Chapter 300: A Flying Serpent of Sword Intent

“My heavens!” Shi Lanshan and the soldiers watching from a distance were stunned, and their eyes stung.

When that sword descended like a golden river of stars, it looked like the work of a celestial immortal. It was so mighty that even watching from a distance filled onlookers’ hearts with endless terror.

In the face of this terrifying strike, You Xinglin’s expression filled with unprecedented solemnity. He felt an incomparable sense of crisis well within his heart.

“Rise for me!” He condensed his true essence. His sleeves and long hair floated up, then stood on end.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The onlookers then watched as nineteen mountains of pure fire appeared in front of him. Each was a hundred feet tall, and they stood in a row, forming a defensive line.

The Firesword Mountain Manifestation!

But this still wasn’t the end. You Xinglin grabbed the jade pendant hanging around his neck and crushed it to pieces.

Bang!

The pendant burst into radiant blue glyphs, which formed a perfectly round barrier around him. Spiritual light flowed in and out and rose like vapor.

The Qingyi Truelight Barrier!

His master, the Vastblue Daoist, had forged this Origin Dao secret talisman himself. Its defensive power was shocking; no power beneath the Origin Dao level could shake it!

You Xinglin was finally starting to calm down. However, his expression was incomparably dark. Just one sword had forced him to use every method at his disposal, even a life-saving, single-use treasure like the Qingyi Truelight Barrier.

This was unquestionably a grave humiliation!

Hm??A moment later, his expression changed dramatically.

He watched as—

Rumble!

That sword reminiscent of a golden river of stars slashed downward, into the nineteen mountains, which burst apart like firecrackers, one after another. Soon, all of them had been blasted into smithereens.

Flecks of light filled the sky, and the air was in chaos.

When he saw this, You Xinglin’s hands and feet went numb.

Those nineteen fire mountains were the defensive skill he was most proud of. Each individual mountain could block a full-force attack from a martial artist of the same cultivation.

Despite this, in the face of Su Yi’s indomitable sword qi, they broke as easily as paper mache!

The golden sword qi’s force didn’t decrease, either. Its vast, seemingly limitless power continued ahead and swept straight into the Qingyi Truelight Barrier.

Boom!

The space within three feet of You Xinglin was brimming with the spiritual light of countless glyphs. The defensive power was so concentrated, it practically materialized, with visible clouds of force and stirring spiritual energy.

But the instant the golden sword qi reached it, the radiant golden light barrier caved in, producing an intense energy fluctuation.

Bang bang bang!

Immediately afterward, cracks as fine as a spider’s web spread across the barrier’s surface.

You Xinglin was dumbstruck, so astonished that the blood drained from his face. He would never have guessed, not even if you hit him over the head, that the mighty Qingyi Truelight Barrier would break beneath a single slash.

This was so unexpected that his mind went entirely blank.

Boom!

Finally, the Qingyi Truelight Barrier couldn’t take it any longer. It burst apart.

“I’m doomed!” You Xinglin’s eyes widened. He was so scared that his soul seemed to leave his body.

But right at the moment of crisis, a sword appeared in front of him. It flashed in midair, forcefully blocking Su Yi’s strike.

Bang!

Golden sparks fell like rain, and turbulent currents swept outward.

The terrifying aftershock sent You Xinglin flying backward. He fell over one hundred feet away.

His hair was disheveled, and blood spurted from his mouth and nose.

“I… I’m still alive?” You Xinglin coughed violently. He felt as if he were awakening from a dream.

The entire camp was still; even the birds fell silent. The only sound was You Xinglin’s coughing and faint, nigh-imperceptible muttering.

Shi Lanshan and the soldiers watching from far away watched in utter bewilderment. They, too, felt shaken and confused.

It was hard to believe. One sword had severed nineteen mountains of flame and cut through the Qingyi Truelight Barrier!

Such power seemed to belong to an immortal of legend; it was far beyond what a mundane martial artist could possess!

