Chapter 685: Sword's Cry (2)

Chapter 685: Chapter 460: Sword’s Cry (2)

“This is the price for shaking the army’s morale. Let go of the Token and you die. Keep channeling Magical Power into the Token. Don’t stop.”

Several Cultivators dressed as Core Disciples of the White Mountain Sword Sect watched the crowd coldly. One of them held a drawn sword; he was clearly the one who had just struck.

Such scenes were common in every corner of the White Mountain Sword Sect’s army formation. The eight-thousand-strong army contained many low-level Cultivators, and for most, this was their first battle of this magnitude. It was a clear sign of just how desperate the White Mountain Sword Sect’s situation had become.

The bloody crackdown stunned the crowd. Filled with terror, they had no choice but to continue pouring their Magical Power into the greedy Command Flag.

While people had already started dying in the White Mountain Sword Sect’s ranks, the Illusion Sword Alliance was faring better. Although the dial on Fang Qingyuan’s Command Flag had been turned to the fifth setting, it was still manageable for most of the Middle to Late-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivators.

Fang Qingyuan’s mind, however, wasn’t on the battle. Because he had practiced the Soul Dao Technique, the *Yindu Black Law Soul-Binding Spell*, his own soul was exceptionally sensitive to other souls and yin energy. Just now, he had noticed something unusual.

As Cultivators in the White Mountain Sword Sect began to die left and right, Fang Qingyuan discovered that their souls weren’t immediately dissipating into the ether. Instead, they were being drawn into the very earth beneath them, sinking into the soil.

The souls of Qi Cultivation Cultivators, having not yet achieved Foundation Establishment, are incredibly tenuous. They are generally incapable of projecting from their bodies.

Foundation Establishment Cultivators, having passed the Foundation Establishment Pass, have souls and bodies that are mutually reinforcing. As their cultivation deepens, their souls grow stronger. Even upon death, they can linger in the world for a short time. If they’re lucky enough to find a suitable Qi Cultivation Cultivator, they can even attempt a forced possession to be reborn.

The souls of Golden Core Cultivators are stronger still. After their physical bodies perish, their souls can persist in the world as long as they are preserved. They can even switch to cultivating the Ghost Dao, giving them another chance to pursue the Great Dao.

This, however, is forbidden by the Great Zhou Academy. Regardless, the higher one’s cultivation, the stronger their soul. By the Nascent Soul Realm, the death of the physical body is no longer a finality. A Cultivator can simply find a new body. As long as their Nascent Soul remains intact, they cannot be considered truly dead.

Because of the Great Zhou Academy’s edicts, most Cultivators are unfamiliar with the Soul Dao. That’s why this phenomenon, which Fang Qingyuan observed, went completely unnoticed by everyone else.

Of course, it was also due to Fang Qingyuan’s true cultivation level, which ranked him among the very strongest of the twenty thousand-plus Cultivators present. But he refused to believe that the leaders of the various factions couldn’t see what was happening.

‘Are they ignoring it, or are they too afraid to question it?’

Fang Qingyuan’s thoughts immediately turned to the Master of White Mountain. Faced with such an unusual disappearance of souls, he was Fang Qingyuan’s prime suspect.

‘What exactly is this decade-long war for? A war born of simple conflict would have ended in two or three years, tops. But this one has been dragged out for ten years. Could it all be for the souls of the dead?’

Fang Qingyuan reined in his speculation. ‘Does the Great Zhou Academy know about this? If even I can see what’s wrong, there’s no way they don’t know.’

But the fact that this has gone on for ten years suggests the Great Zhou Academy either doesn’t want to intervene, or simply has no authority to do so.

‘This must be White Mountain’s internal affair. The Great Zhou Academy can’t interfere, can it?’

‘I really didn’t come here for nothing.’ As large numbers of Cultivators perished, Fang Qingyuan finally glimpsed a fraction of the deep-seated secrets hidden within White Mountain.

The battle raged on, but Fang Qingyuan’s mindset had shifted. His earlier ease was gone. Now, he only wanted to return to his Qingyuan Sect, lock himself away in cultivation, and have no part in such perilous affairs.

But things rarely go as planned. Just then, a chorus of cheers erupted from the distant Sharp Gold Alliance. Fang Qingyuan focused his gaze and saw a colossal figure materializing in the sky above them. Its face was indistinct and its body seemed to be coalesced from smoke, but with every gesture, the massive sword that had previously only been able to block was now wielded with divine grace. In just a few strokes, it stabilized their precarious formation.

‘The Sharp Gold Alliance’s Nascent Soul? He’s personally joining the fight? But I thought none of the Nascent Souls on Upper White Mountain could come down right now?’

The question immediately flashed through Fang Qingyuan’s mind. At the same time, he realized something else: ‘Cui Dong City really doesn’t want to let me have an easy time of this.’

Fighting a Nascent Soul Cultivator was a completely different concept from fighting a Golden Core Cultivator who was merely wielding a Nascent Soul Magical Artifact.

