Chapter 768: Obsidian Star Meridians!

With a swift, decisive strike, Yun Xiao extinguished Zhao Menglin in a single flash with the Sword Hearts, a move not without its commotion.

Fortunately, the Menglin Pavilion’s celestial array had sealed everything within when the doors closed, ensuring that even the most violent death cries stirred no one outside.

Zhao Menglin, who had often dealt death within the bustling Harmony Street, never imagined that her trade in Sword Hearts would twist fate so cruelly, leading to her own brutal demise right in her shop!

In the end, all her life's amassed cultivation resources and wealth unwittingly became Yun Xiao’s property.

“I was scared to death!” The War Princess quickly helped Yun Xiao to his feet, her eyes slightly reddened.

“What’s there to fear?” Yun Xiao steadied his breath and checked his injuries.

The Flying Sword had left his organs slightly damaged, necessitating healing from celestial elixirs—an inconvenience, but not a grave one.

“Who knew the tucked-away Sword Hearts would fly out to save you?” the War Princess thought he had miscalculated.

“Even without the Sword Hearts, I wouldn’t have died. Rest assured.” From his Bag of Holding, Yun Xiao fetched several Yang Spirit Elixirs, whose medicinal power spread through his body, easing his discomfort.

The War Princess was about to say more when a pale-faced young man burst in, immediately spotting Zhao Menglin’s headless corpse.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

“Mistress! Mistress…” His heart tore apart as tears streamed down, his face contorted with the rage of despair. He fixed a deathly stare at Yun Xiao and the War Princess.

“You killed my master! Die! Die!” Mad with grief, he charged at them, stumbling and crawling, his voice a trembling howl, his eyes nearly popping out.

Yun Xiao watched it all.

As the pale-faced young man nearly reached them, Yun Xiao’s Heaven Burial Sword Soul flew from his hand, piercing the young man’s heart and drawing a few drops of blood.

“Ugh…” Clutching his chest, the young man staggered and fell beside Zhao Menglin’s headless body.

Beneath him, blood flowed freely.

“Mistress…” With the last of his strength, he reached out desperately and grabbed at the chest of the headless corpse.

Then, with a blissful expression, he died a peaceful death.

“What’s going on?” the War Princess looked puzzledly at Yun Xiao. “Didn’t you feel sympathy for them? Why kill him?”

“He was beyond saving; better to release him sooner,” Yun Xiao replied, using the Buddha’s Treasure Spirit to deliver the soul of the pale-faced young man.

He had depleted most of the absorbed Buddha's Treasures in the final battle against Lu Fan. Now, with Zhao Menglin’s Buddha's Treasure absorbed, it was the equivalent to millions of spirits from the Celestial Court.

“You mean, his enslavement was so deep, his world contained only adoration for his mistress and a buried, untouchable longing deep within his heart…”

In simple terms, this man was thoroughly brainwashed. No blame could be cast. For he was more pitiable than one could imagine, beyond any hope of redemption.

"Does utter abasement lead to the loss of one's senses?" the War Princess pondered this sad case, her thoughts drifting to her own complex ties with Yun Xiao, which invariably tightened her chest with discomfort.

"Let's not refine his blood. Just bury him here, let him find peace," Yun Xiao suggested gently.

"But the ground here is protected by a formation; we can’t dig," the War Princess retorted with a pout.

Yun Xiao didn’t respond. His sword searched the young pale-faced man's body briefly before extracting a black object, glossy like jade. He lifted it for inspection.

"What is this?" the War Princess leaned in, curiosity painted across her face.

She was curious about too many things these days!

"It’s similar to one of the four grand celestial treasures controlling the Sacred Emperor Barrier back in the Celestial Court; it’s commonly called an Array Matrix around here. Essentially, it’s a special celestial treasure that serves as the heart of a celestial formation. It’s tough, durable, and possesses offensive capabilities," Yun Xiao explained.

No sooner had he finished explaining than he drew the Prison Warden Sigil from his waist.

The violet Life Sigil swept past the War Princess’ pretty face.

"What are you doing!" Her face flushed a deep red.

"What? Nothing," Yun Xiao said, taken aback.

She glared at him, thinking, "Don't tell me you forgot where you've been keeping that! You should know better than to bring it near someone’s face!"

She didn’t voice her thoughts, fearing that Yun Xiao might just stick it on her face in response.

