Chapter 599 Slaying the Old Devil, Distributing Treasures

The great sun fell, its momentum unstoppable.

An immense and boundless wave of pure yang light descended with a thunderous force, instantly vaporizing the 10 1000 Spirits Blood Cloud into wisps of azure smoke.

The Black Fiend Demon Lord was no match for Magnus the Virtuous Lord to begin with, and now besieged by all sides, he had no means to evade this strike. His physical body was instantly shattered, leaving only his Nascent Soul to escape. It fled frantically toward the location of the Demonic Spring.

"Where do you think you're fleeing?"

Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name) let out a cold sneer. The Noble Heaven Sword (Magic Treasure) in his hand transformed into a bolt of lightning that shot straight down, astonishingly sweeping aside all demonic treasures in its path and tearing his Nascent Soul into shreds on the spot.

It was only then that the crowd snapped back to their senses. Eldrin gazed at the vast sun that had vanished into nothingness and said, "The grade of this divine ability has likely reached the half-step Pure Yang Divine Art realm."

Half-Step Pure Yang divine abilities are exceedingly rare, typically only cultivators at the Half-Step Primordial Spirit (Cultivation Realm) or some at the Great Perfection of Nascent Soul stage can successfully master them.

Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name) actually created such an astonishing divine ability, demonstrating the formidable depth of his comprehension and innate talent.

After slaying the Black Fiend Demon Lord, Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name) soared into the demonic spring's location and began suppressing its power.

Seeing this, Eldrin (Person Name) followed closely. This demonic spring had reached the peak fifth-grade rank, containing power sufficient to withstand an attack from a late Nascent Soul stage cultivator. Relying solely on Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name) might not be enough to destroy it.

Fortunately, with the full assistance of Eldrin and others, they managed to forcibly destroy the Demonic Spring.

After destroying the Demonic Spring, 3 Star Fragments (Spiritual Object) flew out from within. Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name) gathered them into his hand and passed them to Eldrin (Person Name), saying, "I entrust these to you."

Eldrin took the Star Fragment (Spiritual Object) and said, "Let's deal with the demonic cultivators first before discussing distribution."

As more than a dozen Human Tribe Nascent Souls became available, the demonic cultivators at the Ridge of the Black Fiend (Location) immediately faced utter annihilation.

In just a few moments, they had shattered the demonic cultivators within the Devil's Ridge. After a relentless pursuit by the human cultivators, only a handful of demonic practitioners managed to escape by sheer luck.

When the war concluded, the various True Monarchs gathered at the Ridge of the Black Fiend (Location) where the demonic spring resided, each revealing a smile.

Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name) cast a glance at Eldrin (Person Name), his expression growing solemn as he spoke, "How is your injury healing?"

"It's not serious. I just need a dozen or so years of recuperation."

Eldrin (Person Name) remarked with a calm smile, "At my current realm and combat prowess, even with Lord Black Fiend's cultivation base, it would be impossible for him to severely injure me in just 1 or 2 moves."

His injuries this time were not severe; he only needed a few years of recuperation to fully recover, with little impact on his combat prowess.

Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name) nodded and handed him a fifth-tier healing elixir: "This Revitalization Pill offers significant benefits for injury recovery. Taking it will help you save some healing time."

"Many thanks."

Eldrin stored the elixir away. With this pill in his possession, his injuries would not significantly delay his cultivation progress this time.

Seeing Eldrin accept the elixir, Magnus the Virtuous Lord finally turned his gaze to the assembly, his expression grave as he declared, "In this battle, we have lost a full 50,000 cultivators, with hundreds of thousands more severely weakened from overexerting the 10 1000 Immortals Demon-Subduing Formation."

"With the supplies we have prepared, will they be sufficient for compensation and rewards?"

Upon hearing this, their expressions turned slightly grave, and they instinctively turned their gazes toward Chen Changxuan, who was currently overseeing the tasks of calculating battle losses and managing supplies.

Under the gaze of the group, Chen Changxuan pondered for a moment before speaking, "The inventory of seized supplies hasn't been fully completed yet, but most treasures from the demonic cultivators are useless to us."

"So I estimate the compensation funds are more than sufficient, but the rewards are likely inadequate. I'm afraid we'll incur a substantial loss of spirit stones."

Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this, and Eldrin spoke up, "After we slew several of the Black Fiend Old Devils, we also gained some spoils. Let’s set aside a portion to be used as rewards."

All the True Lords smiled upon hearing this. Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name) waved his sleeve and produced an inventory scroll, then spoke: "These are the captured high-grade spiritual materials. Take a look first."

Eldrin took the list, his eyes flickering with a trace of delight he couldn't quite conceal.

This time, they had seized a considerable number of high-tier spiritual artifacts, with as many as 4 fifth-grade, superior-tier demon treasures among them.

That Black Fiend Old Demon possessed a full 7 superior-grade demonic treasures. Among them, the Bone Urn of 5 Demons (Magic Treasure) and the 100 Ghosts Scroll (Magic Treasure) were both destroyed by Eldrin (Person Name), while the Myriad Souls Blood Cloud was eradicated by Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name).

The remaining 4 superior demonic treasures were the Black Fiend Mountain-Cleaving Axe, the Black Fiend Demon Banner, the Crimson Phoenix Crucible (Magic Treasure), and that Netherghost Demon Awl.

Among the several demonic treasures, the Black Fiend Demon Banner was a vessel of pure malevolence, its materials utterly corrupted and unusable, leaving no choice but to destroy it.

The Black Mountain-Splitting Axe was forged from Profound Dark Iron. Although this object is a demonic treasure, its materials can be smelted and extracted.

