Chapter 302 - The Moon (1/2)

The Sword Cocoons Sword Silk Array Formation had 64 permutations, and Zhong Yue had only learned the first 27. If he wanted to learn the complete Sword Cocoons Sword Silk Array Formation, he would have to be personally taught it by Shui Zian himself.

Even if it were only 27 Sword Cocoons, it was already appallingly strong; refining the Sword Cocoons for some time, he was now quite familiar with them and was eager to see their unleashed power.

The Sword Cocoons was the only malefic weapons that had a low requirement for the user's cultivation base. This set of malefic armaments value the user's intelligence and their control of the Yuan Shen over the depth of their cultivation base.

The higher the intelligence, the easier it was to master the permutations in the Sword Cocoons Sword Silk Array Formation. One could even make different variations and changes of their own; the stronger the Yuan Shen, the better the user could control the tiniest changes of the Sword Cocoons.

Every new sword silk that was added to the array formation would increase its power by a fold, but the difficulty to effectively control it would also rise accordingly.

Among all of those living in this world, only one man could cast the complete Sword Cocoons Sword Silk Array Formation. And that man was the progenitor of the Sword Cocoons Array Formation, Shui Zian!

The moment Zhong Yue acquired the first 27 styles from Tan Zhen, he knew that this was a sword art was incredibly hard to master. The 27 styles were his limit back then; but now, as he was stronger than before. Casting the 27 styles was never so easy for him.

He manipulated the 27 Sword Cocoons, every one of them was miles long. They floated inconspicuously in the air, nearly imperceptible to the naked eye.

Elder Shui's Sword Cocoons are really one of a kind.

Zhong Yue praised while his heart was still feeling awestruck toward the Sword Cocoons. When he reached out his soul to the Sword Cocoons to refine them, he could feel them screaming in his ears. He could feel the bloodlust that tempted him to kill and slaughter every living thing that crossed his sights!

A spirituality existed within these Sword Cocoons. They had their own thoughts, and although they were primitive, it was undeniable that they existed. The sword was a medium created with only one purpose—to kill. It wasn't designed to be an ornament for artistic appreciation; it was an instrument of death, whose sole purpose was to reap the lives of all who obstructed their master's path. After all the blood that these weapons soaked in, a natural killing intent was born in the Sword Cocoons as a result that begot the basic sentience within them!

The Ten Malefic Weapons wouldn't accept a master that could be defeated. They wouldn't allow a loser to control them, which was why they devoured the masters they deemed to be weak to free themselves from their master's control!

The Swords Gate magnates that forged the Ten Malefic Weapons were at the peak of their lives. They've reached to the limits of their talents and couldn't advance further anymore, which was why they were driven to look for a new means to increase their prowess — the soul weapons. They have forged their soul weapons, refined and pushed them over the limits, and in the end, making their soul weapons stronger than themselves. Eventually, their soul weapons turned into demons.

However, in stark contrast, the divine weapons were very different. Those that crafted them were the gods. There was no doubt that they would have the ability to have full control over their weapons; furthermore, the spiritualities of the divine weapons were not as extreme as the Ten Malefic Weapons.

This should be why the Ten Malefic Weapons would kill their own masters, after all, who can guarantee that they can remain invincible for their whole lives?

Zhong Yue kept the sword silks, placing the Sword Cocoons back to the Yuan Shen secret realms. Right now, countless Qi Practitioners were swarming out from the border of the South Barren, heading toward the battlefield. Following the heels of the Qi Practitioners were the border armies, they searched all over the place for Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er, while the border governor informed the Heaven Marquis Palace of Zhurong Changkong's death.

Upon hearing the news, the Heavenly Marquis Palace went into a rage, and then more news started flowing in. Zhurong Changkong's murderers were the traitors of Swords Gate, Zuo Xiangsheng and Tian Yanzhong. They were now on the wanted list of Swords Gate, and the elders were in pursuit.

They were wanted for stealing all the Ten Malefic Weapons of Swords Gate.

Suddenly, the Zhong Li Celestial Race's Heavenly Dharma experts all swarmed out in search for the duo. After all, even the celestial races were moved by the golden opportunity to snatch the mighty Ten Malefic Weapons as their own.

In comparison, the Qi Practitioners going after Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er were far fewer in number. There were only the Xiao Mang, Zhong Li, Kui Long, and the demon race.

Thanks to Tian Yanzhong and Zuo Xiangsheng, the pressure on Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er was a lot lighter now. They were traveling toward the West Barren, while on their way, Zhong Yue had taught the 27 sword styles to Qiu Jin'er. The two of them practiced on their way and Qiu Jin'er now also mastered the 27 sword styles.

Her Yuan Shen was the Gou Mang, and she was also an Innate Spirit Body. Undoubtedly, her Yuan Shen would be strong; in addition to her clear mind, it wasn't hard for her to learn them.

Zhong Yue handed over 27 Sword Cocoons for her to refine. The duo then started practicing their sword arrays, the combo between two sword arrays wasn't something one would like to tamper with. Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er were both feeling happy in their hearts for the strides they made in their strengths.

During the night, the two of them were still traveling in the dark. Qiu Jin'er was practicing the 27 sword styles, and the sword silks sliced through the air stealthily, silent like specters. Zhong Yue was unsettled; he couldn't help but remind her again and again, "Junior martial sister, you mustn't be defeated while wielding the Sword Cocoons. If you lose a battle, the Sword Cocoons will deem you unworthy as their master and will kill you. It is very dangerous!"

Qiu Jin'er nodded, she said, "Someone's catching up to us, again."

"It's fine."

A gentle smile transformed the seriousness on Zhong Yue's face, and he said, "As long as it's not the Heavenly Dharma experts or the magnates, those that can stop us down might have yet to exist in this world."

The two of them maintained their usual pace, unaffected by the pursuers behind them as they strode to the middle of a valley. The moon was dangling high above the sky when the pursuers caught up to them; the outbreak of the battle suffused the valley with bursts of auras. Under the moonlights, one could perceive the shadows of the sword silks soaring in the air like dragons, lashing all over the places and ravaging on the mountains as if they were tofu!

It was two sword arrays that had intertwined together, unleashing their powers out at their victims!

It was a tragic scene, a miniature presentation of hell in this world of mortals. Countless cultivators had cast out their soul weapons, fighting against the sword arrays for their survivals.

All of a sudden, the sword silks disappeared right before their eyes. They shrunk into thin threads that were nearly imperceptible; the Qi Practitioners instantly plunged into a state of chaos and disorder, not knowing what to do as they couldn't even see the sword arrays and find the sword silks.