CHAPTER 21: THE BOUNDLESS HEAVEN AND EARTH, THE HUNYUAN GREATSWORD

Wind Dragon turned to Lu Chen for help. "Help me! Use your blood. It's an ancient bloodline, and I have a feeling that it might be able to suppress this aura."

Lu Chen knew that if Wind Dragon's mind were devoured, he wouldn't be able to escape either. He quickly spat out a mouthful of blood essence at the giant sword.

The moment the sword's violent aura came into contact with Lu Chen's blood, it began to burn and dissipate. It was as if the bloodline of the Green Emperor naturally suppressed this raging force.

Seeing this, Lu Chen immediately slit his wrist and let his blood pour toward the sword. The violent aura in the sky instantly weakened, and the giant sword dropped heavily to the ground.

The formation began reconnecting the sword with Wind Dragon. Wind Dragon infused his aura into the blade, intertwining with the violent aura within.

This time, with the support of Lu Chen's blood, Wind Dragon's transformation into a weapon spirit progressed rapidly.

An hour passed, and the formation faded away.

Lu Chen's blood, Wind Dragon, and the violent aura had fused together, forming a massive dragon with a bluish-green body mixed with dark red.

Wind Dragon took the dominant role as the weapon spirit and could now control the giant sword. With the violent aura still within it, it gave Wind Dragon a fierce and aggressive edge in battle.

Looking at the completed formation, Lu Chen could feel a connection forming between himself and the sword. He stepped forward and easily lifted the blade. With a casual swing toward a distant mountain, the giant sword flew out and cleaved the towering peak clean in half.

The sword then returned to Lu Chen’s hand. Wind Dragon emerged from the blade and gathered the wind energy in the air. Looking at the bisected mountain, he said, "I didn't expect this sword to be so sharp."

Lu Chen examined the sword. "Wind Dragon, do you know who this sword belonged to?"

The hilt was inscribed with the word Hunyuan, but other than that, the blade itself was plain and free of any embellishments.[1]

It now carried an ancient and restrained aura, a stark contrast to the imposing presence it had just moments ago. If tossed aside, no one would have guessed it was a peerless sword.

"I don't know either. This sword fell from the sky over ten years ago. I was resting when it broke through the barrier and crashed down on me. I've never seen this kind of material anywhere on the continent. I could sense the violent aura within it, but it didn't devour me right away. Instead, it slowly eroded my mind, as if it was trying to seize my body for something.

"It's all thanks to your blood that the violent energy merged with me instead. Now that I've become its weapon spirit, I can control the sword, but I can still feel the violent aura continuing to grow."

Lu Chen didn't press further into the sword's origins. "Seems like this sword fell here with a purpose... Regardless of whatever that purpose was, it's failed now."

After a moment of thought, Lu Chen handed the Hunyuan Greatsword to Wind Dragon and asked, "So, what are you planning to do now? You're no longer under the sword's control, and the secret realm is open. You can leave if you want. Are you thinking of going out to find the Sixth Ancestral Avatar?"

Wind Dragon didn't take the sword. "No. Haven't you realized? This sword has already acknowledged you as its owner through your blood. That's why you can wield it so easily. Without that, no one could bear the violent pressure coming from it.

"Now that I've become its weapon spirit, I naturally can't leave your side. This sword belongs to you now. The Sixth Ancestral Avatar was only an avatar and won't truly disappear. From now on, you are both my master and the sword's master."

Lu Chen had already sensed the bond between himself and the sword, but since Wind Dragon was its spirit, he hadn't brought it up.

He sheathed the sword. "Alright, I'll accept it then. I'll help you find the Sixth Ancestral Avatar in the future."

"I must thank you, Master. Now that I've become a weapon spirit, my physical body has dissipated, and I must start over from scratch with my cultivation. However, I still retain the knowledge I learned under the Sixth Ancestral Avatar about spirit beast techniques. I can assist you in raising spirit beasts and analyzing their weaknesses during battle."

