The sword aura was like a thunderbolt, crashing down like a fiery lightning strike, its sword howl shaking the soul.

On any other day, Yu Ci, when faced with such a preemptive sword pressure, would certainly dodge its sharp edge, seizing the opportunity to use a risky move, seize the initiative, and then seek victory. This is also the characteristic of all Foggy Sword Divine's "Criticize Arrogance and Strike the Void", requiring the sword to follow the heart's whim and intricate mastery. Yu Ci merely pushes these to the extreme.

But now, the Qi Drawing Secret Method taught by Xuan Huang, channels the massive Primordial Qi mobilized by the First Layer Talisman Seal into his body. His strength has increased, but under the pressure of a mountainous force, what sword follows the heart's whim, intricate mastery, can no longer be mentioned.

Yu Ci doesn't have the luxury of "choice", he only has one way!

"Slash!"

In Xuan Huang's strong mind, Yu Ci's parallel fingers trace in the air, a cold and sharp edge splits the air. The descending Electric Fire above his head has a noticeable pause, then splits into two, revealing a figure shrouded in shadows. Yu Ci focuses and looks closely, he seems to be able to see his facial features.

With a huge "bang", the split lightning fire splashes all around, a crack also opens on the chest of the figure in the shadows, causing the shadow there to twist violently, eventually turning into a vortex, swallowing up the entire figure.

Yu Ci spits out a mouthful of fresh blood. Although there was only one target, the resistance this sword encountered was even greater than when he killed the Cultivator of the Heavy Weapon Sect. Thanks to his simplification of the Talisman Seal in two hours, otherwise, he would have been shaken to death by now!

However, after the shadows dispersed, a dazzling light appeared in front of him, like a golden snake electric fire, spinning and flying in the void a few times, eventually turning into a tangible Lightning Sword Aura, suspended in the void.

"This is the mark of the shadow, containing a very pure sword aura. If you can absorb it, it will be beneficial. It's a pity that it doesn't match your nature."

Looking at the Lightning Sword Aura flowing like mercury, Yu Ci also feels a great pity. But soon he remembers something, claps his hands, takes it out from the Storage Ring, it is a small sword no more than an inch long.

This small sword is the spoils he initially got from Yan Daoist in the Sky Rift Valley. He later found out that it was an unrefined Sword Ball, containing a sword aura that did not match his Half-Mountain Mirage Sword Intent. Dong Yan from Cliff City once thought about buying it, but later on, he didn't have time to raise the funds. Yu Ci had already left Cliff City, so this Sword Ball was kept.

"Is this closer?"

As Xuan Huang, undoubtedly a sword master, he confirmed at a glance: "Both are Rainbow Sword Intent, both are strong and vigorous, though not of the same origin, they can be merged."

Upon feeling a flicker of joy, Yu Ci promptly followed the instructions of Xuan Huang, tossing the small sword into the midst of the Lightning Sword Aura. The Sword Ball, which was yet to reach perfection, had an innate craving for similar Sword auras. It swiftly absorbed the aura, soon draining the Lightning Sword Aura completely.

After absorbing the Lightning Sword Aura, the sharp edge of the small sword became surprisingly blunt. This was due to the gradual internal accumulation of the Sword aura's sharpness. In fact, if it were refined at this time, it could immediately reach perfection. Regrettably, on one hand, the nature of the Sword aura was incompatible. On the other hand, Yu Ci was currently filled with the power of the Talisman Seal, making it difficult to manipulate freely. His usually handy Talisman was unusable. He had no choice but to let the Sword Ball absorb the aura itself and wait until he returned to the Sect's Mountain Gate, where he would ask a master of refinement to complete the final polishing.

Having secured the Sword Ball, Yu Ci felt a slight joy, but was soon troubled by the issue at hand.

After two hours of combination, the flow of the Talisman Seal became clearer. He could see how the immense power drawn into his body was guided by the Talisman Seal, how all rivers returned to the sea, how the Evolved Sword Qi process occurred, and even the operational mode of the Counter Shock Power when shattering the thunder fire.

However, no matter how clear his understanding, he could not avoid it.

In the end, Yu Ci was still unable to embed himself into the Talisman Seal Core. If described in terms of "spatial position", he was like standing on the outer edge of the Talisman Seal, exhausting all his strength, but only able to draw out the relatively weaker power of the Talisman Seal. However, any slight disturbance at the core would be amplified to an unimaginable degree when it reached the edge.

What he needed to do now was to reverse this trend, to place himself at the core of the Talisman Seal. In this way, he could control the strong with the weak and make full use of the power of the Talisman Seal, securing his position in the Secret Domain.

Simplifying the Talisman Seal, enhancing control over it, and mastering its rules were his only ways to embed himself into the core.

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However, there was no need to maintain such close contact with the Talisman Seal all the time, right?

"I've already broken through the First Layer Talisman Seal. It's better to break off contact with it here!"

"Are you seeking death?"

Xuan Huang responded in an incredulous tone, "Although the Talisman Seal itself does not pressure a Golden Elixir Realm Cultivator, this is the second layer, the world of shadows. Are you sure you can win against the one just now without the power of the Talisman Seal?"

Although the shadow was obliterated by Yu Ci's sword, the lightning-like Sword aura left a deep impression on him. In sword fights, he never made assumptions, but he had to admit that the power displayed by the shadow in that instant far surpassed his own.

"Are there many like that here?"

Yu Ci looked around. He felt somewhat familiar with this environment of constant cloud formation and dissipation, because it was somewhat like the Lichen Sect's Mountain Gate, both high above the clouds - but he clearly remembered that the entrance to the Secret Domain was underground.

