The Soul Transformation cultivator surnamed Liang was immediately astonished.
Ordinary cultivators could only open their Purple Palaces and form inner worlds once they reached Nascent Soul. They then needed long periods of tempering and comprehension, integrating their personal Dao into those worlds before allowing them to evolve into something resembling reality.
This young sword cultivator had only recently reached early Nascent Soul. It should already have been difficult for him to form an inner world, yet his seemed substantially more solid than that of Liang, a Soul Transformation cultivator! How could this fail to astonish him?
What Liang did not know was that Yun Lie’s inner world had been unusual from its very beginning.
As a sword cultivator, Yun Lie possessed a tougher physical body than ordinary cultivators. He was also extraordinarily steadfast and patient. Even as a young child, he had spent ten years calmly grinding and polishing a sword. He later followed his heart and chose a Great Dao that his predecessors thought doomed to fail. Many cultivators of his generation formed Golden Cores long before he did, yet he had never despaired or grown impatient. He had even dared to separate his heavenly soul from his body, all while tirelessly practicing the fundamentals, accumulating power, and expanding his dantian and meridians. His foundation therefore far exceeded that of his peers.
Later, with Xu Ziqing’s help, he finally formed his Golden Core. Even then he never stopped practicing the sword or honing his sword intent.
Yun Lie suffered many more trials thereafter. At Ruyi Immortal Estate, under the combined oppressive might of countless powerful cultivators, he used his sword intent to forcibly cleave open his Purple Palace, forming the embryo of an inner world ahead of time!
That had put him far ahead of ordinary cultivators.
Then came further opportunities in the Tianlan Secret Treasury. Although he fell under demonic influence, the misfortune brought him an immortal-demonic body. Countless sword-intent-bearing leaves from the sword-shaped tree entered his sword domain, stabilizing it. Later, the Sword Dao Fruit imprinted innumerable traces of the Dao upon his domain, creating an inverted river of stars and nourishing the manifestation of sword intent as an enormous black-gold sword. All these experiences enhanced the embryonic inner world.
He was subsequently reborn through the demonic incursion and experienced the seven emotions of mortal life, making himself whole before forming his Nascent Soul. Under the laws of the Heavenly Dao, his embryonic inner world matured into a genuine inner world. Dual cultivation with Xu Ziqing then gave it vitality, bringing some life to its boundless sword domain.
If all those opportunities had left his sword domain without special qualities, would the many Sword Dao Fruits and countless sword-shaped leaves not have been wasted? Would all his past suffering have been for nothing?
Yun Lie said nothing. With a thought, he caused his sword domain to move, bearing down directly upon Liang!
Liang had not expected this early Nascent Soul cultivator to conceal such a formidable technique. But he had gone too far to retreat easily. Gritting his teeth, he unleashed his own magma domain!
The two collided with a thunderous crash!
One inner world was almost fully materialized, the other only halfway there. The likely outcome was obvious.
Liang had expected to finish the battle quickly. Instead, he found himself at a disadvantage.
A succession of deafening roars rang out as sword domain and magma domain collided violently.
Surging energy became powerful hurricanes spreading in every direction, with terrifyingly far-reaching shock waves.
Even the boat-shaped magical artifact carrying the two remaining Nascent Soul cultivators had to retreat several zhang farther!
And what of the other two men still on the pillar’s summit?
Xu Ziqing had already taken many pills to replenish his true essence, while the yellow-cloaked man’s vitality remained ample.
The two were barely maintaining a stalemate.
If Xu Ziqing showed the slightest weakness, the man in yellow would defeat him with a single blow.
For now, Xu Ziqing could do nothing but endure.
When the hurricane surged, its violent force struck both Xu Ziqing and the yellow-cloaked man!
Rongjin automatically protected his master, producing countless vines that surrounded Xu Ziqing in layer after layer and forcibly withstood the aftershock.
The yellow-cloaked man let out a great shout, stamped both legs, and turned them into quicksand that sank deep into the ground, anchoring him firmly.
Neither stopped making spell seals, and the magical treasure, demonic vines, and leaf shield continued operating as before.
Even this violent shock wave failed to break their stalemate.
After the sword and magma domains had clashed several times, both drew back slightly.
At once, numerous cracks could be seen across the outside of the magma domain. The sword domain, however, remained as solid as ever, a shocking sight.
