With a wave of Luohou's large hand, the netherworld demonic fire surged once more. The flames blazed even more fiercely, and the temperature inside the entire secret realm instantly multiplied. If not for the fear that the spatial boundaries of the secret realm might collapse, Luohou would have raised the temperature of the netherworld demonic fire even higher.
After all, this secret realm was merely a space formed by an array. If Luohou were a Quasi-Sage, he could open up a small world of his own, and at that time he would no longer need to worry about the heat of the netherworld demonic fire, but for now, he had no choice but to be cautious.
A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye, yet those four-image crystals had not melted in the slightest. As for the immortal-slaying jade, it had melted slightly, but compared to the palm-sized block, this was completely negligible.
Luohou felt not the slightest bit anxious; refining the Four Swords of Immortal-Slaying and the Immortal-Slaying Diagram was an event of paramount importance to him. It would grant him an additional set of Top-Grade Xiantian Spirit Treasures, whose might would surpass even that of Xiantian Supreme Treasures.
Time in Honghuang was kept without regard for ordinary years, and before one knew it, an entire yuanhui had passed in Honghuang.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun had traveled north from Yujing Mountain. Along the way, any ferocious beasts he encountered were utterly slain by his hand. Naturally, this had severely slowed down Dao Ancestor Hongjun's northward journey, so much so that after an entire yuanhui had passed, Dao Ancestor Hongjun had still not reached Shenni's lair at Tianjue Mountain.
Yet this period of one yuanhui had dissipated much of Dao Ancestor Hongjun's anger and given him the thought of turning back. However, the very moment this thought arose, he made calculations with his fingers and unexpectedly found himself arriving at Mount Buzhou.
"The divine mountain formed from the spine of the Great God Pangu is the pillar of the Honghuang heaven and earth. Since I have arrived, I shall go and observe it." Dao Ancestor Hongjun rode a cloud to the foot of Mount Buzhou, where a powerful pressure greeted him.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun was far more powerful than Luohou had been at the time. Although this pressure was intense, it felt rather faint to him. He took a single step forward and began to ascend Mount Buzhou.
As a Peak Daluo Golden Immortal, Dao Ancestor Hongjun possessed an even more formidable physical body. Walking upon this Mount Buzhou was like strolling through an empty realm, completely devoid of any obstruction.
"Oh? A blessed heavenly land." Dao Ancestor Hongjun revealed a smile, though he was not surprised. Whenever he left his mountain, he invariably encountered spiritual roots and spirit treasures; Dao Ancestor Hongjun had long since grown accustomed to this.
It seemed that this time he would once again acquire an Innate Spiritual Root or a Xiantian Spirit Treasure. Employing the divine ability of shrinking the earth into an inch, Dao Ancestor Hongjun took a single step that carried him ten thousand zhang away, entering the blessed land.
It truly was a superior blessed land: rich in spiritual Qi, cradled by immortal mountains, with spiritual beasts leaping with joy. It was an exceptionally prime choice for a Daoist sanctuary.
However, Dao Ancestor Hongjun had not come here to look for a sanctuary; he had come to claim a Xiantian Spirit Treasure or an Innate Spiritual Root. Releasing his divine sense, vast and overwhelming, he blanketed a radius of ten thousand miles. Dao Ancestor Hongjun did not dare to spread his divine sense too widely, for the broader the range, the weaker the divine sense became, making it exceedingly difficult to detect Xiantian Spirit Treasures or Innate Spiritual Roots.
Within this blessed land, Dao Ancestor Hongjun searched for a full century, his expression turning gloomy. Not a single spirit treasure existed in this place—not even a lower-grade Innate Spiritual Root.
If Luohou were here, he would surely burst into laughter, for Hongjun had arrived too late; Luohou had already swept away all the spirit treasures here two yuanhui ago, taking a Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Root along with them.
In truth, that Renshui flat peach tree originally belonged to Dao Ancestor Hongjun, but alas, Luohou had arrived a step early, seizing the Renshui flat peach and the Black Tortoise Water-Control Flag ahead of time.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun pinched his fingers to calculate, only to realize that the Xiantian Spirit Treasures and Innate Spiritual Roots of this place had indeed been taken by someone else; he had arrived a step too late.
