Chapter 231: Star-Lord, Blade Refining
Star-Lord rushed to the box, picked up an Energy Crystal, and began scanning it with the energy instrument on his wrist.
The wrist device on his wrist projected a three-dimensional light image that enveloped the blue energy crystal. Soon after, it emitted a few beeping sounds.
After looking at the values displayed on the energy detector, Star-Lord strongly resisted the urge to hug the energy crystal and kiss it a few times.
He raised his head and shook his head at Lane, as if nothing was wrong:
"These energy crystals aren't worth much money, but seeing as we're all from the same planet, give me ten boxes of these crystals, and I might consider selling you the Star Map!"
Star-Lord's expression held a hint of regret, as if these energy crystals were indeed not very valuable.
However, his hand was tightly clutching the blue Energy Crystal.
Star-Lord's heart was pounding with excitement. The purity of this Energy Crystal was very high, even higher than the energy batteries of the Supreme Intelligence.
Lane snatched the Energy Crystal from Star-Lord's hand, weighed it in his palm a few times, and looked at Star-Lord with a half-smile.
Star-Lord felt Lane's gaze sweep over him, instantly giving him the illusion of standing naked before him.
When their eyes met, he knew his little scheme had been seen through by Lane. He gave an awkward smile and shrugged:
"Alright, the quality of this Energy Crystal is pretty good. It can fetch a decent price in the Kree Empire and the Nova Empire!"
"How much of this Energy Crystal do you have? Five boxes, give me five boxes, and I can give you my Star Map!"
"We'll talk about the Star Map later. I'm very interested in the Kree Empire and the Nova Empire you mentioned. Tell me about them!"
Lane casually tossed the Energy Crystal in his hand back to Star-Lord.
This type of Energy Crystal was an Energy Crystal purified by the Boss using the Space Gem. This technology was first an invention of Hydra during the WWII period and was later inherited by S.H.I.E.L.D..
However, both organizations didn't have a high utilization rate for this type of Energy Crystal. It was only recently, after they deciphered the Chitauri's technology, that they began to utilize these Energy Crystals.
Seeing the "Alien" in front of him scrambling to grab the Energy Crystal, Lane knew he had guessed correctly.
Energy, whether in the planetary age or the interstellar age, is an irreplaceable hard currency.
"The Nova Empire and the Kree Empire,"
Star-Lord carefully clutched the Energy Crystal in his hand tightly. "You want to know information about them? In my line of work, intelligence has a very high value!"
"Heh heh, money... that's easy to talk about... But don't you think you should introduce yourself first?" Lane beckoned, and a flexible water flow appeared beside Star-Lord, wrapping around the Energy Crystal in his hand.
Star-Lord only felt a strong force break free from his hand. The Energy Crystal, which he hadn't even held long enough to warm up, flew directly out of his grasp and landed in Lane's hand.
Star-Lord's eyes turned green. He agilely jumped up and grabbed for the Energy Crystal in Lane's hand: "Give it to me, give it to me. Hurry, give it to me! That's mine."
"Yours!?"
*Bang*, a fist-sized mass of black water flow shot out from Lane's palm. Within the rotating black vortex, the Energy Crystal rapidly shattered in his palm, quickly leaving behind only a puddle of blue powder.
"Misunderstanding! Hey, this is a misunderstanding!" Star-Lord looked at the ability Lane displayed. He forcefully stopped his grabbing action.
With his joints twisted, he fell to the ground with a bang.
"I'm an Earthling too! We're from the same place! My hometown is Colorado in the Federation!"
"You're an Earthling?" Lane looked at the greasy guy with a small belly in front of him, a little surprised. From his appearance, he indeed looked no different from an Earthling.
But how could an Earthling be passing by here in a dilapidated spaceship from Outer Space?
One should know, this space gate was opened outside the Nine Realms, more than ten light-years away from Earth.
Lane looked at the Big man standing behind him with his hands clasped behind his back. This Card Soldier leaned forward and reported in a low voice: "Boss, his hair has been sent for analysis. The results aren't out yet!"
"Mm!" Lane nodded, his gaze turning to Star-Lord, signaling him to give an explanation.
"My adoptive father was an Alien Planet smuggling merchant. One time he passed by Earth and took me away!"
Star-Lord spouted nonsense while secretly observing Lane's look.
"These years, I've been following him, traveling around the Milky Way Galaxy doing business..."
"Oh? A smuggling merchant? I like merchants, because our Boss often says he's a merchant himself!"
