Chapter 904: Nine Life Sword Technique, Grand Void Light Splitting
In just three days, Ling Feiyu met Zhang Ruochen again. However, Zhang Ruochen was now a different person from before, his cultivation having reached the peak of the First-Stage Half-Saint.
Even the experienced and knowledgeable Ling Feiyu felt quite surprised.
"Such a fast cultivation speed. Even refining divine blood wouldn't allow you to break through from the initial stage of the First-Stage Half-Saint to the peak in just three days. Could it be that those seniors from the Skyward Sword Lineage used forbidden secret arts to forcibly elevate your cultivation to this level?" Ling Feiyu asked with doubt.
Those who could reach the Half-Saint realm were undoubtedly individuals with powerful physiques, extraordinary talents, and outstanding abilities. Who among them was mediocre?
Why did it take others a year, or even ten years, to reach a realm that Zhang Ruochen achieved in only three days?
Zhang Ruochen held the Abyssal Ancient Sword in his hand and said with a smile, "Whether it's the initial stage or the peak of the First-Stage Half-Saint, isn't it all the same in the eyes of the Flying Feather Sword Saint? This junior has come only to witness how powerful the sword techniques are when you, senior, unleash your full strength."
Ling Feiyu had clearly anticipated Zhang Ruochen's intention and said, "You've only cultivated for three days, yet your confidence has swelled quite a bit. First, hand over ten drops of divine blood to me, and I can give you some guidance once."
Zhang Ruochen had already prepared the ten drops of divine blood and immediately handed them over.
Ling Feiyu took the ten drops of divine blood and walked out of the cave dwelling at a leisurely pace, leading Zhang Ruochen toward a bamboo grove.
On this Bamboo Joint Mountain, there was an endless expanse of green parasol spirit bamboo, covering countless acres. Following the undulating terrain, it formed wave-like patterns, resembling a vast bamboo sea.
A gentle breeze blew, causing the spirit bamboo to sway. Leaves collided with leaves, producing a rustling sound.
Ling Feiyu flew above the bamboo grove, stepping on the emerald green bamboo sea, and stopped at a slightly flat spot.
"Whoosh!"
With a flick of her sleeve, she sent a palm-sized white jade talisman flying out, suspending it in midair.
Immediately afterward, dense inscription patterns surged out from the white jade talisman, spreading in all directions, completely enveloping the space above the bamboo sea in six directions.
A massive crimson fireball rushed over from a distance at high speed, stopping above the bamboo sea and condensing into a handsome figure—the spirited Zhang Ruochen.
Ling Feiyu and Zhang Ruochen stood facing each other, thirty zhang apart. Before any move was made, the sword intent on both sides clashed first.
Both sword intents were extremely powerful.
Under the influence of the sword intent, all the bamboo leaves below stood upright, pointing like swords at the two above.
Ling Feiyu said, "I will suppress my cultivation to the peak of the First-Stage Half-Saint. Are you ready?"
"Make your move!"
Zhang Ruochen's expression turned serious as he fully released his spiritual power and Space Domain, covering the entire area.
Even the slightest change in Ling Feiyu's aura could not escape Zhang Ruochen's perception.
Zhang Ruochen knew very well that although Ling Feiyu was at the same cultivation level as him, her understanding of the Sacred Dao and the Sword Dao had reached an unparalleled level.
If Ling Feiyu went all out, it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven for Zhang Ruochen to block even a single move.
Even so, he had to fight.
"Shush, shush."
The bamboo leaves below immediately flew up, exactly nine hundred and ninety-nine of them, gathering in front of Ling Feiyu to form a seven-foot-long bamboo leaf sword.
Zhang Ruochen activated his Divine Mark Eye and observed carefully. The arrangement of each bamboo leaf in the sword was in a remarkably wondrous pattern, all connected by Sword Dao rules.
In this way, the ordinary bamboo leaves, when formed into a sword, emitted an aura comparable to the Abyssal Ancient Sword, a thousand-mark sacred artifact.
Ling Feiyu stared at Zhang Ruochen and said, "In the Sword Grave, you have already witnessed the Nine Death Sword Technique. Today, let me show you the Nine Life Sword Technique. The Nine Life Sword Technique consists of nine moves. The first move is called Grand Void Light Splitting."
Both the Nine Death Sword Technique and the Nine Life Sword Technique were King-grade lower-rank sword techniques, also known as lower-rank sacred arts.
Each sacred art possessed the power to destroy heaven and earth, carrying the same deterrent force as the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force. They were not something ordinary Half-Saints could cultivate successfully.
Of course, once a Half-Saint managed to cultivate a sacred art, it would benefit them for a lifetime, allowing them to cross realms and annihilate opponents.
Ling Feiyu had already suppressed her cultivation to the peak of the First-Stage Half-Saint, yet she still used a sacred art-level sword technique against Zhang Ruochen. This showed that she was truly going all out.
Ling Feiyu twisted her finger, and the bamboo leaf sword rotated accordingly, manifesting eighty-one phantom images connected in a circle.
"Grand Void Light Splitting."
The bamboo leaf sword dragged a long tail as it shot out rapidly.
The closer it got to Zhang Ruochen, the more dazzling the light emitted by the bamboo leaf sword became, even overpowering the brilliance of the sun in the sky.
