Chapter 1925 - Flower Burial Believes Me
After slaying the gatekeeper, Lin Yun’s heart became clear. Ever since he came to the Heavenly Dao Sect, he had to disguise himself as Ye Qingtian and suppress his true nature by pretending to be c.o.c.ky. He couldn’t execute the two saint physiques and Glory Saint Artifacts with Ye Qingtian’s ident.i.ty.
This significantly restricted him, not to mention he had several sword techniques he couldn’t execute. To a swordsman, suppressing himself was a terrible feeling, and the gatekeeper had piqued his bloodl.u.s.t and became fearless. A swordsman was at their strongest when he was fearless.
Lin Yun held onto the Flower Burial Sword and dashed forth, reaching the seventh level. Surprisingly, a little girl was standing before this trial, and there was a painting hovering with countless ancient words on the cliff behind the painting.
She might be a little girl, but the sword intent within her body was terrifying and felt like a blazing cauldron.
“Crane Fairy? What are you doing here?” Lin Yun asked.
“I’m here to practice sword techniques. Hehe, I’ll stop messing around with you. My master asked me to wait here for you and learn from you, and I’m really unhappy about that,” the little girl smiled.
“Your master has taken note of me?” Lin Yun smiled.
“Let’s talk after you make it through this trial,” the little girl revealed a mysterious smile, and she continued to observe the ancient words on the cliff.
Lin Yun inwardly muttered and looked ahead. There was a painting in the first trial of the seventh level. When the painting unfolded, all the ancient words on the cliff emitted a powerful sword intent. When all the ancient words poured into the gatekeeper that was within the painting, they further empowered the gatekeeper’s sword intent, reaching Quasi-Astral Sword Intent. The gatekeeper merely stood there, wielding a saint sword, and gave Lin Yun tremendous pressure.
“How many years has it been since anyone came this far? Let me see if you have the qualifications to carry on!” The white-clothed gatekeeper said indifferently.
Lin Yun drew the Flower Burial Sword, and his dual sword souls combined with his sword intent and dragon origin before filling his body. At the same time, a dragon roar echoed as the Azure Dragon’s profundity perfectly combined with his Heavenly Dome Sword Intent.
An azure dragon formed with sword intent coiled around Lin Yun. The gatekeeper grasped the Quasi-Astral Sword Intent, and his sword intent was half a grade higher than Lin Yun’s. Although the difference between them was only half a grade, it was enough for the Quasi-Astral Sword Intent to suppress the pinnacle Heavenly Dome Sword Intent.
But Lin Yun was unique because his sword sea was pure and clear, not to mention he possessed two sword souls and the complete Sword Heart. Even so, Lin Yun didn’t dare to be careless with his eyes fixed on the gatekeeper.
But when the gatekeeper moved, Lin Yun immediately regretted it because the gatekeeper was too fast. Not only was the gatekeeper’s sword technique fast, but it was also complicated, as though he would change his sword technique every single breath, instantly catching Lin Yun by surprise.
Facing the gatekeeper, Lin Yun could only slowly resolve the incoming sword techniques, and he discovered that he was struggling to keep up with the gatekeeper.
After the gatekeeper executed eighty-eight sword techniques, Lin Yun finally couldn’t keep up anymore and was stabbed by the gatekeeper’s sword. The sword stabbed into Lin Yun’s right shoulder, failing to pierce into Lin Yun’s body, and the sword began to bend. Ultimately, the sword straightened back, and the gatekeeper was sent flying away.
On the other hand, blood dripped down Lin Yun’s lip, and he took several steps back before he managed to stabilize himself. He knew he had failed and had already reached his limit of relying on external objects. Even so, he had a lot of harvests, obtaining ten-odd five-colored and six-colored Heavenly Cloud Fruits.
Naturally, this disappointed him because he still saw no hope of achieving the Astral Sword Intent. He ate the five-colored and six-colored Heavenly Cloud Fruits, but they only strengthened his sword intent, and showed no signs of making a breakthrough to the Astral Sword Intent.
Lin Yun wiped the blood off his lips and planned to leave the Celestial Purging Mountain. He had already failed, so there was no meaning for him to stay here any longer.
“Ye Qingtian, don’t be in a hurry to leave. Finish this bowl of soup first!” The little girl stepped forth with a bowl of soup.
As Lin Yun stared at the soup, he smiled, “Your master prepared this?”
“Smart,” the little girl smiled.
After Lin Yun finished the soup, he was surprised to discover that he had completely recovered from his injuries. This naturally surprised him because not even the two saint physiques could help him recover so quickly after the gatekeeper’s Quasi-Astral Sword Intent injured him. He exclaimed, “How magical!”
“Master said you’ll fail three times before defeating the gatekeeper here on your fourth attempt,” the little girl smiled.
“Is your master a G.o.d? Wait… Does that mean I can continue?” Lin Yun asked.
According to the Celestial Purging Mountain rules, everyone could only attempt once and would have to wait for a month before trying again. But most people wouldn’t come the next month and wait for half a year to a year before attempting the trial again.
The Crane Fairy didn’t reply and signaled Lin Yun to try it again.
“Okay.” Lin Yun didn’t cower and sat down to rest while recalling every detail of the fight earlier. When he made his move again, he charged towards the gatekeeper.
