Rippling emerald waves shimmered as lotus leaves swayed lightly.
Li Zhexian sat cross-legged on the heart of a leaf, his white robe untouched by even a drop of water.
Suddenly—
The vast expanse of the lake trembled for no reason, boiling as if set aflame, roaring like thunder.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Bro is finally seeing daylight again!"
At the center of the Lake of Life—
A massive whirlpool abruptly collapsed inward, laughter echoing from within.
The whirlpool pulled the waters into its depths, dragging the lotus leaves with it.
Though Li Zhexian's footing wavered, his expression remained calm.
Within a few breaths—
An invisible force yanked him into the heart of the whirlpool.
His vision filled with swirling blue-green water.
Then, a reflection appeared…
It was a massive ice-crystal-like silkworm, gazing at him from the other side of the water.
"Brother Zhexian, Big Brother's name is the Skydream Ice Worm!"
"From now on, I'll call you Brother Zhexian, and you call me Brother Skydream. We'll address each other however we like!"
"Brother is betting his future on you—please take care of me!"
Li Zhexian smiled.
"Please take care of me."
As soon as he spoke—
The Skydream Iceworm tilted its head and gave him a cheerful grin.
Then it transformed into a streak of golden light and shot straight into his forehead.
Li Zhexian slowly closed his eyes, sinking toward the bottom of the lake as his aura faded.
...
On the shore—
Watching the lake return to calm, Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu's faces turned pale.
"Where's Li Zhexian?!"
Zhu Zhuqing was about to leap into the water, but Da Ming and Er Ming blocked her.
"Don't panic."
Da Ming spoke in a deep, steady voice:
"Brother Zhexian's aura is still present. He should be unharmed."
"If you charge in recklessly, you might disrupt his cultivation."
Xiao Wu bit her lip lightly.
"Da Ming and Er Ming are right."
"Zhuqing… let's wait."
Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing forced herself to remain still, but stubbornly stayed by the shore, staring at the lake without blinking.
Thump—thump—
Thump—thump—
Er Ming stomped the ground, shaking the surrounding forest until the trees rustled.
Confusion flickered in his earthy-gold eyes.
"Da Ming, that unfamiliar aura earlier really came from underground, right?"
Da Ming slowly nodded.
"I sensed something wrong as well."
"Under the Lake of Life…"
"Could there be a secret even we don't know?"
...
Deep within the lake—
Li Zhexian's consciousness sank into his spiritual sea.
The Skydream Ice Worm swam freely through the ethereal space, at home like a fish in water.
The Qinglian Sword and the Clear Spring Wine Gourd floated at the center of his spiritual sea, glowing faintly.
"Brother Zhexian, you actually have Twin Martial Souls!"
"This sword carries the attribute of ultimate sharpness, and this gourd… its nature is utterly unfathomable!"
"Brother truly didn't choose the wrong person!"
Before Li Zhexian could respond—
Mysterious power streamed from the Iceworm's crystalline body, spreading across the entire spiritual world.
At the same time—
Beneath Li Zhexian, beyond the six radiant Spirit Rings he already had, a seventh ring slowly condensed—
a brilliant, dazzling gold.
"Heh! Brother's million-year Spirit Ring can claim to be unprecedented—none before, none after!"
"The four Spirit Abilities of a million-year ring shape a Martial Soul True Body even I can barely imagine!"
Li Zhexian felt his heart surge, but not the slightest regret.
s. If he had followed the original fate, ten thousand years later, Skydream Ice Worm would have chosen a youth named Huo Yuhao, granting him four abilities:
Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Sharing, Spiritual Interference, Spiritual Shock.
To be frank—
Those four Spirit Abilities would be rather useless for him.
His eight Qinglian Sword Songs contained eight distinct sword intents, already more than enough to annihilate foes.
Pouring all million years of cultivation into his seventh ability—
the Martial Soul True Body, strengthening the Qinglian Sword at its origin—
was the optimal outcome.
"How powerful will my Martial Soul True Body be…?"
Buzzzzz—
Buzzzzz—
Between Li Zhexian's brows—
The glass-like imprint of the Qinglian Sword slowly took on a trace of golden radiance.
