Chapter 44: Chapter 41 Affection

The higher they climbed, the stronger the sword attacks from the treasures on Ten Thousand Swords Mountain became.

The swords at the very bottom, with their remaining sword qi mixed and easy to deal with.

But after repelling more than twenty waves of sword groups' attacks, the sword qi on the swords stuck along the mountain path began to fuse together.

The sword groups attacked in unison, and the might of their combined attack also surged suddenly.

As they ascended Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, the pressure on Jiang Yao and Ye Chen also increased.

Relying solely on the sword qi attracted by the sword groups' attacks, which automatically flew out from the meridian points in the Sword Palace to execute swordsmanship, was no longer sufficient to withstand the attacks of the sword groups.

Jiang Yao and Ye Chen began to use Sword Intents, commanding more sword qi and Spiritual Liquid from within their Sword Palace meridian points, to overpower the vast sword groups surging to kill.

Ten Thousand Swords Mountain had an arcane formation that imprisoned True Qi, preventing them from using the True Qi in their Qi Sea; otherwise, Jiang Yao's early stage in the Rotating Pill Realm alone could have swept the entire lower mountainous area of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain with her True Qi techniques.

Now, Jiang Yao and Ye Chen had to rely entirely on the Sword Qi and Spiritual Liquid drawn from the Sword Pool and their control over Sword Intents to execute swordsmanship to deal with the attacking sword groups.

However, although they could not utilize their full strength, this special trial, designed to suppress the path of the sword, brought great benefits to Jiang Yao and Ye Chen.

Originally, of the Sword Qi and Spiritual Liquid they had absorbed into their Sword Palace meridian points, they could only control and use a very small fraction, not even one ten-thousandth of the total Spiritual Liquid, with the vast remainder simply surging freely within the domain of the Sword Palace.

But now, after spending about four days, as they were about to finish ascending the lower mountainous area of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, the quantity of Sword Qi and Spiritual Liquid they could command from their Sword Palace meridian points using their Sword Intents had increased by four or five times, reaching one-thousandth of the total Spiritual Liquid, and the power of their attacks had also soared suddenly!

Keep in mind, the vast amount of Sword Qi and Spiritual Liquid drawn into their Sword Palace meridian points were enough to nurture a "sacred weapon" level flying sword; if they could control all of it, with the power of these Sword Qi and Spiritual Liquid alone, they would be able to kill experts in the Rotating Pill Realm!

Now, even though they could only make use of one-thousandth of the lake of immense Sword Qi and Spiritual Liquid, the might of the Sword Qi they controlled was equivalent to the strength of a sixth or seventh layer True Qi expert!

Moreover, after frequently using the Sword Qi and Spiritual Liquid, the fraction within their Sword Palace meridian points that was used regularly began to undergo a transformation, gaining some wondrous innate spirit!

The part of the Sword Qi and Spiritual Liquid that Ye Chen could manipulate in his Sword Palace surged and roared, just like countless drops of storm rain converging together.

For Jiang Yao, the portion of Spiritual Liquid she controlled within her Sword Palace meridian points seemed to be gathering countless streaks of purple lightning.

This was precisely because Storm Rain Sword Intent and Purple Lightning Sword Intent were their most commonly used martial techniques!

The Sword Qi and Spiritual Liquid with innate spirit spread continuously within the domain of the Sword Palace, allowing them to command even more of it and thereby increasing their combat capacity. This became another killer move at their disposal apart from True Qi in their Qi Sea!

In fact, Jiang Yao and Ye Chen's previous speculations were not wrong; the Sword Qi and Spiritual Liquid they had absorbed was indeed a powerful form of Innate Sword Qi!

This Innate Sword Qi was gathered by Heavenly Saint Lian Yue over eighty years from the Tai'a Sword Forest of the Great Sword Sect in the Tai'a Sword Qi of the great Dagan Dynasty.

What they were even less aware of was that eight days ago, when the two of them entered the last domain of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain's middle region and suddenly encountered an attack by powerful swords containing three kinds of Sword Intents, the way Ye Chen fearlessly shielded Jiang Yao had quietly allowed that trace of affection to grow.

Jiang Yao would never forget the words Ye Chen said as he held her hand to flee from the pursuing swords: "We're comrades, aren't we? If I don't protect you, who will?"

At that moment, Jiang Yao, whose hand was held by a boy for the first time, blushed on her delicate face. The warm and hot feeling penetrated deeply into her heart.

Now, having awakened from cultivation, Jiang Yao quietly sat cross-legged, watching the figure on the large stone in the distance, silently waiting.

Three more days passed.

It was the twenty-first day since Jiang Yao and Ye Chen had entered Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, with nine days remaining until the end of the mountain's trial.

Ye Chen, who was sitting on the large stone, suddenly opened his eyes.

The instant he opened his eyes, countless strands of Sword Qi flew out from the acupoint in the center of his forehead, instantly forming a terrifying Sword Qi storm.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The rampant Sword Qi storm swept across and within the blink of an eye enveloped hundreds of yards in every direction. While there was no change in the landscape as the storm passed, all the swords embedded in the rocks within the storm's radius were forcefully lifted, hanging suspended in mid-air.

Only after the storm passed did the swords thunderously fall to the ground, quivering incessantly.

The Sword Qi techniques demonstrated by Ye Chen contained an extremely profound understanding of the essence of wind!

"Wind Sword Intent!"

"Ye Chen, have you actually comprehended the Wind Sword Intent?!"

Jiang Yao exclaimed in surprise as she leapt up from her seated position and ran directly towards Ye Chen, who was still seated on the large stone.

Just now, she had been within the range of the Sword Qi storm.

Jiang Yao could clearly feel that the terrifying Sword Qi storm became incredibly gentle as it swept over her, like a caressing breeze, but when it moved towards the swords, it transformed into a violent whirlwind with terrifying power.

This was exactly the realm that Ye Chen had described to her in seeking within the Wind Sword Intent!

Looking at the beautiful girl with a face full of surprise running toward him, Ye Chen nodded with a smile.

"Let's go, Jiang Yao."

"It's time for us to explore the last domain of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain's middle region!"