Chapter 97 Sword Qi River

In the heavy atmosphere, Ji Yuan and Shen Lang faced each other. Though they were old friends of many years, not a word was spoken between them now.

After a long while, the index finger on the hand holding the sword of Ji Yuan twitched slightly. Abundant sword intent surged through his body in an instant. Though his aura appeared weak, he exuded an aura of sharpness.

He gripped the sword hilt tightly, slowly drawing his sword and lifting it. The blade wavered in his hand, yet a piercing sword light rose from the ground.

In Shen Lang's eyes, this sword light magnified infinitely, and a profound, mystical feeling descended upon him.

He felt as if he were in the heavens, surrounded by azure, with white clouds swirling beneath his feet, obscuring the ground. A constant sense of falling from great heights pervaded his heart.

And that sword light, though just before him, clearly visible to his gaze, was as elusive as mist in the nine heavens, its aura impossible to detect.

It seemed to be both close at hand and distant as the horizon, incapable of being locked onto even by his divine sense.

"Is this the sword intent you have comprehended?"

Shen Lang murmured, his eyes flashing with brilliance.

Months ago, he had sensed that Ji Yuan had comprehended a sword intent, and this was the first time he was experiencing it firsthand.

Although Ji Yuan had unleashed his sword intent once at the county office before, the target had not been him, so he had not gained a clear understanding. Now, however, he felt it vividly.

He looked at the seven-tiered demonic pagoda in his hand, whispering a few words. Immediately, the pagoda flared with light, and dense, dark radiance instantly enveloped his entire body, leaving only a silhouette.

*Crack!*

As the sword light descended, a crack appeared on the boundless dark radiance, and rolling demonic energy surged forth.

The illusions in Shen Lang's eyes vanished, and he returned from the heavens to the earth, standing amidst ruins.

Before him, besides Ji Yuan maintaining his sword-drawing posture, nine flying swords had already materialized around him, their sharp cold light suddenly coalescing into a unified line.

At this moment, Zhou Yuyan formed sword seals with her hands, her eyes filled with frigid killing intent.

With a flick of her mind, the nine flying swords descended in unison, unleashing terrifying sword Qi that intertwined. In an instant, they enveloped the boundless dark radiance.

"Slash!"

She parted her lips, uttering only a single word filled with killing intent.

In a flash, countless sword Qi raged, and even the smallest strand was enough to cleave metal and stone, to shatter the divine weapons of ordinary mortals!

If it were only this, it would be acceptable, but with a thought from Zhou Yuyan, heavy sword Qi surged into the sky, converging with the nine flying swords to form a massive sword shadow.

This sword shadow bore no cold glint, nor did any sharp sword Qi fly around it, yet it still conveyed a feeling capable of severing all things in the world.

It turned in the air, and then its wide blade descended with the force of ten thousand pounds!

*Crack! Crackle!!!*

The boundless dark radiance, already covered in minute sword marks, now bore countless cracks under the assault of the giant sword shadow, which spread rapidly.

After merely a few breaths, this protective dark radiance, powered by a complete magical artifact, shattered with a sharp sound, revealing Shen Lang within.

"Sword cultivator?"

He looked up at the nine flying swords retreating and muttered to himself.

Who could have imagined that the perpetually silent, seemingly fragile wife of Song He would be such a formidable sword cultivator with immense killing power!

Seeing this, Zhao Yuansong sighed lightly, silently changed the hand seals he was holding, causing his long sword, which had been moving forward, to turn back and guard himself and his three junior brothers and sisters.

"Interesting."

Shen Lang nodded, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

If one were to ask which sect among cultivators had the greatest killing power, it would undoubtedly be the legendary sword cultivators.

Their techniques focused on their life-bound flying swords, and they forged only one sword in their lifetime. Coupled with their unique secret arts, their killing power was beyond doubt.

Even the Five Thunder Celestial Law, which served as a divine punishment, would likely be slightly inferior under the same circumstances.

Indeed, it could be said that almost all cultivators in the world wished to become sword cultivators, though it remained merely a thought in their minds.

It was not that other cultivators were unwilling, but the path of a sword cultivator was like a narrow wooden bridge hidden in the deep mountains—extremely difficult to traverse, and finding the path to the bridge was another matter entirely.

And this very first threshold already blocked ninety percent of cultivators.

