Chapter 24

Hengyi stood in a daze, staring at the unknown sword in his hand as it shattered upon collision...

He had never dreamed, absolutely never thought, that this divine sword, revered as a treasure by the Sanyuan Sect, would be unable to withstand a mere Human Venerable level Poison Man Sword?

No—

The fragments fell to the ground.

After the original sword body shattered, a shorter, red sword was revealed.

The hilt of the sword in Hengyi's hand turned into a series of falling fragments.

The hilt was also red, a blood-red color.

Strange patterns were carved on the hilt, as if extending onto the blade, with the central patterns forming two dark red, majestic dragon shapes.

Lake Baijie was shocked! She suddenly realized that the sword's unremarkable appearance was a disguise, a cover to hide its true form. Clearly, the person who did this was in a hurry and had no time to prepare better materials; otherwise, they wouldn't have used a shell that couldn't even compare to a Human Venerable level weapon.

A red gem on the hilt of the red sword suddenly emitted a red light, which landed on Hengyi's forehead, catching him off guard.

As the sword glowed red, two beams of light shot into Hengyi's hands.

'Soul-Integrated Artifact!' Lake Baijie was extremely shocked. This was the first time she had seen such an artifact, which she had only heard about but never seen. Once a Soul-Integrated Artifact recognized its owner, it would merge with the owner's soul, and no one else could use it unless the owner died.

Hengyi's hands were hit by the red light, and a pair of half-covering wrist guards appeared on his wrists, extending up to his hands, glowing with a faint light.

At the same time, a small, red dragon-shaped mark appeared on Hengyi's forehead.

When the red light from the sword subsided, the red dragon-shaped mark on Hengyi's forehead stopped glowing.

'This is the true form of the treasure sword!' Hengyi was both surprised and delighted. The treasure sword discovered with the divine book could not be an ordinary item; he and his three masters had always been firmly convinced of this. When they confirmed that the divine book's spells were extremely powerful, their belief only grew stronger. That's why Hengyi was stunned when the sword shattered, unable to believe it. At this moment, he regained his unwavering faith in the treasure sword and couldn't wait to tell Dayuan and Sanyuan. They would surely be as happy as he was!

The sword moved, and red light flashed!

This time, the Poison Man Sword shattered upon impact, turning into a deep green light dust that fell to the ground...

"Please don't collect any more of these Poison Man Swords, which require taking lives to maintain their power." The red sword in Hengyi's hand, controlled by his will, suddenly turned into a beam of light that shot into the dragon-shaped mark on his forehead, as if there was another space inside. The sword disappeared without a trace. At the same time, Hengyi felt an indescribable sense of refreshment, with the wrist guards causing no discomfort. After being hit by the red light, he felt particularly energetic and sensitive, as if his perception range had suddenly expanded. After the red sword entered, he could more clearly feel its presence, as if it was continuously providing a warm heat flow throughout his body.

"Yes! This humble person, granted a Flame Sword by the Lakehai Immortal, has no more desires in this life!" The mayor of Xishui City felt utterly baffled. It was just a Poison Man Sword; would the Lakehai Immortal really destroy it just to exchange it? He prostrated on the ground, not knowing what had happened, but he could see the green light dust from the shattered Poison Man Sword. 'Are these immortals so rich they can afford to do this?' He thought for a moment, increasingly finding it impossible, but then a light bulb went off in his head. 'Ah, that's it, that's it! They are here to make money! Fortunately, I figured it out, fortunately, I figured it out...'

Lake Baijie had no interest in staying. Seeing that the sword was destroyed, she stood up and left. The mayor of Xishui City quickly said, "The words of the Lakehai Immortal have made this humble person feel ashamed and regretful. In the past, I kept many poison cultivation talismans for the Poison Man Sword. Today, after deep reflection, I want to hand over all those poison cultivation talismans to the two Lakehai Immortals for disposal!"

"Um, good." Hengyi nodded happily, and Lake Baijie smiled. "Go get them quickly."

The person who fetched the sword hurriedly returned with a bag. Lake Baijie snatched it and put it in her chest, then walked away, holding Hengyi's arm.

"Destroy the poison cultivation talismans first."

"Why the rush? I'm hungry."

Hengyi thought about it and was pulled away from Xishui City by Lake Baijie.

After leaving the mayor's residence, Lake Baijie stood by the roadside, picked up a talisman, and activated it. The talisman turned into a white light, revealing the scene inside the mayor's house. Hengyi then saw that the mayor of Xishui City had a scar on his face, looking very fierce.

"What is this?"

"The person who fetched the sword noticed your expression was off." Lake Baijie focused on the scene in the white light, where a voice soon came from inside.

The person who fetched the sword angrily said to the city god of Xishui, "City God, that man is the murderer who killed the young master!"

Hengyi had already recognized that the person who fetched the sword was one of the guards who had been with the city god's son.

The city god of Xishui showed a look of grief but sighed, "This revenge can only be left to our descendants who might become immortals. What can we do in front of true immortals... It's my son's bad luck!"

Hearing this, Lake Baijie sneered. "What a bold move! Let's go back and kill his entire clan!"

Hengyi grabbed Lake Baijie's wrist, his eyes wide with disbelief, unable to believe she would say such a thing. "Why?"