Lu Chen looked at Wind Dragon. He had Feng Tiancheng's memories, but Feng Tiancheng only specialized in forging enchanted artifacts and formations. When it came to spirit beasts, his knowledge was quite limited.

Right now, spirit beasts were exactly what Lu Chen lacked experience with, and Wind Dragon had come at the perfect time. However, Lu Chen still couldn't bring himself to accept being called "Master."

"You don't need to call me Master. Since you knew Grandpa Feng, that makes you my elder, too. Just call me Little Lu."

Wind Dragon looked at Lu Chen. At first, he had chosen to follow him only because Lu Chen was the sword's master and the disciple of the Seventh Ancestral Avatar. If not for that, a high-ranking spirit beast like him would never have acknowledged Lu Chen as his master.

But after hearing what Lu Chen said, he felt that following him might not be such a bad choice after all. At the very least, Lu Chen was kind-hearted and treated others with respect.

"You are so kind and respectful. It's no wonder the Seventh Ancestral Avatar took you in as his disciple. Then, if I may use my age as an excuse, I'll call you Little Lu."

Lu Chen said to Wind Dragon, "By the way, can you shrink down a bit or take on a human form? You're a bit too large right now. It's hard to communicate like this."

"Of course."

Wind Dragon shrank in size and coiled up on top of Lu Chen's head, then began explaining the knowledge he had about spirit beasts' transformation.

"A spirit beast's human form consumes less energy than its beast form, so most chose to take human form after reaching the Core Breakthrough Realm. Those with strong bloodlines, however, often remained in beast form for longer due to their faster cultivation speed. Still, over time, they will develop secret arts to transform into human form."

Lu Chen listened to Wind Dragon while storing the massive sword in his Heavenly Pool, where it floated to the west of the Green Sovereign Divine Tree.

The moment the Hunyuan Greatsword entered his Heavenly Pool, he vaguely heard a voice echo through heaven and earth. "Heaven and earth are without bounds, the Hunyuan rends the sky. Young one, we await you at the ends of the heavens."

The phrase surfaced out of nowhere, leaving Lu Chen in a daze. Shortly after, Wind Dragon's shocked voice rang in Lu Chen's ears, and he came back to his senses. "Little Lu, your body has undergone an incredible change! To think the Green Sovereign Divine Tree has mutated to now possessing the water, fire, and wood elements. This is unheard of. No wonder the Seventh Ancestral Avatar took you in as a disciple!"

Wind Dragon was astonished by the state of Lu Chen's Heavenly Pool. In his view, not even the Green Emperor had a Heavenly Pool like Lu Chen's. This Heavenly Pool... it may already be forming the prototype of a world of its own.

Seeing the dragon's stunned expression, Lu Chen guided him into the Twin-Fish Medallion's inner world. The elemental energies of water, fire, and wood in it were exceptionally dense. The medicinal herbs had matured batch after batch. With Lu Chen's cultivation growing, a plain used to raise spirit beasts had also revealed itself.

Wind Dragon commented, "This is... the world within the Yuanyang Twin-Fish Disk? That was the Green Emperor's life-bound enchanted artifact."

Lu Chen replied, "A fragment of the Yuanyang Twin-Fish Disk has merged with my Heavenly Pool. The changes you just saw were influenced by the Twin-Fish Medallion. However, because I only have a few pieces of the disk, my Heavenly Pool has become unstable. I need to find the remaining pieces as soon as possible."

After observing the small world, Wind Dragon said, "Little Lu, open up a passage for me. I was just thinking about how I could help you raise spirit beasts on that plain. Knowing that you have this space, the problem is solved."

Lu Chen nodded and granted Wind Dragon permission to enter and exit the world of the Twin-Fish Medallion.

"That's doable, but we need to reach the heart of the secret realm as soon as possible. Wind Dragon, do you know how we can get there quickly?" Lu Chen asked.

