Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 187 - 132: Sword Release_

Chapter 187: Chapter 132: Sword Release_

Translator: 549690339

Swords, swords, swords, thousands upon thousands, they surged like a torrent, covering the sky and blanketing the earth in a wild bombardment!

Where did the swords come from?

Far off in the distance, amidst the torrential rain, a thousand men formed an array.

Clothed in white, purer than snow, they stood with a steely resolve, unbent and unbroken.

All were Sword Cultivators, with edges sharp and fearsome, shaking the very souls of others.

The heart of a sword wielder has to be clear and bright, donning white to show their flawlessness!

Indeed, they were the disciples from one of the Nine Courtyards, the Shushan Sword Academy.

The abilities of the thousands of Sword Academy disciples varied, with the strong ones having reached Foundation Establishment, comparable to True Men, and even the weakest had attained the fourth tier, Martial Path Condensing Spirit, not any less than a Mage.

But regardless of their respective levels of cultivation, it made no difference at the moment.

For with the thousand men arrayed, they had already become one entity, forming a battle Strategy.

What formation was it?

Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, Yao Guang.

The Seven Stars of the Big Dipper Formation!

This was an ancient formation passed down through the ages, drawing from the power of the Big Dipper’s seven stars and harnessing the Dao of Heaven and Earth to operate the sword technique of the Immortal Gods, its power boundless, capable of slaying True Monarchs!

According to the current Cultivation system, this was a third-tier formation; if a thousand Cultivators came together, with one hundred Foundation Establishment as the bones of the formation and nine hundred Qi Cultivation as the foundation stones, then this would be enough to draw in Heaven and Earth and activate the Seven Stars, shaking the Big Dipper itself, so much so that even Great Golden Core cultivators would have to retreat three measures or risk the peril of their lives.

The way of formations is wonderfully mysterious; a third-tier Golden Core formation does not necessarily need Golden Core Cultivators to preside over it.

For example, this formation, just needing Foundation Establishment as the bones and Qi Cultivation as the foundation, once the required number of people are gathered, can contend against, even slay, Golden Cores.

This is the subtlety of a formation’s might.

After obtaining this formation, Xu Yang then delved into the law of Sword Cultivation and integrated what he learned. The sword array harmonized, and he ultimately mastered the Seven Stars Big Dipper Sword Formation, which has been one of the main courses of study at Shushan Sword Academy for nearly a decade.

Now, it was the time for testing their studies, to witness the fruits of their efforts.

The Big Dipper led the swords, with Tianshu as the guide, unleashing the first technique of the Big Dipper Sword Formation—Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect!

Also known as the Thousand Swords Jue!

As the Big Dipper led the sword technique, with Tianshu as the guide, amidst the storm and gale, the ten thousand swords surged like a torrent, channeling the full force of the Big Dipper Pivot, slaughtering straight toward the horde of demons and evil spirits.

“This…”

“How can this be!”

The demons, who had just broken through the iron wall siege and emerged from the inferno of thunder, had no time to catch their breath before they saw the vast stream of swords, blanketing the sky and descending like rain, locking them in its embrace.

To retreat, there was nowhere to retreat; behind them was the prison of thunder!

To avoid, there was no escape; iron walls rose up all around!

“Damn it!”

“I’m all in!”

“Kill!”

With no other choice, the horde of demons gritted their teeth and faced the all-encompassing surge of swords.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!”

In an instant, with a resounding thunder, the ten thousand swords furiously poured down, striking the demons like rain beating on banana leaves, exploding amidst the multitude of monsters, splattering flesh and blood, countless demons pierced by blades, dead beneath the sword.

“Ahh!!!”

Just at that moment, a roar erupted, and a stream of blood-red sword light burst forth, bearing a torrential killing aura, recklessly clearing the myriad of swords, forcibly breaking through the Tianshu’s momentum.

Fierce killer sword intent, the unity of man and sword!

Sword Demon Ape!

There it was, the Demon Emperor merging with the demonic sword, sweeping away the countless streams of swords, forcefully penetrating the formation.

Truly a rare species by birth, with the bloodline of a great demon.

Even a third-tier sword formation could not block his path to life.

But, alas… this was more than just a third-tier sword formation.

“Buzz!!!”

Amidst the storm and thunder, a sound emerged, barely perceivable yet supremely clear, impossible to overlook, reaching everyone’s ears.

Then they saw it, a beam of sword light, a dazzlingly brilliant beam, Swallow Heaven and Annihilate Earth upon arrival.

