Chapter 011 - Butchering Chickens! (1)

In the heart of the Sword Pavilion, night had settled, leaving only the company of a few solitary lamps. One such lamp illuminated the humble wooden room of Yun Xiao and his Senior Brother Cai.

"Here, try some of this chicken I've prepared!" Cai Maomao said, after what seemed like hours in the kitchen. He placed a tantalizing dish on the table.

After inspecting the dish with his chopsticks, Yun Xiao remarked, "Tastes pretty good. But isn't this frog?"

Cai Maomao, scratching his head, replied with a grin, "Well, the actual chicken... I had it for lunch."

Yun Xiao was speechless. This senior brother of his was really something else. The two were just about to dig in when they both froze in shock. Their meal had vanished!

"M-my food? Where'd it go?" Cai Maomao cried out.

Oh, no he didn't!

Realization dawned on Yun Xiao. He quickly reached into his lap, finding nothing, and then turned to see a small, dark creature gulping down their dinner. In mere moments, the creature's razor sharp mouth had devoured a meal meant for two, and its belly rounded in satisfaction.

Cai Maomao was livid. "What kind of little demon is this? Prepare for my sword!"

But before he could act, Yun Xiao hurriedly stepped in, cradling the creature protectively. "Uh, Senior Brother Cai, this is my... pet cat?"

Cai Maomao stared incredulously. "Your cat has horns and a giant mouth on its chest?"

Yun Xiao sheepishly responded, "He's a mixed breed. Tragic background."

Cai Mao stared at him, speechless before shaking his head.

The two both sighed. What kind of cross-species romance could produce such an offspring? With their dinner gone, they settled for some front porch chit-chat. Yun Xiao decided to ask about the graves, though he could already guess the rough answer.

"About the seven graves by the entrance... They are?" Yun Xiao asked..

"The Seven Sons of the Sword Pavilion," Cai Maomao replied, a sorrowful smile on his lips. "Once, they were the pride and glory of our sect. Before Ye Guying's time, they were the most formidable generation we ever had. The seventh son, Cai Qingyun, was my brother."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Yun Xiao murmured.

Cai Maomao sighed. "I wanted to welcome you properly today, but... the chicken, or rather frog, is gone."

"As long as it fills someone's belly, it's fine." Yun Xiao grinned, trying to lift the mood. "Thanks for the effort." Life was full of strangers and fleeting encounters. But a gesture from the heart meant the world.

"Don't mention it. I used to cook for eight. Now it's just me. Eating alone is quite dull," the senior lamented.

"Then maybe cook for more from now on," Yun Xiao chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Cai Maomao blinked, puzzled.

"Well, this lil' fella eats enough for seven," Yun Xiao replied with a smile, petting the little black creature in his embrace.

Red Moon grinned wide, flashing a maw that would make a shark envious. He gave a goofy, toothy smile towards Cai Maomao.

Cai Maomao's face froze, "Oh f- Don't eat me too!!" His wail echoed, but the night swallowed it quickly.

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Late into the night, Yun Xiao ventured outside to the pitch-black hill behind the Sword Pavilion hut. From his embrace, a small creature with eyes like haunting blue flames peeked out.

"Hand over whatever junk you've got from Ye Guao," Blue Star said.

Yun Xiao first tossed aside some of the inexplicable items, such as a woman's bra and underwear. Honestly, he wondered why on earth a thirteen-year-old would have such things. Finally, he was left with thirty glowing Spirit Stones. These minerals, nurtured by spiritual energy for years, enhanced cultivation and accelerated the absorption of spiritual energy.

"Here they are," Yun Xiao said. He'd barely uttered the words when the little black creature sprang from his embrace and lunged for the stones.

Snap!

To his disbelief, the creature gobbled up all thirty stones. "You ate them? All of them?" He gasped, fully aware that any ordinary cultivator could potentially explode from ingesting so many, or at least cause major indigestion.

"If it's not milk, it's all just filler," Red Moon said solemnly, suggesting that the faux roast chicken they had earlier was also just mere filler.

Before Yun Xiao could interrogate the creature about its odd diet, something remarkable occurred. A rush of formidable spiritual energy surged from the creature's belly. The creature seemed to catch fire from within, its fur revealing throbbing veins.

"Is it...refining them?" Yun Xiao murmured. The refinement didn't take long. As the creature's fiery glow dimmed, something unexpected happened. Blue Star, from atop the creature's head, clutched its throat, looking nauseous.

"Got a bun in the oven?" Yun Xiao teased. To his astonishment, Blue Star regurgitated a bead, crimson as blood, glowing with a subtle light. Though small, it seemed to brim with immense power.

"What is this?" Yun Xiao picked up the bead, intrigued.

"It's a Heavenly Dao Sarira," Blue Star answered, still looking queasy.

"What does it do?"

"It's equivalent to your worldly pills and elixirs. Think of it as a Divine Sea Pill," Blue Star replied, managing between coughs.

Yun Xiao, a bit taken aback, pieced it together, "So, Red Moon eats thirty Spirit Stones, refines them into this Heavenly Dao Sarira, you spit it out, and I'm supposed to consume it and cultivate?"

"Yep! Also, one correction. We both share the same belly. So, we both helped refine it for you, not just Red Moon," Blue Star retorted, glaring at him.

Red Moon interjected with a grin, "Hey, it's got our combined drool on it. Consider yourself lucky."

