Every sword-shaped leaf contained a kind of sword intent. If a sword cultivator found one that resonated with their own Dao, they could absorb it, leaving a trace within their Purple Palace.
With the help of that trace, they could easily touch the thin barrier that had always obstructed them: the light of sword intent.
Understanding this, Xu Ziqing looked toward the sword cultivators who did not belong to the Myriad Swords Immortal Sect. They had no invisible cages to help them.
But sword cultivators with even some attainment had usually tempered their wills through many trials. Such a small difficulty would not deter them.
After watching the disciples of the Myriad Swords Immortal Sect, they soon devised another method. They pressed the sword-shaped leaves directly to their Purple Palaces and circulated their spiritual senses to break them open. In an instant, the sword intent passed straight through their brows and entered their Purple Palaces, rampaging unchecked!
Unlike the sect disciples’ approach, this provided no weakening of the sword intent as it passed through the body’s hundred meridians. It was much more dangerous. But those who had devoted their hearts to the sword did not fear death.
Before long, several cultivators whose Purple Palaces were not sturdy enough failed to withstand the impact. Their Purple Palaces burst apart, killing them instantly!
Yet many more subdued the sword intent within their Purple Palaces through sheer willpower and promptly sat cross-legged upon the first tier of branches to meditate!
These sword cultivators were so tenacious that even bloodied and battered, they refused to stop.
It was the first time Xu Ziqing had truly seen people so fearless in pursuit of their Dao. He sighed, and could not help feeling respect for them.
It had nothing to do with cultivation level or realm.
What he respected was the purity of their determination.
After sweeping up countless sword-shaped leaves, Yun Lie sprang upward and continued climbing from the branch, leaving behind those who had stopped on the first tier to comprehend the Dao.
Each leaf contained precious sword intent and was naturally valuable in its own right. There was no such thing as collecting too many, and cultivators who had already comprehended sword intent continued gathering them.
But they were not neglecting their surroundings. Seeing Yun Lie move, some began to reconsider their own plans.
Soon several others followed him and began climbing higher.
Among those Xuan Ze had recruited, Yun Lie was the strongest, followed by Xi Lin. Of the remaining sword practitioners, only one had attained the first realm of sword intent.
Light flashed through Xi Lin’s eyes. “Zuo Cheng, come with me. The rest of you remain here and collect as many sword-shaped leaves as possible.”
None objected. Those who had not even comprehended sword intent would likely face greater danger if they attempted to climb higher.
Sword cultivators were indeed unyielding, but that did not mean they would act recklessly when they knew their lives were certain to be lost.
Zuo Cheng, the sword cultivator at the first realm of sword intent, was a taciturn man. At Xi Lin’s command, he immediately set off.
Their intention was to climb as quickly as possible and then, according to what they encountered, decide how to descend and search for the treasure Prince Tiancheng needed.
Meanwhile Yun Lie climbed swiftly, even faster than before.
The first and second tiers of branches were separated by only a few dozen zhang, not very far. Following an impulse deep in his heart, Yun Lie intended to examine all nine tiers of the Sword-Shaped Wood before he would understand why it drew him so strongly.
Xu Ziqing kept quiet, unwilling to interfere. He could also see that his senior brother seemed to have entered an unusual state of mind.
Perhaps… Yun Lie was drawing closer to recovering his true nature.
The thought brought a complicated expression to Xu Ziqing’s eyes.
Yun Lie reached the second tier almost effortlessly.
Here the sword-shaped leaves were narrower and more pointed. Clustered together, they shone like liquid silver.
But Yun Lie did not stop to examine them as he had on the first tier. He simply swept his sleeves, collecting vast quantities.
Then he turned and climbed onward without waiting for anyone behind him.
On the third tier, the leaves resembled exquisitely crafted pure silver. An invisible sword qi seemed to flow around them, stirring the air as though countless unseen little swords were dancing. Should they attack, they could injure someone.
For Yun Lie, a flicker of light in his eyes was enough for his sword intent to shatter those currents, allowing him to gather the leaves freely.
Before anyone realized it, Yun Lie had become the fastest climber.
But Xu Ziqing noticed several people still pursuing closely behind them.
Their cultivation was not low, and each radiated abundant spiritual light. Compared with the crowds scrambling below, their realms were several times more profound.
Xi Lin was among them, apparently still advancing with ease.
He was also exceedingly cautious.
At the approach to the fourth tier, another obstacle appeared.
A stabbing pain pierced Xu Ziqing’s mind. He hurriedly defended with the Qingyun Needle. The struggle took place within his Purple Palace and lasted half a ke before he could barely dispel the pain.
Another attack immediately struck toward his Purple Palace, but Yun Lie dissolved it before it reached him.
Xu Ziqing took a deep breath. Unless he was mistaken, this was an attack of the second realm of sword intent.
It was a realm that could shake the soul, or even destroy it!
Yun Lie had once explained the four realms of sword intent to him. Now Xu Ziqing had experienced the second realm firsthand.
It was… astonishingly powerful.
