Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 489 - 74: Accidentally Saw Something I Shouldn’t Have

May 5, 2018

Countless silver threads and bodies, like countless drill bits, were drilling into the pure white sword body.

Wang Jiu only felt like a mining mountain being fervently developed, welcoming a steady stream of prospectors; the solid mountain and sharp tools like pickaxes and drills constantly collided, sparking flames.

Zhao Chenlu completely ignored the basic rule that the Celestial Divine Sword body was indestructible, as the countless silver threads persistently searched for weaknesses in the sword body, attempting to infiltrate.

From the daytime to the fall of the silver moon, then from the moon fall to silver threads, in an instant, Zhao Chenlu showcased three incredible transformations of Silver Moon Swordsmanship.

Each transformation surpassed the Jiuzhou Era, with the swordsmanship framework designed by Wang Jiu for her, making it extraordinary.

This made Wang Jiu repeatedly applaud in his heart, continuously raising his evaluation of her.

The true brilliance wasn’t Zhao Chenlu’s improved swordsmanship itself, but her decisiveness to make bold reforms based on the confirmed foundation of the Celestial Divine Sword, and the courage to crush conventional wisdom.

Using a supremely powerful Primordial Spirit to control billions of silver threads with meticulous technique, probing for weaknesses in the Divine Sword body, completely ignoring the common belief of the Divine Sword’s indestructibility... this move was once used by the Great Demon God Emperor. Even before the final battle, with billions of demon corpses proving the resilience of the Celestial Divine Sword, the Great Demon God Emperor still ignorantly attempted to destroy the sword body during combat.

The final result... the Great Demon God Emperor, with one misstep, failed to destroy the Celestial Divine Sword. But on the other hand, the grand world within the sword body was also swept clean.

Theoretically, the Sword World is seamlessly integrated inside and out, sharing the same resilience. The sword body itself could not be destroyed, nor could the Sword World be damaged. Yet the Great Demon God Emperor, through billions of tests, created a possibility out of impossibility, successfully infiltrating demonic qi into the Sword World, causing a devastating blow.

Now Zhao Chenlu’s tactics are almost identical to those of the Great Demon God Emperor back then!

The Celestial Divine Sword’s myriad divine techniques all stem from the Sword World. So how can the inner world channel its power outward? Could these internal-external passageways become exploitable weaknesses?

Countless silver threads are precisely searching for such weaknesses.

Wang Jiu highly praises Zhao Chenlu’s tactical thinking, after all, its effectiveness has been proven by the Great Demon God Emperor. If it were during the Jiuzhou Era, before the final battle, perhaps using it by Zhao Yuming himself might yield some effects...

As for now.

Zhao Chenlu is not Zhao Yuming, and the Celestial Divine Sword is not the Celestial Divine Sword of the past.

Although its power has weakened a million times, and most of the memories of the battle with the Great Demon God Emperor have been lost, the remaining part is still enough to elevate the Celestial Divine Sword further than ever before.

For this unconventional infiltration method, Wang Jiu has already devised a full set of counterattack tactics.

The moment the silver threads and bodies entered, the Sword World went into full firepower mode as well, with the Spirit Gathering Array, Light Gathering Array, Wind Gathering Array totaling seventy-two arrays opening at full efficiency. Although the connection with the outside world was cut off by the Silver Moon Sword, Wang Jiu was unperturbed as he absorbed the silver threads within.

You wish to infiltrate, then I’ll open the door and welcome you.

However, the moment the silver threads entered the Sword World, they lost their luster.

The Sword World, as the name implies, is an independent world where every inch of space has its own unique laws, different from the outside world.

Even though it was washed by the demonic qi of the Great Demon God Emperor, turning all prosperity into nothingness, it is, after all, the internal world of the Supreme Divine Sword.

The air within the Sword World enjoys absolutely unique laws, and these laws are like poison to external forces.

Intruding into the Sword World without the owner’s permission is tantamount to suicide.

Zhao Chenlu’s sword technique changes are splendid, but the splendor is limited and cannot help her win.

Countless silver threads, upon entering the Sword World, turned into a silver rain. As the raindrops were condensed from the extremely pure True Essence of the cultivator, it’s not an exaggeration to call it a rain of heart’s blood... after a moment’s consideration, Wang Jiu decided to not waste Zhao Chenlu’s painstaking efforts.

The silver threads in the air halted in their descent, stopping under the influence of the Celestial Sword Spirit’s intent.

In the vast Sword World sky, it was as if a silver forest appeared. The next moment, the silver rain reversed, flying towards the boundless sky.

This power had been instantaneously absorbed by the seventy-two arrays, transformed into the strength of the Sword World, and seeped outward along the internal-external passage.

Defeating Zhao Chenlu with her own power.

Vaguely, a portion of forgotten memories began to resurge.

During the decisive battle with the Demon Emperor back then, it seemed a similar technique was used. After the Great Demon God Emperor paid a heavy price to finally infiltrate the Sword World, Wang Jiu did not panic. Instead, he endured the Sword World being ravaged by demonic qi while leveraging the Demon Emperor’s demonic qi channel to counterattack, worsening the Demon Emperor’s injuries to an irreparable degree.

It was indeed a mutually destructive maneuver, but in the end, the prolonged injuries accumulated by the Demon Emperor were too severe, causing him to fall first. Otherwise, at the moment when demonic qi fully invaded the Sword World, it was already a losing battle for the Celestial Divine Sword.

