Chapter 33: Thousand Swords Filling the Sky

“What kind of divine ability is this?” a thought surfaced in Mu Yuan’s mind.

Thousands of swords filled the sky, all aimed at Mu Yuan, making his hair stand on end. He instantly waved his hand to send forth a gust of wind, blowing the old guy Yuan Longtai away from the danger zone. He himself, focused intently, prepared to meet the attack.

They often said to strike midstream before crossing the river, but Mu Yuan dared not provoke the enemy now. This divine ability was gathering power, its light flashing wildly like a coiled snake. If he so much as brushed against it, the backlash would be far fiercer than the attack after its completion. This was pure instinct honed through years of cultivation!

The Longevity Sword in his hand grew brighter, accompanied by an increasingly loud dragon’s roar. The sword itself became transparent, its blade aura surging wildly as Mu Yuan stimulated it. Its light flowed like water; its sword cry thundered like a storm!

Meanwhile, the Golden Corpse above, now free from restraint, stood firmly, its spear held ready. The dim yellow light in its eyes flickered like flame as it stared fixedly at the swirling mass of swords filling the air!

Mu Yuan was somewhat shocked by the Golden Corpse’s reaction. Like this, it seemed to possess its own awareness. But thinking about it, it wasn’t strange. Even mountains, stones, grass, and trees could gain sentience and become spirits after long ages. A corpse existing for hundreds or thousands of years developing a spirit wasn’t impossible to accept!

Gazing up at the swirling mass of sword light and sword qi, Mu Yuan felt a pang of regret. How had he ended up fighting such an incredibly powerful yet utterly unknown opponent right from the start? But now he was stuck on a tiger’s back; there was no way out. Even if he wanted to flee, it was too late. The enemy had locked onto him; escape was utterly impossible.

The enemy didn’t gather power for long. The myriad swords turned, accompanied by an immense sonic roar, surging down like a tidal wave. Instantly, dazzling light flashed before Mu Yuan’s eyes like countless blazing rainbows. A tremendous sonic boom louder than thousands of thunderclaps roared in his ears. For a moment, his senses of both sound and sight seemed utterly overwhelmed. Only his Dao heart remained clear, guarding his core self. He fiercely raised the Longevity Sword, pulling forth a long blade of radiance. He slashed up and down, cut left and right, wielding the Greenwood Divine Radiance to its utmost perfection!

For a moment, Mu Yuan single-handedly blocked the onslaught of the ten thousand flying swords. Though it was exhausting beyond measure, thankfully protected by the Dragon King’s Dynamic Force, even the sword qi that pierced the divine radiance had its power reduced by the lightning force within the Dynamic Force. Striking his body, it merely pierced the skin before the swirling force of the Tide True Qi deflected it. So, while Mu Yuan appeared drenched in blood, his Primordial Qi remained unharmed.

Clearly, unleashing this attack of ‘ten thousand flying swords’ was no easy task for the opponent either. The luminous rings swirling around its figure dimmed slightly. Seizing this moment, the Golden Corpse moved! Golden light flowed over it as its silver spear tore through the Void like a viper striking from its hole, thrusting towards the luminous figure suspended in mid-air!

It had to be said, though the Golden Corpse was dead, it retained the fighting instincts from its life. Its ability to seize an opportunity was top-notch. With the sword qi blocked and its enemy weakened, it unleashed an earth-shattering spear strike!

The luminous figure just swept out a mass of sword light, failing to block the Golden Corpse’s spear. Mu Yuan, ignoring several strands of sword qi piercing his defenses, simultaneously raised his hand to unleash a thick, coiling bolt of lightning, shaped like a Flood Dragon, jaws snapping, claws rending, as it pounced upwards!

Passive defense wasn’t a long-term solution; the best defense was attack. Moreover, the enemy’s scattered sword qi reassembled almost endlessly. The surrounding Primordial Qi was constantly being drawn in by the opponent to reconstitute the sword qi, which astonished Mu Yuan!

The destructive power of the Flood Dragon formed by the Dragon King’s Dynamic Force was indescribable. Coupled with the amplifying effect of the ever-growing Longevity Qi, it instantly swelled in mid-air. It coiled around the silver spear, serpent and dragon entwining, combining spiritual might, and crashed directly through the luminous figure’s defenses, slamming heavily into it!

