Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 175 The Sword Technique That Wants to Be Born
Lu Shuangyan drifted backward.

As he landed, the branch in his hand made a soft crackling sound and then exploded into powder.

"So easily, you've broken my fourteenth sword."

Lu Shuangyan looked at her palm and smiled, "I didn't make a mistake coming here!"

Chu Tianshu was looking at the tiny hole in the ground.

There were actually two holes in the ground in front of him.

One of them was caused by Lu Shuangyan releasing sword energy from her feet, which altered her body shape. The opening was about half the size of a palm, and its depth was also relatively easy to see.

The hole created by the fourteenth sword looked only the size of a bird's eye.

It's hard to tell how deep it goes underground.

"If you were using a sword, this move wouldn't be so easily countered by me."

Chu Tianshu could sense that when Lu Shuangyan unleashed his power, the sword energy emanating from his body was almost seamlessly integrated with the sword he held in his left hand.

The iron sword, when viewed on its own, did not possess any mysterious aura.

However, over the years, the sword's quality has been imbued with Lu Shuangyan's sword intent and energy countless times, making it the most suitable weapon for unleashing deadly sword strikes.

This is somewhat similar to the concept of refining magical artifacts.

If the sword's owner continues to raise it for a few more years, even if Lu Shuangyan dies of old age one day, the sword will likely be used to ward off evil spirits and protect the house.

"Don't you also have a sword at your waist?"

Lu Shuangyan seemed thoughtful. "Although you don't seem to be good at using a sword, there must be a way to use that sword that suits you better."

“But you didn’t use that power just now.”

Chu Tianshu smiled and tapped the hilt of the Three-Seven Divine Sword with his finger.

Just now, facing the sword intent of the fourteenth sword, the soldier spirit was somewhat eager to try.

Xiahou Feishan's voice drifted over softly.

"If you two want to discuss martial arts, say something of value, instead of always bragging to each other."

Chu Tianshu laughed and said, "As the saying goes, those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly. Why don't you first share your feelings from what you just observed, as a starting point for our discussion?"

Xiahou Feishan took a few steps closer.

The monks in the woods also moved closer, although most of them were a little pale, and a few couldn't help but press their hands to their chests.

But they were also eager to hear what these experts had to say about the battle they had just fought.

"Let's talk about Chu Tianshu first."

Xiahou Feishan pondered, "The feeling you give off is quite different from when you killed Chen Zuqi that day."

"Originally, your Thunder Qi Subduing Waves, in my perception, was simply the internal energy of your entire body flowing towards your palm, relying on the rapid changes in your meridians to gather into a silent beam of light and electricity."

"And that move you just made, in my perception, was like a small patch of the surrounding environment converging on you, being transformed by you, and then bursting out again to form...罡气?"

Chu Tianshu nodded.

Most martial arts in the world can be used for both offense and defense when the internal energy is not outside the body. You can exert force forward or withdraw it in an emergency.

However, once it leaves the body, it becomes difficult to control, and it is basically impossible to bring it back into the body.

The "Heavenly Hanging Divine Skill" allows internal energy that has been dispersed outside the body to return to the physical body within a certain period of time.

Chu Tianshu then thought of a way to release his internal energy, interfere with the air, and then retract it into his body.

In this way, the interfered air will also gather around him along this trend of return.

The air density around him will quietly increase, gradually like an undercurrent.

When he erupts again, the resulting gale-force winds and currents will be even more powerful and vast.

This is also "thunderous energy subduing waves".

If this method were used to fight against Chen Zuqi, the effect might not be very good; instead, it might lead to a long battle that tests endurance.

However, it is very suitable for dealing with agile and sharp swordsmen.

Xiahou Feishan's heart stirred slightly upon hearing Chu Tianshu's explanation.

"My sword intent, Red Maple, is also the type that can be retrieved after it is released... but its ability to interfere with airflow is far inferior to your internal energy."

Xiahou Feishan then said, "It seems that Lu Shuangyan has inspired me the most."

He didn't say much, but simply drew his sword.

chap! !

His sword blade swept upwards from the lower left, and his figure suddenly appeared three steps away.

Only a sound like tearing silk could be heard in the air.

Sword energy and sword intent enveloped his entire body, moving through the air, and the airflow transformed into buoyancy.

Although the movements are different, his move has the same meaning as Lu Shuangyan's first sword strike.