No one knew when he'd moved, but Li Changning was already standing beside You Xinglin. An ancient, pine-marked sword hovered before him

He said in a low voice, “Xinglin, don’t lose heart. You didn’t lose to a young Grandmaster, but rather, to one of the Possessed.”

Earlier, it was he who intervened, saving You Xinglin from the brink of calamity.

“Is that so…?” You Xinglin took a deep breath, then stared daggers at Su Yi, his expression ashen. He spat through gnashed teeth, “Martial Uncle, please capture him. I want him as my whetstone!”

He hated this!

He hated that just now, he’d been so scared that his mind went black. He hated that he forgot even to defend himself, and that he’d come so close to death!

To an illustrious figure of the Great Qin’s younger generation such as himself, this was undoubtedly an extreme humiliation!

“I can do that.” Li Changning nodded. “For now, stand aside and wait.”

Su Yi stood in the distance, hands behind his back and face expressionless.

He couldn’t be bothered to say so much as another word.

What did it mean for someone to be possessed?

Those that possessed others used their souls to seize another’s flesh, but they were in turn limited by the talent and accumulations of their host, and they could only cultivate anew.

Even if he were far lousier, he was nothing like those people who stole others’ bodies!

Of course, even if he said that, they wouldn’t believe him.

“Fellow Daoist, please instruct me.” Li Changning stood atop the barrier and gave a solemn bow.

Su Yi didn’t waste time talking.

Rumble!

His blue robes fluttered around him as he stepped into the air and swung his fist. Its overflowing force dug a long, narrow rift in the sky, and its radiant light surged with the pure charm of the Dao.

Without borrowing even the slightest hint of the power of heaven and earth, using nothing but the true essence of the Grandmaster Realm, Su Yi embedded a hint of the Dao’s charm in his attack? If Su Yi weren’t possessed, how could he possibly accomplish such a thing??Li Changning’s gaze was instantly somewhat serious.

An external release of internal force wasn’t much; every Grandmaster could do it. However, Su Yi manifesting even a hint of the profound charm of the Dao in his punch was unbelievable!

Never mind a Grandmaster; not even a Xiantian Martial Ancestor could accomplish such a feat!

The charm of the Dao was a power only Earthly Immortals could glean enlightenment into!

“Activate!” As his thoughts raced, Li Changning’s sword, Return to Origin, slashed through the air. Beams of sword light filled the air, bursting apart like a curtain of rain.

Each streak of sword qi was two feet long, incomparably sharp, and flashing with cold light. It was as if the entire sky were full of countless sharp arrows.

“Go!” Li Changning pointed into the distance, and the countless streaks of sword qi hurtled through the air like arrows loosed from their bows. All of them?were?aimed directly at Su Yi, and each of them drew upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, increasing their power as they struck.

Sword qi poured down like a waterfall, arcing like a rainbow and filling the skies.

The dense humming of swords filled the air and reverberated throughout the surrounding area.

The sheer magnificence of it immediately stunned everyone present.

An Earthly Immortal!

This was the bearing of a true Earthly Immortal. With one casual slash, he could control the force of heaven and earth and manifest thousands of streaks of sword qi!

The tens of thousands of soldiers watching their fight were all stunned.

In the eyes of mundane martial artists, Earthly Immortals were transcendent existences, no different from deities and immortals of legend.

It was easy to imagine just how shocked they were upon witnessing Li Changning’s power firsthand.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Up on stage, countless streaks of sword qi clashed with the fist force.

Even as a second-level Grandmaster, Su Yi managed to slay a freshly broken-through Earthly Immortal like Sutra Crane, never mind now!

The onlookers watched as—

A series of explosions rang out. The vast, sweeping fist force seemed unstoppable as it forged ahead, shattering one streak of sword qi after another.

“Hah!” Li Changning’s stance changed. The sword qi filling the skies gathered into a tornado, then slashed into the invisible fist force at speeds several times greater than before.

