Chapter 232: Divine Artifact [PART 2]
The description was brief, but one didn’t really need much detail to understand its incredible power. So sharp it could cut through space?
[Why don’t you give it a try?] the Empress spoke, gazing at Li Yao. [I’ve already refined it for you, so you should be able to use it properly.]
To hide the sword’s overwhelming divine aura, she had been forced to refine it. And refining a divine-level weapon was absolutely no joke. She could feel that her energy reserves had drained quite significantly. She hoped these two wouldn’t forget her good deeds.
Li Yao took the sword in her hands, rising from her seated position. Sensing the potential danger, Xiang Yu wisely stepped back several meters.
Li Yao examined the sword closely, immediately noting its surprising lightness in her grip. Despite being a divine artifact of immense power, it felt almost weightless, as if it barely existed. She raised the blade, then swung it slowly through the air without putting much force behind the motion.
As the sword moved, the space at the blade’s tip began to part like a curtain being cut, revealing the endless dark void that existed beyond before the tear slowly began healing itself back together.
[Try thinking of somewhere you want to go, then cut the space in between,] the Empress instructed.
Li Yao gripped the sword more firmly, focusing her thoughts on a specific destination. This time, she made a much more decisive swing through the air. The space before her parted, and through the dimensional tear, they could clearly see the familiar interior of the sect master’s office.
She turned around to look at Xiang Yu, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she extended her free hand toward him in invitation.
Xiang Yu approached her cautiously. Though he felt somewhat uneasy about this whole space business, his curiosity ultimately won out—after all, he was the one who had upgraded the sword in the first place. Taking her outstretched hand, he allowed her to guide him toward the tear.
Li Yao held his hand securely and jumped boldly into the torn space, with the Empress following close behind them. In an instant, all three materialized inside Li Yao’s office. Turning around, Xiang Yu watched in fascination as the tear slowly sealed itself.
Xiang Yu placed his hand thoughtfully on his chin, lost in contemplation. During their journey through the dimensional void, he had felt some kind of strange reaction from his Abyssal Void Flame. The flame had seemed almost... interested in the space around them. He wondered what that could possibly mean.
"This is absolutely amazing!" Li Yao’s excited shout jolted him from his thoughts.
She held the sword high above her head triumphantly. "With this, I’ll be able to sneak up on senior brother without him ever noticing!" she declared with delight.
But after a moment, she seemed to realize exactly what she had just said out loud. Slowly turning around, she met the distinctly disapproving looks from both Xiang Yu and the Empress, who were staring at her with expressions of concern.
She waved the sword frantically through the air, panic evident in her voice. "Senior brother, please don’t misunderstand!" she said desperately. "What I actually meant was: with this sword, I can always come to help you whenever you’re in danger!"
Xiang Yu simply shook his head with resignation and reached out to take the sword from her hands. Immediately, tears began forming in her eyes.
"Senior brother, I was wrong!" she spoke plaintively.
"I’m not confiscating it," he explained. "I just want to take some measurements so I can craft a proper scabbard for it."
Her expression immediately brightened. "I knew senior brother loves me the most!" she exclaimed joyfully as she threw her arms around him in a tight hug.
The Empress simply shook her head at this display, then disappeared back into Li Yao’s consciousness.
"Let’s head back now," Xiang Yu said as he turned toward the office door.
"Senior brother, why don’t you let me cut through space again?" Li Yao spoke excitedly, eager to use the sword once more.
"No need for that. Let’s just walk this time," he replied firmly.
She looked at him carefully, noting his strange expression. She couldn’t help but wonder if her senior brother was disappointed in her. What should she do now?
As Xiang Yu walked down the corridor, his mind was occupied with troubling thoughts. The space had given him a deeply uneasy feeling, and that strange reaction from his Abyssal Void Flame was particularly concerning. What if the flame was somehow being restricted in normal reality, and when it entered that dimensional void, it had started pinging its home location? If that was truly the case, he could find himself in some deep trouble.
It would be much better to stay away from spatial manipulation for the time being, at least until he could figure out exactly what was wrong with his flame and why it had reacted so strangely. As much as the space-cutting ability fascinated him, it simply wasn’t worth the risk of broadcasting his location to whatever powerful enemy out there who might be searching for him.
...
In a dark, secluded cave, an old man who had been sitting motionless in a perfect lotus posture for a few decades suddenly opened his eyes.
A slow smile spread across his weathered face, revealing yellowed and cracked teeth. "Divine treasure... it’s definitely a divine treasure," he spoke to the empty cave, his voice carrying a mixture of excitement and greed.
"Even though the aura was instantly hidden, there’s no mistaking what I felt," he continued, repeating the words with increasing fervor like a madman.
The old man’s smile widened further, exposing more of his darkened teeth. "Who would’ve thought that my eastern continent would actually birth a divine treasure, even after all the meddling from those central continent bastards?" His laughter echoed through the cave.
"This is perfect timing," he mused, his voice taking on a more calculating tone. "The purge is almost here. I was just wondering how I’d be able to slaughter those central continent bastards when they finally showed their faces, and who would’ve thought such a golden opportunity would reveal itself so easily?"
The old man turned his head toward a specific direction, his senses honing in on the general direction the divine energy had come from. "It came from that direction," he said with certainty.
Suddenly, an intense spiritual aura erupted from outside the cave, so powerful that it caused the air to tremble. The old man’s happy expression immediately dropped, replaced by one of annoyance. He gazed toward the source of this new disturbance, and in the next second, a figure materialized at the entrance of his cave.
The newcomer appeared to be in his mid-thirties, with striking red and black hair.
"What do you want, you cultist bastard?" the old man asked, his voice dripping with disdain and contempt.
"The Demon God Association is not a cult," the middle-aged man began defensively, his tone suggesting this was an argument he’d had many times before. "This is a legitimate organization that—"
But the old man didn’t care to hear any explanations. He waved his hand dismissively, cutting off the visitor mid-sentence. "Don’t care, didn’t ask," he spoke with complete indifference.
The middle-aged man seemed genuinely offended by this casual dismissal, but he quickly forced his expression back into a smile. "Did you sense that divine energy?" he asked, trying a different approach.
"Yeah, and so did all the dogs on the central continent," the old man replied with obvious disinterest.
"That’s exactly why I came here," the visitor said, his voice taking on a more urgent tone. "Although both of us have our differences and disagreements, we both share a common hatred for the central continent. Perhaps we could—"
"I’m not joining your cult," the old man interrupted flatly.
The middle-aged man’s smile finally cracked and fell away entirely. "Guo Zhengming, why are you always so impossibly full of yourself?" he shouted angrily, his composure completely shattered. "Do you really think you can win against the entire central continent by yourself? Even if you were considered a genius back in your prime, currently you’re just a decrepit old man waiting to die!"
Guo Zhengming simply looked at him without saying a word, his expression completely unmoved by the outburst.
The man’s anger intensified at this silent treatment. "Fine then, suit yourself!" he spat furiously as he turned to leave the cave.
"Close the door on your way out," Guo Zhengming called after him casually.
When the enraged visitor reached the cave entrance, he channeled his fury into a devastating blast of energy that completely collapsed the cave opening, sealing Guo Zhengming inside with tons of fallen rock.
Guo Zhengming just smiled at this petty display of spite. "Foolish kid," he said. "You’re preying on those below you, recruiting them to your cult and devouring their essence. Little do you know, the one above you is planning on doing exactly the same thing to you."
He shook his head with a weary sigh. "Why am I even bothering to say this? He wouldn’t listen anyway."