"Mo Yan, come forth!"
After summoning Mo Yan, Chen Mo gave a sharp command.
In an instant, it was as if heaven and earth shifted. The spacious palace hall was reduced to nothing but black and white. Visible streaks of black sword intent tore through the void, spreading rapidly and flooding the entire hall.
An immensely oppressive aura descended.
The next moment, shards of tiny black fragments began to fly out from within Chen Mo's body.
Each fragment was inscribed with runes and demonic markings, emanating a mysterious and terrifying power.
The fragments slowly gathered, coalescing before Chen Mo into a shadowy, sword-formed figure cloaked in darkness, exuding sword intent—yet its face remained obscured.
The figure dropped to one knee in front of him and spoke reverently, "Sword Spirit Mo Yan, greets Master."
From the voice alone, it was impossible to tell if it was male or female.
At the same time, a rush of memories poured into Chen Mo's mind.
Mo Yan was a growth-type sword spirit—meaning that every time Chen Mo advanced by one star, Mo Yan's power would also increase. Once its level reached a certain threshold, it could even evolve on its own.
Currently, Mo Yan was at the level of one-star Dou Ling.
"Transform into a sword," Chen Mo commanded.
Without a word, Mo Yan transformed into a streak of black light that shot toward Chen Mo.
One by one, the black fragments formed a sword in his hand—a three-foot-long pitch-black blade.
The sword was about ten centimeters wide, covered in flowing demonic patterns.
Cold to the touch, it radiated immense power—something that Tianyuan couldn't compare to.
Having understood the properties of this strange new weapon, Chen Mo got to work on other matters.
First, he removed the remaining Fire Lotus Seeds from the Green Lotus Throne.
He had used four previously, leaving seven. He carefully stored them in a jade bottle and placed it in his spatial ring.
As for the Green Lotus Core Flame, he left it on the throne for now. He wanted to ask Queen Medusa what to do with it when she returned.
After securing the lotus, Chen Mo took out the Tiger Soul Blade, then retrieved the corpses of the Darkgold Demonic Tiger King and the Azure Thunder Blood Eagle from his backpack.
Since the tiger king had already used its bloodline skill and was completely dead, extracting the magic core was easy.
He spent the entire day refining their bodies into essence blood.
Only five drops could be extracted from each beast—far too few.
Luckily, the Bronze Body technique only required one drop from the Darkgold Demonic Tiger King, which was enough.
The rest of the essence blood could be used to enhance his Human Emperor Bloodline.
Reinvigorated, Chen Mo sat cross-legged on his bed and began to cultivate.
Queen Medusa returned. Her usual prideful and icy demeanor had returned, but seeing Chen Mo in the middle of cultivation, she felt an unexpected wave of relief.
Even though she had spent half an hour outside the palace composing herself and planning what to say, she still felt nervous when entering.
Seeing Chen Mo quietly cultivating instantly dissolved that nervousness.
But gradually, a strange feeling of disappointment crept in.
That half hour of mental preparation had been wasted.
As the leaders of the Eight Great Tribes gathered in the royal capital, Queen Medusa finally felt a sense of peace.
She entered seclusion.
Perhaps due to the recent chaos caused by Mobas, Queen Medusa chose to close herself off right in her own chambers.
She warned Chen Mo not to wander around.
"Remember what you said that day. Don't lay a hand on me," she said coldly, glaring at him.
"Don't worry. I'm a man of integrity—my word is my bond," Chen Mo replied, thumping his chest in assurance.
"If you dare touch me again, I'll tear you limb from limb."
Still uneasy, Queen Medusa added another icy threat.
"All right, all right," Chen Mo nodded quickly. Then, picking up the Green Lotus, he asked, "Your Majesty, what about the Green Lotus Core Flame?"
"You can refine it," she replied.
"But I said I'd give it to you."
"I don't need it right now. Go ahead and refine it. I'll take it from you when I need it," she said coolly.
"Well, fine." Chen Mo took out the jade bottle containing the Fire Lotus Seeds and poured out four, placing them in an empty bottle. He offered it to Queen Medusa.
"These are Fire Lotus Seeds. They'll be useful to you."
Queen Medusa didn't take them immediately. Instead, she stared deeply at him.
Chen Mo sighed and added, "Consider it your reward for helping me hunt down the Darkgold Demonic Tiger King."
Only then did she accept the bottle. "In that case, I'll take it."
Chen Mo rolled his eyes at her.
She ignored it, threw in one last threat about what would happen if he laid a hand on her again, then swallowed the Huangji Pill and began her breakthrough.
Watching her close her eyes, her serpentine tail coiled up beside him, Chen Mo smiled faintly. "Cute."
He had no intention of taking advantage of her while she was breaking through.
After all, cultivation breakthroughs were delicate moments. If he distracted her and caused failure, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.
Besides, he had his own work to do.
Though he had succeeded in cultivating the Bronze Body, it wasn't yet perfected.
He also needed to absorb more essence blood to strengthen his bloodline.
He had to cultivate the Great Sage Art.
And refine the Green Lotus Core Flame.
—Meanwhile, in the Yunlan Sect—
The most powerful force in the Jia Ma Empire, the Yunlan Sect had endured through countless generations, standing unshaken at the peak of the empire.
Hai Bodong had spent several days on the road before finally reaching the sect and securing an audience with Pill King Gu He.
"Is that... the Ice Emperor?"
Gu He looked at the old man in front of him, slightly unsure.
Gu He was stunned, then asked in surprise, "Ice Emperor, it hasn't been that long—how did you end up ?"
Hai Bodong's face was grim. His strength had already fallen to six-star Dou Wang, and there were no signs of the decline stopping.
He spoke honestly: "I was struck by Queen Medusa's Snake Seal Curse. Not only is my body aging rapidly, but my strength is also continuously deteriorating. I came here to ask if you might have a solution."
Gu He's expression darkened as he fell into deep thought. After a while, he replied with a serious look:
"In an ancient alchemy text, there's mention of a Tier 6 Pill called the Breaking Calamity Pill. It can dispel most seals. However..."
When Hai Bodong heard that there was hope, his eyes lit up. Seeing that Gu He hadn't finished, he quickly said:
"If you can break the seal within me, I, Hai Bodong—the Ice Emperor—will owe you a great favor. I'll even agree to carry out one task for you, no matter what it is."
Gu He shook his head with a bitter smile. "That's not what I meant. The problem is... I can't refine it."
Hai Bodong was stunned. "Aren't you a Tier 6 Alchemist?"
Gu He shook his head again. "That has nothing to do with it. The main requirement for refining this pill... is that the alchemist must possess a Heavenly Flame."
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