Chapter 223: Sword Spirit
BANG!
The bronze beast shot out like an arrow, slamming hard into the rock wall and embedding itself deep within.
Shen Daoxing didn’t stop there. With a flash, he appeared before the sundered bronze beast and pulled the Great Ming Demon Sparrow from the ground.
Then, he launched himself into the air, leaping high above.
"Venerable Taboo! Kunlun Duanyue!"
Shen Daoxing let out a sharp cry, and the Great Ming Demon Sparrow in his hand fell in an instant.
A beam of sword light, capable of sundering mountains and annihilating everything, shot forth.
The rock wall ahead suddenly twisted and warped as black arcs of electricity flickered across it.
The bronze beast embedded within was instantly split in two.
Then, with a crash, the two halves of the beast fell to the ground, shattering into fragments of bronze.
"Did he win?"
Everything had happened so fast that the onlookers hadn’t had time to react. It was only after a long moment that they realized the pressure weighing them down had vanished completely.
They staggered to their feet, staring at Shen Daoxing with strange expressions.
"The bronze door is opening!"
Someone suddenly shouted.
The massive bronze door set into the rock wall began to open on its own without a breath of wind, emitting a heavy, muffled groan. It slowly swung open, revealing a majestic Celestial Ladder spiraling upwards inside.
The crowd was instantly overjoyed, scrambling and shoving their way through the bronze door and onto the Celestial Ladder.
Shen Daoxing didn’t rush to enter.
Instead, he walked over to the carcasses of the two bronze beasts. He raised the Great Ming Demon Sparrow and gently pushed the bodies aside.
Two points of white light were revealed within.
Black arcs of electricity flickered around the points of light, making it seem as if space itself was warping. They expanded, shrank, and then stretched and twisted. This was Venerable Power.
Shen Daoxing reached out his hand. As if sensing something, the two white points of light flew over on their own and merged into his body.
But after the points of light entered his body, they didn’t immediately drill into his Seven-Colored Profound Platform. Instead, like children discovering a new world, they were filled with curiosity and raced wildly through his body. Shen Daoxing couldn’t control them at all.
The Blood Dragon’s voice suddenly echoed in Shen Daoxing’s mind: "While the Venerable Power shares the same origin as you and can be used without refinement, you’ve absorbed too much at once. You’ll need time to master it."
Hearing this, Shen Daoxing nodded. He had realized this himself during his battle with the two bronze beasts.
So, Shen Daoxing didn’t hurry to the next level. He sat down in a meditative posture, and the Seven-Colored Profound Platform within him began to spin rapidly. A massive amount of Spiritual Power surged out, flowing through his limbs and meridians as he tried to guide the Venerable Power roaming freely in his body back to his Elixir Field Profound Platform.
But how could this Venerable Power be so easily controlled?
When the white points of light encountered the barrier of Spiritual Power, they broke through it with a gentle push. Then, like mischievous children, they began to run around even more cheerfully.
While Shen Daoxing was still cultivating on the fourth level, the others had already arrived on the fifth.
The group looked around and found themselves in a small, white space. It was completely empty, with nothing around them.
The only thing present was a massive character for "Battle" in the very center.
And beneath the character for "Battle," an ancient Treasure Sword hovered in the air. It shimmered with a brilliant light and radiated an ancient, profound aura. One look was enough to tell it was an extraordinary item.
"It’s an Immortal Family’s Divine Soldier!"
Someone in the crowd exclaimed.
An Immortal Family’s Divine Soldier was a true Divine Soldier. If one could successfully take it out of here, it would surely rank among the top five on the list of World Divine Soldiers.
Immediately, quite a few people were eager to make a move, but just as they stepped forward...
...the ancient Treasure Sword suddenly burst with a brilliant light. An ethereal shadow flew out from within it, blocking the crowd’s path with an emotionless expression.
It was a man in white robes with long, flowing hair. His face was fair, and he had a distinguished bearing. However, his hollow, pitch-black eyes made him seem devoid of any spiritual energy, like a dead man.
"That’s... that’s a Sword Spirit!"
Someone who realized what it was said suddenly.
Divine Weapons in the world could generate their own Sword Spirits under unique and fortunate circumstances, but not every Divine Weapon was guaranteed to have one. The process required a perfect combination of the right time, the right place, and the right people—not one could be missing.
Thus, the appearance of this Sword Spirit was further proof of how extraordinary the ancient Treasure Sword was.
However, after the Sword Spirit appeared, a small hourglass materialized out of thin air, floating in the sky.
At the same time, the Sword Spirit slowly drew the sword in its hand.
The meaning was self-evident.
Clearly, to pass this level, they had to defeat the Sword Spirit before them within the time limit.
The crowd looked at each other, but no one stepped forward. Without knowing the true extent of the Sword Spirit’s power, no one dared to rashly test the waters.
"I’ll go!"
A coarse male voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned to look and saw a massive man striding forward to the front of the group. He was a full half-body taller than an average person.
"It’s the number one genius of the Tang Kingdom, Tang Youshan!"
"I heard his Tai Chi Shadowless Fist is so masterfully practiced that he’s undefeated in the entire Tang Kingdom."
People on the sidelines whispered among themselves.
As Tang Youshan came to stand before the Sword Spirit, the small hourglass nearby flipped over. The sand began to slowly trickle down, signaling the start of the challenge.
"I am Tang Youshan of the Tang Kingdom!"
Tang Youshan stepped forward and even offered a respectful bow.
However, before he could even finish his sentence, a white light flashed before his eyes. Tang Youshan’s expression froze. He looked down numbly and saw a gaping hole in his chest.
Only then did he react.
BANG!
With a heavy thud, he fell stiffly to the ground, his life extinguished.
A single strike!
The stunned crowd stared at each other in dismay. They hadn’t even been able to gauge the Sword Spirit’s true strength.
For a moment, everyone just looked at one another, no one daring to step forward and issue a challenge.
An unknown amount of time passed before a tall man in ornate robes finally stepped out.
"It’s Qu Shicai from the Daqi Empire! The same Qu Shicai who is known as one of the two great prodigies of Daqi, alongside Dugu Sheng!"
Someone recognized the newcomer.
"They say he once fought Dugu Sheng in the Daqi imperial palace for three days and three nights, only to lose by a single move in the end!"
"Not long ago, Wu Yue from the Chen Kingdom, who had just broken through to the Spirit Transformation realm, died at his hands. And he himself is only at the ninth layer of the Grotto Heaven realm."
"Really?"
"It’s true!"
Hearing this, the onlookers instantly felt a sense of relief. Defeating an opponent of a higher cultivation realm was not something an ordinary person could do.
’If Qu Shicai is the one to fight, he’ll surely be able to defeat this Sword Spirit.’
As the small hourglass at the side flipped over and its sand began to fall, the challenge began.
Qu Shicai didn’t waste time with pleasantries like Tang Youshan. He drew his sword, and with a flash, he abruptly appeared behind the Sword Spirit. Light erupted from his body as he brought his sword down in a terrifying, world-splitting strike, holding nothing back.