Golden yellow sword light, strikingly radiant. Within it, one could vaguely see a Divine Sacred Weapon, with one side of the blade engraved with sun, moon, and stars, the other with vegetation and terrain, the hilt in two parts, one inscribed with the techniques of farming and animal husbandry, and the other with the Strategy of Uniting all Lands. Its brilliance was sacred and majestic, truly the paramount holy weapon of the ancient and modern Dao.

It was none other than the Divine Sacred Weapon, feared by Ghost Gods and terrifying to Evil Demons, forged through the Practice of the Three Laws of Heaven, Earth, and Man—Xuanyuan Divine Sword!

Twenty-five years of accumulation, gathering the world’s Cultural Qi and collecting the wishes of the people from all around, millions of citizens engaging in agriculture and animal husbandry, ensuring their peaceful and happy livelihoods, without worry for food and clothing. In this way, when millions turned their hearts as one, the Human Law was naturally established.

After Human Law, came Earth Law, which was even simpler to cultivate; gathering the famous swords of the world, including the elite metals, all contained within the box, to refine the meaning of the sword, melding the essence. Thus nurtured, Earth Law was also completed.

The most challenging was Heaven Law.

Heaven Law was like thunder and had to be tempered by thunder, infused with the majesty of Heaven and Earth, only then could the sword be considered complete.

Fortunately, Xu Yang was a Thunder Cultivator, and he had the assistance of the “Thunder Lightning Mana King.” For twenty-five years, night and day, he tempered the sword, finally incorporating a thread of the essence of thunder, a portion of the might of Heaven and Earth into the sword, inseparable from one another.

Indeed — with the Three Laws offering the sword, a Divine Sacred Weapon emerges before the world!

This battle was its first!

What was the might of a Divine Sacred Weapon?

They beheld the resplendent sword light, Swallow Heaven and Annihilate Earth as it arrived. Its power and momentum reached an utmost extreme, combining with the thunder of Heaven and Earth, one sword to execute demons and devils.

“No!!!”

With a scream of total terror, the blood-red sword light that had just broken the array shook and turned back, preferring to flee back into the deadly formation than face it head on.

However, it was too late to escape now.

“Bang!!!”

The sword light blazed, slashing down from the heavens. The demonic red sword instantly shattered, the blood light fragmented; the demonic sword split in two, revealing a gigantic ape’s body, also severed at the waist, its blood and flesh raining down, plummeting towards the ground.

The Demon Emperor of the Six Realms, the Sword Demon Ape, defeated and fallen.

One sword, just a single sword, had slain the Demon Emperor, as if slaughtering pigs and dogs!

But his sacrifice was not without value.

Only when the demonic sword broke, and the white ape died, did the remaining demons manage to break out of the massive current of swords under the leadership of Chu Gonghou, Shocking Thunder Jiao, and Monarch Xunlong.

Though they suffered heavy casualties and left countless corpses behind, they eventually broke through.

Not sparing a glance for the Sword Demon Ape, whose sword had broken and who had met his demise, Chu Gonghou, Shocking Thunder Jiao, and True Monarch Xunlong, three powerful beings of the Six Realms, each chose a different direction and fled swiftly.

Birds of a feather flock together until disaster strikes and they scatter.

Not to mention that they were not even close to being comrades in adversity, the reason for their visit was solely for personal gain, conspiring to seize the million blood meals of the Guo Bei Academy.

Now that the situation had turned against them and they faced encirclement, naturally, their first priority was to save their own lives, how could they care about others?

As for escaping together… that would make them too big a target and even more dangerous.

Better to escape separately, which was the wisest choice.

It wasn’t just the three of them; the other demons thought likewise.

The inferno of lightning and rain, an impregnable encirclement, bolstered by the bombardment of ten thousand swords, had, after a ruthless slaughter, reduced tens of thousands of demons by half.

But of that half, there were still tens of thousands, who now each chose a direction to frantically escape, like headless flies scattering in all directions.

In a flash, demons were seen fleeing in all directions, some flying in the sky, others burrowing into the ground, some showing their true monstrous forms, while others took on human shape, with the howling wind of demons and the flickering shadows of monsters…

It was like the legendary Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each displaying their divine skills!

However…

“Hoo!!!”

An ominous wind roared in, and a tide of darkness surged forward.

From all sides, another encirclement began to take form, with ranks of Underworld Soldiers and Ghost Generals riding on paper-armored horses, wielding spears and swords, densely packed and solidly formed, closing off every escape route for the demons and snuffing out their last bits of vitality.