Zhang Ruochen immediately swung the Abyssal Ancient Sword, executing Sword Three, intending to shatter the bamboo leaf sword.
However, just as the Abyssal Ancient Sword was swung out, the bamboo leaf sword instantly disintegrated, transforming into nine hundred and ninety-nine small bamboo leaf swords, striking at Zhang Ruochen at ten times the previous speed.
At such a close distance, with the speed increased tenfold, not even a Ninth-Stage Half-Saint could dodge it.
"Bang, bang."
Several dozen small bamboo leaf swords struck Zhang Ruochen's body.
Even though Zhang Ruochen was wearing the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, which blocked the small bamboo leaf swords, he still suffered a severe impact.
He was sent flying backward, crashing into the bamboo grove and landing heavily on the ground. His vision went dark, and he nearly lost consciousness.
After a long while, Zhang Ruochen gradually recovered.
Gritting his teeth, Zhang Ruochen climbed up from beneath the thick layer of fallen leaves and looked up to see Ling Feiyu standing not far away beneath a green parasol spirit bamboo tree as thick as a bucket.
"At the same cultivation level, you still can't withstand even one of my sword strikes," Ling Feiyu said.
Even though she wore a veil, Zhang Ruochen could feel the cold arrogance emanating from her, like a white swan looking down on him, an ugly duckling.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was extremely sharp as he said, "Give me three days, and I will surely comprehend the Sword Dao rules contained in this move of the Nine Life Sword Technique and find a way to break it."
Ling Feiyu glanced at him and said, "You are quite confident in yourself. Three days to comprehend the Sword Dao rules of the first move of the Nine Life Sword Technique?"
"Why not?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Do you know that when I cultivated the Nine Life Sword Technique back then, it took me three months to comprehend the Sword Dao rules of the first move, six months to reach minor success, and three years to achieve major success?"
"When I cultivated both the Nine Life Sword Technique and the Nine Death Sword Technique to major success, no one in the Half-Saint realm could withstand even one of my moves, and I became the number one on the Half-Saint Ranking at that time."
Ling Feiyu was very confident in her Sword Dao. She continued, "Very well. If you can truly block this move in three days, I will sell you a Sacred Origin Pill to help you quickly break through to the Second-Stage Half-Saint."
Upon hearing the words "Sacred Origin Pill," a resolute expression appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face.
He silently resolved that no matter what, he must succeed in three days.
Reaching the Half-Saint realm, advancing even one stage was no easy feat.
The only shortcut was to take a Sacred Origin Pill.
The Sacred Origin Pill was one of the pills strictly controlled by various medieval aristocratic clans and was never sold externally. Even in the Black Market, one could only obtain it through internal connections by paying a huge amount of sacred stones, and even then, it came with certain risks.
With Ling Feiyu's status, obtaining a Sacred Origin Pill was not difficult. Buying it from her would save Zhang Ruochen a lot of trouble.
After Ling Feiyu left, Zhang Ruochen firmly etched all the images of her making her move into his mind.
Then, he set off on the path back to the Sword Grave, planning to first comprehend the Sword Dao rules contained in the first move of the Nine Life Sword Technique before thinking of a way to counter it.
However, after taking only four steps, Zhang Ruochen immediately sensed an extremely faint fluctuation of spiritual power not far away.
Several dozen zhang to his right, beside a stream, the transparent void revealed graceful and delicate characters one by one.
Shengshu Cainü emerged from the characters, standing on top of a green stone. Her clear, black-and-white eyes stared at Zhang Ruochen in the distance.
Zhang Ruochen stopped but did not turn around.
The bamboo grove fell into silence, with only the sound of the breeze. One could see bamboo leaves slowly drifting down, landing on Shengshu Cainü's delicate head and sticking to her black hair.
After a long time, Zhang Ruochen broke the silence first, saying, "Is the Talented Woman here to capture me?"
Today, Shengshu Cainü wore a light blue dress, with long hair hanging straight down. A butterfly hairpin with a unique charm was inserted into her hair, and a belt embroidered with crabapple flowers was tied around her slender waist. She looked delicate and moving, truly like a talented woman from a scholarly family who had read many books, without a trace of a Saint's bearing.
Shengshu Cainü's eyes held a complex expression as she said softly, "I was just passing by and happened to see you sparring with Ling Feiyu, the Palace Master of the Moon Worship Demon Sect's Saintess Palace."
After a pause, she added, "I really didn't expect that the legendary arrogant, aloof, and haughty Ling Feiyu would personally practice swordsmanship with a Half-Saint. Even though I saw it with my own eyes, I still find it hard to believe."
"Talented Woman, if you have something to say, please speak directly."
Zhang Ruochen was well aware that Shengshu Cainü must already know that he was Lin Yue.
So what?
Shengshu Cainü was undoubtedly loyal to Empress Chi Yao and was one of the representatives of the imperial court. Even though she had previously admired Lin Yue's talent and character, it could not change the fact that their positions were opposed.
Without guessing, Zhang Ruochen knew that Shengshu Cainü had come to persuade him to surrender, not to resist the imperial court, or perhaps to plead for mercy from the Empress.
How could Zhang Ruochen possibly compromise with Chi Yao?
(First chapter posted. Another chapter coming soon.) (To be continued.)