I immediately looked at the Void Cauldron skill. Initially, I had only planned to take a glance at the alchemy path.
But I never expected that I had now learned recipes all the way up to the seventh grade of alchemy. In short, I was already at the level of a Celestial Pill King and had surpassed more than half of the alchemy path.
If it was just knowledge alone, I was far ahead of many others.
And this skill was precious — the Void Cauldron. That is, the void itself is your cauldron, and you can refine pills in the air. It was somewhat similar to the Instant Alchemy Palm, but not the same.
There was always a risk of your Spirit Sea exploding when using the palm. But the Void Cauldron was different — it didn't really carry any dangers except if the pill failed.
Then it would explode and create a dimensional rift, and who knows if the person would remain alive.
And now, it was time to refine the Dragon Pill.
Immediately, I opened the void bag that the Bandit King had given me.
The Celestial Pill King had conducted many experiments in his life. He kept working continuously for twenty whole years to produce lineage pills.
Countless errors, just to produce a method to filter out impurities and obtain a pure lineage.
And this method fell into my hands through one of those naive son of luck fools.
"Crimson Devil Flower... with Shadow Root Sap... and adding a bit of Yin Essence Bud..."
I immediately began gathering the materials.
Then I raised my hand and used the Void Cauldron.
My mental energy began to flow from my limbs, forming a transparent energy circle in the air before me.
Inside this circle, a strange void began to take shape, as if a piece of spacetime had been ripped from its place.
Cautiously, I tossed the powdered ingredients into the Void Cauldron.
The moment they touched the void, the materials began to react violently — ripples of red and black energy colliding inside the transparent circle.
After adding all the ingredients, I took out the bottle of Dragon Blood that Zhang Guang had given me and poured some of its contents inside.
Explosion!
A shockwave shook the entire room, and the walls cracked. But I remained focused on the Void Cauldron, my eyes never leaving the reaction happening inside.
Then... suddenly...
A small pill appeared in the center of the cauldron. It was a deep purple color with golden veins writhing on its surface like living blood vessels. The pill was pulsating with a faint beat, like a living heart.
"Yes — a veined pill. I have that old teacher from the alchemy path to thank. He found this method himself in some ruins."
A veined pill — this pill was stronger than an ordinary pill. That old man who taught me this technique from the memories of the alchemy path had helped me greatly.
"Dragon Lineage Pill..." I whispered as I reached out my hand to take it.
Then I tossed the pill into my mouth.
I fell to my knees, my scream lodged in my throat. My head exploded with indescribable pain as the Dragon Lineage began to reshape my being from the inside.
(Compatibility with the Heaven-Devouring Python Spirit detected — Evolving)
(Evolving...)
(The Python Spirit is evolving under the influence of the Tree of Life)
(The Tree of Life is interfering with the evolution)
(Congratulations — The Heaven-Devouring Python Spirit has evolved into the Jörmungandr Serpent)
Immediately, my body merged with my third battle spirit.
My body began to distort — small scales appearing on my arms then disappearing. My bones shattered then healed within seconds.
My blood turned golden for a moment before returning to its normal color.
After hours of agony, finally the storm inside my body began to subside. I breathed deeply, examining my new body.
"I... succeeded."
My hands... they were different. More agile, with faint blue veins beneath the skin. When I moved them through the air, they left a faint trail of mist.
I looked at my hands and smiled. If I merged with my battle spirit, then the dragon's characteristics would manifest. But now that I had the lineage in my blood, I could manifest them without even needing my battle spirit.
But there was another annoying thing. The dragon blood had overwhelmed my poisonous blood. However, I had the perfect solution for this.
I raised the poison crystals I had obtained from the border realm and began greedily eating them one by one. The Ice and Fire chemical structures rose at a crazy rate.
(Ice and Fire alchemy physique have reached maximum level)
This was wonderful news. Now I was on the same level as Tang San's physique, and I could even withstand the heat of a volcano if I dove into it right now.
And that contradiction between my blood types was gone — everything was balanced. Honestly, I was happy that the poisonous blood hadn't affected the dragon lineage and turned me into a venom-type dragon or something similar.
Then I brought out Xiao Bai. At its enormous size, it could barely fit in the cave. I gave him the remaining dragon blood — it would be useful for his training and would even evolve him.
