“Ah!” The youth loudly shouted in alarm and his face became deathly pale.
However, he was someone who had experienced many battles and quickly regained his composure. He gave up on using his flying swords to attack and immediately fell to the ground, dropping the light barrier around him. In that same moment, he felt his body covered in cold sweat, but he soon felt a furious rage overwhelm him as the wave of fireballs brush past his head. Wishing to make a show of Han Li in revenge, he was about to jump up when a black leg blurred in front of him, relentlessly stomping down on his head. Suddenly, the world around him turned black.
Chapter 628: Sword Trial Battles (2)
The crowd outside the light barrier roared in amazement.
Even the bald judge gazed at the youth with an odd expression. After a short moment, he loudly announced, “The Drifting Cloud Sect’s Han Li is victorious!”
Han Li bowed to the judge with a calm expression and walked out of the light barrier.
Soon after, two Ancient Sword Sect disciples rushed onto the stage and and carried off their unconscious sect member.
The short old man surnamed Jiang stared at the stage in disbelief and then grimaced.
Although he knew there would be a few unorthodox tactics in a competition between low grade disciples, he absolutely didn’t expect talismans to be used in such a manner. He had teased the red-robed old man earlier because he held high hopes for this disciple, but he didn’t expect for it to backfire. A moment later, an embarrassed expression appeared on the man’s face and he gloomily keep silent.
Old Man Fu couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Han Li’s battle, “Brother Duan, that disciple of yours is truly quite interesting. He used up many spirit stones worth of talismans. Although it was quite the trick, it must’ve taken quite a bit of practice in order to simultaneously use so many fireball talismans at once. Ordinary disciples would find it quite difficult to do.”
The red-robed old man was immensely pleased with the Ancient Sword Sect’s Jiang Yun’s deflated appearance, but he played down the victory with half-truths, “It’s nothing! This disciple of ours is a talisman refinement expert. Attacking with talismans should come naturally to him. However, even I am somewhat surprised for him to use so many talisman at once.”
Jiang Yun resentfully muttered, “Humph! He’s only capable of using many talismans at once. Now, the others will know of his tricks. In the later rounds, this disciple of yours will definitely be defeated.”
The red-robed old man chuckled and said, “Is that so?”
The azure-robed scholarly man glanced at Han Li down below and casually nodded his head, “However, I think that this disciple’s movement techniques is a body lightening technique from the mortal world. How else would he have so quickly caught Martial Nephew Yao off guard?”
“Fellow Daoist Bai has seen through it as well! This disciple of ours was once a vagrant cultivator and has learned many mixed techniques. It is very much our sect’s embarrassment!”
The scholarly man smiled and said, “Not at all. Long ago, I also held somewhat of an interest in mortal martial arts and studied them a bit. Although these martial arts have no use to high grade cultivators, in the hands of a skillful Qi Condensation cultivator they will greatly add to their might. Furthermore, this disciple of yours seem extremely practiced in his techniques as if he has experienced many battles. It isn’t unfair for our own disciple to have lost against him.”
As the three sects’ experts calmly continued their discussion, the bald referee from the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion was replaced by an old man from the Drifting Cloud Sect. He expressionlessly said, “The second fight will be the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion’s Tian Ci versus the Ancient Sword Sect’s Zhou Xu.”
Soon after, a youth from each sect walked onto the stage and bowed to each other. Once the old man announced the start of the battle, they each formed incantation gestures and began to use their magic tools.
The three sects’ Core Formation cultivators soon placed the previous fight in the back of their minds and began to watch this new battle unfold.
Perhaps due to the incisiveness of Han Li’s previous fight, the current careful and deliberate battle caused boredom in the spectators.
Eventually, the Ancient Sword Sect disciple was able to use his sword magic tool to break the opponent’s defenses and claim victory.
Each fight then successively continued until the first round of the competition was concluded two days later.
The Ancient Sword Sect cultivators’ strength was as great as their reputation described.
