Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 358 - 346 Sword Art Preaching (2/3)

Chapter 358: Chapter 346 Sword Art Preaching (2/3)

Zhou Heng, of course, wouldn’t say what had happened. If he didn’t speak, Huo Tian certainly wouldn’t, leaving everyone else to wonder.

Everyone was puzzled, scratching their heads but also mindful of the Immortal Objects in the estate. After looking around and finding nothing, they returned inside. In their minds, perhaps their entrance into the estate had triggered some sort of mechanism or reaction, hence the surge of an Immortal’s presence!

This proved one thing for sure—there truly were Immortal Objects here!

Everyone grew excited and began to search earnestly.

Zhou Heng didn’t rush to refine the fragments of the door immediately; instead, he went with the flow, following the others as they moved forward.

The structure of the estate was quite simple, but each brick and tile was immensely sturdy. Not even experts at the Divine Infant Realm could hope to dismantle a house for a thorough search, forcing them to search through every nook and cranny like burglars.

"Eh!"

"Hmm!"

Every now and then, there were sounds of surprise, all coming from the same direction. When Zhou Heng and Huo Tian approached a massive attic, someone had just entered ahead of them, and immediately let out an astonished gasp.

What secrets lied within that made everyone hum in surprise upon entering?

Before he could think further, the person who had entered walked out, let out another surprised gasp, and then went back in again. This time, there were no more gasps of surprise.

Strange!

It was too strange!

These were all elders of the Nascent Soul and Divine Infant realms. How could they be doing something so baffling?

Driven by curiosity, Zhou Heng, accompanied by Huo Tian, approached the entrance and took a deep breath before stepping inside.

"Eh!"

The moment he stepped in, Zhou Heng immediately let out a gasp of surprise. The reason was simple—his Spiritual Power was gone!

For a martial artist, Spiritual Power was life itself!

Who wouldn’t be startled to suddenly find their Spiritual Power completely depleted?

Zhou Heng took a step back, out of the attic, and instantly felt his Spiritual Power surge back, swiftly refilling his Dantian.

This time, he managed to keep quiet.

No wonder every person who entered or left the attic was surprised. It was simply impossible not to be!

Of course, there was one exception—Huo Tian!

Zhou Heng couldn’t help but smile. This woman hadn’t even reached the Body Refinement First Layer, having no Spiritual Power within her, so naturally, she wouldn’t have felt anything.

He re-entered the attic and took a good look around. The space inside was quite large, about thirty yards wide, and over a hundred yards in depth, completely empty except for several meditation cushions on the floor. It was clear the design was exceedingly simple.

The people who had arrived earlier were each seated on a cushion, keeping about three yards apart from each other. Their gazes were fixed on the inner wall, where seven paintings hung, each depicting a person wielding a sword in various poses.

Swordsmanship?

No wonder everyone was so engrossed. If this were truly sword techniques from the Immortal Realm, then learning even one form would be an immense gain! With Immortal Techniques, one could possibly achieve immortality!

More people entered, and in less than half an hour, almost everyone who had entered the valley had arrived here.

Due to the estate’s simple layout, with no twists and turns and buildings impervious to damage, everyone was led to follow the original owner’s design, moving through each house in sequence. That’s why, sooner or later, everyone would end up here.

But clearly, this place wasn’t the end of the estate. Why was there no path to go forward?

Upon reaching this place, though Spiritual Power was inhibited, minds were not. Zhou Heng could clearly deduce that at least half of the estate remained unexplored—they hadn’t even passed through the area sliced open by terrifying Vigorous Qi.

Zhou Heng quickly tucked this question away in his heart and, like the others, found a cushion to sit on, focusing his gaze on the seven paintings.

Having multiple skills never hurt anyone. Although he had learned Sky-soaring Nine Forms, this sword technique was not suitable for everyday use. Using it meant either the enemy died or his own power was utterly depleted, without a single path of retreat!

If he could obtain another Immortal-level sword technique, it would be even better!

Moreover, even if the seven paintings embodied a set of sword techniques, their power would certainly fall far short of the Sky-soaring Nine Forms. The difference was vast, like reaching for the sky—after all, the previous owner of the Black Sword had destroyed this place with mere remnants of Sword Qi.

For Zhou Heng, right now a sword technique of lesser power would actually be more suitable, one that didn’t exhaust his strength after a single use.

He stared at the seven paintings, and soon became immersed in them, sensing infinite mysteries within. However, they were too complex, chaotic thoughts barraging his mind, capturing nothing in the end.

The attic was silent as a crypt. Everyone sensed that the seven paintings must contain profound truths; they could feel it, but perhaps due to their insufficient levels, they couldn’t grasp the essence.

This left them scratching their heads in frustration and discomfort.

Looking over at Huo Tian, Zhou Heng saw the Peerless Heavenly Maiden idly yawning, propping her chin with a slender hand, seemingly yearning for sleep. He couldn’t help but smile and said, "I can lend you a shoulder to lean on if you like."

Huo Tian gave him a look but moved her cushion over, leaning against him after she sat down. In no time, she was breathing lengthily, fast asleep.

Perhaps only she, in the face of Immortal Law, would scorn it and instead fall into a deep slumber?

