Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 363: Chapter 359: Devouring Array, Thunder Punishment Sword

Recently, Ning Jiang had made quite a name for himself in the Six Eastern Provinces. But in doing so, he had also made some enemies.

For instance, the Extreme Heaven Sect, the strongest of the Eight Great Sects.

He had killed one of their Immortal Realm Elders. With the Extreme Heaven Sect’s resources, they would soon uncover the truth, and another storm would likely be on the horizon.

One must understand that the Extreme Heaven Sect was no Evil Spirit Sect. It was the strongest of the Eight Great Sects; it was even said that the other Seven Great Sects combined were no match for the Extreme Heaven Sect alone.

If Ning Jiang were alone, he would have nothing to fear.

With his methods, where in the world could he not go?

But now that he had established the Myriad Swords Sect, he had to take on the responsibility of protecting it.

Furthermore, his relationship with Ye Chenyu would face numerous obstacles. And then there was Ling Tianxu of the Sword King Body, who had an old score to settle with him.

In short, he needed to continuously increase his strength. The more trump cards he had, the better.

”This is the perfect place to refine this sword.”

”I will use the power of the earth’s veins in a hundred-mile radius to set up the Earth Marsh Array and accumulate power for this sword.”

As he spoke, Ning Jiang took out the Treasure Sword and swiped it across his finger.

SHINK.

Although the sword was damaged, it was a King’s Weapon after all. It was incomparably sharp and easily cut open a wound.

This was the first step: a blood offering to the sword. It was an essential part of the process. By infusing his blood into the sword and establishing a connection, he could summon it with a single thought, even if it was ten thousand miles away.

Ning Jiang’s finger moved unceasingly over the blade, drawing runes.

Soul Refining Talismans.

Back when he was refining the Ice Soul Sword, he had drawn ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety Soul Refining Talismans and integrated them into the blade.

The first step of the refinement process took Ning Jiang an entire day.

After one day, Ning Jiang’s face was pale from severe blood loss.

But he didn’t mind. He took out some Elixirs and swallowed them, and after recovering for about an hour, he began the second step.

The second step was to leave a Spiritual Mark in the sword.

His three Primordial Spirits appeared, circling the damaged Ancient Sword and continuously pouring their Spiritual Power into its body.

This time, the process was even longer, lasting three days.

After three days, all three of Ning Jiang’s Primordial Spirits appeared incredibly weak.

’Even with my Spiritual Power, this was a struggle. Anyone else would find it impossible.’

A wry smile touched Ning Jiang’s lips. He possessed three Primordial Spirits, and even he had nearly exhausted his Spiritual Power. An ordinary person with only one Primordial Spirit would have no chance.

’The blood offering and the spiritual imprinting were both successful. Next is to set up the Devouring Array with this sword as its core.’

Setting up the Devouring Array was much simpler than arrays like the Myriad Swords Return to the Sect that Ning Jiang had arranged before.

This was mainly because the arrays had different characteristics.

Arrays like Myriad Swords Return to the Sect and Three Flowers Dao could unleash tyrannical power for Ning Jiang’s use immediately upon completion.

The Devouring Array was different. This array slowly absorbed the power of the earth’s veins, accumulating it bit by bit, like a stream gradually growing into a great lake.

In other words, after Ning Jiang set up the array, he would have to wait a long time until it had accumulated enough power before he could activate it.

With that, Ning Jiang began to set up the Devouring Array.

He took out a number of Array Banners—three hundred and sixty in total.

”Go!”

With a toss of his hand, the Array Banners flew out. He used his Spiritual Power to control them, planting them in all directions.

The three hundred and sixty Array Banners vaguely formed the shape of a Heaven-Devouring Sparrow. The Heaven-Devouring Sparrow roared at the sky, its great mouth open as if to swallow heaven and earth.

This Devouring Array could actually be seen as an evolved version of the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lotus.

Back in Cyan Cloud Country, Ning Jiang had planted a Heaven-Devouring Demon Lotus in a Primordial Stone Ore Vein. After a period of time, the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lotus matured, and the Lotus Seeds it produced could help raise his Cultivation.

The moment the Devouring Array was complete, he could feel a heavy power slowly gathering from beneath the earth.

”Go.”

Finally, Ning Jiang tossed the sword, and it landed in the center of the Devouring Array.

The power of the earth’s veins absorbed by the Devouring Array trickled into the sword’s body.

’Done.’

Ning Jiang let out a long breath. ”The array is complete. At the current rate, in about a month, this sword’s power will be comparable to the Earth Martial Realm. The absorption speed will increase over time. Once it reaches its limit, this sword will be able to slay anyone beneath the Celestial Martial Realm!”

It was worth noting that only a King’s Weapon could absorb so much power.

If an ordinary Spiritual Artifact were used as the array’s core, it would shatter after absorbing the power of the earth’s veins for just a few days. After all, a Spiritual Artifact has a limited capacity, just as a pond cannot hold an entire lake.

’Next is to refine my own weapon.’

For a Sword Cultivator, a weapon was incredibly important, equivalent to a second life.

The Snow River Sword was just a temporary tool for him. During his battle with Wei Qingxuan, even Wei Qingxuan could tell that the Snow River Sword was not his Lifebound Treasure Sword.

If he had used his Lifebound Treasure Sword, defeating Wei Qingxuan would have been even faster.

’That piece of True Essence of Sword Intent will come in handy.’

Ning Jiang took out the True Essence of Sword Intent. It was enormous, almost indistinguishable from a real sword.

True Essence of Sword Intent was exceedingly rare. A palm-sized piece was enough to drive a Sword Cultivator mad with desire. A piece this large was priceless, a treasure among treasures.

This item was the best possible material for refining a Treasure Sword!

He sat cross-legged, levitated the True Essence of Sword Intent in front of him, and then took out the Celestial Thunder Banner.

CRACKLE!

A Thunderbolt descended, striking the True Essence of Sword Intent.

There were many methods for refining a Magical Treasure. In the past, when Ning Jiang refined the Ice Soul Sword, his Cultivation was insufficient, so he could only draw upon Flame Power to temper it.

Flame Power was merely the most basic of methods.

Thunder Power, however, was far more advanced. A sword refined with it would also be much more powerful.

The True Essence of Sword Intent constantly warped as it was tempered by the Thunder Power. This process, however, made the essence more and more condensed. It also began to absorb the Thunder Power, starting to emit a blazing, thunderous light.

This tempering process was extremely long.

Wei Qingxuan’s Cyan Profound Sword, for example, had taken twelve Artifact Refiners a full six months to forge. This showed just how difficult Artifact Refining was.

One hundred thousand years ago, Ning Jiang had seen some Venerable Refiners who would spend a century or even a millennium on a single refinement. Of course, the Magical Treasures they created were earth-shattering existences.

「Ten days quickly passed.」

The True Essence of Sword Intent gradually began to take shape.

「Fifteen days, twenty days...」

「An entire month passed.」

CRACK.

An incomparably brilliant flash of lightning streaked through the canyon.

’Forged with Celestial Thunder... I’ll call you the Thunder Punishment Sword.’