Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 194 Sword Formation "Ring Moon" (Combined)

Yanran Mountains.

Outside a certain valley.

Two disheveled figures stumbled through a thicket, leaving a trail of blood.

The two people, a man and a woman, wore robes that were tattered but still clearly belonged to inner disciples of the Dongyuan Sect.

"Sister, I...I can't run anymore."

The male disciple was deathly pale, with a deep laceration on his left shoulder that exposed the bone.

Now, every few steps leave dark red mud on the ground.

"Zilin, don't stop."

Wu Shuangzhi grabbed his arm, her voice hoarse: "Once we get into the valley ahead, we might be able to use the terrain to our advantage!"

Wu Zilin gritted his teeth, frantically squeezing every last bit of spiritual energy from his body, and followed his sister as they fled into the valley.

Several dozen feet away, five cultivators in green robes flew over.

The leader was a young man, with two bronze maces hanging at his sides, one on each side.

"Senior Brother Xu, those two can really run fast..."

"It took us a lot of effort to kill that male cultivator earlier, and that female cultivator also has some skills."

"These few useless members of the Dongyuan Sect are only good at running away."

The cultivator known as "Brother Xu" did not speak to the surrounding cultivators, but instead rushed swiftly in the direction the two had fled.

"Enough with the nonsense, just kill these two and eliminate them completely."

At this moment, Wu Shuangzhi had already led Wu Zilin into the valley.

The entrance to the valley was narrow, and the two stumbled and fell as they entered the valley. The moment they entered, a fire talisman grazed their backs and exploded.

The blast wave knocked the two of them over.

Five figures filed in from the valley entrance, looking at them with a mocking expression.

Wu Shuangzhi suddenly pushed her younger brother away, then turned around and swung her sword, a streak of green light slashing towards the five people.

This was almost her last bit of spiritual power; she would probably perish here today.

"An ant trying to shake a tree." The cultivator surnamed Xu brandished his double maces, unleashing a burst of poisonous light that easily shattered the azure light.

The aftershocks continued, sending Wu Shuangzhi flying several feet before she crashed heavily into a shallow puddle in the valley.

"Sister!"

One of the monks leisurely wiped his blood-stained longsword: "Why aren't you running anymore?"

He deliberately used the tip of the knife to lift Wu Shuangzhi's chin.

"You two siblings are truly devoted to each other."

Wu Shuangzhi trembled all over, not from fear, but from some kind of dying madness.

"A bastard from the Myriad Mysteries Sect..."

Since the Changping incident, the friction between the Dongyuan Sect and the Xuanyuan Sect has grown increasingly intense and difficult to resolve.

Several sects that were on good terms with the Xuan Yuan Sect near Lingyuan Marsh and Yanran Mountain Range also began to discriminate against each other, leading to more friction.

Among them, the Zhongmiao Sect is the most formidable, and when they meet with cultivators from the Dongyuan Sect, they often resort to deadly attacks.

The senior brother who came with the siblings used a secret technique to delay the five people's movements so that they could escape.

At this moment, he is probably already dead.

"Hehe, having offended the Xuan Yuan Sect, it's safe to say your fate is sealed."

The mist deep in the valley, like a flowing veil, slowly swallowed the blood essence of Wu Shuangzhi, Wu Zilin, and the others.

The mist surged inward, making the scenery deep in the valley appear and disappear.

"Ok?"

There were other people here.

"Why is there someone watching the show?"

The five members of the Myriad Wonders Sect looked up and saw a figure in black robes sitting cross-legged on a low hill at the end of the valley.

The fog was torn open by the mountain wind.

The figure of the black-robed youth finally appeared completely before everyone.

The man had his eyes lowered, a black and white flying sword lying across his lap, and a dark blue box strapped to his back.

He was like a cold, hard rock, seemingly oblivious to the murderous intent lurking in the valley.

Wu Shuangzhi's vision was blurred by sweat and blood, but the figure still felt incredibly familiar to her.

It seems to have appeared countless times in her memories and imagination.

"Pretend to be a ghost."

Among the five members of the Myriad Mysteries Sect, the tall, thin cultivator suddenly flung out several flying needles from his sleeve. The tips of the needles were tinged with a dark blue, and they flew towards Song Yan.

"Get out of here!"

Click.

A very faint sound, like a thin crack appearing on a thick layer of ice.

The three flying needles, shimmering with a ghostly blue light, suddenly froze, and then broke apart without warning.

"cough……"

The tall, thin cultivator groaned as the magical artifact was destroyed, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"what happened……"

The boy on the low hill finally raised his head.

His eyes were clear and bright, with a hint of sharpness hidden within, but there was a trace of impatience in his brows.

The cultivator surnamed Xu seemed to sense something was amiss. He narrowed his eyes, and poisonous light flickered on his double maces.

"Fellow Daoist, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business."

Song Yan's gaze swept over the bloodstains on the ground, then fell on the trembling Wu Zilin.

Wu Shuangzhi finally saw the boy's appearance clearly, and a surge of hope for life rose fiercely in her heart.

