Chapter 493

"Can a sword spirit also become a soul?"

"An ordinary sword spirit certainly can't, but the Sword Tower Supreme is different. He was a half-immortal, and his sword spirit must have killed enemies for a long time, been soaked in immortal blood, and so on, possessing immortal spiritual charm."

"Look at that Qilin Undying Herb in the medicine garden; didn't it become sentient and turn into a spirit after being soaked in the Qilin Immortal's blood?"

As the one human and one ghost climbed the ranks of power, reaching the position of acting sect master, they also learned of some secrets.

For example, the Sword Tower Supreme.

"Supreme" is a title that only half-immortal level powerhouses can be crowned with; the Decayed Immortal could be called the Decayed Supreme.

What kind of Dao Fruit embryo the Sword Tower Supreme possessed is unknown; the only thing known is that he tried to perfect his Dao Fruit embryo to seize the opportunity to become an immortal, but it ended in failure, leaving him with the fate of being scattered into ashes and smoke.

No one was qualified to inherit the mantle he left behind, and the Sword Tower suffered defeat after defeat, falling to its current status as a first-rate sect.

If Ming Tai is the Sword Tower Supreme's sword spirit, it stands to reason that he would inherit the Sword Tower Supreme's mantle and legacy.

"You should know that the higher a cultivator's cultivation base, the harder it is to produce offspring; it is even harder for half-immortals who have become Dao companions to have offspring."

Lu Yang nodded; he knew about this. Most of the current imperial princes and princesses were born when Xia Di was young. It is not that Xia Di is now old and frail and can no longer produce them, but that Xia Di's cultivation base is too high, making it difficult to conceive offspring.

Of course, it is also possible that he really can't produce them anymore.

"Some half-immortal Dao companions just drip their blood, mixing the immortal blood together. When they are lucky, something like a sword spirit will be born from the blood. If the time is stretched out a bit longer, it will develop sentience and become a soul, which is the couple's child."

"Therefore, the higher a cultivator's cultivation base, the more cautious they must be during battle; they must not let blood be shed."

"Why?"

"Think about it: two half-immortals fighting, fighting until they are exhausted and bleeding, yet they still haven't decided a winner, and finally say they will fight again tomorrow."

"When tomorrow comes, good heavens, the blood has become sentient and the two of them have a child; what do you say they should do?"

Lu Yang: "..."

That makes a lot of sense.

"In our ancient times, half-immortal battles were always measured; we avoided shedding blood whenever possible. Even if blood was shed, we had to clean up the bloodstains after the battle ended to avoid any trouble later, where it would be unclear whose responsibility it was."

"Moreover, this way of producing offspring is controversial; for example, the Qilin Immortal's family firmly refused to adopt this method."

On the arena, both sides stood firm, ready for battle.

"Congwendao Sect, Li Haoran."

"Ganshi Sect, Zhao Po."

Both sides cupped their hands in salute, following proper etiquette.

"Senior Brother Li, please." Zhao Po's expression was solemn; his opponent was a senior brother from the Congwendao Sect, so he could not afford to be careless.

He had witnessed Lu Yang's power.

And the beast tamer Wei Nanfei.

However, he was no longer the same as before; having experienced the sect master's guidance, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, and his living corpse had also completed a transformation.

"Junior Brother Zhao, please go first."

Zhao Po did not stand on ceremony, and he attacked together with the living corpse.

The living corpse had a body of steel and iron, fearing no pain. It slammed into Li Haoran like a moving mountain. Li Haoran clapped his hands together; although he knocked the living corpse away, his own arms were left numb from the shock.

Before Li Haoran could ease the pain, he saw Zhao Po holding a copper coin sword. Each coin lit up, igniting a sky-high golden aura that looked like sword Qi and also like flames, with astonishing offensive power.

"Strike!"

The golden aura condensed into sword Qi, piercing through the air with a thunderous sound, as brilliant as sparks.

Li Haoran was completely unafraid, meeting the copper coin sword with a palm strike.

The moment his palm touched the golden sword Qi, a sudden change occurred.

Between his palm and the golden sword Qi, it was as if a thin film separated them. The film was composed of countless irregular fragments; it was thin, but difficult to pierce, blocking the attack of the golden sword Qi.

"Refining space?" Luo Hongxia recognized the artifact-refining technique Li Haoran was using.

