Chapter 653: Sword Tribulation's First Appearance!

Not far from the middle array, within the narrow gaps between several restrictions, two figures hid behind an umbrella artifact. Around them, a figure flickered continuously and unleashed streams of sword phantasms that struck the immortal light coming from the umbrella.

"Senior Brother, you go ahead! I will hold this fiend!"

"If anyone goes, it should be you! We might still be able to escape alive anyway! After fighting so hard to reach this place, we're already so close to the array ahead! How can we give up so easily?!"

The umbrella was clearly reaching its limit. The attacker's offense was far too powerful, and his footwork was profoundly mysterious, sealing every path of retreat. Moreover, he was obviously unwilling to stop until they were dead.

The sword phantasms that the umbrella had deflected scattered outward and carved thin cracks into barriers capable of enduring prolonged all-out attacks from Heavenly Immortals.

Judging by the situation, once these two were killed, the sword cultivator pressing the attack could easily claim the nearby treasure and medicinal herbs if he wished.

It was not that no one noticed the battle. Several immortal perceptions swept across the area, yet most withdrew after sensing how powerful the sword cultivator was.

Anyone hoping to act as the "oriole" first required the ability to subdue the "mantis."

Another wave of fierce attacks followed. Song Tongpu, the sword cultivator from the North-River Sword Sect, was clearly growing impatient.

He was the last disciple of one of the sect's grand elders. His cultivation rivaled that of peak elders, and his skill with the sword was exquisitely refined.

As a potential Six-Peak Master, Song Tongpu held himself to extremely high standards. He never relaxed for even just a single day in his nine thousand years of cultivation. In the end, he forged a sword technique that towered above his peers and was now only two steps away from the Golden Immortal Realm.

Song Tongpu entered the array with high expectations, but he did not want Qinghua's Daoist heritage for himself. He simply wanted to bring it back to his sect. After all, he had absolute confidence in his own Dao of the Sword.

Ever since entering the array, danger had been constantly following him. Cultivators had even ambushed him more than ten times, yet he resolved every threat with his sword.

This encounter was no different.

He had pursued these two for quite some time. They possessed several formidable defensive treasures. Although he had already severely wounded them, they still delayed him for half a day.

Fortunately, they appeared to have run out of tricks. Once the umbrella fell, he would take their lives.

As expected, after another series of attacks, the senior brother shouted, "I will hand over all the treasure on me! Senior, please spare me and my junior sister!"

Song Tongpu smiled coldly. "

Hmph!

When you ambushed me earlier, did you think of sparing my life?"

The male cultivator fell silent. The female cultivator smiled, yet deep sorrow was evident in her expression.

"Senior Brother, our skills are inferior! Just admit it!"

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Junior Sister."

Rumble!

Where did that thunder come from?

Song Tongpu, who maintained the assault; the desperate pair; and many cultivators within several hundred

li

all turned toward the source of the noise.

At that moment, Song Tongpu's sharp eyebrows tightened at once. Nearby, a dark cloud closed in, appearing to target him and his two opponents.

Song Tongpu's mind raced. His master had warned him that these dark clouds were mobile arrays that contained mind-clouding illusion arrays. Anyone trapped inside would most likely die.

Although he had a treasure that preserved clarity of mind, he refused to risk it. Two more major arrays lay ahead, and were even more troublesome.

Swiftly making a decision, Song Tongpu snorted. "Consider yourselves lucky."

He retreated at once and flew back toward the route that had already been mapped.

The pair felt overwhelming relief, but they still did not dare put away the umbrella. They waited for the lethal menace to move farther away before lowering the treasure and quickly escaping.

However, before Song Tongpu could get far or the pair could react, the dark cloud above accelerated downward. What looked like roaring azure dragons surged along its surface and dragged it overhead, covering the three and several nearby activated restrictions.

Crackle!

A sea of lightning streaked across the dim sky, striking the ground with countless silver-violet bolts. From afar, it resembled a cascading waterfall.

Lightning bolts? No, those don't seem ordinary. This feeling... The power of heavenly tribulation?!

The many cultivators in the area couldn't help but be surprised that the dark cloud differed from the ones they were already aware of. They all moved away from it.

Song Tongpu stood just beyond the edge of the cloud. When it accelerated, he immediately used a quick escape technique, transforming into an immortal sword and rushing away from it.

Yet the dark cloud showed no intention of letting him go. Dozens of lightning columns slashed from the cloud's edge, merging instantly into a single pillar that swept across his path and blasted a deep crater into the ground.

Song Tongpu immediately stopped as dust rose into the air. The immortal light faded. Standing steadily three meters above the ground, he wrapped his left hand around the scabbard at his waist, then gripped the hilt of the sword with his right hand. His eyebrows knit sharper as his gaze filled with vigilance. Right after, he locked his immortal perception onto the crater.

His instincts warned him that trouble was coming.

Whoosh!

Two streaks of immortal light burst through the smoke. They twisted together like silver flood dragons, stirring sharp winds as they shot toward Song Tongpu.

Sword-controlling technique?

Song Tongpu did not dare be careless. Light flared from his right hand as he unsheathed his immortal sword and swung it horizontally, carving a dazzling arc. The sword-drawing technique he had used, which was also a divine ability, allowed him to unleash his full power in an instant. The arc widened a thousand meters with the wind, flying forward like a crescent shockwave.

In a flash, the two flood dragons twisted and dove, revealing the two flying swords hidden within. They avoided the arc with astonishing agility and continued chasing after Song Tongpu like golden dragon shears.