"Senior Brother Song..."

"Fellow Daoist!" Wu Zilin suddenly knelt down, his forehead slamming heavily into the mud: "I beg you to lend a helping hand! Dongyuan Sect will surely repay you handsomely!"

The cultivators of the Mystic Sect burst into laughter: "Heh heh, a beggar-like sect like this, dares to talk about anything—"

"It's noisy."

Song Yan suddenly spoke up, interrupting the mockery of the assembled cultivators from the Mystic Sect.

The voice was very soft, yet it inexplicably sent a chill down everyone's spine.

On the low hill, he stood up, his black robe fluttering even without wind.

hum-

A black and white sword light suddenly shot out and pierced in front of Wu Shuangzhi, the sharp sword energy forcing the Xu surname cultivator back.

Beneath the black robe, a sword was pointed.

Two flying swords, one cyan and one black and red, flew out of the sword box, like two agile fish swimming in the water.

It seems chaotic and inexplicable, yet it also seems to follow some special pattern.

Countless chilling sword energies rapidly converged throughout the valley and landed within it.

A cold, clear moonlight appeared on the hilt of the sword, which was unmoored.

"careful!"

At this moment, the cultivator surnamed Xu seemed to remember something, his pupils suddenly contracted, and the poisonous light of his double maces at his side surged.

He immediately shouted sternly, "He is a cultivator from the Dongyuan Sect!"

The sword-shaped patterns on that black robe clearly belong to a disciple of the Sword Wiping Peak of the Dongyuan Sect!

Disciples of Bamo Peak are so rare that many people have never even seen them.

However, at that moment, the flying sword moved.

"Crescent moon."

hum-

Suddenly, the flying sword Lianli split into three crescent-shaped arcs of light, sweeping out with lightning speed.

Before the five members of the Myriad Mysteries Sect could react, the tall, thin cultivator at the front had his protective spiritual energy shattered, and a line of blood appeared on his neck.

His eyes widened, a gurgling sound came from his throat, and his head slowly slid down.

The remaining two crescent-shaped sword lights swirled and intersected, severing another green-robed cultivator in half at the waist.

As the intestines spilled out, the sword light continued its momentum, slashing into the rock walls surrounding the valley!
The other two cultivators also attacked, unleashing a barrage of talismans, poisonous sand, and flying needles at Song Yan.

Ji Linjun circled and swirled in the air, a sliver of moonlight drifting out from the moon wheel on the unmoored boat and condensing on the flying sword.

"Looking at the Moon." A beam of moonlight slashed out, wiping out all the attacks.

The condensed sword light, like a new moon, suddenly slashed through the two people. Their protective spiritual energy was no match for the moonlight and was instantly crushed on the spot.

Of the five members of the Myriad Mysteries Sect, only the cultivator surnamed Xu remained in the blink of an eye.

One or two of them died on the spot before they could even activate their protective magic weapons or their protective spiritual energy.

The cultivator surnamed Xu was now terrified. The poisonous light from his twin maces transformed into the phantom of a giant python and attacked Song Yan.

At the same time, he fled out of the valley.

"What kind of demon or monster is this?!"

Song Yan remained indifferent, pointed his sword at the void, and all the sword shadows suddenly merged into one, hanging above his head and condensing into a full moon.

"The moon sets."

The next instant, the sword formation collapsed like the sky falling.

Three flying swords shot out simultaneously, and the cold moonlight poured out from the full moon.

boom! ! !
The entire valley was swallowed up by the moon-white sword light.

The cultivator surnamed Xu's double maces shattered inch by inch. He watched helplessly as his arms disintegrated first, followed by his chest, abdomen, and so on...

In the end, only the head rolled onto the shallows and was pinned to the ground by Bu Xizhou's sword.

The sword formation dissipated, and the moon dissipated.

Song Yan stood with his hands at his sides, his flying sword returning to its sheath.

The valley returned to silence, with only the lingering stench of blood remaining.

Within the valley, five mutilated corpses lay scattered, some broken in two, others shattered like mud, the stench of blood mingling with the mountain mist, lingering in the air.

Wu Shuangzhi slumped in the water, staring blankly at Song Yan's retreating figure as he sheathed his sword.

Not a single drop of blood stained the boy's black robe; only a sliver of moonlight-like cold light disappeared silently along with the black and white sword light.

Wu Zilin stood frozen in place, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

Before he could even see the black-robed youth's flying sword clearly, he only felt the moonlight fall and the five cultivators fall like straw.

He snapped back to reality in a daze and immediately knelt down with a thud: "Fellow Daoist, your kindness and virtue are beyond measure... I don't know who you are..."

"Senior Brother Song."

Despite her injuries, Wu Shuangzhi struggled to her feet.

"Ok?"

Song Yan had already come down from the hill when he heard someone calling him. He turned around in surprise to look at the girl.

He had thought she was just a junior sister from his sect, but to his surprise, she looked somewhat familiar.

"Have we met?"

