Remould the Glory of Sword Art

Drips of fresh blood, an engraving of the Divine Soul, and you can become the master of the [Dao Furnace]!

Xie Xuanyi gazed at the crimson aura surging in the grand hall before him.

For some reason,

his heart did not harbor much joy.

Instead, it was Dao Jiu, who was cheering and rubbing his hands with glee.

He was about to embrace the long-awaited freedom; the entire hall was enveloped in divine light, and the Dao Furnace was even brought before Xie Xuanyi.

However, after waiting for a long time, there was no sign of Xie Xuanyi making his next move.

Unable to restrain himself, Dao Jiu voiced out, "Mr. Xie, Mr. Xie?"

"..."

Xie Xuanyi slowly lowered the hand he had raised.

He examined the ancient crimson bronze furnace and suddenly asked, "I heard that the 'Dao Brush' can erase Dao markings, severing the spiritual connection between the treasure and its master... Is this rumor true or false?"

This sudden question caught Dao Jiu off guard.

"Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

Dao Jiu thought for a moment and sincerely said, "That guy is different from us... The Supreme Taoist Treasure is nurtured by the heavens and earth, naturally possessing incredible Divine Skills. As far as I know, the 'Dao Brush' can indeed erase karmic obstacles, smudging cause and effect, severing the connection between the treasure and its master, so naturally, there shouldn't be a problem."

"Oh?"

Xie Xuanyi raised an eyebrow and said, "After it transformed, did it not do anything?"

"That broken brush spent all day preaching and loved acting as a mentor to others."

Dao Jiu sneered, "Those years, we had to endure the preaching voice of the 'Dao Brush.' Later it left the Secret Realm and didn't return, and our ears were finally at peace."

Xie Xuanyi nodded and then asked, "Since it could leave, why didn't it take you with it?"

Dao Jiu did not answer this question.

The Artifact Spirit looked at Xie Xuanyi confusedly.

"I don't understand... what are you asking these for?"

"Dao Jiu, I am just considering another possibility," Xie Xuanyi replied.

He knocked on the Dao Furnace, producing a dull echo with his fingertips.

Speaking in a low voice, he said, "Years ago, Bai Ze left behind this Secret Tomb... Perhaps at that time, he never anticipated that so many treasures within the tomb would give birth to Spirit Wisdom, and the rules of this tomb were not so restrictive."

"After all, Bai Ze loved tranquility."

The stone wall he had seen earlier had a phrase etched on it.

["If I attain the Dao, I wish to bury myself in the North Sea, my body feeding the giant turtle, achieving immense tranquility for tens of thousands of years."]

Why would a demon saint who loved tranquility allow his tomb, after his death, to become so noisy?

When he first saw Dao Jiu,

this Artifact Spirit was even playing the flute.

If this place were truly the "tomb" Bai Ze left for himself, how could he allow such scenes to occur thousands of years after his death?

Dao Jiu narrowed his eyes: "Mr. Xie, I don't understand your point."

"My point is simple,"

Xie Xuanyi sighed lightly and said, "You must have hidden something from me, or... perhaps you have deceived me."

The grand hall fell into a prolonged silence.

"What exactly is the function of the [Dao Furnace]? How exactly did the demon cultivators who died here perish?"

Xie Xuanyi stared at Dao Jiu, "And most crucially, this rule of having to kill everyone else to inherit the [Dao Furnace]… Who exactly set it?"

"..."

Dao Jiu's expression gradually changed as he looked at Xie Xuanyi.

He no longer sported a cheerful demeanor.

The fluttering hem of his garments slowly settled along with the curtains.

"Xie Zhen, perhaps if you had lost to Chu Man, it might have been a better outcome," Dao Jiu lamented, looking at the woman who was pierced through the heart by a flying sword and nailed to death. "I imagine if it were her standing here alive, there wouldn't be so many questions."

"Unfortunately, there are no 'what-ifs' in this world," Xie Xuanyi replied.

"You are smarter than I thought,"

Dao Jiu sighed deeply, "I indeed deceived you. Those demon cultivators did not all die from 'infighting'... Some of them were consumed by the [Dao Furnace], becoming nourishment for its flames."

"But my deception was not born from malicious intentions!"

Dao Jiu hurriedly explained, "As an Artifact Spirit, how could I arbitrarily choose a master? Those demon cultivators were filled with greed, so naturally, they were devoured by the Dao Furnace... I killed them because that was their fate."

"Is that so? What about me?"

Xie Xuanyi sneered, "If I choose to drip fresh blood and engrave my Divine Soul, will I also suffer from the [Dao Furnace]'s backlash?"

"No no no..."

Dao Jiu spoke solemnly.

"You are not like them!"

In that incident years ago, Dao Jiu was still "young" and did not yearn desperately for the outside world.

So after watching the demon cultivators slaughter each other,

he chose to use the fire of the Dao Furnace, swallowing all their bodily forms.

The rule of the Secret Realm indeed states: The victor can become the master of the [Dao Furnace]!

But this also depends on whether the Artifact Spirit of the [Dao Furnace] is willing!

"Although your realm is not high, I can feel that you are different from those guys..."

Dao Jiu earnestly said, "I really want to acknowledge you as my master, Xie Zhen; this time, I am telling the truth."

This young man emitted an aura unlike anyone else.

Dao Jiu had an intuition—

If he followed Xie Zhen, leaving would definitely be the right choice, and that was the real reason he had previously spoken to retain him.

"So, this [Dao Furnace] actually needs to devour the blood and fire of living beings to cultivate?"

At that moment, Xie Xuanyi changed the subject.

He examined the small furnace floating before him.

His previous tapping had not detected anything unusual; the furnace was indeed extremely heavy, but if that were its only characteristic, it truly wouldn't match its rank!

"The [Dao Furnace] can refine the blood and fire, Primordial Energy, and Divine Soul..."

Dao Jiu at this moment no longer concealed anything: "Just drip your heart's blood, and you can experience my memories, the blood and fire of those demon cultivators from back then are still inside the furnace."