Chapter 377: Creation Divine Iron
"Who dares to approach the Sword Stele?"
On the vast spiritual mountain, amidst the white clouds, a cold voice rang out.
With a long howl, two young martial artists wearing dark black martial robes leaped down from the spiritual mountain.
They stepped on the cliff walls like two nimble monkeys, their movement techniques quite exquisite. In a short while, they crossed the cliffs, stone forests, and ravines, landing ten zhang away from Zhang Ruochen.
One was a man, the other a woman.
The man was extraordinarily handsome, tall and imposing, giving off a sense of domineering heroism.
The woman was younger, appearing to be around ten years old, with a round face and a braid tied behind her head. Though not breathtakingly beautiful, she was quite cute and endearing.
The so-called Sword Stele was the seventeen-zhang-tall cyan stone tablet beside Zhang Ruochen, engraved with the four characters "Divine Sword Sacred Land."
The rule of the Divine Sword Sacred Land was: cross the Sword Stele, and you die.
Zhang Ruochen naturally knew this rule, so he did not cross the boundary of the Sword Stele. Instead, he stood behind it and said with neither humility nor arrogance, "I am Zhang Ruochen, a student of the Martial Market Academy, here to visit Master Lu."
Both Zhang Ruochen's identity and Lu Yuanzhi's identity were secrets.
Without meeting Lu Yuanzhi in person, Zhang Ruochen would never reveal his true identity.
The young woman was named Lu Xuan. Her eyes darted around as she glanced at Zhang Ruochen's feet. Seeing that he had not crossed the Sword Stele, she said, "Don't say you're a student of the Martial Market Academy. Even if you were a saint of the Holy Academy, you wouldn't be qualified to see the ancestor. I advise you to leave immediately, or don't blame me for being rude."
Zhang Ruochen seemed to have anticipated this outcome and said calmly, "Miss, without reporting to Master Lu, how do you know he won't see me?"
Lu Xuan laughed. "Do we even need to report? What kind of existence is our ancestor? Don't say it's you. Even if a saint arrives, he might not necessarily grant an audience."
Lu Fantian stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen and said, "We siblings only refrained from driving you away because you're a student of the Martial Market Academy. Sir, if you still don't know your place, don't blame us for being rude."
Zhang Ruochen remained composed. After a moment of thought, he said, "I have a line of poetry. Please pass it to Master Lu. If Master Lu still refuses to see me after hearing it, I will leave immediately."
Lu Fantian advised again, "Sir, to be honest, you simply cannot see the ancestor. Even we siblings find it difficult to meet him. Please go back."
Having come to the Divine Sword Sacred Land, how could Zhang Ruochen leave so easily?
Zhang Ruochen said again, "I have come sincerely to visit Master Lu. Please report this to him. Whatever conditions you have, just name them."
Lu Xuan was a bit exasperated. "We've made it very clear to you. Not to mention you, even we can hardly see the ancestor. So how can we report for you?"
Zhang Ruochen frowned, realizing he had indeed oversimplified things. After all, Master Lu was the master of the Divine Sword Sacred Land. How could he possibly meet a Heavenly Extreme Realm academy student?
The gap in their statuses was too vast.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen still refused to leave, Lu Fantian's gaze gradually turned cold. He spread his five fingers, waved his hand lightly, and plucked a blade of grass from a distance, pinching it between two fingers.
Infusing true qi into the blade of grass, it transformed into a sharp sword.
"Shua, shua!"
Immediately, with Lu Fantian as the center, chaotic sword qi burst forth.
Lu Xuan looked at Zhang Ruochen and said, "Why aren't you running? My brother's strength ranks in the top ten among the younger generation in the Eastern Domain. He's undefeated across the land, known as the 'Little Overlord Who Turns Heaven and Earth Upside Down.' He's already angry. Once he draws his sword, you're dead!"
Lu Fantian's mouth twitched, and he shot Lu Xuan a fierce glare, wanting to sew her mouth shut.
Zhang Ruochen could naturally feel the powerful aura erupting from Lu Fantian, but he was fearless. Instead, he became even more resolute. He cupped his hands slightly and said politely, "I understand you both have difficulties. But I must see Master Lu today. If so, I'll have to offend you."
The matter from eight hundred years ago was something Zhang Ruochen had to clarify.
It was a knot in his heart, so he had to see Lu Yuanzhi.
With that, Zhang Ruochen took a step forward, crossing the boundary of the Sword Stele.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen cross the Sword Stele, Lu Fantian's eyes narrowed, and a cold aura surged from his body. He decisively thrust his sword forward.
Between his two fingers was only a blade of grass, but under the infusion of true qi, it became as sharp as a divine sword, capable of cutting through iron like mud.
"Shua!"
All the sword qi converged at the tip of the blade of grass, forming a dazzling beam of light.
Lu Fantian's cultivation was extremely high, reaching the mid-level of the Heavenly Extreme Realm. His strength was far beyond that of Zi Hansha.
Zhang Ruochen's expression turned serious. He immediately condensed his true qi, channeling it into the middle finger of his left hand, and unleashed a sword wave.
"Middle Chong Pulse Sword Wave."
"Xiu!"
The middle finger of his left hand burned like a flame, emitting a crimson sword qi that burst forth with powerful force, like a path of fire charging forward.
