Firmament Sword

”I’m just an old tree. When have you ever seen a tree that’s afraid of being lonely?” Master Tao’s voice sounded strong, but it lacked conviction. He clearly wasn’t telling the truth.

Xu Luo grinned, flashing his teeth. ”A single tree doesn’t make a forest... Look at where you’re growing—a small, barren hill. No other trees are willing to be your neighbors. It must be because you’ve absorbed all the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, making it impossible for any other species to exist around you.”

”So what? I am high and mighty, the one and only, born at the dawn of chaos! I am the king of trees! How could that other riffraff be worthy of growing beside me?”

”Right, other trees aren’t worthy of being your friends. If that’s the case, then why are you in such a hurry to break the seal? You claim to be the king of trees, yet you’re stuck in this corner, sealed away, unable to even see the magnificent world outside... while the very trees you look down on are living in a vibrant, colorful world.”

Xu Luo chuckled slyly. ”Besides, for a so-called king of trees, you’re pretty pathetic. Not only have you been sealed away, but even common beasts fight over you. You can’t even protect the peaches on your own branches... and those should be your offspring, shouldn’t they?”

”Shut your mouth! You malicious little brat...” Master Tao was furious. ’This damned human’s tongue is too sharp, and every word strikes a nerve!’

”In my glory days, how could a puny human like you possibly imagine my splendor? The beasts you speak of, that big cat and little bird? What a joke... Go ask them if they’d dare touch a single one of my twigs!” Master Tao declared proudly.

”Fine, you go on and bask in your glory. Once I’m done wandering around, I’ll naturally go and pluck those peaches off you. Then, I’ll come back once every hundred years. Whether you come with me or not, I’ll still get your peaches... It’ll just be a little more troublesome, that’s all,” Xu Luo said with a dismissive pout.

”You can’t do that!” Master Tao instantly grew anxious. If what the boy said was true, its fate wouldn’t change at all. On the contrary, with his power, it wouldn’t be difficult for this damned brat to fool the laws of the Small World and slip in once every hundred years. Suppressed by the seal, it was completely powerless to resist.

”Let’s make a deal, little one.” Master Tao suppressed the fury deep within and said patiently.

”Let’s hear it. And don’t say anything as insincere as your last offer, or you’ll just make yourself a laughingstock,” Xu Luo said.

Master Tao was so angry it could have gnashed its teeth—if it had any.

In its glorious prime, humans far more powerful than Xu Luo had stood before it, all respectful and proper, not even daring to breathe too loudly. If they wanted to ask for a single Chaos Peach, it all depended on its mood.

’How the times have changed for the worse!’ Master Tao wept silently in its heart.

”Fine. If you can destroy those statues and break my seal, I’ll agree to your previous demand!”

”No problem...”

”Wait, I’m not finished. My agreement isn’t unconditional.”

”Oh? And what are your conditions? Let’s hear them.” Xu Luo raised an eyebrow.

”The reason I came here back then was that the Behemoth Race possessed the Fountain of Eternal Youth. I needed it to break through to a higher realm.”

”Who knew that bunch of damned bastards would go back on their word? After I arrived, not only did they fail to fulfill their promise, but they suppressed me here instead! Hmph, it served them right that their entire race was annihilated in the end!”

Xu Luo’s interest was piqued. Having heard the Ancient Peach Tree mention the Behemoth Race twice now, he couldn’t help but ask, ”This Earth Palace... it wasn’t built by humans? These Ancient Ancestors... they’re a different race from the Human Race?”

”Obviously! When have you ever seen humans that huge? How stupid!” Master Tao retorted sarcastically.

”No wonder...” Xu Luo murmured. ”So they really aren’t from the Human Race.”

”Alright, enough nonsense. I promise you, if you can break my seal and find the Fountain of Eternal Youth for me, I will follow you forever. Otherwise, I will only stay by your side for a thousand years! This is my bottom line! If you don’t agree, the deal is off!”

As it spoke, Master Tao couldn’t resist adding a taunt, ”Whether you can even live for a thousand years... is another question entirely...”

”That’s not your concern,” Xu Luo said with a pout, though he inwardly agreed with the Ancient Peach Tree. After all, for a human born in the mortal world, living to be a hundred was rare, let alone a thousand.

A powerful Martial Artist might live for several hundred years, but a thousand... that probably required reaching an even higher realm.

”Swear on it!” Xu Luo demanded.

”Fine, I swear...”

After the Ancient Peach Tree made its vow, Xu Luo asked, ”Where do I find this Fountain of Eternal Youth? Does something like that really exist?”

”Of course. It’s just that for you, right now, getting the Fountain of Eternal Youth is nothing but a pipe dream. When you become stronger, you’ll naturally learn where to find it,” Master Tao said.

Xu Luo fell silent for a moment. He knew it was telling the truth. The world was far larger than he had imagined, full of mystery and the unknown. The stronger he became, the more he realized just how little he understood about it.

