Chapter 978

“Moon,”

Jiang Ding summoned the Moon Spirit and asked softly: “The Eight Immortal Sects will soon repair you. Could they implant hidden controls or surveillance?”

The Great Sun Celestial Pool is his home.

This is where he has long cultivated, and where it has accompanied him in battles across the lands, ensuring he is never bullied by Void Refinement cultivators—its bond with him is intimate, and any deviation is utterly intolerable.

“Really?!!”

“Young Master, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

The Moon Spirit’s spirit lifted.

“It’s like this…”

Jiang Ding explained to her the origin, especially regarding the Jiao Ming Realm.

Not long ago, the Central Array Spirit computer granted the Moon Spirit authorization, permitting her to know this secret, because in the future, the sealed Great Sun Celestial Pool will accompany Jiang Ding into the Jiao Ming Realm to carry out missions.

“Jiao Demon Emperor Clan?!! Jiao Ming Realm?!!”

“Oh no!”

“What a pity.”

“The Young Master has such bad luck.”

The Moon stared in shock, slapping her thighs repeatedly in deep regret: “If only he had endured a little longer, waiting until this era to launch his war of devouring the Eight Immortal Sects, the outcome might have been vastly different.”

“Even if we don’t know whether the Jiao Demon Emperor Clan has any beyond Void Refinement, even if they do, the Young Master might still be able to slay them.”

“Heaven has been so cruel to the Young Master—so much potent nourishment, yet none of it can be his.”

She sighed.

“Young Master, you were born in a wonderful age—within this realm there are not only the Ten Dao Heirs, but also the far vaster Jiao Ming Realm. If you slay them all, what are Void Refinement elders to you?”

The Moon Spirit suddenly grew excited.

“A heavenly opportunity lies right before you.”

“You even have the hope of surpassing the aspirations of all past Sword Pavilion ancestors, reaching even more distant realms.”

“Ten Dao Heirs?”

Jiang Ding’s focus was different.

“Of course,”

The Moon said matter-of-factly: “The heirs of the Eight Immortal Sects, plus the Bone Forest Dao Heir, plus that barely qualified one from the Taiyin Sword Sect—aren’t those ten?”

“Are there more?”

Her eyes sparkled brightly.

“No,”

“There are nine.”

Jiang Ding corrected her, too lazy to argue: “Tell me about the Eight Immortal Sects’ repair process—will it affect us? I need a definite answer.”

“The Eight Immortal Sects will not plant hidden hands.”

“This is certain.”

The Moon’s voice rang firm, without a trace of hesitation: “Young Master, you don’t know—the Great Sun Celestial Pool is one of the supreme masterpieces of the Sword Pavilion’s sword path, forged from the corpses of past Sword Masters who achieved transcendence,

?? their sword intentions, their soul swords, and their final obsessions—equivalent to a single ‘sword art’ spanning endless time, not the so-called shipbuilding technique claimed by the Eastern Ji Demon Sect.”

“This is a sword art jointly cast by all past Great Sun Sword Masters.”

“When you later ascend to Void Refinement, you too will master this sword art—you may choose, at the end of your life, to sacrifice your entire soul, flesh, and sword intention to activate it, ensuring your sword path endures.”

“Within the Great Sun Celestial Pool, they have long been attempting to nurture…”

The Moon Spirit hesitated, then said: “Attempting to nurture a divine art—a sword-type divine art—paid for with the lives of countless past Great Sun Sword Masters, for many years, uncertain whether it will ever succeed, since it is a divine art.”

“Yet this is the shared aspiration of all past Great Sun Sword Masters; success or failure no longer matters—they simply walk this path, generation after generation.”

“Sword Divine Art!”

Jiang Ding’s heart trembled.

Even he found the Great Sun Sword Pavilion impossibly arrogant.

Merely a Void Refinement-level force, yet unable to transcend Void Refinement, they dared to create a divine art—utterly reckless beyond measure.

“Where is the Sword Divine Art?”

The next moment, Jiang Ding asked immediately.

“At the core of the Celestial Pool.”

The Moon Spirit spoke bluntly: “But Young Master, I advise you not to look—because you will die.”

“Your power is too weak. Even if the art the Pavilion seeks to create is far from a true divine art, it remains the final crystallization of the souls and sword intentions of all past Great Sun Sword Masters.”

“You currently lack the qualification to observe it.”

“Is that so?”

Jiang Ding fell silent.

This reaction surprised the Moon—she had expected him to resist, to argue.

“In short, the Great Sun Celestial Pool is the supreme creation of the Sword Pavilion’s sword path.”

“Young Master, rest assured.”

The Moon patted her chest and swore: “The Eight Immortal Sects and the Eastern Ji Demon Sect have no right to touch the Pool. Their sword cultivation…”

She sneered.

“All they can do is reclaim and seal the residual power left upon the Great Sun Celestial Pool, impose no further restrictions, then pour in vast quantities of fifth-rank heavenly treasures to activate the Pool’s own indestructible will, allowing it to heal itself—no spells needed from them.”

“All of this, the Pool can do on its own.”

“That’s good.”

Jiang Ding nodded slightly: “Several years from now, the Eight Immortal Sects will send Void Refinement elders carrying Imperial Edicts. You’ll handle the contact—be courteous, let them seal it, but don’t remove the residual power. I still need it.”

To practice swordsmanship.

After reaching Soul Transformation, I can use these residual Void Refinement energies as targets to hone my sword intention and sword art—they make excellent sparring partners.

“Don’t worry, Young Master, I won’t kill them.”

The Moon readily agreed.

“Don’t always think of killing others—sword cultivators should value harmony.”

Jiang Ding’s face darkened.

“Understood, Young Master.”

…

Beneath the Sun God Tree, Jiang Ding sat in meditation, refining his sword for years.

One day, he opened his eyes and flew out of the Great Sun Celestial Pool, flying far until he landed near a remote realm teleportation array, standing still with closed eyes.

Moments later, Shenji Tianjun arrived, nodding to him.

Hum!

Amid a flash of spatial teleportation light, dozens of figures appeared in their sight.

Most were Soul Transformation peak cultivators; the rest were eight Nascent Soul late-stage cultivators.

These eight, though Nascent Soul cultivators, carried qi no weaker than Soul Transformation cultivators, brimming with an indescribable vitality, like stars just rising.

“Senior, are there no transmission disciples from the Immortal Sects?”

Jiang Ding asked quietly.

Immortal Sect transmission disciples were quite strong—Nascent Soul peak cultivators who could barely match Soul Transformation cultivators in battle.

Though they would ultimately lose, they still possessed this qualification—they were realm prodigies.

“Not needed.”

“They’re unnecessary.”

Shenji Tianjun shook his head slightly: “For stealth and assassination, too many people are dangerous. If even one transmission disciple is captured, even if they self-destruct in advance, it will trigger unpredictable variables and make the Jiao Demon Emperor Clan suspicious—too great a risk.”

“For intelligence gathering, the Shadow Demon Abyss cultivators are sufficient—they are the most professional.”

“That’s true—I was mistaken.”

Jiang Ding understood.

As he spoke, his gaze met the gazes of the eight Dao Heirs—destined to cross.

They ignored everyone else, fixing only on each other.

They stared for a long time.

The surrounding air subtly froze, spreading a chilling aura.