That night, Chen Yun and Zhang Qian were lodged in the county government office.
The rear courtyard of the county government office was where Sun Zhi Xian's family lived.
Here, the scenery is beautiful with pavilions, terraces and halls, ponds and water pavilions, all reflected in the green pines and cypresses. There are also artificial hills and bizarre stones, flower beds and pots, creepers and bamboo shoots scattered throughout the area.
Chen Yun stayed in a guest room, with a small bamboo grove in front.
Tonight, the moon is clear and, accompanied by the scenery of the bamboo grove, it is truly a beautiful night for appreciating the scenery.
He had no mood to enjoy the scenery.
Upon entering the room, Chen Yun promptly closed all the doors and windows, then took out some items from a storage ring and a small bronze brazier, sitting at the table to begin his analysis.
First, there were yellow papers and red ink.
Chen Yun pondered silently, "Once I find Liu Gui Bai and his men, to ensure that the soldiers are not affected by Liu Gui Bai's illusions, I must first ensure that I make plenty of symbols of peace and disaster in these days."
At least a hundred should be prepared.
Before he was a nine-grade priest, without practicing to restore his qi and essence, he could only produce one symbol a day.
Now, having become an eight-grade priest, and with all the cultivation and the consumption of the red fruit peel and Zhu Yu grass over these days, his strength has long surpassed what it used to be. Even without practicing to restore his qi and essence, he can produce a dozen or more symbols in a day.
If he were to practice and restore his true qi, he should be able to produce twenty symbols in a day.
Excessive practice to restore true qi could put excessive strain on the body, and it should be moderated normally.
But Chen Yun couldn't afford to think about that now. He had to seize the opportunity to confront Liu Gui Bai and force him to reveal Lin Feiyun's whereabouts.
Otherwise, if today it's Lin Feiyun, tomorrow it's Liu Gui Bai, who knows what will happen the day after tomorrow?
"Starting from now, I will make at least twenty peace and disaster protection symbols each day. It will take several days for Zhang Chengfan, Wang Shihui, and others to search for Liu Gui Bai's whereabouts. By then, I should have produced over a hundred peace and disaster protection symbols to ensure the safety of the soldiers."
Thinking of this, Chen Yun shifted his gaze to the other side and the thunder-struck jujube wood sword.
"The Blood Gold Slaying Demon Sword was given to me by my teacher. It is said that this sword can call forth the wind and rain, and slay demons and ghosts. Its power is immense. However, before now, I had weak abilities, so I could not wield it. Now that I have to face a powerful opponent like Liu Gui Bai, I might have to rely on this Blood Gold Slaying Demon Sword in order to have a chance."
He reached out and stroked the sword, "I will try to control this powerful Slaying Demon Sword later. First, I need to get my thoughts in order."
He then looked over to the crystal-like wolf stomach and the Zhu Yu herb beside it.
"The red fruit I definitely cannot eat now. Otherwise, the master medicine for refining one's body will be without its main ingredient. However, there are many Zhu Yu herbs, so it's okay to eat some."
Chen Yun calculated that he had already refined away four Zhu Yu herbs using the wolf stomach, which greatly improved his strength.
If we say that after just eating the red fruit peel, he had just reached the level of an eight-grade priest, that would be considered the early stage.
Then, after these days of cultivation, coupled with the refinement of four Zhu Yu herbs, he is very close to becoming an eight-grade priest in the mid-stage.
"The wolf stomach should still be able to feed me for another dozen times, which means that I can refine another dozen Zhu Yu herbs."
Chen Yun felt that once he refined a dozen or so Zhu Yu herbs, he should reach the mid-stage of an eight-grade priest.
At that time, the gap in his cultivation with Liu Gui Bai will be further narrowed.
It might be just a few times the gap.
"A few times the gap is still significant. I'm not a match for him in dueling magic, unless there's something that can enhance my combat power."
Chen Yun turned his gaze to the Thunderstruck Ziziphus Wood Demon-Slayer Sword, "Maybe, this Thunderstruck Ziziphus Wood Demon-Slayer Sword magic weapon will be the key to defeating Liu Gui Bai."
He put the wolf stomach and Zhu Yu herbs back into the small bronze brazier.
