When the Taiyi Celestial Ruins Sword struck once again, its target was precisely the Black Water Profound Snake’s weak spot. Unlike the previous momentary strikes, this was the culmination of Lu Zhiwei’s most powerful attack.
In terms of might, it had already surpassed the Li Fire Celestial Sword Talisman.
Amidst a heart-palpitating sword power, the Taiyi Celestial Ruins Sword pressed forward relentlessly, slicing precisely at the Black Water Profound Snake’s weak spot.
The massive body of the Black Water Profound Snake was severed in two, split from the weak spot, with its gigantic body crashing to the ground once more, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Even so, its life force was tenacious, and it hadn’t stopped breathing, struggling and writhing on the ground.
From above its weak spot, the snakehead body, its pair of snake eyes were now completely blood-red, consumed by madness, sending shivers down the viewer’s spine.
It had long lost its rationale, now furious and in extreme pain.
It opened its mouth wide, lunging fiercely at Lu Zhiwei, wishing to take Lu Zhiwei with it as a companion in death.
"Little sister, be careful!"
The loud warning from Lu Yuanshan rang out beside her ears, but Lu Zhiwei remained unmoved.
She stood as steady as Mount Tai, with a delicate hand gesture, as the azure sword light soared into the sky.
The Taiyi Celestial Ruins Sword Technique reversed its direction in mid-air, striking at the Profound Snake again with extreme speed.
The Black Water Profound Snake, having lost its rationale, never thought of retreating, and with no time to retreat, it was squarely hit by this strike in the blink of an eye.
This powerful strike left no mercy from Lu Zhiwei either.
The massive segment of the body was once again severed, with half sinking into the lake water, spreading snake blood that stained the lake surface a bright red.
The remaining half of the snakehead body lost its mobility, quivering slightly on the ground.
Only that half with the snake tail still twitched unconsciously, incapable of posing any further threat.
The group with Lu Yuanshan exchanged glances, their minds unable to remain calm. None expected Lu Zhiwei to be so fierce...
One person, one sword, and within a few strokes, she had slain the Black Water Profound Snake.
Were we here just to provide support?
While such thoughts were in their minds, Lu Ping’s voice echoed in the minds of his three children.
Afterward, came a long, satisfied sigh: "This campaign of Hidden Nether Mountain is finally over."
Lu Zhiwei sheathed the sword, and the Taiyi Celestial Ruins Sword that felled the Black Water Profound Snake transformed into a small stream of azure light, obediently entering her forehead.
Although three sword strokes were enough to slay the Profound Snake, using such powerful sword techniques inevitably consumed one to two tenths of Lu Zhiwei’s magical power.
She didn’t need to handle the task of clearing the snake’s corpse, so she sat down and began to recover her magical power.
"Yuanshan, go fetch the Celestial Cyan Divine Wood."
Ignoring Lu Zhiwei for the moment, Lu Ping gave a brief instruction, guiding Lu Yuanshan toward the location of the Celestial Cyan Divine Wood.
With the Black Water Profound Snake dead, no other threats existed in this place.
In Lu Ping’s system, a dialogue box promptly popped up.
[Hidden Task: Eliminate the Black Water Profound Snake of Hidden Nether Mountain, Task Completed]
[Task Reward: Received Reputation 695, Rare Technique Taihe Cave Heaven Heart Method ×1]
Lu Ping wasn’t in the mood to concern himself with the reward right now.
His gaze followed Lu Yuanshan’s actions as he carefully stored the Celestial Cyan Divine Wood into his storage bag.
Once the treasure was collected, Lu Yuanshan and Lu Ping returned to the group with Lu Zhiwei, and only then did they start cleaning the battlefield.
As an extremely rare Tier One top-tier demon beast, the Black Water Profound Snake was considered entirely a treasure, capable of refining three to four Tier Two spiritual artifacts.
With Lu Zhiwei’s current artifact refining mastery, she could fully refine Tier Two spiritual artifacts.
They carried away the entire corpse of the Black Water Profound Snake, did a brief tidy-up of the battlefield, and after a careful examination to ensure nothing was missed, they set out to return home.
Along the way, everyone was in a good mood.
Especially Lu Yuanshan, who carried a Celestial Cyan Divine Wood, feeling slightly excited, occasionally touching the storage bag to peek inside.
But because he was carrying such a heavenly and earthly treasure, he remained highly vigilant along the way, fearing someone might intercept them midway and rekindle combat.
Fortunately, the worry was unnecessary, as they traveled the entire route without obstruction.
Upon returning to Cyan Lotus Mountain, the three siblings gathered in Lu Yuanshan’s cave mansion to discuss how to use the Celestial Cyan Divine Wood.
Lu Ping, naturally, was watching from the side.
In this campaign of Hidden Nether Mountain, Cyan Mountain Sect deployed twelve people to attack, with Sect Leader Lu Yuanshan personally leading the charge.
Cyan Mountain Sect’s strongest forces were deployed entirely, while those remaining in the sect were only mid-stage and early-stage Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators.
This battle proceeded smoothly, without any twists or casualties appearing.
Such achievements were ultimately due to Lu Ping’s thorough preparation, overly stable planning.
More than three years ago, shortly after awakening, Lu Ping discovered this hidden task of Hidden Nether Mountain and had wanted to address it quickly.
But considering the sect’s insufficient strength, a rash move was inappropriate, so he kept this task in mind, silently guiding Cyan Mountain Sect’s development to gather strength for dealing with the Black Water Profound Snake.
Transplanting Cyan Jade Bamboo, refining Cyan Bamboo Sword, teaching the Taiyi Celestial Ruins Sword Technique, instructing Lu Zhiwei to refine the Taiyi Celestial Ruins Sword.
Even a series of sect operations were continuously elevating the sect members’ strength, constantly preparing for facing the Black Water Profound Snake.
Striving to obtain the Shenxiao Decree, retaining the Blazing Heaven Sword Talisman, and more, all in the same vein.
Facts proved that these preparations were not in vain.
In fact, the result even exceeded Lu Ping’s expectations—to the point that he was too well-prepared; he only needed to use a Shenxiao Decree to provoke the Black Water Profound Snake, with no chance to use other trump cards.
The one who contributed the most was still Lu Zhiwei.
This battle brought Lu Ping to a deep awareness of the Taiyi Celestial Ruins Sword Technique’s power, and it gave rise to a sense of satisfaction in his heart.
After more than three years of preparation, having now secured the Celestial Cyan Divine Wood, it’s possible to nurture a Foundation Establishment Cultivator directly for the sect without further preparation.
The gap between the Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators and Foundation Establishment Cultivators is significant.
The Qi Cultivation Stage emphasizes refining qi to strengthen the body, marking the first step and the first threshold on the path of cultivation.
The Foundation Establishment Stage, however, is the sublimation of the cultivator’s physical body, compressing the true qi in the dantian into true essence, forging a solid dao foundation.
After establishing the foundation, the next step is to condense the Five Elements Crystal within, further elevating the cultivator’s physical body and magical power, entering the third major phase of cultivation.
Beyond that is the condensation of the Golden Core, and eventually nurturing the Nascent Soul from the Golden Core... that’s a far-off matter, not something Lu Ping should be pondering currently.
Speaking of the Qi Cultivation Stage.
Now, Lu Yuanshan, Lu Zhiwei, and Lu Changfeng are all at the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation.
Among them, Lu Yuanshan and Lu Zhiwei have been at the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation for more than ten years; their true qi has been tempered to great solidity, completely ready to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage at any time.