Luo Bai had been unconscious for three full years before he awoke, and he cut the black light chains extending from the ground, just as before. The same intense shock assaulted him once again, yet this time he was prepared, having activated his Sword Armor in advance. Although he was still severely injured and spat blood from the force of the rebound, he did not faint again and gathered his remaining strength to perform a blood bond with the Divine Sword.
This Divine Sword, known as the Purple Lightning Blue Glint Sword, was an Innate Spiritual Treasure born from Chaos. It could unleash one of the Four Great Heavenly Fires, the Sky-Burning Purple Flame, which belonged to the Eight Scenic Palace Lanterns of The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. Besides that, it also possessed the power of the Doomsday Heavenly Thunder, a force said to be even more destructive than the Sky-Burning Purple Flame.
With the Sky-Burning Purple Flame combined with the Doomsday Heavenly Thunder, and coupled with the Sword Cultivator's attack power, Luo Bai's combat strength skyrocketed in an instant, and his sheer attack power was now on par with a practitioner in the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm.
Feeling exhilarated, Luo Bai rode his sword toward the direction of Sun Wukong. Now armed with the Purple Lightning Blue Glint Sword, he was no longer affected by the heavy gravity of The Borderlands. The oppressive sensation from the Divine Sense was also neutralized by the sword, allowing him to easily locate Sun Wukong's presence.
However, as Luo Bai approached Sun Wukong, he saw that Sun Wukong was still refining the Spiritual Pearl, his aura in a low yet stable condition. The endless stream of Soul's True Spirit power continuously entwined around the Spiritual Pearl, causing Luo Bai's expression to drastically change.
"Soul's True Spirit refinement?! Has Brother Monkey lost his mind?"
As a Sword Immortal with both beauty and brains, Luo Bai, aside from being narcissistic and practicing his swordsmanship, had some knowledge of related domains. He naturally knew how dangerous it was to use Soul's True Spirit for refining treasures. Even if the refinement succeeded, it would be a case where if the treasure exists, the person exists; if the treasure is destroyed, the person perishes—not to mention that the refinement process tolerated no errors or disturbances. What kind of treasure was this pearl, to warrant Sun Wukong taking such a huge risk?
With countless questions in his mind, Luo Bai dared not disturb Sun Wukong in the slightest. He knew that any external interference could lead to dire consequences for Sun Wukong's current condition.
Thus, Luo Bai sat down cross-legged nearby, cultivated to heal his injuries, and then stood guard beside Sun Wukong. They were in the middle of a valley where it was unlikely for anyone to coincidentally enter; however, one could never be too cautious.
Sixty years passed by in a flash, and Sun Wukong's refinement of the Spiritual Pearl finally neared its end. The originally grey-white pearl began to emit a dazzling multicolored luster, releasing bursts of marvelous aura which greatly impressed Luo Bai watching nearby.
"Brother Monkey truly has a discerning eye for treasures; just looking at the treasure light, it's apparent this Spiritual Pearl is extraordinary, possibly even more precious than my Purple Lightning Blue Glint Sword. No wonder he was willing to use Soul's True Spirit for its refinement!"
While admiring Sun Wukong's effort, Luo Bai also understood the immense risk and pain Sun Wukong endured to refine the pearl. With the copious outflow of Soul's True Spirit power, Sun Wukong's face was pale as a sheet of paper, sweat the size of beans unstoppably pouring down his forehead, soaking the ground around him. Luo Bai admitted to himself that he could have never endured such extensive exertion.
Finally, the treasure light on the Spiritual Pearl reached its peak and abruptly burst forth, radiating a wave of light that swept across the entire valley before suddenly retracting back into the pearl.
Sun Wukong breathed a long sigh of relief, opened his eyes, and his complexion had completely returned to normal. The Spiritual Pearl was successfully refined, and all the previously expended Soul's True Spirit power was returned to him, even slightly enhanced. Sun Wukong felt he was on the verge of a breakthrough, and leaving The Borderlands would immediately attract the Black Sun Wind Disaster among the three calamities—it could no longer be suppressed any further.
But this was a good development, having suppressed it for nearly two hundred years already, his foundation was solid. Sun Wukong no longer intended to suppress it further; it was time to advance to Taiyi Scattered Immortal.
"Swish!"
The Spiritual Pearl transformed into a stream of light that burrowed into Sun Wukong's forehead and entered the Spiritual Space within the Niwan Palace, also known as the Divine Soul Sea. Sun Wukong realized that any treasure associated with his Soul's True Spirit would be nurtured inside the Divine Soul Sea of the Niwan Palace, while those refined from his lifeblood essence would reside in the Qi Sea of his dantian.
The efforts of over sixty years had not been in vain; the Spiritual Pearl was completely subdued by Sun Wukong. Just now, a piece of information surged from the pearl into Sun Wukong's mind—it turned out that the Spiritual Pearl was one of the Chaos Divine Pearls, a Supreme Treasure of Chaos, although currently in a damaged state. It was one of nine fragments from the original Chaos Divine Pearl. Sun Wukong possessed one of them, which had been downgraded to an Innate Spiritual Treasure. Only by finding the other Chaos Divine Pearls and merging them could he upgrade it.