After that, Chen Yun reached out and gripped the Blood Gold Slaying Demon Sword, which was deep yellow all over and had a fleshy luster.
This magic weapon was worn by his teacher before he attained enlightenment and was used to kill a dragon. Its power is naturally undeniable.
Gripping the handle of the Blood Gold Slaying Demon Sword, watching the dense symbols on it, Chen Yun felt a sense of spiritual connection between himself and the sword.
This feeling was wonderful, as if the divine sword had become a part of his own arm, capable of being manipulated at will.
"Is this a magical artifact?"
Chen Yun recalled that there was no such magic in his storage ring.
He had a vague understanding that the Blood Gold Slaying Demon Sword might be many levels higher than the storage ring.
What was most astonishing to him was that when he held the divine sword in his hand, it seemed to shake constantly internally, as if there was something inside that was breathing.
Could it be that the divine sword was breathing?
Chen Yun guessed silently in his heart.
However, he had a question.
How can this divine sword be driven?
Could it also be driven like the storage ring, by infusing true qi?
Chen Yun decided to give it a try.
He slowly summoned true qi to his palm and then injected it into the sword hilt bit by bit.
At first, the divine sword showed no reaction.
However, as more true qi was injected, Chen Yun suddenly felt as if there was something greedily absorbing the true qi he was injecting into it.
"Hmm? What is it?"
He quickly stopped injecting the true qi.
The divine sword remained silent again.
Chen Yun, not quite believing, tried injecting true qi again. It was the same as before.
This time, he did not stop but wanted to see how much true qi the thing inside the divine sword would "devour."
Ten percent of true qi was consumed.
Thirty percent of true qi was consumed.
In no time, Chen Yun had injected about seventy percent of his true qi.
Just as he was about to stop injecting true qi, he noticed that there was a faint glow emanating from the sword.
At this moment, a primitive and powerful "roar" suddenly came from within the divine sword.
"Moo!"
It's a bit like a cow's call, but the sound is roaring like thunder.
Chen Yun's eyes widened in surprise, "Is that... the roar of a dragon?"
What was most astonishing to him was that he understood the meaning of the "moo" sound.
It seems like the other party is asking him to drop a drop of blood to the sword body.
"Is it possible that it was my illusion?"
Chen Yun was uncertain.
After hesitation, Chen Yun bit his finger and dropped a drop of blood.
Drip.
The drop of blood fell onto the sword.
In the next moment, the sword body faintly glowed, and the drop of blood disappeared instantly.
Before Chen Yun had time to wonder what was happening, a sense of connection with the divine sword surged through him.
You see, at that moment, he didn't hold the divine sword!
How would you describe this feeling?
It's as if just by moving his will, he could control the divine sword.
Chen Yun was curious at once and tried to control the divine sword with his will.
Unfortunately, there was no response.
It seemed as if everything before was just an illusion.
"Could it be controlling with true qi?"
Chen Yun gripped the divine sword again and injected true qi once more.
This time, unlike before, the divine sword immediately sparked with electrical light.
The electric light was very faint, and one might not notice it if not careful.
He had a feeling as if his true qi was "boosted".
It was as if, originally his true qi had a power of one, and now it had become five.
Yes, at least five times stronger.
The exact increase is beyond Chen Yun's judgment.
Moreover, what made him feel helpless was that although his true qi had been enhanced by the divine sword, he still couldn't use it to its full potential.
Because he doesn't know any other magic spells other than illusions, dream entrances, and energy observation.
"Hold on!"
"I wonder... can I use the divine sword to perform Illusions?"
To test if his guess was right, he began to hold the divine sword and try to imagine a lotus flower.
After the imagery was complete, Chen Yun then, as before, used the true qi spread across the divine sword to simulate the shape of a lotus flower.
At once, a delicate and vibrant lotus flower slowly bloomed on the sword!
What's the most important, Chen Yun didn't feel like he had spent much true qi!
"So it's indeed possible to use this divine sword to cast spells, and it consumes very little true qi."
He suddenly became interested in seeing what the limits of the divine sword are.
Chen Yun continuously injected true qi into the divine sword and then used the Illusion spell again.
This time, he imagined casting the spell not on the sword itself, but three chi (about ten meters) away.