"Drink this and become stronger for me," I said to Xiao Bai as I handed him the bottle.
"Master... Bai... obeys." Then he stretched out his long serpentine neck and began extracting the blood from the bottle. When he finished, he coiled around himself and appeared still — he had entered a training period to absorb the blood's energy.
Snakes were relatives of dragons. If Xiao Bai already had dragon lineage, this blood would awaken it. But if not, at most he would become a winged serpent.
Then I focused my gaze on my Dantian. Not much had changed, but... one of the cracks had been repaired!
This meant I was on the right path to restoring my power.
Then I turned my gaze toward the system warehouse and focused on another bottle — the one I had obtained in the Reincarnation Spring — and immediately took a look at it. It was blood.
"Uni, examine this blood," I requested of Uni as I examined the blood.
(This is White Tiger blood — a pure bloodline, possibly even that of the founder himself.)
Wait, what?!
I couldn't believe it. The ancestor of humanity had left this lineage behind?
This was a great gain. There was no need to refine it into a pill, as it was already pure. And most likely, it wouldn't conflict with my dragon lineage. It was worth a try.
I took out the bottle and drank it — but not all of it.
I felt a sharp metallic taste fill my mouth, then a fire ignited in my guts. The White Tiger blood was completely different from the dragon blood. The latter was violent; this one was cold and sharp as a sword blade.
I fell to my knees, my muscles convulsing violently. I felt as if two mythical beasts were wrestling inside my body.
"Ahhh...!" I tried to stifle my scream as my veins bulged beneath my skin, sometimes blue as ice, sometimes golden as fire.
Immediately, I summoned the Tree of Life, and it spread its aura around my body. Only then did I feel some peace.
After what felt like centuries had passed, I breathed deeply, examining the changes.
My hands were now different. The nails were slightly longer and sharper, with faint blue lines running through the faint golden skin. And there was now fur on my forearms.
Then I closed my eyes and my body returned to normal. This transformation too... unfortunately, I didn't have a spirit connected to a White Tiger like Dai Mubai did; otherwise, it would have evolved.
Another crack had healed in my Dantian, but the other cracks remained, making it look like a single point in the middle of a bucket.
Then I brought out Xiao Hong and gave him the White Tiger blood. As soon as he drank it, he fell into a deep sleep on the floor.
"What about me, dad?" I could hear Kuro's voice in my head. Her voice sounded full of hope, as if she was looking forward to receiving a gift.
"This... I'm sorry, but neither the dragon blood nor the tiger blood suits you. I'll look for Phoenix blood for you later, okay?" I tried to comfort Kuro. I couldn't help it — I didn't want to risk Kuro just for an experiment.
"Ugh. That's unfair." I could feel the disappointment in her voice, but after all, her safety was my priority.
"Alright, now that my experiments are over, it's time for my main topic — the Sword Path. Uni, I would like to explore it."
(Activating reincarnation paths — Sword Path)
Immediately, my consciousness turned to jelly as everything went dark again. I really need to take a break between these jumps.
---
That day was as ordinary as any other day in the family mansion. I stood before my father, the head of the family, with steady steps, but my eyes couldn't hide the disappointment.
"You are a waste of resources," he said, looking at me with a gaze that pierced my bones — no anger in it, just cold contempt. "You should have learned from your older brother. At least he never disappointed me like you have."
His words embedded themselves like knives, but I didn't answer. There was no point. Since I was young, my brother had been the ideal — the dutiful son, the blessed one, the heir to the family's Sword Art , As for me... I was nothing more than a faint shadow — I shouldn't have existed.
I decided to leave. I didn't shout, didn't cry. I just lowered my head and said, "I won't return until I am strong enough."
And I left.
I left the mansion without looking back. My heart was heavy, but something inside me ignited.
The Sword Path... it was my choice. It was what I wanted most.
I headed to the Ling Chuan Mountains — an area teeming with beasts. I trained alone, swinging my sword, hunting beasts, and honing my skills. This is how I lived in the wilderness for two years.
One day, as I was preparing to leave a valley, I was attacked by bandits. They were many — more than I expected. I fought, but the numbers were against me. Their swords wounded my body, striking me severely.
Then I found myself lying on the ground, bleeding, crawling among the rocks searching for shelter.
I lay resting against a tree at the foot of the mountain, thinking my end had come... until she appeared.
