374 Assassination 1

True Qi leisurely infused into the blade bit by bit. Slowly, Lu Sheng noticed the half-clear ripple-like pattern was becoming more obvious.

His True Qi was based on the True Qi technique of the Thousand Sun Sect, which ensured its purity. It also had a bright and positive quality to it, mixed with immense heat.

Those were the general attributes of the Thousand Sun Sect's Light of the Great Sun Technique's final stage.

His Light of the Great Sun Technique had reached the sixth tier, while the last three required a special environment to achieve. However, aside from that, the Way of the Hollow Spirit and Molten Core Earth Heart Chant had both been cultivated to the maximum level.

The True Qi operating right now was from those three True Qi techniques he learned since coming to the Great Yin. All three kinds were combined together and slowly formed into a faint yellow and scarlet golden True Qi with fine, golden sand mixed in.

"Hisss!"

Suddenly, blue aura-like rippling waves bloomed on the Wei River Sword's blade.

The blue light was soft yet bright, and dyed the whole room with a blue color.

"Moooo…."

Suddenly, a huge, slim shadow started to swim in the blue light cast on to the wall. Roars similar to a bull accompanied its appearance.

Lu Sheng saw the swimming shape too—antlers of a deer, two wings, slim, and with three claws.

"Dragon?"

"Nie Xing, to be accurate," the Wei River Sword answered in a low voice. "I'm surprised your True Qi is pure enough to activate the Wei River's Nie Xing."

"What is that?" Lu Sheng asked in confusion. He just saw the dragon's shadow, but now he couldn't find it no matter how hard he tried.

"He was the God of Wei River in ancient times. Back then, I hadn't made the Wei River my home yet. By the time I fell in there from the World of Pain, the place had been abandoned for a long time. The God of Wei River, Nie Xing, seemed to have disappeared long ago as well," the Wei River Sword answered. Unlike the mind of a normal Divine Weapon, he did not act pretentious at all...

Probably because he knew he was still quite a way from being a real Divine Weapon.

"Ancient times… Is this Nie Xing powerful?" Lu Sheng asked suddenly.

"Very. Legend has it that Nie Xing was a legendary dragon with his own shadow as he was born from the shadow the Wei River cast on the river bed. Ordinary people couldn't even touch him, let alone fight him. But he could hunt the shadow of any living being, which would cost them half of their life. Hence, Nie Xing was worshiped as the God of Life in many places as well," the Wei River Sword explained.

Soon, the True Qi infusion was completed; luckily, nothing went wrong this time. Lu Sheng's True Qi cultivation had reached the peak of the seventh Vein, and because it was improved directly by the Cheat Device, its texture and base were both extremely pure. Even just half of his True Qi made Wei River very relaxed, having finally experienced a normal ritual.

Lu Sheng slowly took back his hand and stopped the flow of True Qi. Now, the body of the Wei River Sword shined brighter than before, while the blue light and water-like pattern became clearer.

"The third step is the Mind Ritual."

He carefully held the sword vertically in front of himself.

"Hiss!"

He instantly grabbed the sword and stabbed it into the ground. The tip easily penetrated the ground, and the weapon now stood straight in front of Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng stepped back and put his hands together, and lightly touched his fingertips against the end of the Wei River Sword.

"Begin. Concentrate your mind and spirit, try your best to sense my existence and power," the Wei River Sword said.

"With your spirit, you can do it. Certainly." Even though he couldn't sense Lu Sheng's exact cultivation, he could tell his spirit far surpassed any normal powerful cultivators'. The Wei River Sword had seen many powerful people before, and even more before he had been shattered. But never had he seen anyone with Lu Sheng's qualities before.

"Only after sensing my natural power can you utilize the maximum power of the Divine Weapon instead of brutishly swinging it like an ordinary weapon."

Lu Sheng listened to the Wei River Sword's voice. His consciousness had entered into the Wei River Sword, and colorful pictures and noise swept past him at high speeds, like a pool made from a countless amount of paint.

Lu Sheng, however, instinctively went deeper. Soon, a colorful tunnel of bright light formed before him.

At the end was a black wall, filled with light blue dragon patterns. A sword was in the wall, one that was similar to the Wei River Sword, but finer and more delicate.

There was an additional blue line on the edges of the blade, while its handguard was decorated with the heads of savage beasts.

"This is the natural power of Wei River Sword: Morning Moon." The elderly voice of the Wei River Sword vaguely sounded from afar. "Go hold it, and you will gain control of my natural power and truly experience the sword forms."

Lu Sheng slowly walked up as instructed, lightly gripped the tilt, and took the sword from the wall.

Countless techniques and information about the Morning Moon natural power flooded into his head the moment he touched the hilt.

Countless pictures and voices stuffed his head full.

Any other seventh Vein would have been wounded and fallen on the spot. They probably wouldn't even be able to walk without a couple days of rest. 

But Lu Sheng had the basis of a Holy Master's spirit, and so easily absorbed and digested these memories.