Wu Shuangzhi nodded.

Wu Zilin hurriedly came over and helped his sister up.

"I met him once at the Sword-Wiping Competition on the banks of the Qingjiang River."

Song Yan suddenly realized.

In fact, Wu Shuangzhi had already seen Song Yan's demeanor when Changping, but at that time she was just an outer disciple.

The two were about to express their gratitude when they saw a green snake slithering over from not far away, with a bunch of Qiankun bags hanging from its tail.

Strangely enough, Song Yan had never taught her this skill, but Snake Baby really enjoyed this job of touching corpses.

The two were startled at first, but quickly realized that it was the other party's spirit pet.

He randomly picked two from the five Qiankun bags and tossed them to the two siblings.

"Take it, everyone who sees it gets a share."

"Do you need me to send you back to your clan?"

Since I've met a disciple of the sect here, it's fate. I'm on my way back to my cave, so I'll give him a ride.

"Uh, thank you, Senior Brother Song, but I can't wait."

Wu Shuangzhi refused, a hint of sadness flashing across her face: "Senior Brother Ye of the sect was killed by these five people while protecting us."

"My brother and I will rest here for a while, and then return to the sect after we have taken care of his funeral arrangements."

"Ah."

Song Yan nodded, expressing his condolences.

It's commonplace for cultivators to die in battles and fights outside; it's a perfectly normal thing.

But what if the person who died was a relative, a friend, or an elder?

Few people can be so open-minded.

Song Yan understood, so he called Xiao He back and left the valley alone without lingering any longer.

……

About two months ago, he took the Qiyang Pill and successfully broke through to the eighth level of Qi Refining.

They also completed the entry procedures for Bamo Peak.

In reality, Bamo Peak is merely a symbol of status and there is no need to move.

For the next two months, Song Yan devoted himself entirely to cultivating the sword formation.

It's not very convenient to use it inside the cave.

Then he thought of this secluded, deserted valley in the Yanran Mountains.

He devoted himself to practicing sword formations here, and also took on some small tasks to accumulate spirit stones.

Even cultivating here, he could be disturbed. Song Yan really couldn't understand it and could only say that he was unlucky.

However, looking back on the gains of the past two months, Song Yan felt extremely happy.

The power of the sword formation far exceeded his expectations.

Adhering to the principle of valuing quality over quantity, he temporarily selected only two sword formations from the lowest-level first-order sword formations to practice.

One of them was the sword formation that had just annihilated five people in the valley in an instant.

Ring of the moon.

The Ring Moon Sword Formation requires three flying swords to execute, and its power is affected by many factors.

For example, the cultivation level of a swordsman, the grade of a flying sword, and the compatibility between flying swords, etc.

What surprised Song Yan the most was that the sword formation could naturally condense sword energy into sword shadows.

The sword energy of a sword cultivator is equivalent to the spiritual energy of other cultivators.

The sword energy solidifies and transforms into sword shadows to defend against enemies, possessing even greater power than the sword energy itself.

Like flying swords, it is also one of the mainstream offensive methods of sword cultivators.

When sword energy is condensed to its extreme, it becomes the true essence of swordsmanship.

Even with Song Yan's current sword cultivation, he can only suppress one sword essence in the mansion, but the speed at which it is re-condensed is slightly faster than before.

What he found most incredible about offensive sword formations was that once the formation was complete, the flying swords at the core of the formation could rapidly amplify and condense sword energy.

This makes every wisp of sword energy within it almost reach the level of condensation of a sword shadow.

At the same time, the sword energy can also feed back into the flying sword, enhancing its power within the sword formation.

The two complement each other, making the sword formation extremely terrifying.

Taking the first-order sword formation, the Moon Ring, as an example, the "New Moon" position, which is the moon wheel condensed on the unmoored boat, is entirely composed of extremely condensed sword energy.

Furthermore, a sword formation does not necessarily require flying swords as the core of the formation.

Once a sword cultivator's swordsmanship is advanced enough and their sword formation techniques are mastered, they will be able to control sword shadows and execute small-scale sword formations.

After all, in ancient times, most sword cultivators only raised one natal flying sword.

The sword formations recorded in the Spirit Transformation Chapter are all below the second rank.

However, this does not mean that these sword formations are weak.

The grade of a sword formation often only represents the difficulty of learning it. As long as you study it in depth and combine it properly, even a low-grade sword formation can exert great power.

Once one's swordsmanship skills improve, one can also advance low-level sword formations.

Since the creation of the sword formation path, there have always been sword cultivators who considered themselves to be of mediocre talent and devoted their entire lives to studying only one sword formation.

We will continuously improve, optimize, and advance it to achieve a more profound swordsmanship.

Countless such sword cultivator predecessors have allowed the art of sword formations to flourish throughout the long river of history.

Even more exceptionally talented sword geniuses combine several low-level sword formations to form a sword technique called "Sword Domain".

However, those are things he can't think about right now.

He now longs to return to his cave dwelling and try out the second sword formation he has mastered.

(End of this chapter)