Chapter 359 - 357: All 8 Swords Unleashed

Chapter 359: Chapter 357: All 8 Swords Unleashed

Mountain Demons have always been a very special type of Spirit Monster in the Cultivation Realm. They are human-like in form, possess immense strength, and can tear apart tigers and leopards with their bare hands.

Their strength generally starts at Tier Two, and the most exceptional among them can even grow to reach Tier Three.

However, a constant debate rages within the Cultivation Realm: should they be classified as Demon Beasts, or are they a type of Sub-Human, similar to those of the Human Race whose high concentration of an Exotic Bloodline causes them to outwardly manifest beast-like features?

After all, even a Tier Two Mountain Demon possesses the intelligence of a five or six-year-old child, a level of intellect far beyond what typical Demon Beasts can achieve.

In addition to their impressive Spiritual Wisdom, they also have the capacity to learn from humans and use tools.

There have been numerous documented cases of Mountain Demons keeping the texts and manuals of Cultivators they’ve killed, with evidence showing they’ve attempted to practice the techniques within.

On the other hand, there is no evidence to support them being a special type of Sub-Human. They have no demonstrable connection to humanity, and their physical makeup is entirely different.

This Fire Demon was clearly a variant among the Demon-Like Spirits. Not only had it grown to Tier Three Peak, but it also possessed a Divine Technique that made its body formless.

This was no simple Concealment method; it allowed the creature to vanish completely from this spatial plane.

Combined with the Fire Demon’s formidable physique, it was the ultimate weapon for ambushes and surprise attacks.

Just moments ago, for instance, Bai Zichen had sensed no presence from it whatsoever until the very instant it attacked. Its sharp claws seemed to absorb the explosive sound of rushing air like a black hole, not even stirring the slightest current.

If not for the warning that flared in his mind, coupled with his deep connection to the Moon Xuan Sword and the Sword Spirit’s absolute obedience, he wouldn’t have been able to block it.

In terms of reaction speed, while not his Lifebound Magical Treasure, it was even better than one.

Only this allowed him to react before he could even think, blocking the Fire Demon’s claw just in time.

Of course, given the strength of his own physique, he wouldn’t have been killed outright even if the ambush had succeeded, but grievous injuries would have been unavoidable.

Its claw had clashed head-on with the Moon Xuan Sword and was even ground by his Sword Light, yet it hadn’t shattered. Its hardness was at least equivalent to that of a Top-Grade Magical Treasure.

’Trying to play hide-and-seek in front of me? You think you’re safe just because you can evade my Divine Sense?’

Bai Zichen snorted. The Supreme Qingwei Sword Box within his Dantian Qi Sea stirred, and the Moon Xuan Sword appeared high overhead, bathing the entire hollow at the base of the volcano in its light.

Within the moonlight, a faint, blurry silhouette staggered forward. Its movements were incredibly slow, as if it had to overcome immense resistance with every step.

’So it’s a Void Divine Technique. No wonder neither my naked eye nor my Divine Sense could detect it. This Fire Demon isn’t even in this dimension!’

In other words, the Fire Demon was not currently on this plane of existence, but was instead moving through a spatial interlayer.

It was impossible to know what sort of fortuitous encounter had allowed this Fire Elemental Spirit to possess such a Void Divine Technique.

If not for its misfortune of running into Bai Zichen, who possessed the As Clear as Daylight ability and wielded the Moon Xuan Sword, a Tier Four Flying Sword, this creature could have hidden its tracks even from an ordinary Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Among all the Core Formation True Men in the world—even the monstrously talented Saint Children and Saintesses from the Super Major Sects of the Central Domain, prodigies with the once-in-a-millennium power to challenge the Nascent Soul realm—none could have located the Fire Demon in this situation. Barring someone born with a natural Divine Eye, they would have been utterly helpless.

This had nothing to do with raw power, but rather the inscrutable nature of the Void Divine Technique.

It was much like the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, which drew upon the River of Time. It bypassed all Defensive Magical Treasures and Protective Divine Lights; without a Great Dao True Intent of equal measure to counter it, a single strike would instantly shear away one’s lifespan.

This Void Divine Technique, involving the application of the Power of Space, operated on a similar principle.