At last Xu Ziqing understood how the Sword-Shaped Wood’s nine tiers corresponded to the four realms of sword intent.
The first three tiers clearly corresponded to the first realm. At the fourth, one needed the attainment of at least the second realm to proceed.
And a cultivator at the peak of the first realm might, through a supreme effort, break through the bottleneck using the barrier below the fourth tier, then enter the lowest tier corresponding to the second realm to temper themselves.
This was probably one of the reasons so many sword cultivators flocked to the Sword-Shaped Wood.
One could imagine that after the tree’s appearance in the Tianlan Secret Trove, the Qingyun Great World would see many more cultivators who had comprehended sword intent, their Sword Dao shining brilliantly.
Over the next ten thousand years, such sword cultivators might raise a surging tide!
Under the Heavenly Dao, the sword cultivators were destined for an ascent.
Just then Xu Ziqing swayed slightly as Yun Lie landed on the fourth tier.
The leaves here were paler than on the first three tiers, fading from silver-white toward the gray-white of the trunk.
They were also larger than those below.
Each was now about the length of a palm.
And their numbers were far less dense.
Yun Lie moved without hesitation, sweeping all the nearby leaves into his sleeves.
Xu Ziqing knew without thinking that the sword intent contained here must far exceed that of the lower three tiers.
Yun Lie climbed again, stripping the fifth and sixth tiers as he went. This time, rather than allowing Xu Ziqing to confront the next barrier himself, he released third-realm sword intent as soon as they approached the seventh tier, shattering the obstruction completely!
His advance was unstoppable, placing considerable pressure upon those pursuing him.
Some seven or eight people were hurrying upward a little below Yun Lie.
Xi Lin wore a solemn expression and remained wholly focused. Three others at his side had also attained the third realm of sword intent, and none yielded to the others.
Ahead of those four were three cultivators whose sword intent soared to the heavens. A thunder wyrm seemed to coil above one man’s head, a storm of wind surrounded another, and a third radiated an indescribably mysterious presence. Although indistinct, it could not be ignored.
Without doubt, these three had reached the fourth realm of sword intent.
Their attainment in the Sword Dao had long since risen to an indescribably lofty level.
All three were giants of the Sword Dao. Two were Supreme Elders of the Myriad Swords Immortal Sect who had reached the Nascent Soul realm long ago: the Thunder Marsh Sword Venerable and the Wind God Sword Venerable.
The third was a cultivator of the demonic path. Although his career was not as long as theirs, he was a rising prodigy, in no way inferior to them in either Sword Dao attainment or the cultivation within his dantian.
They knew one another well. Though they did not follow the same path, they had long admired each other from afar.
For many years, no one else had possessed a Sword Dao realm equal to theirs!
The sword venerable with the thunder wyrm above his head spoke first. He was a purple-faced middle-aged man who cultivated thunder sword intent. He had trained in the Great Desolation’s Thunder Marsh for hundreds of years, using natural lightning to temper his overwhelmingly fierce Thunder Sword. His temperament was the most domineering of the three. “Who is that boy? His cultivation doesn’t look particularly impressive, yet he’s ahead of us!”
The Wind God Sword Venerable, wrapped in a storm, had silver hair and an extraordinarily handsome face. His expression was cold, though a hint of violence lurked in his eyes. “Look at his bones. He’s not even a hundred years old! Someone with such Sword Dao attainment isn’t a member of our Myriad Swords Immortal Sect. If he beats us to the prize, what will become of our sect’s reputation?”
The two exchanged several remarks, while the demonic-path cultivator kept silent.
He was refined-looking rather than exceptionally handsome, yet anyone who saw him instinctively liked him. His gaze carried an ineffable tenderness tinged with melancholy, and his eyes and brows held an air of affection that made others want to cherish him and draw close.
But the other two would not let him remain uninvolved.
The Thunder Dragon Sword Venerable asked, “Does the Passionate Sword, Young Master Passionate, happen to know who he is?”
The Wind God Sword Venerable added, “We’ve been in seclusion for so long that we wouldn’t have emerged if not for the Sword-Shaped Wood. We lack Young Master Passionate’s knowledge. He spends his days among flowers and lovers, enjoying himself and meeting all sorts of people.”
Having been addressed so directly, Young Master Passionate could hardly refuse them.
His features remained veiled by faint sorrow. He smiled gently, a smile capable of winning over countless men and women. “Sword Venerables, if I remember correctly, this man resembles a recently ranked Perfected Master on the Heavenly Dragon Ranking.”
The two sword venerables snorted. “More than ten of our disciples are on that ranking, yet we’ve never heard of such a person.”
Young Master Passionate sighed. “After years of obscurity, he burst into the top five the moment he entered the ranking, surpassing many sword cultivators. The one known as the ‘Slaughter Sword.’ That is him.”
The Thunder Dragon Sword Venerable’s face turned cold. “Those juniors are truly negligent! With such promising talent in the sword, why didn’t they pay more attention?”
The Wind God Sword Venerable looked equally displeased.
In truth, the younger members of the Myriad Swords Immortal Sect were being treated most unfairly.