Chapter 26: The Reincarnation of the Purple Lotus

Zhijiang possessed a spirit of self-sacrifice, yet everyone vehemently opposed her intentions.

Oulian, too, disagreed, saying, “Princess, there is no need for such measures. To forge a divine weapon is not merely a matter of smelting. After seeing the sword stele left by our ancestors in the mine today, I have gained new insight. First, forging a sword requires careful selection of the time and place. The transformation of a treasured weapon waits upon the spirit of humanity. Only then can the aid of ghosts and gods be obtained, to achieve perfection. Ancestor Ouyezi bled with every sword he forged, and thus became a master swordsmith of his age.”

Zhijiang was puzzled. “What does that mean? Does it require blood sacrifice?”

Ji Bu found it equally unbelievable. “Isn’t a sword forged through countless hammer blows? How could it depend on funerary sacrifice? Surely no such method exists for sword forging.”

Oulian shook his head, leaving their questions unanswered.

In his heart, another layer of unease lingered, yet he could not speak it.

Quchenzi recalled something and his face grew solemn. “To wait upon the spirit of humanity? I believe that phrase is not without purpose. You must know, the reason the Sword of the King of Chu was so powerful was because, upon its forging, half the citizens of the capital were sacrificed. If the information left on the Ouyezi sword stele is true, then we are in trouble. A little blood may not satisfy the demands of forging the sword.”

“Father, could this truly be the case?” Zhijiang realized things were not so simple. If forging a divine sword required an equivalent sacrifice, then it would mean the entire population of the royal city might be needed to rival the Sword of Chu. She could neither believe nor dare to believe that such were the conditions for forging.

Quchenzi said, “These are but our conjectures. Since Mr. Chen led you to the Ouyezi swordsmith site, why not consult him?”

Before they could seek out Chen Longshi, the warning bell atop the city tower suddenly rang out.

“Dong, dong, dong~”

Unbeknownst to all, the heavy snow had ceased, and night had quietly fallen. In the dark forests beyond the city, the tracks of undead monsters appeared once more, and the atmosphere within the city grew tense.

“Trouble. The bell tolls long and loud—this time, there are many enemies,” Quchenzi said. “The matter of forging must be set aside. Everyone, prepare to meet the enemy.”

Ji Bu was the first to shout, “I’ll gather the soldiers for battle!”

Oulian glanced at his bandaged arm. “Forgive me, Princess, for my temporary absence from the city’s defense. I wish to work overtime and study this strange stone, striving to discover the method for forging the sword as soon as possible.”

“Brother Oulian, rest well. The Royal City is not so easily breached,” Zhijiang declared briskly. “Father, immediately send word to all citizens to stay inside and not go out.”

“I’ll see to it at once.”

For years, this had been their method of response. Today, though, things felt different. As the soldiers beat drums and notified the city, a frail woman’s voice rang out, “General, we can fight too!”

“What?” The soldier thought he heard wrong. “But you are a woman.”

The woman did not retreat. Instead, she stepped forward with a longbow from her house. “Her Highness the Princess is a woman, and she fights monsters—if such a noble person can do so, why should we cling to our humble lives?”

“No! This must not be. Unless all our soldiers have fallen, women and children should not take up arms against the enemy.”

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“But…”

“No more talk. Stay at home, beware monsters sneaking in for slaughter.” The soldier issued his warning and went to alert others. Along the way, he encountered several families volunteering to fight, a sign that in a single day, the people’s confidence had soared.

Indeed, the undead monsters were no longer truly immortal. It was time to repay grievances and settle scores.

Yet this time, the onslaught of monsters was swift and ferocious, far beyond the ordinary.

When Chen Longshi arrived at the city wall, he found the place engulfed in battle, blades flashing and shouts filling the air.

Huge burning stones, soaked in oil, were catapulted from the towers, smashing into the ranks of monsters below. Smoke billowed in the darkness, flames surged, and within several miles, the night sky was lit by blazing fire.

Of the four generals and eight consorts under the King of Chu, half had come: excluding the Spider, Snake, Eagle, and Leopard consorts, there were also the Skeleton General, representing plague, and the Green Crocodile General, representing death. These six led countless undead monsters, bringing siege engines, intent on breaching the city walls—a sight that chilled the heart.

Chen Longshi saw Zhijiang standing atop the tower, wielding some mysterious power; she drew from the void a crimson longbow, firing arrows of streaming fire without nocking a shaft. Each arrow exploded amidst the densest ranks of monsters, igniting flames as potent as artillery.

She was like a moving fortress, her strength equal to an entire division—truly a spectacle.

Chen Longshi saw many monsters “dead” below, and without hesitation, transformed his left hand, released Tuntun, and began his work.

Elsewhere, he controlled the second-grade Star Axe, hurling it from the tower to finish off monsters, reaping their lives, while the progress of the sword talisman trial soared.

