Chapter 30: The Blade of Yaoxin—The Heart’s Intent of Mengyao

Mo Xuan gave a bitter smile, resigned to diligently consolidating his progress in the First Realm. After all, the First Realm was already quite formidable; mastering it completely would be a significant feat.

Over the next few days, he experimented with various methods of fusion. It was truly intriguing—by incorporating speed and spiritual force into his techniques, his movement became increasingly elusive, and he could even execute illusion-based attacks and conjure phantom clones, though these were only effective against the target themselves.

Seven days later, Meng Yao personally delivered the finished artifact.

Mo Xuan was genuinely satisfied, though the quality caught him off guard—it seemed to have reached the level of a supreme-grade artifact. It appeared Meng Yao’s skill as an artificer was remarkably high to be able to craft such an item. "This... isn't this too high-grade?"

"Just take it. It was made with the materials you provided, plus a little blue-red mysterious gold."

Mo Xuan was skeptical. "Truly just a little?"

Meng Yao felt guilty and confessed the truth. "Fine, it was half."

"I don't believe you," Mo Xuan insisted, looking at her with a questioning gaze.

"Alright, it was seventy percent, plus some other materials. That's all. It was my first time crafting such a high-level artifact, so consider it a sparring fee. You should be grateful it turned out successfully; otherwise, I wouldn't have compensated you."

Given the situation, Mo Xuan felt he could not refuse. Regardless of her intentions, it was a gesture of kindness. "Does it have a name?"

"No, you name it," Meng Yao replied.

"Well, you crafted it, and your name is Lin Meng Yao. Let’s call it the Yao Xin Blade!"

"Ah..." Meng Yao felt a bit awkward, yet she felt a warmth in her heart. She did not refuse. "As you wish."

On the surface, Meng Yao remained calm, but inside, she was deeply moved. Mo Xuan, of course, was unaware that this was the first time Meng Yao had ever crafted an artifact for an outsider. Although Mo Xuan had paid two million, this was a supreme-grade artifact; it would normally be impossible to acquire for less than tens of millions of spirit coins.

The power of the supreme-grade artifact was indeed extraordinary, boosting his overall strength by more than threefold compared to before. It was truly a necessity for any cultivator.

A short while later, news leaked out that the Seventh Elder of the Mo family had been secretly mining the ore deposits. This was inevitable, as there were so many spies that discovery was only a matter of time. However, Mo Xuan heard distressing news: the Seventh Elder had been ambushed by a group on his way to the mines, and his fate was unknown.

The messenger was Xiao Hu, who arrived covered in wounds, appearing to have exerted immense effort to return. Mo Xuan, having just finished testing the Yao Xin Blade, was about to rush off in a panic, but Meng Yao stopped him.

She pulled him aside and whispered, "Do you really trust him?"

"He is my best friend; I trust him." That was Mo Xuan's answer. After all, when he was at his lowest, Zhao Hu had never abandoned him and had stayed by his side. They were, in essence, companions who had weathered trials together.

Mo Xuan left immediately. Meng Yao, however, remained skeptical; she seemed to know something, though she had only shared a portion of her concerns. Since she didn't know the crucial details, Mo Xuan dismissed it as nothing out of the ordinary. Unable to persuade him further, and seeing that Mo Xuan was trapped in his own perspective, she angrily went to find Lan Bing.

According to Zhao Hu’s description, they were transporting fire crystal ore to Huanxi Town when they were ambushed by a group that clearly belonged to the Chen family. Their strength was not exceptionally high, with the strongest among them only at the Earth Soul Realm.

Suddenly, the sound of fighting erupted not far away. A corner of the mountain peak shattered, sending rocks tumbling down.

With a thunderous roar, several forces collided, the sound deafening. Mo Xuan grew anxious and quickened his pace.

Upon arrival, he found the Seventh Elder severely wounded and cornered by three opponents of the same Earth Soul Realm level. Behind the Seventh Elder was a steep, jagged cliff, the area littered with debris and craters. Dead bodies lay nearby, mostly belonging to the Mo family.

"Zi Xiao, are you still refusing to surrender? In your current state, I doubt you can hold out much longer!"

The speaker was Elder Wu, whom Mo Xuan had once spared out of pity. He had not expected the man to continue making life difficult for his own kin.

"Mo Wu, the Young Master kindly spared your life before. I never expected you to be so shameless," the Seventh Elder roared, though his condition was dire; he coughed up blood as soon as he finished speaking.

"Heh, you still call him Young Master? He’s a spineless coward. Even with a bit of strength now, he’s still weak and pathetic—impossible to groom into anything," Mo Wu said with disdain, not holding Mo Xuan in the slightest regard.

"One day, he will reach his father's level."

Mo Wu was unaware of the truth behind the Seventh Elder's words, assuming Mo Xuan's father was merely an Earth Nether Realm cultivator. "And so what? The Chen family has the backing of the Shangqing Sect. Even if he surpasses him, what does it matter?"

