Chapter 585: Willing to Serve the City Lord

"A shard of a wine cup, could this wine cup be some powerful artifact?" Meng Chuan wondered. He felt the Demon Slaying Blade's eagerness, an urge to devour this wine cup shard, just like it would devour flesh and blood.

However, Meng Chuan didn't immediately let it. Instead, with a wave of his hand, the wine cup shard flew to his front.

It was a common, finger-sized shard of a wine cup, without any runes.

"It's just a shard, not a fragment of a secret treasure. Even its material is very common, and it looks ordinary on the surface, yet its weight is terrifying," Meng Chuan mused. "A finger-sized piece weighs as much as a mountain."

"A wine cup this heavy? I've never heard of such a thing," Meng Chuan wondered.

Indeed, some materials in the outer void were incredibly dense, where a fist-sized piece could weigh as much as a star. But no one would use such heavy materials to make a wine cup.

Perhaps some colossal beings would use oversized wine cups, but this shard was tiny, suggesting the complete cup would be of normal human size. Yet, it was so heavy. What kind of being would use it?

"A special material? But it looks so ordinary."

"I'll cut off a small piece first and identify it later," Meng Chuan thought. He used his primal domain to control the shard. With a forceful snap, a power strong enough to crush a Fourth-level Tribulation Realm cultivator, he broke off a small piece of the wine cup shard and temporarily put it away.

As for the remaining main part of the wine cup shard, he no longer restrained the Demon Slaying Blade, allowing it to absorb it according to its instinct.

The tip of the Demon Slaying Blade touched the wine cup shard and began to absorb it instinctually.

This ordinary wine cup shard, which Meng Chuan had found to be unremarkable except for its weight, seemed to have its true hidden power drawn out by the Demon Slaying Blade's absorption, as if it were a catalyst.

"Boom!"

Meng Chuan only saw a crimson tide surge from the wine cup shard, instantly filling the entire cultivation chamber. The terrifying crimson tide made Meng Chuan's heart seize up. His primal domain and primal spirit world projection had no effect. However, Meng Chuan's 'primal physical body' acted as a barrier, blocking ninety-nine percent of the crimson tide.

Nonetheless, a tiny fraction still seeped into Meng Chuan's body, impacting his primal spirit.

"Fiendish aura?" Meng Chuan felt the impact on his primal spirit.

"I cultivate both physical body and primal spirit Tribulation Realm. If it were an ordinary Fifth-level physical body Tribulation Realm cultivator, their body would block most of it, but the remaining impact... their primal spirit would likely be severely damaged, and those with weaker mental cultivation might even suffer a mental breakdown," Meng Chuan thought, surprised.

A Fifth-level primal spirit Tribulation Realm cultivator, even with a strong primal spirit and mental will, would struggle to maintain two or three tenths of their strength if they faced the full impact without a perfected physical body to block it.

A Fifth-level physical body Tribulation Realm cultivator, while having the body to block, would have a weaker primal spirit, making the resistance very strenuous.

Among Fifth-level Tribulation Realm cultivators, only someone like Meng Chuan, strong in both aspects, could withstand it relatively easily.

As for a Sixth-level Tribulation Realm cultivator...

For a Sixth-level physical body Tribulation Realm cultivator, this crimson tide wouldn't even be able to breach their physical body. A Sixth-level primal spirit Tribulation Realm cultivator, with their powerful primal spirit, would simply feel it as a gentle breeze and face it with great ease.

"This crimson tide is very similar to the fiendish aura of my home world, but it's immeasurably more potent, capable of threatening Fifth-level Tribulation Realm cultivators," Meng Chuan mused. "And this is just a shard. If it were a complete wine cup... it might even pose a threat to Sixth-level Tribulation Realm cultivators."

"What exactly is its origin?"

While Meng Chuan pondered, the Demon Slaying Blade was already frantically absorbing.

