Chapter 45: Chapter 42 The Three Swords of the Domain
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The final region of the central mountain area of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain was situated over two thousand eight hundred zhang in height, wreathed in clouds and fog.
To further ascend, one must traverse this region flanked by valley clouds on both sides.
Within this region stood hundreds of treasured swords, blocking the path forward.
To continue up the mountain, one had to get past the blockage of these hundreds of treasured swords!
Among these hundreds, there were distinctively three treasured swords—it snowed atop one, water flowed over another, and the last was even wreathed in flames.
Just over ten days ago, as Ye Chen and Jiang Yao reached this region, it was these three treasured swords that launched an attack with the other swords against them.
Clearly, these three treasured swords had once been wielded by Spirit Sea Realm experts who had grasped sword intents, their formidable sword intents still clinging to them.
The mere residual sword intents of these three swords, mixed with the sword qi of hundreds of other swords, launched a collective attack that completely defeated Ye Chen and Jiang Yao.
At that time, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao realized that the original owners of these three swords must have been extraordinary figures even among the Spirit Sea Realm!
Otherwise, the sword intents lingering in these swords wouldn't have retained such power over such a long period.
After these three treasured swords defeated Ye Chen and Jiang Yao, they pursued them relentlessly—had it not been for Ye Chen's critical use of Gang Yuan True Qi from his Qi Sea to briefly obstruct these swords, he and Jiang Yao might have been ambushed and eliminated right there in the region!
Gang Yuan True Qi was a special kind of True Qi refined from cultivating the Primordial Star Scripture's "Gang Yuan Chapter," significantly stronger than ordinary Heaven and Earth True Qi. Although the grand formations within Ten Thousand Swords Mountain could restrain Heaven and Earth True Qi, they couldn't restrain Ye Chen's Gang Yuan True Qi at all.
However, to hone his sword skills and sword intents, Ye Chen initially didn't use Gang Yuan True Qi and only resorted to it when escape was absolutely necessary.
Of course, the Gang Yuan True Qi that Ye Chen had cultivated was still too little; it could only briefly hold back the three treasured swords, allowing him and Jiang Yao to escape. To face the residual sword intents of the treasured swords head-on, his Gang Yuan True Qi was utterly inadequate.
Blocked by the three powerful treasured swords and unable to pass through the region they guarded, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao had no choice but to retrace their steps and find a secluded area to continue their cultivation.
Their plan was to strengthen themselves sufficiently before challenging this final region of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain's central area once again.
Now, after over ten days of arduous cultivation and sharing insights into sword intents, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao finally returned to this region!
"Those three swords."
Approaching the region, Ye Chen saw from afar the three treasured swords containing powerful sword intents among the group of swords.
The Snow Glow Sword! The Water Glow Sword! The Fire Glow Sword!
These three treasured swords stood proudly among the multitude, as if they were the chieftains of this vast array of swords.
"The previous owners of these three swords were at least late-stage experts of the Spirit Sea Realm!"
Jiang Yao, though her True Qi was restrained, had profound vision and knowledge, and from their last encounter, she recognized the strength of the three swords.
"It's good that it's not their original masters personally wielding these treasured swords, otherwise, even if we were to advance further, we couldn't break through this group."
"The residual sword intents and the attack power of this sword group are at the very least at the ninth level of the True Qi Realm!"
In the past, with a flick of her delicate fingers, Jiang Yao could easily have shattered that level of True Qi.
But now with her True Qi restrained and unable to use her strongest True Qi techniques, even with the recent assimilation of Sword Qi Spirit Liquid and sword intents, she was still no match for this sword group.
"We must suppress these three Sword Intent Treasured Swords to defeat them."
"Ye Chen, are you really confident?"
Jiang Yao looked at Ye Chen with her beautiful eyes, asking with some concern.
"Let's give it a try!"
Ye Chen, his fighting spirit aflame, looked at the three treasured swords.
Climbing Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, they had faced many barriers and even sword intent treasured swords, but Ye Chen and Jiang Yao had always made it through. Now, they were blocked by these three swords.
Three mere wielderless swords held only by residual intents—Ye Chen found it unacceptable to be stopped by them.
Now, after days of intense cultivation, he finally decided to brave the area guarded by the three swords.
"Alright, then let's battle this sword group once more!"
With Ye Chen determined to break through the region guarded by the three swords, Jiang Yao naturally joined him without hesitation.
The two stepped once more into the final region of the central mountain area of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain.
As they set foot in the region, the three treasured swords within sensed the intrusion and immediately flew up with a "whoosh."
Together with the flight of the three swords, the hundreds of remaining treasured swords in the region also rose simultaneously.
Instantly, a tremendous surge of sword qi unfurled, and within this vast sword qi, three varieties of sword intents circulated, as hundreds of treasured swords shot straight toward Ye Chen and Jiang Yao.
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Amid a sky full of treasured swords hurtling towards them at extreme speed, they shot towards Ye Chen and Jiang Yao in an instant.
Last time, it was this very move, a sky full of treasured swords, that completely overwhelmed the Sword Qi controlled by Ye Chen and Jiang Yao's Sword Intents!
