Eternal Life Begins with Learning

On the calm sea, faint ripples appeared.

Then, a terrifying fluctuation of Spiritual Qi emerged. The ripples swelled, visible to the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye, a massive vortex formed on the surface.

"ROAR!"

A soul-shaking roar, almost like the screech of scraping metal, erupted from the depths as the vortex churned. The whirlpool spun faster and faster, as if the very seabed were collapsing.

Finally, with a tremendous BOOM, the vortex exploded. Seawater surged into the air as a behemoth burst from the depths, coiling in the sky above.

Its Demon Body was as black as ink, with golden patterns tracing its spine. Its demonic eyes, like bronze gongs, held vertical, snake-like pupils that glinted with brilliant gold. As they shifted, its brutal gaze landed on Chu Mu, who stood on the coral reef.

"Wangcai, come here."

Chu Mu's expression was grave. That last roar had clearly carried some kind of special Divine Soul attack.

And that information was nowhere to be found in the Demon Beast Atlas!

With a wave of his hand, he stuffed a crimson-black Round Pearl into Wangcai's mouth.

The pearl was a Divine Soul Defense Spiritual Artifact he had crafted in his spare time, meant for emergencies. He never imagined he would encounter an unexpected anomaly so soon after setting out to sea!

"ROAR!"

The Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile let out another roar—a grating sound like scraping metal, yet also like the booming of the sea.

Though it was just a roar, his Magical Power and Divine Soul fell into disarray the moment the sound reached him. The chaos lasted only an instant, however. The Sword Intent Barrier in his Sea of Consciousness stirred, completely suppressing the instability in his Divine Soul.

'A sonic attack...'

Chu Mu's expression shifted, but he had no time for further thought.

After that roar, the Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile coiling in the sky opened its cavernous maw, and a pillar of inky-black water poured down.

BOOM!!

As the pillar of water crashed down with a world-shaking roar, countless inky-black droplets exploded outward, carried on clouds of steam as they rushed toward the retreating Chu Mu.

Chu Mu retreated several dozen paces before stopping abruptly, just as the sky-full of inky droplets converged on him.

Just as the inky blackness was about to envelop him, a speck of crimson light ignited from behind him.

The light suddenly rippled outward, and in a mere instant, a sky full of True Flame had emerged.

Water fought fire, inky black against crimson red, locked in a stalemate.

Amidst this stalemate, Chu Mu raised a hand and pointed. A flicker of blade light flashed, and the deadlock was instantly shattered.

With a deafening roar, more than half of the Coral Island Reef was nearly obliterated. Where the inky blackness touched, the ground was pitted with corrosive craters, and even the surrounding seawater rapidly evaporated.

'It's even poisonous!'

Chu Mu's expression turned ugly. Without a moment's hesitation, he flung out several streams of Finger Snap Blade Qi to further enrage the Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile, then leaped into the air, feigning an escape.

"ROAR!"

The Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile fixed its gaze on the fleeing Chu Mu. Its massive body suddenly accelerated, and its claws, glinting with a metallic luster, swiped viciously toward him.

Chu Mu paid it no mind, seemingly focused only on escaping. He didn't come to an abrupt halt until the Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile had charged fully within the bounds of the Coral Island Reef.

"Small Celestial Array... activate!"

Hovering in mid-air, Chu Mu formed a hand seal. With a low shout, the ground of the entire Coral Island Reef instantly lit up with dense patterns of Spiritual Qi.

As the Spiritual Light flowed, countless Array Prohibition Patterns flickered. Streams of light traced the patterns and converged, causing twelve Human-shaped Puppets to materialize.

The Human-shaped Puppets now resembled solemn temple statues. Holding Array Flags, they acted as the core of the formation. In near-perfect unison, they tossed their flags, and chains of watery blue light materialized in an instant.

The chains rapidly expanded and transformed, crisscrossing through the air. The Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile, which had been just inches away from Chu Mu, froze abruptly in the sky as if time had stopped.

Innumerable watery blue chains crisscrossed around every part of the Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile's body, covered in flickering Array Prohibition Patterns. Under the terrifying Spiritual Pressure, the beast's brutal aura was suppressed significantly.

"Condense!"

Chu Mu seemed to have expected this, his expression calm. As he raised his hand and murmured, a Flaming Blade condensed into shape before his eyes. At the same time, an indescribable, chilling sharpness abruptly filled the air over the sea.

If any Cultivator were to use their Divine Sense Perception right now, they would see a phantom blade behind Chu Mu, so terrifying it could make one's Divine Soul tremble.

"Merge!"

With another low shout from Chu Mu, the terrifying phantom blade rapidly compressed, forcefully merging into the Flaming Blade.

The Human Sword Unity Technique!

At that moment, Chu Mu felt that the Flaming Blade before him, woven from both illusion and substance, was no longer just an ordinary Magical Technique or Divine Technique. It was an extension of his very life.

It seemed to embody not only his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, but also his Sword Intent Faith.

