Chapter 150: Hehe, Worthless Sword

At Tianxuan Gate, in the Land of A Hundred Weapons.

This was a vast training ground, where two weapon racks stood laden with an array of arms: swords, knives, spears, staffs, axes, hammers, daggers, bows, shields, and more. They came in all shapes and sizes, a truly diverse collection.

Yuan Tou stood, his spear retracted, his aura steadily rising.

Soon, the void vibrated, and he broke through to the late stage of the Upper Spirit Realm.

He opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing across them.

His Qi Sea surged, and as his Dark Sovereign Overlord Spear trembled in his hand, he felt he possessed god-slaying power, unstoppable!

"It's been a day."

As a master of time management, even though there was only one star here and no day-night cycle, he could still pinpoint the time down to the second.

Retracting his spear, Yuan Tou ascended into the sky.

The training ground of "The Land of A Hundred Weapons" had been battered beyond recognition by him, with massive craters everywhere he looked.

This was his innate power of essence – Weight of Ten Thousand Tons!

However, the most significant gain from this trip wasn't this, but the elusive Spear Intent.

If he had more time, this extremely difficult-to-cultivate Spear Intent might have been fully manifested, but clearly, major matters took precedence now.

"Xu Xiaoshou..."

He had actually believed his nonsense, heading west and leaving the previous trial mystic realm half a day ago to arrive at "The Land of A Hundred Weapons." And there wasn't a soul in sight!

Infuriating!

That kid probably knew from the start that he was being targeted, yet he feigned ignorance, turned the tables, and escaped mortal danger. As expected of someone favored by Zhang Xinxiong and who killed Chao Shu – he's truly formidable!

Fortunately, he had made a breakthrough here, so this relocation wasn't a waste after all.

Yuan Tou floated in the void, gazing into the distance.

"If he's not in 'The Land of A Hundred Weapons,' then he can only be at 'Blackdrop Cliff'..."

He didn't know many of Tianxuan Gate's trial mystic realms, only about four or five, but he was aware of the famous "Blackdrop Cliff," a must-pass for sword cultivators. If Xu Xiaoshou had entered this area and intended to explore the mystic realms, then besides "The Land of A Hundred Weapons" beneath his feet, "Blackdrop Cliff" was the only other option!

It was already the second day since entering Tianxuan Gate; the "Lost Plan" was imperative. If they delayed any further, everyone would start gathering at the exit. Making a move then would carry too great a risk of being discovered!

The Dark Sovereign Overlord Spear carried Yuan Tou, transforming into a streak of black light that vanished into the horizon.

"Xu Xiaoshou, wait for me!"

"Hiss... Achoo!" Xu Xiaoshou sneezed.

"Something else happening?" He scratched his head curiously, feeling a bit confused.

Normally, he didn't sneeze often, but each one almost invariably meant a life... well, an enemy's life.

Was someone else coming to their doom this time?

At first, Xu Xiaoshou thought these sneezes were coincidental, but he no longer believed that.

This ought to be a power only possessed by peerless cultivators: a sudden intuition!

Or, a special effect of "Perception."

Xu Xiaoshou chose to believe the former.

"Never mind him, I'll continue heading west..."

Heading west, naturally, was to encounter Yuan Tou by chance. Previously, he had no choice but to make an overt show while secretly advancing; now that his strength had broken through, he naturally wanted to ascertain Yuan Tou's true intentions.

As the saying goes, it's not the thief that steals that you should fear, but the thief who keeps eyeing you!

But he wasn't in a hurry. He should now be invincible within Tianxuan Gate, able to slay gods and Buddhas alike. Most importantly, he still needed to figure out what this thing in his hand was.

"Blackdrop Scabbard..."

Xu Xiaoshou had named the black scabbard he pulled from Blackdrop Cliff "Blackdrop Scabbard." He had been toying with it for half a day, but couldn't figure out how to use it.

If it was just for holding a sword, it would be simple enough.