Fang Qingyuan had thought his target was the Sharp Gold Alliance’s army formation. Now, it seemed he would have to face their Nascent Soul.

At this thought, Fang Qingyuan observed even more closely. This was, after all, the first time he had ever seen the Nascent Soul of the Sharp Gold Alliance.

However, what had descended was merely a magical projection manifested through a Bronze Oil Lamp; its true physical body remained on White Mountain.

Even so, the Sharp Gold Alliance’s Nascent Soul could exert seventy percent of its full combat strength. And with the endless supply of Magical Power from the army below, it could even unleash a level of might that its physical body couldn’t achieve on its own.

The moment the Sharp Gold Alliance’s Nascent Soul appeared, the Golden Core Cultivator in the White Mountain Sword Sect’s ranks, who had been standing with his eyes closed while cradling his sword, snapped his eyes open.

His expression turned to one of shock. He turned to a white-haired old man beside him and asked:

“Venerable Lamp Master, can you contact the Ancestor now?”

The Venerable Lamp Master respectfully produced a Bronze Lamp. He gently polished it with his palm while using a Secret Technique to try and establish a connection, but after a few moments, the lamp remained unresponsive.

At this, the heart of the sword-wielding Golden Core Cultivator sank. He knew something was wrong.

Seeing the enemy army turn the tables and bear down on them, the Golden Core Cultivator spoke reverently to the Magic Sword cradled in his arms:

“Treasure, I beseech you, leave your scabbard!”

The words had barely left his lips when an ancient Magic Sword—blazing like fire, sharp as refined gold, and radiating an immense killing intent—slid from its Sword Scabbard of its own accord and hung suspended in the air.

The Golden Core Cultivator reached out and gripped the sword’s hilt. An unnatural pallor instantly washed over his face; in that one moment, he felt as if his entire life’s accumulation of Magical Power was about to be completely drained.

Fortunately, the eight-thousand-strong army formation surrounding him was a bottomless well, continuously supplying him with Magical Power and keeping him from collapsing on the spot.

“Treasure, I beseech you, turn!”

With another entreaty, the fourth-tier, mid-grade Magic Sword lifted the Golden Core Cultivator into the sky. Then, facing the approaching giant, it swung down in a devastating slash.

A hundred-zhang-long wave of Sword Qi materialized in the sky, carrying with it an infinite killing intent as it slashed toward the body of the Sharp Gold Alliance’s Nascent Soul.

“The Xuanli Sword? HAHA, excellent! You should have found a new master long ago.”

With a booming laugh, the Sharp Gold Alliance’s Nascent Soul showed no fear. Had the White Mountain Sword Sect’s own Nascent Soul come in person with this blade, he would never have dared to meet its edge head-on. But with a mere Golden Core Cultivator as its Master, what was there to fear?

And so, the Sharp Gold Alliance’s Nascent Soul, wielding the colossal Magic Sword condensed from his army’s formation, met the incoming Sword Qi without flinching.

The art of the Sword Control Technique involves three principles: soul attachment, intent guidance, and situational response. But in all cases, the Cultivator is meant to be in command. This was not the case now. The Xuanli Sword’s Sword Spirit was acting on instinct, overriding its Master. While it could still display some of the power of a Nascent Soul Sword, the gap when facing a true Nascent Soul Cultivator was undeniable.

The Xuanli Sword was originally the personal weapon of the White Mountain Sword Sect’s Nascent Soul Ancestor. But when he ascended to Upper White Mountain, he chose not to take the sword with him. This was because anything taken to Upper White Mountain could never be brought back down; the Xuanli Sword was far more useful left behind with the sect.

However, now faced with the monumental, once-in-a-millennium upheaval of the Master of White Mountain’s fall, one could only wonder what the White Mountain Sword Sect’s Nascent Soul was feeling now, knowing the Xuanli Sword had been left behind.

The Xuanli Sword’s consciousness was only about as developed as a three-year-old child’s. Since its Master was unable to control it, the sword was left to its own devices, attacking wildly and recklessly squandering the vast reserves of Magical Power accumulated by the army formation.

Another ferocious exchange followed, but the results were underwhelming. The Sharp Gold Alliance’s Nascent Soul, with his exquisite technique, redirected most of the Xuanli Sword’s boundless killing intent into the surrounding void. Very little of the attack actually struck the Sharp Gold Alliance’s formation.

Within both armies, Cultivators were silently collapsing at every moment. Each clash between the Xuanli Sword and the Sharp Gold Alliance’s Nascent Soul mercilessly consumed the lives of these ‘expendables.’

And then, once the death toll had reached a certain point, the Venerable Lamp Master in the ranks of the White Mountain Sword Sect suddenly looked ecstatic. He raised the Bronze Oil Lamp high and pleaded in a loud voice:

“We beseech you, Ancestor, to descend!”

…….

Just a bit more to go. I’ll post the rest soon, please wait. I’ll release two chapters to make up for it.