Chapter 909: Life & Death P9

Earlier, Varesh had deliberately held his Natal Sword in his hands.

That had been his way of limiting his destructive power.

However, there was no way to temper one’s skills using self-imposed restrictions when the opponent’s abilities were this lackluster.

Aksai was not a true Swordsmanship Path cultivator.

He wasn’t even a sword cultivator like Kalina who at least had a Sword Intent.

And Varesh was a Sword Control Path cultivator. His greatest strength had never been holding the sword in his hand.

Varesh released his grip.

The black Natal Sword floated beside him.

VMMMM!

Its Sword Cry spread across the battlefield.

Varesh’s eyes became cold.

"Since you want a duel..."

The black sword disappeared.

"...I’ll give you one."

SHING!

A streak of black light shot toward Aksai.

Aksai’s pupils contracted.

The sword approached from an impossible angle.

He raised his borrowed sword.

CLANG!

The impact forced him backward.

Before he could recover—

SHING!

Another attack came from behind.

Nuri’s real-time analytical abilities were employed to their fullest thanks to which Aksai twisted his body and dodged a fatal strike.

The blade passed beside his shoulder, slicing through his golden Aurous Qi and a faint trace of blood appeared.

Aksai’s expression became solemn.

Varesh’s sword had become completely different.

When he held the sword, he had been suppressing himself.

Now that the sword was floating freely—

The true might of a Sword Control Path cultivator finally emerged.

Varesh’s Sword Sense spread across the entire battlefield. It was as if there was a pool of Sword Essence in the vicinity. The black sword was akin to fish swimming in that pool as it kept on changing directions.

In an instant, it began attacking Aksai from every direction.

Despite his various advantages, Aksai had finally encountered the true meaning of the gap between himself and a genuine sword cultivator.

Varesh wasn’t merely stronger. He was operating in an entirely different realm of understanding.

As the battle continued, it could be clearly seen that Aksai was losing. And not gradually either. Not by a small margin. He was simply being overwhelmed.

SHING!

The black Natal Sword flashed past his chest.

Aksai twisted his body at the last possible moment.

Even so, the edge of the blade grazed his torso and a thin line of blood appeared.

Then—

Puff!

A large chunk of flesh was sliced away.

Aksai’s face convulsed in pain but he held on. His Druidic vitality immediately surged.

Green light gathered around the wound, and fresh flesh began growing at an astonishing speed.

But before the regeneration could finish—

Vmmm!

The Sword Intent embedded within the wound erupted, ruining the automatic healing efforts of his druidic body.

Aksai’s pupils contracted, feeling shocked by Varesh’s damage-dealing capabilities. The newly grown flesh was sliced apart from within.

The Sword Intent didn’t merely cut his body but continued cutting over time.

Again.

And again.

And again.

The Sword Essence accompanying it was even more terrifying.

It penetrated his flesh and destroyed his body at an extremely minute level, tearing apart the structure of his cells and preventing his regenerative abilities from functioning normally.

Aksai’s expression finally became solemn.

So this is what they call Sword Intent...

He had just experienced Kalina’s Sword Intent by forcefully wielding her natal sword. He had even managed to use it for himself using Nuri’s analytical abilities.

But fake was fake and real was real, something that couldn’t be hidden for long.

A true sword cultivator’s Sword Intent wasn’t merely a sharp force attached to a sword attack. It was a persistent killing principle.

Once it entered the body, a Sword Intent didn’t simply disappear. It continued cutting, destroying, and weakening the enemy from within.

No wonder the true sword cultivators were feared by their peers.

SHING!

Another sword strike arrived.

Nuri’s prediction appeared in Aksai’s mind before the attack even arrived.

[Trajectory predicted.]

[Impact point: left shoulder.]

Aksai immediately shifted his body.

The black sword changed direction.

[Correction detected.]

Aksai’s pupils contracted.

He barely raised Kalina’s Natal Sword.

CLANG!

The impact sent him flying backward.

His arm twisted unnaturally.

The sword had been blocked midway but the Sword Intent wasn’t. A black thread of Sword Intent slipped through the collision and entered his arm.

Puff!

Another section of flesh exploded.

Aksai gritted his teeth. His body could heal but it couldn’t heal faster than Varesh’s Sword Intent could destroy it. And with each destruction, his healing abilities were waning, becoming less potent than previous use.

Even a druid’s strong life essence had its limits in such high intensity battles. He couldn’t keep on healing indefinitely.

Plus, the severe injuries and waning healing abilities weren’t even his only worries.

Sword Intent infiltrated his flesh, circulated through his meridians, and disrupted his Spirit Essence, making its circulation chaotic.

Several Spirit veins had been cut. As a result, his internal Spirit energy began leaking.

The Poison Druid’s body was slowly being transformed into something resembling a bloody corpse. His clothes had long since been destroyed.

Large chunks of flesh were missing from his torso, leaving several bones exposed.

One side of his face was covered in blood and mangled flesh. The Sword Intent in the facial wounds had distorted his facial muscles and torn through the epidermis.

If Aksai had seen his face in a mirror at this point, he would have been reminded of a certain Two-Face.

His left arm had already been torn open several times.

His body looked like that of a bloody zombie that should have collapsed long ago.

Yet Aksai remained standing. His breathing was still steady, and his heartbeat remained strangely calm.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Each heartbeat was powerful and steady.

Aksai’s Druid’s Heart burst forth with newfound vitality. It transformed the accumulated poison essence into pure life essence. At the same time, it enabled him to keep battling despite the critical injuries.

Varesh noticed it.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

’Interesting... That heart of his... It seems there’s some body cultivation skill involved. Or is it something else?’