... Origin... Power of Origin!” Xu Luo murmured, his eyes narrowing. A name floated up in his mind—Kunpeng!

”Dammit, aren’t toads and giant birds natural-born enemies?” Xu Luo suddenly erupted in anger, cursing for no apparent reason.

”You... know the owner... of this corpse?” the Monkey asked, his voice full of questions as he looked at Xu Luo.

”Yes. He’s my... brother!” Xu Luo mumbled, his head bowed. ”Though our bond was always... faint... we are sworn brothers, brothers in life and death!”

The Monkey was silent for a moment, then grumbled, ”A brother? Then he must be saved! That Everlasting Lamp on the wall is constantly absorbing the energy from this section of the corpse. This energy is very special... I’ve never seen it before, but I can feel the terrifying aura it’s giving off. It’s hundreds, even thousands of times stronger than the energy in my own body!”

Xu Luo nodded. He looked at the section of the Cyan Dragon’s corpse, trying to figure out how to save it.

The Monkey muttered, ”This... is your world. The laws of this world are all under your control. Could you try using this world’s Power of Laws to wear away the seals on this section of the corpse?”

Xu Luo’s eyes lit up. ”I can try that!”

Putting thought into action, Xu Luo immediately sat cross-legged in front of the altar and began to mobilize the laws of the Bronze Divine Hall World to wear away the seals on the Cyan Dragon’s corpse.

Although the world laws of the Bronze Divine Hall were all under Xu Luo’s control, with his current realm, he simply couldn’t sustain their use for a long period.

Vast, majestic energy surged out of Xu Luo’s body like a tide, transforming into the Power of Laws of this world and enveloping the section of the Cyan Dragon’s corpse.

CRACKLE!

As soon as the power of the seals on the Cyan Dragon’s corpse came into contact with the world laws of the Bronze Divine Hall, a huge spray of electric sparks erupted, and great arcs of lightning flashed!

PFFT!

Xu Luo spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His eyes flew open, flashing with divine light as he bellowed, ”Suppress!”

BOOM!

Inside the hollowed-out mountain, a tremendous roar resounded. Flames suddenly erupted over the section of the Cyan Dragon’s corpse. The fire was as red as blood, giving off an extremely eerie feeling.

The flame of the Everlasting Lamp on the wall shot up high, blazing furiously. Within the firelight, a human face appeared!

It was an old man with a goatee, his eyes so profound they seemed to contain the cosmos and the stars, deep beyond measure!

”What junior dares to break this venerable one’s seals? Die!”

The face in the fire spoke human words, its voice containing infinite Law Power. Every word it spoke transformed into a true-word mantra, pressing down directly upon Xu Luo!

The Monkey flew into a rage at the sight, swinging his Big Iron Rod straight at the Everlasting Lamp on the wall and cursing, ”You thing, playing gods and ghosts! Eat your grandpa’s rod!”

BANG!

The Monkey’s iron rod slammed into the flames, but the old man’s face within the fire showed a hint of disdain. With a shudder of the firelight, a vast power rebounded and sent the Monkey flying!

RUMBLE!

The Monkey slammed hard against the distant mountain wall. If not for the restrictive seals the Infinite Saint Emperor had placed on it, the impact would have surely blasted a huge hole through it.

A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of the Monkey’s mouth. His eyes, crackling with lightning, were filled with fury.

Sheets of the Power of Laws rose up from Xu Luo, shielding his body.

The old man’s face in the Everlasting Lamp’s flame showed a hint of surprise. He scrutinized Xu Luo for a few moments, then said coldly, ”I wondered who it was. Turns out, it’s you!”

Xu Luo stared coldly at the face in the fire. ”And who are you?”

”Heh, a nameless nobody, not worth mentioning. But you... I never expected this Bronze Divine Hall to fall back into your hands. Truly, the world weathers on, the stars shift, but cause and effect... that never changes!” the old man muttered.

”Are you the Kunpeng?” Xu Luo suddenly asked, looking at the face in the fire.

”This venerable one is the humble Daoist, Nameless. What’s a Kunpeng?” A strange smile appeared on the face in the fire, and he continued, ”Since this is your world, then this lamp... is a lost cause. No need for you to go to any more trouble. These seals... I will remove them for you. The Power of Origin in this corpse... it’s all yours!”

”What do you mean?” Xu Luo asked, frowning slightly at the old man’s face in the fire.

”Why pretend? You went to all this trouble to bring this corpse into your own world, wasn’t it to devour the Power of Origin within it? This venerable one will grant your wish... However, you’d better take care of yourself. The Divine Domain is full of dangers. It would be a shame if you were to die!”

A bizarre smile appeared on the old man’s face in the fire. The flame in the Everlasting Lamp swayed, and one of the seals on the Cyan Dragon’s body vanished. It swayed again, and another seal vanished. After it swayed more than a hundred times, every last seal on the Cyan Dragon’s corpse... was gone!

As the final seal was undone, a monstrous aura of life erupted from the section of the Cyan Dragon’s corpse!

This life force could not be contained by the treasury. It rushed straight out and permeated the entire Bronze Divine Hall World!

Su Qianqian, who was taking an afternoon nap in a beautiful house, was enveloped by this vast, boundless life force. In her sleep, she would occasionally furrow her brow, as if dreaming of something, and tears would sometimes stream from the corners of her eyes.

”Haha! How about it? Are you satisfied with this grand gift from me?” the old man in the fire laughed loudly. Then, the flame of the Everlasting Lamp flashed violently before suddenly going out.

”Who is that old bastard, and why is he so arrogant? But he’s terrifyingly strong. He undid over a hundred seals... in an instant!” the Monkey grumbled as he limped over. He looked at Xu Luo with concern. ”Brother... you okay?”

Xu Luo smiled, slowly stood up, and shook his head slightly. Then, he opened his mouth and—BLERGH—spat out a mouthful of blood. He said through gritted teeth, ”Those seals... he was the one who placed them. Of course it’s fast when he’s the one undoing his own work!”

”...” The Monkey was speechless.

Xu Luo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said coldly, ”He really is decisive. Seeing the situation was irreversible, he immediately cut his losses... He’d rather self-destruct a strand of his Divine Thought than give me any opening to exploit. But Kunpeng... do you really think you can just toy with me... and wrap me around your finger? Are you raising a pig? Fattening me for the slaughter... If that’s your plan, then you’ve seriously underestimated me!”