Chapter 388 - 386: One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws

Chapter 388: Chapter 386: One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws

Cold Crows were among the weakest of Tier Three Demon Beasts.

They weren’t known for any powerful Divine Techniques. There were even records of Foundation Establishment Cultivators surviving their icy breath by using a Top-Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifact to block it and escape.

But for a whole nest of three to be slain so cleanly, the cultivator who did it was no weakling among Core Formation True Men.

’The sword marks radiate outward from the wound, with fine cracks. This indicates the person’s True Essence was abundant, but their swordsmanship was unremarkable... If it were me, I would have left only a single, smooth, round sword hole in the Cold Crow’s skull, never letting the Sword Light’s power dissipate like this.’

Bai Zichen touched the Cold Crow’s skeleton, making his judgment.

’The sword hole is scorched black, and there are traces of flowing Thunder Radiance on the skull... The attacker used a Thunder Element Flying Sword, and a powerful one at that.’

Based on the wounds, he could even visualize how the person had wielded their Flying Sword.

Judging from the state of the soil, at least a century had passed.

A Flying Sword slaying a demon beast... The timeline immediately ruled out Ancestor Yangg and True Monarch Ge Cang, so it must have been a cultivator from outside the Sect.

’A cultivation of at least the Mid-Stage Core Formation, sneaking into Black Mountain to inexplicably kill three Cold Crows and then bury them. What was their motive... It couldn’t just be some passing cultivator testing their sword, could it?’

If they had malicious intent, that was precisely when the Qingfeng Sect was weak and being suppressed by the Ghost Spirit Sect.

If they had revealed themselves and joined the battle, it would have only made things even more difficult for the Qingfeng Sect.

Even if the sect managed to hold on until Bai Zichen matured and Ge Cang’s strength became unmatched in the Core Formation realm, if the Sect Disciples suffered too many losses, it would create a generational gap, delaying the sect’s development by decades at the very least.

He quietly filed this matter away in his mind. It was clear the Black Mountain Range was no peaceful place; it wasn’t the desolate, ignored wilderness it appeared to be.

From the Core Formation True Men of the Celestial Principle Sect to the mysterious cultivator who appeared in Cold Crow Gorge, multiple factions were secretly watching the Black Mountain Range.

Combined with the unexplained disappearance of the Cyan Simurgh’s natal True Feather, a veil of mystery was cast over Black Mountain.

’They can’t all be coming for the Ancient Secret Realm, can they? I can’t just conjure up another Secret Realm for them...’

The Ancient Sword Immortal Secret Realm was no secret in the Cultivation Realm. Many factions had heard of it, they just didn’t know its precise location.

After all, that Upper Realm Sword Immortal was a paramount, supreme expert, even during Ancient Times, an era teeming with Great Powers.

The Tianhe Sword Sect, for example, knew very well that their own Sword Tomb Secret Realm was merely a place where that Sword Immortal stored the Flying Swords collected in the Human World, along with a small portion of their Sword Dao inheritance.

The true Sword Dao inheritance was left in another Secret Realm.

They knew the origin of the Sword Immortal Inheritance Secret Realm, but they had no clues about its location, as nothing was mentioned in the Sword Tomb Secret Realm.

In recent years, rumors had also spread from the disciples of the Celestial Principle Sect that the Sect chose to relocate to Liang Country because they were after the Spirit Vein and the Ancient Secret Realm deep within Black Mountain.

Regardless of whether this news was leaked unintentionally by Celestial Principle Sect disciples or spread on purpose, considering the Celestial Principle Sect had dispatched its cultivators to Black Mountain many times, it proved they were quite certain that an Ancient Secret Realm existed there.

That meant he couldn’t rule out the possibility that others, besides these two sects, were also keeping an eye on the Black Mountain Range.

Black Mountain was vast; even now, the Qingfeng Sect couldn’t completely control it, let alone a hundred years ago when they had only just occupied two Tier Three Spirit Veins.

If they could establish Tier Three Arrays on all the occupied Tier Three Spirit Veins, forming an interconnected network, they could bring over seventy percent of the Black Mountain Range under their jurisdiction.

