Merit points danced gleefully across the system panel — a comfortable reserve I'd built up through my "merit wholesale" operation over these past weeks. Just looking at the numbers put my mind at ease.

"Old man," I rubbed my hands together, eyes sweeping back and forth across the system shop. "With this many merit points, what should I exchange for? That Marrow-Cleansing Spirit Liquid worked great last time — maybe I should grab some more for Jade Lin and River?"

"Give it a rest," the system elder's holographic projection popped up. "Jade Lin is already at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement, and River has an innate spirit body — he's cultivating faster than you, his own father. What, you want the kid shooting planes out of the sky with lasers? I think you'd better worry first about that broken blade of yours. It looks like a snapped watermelon knife. You pull it out in a fight and you're not even embarrassed?"

I glanced down at the Surge Blade at my hip. The water-ripple patterns and dark-gold runes along the flat were indeed rather dim — hardly surprising after so many brutal battles. I thought of the stele inscriptions in the Returning Void Secret Realm, and of that sword-hilt shard containing the Dao Ancestor's sword intent. Something stirred in my chest.

"Fine — we repair the sword first!" I said through gritted teeth. "System, exchange for Innate Essence Gold — enough to restore the Sea-Suppressing Sword!"

Ding! Consumed 500,000 merit points. Successfully exchanged for 10 jin of Innate Essence Gold.

A flash of golden light, and a palm-sized ingot of metal appeared in my hand, radiating a faint luminous halo. The Innate Essence Gold was small but dense, and from somewhere deep within it came the faint murmur of wind and thunder.

"What are you standing there gawking for?" the system elder urged. "Bring out all three fragments. I'll walk you through the fusion."

I quickly retrieved the Surge Blade, the sword-tip shard, and the sword-hilt shard from my Qiankun pouch. The moment the three pieces appeared, they pulled toward one another, releasing a resonant humming that vibrated through the air. I placed the Innate Essence Gold at the centre, activated the Tide Saint Body Art, and guided my spiritual energy inward.

"With my essence blood as the catalyst, with Innate Essence Gold as the covenant — fuse!" I bit through the tip of my tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood across the fragments.

In an instant, all three shards and the Innate Essence Gold erupted in dazzling radiance. Gold and blue light intertwined, forming a colossal vortex. I could feel the Dao Ancestor's sword intent and the power of the tides colliding and merging within that maelstrom in a furious, thunderous roar.

"Remember — feel it with your heart, guide it with your will," the little old man reminded me. "This isn't simple weapon refinement for you. You are awakening a sleeping divine weapon."

I closed my eyes and poured every thread of conscious intent into the vortex. I could sense the weapon spirit of the Sea-Suppressing Sword beginning to stir — an ancient and majestic presence, as though it contained the power that had split heaven from earth at the dawn of creation.

I lost all sense of time. When I finally opened my eyes, a brand-new immortal sword hovered before me. The blade was long and slender, a deep, flawless blue from hilt to tip, covered in profound Dao Ancestor runes and flowing tidal water-patterns, radiating a warm, lustrous glow.

"This is... the Sea-Suppressing Sword?" I murmured, reaching out to stroke the flat of the blade. A surge of immense power flooded into my body at once, as though it had resonated directly with my soul.

Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have successfully restored the Sea-Suppressing Sword and received the complete text of the Sea-Suppressing Sword Art.

A torrent of information poured into my sea of consciousness — the cultivation methods, technique variations, and spiritual energy circulation routes of the Sea-Suppressing Sword Art, all of it crystal clear. I felt as though my cultivation realm had leapt forward by an entire tier.

"Impressive, old man," I couldn't help exclaiming. "Now that the sword's fixed, I feel like I could take on ten Golden Armoured cultivators at once!"

"Don't get cocky," the system elder said with a dismissive curl of his lip. "Don't forget you still have real business to attend to."

That brought me back to earth. I quickly turned my attention to the system shop. The Sea-Suppressing Sword was restored and my strength had grown considerably — but my current cultivation at the late stage of Core Formation still seemed somewhat inadequate against the high-level masters of the Nine Abyssal Demon Palace who might soon appear.

"System," I said in a low, measured voice, "is there a pill that can raise me a full major realm with no side effects?"

The system elder fell silent for a moment, his holographic projection so preoccupied that he forgot the bowl of braised beef noodles in front of him.

"There is," he said at last, his tone carrying unusual gravity. "But the cost is steep, and the risk is extreme."

"What pill?" I pressed.

"The Ice-Heart Pill and the Nascent Soul Pill," the system elder said slowly. "The Ice-Heart Pill will consolidate your realm and elevate you to the pinnacle of late-stage Core Formation. The Nascent Soul Pill will allow you to directly condense your Nascent Soul. But making the breakthrough from peak Core Formation to the Nascent Soul Stage is a nine-deaths-one-survival ordeal — and with that Core Formation of yours, the heavenly tribulation it draws down will be more terrifying still."

Fear death and forsake immortality — or fear nothing and cultivate on.

"My mind is made up," I said, my gaze unwavering. "Exchange for the Ice-Heart Pill and the Nascent Soul Pill!"

Ding! Consumed 50,000 merit points. Successfully exchanged for 1 Ice-Heart Pill.

Ding! Consumed 150,000 merit points. Successfully exchanged for 1 Nascent Soul Pill.

Two pills materialised in my palm. The Ice-Heart Pill was pale blue, radiating a frigid aura, as though it could freeze time itself. The Nascent Soul Pill was burnished crimson-gold, covered in mysterious veining, pulsing with vibrant, almost aggressive vitality.

I drew a deep breath and swallowed the Ice-Heart Pill first. A wave of icy energy swept through my body in an instant, and the spiritual energy that had been somewhat turbulent within me settled into perfect calm. The Core Formation in my dantian spun furiously, and my realm rose at a visible rate — climbing steadily until it reached the very pinnacle of late-stage Core Formation.

"I feel... stronger than I ever have." I flexed my fingers, feeling the surging spiritual energy coursing through me. When I clenched my fist, the air itself cracked with a sharp pop.

"Don't celebrate yet," the system elder warned. "Time for the Nascent Soul Pill. Find somewhere safe and prepare to face the tribulation."

I nodded, crushed a Shrink-the-Earth talisman, and once again arrived in the depths of the Returning Void Secret Realm. The spiritual energy here was rich and wild — precisely the right environment for a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage.

I sat down cross-legged, placed the Nascent Soul Pill in my mouth, and let it dissolve. It liquefied the moment it touched my tongue, and a titanic surge of energy detonated within me, as though it would tear my body apart from the inside. The Core Formation in my dantian shuddered violently and began devouring the energy in a frenzy, slowly warping, slowly contracting.

End of Chapter 89: The Sea-Suppressing Sword Restored