She was a simple girl, her face like a warm breeze. She was searching for herbs with her father in the mountains. They were herb gatherers.
They took me to their home. They were simple, but their hearts were full. They didn't blame me, didn't ask about my lineage — they just took care of me.
At first, I was confused by her kindness. I hadn't known tenderness except from distant memories.
I began to find in her what I had never found in the eyes of my clan — genuine care.
I was born into a cold environment. My mother died the day I was born, so I never even knew what she looked like.
For some reason, I wanted to stay. But... I wanted to achieve my dream — to become the strongest swordsman under the heavens.
After my wounds healed, I stood at the door of their hut. She looked at me in silence as she bid me farewell, but I promised to visit every two years.
I didn't want to leave, but I had to. If I stayed any longer, I would never leave at all.
And I headed to the various sword sects, and I kept fighting.
The orthodox schools had disciples who had reached the Sword and Spirit stage, while I was only at the Sword and Heart stage. But that didn't stop me from fighting. I made a name for myself across the nation— Sword Madman.
Years passed.
Every time I returned, she was waiting. In the second year, she gave me a new robe after my first had cuts in it , . In the fourth, she made me a leather scabbard to carry my sword and offered to clean it for me. In the sixth, I promised to bring her a souvenir from my journey. In the eighth, her father fell ill, so I spent ten days searching for the medicine.
And in the tenth year, she asked me for something — she didn't want me to leave anymore.
All this time she was waiting for me
How much such a thing can be precious?
I didn't resist. I couldn't find a reason. After years of constant fighting, I longed for a peaceful life. I put my sword aside, and we married. Those were the most beautiful years of my life. Life was finally... fair.
Or so I thought.
One day, I left the village to buy some herbs. When I returned, I smelled smoke and saw blood.
The entire village was slaughtered.
Their bodies were scattered everywhere — everyone who knew me was killed.
I ran. I didn't want to believe what I thought had happened. Until I found her — my wife — drowning in her own blood, reaching her hand toward me, telling me to run.
But she died. And above her, holding the sword that had pierced through her...
My brother.
He stood smiling, his sword dripping with blood.
"Why?!" I screamed, picking up my sword again after years.
"Because I love watching you suffer," he said, as if it were an ordinary matter. "You know? In our childhood, I stole your talent using a secret art."
I attacked him, but he wounded me easily — wounds that didn't kill, but humiliated. Then he said,
"I'll see you at the Heaven Conference... in ten years. If you have the courage, come to me and take what you think is your right. Otherwise, I'll take your life next time."
Then he disappeared.
I buried my wife with my own trembling hands, then walked... without direction, until I reached the gate of the Eternal Light Sword Sect.
I trained under a strict master's eye, but even after five years of training, I remained stuck at the Sword and Spirit stage.
"You still haven't understood," the master said, looking at me with a hint of disappointment. "Why haven't you broken through and gained your Sword Intent yet? Try applying your sword energy without stopping."
I did as she asked and gained a deeper understanding of sword energy, but even after two years, I remained stuck.
"Even that doesn't work? Try activating your five senses constantly — this should help."
I applied the master's words, but even after two years, I failed.
The ten-year deadline was approaching, but I hadn't changed since that period.
In the end, I contemplated the sky seeking enlightenment. Because I lacked enlightenment, I had failed.
Should I back down from revenge?
But then it came to me. No martial art suited me, because none aligned with the meaning of my sword.
And no such art would ever suit me. So I had to create my own art.
For me, my brother was like the sky. So if I was to create an art, it would be to break the sky.
Thus, I created the Absolute Twin Sword Art and changed my fighting style to fight with twin swords, and I began creating its techniques.
And by the end of that year, on the date of the Heaven Conference, I had finally succeeded in completing my art and forging my Sword Intent.
At the conference, I fought many battles until I reached the final match against my brother. And yet, when I fought him, the gap was obvious. He had already reached the Sword Soul stage, and he cut me down with a single strike.
I fell to the ground, my chest torn open. My brother's strike was deep, but he deliberately didn't kill me.
"As expected..." he said, waving his sword slowly, wiping the blood from its blade. "You cannot catch up to me , i had my hopes that you'll grow another talent for me to harvest how disappointing, You were always behind me, and you will remain so."
Then he cut off my head, and I died miserably