And if a Tier Four Array could be set up on Flame Mountain, it could envelop the entire Black Mountain Range, truly making it airtight and bringing everything under their control.

Bai Zichen swiftly restored the pit, then took out the Green-Yellow Bronze Coin and began to divine the Beauty Serpent’s location.

He hadn’t learned any tracking-type Magic, so rather than wandering around randomly and relying on luck, he might as well pin his hopes on the equally unreliable Copper Plate Divine Calculation.

He fed information about the Beauty Serpent and the details of their recent battle into the Copper Plate Divine Calculation. The Bright Green Copper Coin was tossed high into the air, and when it landed, it had already given him an answer.

"Head west, and you shall find what you seek..."

At a time like this, he could only trust the result of the Copper Plate Divine Calculation.

Bai Zichen flew for nearly a thousand miles. After passing a mountain peak, he suddenly turned back and found the Beauty Serpent coiled beside a massive boulder, nursing its wounds.

Its serpentine head lifted, a long, forked tongue flicking in and out. Its yellow eyes were filled with venomous hatred as it let out a low hiss.

’I didn’t expect the Copper Plate Divine Calculation to be so reliable this time. The general direction was correct, and I found the target right away.’

Bai Zichen nodded in satisfaction, took out a brand-new Ink Bamboo Sword, and aimed it at the Beauty Serpent’s head from a distance.

The Beauty Serpent sensed the danger. The scales on its head stood on end, and its two arms under its ribs danced, gathering a large cloud of pink mist that swirled with a bewitching aura.

Within the pink mist, naked women actually appeared, their movements provocative and bold. Accompanied by the sudden sound of bamboo and string music, the scene was enough to make one’s blood boil.

Of course, the Beauty Serpent didn’t understand the Human Race’s concept of beauty and ugliness; the Illusions it displayed were simply manifested based on its opponent.

Bai Zichen’s eyes were silent, as still as the stagnant water of an ancient well. He executed a killing strike with Sword Control.

A cyan thread darted left and right through the pink mist, shredding the Illusions of voluptuous women one by one, while intermittently having to evade the demonic light mixed within.

The Beauty Serpent’s Spiritual Wisdom was not low. It had long since discovered that the two-legged beast before it was powerful, but its weapon was incredibly fragile.

Therefore, it was trying to shatter the Sword Light at all costs.

In its limited mind, it couldn’t comprehend why there would be someone whose personal strength was so disproportionate to their Flying Sword’s Tier.

It only thought that if it broke the Flying Sword, it would suffer less and could escape again, just like before.

Fighting illusion with illusion, the Beauty Serpent found several opportunities to forcefully blast the cyan thread in two, only to discover that the seemingly solid Sword Silk was merely an illusory image.

After several dozen exchanges, Bai Zichen’s momentum reached its peak and then leaped even higher. The Sword Silk in his hand underwent a new transformation.

The Jade Green Sword Thread thrust out slowly. The surrounding pink mist lost all its Spiritual vitality and stagnated in place.

Wherever the Sword Silk passed, all the Illusions of voluptuous women burst like soap bubbles. With a series of crisp POPS, they vanished in an instant.

A blast of Demon Power shot forth. The Jade Green Sword Thread didn’t dodge or evade; it simply tapped against it.

The Demon Power, a full-force strike from a Tier Three Demon King, actually dissolved and dispersed before the Tier One Ink Bamboo Sword, as if it were being unmade by a force from a higher plane.

The Beauty Serpent shrieked in alarm. It raised its arms, and its ten nails, gleaming with a cold light, shot out.

Each nail was several inches long, polished harder than metal or stone. They were like ten miniature Flying Swords, tearing through the air.

As the ten cold glints approached, the Jade Green Sword Thread drew a circle, knocking three away, striking five down, and slicing the remaining two Finger Swords in half.

It was as if he were wielding a Tier Three Flying Sword, not a casually refined Tier One Ink Bamboo Sword.

As a human-like expression of horror appeared on the Beauty Serpent’s face, the Cyan Green Sword Thread pierced through its head, pinning it firmly to the massive boulder.

The sword radiance dissipated. The body of the Ink Bamboo Sword was corroded by the serpent’s blood, its blade dissolving completely.

