Translator: CinderTL
In the underground cavern.
Li Chunjun glanced at the several believers who had lost their ability to resist but were still struggling incessantly, choosing to ignore them for now.
At this moment, his gaze was fixed on the Scarlet Gold Sword in his hand.
The incompatible Taiyi Essence Gold on the Scarlet Gold Sword appeared somewhat dazzling.
But now…
Li Chunjun had gathered all his Essence Blood and spat it onto the sword.
Instantly, the entire Scarlet Gold Sword began to burn fiercely, as if it were about to melt under the energy contained within the Essence Blood.
Amid the nearly melting heat of the Scarlet Gold Sword, the Taiyi Essence Gold, guided by Li Chunjun's powerful Divine Sense, finally began to penetrate the sword, gradually replacing its original material and becoming the new essence of the Scarlet Gold Sword.
However, this process, as the energy of the Essence Blood burned out, ultimately did not fully complete.
Li Chunjun was not surprised by this.
For a Sword Cultivator, the most crucial aspect is the Lifebound Flying Sword!
Whether in future battles or in the step of Refining Sword into Core, the quality of the Lifebound Flying Sword almost determines one's future path.
Under such circumstances, who wouldn't want to refine their Lifebound Flying Sword to the highest level possible?
But the problem is…
Over ninety-nine percent of Sword Cultivators can't achieve this!
The refinement of a high-level Lifebound Flying Sword is too difficult.
Even now, with Li Chunjun dedicating all his Essence Blood to refine the sword, it only allowed the Taiyi Essence Gold to integrate with the Scarlet Gold Sword, still falling short of completing the transformation of the Lifebound Flying Sword.
As the feeling of weakness grew stronger, Li Chunjun had no choice but to step forward and finish off the several believers.
The next moment, the energy from the surge in Life Level filled his entire body.
Having cultivated Divine Sense, he became more acutely aware of his own state.
The enhancement brought by the transformation in every corner of his body made him feel as if he was in a peculiar state.
This state made him vaguely sense that his body…
Or rather, his life form had reached a new critical point.
Once this critical point was breached, he would undergo a new transformation from the inside out.
But what exactly this transformation would be…
He couldn't determine at the moment.
"So…"
Li Chunjun pondered slightly.
Should he try to continue advancing, pushing his Life Level to 21, to see what miraculous changes he could manifest, or…
Stick to the original plan, pause at the completion of Level 20, fully comprehend the sword techniques, Sword Intent, including the Flaming Phoenix Chaos Scripture and the Taixu Sword Scripture, to become a qualified Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy?
After a moment, he stopped.
Pondering these questions was meaningless.
"The believers' souls have been half taken by the Evil God, and with the current Life Level…"
Li Chunjun glanced at it.
[Life Level: 20 (855/10000)]
At Level 19, a base provided 2000 to 3000 experience points.
At Level 20, this value decreased to 1000 to 1500. In such a situation, to reach Level 21, he would need to destroy six to nine believer bases and kill over a hundred believers.
But the question is…
Are there enough believers in this area?
Apart from him, there are over sixty Core Disciples of the Taixu Sword Sect responsible for clearing out these believers.
"Let's see."
With this thought, Li Chunjun continued to search for new believer bases.
As time went on, more and more bases were cleared, and Li Chunjun's efficiency in finding believers noticeably slowed.
After finally locating the next base, which took over two hours, he found that the base had already dispersed, preparing to retreat.
He killed a few and pursued other cultivators, spending a considerable amount of time.
As the sky darkened.
Just as Li Chunjun hadn't found any believers for several hours, the Myriad Spirit Jade on his body suddenly vibrated.
Li Chunjun scanned it with his Divine Sense, and a message quickly came through.
"The situation has changed, return to the airship immediately, full retreat!"
He was puzzled by this.
After some consideration, he quickly ended his search, identified the direction, and headed towards the airship.
As he rushed towards the airship, it seemed to be speeding towards their location at full speed.
A few minutes later, Li Chunjun could already see the airship on the distant horizon.
Beside him, several sect disciples who had also received the news appeared.
"Sword Prodigy Li, given your esteemed status, do you know what's happening? Why the sudden retreat?"
One of the disciples couldn't help but ask.
"The message I received also mentioned a change in situation, ordering me to retreat at full speed."
Li Chunjun replied.
The disciple was about to say more, but at that moment…
A not-so-agile golden light, clearly from a Talisman, shot through the sky like a divine sword, instantly hitting the airship speeding towards them.
Immediately, the airship seemed to freeze.
The scene appeared as if time had stopped.
The next second, a violent explosion accompanied by a blinding flash erupted from the airship.
The airship, piloted by a Core Formation Cultivator, exploded in mid-air before Li Chunjun and all the Core Disciples who had gathered.
Countless fragments of the airship, along with raging flames, scattered in all directions, falling into the Heaven's Rift Mountain, leaving the disciples around him wide-eyed.
"The airship… shattered!?"
"How… how is this possible!? There was a Core Formation Elder on the airship, how could it be destroyed under such circumstances!?"
"Talismans! It was a Talisman! A third-grade medium, or even a third-grade high Celestial Sword Talisman!"
