Free Web NovelChapter 376: Chapter 320: Diamond-shaped Fragment
"I am Qinghui, a Shushan Elder."
At this moment, the entrance to the Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain had already opened. The three Shushan Elders turned around and looked at the crowd of Outer Disciples. The white-haired old man standing in the middle spoke in a calm yet majestic tone, "For this opening of the Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain, a total of three hundred and eighty-nine Outer Disciples will be entering."
"Your aptitudes are extraordinary. You are all Sword Dao geniuses capable of mastering the three strongest introductory methods of Shushan’s Sword Dao. The talent of each and every one of you is rare."
"If you follow the standard path of Cultivation, you will surely become Inner Sect Disciples of Shu Mountain. You might even step into the Sixth Realm and become True Disciples. Even the least among you could become Shushan Elders."
"However, if you enter the Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain and perish within, you will have no future. The Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain is fraught with danger. You must think thrice before you act. Before you enter, you still have a chance to back out."
"..."
Elder Qinghui finished speaking.
However, the expressions of the Shushan Outer Disciples remained calm. They listened attentively until Elder Qinghui was done, but from beginning to end, not a single one chose to give up.
If they were afraid of death and didn’t want to enter the Sword Tomb, they wouldn’t have come here in the first place.
Since they had come, they were not afraid to die.
"Good."
Elder Qinghui nodded. "Then go."
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!!!
The moment he finished speaking, all three hundred and eighty-nine Shushan Outer Disciples, including Xu Qing, transformed into streaks of Sword Light and vanished into the black, swirling vortex of an entrance.
「In the blink of an eye.」
All three hundred and eighty-nine Shushan Outer Disciples had entered.
Before long, only the three Shushan Elders remained.
"Elder Jing Tian."
Qinghui looked at Xu Jingtian and said, "I heard you recently took on a disciple who mastered the Three Thousand Swords of Shushan. Did he enter the Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain today?"
"Mm."
Xu Jingtian nodded. "That’s right. He did indeed go."
"Are you confident in him?"
Qinghui asked.
"Perhaps."
Xu Jingtian said.
"Elders, who do you think will be able to grasp the True Intent of the Sword Stele this time?"
The third Shushan Elder, Elder Cangling, suddenly asked. freēwebnovel.com
"Among the three hundred and eighty-nine Outer Disciples entering the Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain this time, although their aptitudes are all quite good, I’m afraid not a single one will be able to grasp the Sword Stele’s True Intent. That is my opinion."
Elder Qinghui shook his head.
"And what about you, Elder Jing Tian?"
Elder Cangling looked toward Xu Jingtian.
"Perhaps."
Xu Jingtian gave the same answer.
"How boring."
Cangling shook his head. "I was thinking of making a bet with you two, but with attitudes like that, forget it. There’s no point."
「Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain.」
WENG!
After Xu Qing stepped into the black, swirling vortex, he felt a sense of weightlessness. Everything went dark, and the world seemed to spin around him.
In an instant, Xu Qing came to his senses. The feeling of weightlessness vanished, and his vision returned to normal. He found himself in a desolate and dilapidated world.
Before entering the Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain, Xu Qing had seen a towering mountain peak that pierced the clouds. The Sword Tomb itself was located inside this giant peak.
Furthermore, its interior was a pocket dimension unto itself.
And that towering, cloud-piercing peak was called Sword Burial Peak.
’Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain.’
Xu Qing mused as he surveyed his surroundings. His eyes fell upon a scene of ruin and desolation. The sky above was a dim gray, and streams of grayish-white air swirled all around.
HUUU...
Xu Qing took a deep breath. He currently didn’t know his specific location within the Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain. His first task was to find the Sword Stele.
If he couldn’t even find the Sword Stele, there was no point in even thinking about comprehending its mysteries.
It would be utterly impossible.
’Time to search.’
Xu Qing took another deep breath, looked around, and picked a random direction to walk. The path under his feet was like a desolate desert, and from time to time, he could see hills of various sizes. Buried within these hills were countless Magic Swords and Treasure Swords.
The Sword Stele was located within the Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain, but its position changed every time the tomb opened. No one knew where it would appear.
Therefore, finding the Sword Stele came down to luck. In fact, many Outer Disciples who entered the Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain would wander around for the entire duration and never even catch a glimpse of the Sword Stele.
CLANG!
Suddenly, Xu Qing heard the ring of a sword.
CRACK!
Xu Qing stopped in his tracks. He saw a three-meter-high mound of earth ahead. Just as he approached, a rusty Broken Sword shot out from within it.
Then, the rusty Broken Sword sprouted arms and legs. The blade itself became a torso, and the hilt became a head, transforming into a Swordman.
It emanated a strange and sinister aura.
’A Sword Deceit.’
Xu Qing murmured, having recognized it at a glance.
Over the years, the Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain had become the final resting place for the Magic Swords and Treasure Swords of countless powerful Sword Cultivators from Shu Mountain. Because so many swords were buried here, a strange energy of Deceit gradually emerged over the long passage of time.
Consequently, these buried Magic Swords and Treasure Swords slowly transformed into Sword Spirits, Sword Deceits, Sword Demons, Swordmen, and other such special monsters.