The saying "techniques should not be easily imparted" was prevalent among cultivators, and even more so among sword cultivators. Their unique cultivation methods were difficult to find, and once they appeared, they would be fiercely contested by countless cultivators.

Even if one were fortunate enough to obtain a basic cultivation sword technique, the forging and nurturing of a life-bound flying sword was enough to make one recoil in fear.

Without sufficient financial backing, the scenes of a single sword strike a thousand miles to behead an enemy, or soaring through the clouds on a sword, would remain mere fantasies during cultivation.

"However, even as sword cultivators, it does not change the current situation."

Shen Lang glanced at the Han Yue shuttle, which had transformed into a giant python before him, and suddenly began to chant.

As he whispered, the seven-tiered demonic pagoda in his palm flew into the air, growing rapidly in size as it met the wind, transforming into several feet in a blink. Then, a dark light appeared at the pagoda's base, forming a massive suction force.

Countless sand and earth particles surged into the sky, all drawn into the vortex of dark light above, and even the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was forcibly pulled away.

Under this suction, everyone's movements became distorted. Despite their best efforts to resist, they were involuntarily pulled, slowly approaching the base of the seven-tiered demonic pagoda.

Leading the charge was the giant python locked onto by the demonic pagoda. Despite its icy blue radiance and the eruption of its spiritual energy, it could only hold out for a dozen breaths before being sucked into the vortex at the pagoda's base with a mournful cry.

Even though the Han Yue shuttle was of extremely high quality, revered as a legacy artifact by a sect, and wielded by a second-realm cultivator, it had little resistance against a true magical artifact.

This was the peerless power possessed by a complete and intact magical artifact!

Shen Lang's expression changed, shedding its usual lazy and amiable demeanor, replaced by an air of arrogance.

As demonic light flashed in his eyes, a tyrannical aura also emerged, completely transforming him from a scruffy scholar into what he truly was—a peak second-realm cultivator who practiced both demonic and ghost arts!

He suddenly changed his original plan. Instead of using force to coerce Ji Yuan and the others, he would patiently wait for his scheme to succeed.

At this moment, Shen Lang intended to draw everyone into the demonic pagoda, forcefully erode their bodies with demonic energy, and transform them into demonic cultivators!

In this way, no matter how unwilling Ji Yuan and the others were, they would have to 'collaborate' with him. Otherwise, no matter where they went, their demonic cultivation would be impossible to explain.

Even if some were determined to die and bring him down with them, he could use the demonic energy implanted in their bodies to forcibly control their every thought, turning them into mere puppets without any will of their own.

Of course, if it were Ji Yuan, he would never resort to such a method, at most temporarily dispossessing him of control over his body and waiting for everything to conclude.

However, he harbored no such benevolence for the others.

"Enter my demonic pagoda, and enjoy freedom for this life!"

With this thought, Shen Lang immediately formed hand seals. After more than ten seals, the demonic light vortex at the base of the pagoda expanded, and the suction force it unleashed strengthened by several folds.

Under this suction, had it not been for Zhao Yuansong's protection, Jiang He and Xu Qiqi, who were only at the first realm, would have already been swept into the base of the pagoda.

Seeing this, Song He, who had received the Han Yue shuttle as a magical artifact, remained outwardly calm, showing no sign of panic.

"Array activate!"

He calmly uttered a soft command. Immediately, surging magical power erupted from him.

In a short moment, a layer of frost spread from his feet, covering an area of ten zhang within a few breaths. A small flag then emerged from his chest and floated in the air before him.

As his voice fell, wisps of pure magical power flew from the flag and entered the void within the ten-zhang radius.

Following this, array patterns appeared on the ground, and in an instant, objects of various shapes broke through the earth, emitting layers of radiance.

These lights flowed and intertwined, instantly encompassing the ten-zhang area. Then, four illusory figures materialized in their sight.

A green bamboo brush transformed into a green serpent, a folding fan into a firebird, a dagger into a fierce tiger, and an inkstone into a black tortoise.

The illusory figures of the four beasts appeared in the four cardinal directions, and the ten-zhang area was filled with the spiritual energy of the four elements: gold, wood, water, and fire.

It was not yet over!

As a white light appeared on Song He, a heavy Yin energy surged out, replacing the Teng Snake representing the earth element in the center, bringing the grand array to its near completion.

This was one of the reasons he had quietly watched Shen Lang and Ji Yuan converse without immediately intervening; he needed time to secretly set up the grand array!