Lane's eyes lit up. He smiled and said, "I like merchants with positive energy. I think we'll have a lot of common language!"
Several wooden crates filled with Energy Crystals were carried in.
Star-Lord stared blankly at the pile of Energy Crystals, his eyes wide.
"Oh my God... If they were all mine, then..."
Star-Lord quickly moved his fingers, calculating. A brand new Nova warship, or perhaps two brand new Kree frigates... and even a few armed gunboats for a security team...
It was a pity that the Supreme Intelligence's remote-controlled unmanned spaceships weren't for sale, otherwise he could buy a few.
Hmm, he could also buy a few good hands from the slave merchants. Then he could leave the Ravagers and form his own team.
He imagined the scene when he would appear before Yondu with his new spaceship and manpower.
Just thinking about Yondu's surprised and envious expression made Star-Lord excited.
Thinking this, he took a deep breath. Star-Lord trembled as he looked at Lane, actually releasing a wave of killing intent that even surprised Lane.
"Tell me, what do you want me to do? Do you want to destroy a Planet? I know where on the Black Market you can buy a used planet-destroying orbital cannon.
Do you want to assassinate the President of the Nova Empire? I know where you can hire the most desperate mercenaries. Or are you interested in the glittering Supreme Intelligence? I know a small path leading to the Supreme Intelligence, I can help you kidnap their High Priestess."
Lane was stunned. He looked at Star-Lord, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and said, "I'm not interested in any of those matters you mentioned. I want a Star Map, and at the same time, our Boss wants to understand the current situation in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Hmm, if you could introduce their technological civilization level, that would be even better!"
"What aspects would you like to know about?" Star-Lord unconsciously walked over to the wooden crates, his hands continuously stroking the Energy Crystals inside, as if he were stroking his Lover.
Lane waved his hand, signaling the Card Soldiers behind him to turn on the recording equipment.
"Then start by talking about the Kree Empire and the Nova Empire you just mentioned. Are they very powerful?"
"Powerful!?" Hearing Lane mention the Kree, Star-Lord's gaze immediately became serious.
"The Kree Empire isn't just simply powerful! It's known as one of the three great empires of the Universe, alongside the Skrull Empire and the Shi'ar Empire! The Kree Empire's territory spans more than half of the Milky Way Galaxy, making it one of the most powerful influences in the Universe. Their warships are everywhere, and the civilizations they've annihilated are countless..."
Lane quietly listened to Star-Lord's account of the distribution of influences in the Milky Way Galaxy, the three great empires of the Universe, as well as the mysterious Black Order and the Cosmic Overlord Thanos behind them. These were some of the most powerful influences in the Universe.
The Nova Empire, whose mother planet is located on Xandar, is one of the recently risen higher civilizations. They are currently at war with the Kree.
To be precise, they are at war with Ronan, one of the Supreme Accusers of the Kree Empire.
Behind Lane, two Big men held up recording equipment, recording Star-Lord's words one by one. These recordings were to be submitted to the Boss for review.
Meanwhile, Boss Tang was currently in the Subterranean World.
A thousand-zhang-tall horned demon body with scorched red skin lay sprawled in the Wilderness of the Subterranean World.
Purple-black Demonic Aura surged from Mephisto's remains, and misty Qi dripped onto the ground.
The ancient plants tainted by a trace of the aura were instantly demonized, transforming into hideous Hell Plants that extended vine tentacles, wantonly devouring nearby living beings.
Some reptilian creatures also transformed into Hell Demons, slaughtering each other while hunting all life around them.
Mephisto was a Hell Lord after all. Although it was cursed to death by Tang Song using the Nail Head Seven Arrows Book, its corpse still carried the virulence of Hell Demons.
If left unchecked, its corpse might well hatch a group of high-level Demons, and could even spawn a Pocket Hell in the real world.
This was also the reason Tang Song brought it to this Subterranean World to deal with.
Above Tang Song's head, the Great Desolation Bell hung high, emitting a massive golden bell shield that protected both Mephisto's corpse and himself.
Two silver Sword Pills transformed into basin size, floating in mid-air like two silver moons, emitting streams of silver radiance. Threads of silver light instantly shredded the newly demonized demonic creatures into dust and ash.
Tang Song rotated the vermilion bracelet on his wrist. After a flash of red light, a tome appeared in his hand.
What the Reality Stone materialized was this tome. The entire tome was a dark red, like congealed blood.
The moment Tang Song took it into his hand, a thick, unspeakable bloody scent rushed straight into his lungs.
