Chapter 688 - 673: A Hard-Fought Battle, Guiding Tang Yiyi

Shen Lang’s palm strike had been casual and hadn’t actually injured the Demon Beast, but the brief moment it was knocked unconscious was the perfect opportunity!

"Strike to kill when they’re vulnerable!"

Tang Yiyi formed a Hand Seal with her left hand, and the gleam of her sword flashed like a fleeting flower. In the blink of an eye, she unleashed five consecutive slashes at the Demon Beast!

These five slashes were like a raging wind, like furious thunder!

Sword Qi crisscrossed the air, its sharpness unstoppable!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

A continuous roar echoed as the strangely-shaped Demon Beast was brutally slammed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that filled the sky!

However, not only did this furious assault fail to heavily injure the Demon Beast, it actually shocked it awake!

On the ground, the Demon Beast’s body trembled, shattering the ice crystals covering it. It then shook its head and let out a heaven-shaking roar!

While the sound was still echoing in the air, the Demon Beast shot toward Tang Yiyi like an arrow, its speed reaching an absolute peak!

Terrifying ripples spread across her Defense Magic Shield, one after another, as the sky filled with the Demon Beast’s black afterimages!

Tang Yiyi was forced completely onto the defensive, struggling to cope and looking utterly wretched!

It was only thanks to the powerful defense of her Magic Shield that she wasn’t defeated in an instant!

Tang Yiyi, who was capable of defeating a Spirit Martial Realm Ninth Heaven cultivator, was being thoroughly beaten by a Demon Beast she couldn’t even name.

She didn’t even have the strength to fight back!

She swung her longsword again and again, but every strike missed!

In this moment of crisis, Tang Yiyi couldn’t help but cry out, "This Demon Beast is too fast, and its power is immense! My Magic Shield’s energy is draining too quickly to last. What should I do?"

Watching from a distance, Shen Lang didn’t even turn his head as he spoke, "Why are you fighting a Flying Demon Beast in the air when you haven’t even reached the Xuanwu Realm and formed Spiritual Wings?"

"Not only do Flying Spiritual Artifacts consume a huge amount of energy, but their agility and maneuverability are far inferior to Spiritual Wings."

Tang Yiyi felt a pang of shame. With a flicker of movement, she immediately dropped to the ground.

As soon as she landed, she immediately released her Ice Evil Python.

The woman and the python began to fight the strangely-shaped Demon Beast in perfect coordination!

On the ground, without the need to divert her focus to controlling the Flying Spiritual Artifact and with the Ice Evil Python’s support, Tang Yiyi used a defensive-offense strategy. At last, she shed the wretched appearance she had in the air.

Even so, it seemed she was only buying a little more time.

The attacks from Tang Yiyi and the Ice Evil Python posed no threat to the Demon Beast whatsoever!

Not only could they not break its defense, but they were also completely outmatched in speed, unable to keep up with its rhythm at all!

The gap in speed was enormous, and the gap in power was even greater.

This was a hopeless battle!

But Tang Yiyi refused to give up.

Because her hope was standing right there, suspended in the air—Shen Lang!

’Shen Lang told me to give it my all and refused to intervene. That must mean he believes I have the strength to handle this Demon Beast!’

’But what do I do? What in the world do I do? I can’t keep up with its speed at all, and its carapace is harder than a turtle’s shell. It’s like it has no weaknesses... Han Yue doesn’t have a Magic Shield like mine. It won’t be long before it’s heavily injured. When that happens, I’ll be all alone. There’ll be no chance of survival!’

An unprecedented anxiety and panic appeared in Tang Yiyi’s eyes.

Just then, Shen Lang spoke in a leisurely tone, "This is a Seventh Level Gold-devouring Boring Insect, an Exotic Insect of the Gold and Earth elements, which is extremely rare. Its sharp mouthparts can release a venom that corrodes all kinds of Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts. It also has extremely strong piercing power. Your Magic Shield is formidable, but it won’t hold out for long."

