Chapter 2417 Spirit Locking Seal

Fang Xuanzhen felt a sense of calm.

The golden talisman was his ultimate life-saving treasure, his greatest trump card, and the very reason he dared set foot in the Great Thousand Battle Domain.

“Ling Xuanzi...I, Fang Xuanzhen, will never forget this humiliation!” He hissed through gritted teeth, his eyes blazing with unrestrained hatred.

A meticulously planned ambush had backfired. Not only did he lose his forces, but he was also plunged into a crisis. He had never experienced anything like this before.

Huh?

Suddenly, Fang Xuanzhen was taken aback. For a fleeting moment, it felt as though a white light flashed before his eyes. Time seemed to pause.

Before he could react—

Boom!

An ancient cauldron descended from the heavens, suppressing both him and the golden talisman into its depths.

It was the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron.

Earlier, it was precisely by using the divine power of Time Stopping that Lin Xun seized an opportunity to intercept Fang Xuanzhen and ultimately relied on the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron to suppress him in one fell swoop.

“No—!”

Inside the sword cauldron, Fang Xuanzhen’s face turned ashen. His anguished screams echoed as he struggled wildly.

The golden talisman flared brilliantly, releasing divine light and weaving strands of law power, desperately trying to break free from the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron.

“Suppress!” As Lin Xun activated the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron, the Phoenix Flame of Order and the Nirvana law power that had transformed into a lotus flower shape emerged together.

One shimmered with a faint purple radiance—crystal clear and beautiful.

The other bloomed like an ethereal lotus, glowing with blue-green light.

As the two law powers surged forth, an unfathomable aura and pressure descended. The law power of the golden talisman dimmed under the force, its brilliance rapidly fading.

In the end, the golden talisman was completely suppressed.

Inside the cauldron, Fang Xuanzhen’s soul nearly shattered from terror. He was paralyzed with fear and disbelief.

The first day he arrived in the Great Thousand Battle Domain...and this was how it would end?

Bang!

A terrifying force came crashing down, and Fang Xuanzhen’s vision went dark as he instantly lost consciousness.

Lin Xun retrieved the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron and exhaled softly

If Fang Xuanzhen had escaped, he likely would have gone into hiding, making it nearly impossible to find and capture him again.

That was why Lin Xun did not hesitate to use his divine power to stop time.

Now that Fang Xuanzhen had been suppressed, Lin Xun had all the time he needed to pry the secrets of the sword whetstone from him.

In the distance, his five dao bodies returned with a thunderous roar. The Emperor figures that followed Fang Xuanzhen had been completely eradicated.

Even the spoils of war had been collected.

Lin Xun retracted the five dao bodies, then flicked his sleeve.

Swoosh~

The Nine Hells Divine Sealing Array that had blanketed the heavens and earth was instantly dispelled, transforming into ninety-nine array flags that were swiftly collected by Lin Xun.

“Though this array isn’t as formidable as the Heaven Slaughtering Dao Severing array, it’s still quite effective at trapping Emperors,” Lin Xun remarked after a brief inspection, before storing the flags away.

As for the black mirror that was in Fang Xuanzhen’s hand, it was the control plate of the Nine Hells Divine Sealing Array. With Fang Xuanzhen now suppressed, it naturally fell into Lin Xun’s possession as well.

The sky remained shrouded in blood-red light, with fiendish qi and thunder roiling turbulently across the heavens.

Just as Lin Xun was preparing to leave, his gaze sharpened like a bolt of lightning. He stared into the distance and coldly said, “Have you watched enough?”

A calm, admiring voice rang out, “Fellow Daoist Ling Xuanzi, your remarkable display has turned the tide and reversed the situation. It is truly an eye-opening experience.”

Then the void rippled, and the figures of Mad Scholar Emperor and his entourage emerged.

Mad Scholar Emperor hailed from Wenqu True World. Dressed in scholarly robes with a wide belt, streaks of gray at his temples, and a green scroll hanging at his waist, he radiated an air of righteousness and grace.

The Emperors accompanying him wore solemn expressions and their bearing were refined and composed like a group of venerable teachers. Their temperaments were clearly different from other cultivators.

“So it’s you all,” Lin Xun said with a raised brow. He had heard that the cultivators of the Wenqu True World followed the path of Confucianism and the dao, cultivated noble and righteous energy, bore the sun and the moon on their shoulders, and harbored boundless wisdom within their chest. While different from Buddhism, their path was equally profound.

“Please rest assured, Fellow Daoist. We happened upon this by chance and harbor no ill intentions.” Mad Scholar Emperor replied, his voice resonant and dignified like the recitation of sacred scripture. He exuded such grace that one could hardly feel any animosity toward him.

“Is that so?” Lin Xun nodded, “In that case, I’ll be on my way. Farewell.”

With that, he turned and left.

Mad Scholar Emperor was stunned for a moment, as if not expecting Lin Xun to leave so quickly. It even looked as if he was unwilling to form even the slightest connection with them.

“This man appears reserved, but in reality, he’s extremely proud and aloof. Why bother with him?” An elderly white-haired man said with a displeased frown.

“He’s just been through a murderous ambush and noticed our presence. It’s only natural for him to remain guarded. This is simply human nature,” Mad Scholar Emperor replied nonchalantly, gazing at the direction Lin Xun had gone. “Still, I never imagined he’d wipe out Fang Xuanzhen and his group from the Great Everlasting Sword Hall in a single battle.”

At that, all the surrounding cultivators grew solemn.

They had observed the entire ambush of Fang Xuanzhen and the others from the shadows. From the start, they assumed the lone Ling Xuanzi from the Ancient Nebula Road was doomed.

