Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 915
With some further thought, did the so-called 'fourth sword' and the 'heritage from Great Zhou' really exist?
"What fourth sword? It can't be real. This is just an act!"
"Also, he claims to have astonishing expertise in swords that allows him to perceive the shape and weight of the magical equipment, and even the internal injuries, just based on an illusionary attack? He must be exaggerating!"
"I have been refining for a hundred and eighty years. I have never heard of such arts before!"
"The conversation between those two fellow Cultivators was indeed unbelievably incredible. The mysteries and expertise that they described can only be described as 'appalling'. However, what if they prepared everything in advance?
"Their goal was to save the Purple Pole Sword Sect's face after Yan Liren's brutal failure and to make us overestimate its capabilities so that they would be at an advantage in the negotiation later!
"Exactly. This 'Master Spiritual Vulture' might've had some fortuitous experiences in the southwest forests. Judging from the fact that he could suppress two fellow Cultivators in the Core Formation Stage easily, perhaps he has really advanced into the Nascent Soul Stage!
"But what of it? We have more than fifty Cultivators in the Nascent Soul Stage here. If he were just a regular Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, he wouldn't be much help to them even if he stood on the Purple Pole Sword Sect's side!
"Therefore, they intentionally prepared a nice play by making use of Master Spiritual Vulture's mysterious identity!
"Master Spiritual Vulture blurted out 'Qi Zhongdao will surely fail' in public before the battle. His statement could have gone either way!
"If Master Righteous One indeed failed, he would have forecasted the outcome wisely. When others were appalled, he would announce that he was a visiting elder of the Purple Pole Sword Sect gloatingly and demand benefits for the Purple Pole Sword Sect later!
"If Yan Liren failed, they would do exactly what they did. After a seemingly witty conversation, they almost managed to change their passive position and make us unable to determine the Purple Pole Sword Sect's potential!
"This is obviously a trick of the fortune tellers, who won't be wrong either way!"
"Exactly. That must've been what happened. As expected of the wise and thoughtful Senior 'Tian Jizi'. Everything makes sense now after your interpretation!"
"Damn it. We were almost fooled!"
"Seventy years ago, Master Spiritual Vulture was merely at the peak of the Core Formation Stage. Despite his fortuitous experiences, he can only be a regular Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator at best right now. How can he be half as incredible as he described?"
"Anyways, we have fifty Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators here. Are we going to watch them go away without even having the courage to test them as if we are scared by their few words?"
"Below the Bronze Censer Mountain, too many Cultivators from the smaller sects are still waiting for the result of the battle. If they learn that the five major sects hesitated because of their empty talk when Master Righteous One secured an obvious victory, how are the Grand Mystery Sect, the Gold Armor Clan, Thunderstorm Valley, Flying Spirit Island, and the Monster Taming Pavilion going to stand in the world of Cultivators and awe the three thousand sects in the world?"
Suspicions, exclamations, and yells were flowing toward the center of the sword test field like tides.
When the tides of fury reached the peak, a thunderous roar finally rumbled in the crowd. "Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, please wait!"
Boom!
A streak of intimidating, golden brilliance soared into the sky, unleashing a blast in midair, before it smashed toward the center of the sword test field like a shooting star. The broken stones were flying everywhere, and the soundwaves were pushing out!
When the smoke died down, a tall, muscular man as magnificent as a tower was revealed. He was in heavy, golden armor, and his skin was dark gold, too. A golden sword more than three meters long, which seemed to be made of a whole piece of gold, was hanging from his waist!
"Bu Tiantong, the secondary leader of the Gold Armor Clan!"
Amid everybody's exclamation, the gold-armored man bowed to Li Yao. Baring his white teeth, which must have been able to chew steel up, he smiled. "Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, your lecture on sword forging was indeed enough to enlighten the benighted! However, as a visiting elder of the Purple Pole Sword Sect, are you just going to walk away after throwing out a few empty words?"