But the Tier Three Demon King’s aura had vanished entirely. Its body went limp as if its bones had been removed, slumping lifelessly to the ground.

’No matter your thousand magics or ten thousand transformations, all are illusion, all broken by a single sword... This is One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws, the highest Realm of Refining Sword into Silk.’

Bai Zichen took a deep breath, his hands trembling. He had finally taken this crucial step in his Sword Dao.

Though he was not yet perfectly proficient, the most difficult gate had been pushed open. All that remained was a matter of practice, improvement, and time to polish his skill.

Following the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, he finally had another trump card that could threaten a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Core Formation True Men were powerless against Nascent Soul True Monarchs. Even if many gathered, they would struggle to contend, primarily because they couldn’t inflict any damage.

Even if a Nascent Soul True Monarch stood still and let you attack, a Core Formation True Man’s offense would struggle to break through their Protective Dharma Treasure.

Add to that their ability to partially channel the Great Dao True Intent to weaken all incoming attacks, and that was why a Nascent Soul True Monarch could treat any number of Core Formation True Men as if they were nothing, slaughtering them at will, so long as the opposing side lacked a Top-Tier Treasure.

The Qing Emperor Longevity Sword was the Sword of Time. Wielding the Power of Time, simple Defensive Magical Treasures and protective Secret Techniques were all rendered useless against it.

Only a Great Dao True Intent of the same level could block and neutralize it.

This was what gave Bai Zichen the power to slay those above his realm, to kill a Nascent Soul cultivator, as long as the opponent didn’t have much lifespan left and was within the reaping range of the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword.

Even if they had a defensive Spiritual Treasure, he could kill them all the same.

One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws couldn’t achieve the same effect as the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, of course, but ordinary defensive measures were like paper before it.

In terms of pure destructive power, Bai Zichen’s current strength had more than doubled.

To him now, anyone below the Nascent Soul realm was no different than a clay chicken or a pottery dog.

Whereas in the past, a Core Formation True Man might have been able to withstand a few of his sword strikes.

From this day forward, all could be slain with a single sword.

’It’s still not enough to confront a Nascent Soul True Monarch head-on, but if someone could pin them down or if I had the help of an Array, even a Nascent Soul Cultivator could not ignore my Flying Sword and would have to deal with it carefully.’

Bai Zichen was well aware of his own strength and wouldn’t become arrogant just because he had a breakthrough in his Sword Dao.

’Even Senior Tang Fei took several centuries of accumulation and a life-or-death struggle to comprehend the Sword Light Splitting Realm. I shouldn’t think about another breakthrough in Sword Dao anytime soon... I should focus my attention back on my Cultivation, reach the Nascent Soul realm as soon as possible, and combine it with my many techniques to secure a place among the Nascent Soul True Monarchs.’

He took out a blank Banner Flag, flicked it in the wind, and sucked the Beauty Serpent’s Essence—which still retained a sliver of consciousness and was trying to flee—onto the flag’s surface.

At the same time, a Tier Three Demon Pill and its entire body of flesh and blood became his spoils of war.

With two Tier Three Demon Pills in hand, the Pill Hall could perform Opening the Furnace and Refining Pills twice, producing thirteen or fourteen Foundation Establishment Pills without issue.

However, given the current number of Qi Refining Disciples in the Qingfeng Sect, a large batch of Qi Refining Perfection Disciples appeared every year, all within the optimal Foundation Establishment age of fifty.

The sect could easily use up any number of Foundation Establishment Pills, so this amount would only temporarily alleviate the demand.

Even True Disciples, after qualifying to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill, might have to wait five or six years.

’There’s no easy solution to this. Simply purchasing Thousand-Year-Old Golden Crown Lingzhi from outside sources and killing Tier Three Demon Beasts for their Demon Pills isn’t a stable, long-term strategy... Only by possessing our own Medicine Garden Secret Realm can we become self-sufficient in Foundation Establishment Pills and rapidly advance the Sect’s Alchemy skills.’

In many respects, the Qingfeng Sect still had a huge gap to close compared to those Nascent Soul Major Sects with their long-standing inheritances.