Chapter 295 - Hidden Intent and a Thousand Roars

Chapter 295: Chapter 295 - Hidden Intent and a Thousand Roars

The hesitation caused by the Ten-Thousand Beast Dominion Plate did not last long.

The eight demonic cultivators had survived enough battles to recognize danger even when they did not understand its exact nature.

Whatever Jian Wushuang was activating, the sight of countless beast projections still forming across the sky was already enough to remind several of them of memories they would rather leave buried.

They had faced the horrors connected to the Great Fissure before.

None of them intended to stand quietly and discover whether the resemblance to the Animal Realm was merely superficial.

Their attention shifted toward Jian Wushuang almost at the same time.

The righteous cultivators noticed.

The Zhuge Clan expert moved first, cutting across the path of the nearest demonic cultivator before the man could close half the distance. His palm swept sideways, and the spiritual force surrounding his opponent abruptly changed direction, forcing the incoming attack away from Jian Wushuang.

The woman from the Glass-Lotus Holy See expanded her lotus radiance at nearly the same moment.

"Do not let them reach him."

No one needed further explanation.

The demonic side still had the advantage in numbers. If each of them occupied one righteous cultivator, three would remain free to interfere with Jian Wushuang.

The same realization passed between the eight demonic cultivators.

Their formation changed immediately.

Five moved toward the righteous experts while the remaining three curved around the battlefield.

Three Void-Shattering cultivators were now approaching Jian Wushuang from different directions.

Jian Wushuang did not look at them.

His entire concentration remained on the formation plate floating before him.

Activating the Ten-Thousand Beast Dominion Plate was far more difficult than simply pouring energy into it.

The Highest-Grade Spirit Stones surrounding the core were already dimming rapidly, but the formation still needed someone to guide its unfolding structure. Thousands of beast inscriptions were awakening at once, each trying to establish its place inside a formation large enough to cover an entire sect.

Jian Wushuang’s spiritual sense spread through the plate.

His Qi followed.

The beast projections gathering across the mountains continued becoming clearer, but the process was not yet complete.

One of the demonic cultivators noticed that immediately.

"He cannot move freely while controlling it."

The three accelerated.

The first crossed several hundred feet in an instant. Black light condensed around his hand before stretching into a narrow blade that seemed to absorb the sunlight around it.

Another appeared above Jian Wushuang and formed a seal with both hands.

The third approached from below, clearly intending to cut off any escape.

Jian Wushuang still did not turn.

Li Xuanzong did.

His eyes sharpened like blades.

For the first time since the battle began, the calm surrounding him changed.

A strange intent spread from his body.

It did not erupt with overwhelming pressure, yet nearly everyone sensitive enough to perceive it reacted at once.

The metal throughout the battlefield began to tremble.

Weapons carried by both sides gave faint hums.

Broken fragments scattered from previous collisions rose from the mountains below, while tiny pieces of metal hidden among shattered rocks pulled free from the ground.

Su Bai stared.

The change was subtle for only an instant.

After that, the entire region seemed to answer Li Xuanzong.

A demonic cultivator heading toward Jian Wushuang suddenly twisted aside.

A narrow blade had appeared beside his neck without crossing the distance between them.

His eyes widened.

Another blade emerged above him.

A third appeared behind his shoulder.

They did not fly toward him from anywhere. They simply appeared at the places Li Xuanzong’s intent reached.

The man tore backward as three sharp lines crossed the space he had occupied a heartbeat earlier.

His companion fared no better.

Metal fragments from the surrounding battlefield stretched into thin blades beneath Li Xuanzong’s control and vanished from their original positions. They reappeared around the second cultivator almost simultaneously, attacking from angles that gave him no obvious direction to evade.

The third demonic cultivator abruptly stopped advancing toward Jian Wushuang and swung his weapon backward.

A metallic point emerged from distorted space directly behind him.

The clash sent sparks across the sky.

His expression finally changed.

"Blade Intent?"

He looked toward Li Xuanzong more carefully.

The air around several of the metallic blades twisted faintly before they disappeared and reappeared elsewhere.

The man’s expression grew darker.

"And a spatial attribute."

The reactions across the battlefield shifted.

Li Xuanzong had spent the entire confrontation moving efficiently and revealing almost nothing unnecessary.

Now everyone understood that restraint had not come from a lack of methods.

Li Xuanzong raised one hand.

The loose metallic fragments around the battlefield responded immediately.

Some flattened into blades. Others sharpened into needles or narrow edges suited to the amount of material available. There was no need for them to retain a particular shape because the intent guiding them cared only about creating something capable of cutting.

Space rippled, then dozens of metallic edges vanished.

The three demonic cultivators immediately separated.

That saved them.

Blades appeared where they had been standing and crossed one another in a dense net.

One of the demonic experts attacking Li Xuanzong himself took advantage of the moment and struck from behind.

