Feng Zikang frowned. He was naturally reluctant to abandon the iron sword in his hand, so he tapped it with his left hand, knocking the red snake's head back. But the giant snake was exceptionally fierce; with just a turn of its head, it changed direction and lunged again!

This dark art of nurturing a sword with heart's blood is the best way to nourish the Sword Soul. However, once the Sword Soul absorbs the master's vital blood, while it becomes stronger, it also becomes much harder for the master to control. In the end, as the Sword Soul grows, it becomes uncertain whether the man controls the sword or the sword controls the man. This Sword Soul of the Bloodline Serpent Sword—this large red snake—was thick and corpulent, suggesting Huang Jiumi had fed it for a very long time.

"Heh heh! Brat, if you won't withdraw your sword, then prepare to die!"

As Dong Jiumi sneered, the great red snake raised its head high, opened its cavernous, bloody mouth, and lunged straight for Feng Zikang's head!

"I wouldn't be so sure!"

Feng Zikang chuckled lightly, keenly sensing an unusual shift in the iron sword in his hand.

This was no ordinary treasured sword!

He laughed out loud, withdrew his sword as instructed, and leaped backward, evading the serpent's ferocious strike.

Dong Jiumi was just savoring his triumph when he suddenly saw the iron sword entangled by the red snake begin to hum. Inexplicably, it twisted, and the once-hard Hundred-Refined Steel transformed into something as yielding as soft silk, wrapping around the great red snake that the Bloodline Serpent Sword had become.

The red and black intertwined, a sight to behold, but the great red snake was being squeezed so tightly it couldn't breathe, letting out painful hisses, seemingly crying out to its master for aid. Huang Jiumi’s heart ached terribly, and he desperately shook his hand, trying to fling Feng Zikang's iron sword away.

Alas, fate was not on his side. With a sharp zheng sound, the iron sword merely gave a sharp tug, followed by the red snake's mournful cry. It dissolved into a puff of red mist and vanished without a trace. The iron sword pulled free, circled twice in the air, seemingly quite pleased, before flying back to Feng Zikang's grasp.

"Ah!"

Ying Jiumi looked again at his treasured sword—it was still the crimson, twisted dual-pronged shape. Even its material and weight seemed unchanged, yet for some reason, it had lost its spirit. The originally bizarre, glowing aura had completely disappeared, leaving it dull and utterly unremarkable, practically like a piece of common iron!

"Ahhh! My serpent, my serpent!"

Dong Jiumi clutched the lifeless Bloodline Serpent Sword. He completely ignored the formidable enemy before him, instead squatting on the ground and weeping uncontrollably.

Never strike an unknown traveler; only seek treasured swords to warm the gut!

Heaven-Swallowing Ancient Sword!

Feng Zikang closely examined the iron sword in his hand. It seemed only a few more cracks had been mended, with no other special manifestation. Within the repaired fissures, there seemed to be a faint, flickering red glow—perhaps just an illusion from witnessing too much blood.

This Heaven-Swallowing Ancient Sword in his hand seemed to have quite a background. Sadly, when his master passed it on, he only mentioned it was General Lu’s former sword, offering no detailed account. Master Wuding had intended to tell him the sword's story, but after that night, they never met again. To this day, Feng Zikang still did not know the true origins of the Heaven-Swallowing Ancient Sword.

However, even if it lacked other divine abilities, its marvelous capacity to absorb the Sword Souls of other magic artifacts to repair itself was already extraordinary. This was the first time Feng Zikang had used this method in actual combat, and it proved immediately successful, utterly destroying the Sword Soul of the Bloodline Serpent Sword that Dong Jiumi had painstakingly refined!

Seeing Dong Jiumi squatting on the ground weeping, Feng Zikang felt contempt well up inside him. He raised his sword, intending to cleave off the man's head so he could press onward!

Ying Jiumi saw the arc of the incoming sword light. Clutching the Bloodline Serpent Sword in his arms, his eyes nearly split apart in rage, he rolled on the spot, evading the blow.