His eyes flashed, and he then returned to his room. The blue light from the Wei River Sword started to dissipate, while the golden True Qi started to vibrate at a frequency unseen before like it was experiencing some sort of metamorphosis.

"The requirement for the sixth tier of Light of the Great Sun Technique might have been an environment of blue light without heat… Seems like I got lucky."

Lu Sheng felt the golden True Qi churning within him and felt calmer.

Once he broke through, his apparent power would have reached the Earth Prime level, the equivalent of Snake level in the Great Song.

"Congratulations; you now have control of the natural power." The Wei River Sword's tone was weird as if there was some inexplicable meaning hidden underneath.

"Morning Moon is the strongest move of the Wei River Sword. It can utilize the full force of the Wei River as pressure, crushing your opponent with the weight of the whole river. On top of that, it can also turn an area into a high-pressure zone. 

"This move is the strongest representation of the Wei River Sword, you must learn to use it properly. Because of the consumption of natural power, you will usually lose half of your True Qi after use. It is best to avoid using the natural power during a fight. It serves better as a threat." The Wei River Sword warned Lu Sheng about various things in detail. This kind of powerful user was hard to come by—it would be a waste if he was killed so easily.

Even though he didn't know why someone so powerful and with so much potential would be willing to form a bloodline bond with a seven star Minor Divine Weapon, it was done. Everything else was not important.

The important thing was that he had to use this opportunity to retrieve all of the missing shards.

"Got it." Lu Sheng pulled out the Wei River Sword from the ground and resheathed it. Now, his disguise was complete.

During the time the golden True Qi was going through metamorphosis, he quickly walked out of the room with the sword on his back.

"Going out again?" The scholar with a black jade token, Chen Daoning, happened to walk out as well. He had a little box, perhaps for food, and was going somewhere. He smiled and greeted Lu Sheng as he saw Lu Sheng going out as well.

"Mhm, where are you going?" Lu Sheng asked casually.

"The Star Pavilion of Nine Dragons; Ya'er is still shopping there." Chen Daoning didn't enter the contest, and didn't seem to know Lu Sheng's fame. Clearly, the news from there hadn't reached back yet. "Lately, they came out with a new illusion matrix that could simulate your past opponents. Great for observing weaknesses. Would Brother Lu like to come with me?"

"No need for that." Lu Sheng shook his head. Now that he had the Wei River Sword, all other formation flags or talismans and such were a waste of Devil Gold for him.

"Oh, right. The 19th Prince, Qiong Huan, is holding a tournament feast in the inner sect. You could go watch it if you have the time," Chen Daoning reminded.

"Of course. Thanks for the info." Lu Sheng nodded. He needed to go attend the main sect contest. Of course, he didn't have time to go talk with some random prince. 

"Well then, I'll go ahead and leave," Chen Daoning said in a low voice.

"Please." Lu Sheng followed him out the door and jumped up, disappearing from the ground.

After crossing the street, he soon reached the central plaza. Standing beside the hexagonal crystal, he pressed with his hand.

"Whoosh!"

A white light shot out of the crystal, and disappeared immediately after touching Lu Sheng. His body started to turn clear, then fully disappeared.

***

Outer level of the Black Seal Temple.

Zhangsun Lan, Lu Sheng, and Sun Rongji stood shoulder to shoulder on the training ground; only ten or so people were around. Every single one of them was a top-level elder from the three major sects.

Master Yuan Zheng and Cave Master Jiuwei were both present. Naturally, no one from the Youyin Sect was present, since none of their disciples made the cut.

Master Yuan Zheng and Cave Master Jiuwei stood on opposite sides of the training grounds. Both of their arms were spread wide, a sliver of dark gold True Qi emitting from their bodies like smoke. They formed a one-man-tall ball of blue light in front of the three disciples.

"This is the projection door to the battlefield of the main sect contest," Cave Master Jiuwei explained calmly. "Be alert for any living beings around you the moment you three enter. Rongji, don't be stubborn—just try your best. I don't want you people to fall in a zone we don't control before even getting into the Gorge of Two Worlds."

"Yes, sir!" Sun Rongji answered solemnly.

Master Yuanzheng looked kindly upon Lu Sheng and patted Zhangsun Lan on the back with a weird look in his eye.

"The Jiuming Province has a total of 56 prefects; just try your best. If you could maintain your ranking from the previous contest, it would be good, but don't push yourself too much if you can't. Also, don't be afraid or panic when you are in trouble. Be calm… that will be the only solution."

"We understand, Grandfather." Zhangsun Lan nodded. 

"Are the materials for the sacrifices prepared?" Master Yuan Zheng asked again.

"I performed a sacrifice not long ago. I shouldn't need to any time soon," Zhangsun Lan answered hurriedly.

Master Yuanzheng then looked at Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng was a little confused. He had almost forgotten Divine Weapons needed sacrifices.

"I… am fine as well…" he said after a little hesitation.

"I think I'm not fine," Wei River Sword suddenly said begrudgingly. But Lu Sheng immediately pinched it with his hand, and the pain forced back anything else he wanted to say.