Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 787: Trial
The emergence of this peculiar sword light was certainly related to the art itself; it involved secrets that undoubtedly carried profound significance.
It involved nourishing the sword with primordial spirit and integrating the sword soul.
Unfortunately, what they had acquired was merely an incomplete fragment without the subsequent parts.
Qingzhu named this particular sword light "sword soul," as it had truly merged with his soul.
Oddly enough, he himself felt nothing unusual, and this sword light’s power was no stronger than the others, leaving outsiders completely unaware of its uniqueness.
Qingzhu had speculated that deciphering the sword soul might uncover the greatest secret of the art, yet he ultimately failed.
After acquiring the Seeded Devil Embryo, Qingzhu was inspired. Studying the devilish art, he created a similar secret technique based on sword soul, attempting to cultivate a devil seed within the sword soul.
To his astonishment, he succeeded.
Moreover, thanks to the sword soul, the devil seed remained stable and required no harm to living beings. It merely needed a freshly deceased, low-level cultivator's corpse to cultivate a primordial embryo, thus forming an external incarnation.
However, the hidden dangers associated with external incarnations still persisted.
Qin Sang had long known of the external incarnation techniques used by devilish sects, which were notoriously sinister and dangerous. He never expected that Senior Qingzhu could find a different path through a devilish art.
The ebony sword trembled slightly, splitting off a sword light.
The sword soul left him puzzled. He summoned the sword light to inspect it closely for a long time, but he couldn't sense any of the differences Senior Qingzhu had described.
He also couldn't determine any special function of the sword soul. Since reaching the Core Formation Realm, he merely used it as a surprise tactic in battles.
This was all the jade slip contained.
The teleportation array's location that Qin Sang most desired, along with the Spiritual Infant Realm's portion of the cultivation art, was entirely absent.
"Senior Qingzhu successfully teleported here in the past, disguised himself as the Linggui Island Master, and even explored Seven-Kill Hall... With his cultivation level, he undoubtedly knew far more than I do..."
Qin Sang regained his spirit, deciding it was necessary to investigate Linggui Island once he left this place.
Perhaps Senior Qingzhu is still alive.
Qin Sang duplicated the jade slip’s contents, returned it respectfully, and decided not to delve into the Seeded Devil Embryo just yet. He rose to his feet, bowed towards the spot where he returned the jade slip and looked thoughtfully toward the depths of the corridor.
Hope stirred again in his heart. Senior Qingzhu must have guided future generations here with some hidden intention. Is something waiting at the corridor's end?
Qin Sang glanced around cautiously. Seeing nothing unusual yet recalling the various puppets encountered below, he chose caution. He summoned the Yan Luo Banners of Ten Directions and called forth the Two-Headed Hou.
Since this was the seventh level, any puppet here would surely possess formidable strength, making him uncertain about his chances.
Fully prepared, Qin Sang summoned a malevolent corpse and stepped into the corridor.
After advancing one zhang, an anomaly indeed occurred.
Brilliant, blinding light suddenly illuminated the corridor. Without warning, an immense cluster of azure light had gathered overhead, crashing down upon him.
The intangible azure light held terrifying power, akin to a mountain collapsing. The malevolent corpse before him was instantly vaporized, and Qin Sang's expression changed drastically.
Unexpectedly, right at that moment, the azure light seemed to sense something and dissipated silently, leaving only several streaks behind, swiftly shooting toward Qin Sang.
The cluster of light appeared and vanished abruptly.
Qin Sang was bewildered. Seeing the streaks flying straight at him, he dared not let them touch him and turned immediately, planning to retreat and study this slowly.
But a sudden shock seized him.
Qin Sang was horrified to discover that his retreat path had vanished!
Nothing visible lay behind him, yet an invisible barrier blocked his way. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't move a single bit.
In the next instant, the azure light arrived.