Wang Jiu remembered distinctly the Demon Emperor’s reversal move in a disadvantageous situation, hence when encountering similar tactics, he immediately employed countermeasures.

The sharpness of the Celestial Divine Sword, hidden among the countless retaliating silver threads, rushed toward Zhao Chenlu.

The gap in absolute power between both sides still exists. If measured numerically, it’s nearly a hundredfold difference—at this moment, Zhao Chenlu is truly that powerful. However, even with such overwhelming strength, if the indestructible Celestial Sword Qi strikes a vital point, defeat would be instantaneous.

"My dear, I know."

The counterattacking Silver Threads had barely left the Sword Body when another force shattered them in mid-air.

Zhao Chenlu’s main body wielded a golden long sword condensed from True Essence, and cut off Wang Jiu’s counterattack from afar.

Golden Moon Sword?

Wang Jiu was astonished.

Like the Silver Moon Sword, this swordsmanship was also designed by the Celestial Divine Sword. But the Golden Moon Sword had only been half-completed by the time of the decisive battle, and was utterly unusable in real combat... However, after being reborn, Zhao Chenlu managed to perfect the Golden Moon Sword, forming a flawless synergy with the Silver Moon Sword.

Now, Wang Jiu somewhat understood why, despite cultivating for thirty-six years after her rebirth, her True Essence Realm hadn’t reached the ideal level—it was clear she had devoted too much effort to perfecting her swordsmanship.

The Silver Moon Sword penetrates, while the Golden Moon Sword acts as the final safeguard. If penetration fails or is counter-penetrated, the Golden Moon Sword can immediately annihilate the opponent’s dispatched forces.

"My dear, as I said, there are nine more variations behind, so... you might as well give up."

While speaking, in the martial arts arena, a golden crescent moon slowly rose, its golden radiance softer than the previous silver moon, yet demonstrating a more profound level of realm.

Under the golden light, all things sprouted within the martial arts arena; on the land once eradicated by the Silver Moon, plant shoots began to emerge. The world belongs to me alone, and the realm one step higher was within reach, even more advanced than the Silver Moon Sword.

At this level, the ’sword’ within the swordsmanship had completely lost its ordinary meaning. To the average person, the golden crescent neither had a sword shape nor sword intent, making it incredibly challenging to categorize as swordsmanship... But in truth, this was exceedingly advanced swordsmanship, even beyond the comprehension range of Xiangzhou cultivators.

Perhaps, only a very few people—those often accompanied by Xiangzhou’s most profound Sword Principles—could truly grasp the meaning behind this golden radiance when seeing it, and experience a sense of dread.

——

At the same time, the head of the Li Family, arriving from twenty thousand miles away at Qingyun City, carried Li Fengyun’s token, passing through the multiple barriers of the City Lord’s Mansion to reach outside the martial arts arena where Zhao Chenlu resided.

"Your former City Lord is here?"

The petite woman in luxurious attire, her face like Cold Frost, questioned Zhao Jincheng, who wore a helpless expression.

"Yes, she’s inside, but she’s competing with someone right now, I’m afraid..."

Lu Xin shook her head, "It’s fine, it won’t bother her."

With that, she stepped into the martial arena.

The next moment, the intermingled golden and silver light dazzled her, making it impossible to keep her eyes open...

——

A moment later, Lu Xin left the arena with a pale face.

Outside, Li Wanqing asked with concern, "Sister Xin, are you alright?"

Lu Xin shook her head, walking briskly. It wasn’t long before she left the City Lord’s Mansion, but before reaching the campsite outside the city, she couldn’t resist a wave of dizziness. Persisting for a few more steps, she eventually stumbled and bent over at a secluded corner.

Accompanying her, Li Wanqing hurriedly supported her, "Sister Xin?"

Lu Xin forcefully shook her head, "It’s nothing, just overexhausted my Divine Sense. I’ll be fine with some rest."

"Overexhausted Divine Sense?" Li Wanqing wondered, "What happened?"

"I saw something astounding, and before I knew it, got swept up in the resonance, almost succumbing to it." Lu Xin said, wiping the sweat from her forehead, "I originally thought that among the Divine Swords of this era, aside from Mr. Wang Jiu, the sword in Fengyun’s hand was the greatest. Even if the Saint Sect Leader could surpass Fengyun in realm, their Sword Dao Sword Principle might at most be on par. Moreover, Fengyun’s Divinity Transformation Technique was undoubtedly the peak standard in Xiangzhou. However... I am truly a frog in a well."

"Uh, there’s no need to exaggerate so. City Lord Zhao’s situation is different, after all, she and Wang Jiu..."

Before she could finish, Lu Xin interrupted with a shake of her head.

"Even though I only glimpsed for a short instant, the interwoven silver and gold imagery is enough to be remembered for a lifetime. The Silver Moon’s indifference, the Golden Moon’s genesis—such swordsmanship is truly... enchanting and inspiring. And such a swordsman makes one... unforgettable forever."

"Hey, Sister Xin, your words are quite risky. I’ll have to inform Uncle."

Lu Xin said solemnly, "If you had seen those two sword lights, you wouldn’t have such naive thoughts. As a cultivator, if one can’t hold admiration for their predecessors, how can one strive forward on the Immortal Dao?"

"But coming from you, someone aspiring to become Uncle Qingming’s stepmother... never mind, what do you plan to do about Qingming?"

"Qingming..." Lu Xin hesitated for a moment, "Better to conduct proper psychological counseling for Qingming; accepting reality is also part of cultivation."