After chuckled to himself, Yu Ci held his breath, sealed his pores, and minimized the fluctuation of his Divine Soul. The next moment, a shadow silently pounced from the depths of the cloud and mist, almost reaching the top of the Sun Soul Banner. The thunderous sound of its wings and the immense wind pressure nearly extinguished the surrounding Piercing Bone Fire. The shadow seized the opportunity to pounce, extending its claws to tear through the Long Flag.
From the turbulent and boiling Primordial Qi around, it was evident that this sudden shadow was likely a Golden Elixir Stage demon!
"Young one, we are irreconcilable!"
This was Tu Du's roar, amplified by his Yin Spirit Curse Power, echoing through the void. His target was not the threatening demon, but the one who was still spectating from a mile away.
The sound wave pierced through the ears, Yu Ci raised an eyebrow and swiftly descended from his current position. A moment later, the Sun Soul Banner exploded in a brilliant blaze, the overwhelming airflow even the Golden Elixir Stage demon couldn't withstand and was blown away.
However, the exploding flames did not spread indefinitely but contracted violently about a yard from the banner, forming a conspicuous vortex. A dark red flame shot out from the center of the vortex, crossing a mile in a flash, and exploded where Yu Ci had previously been, with every splattered fragment covered in flames, scattering in all directions.
But at this point, Yu Ci had already descended over ten yards, even if some flaming fragments shot down, he swiftly deflected them with his Pure Yang Talisman Sword.
It must be said, Tu Du's furious strike was incredibly fierce. Yu Ci caught ten flaming stones, his arm already numb from the effort, and looking up, the path of the red flame was burning a trail, the fire blazing on the sturdy cliff wall, the strong wind of the canyon unable to extinguish it, even spreading the flames further with sparks.
However, Tu Du had no chance for a second strike. The Golden Elixir Stage demon, blown away by the heat wave, charged again without a sound. Below, countless demons, attracted by the Yin Spirit aura of the Golden Elixir cultivator, regardless of their Cultivation Level, fearlessly crossed the fire line drawn by the Piercing Bone Fire and surged forward wave after wave.
The Sun Soul Banner exploded with a brilliant light again, but by the time the light pierced through the layers of demon shadows, it had already lost its initial invincible momentum.
Yu Ci continued to fall, quickly disappearing into the rolling clouds. From a distance, he could still hear the sound of the explosion, but it was only a faint echo mixed with the chaotic roars of the demons, gradually fading away.
He grinned, laughing silently. He didn't worry about Tu Du's fate, not at all, really, not at all!
**************
Yu Ci grabbed a long vine protruding from the cliff wall, halting his descent.
He was very tired now, extremely tired, especially his flesh body.
Actually, he should be exhilarated.
Whether it was the fog transformation of the sword in front of him, or the infusion of energy into the Rune Patterns, the Heavenly Thunder Punishment behind him, he had broken out of his original constraints and entered a completely new realm. The latter could be explained as the catalytic effect of "Primordial Qi" on the Talisman, as for the former, it was a complete transformation and evolution.
At this moment, he thought of Ye Bin, the elusive female cultivator who commanded the sword with grace and finesse. He remembered how she wielded the sword aura, leaving a profound mark within his body and Divine Soul. This mark stirred his Divine Intent Energy, guiding it to flow and strike with a satisfying force.
He finally understood the value of the sword aura gifted by Ye Bin. He was in awe of her divine power, a mysterious and enigmatic immortal woman whose generosity in the exchange of gifts was astonishingly magnanimous.
Yu Ci's speculations were not far from the truth.
On that day, Ye Bin infused the sword aura into the mist, striking when the time was right, deeply embedding it into Yu Ci's Divine Soul. The method was somewhat brutal, but it was undoubtedly a precious gift. It bore the shadow of the renowned "Half Mountain Mirage" sword aura from the Cultivation World, a divine sword technique coveted by cultivators. If Yu Ci truly possessed extraordinary talent in the Sword Way, it was not impossible for him to deduce the essence of the "Half Mountain Mirage".
This was Ye Bin's gratitude gift to Yu Ci for saving her disciple. However, reality deviated from her expectations.
According to Ye Bin, without resorting to the Secret Heart Transmission Method, the mark in the Divine Soul would slowly fade until it disappeared completely. At that time, Yu Ci was merely at the initial stage of nature-connecting cultivation. His constitution was not extraordinary, making it unlikely for him to immediately comprehend the intricacies of the "Half Mountain Mirage". It was probable he would miss this opportunity. Hence, considering Yu Ci's cultivation progress, she exerted a bit more force to ensure this audacious fellow could benefit from it.
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What she didn't expect was that Yu Ci, already accustomed to the life-and-death struggle, and the unification of mind and sword, had a natural advantage in understanding the sword aura. And, with the help of the Divine Bronze Mirror, he had a significant leap in possessing the "Primordial Qi", an ability that only comes at the Golden Elixir Stage. Even more surprising was that at the moment of achieving "Primordial Qi", he made a connection and grasped the essence of the sword aura engraved in his Divine Soul.
Of course, this understanding was not a true mastery, but a sudden enlightenment, which was somewhat elusive. However, in the following period, Yu Ci applied this understanding to actual combat very decisively, essentially using the stewards and warriors of the White Sun Mansion for sword practice, gradually deepening his understanding of the sword aura.
It was not until he encountered Tu Du.
