Chapter 960 - Refining the Dragon's Soul

Zhuo Xing's wounds multiplied under the simultaneous attacks from the two experts. His dao techniques crumbled helplessly before Lu Liang's might.

"Die!" Lu Liang roared, feinting a strike before slashing to seal Zhuo Xing's escape route.

At that moment, Ruan Ying struck with the same lethal move that had once nearly taken Liu Wuxie's life back in Heaven-Earth City. Against such an attack, Zhuo Xing stood no chance.

His head soared into the sky, his eyes wide in disbelief. Even in death, he couldn't understand why anyone would step in to help Liu Wuxie.

Silence engulfed the surroundings. A chill slithered down everyone's spine.

Liu Wuxie swept up all the fallen interspatial rings and calmly scanned the crowd. No one dared meet his gaze; they lowered their heads in fear.

"Get lost if you don't want to die!" Liu Wuxie bellowed.

The onlookers scattered like frightened birds, too terrified to linger. They might have had the confidence to face Liu Wuxie by himself, but their courage evaporated in front of Lu Liang and Ruan Ying. The killing aura those two exuded felt like it belonged to the executioners.

Lu Liang and Ruan Ying approached Liu Wuxie, bowed low, and respectfully stood to the side.

"Any news lately?" Liu Wuxie asked.

Gu Yu tactfully retreated a few steps to give them privacy.

"We discovered that many cultivators stayed behind during the last opening of the Sacred Ground," Lu Liang reported, cupping his fists. "Over the years, they have adapted to the laws here and broke through to the Earth Profound Realm. Now, they're hunting down ordinary cultivators."

Liu Wuxie's expression shifted in surprise.

"What?"

The Sacred Ground opened once every five years. Some cultivators had chosen had chosen to stay behind and cultivate. After adapting to the sacred ground's laws, they had grown stronger, even reaching the Earth Profound Realm.

With their newfound strength, they ran rampant through the sacred ground.

"Anything else?" Liu Wuxie had to make preparations in advance. He didn't know if those people would come hunting for him once they learned that he possessed the four seasonal treasures.

He needed to reach the Spirit Profound Realm quickly. Unfortunately, neither the mysterious scroll nor the Dragon Pearl could help push his cultivation forward.

"A mysterious sea appeared in the northwest," Ruan Ying added. "Lightning constantly arcs through the sky, and many cultivators are rushing there. It's rumored a treasure has surfaced."

"Forget the sea for now," Liu Wuxie said firmly. "I need to enter seclusion for a while. You two will guard me."

He wasn't concerned about assassins from the Black Plume Pavilion. What worried him was the divinekin still lurking around.

Earlier among the crowd, he had sensed divinekin hiding in plain sight. He hadn't exposed them—but he knew they had already sounded the alarm to their elites.

"Yes, Master!" Lu Liang and Ruan Ying said in unison, bowing once more.

"Master, I found a place ideal for seclusion," Ruan Ying offered. "It's defensible and hidden—perfect for meditation."

"Good. Let's leave immediately," Liu Wuxie said. Time was pressing. He needed to refine the dragon soul and the Dragon Pearl without delay.

The dragon soul would fade if left without a vessel for too long.

Luckily, the Heavenly Dragon Seal, forged with powerful draconic laws, was a perfect container.

Even after they left the mountain, streams of cultivators continued pouring into the underground palace, still chasing the hope of hidden treasures.

After traveling for a day, an ancient castle finally appeared in view.

"Master, this is it. We only need to guard the entrance, and no one will get through," Ruan Ying said.

The castle perched atop a sheer cliff, protected on three sides by steep walls. Only a single narrow path led upward. Defending it would be easy. Even the winds howled violently above, making flight near impossible.

"Why has no one claimed such a strategic place?" Liu Wuxie asked, puzzled.

This place was ideally suited for seclusion, and it should have attracted the attention of many long ago.

"This used to be a Black Plume Pavilion stronghold," Lu Liang explained. "We cleared the previous occupants out not long ago."

That answered the mystery. The castle itself remained impeccably clean, and cultivation chambers were ready for use.

"This place... interesting. There's a spiritual vein beneath it," Liu Wuxie muttered, sensing the lingering energy.

Although dried up, the remnants of the vein held enough power to aid his reforging of the Heavenly Dragon Seal. He wasn't attempting a breakthrough, only refining a weapon, which required far less spiritual energy.

He quickly found a forging chamber, its ancient architecture still intact after tens of thousands of years. Intricate runes still glowed faintly along the walls.

It rivaled, if not surpassed, the Treasure Institution's finest chambers.

