The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 30: The First Treasure—The Thousand-Jun Sword

The battle against Huang Bai had brought Zhou Tianci numerous benefits. For the first time, he had witnessed the tactics of an Innate-level powerhouse and gained a clear understanding of his own strengths and weaknesses. Having faced life-and-death situations, Zhou Tianci’s soul seemed to have been elevated, and the power of his spiritual essence had significantly increased. For Zhou Tianci, the stronger his spiritual essence, the greater the benefits he could derive from the Tree of Creation and Immortality. During his Post-Heaven stage, he relied on the tree’s devouring ability to rapidly strengthen himself. After his spiritual essence reached the Pre-Heaven stage, Zhou Tianci once again relied on the Tree of Creation and Immortality to comprehend the laws of power. Upon reaching the mid-stage of the Innate realm, Zhou Tianci obtained the foundational section of the *Nine Transformations Mystical Art* from the Tree of Eternal Creation… It could be said that without the Tree of Eternal Creation, Zhou Tianci would have died long ago. The power of the Tree of Eternal Creation extends far beyond this; what Zhou Tianci has glimpsed so far is merely the tip of the iceberg. Now, with his Primordial Spirit showing signs of breaking through the six-chi mark, he has discovered a new function of the Tree of Eternal Creation: the ability to forge treasures through the laws of the universe. Zhou Tianci settled his mind and thoroughly examined the functions of these Treasures of Creation, finally bursting into laughter. “Treasures of Creation, Treasures of Creation—truly, the Tree of Eternal Creation lives up to its name!” Zhou Tianci couldn’t help but feel ecstatic. But after the initial elation subsided, a hint of worry crept into his mind. “According to the information within the Tree of Eternal Creation, treasures across the myriad realms are all manifestations of laws, and a treasure’s value depends on the completeness of its laws. For example, the Primordial Supreme Treasures of the Primordial World are formed from complete laws, whereas the laws within Primordial Spiritual Treasures are incomplete.” “The Tree of Eternal Creation can devour laws, manifest laws, and replicate laws. Devouring laws promotes the Tree’s growth, which in turn strengthens my Primordial Spirit; manifesting laws allows me, a mere Post-Heaven cultivator, to comprehend the laws and set foot on the Great Dao of Laws; and replicating laws involves duplicating the devoured laws to create treasures.” “The more complete the laws the Tree of Eternal Creation devours, the more complete the laws it replicates. If it can devour a complete law—forming complete branches, leaves, and roots, and bearing the fruit of that law—then it will be able to replicate that complete law and create a Primordial Treasure. This ability is simply beyond belief!” Zhou Tianci prided himself on his broad perspective, but even he was utterly astonished by this ability of the Tree of Eternal Creation. If one day Zhou Tianci were to complete the Three Thousand Tian Dao Laws, allowing the Tree of Eternal Creation to bear the fruits of the Three Thousand Laws, wouldn’t he then be able to create Three Thousand Primordial Treasures! “Three thousand innate treasures…” Zhou Tianci couldn’t help but daydream. After daydreaming about the Primordial Treasures for a while, Zhou Tianci brought his thoughts back to the present. Primordial Treasures were far too distant for him—utterly out of reach—and no amount of daydreaming would change that. “There are three conditions for creating treasures through the Tree of Eternal Creation. The first is my Primordial Spirit. If the power of my Primordial Spirit is too weak, it simply cannot withstand the energy drain of replicating the laws; second is the degree to which the laws have manifested—only laws that have manifested and been comprehended by me can be replicated;third is the material that will bear the laws. Ordinary materials simply cannot withstand the laws; even with complete laws, if there are no heavenly treasures to serve as a vessel, a Primordial Treasure cannot be created.” Zhou Tianci organized the conditions for creating treasures of creation and had essentially mastered this ability. “Right now, I can only replicate a very small portion of the Law of Force, so the treasure I create will likely be of the lowest grade.” Zhou Tianci felt a bit disheartened, but then he reconsidered: “Even a treasure of the lowest grade is still a treasure—it’s in a completely different league from ordinary objects!” With that thought, Zhou Tianci felt much better. By the time he had absorbed all this information, it was already late at night. Zhou Tianci showed no signs of fatigue. He took an ordinary long sword made of refined steel, held it before him, pressed it against his body, and enveloped it with the power of his spiritual essence, transferring the Law of Force into the sword’s body. “The Law of Force manifested by the Tree of Eternal Creation is extremely minimal, and what I’ve comprehended is even less—but for me right now, that’s actually good news,” Zhou Tianci couldn’t help but think. “If there were too many laws, my spiritual essence wouldn’t be strong enough to replicate them, and this refined steel wouldn’t be able to withstand it either…” Since Zhou Tianci had grasped so few laws, a single night was enough for him to imprint them onto the sword. Once the treasure of Creation was complete, the originally ordinary bright silver longsword turned black. The sword had previously weighed only a little over 20 jin, but now it weighed a full 1,000 jin! “The power of the Creation Treasure is too overwhelming!” Holding the black sword, Zhou Tianci couldn’t resist swinging it a couple of times. With a sharp “whoosh,” the sword’s wind sliced through his tent, startling the others. “Squad Leader, what happened?” Chen Xiangrong rushed over. Zhou Tianci sheathed the sword: “Nothing. I just lost control of my strength while practicing my martial arts.” After Chen Xiangrong left, Zhou Tianci drew the long sword