“Underworld Soldiers?”

“Damn it!”

“Yin Mountain Mansion!”

Seeing this, the horde of demons nearly gnashed their teeth to pieces, but with no other choice at this point, they could only charge towards the phalanx of Underworld Soldiers with desperate abandon.

“Amitabha!”

True Monarch Xunlong chanted loudly, as boundless Buddhist light followed him, directly transforming into a dragon shadow that soared into the sky.

But unexpectedly…

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

A thunderous shout erupted, and the chilling wind howled.

From amidst the ominous clouds above, a figure descended with three heads and six arms, a fierce face with sharp fangs, resembling Yasha Asura, a fierce and evil spirit.

With each of its six arms wielding magic artifacts—tridents, iron chains, battle axes, and whips—this figure was none other than the Increase Life and Damage Fate yin-yang General!

The Increase and Decrease Two Generals, after becoming a Ghost King, could combine Yin and Yang into one entity, transform into the Increase Life and Damage Fate yin-yang General, also called the Great Evil Ghost King!

Originally at the fifth realm in cultivation, the Increase and Decrease Two Generals, once united, saw their power surge, even capable of battling with a True Monarch of the Six Realm.

And these were only the ordinary Increase and Decrease Two Generals!

The Increase and Decrease Two Generals under Xu Yang were obviously not ordinary.

The Great Evil Ghost King they became was terrifyingly formidable.

The Great Evil Ghost King descended from the heavens, its three vicious heads and dynamic six arms throwing the tridents and unfurling the iron chains, directly skewering the dragon shadow’s head and wrapping around the opponent’s body, then, with a pull and a yank, shattered the Buddhist light.

As the Buddhist light shattered and the dragon shadow dissipated, Monarch Xunlong tumbled out in a sorry state, looking at the three-headed, six-armed Great Evil Ghost King with a mix of shock and anger in his eyes, unable to hide it.

Although he had a demon body, he was not a demon, for he practiced the righteous law of Buddhism, and his pure Buddhist light was inherently restrictive to Underworld Ghosts.

Yet, this Great Evil Ghost King, formed by the union of the Increase and Decrease Two Generals, showed no fear and was not restrained at all. Clearly, it had been refined by the Taoist law, turned into a Divine Guard General. After the union of yin and yang, it was no longer part of the Underworld Ghosts but had become a Ghost God body, enjoying offerings and possessing many divine skills.

Facing such a formidable enemy, what could be done?

Monarch Xunlong was shocked and hastily sought a strategy.

But before he could devise one, a trident was hurtling towards his face.

Monarch Xunlong was startled and tried to dodge hastily, but it was still too late. He was impaled through the shoulder by the trident.

Then iron chains whirled towards him, lashing around his waist and violently pulling him in front of the enemy.

The three-headed and six-armed Ghost God stood several feet tall.

Compared to it, Monarch Xunlong seemed no larger than a child.

Yet the Great Evil Ghost King showed no mercy, as its mighty axe fell furiously, striking down the immobilized Monarch Xunlong to the ground, blood spraying out copiously.

His corpse fell to the earth, the lunar glow dissipating, revealing his demon body’s true form—a hundred zhang long, entirely blood-red Blood Armored Centipede.

In the blink of an eye, half of the four great Demon Emperors were no more.

Elsewhere…

“Clomp, clomp, clomp!”

The earth trembled, hoofbeats like thunder, as a troop of Mysterious Armor cavalry charged in as a fresh force, entering the battlefield to form military formations and implement strategic maneuvers, entangling with the demons desperately attempting to break out.

It was the disciples and Martial Guardians from the Heaven Martial Institute and the Military General Institute!

Behind them, the disciples of the Sword Academy who retracted their Flying Swords also reformed their formations; from a large formation to smaller ones, small teams dived into the battlefield to jointly annihilate the demons.

In the distance, Taoists from Mingxiao, Talisman Masters, Formation Masters, and the armed forces from the Nine Courtyards approached, determined to exterminate these tens of thousands of demons completely.

As for the Kind Spirit Monsters, they too were students or instructors and were part of the Nine Courtyards system, not separately categorized.

The Foundation Building Pills previously distributed were now showing their effect, with dozens of new Foundation Establishment cultivators joining those who had already advanced, over a hundred cultivators of the fifth realm, thousands of fourth realm disciples forming battle arrays to fight, all bolstered by the Grand Ceremony Taoism.

With such forces, how could the severely wounded and scattered Demon Army stand a chance?

The outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt!