Chapter 75: One Finger Shatters Jade, Sword Formation Takes Shape
Dusk was deepening.
Song Yan’s faint breathing was lost among the sounds of the forest wind.
The blessing of the Hidden Sword Spirit-Concealing Stance made him seem like a withered leaf in the forest.
“…”
His lowered gaze narrowed.
Had he been discovered?
Where had he made a mistake…
That fleeting thought of tracing back his error had only lasted an instant before Song Yan crushed it.
Now, what he should be considering was how to kill Shan Zifeng here.
Not reviewing his own flaws—that would be meaningless.
“Fellow Daoist, why hide…”
Hummm—
Before the words had even fallen, a black-and-white flying sword slashed toward him at extreme speed!
Even though Shan Zifeng had been mentally prepared, the speed of this flying sword still startled him.
He hurriedly dodged to the side.
However, the fluctuations of spiritual energy and sword qi from wielding the flying sword still allowed Shan Zifeng to detect him.
He slapped the Cosmos Bag at his waist and summoned three fire talismans, suspending them at his side.
His fingertip blazed with fire, and three fire serpents surged rapidly from the talismans, charging straight toward Song Yan’s hiding spot.
Song Yan was finally forced into the open.
“Who are you?”
Shan Zifeng looked at this unfamiliar person. He had no impression of him—or rather, he was thoroughly unfamiliar.
He did not recall anyone of this sort among the list of people from whom he had seized spiritual resources.
“Did someone hire you to kill me?”
Shan Zifeng laughed coldly: “A bunch of insects and ants, truly stupid beyond belief.”
“To actually hire a cultivator at the sixth layer of Qi Refining to ambush me?”
“What? Did they not have enough spirit stones?”
Shan Zifeng grinned hideously. Seeing through the ambush gave him a thrilling sense of control.
“I have plenty of spirit stones here. Would you like me to give you some more? After all…”
“They were all taken from them anyway.”
“Hahahaha…”
Toward these bottom-tier cultivators, Shan Zifeng had no desire to hide anything. On the contrary, he wished to humiliate them to the fullest.
Song Yan’s heart was completely calm, devoid of any disturbance.
That the other party had seen through his ambush did not cause any panicked expression on his face.
The reason was simple.
Sometimes, cultivators who possessed special treasures or abilities, or even simply those whose five senses and six perceptions were more keen than ordinary people, could indeed detect traps and ambushes.
However, “detecting a trap” and “resolving a crisis”…
Those were two entirely different matters.
Dong.
The sound of a water drop came from Song Yan’s hand.
It was seen that the spiritual light in his hand blazed brilliantly, and ripples like streams of water spread outward in all directions.
The Ren Water Spirit-Dissolving Talisman!
Water-blue ripples expanded like waves, and the surging water-element spiritual qi was almost overflowing from this place.
The fire-element spiritual qi within a fifteen-zhang radius immediately faltered, then began to collapse and scatter like floodwaters bursting through a dam.
At the same time, Song Yan closed in, and the black-and-white flying sword attacked once more.
Shan Zifeng’s expression changed drastically.
He made a prompt decision. Even as he shot toward the edge of the Ren Water Spirit-Dissolving Talisman’s range, he circulated the spiritual energy within his body and summoned a reddish bronze bell.
Clang—
The flying sword slashed toward Shan Zifeng’s front, but a flash of fiery red spiritual light deflected the sword away.
A defensive magical artifact!
Shan Zifeng laughed coldly to himself.
Where had this hillbilly rogue cultivator come from? He had not a shred of experience in fighting someone to the death.
Such a powerful talisman, and yet he had used it as his killing move right at the start. If he had waited until half his spiritual energy was depleted before unleashing it, that would have been truly dangerous.
Instead, at the very beginning of the fight, the other party had already summoned the talisman…
So even if it was difficult for himself to escape the talisman’s range under the other party’s pursuit, by the time the opponent’s spiritual energy had been somewhat depleted, the talisman’s duration would have long since passed.
A golden opportunity, utterly wasted.
