Chapter 358: Quasi-Sixth-Rank (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Iron Sword Sect.

Master Fire Dragon sat cross-legged in meditation, his body shimmering with crimson light.

With each breath he took, the sword core within his dantian seemed to harbor a peerless flying sword, inhaling and exhaling the celestial qi of heaven and earth.

When he finally concluded his cultivation, feeling his spiritual power had advanced further, Master Fire Dragon could not help but smile.

"Good, good… If I keep cultivating like this, I should reach Golden Core perfection within ten years."

At that moment, a cold voice suddenly rang out, startling Master Fire Dragon so badly he nearly lost his soul—he thought he'd been haunted by a mental demon.

Flames of fire-element sword qi flared around him before he saw the speaker, and he shuddered again.

Standing in his cave dwelling was a young man with sharp eyebrows and starlit eyes, smiling at him.

"Island Master…"

Master Fire Dragon could not fathom his own emotions—only a complex, indescribable mix—then he let out a bitter smile: "Why has the Island Master come here?"

"I didn't intend to come. I merely recently noticed someone taking a keen interest in me… and after tracing the trail, I ended up here at Iron Sword Sect."

Fang Xing's smile remained unchanged.

He had originally planned to obliterate Iron Sword Sect outright, but after careful observation, he changed his mind.

After all, with his strength, secretly soul-searching a few Golden Core cultivators—even making them forget they'd been captured and searched—was a trivial matter.

After secretly probing his fellow disciples Zhou and others, though some soul-binding restrictions prevented him from learning too much, he had learned enough to confirm Iron Sword Sect's origins: they were one of the True Spirit Sword Sect's own hidden branches!

Fang Xing was overjoyed, as if fate had handed him a pillow just as he fell asleep, so he came to confront Master Fire Dragon.

After all, Iron Sword Sect now had only a handful of cultivators, the strongest merely a late-stage Golden Core sword cultivator—no threat at all.

Master Fire Dragon immediately regretted everything.

He had thought his actions were flawless, but now he realized he had vastly underestimated the powers of a Nascent Soul elder!

He did not know that Fang Xing relied on no magical arts whatsoever—thus, the True Spirit Sword Sect's secret defenses were useless.

Master Fire Dragon had been discovered purely through bad luck, flagged by a massive data scan…

"Your humble servant merely admired the Island Master, never imagining you would come in person—this is a capital offense…"

Master Fire Dragon quickly apologized.

"No need for such formality." Fang Xing raised his hand slightly and released a strand of Great Freedom Mystic Golden Sword Qi: "To be frank… I am of the Tianjian Sect of the Great Wilderness Immortal Realm. By lineage, my ancestors were also of the True Spirit Sword Sect. You may call me Fang Xing."

"Disciple Huolong bows before Master Fang Xing."

Master Fire Dragon bowed with supple humility.

After all, facing a Nascent Soul True Lord, one simply accepted whatever he said.

Yet in his heart, he thought: 'The Golden Sword Branch long ago left for distant lands—everyone knows that. But to claim descent from the Great Wilderness? That's unusual… Perhaps he truly is a branch of our sect, though long estranged after so many generations.'

Fang Xing rolled his eyes—he knew this fake nephew didn't believe a word. He flipped his palm and pulled out the Black Iron Sword Token gifted by Chu Kuangtu, tossing it over: "Do you recognize this?"

Master Fire Dragon caught it, his expression instantly alight: "This is the sacred token passed down through generations of the Golden Sword Branch—I recognize it well… Master, Master… all these years, we hidden branches have suffered terribly!"

Tears welled in his eyes, and he seemed genuinely moved.

Alas… Fang Xing still didn't believe him.

But such is the immortal realm—sometimes it's better to pretend ignorance.

"The sect suffered calamity; my heart cannot rest. I wonder when I may visit the ancestral mountain to pay respects…"

Fang Xing spoke.

"Our sect's mountain, after annihilating the Ancient Demon together, has long since sunk… Even worse, that demon tainted the seas with his true demonic blood, spawning countless demonic beasts—including fourth-rank ones. Now it's called the 'Demon Spirit Sea'!"

Master Fire Dragon explained: "These fourth-rank demonic beasts lack the wisdom of transformed great demons, but they are ferocious, bloodthirsty, and travel in packs—extremely hard to deal with. Of course, with Master's divine might, you need not fear them—but to penetrate the Demon Spirit Sea… the True Spirit Sword Sect's mountain is guarded by a great array, the 'Slaying God, Exterminating Demon Sword Array'—a quasi-sixth-rank array!"

"Quasi-sixth-rank?" Fang Xing was startled. In the immortal realm, Nascent Soul cultivators were fourth-rank.

Shen Hua elders were fifth-rank!

Only those who reached the Void Refining stage could touch sixth-rank!

"Correct. Our True Spirit Sword Sect once had a Void Refining sword immortal ascend… Though one must ascend swiftly upon breaking into Void Refining, one can still leave behind legacies for the sect."

Master Fire Dragon said proudly: "The 'Slaying God, Exterminating Demon Sword Array' is one such legacy. Originally, it was a true sixth-rank array—its killing power against demons was terrifying, capable of rivaling a top-tier sixth-rank array… otherwise, we could never have perished alongside the Ancient Demon."

"After the mountain sank, the 'Slaying God, Exterminating Demon Sword Array' was shattered, retaining only quasi-sixth-rank power—but even Shen Hua elders dare not trespass."

Hearing this, Fang Xing finally understood. The True Spirit Sword Sect's heritage was staggering—even half-destroyed, its array posed grave danger to ordinary Shen Hua elders.

