Chapter 1001: Ink Steel
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Zuo Yue must have escaped from here! It'll be difficult to return here if I chase after him." Duan Ling Tian looked at the entrance of the stone staircase before him that was shrouded in a faint light shield. The expression on his face was terrifying.
The light shield before him was created by a unique Inscription Formation.
It did not matter who it was, it would remember one's aura as long as one crossed over it. As a result, one would not be able to cross over again in reverse direction.
Due to the fact that this Inscription Formation was created by a Martial Monarch powerhouse, only a Martial Monarch powerhouse would be able to forcibly remove it.
Otherwise, one would have to abide by its rules.
If Duan Ling Tian crossed over the light shield created by the Inscription Formation now and entered the entrance of the stone staircase, it was uncertain if he could catch up to Zuo Yue.
Even if he managed to catch up, it was likely he would not be able to return to the fourth level of Qing Feng Palace and continue on to the fifth level of Qing Feng Palace to search for Martial Emperor Qing Feng's remains and obtain the three Profundity Fragments.
According to Duan Ling Tian's estimation, Martial Emperor Qing Feng's body should be at the fifth level of Qing Feng Palace if he was not mistaken.
"I might not be able to return if I chase after him. Moreover, it's not certain I'll be able to catch Zuo Yue and kill him. However, Zuo Yue will definitely survive in the Martial Emperor's secret treasure if I don't go after him," Duan Ling Tian muttered, his face turned somber.
"If Zuo Yue managed to leave the Martial Emperor's secret treasure… Three of the second-rate forces, Anicca Sect, Izumo Sect, and North Nether Sect, will find out that I killed Xu Qing, Lei Zhong, and Lei Jun!"
"Xu Qing was the strongest person among the younger generation in North Nether Sect, and he was also the direct disciple of the Sect Leader of North Nether Sect… The people from North Nether Sect won't let me go once they find out I killed him!"
"As for Lei Zhong and Lei Jun, they were the strongest among the younger generation in Izumo Sect. Lei Zhong was the direct disciple of the Martial Monarch powerhouse in Izumo Sect whereas Lei Jun was the Sect Leader's direct disciple… It's inevitable for me to be on opposing sides with Izumo Sect!"
"I might not have offended Annica Sect directly… But once they learn I'm the only one left at the fourth level of Qing Feng Palace, they'll assume I've entered the fifth level and obtained the three Profundity Fragments in Martial Emperor Qing Feng's body. At that time, they definitely wouldn't let me go as well!" Duan Ling Tian could not help but smile bitterly at the thought.
The three second-rate forces in the northern desert would find out about him due to Zuo Yue's departure, and he would have enemies everywhere.
In addition to the group of Void Peak powerhouses from the three second-rate forces, he would also have to face at least three Martial Monarch powerhouses from the second-rate forces.
After all, the three second-rate forces had at least one Martial Monarch powerhouse in their respective sect.
Duan Ling Tian immediately felt extremely pressured.
"Should I try my luck and go after him? Maybe I'll catch up with Zuo Yue!"
"However, I might not be able to find him even if I do that… At that time, not only would I have given up on obtaining the three Profundity Fragments inside Martial Emperor Qing Feng's body, all three of the second-rate forces would find out about me!" Thoughts were spinning in Duan Ling Tian's mind. He gritted his teeth and finally made a decision.
"So be it! There's not much of difference to me whether I've offended one or three second-rate forces… There'll always be a solution to a problem!"
Before entering Qing Feng Palace, he had admitted to killing Lei Jun, the direct disciple of the Sect Leader of Izumo Sect. Subsequently, he killed Lei Zhong, the strongest person among the younger generation in Izumo Sect.
Due to that, he knew Izumo Sect would be offended unless he managed to kill all the eyewitnesses.
Otherwise, Izumo Sect would discover, sooner or later, that he was the one who killed Lei Zhong and Lei Jun.
"If I'm not afraid of Izumo Sect… Why should I be afraid of North Nether Sect and Anicca Sect that's equally as famous as Izumo Sect?!" Duan Ling Tian's eyes brightened when he thought about this.
At this moment, he exuded a strong sense of confidence that spoke of fearlessness.
Since Duan Ling Tian managed to sort his thoughts out, he dismissed all thoughts of Zuo Yue's escape.
The three largest second-rate forces? So what?
Duan Ling Tian was not afraid!
Duan Ling Tian, who was filled with confidence, turned back to the Bumpy Road. He easily passed through the Bumpy Road and entered the central area of Qing Feng Palace's fourth level again.
In the central area of the fourth level, a body lay there quietly. It was Xu Qing's body.
Close to his body, a green vine extended from the ground and lifted up one of the floorboards.
A stone platform stood in another place. There was a small exquisite box on it, it was the box he suspected contained the gold key.