Tang Yiyi was furious, but she was so busy fending off the Demon Beast’s attacks that she didn’t even have a moment to glare at Shen Lang.

Suppressing her displeasure, Tang Yiyi danced with her longsword, forming a net of sword light that forced the Gold-devouring Boring Insect back. Only then did she speak rapidly, "Of course I know it won’t last long! That’s why I’m asking you what to do!"

"I cultivate an Ice Element Technique, and my Spiritual Artifact isn’t a high enough level! Unless my power far surpasses the Demon Beast’s, there’s no way I can break through its defense, much less inflict a fatal wound! I don’t even have a chance to escape!"

Shen Lang shook his head slightly. "I believe I told you this back at the Profound Dao Sect. A weapon is an extension of your limbs, an aid to a Martial Artist, but a weapon is not everything."

"Under conditions of equal power, when your control over that power reaches a microscopic level, the force you can unleash with a single blade of grass might not be much weaker than that of a Spiritual Artifact."

"When I used that Cloth Stick as a spear to shatter your Ten Thousand Flowers Ice Mirror, the power I used wasn’t actually that great."

"In fact, although this is a Seventh Level Demon Beast, equivalent to a Xuanwu Realm powerhouse, with a carapace as hard as a Profound Artifact, the longsword in your hand is more than enough to break its defense."

A hint of joy appeared in Tang Yiyi’s eyes. As she dealt with the Gold-devouring Boring Insect’s attacks, she perked up her ears, afraid of missing a single word from Shen Lang.

She then heard Shen Lang say, "I have a mantra to teach you. Combined with your Sword Intent, it will be enough to slay this Demon Beast."

Hearing this, Tang Yiyi didn’t become ecstatic. Instead, a bitter expression crossed her face as she shouted, "Wait!"

"Hm? Is there a problem?" Shen Lang asked.

Tang Yiyi hesitated, then clenched her jaw. Channeling all her Spiritual Power into her blade, she unleashed a crisscrossing web of Sword Qi to once again force back the wildly attacking Demon Beast.

Only then did she say, "I was only able to comprehend Sword Intent because Sister Moran lent me her Sword Lotus to study for a while, and I only just comprehended it recently... If I need to use Sword Intent now, I’ll need some time to start gathering it."

"But this Demon Beast’s attacks are too ferocious and fast. It won’t give me time to gather my Sword Intent!"

Shen Lang pondered for a moment before saying, "If you need to spend time gathering Sword Intent, it just means you don’t even understand what Sword Intent is."

"So-called Sword Intent is the heart of the sword, the heart of the sword wielder, the will of the sword wielder."

"Sword Intent is the human heart. Use the heart to comprehend the sword, use intent to coalesce the sword. There is heart in the sword, and a sword in the heart. When heart and sword are one, you are invincible, and nothing is impossible!"

"Intent is the unity of spirit and form, the unity of emotion and reason. All worldly changes and illusions arise from the intent within the heart. Before you comprehended and merged with Sword Intent, your Sword Techniques were merely a shell without a soul."

"It is the harmony of void and substance, of being and non-being. It is born from the unexpected, yet contained within the form. Everything originates from the true heart. If you wish to become strong, if you wish your Sword Techniques to unleash their ultimate power, you must merge with your sword and achieve the Unity of Heart and Sword."

"For Martial Artists of the Sword Dao, every person’s Sword Intent is different."

"Some people’s Sword Intent, born from a benevolent heart, is sharp but not tyrannical; their moves injure but do not kill. Other people’s Sword Intent presses ever forward with decisive slaughter, revealing a heart that must win and knows no retreat. And still others have a Sword Intent that merges with killing intent—fast, precise, and ruthless, aiming for a single, fatal blow, revealing only destruction."

"Therefore, after understanding the true meaning of Sword Intent, you must first understand what kind of person you truly are. What does the so-called Sword Dao in your heart look like?"

"At the same time, you need to understand one thing: Why did you learn the sword? Why are you holding a sword in your hand...?"