He reached for the longsword on the upper right and, with a twist of his wrist, thrust it forward in a spiral motion.

Most of his internal energy seemed to be concentrated on the tip of the sword, making it more solid and slower to turn.

The blade had already twisted through more angles, but the tip hadn't twisted that much yet.

As a result, the entire longsword became twisted like a pretzel.

stretch!!!
As Xiahou released his inner force, his longsword suddenly straightened.

In that instant, the spinning thrust of the sword tip was far more terrifying than any ordinary sword twisting technique.

A small section of the sword tip seemed to have turned scalding hot and red.

Taking advantage of the moment when the longsword was taut, Xiahou swung it again and thrust, leaving a faint afterimage as thin as a thread.

In the blink of an eye, he unleashed more than a dozen sword techniques.

The various nuances of swordsmanship, such as floating, condensing, releasing, fine, explosive, and penetrating, bear at least seven-tenths similarity to Lu Shuangyan's Thirteen Deadly Swords.

Even though their movements are completely different, if anyone saw the two of them make a move, they would quickly realize that they were trained by the same master.

Strangely, the Thirteen Deadly Swords should become increasingly difficult as you progress.

When Xiahou imitated it, it seemed that he became more and more familiar with it as he went on, and he used it more and more fluently.

Chu Tianshu suddenly frowned, and a hint of doubt flashed in Lu Shuangyan's eyes as well.

At this moment, Xiahou Feishan had already used the thirteenth sword technique.

His sword hilt rested in front of his right chest, the tip pointing to the sky.

The crimson inner force wrapped around the sword, like swirling flames, obscured the right half of his face.

"fourteenth……"

Xiahou Feishan's face suddenly turned as white as ice, and his left eye turned completely black.

The crimson inner force instantly transformed into white, icy flames, all surging to the tip of the sword, like a star shining brightly.

"Wait!!"

Chu Tianshu roared and stomped his right foot heavily on the mountain path.

A fierce wind rippled outwards.

In the direction where Xiahou was, all the leaves and branches were bent backward by the wind. Within a range of six or seven zhang, fallen leaves fell from the branches like a heavy rain and were blown further away.

Xiahou Feishan felt as if the kick had struck his heart, and suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.

Lu Shuangyan seized the opportunity to flash in front of him, and suddenly reached out and drew the scabbard from Xiahou's left hand, then sheathed it on his sword.

Thump!

The scabbard slid down and encased the entire blade.

Lu Shuangyan's right hand enveloped the hilt of Xiahou Baojian, and she stood motionless.

The two sides remained deadlocked for several breaths.

Xiahou gradually came to his senses, and the whites of his eyes and pupils became distinct. His complexion slowly turned yellow and returned to normal.

"Just now……"

Xiahou Feishan looked shocked. "What just happened?"

Lu Shuangyan took a few steps back, exhaled a breath of stale air, and slowly said, "After we met last time, have you been studying my swordsmanship a lot?"

Xiahou Feishan subconsciously admitted it.

"Yes, but the gains weren't significant, and I've never used it in battle before."

Xiahou Feishan said, "Watching your battle today, especially your fourteenth sword strike, has given me great inspiration and triggered my previous accumulation of knowledge in this sword technique."

“However, just now…”

Xiahou's speech slowed down as he tried to recall, "The fourteenth sword strike just now didn't seem like something I had figured out myself."

Chu Tianshu walked over: "If you had used that sword strike just now, its power would definitely have exceeded that of the tree branch."

"However, there may be some unforeseen consequences."

Lu Shuangyan also solemnly said, "That's right. If the sword intent of your sword just now were to reach its peak, I'm afraid it would attempt to reach the fifteenth sword."

Xiahou Feishan looked on with surprise.

Lu Shuangyan has been famous for many years, but he has only mastered thirteen sword techniques.

I just figured out the fourteenth sword not long ago, how come there's a fifteenth sword now?

The world's top sword techniques all require more mental and physical exertion as you progress.

When Gu Daoren of Bashan created the "Returning Wind and Dancing Willows" sword technique, he was only thirty years old and already had forty-seven moves.

He will have his forty-eighth move when he is fifty, and his forty-ninth move when he is eighty.

After being passed down to his disciples, successive generations of disciples have generally failed to fully master the essence of these forty-nine moves.

