Death… and me

With a 'whoosh', the figure disappeared into the Nine Tribulations Dimension like a moth flying into the flame!

Chu Yang chuckled as he jumped in himself.

After a long while, Chu Yang felt as if his body was bursting with energy! Every single strand of hair on his body, every single pore, felt as if he had just drunk some tonic.

He was at his peak!

After a rather easy fight, the figure was completely swallowed by Chu Yang.

This godly soul, which was at least 80 000 years old, not only healed Chu Yang's damaged godly soul but also increased its power by a few dozen times!

This powerful tonic almost made Chu Yang burst!

With the current power of his godly soul, he could not digest it immediately!

It was like getting someone who could normally eat only two buns to eat 20 at once!

Chu Yang was stuffed to the point where he felt lazy. He did not want to do anything. Even blinking his eyes seemed to require too much effort.

He forced his godly soul to enter the Spirit-Refining Pond. Only then did he close his eyes.

After a long while, Chu Yang felt as if his own soul was shaking non-stop. It howled like the wind and crashed like the tides. Then, thunder and lightning could be heard from it…

Finally, there was a huge explosion!

Outside, Chu Yang, who had been sitting cross-legged, felt his body tremble. Blood spurted out from all his pores!

In the Nine Tribulations Dimension, a look of calm crossed Chu Yang's face.

This intense tremor had woken up the slumbering sword spirit.

The sword spirit was in an extremely weak state. It forced itself to stand up and looked at the Spirit-Refining Pond. Then, it saw Chu Yang's almost solid godly soul lying in the pond.

The sword spirit's body trembled as it drew a breath of cold air. Its eyes were wide as its body shook!

After a while, it finally managed to mutter, "Oh my god…"

"What's going on!" The sword spirit was utterly shocked. "This scoundrel's godly soul is damaged, right? Why… why is his godly soul almost as powerful as mine?"

Chu Yang opened his eyes lazily and said, "Are you awake?"

"Am I awake?" The sword spirit repeated that line subconsciously. Then, he rushed forward quickly and asked, "What's going on here?"

Chu Yang waved his hand and said, "I have… swallowed the guardian who was here. Simple."

"Simple?!" The sword spirit quickly took two steps back and said, "You swallowed the guardian… you…" He gritted his teeth and gave him a thumbs-up. "Bravo!"

Then, it sat down in the Nine Tribulations Dimension and said nothing.

"So… that figure can be swallowed?"

"Why did all eight previous masters of the Nine Tribulations Sword did not do so…"

"What's… what's going on here?"

"No wonder Chu Yang's godly soul is now intact. So that's the reason why."

"If that's the case, then you are in luck!" After a long while, the sword spirit finally jolted to his senses. It sighed non-stop and did not know whether he should admire or be envious of Chu Yang.

"I think so too…" Chu Yang frowned and said, "However, I feel very full now. I don't feel like it has any other use though…"

"Do you want to obtain more benefits? Stop dreaming!" The sword spirit said in a speechless manner.

"When you swallowed him, the biggest benefit is healing your incomplete godly soul. Furthermore, you don't have the power to digest him now. What can you obtain?"

"You have to cultivate step-by-step. Only then can your godly soul become more powerful. Then, you can slowly digest the strength of this powerful godly soul. Only then can you obtain some of its experiences, memories, and use them for yourself…"

The sword spirit snorted, "However, you have to careful. While the power of this godly soul has lost its sentience and turned into pure energy, this energy is not something that you can take. All you did was to swallow it. Its side-effects have yet to come."

"Side-effects?" Chu Yang was stunned.

"Of course there will be side-effects! Do you think that you can get so many benefits so easily, or without… any effort?" The sword spirit looked at him oddly and said. "Do you think there's really free meals in this world?"

"What are the side effects?" Chu Yang said with a grimace.

"I don't know," said the sword spirit. "I won't be surprised if it eliminates your divine thought by 80%! That's within its powers! The first time, it may completely shatter your divine thought too!"

Chu Yang was shocked.

"However, if you stomach it and completely digest it and turn it into your own power, then… your godly soul will be forever fortified!"

The sword spirit looked enviously at Chu Yang.

"Forever fortifying my godly soul," Chu Yang repeated.

"We said so much but you still haven't told me who is that guardian?" The sword spirit asked curiously.

"Don't you recognize him?" Chu Yang asked with his eyes wide open.

"I should recognize him?" The sword spirit opened its eyes. Suddenly, it exclaimed, "Are you saying…"

Chu Yang looked at him quietly.

"Are you saying… he's… one of the previous masters of the Nine Tribulations Sword?" The sword spirit looked in disbelief at Chu Yang. It shook its head vigorously and then said, "No! No! Since the second master, he was there. Is he the first Master of the Nine Tribulations Sword?!"

"Smart!" Chu Yang said.

The sword spirit's body shook and it looked as if it was about to faint.

