Dual cultivation makes you stronger, everyone else is a prodigy, and I'm the only one slacking

Yu Luoning walked step by step up to the top floor of the library.

The top floor here is circular, open on all four sides, with only a skylight in the dome.

Pale blue spiritual mist poured down from the skylight, flowing quietly through the spacious hall.

Yu Luoning's gaze swept around, her brows gradually furrowing. Wasn't this place supposed to contain the Peerless Sword Intent? Why is there nothing here?

Just then, she sensed a slight disturbance within the spatial bracelet.

With a thought, his spirit probed into the space of the jade bracelet.

Suddenly, the mouse's fur stood on end, making it look like a little sea urchin. "Master, be careful."

Yu Luoning's expression turned serious, and she asked, "What's wrong?"

The mouse didn't answer immediately. It looked around as if trying to recall something, and after a long while, it whispered, "Something... feels off here."

Yu Luoning's heart sank slightly, and she asked again, "What's wrong?"

"I remember the top floor wasn't like this." Mouse opened its round eyes, its gaze serious.

"I've been in the library for over thirty years, and I used to come here every day. I know this place like the back of my hand. It used to be filled with bookshelves, and the broken sword fragment was always enshrined in the center, but now it's all gone."

It grew increasingly uneasy as it spoke, finally saying with deep concern, "Master, you must be very careful."

Yu Luoning nodded slightly, the nonchalance in her eyes completely vanished, and she became cautious, her gaze calm and composed.

I was hoping that if I could exchange 300,000 contribution points for a wisp of supreme sword intent, it would be a huge profit, since I would be invincible among those of the same level.

But now it seems like he's just asking for trouble.

Just as she was feeling uneasy, the entire rooftop shook violently, and a dark array pattern appeared beneath her feet. Then came a second, a third, and countless ancient array patterns that connected together, transforming into an extremely complex array in just a few breaths, completely sealing off the entire rooftop.

Yu Luoning's pupils contracted slightly. She recognized it at a glance: it was a forbidden array, and its grade far exceeded those she had learned so far.

Meanwhile, the old man on the lower level of the library slowly opened his eyes.

Sensing that the formation had been activated, a slight smile appeared on his lips. "It's begun."

Beside him stood his grandson, Pan Maoxin.

His expression was grim. "Grandpa, she can't be alive, can she?"

Old Pan chuckled lightly, "Don't worry, over the years, no one who's gone in has come out unscathed. Grandpa knows you've been wronged. The array's power has been reset; she can't possibly come out alive. Once her soul dissipates, we can announce that she failed to comprehend sword intent and suffered a backlash from it. Even if the sect leader comes, he won't be able to find a single flaw."

Seeing the old man's unwavering resolve, Pan Maoxin's handsome face contorted with glee, and his tone became smug.

"Grandpa's move was brilliant. I'm going to throw her corpse into the monsters later."

"No, we can't leave any evidence against us within the sect. Matters concerning inner disciples must go through the Discipline Hall; we can't handle them on our own."

Pan Maoxin snorted coldly, "Consider her lucky!"

~

Meanwhile, Yu Luoning, who was inside the array, was not feeling well. The humid air seemed to be trapped, and even circulating her spiritual energy was somewhat sluggish.

Moreover, a thick, eerie black fog had appeared in the air at some unknown time.

She suppressed her shock, slowly closed her eyes, and gradually spread her divine sense outwards, trying to find the core of this great formation.

But as soon as her divine sense touched those array patterns, the chilling aura seemed to drag her into purgatory.

Yu Luoning grunted and quickly withdrew her divine sense.

It can actually devour divine consciousness? She couldn't help but gasp.

Could it be that the prerequisite for experiencing supreme sword intent is to first sacrifice oneself? This is practically some kind of heretical and evil path!

Just then, a cold voice slowly came from outside the formation, "This is the supreme sword intent. Whether you can comprehend it depends entirely on your fate. If you die, you can only blame your bad luck and shallow destiny."

Yu Luoning suddenly realized that this was not a test at all, but a trap set specifically for her.

who is it?

Yu Luoning's gaze was deep. After thinking of a bunch of names, he finally settled on Pan Maoxin and Jiang Yuxing.

