Chapter 42: An Arrogant Sword?

“It’s just the final spiritual vein! Open for me!”

Surrounding Chu Fengmian, countless fierce sword intents erupted. This sword intent contained almost the entirety of Chu Fengmian's comprehension from his previous life!

One by one, these sword intents merged into Chu Fengmian's body, augmenting his strength for the final assault.

"Boom!"

With a single impact, Chu Fengmian's body began to shake violently.

His flesh and blood trembled as if they could no longer endure the pressure, yet Chu Fengmian's will remained unshakable.

To forge a Divine Vein! The legendary Divine Vein—Chu Fengmian was about to forge it right before their eyes!

"Open!"

"Open!"

"Open!"

Three consecutive shouts of "Open" represented Chu Fengmian's three charges against the final spiritual vein.

The spiritual energy within him had expanded to the extreme, causing his body to swell into a massive sphere.

The spiritual energy from the forty-eight spiritual veins had been fully mobilized. Today, he had to open this final vein!

"Chu Fengmian, give up! If you continue like this, your body won't be able to hold on. You have already opened forty-eight spiritual veins; there will be plenty of time in the future to charge the last one and forge the Divine Vein!"

Qing Luan urged him anxiously from the side.

He could not bear to imagine Chu Fengmian dying before him. Chu Fengmian's current actions were akin to walking a tightrope; if the breakthrough failed while mobilizing such a massive amount of spiritual energy, Chu Fengmian's current physique would likely explode instantly.

"No!"

Chu Fengmian shook his head.

If he gave up this time, he would never have the chance to forge a Divine Vein again.

To seize heaven's secrets and cast a Divine Vein.

Chu Fengmian had heard this phrase before, but at the time, he thought it was merely a fabrication to boast about the effects of the Nine-Revolution Heaven-Seizing Pill.

But now, at this final step, Chu Fengmian understood.

To forge a Divine Vein, it had to be done in one continuous, seamless motion. He had to seize this opportunity to succeed all at once.

Otherwise, no matter how many more opportunities he found in the future, they would be meaningless.

Therefore, he could not give up this time.

"The last one! Open for me!"

Almost the instant Chu Fengmian roared, an infinite surge of spiritual energy erupted from his body.

Under the weight of this spiritual energy, the spiritual veins upon Chu Fengmian's body began to dim.

"Did he fail?"

Qing Luan rushed forward, his face changing drastically at the sight.

The spiritual veins on Chu Fengmian's body had all gone dim. Did that mean Chu Fengmian had failed?

"No."

Chu Fengmian slowly stood up from the ground.

Indeed, no spiritual veins could be seen on his body anymore, but he could clearly feel a surge of pure, refined spiritual energy within him.

This spiritual energy was far more refined than even the most potent spiritual energy in the world, as if it were a type of energy that did not belong to this realm.

"Is this... a Divine Vein?"

As Chu Fengmian's mind stirred, spiritual veins suddenly erupted across his back, perfectly reflecting a specific pattern.

The pattern looked like a vast continent.

"The Nine Realms! This is the Nine Realms!"

Qing Luan recognized the pattern at a single glance.

The pattern was exactly the shape of the Nine Realms.

The world was divided into nine realms, and these nine realms represented everything in existence.

He never expected that the forty-nine spiritual veins opened by this man would reflect the image of the Nine Realms.

"So, the spiritual veins of a human actually represent the various aspects of the Nine Realms?"

Qing Luan looked at Chu Fengmian and let out a sigh.

"To be able to witness a Divine Vein at the final moment... that is enough."

As soon as the words fell, Qing Luan's form began to dissipate, turning into dust.

What Qing Luan had insisted on all along was to see the final result. Now that Chu Fengmian's Divine Vein had successfully condensed, his spiritual energy was finally exhausted, and his soul drifted away.

"Condensing a Divine Vein is indeed completely different from ordinary spiritual veins," Chu Fengmian muttered to himself.

The moment the Divine Vein condensed, Chu Fengmian felt a sensation entirely different from his previous experience with spiritual veins.

In the past, even using a tiny amount of spiritual energy would deplete the energy within his body.

But after condensing this Divine Vein, Chu Fengmian felt as if his spiritual energy were infinite.

No matter how much he consumed, he felt no depletion at all.

"Nonsense! If spiritual veins were the same as Divine Veins, why call them Divine Veins? Just call them spiritual veins!"

As if someone had heard Chu Fengmian's monologue, a voice suddenly roared in his mind.

"Who is it? Someone's there?"

Chu Fengmian suddenly grew tense and scanned his surroundings.

There should have only been Chu Fengmian and Qing Luan in this cave dwelling. Since Qing Luan's soul had already dissipated, there shouldn't be anyone else, yet where did this voice come from?

"Look at the sword in your hand."

The voice rang out again, sounding even impatient.

"The sword?"

Chu Fengmian lowered his head to look at the weapon in his hand and suddenly gasped.

"Are you the Blood-Slaughtering Demon Sword?"

"What Blood-Slaughtering Demon Sword? Who came up with such a trashy name? This Venerable One is the Star-Mystic Sword! The number one sword in the world!"

The voice spoke with a hint of anger.

"Those people cannot control the power of the sword; they are influenced by it and turn into sword demons, yet they have the audacity to call this Venerable One a demon sword! Utterly foolish!"

The one speaking now was... a sword?

Chu Fengmian stared at the "Blood-Slaughtering Demon Sword," speechless with shock that it should be called the Star-Mystic Sword.

He had never seen a sword that could speak, let alone one with such an arrogant attitude.

The number one sword in the world.

"Kid, didn't you want to know the difference between a Divine Vein and a spiritual vein? This Venerable One will tell you."

Star-Mystic seemed to have moved past the matter of the name and continued speaking in his mind.

"Let me ask you: if a martial artist consumes spiritual energy, how should they replenish it?"

"By consuming medicinal pills, of course," Chu Fengmian answered.

Any martial artist needs to carry medicinal pills with them. If they run low on spiritual energy, the best way to recover is to consume and refine pills. This was common knowledge to almost everyone.

"Correct. For an ordinary martial artist, consuming and refining pills is indeed the best choice. But what about during combat? What about in the midst of danger?"

Star-Mystic spoke again, and this time, without waiting for Chu Fengmian to answer, he provided the solution himself.

"The best way to recover spiritual energy is to commune with the Earth Veins! Use the Earth Veins to replenish your spiritual energy!"

"Commune with the Earth Veins?"

A flash of surprise crossed Chu Fengmian's eyes.

Chu Fengmian naturally knew what the Earth Veins were. Beneath the Nine Realms lay massive Earth Veins containing infinite spiritual energy.

The reason spiritual herbs grown in the ground contained spiritual energy was precisely because they absorbed it from the Earth Veins.

However, this concept of "communing with the Earth Veins" was something Chu Fengmian was hearing for the first time.