It was only because the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box was a Celestial Treasure of an unbelievably high grade that it granted him the As Clear as Daylight talent, effectively allowing him to see with his sword.

As long as a target’s Cultivation did not exceed his Flying Sword’s Tier, it was impossible for them to hide their tracks from him.

For example, back when Daoist He of the Ghost Spirit Sect used the mysterious Exotic Treasure, the Mystical Immortal Gauze, he had still been utterly unable to escape Bai Zichen’s sword-sight and was completely exposed.

Bai Zichen’s expression remained neutral as he maintained a posture of careful vigilance, wary of his surroundings.

At the same time, he sent out waves of Sword Light, seemingly at random. Hundreds of beams of light crisscrossed in a dense web around him, so tight that not even a gnat could have flown through.

However, when the Fire Demon reached a position to his front-left, it suddenly stopped, neither attacking nor retreating.

’It’s trying to wear down my patience, hoping the fear of the unknown will cause me to reveal an opening... The Spiritual Wisdom of these Demon-Like Spirits is truly high. Its combat awareness is already on par with a human Cultivator, just like a Tier Four Shapeshifting Great Demon.’

Bai Zichen scoffed inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged.

The standoff lasted for a full four hours, to the point where he began to wonder if the Fire Demon had fallen asleep.

If he could have attacked the Fire Demon in that spatial interlayer, he would have struck long ago, but all he could do was watch it.

SWOOSH!

Just as Bai Zichen was growing utterly bored, the Fire Demon suddenly lunged, leaping abruptly from the void and into the physical world.

Its ten sharp claws were like ten short swords, glinting with a cold light. They shot towards the vitals of his chest with lightning speed, closing a distance of ten zhang in an instant.

The Fire Demon was tall with long arms; though it aimed for his chest, its attack encompassed his entire upper body.

Even though he watched the Fire Demon make its move and was mentally prepared, he was still stunned by its speed. Goosebumps broke out on his skin, and he felt a prickling sensation on his back.

"Hah!"

For the first time since reaching Core Formation, Bai Zichen pushed his True Essence to its absolute limit. A Fire Flood Dragon Illusion appeared behind him, roaring at the sky as it ravenously devoured the surrounding nature’s spiritual energy.

The Qingfeng Sword, the White Bone Cold Light Sword, the Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword, the Great Sun Celestial Furnace Sword, and three Thunder Sound Swords all flew out from the Sword Box. A total of seven Tier Three Flying Swords transformed into streams of multicolored Sword Light to intercept the ten glinting claws.

He was even able to simultaneously control them to execute different styles of Swordsmanship, each playing to its individual strengths.

The three Thunder Sound Swords were the most conspicuous; their three bolts of lightning merged into a single beam, a surging torrent of electricity that directly intercepted five of the cold glints.

The Great Sun Celestial Furnace Sword was the most tyrannical. Already one of the finest among Tier Three Flying Swords, it transformed into a sphere of Great Sun True Flame that radiated boundless light, blocking two of the claws by itself.

The remaining Qingfeng Sword, White Bone Cold Light Sword, and Cyan Dragon Sea Roaring Sword each displayed their power, intercepting one claw apiece.

With the exception of the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword, which remained in its Hidden Sword state, he had deployed his entire arsenal. Including the Moon Xuan Sword suspended high above, he was simultaneously controlling eight Flying Swords.

Aside from the disciples who had received the True Inheritance of the former Taibai Sword Sect, no other Sword Cultivator could accomplish such a feat.

The True Essence required to control multiple Flying Swords at once increased exponentially; the amount needed for each additional sword quickly became astronomical.

If not for the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box reducing the True Essence required for Sword Control to a mere one-hundredth of the normal cost, the limit for other Sword Cultivators would be four Flying Swords at once.

Yet even now, he still had a sliver of True Essence to spare—enough to handle another two Flying Swords.

For a moment, Sword Light filled the air and fierce winds raged.

One man and seven swords, a display of power equivalent to seven Core Formation Sword Cultivators striking in unison, rendering the Fire Demon’s long-charged void-strike completely futile.

The Fire Demon gasped for breath, a human-like look of fury on its face, and tried to retreat back into the spatial interlayer.

