Chapter 370 - 368: Nascent Soul Sword Duel

Chapter 370: Chapter 368: Nascent Soul Sword Duel

"The man of the hour hasn’t arrived, yet so many onlookers have gathered... What, is the Tianhe Sword Sect so afraid there won’t be a body to bury that they invited people to collect the corpse?"

This young Cultivator from the Life-Killing Sword Sect looked like a callow youth in the flush of his prime.

His expression was haughty, his voice clear, and his attitude one of utter disdain for all.

It was hard to imagine that this was a Nascent Soul True Monarch who stood at the pinnacle of the Cultivation Realm.

The elderly senior brother at his side smiled wryly. ’Junior Brother Kong was born with a Sword Bone. In terms of pure Sword Dao Talent, he’s even a cut above Xiangg Ji.’

’It was only his aptitude with Dual Spiritual Roots that held him back, causing his Cultivation speed to be less than ideal.’

’Fortunately, after his Sword Bone was discovered, he received the Sect’s full support.’

’First, they opened the Sword Hall and let him devour any Tier Two Flying Sword of his choosing.’

’Then, matching his attributes, they provided seven Tier Three Flying Swords over a century, allowing the young Kong to cultivate to Core Formation Perfection at a speed approaching that of a Celestial Spiritual Root.’

’The resources for breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm were provided at the highest standard, matching the treatment of a Saint Heir, with no expense spared.’

Even for a Super Major Sect like the Life-Killing Sword Sect, Tier Three Flying Swords were still scarce.

The Sect had a great many Core Formation True Men, and even newly advanced Core Formation Cultivators had to wait a long time for their turn to become eligible to acquire a Tier Three Flying Sword.

Only Core Formation Cultivators with powerful backing would receive a Tier Three Flying Sword from their elders and masters immediately upon their breakthrough.

Although Bai Zichen seemed to have a trove of Tier Three Flying Swords, each one had been incredibly difficult to obtain.

The Thunder Sound Swords, which constituted the majority of his collection, were only possible thanks to the enhancement from Holy Beast Essence Blood, which in turn yielded an inexhaustible supply of Thunder Sound Bamboo.

Relying on normal cultivation methods would lead to the same fate as the Youlong Sect, which hadn’t seen a single stalk of Spiritual Bamboo successfully mutate in hundreds of years.

Most likely, it would be the same as with the Sword Refiners of the Tianhe Sword Sect: decades or even centuries of accumulated resources would be needed just to fire up the forge and craft a single Tier Three Flying Sword.

Even though the Life-Killing Sword Sect was a cut above, its efficiency in Sword Refinement was not necessarily that much greater.

Among the world’s top Sword Sects, only the Five Phoenix Sword Sect possessed a unique Sword Refining Secret Technique, allowing them to mass-produce Tier Three Flying Swords at only one-third the cost of other sects.

"Little Friend Kong Bai, your words are rather unpleasant. Though I am no Sword Cultivator, it is my utmost honor to witness the combat between two True Monarchs... Having received True Monarch Tang’s invitation, how could I bear to miss this?"

Master Cheng Tuo had an ordinary appearance and wore a crimson Daoist Robe, yet he naturally exuded the air of a lofty expert.

In the Central Domain, despite the presence of Super Major Sects, the chances for a Loose Cultivator to reach Core Formation, or even break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, were actually much greater than in the Northern Domain.

Take Core Formation Spiritual Objects, for example. The Northern Domain had top-tier items like the Enlightenment Lotus Seed, Buddha Light Relics, and Divine Tempering Yellow Water, which could increase one’s chances of reaching Core Formation by twenty or even thirty percent.

But each of these took decades, if not longer, to be produced, and they were all held firmly in the grasp of the Nascent Soul Major Sects.

The only Core Formation Spiritual Object in the Northern Domain that could be produced stably and in large quantities was Clear Spirit Jade Marrow.

Besides the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, only a Spirit Mountain owned by the No-Life Sect could also produce it reliably, but the quantity still fell short of what came from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s Secret Realm.

Fortunately, entry and exit to the Secret Realm required a specific key, making it difficult for outsiders to seize by force.

Furthermore, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect was quick on the uptake, deciding early on to share the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow. They kept less than a fifth of the share for themselves each 60-Year Cycle, which was finally enough to quell the turmoil stirred up over the Core Formation Spiritual Object Secret Realm.

