Volume One, Chapter 19: The Ancient Dragon Soul!

“Este immortal, please do not put us in a difficult position. We act only to ensure the fairness of the auction.”

If anyone could recklessly raise the price here just by relying on their status, would the auction house even be able to operate in the future?

“In any case, I forbid you from coming any closer!”

Watching these people draw nearer, Chen Tianyu’s panic was already evident on his face!

The others became even more suspicious of him.

Their attitude grew firmer: “Esteemed immortal, please show us your deposit. If we are wrong in this matter, our auction house will apologize to you.”

But if things were really as they suspected, then apologies would not suffice.

“Before you check me, have you checked him?” Chen Tianyu pointed downstairs at Qin Feng, trying to deflect. “He clearly looks poorer than I am!”

“Rest assured, immortal,” the steward said kindly but with undeniable authority. “Before coming up, we already checked that immortal downstairs. His spirit stones are legitimate. Now, after verifying yours, you two may continue bidding.”

Qin Feng calmly sipped his tea downstairs, already almost certain of the outcome before the inspection began.

To further trap his opponent, he even deliberately raised the bid a bit more, leaving no room for the other side to recover at such a moment!

Soon, the steward came down.

No more sounds came from upstairs; Chen Tianyu fell silent.

As expected, the rusty sword ended up in Qin Feng’s hands.

Without hesitation, Qin Feng took the spirit stones from the steward that had been used in the auction, deducted the sword’s price and the associated fees.

He didn’t even glance at the remaining stones, tucking them away in his storage pouch.

Hurrying outside, Qin Feng rented a cave dwelling and immediately set up the highest-level defensive magic array he had.

He secured the dwelling thoroughly.

“Senior, this should be sufficient now.”

Having completed everything, Qin Feng respectfully addressed the Nine Nether Empress, for he still needed her help to refine and restore the sword.

The Empress neither confirmed nor denied his respect.

“Bring your sword and come inside.”

Qin Feng was puzzled. He had always entered the tower in spirit form; when did he gain the ability to bring objects inside?

But since she said so, he hesitated no longer.

---

Inside the tower, the Nine Nether Empress examined the sword before her.

“The sword itself is good, but to follow you, it lacks something.”

With a slight exertion, the once solid treasured sword shattered instantly, leaving only a glowing, fiery-red substance—a nascent form of sword intent—floating in the air.

Qin Feng studied the substance. Though it appeared unremarkable, a closer feeling revealed the intense sword intent radiating from it.

He also sensed a certain urgency within that sword intent; it was eager to merge with him, to become its perfect final form.

In the past, it would have devoured him.

Just as Qin Feng’s mind wavered and his foot involuntarily stepped forward—

“Behave!”

A sharp reprimand, cold as winter ice, snapped him back to reality, cold sweat breaking out on his back.

Just now, he had nearly been tempted to consume that substance.

Even now, he still didn’t understand what it truly was. Had the Nine Nether Empress not warned him, he knew well that the consequences would have been dire.

“Thank you, senior. May I ask, what exactly is this object?”

Qin Feng was mystified by the substance’s allure.

“Oh, that’s merely a remnant of a dragon soul that escaped when it was disobedient,” the Empress said casually, as if it were a trivial matter.

Qin Feng was stunned.

According to the records he had read, dragons had become extinct some hundred thousand years ago.

Even then, he couldn’t be sure if those records were true.

Now, the Empress told him this was a dragon soul?

He instinctively looked at the substance before him. This didn’t look like a dragon soul at all; instead, it was filled with domineering sword energy. If anything, it resembled a sword spirit.

Sensing Qin Feng’s confusion, the Empress spoke softly, “What, you think it doesn’t look like one?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Very well, I’ll be honest. This is not a pure dragon soul. It has long been fused into the sword. What you see now is only its residual instinct.”

“It just tried to get you to swallow it so it could possess you.”

---

“But now—”

Before she finished, an invisible pressure surged forth. The substance emitted a chilling scream that made the hair on Qin Feng’s skin stand on end!

Instantly, its form grew larger, its red hue even more vivid.

“Take it and absorb it outside.”

The Nine Nether Empress flicked her hand, tossing the substance toward Qin Feng. Before he could react, it had already entered his body!

Immediately, he was expelled from the tower!

His soul returned to his body.

A tearing, soul-piercing pain erupted deep within him!

He instinctively screamed.

Invisible waves of energy rippled outward in layers.

“Ahhhhh!”

His meridians felt as if invisible sword qi was ceaselessly roaming and tearing within them!

The pain was so intense he wished to bite down and end his own life immediately!

Why hadn’t she waited until he was ready?

No one had told him pain could reach such a degree. Had he not already endured the agony of meridian reconstruction once before, this time he would surely have succumbed.

Sword intent surged wildly inside him, and the Divine Demon Sword Bone in his body began rapidly weaving intricate runes.

The two forces resonated, easing his suffering considerably.

He even had the strength to examine the changes inside himself.

First, the runes on the Divine Demon Sword Bone shone far brighter than before.

Then, the sword seed within him, which had remained dormant since his last battle, also changed slightly.

Most notably—

Looking at the sword seed in his dantian, Qin Feng’s lips twitched slightly. Had the Empress not said she had already erased the last remnants of the dragon soul’s will?

Then what was the small black dragon quietly sleeping beside his sword seed?

After checking his dantian, Qin Feng found no other abnormalities.

He used his spiritual power to gently contact the little dragon.

It didn’t move, behaving obediently.

Pulling back his thoughts, Qin Feng looked ahead. He wanted to return to the tower to ask the Nine Nether Empress exactly what was going on.

But the next moment, a telepathic message appeared in his mind.