Chapter 461: Pure Yang Sword Form

Regarding the forging of the Pure Yang Dragon-Tiger Sword, Li Yuan had given it his all!

Though he had not revealed the Heretical Path Treasure-Forging Art, he had demonstrated its wondrous uses in passing; though Nie the Daoist was half-convinced, he too was not stingy with his blood!

The four men of Wan Chuan were in fact more receptive; the Divine Weapon Valley had produced many world-renowned master smiths, and so they had waited for Li Yuan to arrive before beginning the final step of forging the sword embryo!

Of course, it was only as the very last resort!

Smoke and steam rose three meters high, and a thick stench of blood spread out!

Nie Xianshan strode forward quickly, sweeping his sleeve to bar everyone except the four master smiths, and stared at the sword embryo singing within the boiling blood, his expression solemn!

At this moment, Nie the Daoist's aura was terrifying, and none of the onlookers dared even draw a deep breath!

Jing Jing Shuhu was equally tense; his understanding of the Heretical Path Treasure-Forging Art was limited to the oral traditions passed down by his sect's elders!

As for Li Yuan's meddling in this forging, he had actually not been in favor of it; the forging of a top-grade divine weapon was truly too difficult!

Hum—; both hands pressed against the red-hot Master Master Dading, within which the blood water boiled!

Over the past few months, Nie the Daoist had shed at least three great vats of blood, and the extraction of the divine patterns from the various iron materials was essentially complete!

And at this moment, it was time to use these divine patterns to make up for the final flaw in this sword embryo!

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A top-grade divine weapon is the pinnacle of weapon-forging, a truly harmonious and flawless perfect creation; missing a single thread is as different as fish from dragon!

"Ao."

In his deep concentration, Li Yuan seemed to hear the sound of a dragon's cry; in a daze, he seemed to see a dazzling sea of crimson-gold fire!

Within the sea of fire, there seemed to be a azure dragon soaring, and a fierce tiger weaving and leaping through it!

The dragon and tiger roamed within the sea of fire, their bodies faintly visible, blurred and indistinct, as if composed of countless fine, ever-shifting patterns!

"Divine patterns."

Li Yuan focused his spirit!

These patterns were the divine patterns from within the various heavenly materials and earthly treasures, representing the characteristics of each material!

The shadows of dragon and tiger, or rather the divine weapon itself, were the fusion and tempering of characteristics such as sharpness, toughness, heaviness, lightness, and so on!

These characteristics, even a master smith could only sense vaguely, relying on experience to fuse and temper them; but through the Heretical Path Treasure-Forging Art, Li Yuan could perceive them directly!

"Ao."

"Roar."

Dragon's cry and tiger's roar!

Within the sea of fire, dragon and tiger circled each other, colliding against one another!

"The attainments of these four in weapon-forging are truly astonishing…"

The thought flashed through Li Yuan's mind!

In his perception, the shadows of dragon and tiger were already extremely perfect; the joint effort of the four master smiths had already laid the foundation for a top-grade divine weapon!

Whether dragon or tiger, each had in fact reached the level of a top-grade divine weapon; taken alone, neither had any flaw or defect!

But the dragon and tiger themselves still lacked a measure of harmony!

It was precisely this single thread of difference that kept this Pure Yang Dragon-Tiger Sword at the threshold of ninth-rank, rather than being a true ninth-rank!

Connecting the dragon and tiger with divine patterns could erase this final disharmony!

Li Yuan's mind settled, the true qi surging from his palms growing ever more turbulent, and more steam rose from the Master Master Dading his palms were pressed against!

The stench of blood was so thick that disciples of the Jingtao Hall, several miles away, could smell it!

Hum—; Li Yuan focused his spirit, driving the divine patterns Ta Yin-ed from the blood to make up for the final flaw of this Pure Yang Dragon-Tiger Sword!

All around, the onlookers watched in utter silence!

