Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 871: 870: Indomitable

Chapter 871: Chapter 870: Indomitable

It’s been several years, yet the division of swordlight remains an indelible pain in his heart.

To attempt the Sword Light Division Skill of the Qingkong lineage, over the years he exhausted every possible method he could think of. Although he failed countless times, he also gathered a wealth of experience from those failures.

There are two main challenges.

Firstly, his flying swords lack initial speed. Previously, he relied on mana to propel his sword, which was manageable with just one sword. But if it’s a group of flying swords, pushing each one individually is utterly impossible; it consumes too much mana.

Yue Duo’s utilization of flying swords doesn’t face this issue, as hers achieves great speed due to the Twelve-Tier Tower propulsion.

The essence of strong flying sword skills lies in forming an aggressive flying sword as soon as the Purple Mansion Sword Seed emerges from the mansion. Martial arts in the world are all about speed for an undefeated edge, and it’s no different for sword cultivators. Yue Duo’s flying sword has reached the level of Sword Energy And Thunder Sound, faster than sound itself, while he is still far from this milestone. How can he compete?

Secondly, the issue of divine sense spiritual attachment. To control a flying sword, it must attach to the divine sense. Once the swordlight divides into tens or hundreds, the demand on spiritual power becomes terrifyingly high.

His spiritual power is decent, but just adequate. To master more flying swords requires stronger spiritual power, and he lacks the cultivation technique for this — a fatal shortcoming.

In the Quanzhen of the Shan Sect, sword cultivators don’t place much importance on this aspect because they divide limited numbers of swords. If only up to ten divisions are needed, the spiritual power of a Golden Core suffices. Master Hai could divide over sixty, supported by the formidable spiritual power of a Nascent Soul.

But the division of swordlight in Qingkong raises the number of sword divisions by several magnitudes. Top talents in Foundation Establishment, like Yue Duo, can already divide dozens. Golden Cores divide hundreds to thousands, and as Yue Duo says, Nascent Soul sword cultivators start at tens of thousands with no upper limit. This imposes the harshest demands on a sword cultivator’s spiritual power.

With such a disparity, how could he continue on the old Quanzhen path?

Originally, he intended to seek a method to enhance spiritual power from Yue Duo, but now, without having divided swordlight, how could he even ask?

He is very clear about his swordsmanship direction. If he carries out the Body Sword Skill to its fullest, he will still be a fearsome sword cultivator. Yet, this path in the future will be fraught with hardships and dangers, as the Body Sword can’t suit every battle condition — walking this path for long would eventually lead to ghosts.

Hiding in some mysterious space, appearing only with flying swords, is akin to a magic cultivator situating themselves in a magical treasure, acting freely but losing overall battlefield awareness — a significant flaw.

These two issues have tormented him, becoming the greatest barrier to his qualitative leap. Being different comes at a price, but the Heavenly Dao is very fair.

He tries to calm his somewhat agitated mood, knowing this is a crucial stage in his cultivation journey. Indulgence or impulsiveness would not solve the problem, requiring more calmness and rationality.

He stopped going out to challenge others but increased the frequency of enduring the Thunder Whip. He began cultivating in the Cloud Sea, right around Shiqi Land, returning to the island every ten days to receive a thousand lashes — accumulating mana cultivation. On Hell Star for decades, he continues to persevere.

His skill direction remains on the Body Sword Skill and Five Elements Cultivation Technique. His cultivation of the Five Elements Mysterious Light never ceased; due to his realm, his understanding of the Five Elements gradually deepens, evolving from three solid and two virtual to two virtual steadily thickening.

These aspects are his life’s capital at his current stage and must not be underestimated.

Every day, he spares an hour to attempt swordlight division, neither blindly investing time nor hastily giving up — it’s his current stance.

His cultivation has stabilized, and the thousand thunder whips every ten days have become a spectacle on Shiqi Island. Everyone knows there’s a sword cultivator crazily training on the island, but not everyone can endure such a method.

Diligence earns respect from others. He frequently interacts with Hong Kan, Wang Wang, and other island cultivators, now regarded as one of their own — even in prison, he remains bright-hearted. Foolish, but admirable.

Such a cultivation life is very regular, with semi-annual trials followed by rest, in cycles and repetitive. Inside, three years equal ten outside. Hou Niao, dealing with the Anchor Chain Cultivators, no longer struggles but now handles them with ease.

This progress owes to his advancement in mana cultivation, the Body Sword Skill on the right path, and the seeming cessation of assaults by Anchor Chain Cultivators. He has never again seen the Anchor Chain cultivator transmitted by the true body. They’re not foolish, knowing that reaching their goals in the trial arena becomes exceedingly difficult as realms consolidate.

The next significant battleground is on Hell Star to see who can devour the other or hide away.

The Cloud Sea of Hell Star is incredibly thick, with eighteen footholds within — where to search?

But their fighting does not concern him, Jinxiu, and these extraterritorial visitors haven’t contacted him to act together, evidently not regarding him as one of their own. Amidst the power struggles, he’s truly alone.

The twelve extraterritorial visitors, other hidden upper realm visitors, Anchor Chain Star System inhabitants, Hell Star cultivators, Unihorn Clan… it’s a headache.

This day, Hou Niao returned to the island, enjoyed the thousand thunder whips, and did not leave, as his fifteenth trial was about to start. Calculating closely, he has spent twenty years on Hell Star, with forty more to go.

He found the Water Fairy cultivating by the valley, quietly admiring the renowned Nineteen True Talisman Dao, also known as the Three Cave Daoist, within the vast universal cultivation tradition.

Though not comprehending the subtleties, he understood the Daoist realm, especially with the Water Fairy unreservedly demonstrating her True Talisman secret, a gesture shown only to true friends. It greatly helped Hou Niao.

An hour later, the Water Fairy put away the True Talisman, her beautiful eyes glancing around, “Did you understand?”

Hou Niao chuckled, “Half-understood, I only want to know which spot to stab with a sword…”

The Water Fairy speechlessly thought, in terms of cultivation, sword cultivators are not good seekers; they emphasize application too much, rarely focusing on deeper aspects.

“Forget it, it’s the first time you’ve sought me during my cultivation in all these years. Is there something you need?”

Hou Niao replied earnestly, “After this trial, you’d better stick with Wang Wang and the others. The enforcement from the Upper Realm visitors isn’t joking around, and they’ll be arriving at Shiqi Island soon.”