In contrast, the Central Domain Three Countries combined had at least ten different types of Core Formation Spiritual Objects that could be reliably produced.

For Loose Cultivators or Clan Cultivators from ordinary backgrounds, the difficulty of obtaining a Core Formation Spiritual Object was much lower than in the Northern Domain.

Master Cheng Tuo was one such Nascent Soul Loose Cultivator from the Great Phoenix Dynasty. He had a history with Tang Fei and had once received a great favor from him.

"Meili Snow Peak lies within the borders of my Frost Country. It is only natural that I am here."

The voice of Tie Shu from the Nine-Forged Sect was like rolling thunder, shaking the accumulated snow on the peaks and causing it to cascade down.

"A conflict between Nascent Soul Cultivators can scorch the earth for thousands of miles, or even devastate the land for tens of thousands... I don’t care which side wins or loses, but you cannot interfere with the normal operations of the Immortal City."

True Monarch Du’s figure was obscured by a shroud of Profound Nether Heavy Water, and only his voice could be heard from within.

"Hmph! Even if you all side with them, the three of us from our sect aren’t afraid!"

Kong Bai seemed to hold everyone in contempt, but he had actually discerned that the newcomers were either neutral or leaned toward the Tianhe Sword Sect.

Since they weren’t allies of the Life-Killing Sword Sect to begin with, there was no need to worry about offending them.

Compared to the other Super Sword Sects, the Life-Killing Sword Sect’s greatest disadvantage wasn’t the lack of a Great True Monarch at the Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm holding down the fort, but that their previous Divinity Transformation Ancestor Master had lived far too long ago.

The Life-Killing Sword Sect’s Divinity Transformation Ancestor was active nine thousand years ago. No matter how many life-extending techniques a Divinity Transformation Great Power possessed, and no matter how slowly time passed within a Grotto Heaven...

...it was impossible for a Divinity Transformation Cultivator to have lived to this day.

The Divinity Transformation Ancestors of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect and the Cyan Lotus Sword Sect, on the other hand, had been active only two or three thousand years ago. There was a very high probability that they were still alive in their Grotto Heavens, preserving the ability to act one more time.

This trump card was the true difference between the Life-Killing Sword Sect and the most supreme of the Super Sword Sects.

"Amitabha Buddha. Young benefactor, your murderous nature is too strong. You should recite more Buddhist Scriptures and perform more good deeds to truly find peace..."

The Flower-Picking Arhat, whose long eyebrows reached his shoulders, held his hand in a flower-picking gesture and wore a compassionate smile.

"You bald-headed donkey, you dare try to preach to me... Are the people from the Tianhe Sword Sect finally here?"

The corner of Kong Bai’s eye twitched as a Spirit Ship appeared, landing on an unoccupied snow peak.

Two Cultivators emerged from the Spirit Ship. One was lean and composed, the other carefree and at ease.

Everyone was taken aback. The Flower-Picking Arhat stepped forward and spoke, "Master Ge, it has been a long time. I trust you have been well."

"So it is Master Benyin. It has indeed been over a century since we last met. Congratulations on reaching the Arhat Realm, Master."

This Flower-Picking Arhat was none other than Benyin, one of the former arena champions from Beiyuan in the Burial Immortal Valley, and the most outstanding disciple of the Ju Bo Arhat.

Only after he successfully cultivated the Flower-Picking Dharma Aspect was he given the honorific title of Flower-Picking Arhat, becoming a newly advanced Nascent Soul of the Dharma Aspect Sect.

"My former name has been cast aside. All obstacles, all vexations, can be overcome... And this young friend must be Fellow Daoist Bai. I have long heard of your great reputation."

The Flower-Picking Arhat placed his palms together, his gaze shifting to the young man beside Ge Cang.

"I am indeed Bai Zichen."

The moment Bai Zichen spoke, he felt gazes sizing him up from all directions, filled with curiosity, astonishment, and doubt.

"So you’re Bai Zichen? The one who killed a heavily injured Nascent Soul Cultivator and played along with the Tianhe Sword Sect’s fabricated claims of being a ’Sword Dao prodigy’ to fool a bunch of cultivators with no discernment!"

Kong Bai’s gaze locked onto him instantly, fixing him with a deathly stare.

"You gutless rats of the Tianhe Sword Sect! Instead of showing up yourselves, you push forward a glory-seeking junior. You should think about whether you can even bear the weight of such a reputation... ’The greatest since the Near Ancient era’? Such arrogance! Who gave you that kind of confidence?"