Surprisingly, the azure streaks didn't harm Qin Sang but instead targeted the astras he carried. Floating gently, the Golden Jade Lock and the Yan Luo Banners of Ten Directions could not escape.
Then, Qin Sang discovered that the link between himself and the Yan Luo Banners had been severed by an extraordinary barrier.
Looking down, he saw that after being touched by the azure light, the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells had retreated instantly, and the Golden Jade Lock fell to the ground with a clang, bouncing several times.
The Two-Headed Hou whimpered and suddenly vanished, leaving the Primordial Unity Ring on the ground.
Stunned, Qin Sang stared blankly at the events, relieved only upon realizing that the azure light hadn't harmed him. Quickly, he picked up the astras to examine them closely.
After careful inspection, he found that the astras weren't damaged but had been sealed by some strange barrier. The Two-Headed Hou was sound asleep within the Primordial Unity Ring, and even the fat silkworm and Sky-Eyed Butterfly had inexplicably fallen into a deep sleep.
"Hmm? What's going on with the ebony sword..."
Qin Sang's heart stirred, and he summoned the ebony sword.
As the sword light flashed, the ebony sword moved nimbly through the air without the slightest irregularity.
"The ebony sword is my life-bound spiritual sword, while the Sky-Eyed Butterfly is my life-bound insect gu. By all reasoning, they should share the same intimate bond with me, yet only the Sky-Eyed Butterfly was restricted..."
Qin Sang fell into thought, then put away the ebony sword and surveyed his surroundings.
Though the azure light had vanished and the corridor looked unchanged, Qin Sang knew something had shifted.
The barrier behind him remained. When he approached it, a soft force pushed him back, preventing any retreat.
Just then, a section of the brick wall lit up, and two shadowy figures suddenly pounced out.
"They’re here!"
Qin Sang's eyes flashed. To his surprise, the figures weren’t puppets, but two sword-wielding people!
The two were identical in appearance, their expressions vacant, both clutching swords in their arms. They resembled sword cultivators utterly devoted to the sword. Their appearances and postures were human-like, utterly different from the bizarre puppets encountered on the lower levels.
The two sword cultivator phantoms appeared, saluted Qin Sang with their swords held in both hands, and without a word, drew their blades and struck.
Trial! The path of swords!
The two phrases leapt into Qin Sang’s mind, and he roughly guessed the purpose of this corridor's design.
Any cultivator who entered the corridor would have all external powers sealed by a barrier. From that point forward, they could only rely on the sword in their hands—one person, one sword—to defeat all the swordsmen emerging from the walls.
There was no retreat, only forward, pressing ahead with unwavering resolve!
This was the true path of swords, completely aligned with the Sword Dao, and clearly designed for cultivators who practiced the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment. Remembering the terrifying power of the light cluster, Qin Sang figured that if it had been any other cultivator, they would have been crushed into pulp.
From this, it was certain that Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment had originated from Seven-Kill Hall!
Cultivators practiced external power; once their astras were sealed, their strength would be greatly diminished.
Qin Sang was self-aware that though he practiced sword techniques of the Dao of Slaughter, he had always treated his art as a tool to elevate his cultivation. Compared to those truly devoted to the Sword Dao, he couldn't be considered a genuine sword cultivator.
His comprehension of the Sword Dao was far from those true sword geniuses. He hadn’t even grasped the Sword Light Division.
What allowed him to dominate his peers at the same level was his astras.
Now, relying on the ebony sword alone, how far could he go in this corridor? How powerful were the swordsmen waiting at the end?
There was no time to think further as the two had already attacked.
Swish! Swish!
The figures vanished. In his field of vision, only blinding sword light remained.
Twin streaks of sword light slashed toward him in a deadly cross pattern, sharp and ruthless.
Qin Sang narrowed his eyes, stung by the brilliance of the sword light. He reached out and gripped.
In that instant, the ebony sword transformed into a three-chi Qingfeng Sword and landed firmly in his palm.
