Chapter 113: Ten Thousand Grindings Strip Away Restraint, Heart and Spirit Sway as Determination Fades

"Cough—"

Fang Longye coughed up dots of fresh blood; amidst the bright gold, there was a patch of dizzying red.

Inside, it was filled with fine, dense blood-colored sword Qi, which landed on the ground and punched out tiny, dense holes, the size of ant holes, and over a thousand zhang deep.

The surrounding space split and gathered in an instant, with black spatial fissures constantly forming and vanishing like thin lines.

The sound of coughing up blood was hoarse and unpleasant, carrying a chilling, miserable laugh; the entire throat felt as if it were being cut by knives and sliced by swords, unbearably painful.

Fang Longye swallowed two more Yin-Yang Dao Pills; the medicinal power surged, and the Creation Spiritual Essence condensed into mist and rain.

It fell in a scattered drizzle, nourishing the essence, energy, and spirit that had been wiped out by the Zhanlong Sword.

Dao Rhyme sprouted, and the image of the Yin and Yang dragon and tiger appeared, constantly clashing and colliding with the sword light blooming from the Zhanlong Sword.

During this process, the internal Dao Rhyme energy was sliced into tiny particles by the Zhanlong Sword.

It transformed into pure principles and energy, merging into Fang Longye's essence, energy, and spirit, elevating his very nature.

Fine, thread-like sword light fell upon every inch of his flesh and blood, crisscrossing through every wisp of Dharma and every trace of his primordial spirit.

Every streak of sword light carried the vitality of slaying everything.

The sword hummed with a metallic clanging, and whispers murmured incessantly in the dark.

"As a member of the Dragon Clan, your crimes are great and deserve death. Kill, kill, kill!"

A mad, demonic will to fight to the death permeated every attack released by the Zhanlong Sword, almost spilling out.

Even Fang Longye himself felt the thought arise in his heart that, as a member of the Dragon Clan, he was indeed guilty of heinous crimes and truly ought to stretch out his neck to be slaughtered.

……

"Clang—"

The Dragon-Chanting Bell shook continuously, helping him break free from this influence; a sword of wisdom rose in Fang Longye's heart, severing all these thoughts, and his inner heart became completely calm.

Looking at the sword Qi that kept deriving under the Zhanlong Sword, wispy and thread-like, swimming around his body like fish, attempting to annihilate his vitality.

Fang Longye thought to himself, what kind of hatred, what kind of grudge is this? The Phoenix Clan's killing intent toward the Dragon Clan is just too great!

With a shift of his mind, his essence, energy, and spirit, along with all the Dharma he had cultivated, gathered and converged, surging like a spring toward the Zhanlong Sword he had swallowed into his body.

Tit for tat, it entangled with the Zhanlong Sword's spontaneous power, with every streak of sword light entwined with Fang Longye's essence, energy, and spirit.

Relying on the support of the Yin-Yang Dao Pills, he kept rising to meet the enemy, entangling incessantly with the power of the Zhanlong Sword, forming shapes like small flowers.

At first, they were spun and extinguished, sparse and scattered; later, as time passed, he persisted for longer and longer.

The power gathered by his essence, energy, and spirit became stronger and more resilient under the tempering of the Zhanlong Sword, and the small flowers formed by the entanglement with the Zhanlong Sword light became more and more numerous, numbering in the thousands and hundreds.

For a time, gold and blood shone together, like a canopy of pearls and jade, with colors rising and falling.

Fang Longye opened his eyes; although his face was pale and his aura was withered, his eyes were extremely bright, filled with constant joy.

Sure enough, I did it right!

Feeling the growth he had gained under this life-and-death tempering by the Zhanlong Sword, Fang Longye couldn't help but praise his own plan.

Although the approach was brutal—no different from the fancy tricks in certain worlds where zombies bathe in glutinous rice water or vampires drink holy water—it was all a suicidal path.

But the harvest was truly great! Not only did he elevate his own nature and break through the limits of the True Immortal Realm, but the medicinal power of the Yin-Yang Dao Pills gradually penetrated deep into his interior during this process, greatly stimulating the medicinal properties.

Furthermore, he gradually developed a resistance to the Zhanlong Sword, an object that was extremely restrictive to the Dragon Clan. This was the reason he took the risk to temper himself with the Zhanlong Sword.

