The chilling wind blew from the crevices of the mountain rocks and the gaps between grass and trees, directionless. The leaves of the nearby large tree rustled, as if they too felt the cold. Yu Ci's sensation was clear. The wind did not come from any particular direction, but surged from the ground, chilling his Divine Soul to the bone, before affecting his physical body.
In Yu Ci's hand, the Pure Yang Talisman Sword shimmered brilliantly, causing the surrounding temperature to soar. Yet, it was unable to ward off this cold wind. However, with a mere thought, a resounding "clang" echoed in his Brain Palace. Years of accumulated and honed killing intent, under the control of the pure Sword aura, was released and retracted in an instant. It was the Sword Intent to Break Evil Illusions method!
The dark forest seemed to brighten momentarily. Along with the killing Sword aura, strands of Sword Energy spread out, sweeping away the tender grass and tree branches that had just sprouted. The sinister aura that had risen from the ground dissipated without a trace.
Without any delay, as the Sword aura was released, Yu Ci moved. In a blink, he had covered a distance of seven zhang. As his figure moved, the ground where he had just stood rang out with a metallic sound, and several sharp claws broke through the soil. Even in the darkness, the tips of the claws emitted a ghastly green light. Had he delayed even a moment, his feet might have been torn off.
While relocating, Yu Ci had already placed the Heart-Tugging Horn in his mouth.
Through his Fish-Dragon sense, he had detected an evil creature lurking here. Unexpectedly, this creature initiated its attack on the Divine Soul. Even though he had mastered the Sword Intent to Break Evil Illusions method, it was wasteful to attack in defense. It was more economical to protect the Divine Soul with the Heart-Tugging Horn.
In a flash, he leaped onto a tree. Just as he dodged, another "clang" rang out, and the sharp claws followed like a shadow, their speed almost matching Yu Ci's. Before he could react, a dark figure burst from the ground.
As soon as the dark figure appeared, it lunged forward, its speed even faster than when it was underground. Yu Ci did not dodge this time. The Flame Sword Blade emerged from the tip of his Sword Technique, colliding with the dark figure amidst a hissing sound. A burnt smell wafted up, and Yu Ci was sent flying.
The dark figure slid down the tree trunk to the ground. During this process, its previously half-closed eyes opened. Three lights seemed to light up in the forest, locking onto Yu Ci's figure, who was retreating several zhang away. The moment it touched the ground, its figure began to sink, launching an attack from underground, a habit of the dark figure.
But at this moment, the reflection of his opponent suddenly rushing forward appeared in its three trident-shaped, split eyes. The opponent was clearly still retreating, and there was nothing to push off from behind, but the speed of his counterattack was even faster. Its sinking speed was not slow, but compared to this, it was too late!
A soft "hiss" echoed in the air. The Flame Sword Blade in Yu Ci's hand suddenly became illusory, and his body also became blurred. He almost skimmed the ground as he turned and pounced, instantly closing the distance of several zhang!
With a thunderous roar, the shadowy figure reverberated through the mountains and forests. Its forelimb, already half-buried in the earth, swung towards the enemy who was within an arm's length. Earlier than this, it had spewed a column of greyish-green gas from its mouth, yet as soon as it emerged, it was swept away by a sword's glow, evaporating almost entirely.
Following this, a muffled explosion echoed. The shadowy figure was propelled forward by Yu Ci's charging momentum. Large chunks of earth and rocks were flung into the air, and amidst the dust and smoke, it collided heavily with a large tree behind it, impaling itself onto the trunk.
Its claws, capable of slicing through metal, seemed to have hit the target, yet also seemed to have missed. However, the Flame Sword Blade had indeed torn through its chest, with the wooden sword hilt penetrating deep within. The overpowering Sword Energy exploded within its body, rupturing its organs. Yet even earlier than the Sword Energy, a chilling murderous aura had pierced through its Brain Palace, shredding its Divine Soul and extinguishing its last thread of consciousness.
The shadowy figure began to convulse instinctively. Its vitality was incredibly tenacious, but this was merely an instinct. With its Divine Soul extinguished and its organs shattered, there was no possibility of revival.
Yu Ci stood in front of the shadowy figure's corpse, exhaling a breath. His upper garment was torn with several long slits. Sharp claws had grazed the surface of his body, causing a burning pain. The most recent wound ran from below his left shoulder to below his ribs. It wasn't deep, but if his body had deviated slightly, the claws would have pierced his heart.
But that slight deviation was his opportunity for victory.
The pre-enchanted Godspeed Talisman activated, allowing him to step on thin air and forcefully rebound within a short period. While creating a time difference, he also instantly elevated his Half-Mountain Mirage Sword Intent to its limit. He found a slim chance of victory at the brink of life and death, ending the shadowy figure's life with a single strike.
Compared to the past, Yu Ci's reaction was still extraordinary. The ability to mobilize Sword aura and instantly increase his destructive power to its limit was something he could never achieve before.
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This was his achievement over the past two months. He found significant gains from the "small tricks" of the Sword Intent to Break Evil Illusions and made a breakthrough in the application of Sword aura.
Using Sword aura has a clear process. Fundamentally, one must understand how the Primordial Qi operates, how the meridians are unblocked, how Sword Energy is formed, and how its effects are controlled. In short, it is the actual method of swordsmanship.
Once one masters swordsmanship, they need to understand the mentality and spirit behind each strike, imbuing the sword with life, and creating a Sword Intent.
