CHAPTER 726 THE WAY TO REACH THE HOLY REALM

Hanson's face had turned pale except for his lips, which were now a sickly purple. His aura was

suddenly very weak as well, which alarmed Darren all the more.

"I'll be fine," Hanson insisted. "It's just that the poison has taken effect."

He had been infected by the Ghost Poison of the clay figurines. Since then he'd had no means of

curing himself. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been hiding in the Starry Tower for so long.

"Sir, you must have magic herbs that can help your body heal," asked Darren, confused. "How can this

poison still be affecting you?"

His companion replied, "The medicine I'm using has kept it at bay for thousands of years. After all this

time, though, it's becoming less and less effective. I feel the poison's effects so often now that I'm

almost used to it." C0pyright © 2024 Nôv)(elDrama.Org.

Previously, Hanson had told Darren that Barnes the Holy had also suffered the effects of the Ghost

Poison. In the end, however, he had survived it.

It seemed, then, that only Barnes the Holy could cure Hanson.

Darren gave his ailing fellow a sympathetic look. "Sir, if I manage to save Barnes the Holy, I'll make

sure that I ask him to heal you. Until then, I'm afraid you'll have to put up with it. I'm sorry."

"Save Barnes the Holy," Hanson repeated. "So he's alive, then? Is that true?"

"Let me explain," Darren said. "I met a subordinate of his called Pasquale, the Giant Ape. He was

hiding in the Purgatorial Tripod after his body had been destroyed. This ape told me repeatedly that I

need to comprehend more than two kinds of true rules in order to save his master.

What's more, I saw a portrait of Barnes the Holy in his palace. He's almost like a monkey, with golden

hair—very strange, but also somewhat ferocious-looking..."

He went on, relating everything else he knew about Barnes the Holy.

For his part, Hanson believed everything he heard, for he knew that Darren would not fabricate or

exaggerate anything.

"So Barnes the Holy has been suppressed in the Raksa Sea?" he said when Darren had finished

speaking. "That is incredible..."

Reserved though he normally was, Hanson's astonishment was plain on his face. This legendary figure

from an ancient era, who had been invincible, was still alive!

"Darren," he asked, "when did the Giant Ape tell you to rescue Barnes the Holy?"

Darren looked grim. "He said I should do it within three hundred years. But to tell the truth, I don't know

if I'll be powerful enough by then."

"If even Barnes the Holy could ever be suppressed, then saving him is bound to be an incredible

challenge. Let's talk about it again later, when your strength has reached a higher level," Hanson said.

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Right now it's too early to talk about such an undertaking."

After the discussion, Hanson left, trying to suppress the poison that still wracked his body.

Darren decided then to focus on cultivating and improving his strength.

"Right now, my martial arts talent has reached the Genuine Domain Degree. But I haven't improved my

strength since then."

Saying this, he sat down cross-legged, and his mind rushed into the space that was full of ancient

spiritual crystals. He set about assimilating the spiritual energy from the ancient spiritual crystals.

He wasted no time, and his efforts were rewarded with a considerable boost.

Three months had passed in the twinkling of an eye, and he was now wreathed in a dazzling and

graceful aura.

Feeling full of power, Darren opened his eyes.

"It feels like I've stepped into the seven-star Grand Realm," he remarked.

His physical strength had greatly increased, and the force of control to the Ancient Void Battlefield also

had been enhanced.

Experimentally, he released his blade and sword intents.

There was a satisfying crackle of power as they collided against one another in the void.

"Good! My blade and sword intents have improved a bit as well!"

Darren's only regret was that his dark gold internal force could not be increased. To do that, it would

need to fuse the blade and sword intents again after he had reached the Holy Realm.

However, once entering that realm, he would have to stand against the inexorable black lightning cast

by the Heavenly Repression again. He wasn't at all sure he could prevail in such a contest.

"But if I don't enter the Holy Realm at all," he warned himself, "my strength will be very limited indeed.

In fact, I'd be a little weaker than Hanson even if I pushed myself to the limit."

Since his dark gold internal force had been weakened, Darren was aware that he could not surpass

Hanson, even in the seven-star Grand Realm.