Apart from Han Li and a few others, the majority of the rounds had been dominated by Ancient Sword Sect disciples.
This scene was cause for great joy for Jiang Yun and he wore a wide grin, releasing him from his previous gloom.
Of course, the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion and the Drifting Cloud Sect cultivators had already anticipated this outcome. Although they found this somewhat embarrassing, they didn’t show it on their faces and pretended not to care. From their bearing, it appeared as if they were on the winning side.
During the second round of the competition, Han Li’s opponent was a Hundred Possibilities Pavilion female Qi Condensation cultivator with a valiant appearance.
After seeing that she was facing Han Li, she immediately took to the air on her magic tool as soon as the match started.
According to her understanding, she would be able to dodge any of Han Li’s talisman attacks in the air and would also be safe from his swift movement techniques.
Han Li sighed upon seeing this and tossed out a stack of fireball talismans without a word.
Just as the woman thought to dodge the incoming fireballs, Han Li formed an incantation gesture with both his hands and caused the approaching fireballs to flash with a red light. The barrage of fireballs turned into small flock of fire birds that spiralled around without approaching her.
When she saw this, she was greatly frightened and thought to use her magic tool to protect herself. However, Han Li wasn’t about to give her the opportunity. He muttered an incarnation in a superficial display and commanded the flame birds with his spiritual sense. The flock of fire birds then flew towards the woman and struck her from all sides.
Although the woman managed to envelope herself in a water attribute barrier through a talisman, it was incapable of enduring such a fierce attack. In a mere moment, the barrier shattered.
Helpless, the young woman could only take the initiative to concede defeat.
After that battle, the disciples of the other two sects were greatly moved, having previously believed that Han Li merely abused his abundance of talismans without any skill.
However, a few Foundation Establishment cultivators that possessed powerful magic tools merely viewed Han Li’s flashy actions with disdain. But in the end...
...
There was an obscure, desolate valley at the center of the Dreamcloud Mountains. This valley had long been enveloped with waves of Yin mist over countless years. It was dark to the point where one couldn’t even see their own hands if they entered it. Additionally, all sorts of venomous serpents and insects entrenched themselves within the mist in countless numbers. And due to the valley’s small size, they were easily overlooked by any cultivators that passed it by.
But one day, the valley’s mist became denser than usual, but the mist at the deepest depths of the valley was particularly chaotic.
In a flash of white light, two figures suddenly emerged beside a mysterious pile of rocks.
One of these figures was a man who wore grey robes and had fierce expression. The other was a scholarly man with azure robes and a jade belt.
Although there was clearly no one besides the rock pile, a man’s hoarse voice lazily said, “Well if it isn’t the Ancient Sword Sect’s Brother Bai and the Drifting Cloud Sect’s Fellow Daoist Yu? Could it be that the Sword Trial Assembly has already ended?”
“So Brother Yu
is on duty today! Yes, the assembly has already ended. We’ve come to see whether or not the Brightsight Water has been prepared. If it is ready, then we’ll directly transport the ten disciples here to prevent anything unexpected from occuring.”
As for the grey-clothed old man at his side, he remained silent with an indifferent expression.
The previous man’s voice spoke with objection, “Something unexpected? This place is guarded by three Core Formation cultivators at all times. Why not bring the low grade cultivators along with you? Are you afraid that they’ll bring some trouble?”
Cultivator Bai shook his head and said, “The Spirit Well Tree is an immensely important matter. It is better to be careful! Besides, dropping the Wine Nectar into the Brightsight water is the most crucial step. Once this is done, the spirit water must immediately be used to cleanse their eyes, otherwise its efficacy would greatly decrease. Why else would we be required to bring the ten disciples over here!”
The man chuckled and confidently said, “Alright, the Brightsight Water has already been prepared. When they’ve cleansed their eyes, have them immediately depart. Since this area is heavily covered with restrictions, if you teleport them here they won’t know where this place is.”
