Supreme Sword Exalt

Ah Man instinctively gazed at the blood qi with yearning. “Benefactor, this is...”

All barbarians originated from the barbarian ancestor bloodline. He himself felt an innate sense of closeness and longing for this power.

Gu Han sighed softly as Chi Yao’s words “creation” still echoed in his ears. “The barbarian ancestor inheritance. I took a liking to you. I’ll give this thing to you...”

Ah Man knelt on one knee, inexplicably excited.

Just as Ah Man was about to thank him, Gu Han stopped him. His expression turned serious. “There’s no need to thank me. Ah Man, if you receive this inheritance, you must always remember one name, Chi Yao! He is your true teacher. I am merely fulfilling his request according to my promise.”

Ah Man scratched his head. “Benefactor, Chi Yao is...?”

Gu Han smiled. “He is a true hero!”

The power drifted for a moment before sinking into Ah Man’s brow and disappearing. A wave of power, faintly carrying a sense of vast desolation, spread out. It even dispersed the gray mist that lingered here all year round by a few degrees.

Watching Ah Man enter a meditative state to absorb the power, Yan Qi flicked his tongue incessantly, drool dripping down. His vertical pupils were full of wistfulness. “Senior, Maiden, what about me? Do you like me?”

Gu Han was ambiguous. “Quite a bit.”

Yan Qi immediately perked up, his tail held high. Then, he gritted his teeth and gouged a finger-sized bloody hole on himself. “Me! I swear in the name of the demon ancestor! I will never become an enemy of you or the Great Flame Empire in the future! If I break this oath, may I... may I...”

His eyes darted around, thinking his oath had to be more vicious and ruthless than Ah Man’s to move Gu Han. The demoness laughed, blossoming with charm, which made Gu Han’s heart thump a few times.

He didn’t dare look too long. With a light cough, he stopped Yan Qi. “Enough. I don’t have a demon ancestor inheritance on me."

Yan Qi’s head drooped. He glanced enviously at Ah Man, then at his bloody hole. “I...”

Heartache... literal ache too.

Yan Qi moved forward listlessly. “Senior, Maiden, follow me...”

The two then followed. The space inside this gray mist was indeed not small. Along the way, ancient trees blotted out the sky, and gray mist swirled. The deeper they went, the scenery faintly took on a few shades of red.

Although the light was dim, it was much prettier than the monotonous dark green outside. The strange sight elicited repeated exclamations of admiration from the demoness.

Gu Han could see that the demonic aura was growing increasingly strong.

In just a short while, Yan Qi had led the two to a highly irregular cave entrance. “Benefactor, Maiden, this is it.”

It was actually an underground cavern, winding and twisting to unknown depths. The ground at the entrance had completely turned red. Even from outside, waves of scorching heat assaulted them, filled with faint traces of lightning.

Gu Han’s pupils constricted sharply. “What...”

He was absorbing the faint wisps of lightning. As the lightning flowed into him, his strength increased by a tiny bit.

The demoness wore an expression of sudden understanding. “So that’s it. It really is a Crimson Golden Lightning Beast!”

Gu Han was stunned. “Crimson Golden Lightning Beast? What is that?”

The demoness explained, “It’s a mutant species from the void. Born with a strong body and huge size, it will reach ten thousand li in length upon adulthood. Each Golden Lightning Beast is born with a crimson sun inside its heart core. This beast devours lightning, refining it into its heart core and fusing it with the crimson sun.

“The result is called yang lightning. It’s also the beast’s strongest attack method, as it has both the fierceness of lightning and the dominance of the crimson sun.“

Gu Han’s doubts vanished. No wonder his Indestructible Sword Physique reacted so strongly to this lightning. The fire pool contained the yang lightning required to achieve the physique’s second stage.

The demoness glanced at Yan Qi. “At the end of the day, the yang lightning still isn’t the real heavenly lightning. The lightning baptism this snake underwent lacks a trace of the life force bestowed by the Great Dao. As such, it only counts as having passed half a heavenly tribulation. That’s why he can speak human language, yet cannot take human form.”

Yan Qi finally understood. “So that’s why!”

Having neither hands nor feet, he could only raise his tail as a gesture of respect. “Maiden, you have broad knowledge. I’m far inferior. You’re admirable!”

Gu Han frowned. Clearly, this was a tremendous stroke of fortune. His strength would surely increase significantly from this.

Still, why did it feel too good to be true? Especially for someone plagued by bad luck. Could it be that things reverse at the extreme? Was his luck starting to turn after reaching the peak of misfortune?

He had no choice but to ask the demoness, “What do you think?”

He felt that if he made the decision himself, the outcome probably wouldn’t be good.

The demoness seemed thoughtful. “Is this yang lightning very important to you?”

“Yes. If I temper my body with this lightning, my strength will increase a lot.”

The demoness gave a light smile. “Then go for it. The situation can’t get any worse anyway.”

Gu Han also smiled. “That’s true. It can’t get much worse.”

Yan Qi secretly shook his head in contempt. This guy can’t think for himself! He always has to ask the maiden about everything, even needing her help to make decisions! Where’s the dignity?!

Subconsciously, he thought even less of Gu Han. I thought he was a real man, a great hero, but turns out he’s just a freeloader. Tch! I am a fine man! If I find a partner in the future, I must not follow in his footsteps!

Just then, Gu Han said, “Yan Qi, I need to stay here for a while. Take Ah Man and his mother away to hide as far from me as possible.”

Yan Qi didn’t take it seriously. “Senior, with your strength, who could possibly be your match? Besides, I am not cowardly or afraid of trouble—”

“You might die.”

Yan Qi was silent for a moment before moving far away, shouting without looking back, “Senior, Maiden, the mountains are high and the waters wide, we’ll meet again someday!”

Gu Han sighed in relief and threw a storage ring with a flick of his finger. “Take this! While I don’t have a demon ancestor inheritance, I have some pills that might be useful to you. Consider it a thank you gift!”

Yan Qi opened his mouth wide, swallowed the storage ring, and moved even faster. “Thank you, Senior!”

A few breaths later, the snake was gone.

Gu Han no longer hesitated. “Let’s go.”

The two entered the cave. There was even more lightning inside. Some wisps entered him, and he could already feel his body growing slightly stronger.

Even though this place didn’t see the sun, the rising, scorching heat made it much brighter than outside. Amid the flickering red light, the demoness’ delicate, flawless face gained a bit more charm.

Having guessed Gu Han’s feeling, the demoness chuckled softly. “Having second thoughts? That beast interrupted our good time, and we lost such a good opportunity, ah...”

Before Gu Han could speak, she sighed lightly. “How I wish we could stay like this forever.”

Gu Han was silent for a moment before asking, “How exactly are we supposed to solve your problem? Do you need that thing?”

A trace of longing flashed in her eyes. “If back then it had been you, Gu Han, who took Mo Chenyin away instead of Ling Ya... How wonderful would that have been...”

Ling Ya! Gu Han memorized the name deeply in his heart!