Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Divine Weapon Secret Realm

Xu Yunfan subconsciously touched the Mechanical Box on his back. This Profound Steel Mechanism Box employed a Concealing Qi and Mechanism Technique, which locked the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace’s aura firmly inside, revealing not a single trace.

Zhan Yan’s expression was tinged with emotion. "Besides the Dragon Scale Armor, Divine Weapon Ridge has forged seven Divine Weapons. Three were destroyed in battle, and four are still in circulation among the major Sects."

"It seems Divine Weapon Ridge couldn’t manage to keep a single Divine Weapon for itself."

Zhan Yan snapped, "Did you think the extraordinary ores used to forge Divine Weapons belonged exclusively to Divine Weapon Ridge? The major Sects were the ones who provided them, giving us the chance to forge them in the first place. Besides..."

His expression turned mournful. "For five hundred years now, Divine Weapon Ridge hasn’t produced a single new Divine Weapon. The Sect, which was once on the verge of becoming a first-rate power, began its gradual decline. We haven’t even produced a cultivator who reached Nine Realms Qi Cultivation. Otherwise, how could that tragedy thirty years ago have ever happened?"

After a pause, Zhan Yan said, "Now that you’ve obtained the Dragon Scale Armor, you must have a way to suppress that Extreme Dao object on your body."

Xu Yunfan subconsciously touched his chest but said nothing.

’I was only able to wear the Dragon Scale Armor thanks in large part to this Extreme Dao Relic Shell’s skin. Otherwise, this Armor would have burned me to death long ago. How could I have possibly used the Linn Character Technique, summoned my Self God to suppress the Evil Flood Dragon’s consciousness, and subdued the Dragon Scale Armor?’ 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

’Yes, subdued, not acknowledged.’

’My aptitude is mediocre, so those Divine Weapons basically look down on me. The Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace on my back still refuses to acknowledge me as its master.’

’Never mind anything else—I, Xu Yunfan, have reached Great Perfection in the three refinements of bone, tendon, and skin. I’ve even achieved the Outer Three Harmonies and cultivated Pure Yang Inner Breath. In the Flesh Refining Realm, my Strength has fused into my very flesh and blood, leaving no part of my body untouched, and I’m advancing toward true Thousand Jin Power.’

’These bastards only care about innate talent!’

As they were about to leave, Zhan Yan glanced at the nine-foot-tall weapon-forging platform as it gradually sank. He let out a long sigh. "These days, Divine Weapon Ridge is nothing more than a name."

Just as Xu Yunfan was about to offer a few words of comfort, the moment the nine-foot platform sank into the Molten Rock Pool, a rift suddenly tore open above it.

The edges of the rift were as if cut by an invisible blade, perfectly neat, revealing the world within. It was a valley encircled by verdant peaks. Amidst swirling Cloud Qi, clear springs could be seen cascading down green cliffs. Thousand-year-old trees with gnarled, twisting roots grew everywhere, their leaf veins shimmering with a jade-like luster in the sunlight.

A gust of fresh air blew out from the opening, swiftly scattering and dissipating the red mist that filled the entire cavern.

The Weapon Casting Land, which had only felt scorching hot moments before, now seemed to have transformed into a Grotto Heaven Blessed Land.

Xu Yunfan felt a wave of Spiritual Qi, thick as honey, wash over him. The Dragon Scale Armor Leaves on his body fluttered open, and the pores all over his body opened uncontrollably. It was as if thousands of fine needles were piercing his flesh, flushing out all the accumulated impurities within him.

"This is... the Divine Weapon Secret Realm?! How is it still here?!"

Zhan Yan’s cry of alarm was swallowed by the sudden shriek of wind erupting from the rift. He couldn’t even keep his footing and was blown back several steps.

Xu Yunfan’s expression hardened. He could clearly feel the Extreme Dao Relic Shell he wore like a vest suddenly tremble as if it were alive. The skin, once soft as silk, began to slide rapidly. The strange, slick, and slippery sensation against his skin made goosebumps erupt all over his body.

Sparks flew from where the plates of the Dragon Scale Armor interlocked.

He distinctly heard an ancient syllable explode deep within his skull, carrying with it the damp, fishy stench of a vast swamp. It was as if a giant flood dragon was thrashing its tail deep within the clouds.