But Bai Zichen wasn’t about to give it another chance. A strand of Moonlight Sword Silk shot out, weaving through the Fire Demon’s body at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

Sprays of blood erupted from its body. The Fire Demon let out a shrill cry of pain, and as it hastily retreated, the Moon Xuan Sword inflicted several more wounds.

The Fire Demon swayed and caught its balance. Ripples spread through the space around it as it tried to activate its Void Divine Technique again.

But it stopped halfway through the activation. Countless jets of blood sprayed from its wounds, and the entire Fire Demon collapsed with a heavy thud.

Bai Zichen quickly produced a blank Soul-Catching Banner. With a wave towards the Fire Demon’s corpse, a miniature, lifelike Essence appeared upon the banner’s surface.

Ever since he’d used a Soul-Catching Banner to collect a Dragon Soul, he had made a mental note and specifically asked Zhou Suqing to refine a dozen more for him to keep in his storage bag.

This way, he could avoid the problem of killing a Demon Beast only to have its Essence dissipate because he lacked a suitable Capture Treasure.

’It shares so many similarities with a human Cultivator’s Divine Soul. No wonder some Cultivators insist that Demon-Like Spirits are related to humans...’

His eight Flying Swords whirred as they returned, circling around Bai Zichen like stars orbiting the moon.

’A pity. It relied too heavily on its Void Divine Technique. Once that was broken, it was so vulnerable...’

Given the Fire Demon’s strength as a Tier Three Peak creature, Bai Zichen couldn’t have killed it so quickly in a direct confrontation.

This was a powerful Spirit Monster, equivalent to a Tier Three Peak Demon Beast. Without first whittling down its Spiritual Power to a certain degree, it could have held out for a very long time.

But the Fire Demon was far too arrogant about its Void Divine Technique. Its past record of invincibility gave it the confidence to believe that no opponent at the Core Formation Layer could possibly counter it.

It had swung its ten claws, intending to tear the two-legged beast before it to shreds, completely oblivious to the massive opening its forward-leaning attack had created.

’More accurately, all of its attack methods were designed to work in concert with its Void Divine Technique, all for the sake of unleashing its strongest power for a one-hit kill... Divorced from that context, its moves were naturally riddled with openings.’

Every movement it made in the spatial interlayer was perfectly clear to Bai Zichen, which allowed him to fully experience the exhilaration of unleashing eight Flying Swords at once.

’This is the first time I’ve ever encountered a High Tier Spirit Monster that just delivered itself to my doorstep to be slaughtered...’

In an environment like this, the probability of a second Fire Demon existing was close to zero, but Bai Zichen still kept the eight swords circling his body.

This was partly for vigilance, and partly to adapt to distributing his True Essence and splitting his Divine Sense to control multiple swords at once.

Bai Zichen was just about to investigate whether the Fire Demon’s body contained a Demon Pill when the corpse began to melt and decompose.

In just a few breaths, it became a puddle of blood that merged with the lava, leaving only a black-and-white, rhombus-shaped crystal in its place.

The Thunder Sound Sword retrieved the black-and-white crystal. Placed in his palm for comparison, he could see it was no larger than a walnut.

’A Space Spiritual Object?’

The black-and-white crystal landed in his hand. When he sent a stream of True Essence into it, the energy vanished instantly, and he felt an exceptionally pure Power of Space.

With a flip of his left hand, Bai Zichen produced another object—a Blood-Colored Crystal Stone—and placed the two side by side.

The Blood-Colored Crystal Stone was covered in vein-like patterns and exuded an eerie, demonic aura. Upon closer inspection, however, the fundamental auras the two objects emanated were remarkably similar, though the one from the black-and-white crystal was far more vast and profound.

’This Blood Essence Core... I could have used the Blood Demon Sect’s human sacrifice refinement method to turn it into a Storage Magical Treasure. I decided against it back then, feeling the method had hidden dangers, and planned to use it to stabilize the space when I refined my own Realm after reaching Nascent Soul... This black-and-white crystal is already at Tier Four. It seems this is the reason the Fire Demon was able to use its Void Divine Technique.’

To use a top-tier Space Spiritual Object for simply Refining a Magical Treasure would be an outrageous waste. The best use for it was, naturally, to integrate it during the process of Refining one’s own Realm, which could drastically shorten the time required.