It was in the heart of Sky Rift Valley, under the strong oppression of Tu Du, a Golden Elixir cultivator, that Yu Ci mustered a momentum equivalent to a mad dash of thirty miles. With a resolute heart, he focused all his power into a single sword strike, releasing the accumulated energy of many days like a dam bursting open, a sea unrestrained, creating such an effect.
In that instant, Yu Ci fully digested the Sword Intent Mark within his Divine Soul at a speed unimaginable to Ye Bin. At that time, the mark had not yet begun to fade, resulting in Yu Ci's gains far exceeding expectations. That Intricate Mastery of the sword was almost equivalent to Ye Bin personally teaching Yu Ci how to evoke Sword aura, its power naturally unmatched.
However, it is now difficult for Yu Ci to replicate the power of that sword strike. Although he has a clear understanding of the method to use Sword aura, the key point not to be overlooked is that at that time, he used Ye Bin's Sword Intent mark as the core, driving his body and heart's Primordial Qi, setting his own rules, controlling the Primordial Qi of his flesh body to the most intricate degree, without the need for careful adjustment.
But now, while he knows the theory, the Sword Intent Mark left by Ye Bin has been completely digested.
Therefore, when using it, it is impossible to have the Sword Intent Mark to control his body's Primordial Qi. For a long time to come, he will not be able to reach the level of controlling every potential point of his body, still able to make it rotate as he wishes. Such intricate Sword aura, a slight flaw, will require ten times more effort. To replicate the elegance of the Flying Sword, there is indeed a long way to go.
However, the most pressing issue at present is not this.
The most critical issue right now is the unstoppable fatigue on his body, and the mental exhaustion it brings.
And this is the price Yu Ci has to pay after prematurely obtaining the immeasurable benefits of Ye Bin's Sword Intent.
Ordinary use of Foggy Sword Divine already puts a considerable strain on the body, otherwise there would not be a limit of "five swords". Stimulating the mark left by Ye Bin in the Divine Soul to drive the Sword aura, even more so, extracts every bit of his body's strength, even the potential beyond the existing limit, on the verge of the flesh body collapsing, evolving that nearly perfect Flying Sword.
Yu Ci has fully absorbed the essence of Ye Bin's Sword Intent and fully endured the strong pressure of using Sword aura.
Without saying anything else, relying on his most precise control of his own body, Yu Ci can be sure that at this moment, he is at least five pounds lighter than before he used the Flying Sword. A large amount of water has been lost, Qi and Blood are slightly deficient, every bone, every muscle, has reached the brink of collapse and is still slowly recovering.
His body has indeed reached its limit. Yu Ci even dares not stop, fearing that he will lose his momentum, and won't be able to muster it again for a while. If he encounters any Demons at that time, he might just trap himself in.
No one understood the current activities of the Demons in this dark region better than Yu Ci. Prior to this night, he had been employing the technique of "Three Calls in One Breath" every day, urging the Divine Bronze Mirror to observe the situation here and discern the patterns of the Demons' activities.
Overall, the situation was not as severe as he had initially anticipated. At least, the frequency of Golden Elixir Stage Demons' appearances had significantly decreased. Over the past few days, including those encountered in the battle against the Ghost Beasts, there were only about a hundred or so.
Although this was still a staggering number, these Demons were not an army, and it was difficult for them to conglomerate. In fact, apart from the grand spectacle of the battle against the Ghost Beasts, Yu Ci had never seen more than three Golden Elixir Stage Demons grouped together. Once they were dispersed in the boundless Sky Rift Valley, it was not a big deal.
Furthermore, over the past few days, Yu Ci had seen countless creatures capable of flight heading west into the endless mist, where there were also many Golden Elixir Stage Demons.
Perhaps they were trying to fly to the other side of the Sky Rift Valley?
That was not something Yu Ci needed to concern himself with at the moment. When he had mentioned the situation being "severe" or not, it was from a broader perspective. As for him personally, the danger level of this dark region could be seen from the chaotic Divine Map.
The Divine Map floated beside him, flickering with a faint green light. However, the image on it was quite chaotic. Dozens of powerful Demons' gathering spots formed "flames" that burned the Divine Map into fragments. Sometimes, Yu Ci could not even clearly see the area within several miles around him.
If he used the "Three Calls in One Breath" technique, this problem could be solved immediately. Unfortunately, for Yu Ci at the moment, even normal breathing was somewhat difficult, let alone using "Three Calls in One Breath".
Therefore, he had to leave this area as soon as possible to prevent the fate designed for Old Monster Tu Du from falling on him.
Through the Divine Map, Yu Ci barely found a path leading upwards and thus began his arduous journey.
While considering the changing situation, he climbed. Yu Ci was quite fortunate, managing to avoid many scattered Demons along the way. He had already ascended to the top of the dark region. A bit further up, and he could find a safe place to rest.
However, at this moment, the Divine Map showed a Demon blocking his path.
Looking through the Divine Map, the Demon appeared quite ferocious, with rough grey-black skin, a small head and a large body. It was only four feet tall but extremely stout. Its limbs were also short and thick, but its claws were sharp and slender, looking dry and hard, truly a deadly weapon. What was even more unsettling was that this creature had only one eye on its uneven face, located right in the middle of its forehead, emitting a ghostly green light. It was hideously grotesque to the extreme.
However, something seemed a bit off with the creature above.
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Immortal Ye is very generous, and her siblings should continue to be generous as well. Don't forget to click on the bookmark and favorites, you can't miss any of them!
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I have also posted the following more chapters [All free] on: https://www.readgates.com/article/74a39e