"Think back carefully. When you gathered your Sword Intent and defeated Tang Wenqing, what did you feel in your heart? What did you feel in your body? Go, feel the Sword Intent you comprehended, and let it become one with your heart’s will!"

"When you reach that point, why would you still need to spend time gathering Sword Intent? When you can achieve the Unity of Heart and Sword, the speed at which you activate your Sword Intent will far surpass the speed at which your Spiritual Power circulates!"

"The heart moves with the will, and action is born from the heart. When the heart’s will moves, the Sword Intent moves. When the Sword Intent moves, it can sunder mountains, shatter peaks, and cleave through eternity!"

No one would have ever imagined that while Tang Yiyi was in grave danger from the Gold-devouring Boring Insect’s attacks, Shen Lang would be casually teaching her how to merge with her Sword Intent from the sidelines!

It was an incredibly bizarre situation.

As for Tang Yiyi, who was flustered by the Gold-devouring Boring Insect’s attacks, she initially showed a look of annoyance.

In this situation, forget about contemplating or comprehending Sword Intent; Shen Lang’s long-winded lecture was already distracting her, and she had nearly failed to block the Gold-devouring Boring Insect’s attacks several times!

But as she listened to Shen Lang’s words, sentence by sentence, and carefully savored their meaning...

A look of shock soon appeared on Tang Yiyi’s face, and her eyes began to shift and change!

"Han Yue, help me take more of the Gold-devouring Boring Insect’s attacks! I need a little time, just a little!" Tang Yiyi shifted to her right, creating a bit of distance.

The Ice Evil Python immediately roared and opened its massive jaws, spitting huge Ice Cones at the Gold-devouring Boring Insect.

And its enormous tail whipped desperately toward the Gold-devouring Boring Insect in the air, creating a piercing whistle as it tore through the air!

To buy Tang Yiyi time, the Sixth Level Demon Beast seemed to be giving it its all.

With this, the pressure on Tang Yiyi was greatly reduced.

Taking this opportunity, Tang Yiyi followed Shen Lang’s advice and began to recall the feeling of activating her Sword Intent when she defeated Tang Wenqing.

The Sword Intent awakened in that do-or-die situation—where she had to fight, had to win, and had no path of retreat—was undoubtedly the purest and most genuine form of her Sword Intent.

Tang Yiyi knew that this moment of comprehension was incredibly important!

If she could comprehend more, even if her Sword Intent didn’t reach the level of Small Success, she could at least deal with this Seventh Level Gold-devouring Boring Insect with ease.

If she failed to comprehend it, even if Shen Lang ultimately stepped in and killed the Demon Beast, she would probably be left with a deep sense of failure... and that sense of failure would definitely have a huge impact on her future cultivation!

’Calm my heart and quiet my spirit, activate my Sword Intent, and feel all the details of the great battle against Tang Wenqing...’

Tang Yiyi’s eyes constantly shifted, one moment vacant, the next as sharp as a sword.

Suddenly...

SKREEE!

Blood erupted from the Ice Evil Python’s body as a shocking, bloody hole appeared. It was violently thrown backward!

The gap between a Sixth Level Ice Evil Python and an impenetrable Seventh Level Gold-devouring Boring Insect was simply far, far too great...

Although the Ice Evil Python had adopted a desperate, life-or-death stance, it was still no match for the incredibly fast Gold-devouring Boring Insect.

In just a short while, it was covered in wounds, and finally, its body was pierced straight through by the Gold-devouring Boring Insect’s sharp mouthparts!

"Han Yue!"

At that exact moment, Tang Yiyi, her eyes looking ready to split from fury, let out a sharp cry as an incomparably sharp Sword Intent erupted from her body!

The light from her longsword flared violently, as if tearing a hole in the void. It carved a long rift in the air and struck the Gold-devouring Boring Insect right on its head!

CHHSS! CHHSS!

Unlike before, there was no sound of metal clashing this time. The Gold-devouring Boring Insect’s hard carapace split open on impact, and a gash half a foot long appeared. Dark green fluid gushed out from the opening!