He clearly felt the true qi of the divine sword spread into the air, but it didn't dissipate. Immediately, a lotus flower bloomed in the corner of the room that was three chi (about ten meters) away.
This doesn't seem to be the limit of the divine sword!
Chen Yun increased the intensity of his true qi injection and then felt the distance from which the true qi could be released from the divine sword without dissipating immediately.
One chi (about five meters).
Three chi (about ten meters).
Four chi (about twelve meters).
The rate of dissipation has become a little faster.
Until it reached five chi (about twenty-five meters) away, the true qi immediately dissipated as soon as it spread into the air.
"Using the divine sword, I can transmit true qi to a distance of about fifteen meters."
Chen Yun thought deeply, "If that's the case, as long as I hold the Blood Gold Slaying Demon Sword, my spell-casting range can be increased from close range to fifteen meters away. With the sword's ability to enhance true qi, perhaps I can use the Falling Soul Technique, but not beyond fifteen meters."
Whether he can really use the Falling Soul Technique, he is unable to test at the moment, as there is no subject to experiment on.
"Tomorrow, I'll just try an animal for experimentation."
The power of the Falling Soul Technique is immense, and Chen Yun dare not experiment on Zhang Qian.
He was curious about what was inside the divine sword that could enhance his own true qi and the range of his spells.
Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to see with the naked eye.
Chen Yun tried to release a divine consciousness to see if he could peer into the divine sword and observe its interior.
To his surprise, something remarkable happened as soon as his divine consciousness touched the divine sword; it was immediately "sucked" inside.
Later, he really saw the interior of the divine sword!
It was a deep yellow world.
There was a faint, shadowy image of a "dragon" floating in it.
Furthermore, the "dragon shadow" gave Chen Yun an extremely powerful feeling.
What was most crucial, the "dragon shadow" was beating like a human heart, constantly.
He understood that this was an illusion; the "dragon shadow" was not a dragon at all, but rather a kind of "idea" that possessed immense power.
This idea was incredibly powerful. Chen Yun's divine consciousness felt as if he were facing a deity with boundless power.
Exactly!
He felt that it was a deity!
Additionally, Chen Yun felt that the powerful "thought" that was like a god was very pure, as if it were like a newborn baby.
Uncertain, Chen Yun tried to touch this powerful "idea" with his divine consciousness.
The divine consciousness gradually spread.
Suddenly, he felt as if his divine consciousness was entangled by this powerful idea.
This divine consciousness did not consume Chen Yun's divine consciousness; instead, it seemed to be merging with it.
What surprised Chen Yun the most was that when his divine consciousness merged with this powerful idea, he felt like he had become the master of this powerful idea.
In an instant, Chen Yun felt as if his divine consciousness had swelled up like a puff of air, and a powerful energy quickly surrounded him.
When his divine consciousness was inside the divine sword, it seemed to have been enhanced a hundred or even a thousand times!
Chen Yun wondered if his yin soul could also become so powerful if it entered it.
He had never dared to try, as the yin soul was crucial to his life. Who knew what would happen if he was wrong in his guess? His soul might disperse!
Despite this, Chen Yun still realized one thing: the Blood Gold Slaying Demon Sword not only enhanced the power of true qi but also increased the power of his divine consciousness.
That the divine sword was so magical was entirely because of its "spirit."
"That's why the divine sword was always carried by the master before he achieved enlightenment. It is truly remarkable."
After understanding the function of the divine sword, Chen Yun had a faint sense of confidence in defeating Liu Gui Bai.
At the same time, he also understood why his master had given him the divine sword and never taught him any methods of using it before.
Because he did not have true qi before.
Even as a Ninth-Degree Magician, he was not enough to activate the divine sword.
Now that he has cultivated to a Eighth-Degree Magician, he has used up seven-tenths of his true qi to barely activate the divine sword.
"If it wasn't for this time that Liu Gui Bai made me extremely angry, wanting to completely eliminate him, I might not have pondered over whether I can use the divine sword or not in the near future. I wouldn't have understood that there is a 'spirit' inside the divine sword. To be honest, I owe a great deal of gratitude to Liu Gui Bai for the tremendous pressure he has brought me, allowing me to figure out the function of the divine sword."
Chen Yun knew that with this divine sword, his combat power would increase exponentially!
(This chapter is completed.)