But Xu Xiaoshou held grudges, and he wouldn't forget those 280,000 white sword energies!

"How can this scabbard, without even a sword, emit sword energy?" Xu Xiaoshou was very curious. "If it were a sword, so spiritual and capable of unleashing sword energy, that would be understandable. But you, merely a scabbard... Could it be that this scabbard could also deal damage? White sword energy? Or perhaps, its previous owner protected a peerless great sword, and due to their profound connection, it too gained sentience?"

Xu Xiaoshou drew out "Hidden Suffering," the black sword drooping, forming a stark contrast with the constantly trembling and struggling scabbard. After being struck by lightning, this black sword had become completely listless, now lacking even the impulse to devour its master. Xu Xiaoshou felt a surge of disappointment, like seeing iron that couldn't be forged into steel. "Look at them, even a mere scabbard possesses such spirituality, and then look at you... You can't even devour your master anymore, you're truly getting worse with age!"

"I said, you've been shaking for half a day, but you're destined not to escape my grasp. Can you quiet down?" Xu Xiaoshou spoke to the scabbard, hoping for a response.

The scabbard trembled more intensely. In someone else's hand, it might have easily broken free, but with the restraint of a grandmaster's body, it was out of the question.

Xu Xiaoshou frowned, deep in thought.

To activate that terrifying white sword energy, he had tried various methods: infusing spiritual energy, kindly persuasion, even beating and throwing it around...

None of it worked!

"Could it be that it truly needs to acknowledge a master?" Xu Xiaoshou dropped some blood, but it simply slid off, still useless.

"This is too much!" Xu Xiaoshou got angry. He raised "Hidden Suffering" high, threatening, "If you don't yield, I'm going to insert it, alright?"

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

The Blackdrop Scabbard trembled even more violently, trying to break free from the powerful hand gripping its fate, but to no avail.

"Fine, the more you resist, the more excited my sword will inevitably get!" Xu Xiaoshou said malevolently.

Just as he was about to insert "Hidden Suffering," the thing actually cowered, completely softening and bending. Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded.

"Are you getting excited? What's going on with you? Normally, it would be so playful when devouring its master, but now that I've found it a scabbard, and at such a crucial moment, it has withered? This could be the scabbard of a mighty sword, a soulmate envied by countless swords. And after getting your hands on it, you go limp?"

"Straighten up!"

Under Xu Xiaoshou's infusion of sword intent, "Hidden Suffering" buzzed, straightening directly and exuding chilling sword energy. The scabbard trembled even more violently, like a respectable woman refusing to yield.

*Clang—* A crisp sword hum echoed through the void as Xu Xiaoshou directly inserted "Hidden Suffering."

At that instant, all was silent. The scabbard seemed to tense, then went limp, stopping its trembling for some unknown reason. In contrast, "Hidden Suffering," forcefully placed while feigning resistance, clearly felt a surge of joy, as Xu Xiaoshou could sense.

"Heh heh, what a trashy sword!"

But...

If this scabbard gained sentience because of its previous sword, then could it now be used to nourish "Hidden Suffering," feeding it spiritual energy to bring out its sentience?

Xu Xiaoshou rubbed his chin, falling into contemplation.

As a passionate, somewhat immature young man, he harbored a small dream of "wandering the world with a sword." Naturally, he didn't want to abandon "Hidden Suffering" simply because he became stronger and it couldn't keep up. But the truth was cruel: his fingers were now more formidable than this black sword. If it made no further progress, it would likely be passively phased out.

"Come on, little Hidden Suffering. I'll see if I can find some advanced materials for you in the future, otherwise... your daddy will really have to find another sword!"

Buzz—

The Blackdrop Scabbard was already so despairing that it had lost all movement. "Hidden Suffering" paid no attention to Xu Xiaoshou's words; instead, it joyfully hummed to itself, clearly very pleased with its new companion.

A dark line appeared on Xu Xiaoshou's forehead.

"Indeed, what a trashy sword..."