Chapter 349
At the summit of the Extermination Mountain Range, clouds gathered around a youth as he sat with his eyes closed. Whenever a breeze blew past, the youth’s sword intent was recklessly unleashed.
He was in a mysterious state, comprehending sword intent. Back in the Princess Manor, the sword intent he unleashed carelessly had alarmed all the elders from the various sects. So what Lin Yun wanted to do was find that state and grasp it. It was so that he could push his sword intent into that stage anytime he wanted, rather than just barely achieving it whenever he executed the Aquaselenic Sword.
Time went on and one month pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye. Compared to a month ago, his sword intent was much sharper than before. No matter how the wind blew, his sword intent would stand strong. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed, tearing apart the darkness.
The thunder rumbled and echoed for a hundred miles. Lightning would flicker occasionally in the sky as rain began to pour down.
Right at the moment, Lin Yun, who remained seated for a month, suddenly opened his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he unleashed a boundless sword intent from his body that soared into the sky. A sword buzz rang from his body, and in front of the sword buzz, the rumbling thunder in the sky actually became quiet.
The sword intent that shot into the sky slowly spread out. Lin Yun raised his right hand and didn’t even need to use any force. The sword aura gathered into a tornado and enveloped the entire mountain without any effort. In the end, it created a violent storm that charged into the sky.
“Break!” The storm formed by the sword intent suddenly broke apart which caused a strange phenomenon in the surrounding. In the next second, the thunderclouds in the sky disappeared. The sun re-emerged and rays of sunlight s.h.i.+ned down on the youth.
Lin Yun let out a long breath and slowly stood up. He looked at the surroundings before revealing a smile. Grasping the xiantian sword intent was harder than he had imagined. But he didn’t end up wasting the entire month.
He released the xiantian sword intent by accident back in the Princess Manor. Now, he had achieved the quasi-xiantian sword intent, but there was still a huge gulf between his current level and the true xiantian sword intent. If he didn’t find an opportunity, he would be stuck for a long time.
He could already sense the xiantian sword intent’s existence. Compared to the xiantian sword intent, the sword intent beneath that level was like a small firefly. But he wasn’t in a rush. He had been in the Extermination Mountain Range for two months now and he had achieved all his goals aside from the three ultimate moves of the Aquaselenic Sword.
He managed to combine the three Dragon-Tiger Fists’ seals and reached the fourth stage of the Dracophant Battle Physique. He could unleash three cauldron’s worth of strength with a punch. Additionally, he also gained some achievements in the Dracophant War Armor.
He could now freely execute his fist technique, movement technique, and body-refining martial technique. His overall strength had increased more than two times his previous level. Most importantly, he grasped the quasi-xiantian sword intent, which had opened him to a whole new world.
“It’s time to return.” Lin Yun gently patted the sword box to settle the surrounding dust before he jumped off the mountain. He could hear the wind blowing in his ears. Spreading his arms apart, he landed on the ground. He didn’t cause any commotion, which signified that the Seven Profound Steps had reached complete mastery.
Suddenly, a roar echoed out. When Lin Yun turned his head to the source of the roar, he saw a Blackiron Fiendwolf, a demonic beast that wasn’t any weaker than the Scarletflame Tiger. The Blackiron Fiendwolf was initially ferocious, but it was immediately stunned when it saw the sword intent around Lin Yun.
It was frozen in place and the sharp sword intent left countless wounds on its body. It felt as though there was an invisible sword hanging from its neck. If it was careless, the sword would pierce its body. The Blackiron Fiendwolf persisted briefly before it turned around and ran away. At this moment, it didn’t have the demeanor of an eight stage overlord demonic beast.
“That’s pretty quick.” Lin Yun wouldn’t have minded practicing with the Blackiron Fiendwolf if it didn’t run away. He wanted to test how powerful the quasi-xiantian sword intent was.
A brief moment later, a roar echoed out from the forest along with a violent energy. A crimson bolt of lightning flashed over, causing Lin Yun to narrow his eyes into slits because he noticed that this fellow was stronger than him. The Dragon Blooded Horse was in the pinnacle eighth stage of the Profound Martial Realm and it would make a breakthrough anytime now. The rapid increase in its cultivation was terrifying. It was truly worthy of being a demonic beast that possessed the dragon’s bloodline.