The Dragon Scale Armor, its Spiritual nature mostly shattered, was sending an urgent plea from the depths of his mind, compelling him to enter.

Meanwhile, the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace let out a piercing metallic clang from within the Mechanical Box.

The invisible force generated by the pull of all three items gave Xu Yunfan no time to grab onto anything for leverage. He was lifted into the air and, in the next instant, thrown into the rift by an unseen force.

In the instant his vision flipped upside down, he saw Zhan Yan’s anxious expression. Zhan Yan shouted, grabbed a nearby chain, and threw it, trying to pull Xu Yunfan back. But the moment it touched the edge of the rift, it exploded into dust.

This was followed by the deafening sound of tearing metal. The Profound Steel Mechanism Box on his back shattered, and the blood-red body of the mace, wreathed in violet-blue Thunder Fire, shot into the sky.

"Dammit!!"

Xu Yunfan forced his body to twist in mid-air. He channeled Strength through his palm and instinctively clapped a hand over the Mechanical Box at his waist that held the Ginseng Child, securing it firmly.

However, the six-hundred-year-old baleful weapon traced a bizarre arc through the air and plunged into the depths of the valley like a python that had scented blood.

The Extreme Dao Relic Shell suddenly tightened. He clearly felt what seemed like countless fine golden threads from the Dragon Scale Armor pierce into his body, forcing his own vital energy to merge completely with the armor.

Xu Yunfan’s Blood Qi began to flow into the Dragon Scale Armor through these vein-like golden threads.

The moment he landed, Xu Yunfan’s feet smashed a three-foot-deep crater into the ground.

The soil beneath his feet had a strange, dark golden sheen. When the shattered rocks flew, they actually rang out with the sound of clashing metal.

His pupils contracted violently. A hundred zhang away, a waterfall was actually flowing upward. The water droplets condensed into countless Ice Crystals in mid-air, refracting a seven-colored rainbow that enveloped a bronze altar.

The Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace was plunged into the center of the altar. The red fire coiling around its body clashed violently with the rainbow light, and the resulting shockwaves snapped ten-zhang-tall ancient trees in half.

"So that’s how it is..."

Xu Yunfan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. A faint golden mist was seeping from the seams of his Dragon Scale Armor.

The Primordial Spirit Qi that had just flooded his body was now madly scouring his muscles, bones, flesh, and blood. He could feel the bottleneck of the Flesh Refining Realm beginning to loosen. His Pure Yang Inner Breath, once as stagnant as lead and mercury and requiring his active guidance to circulate, was now showing a hint of vitality.

But what concerned him more at this moment was the totem on the altar: a giant cauldron entwined with eight Qiu Longs. A liquid as black as ink seeped from cracks in the cauldron’s body, resonating with the baleful Evil Qi emanating from the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace.

The Dragon Scale Armor Leaves suddenly cinched tight.

Xu Yunfan instinctively rolled to the side. A bowl-sized crater exploded where he had just been standing.

Looking up, he saw the rainbow light around the altar twist into humanoid shapes, from which seven skeletons clad in tattered armor materialized out of thin air.

The weapons in their hands were all broken and incomplete, but the Evil Qi flowing from the chipped blades actually caused the Dragon Scale Armor to tremble violently. As the plates vibrated, they emitted a hum that sounded like a dragon’s cry.

"What the hell..."

Xu Yunfan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he formed the Linn Character Seal with one hand in front of his chest.

"Lin."

With that soft cry, the instant the Linn Character Seal was formed, the ringing in Xu Yunfan’s ears ceased abruptly.

The churning waves in his Sea of Consciousness seemed to freeze over with thousand-year-old ice. Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the Self God revived once more, stepping out of the roiling, chaotic mist. It took its seat in the center, calming all emotional tempests. The fluctuating emotions in his eyes quickly settled, becoming as still and undisturbed as a pool of dead water.

In that same moment, however, the Blood Qi in his body detonated. A force of incomparably vast Blood Qi erupted with a power far beyond anything he had ever unleashed before. In response, all the plates of the Dragon Scale Armor opened and closed, releasing a scorching aura from the seams.

He took two steps sideways, reached out a hand covered in dark-golden Armor Leaves, and plunged it into the Thunder Fire, gripping the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace tightly.