Even with Tang Song's firm and unified mind, the moment his hands touched the tome and opened a page, and the thick bloody scent reached his nose, he couldn't help but feel his spirit momentarily dazed. In his confusion, he saw turbulent waves and falling blood rain before his eyes – it was the boundless sea of blood in the Netherworld, gathered from the world's immeasurable filth beneath the nine abysses, suddenly appearing in his mind...
A shiver ran through his entire body. Tang Song's mind stirred, and True Essence surged throughout his entire body.
A surge of immense heat instantly erupted from within him, incinerating the wisps of black smoke escaping from his pores into nothingness in the blink of an eye.
"Good heavens, as expected of the Ancestral Court where the Demonic Path of the Mortal Realm originated! Just a dead object can condense such immense foul Demonic Qi. If my mind weren't strong and my will firm, anyone else, let alone cultivating according to this book, would likely suffer Cultivation Deviation the moment they got their hands on it, struck by the backlash of the Demonic Qi!"
The book materialized by the Reality Stone was called the "Blood Scripture". It was a replicate of the genuine article "Blood Scripture" from Tang Song's Root Memory! After Tang Song obtained the Reality Stone, he once wanted to use it to materialize true Innate Spiritual Treasures like the Taiji Diagram and the Eastern Emperor Bell.
Unfortunately, he only discovered through actual experiment that a clever housewife cannot cook without rice. If he wanted to utilize the Reality Stone, he had to make the "Reality Stone" "understand" the things he wanted to materialize.
Just like a computer with the highest specifications still needs a programmer to input program instructions for the software to run.
It's true that the Reality Stone can materialize everything in this Universe, but for "rules" that are outside this Universe, Tang Song needed to instill them bit by bit.
To put it more simply, the Reality Stone is a paintbrush. It can draw anything the user wants to draw, but if the user themselves doesn't know how to draw something, even the best brush is naturally powerless.
If Tang Song wanted to use the Reality Stone to materialize an Innate Spiritual Treasure like the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Pagoda, he would need to construct the Innate Divine Restrictions within the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Pagoda himself. Otherwise, what he materialized would just be an empty shell.
The structure within a Magic Treasure is a Restriction Formation composed of the most basic Spirit Marks, while Innate Divine Restrictions are inherent to those Innate Spiritual Treasures, born from the Qi of Heaven and Earth. To put it simply, they are the brand of the Great Dao of the Universe.
If Tang Song could analyze Innate Divine Restrictions, why would he still need the Reality Stone? There was no other way; lacking the shortcut to instant success, Tang Song could only rely on his own Cultivation first. This book materialized by the Reality Stone is said to be the method cultivated by Elder Minghe, the foremost figure of the Demonic Path in the Jambudvīpa World, passed down from the ancient Asura Path.
However, the knowledge brand Tang Song had within his Origin could be materialized by the Reality Stone.
Just like this book, the "Blood Scripture". It was a thin volume yet contained over a hundred pages. The pages were neither silk nor hemp, dark red in color yet incredibly tough and light as nothing. Except for the first few pages which recorded several types of Demonic Art in text, the remaining pages were completely devoid of words, densely covered in various blood-colored Runes and Incantations.
Tang Song was slightly startled and focused his gaze to observe.
Just as he was about to get a clear look at the countless blood-colored Runes, who knew that the moment he focused his eyes,
A basketball-sized mass of Blood Mist actually surged out from it. Countless Runes and Incantations instantly detached from the tome's main body, transforming into a thick Blood Light, which, along with the mass of Blood Mist, rushed straight into Tang Song's Sea of Consciousness.
Immeasurable blood-colored Talismans surged into his Sea of Consciousness like a collapsing mountain and a capsizing sea.
Countless figures, shadows, runes, incantations, and various bizarre and inexplicable symbols and postures continuously surged and appeared before Tang Song's eyes.
In ancient times, there was no unified writing system in the world. Thus, those with great Divine Ability invented the Divine Sense Imprint and Consciousness Branding Technique. Using their incomparably powerful Divine Sense, they would directly imprint what they wanted to record into tomes or jade slips. When needed, they only had to trigger it with their Divine Sense to instantly know all the information within. This was clearly recorded by an Asura Path Demonic Path expert using this technique.
As the Blood Light on the tome gradually dimmed and all the Runes and Incantations dissipated, Tang Song, who had instantly grasped the entire content of the book, was also made to gasp by the various incredibly extreme Demonic Path methods recorded within.