The Gold Armor Clan, as its name suggested, was a super sect that focused on the manufacture of all kinds of armor and defensive magical equipment.
As a matter of fact, although the Grand Mystery Sect was leading the operation to threaten the Purple Pole Sword Sect together with the other four sects, it was because the Grand Mystery Sect had always been a 'big brother' in the world of Cultivators.
In terms of the foundation and the main business, in fact, the Grand Mystery Sect and the Purple Pole Sword Sect were quite different. The two of them were dominators in their respective fields, and the friction of their interests was not that intense.
The Gold Armor Clan's case, however, was different.
It was also a major sect of refining. If a furnace could produce a suit of armor, it could certainly produce a flying sword.
The market for aggressive magical equipment was larger than the market for defensive magical equipment. The Gold Armor Clan was ambitious enough to have begun developing in multiple categories a long time ago. They had produced a lot of sabers and swords of their own.
However, theirs was a trade where the brand mattered. The Purple Pole Sword Sect had always enjoyed its reputation as the 'best sword sect in the world'. Also, it had integrated the upstream suppliers and the downstream distributors, monopolizing the market a long time ago. It was more than difficult for the Gold Armor Clan to jump in.
When Lead Eunuch Wang Xi was in power, not only did the Gold Armor Clan fail to occupy the Purple Pole Sword Sect's market share in the aggressive magical equipment, the Purple Pole Sword Sect even swallowed part of the market of defensive magical equipment by taking advantage of Wang Xi's connection with them!
Stopping others from making money was like killing their parents. The Gold Armor Clan hated the Purple Pole Sword Sect's guts and was more desperate to bite some meat off the sect than anybody else.
Therefore, Bu Tiantong, a secondary leader of the Gold Armor Clan, had to march forward and provoke Li Yao even while knowing that the guy could be in the Nascent Soul Stage!
What was the big deal about the Nascent Soul Stage? The guy was in the beginning level at most, while he was at the middle level. What was there to be scared of?
Frowning, Li Yao turned around and glanced at Bu Tiantong. "What do you have to enlighten me, Fellow Cultivator Bu?"
"You are flattering me!" The golden muscles on Bu Tiantong's face were shaking, and he patted his sword heavily and laughed. "The Gold Armor Clan knows a thing or so about refining, too. This 'Gold Crow Devil Sweeping Sword' is an ultimate product that three great sword forgers of the Gold Armor Clan have produced after arduous work! Since you are good at examining swords, why don't you examine this one?"
"Bu Tiantong is personally taking action!"
"He is most famous for his advanced Cultivation arts that are particularly tough and violent. He is a fearless and relentless expert!"
"I have heard about the 'Gold Crow Devil Sweeping Sword' before. It is said that the Gold Armor Clan accidentally found the debris of an extraterrestrial weapon that fell from the sky. Three great sword forgers spent five years finding hundreds of materials to merge with the debris. Finally, a marvelous sword was created!"
"I'm told that the Gold Armor Clan has been hoping to test the new weapons that the Purple Pole Sword Sect produced with the sword during the Dragon Spring Meeting and earn their fame!"
Whispers were soaring up to the sky again.
Even Qi Zhongdao, who had been seated below the Grand Mystery Sect's banner the whole time, could not help but stand up and stare at Li Yao without blinking.
"Alright!" Li Yao thought to himself, [Thank god this bro jumped out. If they were all cool enough to bear my provocation, I would have had no chance to show off!
Hiu!
Before Li Yao's voice died down, his clothes suddenly shivered. A few streams of smoke seemed to be crawling out!
"What!"
The high-level Cultivators felt that their heads were dizzy. Li Yao's bloodstained, common gray robe was standing there in midair, but the person inside was gone. Or rather, it seemed to be worn by someone transparent!
A long shriek that sounded like the shriek of a vulture suddenly echoed above Bu Tiantong's head. A cluster of green, ghostly fire suddenly burst out into a dominating figure!