The look Shan Zifeng directed at his opponent was filled with nothing but endless mockery and pitying condescension.
The water-spirit field of the Ren Water Spirit-Dissolving Talisman had fully spread, covering nearly half of the forest clearing.
Within the dense forest, thick fog lingered.
Song Yan concealed himself within it.
“Hiding your head, showing your tail!”
Shan Zifeng bellowed, and brilliant crimson spiritual light erupted from his fingertips as he forcibly activated the Complete Fire Scripture.
Flames surged from his palm, and upon touching the water mist within the Ren Water Spirit-Dissolving Talisman’s range, they emitted a piercing sizzling sound.
The fire serpent, which had been roughly a foot thick, now shrank to merely an inch.
Disregarding this change, Shan Zifeng’s spiritual energy surged. The scorching fire-spirit struggled within the water mist, actually pushing the misty spiritual qi aside somewhat.
The black-and-white flying sword suddenly pierced through the air, precise and ruthless, aiming straight for Shan Zifeng’s Dantian.
Clang!
The bronze bell, shimmering with fiery red spiritual light, blocked the strike for him once more.
The Untethered Vessel was merely the sword body Song Yan had reserved for his future life-bound flying sword. Even though he had used sword cultivator’s refining methods, his life-bound flying sword had not yet been formed. He was not yet a true sword cultivator.
In the end, the Untethered Vessel was still merely an ordinary flying sword.
“Enough… save your breath.”
Shan Zifeng suddenly bit the tip of his tongue. A drop of essence blood floated out, and a jade pendant slowly rose into the air. The essence blood dripped onto it.
Boom!
The berserk fire-spirit actually broke through the Ren Water Talisman’s restraint for a brief moment, condensing into an illusory suit of crimson armor around his body.
By now, fifteen breaths had passed since the Ren Water Spirit-Dissolving Talisman’s activation.
The Untethered Vessel suddenly emitted a clear, resonant sword hum. Song Yan pressed his left index and middle fingers together, and a solemn, killing-aura of wind and thunder condensed in his hand.
He flicked his finger, and upon the Untethered Vessel, thunder erupted!
His left hand immediately formed a hand seal, while his right hand had already swallowed a Qi Replenishing Pill.
His earlier probing had consumed relatively little spiritual energy. Song Yan had not yet expended much.
But he had to ensure he maintained his peak condition at all times.
Surging spiritual energy poured into his meridians.
Nine white sword shadows, trailing golden lightning, pierced from all directions toward every weak point in the crimson armor.
Shan Zifeng’s expression turned grave. This flying sword had changed considerably compared to before, and he did not dare to be careless.
His entire body’s spiritual energy surged. The palm enveloped in crimson spiritual armor slammed violently into the ground, and fire-spirit, carrying the airflow, erupted outward.
Boom—
The water-spirit mist was once again pushed aside. Within a one-zhang radius of Shan Zifeng, the water mist was instantly vaporized.
Song Yan did not retreat but advanced, taking half a step forward.
The black-and-white flying sword traced a cunning arc toward Shan Zifeng’s throat, but upon striking the crimson armor, it clanged and sent sparks flying.
Shan Zifeng seized the momentum to leap further toward the edge of the talisman’s range, escaping beyond the reach of the water mist.
Song Yan withdrew his sword to defend, then vaulted into the air. His toes lightly tapped the flying sword as he turned and landed atop an ancient pine.
Shan Zifeng gazed mockingly at Song Yan atop the ancient pine.
“Fellow Daoist, I wonder if you have had your fill of fighting?”
“…”
Song Yan said nothing, his expression remaining calm as well.
“What? Could it be that you are wondering how to beg for mercy…”
The fire-element spiritual energy all around began to stir, gathering toward Shan Zifeng.
He temporarily put away the small protective bell.
Savoring the surging fire-spirit, a hint of enjoyment flickered across his face.
The illusory crimson armor suddenly solidified!
Boom!!
The talisman at his side erupted with red light, and three fire serpents, each a zhang long, twisted and roared menacingly in his vicinity, facing toward Song Yan.