Now, Ye Chen certainly did not want to be defeated by the same move again.
As the three treasured swords just began to fly, Ye Chen's Sword Palace Acupoint between his eyebrows burst out with countless strands of True Qi, which directly transformed into hundreds of treasured swords, each radiating with the glow of Purple Lightning, advancing towards the sky filled with swords.
As Ye Chen made his move, Jiang Yao also acted simultaneously.
She also manipulated Sword Qi Spirit Liquid, forming hundreds of treasured swords that also flickered with the light of Purple Lightning.
Both their moves were directly using "Purple Lightning Sword Intent" to control the Sword Qi, to counter the swarm of swords.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In the sky, the hundreds of treasured swords that rose from the realm below clashed directly with the hundreds of treasured swords created by Ye Chen and Jiang Yao through their Sword Intent-induced Sword Qi.
This vast region was enveloped in rampaging Sword Qi, with every inch within miles churning wildly.
Amid the frenzied clashing, the light of snow, water, and fire flickered rapidly on the three Sword Intent Treasured Swords, and in mere moments, the swarm defended by the three swords had gained the upper hand, already about to overwhelm Ye Chen and Jiang Yao's moves.
At that moment, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao made another move without holding anything back, releasing all the Sword Qi Spirit Liquid they could control.
This time, Jiang Yao unleashed the Storm Rain Sword Intent she had just comprehended from Ye Chen, while Ye Chen used the Wind Sword Intent and Wind Sword Skills he had gleaned from the Xuan-level martial skill "Wind Thunder Sword Skills."
In an instant, fierce gales rose. This wind, evidently much stronger than Jiang Yao's Storm Rain Sword Intent, spawned over three hundred Wind Blade Swords in an instant, shooting towards the sky full of swords.
Among them, more than two hundred Wind Blade Swords drifted eerily next to the three Sword Intent Treasured Swords and then, those Wind Blade Swords suddenly gained weight, crashing wildly towards the Treasured Swords!
While Ye Chen concentrated his main attack on the three Sword Intent Treasured Swords, Jiang Yao's attack also converged with Ye Chen's, targeting the sky full of swords.
Suddenly, explosive sounds that shook the sky echoed throughout the middle of the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain Mountain Region.
The shockwave from the explosion even uprooted all the trees in this vast region from the ground, sending them flying away before they fell into the cloud seas on either side.
And in the explosion, the three Sword Intent Treasured Swords, which once stood proud among the swarm, were no longer as haughty as they once were. They were struck by the myriad of Wind Blade Swords and flew backward, their lingering Sword Intents trembling, showing signs of dissipation.
Seeing that the three Sword Intent Treasured Swords could not hold on much longer, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao certainly would not miss this opportunity to subdue them. With a movement of their Sword Intents, they pushed their controlled Sword Qi back against the swarm.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
This counter-pressure drove all the hundreds of treasured swords deep into the ground, leaving only a small portion of their blades exposed.
Not even the three Sword Intent Treasured Swords were an exception!
When Ye Chen and Jiang Yao retracted their Sword Qi, none of the treasured swords in this vast region showed any further activity, no longer launching attacks at them.
Clearly, after more than ten days of arduous training, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao's strength had completely subdued this region's swarm of swords!
"We did it!"
Seeing the three treasured swords buried deep in the ground, a glint flashed in Ye Chen's eyes!
Unlike Jiang Yao, who still had formidable True Qi Techniques that she couldn't use, now, his Sword Intents and Swordsmanship were his strongest martial skills.
And now, these strongest martial skills were already capable of battling without defeat against a sword swarm equivalent to the combat power of the True Qi ninth level!
Even with Jiang Yao's help, Ye Chen had also not used any True Qi Techniques.
If this had been outside Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, and not a combat with others, Ye Chen's current strength would have been enough to compete with those cultivators at the True Qi ninth level!
After entering the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode, his True Qi Realm had risen to the True Qi sixth level, and he acquired two high-grade Xuan-level Cultivation Techniques, as well as comprehending two additional kinds of Sword Intents, besides the Storm Rain Sword Intent, namely Purple Lightning Sword Intent and Wind Sword Intent.
He even stored much Sword Qi Spirit Liquid in his Sword Palace Acupoint, capable of nurturing flying swords!
These techniques, which he hadn't fully cultivated yet, had already multiplied his strength several times over!
This exploration of the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode had indeed yielded a great harvest.
"Only the final region of the mountain remains, the upper Mountain Region of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain!"
Ye Chen looked up towards the peak of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain; the summit above was not too far away.
"According to the records on the Ten Thousand Swords Stele, the upper Mountain Region of the mountain conceals only nine Treasured Swords."
"Treasured Swords... Those are the weapons used by cultivators in the Rotating Pill Realm, and even just the remnants of these swords are likely to be incredibly formidable. I wonder what kind of challenge this last step will hold."
"Once we overcome this final hurdle, we will be able to reach the summit of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain."
"The Flying Sword Heritage..."
"If we can secure the last and most precious Flying Sword Heritage, then this trip to the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode will truly be without regrets!"