again and examined it closely; he was extremely pleased with it. “Just a sliver of the Power of the Law was enough to forge this treasure sword. The combination of the Power of the Law and the Power of Creation is simply terrifying!” Zhou Tianci tapped the blade, producing a dull thud. “This sword is far from complete. As my understanding of the Law of Force deepens, and with the nurturing of my Primordial Spirit, its power will continue to grow.” Zhou Tianci named his new long sword the Thousand Jun Sword. Imbued with the Law of Force, it was an unquestionable treasure. Of course, the amount of the Law of Force it currently contained was too small—insufficient to form a restriction—so the Thousand Jun Sword could not yet be considered a magical treasure; at best, it was a divine weapon. “With this Thousand Jun Sword, my strength has increased by at least fifty percent! If I’d had the Thousand Jun Sword in my possession when I encountered Huang Bai last time, I’m afraid it wouldn’t have taken more than a few moves to slay him.” Zhou Tianci, now in possession of this treasure, was thoroughly pleased with himself. After breakfast, Zhou Tianci led his men southward. “Sir, where’s your long halberd?” Lei Dong asked, noticing that Zhou Tianci was holding a sword. Zhou Tianci chuckled, “I no longer use a halberd.” Gu Dali disguised himself and followed close behind Zhou Tianci; anyone unfamiliar with him would never recognize him. Glancing at Zhou Tianci’s sword, a gleam flashed in Gu Dali’s eyes: “Brother Zhou, that sword of yours is no ordinary weapon, is it?” Zhou Tianci asked in return, “What makes you say that?” Gu Dali replied, “This sword may look ordinary, but it’s as heavy as the earth itself. In my opinion, it must weigh at least a thousand jin! Although I can’t identify the material it’s forged from, based solely on the sensation it gives me, I’m certain this sword must be a divine weapon!” “Brother Gu, I’m curious—how are weapon grades classified?” Zhou Tianci asked. Knowing that Gu Dali was well-versed in such matters, he often sought his advice. Gu Dali replied, “Weapons, like martial artists, are strictly classified; different grades correspond to different levels of power. The most common weapons, such as standard-issue military equipment, are usually called ‘edged weapons.’ Even among edged weapons, there are good and bad—the worst are made of crude iron, while the best are forged from high-quality steel. Above edged weapons lie divine weapons. These are extremely rare; in my fifty-plus years, I’ve only seen three or four of them…” Zhou Tianci hurriedly asked, “What’s the difference between divine weapons and sharp weapons?” Gu Dali shook his head and said, “I can’t explain the specifics, but a divine weapon is simply a divine weapon—innate masters can sense it. It’s just as I knew this sword of yours was a divine weapon the moment I saw it. Divine weapons are superior to sharp weapons not only in terms of power; they can also withstand the true qi, true essence, and gale qi of innate masters, greatly enhancing their strength.” Hearing this, Zhou Tianci surmised that so-called divine weapons were likely treasures imbued with traces of the Laws. These treasures must be forged from heavenly materials and rare treasures that contain traces of the Laws, which is why they possess such terrifying power. “Are there weapons even more advanced than divine weapons?” Zhou Tianci asked. Gu Dali replied, “That’s hard to say. Divine Weapons are already extremely rare; the vast majority of Innate-level experts do not possess them. As for what lies above Divine Weapons, legend speaks of ‘Precious Artifacts’!” Hearing Gu Dali’s words, Lei Dong and the Li brothers all pricked up their ears. Although they were still at the Post-Heaven realm—and Lei Dong hadn’t even reached it yet—every martial artist has an innate curiosity about such secrets. “I’ve only heard a few scattered rumors about Treasure Weapons,” Gu Dali said quietly. “Above Innate-level experts are the peerless masters who have cultivated Divine Abilities. Legend has it that those at the Divine Ability Realm can forge Divine Weapons—all the Divine Weapons in the world were forged by them. There’s also a legend that says Divine Ability Realm experts can wield weapons even more powerful than divine weapons—namely, treasure weapons. Treasure weapons possess incredible divine abilities; one the size of a ring can contain an entire small mountain, and a treasure weapon axe the size of a palm can easily cleave a massive mountain in two…” “Huh? Are there really such miraculous things in this world?” Lei Dong couldn’t help but ask. Gu Dali sighed, “I’ve only heard these rumors from others myself—who knows if they’re true or not? At least in the Great State of Yu, I’ve never heard of any Treasured Weapons.” “Since divine weapons are forged by cultivators at the Divine Power Realm, how did you come by yours, sir?” Li Ping asked in a deep, resonant voice. Li Feng quickly snapped, “Third Brother, don’t say such things!” Zhou Tianci smiled. “Don’t worry about it—it’s no big deal. This ‘Qianjun Sword’ of mine is indeed a divine weapon; I came by it quite by accident.” Since Gu Dali had mentioned that Innate-level experts could sense divine weapons, Zhou Tianci saw no need to hide the truth. “Brother Zhou, you should still be careful with this divine weapon. There’s no shortage of people in this world willing to kill to steal treasures,” Gu Dali cautioned. Zhou Tianci laughed, “Thank you for the warning, Brother Gu. But if anyone tries to take this treasure from me, they’ll have to ask this sword first.” Gu Dali said no more. He recalled how Zhou Tianci had slain Huang Bai—a mid-stage Innate cultivator—yesterday while still in the early stage of Innate cultivation; that level of power had far exceeded his expectations. In Gu Dali’s view, with a divine weapon in hand, Zhou Tianci would not be without a fighting chance even against a late-stage Innate cultivator—and there were only a few dozen such cultivators in the Great State of Yu! At noon, Chen Xiangrong reported to Zhou Tianci, “Squad Leader, we’re only 10 li away from Shepan Mountain!”