“Here.” Lin Yun threw the Blazecloud Fruit that he previously obtained at the Dragon Blooded Horse. Its eyes lit up and it quickly swallowed it down. In the next second, it was covered in flames. The flames mixed with lighting, making it look terrifying.
Since Lin Yun wasn’t in a hurry, he decided to wait for the Dragon Blooded Horse to finish refining the Blazecloud Fruit so that they could leave together. Ten days later, they returned to the Sword Firmament Pavilion.
“Greetings, Senior Brother Lin.” The disciples would greet him whenever they pa.s.sed him and Lin Yun would nod his head in response.
When he arrived at the Locket Mountain, he noticed that the atmosphere was weird. Just when he started feeling confused, someone came over to tell him that Xin Yan was looking for him. Judging from the anxiety on his face, it looks like Xin Yan must have been waiting for Lin Yun for a long time.
As a result, Lin Yun immediately headed to Xin Yan’s residence. When he arrived, he noticed that Xin Yan wasn’t alone. Tang Tong, Yan Ding, and w.a.n.g Zheng were also present. The few of them examined Lin Yun with shock in their eyes. They could sense that Lin Yun’s temperament had undergone some changes after two months. But they couldn’t describe Lin Yun’s changes.
“Senior Sister, you were looking for me?” Lin Yun walked over and got straight to the point.
“Junior Brother, have you heard of the Demonlotus Realm?” asked Xin Yan.
“I haven’t.” Lin Yun fell into deep thought and tried to recall all the information he could. He was pretty certain that he had never heard of it before. When Tang Tong saw this scene, he immediately explained the Demonlotus Realm to Lin Yun.
Lin Yun’s eyes lit up when he heard the explanation. It turned out that the demonlotus was somewhat similar to the Swordcloud Core. Hoever, the Demonlotus Core seemed better in comparison. The Swordcloud Core was only tempting to swordsmen, while the Demonlotus Core was tempting to all cultivators.
“Basically, anyone who makes it out will be able to increase their cultivation. They might even be able to obtain other treasures.” Tang Tong’s gaze was grave as fear flickered through his eyes.
Lin Yun gradually calmed down and said, “So this means that it’s more beneficial to disciples in the ninth stage.” He was only in the seventh stage, so it made no sense for him to receive a quota.
“That’s right. The Demonlotus Realm will open once every twenty years and the odds of dying are high. Usually, the sect is very cautious when picking the disciples that will go. Those in the ninth stage and on the Heaven Ranking cannot go because it would be a great loss for the sect if they died in there.” Xin Yan looked at Lin Yun and sighed, “So the sect is only sending out one disciple from the Heaven Ranking and nine from the Earth Ranking this time.”
Lin Yun captured many details from Xin Yan’s eyes. He asked, “I’m included in the group?”
“I’m one of the nine from the Earth Ranking?” questioned Lin Yun.
“That’s right.” Xin Yan smiled bitterly. Lin Yun was smart so it was easy for him to guess it.
Tang Tong waved his hand, “We were also surprised by the announcement. But the quota has been determined and your name is on it.”
When he spoke, Tang Tong handed a bamboo scroll over. The scroll explained the origin of the Demonlotus Realm along with the quota determined by the Sword Firmament Pavilion. There were many familiar names on it, including Xin Yan, Tang Tong, w.a.n.g Zheng, and Yan Ding. Lin Yun also saw his name at the very end.
“I’m afraid that there are those who will be unconvinced,” said Lin Yun.
Tang Tong and everyone else exchanged a glance. Xin Yan narrowed her eyes into slits and smiled, “You’re smart. This is the reason why we called you over. Many people are unconvinced by you because you only joined the sect for a year and your cultivation is only in the seventh stage. But only one person issued you a challenge.”
“Who is it?” wondered Lin Yun.
“Tenth on the Earth Ranking, Ling Yan. You took his position, so he issued you a challenge. He’ll come seven days from now to fight with you. He’ll give up on the quota if he loses, but you’ll have to return him the quota if he wins. Guardian Plum has already agreed to it.” Xin Yan handed the challenge over. But when Lin Yun was about to receive it, Xin Yan’s hand shrunk back.
“Senior Sister, you’re afraid that I’ll lose?” asked Lin Yun.
“No. On the contrary, I’m afraid that you’ll win. You’ll just embarra.s.s yourself a little if you lose, but that doesn’t matter. But if you win, you might lose everything in the Demonlotus Realm, including your life.” Xin Yan looked serious and everyone else also turned to look at Lin Yun.