From the outset, neither side showed any sign of stopping—the monsters, thousands strong, surrounded the wall. By faint moonlight, one could see the enemy banners like a sea below, layer upon layer of troops, murderous intent brewing, as though preparing for an even greater assault.

The monsters, tireless and fearless, climbed the walls with their arms. The defenders hurled stones and logs, crushing swathes of monsters. Scalding oil was poured from above, turning the base of the wall into a sea of fire.

Chen Longshi defended a fifty-meter stretch of wall. Every monster that climbed up was met with a flying axe that severed its head. With his vigilant defense, not a single monster breached this section, and countless soldiers owed him their lives in gratitude.

His prowess was noted by the Skeleton and Green Crocodile Generals watching in the darkness below. Each secretly calculated; in single combat, they could not claim victory, but in the complexity of war, neither dared boast of triumph. The undead monsters exchanged glances and quickly decided, “Let our subordinates keep charging, wear down the humans’ morale first.”

The defenders knew well the monsters’ plan, but faced with the relentless assault from the Tomb of Chu, they could only endure and resist, never allowing even a sliver of leniency.

As time went on, Chen Longshi grew exhausted, retreating to sit cross-legged and recover. Commander Quchenzi immediately dispatched reinforcements to fill his gap.

Chen Longshi glanced at his system panel—Tuntun’s soul feed had reached more than 270,000. With each undead small fry contributing roughly 200, nearly a thousand monsters had been slain outside the city.

It was no small number, yet the enemy still covered the ground in endless waves.

A sense of unease crept in—how many monsters lay within the Tomb of Chu? If this went on, they might truly be worn down, unless Zhijiang unleashed another great attack.

But the cost of her power was too high; otherwise, she could have razed the Tomb alone. On the other hand, if Zhijiang was already this powerful, yet the Tomb only grew, then how mighty must the King of Chu be?

If Chen Longshi had not known to leverage Ouyezi and Zhijiang to augment his chances, he would never have completed the trial. Even with his strategies, he found the challenge daunting—how much more so for others? The predecessors who achieved excellent results by sheer strength, as ranked outside the Sword Tomb’s secret realm, truly possessed formidable power.

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In recent days, Chen Longshi’s strength had soared, and he felt himself growing arrogant. After a moment’s reflection, he suppressed his swelling pride and quietly focused on restoring his state.

With abundant energy, he rapidly cultivated the Soul Sutra and the Turtle-Serpent Body Tempering Art; both progressed at a speed visible to the eye, but still too slow. He grew anxious—was there a way to hasten his training?

As if answering his thoughts, the Ninth-Grade Reincarnation Purple Lotus, which had been drifting calmly in his consciousness, suddenly began to spin wildly. Tuntun let out a strange cry, and the soul feed it had just devoured was forcibly expelled, the numbers on the system panel dropping rapidly.

A violet flame ignited upon the lotus, countless soul energies flying in as fuel, making the fire blaze ever higher.

“Buzz~”

Before Chen Longshi could react, a shock went through his mind.

The speed of Soul Sutra cultivation increased tenfold, fiftyfold, a hundredfold, five hundredfold, a thousandfold…

Thirteen thousand five hundred units of soul feed burned as fuel, and the third strand of Dao Intent formed, [Spirit +5].

Soon, another fifteen thousand were consumed, forming the fourth strand, [Spirit +5].

Fifth, sixth… all the way to the twentieth strand; as the “soul fuel” dwindled to mere thousands, the lotus at last ceased its spinning.

Chen Longshi had no time to ponder why the lotus had moved this time—his [Spirit] attribute had reached 152 points. Where his psychic force once extended only dozens of meters, it now stretched to 150 meters.

The benefits of powerful psychic force were obvious—his self-control was further strengthened, and his mental recovery was much faster than before.

Where previously he could only use telekinesis to grab objects or imbue weapons and fists, now he had sufficient force to support greater feats—he even felt he could blast the city wall apart with a psychic punch.

With 152 points of spirit, Chen Longshi was a terrifying presence among Bronze-ranked beings, though his life level had not yet touched the threshold of Silver.

Perhaps the gene lock and soul-spirit were not closely related, or perhaps the spirit attribute could not be treated equally—for ordinary Silver-ranked beings, two of the three attributes [Strength], [Agility], [Constitution] needed to break thirty to touch the gene lock.

But his [Spirit] had never reached its limit, and could only affect the physical realm, unable to influence others mentally or launch psychic attacks.

The surge in spirit brought a clear boost in power, but a strong negative reaction as well—his head felt swollen, his thoughts raced far ahead of his body’s movements, and even minimal use of psychic force left him exhausted.

At this moment, his body became a shell restraining his spirit, as if he were bearing a heavy turtle shell.

Fortunately, he could still endure it.

Though his body was clumsy, it could not be discarded, just as a turtle cannot do without its shell. Should he lose his physical support, his soul could not reach the stage of transformation, and only oblivion would await him.

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