Zhou Heng chuckled to himself and found a sense of equanimity. With tranquil thoughts, unswayed by honor or disgrace, he adjusted his mindset, focusing only on the first painting. It depicted an old man in green robes raising a long sword surrounded by a whirl of colorful falling leaves. He didn’t know how long he had been staring when suddenly the leaves began to move, each one fluttering down.

It wasn’t just the leaves—the old man was moving too. As he and his sword moved, he executed a sword technique filled with profound mystery.

Zhou Heng’s body was as still as a wooden sculpture, yet above his head divine light pulsated, transforming into a little golden figure wielding a black sword, also following the old man’s movements, when the sword birthed, all things came into being, when the sword perished, all things went extinct.

As the sword technique completed its circular dance, the first painting suddenly emitted a strong brilliant light, startling everyone so much that they opened their eyes wide. Whoosh, a streak of green light flew out from the painting and entered the top of Zhou Heng’s head.

"Feiyu Seven Swords!"

"Leaf Falling Destiny Extinct!"

The thought instantly swept through Zhou Heng’s mind while simultaneously a sword technique passed through his heart.

This was the mnemonic that corresponded with the previous sword technique!

Zhou Heng looked again at the first painting, only to find it shockingly empty, no old man, no fallen leaves, just a blank sheet of paper.

Such a miraculous way of imparting sword techniques!

Only to one person!

Stomp, stomp, stomp, seeing the first painting disappear all at once, everyone rose to their feet, staring at Zhou Heng with venomous eyes, filled with murderous intent.

Although they did not understand what had happened, upon seeing that streak of green light merging into Zhou Heng’s body, they could guess that it must be related to Zhou Heng.

"Kid, did you just learn that sword technique?" someone immediately demanded of Zhou Heng.

Zhou Heng scanned the crowd and said, "Whether I did or didn’t, what’s it to you?"

"How dare you!" Everyone’s eyes widened as they bellowed.

Who among them wasn’t an existence of the Nascent Soul Realm, the Divine Infant Realm, and even some had been figures unsealed from ancient times; each one full of soaring pride, how could they tolerate Zhou Heng’s attitude.

Zhou Heng laughed loudly, "You want to fight? Come on then!"

He hooked his finger provocatively.

The crowd was speechless; only then did they remember that upon entering this place, all their spiritual power had been completely suppressed! Here, they were nothing more than ordinary old men and women!

If this place had simply suppressed their spiritual power, rather than erasing it, they all would have died of old age!

To fight against a young and robust Zhou Heng, wouldn’t that be self-abasing? How could they, a bunch of Nascent Soul Realm and Divine Infant Realm old ancestors, afford to be beaten black and blue by a junior of the Spirit Sea Realm? How would they have the face to meet others in the future?

Faced with Zhou Heng’s unwavering stand, all the experts chose to swallow their pride in silence.

What a humiliation, to be silenced by the glare of a junior of the Spirit Sea Realm! But it’s better than being ridden and beaten about the head by Zhou Heng, isn’t it?

Whoosh!

Just then, another streak of green light flashed, and the fourth painting suddenly turned blank, and that green light also merged into the head of a middle-aged man who, evidently, had also received the inheritance of a sword technique.

The crowd then snapped to their senses, realizing there was no time to waste, and one by one they sat back down, focusing their attention on the remaining five sword paintings.

Zhou Heng glanced at the middle-aged man; he was a stately figure, his mere sitting posture exuding a mountain-like stable aura! He was not a human, but from the Heavenly Demon Clan, with a pair of wings on his back.

The man immediately sensed Zhou Heng’s gaze, looked back, a strong fighting spirit surged in his eyes, but quickly withdrew it and turned his attention back to the remaining five paintings.

Zhou Heng had no time to waste, although he was secretly curious about the identity of the man from the Heavenly Demon Clan, he temporarily suppressed it.

Whoosh, another streak of green light streaked by, entering into the head of the third person, an expert from the Night Demon Clan, also a middle-aged man, with pointed ears and purple hair, radiating a majestic and domineering aura.

The sixth painting disappeared too.

Unexpectedly, the ones who truly gained were three youngsters!

Could it be that they really had grown old?

The older generation showed a trace of bitter smiles. Faced with this scene, they all felt an irresistible sense of aging as time passed by.

But this thought was fleeting; they quickly raised their spirits again and turned their gaze to the sword paintings on the wall – as long as they learned immortal techniques, they could possibly achieve the Immortal status, and all talented individuals would be trampled under their feet, and they would be young again!

Soon, the restlessness quieted down, and everyone’s gaze uniformly fixed on the paintings on the wall.

Whoosh!

The fourth green light flashed by, entering Zhou Heng’s forehead, and the second painting disappeared.

"A World Where Flowers Bloom!"

...

The fifth green light flashed, entering the body of the middle-aged man from the Heavenly Demon Clan, and he too received the inheritance of two sword techniques.

...

The sixth green light passed, and the man from the Night Demon Clan was not to be outdone, he also received two sword techniques!

...

Everyone was incredibly tense, focusing on that last painting.

This was the seventh painting, and also the last of the Feiyu Seven Swords, the people who had not received the sword technique inheritance showed anxious expressions, this was their last hope. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)