Whizzing sounds filled the air, like arrows flying across the sky. Though one could barely see anything with the naked eye, faint traces of sword qi, either pure white or dark, could occasionally be discerned.
As the thin mist around them was pierced, the outlines of countless sword qi became vividly clear in most people’s minds, sending chills down their spines. If they were the target of such an attack, their weapons would shatter, and their bodies would be riddled with wounds—no, perhaps even a single explosive burst of sword qi could tear their entire body apart.
Faced with this earth-shattering rain of sword qi, Yan Chong remained steadfast in his target, advancing rather than retreating. He swung his long saber fiercely, unleashing a surging wave of saber energy. The surrounding air grew darker and heavier, as though transforming into a massive tidal wave.
The saber force tore through the sky, swallowing dozens of sword qi aimed directly at him, creating a cacophony of clashing energies and metallic clangs. Forced into using an external technique to counter, he was pushed into a defensive position.
Xuan Zhen raised his left hand, silently chanting a Buddhist mantra, and slowly extended his right palm, empty and void-like. Though seemingly slow, the surrounding air silently converged into his palm. The space trembled, the heavens and earth seemed to shrink, as if everything was being encompassed within his hand.
Sword qi, either directly charging or mysteriously bending, all converged toward Xuan Zhen’s right palm. With wisdom to see through illusions, attaining inner peace, a pure land emerged amidst the chanting of sutras. The sword qi lost their killing intent and speed, becoming sluggish.
His palm descended, fingers glowing faintly golden, suppressing and shattering all the sword qi!
When perfected, the Prajna Palm cultivates the Buddha-land within the palm, mountains formed between the five fingers!
“Green Lotus Young Master” Liu Su slightly narrowed his eyes, as if sensing the incoming rain of “arrows.” Suddenly, he drew back his sword, like a bud about to bloom.
The surroundings transformed instantly. A faint green light, pure and untainted, enveloped Liu Su, making him appear like an immortal transcending the mundane.
As his sword technique unfolded, the bud blossomed. The green light transformed into petals following the sword’s motion, blooming gracefully, creating a breathtaking, dreamlike spectacle.
Ding, ding, ding! Each sword qi was perfectly blocked by a green lotus petal.
With a single sword move, he had withstood dozens of sword qi!
The celestial phenomenon was stunningly beautiful, just like the sword technique itself!
This was “Green Lotus Sword Song,” an external sword technique recorded in the “Immortal-bestowed Longevity Sword Manual.”
As streams of sword qi rained down, Meng Qi roared, swinging his long saber like a whip or axe. It carried both the emptiness of heaven and the weight of thunder, compressing layers of air into collapsing waves, like thick steel plates rolling forward.
Before the eyes of everyone, he did not use “Thunder Shocking the Nine Heavens,” but instead activated “Heaven’s Wound” using the essence of “Celestial Thunder Strike.”
Electric saber qi erupted, fierce and domineering, like a thunderous dragon lunging toward the sword qi, its mouth wide open to devour.
Black scorch marks appeared on the ground, tiles shattered, and faint sparks flickered around.
Crack! Crack! Crack! The sword qi vanished, the thunder dragon dispersed, and a shockwave erupted, forming a visible pressure wall.
The residual power of “Heaven’s Wound,” not directed at the four opponents, surged toward the spectators.
Hong Qian, a middle-aged man with gaunt cheeks and sharp eyes, lightly tapped the “Star-shattering Sword” resting on the table.
Clang! The sword protruded an inch from its sheath, instantly halting the incoming sword qi and force midair, as if an invisible sword wall existed there.
From another direction, Wang Rui-zhi smiled slightly and pointed a finger at an empty space devoid of sword qi. Immediately, all the sword qi and force mysteriously dissipated.
The eunuch beside the Crown Prince stepped forward, invisible ripples spreading outward. Any sword qi or lightning striking toward them was instantly shattered.
Feng Gonggong, the Prince’s protector, unwilling to yield, snorted coldly—a sound like countless fine needles being unleashed. One by one, he shattered the sword energy, lightning, and force.