For instance, like the Realgar Sword used by Bai Suzhen in the myths and legends of his past life.

As a snake demon, Bai Suzhen used a sword that happened to be named Realgar; this was not actually an attempt to cover up or deliberately mislead enemies so they wouldn't use realgar to restrain her, but rather it held a deeper meaning.

Think of this household-name White Snake, as a disciple of Lishan Laomu, a great power whom Guanyin, Manjusri, and Puxian all voluntarily acknowledged as "Mother."

Her vision and knowledge would certainly not be lacking; naming her own precious sword Realgar also had profound significance.

It was precisely to borrow the name "Realgar" to enhance her own resistance to realgar.

Of course, what Fang Longye did was more direct and brutal. Using the false to cultivate the true—that was because his cultivation was insufficient and his means were inadequate.

And with the Yin-Yang Dao Pills, such rare immortal pills among the Golden Immortal level, as his backing, he naturally dared to act this way.

Otherwise, looking at the current situation, if there were no Yin-Yang Dao Pills for replenishment, even an ownerless Zhanlong Sword, if taken directly into the body like he did, would mean ten deaths and no life.

As his resistance to the Zhanlong Sword, a Spirit Treasure specifically designed to restrain the Dragon Clan, greatly increased.

It was no longer like before, where facing the Zhanlong Sword, he could only exert three parts of his ten-part strength.

At this moment, his essence, energy, and spirit, when facing the Zhanlong Sword again, were like transforming from tofu into metal and stone.

The two collided like metal striking metal, and the high-spirited state finally stirred the mottled bloodstains on the Zhanlong Sword.

"Ang~"

The golden-red bloodstains smeared on the sword body, like rust, struggled and fell off, transforming into golden-red phantoms of the Dragon Clan.

Streaks of Dragon Clan phantoms—some flood dragons, some horned dragons, some li dragons, some chi dragons,... and so on, in myriad forms.

They constantly swam within Fang Longye's body, flying and circling, carrying sorrow, anger, shame,... and numerous emotions, bowing their heads and moaning.

Finally, they all submerged into Fang Longye's dantian, merging into his Bloodline and vital energy and blood.

For a time, ten thousand dragons chanted, ringing incessantly in his ears.

Dragon patterns were vivid, and seal scripts appeared in succession.

All kinds of information emerged, enhancing Fang Longye's knowledge and foundation.

Various killing techniques, combat skills,... enriched his means and improved his experience in facing enemies.

"An unexpected joy!" Fang Longye muttered to himself, with the phantoms of ten thousand dragons flashing in his eyes.

In fact, the sword Qi of the Zhanlong Sword was not blood-red in color at the beginning.

It was entirely because of too much slaughter, and having been soaked in too much Dragon Clan blood during the process of slaying many members of the Dragon Clan, that it presented this appearance.

These mottled bloodstains that remained on the sword body were the traces left by many predecessors of the Dragon Clan who perished here.

They were also the key to the Zhanlong Sword's restraint of the Dragon Clan, just like a blade that kills too many people becomes a fierce weapon that specifically devours human essence and blood.

The Zhanlong Sword, it was the same principle.

The name, the Restriction and Curse that suppresses the Dragon Clan, and the fact that many of the Dragon Clan have perished under the sword—these many factors, combined together, have created the Zhanlong Sword's immense supernatural ability to suppress the Dragon Clan.

As long as Fang Longye continues to struggle against the Zhanlong Sword as he does now, one day, he will wash away the bloodstains on the sword's body.

And when that time comes, this divine sword, having shed its blood-red color and radiating its original five-colored brilliance, will not only cease to be an obstacle to Fang Longye.

The Restriction and Curse covering the sword's body will also, under the Dao marks branded by the residual blood of these Dragon Clan predecessors, transform into the most suitable Restriction for Fang Longye, a member of the Dragon Clan.

Having been tempered and refined by Fang Longye's essence, energy, and spirit, and after much entanglement, it will be easily and completely refined by Fang Longye.

The entire divine sword will be reborn, becoming a Spirit Treasure blade that is exactly to Fang Longye's liking in his hands.

……

Cangmang Mountain.

Motian Cliff.

Lush and verdant, rising above the clouds, the surrounding thousands of rocky peaks are clustered together, magnificent and wondrous.

Cranes are beneath the pines, deer are before the springs, green vines cover the ground, and mysterious light vines are tangled.

