Chapter 152: Dragon-Transforming Sword

Between the sea and the sky.

A jade skiff hovered in the firmament.

On the deck of the skiff, five Great Core Formation Masters stood upright, their formidable spiritual senses sweeping across a radius of a hundred miles.

The leader was a middle-aged man who stood with his hands behind his back, his expression stern.

To his left stood a hunched, heavily wrinkled old crone.

The crone had snow-white hair and leaned on a withered wooden walking staff, from which hung a strange-looking white paper lantern.

To the middle-aged man's right were two burly men identical in build and features.

One wore golden armor while the other wore silver armor, and the fluctuations of their magic power were practically indistinguishable from one another!

Standing side by side, judged solely by their spiritual aura and presence, they seemed like one and the same person.

Behind these four was a young dandy dressed in brocade robes, holding a painted folding fan.

Among the five, his cultivation was the weakest, merely at the second revolution of the Core Formation stage.

Anyone familiar with Xuanji Island would instantly recognize the origins of these five individuals.

The young dandy was named Xie Yukun, the most notorious flower-plundering scoundrel of Xuanji Island!

He excelled in escapology, and his fleeing speed was no less than that of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, considered a peerless unique skill on Xuanji Island.

In his early years, he stole a heritage art from the Joyful Sect, and relying on his peerless escape technique, he roamed about plundering flowers, ultimately advancing to the Core Formation stage purely through dual cultivation harvest.

The name "Jade Young Master" was one that ground the teeth of countless ordinary cultivation families and minor sects in the East Sea cultivation world.

Unknown numbers of noble maidens and charming female cultivators had their cultivation bases plundered and harvested by him, cutting short their Dao paths.

Had Xuanji Island not valued his escape technique and intentionally sheltered him somewhat, this person would likely have vanished long ago.

The tall men in battle armor were both at the third revolution of the Core Formation stage, and when their dual forces combined, their might was no less than that of a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator.

The reputation of the Gold and Silver Twin Fiends was also illustrious on Xuanji Island.

The old crone was known as Granny Pear Blossom, possessing a cultivation base at the sixth revolution of the Core Formation stage. Rumor had it that she was qualified to enter the Xuanji Island Elder Council, but she declined out of impatience with worldly affairs.

Among the five, not only was she the oldest, but her cultivation was also the strongest.

The final middle-aged man went by the Daoist name Danchenzi. He was a grandmaster of alchemy and a red-hot figure on Xuanji Island.

Danchenzi was widely traveled, excelled in alchemy, and possessed the deepest network of connections.

Not only cultivators on Xuanji Island, but even within the Nine Sects of the East Sea, quite a few Great Core Formation Masters were on good terms with him.

He himself possessed a fifth-revolution Core Formation cultivation, ranking second only to Granny Pear Blossom among the five.

Yet if true combat prowess were to be ranked,

it was actually the Gold and Silver Twin Fiends who surpassed him.

"Master Danchenzi, is this the place your disciple spoke of?"

Gold Fiend asked out of curiosity, looking at the empty expanse of sea and sky around them.

Danchenzi nodded and said, "There is no mistake. When my disciple left that day, he deliberately left behind blood-smoke residual fragrance in the air. This is undoubtedly the place."

"Where is this so-called Primordial Secret Realm?"

Before Gold Fiend could speak, Silver Fiend asked first.

Right at that moment, Jade Young Master chuckled, and a beam of light flew from his hand, striking straight into the firmament.

Abruptly.

The empty sky suddenly swallowed the light.

Ripples spread out in circles, and a seven-colored vortex several miles wide abruptly appeared in the sky, slowly and ceaselessly rotating.

"Could the two of you really be unable to see through such a crude illusion?"

Jade Young Master said with a grin.

The expressions of the Gold and Silver Twin Fiends changed simultaneously, and they glared angrily at Jade Young Master.

It was not that the two could not see through it, but rather that they simply couldn't be bothered to look.

Or rather, aside from dueling and slaughtering others, they rarely possessed the instinct or awareness for such things.