With Nie Xianshan standing beside them, even Wan Chuan, Jiang Xie, and the other four, despite their burning curiosity, did not dare to disturb Li Yuan!

Regarding the unorthodox weapon-forging art Li Yuan had spoken of, the four were half-convinced, yet also quite curious!

Of course, the reason they had allowed Li Yuan to join the forging had little to do with this forging art; it was mainly to have one more person to share Nie Xianshan's possible wrath!

Over seventy years of preparation, falling short by a single thread at the end—just thinking about it made their hearts unsteady!

"It has to succeed."

Nie Xianshan's knuckles were white from squeezing, his face also somewhat pale; he had shed at least over five hundred jin of blood!

In the one or two sixty-year cycles since his blood-exchange until now, he had never bled so much!

"Hum—."

In an instant, Li Yuan opened his eyes, and his palms sprang away!

Then, with a sudden 'Crack!', the Master Master Dading shattered in response, all the blood within instantly evaporating into vapor, rising dozens of meters high and shrouding the entire riverbank!

"Mm."

The muddy ground beneath their feet cracked with a snap; Nie Xianshan's heart twitched violently, and then, within the mist, a sword-light rose!

The crimson sword-light, like a pillar, like a waterfall, shot straight up into the heavens; though no sword-chime rang out, everyone who saw this sword-light nonetheless heard the tiger's roar and dragon's cry!

"It's done."

Li Yuan took several steps back, his heart involuntarily easing!

The mist naturally could not obscure his eyes; a pure crimson light shimmered before him: 【Pure Yang Dragon-Tiger Sword (Ninth-Rank)】

In the dense forest beside the mountain path, the little tiger cub strolled along leisurely, muttering in its heart: "How on earth did you convince Long Long Yingchan in the end?"

Long Long Yingchan was naturally an old fox; in its memory, that old fellow had never suffered a loss!

Even with the Xieshen Sect and the imperial court taking turns probing, it had not suffered a loss, and had instead slain the Ink Dragon!

It was truly curious what its own ancestor had said after driving it out!

"The little Monk is a clever man!"

The old man was somewhat moved; had it not been for this moment, he might not have been able to poach from Long Long Yingchan!

"You're keeping me in the dark too?"

Qin Li Shixian was rather displeased at heart. What kind of talk was this—Long Long Yingchan could hear it but she could not? "You can't keep things bottled up inside you. Some things, it's better not to know them so clearly!"

The old fellow was also rather speechless at heart. This lass had a seriously skewed perception of herself!

"I…"

Seeing she still wanted to ask, the old fellow cut her off: "The reason I could persuade Long Long Yingchan is, first, the balance has shifted—today's imperial court has already faintly gained the upper hand over the Wudadao Sect. Second, it's also because of Li Yuan!"

"Mm."

Qin Li Shixian grew interested: "Because of him?"

"This lad's talent is excellent!"

"Just because his talent is good, he'd be willing to let go?"

Qin Li Shixian frowned at heart. How had she herself failed to persuade Long Long Yingchan before?

"Do you think that merely a once-in-a-millennium talent could pull out Wan Wan Zhuliu's sword intent?"

The old fellow sighed at heart, and still laid it out a bit more plainly: "Wan Wan Zhuliu's talent is no worse than mine back in the day—a once-in-a-millennium, unmatched constitution. Add to that the imperial court's supply of the entire nation's resources, plus over a hundred more years of cultivation, and tell me—is he still merely once-in-a-millennium, unmatched?"

"This…"

Qin Li Shixian was at a loss for words!

"This boy must possess some kind of special constitution. His being able to draw the sword must be related to it!"

The old fellow's tone was certain: "Dragon Tiger Temple's foundation is not lacking, but unless Pure Yang Daoist is reborn, no one there is qualified to guide this lad!"

"And that's how you persuaded Long Long Yingchan?"

Qin Li Shixian was somewhat skeptical at heart!

"You really aren't the material to run a household and make decisions!"

The old fellow shook his head at heart!