"It can be said that you saved my life." Duan Ling Tian moved and vanished from where he stood. When he appeared again, he was standing before the tiny box on top of the stone platform. He quickly reached out and picked the small box up.
When Duan Ling Tian opened the small box, a crescent-shaped gold key appeared before his eyes.
Apart from the color, the gold key was similar to the silver key and copper key he possessed.
'Three keys! I finally collected them all…' Duan Ling Tian thought to himself as he retrieved the other two keys and stacked them together.
When the gold, silver and copper crescent-shaped keys were combined, Duan Ling Tian could clearly sense the fluctuation of an Inscription Formation's aura from the keys.
"These three keys have an Inscription Formation on it?" The corner of Duan Ling Tian's mouth twitched.
When the three keys were combined, he realized he had activated the Inscription Formation on it.
Rumble!
Rumble! Rumble!
…
Following that, loud noises came from above Duan Ling Tian and caught his attention.
Duan Ling Tian looked up, and he could clearly see the ceiling of the fourth level's central area slowly moving as it opened. It revealed a door to the fifth level of Qing Feng Palace.
Boom!
Duan Ling Tian's eyes landed on a huge box that fell in front of him after the door to the fifth level opened.
It was an extremely ordinary looking black box, but it brought an extraordinary feeling to Duan Ling Tian.
"This is… Ink Steel?"
Duan Ling Tian's eyes narrowed when he saw the box. He said with a shocked expression on his face, "Isn't this a little too extravagant? The entire box is made of Ink Steel?"
"Extravagant! Too extravagant!"
Ink Steel was a type of crafting material that Duan Ling Tian found out about through the Rebirth Martial Emperor's memory.
If it was not for the Rebirth Martial Emperor's memory, he would not have recognized the Ink Steel.
Ink Steel was a type of crafting material that could craft a Quasi Royal Grade spirit weapon or even a Royal Grade spirit weapon. It was extremely durable.
If it was crafted by a grade one weapon craftsman, the Ink Steel must be burned by a grade one weapon flame for a full month for it to soften.
Three months was needed to liquify the Ink Steel. It was apparent how durable the Ink Steel was.
"It's impossible to try and break this Ink Steel with my current strength!"
Duan Ling Tian shook his head as he carefully sized up the box before him that was made out of Ink Steel. The box was shut tightly, and three similar keyholes were arranged in a row outside.
"These… are the keyholes for these three keys?" Duan Ling Tian could not help but look at the keys in his hands when he saw the keyholes on the box. His breathing immediately quickened.
He had expanded a lot of effort to obtain these three keys, particularly at the fourth level of Qing Feng Palace where he was almost killed by Xu Qing and Zuo Yue. It could be said that he risked his life to obtain the gold key.
"In addition to the extravagance of being made of Ink Steel, it needs three keys to open… I wonder what treasure it contains." Duan Ling Tian was filled with excitement as he inserted the three keys in his hands into the keyholes accordingly.
Pa!
A soft noise sounded as the box opened under Duan Ling Tian's watchful stare.
Everything inside immediately appeared before his eyes.
A fiery-red Flexible Sword as thin as a cicada's wings lay quietly in the box.
It was different from the usual three-foot long sword, the fiery-red Flexible Sword was five-foot long with faint red light shimmering on it.
One could tell it was not ordinary the moment one laid eyes on it.
"This sword…" After a glance, Duan Ling Tian felt that the fiery-red Flexible Sword before his eyes was familiar.
However, he was absolutely certain this was the first time he had seen this sword!
"Unless it's not me but the Rebirth Martial Emperor who was familiar with it?" As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Duan Ling Tian began to search the Rebirth Martial Emperor's memory.
Soon after, he found the answers he needed.
"It turns out this fiery-red Flexible Sword is a spirit weapon personally crafted by the Rebirth Martial Emperor back then… It's also a Quasi Royal Grade Spirit Sword like mine!" After Duan Ling Tian discovered the origin of the fiery-red Flexible Sword before his eyes, he felt a little disappointed.
Meanwhile, the Polyphony Formation inside the box activated, and a voice entered Duan Ling Tian's ears. "Young man, congratulations on collecting all three keys. You managed to obtain the weapon I acquired by chance… This weapon is superior to a grade one spirit weapon, it can increase one's power by two-folds!"
It was a message from Martial Emperor Qing Feng. His voice held a hint of nobility.
Based on Martial Emperor Qing Feng's tone, one could tell he really cherished the Quasi Royal Grade Spirit Sword.
"That Martial Emperor Qing Feng couldn't have imagined … after so many years, the one who obtained this sword does not care for it at all." Duan Ling Tian sighed as he looked at the fiery-red Flexible Sword that was as thin as a cicada's wing inside the box.
He already had a Quasi Royal Grade Spirit Sword.
Another one would not benefit him at all.
"In my eyes, this box is more valuable than the sword inside it."