In other words, their attention was rarely placed on matters that posed no threat to them.

This could also be considered another form of "focus."

Granny Pear Blossom gently tapped her wooden staff, and a blood-red beam of light instantly flew out from the white paper lantern, striking the seven-colored vortex.

Boom!

The seven-colored vortex emitted a thunderous roar, and its speed of rotation suddenly accelerated.

Granny Pear Blossom's expression turned odd as she said, "Entering this secret realm might not be so easy."

Danchenzi asked, "Is there any way?"

Granny Pear Blossom replied, "Forcefully charging in is possible, but the spatial turbulence inside is too violent; I fear there is a risk of perishing. It would be best to find a defensive magical treasure, or for our few to form a restrictive array, in order to withstand the invasion of the spatial turbulence."

"Granny is right." Jade Young Master snapped open the painted fan in his hand, its surface covered with colorful and vibrant floral patterns as all sorts of exotic fragrances wafted out.

He chimed in, "I happen to have a second-tier magical treasure here named the Five-Dragon Roaming Sky Shuttle. If we all urge this treasure together to cross this spatial turbulence, there shouldn't be much of a problem."

Gold Fiend urged impatiently, "Then what are you waiting for? Take it out quickly and stop playing games!"

Jade Young Master leisurely fanned himself and smiled, "Fellow Daoist, do not be hasty. This Primordial Secret Realm contains numerous treasures. How the treasures are to be distributed after entering has not yet been settled. My cultivation is humble, and I certainly do not wish to fall into a passive position after going in."

Danchenzi also said, "Everyone, we still have another fellow Daoist who has yet to arrive. We might as well wait a moment longer. Once everyone is assembled, we can discuss subsequent matters."

"Furthermore, everyone must also be careful of the cultivators from the Devil Talisman Sect. They may have already entered the secret realm, or they may not have arrived yet. In short, always be prepared for battle."

Granny Pear Blossom asked in surprise, "Which other fellow Daoist is coming?"

Danchenzi replied, "It is a friend from the Taiqing Sect, who goes by the sobriquet Transforming Dragon Sword."

Upon hearing this, the four instantly exchanged glances, drawing in a slight breath of cold air.

Jade Young Master even praised admiringly, "Master is truly formidable to actually be able to invite an expert like the Transforming Dragon Sword."

Light flickered in Silver Fiend's eyes as he said in a deep voice, "I heard that this Transforming Dragon Sword reached the eighth revolution of Core Formation fifty years ago, and with a single sword and person, he wiped out a heretic faction, consecutively executing thirteen Core Formation cultivators, two of whom were late-stage Core Formation experts just like him."

Gold Fiend continued, "Given the cultivation and status of the Transforming Dragon Sword, his coming here today is probably not just for the Primordial Secret Realm, is it? Could it be that the Devil Talisman Sect also has experts coming?"

Danchenzi shook his head and said, "Not at all. It is simply because Fellow Daoist Yang's nephew was slain here by cultivators of the Devil Talisman Sect. His coming this time is primarily for revenge."

Jade Young Master's eyes rolled, and a bizarre smile suddenly appeared on his face. As if recalling something, he snapped his folding fan shut with a "clack" and smiled, "I see! So that's how it is!"

"What do you see?"

Gold Fiend asked out of curiosity.

Jade Young Master shook his head mysteriously and said, "Cannot be said, cannot be said."

Gold Fiend's expression sank.

His figure lunged forward instantly.

With a wide sweep of his large hand, he abruptly grabbed for Jade Young Master's neck.

Yet... afterimages flickered densely across the jade skiff.

Gold Fiend grabbed nothing.

Just as Silver Fiend's figure moved to react, he stopped right in his tracks.

Jade Young Master was seen smiling radiantly ten feet away, toying with a silver scale from a piece of armor in his hand.

Silver Fiend looked down and was shocked to see it was a scale from his own battle armor.

This Jade Young Master had actually managed to pluck it off effortlessly without him noticing when.