Instantly, light waves scattered wildly! The luminous figure let out a shrill, mournful howl as the ten thousand swords trembled. Mu Yuan fought to gather his breath. The Golden Corpse’s spear split the void, quaking the swords apart. Suddenly, a phantom dragon rose from the Longevity Sword, opened its maw wide, and sucked in. A visible current of qi rolled and churned, pulling the luminous figure straight into its mouth!

This sudden change was completely unforeseen by Mu Yuan. Who knew the Longevity Sword had such a function? He’d originally intended to force some answers about the technique of condensing qi into swords. Now that plan was totally ruined!

After absorbing a Spirit Refining level being’s essence, a dazzling point of light appeared on the Longevity Sword’s surface, faintly revealing the face of the luminous figure, contorted in ferocity and pain. Phantom strands of sword light wrapped around it, dissolving it bit by bit. The sword’s edge now gleamed like autumn water, sparkling brilliantly. Though Mu Yuan didn’t understand the reason, he felt delighted all the same.

Leaving the Longevity Sword to refine its prisoner, Mu Yuan casually stored that large snake away as well, putting it into the Black Water Gourd. He wasn’t worried the snake could stir up much trouble inside; after all, there was a Feng Luan beast also in there keeping order. Let them be.

Resuming the mountain climb with Yuan Longtai, Mu Yuan carefully felt around. Nearby, he discovered a cave filled with abundant Primordial Qi and numerous fiery red crystals, netting him a tidy little windfall.

Suspecting this was the luminous figure’s dwelling, he discovered marks scribbled casually on the cave wall. It was precisely the path of the Ten Thousand Flying Swords technique he had just used! However, they were fragmentary and disjointed, clearly impulsive notes the being made during practice when encountering difficulties or gaining insights. The initial joy Mu Yuan felt turned quickly into disappointment.

Regarding sword arts, Mu Yuan had always been quite fond. Pretending he didn’t envy that powerful sword technique unleashed earlier by the luminous figure? That was nonsense. But if he truly couldn’t learn it, so be it. Nothing more could be done.

The fierce battle earlier had left Mu Yuan’s Daoist robe stained in blood. He boosted his Tide True Qi, brushed away the bloodstains, and changed into a fresh robe. Noticing him staring blankly at the etchings on the wall, Yuan Longtai suddenly spoke, “I’ve heard the Wu Clan also has sword training techniques. They’re quite different from your path, but somewhat similar to that man earlier… also forming an aura outside the body, refining external swords!”

“Oh?” Mu Yuan snapped back to his senses, letting out a long sigh, then smiled. “That man lived a long time on Zhaoyang Mountain. Perhaps he acquired that sword art from the one your ancestor recorded.”

Yuan Longtai urged impatiently, “Then let’s hurry to find it!”

Seeing his eagerness, Mu Yuan chuckled softly. He too was intensely curious. The divine abilities of the ancient Wu lineage were rarely mentioned even in Daoist Sect classics. Remember, during the height of the Wu Clan’s power, the very predecessor who created the Five Elements Path was still unknown, hidden away somewhere in arduous practice!

Yuan Longtai took the lead. As the two climbed the mountain, they encountered many more fierce savage beasts. Mu Yuan effortlessly dealt with them all as he went. It took nearly a day until they finally reached the peak of Zhaoyang Mountain.

Looking at his robe, once again dyed red with blood at the collar, Mu Yuan couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. He resolved that once he got back, he’d learn artifact forging to temper a proper protective robe for himself.

Upon reaching the summit, Yuan Longtai appeared exhilarated and began directing the Golden Corpse to dig. Mu Yuan, meanwhile, surveyed the surroundings from the mountaintop. He watched the shifting mists, the clouds gathering and dispersing all around, the splendid scenery, and the majestic mountains and rivers, feeling his own spirit broaden with the expanse.

He turned back to see Yuan Longtai directing the Golden Corpse to upheave stones. Truly, it’s good to have inheritance assets, Mu Yuan thought with some envy. Just then, a sudden, insidious, perverse wave of energy washed over them… carrying an undercurrent of cold malice, a trace of raging brutality!