After striking a deal with the Chaos Peach Tree, Xu Luo began to strategize how to deal with the remaining statues. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he asked the Ancient Peach Tree, ”By the way, your peaches haven’t been picked, have they? It would be a shame if I solve your problem only to find someone else has plucked you clean...”

”Of course not! That big cat and the little bird are helping me keep an eye on them!”

”Alright, I have no more questions.” With that, Xu Luo started walking toward the Divine Hall again.

Since he had to take out all the statues, he was in for a tough fight. Right now, Xu Luo could only use the Jade Balance Demon Sound twice before needing a long time to recover.

There were fifty or sixty statues in the Divine Hall. Dealing with all of them would be no easy feat, but it was a worthy price to pay for a priceless treasure of a tree.

As Xu Luo calculated his next move, he returned to the Divine Hall.

Sure enough, as he drew near, another statue awakened. After spouting the exact same words as the previous one, it charged ferociously at Xu Luo.

After luring the statue into a corridor of the Earth Palace, Xu Luo used the same trick as before, finishing it off with the Jade Balance Demon Sound.

Then, a thought from the Jade Balance Star Soul entered his mind: ’Go into the Divine Hall. Continue to comprehend the Cultivation Technique on the wall.’

Xu Luo paused for a second, then nodded in agreement.

In truth, from the Shaking Light Star Soul and the Kaiyang Star Soul to the current Jade Balance Star Soul, none of them had ever deceived or harmed him.

Deep down, Xu Luo had never once doubted his awakened Star Souls.

Since the Jade Balance Star Soul told him to continue comprehending the Cultivation Technique on the wall, then it must be the right thing to do.

And sure enough, Xu Luo comprehended another portion of the Cultivation Technique from the Divine Hall’s wall. He felt the power in his body grow stronger, and at the same time, the recovery speed of his Spiritual Power increased significantly!

When he began to feel the strain, Xu Luo stopped his comprehension. By then, his Spiritual Power had almost fully recovered.

In this manner, after every two statues he destroyed, Xu Luo would go and comprehend a portion of the Cultivation Technique on the Divine Hall wall.

His power grew continuously, and the recovery speed of his Spiritual Power accelerated rapidly!

By the time Xu Luo had destroyed twenty-eight statues, his cultivation had risen to the astonishing fourth substage of the Transformation Realm!

Although his breakthroughs slowed as he progressed, if word of this speed got out, it would likely scare a great many people to death!

This was the Transformation Realm!

Not even a Sword Master could advance several substages in a single day!

As Xu Luo broke through to the fourth substage of the Transformation Realm, his aura finally surpassed that of a Sword Venerable, reaching the level of a first-stage Sword King of the Transformation Realm.

By now, he had already comprehended a little less than half of the Cultivation Technique on the Divine Hall wall!

This was the kind of gain everyone dreamed of!

Whether one searched for Spirit-Connected Magical Artifacts or Top-Grade Treasure Medicine, wasn’t the ultimate goal to increase one’s own power?

While everyone else was frantically searching for their own lucky opportunities, Xu Luo was here in this mysterious Earth Palace, quietly reaping benefits beyond anyone’s imagination!

As his realm advanced, Xu Luo went from being able to use the Jade Balance Demon Sound only twice at a time to four times, and then six!

The number of statues he could handle at once also increased. In the end, Xu Luo even dared to activate four statues simultaneously!

Though the fights left him in a battered state, he always managed to resolve the situation without any real danger.

Xu Luo’s combat experience and techniques also improved immensely during this process!

When only a single statue remained before him, Xu Luo had completely comprehended and deciphered the Cultivation Technique on one of the Divine Hall’s walls. Once he had fully grasped the technique, he finally learned its name.

Tyrant Technique!

The name was a bit common, but very domineering. For the Behemoth Race who created the Tyrant Technique, it was also a very fitting name.

When cultivated to the Great Success Realm, the Tyrant Technique could shatter a great mountain with the flick of a finger!

Moving mountains and filling seas could be done in a single thought!

Unfortunately, Xu Luo’s cultivation only rose to the peak of the fourth substage of the Transformation Realm before stagnating, failing to break through to the Fifth Layer of Transformation Realm.

Although he had the small regret of not breaking through to the Dharma Heaven and Earth realm in one fell swoop, Xu Luo was more than satisfied.

He had never imagined he could achieve such an improvement in a single day.

There was another Cultivation Technique on the opposite wall, but when Xu Luo tried to study it, a single glance made him spit up a mouthful of blood. Terrified, he realized he couldn’t comprehend it at all and was forced to give up.

Facing the final statue, Xu Luo felt incredibly relaxed. ’Once I deal with this one,’ he thought, ’I’ll get my hands on an unparalleled treasure medicine!’

Just then, a thought from the Jade Balance Star Soul entered deep into Xu Luo’s mind: ’The Jade Balance Demon Sound... is ineffective against this statue...’

At the same time, the voice of the Chaos Peach Tree also reached Xu Luo’s ears, ”Kid, don’t get careless! This last one is the strongest of them all! Your previous method won’t work on it!”