The disciples, witnessing this scene and recalling the recent urgent message to retreat, all simultaneously realized the crux.
"Something's happened!"
Their gazes quickly turned to Li Chunjun!
As the future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy of the sect, Li Chunjun was undoubtedly under close watch by the other eight sects.
Although the other eight sects were somewhat allies with the Taixu Sword Sect, when it came to the interests of the realm, even allies were not exempt from overt and covert struggles!
With the precedent of the previous Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy sweeping through the eight sects, the other eight sects certainly did not wish to see the Taixu Sword Sect produce a second Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy!
Now…
Were the other eight sects exerting their influence behind the scenes, trying to use the power of the Evil God's believers to strangle the Taixu Sword Sect's future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy in the cradle!?
Were they…
Just collateral damage!?
For a moment, half of the people around him involuntarily slowed down, retreating behind Li Chunjun.
But the other half quickly stepped forward: "No matter what happens, we must ensure the safety of the Sword Prodigy!"
"The Heaven's Rift Mountain belongs to the Taixu Sword Sect! If something happens to the Sword Prodigy on our territory, how will the Taixu Sword Sect hold its head high from now on!?"
"If something happens here, the Sect Leader and others will surely notice immediately. We just need to hold out for a while, and the sect's reinforcements will definitely arrive!"
As they spoke, the disciples spontaneously surrounded Li Chunjun.
Some did not speak but began checking their equipment, their expressions cold, clearly prepared for a bloody battle.
"Hahaha!"
At this moment, a loud laugh came from not far away!
"These believers are weak! Too weak! Not enough to kill! Now that something unexpected has happened, it's just what I wanted!"
It was Xuan Wu, striding over with large steps: "From the fact that they used Talismans to destroy the airship but no Core Formation Cultivator appeared, it's not hard to guess that they probably don't have any Core Formation Realm cultivators! Without Core Formation, at most they are only at the Qi Refining Realm! And at the Qi Refining Realm, what do we, the Taixu Sword Cultivators, have to fear!"
Beside him was Pan Ruo: "This mission, the Myriad Spirit Jade records the number of believers we kill! Originally, there were too few believers, and finding them was a headache. Even if we wanted to determine the outcome, in the end, it wasn't about who was stronger, but who had better investigative skills! Very boring!"
His gaze fixed on Li Chunjun: "Now that the situation has changed, Sword Prodigy Li, let's compete to see who can kill more enemies in the upcoming battle!"
These words stirred the hearts of some disciples.
However, they did not, like Pan Ruo, who had the backing of a Peak Master, directly voice such thoughts.
As for Li Chunjun…
He quickly agreed.
He was worried that if all the disciples surrounded him, it would be inconvenient for him to kill believers.
Immediately, he put on a "confrontational" attitude: "Then as you wish."
After speaking, he turned to the others: "I appreciate your kindness! But a qualified Sword Prodigy cannot be nurtured in a greenhouse! Without experiencing slaughter, how can one build the formidable reputation of the Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy? As for me, if something happens…"
He waved his hand magnanimously: "Then it can only prove that I am not qualified to become the Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy!"
"Sword Prodigy…"
Those around him, moved by his bold words, became excited.
For a moment, they seemed to see the glorious scene of the previous Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy leading the Taixu Sword Sect in conquests, occupying a third of the Blue Star's small realm.
"Everyone, go! Before the sect's reinforcements arrive, let these invaders see what happens when they dare to attack our Taixu Sword Sect's airship!"
Li Chunjun waved his hand.
In reality…
Although the Taixu Sword Sect's airship had been blown up, he still had some doubts.
It felt like a scripted act by the sect's higher-ups.
Because…
That faint sense of being watched had not dissipated.
But to stage a play, directly blowing up an airship was too costly.
However, whether it was real or not didn't matter. What mattered was that an unexpected event had occurred, and these outsiders had demonstrated the power to blow up an airship, indicating that their force was undoubtedly significant.
Thus, the probability of him reaching Level 20 completion was now evident.
If the situation became intense, further advancing to Level 21 or 22 was not impossible.
As for safety…
He had several Minor Teleportation Talismans on him, making it almost a sure thing.
"Then as the Sword Prodigy said!"
The others, hearing Li Chunjun's bold words, naturally did not insist, fearing it might affect his growth.
At this moment, the Myriad Spirit Jade on all the disciples' bodies transmitted another message.
"The sect reports that hundreds of believers are attacking from the west of the Heaven's Rift Mountain. Due to the enemy's strength, the sect orders us to fight and retreat, holding out until reinforcements arrive!"
A disciple exclaimed in shock.
"Haha, perfect timing!"
Pan Ruo challenged Li Chunjun: "Come on, future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy, let's see who can kill more believers!"
With that, he strode towards the west where the believers were attacking.
Li Chunjun followed closely without hesitation.
The others also followed the two.
From a higher perspective, one could see two forces—hundreds of Evil God believers ranging from the fourth to the ninth level of Qi Refining on one side, and over sixty Core Disciples of the Taixu Sword Sect at the seventh level of Qi Refining and above on the other—rushing towards each other like two torrents from different directions.
In less than half an hour, they collided.
(End of the Chapter)
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