That wicked black sword had actually forcibly entered Fang Xing’s Sea of Consciousness. This was such a strange occurrence that even Fang Xing didn’t expect this. For a cultivator to accept a Sword Embryo required the guidance of the cultivator’s spirit sense, after all, which meant this was a choice that required both parties’ assent—the Sword Embryo gets to choose its owner, but the cultivator also chose their desired Sword Embryo. This was precisely the reason why Fang Xing could be rejected by all the other colored swords, yet even though Fang Xing didn’t want this strange black sword, it had managed to force its way into him and become his Sword Embryo regardless.

　　The shock wasn’t small, and Fang Xing was left in a state of panic for quite some time. Although he’d said the black sword was too ugly for his liking, that had simply been a habitual excuse; the real reason he hadn’t wanted to choose this black Sword Embryo was because of how sinister it was. He’d felt uneasy and hesitant, yet the black sword was unexpectedly so unnatural that even after Fang Xing rejected it, it unexpectedly forced itself upon him and directly allowed itself into his Sea of Consciousness without permission.

　　“Is he trying to overtake me?” Fang Xing immediately recalled what the Peng King had attempted to do once in the past. Although Sword Embryos were spiritual beings born from weapons, they couldn’t “take over” others, but Fang Xing still didn’t downplay the situation and instantly entered his Sea of Consciousness to search for the black Sword Embryo. In the worst-case scenario, he’d simply use his True Samadhi Fire to refine it away completely.

　　After entering his Sea of Consciousness, however, Fang Xing saw nothing but calm. Everything was as it always was, without even a single trace of the black Sword Embryo and not a hint of where it had gone. “What happened?” Fang Xing wondered with suspicion before continuing to search, not reassured at all.

　　The Sea of Consciousness was vast and borderless. It was the materialization of a cultivator’s thoughts, and although there was a large landmass in the center, the edges were undefined and its height was undetermined. The cultivator’s True Spirit—their true self—was located at the center, and the landmass represented the cultivator’s past, unchanging and solid. As for the lack of borders, it was a demonstration of how the thoughts and possibilities of a cultivator had no limits.

　　Since it was within his Sea of Consciousness, Fang Xing was able to move extremely quickly and travel millions of miles in the blink of an eye. Fang Xing didn’t know how long he traveled or how many billions of hundreds or thousands of millions of miles he searched, but he finally landed at a place an unknown distance from his Tower of Dao. It was here that he found a strange location covered in a mysterious fog.

　　To search for anything within his Sea of Consciousness, all Fang Xing had to do was scan with his spirit sense and everything would be made clear to him, yet he suddenly noticed this fog-filled area was completely outside his control—even when his True Spirit wanted to enter, he was blocked and prevented from getting close. With a great deal of confusion, Fang Xing gathered all the power within his True Spirit and attacked towards that fog.

　　Rumble !

　　The fog in the area was shaken by the great force and it showed a portion of what existed within. Fang Xing quickly looked and saw that within the fog was a burning cauldron of flames of fury, a traceless sword light, a purple-gold book floating in the air, and a giant black sword that was embedded into the soil at an angle.

　　‘Hm? Aren’t these just the marks left by the Book of Revelation, Decapitation’s Portrayal, and the others?’ Just as Fang Xing was about to investigate further, the wave of fog that had been parted by the force of Fang Xing’s True Spirit splashed back. It sent his True Spirit flying back tens of thousands of miles, directly away from the fog-filled area and back into his Tower of Dao. He wasn’t injured, but he was suddenly seated properly in the lotus position inside the tower like it was perfectly normal, and then Fang Xing opened his eyes and awakened.

　　‘It actually woke me up from that splash?’ Fang Xing couldn’t help but shiver in fear, and it became even more terrifying the more he thought about it. He was and should always be the utmost authority within his own Sea of Consciousness; the idea he’d be smacked awake by another force within was something he’d never even thought possible.

　　What exactly was that place filled with fog?

　　In the short moment within the fog-filled land, he’d seen a cauldron of flames that—based on what he’d sensed of the properties—should be the True Samadhi Fire he so often used. When he sensed this fire, he’d guide it along into his body and use it as he pleased. The True Samadhi Fire would act with only a simple thought, yet he’d never thought about where the True Samadhi Fire was when he wasn’t thinking about it. After seeing the inside of that mysterious fog, it was likely that cauldron of flames was the source of his True Samadhi Fire.

　　The sword light seemed to be the will of the heavenly sword he’d obtained from the Decapitation’s Portrayal. He’d sensed it once before when he killed Xiao Jianming and he still remembered its unique properties.

　　As for that purple-gold book, the more he looked at it, the more it resembled the Book of Revelation that had fused with him, although the blue book cover of the original had now become a purple-gold, giving it a rather impressive appearance.

　　The black demonic sword had to be where the Sword Embryo was. That thing was actually inside the fog as well.

　　After waking up, Fang Xing’s mind continued to race as he thought to himself with astonishment, ‘Those are all the things I’ve obtained with mysteries I haven’t completely understood. Is it a blessing or a curse that they’re all gathered together there?’