Each streak of sword qi weakened the first force. Although the effect of each strand was subtle, there were thousands of them. In the end, they whittled it down, and by the time the fist force was within one hundred feet of Li Changning, it collapsed and disappeared.

Heaven and earth fell deathly silent.

Those present were stunned, too stunned to speak.

“How is this possible….?” You Xinglin’s eyes widened. He couldn’t even imagine.?How could Su Yi’s fist resist the power of an Earthly Immortal like Martial Uncle Li?

This is simply unbelievable!

Even Shi Lanshan and the soldiers were stunned out of their wits.?Is this the power of a Grandmaster? Since when could mortal martial artists contend with Earthly Immortals?

“Try and block my fist again!” Su Yi laughed. His feet shifted, tracing an obscure pattern, like a dragon or serpent. As his fist moved through the air, it resembled an immortal crane beating its wings and soaring proudly through the nine heavens.

When he struck, the surging true essence put the core of the Pine and Crane Body Refining technique on full display. It drew upon the power of the surrounding air, blending it with the mysterious charm of the Dao.

The force was immense, at least twice that of his last attack. The entire stretch of sky shook, and the air currents churned.

Boom!

Glittering golden fist force searched through the air, like an immortal bird descending upon its prey. The image was vivid and lifelike; it formed naturally out of the charm of the Dao.

This time, a faint, grave expression arose on Li?Changning’s?face. The pine-marked sword in his hand suddenly hummed.

His sword was called Return to Origin.

Nineteen years ago, upon breaking through and becoming an Earthly Immortal, the temple master of Profound Moon Temple, Yu Cangshan, personally gave it to him as a congratulatory gift.

The sword was two feet long and two fingers wide. The sages of the Profound Moon Sect’s bygone days had left it behind, and it looked like the work of an ancient god of the sword. It was forged with an old-fashioned charm, and it was thick, without an edge, and enormously heavy. Since receiving it, Li Changning had used external treasures to nourish it day and night, as well as his own blood essence. Nineteen years had passed since then!

And now, Li Changning poured his entire cultivation into his blade. A tide of sword hums filled the air, the sound and momentum incomparably shocking.

Whoosh!

When he swung his weapon, a white arc flashed through the air, extending across the heavens. It was hundreds of feet long, and the sword light was like a raging wave; as it arced, the vast power of heaven and earth moved with it.

Suddenly, a white creature, like a flood dragon, manifested from the sword qi. It raised its head and shook its tail, breathing out clouds and stirring the wind and rain!

This was sword intent!

It was called a “flying serpent”, and the name came from the “Flying Serpent in Motion Cloud Diagram”, which Li Changning had once studied. After three years of contemplation, ?he finally comprehended a hint of the Dao’s charm and true meaning, which he fused into his own sword force.

He’d developed it ever since. Eight years had passed since then!

It was no exaggeration to call this the pinnacle of Li Changning’s Dao of the Sword!

When intent was fused into one’s sword, no mere skill could hinder it. This was the true majestic bearing of an Earthly Immortal!

“Good!” As Su Yi swung his fist, he seemed to transform into an immortal crane dancing through the nine heavens. He blazed with searing golden light, which surged through the air.

He was trying to break his opponent’s slash by force!

Rumble!

The force exploded, shaking heaven and earth.

Radiant currents of energy flooded from the point of impact, spreading in all directions. Immediately afterward, the inner energy and fist light became formless energy fluctuations.

In the face of these vast, clashing destructive powers, the thousand-foot arena forged?of Malevolent?Darksteel caved in with a bang, then broke into pieces.

Outside the arena, countless startled exclamations rang out.

With the exception of those at or above the Inner Furnace Realm, the aftermath of the blast sent everyone nearby flying. The entire camp was in chaos.

“After that attack, who won? Who lost?” The crowd’s eyes widened with undisguised shock as they looked over in disbelief.