Some people spend their entire lives at the level of the first forty moves, only learning the basic form of the later moves, and can't use them in actual combat.

"How can there be a sword technique where the speed of creating moves increases as the game progresses?"

Xiahou Feishan murmured, "Your swordsmanship is a bit strange."

Lu Shuangyan looked into the woods and spoke in a deep voice.

"I comprehended the fourteenth sword technique while assassinating the Lord of Liuyun Palace."

"The sword intent of that sword, even at its extreme, ultimately failed to harm him, but it left none of the many skilled warriors in the hall in time to react and pursue me."

"At first, I was overjoyed with the result of this sword strike, but soon after, I felt that this sword technique seemed to... come alive?"

Lu Shuangyan's tone was also somewhat dazed, as if in a dream.

"Although I have loved martial arts since I was a child, I have been sleeping soundly and without dreams ever since I achieved some success in internal strength."

"After I comprehended the fourteenth sword technique, I often saw shadows of some sword techniques in my dreams. Some seemed to be familiar to me before, while others were completely new to me. They were all quite exquisite."

“Every time I wake up from a dream, I can feel a deep sense of anxiety and longing.”

"Just like my swordsmanship, it's urging me to create the fifteenth sword, which will be the end point and the most perfect moment of this swordsmanship."

Lu Shuangyan's gaze suddenly sharpened.

"That's what made me realize that my swordsmanship is based on the strengths of many schools and adapts to the world. How can it have an end?"

"Life is finite, but knowledge is infinite. Even if my talent and life are limited, I still believe that I can retain a spirit of exploration before I die of old age."

"How could I possibly feel that I have reached perfection at this age?"

Chu Tianshu raised an eyebrow and smiled, "So you think that this idea may not have come from you spontaneously."

"Under the strong influence of this idea, the fifteenth sword technique created might not be the sword move you want?"

Lu Shuangyan nodded solemnly.

He went to Japan to exercise self-restraint and to use the Fourteenth Sword to a limited extent.

Let's see if we can create a new artistic conception for the fourteenth sword under the pressure and inspiration of the Japanese masters.

Unfortunately, Chen Zuqi wasn't there, so he didn't experience much pressure.

Fortunately, he heard about the existence of Tian Jushi again.

"Your idea is correct."

Chu Tianshu didn't need to rely on intuition or dreams to guess.

He had truly seen it just now: when Xiahou Feishan was preparing his fourteenth sword strike, a misty aura descended straight down from above his head.

Rather than saying that it was Xiahou Feishan who wanted to use his fourteenth sword, it's more accurate to say that he wanted to use his fourteenth sword.

Rather, it was those wisps of smoke and mist that wanted him to unleash the fourteenth, or even the fifteenth, sword strike.

The smoky color was predominantly pale, withered, and eerie, yet it was surrounded by some colorful light, like sharp claws.

The strange phenomenon of smoke and mist entering the body is like a poisonous dragon that died in the womb and wants to be reborn by borrowing a new body.

After Chen Zuqi died, an evil spirit was born, primarily from his own soul.

Lu Shuangyan's sword technique may have the potential to directly summon an evil spirit using sword moves.

When such signs appeared in his swordsmanship, a certain kind of light and color in the misty realm already echoed him.

But he has only just started; he hasn't decided yet whether he really wants to go down that path.

That freakish off-the-charts was instinctively striving, trying to truly become...

"born"!
If he couldn't influence Lu Shuangyan, he would try influencing other people who had learned the Thirteen Deadly Swords.

To make others feel that they can learn the Thirteen Deadly Swords more easily.

But that's not right. Since Lu Shuangyan has been restraining herself, that freak shouldn't be strong enough to bewitch Xiahou Feishan.

"You comprehended the fourteenth sword technique at Liuyun Mansion."

Chu Tianshu asked, "Lord Liuyun, are you skilled with a sword?"

The Lord of Liuyun Palace is said to know thirty-seven extraordinary skills, yet he seems to have never used a weapon since his debut.

Upon hearing this pointed question, Lu Shuangyan was startled and pondered for a moment.

"He wasn't carrying a sword at the time."

Lu Shuangyan said solemnly, "But I felt that when he broke my first thirteen sword strikes, there were traces of several sword techniques on his sleeves. His skill level was very high!"

(End of this chapter)