Chapter 256: Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation
Zhang Ruochen held the inscription brush, continuously pouring true qi into it, his spiritual power fully immersed in the world of sixth-rank formation inscription patterns.
"Boom!"
Outside, the sound of attacks came incessantly, and the entire underground palace shook violently.
Han Qiu stood nervously to the side, not daring to make a sound, afraid of disturbing Zhang Ruochen.
About an hour later, Zhang Ruochen finally withdrew the inscription brush. Only then did he realize that his entire body was drenched in sweat.
Zhang Ruochen let out a long breath, took out spirit crystals one by one from his space ring, and continuously embedded them into the pits on the stone wall.
He inserted a total of eight hundred and sixty-four spirit crystals, completely filling the pits on the stone wall.
"Success or failure depends on this one move." Zhang Ruochen pressed his palm against the stone wall, injecting true qi into the formation inscription patterns.
The true qi flowed along the formation inscription patterns, fully activating the eight hundred and sixty-four spirit crystals. Those spirit crystals flickered continuously, like hundreds of bright stars embedded in the stone wall.
"Swoosh——"
Lines of patterns lit up on the stone walls of the underground palace, dense as a spider web, forming a defensive grand formation.
"Success! We succeeded!" Zhang Ruochen laughed loudly.
Han Qiu was also extremely excited, and her gaze toward Zhang Ruochen held a bit more admiration. "Zhang Ruochen, you're too amazing! Even the formation masters of Yuntai Manor couldn't do what you've done!"
"I only repaired about seven or eight percent of this sixth-rank formation. It's nothing impressive. But using this incomplete formation to block Huo Jingcheng should be enough. We can now rest and heal in peace. Once our injuries are fully recovered, we can slowly figure out a way to deal with Huo Jingcheng." Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Han Qiu's gaze glanced at the ring on Zhang Ruochen's finger.
"From a single ring, he can take out hundreds of spirit crystals. It must be a space treasure." Han Qiu thought to herself.
After hesitating for a moment, Han Qiu ultimately didn't ask. After all, it was Zhang Ruochen's secret. If she inquired, he might misunderstand, thinking she coveted that space treasure.
Protected by the incomplete sixth-rank formation, Huo Jingcheng indeed couldn't break in.
After two days, Zhang Ruochen's injuries finally healed completely.
All the wounds on his body had fully closed, leaving only some faint scars.
The true qi in his qi sea had recovered to its peak state, and it seemed to have increased somewhat compared to before.
Through the recent series of battles, Zhang Ruochen discovered that the sacrificial power within him had already completely merged with his true qi, pushing his cultivation to the peak of the Earth Extreme Small Extreme Position.
"During battle, the sacrificial power can merge so quickly. Next time I absorb sacrificial power, I must also use combat to fuse the power."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Han Qiu and saw that she was still recuperating.
She had been injured more severely than Zhang Ruochen in the first place, so naturally, she recovered more slowly.
Another day passed, and Han Qiu also fully recovered, her spirit and energy completely restored. She opened her eyes, and two sharp beams of light shot out from her jet-black pupils, radiating a powerful martial aura.
As she withdrew her true qi into her body, the light in her eyes also dissipated, returning to calm.
Han Qiu's gaze turned to Zhang Ruochen, who was drawing something on the ground.
She walked over, stood behind Zhang Ruochen, and looked down.
On the ground was a profound yin-yang eight trigrams pattern, surrounded by tiny written markings.
Inside the pattern stood two small figures holding war swords, practicing sword techniques.
"This is..."
Han Qiu took a deep breath, mobilized her sword intent realm, concentrated her spiritual power, and stared again at the yin-yang eight trigrams pattern on the ground. She found that the two small figures holding war swords seemed to come to life, floating above the ground, continuously swinging their swords, executing moves, and stepping, performing exquisite sword techniques.
The yin-yang eight trigrams pattern seemed to come alive, continuously rotating.
"Sword Intent Martial Performance!"
Han Qiu exclaimed in surprise, "Your attainment in the sword path has already reached such a level. You're probably not far from Sword Heart Illumination, are you?"
Sword Heart Illumination was a legendary realm.
Since childhood, Han Qiu's attainment in the sword path had far surpassed her peers. Even her father said she had the talent of a saint and was the most outstanding sword genius of Yuntai Manor in a hundred years.
Even back when Han Qiu dueled Zhang Ruochen and lost to him, she felt she was only slightly inferior. As long as she worked hard, she believed she could surpass him.
Only now did she realize that her realm in the sword path was so far behind Zhang Ruochen's.
Zhang Ruochen ignored Han Qiu's surprise, pointing at the pattern on the ground with his finger. "This is a Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation. Only two martial artists with extremely high attainments in the sword path can fully unleash the formation's power. Our sword path realms are both at the peak of Sword Follows the Heart. If we execute this formation, we should be able to kill Huo Jingcheng."
"You want me to learn this formation right now?"
Han Qiu frowned. "This formation is extremely profound. It would probably take at least a year or half a year to reach the level of mastery."