At this moment, Li Yao was like a totally different person!
Right below the gray robe was in fact another glamorous robe that was pure green, as thin as cicada wings and as smooth as silk, giving every feeling that it was extraordinary!
While his black hair was shaking, the green spot at the center of his eyebrows spread into a green vulture whose wings surpassed his eyes and extended to his temples.
Together with the ripples of spiritual energy that were spreading out like fire, the demeanor of an unparalleled, brutal man was fully revealed!
Chapter 1405: Nice Sword! |
"Hua!"
Exclamations were echoing on the sword test field on the Bronze Censer Peak.
Many elders and leaders in the Nascent Soul Stage had guessed that Li Yao was probably also in the Nascent Soul Stage.
But they never dreamt that Li Yao would trigger such dominating auras when he had seemed quite plain before!
His spiritual waves alone suggested that he could not be in the beginning level of the Nascent Soul Stage. He was even better than the rarely-seen middle level of the Nascent Soul Stage and on par with the supreme experts such as the Three Saints and Four Rapscallions!
It was a tough man who could make it to the 'top ten experts in the world' list!
He might even really be qualified to be compared to experts such as Qi Zhongdao and Yan Liren!
His chitchat with Yan Liren just now was perhaps… perhaps not a bluff.
The green spiritual waves that Li Yao triggered snatched at Bu Tiantong brutally like a bizarre bird flapping its wings!
Bu Tiantong was the one under the most pressure after his sudden outbreak.
The toughest person of the Gold Armor Clan felt that he was indeed being swooped upon by an eagle that could stir up the clouds in the heaven!
Bu Tiantong had never thought that his opponent would be so strong!
However, the expert in the middle level of the Nascent Soul Stage was not a fish on a chopping block.
With the marvelous weapon 'Gold Crow Devil Sweeping Sword' in hand, Bu Tiantong's comprehensive combat ability was perhaps even higher than Han Yuantai's when he had no time to retrieve his magical equipment in the Southland of Sorcerers.
Shua!
Golden brilliance was flourishing on his armor and expanding into a giant golden ball more than three meters in diameter. The brilliance was so intense that it looked like a tank of molten steel that could melt anything!
The Gold Armor Clan was best known for their defenses in the first place. The extraordinary mystic rays released from the armor could not only disrupt the enemy's vision and telepathic thoughts but also cover the operations of the user. It was definitely some of the best magical equipment!
Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi!
The green flames of spiritual energy around Li Yao changed from a giant eagle into almost ten tentacles and spread out. Like an enormous ghost hand, they clenched the golden ball released by Bu Tiantong's armor!
One green and the other gold, the two flames in different colors crashed, rubbed, and consumed each other and had chemical reactions like two incompatible liquids. Not only were ear-splitting shrieks echoing, colorful smoke was also dashing up into the sky!
This was purely a war of attribution. It was the immensity of their spiritual energy that was being tested.
At first glance, they seemed to be in stalemate.
However, Li Yao's ghost claw was infiltrating the golden ball, and he seemed to have everything under control.
As it turned out, a moment later, a roar echoed inside the golden, shining ball. The 'Gold Crow Devil Sweeping Sword' turned into a raging gold dragon that broke out the shell and stabbed toward Li Yao's face!
Bu Tiantong could not sustain it any longer and changed his move!
The auras of the sword were neither straight lines nor arcs. Instead, they shot out in the shape of a sector like the dazzling brilliance of the sun, covering dozens of square meters around Li Yao!
Locked onto by the auras of the sword, one would feel like one was standing in the middle of a desert with a scorching sun overhead. There was nowhere to run!
Li Yao did not bother to blink. He rolled his fingers and threw out the needles that had once horrified Han Yuantai in the Southland of Sorcerers. The needles darted toward the sun like a hazy drizzle.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Every needle hit one of the auras of the sword precisely. The auras withered like balloons that had been stabbed. They perished into nothingness, leaving lingering echoes behind them.