　　At that moment, a message seeped into Fang Xing’s mind: “You’re awake? Don’t make any sound; someone’s here….” Initially surprised, Fang Xing saw the golden crow was the one who’d sent him the message. Both he and the crow were currently inside an area of pitch darkness, and when he looked up, he saw a long and thin strand of light, as though they were in a deep abyss of some kind.

　　“I thought you were done for when you retreated into your Sea of Consciousness without saying a single word! I was so worried, and it just so happened three bastards came in at the same time. There was no way I’d be able to beat the three of them with you holding me back, so I could only drag you in here with me to hide…” the golden crow quickly messaged to Fang Xing, explaining everything.

　　Fang Xing had been concerned by the black sword’s unwarranted entry into his Sea of Consciousness, and he’d quickly retreated his senses and entered his Sea of Consciousness to search for it out of fear it’d become a threat to him. He had the golden crow with him and wasn’t worried about people searching for him, and so his physical body had fallen into a deep sleep. The golden crow believed something had gone wrong, so he’d anxiously guarded and protected Fang Xing by his side.

　　Before Fang Xing woke up, the crow had heard someone entering the grand hall. He knew it had to be an enemy and he didn’t expect to be able to fend them all off, so he’d jumped into the crack the black sword had been hidden in earlier. The crack was rather unnoticeable and would be difficult to find without paying close attention, and even if someone did happen to notice it, the area past the crack was pitch black without any light—they wouldn’t be able to see anything inside anyway. Fang Xing had woken up at the precise moment the three men entered, and he remained quiet thanks to the golden crow’s explanation.

　　“Thank god these five Sword Embryos weren’t stolen,” the first person let out a sigh of relief. “Otherwise, even if we died a million times over, we still wouldn’t be able to escape punishment….”

　　“Dammit, who snuck inside and stole all the Sword Embryos outside while the little demon is attacking the Sword Mound?” the second person cried out mournfully with extreme anger, very much aware the Sword Embryos outside the grand hall had been stolen. “These treasures are valuable enough to cause all the cultivators of Jambu to go into a frenzy. They’re a means for the royal Huangfu clan to control all of Jambu, yet they’ve all been stolen by that thief, causing the three of us to commit such a great crime. We might lose our lives when we return….” From the sounds of it, the three of them seemed to be the young leaders of the Fiery Cloud, Shaken Cloud, and Black Swamp tribes. For whatever reason, they weren’t guarding the entrances and had instead come to the depths of the Sword Mound.

　　“No one expected that little demon to be so powerful. Not only did he kill Lei Jiu, he also managed to stir up all the cultivators into such a large rebellion to attack the Sword Mound! The three of us together wouldn’t be enough at all to fend them all off, and His Highness would certainly understand this. Besides, although the Sword Embryos in the outer areas were stolen, the most important five are still here,” the third person spoke with a stern voice while explaining to the other two. “I imagine the thief knew how to steal ordinary Sword Embryos, but they don’t know how to take these. We can keep these ones safe and bring them to the depths of the Mysterious Domain for His Highness, and it will be considered a meritorious service!”

　　“Easier said than done. Are we sure we need to do this? The price… is very heavy….”

　　“What other options do we have now? We’ll use our own bodies as the Sword Container and guide the Sword Embryos into our bodies, then have the great grand elder help us separate them out to be handed back to His Highness the young master. Although our foundation will be destroyed and our cultivation might even fall back into Spirit Stage, at least our lives will be spared. If His Highness the young master saw us being so loyal, perhaps he’d even reward us with that pellet to help us repair our foundation, but if we don’t do it…” he paused there, and all three of them became quiet.

　　After a long while, one of them finally broke the silence. “We have no other options; let’s do it. Fiery Cloud Tribe’s young leader, tell me about the secret spell you spoke of!”

　　“No need to hurry,” the third person interrupted. “Check the surroundings first.”

　　At those words, someone moved like the wind to check the entire grand hall, and it didn’t take long at all before he declared, “There is not a single speck of trace within the hall; the thief should have already left. Only that crack seems strange, but even His Highness the young master couldn’t figure out what was inside except that there had to be something extraordinary within. Should we check it as well before we leave?”

　　The young leader of the Fiery Cloud Tribe stopped. “Don’t cause any more trouble. The absolute priority right now is to take the Sword Embryos first. This secret spell was passed on to me by His Highness the young master. He said with his innate talent, he’d be able to fuse any one of these five Sword Embryos, but he believes all five of them are actually from the same origin and they’d only reach their maximum potential once all of them are fused into the same body. However, taking all five Sword Embryos at once isn’t an easy matter even for him, and the time required would be too long, hence he left for the depths of the Mysterious Domain without choosing a single one.

　　“Before he left, he left these drops of immortal’s blood behind that will be enough for us to temporarily break through the seals on these altars and allow us to potentially obtain ownership over the Sword Embryos. The Sword Embryos might not necessarily be convinced to stay within us thanks to our innate talent, however, so if the Sword Embryos intend to escape, we’ll need to do our best to suppress them inside….”

　　The young leader of the Fiery Cloud Tribe revealed the secret method, causing the eyes of both Fang Xing and the golden crow to light up.