"The Asura demonic race is truly formidable to the extreme, and also a twisted race to the extreme. According to the methods recorded within, if one can truly cultivate it successfully,
it would be incredibly formidable! But how many people can endure the pain during the Cultivation process? That is debatable!"
Demonic Path Cultivation takes slaughter as its foundation, and this method originating from the Ancestral Court of the world's Demonic Path is no exception. Taking the method for cultivating the Seven Killings Blood Transformation Blade recorded in the book as an example, to cultivate this art, one must be trapped in slaughter for life. Regardless of the Five Zang Organs and Six Fu Organs, body, hair, and skin, animal hides, Essence Blood, bone, tendons, and meridians, all must be pierced by a demonic blade, breaking blood and opening the soul. One must carve a full thirty-six thousand demonic incantations onto one's body and slaughter living beings daily.
One must refine the body with their Blood. Forge the soul with their soul. Such a feat requires a million vengeful souls of living beings as a guide to Transform Illusion into Reality from the void and refine a Blood Transformation Blade Embryo.
From then on, for a Heavenly Cycle Period of three hundred and sixty-five days,
one must also maintain Man and Blade as One, continuously pouring Essence Blood and Qi Channels into the blade to perform Nurturing Blade Soul, without a single moment's interruption. Finally, one must draw upon the Great Fire Poison Flame from Below the Earth Veins, refine the Physical Body together with the blade,
until forty-nine days later, at the time of the Great Deduction lacking one, can it truly achieve Great Completion in the world.
After this Seven Killings Blood Transformation Blade achieves Great Completion, the cultivator becomes Man and Blade as One. The blade is the person, and the person is the blade. The body, hair, and skin, Five Zang Organs and Six Fu Organs, white bone, and Bloodline all transform into innate primal Blood Fiend Qi. When facing an enemy, there is no need for elaborate movements; just unleash a single strike, as fast as lightning. Regardless of what kind of Treasure the opponent uses for defense, once struck by the Saber Light and Blood Qi, they will inevitably be pierced through, split in two, and their Nascent Divinity and Essence Blood will be completely absorbed into the blade to nourish the Blade Soul.
For every person this blade kills, the Blade Soul grows stronger, and its Force becomes more formidable. When the Blade Soul has absorbed enough Essence Blood and Nascent Divinity, a single strike can draw upon the ferocious power of the ancient Seven Killings stars. A single strike embodies the Seven Killings. Even a Golden Immortal of Creation would inevitably end up with their soul scattered if they encountered it.
If this great Demonic Path technique truly reaches that level, the person cultivating the Seven Killings Blood Transformation Blade becomes Man and Blade as One. Their Physical Body becomes as formidable as the blood blade.
Not only are their own Magic Treasure and Flying Sword indestructible, but when they move, only a streak of Blood Light is seen, fast as lightning. They can take a person's head and life from a thousand miles away, making them the most difficult thing in the world to guard against and contend with.
It's just a pity that while this method is incredibly powerful, its Cultivation is also extremely difficult. Not only does one have to slaughter a million living beings and be accompanied by vengeful souls day after day, but one must also endure the pain of the demonic blade Piercing the Body and the Poison Fire Refinement day and night. That kind of pain is simply beyond human language to describe. Just by reading through this method once, Tang Song came to the conclusion that this method could only be cultivated by an "ultimate pervert".
Even in the Jambudvīpa World, people of the Demonic Path didn't dare to cultivate this method.
Forging a single Blade Embryo requires the flesh and blood of a million people. Where in the Jambudvīpa World could one find such a large population for him to kill?
However, nothing is absolute.
This Demonic Art was originally a method exclusive to the Asura race. In their world, there are bloody battles every day, with tens of millions of deities, demons, and monsters fighting and slaughtering each other. From this perspective, a mere million living beings is not so difficult to obtain.
Moreover, the Cultivation of the Seven Killings Blood Transformation Blade is extremely fast. As long as you kill a million living beings and condense a Blood Blade Embryo from The Void, it only takes a little over a year of effort to reach Great Completion.
One can instantly transform and become a killing god. The speed is so fast that compared to the Cultivation methods of the Buddhist and Daoist schools, it's like a top-tier sports car like a Ferrari on the Highway versus an old ox cart in a field. The difference is so vast it cannot be calculated by reason.