Refining materials with a demonic treasure incurs significant wastage. However, the Black Sundering Mountain Axe was forged with such abundant materials that after smelting, the resulting Dark Profound Iron should still be sufficient to craft a single fifth-tier, superior-grade spiritual treasure.

The Crimson Phoenix Crucible (Magic Treasure) was originally a righteous spiritual artifact, but after the Elder Demon of Black Malice fused it with demonic energy, it transformed into a demonic treasure. Once the demonic energy is refined away, it will revert to a pure orthodox magical instrument.

That Netherghost Iron was also exceedingly sinister. Its base material was originally a fifth-tier spiritual object, the Eternal Profound Iron. However, it had been refined by demonic cultivators who infused it with hundreds of millions of tormented souls, ceaselessly tempering it day and night. This process greatly enhanced its power, ultimately transforming it into the utterly malevolent Netherghost Iron.

Magnus the Virtuous Lord (Person Name) swept his gaze across the assembly before speaking after a long pause, "These demonic treasures require refinement before they can be wielded. They hold no use for this old man—distribute them among yourselves."

Hearing this, everyone’s hearts stirred with joy, realizing that Magnus the Virtuous Lord intended to claim the Ridge of the Black Fiend, thereby leaving these benefits for them to seize.

With that thought, their gazes turned to Eldrin. Aside from Magnus the Virtuous Lord, the Chen Clan had contributed the most in this battle, so it was only natural for him to make the choice.

"Truth be told, there isn't much to deliberate." Eldrin gazed at the Crimson Phoenix Crucible, a faint smile gracing his lips. "This Crimson Phoenix Crucible not only excels in both offense and defense, but also serves as an exceptional alchemical furnace. I shall humbly accept this generosity."

"As expected."

Though they had anticipated this, the several True Monarchs could not help but show regret on their faces when the most precious treasure was taken.

Lingxu Fairy, whose contribution was second only to the Chen Family, spoke up: "This Black Mountain-Splitting Axe can smelt Nether Profound Iron. As I happen to have ties with an artifact refining master from the Void Refining Sect, I shall humbly claim it."

Of the 3 superior-grade demonic treasures, 2 were selected, leaving only the Soul-Devouring Demon Spike remaining.

Yan ZiJi glanced at the Nether Soul Demon-Piercer, hesitated for a moment, yet ultimately refrained from choosing it.

This Netherghost Demon Spike has fused far too many vengeful spirits. To restore it for use, 1 must first guide all the spectral souls within the Netherghost Profound Iron into the cycle of reincarnation. Only then can the Eternal Profound Iron be reclaimed.

However, unless 1 is a highly virtuous monk, ordinary cultivators are utterly incapable of liberating these vengeful spirits. If they attempt to forcibly refine them, these tormented souls will be utterly annihilated, likely incurring profound karmic retribution.

Chapter 1 The Azure Cloud Sect's recruitment ceremony had reached its final day. On the vast testing square, a youth in blue robes stood before the Spirit Testing Stone, his palms slightly trembling. "Lin Ming, Spiritual Root: Inferior Grade 5. Cultivation Base: First Level of Qi Refinement. Failed to meet the standard!" The elder's cold announcement echoed across the square like a death knell. A wave of mocking whispers swept through the crowd. "Inferior Grade 5 Spiritual Root? And he still dares to come for the Azure Cloud Sect's trials?" "He's already 16, yet he's only at the First Level of Qi Refinement. What a waste of everyone's time." Lin Ming's fists clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white. He had traveled thousands of miles, crossing 3 mortal kingdoms, only to be rejected once again. Just as he was about to turn away, an ancient, rusty bronze mirror in his sleeve suddenly grew warm. A stream of mysterious information flooded his mind—the "9 Revolutions Mysterious Art" (Cultivation Method). "Junior Brother, wait." A clear voice rang out. A young woman in moon-white robes descended from the sky, her jade-like feet barely touching the dust. The crowd immediately fell silent. "It's Senior Sister Luo Ying (Person Name), the number 1 genius of our Azure Cloud Sect!" Luo Ying examined Lin Ming thoughtfully, then spoke softly, "Your spiritual root may be lacking, but your determination is rare. I can grant you a chance to stay as an outer sect disciple." Lin Ming took a deep breath and bowed. "Many thanks, Senior Sister." Deep in the back mountains, within a dilapidated thatched hut, Lin Ming carefully studied the cultivation method in his mind. According to the bronze mirror's guidance, this technique could reconstruct spiritual roots through 9 cycles of destruction and rebirth. He took out his last 3 Spirit Stones (Cultivation Resource), arranging them into a simple spirit gathering formation. As he began guiding his spiritual energy, searing pain shot through his meridians, as if they were being torn apart and reassembled. After an unknown period, a faint golden light finally emanated from his body. His originally chaotic spiritual energy now flowed smoothly along reconstructed meridians. "First Level of Qi Refinement, broken through!" Lin Ming opened his eyes, radiating unprecedented clarity. Through his spiritual sense, he could now see the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, something he had never experienced before. Suddenly, the bronze mirror in his sleeve trembled again, projecting a line of small characters into his mind: "9 Revolutions as 1, Reborn from Ashes. Seek the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss (Magic Treasure) at the Cliff of Lost Souls." Lin Ming's gaze turned resolute. He knew this was only the beginning of his path to immortality. Outside the hut, moonlight shone like water, illuminating the winding mountain path ahead. Somewhere in the distance, a faint sword hum echoed, as if responding to some mysterious call.