"You are much better than my previous masters."
After hearing Li Xuan's words, the divine sword fell silent for a moment before emitting a voice. The next moment, a figure slowly materialized before Li Xuan. Li Xuan glanced at it, a hint of surprise in his heart; the sword spirit was indeed female. Not only that, but she was also a strikingly beautiful young woman.
"Given how you've treated spiritual artifacts, I can overlook what it just said. Tell me, what is your purpose for coming here?" the divine sword spirit asked Li Xuan.
Li Xuan was momentarily stunned but then replied, "My purpose for coming here is to obtain you."
"I know you are here for me, but what will you do with me after you obtain me?" the divine sword spirit asked, nodding.
Li Xuan fell silent for a moment. After a few breaths, he said, "My initial thought was to have you become the sword in my dantian, as the stronger you are, the stronger my dantian becomes. However, once you become the sword of my dantian, you generally cannot leave it, so I've been hesitant."
"Your cultivation method is rather peculiar. In all this time, this seems to be the first unique cultivation method I've encountered. Besides not being able to leave your dantian, are there any other restrictions to becoming the sword of your dantian?" the divine sword spirit inquired.
Li Xuan pondered for a moment and shook his head slightly. It seemed the woman in yellow hadn't mentioned any other restrictions.
"If that's the case, I am willing to submit to you as my master," the divine sword spirit declared upon seeing this.
Li Xuan was taken aback. She agreed so readily?
"Are you surprised that I agreed so quickly?" the divine sword spirit seemed to read Li Xuan's thoughts and continued, "Although that brush was a bit lewd, it spoke the truth. You are a master worth following."
"Uh, what should I call you, miss?" Li Xuan asked, scratching his head. He was also somewhat curious about what the Heavenly Dao Brush had said to make the divine sword spirit so angry.
The divine sword spirit replied, "My previous master called me You Lan, but I don't like that name. During my twenty thousand years here, I gave myself the name Ling Xi."
"Ling Xi, that's a beautiful name," Li Xuan said with a smile, nodding. "I am Li Xuan."
"Let's begin the master-subordinate recognition," Ling Xi said with a slight nod.
Seeing Ling Xi's proactiveness, Li Xuan could only nod. As Li Xuan dripped a drop of his essence blood onto the hilt of the divine sword, he immediately felt a connection forming between himself and Ling Xi. Soon, Li Xuan could sense Ling Xi's emotions and even thoughts.
Li Xuan realized that from this moment on, he no longer needed to speak to Ling Xi to understand each other's thoughts. Feeling this, Li Xuan sat down cross-legged.
It was time to replace Qing Xiao in his dantian.
With a thought from Li Xuan, Qing Xiao in his dantian burst forth from his body. The next moment, the divine sword spirit Ling Xi directly entered Li Xuan's dantian.
Boom!
The terrifying sword energy of the divine sword spirit Ling Xi surged, instantly filling Li Xuan's entire body. In that instant, a pain like a thousand blades cutting him struck. Li Xuan gritted his teeth, struggling to merge with the divine sword spirit Ling Xi.
As time passed, Li Xuan's face grew increasingly pale. Beads of sweat dripped down, soaking him completely. If Li Xuan's sword heart were not as firm as a rock, he would have long since fainted from the agony. Fortunately, Li Xuan sensed that the fusion with the divine sword spirit Ling Xi had reached thirty percent, and he could only wait patiently.
Of course, Li Xuan also had to endure the immense pain of the fusion.
Unbeknownst to Li Xuan, as the divine sword spirit Ling Xi fused, the ground around the core area began to crack rapidly. The next moment, terrifying malevolent energy permeated the area, and countless ferocious beasts crawled out from underground. Even more bizarrely, this malevolent energy began to spread towards the second area.
Time gradually passed. After a full four hours, Li Xuan's aura began to ascend. Another quarter of an hour later, Li Xuan's eyes slowly opened.
The divine sword spirit Ling Xi, perfectly fused!
Peak Martial God Realm!
Li Xuan was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected his strength to reach the peak Martial God Realm after fusing with the divine sword spirit Ling Xi. Now, as long as Li Xuan willed it, he could step into the Half-Saint realm at any time.
Roar!
Just then, a terrifying roar echoed. Li Xuan's heart stirred at the sound, and with a thought, his divine sense probed out.
"So many ferocious beasts... and the malevolent energy here has thinned considerably!" Li Xuan retracted his divine sense, a hint of surprise on his face. What had happened while he was fusing with the divine sword spirit Ling Xi?
"Little Master, there's a bit of trouble," the Heavenly Dao Brush's voice chimed in.
Li Xuan furrowed his brows and asked, "What happened?"
"Little Master, you should ask her," the Heavenly Dao Brush replied.
Li Xuan's mind stirred, and the divine sword spirit Ling Xi spoke, "I forgot to tell Master before, I was here to suppress the ferocious beasts within. Now that I have recognized a master, I am no longer suppressing those beasts. This Divine Burial Land is likely already occupied by them."
"What is the strength of those ferocious beasts?" Li Xuan was taken aback, clearly not expecting the divine sword spirit Ling Xi to have been suppressing these beasts. However, since things were this way, Li Xuan could no longer leave the divine sword spirit Ling Xi here.
"Ordinary ferocious beasts are not a problem; the geniuses from the three worlds here can handle them. However, these beasts have been suppressed by me for tens of thousands of years, and there are undoubtedly some powerful existences among them. Two thousand years ago, there were already five Fierce Beast Kings who had developed sentience."
Li Xuan was stunned. Five Fierce Beast Kings with developed sentience!
He recalled that back in the Mysterious Beast World, Li Xuan had no choice but to flee from a single Beast King, and even then, he had been severely injured. Yet, here in the Divine Burial Land, there were at least five Fierce Beast Kings!
Furthermore, two thousand years had passed. Who knew if any new Fierce Beast Kings had emerged.
"Ling Xi, can you still suppress them?" Li Xuan asked after some thought.
"No, all my power is now within your dantian. If I were to suppress them, your body would instantly collapse," Ling Xi replied.
Li Xuan let out a wry smile and sighed, "In a way, this is all because of me."
"Little Master, you're not thinking of facing five Fierce Beast Kings, are you? To put it bluntly, Little Master, you're asking for a beating," the Heavenly Dao Brush immediately exclaimed.
Li Xuan smiled faintly. "Little Brush, you're still too young."
"Holy cow, Little Master, you're really planning to go?" the Heavenly Dao Brush exclaimed. "Little Master, don't say I didn't warn you. The strength of a single Fierce Beast King already reaches the peak of the Saint realm. And after more than two thousand years, their strength can only have grown."
Li Xuan smiled. "This is good. It provides pressure, and with pressure comes motivation. Besides, don't you forget, my purpose for coming to the Divine Burial Land was to find powerful opponents to improve myself."
"These Fierce Beast Kings are exactly what I need!"