Li Xuanzong did not even turn.

Several metallic fragments gathered beside him, merged into a broad edge, and intercepted the incoming technique while his attention remained on the three pursuing Jian Wushuang.

The impact exploded behind him.

Li Xuanzong merely shifted half a step.

...

Su Bai’s eyes widened as he watched from Radiant Sky Sect.

The ability was already impressive enough by itself, but the speed at which Li Xuanzong’s blades changed position made it considerably more troublesome.

It barely looked like movement.

The blades simply arrived wherever they were needed.

Beside him, Lu Canghai sighed.

"Seriously?"

Su Bai glanced over.

His master looked less impressed than offended.

"Master?"

Lu Canghai pointed toward Li Xuanzong.

"You think that looks impressive, don’t you?"

Su Bai nodded honestly.

"Very."

Lu Canghai’s expression became complicated.

"That is because Old Li has successfully fooled another person."

Su Bai looked back toward the battlefield.

A blade had just appeared beside a demonic cultivator’s ribs, forcing the man to abandon an attack halfway through.

"What do you mean, Master?"

Lu Canghai stroked his beard with an almost defeated expression.

"That Blade Intent is one of the newer ones."

Su Bai slowly turned toward him.

"Newer?"

"He only comprehended it around a decade ago."

Su Bai became quiet.

A decade was hardly worth mentioning for cultivators who had reached Li Xuanzong’s realm.

Lu Canghai continued, "If I had not happened to catch him while he was first stabilizing it, I doubt he would have told me."

Su Bai looked toward Li Xuanzong again.

"Does Sect Master have more than one Intent?"

Lu Canghai sighed.

"I do not know exactly how many he has."

That answer was considerably worse.

Su Bai stared at him.

"You don’t know?"

"That man has spent half his life making sure people know only what he wants them to know."

Lu Canghai pointed toward the blades appearing and disappearing around the battlefield.

"His Spirit Root is part of the reason his fighting style became so troublesome. It is a mutated Metal Spirit Root carrying characteristics of the Primordial Space Root. Metal answers him easily, while the spatial attribute allows his attacks to cross distances in ways ordinary weapon techniques cannot."

Su Bai watched another group of metallic fragments disappear around Li Xuanzong and emerge hundreds of feet away.

The combination suddenly made much more sense.

Lu Canghai continued more quietly, "I have always suspected that the unusual nature of his Spirit Root also helped him comprehend Intents connected to different weapons. He has never confirmed it."

Su Bai felt his respect for the Sect Master rise considerably.

Li Xuanzong possessed talent that could easily have made him famous for generations, yet his first instinct seemed to be hiding as much of it as possible.

He was cautious, practical, and apparently unwilling to reveal anything unless the situation required it.

Su Bai found that philosophy deeply agreeable.

Perhaps when this was over, he should find an opportunity to speak with the Sect Master properly.

Two people with such healthy instincts toward unnecessary trouble might have more in common than he expected.

Lu Canghai’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

"And if you think Old Li is ridiculous, your father was just as bad when it came to Intents. That fellow could..."

"Master."

Lu Canghai stopped.

Su Bai sighed.

"Let’s not talk about him."

He already possessed enough unanswered questions concerning Su Qingshan. Adding another mysterious talent to the pile would accomplish nothing except make the pile taller.

Lu Canghai studied him briefly before amusement appeared in his eyes.

"Fine."

He stroked his beard and mercifully changed the subject.

...

On the battlefield, Li Xuanzong had already succeeded.

The three demonic cultivators who tried to reach Jian Wushuang had been driven apart, and none dared continue advancing while metallic blades could appear from distorted space without warning.

Li Xuanzong did not pursue them. He had revealed exactly enough.

Nothing more.

Jian Wushuang had not wasted the opportunity.

The Ten-Thousand Beast Dominion Plate finally completed the last stage of its activation.

His face had grown noticeably pale.

Maintaining a Sect-Scale formation while preparing to control thousands of separate projections demanded even more from him than he had expected, and the spirit stones supporting the plate were being consumed at a frightening pace.

Jian Wushuang formed another hand seal.

His own will entered the formation.

The beast projections throughout the region responded.

The unfinished silhouettes finally stabilized.

A roar rolled across the mountains.

This time, the sound did not fade.

More voices joined it until the heavens themselves seemed crowded with beasts.

...

Su Bai raised his head.

The sight before him had become difficult to describe as anything other than an approaching calamity.

Thousands of enormous projections filled the air beyond Radiant Sky Sect, while countless others occupied the mountains and valleys below.

Jian Wushuang slowly opened his eyes.

The Ten-Thousand Beast Dominion Formation had fully awakened.

He raised one hand.

Across the region, thousands of beast heads turned in the same direction.

Toward the eight demonic cultivators.

Finally, Jian Wushuang lowered his hand.

The beast tide moved.