Ying Chen muttered to himself, his face flushed with excitement.
The next second, he fumbled in his embrace for the item that perfectly complemented the Xuanpin Lieque Sword.
It was none other than the Thousand-Year Thunderstruck Wood he had won in a bet at Ma Zhenbang's birthday banquet!
It had been a large, rough piece of wood then, but with a gentle rub from Ying Chen, only the core, shaped like a small figure, remained.
And now, Ying Chen brought out this core.
A potent thunderous energy quickly permeated the entire quiet room, causing the Xuanpin Lieque Sword to react subtly.
The entire sword trembled and hummed, even levitating an inch above the ground, emitting a fine ring of sword light.
The Thunderstruck Wood core was not to be outdone.
It radiated a dazzling golden light, like lightning, from Ying Chen's palm.
The core already resembled a small figure, and now, bathed in light, it looked even more so.
An uninformed observer might have mistaken it for a seated Buddha!
As yin and yang, and both rare treasures, they naturally refused to yield to each other.
Upon meeting, a strong reaction occurred, neither backing down.
This Thunderstruck Wood was from a jujube tree, the best variety of Thunderstruck Wood.
Other types, like peach trees, while possessing stronger yang energy, had a fatal flaw: a short lifespan.
Peach trees typically lived for 20-30 years; a hundred-year-old peach wood would be a rare anomaly, and a thousand-year-old one simply didn't exist.
Jujube trees, however, living for a hundred years was not uncommon, and while a thousand years was rare, historical records did contain mentions.
A thousand-year-old jujube tree that survived lightning strikes and sprouted a new bud at its heart was the ultimate choice for crafting magical artifacts.
The core of the Thunderstruck Wood in Ying Chen's hand, with its vaguely humanoid shape, if infused with abundant spiritual energy and given about another hundred years, might even develop rudimentary spiritual awareness.
Alas, it was born in the wrong era.
In this age, it was impossible for it to awaken its spirit, which was fortunate for Ying Chen.
"What is Xuanpin? The valley spirit is immortal, that is called Xuanpin."
Ying Chen grasped the Xuanpin Lieque Sword in one hand and the Thunderstruck Wood core in the other.
"The gate of Xuanpin lies at the very center of heaven and earth, a void, opening and closing at the right time, moving naturally."
"Cang Juezi naming this sword the Xuanpin Lieque Sword was a bit presumptuous, not living up to its name."
"However, it gave me an idea."
"I can refine it by integrating this humanoid core into the sword's Xuanpin gate, thus uniting yin and yang, and opening the Xuanpin!"
"This sword will effectively have a sword spirit, elevating it to a high-grade magical artifact!"
Ying Chen finished speaking, and his hands glowed.
One after another, golden rune lines formed in the air.
In the blink of an eye, the entire quiet room transformed into a continuously rotating artifact refining formation.
At the left and right array eyes of the refining formation, the Thunderstruck Wood core and the Xuanpin Lieque Sword hovered in mid-air.
They seemed to resist being merged together with all their might, but they were unable to break free from the formation's power.
Driven by the formation's force, they slowly moved towards each other.
Simultaneously, their shapes began to subtly change.
Once the fusion was complete, they would officially become a brand-new magical artifact.
...
The night was tranquil.
A bright moon hung high in the night sky, casting myriad rays of clear light.
Several hours had passed since Ying Chen entered the quiet room.
Cang Juezi and the others were growing impatient. In the past, they would have long since stormed off.
But now, not a single one dared to leave.
One reason was the fear of Ying Chen retaliating later; the other was the worry that if they left, Ying Chen would emerge shortly after, leaving them at a disadvantage compared to those who remained and potentially losing out on the elder positions that should have been theirs.
Thus, the main hall remained crowded.
Yet, everyone was listless and bored.
Even basic sect security was neglected.
The entire sect's operations were nearing paralysis.
Not far from the rear mountain of the sect.
A massive snake head gazed up at the full moon in the sky, then opened its cavernous maw, greedily swallowing something.
It was the Profound Yin Hook Snake!
If someone could cultivate celestial eyes of feng shui, they would discover that the Profound Yin Hook Snake was consuming streams of golden-yellow liquid resembling olives!
Emperor's Flowing Sap!
Qing Dynasty scholar Yuan Mei once recorded: "On the night of Gengshen, the moonlight contains Emperor's Flowing Sap, shaped like countless olives, threaded together by ten thousand golden filaments, descending to the human world. Plants and trees absorb its essence and can thus become demons."
This meant that on Gengshen nights, the moonlight descending upon the mortal world contained an essence.
Plants and animals that consumed this essence could become spirits or demons!
Of course, this was likely an exaggeration.
However, Emperor's Flowing Sap was still immensely beneficial to yin-attribute beings like the Profound Yin Hook Snake.
*Hiss, hiss...*
The entire mountain was filled with the sound of the Profound Yin Hook Snake gulping down Emperor's Flowing Sap.
It carried a subtle, eerie, and chilling tone.
As it absorbed the Emperor's Flowing Sap, the newly formed scales on the Profound Yin Hook Snake's neck gradually hardened and aged. Its previous vulnerability, which could be penetrated by sword energy, disappeared.
After a full quarter of an hour, the Profound Yin Hook Snake finally lowered its massive head, satisfied.
Its blood-red vertical pupils scanned the scales on its neck, seemingly pleased with the change.
It then looked towards the direction of the Shennong Sect.
A hint of hatred flickered in its pupils.
Folk legends claim snakes bear grudges fiercely. If you accidentally kill a snake one day, you might be ambushed by a swarm of snakes in the wild the next!
The famous film series "Anaconda" vividly portrayed this innate characteristic of snakes.
Clearly, the Profound Yin Hook Snake inherited this trait.
It twitched its long body, its hard scales scraping a deep groove in the ground.
In a blink of an eye, it vanished into the moonlight.
It was heading towards the main hall of the Shennong Sect, seeking revenge!
At this moment, those within the main hall were completely unaware of the impending danger.
They were all still preoccupied with coveting fame and fortune.
"No, I can't hold it anymore. I need to go to the restroom."
Someone suddenly said.
But the next second, he stopped on his way to the toilet.
"What if the Ancestor emerges while I'm in the restroom? Wouldn't I miss the opportunity?"
"Forget it, I'll just find a quiet corner outside the hall to take care of it!"
Decency was clearly unrelated to cultivation.
Even in a prestigious sect like Shennong, such ill-mannered individuals were unavoidable.
"Ah, comfortable..."
Accompanied by the sound of urination, the man said with a contented sigh.
But then he sensed something was wrong.
He had clearly urinated on the ground, so why was he hearing a dripping sound from above?
He instinctively looked up.
The next moment, he was utterly terrified.
"Help... me..."
But before the word "help" could fully leave his throat, a large mouth full of fangs descended, swallowing him whole.
Blood and bone fragments were scattered everywhere.
A thick, bloody scent slowly spread with the night wind, and a chilling, terrifying aura suddenly filled the air.
"Why hasn't Old Liu returned yet? This kid coveted the elder position the most; isn't he afraid of missing the Ancestor's emergence?"
Inside the main hall, a disciple asked curiously.
He was about to step out of the hall to call out to that "Old Liu."
Unexpectedly, the next moment, he was struck as if by lightning, freezing in place.
He saw two blood-red eyes meet his, less than a finger's width away!
A wave of bloody stench assaulted him, and he vaguely saw a section of what looked like Old Liu's thigh lying on the ground!