134. Sword Intent

It must be said that women are sometimes contradictory; despite harboring deep hatred, they soften at the most critical moment.

Lu Yingfeng was just such a person. A moment ago, she was gnashing her teeth in resentment, yet the next, she cast Ye Shangfei aside to shield Duanmu Cheng.

"Boom!" The water dragon and the white tiger collided. The force of the impact was so great that both Lu Yingfeng and Duanmu Cheng were sent flying.

Song Xu’s formidable strength was revealed at that moment; he merely took a few steps back before standing firmly in place.

"Junior Sister Lu!" Ye Shangfei let out a miserable cry. Poor fellow, caught between Xu Zheng and that Junior Brother Duan, he was finding it difficult to even take a step.

Lu Yingfeng paid him no mind, and Duanmu Cheng was even less likely to spare him a glance. Seeing Xu Zheng and his companion closing in, Ye Shangfei shouted in desperation to Lingyu, "Hey, aren't you going to come over and help!"

"Me?" Lingyu pointed at herself.

"Nonsense, who else?" Ye Shangfei was in a foul mood. Although he was no sycophant of Lu Yingfeng, being abandoned like this was truly unpleasant. "I can't hold off two people. If I’m severely wounded and forced to concede, they’ll be finished too!"

Ye Shangfei’s words made sense. No matter how strong Song Xu was, he was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage. While Lu Yingfeng and Duanmu Cheng had just reached Foundation Establishment, they were disciples of Nascent Soul cultivators; their combined strength should have been quite secure. However, even if she joined them, she wouldn't be able to defeat Song Xu in a short time, and instead, it would give Xu Zheng and his partner the opportunity to defeat Ye Shangfei. If that happened, the three of them—all newly Foundation Establishment—would have to face the combined might of the first and second-place finishers of the previous Sword Assembly. It would be a disaster!

Lingyu flicked her finger, and her Kanli sword whistled with sword qi, striking toward Xu Zheng. She had long since taken note of that Junior Brother Duan's sword qi; his strength might not be superior to Xu Zheng's, but his strange sword qi was as sticky and impossible to shake off as mucus. It was too annoying, so she decided to leave him for Ye Shangfei.

More importantly, having witnessed Xu Zheng's strength in the Starfall Sea, she was eager to know the extent of the gap between herself and a top-tier sword cultivator of the same realm now that she had reached Foundation Establishment.

Naturally, this Xu Zheng did not recognize her. Seeing her sword qi strike, he sneered, "Purple sword qi? It looks like the heritage of our Zixiao lineage, but what a pity—it’s too fake!"

As he spoke, he raised his sword, purple light flickering upon it. It grew brighter and brighter, and before Lingyu’s pale purple sword qi could arrive, he gave it a light flick, shattering the attack.

Lingyu swayed but immediately steadied herself, feeling a secret sense of relief. Xu Zheng's sword qi was not as terrifying as she had imagined, nor did it carry the momentum she had seen in the Starfall Sea. Perhaps the Xu Zheng that Wei Wuya had encountered had also just reached Foundation Establishment and lacked such power?

Wait, that didn't seem right. After she arrived at the Taibai Sect, she had inquired about him; in the Starfall Sea, Xu Zheng had only been at the Foundation Establishment stage for three years. In three years, his sword qi had become that formidable. How could there be such a discrepancy compared to the Xu Zheng that Wei Wuya had seen after he had attained Sword Intent?

Just as she was pondering this, Xu Zheng struck again. Dozens of purple sword qi formed on his blade, and with a light wave, they swirled toward Lingyu.

Lingyu gasped, her body instinctively adopting a defensive stance.

This was one of Xu Zheng’s killing moves. A direct confrontation was unrealistic; the gap in strength meant she couldn't compete with him head-on, so she had to avoid his edge!

But this was no easy task. Even if Xu Zheng wasn't as strong as she remembered, he was still far more powerful than she was at the beginning of her Foundation Establishment. Twenty-plus years of orthodox sword training was not something she could catch up to in a mere few years.

