Chapter Thirty-Four: The Heart of the World

After Chen Yi created the Wind and Thunder Phantom Sword, he immediately began practicing it, hoping to master it in a short time and thus enhance his combat strength.

"Wind and Thunder Phantom Thrust!"

"Wind and Thunder Phantom Slash!"

"Wind and Thunder Phantom Cleave!"

...

As Chen Yi performed the moves of the Wind and Thunder Phantom Sword one by one, what had once felt unfamiliar to him gradually became skillful and natural. The Rainbow Sword in his hand swept through the air, blow after blow, each swing making the power of the Wind and Thunder Phantom Sword more formidable than before.

Yet, each use of the Wind and Thunder Phantom Sword drained some of the spiritual energy within him. After ten successive executions, his spiritual energy was completely depleted. With his current cultivation at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, he could not wield the Wind and Thunder Phantom Sword at will. However, before entering the Small World, Chen Yi had prepared a generous supply of spirit-recovering pills, so he was unafraid of exhaustion.

Once his spiritual energy was spent, with a mere thought, Chen Yi retrieved a pill from his spatial ring, swallowed it, and resumed his sword practice. Thus, time slipped by as he repeated this cycle, tirelessly honing his technique.

He could feel himself approaching the threshold of minor mastery with the Wind and Thunder Phantom Sword. Then, after one final execution, a profound sensation surged within him; the questions that had once puzzled him were suddenly resolved. Chen Yi had achieved minor mastery of the Wind and Thunder Phantom Sword.

To reach major mastery in a short span was nearly impossible, so Chen Yi decided to strengthen himself through other means. His cultivation in Qi Refinement had just broken through to the eighth level and would not improve again soon, so he turned his focus to body refinement.

He practiced the Dragon Elephant Technique, a body-forging method that could be cultivated up to the Golden Core Stage. He had already achieved major mastery of the first level; with physical strength alone, he could rival a ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator.

If he succeeded in the second level of the Dragon Elephant Technique, his strength would be comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. However, the resources required for this breakthrough were immense, and he was unsure if he could find them within the Small World.

Nevertheless, Chen Yi resolved to search diligently, for if he could locate these resources and master the second level, his power would rise dramatically.

As he traveled toward the heart of the Small World, he tempered his Wind and Thunder Phantom Sword against demon beasts and sought out the rare materials needed for the Dragon Elephant Technique. Before reaching the Small World, he had already found most of the required resources, lacking only one crucial spiritual herb: the Elephant Blood Fruit.

This fruit grew only in the dwelling places of elephant herds, nourished by their blood. Consuming it would instill the essence of the elephant race in his body, which would complement the Heavenly Dragon blood within him, allowing him to master the second level of the Dragon Elephant Technique.

Unfortunately, there were no great elephant herds in the Small World, so he could not find the Elephant Blood Fruit. It seemed he would have to seek it in the outside world.

When Chen Yi reached the center of the Small World, he heard sounds of a fierce struggle. Not far away, the genius disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Lu Tian, was locked in battle with Zhang Meng and Wang Bo.

Zhang Meng unleashed the Sun and Moon Universe Blade Technique—a blazing sun and a cold moon struck toward Lu Tian. Lu Tian, calm and poised, wielded his sword and moved with practiced footwork, summoning a storm of lightning that crashed into the sun and moon. After several thunderous strikes, the sun and moon were shattered.

Seeing Zhang Meng’s attack defeated, Wang Bo charged forward, swinging his hammer and using the Earth-Splitting Hammer Technique. Forty-nine waves of internal force crashed toward Lu Tian. Again, Lu Tian summoned a barrage of lightning. The bolts were so swift that Wang Bo could not react in time; his body convulsed with electricity, and he collapsed, sparks crackling across his form.

Seeing Wang Bo fall, Zhang Meng rushed to his side, channeling spiritual energy to drive out the lightning. Soon, Wang Bo stirred and said, “Don’t worry, brother, I’m fine. This little lightning can’t hurt me. But this Lu Tian is truly despicable, seizing the World Heart we discovered first. And his strength is astonishing—he can resist all our attacks.”

“Wang Bo, save your strength and heal first,” Zhang Meng replied. “Don’t worry—I’ll avenge you. Once I unleash the full power of my Sun and Moon Universe Blade, Lu Tian won’t escape.”

As it happened, after entering the Small World, Wang Bo and Zhang Meng had been lucky enough to be transported together. By combining their strengths, they hunted demon beasts, sought spirit herbs, increased their power, and eventually reached the summit of the highest peak at the center of the Small World. There, they discovered the heart of the world itself.

The World Heart is the rarest treasure in any world—the very core, granting its possessor absolute control and invincibility within that realm.

But World Hearts are exceedingly scarce; in a hundred worlds, there might not be even one. Yet, this Small World harbored one.

The disciples of both sects were unaware that, upon discovering the Small World, the Five Elements Sect and the Heavenly Sword Sect had also detected the presence of the World Heart.

However, the rules of the world forbade entry to cultivators above the Qi Refinement stage; any who attempted would be destroyed. If they sent powerful cultivators to seize the heart, the world itself would be ruined, rendering the heart worthless.

Thus, the sect leaders decided that only outer disciples should be allowed entry, leaving fate and strength to determine who would obtain the World Heart. For added safety, great Nascent Soul experts accompanied them to the entrance; otherwise, someone like Chen Yi would never have been led here by a cultivator of such rank.

At the summit, Zhang Meng and Wang Bo were elated to find the World Heart. Yet, it was protected by a world barrier. It took them a long time to break through.

What they did not know was that, had it not been for the four great Nascent Soul cultivators outside suppressing the power of the Small World, their mere Qi Refinement cultivation would never have breached the barrier—only someone at the Nascent Soul stage could hope to do so.

As soon as they broke the barrier and seized the World Heart, they were discovered by Lu Tian of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Lu Tian demanded they hand it over; Zhang Meng and Wang Bo refused, and so the three began to fight.

At the mention of the World Heart, Chen Yi felt a surge of longing—he was determined to obtain it, though he did not truly know what purpose it might serve him.

However, since the heart was in the hands of his fellow sect members, he could not simply seize it by force. He suppressed his desire and continued to watch the contest between Lu Tian and Zhang Meng unfold.