Chapter 324 – Return (Part One) (2/2)

At the very beginning, the person who used the sword was no more, but the sword was still there. Later on, the sword was no more, leaving behind only the sword intent. This strand of sword intent was incapable of leaving these plains. It was trapped, or even imprisoned, within these plains for ages. For several hundred years, it had never thought about escaping. However, it now realized that there was a chance to escape, thus when it met Chen Changsheng, it was like a bird about to leave its cage.

It was just that he did not know that this sword intent's ecstasy did not just come from the possibility of leaving, but also had to do with the joy of seeing an old friend.

That massive and dreadful shadow took up half the sky. The other half of the sky was filled with dark rain clouds. It was already night, and that disc of light at the edge of the plains was dim and lightless. In the midst of the torrential rain, the Mausoleum of Zhou grew even more pitch-black, like a massive black mountain. If Chen Changsheng was not on top of this black mountain at the moment, he would definitely have associated it with the huge obsidian coffin in the mausoleum.

Let's leave together then.

Chen Changsheng turned back to glance at Xu Yourong, then said these words to the sword intent.

She gazed at the rain-soaked divine path, gazed at Nanke.

Nanke was looking at the Southern Cross Sword in her hands. There was a very clear nick on the edge of the sword, a result of their two swords crossing. This sword was certainly not ordinary, as it was a famous sword from this generation's Tier of Legendary Weapons, and yet it was not as good as that unremarkable and ordinary dagger in Chen Changsheng's hands.

Did every sword have an environment in which it was strongest? She woke up from the stupor brought about by the sword intent and the new information related to the Sword Pool with an understanding of many more things. She lifted her head towards the end of the divine path where Chen Changsheng was, her expression once more callous and indifferent.

”So what? That sword intent really is very strong, but in the end, it still ended up the loser against the Halving Blade. You think that you can rely on this sword intent to defeat me? Or do you have some absurd hope that this sword intent can help you leave the Garden of Zhou?”

She said these words to Chen Changsheng and then spread out her arms. A clear light illuminated the rain-soaked mausoleum, and her two wings transformed into streams of light. Her two maids, Hua Cui and Ning Qiu, kneeled down behind her in the rain, not daring to say a word as they lowered their heads. One could faintly see that their faces were pale. The injuries inflicted by that sword intent previously had most likely not been light.

”The sword that this sword intent belongs to has probably already become a piece of scrap metal or even mere dust. This is the only reason why it was able to leave the Sword Pool. As a sword intent with no host, incapable of replenishing itself, just how long could it hold on? Not to mention the fact that sword intent is equivalent to sword insight, and with your cultivation, there's simply no way for you comprehend the sword insight. Without an understanding of swordplay, I'm afraid you won't be able to display even one-thousandth of the full power of that sword intent. Since this is the case, just what makes you believe you can defeat me?”

In the downpour, along with the continuous sound of her still childish voice, Nanke's sword energy slowly but steadily increased, and her Qi gradually grew more berserk.

Chen Changsheng knew that she was not bluffing. If the swordsman's cultivation was strong enough, whether they were meditating in cultivation or fighting, they would be refining their sword intent at every moment. However, if the level of the sword intent was higher than that of the swordsman, then battling would constantly use up the sword intent with no way of replenishing it.

”The most important part is that since I'm no match for you in terms of sword intent, then why do I need to keep competing with you in sword intent?” Saying these words, Nanke lifted up the Southern Cross Sword.

She still stood a hundred zhang away, very far away from Chen Changsheng. She had already put away her two wings, and it seemed that she did not intend to close the distance between the two of them. The most important change was that she lifted her sword with both hands. Her figure was very petite, even slim, while the Southern Cross Sword was broad and long. When she lifted it up with her two hands into the air, it produced a very strange scene. It was just like a small child preparing to play with a giant iron hammer. They struck a clear contrast.

Seeing this scene, Chen Changsheng instantly guessed at how she was going to attack and understood that he had committed a huge oversight.

Since his greatest advantage was the powerful sword intent at his disposal, he should not have let her get too far away.

Different swords had different strengths. One sword had many different sides. Sword intent was only a part of the sword. Besides this, there was also sword energy as well as the amount of true essence attached to the sword. They were both components of the sword that were no less important than sword intent. Nanke's attack intended to take advantage of the influence that distance had on sword intent and force him to fight with sword energy and strength.

A sword glow illuminated the gloomy sky and the rain-soaked mausoleum.

A dark blue sword ray shot out from the Southern Cross Sword. Like a meteorite, it trailed a tail of fire as it slashed towards the end of the divine path at Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng gripped the hilt of his dagger; his fingers were a little white and his lips a little pale, perhaps because of his injuries or because the rain was too cold.

A weak, yet abnormally firm voice came from behind him. ”Use the umbrella.”

This voice did not come from the sword intent, as sword intents do not speak. The voice came from Xu Yourong. He did not know why she said this, but over the course of their journey, he had realized that her cultivation and especially her foresight far surpassed his. He trusted her invariably. So without any hesitation, not even pausing for thought, he lifted up the Yellow Paper Umbrella.

With his actions, the sword intent entered the Yellow Paper Umbrella.

It was not entering. It was returning.

He did not understand why he felt it, but he felt that this sensation indicated that the sword intent had truly returned. Even the entire world seemed to have felt the sword intent's return. The plains grew incredibly quiet. The monster tide grew restless and countless monsters gave out cries of alarm or anger. Even that dreadful shadow in the sky seemed to grow fainter for an instant.