"Little brat, you have killed my beloved child. I, this old ancestor, vow to devour your flesh and flay your skin to quell the hatred in my heart! Do you dare tell me your name?"

Feng Zikang gave a cold laugh and struck again.

"What manner of thing are you? You are not worthy to ask my name!"

"You infuriate me to death!"

Dong Jiumi’s rage boiled over. He shook his head, and indeed, the pheasant-feathered golden helmet flew off, revealing a mass of pale, disheveled hair. He curled his tongue, yanked the Bloodline Serpent Sword in his hand, and swallowed it whole. His body convulsed, and his lower half began to lengthen, revealing a slippery, thick, crimson-red tail!

Dong Jiumi being a snake demon was within Feng Zikang's expectations, but the nature of his relationship with the Bloodline Serpent Sword was something Feng Zikang could never have predicted.

Back then, after mastering the Myriad Serpent Sword Art, Huang Jiumi still lacked a suitable sword to wield. Frustrated, he followed a method in the Myriad Serpent Secret Codex, gathering three treasures—Nine Heavens Meteoric Iron, Earth Crystal Marrow, and Ten Thousand Year Cold Profound—and mixing them with flood dragon blood, intending to forge the Bloodline Serpent Sword. Yet, after seven years of keeping the furnace lit, he achieved nothing.

He hardened his heart, throwing his wife and several children into the furnace, wishing to emulate ancient tales and use blood sacrifice to attain the sword spirit. This yielded some result; at least the shape of the sword within the furnace was discernible.

But without a Sword God or Sword Soul, the Bloodline Serpent Sword could never be truly forged. Jiumi even tried the final method of sacrificing his own kin, but when it still failed, he had no choice but to abandon the effort, letting the furnace fire burn on, hoping that one day fate would align and the sword would emerge.

Several years passed. In his loneliness and boredom, Huang Jiumi took another wife and had a son.

This son was clever and bright, quickly achieving success in demon cultivation from a young age, becoming his favorite. The obsession with forging the sword gradually faded, replaced by a singular desire to cultivate his son, hoping he would surpass the previous generation. Then, the old demon aged.

Who knew that one day this son, wandering into the sword-forging chamber, became inexplicably drawn to the strange shape of the sword in the furnace, stumbled, and fell in, being completely incinerated.

Dong Jiumi rushed over, weeping tears of grief, heartbroken. He cursed his own deep sins for harming his son. Unexpectedly, after this catastrophe, the Bloodline Serpent Sword, which had resisted forging for over a dozen years, suddenly burst forth from the furnace—it was complete! The divine spirit within the sword was exactly like the aura of Ying Jiumi, his favored son. Only then did he realize his son had become the Sword Soul. In that moment, the extreme swings—great sorrow, great joy, great loss—left him utterly bewildered.

Fortunately, Huang Jiumi was, after all, a ruthless old demon. Obtaining a demon sword was equivalent to gaining a son, so he simply cherished this sword as if it were his child.

Yet, he could never understand why sacrificing so many sons previously had failed to create the sword, and why it only succeeded after his beloved son was consumed.

Now that the Sword Soul had been swallowed and vanished, he was utterly lost, as if his son had died a second time.

In his combined fury and grief, he revealed his true form, something he hadn't shown the world in hundreds of years!

The Blood Spirit Giant Python!

A python as thick as a water vat coiled on the ground. Fully extended, it spanned nearly twenty zhang long, with only the head remaining in human form, white hair flying loose, spitting vile words.

"Little brat, this ancestor will take your life today!"

Feng Zikang showed no fear; his fighting spirit surged. He raised his sword, slashing towards the heavens, concentrating his attention, waiting. Then, he heard the mechanical beast Longque behind him crying out mournfully, seemingly eager for battle.

"You want to fight this giant python?"