It was the 'demonic blade' from the history of Cangyuan World, delighting in devouring flesh, blood, and fiendish aura. It would backfire on its wielder, and if the wielder's primal spirit wasn't strong enough, they could easily succumb to madness. When Meng Chuan first chose it at Yuanchu Mountain, he named it 'Demon Slaying Blade'. Later, Meng Chuan's rise was also a process of slaying demons, even slaughtering millions of demon monarchs across the world...

The amount of flesh, blood, and fiendish aura it had devoured was countless. Furthermore, Meng Chuan's own cultivated dao had become the 'dao' of the Demon Slaying Blade.

The Demon Slaying Blade had also devoured the flesh and blood of exotic beings, including the corpse of an 'Eight-headed Star-Devouring Serpent', but it hadn't absorbed much fiendish or malevolent aura in the outer realm.

But at this moment, it was trembling and frantically absorbing the crimson tide. Having reached the level of a Fifth-level Tribulation Realm weapon, it was capable of devouring this power. As time passed... the Demon Slaying Blade's color gradually turned red, becoming even more demonic.

Meng Chuan's perception of the Demon Slaying Blade was very keen. He felt it undergoing a transformation, a fundamental change in its essence, becoming more powerful.

Since it was evolving towards 'greater power', and the Demon Slaying Blade itself yearned for it, Meng Chuan naturally didn't stop it.

Meng Chuan was unafraid of the full impact of the crimson fiendish aura.

Once absorbed into the Demon Slaying Blade, which was controlled by its master, the backlash would naturally be weaker than the full, unconstrained outburst, making him even less afraid.

"It's been three hours, and it's only absorbed this much. It'll probably take ten to fifteen days to finish," Meng Chuan thought. "Dealing with the Serpent Demon Star can be postponed for ten to fifteen days then."

He believed that the Demon Slaying Blade, after completely absorbing the crimson tide, would significantly enhance his close-combat abilities.

To deal with the Serpent Demon Star, he naturally wanted to be in his peak state.

In the void where Qianshan Star was located, two figures arrived via the river of spacetime.

"Qianshan Star."

The two figures, a man and a woman, appeared side-by-side, gazing at Qianshan Star from afar.

The man was tall, with a vertical eye, exuding a powerful aura, yet appearing somewhat simple and honest.

The woman was slightly more petite, dressed in light white robes.

"We've been in the Sanwan River System for so many years and have never seen Qianshan Star. Although historical records indicate Qianshan Star is located in this surrounding void, we simply couldn't find it," the man exclaimed. "But now it has appeared."

"The surrounding void spans billions of miles, yet Qianshan Star's hidden location is very small," the petite woman chuckled. "Without mastery in spatial arts, it would be impossible to find."

Indeed.

Had Ancestor Cangyuan not found it long ago, Meng Chuan's carpet search of the billions of miles region using his 'primal spirit world projection' of millions of miles would have taken a very long time. Even if he found it, deciphering Qianshan Star's array formation would have been extremely difficult.

With Ancestor Cangyuan's detailed records of the breaking methods, it became much easier. Of course, those methods required a Fifth-level Tribulation Realm cultivator to execute.

"I wonder what kind of person Lord Dongning is," the tall man with the vertical eye said, hesitating.

"Regardless, he needs enough manpower to establish an Eternal Tower branch. If we pledge allegiance to him now, he'll most likely accept us."

"Should we wait until he resolves the Serpent Demon Star situation before coming?" the tall man with the vertical eye worried. "I'm always afraid that if he falls out with the Serpent Demon Star, he might anger Lord Jingyun and be forced to flee the Sanwan River System. Would we have to flee with him then? I really don't want to leave the Sanwan River System; I still have to look after the Venerables and Emperors of my home world."

"Pang Feng, you are too cautious in everything, and you'll miss opportunities," the petite woman shook her head. "Once he deals with the Serpent Demon Star and publicly establishes the Eternal Tower branch, more Tribulation Realm cultivators will come to follow him. If we come then, it will be difficult for us to be greatly valued. But now... if we come early, our status under him will be much higher later."