"Gu Yu," Liu Wuxie said, " besides the scroll and the Dragon Pearl, I also collected a portion of dragon soul. I'll infuse some into your Dragon Clan Scepter."

He hadn't mentioned it before, but there was no point hiding it from Gu Yu. He had gathered more dragon souls than the Heavenly Dragon Seal could contain.

After consolidating them, he shaped two dragon souls: one for himself and one for Gu Yu.

Gu Yu stared at him, stunned. He hadn't even realized Liu Wuxie had collected the dragon souls.

"Back in the Punishment Palace, the wraiths you saw were corrupted dragon souls," Liu Wuxie explained. "I extracted the resentment using the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. What's left is pure soul."

After the divine dragons' deaths, their souls hadn't perished. Trapped in the Punishment Palace, they had grown twisted over millennia, their fury feeding their transformation into wraiths.

Now purified, they were like blank slates. It was a pity, though. Had they retained memories, Liu Wuxie might have uncovered ancient secrets—but he also knew his current strength couldn't control fully conscious dragon souls.

"Big Brother Liu, you should keep the scroll," Gu Yu said.

The dragon souls had been Liu Wuxie's prize. Sharing the scroll would feel unfair.

Liu Wuxie laughed, clapping Gu Yu's shoulder. "Why are you being so polite with me?"

They had faced life and death together. Treasures meant little compared to that bond.

Gu Yu chuckled sheepishly, then summoned the Dragon Clan Scepter. It hovered gently in midair.

Liu Wuxie summoned the Heavenly Dragon Seal beside it. The two artifacts were likely forged by the same ancient dragon and showed no rejection toward each other.

"Dragon souls, come out!" Liu Wuxie commanded.

He opened the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. Two robust dragon souls drifted forth.

"Gu Yu, split a wisp of your primordial spirit and fuse it with one of the dragon souls," Liu Wuxie said. He himself split a wisp of his primordial spirit and infused it into the soul on the right side.

Gu Yu nodded. He split a wisp and merged it with the soul on the left.

After the two dragon souls received a wisp of Liu Wuxie's and Gu Yu's primordial spirits, they were bestowed a faint trace of intelligence.

A wave swept over Liu Wuxie, and he felt like had dived into a vast and endless ocean. The strength of the dragon souls surpassed his expectations.

Quickly, he guided them toward the artifacts.

Leaving them exposed for too long would invite the world's impurities to corrupt them and turn them into wraiths again. Thus, the best solution was to give them a vessel.

The souls required a body, and the two artifacts were the perfect vessels for them. After all, ordinary artifacts would shatter if they could not withstand their souls, even if he tried forcing them in.

The dragon souls slid into the artifacts like mercury.

The two artifacts had already formed their inner space, allowing the souls to reside and act as the artifact spirits.

When the fusion was completed, dragon roars shook the forging chamber.

Light blazed from the Heavenly Dragon Seal, illuminating everything around them.

Beside it, the Dragon Clan Scepter shimmered with a deep emerald glow, distinct from the seal.

The draconic laws exuded a dignified authority.

The Heavenly Dragon Seal symbolized battle, while the Dragon Clan Scepter symbolized rule.

When they had discovered the artifacts, Liu Wuxie and Gu Yu had chosen based on what suited them best. Gu Yu needed the scepter, and Liu Wuxie needed the seal. After all, Liu Wuxie wasn't a descendant of the dragon clan like Gu Yu, and the Dragon Clan Scepter was useless in his hands.

Slowly, the chipped corner of the Heavenly Dragon Seal began to mend. The two treasures were being upgraded.

Liu Wuxie and Gu Yu formed intricate hand seals, aiding the fusion process.

Dragon runes wove through the air, embedding themselves deep into the treasures.

Days passed, and the fusion was completed on the fifth day.

"Next, we'll refine the Dragon Pearl and raise both artifacts to earth-spirit artifacts," Liu Wuxie said.

He retrieved the Dragon Pearl and let it float above them.

The two dragon souls shimmered, instinctively craving the treasure.

The Dragon Pearl contained the essence and laws of a divine dragon—more than enough to push the artifacts to the next level.

However, it was a pity that they couldn't use the Dragon Pearl to increase their cultivation. If Liu Wuxie could reach the Spirit Profound Realm, it would allow his power to soar to new heights.

After all, he had to stay vigilant now that Earth Profound Realm cultivators roamed the Sacred Ground.

The very fact that these Earth Profound Realm cultivators had endured five years of seclusion inside the Sacred Ground proved how dangerous and extreme they were.

Gu Yu was ready. Though his forging skills couldn't be compared to Liu Wuxie's, he had surpassed that of most cultivators.