Chapter 11: Striving for Invincibility, the Saintess of the Nine Heavens!

This shadowy figure seemed devoid of intelligence, serving only to appear and remind those who arrived at the heart of the formation. After hearing its message, Zi Yu began to sense the call of the sword blanks, locating the one that resonated most strongly—a blade of entwined violet and azure hues.

As Zi Yu drew near, the sword blank projected a wild pillar of light, the violet and azure colors twisting together like dragon and phoenix, soaring skyward.

Outside the mountain, Li Daoyun exclaimed in surprise, "Phoenix and dragon! It's a female disciple!"

Elder Chen was stunned. "It really is Zi Yu?!"

At the summit of the Grand Void, Lu Wu searched carefully, but none of the sword blanks called to him in particular.

As he flew, Lu Wu caught sight of a three-inch nail.

The rich, bloody aura from it drove Lu Wu nearly mad.

"This is—!"

"Could this be the Palace of Grand Void's foremost killing sword? Such overwhelming bloodlust! You're so wicked, but I love it!"

This is the one!

Though it didn't resemble a conventional sword blank, the thick blood aura suited his mosquito body perfectly!

Lu Wu moved forward and tried to pull it out.

"Huh? It won't budge?"

"Damn, must I force it? Soul energy converted to blood energy, power of four!"

Boom!

The three-inch nail came free, and instantly a column of blood-red light shot skyward, far surpassing the violet-and-azure pillar of the phoenix and dragon!

Lu Wu laughed heartily. "As expected, the plainest-looking is always the strongest—the path to greatness lies in simplicity!"

"This sword is powerful! Its appearance doesn't matter; this pillar must be eight times as strong as the violet-and-azure treasure sword!"

The female sage sent a message: "Enough marveling—run now. Fly east and quickly."

Lu Wu: ???

Down below, Li Daoyun, who had just been inwardly praising Zi Yu, watched as a column of blood light soared before his eyes and was instantly dumbfounded.

"Damn!!!!"

"Who pulled out the coffin nail of the Slaughter Demon?!"

A roar echoed from the summit. The demon howled, shaking the heavens.

Throughout the Grand Void Palace, hidden masters arrived at the outer mountain in an instant.

"Damn! The Slaughter Demon is resurrected? Who pulled out the formation's core nail atop the Grand Void?"

Prompted by the female sage, Lu Wu dashed—fluttering his wings—to escape, heading east.

As a mosquito, Lu Wu could never fly at such heights, but with the strength of the beetle, the speed of the bee, the agility of the fly, and the wing-beat frequency of the mosquito, the combined soul power of four surged forth, making him swifter than ordinary birds, even eagles.

The female sage said, "I'll use soul energy to conceal your traces. Fly east, then enter the Library Pavilion and study a book called 'Soul Refining Codex.'"

"After today, I'll fall into slumber for an unknown time. When you reach the King level, pierce my physical body and draw a drop of blood from my lips—do not forget."

Lu Wu replied urgently via soul transmission: "What was that just now? What is this—this thing on my leg?"

"You pulled out the core of the Grand Void Sword Formation atop the palace—the coffin nail of the Slaughter Demon."

"The Slaughter Demon is an ancient demon god, sealed here by the Grand Void Sword Formation, and the coffin nail is the formation's core."

"Now the Slaughter Demon will revive, and the senior elders of the palace will soon enter the mountain and may easily find you."

"With your habits, Grand Void Palace... it's too late!"

"I'll send you a soul message; read it yourself!"

"Remember, my soul will slumber beside my physical body; only you can see that place, except for cultivators at the sage level. Remember: at the King level, draw blood from my upper lip!"

Just then, Lu Wu sensed another powerful aura erupting atop the mountain.

Looking back, he saw a colossal phoenix, a hundred yards tall, appear out of nowhere.

The phoenix soared skyward toward the west.

A figure appeared. "Where are you going, demon phoenix?!"

"So fast! Can't catch up!"

"Impossible—a demon-saint phoenix lowers itself to attack the Grand Void Sect? Unlocking the Slaughter Demon’s seal? What sense is there in this?"

Lu Wu understood that there was no demon-saint phoenix; it was the female sage's clever ruse, designed to draw attention away, allowing him to escape with the coffin nail in the opposite direction.

Moments later, Li Daoyun appeared atop the mountain, shielding Zi Yu. "Zi Yu, hurry through the portal down the mountain. I’ll escort you."