Longque bared its fangs and claws, radiating disdain. It was originally a Five-Clawed Divine Dragon from the heavens; how could it look upon a mere terrestrial python or flood dragon? It was only because its dragon essence was currently damaged that the python's divine soul inner core presented itself as a perfect tonic, prompting it to challenge the foe!

"Haha! Good, then you go!"

Feng Zikang understood its intention. He patted the mechanical beast’s spine. Longque roared fiercely and charged out, snapping its jaws and crying out provocatively toward the Blood Spirit Giant Python.

Dong Jiumi, transformed into the blood python, was already consumed by blinding rage and his sanity was somewhat impaired. How could he endure such provocation? He shook his head, completely retracting the human head, transforming into a monstrously huge python head. Its eyes were blood-red, its mouth a gaping basin, and its teeth like steel blades, snapping repeatedly at the mechanical beast.

The mechanical beast Longque did not evade; it allowed itself to be bitten, since it had no flesh or skin and felt no pain. It flipped over, its massive claws like blades, gouging several deep wounds into the blood python’s body.

The blood python roared in extreme anger, whipping its tail fiercely. It struck like an iron whip, forcing Longque’s giant claws back. Longque was unhurried, raising its own tail to wrestle with the blood python.

The battle between these two was entertaining. Both were long, sinuous shapes with flexible tails. The blood python had the advantage of its biting maw, while Longque possessed five massive claws. One dragon, one python, they fought fiercely.

Rocks shattered, and dust billowed into the sky. Feng Zikang sat calmly to one side, while dividing his attention to observe the dragon-python duel, he meticulously pondered the subtleties of the sword techniques and divine powers he had just employed. A faint smile touched his lips. Countless stones and trees rushed past him but could not approach within three feet of his person.

If a sword possesses spirit, it moves according to its will.

He mused for a long time, then lightly swung his sword. He felt his mind become utterly clear, as if he had gained a new insight.

Previously, when employing the Star Extinction Great Annihilation Sword Art, his focus had been too much on the words "Extinction," overemphasizing momentum and speed. Though immensely powerful, it had lost the sense of the stars' nimble flickering.

Today, by chance, witnessing the dance of myriad snakes and connecting it to the stars above, he experienced a sudden awakening.

Regardless of the chaotic setting, he began practicing the sword art by himself.

The Heaven-Swallowing Ancient Sword was heavy, blunt, and simple, but by integrating the essence of starlight, wielding it felt as light as a feather, incredibly agile.

Faint starlight flickered and pulsed uncertainly above the blade's edge.

Birth, death, and endless recurrence.

Within the starlight, the metaphor for vitality suddenly struck Feng Zikang. If one only pursued annihilation, if the sword technique relied solely on direct assault rather than seeking the indirect path, it would lose the meaning imbued in "starlight."

When facing the weak, a single strike of annihilation was naturally sufficient, but against opponents of equal standing or stronger foes, rigidity invites breakage. The Star Extinction Great Annihilation, as a powerful method for the weak to overcome the strong, would naturally not be so simplistic.

Having attained this insight into the Way of the Sword, Feng Zikang was eager to test it. He slowly began maneuvering the Heaven-Swallowing Ancient Sword. Though his sword movements were slow, they contained the ultimate principles of the universe. Slowly, a pale golden arc appeared around him, spanning about three zhang in circumference, and it continued to expand slowly, rendering everything external irrelevant to the space within.

At this moment, the Blood Spirit Giant Python had just had its belly ripped open by Longque, which was vigorously tearing out a chunk of flesh. The Blood Spirit Giant Python roared furiously, whipping its massive tail and sending Longque flying backward violently, right into the golden arc surrounding Feng Zikang.

The arc merely swayed gently. Longque slid down the curve slowly, without even registering an impact.

Feng Zikang stood within the arc with his eyes closed, slowly maneuvering his sword, completely unconcerned with the outside affairs.

Within the arc, stars flickered indistinctly, their swirling light clearly mimicking a primordial universe!