Lake Baijie couldn't understand Hengyi's strange question and asked, puzzled, "Given his low status, if his son was killed by you, he should be grateful and pray every day for your kindness! To even think of revenge is a crime worthy of clan extermination!"

Hengyi was stunned, suddenly finding Lake Baijie so unfamiliar and incomprehensible... "Baijie, you are a true immortal in their eyes. They don't know what an immortal is, but you should know! Immortals are not like this..."

His reaction made Lake Baijie realize something, and her expression softened, her tone gentler. Remembering Lake San's advice, she held Hengyi's hand and said, "Hengyi, regardless of the rules outside the immortal sect, for your own sake, with your talent, you will surely live a long life, even as long as the stars! If one of his descendants has exceptional talent and remembers the ancestral grudge and comes to find you, what will you do?"

"I will explain the reason for killing his ancestor." Hengyi's seriousness made Lake Baijie want to laugh, but her face showed genuine concern. "What if they don't listen?" In her mind, she thought, 'Who would listen to your reasons? They think you're as strange as I do!'

"Then I will repel them."

"What if that person has even greater talent and is stronger than you?" Lake Baijie asked patiently.

"If I can't defeat them and get killed, there's nothing I can do. But I have no regrets about this matter. I can't do such a terrifying and cruel thing just because of a 'what if'! My master said that one should be clear about right and wrong, and judge actions, not people... As disciples of the immortal sect, we should set an example and guide them to understand how to be good immortals. How can we do such incomprehensible things?"

"Um, um, you're right. I shouldn't have said that out of concern for you. Don't take it to heart; I won't do it again." Lake Baijie spoke gently, but in her heart, she was frustrated, thinking, 'Stop talking!'

Lake Baijie, who had grown up in the Lakehai Sect, had never interacted with people of Sanyuan's status and couldn't understand where Hengyi's thoughts came from. She found it incomprehensible, and still found it incomprehensible!

"You understand, that's good! You seemed so terrifying just now!" Hengyi sighed in relief, looking relieved. Lake Baijie smiled, but in her heart, she thought, 'The most incomprehensible person is clearly you!'

"Let's go back. We can eat something in Lakehai City and take a walk."

"Let's eat and go back? The junior disciples will surely be worried about tomorrow's elimination exam."

Lake Baijie originally wanted to use Sanyuan's words to pressure Hengyi, thinking that he was very concerned about his junior disciples. She feared that forcing him might backfire, so she didn't mention Dayuan's instructions. "Okay, I'll give them some advice tonight."

On the way back to Lakehai City, Lake Baijie asked to see Hengyi's red sword. She couldn't recognize its origin but knew that most Soul-Integrated Artifacts were priceless treasures. Identical mass-produced versions were rare, so it wasn't strange that she didn't recognize it. "Don't tell anyone about this sword. If the immortal sect's experts find out that you have a Soul-Integrated Artifact, many people will try to kill you and take it!"

"This is a Soul-Integrated Artifact?" Hengyi was greatly surprised. He had seen the Artifact Catalog in the Reward and Punishment Hall, which mentioned that the strongest artifacts were Soul-Integrated Artifacts, all priceless treasures, rarely obtained through money.

"You have an incomprehensibly good luck..." Dayuan had said that the sword was bought from an artifact merchant for five thousand gold. To buy a Soul-Integrated Artifact with a hidden secret for five thousand gold... it was so lucky that she couldn't even speak. She believed that if the artifact merchant knew the truth, he would want to commit suicide! "What do these wrist guards do?"

After the red light from the sword hit Hengyi's forehead, the red sword's power seemed to become a part of his body. The methods of use and the strength of the abilities were as familiar to him as his own limbs.

Under Hengyi's mental command, the wrist guards glowed with one red and one white light. Instantly, Hengyi's hands were equipped with two energy short swords and a white light short knife.

"They can block direct attacks from weapons and enhance the energy weapons created by the Four Great Spells of the Divine Book. They have no other functions, and they are of the blood-drinking type." Hengyi didn't reveal the secret of the weapons, remembering Dayuan's instructions. Lake Baijie's words also made him realize that if Lake San found out the sword was too powerful, he might kill him to take it.

"Blood-drinking type artifacts have a single power, but their effects are definitely significant." Lake Baijie was slightly disappointed, as blood-drinking type Soul-Integrated Artifacts were also priceless. "Still, don't tell anyone, not even your master! The sect leader values talent more than treasures and won't take your artifact, but others might not."

"My master won't."

Lake Baijie quickly nodded, secretly laughing at Hengyi's naivety about the rarity of priceless artifacts. She wasn't even sure if Lake San would kill Hengyi if he found out!

"Having a soul mark might allow you to start cultivating soul-form power." Lake Baijie looked at the dragon-shaped mark on Hengyi's forehead and pondered.

"What is that?" The Lakehai Sect's cultivation-related materials never mentioned such a thing, and it was the first time Hengyi had heard of it.

"A power possessed by the Celestial Venerable realm, which allows merging with various powerful beast souls to greatly enhance one's combat strength. Soul-Integrated Artifacts have a spirit soul. From the shape of your mark, it seems to be a dragon beast soul... Forget it, you probably can't cultivate it until you reach the Celestial Venerable realm."

---

Page Break

---

Page Break