But the moment he moved, the gatekeeper’s sword descended, forcing Lin Yun to change from offense to defense. This time, he gave up on resolving every sword technique individually and merely used the Profound Thunder Sword Technique to go into full defense.
The tortoise runes coiled around Lin Yun and tightly guarded him. This was no different from being in a tortoisesh.e.l.l, and the strength of the defense was something that even Lin Yun would have difficulty breaking.
Lin Yun decided to go into full defense while looking for an opportunity to attack. But his attempt was futile because after the gatekeeper executed a hundred and eight sword techniques, the gatekeeper managed to find a loophole in his defense.
This time, his injury was more severe than the previous attempt. His chest had a ma.s.sive gash, and he broke several bones. He was nearly severed into two by this attack!
“Come,” the little girl smiled and gave Lin Yun another bowl of soup to recover from his injuries.
But this time, Lin Yun couldn’t smile and was somewhat disappointed. He casually grabbed a tree branch on the ground and began drawing on the ground while he recalled his battles with the gatekeeper.
The gatekeeper wasn’t only fast but had a lot of variety and was firm. If anyone could reach the limit of just one of those three characteristics alone, they could become a famous swordsman.
He wasn’t in a hurry to attempt the trial again because he knew he would be courting humiliation if he couldn’t find a solution. Ultimately, his eyes flashed brightly, and he knew he had to take a different approach. He muttered, “I have to be faster than the gatekeeper!”
He swiftly drew out the Flower Burial Sword. But the moment he drew his sword, there was already a sword against Lin Yun’s forehead.
This startled Lin Yun, and he could only hear a metallic clang. He was briefly distracted, allowing the sword in his hand to be knocked away before the gatekeeper’s sword thrust against his chest and sent him flying away.
This made Lin Yun retreat before falling onto one knee, his face pale. He first looked at the Flower Burial Sword on the ground before turning to look at the gatekeeper with shock in his pupils.
“H-How is this possible…” He couldn’t remember the last time his sword was knocked away from his hand. Most importantly, the cultivation revealed by the gatekeeper was only at the first transformation of the Nirvana Stage. He could normally suppress an opponent of this cultivation but was defeated this time.
“Ye Qingtian, do you not know how to use the sword when facing an opponent with a stronger sword intent than you?” the little girl smiled with her eyes squinted while walking over with another bowl in her hands.
That question stumped Lin Yun, and he stared blankly at the bowl of soup. He had never encountered someone with a stronger sword intent than him amongst the same generation, and yet the gatekeeper was able to force him into such a desperate strait with the Quasi-Astral Sword Intent. Did that mean his talent as a swordsman was fake? Did this mean that he would fall from the clouds if he faced an opponent with similar sword intent?
Lin Yun raised his head, and his heart became complicated while looking at the gatekeeper. Was this how everyone he defeated felt? They didn’t think he was outstanding and only won because of his sword intent.
Looking at the Crane Fairy, Lin Yun said, “But I worked hard to comprehend my sword intent!”
The Crane Fairy smiled, “I’m just talking about it casually, so why are you angry? When you’re furious, it has already proven that you’ve suspected yourself. Ye Qingtian, you only have one last chance left.”
Lin Yun didn’t say a word and summoned the Flower Burial back into his hand with a wave. But the Flower Burial Sword vibrated and didn’t return to him. Could it be that even the Flower Burial Sword had sensed it?
Lin Yun inwardly sighed. But the Flower Burial Sword vibrated again. When Lin Yun raised his head, he watched the Flower Burial Sword vibrating on the ground, showing no signs of admitting defeat.
This made Lin Yun stunned before he smiled, “Come back.”
When the Flower Burial Sword returned to his hand, he could feel a strong connection with the sword when he tightly gripped the sword. He took a deep breath and sheathed his sword before slowly closing his eyes. “I want to give it another try.”
When he reopened his eyes, the gatekeeper flew from the painting and quickly reached him. The gatekeeper’s sword was only one step away from his forehead like before.
This time, Lin Yun also drew his sword. He was the one who drew his sword later, but his sword easily pierced through the forehead of the gatekeeper. Upon achieving this, he felt a breakthrough in his sword intent, and his sword intent reached the Quasi-Astral Sword Intent. On the other hand, the gatekeeper’s sword was one step away from his forehead, as though there was a boundary that could never be crossed.
“It’s really magical. How did you manage to do it?” the Crane Fairy asked.
She clearly saw Lin Yun being defeated multiple times, not to mention his sword was knocked away in the third battle with one move. As a swordsman, a flaw also appeared in his heart, and he began to suspect himself. But when he grasped his sword again, he only used one sword to make it through the trial.
“The gatekeeper isn’t alive and has a limit, even if he grasps many sword techniques. But I’m different because I will make improvements. Most importantly, the Flower Burial Sword believes me, and I also believe in my sword,” Lin Yun said, looking at the sword in his hand.
“How weird. You’re behaving as though your sword is your brother. I already noticed this when I teased you earlier. It seemed unhappy on your behalf and didn’t allow me to speak badly about you,” Crane Fairy said.
“You only pointed out the problem. Without your guidance, I wouldn’t have been able to overcome my fear of the Astral Sword Intent,” Lin Yun smiled.
“Let’s go. There are two trails left, and I’m looking forward to seeing you reach the summit,” the little girl smiled as she carried on forth by hopping.