Just by looking at it, Han Qiu could already tell the marvel of the Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You don't need to reach the level of mastery. As long as we can unleash one-tenth of its power, defeating Huo Jingcheng won't be difficult. I'll give you three days. Given your talent in swordsmanship, that should be enough."
Han Qiu looked at Zhang Ruochen with some doubt. "Yuntai Manor also has some combined attack sword formations, but they require at least three people to form the formation. They also need the assistance of formation base jade stones to unleash their full power."
"Without the help of formation base jade stones, can a formation that only unleashes one-tenth of its power really defeat Huo Jingcheng?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "The function of formation base jade stones is to use formation inscription patterns to connect the true qi of the martial artists in the formation. But the Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation doesn't rely on formation inscription patterns. It relies on the sword intent between two martial artists, using that sword intent to connect their power."
"I see." Han Qiu said.
Other martial artists might not understand the profound concept of "sword intent connection," but Han Qiu, with her deep sword path cultivation, could grasp it. So, as soon as Zhang Ruochen mentioned it, she immediately understood.
Zhang Ruochen continued to explain some of the subtleties of the Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation to Han Qiu, hoping to help her master it more quickly.
"The Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation uses people as the formation base, heaven and earth's two forms as the compass, and the mystery of yin and yang as the driving force. If the two people in the formation can cooperate to the extreme, achieving 'sword intent connection,' they can draw on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Human power is limited, but heaven and earth are infinite. As long as you can draw on heaven and earth's spiritual energy, creating any miracle is not strange."
"When deploying the formation, you and I will be the yin eye and yang eye of the formation respectively. When the yang eye moves, the yin eye moves. When the yang eye stops, the yin eye stops."
"The sword techniques that match the formation total only eighteen moves, called the 'Yin Nine Swords' and the 'Yang Nine Swords.' As for other moves, they depend entirely on the situation, adapting within the formation. I believe that with your talent in swordsmanship, you can reach the entry level of the Yin Nine Swords within three days."
Han Qiu crossed her arms in front of her chest, raising an eyebrow slightly. "You're underestimating me too much! With my talent in swordsmanship, I can reach the entry level of the Yin Nine Swords in one day. In three days, I can reach the minor achievement level."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her and continued, "If the Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation were that easy to cultivate, it wouldn't be called the strongest two-person sword formation. Back in the day, Chi Yao and I..."
At this point, Zhang Ruochen suddenly stopped, smiled bitterly slightly, and said, "The nine moves of the Yin Nine Swords are already drawn here. Practice first. How much you can comprehend depends on your insight. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me."
With that, Zhang Ruochen walked to the other end of the underground palace and began practicing the "Yang Nine Swords."
Han Qiu stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen. "What a strange person."
Han Qiu's insight was indeed strong, exceeding Zhang Ruochen's expectations. It only took her two days and three nights to reach the entry level of the Yin Nine Swords.
Of course, during this time, Zhang Ruochen had repeatedly corrected her mistakes in swordsmanship, guided her carefully, and unreservedly taught her some of the secrets of the Yin Nine Swords.
After reaching the entry level of the Yin Nine Swords, Han Qiu truly understood the profound depth of the Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation.
Even without the Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation, this set of "Yin Nine Swords" alone was superior to those spirit-grade upper-rank sword techniques, with immense power.
In Yuntai Manor, there was only one spirit-grade upper-rank sword technique, and it was incomplete. That technique was considered Yuntai Manor's strongest sword technique, but compared to the Yin Nine Swords, it was worlds apart.
Earlier, when Zhang Ruochen said the Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation was the strongest two-person sword formation, Han Qiu had scoffed at it. But now, she completely agreed with his view.
The powerful sword formations of Yuntai Manor were nothing compared to the Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation.
Han Qiu said, "Just reaching the entry level of the Yin Nine Swords took nearly three days. To reach the minor achievement level, it would probably take at least a month, or even longer. If other martial artists tried to cultivate it, they might not even reach the entry level in a year."
Zhang Ruochen said, "You've only reached the entry level of the Yin Nine Swords. Whether we can coordinate tacitly and execute the Yin Yang Two Forms Sword Formation is still unknown."
"Is it really that difficult?" Han Qiu asked.
"You'll know once you try."
Zhang Ruochen took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword, stood inside a circle he had already drawn, and pointed the sword horizontally. His entire demeanor underwent a earth-shattering change.
His spine straightened, his gaze sharpened, like a young sword god.
Han Qiu stood in another circle ten zhang away, holding a white jade ancient sword, pointing it at Zhang Ruochen. Her aura also completely changed from before. With her stunning beauty, she looked like a beautiful sword immortal.
Before they even drew their swords, sword qi began to appear around them.
"Move!"
Zhang Ruochen uttered a single word, stepped forward, and rushed seven steps to the right, each step exactly one zhang.
The moment Zhang Ruochen's feet began to move, Han Qiu immediately moved as well.
"Swish, swish!"
Both were masters of swordsmanship, moving quickly within the formation, executing move after move of sword techniques.
Within the entire formation, it seemed as if eighteen figures appeared, each practicing different sword moves.