Rise of the Sword Son-in-Law

Xu Ping'an walked up to the stele, staring at the shield embedded in it. The shield had an ancient design, rounded in shape, and on its surface was carved the image of a Xuanwu Divine Beast. However, what caught Xu Ping'an's attention at the moment wasn't these details but the faint soul fluctuation contained within the shield. "Is this the remnant soul of a Seventh Rank Mysterious Snake Turtle?" Xu Ping'an finally understood why he had felt the shield was extremely special before. It turned out that a demon beast's remnant soul was actually sealed inside the shield. How could there be the remnant soul of a Seventh Rank Demon Beast within an intermediate-grade Spiritual Artifact? "Quite interesting, this remnant soul can somehow endow this intermediate-grade Spiritual Artifact with defensive capabilities, somewhat equivalent to an Artifact Spirit," mused Xu Ping'an to himself. The next moment, Xu Ping'an was ready to pull out the shield. "Xu Ping'an, you must not touch this shield," Just then, Li Changyun stepped forward and said coldly. Li Yuanba and Li Tianqi also had sharp, warning looks in their eyes. "Why?" Xu Ping'an laughed. "There is a forbidden curse on this shield. Once the shield is removed, you will certainly become corrupted by it, turning into a heartless murderer," Li Changyun explained. "Forbidden curse?" Upon seeing the shield, Xu Ping'an immediately laughed. He understood. What they referred to as a forbidden curse was actually the remnant soul of the Mysterious Snake Turtle within the shield. The Mysterious Snake Turtle relished in killing; even as a remnant soul, its soul power remained immensely powerful, something ordinary cultivators could not withstand. Therefore, once one made contact with the token, they would inevitably be invaded by the remnant soul, turning into a heartless murderer. But he wouldn't. In his previous life, he was an Immortal Emperor of the Twelfth Rank. Even if his power was no longer present, the experience remained. Of course, the key was the Thunder Devouring Sword, which had granted him the Thunder Sword Bone with the power of Chaotic Thunder contained within. With Chaotic Thunder, he was impervious to all methods. A Seventh Rank Mysterious Snake Turtle's remnant soul, how could it possibly influence his mind? Xu Ping'an ignored their words and reached out directly for the shield. Li Changyun and the others were shocked; Xu Ping'an was really not heeding their advice? "If he goes mad later, we'll join forces and kill him," Li Changyun said to the other four. Since Li Qingyi had taken the token, the Stone-Man Formation had already failed. Thus, aside from Guan Qing, who had been killed, the other five had regained their freedom. The others nodded their heads. Should Xu Ping'an truly succumb to the demonic influence, he would inevitably attack them, and if they didn't kill Xu Ping'an, he would kill them. Xu Ping'an paid no attention to them, as his hands were already on the shield. And the moment he touched the shield, a wildly frenzied malice surged into his body. "Kill, kill, kill!" Voices of insane roars echoed in his mind. Xu Ping'an's face changed, such powerful malice? Was this the power of the Mysterious Snake Turtle's remnant soul? By the remnant soul's power alone, however, he could not be influenced. "Hmph!" With a cold snort, Xu Ping'an's body produced a surge of extremely domineering Thunder Sword Qi. No sooner had the Thunder Sword Qi emerged than it shattered the terrible malice into nothingness. Xu Ping'an's eyes cleared once again. "Kill!" The Mysterious Snake Turtle seemed intent on corrupting Xu Ping'an. "Be quiet!" Xu Ping'an instantly blasted the Thunder Sword Qi right into the shield. The malice within the shield disappeared in an instant, and the Mysterious Snake Turtle's remnant soul also quieted down at once. Seeing this, Xu Ping'an gave a slight smile and used all his strength to gradually pry the shield out, bit by bit. The surrounding crowd wore faces of astonishment. This guy actually pulled out the shield? Unaffected by the shield? How is that possible? Previously, when the disciples of the Li Family came in, they also touched the shield, but the next moment, they went mad. It had happened several times, and since then, the Li Family had made it a rule that no one was allowed to touch the shield again. That's why they were so desperate to stop Xu Ping'an when they saw that he was about to touch the shield. "Crack!" As Xu Ping'an completely pulled out the shield, the entire stele also shattered. Xu Ping'an looked at the shield in his hands, waving it around a few times, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. The weight of the shield was about five hundred catties, a bit heavier than his Sunrise Sword, and waving it felt just right. "I do remember an interesting shield combat technique that I could practice," Xu Ping'an said with a smile. Shield combat techniques are generally rare. In his previous life, he had come across a Fourth Rank shield combat technique. If he were to master it, his combat power would increase rapidly. Performing a blood oath to claim ownership of the shield, Xu Ping'an quickly absorbed it into his body. He wasn't concerned about the Mysterious Snake Turtle Remnant Soul's rebellion; with the Chaotic Thunder, this guy couldn't stir up even a ripple. Once his soul became stronger, he could try to subdue this remnant soul. Even if subjugating it proved impossible, he could still devour it to enhance his own soul power. Seeing Xu Ping'an absorb the shield into his body and remain unharmed, everyone was utterly stunned. Is this guy really safe and sound? How is that possible? "I'll be taking this shield. If your Li Family wants to take it back, feel free to claim it. Of course, that's if you're not afraid of going mad. Inside this shield is the remnant soul of a Seventh Rank demon beast, so you'll be corroded as soon as you touch it," Xu Ping'an said with a smile, not concealing the truth. Upon hearing this, Li Changyun and the others turned pale. The remnant soul of a Seventh Rank demon beast? No wonder all those people went mad. Such a monster was definitely something no one in the Li Family could suppress. Not just the Li Family, perhaps no one in the entire Tianlong County could suppress such a ferocious being. Yet Xu Ping'an had subdued it. What did this imply? It meant that Xu Ping'an was terrifying, far more terrifying than they had imagined. For a moment, no one spoke. Neither Li Changyun nor the others asked Xu Ping'an to return the shield. Setting aside whether Xu Ping'an could return it, even if he did, they wouldn't dare to take it. "This time, it's the fourth sister who has the true eye for talent, having invited a monster like you," Li Yuanba said to Xu Ping'an. "Didn't you call me a piece of trash earlier?" Xu Ping'an asked light-heartedly, looking at Li Yuanba with a smile. The latter gave an embarrassed smile, offering no reply. He had indeed said that before. At this moment, he also realized that Xu Ping'an seemed to be extremely extraordinary. Li Tianqi looked towards the tightly shut hall, his eyes indescribably complex. Could Li Qingyi awaken the True Phoenix Bloodline? At this point, they no longer pondered too much, after all, they were brothers and sisters. Now, they too hoped that Li Qingyi could awaken her bloodline, as that would elevate the Li Family to a new height. Xu Ping'an glanced in the direction of the great hall, paying it no heed, and instead took out the Qingling Jade Liquid he had obtained earlier. He planned to seize this opportunity to consume it and consolidate his divine soul. Once his divine soul was consolidated, he would activate his soul perception, which would greatly benefit him in combat and cultivation alike. With that in mind, Xu Ping'an directly dropped a bead of the Qingling Jade Liquid into his mouth. The next moment, Xu Ping'an immediately felt an overwhelming power surging towards his mind. His head felt as though it was about to explode, and he began to experience severe pain.