Every three Innate Spiritual Treasure-graded Chaos Divine Pearls could be combined into an Innate Supreme Treasure, and merging all nine could restore the original Chaos Divine Pearl, which had the power to change the heavens and the earth. However, the current ability of the Chaos Divine Pearl that Sun Wukong possessed was only transforming reality into illusion.
The so-called ability to transform reality into illusion was, in simple terms, creating a parallel space that could pull oneself and anything within a certain range into this parallel dimension. Visible to the naked eye but untouchable, just as Sun Wukong previously couldn't grasp the Chaos Divine Pearl, detectable only by Divine Sense, as if turning a solid entity into an ethereal form in an instant.
One should never underestimate this ability—as a lifesaving skill, it was nearly invincible. Imagine an enemy preparing to launch an attack, only to discover you've become ethereal and retreated into a parallel space, where even the most potent spells couldn't touch you, rendering you virtually invulnerable.
Moreover, the Chaos Divine Pearl currently only possessed this one ability, but as long as Sun Wukong could obtain the other Chaos Divine Pearls for merging, the capabilities of this Magical Treasure would continuously improve. It was an upgradable treasure with a promising outlook, not to mention its current level as an Innate Spiritual Treasure, ensuring unsurpassed durability without any concern for possible damage.
"Brother Monkey, congratulations!"
Having heard from Sun Wukong about the effectiveness of the Chaos Divine Pearl, Luo Bai was filled with envy. His guess had been correct; the Spiritual Pearl was indeed not a mundane object. Even one-ninth of it was at the level of an Innate Spiritual Treasure. If he could gather the remaining eight pearls and fuse them into one, becoming a treasure of chaos, the mere thought of its power was exhilarating!
"Xiaobai, thank you!"
Sun Wukong chuckled lightly, "Your body is full of Divine Primordial Qi, it seems that you have also found a Magical Treasure to your liking, huh?"
Over the years, although Sun Wukong had been fully engaged in using the power of the Soul's True Spirit to refine the Chaos Divine Pearl, it did not mean he was unaware of the outside world. On the contrary, he knew well that Luo Bai had been cautiously guarding him. Although no danger had arisen during this period, the loyalty shown by Luo Bai was something Sun Wukong deeply appreciated. This guy, though narcissistic and verbose, indeed proved to be a friend worth having, a truly sincere person among the Human Race—a rare find.
At Sun Wukong's inquiry, a proud smile immediately appeared on Luo Bai's face. With a thought, the Purple Lightning Blue Glint Sword flew out from his Dantian. Amid a crisp ringing sound, it landed next to him, held in his hand: "This sword, named Purple Lightning Blue Glint, is an Innate Spiritual Treasure capable of unleashing the Sky-Burning Purple Flame and the Doomsday Heavenly Thunder."
"Excellent sword!"
With just one sentence, Sun Wukong's eyes immediately lit up. Leaving aside the grade of the Purple Lightning Blue Glint Sword, just its ability to release the Sky-Burning Purple Flame and Doomsday Heavenly Thunder was already unparalleled among other Divine Swords. Luo Bai, this guy, really had some incredible luck!
"Of course, I am Luo Bai, the Green Lotus Sword Immortal, dashing and unruly with an unmatched personality. A Divine Sword such as this suits me perfectly..."
"Stop, stop, stop, that's enough! Mentioning your fat, and you start panting!"
Sun Wukong was speechless; praising Luo Bai was definitely a mistake—he would soar at the slightest compliment. No, this guy was always soaring, he had never come down!
Interrupted by Sun Wukong from basking in his own glory, Luo Bai felt a bit annoyed, but he knew Sun Wukong wouldn't care about his feelings, so he reluctantly shut his mouth.
"Let's go to the next place."
"The next place?"
Luo Bai was somewhat astonished, "Monkey Bro, are you still looking to obtain other Magical Treasures?"
"No kidding! You have already found a suitable Divine Weapon, while I am still unarmed. The Chaos Divine Pearl can't be used as a weapon, so of course, I need to find a suitable Divine Weapon for myself!"
Sun Wukong was exasperated; Luo Bai sometimes spoke without thinking—was this question even necessary? When had he ever used a weapon on this journey? Of course, he needed to obtain another Divine Weapon. Who would complain about having too many treasures? Besides, it wasn't about having too many now, but about having any at all.
Of course, to say he didn't have any wasn't entirely true; the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod was still resting in the Qi Sea of his Dantian. It merely needed to complete the integration and upgrade with the Thirty-Six Graded Lotus Stalks of a Pure World Green Lotus. Until then, Sun Wukong couldn't just go unarmed. The Eight-Nine Profound Skill might make his physical body invincible in close combat, but a handy Divine Weapon was indispensable.
Sun Wukong arrived next to a huge Heavenly Pillar; this pillar was his target and also what his Void-Breaking Divine Eye had spotted previously, revealing a peculiarly attractive treasure light.
"Eh?"
As he approached the Heavenly Pillar, Sun Wukong suddenly stopped. The pillar felt strangely familiar. Had he experienced this somewhere before?
Suddenly, a figure leapt into Sun Wukong's mind—the Six-Eared Macaque!
This was the Wishful Iron Staff wielded by that damned Six-Eared Macaque!
Yes! Unmistakably so! This was the Wishful Iron Staff! The ends were not Golden Hoops but rather were Silver Hoops; yet the aura of this treasure was identical to that of Sun Wukong's Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod. So, it originated from The Borderlands!