He had been right not to recklessly charge into the Demon Spirit Sea.

Master Fire Dragon hesitated, then finally chanted a few incantations and tore at his chest.

A dark, glossy orb emerged from his chest—inside it, another Black Iron Sword Token!

"Master, please look—this is the Black Iron Sword Token of our Wanmiao Branch!"

Master Fire Dragon said: "The array's core spirit has awakened, and it must respond to the Black Iron Sword Token… But since slaying the Ancient Demon, the core spirit has fallen into slumber. Otherwise, the Piaomiao Immortal Palace, having received the Feixian Branch's token, would have already stormed in and looted everything… Yet, a thousand years have passed. According to my late master, he once used secret techniques to attempt contact with the core spirit in the Demon Spirit Sea. Though it did not respond, signs of awakening were evident… If we wait a few more years, a rare celestial phenomenon will occur—the Seven Demons Clash with the Auspicious Stars. At that moment, the core spirit, stirred by this event, will awaken fully."

"Oh? So you've been striving just as hard to reach the mountain." Fang Xing smiled.

"To be honest… our sect's highest transmission—the 'Spirit Void Sword Scripture'—lies within the mountain, and it possesses unique properties: it cannot be removed, and those who learn it cannot transmit it to others…" Master Fire Dragon sighed: "We hidden branches receive only Shen Hua sword manuals at best—we are far inferior to the main branch."

"Perhaps… it's more than that? The True Spirit Sword Sect surely holds many treasures." Fang Xing revealed a hint of longing.

"Naturally. After all, our sect was one of the Three Sacred Sites of the Hanhai Immortal Realm, with Shen Hua elders generation after generation… For example, the 'Whetstone Cliff' is an ideal place to hone one's life sword; the 'Canglan Hall' can polish one's sword heart… Moreover, the sect's spirit herb garden is a self-contained world, filled with rare flowers and herbs unseen in this realm—spirit pills like Nourishing Nascent Soul Pills and Strengthening Nascent Soul Pills are certainly not lacking."

Master Fire Dragon beamed.

"Strengthening Nascent Soul Pills? The legendary pills said to aid Nascent Soul cultivators in breaking through bottlenecks? I've heard even a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator gains a one or two percent chance of advancing to late-stage…"

Fang Xing grew interested. With his current state, taking one 'Strengthening Nascent Soul Pill' would grant him a 99% chance of breaking through to mid-stage Nascent Soul.

"Heh, the heritage of a Sacred Site is no small thing… I've heard that, with our sect's accumulated resources, a vial of 'Shen Hua Spirit Ointment' is produced once every few thousand years! A rare opportunity for Shen Hua breakthrough—just one vial grants a full-stage Nascent Soul cultivator a chance to glimpse the Shen Hua Dao!" Master Fire Dragon whispered mysteriously.

"No wonder the Piaomiao Immortal Palace and many top-tier factions covet our sect's mountain—purely driven by profit."

Fang Xing sighed.

Before the prospect of a Shen Hua opportunity, even Great True Lords would fight to the death.

As for the Piaomiao Immortal Palace, Wuji Hall, and other sacred factions, they certainly wouldn't mind adding another Shen Hua legacy.

Even…

The True Spirit Sword Sect once produced a Void Refining sword immortal—perhaps even a Void Refining opportunity remains!

That was something even Shen Hua elders would kill for!

"Seven Demons Clash with the Auspicious Stars?"

Fang Xing, now a Nascent Soul True Lord and possessing an immortal's perfect memory, recalled a book he'd read and calculated with his fingers: "Three years remain… It seems not just us, but the Piaomiao Immortal Palace and even Wuji Hall will arrive then."

At this, Master Fire Dragon grimaced: "The Piaomiao Immortal Palace will surely enter the fray. As for Wuji Hall… the Black Iron Sword Token of the Thunder Sword Branch has likely fallen into the hands of 'Xuyun the Great True Lord.' This Great True Lord appears to be a lone cultivator, but he is in truth a subordinate of Wuji Hall. Of our sect's five hidden branches, only the Killing Sword Branch remains unaccounted for."

"The Killing Sword Branch? Have you heard of the 'Tai Bai Sword Immortal'? Rumor says he has been active in the Red Algae Sea…" Fang Xing spoke.

"Oh?"

Master Fire Dragon's eyes lit up: "The Killing Sword Branch has ancestral ties to our Wanmiao Branch. I may be able to perform a secret technique to sense and contact them… though this technique has range limitations."

Deep down, Master Fire Dragon still distrusted Fang Xing, the Master of Mingkun Island.

If he could draw in the Killing Sword Branch, creating a three-way balance, he might feel slightly more at ease.

"Hmm? There's such a method of contact?"

Fang Xing's eyes brightened, then he thought of his own Tianjian Sect.

Oh?

So it's just a branch exiled to the margins, long absent from the Hanhai Immortal Realm—even if they'd developed a similar technique, it would be useless? Then it doesn't matter…

"Perfect. Come with me quickly to the Red Algae Sea—let's see if we can rescue them."

Fang Xing made his decision.

If Jiao Yue and Huo Yun knew of the Tai Bai Sword Immortal, other major factions certainly did too.

As a fugitive, even a mid-stage Nascent Soul sword cultivator would be hard-pressed if surrounded.

I might as well rescue him—and use him to nourish my second Nascent Soul.

If I can feast on the spiritual essence of a Great True Lord's Nascent Soul, my Ten Thousand Methods Nascent Soul will surge forward, breaking into late-stage Nascent Soul as easily as turning over one's palm!

Update later

(End of Chapter)