In the Upper Regions, where the most powerful sects ruled the divine domains as far as the heavens could see, there was one sacred sect that stood out—the Divine Sword Sect. They were famous for their mastery of sword techniques and their rapid rise among the other five sects.
Within the Divine Sword Domain, nestled in the sacred mountains of their sect, was a tradition unlike any other. They forged living weapons imbued with consciousness and unmatched power. Among these artisans was Xianren Lu, a master craftsman whose skill surpassed all others.
He dreamed of creating the ultimate weapon, delving deep into the cosmos to infuse a sword with a soul, granting it sentience and the ability to harness the essence of the heavens.
"A weapon so powerful that it would make everyone else's a fake and mine the most authentic."
That was how he described it.
His dedication caught the attention of Ancient Spiritmother, wife of Soul King. She entrusted him with a fragment of a sword spirit's soul, instructing him to nurture and protect it until the sword spirit could reunite with its Soul Twin in the Lower Regions.
Xianren Lu didn't dare question the words of such an ancient being; he simply followed her wishes and accepted the half of the sword spirit's soul she gave him.
After centuries of intense study and meditation, Xianren Lu finally achieved his goal: creating Lingyu, the Divine Mother Sword Array. Crafted from the rarest celestial metals and infused with star essence, Lingyu represented the pinnacle of swordsmanship and spirit refinement.
She was meant to be the ultimate protector of the Divine Sword Sect, offering hope to those seeking enlightenment through the sword.
But as time passed and threats from the Heavenly Court Sect grew, Lingyu's fate took a tragic turn. In a decisive battle against Divine-Emperor, the sect suffered a crushing defeat, and Xianren Lu, who sought to defend Lingyu, perished. Feeling not only anger, but a sense of imminent danger, Lingyu made a selfless sacrifice. She unleashed her full power and became the first living Sword Array.
Then, she sealed away Divine-Emperor's access to the Divine Sword Domain and protected the sect and its people.
Though successful, the strain of the sacrifice led to Lingyu being cast out of the higher expanses, and her soul fragment scattered across the cosmos. For millennia, Lingyu drifted through the Void Realm until fate somehow brought her a law-defying mage who was also sealed in the Void Realm.
Unknowingly, he brought her with him to the Lower Regions, where cultivators aimed for greater heights through cultivation.
However, Lingyu's true awakening came only when called back to consciousness by the will of her soul twin, Sun Yuying.
...
Yang Wei kept his gaze fixed on the gigantic sword array, then glanced back at Sun Yuying. Seeing her devastated on her knees, he couldn't help but understand her feelings. Sun Yurong had seen Sun Yuying merely as a tool for her sect's advantage in reunification, even allowing her to suffer spiritual energy deprivation that could've killed her.
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Discovering that she had treated her own daughter this way after a decade of separation felt completely wrong.
"Come on, Sister Deng, let's go!" Hu Meizhen whined, constantly yanking Deng Rulan by the wrist. "O-oh, yes..." said an absentminded Deng Rulan.
Yang Wei looked up into the sky and saw Sun Yuying's heavenly appearance hovering there at the center of the sword array, which looked like a sacred megastructure. Soon, Sun Yuying's glowing purple eyes met his, and the two exchanged a cold stare.
At that moment, Sun Yuying wasn't thinking clearly.
With her soul fragment fusing with Lingyu's, all she could think about was destroying anything unfamiliar, and since she felt like an empty slate, everything looked unfamiliar. Seeing Yang Wei fearlessly standing below her while others ran away made her see him as an obstacle she needed to eliminate.
Holding out her hand, she softly said, "Kill him..." and instantly, the air turned cold as spiritual energy coalesced into hundreds of dragon swords.
This seemed normal to Yang Wei until she did something surprising. A large dome spread out, covering the entire Blue Steam Mountain, and her spiritual pressure touched everything within it. Then, she "seemed" to slow down time in that area, making everything move at a snail's pace. Countless dragon swords descended like raindrops at Yang Wei, moving at chaotic speeds beyond normal comprehension.
"Heh," Yang Wei chuckled. With a wave of his hand, a surge of his blood Qi escaped his body like a destructive aura, effortlessly destroying all the swords raining down on him. A big feat considering these dragon swords could be considered a Core Formation-level attack!
"It seems my Innate Blood Spirit is almost taking shape. A few more, and I should be able to create my own Blood Martial Arts. But I suppose that's not what matters now, right, sword spirit?"
Even from where he stood, Sun Yuying could hear him, but her empty mind swirling with unknown emotions could only react with silence.
With a small, elegant movement of her hand, Sun Yuying formed more dragon swords than before and sent them hurtling toward their target, Yang Wei. The way they moved could easily wipe out the entire Blue Steam Mountain if they connected with the earth.
However, Yang Wei held out his hand, flashing the domineering presence of his Golden Turtle Body, which he empowered with his partially-formed Innate Blood Spirit, making it appear 40 meters bigger than its original size.
"Tortoise Warding Stance!"
Yang Wei shouted, and the Golden Turtle Body stretched out both its arms, sending a corrosive shockwave of its Qi and pure physical force that shattered all the dragon swords aimed at him as if they were made of glass!
"My turn!" he declared, forming over a hundred blood swords, all spirit-refined four times, and sent them flying like rockets at the sword array.
With its huge size, Yang Wei's aim was easy, but with a snap of her finger, all the blood swords stopped and completely obeyed Sun Yuying's will, then vanished entirely as she reversed their time to before they were formed.
Folding his arms, Yang Wei smiled at this.
A sword spirit, huh? It now makes sense why she was able to master and perfectly use my mantra. I guess you could even say she's got a better handle on the Dragon Sword Formation Realm than I do, considering what she is...
"Hah, you're a prodigy like you said, Yuying... but I'll only agree after I've formed my own true dragon sword!"