"Demonic Path techniques go against the heavens, with every step being unexpected. This shortcut is simply astonishing. However, the Cultivation method of the Seven Killings Blood Transformation Blade is very helpful to me! The various magic in this Blood Scripture can be used for reference. Anyway, with the physical shell and Soul of a Hell Lord, it's far superior to the Blood Qi and vengeful souls of a million living beings. If I can refine Mephisto's corpse into a Seven Killings Blood Transformation Demonic Blade that is Man and Blade as One, then with that Celestials Body-Protecting Armored Corpse wielding the Seven Killings Blood Transformation Demonic Blade, even if the Ancient One dies and Odin falls into Ragnarök, if that group of Evil Gods dares to provoke me, it will just be a matter of a few strikes..."
Tang Song casually closed the tome and pondered in his mind.
"A Hell Lord replaces the Essence Blood and vengeful souls of living beings, evolving into a Blood Blade Embryo, then forged with the Eternal Flame, which is far superior to the Great Fire Poison Flame. Once successful,
the Force of this Blood Transformation Blade will not be inferior to the original version."
Tang Song sat cross-legged in The Void, his hands forming seals three inches before his abdomen. Within his Dantian, a bowl-sized golden sphere seemed to be constantly rotating, emitting a scorching golden light that penetrated his skin, tendons, and bones.
Tang Song's entire body was enveloped in flames. He sat high above the Subterranean World, like a great sun traveling through the sky, illuminating every detail of the Subterranean World above and below.
The Eternal Flame burned uncontrollably, as if wanting to incinerate the heavens. In the center of the flames, a blood-red long blade quietly hovered in the air. The seven-foot-long blade was densely covered with countless scale-like blood-red patterns. From the guard protruded two hideous bighorn sheep horns. Streaks of dark red Sky Demon blood incantations covered the entire blade, causing a thick Blood Light, like blood plasma, to surge around the blade for more than three feet. Within this, a sea of blood roared, and tens of thousands of Yin Souls howled mournfully...
Although it merely floated quietly before him, a towering malice that pressed upon one's eyebrows surged forth. What a peerless ferocious blade, filled with Killing Intent! Before even seeing blood, it made people dizzy and captivated their souls.
"As expected of the Blood Transformation Demonic Blade refined from a Hell Demon! This Blade Embryo is significantly stronger than the original version in both quality and Force!"
With his eyes, he sized up the finished product, the Seven Killings Blood Transformation Blade. Tang Song clicked his tongue in praise.
After this Blood Transformation Demonic Blade achieves Great Completion, the person is the blade, and the person is the blade. When facing an enemy, there is no need for elaborate movements; just unleash a single strike, as fast as lightning. Regardless of what kind of Treasure the opponent uses for defense, once struck by the Saber Light and Blood Qi, they will inevitably be pierced through, split in two, and their Nascent Divinity and Essence Blood will be completely absorbed into the blade to nourish the Blade Soul.
Moreover, this blade before him, in terms of materials and refining, had long surpassed the original Blade Embryo by an unknown amount. The force of the finished blade was even greater. From now on, for every person this blade kills, the Blade Soul and blood and soul will grow stronger, and its Force will become more formidable. When the Blade Soul has absorbed enough Essence Blood and Nascent Divinity, a single strike can draw upon the ferocious power of the ancient Seven Killings stars. A single strike embodies all Seven Killings, and it possesses infinite Growth Potential, making it a peak creation comparable to many ancient Divine Artifacts.
His mind shifted slightly, as if he suddenly remembered something.
Tang Song reached his palm behind him, and a Blood Shadow emerged from his shadow.
Tang Song forced out a drop of golden Blood from his middle fingertip and flicked it into the air. Together with Amelia, the Blood God Avatar, it instantly transformed into a patch of Blood Mist and simultaneously seeped into the Blood Transformation Demonic Blade.
Immediately after, a flash of firelight appeared and gently swept along the Blood Transformation Demonic Blade. The seven-foot-long blade, thin as a cicada's wing after quenching, trembled violently. A dragon's roar resounded through Heaven and Earth, as if it had suddenly come to life. The blade edge of the Seven Killings Blood Transformation Blade pulsed with excitement. The next moment, the blade disappeared into The Void, and with a flash of Blood Light, it silently appeared a hundred zhang away. Blood Light danced across the sky, and the Blood Transformation Demonic Blade appeared and disappeared in Space, each appearance being unpredictable and leaving no trace. Wherever the Saber Light passed, even The Void was carved with cracks.
Watching the blade freely shuttle through Space according to his will, entering and exiting as he pleased, changing as he wished, a streak of Saber Light shattering The Void, incredibly sharp, Tang Song was overjoyed and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
(end of chapter)