The still-menacing Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile let out a series of soul-shaking roars, its massive body struggling violently. But sealed by the Array Prohibition Chains, it couldn't move an inch.

Twelve Tier Two Puppets and the Small Celestial Array—when combined, one plus one was far greater than two!

If Chu Mu himself were trapped in such a Grand Array, he likely wouldn't escape unscathed!

'No signs of it going berserk. Is it because it hasn't been heavily injured yet?'

The blade had already formed, but Chu Mu held back, observing the frantically struggling Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile.

'My prediction doesn't seem to be wrong.'

He had used the Grand Array to immediately restrain the beast, and the Small Celestial Array had shielded its senses. As long as it was only restrained—uninjured and unaware of any mortal threat—the beast would not go berserk without cause.

'Still, the Demon Beast Atlas can only be used as a reference...'

Chu Mu mentally cautioned himself. This time, if not for his considerable array of skills, the Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile's series of unexpected abilities might have truly been his undoing.

As his thoughts churned, his gaze shifted and finally settled on the Flaming Blade hovering before him.

The Human Sword Unity Technique was derived from the Tai Gang Saber Technique. It was an extremely versatile Divine Technique that could be used as a Merit and Punishment Skill, a Flying Escape Technique, and its principles could even be applied for defense.

He used his Great Sun True Flame as a vessel, infusing it with his very life and merging his Sword Intent within it to forge this unique Man-Sword Unity...

He had attempted and practiced this unique version of the Human Sword Unity Technique many times, but this was the first time he had ever unleashed it with his full power.

He looked at the imprisoned Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile, his eyes flickering. The corners of his mouth twitched, and a single, soft word escaped his lips. "Slash."

In that instant, crimson light filled the sky. A flash of blade light appeared, carrying an unspeakably terrifying sharpness within a fiery red glow that seemed capable of incinerating the heavens and boiling the seas as it descended.

At that moment, faced with such terrifying power, the Grand Array's sensory blockade seemed to fail. Before the blade light that could boil the seas, the Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile clearly sensed that something was wrong. Its violent struggles ceased abruptly, and the brutality in its eyes was replaced by a hint of madness.

A faint berserk intent emerged from it. In just an instant, this intent swept out like a tidal wave, and an aura that seemed to originate from the primordial wilderness surged forth.

But in that same instant, the sky-filling crimson light descended completely, blanketing the entire Coral Island and dyeing the surrounding sea fiery red.

Amidst the earth-shattering roar, the ferocious Demon Beast could be faintly seen gushing blood from within the crimson light before its newly-erupted primordial aura was instantly extinguished.

The blinding crimson light continued to shine. On the surface of the sea, the corpses of countless fish floated up, only to be utterly incinerated by the True Flame in the blink of an eye.

Steam billowed up, and the crimson light slowly dissipated. With a dull THUD, a massive Demon Body crashed onto the surface of the sea.

The ruined Coral Island had been completely annihilated by that single strike. Only the pulverized stone and coral, which had been blasted into the air and were now raining back down, proved the island had ever existed.

Chu Mu's face was a little pale as he stared blankly at the scene of utter destruction before him.

He had anticipated the Mighty Power of the Human Sword Unity Technique.

But the terrifying might before him had still exceeded his expectations—and by a wide margin.

According to his plan, that strike was supposed to heavily wound the Tier Two Late Stage Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile. He would then have to finish it off in an extremely short time to prevent it from going berserk.

But the result... was a one-hit kill.

The Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile's massive Demon Body floated on the surface, held up by the Array Prohibition. The body was completely intact, save for its terrifying head, which was nearly severed from its neck and lolled on the water. Demon Blood still gushed from the wound like a spring, dyeing a large patch of the sea red.

"Go!"

With a mere thought from Chu Mu, the Hunting Falcon Puppets circling nearby received their orders. They shot out, spreading across the surrounding waters to monitor for any potential anomalies.

Chu Mu himself leaped and landed on the massive Demon Body. With a flash of a blade, he extracted a fist-sized Demon Pill, which now hovered in his palm.

The Demon Pill was inky black and wreathed in golden patterns. A dense Demonic Power of the Gold and Water Attribute flowed within it. Faintly, one could even see tiny phantom images of a Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile flickering across its surface.

Chu Mu couldn't hide his delight. A Demon Pill from a Tier Two Late Stage Profound Water Golden Pattern Crocodile could be refined into at least one full batch of Tier Two Late Stage Elixirs, which would be invaluable for someone cultivating at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment!

He couldn't afford to linger. Such a huge commotion could easily attract the attention of nearby Demon Beasts, or even other Cultivators.

If he delayed, he would be asking for trouble.

With a few flashes of his blade, the massive Demon Body was visibly disassembled into pieces and stowed away into several pre-prepared Storage Talismans.

"Let's go!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he beckoned to Wangcai, retracted the Puppets, and leaped up as a Flying Boat appeared. Activating its Concealment, he sped away.

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