Who would have imagined that, in the end, it was Ling Xuanzi alone who walked away alive?

This strongly proved that Ling Xuanzi was far more than just a sixth realm supreme Emperor.

“What a shame! I had originally planned to invite him to travel with us. But now it’s clear he won’t ally with anyone.” Mad Scholar Emperor sighed. With a wave of his hand, he added, “Let’s move as well. Try to collect ten life orbs from king-level Bloodspirit Nightmare Demons as soon as possible. Only then can we leave this place.”

......

In the depths of a desolate land.

Lin Xun carved out an underground cave, laid down an aura-concealing array and summoned the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron.

When he took out the golden talisman, the green sparrow immediately spoke up.

“The talisman’s material carries traces of immortal essence. As for the law power within, it should be of the fifth grade Earth Rank, which is ordinary at best.

“But in the Great Thousand Worlds, such a law talisman is already a priceless treasure since it can withstand the might of an Emperor Ancestor.

“Unfortunately, that kid with the surname Fang is an idiot. He didn’t even realize the law power in your life-bound Emperor treasure is vastly superior.”

Lin Xun examined the talisman that the green sparrow called a law talisman and couldn’t help feeling a tinge of regret.

Its internal power had already been depleted, rendering it useless as a weapon.

However, its material, imbued with immortal properties, was far more precious than rare Emperor-grade divine materials.

The green sparrow suddenly stretched out its beak and with a crunch, swallowed the talisman whole. A satisfied hum followed, as if it had just enjoyed a fine meal.

“If you ever come across anything with immortal essence again, you can feed it to me. I promise that I’ll do my best to help you carve out a path of survival in this chaotic Great Thousand Battle Domain. I can’t guarantee that you will reach the Eternal True Realm, but at the very least, I won’t let you die easily.”

“What if I refuse?” Lin Xun asked calmly.

The green sparrow let out a cold snort. “Aren’t you worried I might get upset and guide you down a path of no return?”

Lin Xun was made speechless by this response.

He turned to search Fang Xuanzhen’s body for loot.

As a supreme Emperor of the Great Everlasting Sword Hall and a direct descendant of an immortal, Fang Xuanzhen carried an impressive trove of treasures.

The most abundant were cosmic origin crystals. There were over ten thousand and all of the highest grade. The sheer value was staggering.

In addition, there were dozens of divine elixirs for cultivation, nearly a hundred kinds of divine materials that could be called treasures of heaven and earth, and four or five Emperor-grade treasures with unfathomable power.

Among them were ancient relics like dao seals, a fish drum, a horsetail whisk and a spiritual bangle...

However, what drew Lin Xun’s eyes most was an Emperor-grade sword. It was two feet long, white as freshly fallen snow, and its sword intent vast as the heavens. It radiated an aura of eternity, unshakability, and solemn majesty, and its quality and appearance were astonishing.

It was at least at the upper spirit-grade!

Two ancient characters were carved on its body: Yu Heng. The hilt shimmered faintly with immortal light, and the sword body had clearly been tempered with law power. Although no longer imbued with it, the sword still retained the charm and rhythm of those laws.

“Why hasn’t this sword formed a weapon spirit?” Lin Xun frowned.

The green sparrow explained, “The grade of an Emperor weapon isn’t determined by the strength of its weapon spirit. In fact, nurturing one is extremely troublesome. Once a weapon spirit is born, it must start cultivating from the foundation True Martial Stage like any ordinary being. That takes immense effort, time, and resources. And even then, there’s no guarantee it will reach the Emperor Stage.

“You know better than anyone how difficult the cultivation path is. For weapon spirits, the tribulation they face with each breakthrough are often more perilous than those of cultivators. Throughout the ages, many weapon spirits have perished under heavenly tribulations.

“Even if a weapon spirit successfully reaches the Emperor Stage, it’ll have developed its own mind, path, and will. If its ambitions ever conflict with its master’s...that can lead to disaster.”

Lin Xun nodded, understanding the implications.

However, what the green sparrow said next was something Lin Xun had never considered before.

The green sparrow continued, “That’s why most cultivators choose not to cultivate weapon spirits when forging their life-bound Emperor weapons.

“Take this sword for example, it is of the highest grade among Emperor weapons, yet it contains no weapon spirit.”

Lin Xun nodded.

He understood, but a thought lingered in his mind. He had never seriously considered whether the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron needed a weapon spirit.

After a pause, he shook his head. At least for now, it didn’t matter whether the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron had a weapon spirit or not.

He stored away the dao sword with the characters ‘Yu Heng’ and the other treasures, and turned his attention to extracting answers from Fang Xuanzhen about the sword whetstone.

To Lin Xun’s surprise, Fang Xuanzhen had fallen into a bizarre state. He was like a corpse with no soul, only his body clinging to a trace of life.

However, his primordial spirit was sealed by a strange power.

“This kid is ruthless. He cast the Spirit Locking Seal on himself."

The green sparrow saw through it in one glance and said coldly, “This secret art hails from the Eternal True Realm. It’s an ancient technique passed down by some Immortal Imperial Clans to protect their descendants. Once activated, it locks the primordial spirit, preventing anyone from seizing or probing it. Not even an Emperor Ancestor can do anything.”

After a pause, the green sparrow continued, “Judging by the immortal power flowing from it, the Spirit Locking Seal in this kid’s primordial spirit must have been placed by his father. Even if you kill him now, his primordial spirit wouldn’t be destroyed, unless you can break the seal’s power.”

Lin Xun raised an eyebrow. “Then do you know how to break it?”