"Nonsense." Uninterested in arguing, Yun Xiao slapped the Prison Warden Sigil onto the black jade-like treasure, activating the Prison Ward Sigil's fifth form, Formation God!

This form of the Prison Warden Sigil was bewildering. Once Formation God was enacted, the treasure despite being Divine Heaven grade failed to put up any resistance.

Before long, the Array Matrix was overwhelmed by the Prison Warden Sigil, and from the original black jade emerged a violet mist, coalescing into a nine-headed dragon.

BUZZ!

The entire dark wave-like celestial formation that enveloped the Menglin Pavilion turned a deep violet, streaked with the shadows of dragons, their divine presence markedly enhanced.

"There, we own this place now," Yun Xiao declared, tossing the now dark violet jade with satisfaction.

"You mean to say, just by seizing this Array Matrix, you can control a whole celestial formation?" the War Princess asked, utterly astonished.

It was all a matter of the level of the Life Sigil.

"If the Life Sigil isn't powerful enough, controlling some of them could be quite the task," Yun Xiao remarked casually.

"Ah," the War Princess nodded silently, her perception of Yun Xiao growing ever more enigmatic and daunting.

"You should refine Zhao Menglin's blood next, then take stock of all her treasures. Given the vast amounts of Sword Hearts she had, she was undeniably wealthy," Yun Xiao instructed.

Upon hearing of treasures to be accounted for, the War Princess's spirits soared. "I'm good at this part," she declared cheerfully.

With a swift gesture, she turned Zhao Menglin into a mummy, and buried the pale-faced young man as well.

Meanwhile, Yun Xiao absorbed the Seed of Creation from Zhao Menglin called Obsidian Star Meridians—a type of meridian talent akin to the Nine Heavens Star Meridians.

This Obsidian Star Meridians talent, once integrated into Yun Xiao's Nine Heavens Star Meridians, initially tried to overpower the existing structure. Its essence surged through his veins, forging them as strong and shimmering as obsidian diamonds.

Yet soon, the inherent strength of the Nine Heavens Star Meridians assimilated the newcomer, restoring the vibrant, sparkling colors of Yun Xiao's pathways, enhancing them even further.

The outcome was a bolstered set of Nine Heavens Star Meridians.

"It’s no wonder these Seeds of Creation from the descendants of Cosmic Immortals are so potent. Though initially weak, none of the other Seeds of Creation I’ve absorbed so far could supplant it, only serving to enrich it," Yun Xiao mused.

He reckoned that the Nine Suns Dantian of Ling Chen and Ye Xingchen's Nine Heavens Star Meridians would endure for a considerable time.

As for the Chaos Soul… though Yun Xiao had given the Chaos Emperor Lotus to Zhao Xuanran, its innate abilities were rooted in the Black Lotus Spirit Seed, which he had already absorbed.

These three Seeds of Creation were inherently superior, and Yun Xiao estimated they would last him quite some time.

"With Moon Fairy supported by the bloodline of the Nian and Yaksha Ancestor, my physique is near indestructible. As for Yao Yao, her blood talent still lacks a top-tier Seed of Creation; she has to switch repeatedly."

In general, possessing a continuously strengthening pinnacle talent would certainly be advantageous. But the absence of one wasn't a deal breaker!

"I wonder what quality Zhao Menglin’s Sword Soul was?" Yun Xiao pondered.

He plunged the Heaven Burial Sword Soul into her Sword Bone, where the force of 300 Sword Prisons lingered. The incursion by the Heaven Burial Sword Soul catalyzed a transformation, causing 3,000,000,000 layers of dark Sword Aura to surge out from the Sword Bone towards it!

The entire Menglin Pavilion was engulfed by this dark Sword Aura storm.

Were it not for the celestial formation sealing the place, the sheer ferocity of this storm would have alarmed many.

"Excellent, truly excellent!" Yun Xiao mused, looking at Zhao Menglin’s skeletal remains.

Even in death, Zhao Menglin was subjected to a second demise, a fate most tragic.

No sooner had he finished than the War Princess returned, her face alight with joy as she jogged up, exclaiming, "We've struck it rich!"

"Slow down, all that jiggling is making my head spin," Yun Xiao complained.

"You…" the War Princess halted, folding her arms and biting her lip as she glared at Yun Xiao.

Sadly, she didn't have any frozen cones to harass him with anymore…

JustLivingJL's Thoughts

"Slow down, all that jiggling is making my head spin," Yun Xiao complained.