Chapter 231: Crisis

Sword qi crisscrossed, forming an angled "X," appearing to surround Qin Sang for a deadly strike.

Fortunately, Qin Sang had remained vigilant, his senses alert. He detected the gusts of wind from both sides of his body, and a sense of danger surged in his heart. Without hesitation, he quickly retreated, narrowly dodging the two sword qis as they flashed past him.

Although he had not been injured by the sword qi, Qin Sang could already clearly feel its immense power.

It was definitely the level of a Foundation Building cultivator!

A heavy sense of unease settled in Qin Sang's chest. The trial had barely begun, and yet he was already facing two golden-armored generals at the Foundation Building Realm. What kind of terrifying challenges awaited him further into the trial?

Swish!

The golden-armored generals reacted swiftly. As Qin Sang's figure retreated, one of them vanished from sight in an instant, reappearing before him. A long sword slashed upward, sending two sword qi chasing relentlessly, targeting his chest with unyielding precision, their force unchanged.

What a strange movement art!

Qin Sang calmly stepped back, his forehead flashing with sword light.

"Go!"

Intent on testing the golden-armored generals' abilities, Qin Sang did not immediately activate his sword array. Instead, he summoned his ebony sword, releasing a blade of spiritual sword qi that shot out for several zhang, clashing against the two sword qi head-on.

Qin Sang was no longer the novice cultivator when he had just reached the Foundation Building Realm. The crimson sword qi, thick as blood, carried with it a murderous intent. Under Qin Sang’s control, the blade cleaved through the weak points of the two sword qi, and though slightly at a disadvantage, he could still hold his ground against both.

The three sword qi collided, canceling each other out, with the residual force dissipating in the air.

The murderous aura from the killing symbol erupted, fully unleashed upon the two golden-armored generals. Yet, there was no reaction from them; their movements did not falter in the slightest. Their eyes were fixed solely on Qin Sang, their sword shadows merging, stabbing again, their speed like lightning. It seemed they would stop at nothing to kill him.

Indeed, they are mere automatons!

Qin Sang had expected this outcome. He knew the killing symbol could not intimidate the golden-armored generals, and the Ghostly Threads of the Yan Luo Array might also be ineffective. He would have to rely on sheer force to break through.

Bang! Bang!

Several more sword qi clashed, and the echoes rang out through the corridor.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Qin Sang and the golden-armored generals moved like specters, turning into flashes of gold and illusions, crossing paths in the narrow passage with rapid, unpredictable movements.

Qin Sang weaved between the two generals, narrowly dodging their attacks, but his confidence grew with each passing moment.

In the blink of an eye, after several rounds of probing, Qin Sang had grasped the golden-armored generals' abilities. Though their movement art and sword qi were on par with Foundation Building cultivators, they had only these basic abilities, lacking the various tricks that true cultivators possessed.

Moreover, they were still just machines, with a single goal: to kill the intruder. To Qin Sang, they seemed clumsy and rigid. Their true power was far inferior to that of Foundation Building cultivators.

However, Qin Sang did not underestimate them. This was only the beginning of the trial, and the strength of the generals would only grow stronger as the trial progressed.

"Sword array, activate!"

Having figured out the generals' weaknesses, Qin Sang wasted no time holding back.

Sword qi swiftly split and the Thousand-Mechanism Sword Array unfolded. The disc-shaped array surrounded the two generals, ensuring they could not escape using their peculiar movement art. Without hesitation, Qin Sang activated the array.

Boom!

Sword light blazed!

Empowered by the array, the ebony sword’s speed skyrocketed. The generals tried to block with their swords, but they were far too slow, missing entirely. In a flash, the ebony sword appeared before them, striking their chests.

The armor of the generals was not as sturdy as expected, easily pierced by the ebony sword. Blood flashed in the air as the blade darted in and out, and their once-immaculate armor was immediately riddled with holes.

To Qin Sang’s surprise, the generals seemed unaffected. They ignored the ebony sword entirely and lunged at him, their golden armor shimmering as the damaged areas rapidly repaired themselves with visible speed.

"Where is the critical spot?"

Qin Sang furrowed his brow. Earlier, his ebony sword had pierced through the generals’ chests, throats, and heads without killing them, indicating that these generals could not be dealt with by conventional means.

As Qin Sang pondered this, a sudden, sharp

ding

rang out.

The shadow of the ebony sword flickered, appearing at the generals' abdomens. Just as it was about to strike, the golden light on the generals' bodies suddenly surged frantically toward the spot, coalescing into a round shield that resembled a breastplate.

The shield formed just in time to block Qin Sang's strike. The generals, previously calm, now faltered, hurriedly swinging his sword to fend off the ebony sword, trying to push it back.

So, the critical spot is the abdomen!

Qin Sang’s eyes brightened, and his spiritual power surged wildly within his body. He was about to fully activate the ebony sword, planning to break through the golden light's blockade in one strike and eliminate the general.

The residual energy from the sword array exploded outward. Two sword qi, before dissipating, struck the golden brick walls of the corridor.

For some reason, a sense of unease surged in Qin Sang’s heart.

Turning his gaze, he saw the sword qi collide with the wall, and the golden light on the bricks seemed to come alive. It opened a massive mouth and directly devoured the sword qi.

After a moment of writhing, two identical sword qi suddenly shot out from the golden light, racing toward Qin Sang. Their speed had doubled from before!

Fortunately, Qin Sang had already been alert. His figure flashed, narrowly dodging the sword qi, but one of them, like a relentless curse, clung to him, pursuing closely behind.

The speed of the sword qi was so fast that it was difficult to avoid.

Qin Sang's eyes darkened. With a flick of his hand, a black longsword appeared in his palm. It was the spiritual sword he had taken from the old man in the black robe, a top-grade artifact with great power.

Whoosh!

The longsword slashed out suddenly, its black shadow curving like a crescent moon. It clashed head-on with the sword qi, sending a shockwave through Qin Sang's body, causing him to involuntarily retreat a step.

After the sword qi was swallowed by the barrier on the wall, its power had doubled!

Finally, the two sword qi were extinguished. Qin Sang gently swung his sword again, aiming at the wall. Sure enough, it was immediately met with a counterattack—exactly the same move, but now with double the power.

"Is the barrier on the wall triggered by any disturbance?"

Qin Sang had a rough understanding of the corridor’s rules. As long as he restrained his spiritual power and avoided triggering the barrier, the task would not be too difficult.

But before he could relax, an ear-piercing shriek suddenly echoed from deeper in the corridor. Two glaring golden lights shot toward him, with a sharp arrow visible between them!

Qin Sang reacted swiftly, narrowly knocking both arrows aside. His gaze grew heavy as he looked deeper into the corridor, and he couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air.

The corpse puppets had already been ordered to stop by Qin Sang, but the images ahead were still disturbed. Two generals, armed with longbows, had appeared. Their bows were raised, and golden arrows pointed directly at Qin Sang. Two more arrows shot toward him!

Further ahead, the images began to ripple unnaturally. If he waited any longer, more and more generals would descend.

If he didn’t resolve the situation quickly, he would inevitably be surrounded. Combined with the constraints of the barrier, his situation would become extremely dangerous!