Cultivator Bai nodded his head and said, “That would be for the best. Brother Yu, stay behind for the time being. I will notify our Fellow Daoists and have them teleport the disciples over.”
The man’s voice suddenly thought of something and asked, “Ah yes, I suppose the winner of the Sword Trial Assembly from your Ancient Sword Sect?”
The azure robed scholar smiled and said, “I’m afraid I must indeed disappoint you. The winner of this Sword Trial Assembly is our Ancient Sword Sect’s Martial Nephew Meng Di.”
The man’s lazy voice revealed a trace of satisfaction, “Humph! It isn’t surprising that the Foundation Establishment cultivators of your Ancient Sword Sect are stronger than ours. However, when one reaches Core Formation stage, it’s hard to say who is weaker or stronger. If there is an opportunity, bring over that Senior Martial Brother San of yours. I wish to compare notes with him sometime.”
The scholarly man grew silent for a moment and casually smiled, “It seems Brother Yue still broods over his defeat by Senior Martial Brother San long ago. However, I fear I must disappoint Brother Yue. Senior Martial Brother San has already entered seclusion in an attempt to breakthrough to late Core Formation stage.”
Chapter 629: The Restricted Area
“He’s going into seclusion to reach late Core Formation stage?” The man was clearly surprised, but he soon sighed and spoke no further.
The Ancient Sword Sect’s Cultivator Bai then wordlessly raised his hand and struck the pile of rocks nearby with a streak of white light. The pile of rocks suddenly flashed with light and he disappeared. The pile of rocks was clearly a well hidden transportation spell formation.
After seeing the grey-clothed old man depart, he sat down on the ground nearby.
At the other end of the transportation formation was a small stone room in the Hundred Possibilities Sect. The scholarly man appeared within the formation with a flash of white light. Several high grade cultivators from the three sects were surrounding him.
Cultivator Jian asked, “How is it Junior Martial Brother? Are the preparations finished?”
The scholarly man replied, “Senior Martial Brother, relax. Everything is ready at the sacred site. We may take them in now.”
The old man surnamed Fu nodded his head with satisfaction, “Good! Then we must trouble Brother Duan to bring the ten juniors over here.” As soon as he finished the red-robed old man wordlessly pushed open the door and left. Old Man Fu continued, “As arranged, our three sects will each send a Core Formation cultivator to accompany them. The Drifting Cloud Sect’s Fellow Daoist Yu is already on the other side. Brother Jiang, who will you be sending over?”
Jiang Yun casually replied, “I’ve already seen it once before and there is little to see, how about Junior Martial Brother Bai goes?”
Old Man Fu smiled and said, “That’s fine. Although Fellow Daoist Bai hasn’t had his turn guarding the sacred site, he was once one of the ten finalists in the Sword Trial Assembly. It could be considered revisiting a memory.”
Cultivator Bai nodded his head with a calm expression but said nothing. The white-clothed young woman charmingly smiled at him and rubbed shoulders with him in a rather romantic manner.
At that moment, footsteps came from outside of the stone room and the red-robed old man walked in with a calm expression, leading the ten finalists.
Although the Drifting Cloud Sect hadn’t acquired first place, there were four disciples that managed to make it into the final ten. Occupying the most places amongst the three sects. This had caused Old Man Duan to feel quite pleased in contrast to his calm exterior.
With that thought, he unconsciously swept his gaze over the four disciples. There was the Firecloud Mountain’s Sun Huo, a staunch-faced youth, Mu Peiling of Dayspring Mountain, Han Li and Du Dong.
When he caught sight of Du Dong, Old Man Duan couldn’t help but inwardly snort, and a trace of derision momentarily appeared within his heart.
As for the disciple that had acquired first place, he was a black-clothed youth with an expression as clear as a drawn sword. He was the Ancient Sword Sect’s Meng Di, who possessed the Ninesword Spirit Constitution.