Remaining calm, Song Tongpu swung his immortal sword up and down, striking both flying swords aside.

Behind them, endless lightning bolts crashed down. Heaven and earth shone brightly, concealing the sword radiance that erupted along the edge of the dark cloud. The dust around the crater then dispersed, revealing a man standing in the air with his hands behind his back.

A mask carved from dead wood covered his face. He radiated powerful sword intent, and five immortal swords circled him slowly.

Wang Sheng had intercepted Song Tongpu.

Song Tongpu narrowed his eyes slightly and snorted. Instead of wasting words, he unleashed a hundred-meter sword radiance from his immortal sword and swept it at Wang Sheng, once again unleashing his full power.

Nevertheless, Wang Sheng didn't look alarmed. Keeping his right hand on his back, he casually formed a sword finger with his left hand. The five immortal swords around him shone brightly.

Spiritless was the most radiant. As astral power gathered around it, it condensed primal qi into a hundred-meter giant sword. Afterward, it launched a simple thrust and shattered the incoming sword radiance.

The recoil forced Song Tongpu to step back twice in midair. He glared at Wang Sheng, yet his instincts warned him to be wary of the two flying swords coming from his flanks. He had to turn and respond.

At that moment, Flying Haze arrived with three Flying Clouds. They crossed paths from both sides, thrust, and cleaved in rapid sequence. A total of six flying swords assailed Wang Sheng's opponent.

For an instant, Song Tongpu felt as though six sword masters had surrounded him, slashing, thrusting, flicking, pointing, cleaving, and sweeping at him. The attacks were concise and efficient. Moreover, their angles, positions, and force demanded his full attention.

Song Tongpu swung his sword to defend himself, breaking apart several refined sword techniques and using them at will. He left behind afterimages as he kept knocking the flying swords away.

Wang Sheng nodded slightly. His target's skill with the sword was certainly not inferior to his. The man's immortal sword was far beyond ordinary-grade, too.

Even so, Wang Sheng had completely restrained him using his Sword-Controlling Art.

Lightning continued to strike. The might of his heavenly tribulation drove many away, yet it also made more immortal perceptions observe.

Wang Sheng did not wish to stall, especially since he also found the North-River Sword Sect quite unpleasant. His early interception of these so-called prodigies served mainly to test his swordsmanship.

The sword has no beginning, the sword has no end! By the power of heaven and earth, I unleash the flurry of five untraceable swords!

Flying Haze thrust forward, but Song Tongpu easily knocked it away. Meanwhile, the five Flying Clouds retreated several meters and spun rapidly. They constantly switched positions, making it hard for him to determine how to break the formation. Sword radiance flashed, and they attacked at once, making it seem as though hundreds of sword phantasms had burst forth around the enemy.

Song Tongpu's eyes flickered sharply. Swinging his immortal sword in a way that made it look like an illusion, he spun in place and swept sword radiance across a thousand meters, stirring fierce winds.

However, within the wind, streaks of blood appeared. The Flying Clouds wove freely through the air. Song Tongpu was forced to repeatedly fire out immortal power, yet he still failed to catch even a glimpse of them.

The Sword-Controlling Art did not emphasize quantity alone. Different enemies required different sword formations.

Song Tongpu's swordsmanship was sharp and fast, but it lacked momentum. Moreover, since he had shifted from the Human Dao of the Sword to the Earth Dao of the Sword, he had missed the Realm of the Sword Heart.

The five flying swords now focused on trapping and harassing the enemy.

Song Tongpu had already lost his composure. To make matters worse, the Sword-Controlling Art was becoming increasingly smoother. He kept observing Wang Sheng and preparing to attack the swords' master himself, yet he couldn't even break past the sword formation.

All he could do was watch as Wang Sheng raised his right hand. The giant sword dispersed, and Spiritless settled into his grasp.

Here it comes,

Song Tongpu thought.

While resisting the incoming sword phantasms, he fixed his gaze on the masked man in a dark Daoist robe, who stepped forward and drifted calmly through the air.

A drop of sweat dripped from Song Tongpu's forehead. His gaze filled with vigilance as he tightened his grip on the sword. Celestial bodies seemingly appeared around him, amid which a lotus bloomed.

Spiritless hummed repeatedly as Wang Sheng lifted it and unleashed his Green Lotus Ultimate. Appearing unhurried, he swayed lightly from side to side.

Song Tongpu roared. A surge of blood light burst from his immortal sword. Veins bulged across his forehead, and behind him, a giant figure seemingly lifted and swung a sword.

A dazzling sword radiance shot toward Wang Sheng's throat, forcing the five Flying Clouds to back away instantly. Nevertheless, it couldn't disrupt his footwork and rhythm. He moved in a lotus pattern as though he was alone in the world. When the green lotus appeared and bloomed, Spiritless flew him out of the flower's core and touched the incoming sword radiance with its tip.

Clang—!

The sword radiance shattered with a blinding explosion. Heaven and earth appeared to twist slightly as all surrounding immortal perception vanished. When the light disappeared, the immortal perceptions returned.

However, they could no longer find Song Tongpu. Only a pool of blood on the ground and the masked man remained, his sword in hand. He stood behind where Song Tongpu had been. His six immortal swords flew in from every direction and circled him again, severing the nearby immortal perceptions probing the area.

A roar echoed in the wind, likely a trace left behind from when their swords collided.

"Who are you?!"