A brilliant artifact refiner can refine space for their own use, making it part of a weapon, but this is definitely not an artifact-refining technique that an early Jin Dan stage cultivator can master!

The Fifth Elder looked at Li Haoran with a smile, very satisfied.

Li Haoran had not been practicing for advancement recently, but was instead contemplating this artifact-refining technique.

Zhao Po was inexperienced and had never seen such an artifact-refining technique, so he panicked for a moment. Li Haoran would not give Zhao Po a chance to react.

He broke through the spatial film and flicked his two fingers lightly against the copper coin sword, with a rhythm hidden within.

Each time he flicked it, the power of the copper coin sword weakened by a fraction. After flicking it three times in a row, the sword Qi of the copper coin sword had already dimmed and lost its luster.

Zhao Po's pupils shrank; he was actually unable to mobilize the copper coin sword anymore.

"This copper coin sword must be something Junior Brother Zhao just obtained, right? It hasn't been fully refined yet. Remember to use a weapon that truly belongs to you in the next battle." Li Haoran said slowly, temporarily severing the connection between the copper coin sword and Zhao Po.

This is also a common technique for artifact refiners.

Zhao Po gritted his teeth; things had reached this point, and he had to use risky methods.

He bit his wrist and poured blood onto the living corpse. The living corpse's pores opened, absorbing this blood.

Blood flowed beneath the living corpse's pale skin; it was as if it had come back to life.

"Attack together!"

The living corpse charged like an elephant, and Zhao Po soared like an eagle.

In a normal situation where two people attack one, it is difficult to achieve perfect coordination due to a lack of experience.

But Zhao Po and the living corpse were different; he and the living corpse were intimate and inseparable, and their coordination was seamless.

The living corpse was like a martial arts master, its punches and kicks powerful and fierce, like a blade hacking or an axe smashing. Each strike carried a fatal crisis, like peals of thunder exploding in the arena.

Zhao Po, meanwhile, held a peach wood sword and talismans in the air, aiming for the gaps in Li Haoran's defense to attack.

The one human and one corpse fought until Li Haoran was overwhelmed, falling into a disadvantage.

Zhao Po and the living corpse hit Li Haoran's chest at the same time, and Li Haoran flew backward.

Zhao Po panted heavily; this method of attack consumed a great deal of energy for both him and the living corpse, and he had to end the battle quickly.

"Clap, clap, clap—"

Solitary applause rang out from off the stage. Whether it was Zhao Po or the audience off the stage, they all looked toward the sound with confusion.

The person clapping looked exactly the same as the Li Haoran on the arena.

It was actually Li Haoran!

How could this be possible? Wasn't Li Haoran on the stage?

Only those sect masters and elders of major powers revealed smiles, as if they had seen through something.

"Junior Brother Zhao, you fought well. It seems that relying on just one clone really isn't enough to beat you."

"A clone?" Zhao Po frowned, still not understanding how Li Haoran had managed it.

Was it a wood clone like Senior Brother Lu Yang's?

Li Haoran explained slowly and methodically: "My Jin Dan is called the Rebirth Jin Dan. As the name suggests, it can regrow severed limbs, grow a head back if it's cut off, or grow a leg back if it's severed."

"Then if I cut my body into pieces, couldn't I piece it back together into a complete body?"

Zhao Po's pupils shrank slightly. There was actually such a method?!

"Then I asked Senior Brother Man for advice on corpse-driving techniques. I use corpse-driving techniques to control my own corpse. Although its combat power is not as good as the original body, it still has seventy or eighty percent of the combat power."

Li Haoran's mouth curled into a smile, as refreshing as a spring breeze: "Since my clone couldn't beat you, what will you do to deal with me and my clone attacking together?"

Zhao Po's heart sank. It was already so difficult to fight one clone; if Senior Brother Li used his original body as well, how could he possibly fight?

Other cultivators in the early Jin Dan group were also uneasy. The combat power Li Haoran displayed was obvious to all and extremely tricky. And this was just a clone; if the clone and the original body joined forces, who could beat him?

The gaunt referee glanced at Li Haoran, who was off the arena, and announced the result of the match.

"According to the competition rules, after the match begins, if one party is off the arena, they are the loser."

"Zhao Po wins."

Li Haoran's smile froze on his face.

(End of this chapter)