When Xu Zimo said that, Hong Tianfu was stunned for a moment but quickly recovered.
Although Xu Zimo and he hadn’t made a move yet, the five people ahead were still on guard.
The three young men looked at Xu Zimo and Hong Tianfu warily, while the old man and the young girl went to the edge of the erupting volcano.
The girl wore a light blue robe and looked around fifteen or sixteen years old. She seemed to have just started her cultivation journey.
The old man had gray-white facial hair, and his black hair was tied neatly behind his head. He looked full of spirit and wore a long cyan-green robe.
"Uncle Ming, I’m counting on you," the girl said softly, her voice still youthful.
"Miss, I’ll give it a try," the old man named Ming said with a nod.
"This broken sword has already developed a violent nature, it’s very hard to tame."
After speaking, Uncle Ming took out a snowflake-shaped object from his storage ring. Or rather, it was an actual snowflake.
Xu Zimo watched from the side with interest.
"Thousand Mountain Snow!"
He hadn’t expected the other party to even prepare something like this. Thousand Mountain was a snow-covered mountain, known for being buried in snow all year round.
It’s said that long ago, Thousand Mountain was no different from any other ordinary mountain.
Later, a demon beast named Tomb Fish attempted to undergo tribulation on the mountain top.
Unfortunately, the heavenly tribulation was too powerful and killed Tomb Fish on the spot.
After Tomb Fish died, its body decayed and merged into the mountain. Due to its innate life force, the area became permanently snowy and extremely cold.
Inside Thousand Mountain, besides regular snow, there was a rare material called Thousand Mountain Snow.
It was formed by the fusion of Tomb Fish’s vital energy and snowflakes.
It represents the ultimate power of ice and snow.
...
Thousand Mountain Snow was very rare, a treasure you could only come across by luck.
At this moment, Uncle Ming held the Thousand Mountain Snow in his left hand while channeling his spiritforce with his right.
Finally, a giant spiritforce hand formed and reached toward the broken sword inside the erupting volcano.
The broken sword seemed aware and, as the hand approached from above, a sharp sword aura burst forth from the sword, slicing the giant hand in half.
This act appeared to enrage the sword.
Endless flames surged around the blade, and loud explosions echoed across the area.
The entire volcano began to tremble as if it were waking up.
Molten lava surged upward from the depths below, and with a loud sword cry, a sea of fire burst into the sky.
The people nearby quickly retreated.
Meteors and molten rocks rained down.
The summit of the volcano cracked in countless places, and the scorching air, mixed with the stench of sulfur, swept across the area.
Within that fiery sea, a broken sword surged upward.
As the firestorm shot up, a metallic "clang" echoed.
Its first target was the old man.
The broken sword, carrying endless flames like a fire god’s descent, slashed toward Uncle Ming with molten lava and fierce sword energy.
The old man’s face turned grim. He shielded the girl behind him, then activated the Thousand Mountain Snow.
Pure white snowflakes danced in the air, and a cold aura spread outward, forming a transparent barrier centered on him.
Inside the barrier, snowflakes gently fell.
Molten lava collided with the snowy shield and was completely absorbed.
Boiling magma and the freezing snow combined into steam.
The old man’s aura was immense, like a falling sky. His True Fate appeared, a pure white longsword.
He gripped the sword and stepped into the snowy sky to attack.
The broken sword surged through the sea of fire, rising to meet him.
A huge explosion followed.
Spiritforce swept out in all directions. The sea of fire shattered into countless fireballs raining down.
Xu Zimo looked up and saw the old man fall from the sky.
The snowy shield shattered, and the old man crashed to the ground, his robes in tatters, his face full of desperation.
"Uncle Ming!" the girl cried out.
"Let’s go," the old man grabbed her and fled in a panic.
The broken sword, carried by the fiery sea, poured down like a storm and covered the entire summit.
The three young men who had accompanied them were all burned in the flames.
Xu Zimo calmly watched, unmoved by the raging fire around him.
"The sword has gained sentience," he murmured.
During the early days of the Desolate Era, the True God Sword was split into five sword fragments.
Some fragments had sword spirits that died, while others developed new consciousness.
Of the three fragments Xu Zimo had previously obtained, only the first had consciousness, namely Bluesoul. The other two were inert.
This fourth fragment, this sword blade, clearly had a violent consciousness.
After the old man escaped, the broken sword turned its attention to Xu Zimo.
It also sensed the aura of the other fragments on him.
It stared at him warily.
"Submit to me," Xu Zimo said calmly.
As soon as he spoke, the broken sword was enraged.
It surged forward with the sea of fire and overwhelming power.
Xu Zimo waved his right hand, and the three fragments he had already collected flew out.
As they emerged, their sword intent soared skyward.
The three separate sword intents formed a mighty aura that surrounded the blade.
Together, the sword intents suppressed the broken sword.
Feeling something was wrong, the broken sword tried to flee.
But Xu Zimo struck again, sending out the Immortal-Suppression Chain, which locked the sword in place.
Then all four fragments were drawn into Xu Zimo’s True Fate, the God World.
Once everything settled, the erupting volcano gradually calmed down.
The broken sword continued to struggle inside the God World, but Xu Zimo ignored it.
Inside that world, there was no escape.
When Xu Zimo descended the volcano, Hong Tianfu was already waiting at the base.
"Xu Zimo, are you okay?" he asked anxiously.
"I’m fine," Xu Zimo shook his head.
Hong Tianfu finally relaxed. "Did you get the broken sword?"
Xu Zimo nodded lightly.
"Xu Zimo, you really aren’t ordinary," Hong Tianfu could only marvel.
He didn’t ask how Xu Zimo managed to claim the sword, but he now suspected that Xu Zimo’s identity was far from simple.
That broken sword had been sitting in the Sword Tower of Myriad Swords City for who knows how many years.