In this world, even those inferior and junior holy warriors were not at the top of the hierarchy, and they

did not have power over life and death. One was still quite weak, then, before entering the Holy Realm.

Naturally, getting into the Holy Realm was no small feat, either. The most crucial thing was to

comprehend the Holy Will. Otherwise, all of Darren's efforts would be futile.

"Now that I have reached seven-star Grand Realm, it's time for me to comprehend the Holy Will," he

declared to himself.

Of course, that was easier said than done. In fact, Darren had no idea where to even begin.

Falling silent, he decided to return to his meditations and, hopefully, gain some insight into the matter.

Three years passed as quickly as a butterfly could flutter its wings.

All the while, Darren sought the secrets of the Holy Will without pausing or doubting himself.

"There's no need to spend any more time thinking," said a voice, piercing through his tranquility. "You'll

never figure it out that way."

Darren woke up, instantly alert.

Raising his head, he saw a young man who possessed a unique aura.

"Master..." The word fell from Darren's mouth.

He had no idea how long the young man with black and white sword eyes had been standing right in

front of him.

The young man beckoned and said in a voice devoid of emotion, "Come with me."

"Yes," Darren said.

Without hesitation he stood up. Then he and his master disappeared.

The place they emerged into was a world of swords. In every direction that Darren looked, he felt sword

intents of every kind.

"Eighteen thousand sword intents, each one reaching its extreme." Saying this, the young man made a

wide gesture at their surroundings.

Darren's heart skipped a beat. To be surrounded by such power, arrayed in such an incredible diversity

of kinds and forms, was giddying.

His guide went on. "You'll never be able to take that step unless you acquire an extreme sword intent

first. Now go and comprehend it by yourself." With that, he disappeared.

"Comprehend it by myself?" Darren muttered, perplexed.

Darren knew that the young man didn't bring him here to learn those sword intents.

When it came to each sword intent, only one person could acquire its extreme. Therefore, unless that

particular person died, nobody else would be able to comprehend it in such a way.

Obviously, the many thousands of different kinds of sword intents here belonged to others, so it would

be a waste of time for Darren to try to mimic them.

A ferocious swoosh interrupted Darren's thoughts.

He looked up in time to see an aqua green sword intent streaking across the sky, bright and fierce as a

comet. It emanated a dangerous aura indeed.

There was little time to marvel at the sight before a terrific buzzing sound pierced the atmosphere.

At the same time, a scarlet sword intent spiraled into the air, looking just as deadly as the first one.

Soon the heavens were filled with intents, ten thousand at least. They wove themselves together to

form a breathtaking display of color and light.

"It looks like a... nebula," Darren whispered, rapt in awe.

As he stared into the vortex, an idea began to form in his mind.

All too soon, however, he lost it.

With a roar, a stream of sword intent burst out of him and shot into the sky, where the maelstrom

devoured it in an instant.

"It's not that my master won't allow me to learn," Darren said, trying to recover his lost idea. "What if I

mastered these sword intents and then fused them together? Would I step into a new extreme?"

He thought of the nebula in his elixir field from before. It had resulted from merging the aura of the

dragon blood and the demonic internal force.

It also occurred to him that when he'd been passing the test in the Starry Tower, the guardian on the

third floor had combined three kinds of sword intent: ice, thunder, and fire.

That was enough to prove that the fusion of sword intents was feasible.

Just then, Darren remembered something else as well. "I got a reward from that little girl, but I kept

forgetting to check it."

After defeating that girl, he'd gotten the cultivation skill which was suitable for him. This seemed like the

perfect time to make use of it.

Without wasting a moment, Darren produced a scroll from his Space Ring and started to read it aloud.

"Condense your sword intent into your sword core. Then infuse a second kind of sword intent to cause

the sword core to crack. Use the original sword intent to force it into the cracks, then repair the sword

core. Repeat the same process as many times as desired..."

Darren carefully read the scroll multiple times to make sure he understood.

In order to integrate the aura of the dragon blood with the demonic internal force, he had first crushed

the two forces in order to create a new balance.

In its essence, that method was the same as what this scroll was recommending for the fusion of sword

intents.

"What will happen if I try to integrate all of these eighteen thousand sword intents?" Darren asked

himself.

The very thought sent a jolt through him, and his heart surged.