Seeing the vortex of sword qi closing in, Lingyu desperately pulled out the talisman Duanmu Cheng had given her and slapped it onto her body. A spiritual net unfurled, allowing her to fully perceive the environment for dozens of meters around.

At a glance, Xu Zheng’s sword qi was extremely sharp; the vortex formed by dozens of blades seemed to have no gaps. But that was impossible. As long as it was sword qi, there had to be gaps—they were just too brief and moving too fast to capture.

That didn't matter; she had her spiritual net! Countless threads of spiritual energy wove into a dense web, capable of covering everything within a kilometer. Lingyu deliberately tightened the net to within a few dozen meters to probe more precisely.

She caught it!

Lingyu’s eyes brightened. She stepped forward into thin air, her body twisting slightly, flames seemingly flowing between her footsteps.

The Fire Dance Step—the Fire Dance Step as revised by the Immortal Book!

There are so many cultivators in the world; those with talent are by no means limited to a few geniuses. Many brilliant ideas originate from obscure, unknown cultivators. It is only because they lack strength or proper guidance that they cannot turn these flashes of inspiration into truly refined killing moves. This Fire Dance Step was just such a move; faint fire-attributed spiritual energy flowed through the footwork, using very little true essence while achieving a fluid effect.

She dodged it.

Xu Zheng’s gaze faltered; he couldn't believe his eyes. This female cultivator, who hadn't even grasped Sword Intent and had just reached Foundation Establishment, had actually dodged his Cyclone Sword! How was this possible?!

After a moment of stunned silence, a strong murderous intent appeared in Xu Zheng's eyes. He hadn't taken Lingyu seriously before; in the battle between Song Xu and Chang Ziqing, she was beneath notice. While Duanmu Cheng could still play a role, she had done nothing.

A sword cultivator who could only dodge and evade amidst Song Xu's killing aura and Chang Ziqing's sword qi—what use were they? But he hadn't expected that she would not only dodge Song Xu's White Tiger Kill, but his own Cyclone Sword as well! This dodge was different from the last; Song Xu’s target had been Chang Ziqing, with others merely incidental, but his target had been her!

In that instant, a surge of violent energy roiled within Xu Zheng. Even though his opponent was a female cultivator, he could no longer restrain himself.

"Junior Brother Duan, take care of that one!" Xu Zheng commanded. Ignoring Ye Shangfei entirely, he flashed forward, closing in on Lingyu.

To think that he, a dignified disciple of a Nascent Soul sword cultivator, had actually had his killing move evaded by some unknown "wild" sword cultivator—it was a slap in the face!

Xu Zheng came on aggressively, but Lingyu remained calm and composed. She stood still, pushing her spiritual net to its limit, waiting for him to strike.

The slender blade swung, unleashing thick purple sword qi as he lunged at Lingyu.

Lingyu retreated half a step, opened her right hand to catch the returning Kanli sword, and thrust it out.

Xu Zheng’s sword light was deep purple, elegant as water and biting as the wind—the most orthodox heritage of the Zixiao Sword Sect.

All cultivators of the Cangming Realm knew that the Zixiao Sword Sect inherited their art from the Ziying Heavenly Lord, cultivating "Purple Qi." This so-called Purple Qi was the purest and most primordial energy between heaven and earth.

Legend had it that the Ziying Sword, the true form of the Ziying Heavenly Lord, was forged by the Dao Ancestor Hongyuan from a strand of innate purple qi taken when the world was first divided. The day it was forged, it gained sentience. Hongyuan intended to tame it, but the sword slipped from his grasp, refusing to acknowledge him as master. The Dao Ancestor smiled and let it be, allowing the Ziying Sword to rest quietly on Qingdu Mountain, listening to the Dao for ten thousand years until it manifested a spiritual body. Thus, although the Ziying Heavenly Lord was the incarnation of a spirit treasure, he was technically a disciple under the Dao Ancestor Hongyuan.

Regardless of how much the Zixiao Sword Sect gilded their own reputation, one point was true: their cultivation method was inherited from the Ziying Heavenly Lord, and they indeed cultivated Purple Qi.