When the hundreds of crisp sounds overlapped, it sounded like a piece of weird music!
Half narrowing his eyes, Li Yao appreciated the melody of fire and war to his heart's content. As if he had drunk delicious wine, his face became flushed, and he seemed to be intoxicated when he observed, "Nice sword!
"The auras of the sword gave a feeling of emptiness and boundlessness when they were tapped, which is not something that ordinary metals can offer. They can only be found in the sea of stars above the firmament from the real 'star metals'!"
Li Yao had noticed something weird after he landed on the Ancient Sages Sector.
Infinite stars could also be seen at night in the Ancient Sages Sector. They were even more brilliant than the stars seen in the outside worlds. Quite a few colorful galaxies were flowing in the sky!
It was quite illogical.
Because the Ancient Sages Sector was at the center of a dark nebula, it should be difficult for the brightness of other stars to penetrate. Even if some of the stars were visible, their number should be few.
However, after pondering for a long time, Li Yao finally realized that the 'stars' in the sky were not real stars in the universe but the battlefield debris around the Ancient Sages Sector left in the primeval war!
The debris was Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that boasted many special characteristics. It also had such intense radiation that it had not dissipated after hundreds of thousands of years and was still releasing all kinds of waves nonstop.
When the ancient Cultivators of this Sector raised their heads to look at the sky at night, that was what the 'stars' they saw were.
The debris was not absolutely stationary in the universe. Instead, it moved randomly due to the interference of the gravity of the sector's planets and their satellites. When some of the remnants crashed into each other, or when they were captured by the gravity sphere of the planet, it was possible for them to drop down to the planet.
The debris was made of the super alloys that the Pangu Clan or the Nuwa Clan had crafted with their spectacular technology, which was tens of hundreds of years ahead of the current era. Naturally, they were the best materials for refining.
Because they were the 'stars' in the knowledge of the ancient Cultivators of this Sector, such remnants had become known as 'star metals'.
The high-level Cultivators did not expect that Li Yao could still talk in the middle of the fierce battle. They were even puzzled about his expertise. After looking at each other for a moment, they all fell silent.
Sha! Sha! Sha! Sha! Sha! Sha! Sha!
Manipulating the thin needles, Li Yao bypassed the sword auras and pierced at the real body of the Gold Crow Devil Sweeping Sword at a higher and higher speed with less and less strength. When the needles tapped the body of the sword, it was no longer the ear-splitting sounds but the pleasant, gentle sounds of raindrops falling into grasses!
"Those are some good materials. The craftsmanship is quite remarkable, too!" Li Yao said with both surprise and amazement. "The star metals should've been much too hard for you to melt or forge. It was supposed to be just a block of metal and could in no way be forged into a weapon!
"However, the sword forgers of the Gold Armor Clan selected an innovative approach. Instead of heating it with the eccentric fire, they mediated it with more than thirty kinds of liquids that could melt metals. After it was softened, they reinforced it with various materials including the Hundred Dry Vines, the Long Hateful Grasses, the Devil Taming Bones, and the Blood Rain Stones among a few others. As a result, the features of the star metals were changed, and they could be refined into weapons!
"Since the Gold Armor Clan has such extraordinary sword forgers who are not restrained by traditions, no wonder you are confident in competing with the Purple Pole Sword Sect!"
All the Cultivators were dazed by what Li Yao had said.
Was it even possible to deduce the forging procedures of the magical equipment by the sounds of collisions and infer its raw materials?
How unbelievable was that!
Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!
Everybody looked at the elders and leaders of the Gold Armor Clan.
All of them from the Gold Armor Clan appeared so shocked and devastated that they might have just run into ghosts!
No. Even if 'Mother White Lotus' Wan Mingzhu, the mother of all ghosts, showed up in front of them, they would not have been so shocked, unless Wang Mingzhu not only showed up but also offered a strip dance!
Bu Tiantong's previously shining gold face was pale, and his sword auras were in disarray!