One must know, the battle armor worn by him and his elder brother was custom-made, both being first-tier magical treasures, with every single component tightly linked and fused together by array patterns.

For Jade Young Master to pluck off a scale of it without anyone noticing showed that he was not merely skilled in fleeing and inept at combat, contrary to rumors.

"Plucking Star Hand."

Gold Fiend's expression turned solemn.

Jade Young Master proudly boasted, "Back then, in order to strip the clothes off maidens more quickly, I bitterly practiced this divine ability for many years before mastering it."

"If my brother had been slightly more careless, would you have plucked out his heart as well?"

Cold light flickered in Gold Fiend's eyes as he asked coldly.

Jade Young Master shrugged and said lazily, "If there were one less person, naturally everyone else would get a larger share of the treasures. Why not?"

"Aren't you afraid... that the few of us will join forces to kill you and seize your Five-Dragon Roaming Sky Shuttle?"

Auras surged from Silver Fiend's body, connecting with Gold Fiend's as they pressed toward Jade Young Master.

Jade Young Master gave a dry chuckle. "I am afraid, but can you catch up to me?"

"Ahem!"

Granny Pear Blossom gave a low cough, blocking the three of them, and said, "The three of you, at present the treasured land has not been entered and powerful enemies are unclear. It is best not to engage in internal strife for now. Once we find the treasures, you can fight for superiority—ideally ending up in mutual destruction and leaving all the benefits to this old woman."

Jade Young Master flashed and instantly returned to the jade skiff, smiling, "Granny is right. Let us patiently wait for Senior Yang, the Transforming Dragon Sword, first. I have admired his esteemed self for a long time."

"It is rumored that he and his son..."

The second half of the sentence was transmitted directly to Gold Fiend via sound transmission.

Upon hearing this, Gold Fiend widened his eyes in astonishment, exclaiming, "There's such a thing? He actually hooked up with his own daughter-in-law... Then the one who died here—was it his son, his nephew, or his grandson?"

"Fellow Daoist Gold, do not speak nonsense!"

Danchenzi hurriedly gave a low reprimand.

Silver Fiend scratched his head and said with keen interest, "Now that you put it that way, I'm starting to admire his esteemed self as well..."

Jade Young Master looked up at the sun in the sky and sighed with emotion, "His esteemed self's swordsmanship is formidable indeed!"

Right at that moment, a stream of spiritual light appeared in the distant horizon.

"They're here!"

Gold Fiend strained his eyes to look into the distance.

The other four also looked toward the horizon with a mixture of complex, eccentric, and anticipatory emotions.

Granny Pear Blossom suddenly remarked, "What a Transforming Dragon Sword!"

The others also snapped back to their senses.

As that stream of spiritual light continuously approached, they saw a massive, ice-blue peacock flapping its wings in flight.

On the back of the frost peacock sat an exquisite and ancient jade pavilion.

The aura emanating from this frost peacock was unequivocally that of the late Core Formation stage!

And it was no ordinary late-stage Core Formation demonic beast.

Everyone present was an expert of the Core Formation realm, and their spiritual senses were far from ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Naturally, they could sense that the frost peacock carried a trace of terrifying divine ability capable of threatening their own lives!

To use such a formidable late-stage Core Formation grand demon as a mount—just what kind of extravagant figure resided within that jade pavilion?

The mount alone gave them a profound sense of oppression; that Transforming Dragon Sword seemed even more terrifying than the legends suggested!

In an instant.

The frost peacock flew to within a hundred paces of the jade skiff.

From within the jade pavilion, a head flew out and plummeted straight onto the deck of the jade skiff.

"Are you waiting for him?"

A soft, cold female voice echoed from within the jade pavilion.

Danchenzi and the others looked down. The blood-spattered head on the deck belonged unmistakably to a furious-looking elder with bristling hair and beard. His eyes were wide open, and his face still retained the terrified, uncomprehending, and shocked expression he wore at the moment of his death.

"Fellow Daoist Yang!"

Danchenzi cried out involuntarily.