Chapter 929: Forging the Sword Path
He was silent for a moment, then took another step forward.
The slightly cold mountain wind stirred the strands of hair before his face, then let them fall.
Sharp and formless sword intent, born with the wind, arrived without a sound.
This time, he was silent for a longer period.
He needed to make a choice: use the starlight from his three hundred and sixty-five qi apertures to condense a star domain and resist, or use sword intent to resist.
In the end, he chose the latter.
Because Su Li was his teacher on the path of the sword.
Today, he naturally had to use the sword path to challenge him; only then could it be considered handing in a satisfactory answer.
Countless strands of sword intent left the scabbard and arrived at the cliff plateau.
The auras of those sword intents were not the same, appearing somewhat mixed, but miraculously, they had no conflict with each other, instead seeming exceptionally harmonious.
Seeing this scene, Gou Hanshi was slightly moved, admiration appearing in his eyes.
No matter how high Chen Changsheng’s cultivation on the sword path was, in terms of sword intent, he still couldn’t match Su Li’s condensed purity. Defeating him in terms of quality was very difficult.
So he chose to use quantity to make up for the deficiency in quality.
This seemed very ordinary, but upon careful thought, it was extremely extraordinary.
Besides him, who else in this world could simultaneously possess such a large number of sword intents and control them so freely and effortlessly?
Suddenly, countless faint scraping sounds rang out on the cliff plateau.
The mountain wind abruptly ceased, yet the green vines on the stone wall began to sway.
The green vines, which had coexisted with the sword intent for hundreds of years, would naturally not be harmed by it, but now they snapped one after another and fell.
Though nothing could be seen, it seemed as if countless swords were silently contending before the stone wall.
Countless strands of sword intent engaged in the most subtle contest within an extremely small area.
The very energy of heaven and earth became grim, and even the sky’s light suddenly grew much dimmer.
Chen Changsheng walked up to the green vines.
The green vines shattered piece by piece, revealing the entrance to the stone wall passage.
Without any hesitation, he walked straight in.
The battle of sword intents continued behind him. In the air at the entrance of the stone wall passage, countless cracks and white turbulent flows appeared, obscuring the scene within.
After a moment, a great clamor of swords arose from within the stone wall.
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The stone wall passage was very narrow. The sky was cut into a single line high above. Walking through it, Chen Changsheng’s vision was somewhat dim.
The stone walls were covered with straight sword marks, extremely thin at both ends, slightly thicker in the middle, appearing smooth yet incredibly sharp.
Each sharp sword mark represented a strand of sword intent.
Those sword intents emerged from the stone wall, slashing fiercely at Chen Changsheng’s face, while simultaneously invading his dark mansion and sea of consciousness.
Chen Changsheng showed no panic. His steps were steady as he held his sword horizontally before him, level with his brows, like an iron chain.
This was the third sword Su Li had taught him—the Clumsy Sword.
This sword prioritized mental fortitude. With Chen Changsheng’s resolute and steady nature, when he executed it, it was truly as firm as a rock.
Crack, crack, crack, countless crisp sword sounds rang out in the stone passage, sounding like two swords constantly colliding.
Before Chen Changsheng’s eyes, the horizontal sword body was everywhere, sparks flying from its edges. Dozens of new sword marks instantly appeared on the stone walls on either side.
His sword blocked the tangible sword intent but could not prevent the intangible sword intent from invading his body.
As he went deeper into the stone passage, that grim feeling grew stronger and stronger. In particular, countless raging waves had already arisen in his sea of consciousness, only to be slashed into foam by those sword intents.
As these bubbles appeared and then vanished, a stinging sensation began in his eyes, and the feeling of being cut on his skin became extremely clear.
These sword intents were the true test. Only those with unwavering will and a calm, clear spirit could endure them.
Chen Changsheng held his sword horizontally before him and continued forward.
The entrance of the passage was extremely narrow, then gradually widened. But this did not mean it was easier to traverse. Instead, the sword marks on the stone walls became denser, the manifested sword energy more vast, and the sword intent more grim. What was even more terrifying was that these sword marks began to form some kind of connection, arriving in an unending stream.
One sword mark was one sword stroke. If they could connect, they became a complete set of sword techniques.
It was at this moment that Chen Changsheng truly began to face Su Li’s cultivation on the sword path.
Extremely grim sword intent overflowed from the stone walls, blotting out the sky’s light above and the faint green color in the distance ahead, surging forward like an ocean.
Chen Changsheng’s body swayed slightly, nearly losing his footing, and his face turned several shades paler.
If he hadn’t experienced the tempering of the ocean of sword intent countless times within the Hidden Edge Scabbard, he would have been defeated at this very moment.
How could he cross this vast ocean of sword intent? How could he break Su Li’s sword techniques?
Chen Changsheng listened intently to the dense sounds of sword intent cutting through the air, quietly watched the cracks the sword intent tore in the air, and perceived the subtle changes in the sword intent.
His gaze, as always, remained as clean as a small stream, free of any dust, reflecting the flowing clouds in the sky and the sword light that flashed among them.
His sword was no longer held horizontally before his eyes but extended straight into the air.
The Clumsy Sword could only defend. How could he break the sword techniques Su Li had left behind? Naturally, he had to use sword techniques.
A flash of sword light tore through the air, shattering a strand of sword energy falling from the sky. It was the Radiant Light Sword of the Heavenly Dao Academy, so fast that even the celestial mechanism could not capture it.
Several sword blossoms trembled into existence amidst the mountain wind, blocking a Heaven and Sea Sword that descended from an oblique angle.
The sword shadow split into thirteen strands, each one a willow branch, seemingly soft yet extremely resilient, able to withstand any sword that fell like a mountain.
There was also Blossoms Like Brocade, Mountain Ghost Splitting Rock, the Solemn Dharma Sword, Turning the Mountain and Welcoming Guests, and finally, the Blazing Sky Sword.
These were all sword techniques of the Li Mountain Sect, and naturally, they could break your Li Mountain sword techniques.
There was also the Inverted Mountain Staff of the National Academy, the True Sword. He was the Pope and also the Dean of the National Academy, so a sacred aura accompanied him!
Just like when he faced Xu Yourong’s Great Radiant Sword on the Bridge of Helplessness.
Chen Changsheng unleashed every sword technique he had ever learned in his life.
Sword light illuminated the dim stone wall passage.
Countless famous, nameless, or extremely obscure sword techniques appeared in his hands.
Time slowly passed.
Chen Changsheng walked forward with his sword, not knowing how much time had passed, until he finally reached the latter part of the stone wall passage.
Even with countless sword lights obscuring the view and the grim sword intent piercing the eyes, he could still clearly see the green valley outside the passage.
However, it seemed he could only go this far.
He had used every sword technique he knew in his life, yet he still couldn’t break all the sword techniques on the stone wall.
Only then did he understand one thing.
When it came to cultivation on the sword path, there were few in the world today who surpassed him, and no one knew more sword techniques than he did.
But today, he was facing Su Li. Su Li knew even more sword techniques than he did, and his sword intent was condensed and powerful by an unknown magnitude.
Su Li was his teacher on the path of the sword. How could he possibly surpass him on the sword path?
Chen Changsheng stopped walking and lowered the sword in his hand.
Those sword intents sensed his state of mind and also ceased their attack, hovering silently in the air between the stone walls, waiting for his decision.
Retreat or continue forward.