"This place follows the layout of the Blue Sky Fairy Palace, a very classic design...ahem, I mean there are many of those guys, more than you could possibly imagine. If I were to give a precise number, it would be eight thousand!"

"Eight thousand?"

Yu Ci suddenly felt a sense of familiarity with this number. Startled, he suddenly realized: "The Eight Thousand Sword Cultivators' Western Expedition?"

"Exactly. You could call this place 'Misty Shadow Sky'. It is filled with the shadows of the Eight Thousand Sword Cultivators who once conquered the Western Buddhist Realm. In the Sword Garden, the remains, heritage, fragments of memory, and mixed resentments of some of them have formed the Sword Ghosts. But in the 'Misty Shadow Sky', the marks of all of them have been preserved—of course, there might be some deviations, as these marks all originate from the memories of the Thunderbolt-Free Great Immortals, and only manifest in this 'Misty Shadow Sky'."

"Manifest?" Yu Ci recalled the function of his Inner Void of the Heart.

Under a certain definition, Xuan Huang could be considered connected to his heart-mind. He immediately said, "The nature is similar, but the Thunderbolt-Free Great Immortals can manifest it externally, granting it basic spirituality and power. It probably only has about one percent of their original power."

Yu Ci took a deep breath, suddenly understanding the future direction of the Primordial Root Qi Method.

However, the focus now was not this, but...the shadows of the Eight Thousand Sword Cultivators? Even divided by a hundred, thinking about the history that nearly overturned the entire Western Buddha Land, Yu Ci felt that no amount of courage was enough. Only a chill, seeping through the gaps in his teeth, penetrated his throat.

At the same time, a huge question loomed in his heart and throat, making him uncomfortable, "How did the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave break in back then?"

"Because he was also one of the shadows, and a shadow of the Thunderbolt-Free Great Immortals," Xuan Huang answered.

Before Yu Ci could recover from these tangled clues, ten miles away, a sword aura was pointed at him. That majestic and upright sword aura, like sunlight breaking through the clouds, shone on him.

Xuan Huang exclaimed, "Eastern Marquis!"

Yu Ci responded, "**!"

As one of the predecessors of sword cultivation in the Sword Garden, what would one percent of his ability be like?

Yu Ci had a deep impression. After a round of swordplay, Yu Ci could no longer find the opponent's shadow. In his five senses and sixth consciousness, there was only the sun in the sky, radiating thousands of rays of light, reaching everywhere. The sword aura was no longer a sword aura, but bright sunlight. Could his Cold Gleam, as sharp as it was, possibly sever the sunlight?

Compared to that, Yu Ci's sword movement seemed even more stiff and clumsy. His habitual life-and-death sword path, due to the pressure of the First Layer Talisman Seal, couldn't be fully utilized. He felt tied up and helpless. This terrible experience almost drove him mad:

"Isn't it said that the Eastern Marquis is as gentle as jade, with a fine temper? What's the deal with his shadow?"

"Even if he's as gentle as jade, the shadow is part of the second layer of the Talisman Seal. Since you've entered, you have to be suppressed... This is because your Cultivation Level is insufficient, and you've drawn in the power of the First Layer Talisman Seal. The conflict isn't too great, otherwise, what would come out wouldn't be the Eastern Marquis, but the Dragon-Slaying Sir!"

Now, Yu Ci probably understood. Xuan Huang addressed everyone below the Sword immortal by their names or nicknames, but for the Sword immortals, he would respectfully call them "sir". His mind jolted, and the immense sword pressure that was condensed in the sunlight above instantly descended, the introduced Talisman Seal power was almost forced to rebel. He felt as if his body was already critically damaged, and he couldn't help but yell:

"If this goes on, I'm doomed!"

"I know even if you don't say it!" Xuan Huang was never good-tempered, and at this moment, he was even more cursing in the Inner Void of the Heart, "Idiot, idiot, what's so hard about dealing with the Great Sun True Sword? If my real body was here, one sword would take his old life!"

Strangely enough, as he raged, Yu Ci gradually calmed down and asked, "Haven't you sensed your real body yet?"

"My real body has always been guarding the core. Don't even think about it without breaking two layers of Talisman Seal!"

"So... I shouldn't have hoped for you from the start!"

"What do you mean!"

Xuan Huang was furious at his words, but at this point, Yu Ci didn't respond to him anymore. He wanted to probe the Flow of Yu Ci's Heart's Thoughts, but was shocked to find that what was easy to do before was now impossible.

Yu Ci's state of mind was quickly becoming clear and transparent, all distracting thoughts were being pushed out, and Xuan Huang's prying under the Spirit Platform was like a conspicuous stain, no matter how you looked at it, it was an eyesore, and even more so, it was subtly counteracted by Yu Ci's divine intention.

He cursed lowly, but Xuan Huang also knew how rare this state was, so he immediately behaved.

In the Inner Void of the Heart, the "Life Death Talisman" flipped even faster, the changes of life and death were already mixed together, but what concerned Xuan Huang more was that this strange Talisman was emitting a strong attraction, in his feeling, it was the Qi Drawing Secret Method he taught to Yu Ci, only this time, what was drawn away was not the external Talisman Seal body, but the surrounding void, the semi-formed simplified Talisman Seal imprint.

At this moment, Yu Ci's thought was clear: "The power that I can't control is not my power. If I want to fight the Eastern Marquis, I need to control the Talisman Seal first, then talk about other things!"

Once the thought was clear, the central "Life Death Talisman" shone brightly, rolling and rotating in the void, wherever the light reached, Fish-Dragon and other Divine Power External Appearances were all illusioned, only revealing the gradually expanding vortex in the center. As for the myriad Talisman Pattern Fractal in the surrounding void, they were turned into rolling light streams under the irresistible attraction, pouring into it.

...