The Disciple guards stared in astonishment at the rapidly spreading cracks on the snowy ground. This ancient array, which had tested cultivators' strength for a thousand years, was easily torn open, and the frost seeping from the gaps in the blue bricks slowly solidified the broken array patterns.
“How dare he go to Chen Ming Peak?” On the Star Observing Platform deep within the sea of clouds, the star compass in the hand of the man in the golden-threaded python-patterned robe trembled slightly.
His companion, wearing a bronze Nuo mask, sneered, “After falling into demonhood, even that last bit of sanity was burned away. That saves us the trouble of dealing with the Gu cauldron.”
At this moment, Ma Bingyun's black robe fluttered as she swept through the pine forest, Bi Luo Peak shrinking into a dark speck behind her.
She clutched the demonic pattern over her heart with five fingers, where bloody spiritual energy surged. The Heart-Devouring Gu, planted three days ago, resonated with the Demonic Qi in her body, making her Yuanshen (Primordial Spirit) scorching hot.
The sound of bells from the distant Sword Discussion Platform drifted with the wind. A cold smile curved her lips, and her nails dug deeply into the tree bark.
In the thatched hut enveloped by the Illusionary Spirit Array, the fragrance of pills and the aura of swords mingled wonderfully.
Yan Yi gently brushed her delicate hand, watching the blue flame in Qing Feng's palm gradually take the shape of a phoenix, then suddenly frowned, looking at the startled jackdaws outside the window.
The flame between Qing Feng's fingers flared in response, and three-colored pills in the cauldron spun in the air, refracting a glazed luster under the moonlight.
“Senior Sister, this furnace of Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill…” Before Qing Feng could finish speaking, the entire thatched hut was suddenly enveloped by a bloody barrier.
The demon-reflecting mirror hanging from the eaves instantly shattered, its fragments reflecting Ma Bingyun's distorted face. A crimson Demonic Qi gushed from the bone flute in her hand.
At the other end of the chessboard, the black piece under the Nuo-masked man's fingertip suddenly burst, “The Heart-Devouring Gu has backfired.”
The golden-robed man stood up abruptly, the fate star representing Ma Bingyun on the star compass already fallen into a blood-red mist. Their chess piece, painstakingly cultivated for ten years, ultimately derailed completely the moment she fell into demonhood.
Deep within the forbidden area of Chen Ming Peak, layers of spiritual patterns and arrays crisscrossed. What seemed to ordinary people like a barrier even a True Lord of the Cavernous Profound Realm would find difficult to break through, was as good as nothing before Ma Bingyun, a former Chief within the peak.
Her figure swept past the defensive barrier like Ru Yan, without triggering any alarm mechanisms.
In the open space in front of the thatched hut, the pill furnace emitted wisps of green smoke.
Qing Feng, who was controlling the fire, and Yan Yi, who was perusing ancient texts, were completely unaware of the impending crisis.
Ma Bingyun, hidden in the shadows, watched the two, a sinister arc curving her lips. The path of the Demon Sect was perilous; even low-level alchemists could be useful.
A cold gleam flashed!
The spiritual sword in her hand pulsed with dark light, striking directly at the Great Mysterious Dog's vital point. The spiritual dog, still in the early Nascent Soul stage, had not yet sensed the killing intent, but the sword's edge was already less than three inches from its throat.
She was determined to succeed with this killing blow: a Spirit Transformation peak cultivator wielding a Earth-grade spiritual artifact against a first-level Nascent Soul was a dimension-crushing strike.
Clang! A dark blue sword shadow suddenly appeared, its crystal-clear, ice-like blade precisely blocking the fatal strike.
The moment the sword intents clashed, Ma Bingyun felt as if she had cleaved into an boundless deep sea, the vast spiritual energy backfiring and numbing her tiger's mouth. Only after retreating several yards did she clearly see that the sword wielder was Qing Feng, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
“You.” Ma Bingyun's pupils trembled. The teacup in Yan Yi's hand fell to the ground, the clear tea winding into incredible patterns on the stone slab.
The appearance of a prisoner from the Ice Pool was understandable, but a Foundation Establishment cultivator taking a full-force blow from a Spirit Transformation cultivator completely defied common sense.
Qing Feng formed a hand seal with his left hand, activating the mountain-protecting array patterns, and a profound light curtain instantly enveloped the thatched hut. He did not retract his sword, and sternly questioned, “The Xuan Ice Chains of the Ice Pool are difficult for even a Tribulation Transcension cultivator to break free from. How did you escape?”
The night wind swept past his robes, the Foundation Establishment cultivation forming a strange contrast with the divine weapon in his hand.
Ma Bingyun's pupils suddenly constricted. Her fingertip brushed over a rice-sized chip on her saber, and she abruptly shrieked, “This is absolutely not ordinary iron. What you hold is a Heaven-grade divine weapon!”