Although Jiang Yuxing and Elder Chiyang are dead, they may still be their relatives.

Yu Luoning quickly suppressed these thoughts. Now was not the time to think about it. Whoever was behind it all, anyone who dared to set up such a vicious soul-devouring array within the sect must be incredibly powerful and have a foolproof plan.

Now, her priority is to survive.

At this moment, the surrounding black mist grew thicker and thicker, constantly crashing into Yu Luoning's sea of ​​consciousness.

A dull ache throbbed through her soul, and at some point, a layer of gloomy gray mist seemed to have settled over her eyes.

Yu Luoning bit her lower lip hard and drew the black sword.

"Slay the Moon!"

A sharp crescent blade flew out and slammed into the surrounding array patterns.

With a loud boom, the black mist trembled for a moment, then returned to normal.

Yu Luoning did not stop, unleashing one Moon-Slaying Sword Technique after another, slashing in all directions while observing the changes in the array patterns.

Unfortunately, they still couldn't find the core of the formation.

"Master, this is not an ordinary trapping formation. Its foundation lies in the soul, not in spiritual power. Ordinary sword energy cannot be used to unleash it."

Yu Luoning naturally noticed that each sword strike could only briefly disperse the black mist.

However, there was also good news: the black sword was a gift from Cui Xiu.

As a malevolent corpse, Cui Xiu was filled with evil energy, which made this sword naturally extremely compatible with evil energy. Therefore, when the black turbid energy in the Soul Devouring Array attacked, this black sword blocked her way and absorbed most of it.

The black sword hummed softly, as if it were asking for credit. Yu Luoning was both amused and exasperated. "You're the one who always comes first. You're just like your former master, my precious darling."

The black sword seemed to sense something and worked even harder, constantly devouring the black mist, which greatly relieved the pressure on Yu Luoning.

Now that she had the energy, she took another look at the entire rooftop.

Yu Luoning soon noticed something strange.

It's unclear whether it was due to the dissipation of the black mist, or some other reason.

The once inconspicuous skylight overhead was now letting in a faint ray of starlight, which fell to the ground and reflected the shape of a long sword.

Just then, the mouse shrieked, "Master, I remember now, there wasn't a skylight here before!"

Yu Luoning narrowed her eyes slightly, and something connected in her mind. If there was no skylight here, then where did this ray of starlight come from?

If the skylight was opened later, what is its purpose?

Yu Luoning didn't look at the array diagram at her feet, but instead raised her head and stared intently at the dome.

A bold guess flashed through her mind: perhaps everyone was looking in the wrong place, and the true supreme sword intent was not here at all.

Yu Luoning mustered her courage, steeled her resolve, and loosely grasped the hilt of the Starshine Sword with her fingers.

In an instant, countless starlight transformed into tiny specks, flowing continuously into her sea of ​​consciousness through the gaps between her fingers.

Countless afterimages of battle seemed to appear before her eyes, sword intent from the ancient times.

Yu Luoning gradually closed her eyes until the starlight completely merged into her sea of ​​consciousness before opening them again.

The elegant and lofty sword light swept out like Mount Tai.

How can one describe this sword strike? This sword strike, imbued with the sword intent of ancient times, made the originally pitch-black greatsword seem to have a new skin. Holy light shone brightly, and the blazing light, like the sun, shot straight up to the sky and towards the heavens.

With a deafening roar, the entire dome was destroyed in an instant.

In an instant, the eyes of countless people throughout the sect turned to this place.

"What...is this?"

"That's the direction of the library!"

"Has someone comprehended the supreme sword intent?"

At that moment, the old woman, far away in the Treasure Pavilion, suddenly looked up, a relieved smile appearing on her aged face.

Conversely, Elder Pan's smile froze instantly, as did Pan Maoxing beside him.

Their faces turned deathly pale, and they screamed in disbelief, "Impossible! How could true sword intent awaken?"

The next moment, Elder Pan, furious, rushed in.

At this moment, the rooftop in front of him was empty, the great formation was broken, and only Yu Luoning, who was standing intact in the middle of the ruins, remained.