"A demon-saint has invaded and released the Slaughter Demon—this is no place for low-level disciples."

Zi Yu was immediately sent away.

As Lu Wu flew, he watched the summit, noting the increasing number of figures gathering there.

Damn, he had stirred up the hornet’s nest of Grand Void Palace.

The Slaughter Demon? What exactly was it?

Soon, Lu Wu saw the summit explode as a strange demon burst forth.

It was covered in blood-red light, boasting eighteen blade arms.

Each blade arm radiated a terrifying, chaotic aura.

Countless ages ago, this ancient Slaughter Demon had massacred untold numbers of peerless masters.

Li Daoyun raised his right arm, forming a sword seal. A sword tip, a hundred yards wide, pierced the clouds and pressed down.

"Slaughter Demon, this is not your era—return to your slumber!"

The demon raged, its blade arms whipping up endless tides of blood.

On the mountain, hidden masters of the Grand Void Sect unleashed all manner of sword lights: "Suppress it!"

Lu Wu lost all interest in watching; escape was paramount.

If these people suppressed the demon and then searched their surroundings, they might discover him—just a tiny insect, carrying the coffin nail.

Soon, Lu Wu flew out of the sword tomb's range atop the Grand Void summit.

Only then did he begin to read the soul message.

Given Lu Wu’s soul strength, he could not comprehend it at all.

But the Book of Knowledge instantly deciphered its mysteries.

Words quickly appeared upon its pages.

"My disciple, by the time you can read this soul message, you should have reached the Gathering Qi stage."

"To cover your tracks, I used all my soul energy, unleashing sage-level power. Now, I can only sleep."

"Let me tell you a secret about myself."

Lu Wu read carefully and discovered one of the greatest secrets in this world.

The Reincarnation Method!

The female sage was known as the Saintess of Nine Heavens, cultivating the Nine-Turn Celestial Art—Nine-Turn Reincarnation Method—an ancient legacy.

A sage’s strength always depended on their foundation, and the Nine-Turn Reincarnation Method enabled one to achieve sagehood nine times in succession, retaining memories each time. Her foundation was vastly superior to ordinary sages.

When the nine cycles were complete, her power would be unrivaled.

But something had gone wrong with the Saintess of Nine Heavens’ reincarnation.

Each time she attained sagehood, it was barely achieved; as a result, after her seventh cycle, her strength was still among the weakest sages.

If this continued, she would become the weakest Nine-Turn sage in history, shaming the Nine-Turn Celestial Art.

Thus, she made a decision.

She would gamble on her eighth life.

In her eighth cycle, she stopped cultivating attack, survival, soul, and law arts once she reached adequacy, and instead focused entirely on a secret art called "Luck Technique."

This art did nothing for her strength; its sole purpose was to improve her fortune.

Through it, she obtained countless treasures—yet she never used them, hiding them all away.

She waited for her ninth reincarnation, planning to retrieve these treasures step by step, using the richest resources to boost her strength to its peak.

With nine cycles of cultivation, she hoped to achieve invincibility in her final life.

However, this extreme thrift left her combat ability pitifully weak.

Originally, the Saintess of Nine Heavens was quite crafty, with many escape tricks, but as a female sage, she was unexpectedly ambushed by a monarch!

Her soul and body were separated instantly.

In this cycle, her reincarnation method was incomplete; she could not reincarnate, nor return to her body, leaving her trapped.

There was only one way to resolve this.

Abandon the body, forge a new one for her eighth cycle, use it to complete the reincarnation method, and then reincarnate for the ninth time.

Now, all she needed was for her body to collapse.

The disintegration seed left by the Nine-Turn Celestial Art was hidden beneath her lip.

Lu Wu finished reading and received even better news.

"To be safe, I prepared two sets of cultivation treasures for each realm."

"This soul message records the location of one set."

Lu Wu was overjoyed at first, then speechless—he hadn’t cultivated any beast arts.

These treasures were useless to him.

Still, perhaps they'd be useful in the future.

Lu Wu continued reading, discovering a host of cultivation techniques necessary to reach the King level in soul cultivation!

"Saintess of Nine Heavens, I accept you as my master!"

"Well done! I will definitely save you!"

After finishing the message, Lu Wu decided he should first retrieve the 'Soul Refining Codex' from the Library Pavilion.

The entire Grand Void Palace was in chaos; no one was paying attention to the Library Pavilion.

Even without the female sage’s protection, Lu Wu could act with impunity there.