Yun Xiao could only sigh, flabbergasted. Then, he shook his head vigorously. "Dammit! I refuse! There's no way I'm eating your spit!"

"If I'm not mistaken, this Heavenly Dao Sarira can elevate you to the Mid Dragon Spring Realm tonight," Blue Star said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.

"What?" Yun Xiao's eyes widened at them. "And there's only one of them? Are you guys holding out on me?"

"..." Blue Star and Red Moon stared at him, speechless. What a 180 in attitude!

"Creator, if you're really turned off by eating something Blue Star spat out, I could, you know, make an effort and pull it out from another hole," Red Moon said with a mischievous grin.

"Buzz off!" Yun Xiao clenched the Heavenly Dao Sarira and gave it a sniff. "Why does this Heavenly Dao Sarira smell like roasted frog?"

"It's not only the Spirit Stones. It's made up of anything we eat," Blue Star explained.

Yun Xiao was flabbergasted.

So this includes the tree roots and rocks you guys were munching on earlier in the day too...?

The ancient bronze coffin truly was extraordinary.

With a deafening boom, Blue Star and Red Moon transformed into the massive bronze coffin once again. Then under the cover of the night, Yun Xiao snuck inside. Ascending to immortality... cultivating within a coffin! In this world, he was truly one of a kind.

Sitting cross-legged inside the coffin, Yun Xiao hesitated for a moment, then tossed the frog-flavored Heavenly Dao Sarira into his mouth. The thought of it passing through three mouths made his stomach churn. And the idea that he might need to consume these regularly made his heart even heavier. Luckily, the potency of the Heavenly Dao Sarira was immediately apparent..

"It really is like a legendary elixir!" Yun Xiao mused, amazed. Thinking about it, this little black creature was basically a mobile alchemy furnace too. Everything could be turned into a Heavenly Dao Sarira!

Its medicinal effects combined with Yun Xiao's Creator Immortal physique meshed incredibly well. The Dragon Spring Realm was simply a process of increasing one's magical power. The difficulty wasn't too high, and both pills and the Heavenly Dao Sarira had decent effects.

However, the cost of producing a pill was undoubtedly many times more expensive than that of the Heavenly Dao Sarira.

Yun Xiao could vividly feel the overpowering medicinal power from the Heavenly Dao Sarira flowing through every limb.

"Primordial Void Technique!" Even a basic understanding of this technique was enough to fully absorb this Heavenly Dao Sarira into his Primordial Void Dragon Spring. The ethereal dragon within his Dantian swelled considerably from all the magical energy, sprouting another claw.

"Mid stage of the Dragon Spring Realm, two claws!" Yun Xiao exclaimed. "Senior Brother Cai is in the Late stage with a three-clawed Dragon Spring. But when you add up the quality of my Sword Soul and Primordial Void Dragon Spring... I should be stronger." He had just broken through to the Dragon Spring Realm earlier in the day. Now, later on in the night, he had reached the Mid stage! The progress was visibly staggering!

Yun Xiao didn't stop. Inside the coffin, he pulled out the five-hundred-year-old demon bone.

"Too bad that Blood Demon was a tainted demon, or else I would've had two demon bones..." Yun Xiao muttered. Tainted demons were demons born out of resentment. Without a proper corporeal form, they didn't have a demon bone. So, they were less valuable than demon beasts. However, the demon bone in his hand exuded a fierce aura, unmistakably from a worldly Demon King!

"Now, how do I refine a demon bone with my Sword Soul?" Yun Xiao mused. Rumor had it that a Sword Soul could tear into these bones and absorb the monster marrow. Some Sword Souls were of such poor quality that they couldn't even scratch the surface, much less absorb the marrow. And even if they did manage to make a dent, they could become overwhelmed and, in a disastrous outcome, shatter completely.

Yun Xiao, however, had no such concerns. “This Sword Soul might look ordinary, but it’s perfect for me.” It baffled him how others could overlook a Sword Soul, especially one crafted from the fusion of the Divine Pillar and the Heaven Burial Coffin. With a determined grip, he pressed the tip of his Sword Soul against the monster bone.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Ding!

The bone quivered as if a fierce beast fought for freedom, and a vicious scream echoed into Yun Xiao's soul. Tearing into the bone, Heaven Burial began to absorb streams of bloody marrow. As it did, more and more layers of light formed around the Sword Soul. “Two layers... three... five!”

A five-hundred-year-old demon bone had amplified Yun Xiao’s Sword Soul's Sword Aura to five layers, two layers higher than either Jiang Yue or Cai Maomao. “Among the disciples, this number of layers should be one of the highest.”

The number of Sword Aura layers was also important to Heaven Burial. Once the Sword Soul had these layers, it would grow sturdier, fiercer and more deadly. “Mid Dragon Spring Realm and a five-layer Sword Aura!” Yun Xiao mused, pleased with his progress.

“That said, Heaven Burial's most terrifying attribute is still its ability to consume other Sword Souls!” Yun Xiao's eyes gleamed. He was about to focus up and stabilize his power when Blue Star blurted out, “Your Senior Brother Cai is in danger!”

Yun Xiao stood up, his eyes flashing with fury. “What's going on? Who's attacking us?”

“From what I can hear, they're from the First Sword Peak,” Blue Star replied. Apparently, he had pretty keen ears.

“Is that so...” Yun Xiao said. His killing intent flaring up, he vanished into the darkness and rushed back to the hut.