Mo Xuan, feeling deeply unsettled, unleashed his Domain of Zero to its maximum extent, enveloping all three. He then rushed to the Seventh Elder’s side, hoping to whisk him away.

"Why did you come! I told Xiao Hu..." The Seventh Elder meant for Mo Xuan to stay out of this mess; he seemed to realize the situation was not simple.

"What..." Mo Xuan’s mind reeled. He suddenly realized that Xiao Hu was the true traitor, who had not only failed to report the truth but had lied about the situation. "Even so, I would have come."

"Go quickly, leave me! It’s dangerous here!" The Seventh Elder knew this was a conspiracy—a calculated trap; otherwise, their movements would not have been tracked so accurately.

"Haha, as expected of the old man—truly vicious, but too late."

A voice from above shattered the silence. A figure stood on a tree branch, looking ancient and profound.

"Oh no!" The Seventh Elder felt a chill. Mo Xuan recognized the man as the Earth Nether Realm expert from the Chen family he had encountered at the ferry.

"I never expected the esteemed ancestor of the Chen family to have hidden his strength for so long." The Seventh Elder whispered to Mo Xuan that this was Chen Kaishan, the strongest ancestor of the Chen family. Everyone had believed him to be an eleventh-level Earth Profound Realm cultivator; no one suspected he was actually in the Earth Nether Realm.

"Little one, you dared to raid the Chen family's stronghold and cut down three of our top experts. Isn't it time to settle this debt?" Chen Kaishan was arrogant, looking down on Mo Xuan entirely. It was clear he had orchestrated this trap.

Meanwhile, the three Earth Soul Realm cultivators had escaped the restraint of the Domain of Zero thanks to his interference. The situation turned dire.

"They brought it upon themselves. It’s called retribution. Who can they blame for their own lack of skill?" Mo Xuan remained surprisingly calm.

This slightly surprised Chen Kaishan, who frowned. "A fine 'lack of skill.' Then, if you die by my hands today, you can only blame your own lack of skill... Strike!"

"Dreams within dreams, reality and illusion intertwine—Zero Domain, activate!" This time, relying solely on the 'reality' aspect of his Domain, Mo Xuan froze the three cultivators in mid-air—a technique he had learned from Chen Pengfei.

"You certainly have some tricks, but before absolute strength, they are worthless."

Chen Kaishan unleashed his deep, formidable spiritual power without reservation. Faced with such absolute power—the overwhelming pressure of an Earth Nether Realm expert—Mo Xuan’s domain began to fracture and crack.

With a series of sharp reports, the domain was obliterated. The force sent Mo Xuan flying back against the cliff, leaving a deep impression in the stone.

Mo Xuan spat out blood, clutching his chest as he slowly struggled to his feet.

"I am surprised by your endurance!" Chen Kaishan shook his head with reluctant admiration. "What a pity!"

Mo Xuan was the Mo family’s greatest hope. The Seventh Elder had never wanted Mo Xuan involved in these matters, knowing it would eventually lead to chaos. He just hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

"Young Master, leave quickly. I beg you."

"No, I still have a chance!"

"The best chance is to leave now. My life is not worth much; you must take care of yourself."

The Seventh Elder possessed the strength of the seventh or eighth level of the Earth Soul Realm, making him one of the strongest in the Mo family aside from the acting patriarch, Mo Cheng. He understood the necessity of sacrifice and, seeing how much Mo Xuan had grown, felt a sense of relief. He would hesitate no longer.

Dragging his heavily wounded body, the Seventh Elder stood in front of Mo Xuan. "Let me, old man, face him for you!"

"No!"

The Seventh Elder’s energy signature was erratic—he was using a life-burning secret technique. He was going to risk everything. A mixture of warmth and tears welled up in Mo Xuan’s heart.

But it was too late; the Seventh Elder had already charged forward.

Chen Kaishan hadn't been overly concerned, but he hadn't expected the Seventh Elder to resort to self-detonation. It was entirely unexpected.

Within ten breaths, a massive explosion rocked the area, cracking the mountain itself and causing the ground to fissure.

Mo Xuan felt an inexpressible agony. He desperately tried to reach the Space of Time, but the clocks within remained frozen, completely still. Although large areas had thawed, he still could not access it. "Why now, of all times!"

Enduring his pain, he used his agile movement technique to escape through the thick smoke and turbulence of the explosion.

However, escaping was not that easy. The power of an Earth Nether Realm expert was not to be underestimated; even the Seventh Elder’s desperate final blow hadn't caused him any harm, let alone Mo Xuan.

Chen Kaishan quickly caught up. The suppression of cultivation levels was something that could not be easily overcome. From thirty feet away, he flicked his hands, and sharp gales of energy shot toward Mo Xuan.

Before he could dodge, Mo Xuan was struck, plummeting from the sky to the ground, shattering a large tree upon impact.