This reignited the anger that had originally cooled within Dao Ancestor Hongjun. Gazing toward the northern direction, he abandoned the thought of turning back. First, he would go and slay Shenni—how dare a remnant of the Demon Gods act so insolently in Honghuang?
With this thought, Dao Ancestor Hongjun was practically treating Honghuang as his private property. Yet in the present Honghuang, there truly was no one whose cultivation surpassed his; even Luohou fell somewhat short.
However, Luohou possessed a trump card in the World-Destruction Millstone. If he were to go mad and drive the World-Destruction Millstone to its full potential, even if Honghuang could not be entirely destroyed, at least half of it would shatter.
......
In Mount Sumeru, within the secret realm of the Palace of Freedom, Luohou spent an entire yuanhui finally melting the four-image crystals and the immortal-slaying jade. Looking at the multicolored liquid, Luohou successively formed several hand seals.
Boundless demonic Qi surged, enveloping the liquid within the netherworld demonic fire before shaping it. Gradually, four divine swords and a diagram appeared, yet the swords were unsharpened and the diagram had no array—they were nothing more than mere embryos.
Looking at the unsharpened divine swords and the array-less diagram, a smile appeared in Luohou's eyes. These were the famed Four Swords of Immortal-Slaying and the Immortal-Slaying Diagram of later generations.
Neither copper nor iron nor forged from steel, they once lay hidden beneath Mount Sumeru; without need for the tempering of inverted yin and yang, how could they lack the water and fire to hone their sharp blades? The Immortal-Slaying brings sharpness, the Slaughtering brings death, the Trapping stirs red light on all sides, and the Exterminating holds boundless transformations—even Great Luo immortals shall stain their robes with blood.
These verses spoke precisely of the Four Swords of Immortal-Slaying and the Immortal-Slaying Diagram.
Having finished everything, Luohou put away the Four Swords of Immortal-Slaying and the diagram, left the secret realm, and appeared within the Palace of Freedom.
Instantly, Ancestor Cangtian, Aozheng, Qiqing, and Liu Yu all sensed Luohou's aura and hastened to the main hall.
Seated high upon the throne, Luohou looked down at the figures below and said calmly, "In a yuanhui's time, all of your cultivations have advanced considerably. This Daoist is quite gratified."
"Did the Elder Brother make any acquisitions during this period of seclusion?" Ancestor Cangtian asked with a smile.
"Acquisitions there certainly are. Follow this Daoist," Luohou declared, stepping out of the hall and arriving above Mount Sumeru.
Ancestor Cangtian and the other four also ascended to the clouds, standing behind Luohou as they watched him produce four long swords devoid of any spiritual fluctuation, along with an ordinary-looking diagram.
"What are these objects?" Ancestor Cangtian asked, perplexed. Could these possibly be the acquisitions?
"Second Brother, do not underestimate these treasures. Though they currently possess nothing out of the ordinary, after several yuanhui, these four divine swords and this diagram will be sufficient to shake heaven and earth."
With that, Luohou clapped his hands together and then slowly opened them. Down below, Mount Sumeru abruptly began to shake violently as countless rocks cascaded down.
Mount Sumeru actually split open, fracturing from the summit all the way to the base, and without stopping, the fissure extended ten thousand zhang deep into the foundations before finally steadying.
Luohou gazed at the Four Swords of Immortal-Slaying and the diagram in his hands, then cast them downward. They fell deep into the bowels of Mount Sumeru, after which Luohou reassembled Mount Sumeru once more.
In his heart, Aozheng already had a guess; those four divine swords from just now likely had his Dragon Pearl smelted into them, though he had now lost his connection to the Dragon Pearl.
"Shake heaven and earth! How can cultivators like us forge Xiantian Spirit Treasures? Furthermore, even if one wanted to shake heaven and earth with a Xiantian Spirit Treasure, it would require a Xiantian Supreme Treasure," Ancestor Cangtian said, finding it hard to believe.
"I have forged the embryos; let heaven and earth nurture them, and they shall become Xiantian Spirit Treasures. Second Brother, I see that you are close to a breakthrough. Cultivate diligently first, and once you reach the Late Daluo Golden Immortal realm, I shall impart the Dao of the Quasi-Sage to you."