The tall man with the vertical eye nodded slightly.

He was naturally cautious, but he also felt the woman's words made sense on this matter, so he decided to take a little risk.

"If Lord Dongning is forced by Lord Jingyun to flee the Sanwan River System, we'll just have to flee with him," the tall man with the vertical eye shook his head slightly. They had never considered betraying 'Lord Dongning'; abandoning a Fifth-level Tribulation Realm cultivator? That would be suicidal!

"When an opportunity arises, you must seize it," the petite woman said without hesitation.

Whoosh, whoosh.

The two quickly flew towards Qianshan Star.

Qianshan Star's array formation was vast and imposing. As the two approached Qianshan Star, they both felt an immense sense of oppression.

"What brings you two to Qianshan Star?" A figure appeared; it was Venerable Qinggu.

"A Venerable?"

The two Tribulation Realm cultivators muttered quietly among themselves. However, knowing that the other party was likely a subordinate of Lord Dongning, they didn't dare to be disrespectful. The petite woman politely said, "We have heard of Lord Dongning's great name and have specially come to pay our respects."

Venerable Qinggu, facing two Tribulation Realm cultivators, also felt a flicker of apprehension, but he still said calmly, "Please wait here, I will relay your message."

Soon after.

The two Tribulation Realm cultivators received permission to enter Qianshan Star and arrived at the peak of a tall mountain.

Meng Chuan, dressed in black robes with white hair, sat cross-legged, his eyes closed as he meditated on the third volume of the *Void Record*. He only opened his eyes when he sensed the arrival of guests.

The tall man with the vertical eye and the petite woman felt their hearts pound from that single gaze. They bowed with extreme respect, saying, "Greetings, Senior Lord Dongning."

"Pang Feng, Zhong Yu," Meng Chuan said calmly. "What brings you to see me?"

There were only so many powerful Tribulation Realm cultivators in the Sanwan River System, fewer than a hundred in total. Meng Chuan had clear intelligence on each of them.

The two before him were both at the Third-level Tribulation Realm, considered ordinary members of the Tribulation Realm.

"We both heard that Lord Dongning swept through the plundering forces of the Sanwan River System in just a few hours, and we are extremely impressed," the petite woman, Zhong Yu, began. "Moreover, after becoming Tribulation Realm cultivators, our cultivation has become increasingly difficult, and we have always yearned for guidance. Now, knowing that Lord Dongning has arrived in the Sanwan River System, we are immensely excited, and so we immediately rushed here, hoping to become your disciples and serve you, Lord."

"I, Pang Feng, also wish the same, to become your disciple and serve you, Lord," the tall man with the vertical eye quickly added.

In their lives, they had seen only a handful of Fifth-level Tribulation Realm cultivators.

Yet, each time they felt immense pressure.

The mental pressure brought by Lord Dongning's gaze was terrifyingly strong. This must be a Fifth-level primal spirit Tribulation Realm cultivator! They had heard that a 'Fifth-level primal spirit Tribulation Realm cultivator' was much more formidable than a Fifth-level physical body Tribulation Realm cultivator. They had certainly chosen a powerful patron.

"Become my disciples?" Meng Chuan raised an eyebrow.

Now, he planned to establish Dongning City and an Eternal Tower branch, which involved many trivial matters that required subordinates. Venerable Qinggu and his two disciples were too weak to hold their own, so he truly needed some powerful Tribulation Realm cultivators as subordinates.

He had originally expected Tribulation Realm cultivators to come and follow him only after he dealt with the Serpent Demon Star and publicly established the Eternal Tower branch.

These two were quite quick! At least they were the first to come seeking to become his disciples, and from the intelligence he had, these two Tribulation Realm cultivators were decent enough.

"Very well. From now on, you two shall serve under me," Meng Chuan nodded.