Arc 15: Heavenly Secret Realm | Chapter 293: Sword Dao Fruit

Arc 15: Heavenly Secret Realm | Chapter 293: Sword Dao Fruit

These two Sword Sovereigns were lofty figures, and they rushed here immediately after leaving seclusion due to an important matter. A ranking list for Golden Core Zhenren was hardly worth mentioning. Moreover, for a prestigious Immortal Sword Sect, how could they bear to admit that their disciples were outperformed by someone from an external sect?

As a result, the younger generation had naturally been striving with all their might, hoping to pull Yun Lie, the “Execution Sword,” down from the fifth position one day. They were even more unlikely to mention him in front of their elders. Besides, Yun Lie was a core disciple of a second-ranked immortal sect, and his status among his peers was quite high. It would be impossible to recruit him into their sect. Reporting this matter to the higher-ups would only bring shame with little benefit. Moreover... many of the younger generation had sharpened their focus on reaching the sword-shaped tree, partly due to the provocation caused by Yun Lie.

The Passionate Sword Young Master smiled faintly and said, “The two Sword Sovereigns merely spent a little extra time collecting sword-shaped leaves for their juniors. If they had pressed on like the Execution Sword lad, they wouldn’t have fallen behind.”

Upon hearing this, the two Sword Sovereigns’ expressions eased somewhat. Being seasoned and astute, they could see that Yun Lie had also paused midway and was even carrying a burden on his back. Still, people in high positions always preferred compliments over opposition. Now that the Passionate Sword Young Master had given them enough face, they naturally wouldn’t argue further.

The three of them, after a brief pause, used their skills to increase their climbing speed by several notches. Gradually, the distance between them and Yun Lie began to close.

Yun Lie, unaware that those behind him had already analyzed his background, felt a growing sense of killing intent within him the higher he climbed. This intent gradually merged with his sword essence, radiating a pure murderous aura from his body. It felt sharp, like a pinpoint of white light on a needle tip or the edge of a newly honed sword, constantly giving off a sensation of bloodlust. His path was the Sword of Ruthless Killing, freezing all emotions and using killing to stop killing—an insatiable desire to kill.

The Seven Emotions Demon had thawed his emotions, allowing him to release his demonic thoughts and absorb demonic energy from the demonic lands to temper his body. However, Yun Lie’s resolve was so unshakable that even though the demon had amplified his inner demonic thoughts, it could not suppress him forever. Yun Lie’s unwavering heart for the sword was indomitable, unbreakable by anything!

As his sword essence surged, that realm of no fear, no joy, no sorrow began to emerge.

The aura around Yun Lie became colder and harsher.

Xu Ziqing, clinging silently to Yun Lie’s back, let out a quiet sigh.

“Shixiong...”

When the sword essence of the third level shattered in front of the seventh-layer branches, Yun Lie stood upon the expansive branches, his face unmoved, his eyes calm and tranquil.

The demonic thoughts that had imprisoned his soul now showed signs of cracking.

Yun Lie swept his gaze around, and thousands of invisible sword intents formed behind him, dense as a forest. With a single thought, these sword intents erupted and swept outward!

It turned out that on this layer of branches, there were still many sword-shaped leaves.

But these sword-shaped leaves were much rarer, each as long as an adult’s arm, resembling spiritual swords growing on the thicker branches.

These sword-shaped leaves were pure white, like the edges of snow-white blades, flashing with cold light.

They all radiated immense power!

Some embodied extreme force, like Thunder Sword Intent, Sun Sword Intent, or Blazing Flame Sword Intent.

Some embodied extreme softness, like Water Sword Intent, Flowing Cloud Sword Intent, or Long Wind Sword Intent.

Some embodied extreme stillness, like Solitary Peak Sword Intent, Boulder Sword Intent, or Ice Sword Intent.

There were also countless other unique sword intents, which could be manifestations of celestial phenomena, emotions, or the myriad things in the world—too many to enumerate.

The moment Yun Lie stepped onto this layer of branches, countless sword-shaped leaves detached from the branches, filled with solidified, formidable sword intent, and rushed toward him like a tidal wave! What followed was the merciless onslaught of his Ruthless Killing Sword Intent against these sword-shaped leaves.

—In the end, they were only at the third level of sword intent and were no match for the fourth-level Ruthless Killing Sword Intent.

Yun Lie stood still and could see the shattered sword-shaped leaves slowly reforming in another area. At that moment, they submitted.

Xu Ziqing whispered, “Shixiong, can they be collected now?”

Yun Lie nodded slightly and replied, “Indeed.” With that, he raised his right arm slightly.

Yun Lie, dressed in white, had his robe sleeves billowing as if stirred by the wind. From the wide openings of his sleeves, countless tamed sword-shaped leaves flew swiftly into them.

In just a short while, all the sword-shaped leaves within a radius of several dozen meters vanished.

As expected, the nine sword-shaped leaves around the Sword Dao Fruit immediately formed a sword array, entangling with Yun Lie’s sword intent.

If one wanted to obtain the Sword Dao Fruit, one had to fully subdue this sword array!

Yun Lie was not afraid of this. In the eyes of someone who had achieved the fourth realm of sword intent, this sword array was not formidable.

So, after just a few breaths, the sword array shattered, and the sword intent shot straight toward the Sword Dao Fruit!

At that moment, the sound of wind suddenly came from behind Yun Lie.

It was an extremely faint sound, with an even more subtle hint of killing intent.

But it was precisely this trace of killing intent that revealed the presence of someone behind him.

Yun Lie, who practiced the ruthless and murderous Sword Dao, was most sensitive to killing intent.

No matter who, no matter what, no matter when—as long as there was killing intent, it was nearly impossible to escape his notice.

Almost at the same moment, Yun Lie didn’t turn around but instead countered with a full release of his sword intent! He could not hold back, for anyone capable of climbing to the eighth layer of branches was a master of the fourth realm of sword intent. If he hesitated even slightly, he would be leaving behind nothing but his corpse!

Yun Lie’s judgment was correct. The sword intent he unleashed immediately collided with the sword intent from behind, and the resulting violent airflow even forced him to retreat several meters to reduce the impact. Then, his figure wavered slightly, and he turned around.

The one who attacked him from behind was a handsome, silver-haired young man.

This young man was shrouded in a faint, almost imperceptible aura of viciousness, and his Sword Dao contained his ruthless heart.

Without a doubt, he was a decisive and formidable figure!

At the same time, Xu Ziqing also saw the silver-haired young man.

The terrifying aura emanating from this young man was something Xu Ziqing had only ever sensed from his Shixiong—yet he had never faced it so directly as he did today.

His Shixiong would gradually release pressure to let him adapt, but this silver-haired young man only wanted to destroy both him and his Shixiong together!

This made him suddenly feel suffocated.

The silver-haired young man stood in place, but there were now two more people beside him.

One stood shoulder to shoulder with him, while the other stood a few feet away, vaguely separated.

One was an ally, while the other... was unknown.

As Xu Ziqing saw the three of them clearly, his heart began to sink.

His Shixiong was alone, but the enemies numbered three.

Yes, even the one who seemed less familiar with the other two was clearly not standing against them.

And, evidently, this silver-haired young man truly regarded his Shixiong as an enemy.

So at the very least, that other person would not be a friend either.

Translator: Lynn

Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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