With these external experts present, the collateral damage from He Jiu and Meng Qi’s battle failed to destroy the hall.
Outside, brilliant silver flashes lit the sky, thunder roared, and torrential rain poured down, striking the ground with a dense, chaotic rhythm.
He Jiu’s clothes were now tattered, riddled with perfectly circular holes. The smoothness of each tear in the soft fabric testified to the refinement and strength of his sword qi!
Sword qi whizzed from 364 major acupoints and the orifices of his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, as he single-handedly resisted Meng Qi, Yan Chong, and others’ ultimate moves!
“Attack now,” Hong Qian suddenly whispered to Jiang Zhiwei.
Jiang Zhiwei pondered briefly, then sprang forward, vaulting over the table, drawing her sword in one fluid motion.
Her sword gleamed, pure and focused, brimming with deathly intent. She advanced with no retreat, slicing through scattered sword qi, directly aiming for He Jiu’s forehead.
She did not use “Sword of No Self,” but instead “Yama’s Edict.” Yet her timing was exquisite, her judgment precise. She seized the gap created by the five combatants’ clashing energies, her sword unimpeded, reaching He Jiu’s face in an instant.
Trapped by Meng Qi and others, He Jiu had just neutralized a wave of sword qi, with no new energy yet generated. It seemed he had no choice but to surrender or await assistance from an external expert.
Not far behind him sat a black-robed elder, his face lined with wrinkles, a sword upright before him. He was one of the external elders of the Donghai Sword Villa, guardian of Xingyun Manor, known as “Eight Winds Sword” Gongyang Hao.
Seeing He Jiu’s face contorted in pain, blood rising, Gongyang Hao’s hand had already grasped the sword hilt.
The deadly intent struck He Jiu like falling into hell, his forehead throbbing, his body hollow. The sword qi he had just unleashed left him at his weakest.
Though he needed only a breath to recover, capable of releasing two more waves of sword qi, the sword was already at his forehead.
This was a desperate situation he hadn’t felt in a long time.
He had forgotten the external elder was still present.
Crack! A sound like something shattering echoed. He Jiu’s forehead split rapidly, dark and unfathomable, a red sword qi erupting from within, striking Jiang Zhiwei’s sword tip with a clang.
Simultaneously, the scattered sword qi around him surged again, reconnecting with their master. Whizzing sounds filled the air, sword qi of various trajectories—straight or curved, incoming or outgoing—filling the sky. The life and death energies of the heavens and earth seemed to transform into sword qi!
Crack! Crack! Crack! Tiles shattered, rain dripping down, yet before hitting the ground, it was pulverized by sword qi.
Whizzing! Pillars were severed, yet due to the speed, they remained upright below, the building not swaying in the slightest.
Had he broken through?
Meng Qi pulled his saber into a circle, absorbing all nearby sword qi with the emptiness of heaven. Liu Su, Xuan Zhen, Yan Chong, and others also employed their techniques to resist the celestial phenomenon.
As Meng Qi prepared to sheathe his saber, Wang Siyuan suddenly stood, drawing his dull “Three Thoughts Sword,” delivering a seemingly mundane strike.
As the sword extended, he stepped forward, treading the Eight Trigrams, covering vast distances in an instant, arriving before He Jiu. At the moment He Jiu’s red sword qi struck Jiang Zhiwei’s “White Rainbow Piercing the Sun” sword, “Three Thoughts” precisely replaced the attack, aiming for He Jiu’s forehead.
Was this an attempt on the young master’s life?
Gongyang Hao was stunned, never expecting the young master of the Jiangdong Wang Clan to do something so unthinkable in such a setting.
His mind stirred, and sword intent surged forth.
Clang! An invisible collision erupted as Wang Rui-zhi extended a finger.
He Jiu’s eyes widened. Time around him seemed to freeze, sword qi suddenly retracting, rushing back into his body.
The sky brightened. Azure lightning illuminated the night, revealing the low-hanging leaden clouds, the rain like threads.