An indescribable aura spread from his body—
within three feet of him, the lake water silently evaporated into nothingness.
It felt like sharpness—
Yet also like a power that had transcended all boundaries of sharpness…
...
Within his spiritual sea—
The Skydream Ice Worm trembled as though seeing Di Tian, staring in terror at the three-foot blade flowing with glazed golden light.
"Th–this… this is…"
"It evolved into… a God-Level Martial Soul?!"
Li Zhexian could feel the joy coming from the Qinglian Sword.
With a thought—
The Qinglian Sword appeared across his knees.
Its once crystal-clear glassy body now shimmered with flowing flecks of gold.
With the integration of the million-year Martial Soul True Body, the sword had gained an ancient, timeless aura, while maintaining its ethereal elegance.
"Brother Zhexian!" The Skydream Ice Worm shouted from afar, keeping a long distance from the sword:
"As a million-year Spirit Beast, I originally could have given you a second Martial Soul!"
"But who knew you already had twin Martial Souls!"
"So the remaining power, together with the essence from Brother's shed-skin, can only be condensed into a special External Spirit Bone!"
Li Zhexian said:
"I already have an External Spirit Bone."
"Brother knows that." The Skydream Iceworm glanced—through the spiritual sea—at the twelve-vertebra sword-bone that resembled a dragon made of blades.
It swallowed hard.
"An External Spirit Bone that directly connects to the Spirit Platform… Brother Zhexian, you are truly extraordinary."
"But Brother's bone isn't inferior either—among External Spirit Bones, this one is a special existence."
As it finished speaking—
Li Zhexian saw a layer of crystalline silkworm skin drift toward him through the water, stopping before him.
Pale golden spiritual power flowed from his brow, wrapping the shed skin.
A few breaths later—
Within intertwining crystal glow and golden radiance—
It transformed into a flat, sheath-like structure over a meter long—
shaped like a sword case.
Its entire surface shimmered with magnificent light.
"Based on your characteristics, Brother Zhexian,"
"This bone will take the form of a Sword Shrine."
Li Zhexian raised his hand to touch it.
In that instant—
Insight flooded through him.
Everything became clear.
This External Spirit Bone was named Skydream Sword Shrine.
As the bone of a million-year spirit beast, it came with one heaven-defying Spirit Ability—
Three Thousand Sword Vaults
By storing the sword within the shrine, he could temper sword intent, fusing countless sword techniques.
When the blade leaves the shrine—
all merged techniques erupt in a single strike.
Zheng—!
The Qinglian Sword slipped into the shrine with a crisp hum.
Immediately, all sword light disappeared.
Ancient patterns surfaced across the dark-green sword shrine, making the refined azure blade seem even more ethereal and profound.
Only Li Zhexian knew—
Within that quiet sword, unimaginable sharpness was being nurtured.
"The many forms of the Qinglian Sword Song can be merged too?"
"Good. Good!"
...
Meanwhile—
Within Spirit Hall—
Bibi Dong lounged lazily upon the imperial throne,
yet her imperial aura towered like mountains.
Everyone below kept their heads bowed.
"Your Majesty!"
"Three days ago, a large number of Corrupted Spirit Masters appeared at the Star Luo border. They have now retreated into Star Luo territory!"
Bibi Dong was silent for a long time.
Behind the beaded curtain, her red lips parted:
"What do you all think?"
A Spirit Master in ceremonial robes stepped forward and bowed.
"Your Majesty, since our Spirit Empire is the holy land of all Spirit Masters,
we naturally bear the duty to cleanse corruption."
"We should enter Star Luo, eliminate the wicked,
and restore peace to the continent!"
"I concur!"
"I concur!"
...
In Spirit Year 685—
The Spirit Empire, under the guise of pursuing Corrupted Spirit Masters, dispatched a thousand Spirit Masters toward Star Luo territory.
The Star Luo emperor flew into a rage and deployed fifty thousand soldiers to the border.
Thus—
war was ignited.
This day—
Would later be known as The The Shattering of Borders Incident.
...
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