Paths, two or three at a time, crisscross and wind forward.

The weather is warm, the mountains are secluded, and mist rises from the stones.

Cranes cry, deer call, and fish leap from the water.

It is quiet, secluded, and natural.

To be calm is to be joyful.

"Hoo—"

Fang Longye stands above the sea of clouds, breathing in the lush and fragrant Aura of the surroundings, looking at the ocean of green mountains beneath his feet, his heroic spirit rising spontaneously.

After a session of cultivation, he has entered the sixth level of the True Immortal Realm that he defined for himself, just one step away from being a peerless True Immortal who has reversed the Five Qi in the Chest to the Innate. Truly standing at the absolute peak of the Zhenxian Realm, looking back at his former self, he could suppress that version of himself with a flip of his palm.

"Sure enough, both the Macaque King and that Gu Huojin were holding back a lot!" Fang Longye sighed.

Especially when he thought of the words he had previously said to that old turtle at the Yuyang Yaofang, that 'he would not show mercy to Jiao Mowang'.

Fang Longye felt so ashamed that he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

"Sigh! Ah~" At the thought of these words, even though no one was around, Fang Longye couldn't help but cover his face.

Too shameful!

Thinking that the Macaque King, as one of the future Seven Great Sages, was only ranked sixth and was already so remarkable.

Jiao Mowang is the second among these Seven Great Sages; how formidable must his strength be? Would anyone really believe that the Monkey who popped out of a stone could be polite and recognize sworn brothers according to age after returning from his studies? Judging by the Macaque King's strength, Fang Longye believed that the current Jiao Mowang could not possibly be worse than the Macaque King. He even thought that this clansman from the North Sea Longgong might have already stepped into the Golden Immortal realm.

What is called 'looking at the sky from the bottom of a well'—that was exactly his previous behavior.

So, it was quite farsighted of him not to have humiliated these Longnu too much before! Thinking of this, Fang Longye looked at the expanse of water outside Cangmang Mountain.

The daylight pours down, crossing the colors of the peaks, dyeing the surrounding cloud light, and then the colors change from bright gold to golden-green, lingering lushly.

Falling upon the expanse of water, the waves shimmer, as if ten thousand golden carp are leaping in the water.

True Dragons with scaled bodies and dorsal spines, slender and beautiful, long and magnificent, dance in the water, swaying and shining.

Sometimes they leap out of the water to fly in the clouds, sometimes they dive into the water to play and frolic, very joyfully.

Their Aura swirls together, presenting the image of a dragon rising to the nine heavens, brilliant and dazzling.

Looking at these Longnu outside Cangmang Mountain, who are currently transforming into dragon forms and frolicking in the expanse of water, Fang Longye felt a surge of heat.

Damn it! Fang Longye knew this was because his own essence, energy, and spirit, which were still constantly struggling against the Zhanlong Sword within his body, were somewhat unstable.

The whole person was influenced too deeply by his Bloodline. Seeing the true form of a female dragon, he could feel how slender, exquisite, and exceptionally beautiful they were.

His naturally lustful nature lacked a bit of mental suppression, not as steady as before.

Thinking of this, he did not hold back and immediately returned to Longying Cave, preparing to summon Ao Ying to do the deed.

Hu Qiuyue had already been eaten, and it was time for these Longnu.

"Anyway, isn't that what the old Dragon King of the North Sea wants? Just consider it as building a relationship with Jiao Mowang, this 'hero of the Demon Clan'!"

……

Short pines are hazy, and miscellaneous trees are dense.

Lush emerald green falls down, swaying, about to land on the path.

When the wind blows, it rustles.

Ao Ying, in a palace dress, with the sound of jade pendants and a faint, delicate fragrance, walks along this garden path.

On her head is a pair of bright golden dragon horns, branching like coral; her skin is as white as frost and snow, crystalline like glaze.

Her sleeves flutter, surrounded by a clear light of clouds and water, blending with the void, emitting an aura like water.

Her entire aura changes constantly, yet it fully displays the Dao of Water.

Sometimes like rising water waves, entering the sky to stir up clouds and rain, sometimes like water vapor entering the forest, the sound of springs tinkling like a divine immortal spitting pearls.

Layers of halos permeate the surroundings, warm and moist like jade, inducing the surrounding flowers, plants, and trees to stretch their bodies.