The “Ninesword Spirit Constitution” was among the three great sword bodies in the cultivation world. It wasn’t something to take lightly. With a top-grade sword magic tool in hand, there were no opponents in the competition that were capable of withstanding his strikes. In only a few short moments, he was able to crush any opposition that stood in his way en route to first place.
Having thought that, the red-robed old man felt somewhat envious of the Ancient Sword Sect’s good luck.
Han Li indifferently glanced at the Core Formation “Masters” in the room. He felt neither joy nor alarm.
After his victory in the third round, he had deliberately lost to a skilled Hundred Possibilities Pavilion Foundation Establishment disciple. He then participated in a battle against the six who lost for the final four positions in the top ten. In the end, he had nearly spent all of his talismans to forcefully enter ninth place.
As for Du Dong, perhaps having held the same plan in mind as Han Li, he had also suffered a defeat at the fourth round and then deliberately suffered a loss against him, landing him in tenth place. Those actions had left Han Li dumbstruck.
As for the top ranked disciple amongst the Drifting Cloud Sect disciples, that would be the youth named Sun Huo. His cultivation was quite strong and he managed to land in third place.
But from how Han Li saw it, apart from the black-clothed youth whose techniques greatly matched his magic tool, he would be able to defeat all the others using his previous methods.
Once the assembly concluded, the top ten disciples each received a top grade magic tool. As for Meng Di, he also received a jade box that contained a Spirit Tempering Pill.
When Han Li saw the jade box, he instantly grew determined, ‘If this goes smoothly, and I’m able to acquire the root of the Spirit Well Tree as well as the pill formula, it’ll be over. If that isn’t possible, I’ll take the pill from the hands of that Ancient Sword Sect disciple. After all, that pill will greatly aid in condensing a Nascent Soul.’
As Han Li thought this, Old Man Fu began to teleport the gathered disciples.
The three sects’ youths already knew where they were going and wore cheerful smiles.
As white light flashed, Cultivator Bai and a middle-aged cultivator from the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion teleported alongside them.
Han Li and company were left dazed from the teleportation and found themselves amidst a dense fog and a pile of rocks.
Han Li narrowed his eyes and unconsciously swept his spiritual sense past the area. However, once it extended out a hundred meters, he immediately felt a restriction block
his path. His heart trembled at the discovery. Knowing that there were powerful spell formations in place, he decided that stealthily completing his objective would be best.
Seeing that they had all arrived, the grey-clothed old man calmly stood up and raised his hand, shooting out a yellow spell seal into the dense mist.
The surrounding mist began to roil and suddenly dispersed. Not far ahead of them was a wall overgrown with dense moss as if no one had ever passed it by.
Cultivator Bai warned the ten finalists with an icy tone, “Listen well. You must cleanse your eyes as soon as the spirit water is refined. You are allowed to enter the restricted area for that reason alone. Normally, even we are not allowed near this place. After you enter, you are only allowed to stay here for the day, and must immediately depart on the next. This place is also heavily clad in restrictions. Absolutely do not roam this place as you please, else you will be subjected to the entirety of the consequences.”
The disciples naturally acknowledged his words.
At that moment, a man’s voice was heard from the direction of the stone wall, “Alright, if you have anything else to say, leave it until after you enter. I am going to open a way through the great formation.”
When the man surnamed Yue said this, the stone wall rippled throughout the air and disappeared in flash of green light.
A moment later, the disciples were left astonished as the stone wall disappeared before them and was replaced with huge, tightly-shut stone gates.
The stone gate was densely covered in talisman characters and pulsing with rainbow light. It was unknown just how powerful this restriction was. There were also several barriers of yellow light surrounding the gate.
At that moment, a yellow-clothed cultivator with his arms behind his back was standing outside the thirty-meter-tall gate. He appeared to be in his forties, and he had thick, slanted eyebrows that gave him a fierce appearance. If an ordinary person were to see him, they would grow fearful and wouldn’t dare to meet his gaze.
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