Qin Li Shixian wanted to retort, but held back. Reflecting on these past years, she indeed had not done all that well!

Chi Chi Zhuiyang, Murong Qing's betrayal weighed on her mind—she had trusted those two so much, and even entrusted them with heavy responsibilities at one point?

"It's fine, we'll learn slowly!"

Seeing the lass was a bit downcast, the old fellow offered another word of comfort!

"Won't learn!"

Qin Li Shixian gave a cold snort. What kind of fine position was the master of the Star-Picking Tower? She had never wanted it in the first place. The old fellow could forget trying to fob her off again!

"Time to go meet this lad!"

The old fellow timely changed the subject. Having persuaded Long Long Yingchan, the matter was ninety-nine percent settled. Whether Li

Yuan would refuse was not within his considerations at all!

"This lad is also a little fox…"

Thinking of her several exchanges with Li Yuan, Qin Li Shixian was somewhat worried. That boy was no pushover. "Isn't that just perfect then?"

The old fellow smiled!

Qin Li Shixian exerted a little force and had already arrived among the Tiger Gate mountains. She naturally knew where Li Yuan would be at this time.

In a short while, she had already heard the hammering sounds coming from the Surging Wave Hall!

"The three heroes of Dragon Tiger back in the day—looking at it now, it seems Nie Xianshan has fallen a step behind!"

The old fellow gazed into the distance at the Surging Wave Hall. He had been in closed-door cultivation for several decades; the young people he had seen back then were all old fellows now!

Back in the day, among the three heroes of Dragon Tiger, the one he had actually thought most highly of was Nie Xianshan!

No other reason—Nie Xianshan cultivated the Pure Yang Sword, the lineage passed down from that Pure Yang Daoist. The Pure Yang Sword Form, even spanning several thousand years, could rank among the top five of Spirit Manifestations!

"He was just unlucky in fate!"

Qin Li Shixian slowed her steps. As for intelligence on the Grandmasters and Supreme Grandmasters of the world, she also had it at her fingertips!

Among the Grandmasters of the present age, those who could steadily hold the edge over Nie Xianshan were only Xie Wangsun and Chi Chi Zhuiyang—Murong Qing might not even be able to!

And this was still because this old Daoist had no handy divine weapon; otherwise, he could contend for first among the heroes!

"The Pure Yang Daoist lineage is too hard and too demanding to enter. The Pure Yang Sword Form is overwhelmingly powerful, but precisely because of that, the Heavenly Gate is hard to break!"

The old fellow commented: "Hard, hard, hard!"

"You think so too?"

Qin Li Shixian was somewhat surprised!

"A top-grade divine weapon is hard to come by, and one perfectly matched to one's own Spirit Manifestation is even harder to come by…"

The old fellow was speaking when he suddenly stopped!

Qin Li Shixian also looked up, only to see a dazzling edge rise from the Surging Wave Hall, splitting wind and clouds, sword Qi sweeping in all directions!

"Failed!"

Just one glance and the old fellow shook his head. He too was a Supreme Grandmaster on the path of weapon-forging; from the sword's sound alone, he could discern the grade of the sword!

Close to top-grade, but still upper-grade!

"What a pity!"

Qin Li Shixian was also somewhat regretful!

Over these years living at Dragon Tiger Temple, she had come wandering around here plenty—after all, that lad Li was here every day!

As for Nie Xianshan's deeds over these years, she had also heard of them?

Over seventy years of searching, sparing no expense to invite the four great divine smiths, pouring in his entire fortune, in the end still falling one step short…

"At Nie lad's age, unless he cultivates the Bai Shen Fa, there's no hope of breaking through the Heavenly Gate!"

The old fellow was quite calm. He had seen too many similar matters!

Breaking through the Heavenly Gate—in terms of danger and difficulty, it is no easier than entering the Dao. Throughout the ages, too many people have fallen at this step!

Among them, there were indeed those with greater talent and gifts than Nie Xianshan!

"Don't go yet!"