Compared to this, the fireworks blooming in the sky were like fireflies, unable to rival the moon’s brilliance!
Boom!
Azure lightning pierced the roof, striking He Jiu’s head.
Heavenly Tribulation! This was a Heavenly Tribulation!
Including the external experts, countless people were stunned. He Jiu seemed to have directly transcended from the Nine Orifices Heaven-Man Unification to the External Scene, thus invoking divine punishment!
Meng Qi was also astonished, yet his mind always wandered. He suddenly thought, if I activate the Thunder Scar now and attract another Heavenly Tribulation, no external expert here would have time to save He Jiu—he would surely perish…
Wang Siyuan had already sheathed the “Three Thoughts Sword,” standing silently beside He Jiu like a guardian, his brows faint and his gaze profound.
He Jiu let out a long roar, overpowering the thunder. Infinite sword qi erupted, drawing upon death and life energies and part of the celestial force, engulfing him completely. He charged forward to meet the lightning.
Bang!
The lightning was shattered, the sword qi dispersed, and He Jiu vanished.
Was he dead? This was the first thought of many.
Moments later, they sensed something amiss. A sword qi seemed to be wandering around, yet it was formless and invisible, impossible to grasp—even Hong Qian’s expression subtly changed.
He Jiu suddenly reappeared, wearing his tattered robe, slowly descending to the center.
The hall suddenly became illusory. Meng Qi felt an inexplicable sensation—if He Jiu willed it, no one within the hall could escape the invisible, formless sword qi.
At this moment, Wang Siyuan chuckled, “Brother He, borrowing your tribulation.”
His aura became ethereal. His forehead slowly opened, revealing the Eight Trigrams—Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui—each a golden, illusory symbol. The Zhen position became the eye, absorbing the scattered lightning of the tribulation.
Simultaneously, ghostly flames erupted from beneath Wang Siyuan’s feet, burning flesh and soul, as if trying to reduce him to ashes.
The Yin Fire Tribulation! Had he also advanced directly from Nine Orifices Heaven-Man Unification to External Scene?
The trigrams rotated, the lightning condensed, and once again radiated supreme yang and mighty power, crashing into the Yin fire.
Golden light erupted, Wang Siyuan enveloped in trigrams.
This guy was deeply concealed, seemingly even a bit more advanced in cultivation than He Jiu… Meng Qi thought with a wry smile. He Jiu needed qi traction and external stimulation to step into the External Scene, while Young Master Wang achieved it effortlessly, merely seizing He Jiu’s opportunity to endure the tribulation.
But mystics were like that—never revealing the full calculation, never speaking the entire truth, never being the first to stand out…
The void trembled, as if about to rupture. One by one, the trigrams vanished, and Wang Siyuan disappeared without a trace.
“Cough, thank you, Brother He.” Wang Siyuan’s voice suddenly sounded.
Only now did everyone, including the external experts, realize he had somehow returned to his original seat, raising a wine cup, toasting He Jiu from afar. He seemed unchanged—still frail and delicate, his brows and eyes like a woman’s—but if one wasn’t careful, he would be forgotten, as if he were the one hidden by the Dao itself.
Witnessing He Jiu and Wang Siyuan’s sudden ascension, breaking through from Nine Orifices to External Scene, Meng Qi couldn’t deny feeling envy. Yet more than anything, he felt intense fighting spirit and excitement.
These were the kind of opponents he longed for. Defeating them in the future would bring true fulfillment!
If everyone around him were mediocre, even if he reached the peak, how much satisfaction would he truly gain?
Without you, my blade would starve and thirst!
Meng Qi felt no inferiority. When He Jiu and Wang Da Gongzi were still at Nine Orifices, he hadn’t even opened one. Now he was at Eight Orifices, and they had just entered External Scene. One day, he would catch up!
In time, he would definitely give Wang the Mystic a beating!
The rain stopped, the clouds dispersed, and fireworks soared again, blooming in brilliant colors. A new year had arrived!
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