Bai Zichen’s reputation had experienced two distinct, sudden surges.

The first was when he obtained the Moon Xuan Sword and the Tianhe Sword Sect’s high-level evaluation of him began to spread.

However, this was confined to the Northern Domain, and most people simply dismissed it with a laugh, assuming the Tianhe Sword Sect was merely making a move to save face.

Aside from the few Cultivators who had encountered him directly, almost no one took the claim seriously.

Even after he revealed his strength and successively slew multiple Core Formation True Men, it did little to change most people’s opinions.

The second surge came when Bai Zichen defied his realm to slay True Monarch Jiulian, a feat that shocked the Northern Domain and sent his fame rippling across the other Four Domains.

At the same time, the Tianhe Sword Sect’s assessment of him as the greatest Sword Dao Talent since the Near Ancient era was dredged up once more.

While other Cultivators were one thing, the disciples of the various Sword Sects all came to see Bai Zichen as a thorn in their side.

Sword Cultivators were notoriously proud and never yielded to one another.

Even if they knew they couldn’t achieve such a feat themselves, they would never admit it out loud—let alone concede to some Northern Domain Sword Cultivator they had never even met.

"You seem to have quite an opinion of me... Why don’t we find an opportunity to have a match?"

Bai Zichen chuckled, showing no fear despite his opponent being a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

The Moon Xuan Sword hovered before him as the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box opened, the rest of his Flying Swords ready to emerge at a moment’s notice.

’A pity. This man is brimming with vitality; he hasn’t even lived through half his lifespan. I’m afraid even a strike from the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword would have little effect...’

Despite these thoughts, Bai Zichen’s expression showed no weakness.

Provoked by a mere Core Formation True Man, Kong Bai was seething with anger. Just as he was about to strike back, two beams of Hongmeng Sword Light streaked toward them from the distance.

The Sword Light landed, revealing Tang Fei and Yann Yuanzai.

"You’ve finally arrived. I’ve been waiting for a long, long time..."

The arrogant young man, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, snapped them open and stood. His voice was shrill, piercing the eardrums.

"No, I’ve waited longer... From the day you destroyed my foundation, I marked you for death."

Tang Fei’s voice was hoarse. He drew the Supreme Profound White-Haired Sword, his expression grave.

The sword scar on his face seemed to come alive, twitching and pulsing like an earthworm engorged with blood.

His stooped frame instantly straightened, becoming like a sharp sword aimed at the heavens. His graying hair and beard gave no impression of weakness or decrepitude; instead, they added to his grim, murderous aura.

Yann Yuanzai’s eyes filled with worry, and he retreated a hundred li.

In the past decade, Tang Fei had mastered an extremely perilous Sword Dao Secret Technique—one that was brutal to his enemies, but even more brutal to himself.

But he still had little confidence in Tang Fei’s ability to defeat Xiangg Ji. ℯℯ𝑙.

Xiangg Ji was the kind of heartless, fanatical Sword Cultivator who would destroy his own arm, sacrifice his Sword Dao Realm time and again, and even give his life without hesitation, all to forge the legendary, true Life-Killing Demon Sword.

How could his power not have grown after so many years?

It was highly likely that Xiangg Ji intended to use this duel as an opportunity to seek a breakthrough into the Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm.

"I’ve given you more than enough chances, but it’s a shame you flee faster every time..."

Xiangg Ji casually waved the slender sword in his hand. The sky dimmed wherever its light passed.

CLANG!

The sound was earth-shattering. Even the spectating Nascent Soul True Monarchs couldn’t see clearly how it happened, but the two had already engaged.

The combatants—

Tang Fei, Supreme Elder of the Northern Domain’s Tianhe Sword Sect, with a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivation, wielding the Tier Four Supreme White Headed Sword;

Xiangg Ji, Supreme Elder of the Central Domain’s Life-Killing Sword Sect, with a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivation, wielding his self-refined Tier Four Life-Killing Demon Sword.

The pure white Sword Light was as fine as silk, yet it would occasionally transform into a celestial river, its power boundless, orthodox, and majestic.

The Profound Ink Sword Light was the color of deepest night. Every slash caused all life to wither, flooding the battlefield with killing intent.

The spectators all retreated, lest they interfere with the duel or be caught in the torrent of Sword Light.

The power of these two combatants was clearly a cut above everyone else present.