Now, without the restraint of the Ren Water Spirit-Dissolving Talisman, in Shan Zifeng’s eyes, killing the opponent was as easy as pie.
“Phew…”
Song Yan tossed another Qi Replenishing Pill into his mouth.
He restored his spiritual energy, which had barely been depleted, to its absolute peak.
“Finally, you’ve come in.”
“Hm?”
Shan Zifeng’s gaze sharpened.
He saw spiritual light suddenly flash all around him, and six milky white luminescent beams erupted with profound patterns, linking together.
“A trapping formation?”
Shan Zifeng sneered, his entire body’s fire-spirit surging madly: “You think you can use this trapping formation to keep me here?”
“Truly delusional.”
The crimson flames surged toward Song Yan in a furious assault: “Die!”
Song Yan’s expression remained unfazed. At this moment, between life and death, he had achieved a state of absolute calm.
There was even…
A strange sense of excitement.
He slightly raised his right hand, and a brilliant luster condensed at his fingertip.
In an instant.
A concentrated, incomparably sharp killing sword qi condensed at his fingertip, with golden lightning faintly leaping. Wind and thunder converged—the true essence of the sword!
Hummm—
Shan Zifeng had not even realized what had happened. His fiery red protective spiritual light melted away like spring snow beneath that sword qi.
A small, empty hole suddenly appeared in the chest of the crimson armor’s illusory form.
Dense, fine cracks spread outward.
Bang!
The illusory armor vanished in an instant.
Shan Zifeng stared blankly at the shattered protective jade pendant before him, somewhat unable to believe it.
This spiritual jade had been obtained by his father from Wang Lin years ago, and he had worn it since childhood.
Though not a treasure of particularly high grade, it possessed both offensive and defensive capabilities and could be wielded freely.
It was arguably the magical artifact he had treasured most since stepping into the cultivation world.
Damn swine…
Frenzied rage nearly flooded his eyes.
His hands formed a Dao seal, and his eyes were also tinged with a fiery red glow.
“Fire Spirit of Zhu!”
Shan Zifeng was bathed in flames. A massive fire-spirit qi condensed in the air, forming a giant firebird that swept toward Song Yan!
That incomparably sharp sword qi had indeed given him a jolt of fear and lingering dread.
But he was also very clear that with the opponent’s cultivation at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, it would be impossible for him to produce sword qi of that magnitude a second time.
Sensing Song Yan’s wavering aura, he grinned hideously: “Now… it is my turn!”
In his eyes, the opponent was already a dead man.
Yet when he raised his gaze to look.
Those eyes gave Shan Zifeng a strange feeling of unease.
Unconcealed coldness, and a calmness as if regarding a corpse or an insect.
It was like weariness, or perhaps drowsiness.
Those eyes looked drowsy, yet they were permeated with icy killing intent.
Seeming to sense some dangerous presence, Shan Zifeng instinctively turned to look behind him.
“…”
He saw that behind him, above the trapping formation, a series of white talismans had suddenly appeared, suspended in the air.
The sharp aura on those talismans went from stillness to its peak in the span of a single heartbeat.
It gave Shan Zifeng a very familiar feeling.
Because he had just taken a direct hit from something similar moments ago.
The spiritual talismans all shattered, leaving behind only a dense array of white sword lights, suspended around the trapping formation.
Lightning surged, and the wind carried a solemn killing intent!
Song Yan’s sword finger twitched slightly. The first strand of sword qi moved without warning.
Hummm!
Though Shan Zifeng had dodged with all his might, that sharp aura still tore through his protective spiritual energy and pierced through his shoulder.
“Ah—”
Intense pain shot through him. He let out a miserable cry and collapsed to his knees on the ground.
Shan Zifeng could feel it.
The might of these sword lights was far inferior to that single strike from Song Yan’s fingertip just moments ago.
But the problem was…
There were simply too many of them!!
There was no more time for him to think, because he knew the second sword light was about to strike.
He summoned the bronze bell, and all the fire-element spiritual energy in his body circulated madly. The fiery red glow on the bell blazed brilliantly.