Ao Ying's sea-blue beautiful eyes ripple with emotion as she looks around, the corners of her mouth curling up, her eyes full of joy.

The wind and mist are clear and bright, the water is as clear as if washed, and the surrounding scenery is elegant and profound; seeing it in her eyes makes one feel relaxed and happy.

In the void, purple and green mist rises and falls, with faint mysterious sounds.

Her heart is naturally very joyful, because Fang Longye summoned her just after coming out of seclusion, which is a great improvement compared to before.

Do not blame her for being this way; with her potential, even if she switched to cultivating the 'Earth Immortal Dao', she could only walk a few more steps in the Taiyi Realm.

Wanting to attain the Daluo Dao, even after a hundred or a thousand lifetimes of reincarnation, there is no hope.

Logically speaking, having no hope for Daluo is a situation that 99% of people have to face.

As a Princess of the Longgong, she has already surpassed most people, so she really shouldn't belittle herself like this for a chance with an unknown outcome.

The key is, same mother, different fates.

That younger sister of hers, born of the same mother but a different father, had only been born for a short time before being hailed as having the number one aptitude in the Four Seas Dragon Clan of the current age.

She was personally visited by that great power from the South Sea, taken as a disciple, and brought under their tutelage. That great power personally evaluated her, saying she was gifted with intelligence, possessed a penetrating comprehension, and had the potential of a Great Luo.

She was unconvinced; by what right? That base woman who craved vanity could actually give birth to such a young daughter? Yes, the Dragon King did not care. Women are like clothing, brothers are like limbs. As the North Sea Dragon King, how could his harem be limited to merely three thousand?

He would only be happy that the Dragon Clan had produced such a talent, and he did not even care about her original motive of craving vanity.

He only felt that it was Heaven's will, which was why she had given birth to such an extraordinary baby girl. He let her leave the North Sea with ease, returning to that South Sea Longgong.

However, she could not forget.

She could not forget how that base woman ignored her pleas, heartlessly abandoned her, and left directly.

Only because she was insignificant, far too trivial.

For this reason, she cultivated painstakingly to attain her current strength. But it was not enough.

That younger sister was truly too dazzling.

She wanted to attain the Great Luo Dao, not to surpass that younger sister.

Only to make those who so easily abandoned her regret that they had missed out on her, this Canghai Pearl.

No matter the price.

While lost in thought, Ao Ying walked to the palace where Fang Longye resided, only to feel a sudden tremor of fear, as if she might lose her life at any moment.

She immediately snapped back to her senses, entered with light steps, and paid respects to this de facto master.

……

The surroundings were clear and bright, without a speck of dust, with empty brilliance flowing and white clouds drifting like willow catkins.

The water in the copper kettle on the small stove on the table was boiling, making a gurgling sound.

Ao Ying lowered her head and bowed, accepting a cup of tea poured for her by Fang Longye with fear and trepidation.

She carefully took the teacup and sipped it slowly.

She remained silent.

Fang Longye shook his head; Ao Ying being like this was not just because of his status, as she had not been this way before him previously.

The greater reason lay in the aura emitted by the Zhanlong Sword within his body, which had not yet fully transformed.

Although, through constant tempering, it had gradually dissipated much of the ferocity directed at the Dragon Clan.

But in the end, it had not yet completely shed that "dragon-slaying" ability, nor had it managed to transform.

For a pure Dragon Clan member like Ao Ying, it still exerted a great suppression.

This was the reason she was so terrified in his presence.

Fang Longye smiled and said: "Do not be alarmed. I have newly obtained a fortuitous opportunity exclusive to our Dragon Clan. Therefore, I summoned you here to share it."

"Really?"

"Naturally. It is just that this fortuitous opportunity is not so easily obtained."

As he spoke, Fang Longye picked up Ao Ying.

Ao Ying's entire body tensed, then immediately relaxed.

"Just right, you can assist my cultivation~"

Immediately, they disappeared behind the curtains of the inner chamber.

The first chapter for today~ The second chapter isn't finished yet, I'll post it in the morning. There is too much work at the end and beginning of this month. But rest assured, I will not easily break the 6,000 words per day promise. I will definitely make up for any owed word count. After all, at the end of the month, the bosses are working us to the bone; they really should let us cattle and horses have a good rest this weekend.

(End of chapter)