When both swordsmanship and Sword Intent are clear, they must be connected with the swordsman's intention, making them more in line with the swordsman's temperament and will. A bold person has a bold sword, a gentle person has a gentle sword. Adjusting to match, when a sword is swung, the heart, intent, and technique are integrated without hindrance, and that's when the Sword aura is accomplished.
This is a very systematic process, which requires a long period of gestation to gradually take shape. However, Yu Ci is different.
Due to various reasons such as talent, temperament, and opportunities, he had early on assimilated the Sword aura imprint gifted by Ye Bin. He already possessed a mature and complete Sword aura like the "Half-Mountain Mirage", which he could use without any hindrance. This was already quite extraordinary.
Nevertheless, one cannot overlook the fact that, even though the Half-Mountain Mirage's refined sword technique and sword intent have become greatly attuned with Yu Ci, the temperaments and aspirations of Yu Ci and Ye Bin still differ. Particularly, over the past decade of wandering, Yu Ci has developed his own unique sword path in the midst of life and death battles. This path is one of seamless integration of sight, hand, heart, and courage, seizing the moment to determine life or death. His ruthless ferocity may even surpass that, yet it is still not the calm and composed demeanor of the strong that Ye Bin embodies.
This difference alone necessitates a lengthy period of adjustment between the Half-Mountain Mirage Sword Intent and Yu Ci. If this trajectory continues, Yu Ci would likely be influenced by the dominant Sword aura, gradually changing his swordplay style, and even his temperament, leaning towards Ye Bin, and acquiring a fraction of the true teachings of Half Mountain Island.
However, two months ago, Yu Ci learned the Lichen Sect's Sword Intent to Break Evil Illusions from Xie Yan. This little trick is not extraordinary, but it touches upon the fundamental issue of using Sword aura. Inspired by this, Yu Ci suddenly clarified his own path of swordplay, understanding how he wants to wield his sword! Even if he does not fully comprehend issues like Sword aura and temperament, it does not hinder him from reshaping his unique swordplay style based on the Half-Mountain Mirage Sword Intent.
This is a very subtle change, so subtle that even Yu Ci himself does not have a precise understanding of it. He just wants to do it, and he really does it! This move makes his future unpredictable. It might turn out well, or it might be disastrous, but regardless, this is truly a path that belongs to him alone.
Now, Yu Ci has roughly sorted out the Sword aura's framework, started to adjust the Sword aura, and has achieved initial results.
After defeating the formidable shadow with a single strike, Yu Ci did not immediately draw out his Pure Yang Talisman Sword. Instead, he used a small Talisman, igniting a flame that illuminated the surrounding area.
He saw the full view of the shadow that was nailed to the tree trunk. Then, his expression turned solemn.
In fact, he couldn't see the shadow's face clearly, as half of it had been smashed into a bloody pulp by a tremendous force, distorting the entire dark green skull. Yu Ci could only confirm from the aura that this was a Demon that closely resembled a beast.
Not just the face, but a large wound was also present on the left side of the Demon's body. The skin and flesh were torn, stretching from the shoulder to the base of the leg, with the ribs faintly visible.
These two injuries were not inflicted by Yu Ci. In other words, he killed a Demon that was already severely wounded. Considering the situation at that time, it was likely that the injured Demon had intended to surprise him and devour him to replenish its nutrients, but was instead slain by his sword.
Yu Ci reflected on the recent encounter, as swift and intense as a lightning strike. This creature could traverse underground with considerable speed and spew out a kind of sinister energy known as Sha, attacking the Divine Soul of its victims. Even in its severely wounded state, it demonstrated such capabilities. He couldn't help but wonder what the creature would be like in its prime.
And what kind of strength would it take to wound such a creature to this extent?
By the light of the fire, Yu Ci carefully examined the wounds on the Demon, forming a rough impression. He then pulled out his Pure Yang Talisman Sword, and the Demon's slightly stiff body slid to the ground. After some thought, he forced out the Flame Sword Blade again, thrusting it into the cracked skull of the damaged Demon, stirring slightly. In no time, he extracted an irregularly shaped object.
Over the past two months, Yu Ci had learned a lot from Zhao Xi Qiao about dealing with Demons and beasts. He knew that some Demons, especially those with non-physical attacks, like this creature that could spew Yin and Evil Qi, would occasionally have precious "crystals" within them, known as "Blood Treasure", which were quite valuable.
Yu Ci wasn't particularly interested in the Blood Treasure itself. He extracted it with the intention of allowing experts like Elder Chu and Zhao Xi Qiao to glean some information from it.
After storing the Blood Treasure safely, Yu Ci rose to his feet. A wind had picked up in the forest, and the howls of the dying Demon seemed to echo in the wilderness. Then, Yu Ci actually heard a roar.
His eyelids twitched, and for a moment, he felt a sense of familiarity with the roar.
The feeling was fleeting and elusive. Listening carefully, the source of the roar was very far away, beyond several mountains, refracted many times, and constantly moving. After listening for a while, Yu Ci was a bit confused.
This was when the Fish-Dragon came into play. At Yu Ci's mental command, the little creature flew into the air and sped towards the direction of the roar. It was only a few mountains away, and under the high speed of the Fish-Dragon, it could be reached in a matter of moments.
The Fish-Dragon's sense was fully extended, flying all the way, with the residual images of the forest passing by like a lantern show. Yu Ci, having adapted to this over the past two months, was still able to discern a lot of information from it.
Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, and he commanded the little creature to fly back.
With the Fish-Dragon's sense spread out, Yu Ci quickly "saw" that in a certain area through which the little creature had just passed, someone was sitting with their eyes closed, regulating their breath. It looked as if they were healing.
"Is it her?"
...