Moreover, these monsters were almost all mindless. Only Sword Spirits were slightly better, possibly possessing some rationality and even passing on their Sword Dao heritage.
Generally speaking, the other monsters were bloodthirsty by nature.
As for the Sword Stele, it was an exceptionally special Treasure. According to the legends of Shu Mountain, the Sword Stele was created through refining by the founding ancestor of Shu Mountain and was the very first thing placed in the Sword Tomb.
The Sword Stele contained the Supreme Sword Dao. Anyone who could comprehend its mysteries would be able to receive the inheritance of Shu Mountain’s founding ancestor.
Of course, these were only legends.
After all, in all these years, not a single Shushan Disciple had truly obtained the founding ancestor’s inheritance. However, many had managed to comprehend the Supreme Sword Dao from it.
Among them was the current Sect Leader of Shu Mountain, who had comprehended the Supreme Sword Dao from the Sword Stele. From that moment on, his rise was meteoric. He climbed step by step, defeating countless geniuses of the Celestial Bridge realm and overpowering the prodigies of the other Eight Great Sacred Lands.
Now, he had become the current Sect Leader of Shu Mountain.
The Master of a Sacred Land.
CLANG!
With the ring of a sword, Xu Qing attacked. He held the Level 10 Celestial Law Sword and struck down with a single slash. A brilliant Sword Aura erupted, annihilating the Sword Deceit that had formed from the Broken Sword with unstoppable force.
CRACK!
With a crisp sound, the Sword Deceit that Xu Qing had slain unexpectedly dropped a diamond-shaped fragment. Xu Qing picked it up and saw that it was a fragment of some kind of Magic Sword.
"Oh?"
Xu Qing pondered for a moment before picking up the diamond-shaped fragment.
「Time passed.」
Xu Qing continued forward. Half an hour later, he encountered a Sword Demon. Its strength was considerable, having reached the Perfect Law Realm Perfection, yet it couldn’t even withstand a single one of Xu Qing’s strikes.
With a CLANG, Xu Qing unleashed a sword strike and annihilated it.
WHOOSH...
Xu Qing took a deep breath. After destroying the Sword Demon, he saw another diamond-shaped fragment and collected it.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
「An hour later.」
Xu Qing still had no idea where he was in the Sword Tomb of Shu Mountain. There were no landmarks, making it difficult to even tell which direction he was going.
Just then, Xu Qing detected the sounds and stir of a battle. He quickly approached, stopping a short distance away. Looking toward the battlefield, he spotted some of his fellow disciples.
Among them were two young men and a beautiful woman, all of whom were cultivating the Shushan Sword Dao. One of the men, like Xu Qing, was a cultivator of the Three Thousand Swords of Shushan.
However, the other young man was different. He cultivated another of the strongest Sword Dao Introduction Methods: the Shushan Sword Array Method.
The so-called Shushan Sword Array Method involved turning sword into array and array into sword, transforming the three thousand Laws into a Sword Array. Once mastered, a cultivator could grasp the Supreme Divine Technique: Heaven-Reaching Sword Array.
Finally, the female disciple cultivated the third of the strongest Sword Dao Introduction Methods, Shushan’s Lifebound Sword Cultivation Method. This involved cultivating a Lifebound Magic Sword, evolving it through various transformations, and even refining it into a Sword Pill.
Its Mighty Power was infinite, and its killing potential was the most astonishing of all.
When cultivated to its peak, one could master the Supreme Divine Technique: Lifebound Flying Sword.
COUGH COUGH...
However, the three of them were in grave danger, besieged by a full ten Sword Deceits. And they had only just managed to master their respective strongest Sword Dao Introduction Methods.
Therefore, while they had indeed grasped the three Low-grade Supreme Divine Techniques—Three Thousand Sword Dao, Heaven-Reaching Sword Array, and Lifebound Flying Sword—they had only reached the Entry Level of mastery.
As a result, facing the siege of ten Sword Deceits, their battle was perilous. They were already injured, and if things continued, they would likely all die here.
"Three Thousand Sword Dao!"
At this critical moment, after observing the situation, Xu Qing decided to act. He took a single step and crossed onto the battlefield. His gaze was calm, taking in all ten Sword Deceits at once.
In an instant, Xu Qing unleashed the Supreme Divine Technique: Three Thousand Sword Dao. With a wave of his right hand, three thousand streaks of Sword Light bloomed forth, each one containing the Power of three thousand Laws.
CRACK! CRACK!
Countless shattering sounds echoed.
One strike.
Just one strike.
All ten Sword Deceits were annihilated by Xu Qing. The ground was now covered in countless sword marks, and each Sword Deceit had exploded into a special fragment.
"This... this..."
The three fellow Shushan disciples stared with wide eyes, their faces filled with shock and disbelief. They couldn’t help but look at Xu Qing, their expressions a mask of awe.
"J-Junior Brother Lin Qing thanks Senior Brother for saving my life."
The young man who also cultivated the Three Thousand Swords of Shushan bowed deeply to Xu Qing.
As for the other two, they were still too stunned to react.
"Mm."
Xu Qing simply nodded. With a wave of his right hand, he collected all the fragments. He glanced at Lin Qing and the others and said, "With your level of strength, it would be best for you to leave early."