As Xu Zheng’s sword qi swept past, Lingyu immediately felt the power of this "purest energy in the world." Her own sword qi was instantly suppressed.

However, it was only for an instant.

She didn't know if he had improved significantly since the Starfall Sea, or if he had been weakened by Wei Wuya within the Three-Life Mirror, but the two encounters with Xu Zheng's sword qi felt entirely different. In the Starfall Sea, his sword qi had been cold and biting, yet pure. Now, however, it carried a hint of violence and irritability, which allowed her to break free from the suppression quickly.

Lingyu recalled the feeling of sparring with Qian Jiale. Qian Jiale’s sword qi was similarly violent, but more stable than Xu Zheng’s. In terms of technique alone, Lingyu felt he was actually stronger than Xu Zheng; he was only lacking in sword cultivation and other aspects. Having interacted with Qian Jiale for three years and frequently sparring, she didn't need to think twice about how to engage in close-quarters combat with this style of sword cultivator.

For a time, only deep purple and pale purple sword qi could be seen intertwining and flashing, accompanied by blurry afterimages.

As time passed, Xu Zheng became increasingly irritable, his anger barely contained. A novice, actually managing to trade so many blows with him!

With a slash of sword qi, he forced Lingyu back several steps, his expression cold. "I truly underestimated you, but this is the end!"

As he spoke, he raised his sword again. With no flashy movements, he thrust it straight forward—

Lingyu prepared to raise her sword to meet him, but the pressure suddenly increased tenfold.

A powerful aura, imbued with a sharp and violent intent, pinned her in place, making it difficult even to raise her arms.

Sword Intent! This was Sword Intent!

Once a Foundation Establishment cultivator grasped Sword Intent, their sword qi power increased dramatically. She had been able to spar with Xu Zheng earlier by relying on techniques honed through long-term practice, but now that he had fully released his Sword Intent, the gap was immediately apparent.

Difficult to move, trapped in a dilemma!

This was the effect of Sword Intent: beyond vastly increasing the power of sword qi, it could shatter one's spirit!

The deep purple sword qi approached. Separated by only a few meters, the biting intent was as clear as if it were right at the tip of her nose.

Lingyu broke into a cold sweat. She knew all too well the consequences of failing to dodge this blow.

Wei Wuya had warned her beforehand that inside the Three-Life Mirror, she must rely entirely on herself; even if she were to die, he would not intervene.

Death—one could die inside the Three-Life Mirror as well...

But how was she to dodge this strike? Her entire body felt as if it were being pressed by thousands of pounds!

She felt the hair on her body stand on end, every pore sensing a terrifying chill, as if she would be torn into shreds by the sword qi in the next moment—

Sword Intent, is this what Sword Intent is?

At the brink of life and death, the sensitivity of her five senses was heightened to the extreme. The intangible, untouchable Sword Intent seemed to take on a physical form—

"Pop!" As if some blocked passage had burst open, an entirely new world unfolded before her.

The instant the sword qi arrived, Lingyu suddenly moved. Her speed, already extremely fast, seemed to have increased further. With a light flick of her arm, the pale purple sword light swerved, and her figure vanished from where she stood.

Xu Zheng was stunned, his sword light coming to a halt.

"I am here," Lingyu’s voice rang out. An aura that was as intense as fire, as cold as ice, and as supple as water suddenly surged up.

Xu Zheng was shocked. "You—you actually grasped Sword Intent!"

Lingyu smiled faintly. The pale purple sword light did not pause for a moment; it grew more dazzling, roaring as it rushed toward him.

Xu Zheng swung his blade, intending to counter-attack, but he froze completely.

Not just him—Lu Yingfeng, Duanmu Cheng, Song Xu, Ye Shangfei, and that Junior Brother Duan, who were all in the midst of fighting, stopped as well. It was as if time had ceased at that moment; sword qi, sword light, spells, and magic tools all hung suspended in mid-air, and then, they weathered into dust.

Only Lingyu remained, standing there, full of life.