Clang!!
The second sword light slammed fiercely against the bronze bell, producing a resonant, clear ring.
The third…
The fourth…
The fiery red glow on the bronze bell was worn away bit by bit.
The fifth, sixth, seventh!
The sword lights grew faster and faster…
Finally, when the ninth sword light was unleashed, the crimson spiritual light on the bronze bell flickered erratically.
And then, its glow was extinguished.
Shan Zifeng’s mouth spilled blood. He stared blankly, his face dazed and confused…
“No…”
“Impossible…”
The medicinal power of the Qi Replenishing Pill he had taken earlier had already faded. Now, beneath Song Yan’s Sword Stabilizing Mansion, a fresh, sharp sword light began to condense once more.
The sword finger flicked out from his sleeve, and the sword qi rapidly divided.
Nine white sword shadows slowly circled around Shan Zifeng.
“This is fake…”
“Everything is fake…”
In his daze, Shan Zifeng’s vision began to blur.
He only saw a somewhat familiar silhouette…
Overlapping with a certain image in his mind.
Only at this moment did he wake as if from a dream, a chill running down his spine.
The surrounding sword lights and sword shadows moved rapidly.
At Song Yan’s fingertip, that dread-inspiring sharpness grew ever more intense…
“Song…”
Hummm—
He seemed to want to call out a name, but he did not have the time.
He was completely engulfed by the sky full of sword qi.
The sharp aura lingered for a long time, refusing to dissipate.
The Untethered Vessel sliced through Shan Zifeng’s corpse, already covered in sword marks, cleaving it in two.
He had truly been frightened by those bizarre and exotic techniques of the cultivation world.
He was even a bit worried that the cultivator he had killed might somehow possess the corpse and return to life.
“…”
He knew that compared to other cultivators, his offensive methods were lacking.
Though the Sword Technique Compendium contained many methods of wielding swords, he had chosen to specialize in only one.
Thus, no matter how he used it, only that one move—Cloud Sword—was presentable.
Now that his life-bound flying sword had not yet taken shape, when counting his sword dao true essence, the killing moves available to him were truly not many.
However…
Two things had given him great inspiration.
After the Peach Blossom Wharf incident, he often recalled during his sword-wielding practice how that demonic cultivator had used flying swords as formation eyes.
The Sword Technique Compendium actually mentioned something called a “sword formation.”
Multiple flying swords or sword qi working in concert, the offensive power was truly formidable.
In fact, the Cloud Sword was already an extremely simplified version of a sword formation.
It was just that since it ultimately used sword qi for attacks, compared to a true sword formation, it offered more flexibility but less power.
The second thing was that after sword dao true essence condensed, it could be temporarily stored within the Sword Stabilizing Mansion, hanging suspended and unspent.
Then…
Could it be stored somewhere else, for example…
A spiritual talisman?
After a little experimentation, it actually worked!
Although the talismans he could afford in large quantities were of relatively low quality, and moreover he had no understanding of the art of talismans whatsoever, applying it crudely.
The sword essence sealed within the spiritual talisman had its power greatly diminished.
But it compensated with sheer quantity!
And when the sword essence was unactivated, it was restrained to the extreme.
Concealed within an ordinary trapping formation, it was nearly undetectable.
The Ren Water Spirit-Dissolving Talisman had been nothing more than a diversion.
This killing formation formed from sword essence was his true trump card.
Without the use of formation arrays, the mere piling of sword essence was already sufficient to deliver a fatal blow.
Xiao He had already looted clean all the spoils from near the corpse.
Dangling from its tail was the Cosmos Bag that belonged to Shan Zifeng.
Song Yan rested briefly, then approached the corpse.
He transformed spiritual energy into fire, burning the body to ashes.
He flicked his finger, and earth and wood surged, burying the remains underground.
“A cultivator at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, dead by my own hand.”
Looking back on it, it felt like a dream.
“The commotion from this battle was truly considerable. I should leave as soon as possible.”
Having dealt with everything.
He circulated his dwindling spiritual energy and made several great leaps, disappearing into the forest.