That path of fire was as thick as a bowl, like a fiery serpent of sword qi.
"Bang!"
The blade of grass sword, upon encountering the sword wave, ignited and turned to ashes.
The scorching sword qi spread toward Lu Fantian's arm.
Lu Fantian let out a soft exclamation and immediately channeled his true qi into a silver bracelet on his wrist.
On the surface of the bracelet, strands of inscriptions emerged.
"Hua!"
From the bracelet, pieces of armor the size of fingernails sprang out, extending toward his arm and fingertips.
In one breath, Lu Fantian's arm was completely encased in silver armor, forming a forearm guard that blocked the sword wave's attack.
"Bang!"
Although the silver forearm guard blocked the sword qi attack, Lu Fantian was still sent flying backward by the powerful impact.
However, his cultivation was strong. He merely released his protective heavenly shield, instantly stabilizing his form, and landed lightly on the ground without any sign of embarrassment.
"Brother, you're too weak. Weren't you claiming to be in the top ten of the Eastern Domain? Weren't you calling yourself the 'Little Overlord Who Turns Heaven and Earth Upside Down'? How come any random martial artist can push you back?"
Lu Xuan put her hands on her hips, shook her head, and sighed, looking very disappointed.
"What do you know?"
Lu Fantian glared at Lu Xuan and said displeasedly, "He used the 'Ten Pulse Sword Wave' of the Taiji Dao, and he's already mastered all ten pulses, comparable to a Ghost-level low-rank martial technique. I only used a blade of grass, so of course I was at a slight disadvantage."
"What? A Ghost-level low-rank martial technique?"
Lu Xuan's gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen, a curious expression appearing on her face. Her eyes lit up completely, as if she were looking at a rare specimen.
Even some Fish-Dragon Realm experts hadn't managed to cultivate a Ghost-level martial technique.
Yet a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist had succeeded.
How could this not be surprising?
After witnessing Zhang Ruochen's strength, Lu Fantian set aside his contempt and said solemnly, "Are you a student of the Martial Market Academy or a disciple of the Taiji Dao?"
With Zhang Ruochen's strength, he was definitely at the top level among the younger generation of the Eastern Domain.
Such a proud son of heaven, whether in the Martial Market Academy or the Taiji Dao, would undoubtedly hold a very high status. He was no ordinary person.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Still the same words: I only wish to pay my respects to Master Lu."
Lu Xuan's impression of Zhang Ruochen had also changed somewhat. She said, "Hey! What exactly is your reason for insisting on seeing the ancestor?"
Since he could push back her usually boastful brother, he was definitely no ordinary person. That was why Lu Xuan took the initiative to ask Zhang Ruochen, giving him a chance to speak.
Only strength could earn respect.
Zhang Ruochen naturally couldn't reveal his true identity, and even if he did, they probably wouldn't understand the relationship between the Divine Sword Sacred Land and the Zhang Clan.
So, Zhang Ruochen drew the Abyssal Ancient Sword, holding it flat in his hand, and said, "I have a broken sword and hope to ask Master Lu to help repair it."
"Sigh! I thought it was something major, but it's just sword repair."
Lu Xuan clapped her hands and boasted, "Our Lu Clan is a family of artifact refiners. The Divine Sword Sacred Land is even a sacred ground of artifact refining. I'm not bragging—anyone in our Divine Sword Sacred Land is a master of artifact refining. Repairing a sword is a small matter. I'll help you with this favor."
With that, Lu Xuan extended a small, fair hand and took the broken sword from Zhang Ruochen.
Given the reputation of the Divine Sword Sacred Land, there was no way they would steal someone else's sword. Zhang Ruochen had no worries and directly handed the Abyssal Ancient Sword to her.
As the saying goes, "A master knows if there's skill as soon as they make a move." True to her identity as a descendant of the Divine Sword Sacred Land, the moment Lu Xuan took the Abyssal Ancient Sword, she immediately dropped her smile, and her expression changed.
"This... how is this possible..."
She quickly held the Abyssal Ancient Sword with both hands, examining it closely. The more she looked, the more shocked she became, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"Miss, can this sword be repaired?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Lu Fantian had great confidence in his sister's artifact-refining skills. Although Lu Xuan was only sixteen, she was the greatest spiritual power prodigy the Divine Sword Sacred Land had seen in a thousand years, with a spiritual power of thirty-eighth rank, making her a fifth-rank artifact refiner.
A sixteen-year-old fifth-rank artifact refiner would surely make those artifact refiners of the Demon Ridge want to smash their heads against a wall in shame.
Lu Fantian glanced at Lu Xuan and saw she was still examining the broken sword. He grew puzzled and asked, "Can you do it or not? It's just a broken sword. Do you need to examine it for so long?"
"What do you know?"
Lu Xuan looked up and glared at Lu Fantian, revealing two small canine teeth. "This broken sword is forged from Creation Divine Iron. Do you know what Creation Divine Iron is? According to the 'Artifact Canon,' in the entire Kunlun Realm, only Empress Chi Yao obtained a piece eight hundred years ago, forging it into the Blood-Dripping Sword, which swept across the world and was unmatched."
Hearing this, not only Lu Fantian was shocked, but Zhang Ruochen was also taken aback.