Her Earth-grade spiritual saber, refined for hundreds of years, was damaged when it clashed with the opponent's weapon. Such power could only be achieved by legendary Heaven-grade artifacts.
Qing Feng lightly twirled the sword hilt, the Autumn Water's cold gleam drawing a brilliant blue arc in the air, “Since you know the origin of this sword, why not retreat quickly?”
He secretly grumbled about the Law Enforcement Hall's oversight. Fortunately, his newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivation combined with the divine weapon should be able to cope, and it was a good opportunity to practice the Autumn Water Sword Art.
“A mere brat dares to speak so presumptuously.” Ma Bingyun sneered menacingly, her true essence surging like a tide around her. “That block just now relied entirely on the power of a divine artifact. Your cultivation is merely at the Golden Core Realm. Once I seize the sword…”
Before she could finish speaking, the Spirit Transformation pressure solidified, and a sword qi, imbued with a chilling ghostly aura, slammed down, its momentum as mighty as the collapse of the heavens, yet its trajectory was eerily sinister.
Amidst the clang of metal, Qing Feng's wrist flicked lightly, dispelling a thousand jin of force. His seemingly leisurely parry startled Ma Bingyun even more; Qing Feng had actually blocked all of the Spirit Transformation attacks!
Nine hundred years of arduous cultivation could not suppress an eighteen-year-old child. The poisonous fire of regret burned within her: she should have eliminated him in his infancy to prevent future troubles!
“No wonder nine hundred years of cultivation only resulted in the demeanor of a shrew.” Qing Feng suddenly chuckled, his sword momentum abruptly like a galaxy reversing, “Your sword intent, like that of a common shrew, reaching Spirit Transformation is truly an oversight by the celestial dao. The farce should end now.”
The long cry of Autumn Water suddenly rose, and the brilliant blue sword light transformed into myriad stars, enveloping the surroundings. The fierce and violent sword qi that had just been raging instantly melted away like spring snow. Ma Bingyun was horrified to discover that her painstakingly cultivated Netherworld Sword Domain was disintegrating inch by inch under the starlight.
In an instant, the entire valley echoed with gurgling water, and silver light seeped from the cracks in the bluestone floor tiles.
Qing Feng's sword tip tilted, and as the blade trembled, it conjured phantoms of towering peaks. The heavy sword intent concealed a sinister qi, possessing both the grand aura of suppressing heaven and earth and the eerie demonic nature of devouring all things.
Two sword qi of the same origin exploded into ice-crystal-like cracks in mid-air. Ma Bingyun's pupils constricted, “Your Azure Nether Sword Intent is clearly a true 傳 from the Shadow Reflection Pavilion! What's even stranger is…” The jade pendant at her waist suddenly cracked, “Spirit Transformation realm pressure?”
“Because your foundation is too shallow.” Qing Feng's sword art suddenly changed, and silver light condensed into a Nine Palaces array diagram beneath his feet.
This was precisely the third profound layer of the Autumn Water Sword Canon, the Equivalence Barrier.
Within this domain, the total spiritual energy remains constant like a water level; whether you are a river or a stream, all must share this body of water equally.
When the array patterns climbed onto Ma Bingyun's embroidered golden boots, she suddenly understood the opponent's method.
However, a cold sneer curved her lips. Could her sword moves, painstakingly cultivated for two hundred years, be countered by someone who had just begun to grasp the basics?
She immediately ran her fingers along the sword's spine, meeting the opponent's attack and aiming directly for the weak point at the Danzhong acupoint.
The instant the cold lights intersected, Ma Bingyun was startled to find that her Natal Spiritual Sword snapped like rotten wood. She slid diagonally from her left shoulder to her right abdomen, still screaming as her broken body hit the ground, “The spiritual energy was clearly evenly distributed…”
Qing Feng flicked the blood bead from the tip of his sword, revealing the Xuan Ice silkworm silk wrist guard inside his sleeve.
During the previous clash, he deliberately showed weakness to lure the enemy deeper, but in reality, he used the difference in grade of his Natal Spiritual Treasure to achieve a decisive kill.
Before the opponent's Yuanshen (Primordial Spirit) could escape, the sword's edge had already shattered her three souls and seven spirits, and the soul light, like scattered starlight, was completely swallowed by the barrier.
Ma Bingyun exhausted all her vital energy before her Yuanshen (Primordial Spirit) disintegrated, letting out a heart-wrenching shriek. She knew this warning was destined to be futile, but she still stubbornly wanted to reveal Qing Feng's hidden cultivation secret to the world.
The Xuan Light Array, which isolated inside from outside, was actually a semi-finished artifact gifted by the Dao Sect to the Beast Taming Sect.
Although Dao Lord Zisu was the Chief of the Sword Wielders, she was not deeply skilled in illusion arrays. This array diagram, engraved with the secret patterns of the Dao Sect, was merely a symbolic token of goodwill between the two factions.
When Qing Feng received this incomplete magical artifact, he had already simulated thousands of improvement plans in his sea of consciousness.