Wind Dragon answered, "When you first enter the secret realm, you are transported to a random location. Right now, we're still on the outer edge. If you want to reach the center, you'll have to pass through a winding path on foot. There's no other way to do it.

"Along the way, you'll have to pass through the five elemental zones—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. This area we're in now is the Wind Valley. After the previous chaos, there are no resources left here. As for the other zones, they are full of spirit beasts, monsters, and rare herbs. We can gather some as we pass through.

"There are also other leaders in those areas, which are the spirit beasts of the Sixth Ancestral Avatar. I think it's worth meeting them. But whether they will acknowledge you or not will depend on your strength."

Lu Chen asked, "So, where should I go now?"

"We head forward. Once we pass this region, we'll reach the Fire Region. The leader there is the Flame Demon. He's extremely short-tempered, so be careful."

"Alright. Then let's head to the Fire Region."

***

Two hours later, Lu Chen appeared on a wide path. Now that the Wind Valley was no longer sealed, cultivators began showing up in the surroundings. Scattered cultivators were hunting spirit beasts and gathering herbs.

The spirit qi in the secret realm was far denser than in the outside world. The demonic beasts, along with the herbs, were of much higher quality. By the roadside, a four-person team was battling a beast at the Qi Regulation Realm. When they noticed Lu Chen, they instantly became cautious.

One of them said with disdain, "Boss, there's someone over there. Looks like he's only at the Qi Absorption Realm. Should we take him out first?"

Without sparing so much as a glance, the one that had been referred to as boss answered, "Focus on grabbing resources. The sects won't let us take these things for free. Once they've gotten what they want, they'll come after us as well. We need to move fast. A mere Qi Absorption Realm cultivator can't stir up much trouble. Just kill this beast quickly and head to the next area."

"Yes, boss..."

Lu Chen ignored them. He just wanted to reach the next region quickly.

The area was already on the border between the Wind Valley and the Fire Region. Small fire-attribute monsters and wind-type flying insects at the peak of the Qi Absorption Realm had started to appear.

Wind Dragon hovered above Lu Chen and explained, "Once you cross this region, you'll enter the Flame Demon's territory. Be very careful. You're already at the peak of the Qi Absorption Realm, and your spirit qi has liquefied. Try channeling it externally and let it coat the Green Sovereign Divine Tree's vines or your weapon for spirit qi attacks."

Lu Chen listened and searched his memory for how to release spirit qi. Slowly, strands of spirit qi began to gather in his hand, only to dissipate the next second.

"Not bad. You're already faster than the Sixth Ancestral Avatar. Back then, it took him two whole days just to channel a single strand."

"With more practice, you'll definitely be able to sustain it. Fire-type demonic beasts fear water. Try channeling water-attribute spirit qi."

Lu Chen summoned the Hunyuan Greatsword and began experimenting with it. Eventually, he managed to coat the sword with spirit qi.

Just then, a fire-type demonic beast at the peak of the Qi Absorption Realm appeared in front of him. Lu Chen didn't know any sword techniques. He simply swung the sword down gently, and the attack split the monster cleanly in half.

Lu Chen couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the slain monster. "Impressive."

Before this, he had to work hard to kill a single beast. But now, by combining his spirit qi and the greatsword, he could do so with a casual strike.

He sheathed his sword and continued forward, experimenting with spirit qi applications as he headed deeper into the Fire Region, using them to attack any demonic beasts that crossed his path.

The fire-attribute spirit qi within him had grown denser. The trees were gone from the surroundings, and only volcanoes and lava remained. Even his Heavenly Pool began to grow restless.

1. "Hunyuan" (混元) is a Daoist and cultivation term that roughly translates to "Primordial Unity" or "Primal Chaos". In the cultivation setting, a Hunyuan Sword usually refers to something extremely powerful, fundamental, or rooted in the origin of all energy, often capable of manipulating multiple elements or harmonizing different forces. ☜