The old man called out to Qin Li Shixian: "This kid Nie is probably going to go mad…"

Qin Li Shixian paused and watched for a while. Just as she was about to turn and leave, she suddenly heard a startled exclamation transmitted from within her heart!

"Mm?"

Qin Li Shixian also sensed something unusual!

A single hue of crimson, dazzling to the extreme!

No sound of sword-chime was heard, yet it felt as though a chill rose in the heart, as if some legendary divine weapon had come into the world!

"This, two swords forged at the same time"

Qin Li Shixian's eyes went wide. Such purity in the Pure Yang sword-light — only a top-grade divine sword could be this pure!

"No, it's still that one sword from just now!"

The old man narrowed his eyes slightly, his thoughts drifting for a moment, but he quickly realized: "The Treasure-Forging Art!"

"What"

Qin Li Shixian hadn't heard clearly!

"Nothing!"

The old man urged: "Go closer and take a look!"

Hum— The Pure Yang sword-light shot up into the sky, sword-qi sweeping in all directions, echoing through the mountain ranges!

The mountain ranges of Hu Gate were immediately startled. Such pure Pure

Yang sword-qi — the vast majority of Hu Gate disciples had never seen anything like it!

The commotion quickly spread to the various mountains of Long Gate, and even to the location of the main vein!

"Huff."

Inside the sect's great hall, Long Long Yingchan, whose brow had been tightly furrowed, reacted swiftly. He raised his head to glance at that dazzling sword-light, and his brow immediately relaxed somewhat: "Junior brother, he's about to succeed."

"The Pure Yang sword-form is hard to break through the Celestial Gang, so after several generations, the Pure Yang Patriarch's inheritance was no longer the main Xiu Zhi Fa of the Dragon Tiger Temple's Dao Lord lineage! But in terms of power, it is actually a notch stronger than the Long Xiang Vajra Heaven!

Especially right after breaking through the Celestial Gang, when its spirit-image merges with a top-grade divine weapon, one's Wu Gong can immediately leap to an extremely high level!

"The Ox-Nose has still pulled it off."

At Long Gate's main peak, Long Xi Xiang pushed open the temple door. Seeing that flash of crimson light, he could not help but feel a measure of joy in his heart!

"The Ox-Nose has finally endured hardship and tasted sweetness…"

But with a shift of thought, Long Xi Xiang *slap* shut the temple door — he had no desire to watch that Ox-Nose's smug, petty face!

"Hmph, wait until I, Lao Fu Zhong, reshape the Vajra Heaven, and even a Pure Yang sword can be suppressed."

Hum— Beneath the JIng Tao Hall, a stretch of crimson!

Xin Xin Wenhua and the other Hu Gate disciples were all overjoyed, but their cheers were entirely drowned out by Nie Xianshan's great laughter: "Good, good, good."

Robes and hair whipping wildly, Nie Xianshan let out a long howl toward the sky, as if he meant to spit out all the pent-up frustration of seventy or eighty years in one breath. Just from seeing this divine sword, he could already feel that bottleneck which had trapped him for years beginning to loosen!

"Celestial Gang, merge."

As if thunder exploded beneath his feet, Nie Xianshan shot up from the ground, vaulting a hundred zhang into the air. He raised his arm, five fingers pinching together, and seized that crimson Pure Yang sword-embryo in his hand!

Behind him, another Pure Yang sword likewise materialized!

In the next instant, the two Pure Yang swords overlapped, and under the urging of Nie Xianshan's surging true qi, slowly merged into one.

"Ong."

Tiger's roar and dragon's cry rang out, the chime of the Pure Yang sword echoing through the mountain ranges!

Then, with a flash of sword-light, Nie Xianshan had already vanished into the sky, leaving only his great laughter still echoing, lingering long without dispersing!

"Pure Yang sword-qi, Dragon Tiger sword-form."

By the river, none of the four great divine smiths were unmoved; even the composed Bei Mount Wuji could hardly conceal his excitement!