After removing the aura imprint left in the blade, Su Yu tossed it at Xia Longwu and said, "Refine it. The Weapon Fusion Method isn't hard to learn, especially for an Eternal like you. You have already fused all your acupoints into one. Just pour all your comprehension of the Sky Sundering Saber into the Source Return Blade. I use this method to transform my techniques into characters, but since you can't do that, you can use the Source Return Blade as the intermediary instead."
Xia Longwu only understood part of what Su Yu was saying. But as a whole, he was still feeling quite clueless.
Nevertheless, he was a genius. It didn't take him long to gain his own understanding of this method. He unhesitatingly channeled his saber qi and comprehension of the Sky Sundering Saber into the Source Return Blade.
A divine weapon was very powerful. The blade was trying to reject the attempt. After all, it used to be Devote King's weapon. It did not want to fuse with a different dao. Noticing what was happening, Su Yu released his aura and suppressed the blade.
With a slight tremble, the blade submitted. It was essentially a masterless item. Thus, it wasn't able to resist much. Before long, it started shining resplendently. Xia Longwu had completed the refinement of the weapon.
Then, Su Yu took Xia Longwu back to their previous spot. At this point, even Su Yu was starting to feel some exhaustion. The River of Time was not something to be easily traversed.
When they arrived, the saber character floated above the gap again. As of this moment, Su Yu could start fusing with this dao if he so wished. But he did not do so. There was no need for that.
What if there was a conflict between this dao and the pen dao? It would be troublesome to deal with it then. Su Yu wanted the pen dao to be the first dao he fused with.
"Place the Source Return Blade here. Use it as the bridge."
"Understood."
Xia Longwu wasted no time. In truth, he was still confused, but his instincts were telling him that this would be good for him. Before long, he tossed the Source Return Blade out. As the blade flew out, it started enlarging. Finally, a large saber-shaped bridge took form.
"Step on it. Keep walking forward. Fuse with the saber dao. Go as far as you can."
"Understood."
Xia Longwu's aura surged as he stepped onto the blade. Moments later, he entered the tributary. Instantly, his saber qi surged, growing rapidly.
Strand after strand of saber qi was rising from the tributary. Rather than a river, the tributary was actually a saber. Finally, the strands started entering Xia Longwu's body, causing his saber qi to boil as he roared, "I can feel it! Powerful saber qi! Now I understand! When I used my saber previously, apart from stronger physical strength, my saber never felt particularly sharp!"
So that was the case. So he had always been pursuing the wrong dao! He had merely been pursuing the physical body dao!
As he stretched his hand out, the Source Return Blade flew into his hand. Then, he started stepping forward, with wisps of saber qi rising all around him. These wisps were the power of law. They were meant to both assist and restrict him, strengthening and attacking him at the same time.
With the saber in hand, Xia Longwu continued onward, rumbling sounds erupting all around him.
With a roar, he pushed on. Eventually, he went far enough that Su Yu couldn't see him anymore.
In Su Yu's opinion, Xia Longwu was already strong. With the saber dao and Source Return Blade, he could probably return as a seventh-degree Eternal.
"Upon leaving, he will attract the attention of the laws."
After all, those using something other than the Three Body Method to initiate dao fusion would be punished by the laws. Thus, it was likely that Xia Longwu's emergence into the outside world would be greeted by the punishment of the laws.
Su Yu was unbothered. He could simply stuff Xia Longwu into the Culture King's Residence and wait out the tribulation. He could even take this chance to milk some power from the tribulation to strengthen his own characters.
Meanwhile, rumbling sounds continued coming from the tributary. Xia Longwu's roars were unending as well. This seemed to be a harder dao to pursue than the physical body dao.
With the physical body dao, everyone only needed to bring their three bodies together. And without even knowing what was happening, they would complete their dao affirmation. However, this was a path where progress was difficult.
Furthermore, the weak Three Body Method wasn't much help either. As a result, most of the cultivators pursuing the physical body dao would end up stuck. After a while, a figure appeared in the distance. From afar, it looked like a saber. Its edge gleamed with incomparable sharpness.
Xia Longwu was drenched in his own blood, but he was laughing heartily. He was wild with joy.
"Only now do I understand that this is the path the blade of Xia should truly traverse! Thank you, Emperor Yu!"
He no longer felt awkward calling Su Yu that. After all, he now owed Su Yu the debt of dao inheritance. This was a massive favor. He felt like his entire being had transformed. The weak discomfort he would feel in the past was gone. He only felt a boundless comfort.
He knew that he had finally stepped onto the right dao. Through this dao, he could grow just by cultivating his saber.
In the past, no matter how much he cultivated his saber, the effect would be minimal. As a result, he was forced to temper his body more than his saber. Why? Because he was pursuing the physical body dao, not the saber dao.
Boom!
With one step, he withdrew and returned to the main river.
Su Yu was already near his limit. Before leaving, he gave a reminder, "When we exit this place, the laws will punish you. Watch out. I'll take you to Culture King's old residence. Do not resist."
"Understood."
Xia Longwu replied loudly.
He couldn't resist saying, "I feel like I might have really reached the seventh degree. What a pity. Given the same opportunity, my grandfather could have achieved Daofuse directly. Emperor Yu, my grandfather..."
While retracing their path back, Su Yu said, "You are now familiar with this dao. Is the power of this dao sufficient? Can you feel someone competing over the power of this dao with you?"
"I...think so."
"In that case, some ancient fellows must still be alive. They are fighting over this dao in the Upper Realm. It's not a good idea to cram too many people into the same dao. We don't know if the others are enemies or friends. It will also complicate your ascension into the Daofuse Realm. Great Xia King can walk a different dao for now. I have a dao with no competitor reserved for him. Otherwise, you will start competing among yourselves for the same dao."
Su Yu added, "For you, you can walk this dao alone. When you encounter competitors, kill them if they are enemies. If the Master of Law is still around, and if that master is an enemy, kill them as well. This way, you will be able to master this entire dao."
Su Yu concluded, "Don't compete among ourselves. Instead, strive to kill all your enemies."
"Emperor Yu, is it possible that the other cultivators of this dao are humans as well?"
"Who knows?"
Xia Longwu said nothing else.
At this point, Su Yu's plan was clear. It did not matter who the competitors were. As long as they were against him, he would kill them all. It would be far better to leave the dao to only those supportive of him.
Xia Longwu did not argue against that. It wasn't like he was a saint himself. He, too, was someone whose hands were drenched in blood. Since Su Yu wished to dominate the world, it was only natural that he wanted to kill all opposition.
Xia Longwu had gained a lot from this tour to the River of Time.
***
The two stepped out of the River of Time.