"After 90 000 years, I have been so shocked before…" The sword spirit mumbled, "Today, I finally felt it…"

Chu Yang looked at him in shock.

"Other than forever fortifying my godly soul, what other things can it do?" Chu Yang asked.

"The others are fine… you will know in due time," said the sword spirit enviously, sadly, and speechlessly. It stared at Chu Yang for a while and then said, "Go and figure them out, I want to continue sleeping…"

"Ay… why do I sleep at such inopportune moments…" The sword spirit sighed. "Had you swallowed him with me around… it would be great. I can share in its benefits too and you will experience less intense side-effects."

The sword spirit looked dispassionately at the sky and sighed. Then, it slowly walked over to the side of the Spirit-Refining Pond and went inside.

Chu Yang snorted and glared at him as he thought, "Don't even dream about it…"

Everything in front of him turned blurry as he exited his world of thoughts.

The water around him continued to flow as it enveloped Chu Yang's body.

In front of him, there was a cave which shone with light.

Chu Yang opened his eyes wide. He had left the illusion and was now at the place where he had sunk into the illusion in the first place. Outside the mysterious cave.

His left leg was already inside the cave.

White light shone from inside. It was filled with mysteries.

Chu Yang inhaled and inspected his body. He discovered that there was not a single wound on his body. In the illusion, he remembered clearly that he had been stabbed by thousands of swords. So… they were all fake.

Chu Yang looked at the warm entrance to the cave and he felt a fear rippling through his heart.

At first, Ji Mo, Gu Du Xing, and his other brothers all died before him. His parents died horrible deaths too. The tragic death of Mo Qing Wu… flashed past his eyes.

Even though he knew that these were all fake!

Even though he knew that he had passed this round, Chu Yang's body still went cold at this very thought.

It was too terrifying!

An illusion like this was to completely destroy him emotionally!

Even though it was an illusion, Chu Yang had no wish of experiencing it once again.

The sword point, sword edge, and sword spine flew in front of him. They were all excitedly egging Chu Yang to go inside.

Inside, there was an intense sword hum. It was like a child who was calling out to his mother.

It brimmed with a longing!

Chu Yang, however, hesitated. He was fearful of this cave entrance!

He wanted to turn around and run away countless times!

Today, the normally fearless King of Hell Chu finally felt fear!

He was afraid of experiencing a similar assault if he went inside.

His eyes flashed but finally, he stepped inside with his left leg!

When he took this step, he brimmed with energy.

Chu Yang naturally felt as if he was going on a suicide mission.

However, after he entered, he realized that there was nothing. Other than transparent water flowing around, everything else was calm.

Chu Yang perked up as he gathered all his energy and carefully made his preparations. He took a small step forward at each time.

He did not encounter anything.

He naturally knew that those terrifying scenes would not appear once more. However, he was still on high alert.

An intense white light shone in front of him. Something shiny was dancing about.

The sword point, sword edge, and sword spine all exclaimed.

Chu Yang said nothing. He did give his consent. The sword point, sword edge, and sword spine did not dare to act rashly.

The white light in front of him shone even more intensely and turned into something thick. It brimmed with a severe aura.

No matter what attack was used, in front of this white light, they would all be blocked.

This was the most powerful defense in the world!

Chu Yang thought, "Sword guard!"

He walked over to the great white light. With each step he took, the ball of white shrank.

He took seven steps forward.

The white light was almost entirely gone.

In front of Chu Yang, there was a small stone platform made from white jade. On the platform, a broken sword lay there quietly and without moving.

This was a guard for one's hand.

Both sides curved upward and its shape was elegant, ancient, and magnanimous.

One could imagine how it would look when this was attached to the body of the sword. It would be able to hand which wielded the sword thoroughly and prevent it from being injured!

Chu Yang's heart was moved as the sword guard slowly floated over to him. It emitted a white light and in this white light, it brimmed with joyous emotions.

"You came!" Chu Yang said quietly.

The sword guard rolled happily in mid-air and then, turned into a ray of white light, and entered Chu Yang's dantian!

The sword point, sword edge, and sword spine then happily entered it too!

In his dantian, the illusory body of the Nine Tribulations Sword suddenly shone with a brilliant light.

The sword point, sword edge, sword spine, and sword guard all solidified!

In Chu Yang's mind, he heard a distinct 'clang'!

The light from the Nine Tribulations Sword faded as it regained its normal shape.

A mantra flowed into Chu Yang's mind like water. An illusory human figure wielding the Nine Tribulations Sword danced in the air!

This was the fourth move Nine Tribulations Swordsmanship! This belonged to the sword guard!

Chu Yang looked on seriously as he muttered the incantation.

"Steel walls and bronze gates have yet to see the end of strife, what's the point of this life? Nine-colored clouds gather in unison; as long as I live, you shall not worry!"

Sword guard, protect!

The fourth part of the Nine Tribulations Sword was in his hands!