"Stabilize!"

Song He uttered a single word. Then, with the rotation of the five elements, all anomalies vanished instantly, disappearing without a trace.

Even the dark radiance of the seven-tiered demonic pagoda flickered and dimmed, its momentum significantly reduced. Under the assault of the five-colored light, it became precarious.

Seeing this, Shen Lang snorted coldly, his hand seals constantly changing, and his demonic energy continuously poured into the demonic pagoda.

Relying on his seemingly endless demonic energy, he managed to stabilize the seven-tiered demonic pagoda, preventing it from being swept away by the five-colored light.

However, even so, the connection between Shen Lang and the demonic pagoda became tenuous, and he could no longer control it with the ease of his own limbs.

Even though he had cast several hand seals, he was unable to recall the seven-tiered demonic pagoda. This treasure was stubbornly held in mid-air by the continuous, tidal surge of five-colored light.

"My body is demon, my thoughts are ghost!"

Shen Lang no longer attempted to recall the magical artifact. Instead, he changed his hand seals. Besides rolling demonic energy, cold ghost energy also surged from him.

Demonic patterns appeared on his body, and the nearly depleted blood essence within him revived. Blood surged through his physique, and his aura instantly increased by several folds.

Simultaneously, Shen Lang's soul emitted a chilling aura. From the soul light emanating from his brow, piercing wails could be heard, as if his soul had long been surrounded by countless vengeful spirits.

A hint of pain flickered in his eyes, but it vanished instantly, as if it had never appeared.

After activating his secret technique, his physical strength rivaled that of a peak second-realm martial artist, and his soul light surpassed that of a peak second-realm cultivator.

"Break for me!"

Shen Lang roared, and in a frenzy, he unleashed a series of punches in all directions.

With each punch, rolling demonic and ghost energy surged, condensing into a massive lion's head phantom outside the fist projection.

*Boom!*

*Boom!!*

*Boom!!!*

*Boom!!!!*

Four consecutive booms echoed through heaven and earth. Under his fist projections, the four beast phantoms immediately collapsed. The green bamboo brush, folding fan, dagger, and inkstone were completely destroyed under the immense pressure!

With four of the five-colored lights compromised, the intact magical artifact could no longer be held in place. With a mere thought from Shen Lang, the seven-tiered demonic pagoda shrunk back to its normal size and hovered above his head.

Streams of dark light descended from the pagoda, protecting his body within.

At the same time, as the array was broken, Song He coughed up a large mouthful of blood. His aura instantly weakened, clearly suffering a considerable backlash and sustaining serious internal injuries.

"Since you are stubborn, I shall send you on your way then."

Shen Lang's face was cold, and as a murderous intent flashed, he delivered a fierce punch.

Boundless demonic and ghost energy intertwined, once again condensing into a roaring lion's head phantom on the fist projection. Its power was terrifying and appalling. If it struck someone, let alone a second-realm cultivator, even the body of a peak second-realm martial artist would be shattered on the spot.

At this critical juncture, Zhou Yuyan stepped in front of her husband. She extended her sword fingers forward, and her nine flying swords shot out.

In a flash, the nine flying swords transformed into a giant sword shadow, and with an unstoppable momentum and heavy, piercing sword Qi, they collided with the rushing fist projection.

*Bang!!!*

The moment they collided, the sword tip shattered, and one flying sword exploded.

Eight flying swords were destroyed by the fist projection, and the giant sword shadow also collapsed. Only one flying sword remained, carrying the spiritual energy left by the destruction of the other flying swords, barely holding its ground against the fist projection.

At this moment, Zhou Yuyan's face was deathly pale, blood trickling from her lips, her aura like a swaying mountain peak, on the verge of complete collapse.

Seeing this, Song He immediately placed his hand on his wife's back, continuously channeling his magical power into her. He did not hesitate to deplete his own vital essence and foundation to stabilize her rapidly collapsing Dao foundation.

And at this very moment, a sound like rushing water reached their ears, pouring in like a broken dam.

In fact, not just Song He and his wife, but everyone present heard this sound.

"Shen Lang!!!"

A furious roar suddenly arrived, seemingly drowning out all other sounds in heaven and earth.

As if sensing the boundless rage contained within, Shen Lang instinctively looked back, only to see dense sword Qi converging into a river, surging forth like a bursting flood.

And at the end of this river of sword Qi was Ji Yuan, a glint of water in his eyes.