On the eighth day of the ninth month, the White Phoenix, after flying for a day and a night, gently landed outside Kaiyang City in Ji Province.

Ten miles to the east of the city was the location for the Debating Conference on the ninth day of the ninth month—Taizhen Palace.

The conference would be held tomorrow, and virtually all participants had already arrived today.

At the Debating Conference, apart from the top Four Great Taoist Sects and some major sects aspiring to compete for a position in the Taoist community, other sects were not qualified to reside within Taizhen Palace.

Though the Taoists followers were fewer than the Buddhists', the Taoist sects spanned the entire world. Even with the vast space and many rooms of Taizhen Palace, it was impossible to accommodate so many people.

To speak seriously, even if all the inns in Kaiyang City vacated their rooms, they could not house all the Taoists and worldly spectators attending the conference.

Fortunately, at this time, not many people in Ji Province were rushing here to spectate.

Blood Dao Warriors and followers of the Blood Demon Sect were ravaging this land. The locals barely had time to flee, let alone outsiders daring to gather here for excitement.

Even the foolhardy, after hundreds died in the past few days, should have recognized the dangers present in Ji Province.

In recent days, hundreds of worldly martial artists had already died in various assassinations and attacks. Judging by the drained essence blood from the corpses at the crime scenes, the culprits were undoubtedly Blood Dao Warriors.

Up to today, perhaps nearly a thousand worldly martial artists might have been killed.

"Blood Killing aura is rising everywhere; Ji Province is indeed in chaos now," Qing Yu observed, looking around.

Ordinary people couldn't see the faint Blood Killing aura, but Qing Yu, skilled in observing auras, could see that Blood Killing energy had already merged with the air.

Even the faintest Blood Killing aura, once merged with the air, indicated that no less than a thousand people had died. Now, as it was widespread, it signified that at least several thousand had perished.

Ji Province was the most devastated area under the ravage of Blood Dao Warriors, with nearly a thousand dead just in these few days. How many more must have died before that?

The number was definitely large.

"No wonder people from the Blood Demon Sect are universally condemned," Qing Yu murmured while channeling True Qi to regulate the White Phoenix's body.

This majestic bird, after frequently being fed elixirs and nurtured with True Qi by Qing Yu, had become even more mystical. With a wingspan of fifteen meters and rapidly developing body, it now stood taller than Qing Yu even when crouching.

Its tail feathers, grown from three to five, and its beak shimmered with a metallic luster, while its white feathers sparkled with an unusual radiance. This likely was no longer just an ordinary large bird.

In the world of the Qin Dynasty, countless secrets existed. In that world, there were genuine Divine Beasts. It was possible that the White Phoenix carried the Divine Beast bloodline of ancient exotic beasts or birds like the Luan Bird; it was becoming increasingly extraordinary.

For instance, this continuous high-speed flight lasting a day and a night, if it were when Qing Yu first acquired the White Phoenix, even if it broke its wings, it couldn't have flown from the Northwest to Ji Province.

But now, it had effortlessly flown from Vajra Temple to just outside Kaiyang City without any strain. This bird, whether it had a Divine Beast bloodline or not, had truly evolved.

"Calling you 'big bird' might not be suitable anymore, maybe... 'giant bird'?" Qing Yu joked.

In response, the White Phoenix pecked at him.

The metallic-gleaming beak pecked Qing Yu's hand, emitting a crisp sound as if his hand were made of iron.

Indeed, even fine steel would have been effortlessly punctured by the White Phoenix's beak at this point.

Qing Yu wasn't injured, naturally, it was because of the barely visible halo of light on his hands.

A thin halo of light, flickering with faint golden glimmers, covered not only Qing Yu's hands but also other parts of his body.

If one were to roll up Qing Yu's sleeves, they could see that within the halo were dark green threads moving continuously, emitting faint, frictional sounds.

The halo was obviously transformed by the Golden Bell Shield, and the dark green threads were the Xuanyin Sword Energy.

The extremely Yin and malevolent Xuanyin Sword Energy moved over the extremely Yang and robust Golden Bell Shield for the purpose of tempering.

It wasn't just tempering the Xuanyin Sword Energy but also the Golden Bell Shield.

After Qing Yu had refined the eighth Sword Qi, he finally began to integrate the Xuanyin Sword Energy into his body. In the original book, Jianchen had undergone transformations due to Xuanyin Sword Energy, resulting in three red sword scars on each of his hands.

If it hadn't been for the transformation by Xuanyin Sword Energy, even if he could wield Sword Qi, with his originally weak cultivation, he wouldn't have been able to unleash the full power of the Sword Qi.

In the past, Qing Yu resisted integrating it into his body because he did not want to become a Sword Slave to the Xuanyin Su Sword. But now, having refined eight Sword Qis, three-quarters of the twelve Sword Qis were under Qing Yu's control, so it was time to fully utilize the Xuanyin Sword Energy.

Sword Qi would automatically transform the body, making it tougher and the physique much stronger.

However, it would also incline the body's attributes towards the Yin and malevolent, which could hinder the practice of Righteous Martial Arts.

But with both the Golden Bell Shield and Xuanyin Sword Energy mutually tempering each other, Qing Yu wasn't worried about these issues.

Previously, since the essence of the Golden Bell Shield was ultimately inferior to the Xuanyin Sword Energy, attempting to use the Sword Qi to temper the Golden Bell Shield would only end up breaking it.

Without equality, there would be no qualifications for mutual tempering.

But now, things were different.

With the Shariputra from the Vajra Temple continuously replenishing and the support from the "Pure Land Six God Technique" inside. This Buddhist Martial Art, proficient in body refinement, or perhaps it should be said, most Buddhist Martial Arts have body refinement aspects, especially this one created by a direct disciple of Shakyamuni.

Although it had been modified and seemed somewhat dubious, causing it to fall to four and a half stars, the foundation was still there. It was also with the support of the "Pure Land Six God Technique" that the Golden Bell Shield could stand on equal footing with the Xuanyin Su Sword, tempering each other.

The divine skills from both the righteous and the malevolent extremes, showcased their extremity by colliding and refining, leading to rapid progress for both.

Qing Yu slowly stretched out his left hand, encased in his sleeve, and opened his palm.

A layer of white dust drifted from Qing Yu's palm, scattering in the wind.

This was the dust of a Shariputra that had its essence drained. The monks' relics at the Vajra Temple were meat relics, with a blood-colored glow containing golden light. Turning white indicated that it had become a useless pile of ash.

"Just one day and one night, and a True Pill Realm Shariputra was exhausted; quite fast indeed." Qing Yu's True Qi vibrated slightly in his hand, dispersing all the dust.

Although this was the lowest level Shariputra, seeing as its former owner had only recently entered the True Pill Realm, that it exhausted its essence in just one day and one night still indicated the massive consumption required by this method of refining through the interplay of righteousness and malevolence.

It also indicated... the rapid progress.

In just this one day and night, Qing Yu felt his long-stagnant cultivation of the Golden Bell Shield had made significant progress.

"Relics, truly can never be too many."

A peculiar gleam flashed in Qing Yu's eyes.

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