Liang felt a pang of anguish. His face could not help twitching.
Where had this monster come from, to refine an inner world into such an extraordinary thing?
At the same time, he felt a little jealousy.
Yun Lie’s sword domain contained countless upright swords formed from sword intent. Faint vitality shimmered among them, and even its traces of the Dao had nearly mature forms. Liang’s magma domain seemed crude by comparison.
Although the exterior was semi-materialized, only one or two faint Dao traces existed within. It lacked anything resembling inexhaustible vitality. However magnificently the molten rock flowed, there was no spirituality to it, as though the whole domain were merely an ordinary dead object.
Nevertheless, Liang had painstakingly refined his magma domain. How could he bear to continue smashing it against Yun Lie’s?
But Yun Lie would not allow him to withdraw so easily.
Since he had dared come here to provoke them, he would have to suffer severely for it!
Black-gold light shone in Yun Lie’s eyes.
The inverted star cloud within his sword domain began spinning violently. The enormous black-gold sword at its center suddenly pulsed—
The next moment it shot out like a brilliant streak, slashing straight toward the magma domain!
“Rumble, rumble!”
The sound rolled on like thunder.
Great waves of magma rose within the domain, seemingly ready to spill outward. But a flash of black-gold sword light cut the towering wave neatly in two!
The inner world now seemed even closer to collapse.
Liang ground his teeth with hatred. His face darkened, and he raised a hand to summon a magical treasure without further hesitation.
It was a square seal carrying the overwhelming crushing force of mountains, and it barely managed to block the black-gold sword’s next attack.
Black-gold radiance from the great sword ground against the seal’s golden light. As the sword’s outer layers gradually wore away, its inner portion became increasingly solid.
At the very center was another small sword.
It too was black-gold, but it possessed an ancient, austere quality, as though supreme insights of the sword Dao had been inscribed upon it.
It was not merely condensed sword intent. Rather, actual sword intent had gathered around a real small sword as its foundation, increasing its power considerably.
This was undoubtedly Yun Lie’s lifebound sword, forged from the essence of Geng-Metal fused with Water-Essence Crystal. After years of nurturing, a genuine sword had grown from its sword embryo, one linked intimately to Yun Lie’s lifeblood. Its sword spirit still slept, and the blade had not yet fully opened its edge; when it did, its sharpness and strength could grow further.
Thus, when the sword’s outer glow dissipated, the tough little blade within struck the square seal solidly and cleaved it in two!
The seal lost its spiritual radiance and fell to the ground. The entire process had taken no longer than a blink.
Yet that tiny delay gave Liang the opportunity to recall his inner world and retreat swiftly beyond the sword domain’s reach.
He could only rue his miscalculation. Not only had his side lost men, he himself had suffered a tremendous setback.
An inner world was powerful, but precisely for that reason, damage to it was extremely difficult to repair. After today’s battle, even if they won the challenge and Liang received every resource they gained, it might still not be enough to restore his domain fully.
What rotten luck! Truly disastrous luck!
Having suffered this much misfortune, Liang had no intention of inviting any more.
His opponent’s sword domain was vastly stronger than his own. Continuing to fight might not kill him outright, but would certainly consume more precious treasures, making the struggle even less worthwhile.
With that thought, he flickered back to the boat-shaped magical artifact and declared, “We won’t contest this pillar any longer. We’ll settle our accounts another day!”
Seeing him retreat, Yun Lie flashed into the midst of the Bloodthirsty Demon Vines.
He pointed a finger. His lifebound sword, which had not yet returned to the sword domain, whistled through the air and cut the yellow-cloaked man’s strange weapon cleanly in half.
However sharp that object was, even approaching upper precious-artifact grade, it could not match the unyielding hardness of Geng-Metal essence. It broke apart.
The yellow-cloaked man felt a sudden pressure in his chest and spat blood.
That object was also his lifebound magical treasure. Losing it inflicted a severe injury upon his vital energy.
Seeing that even the Soul Transformation cultivator had hurriedly abandoned the fight, the man dared not delay. He beckoned the broken treasure back, changed into yellow sand, and fled as fast as he could.
Six challengers had come full of confidence. Only four returned, thoroughly dispirited.
Looking back before departing, they saw the two young cultivators standing shoulder to shoulder atop the pillar. A sword domain dominated the space overhead, while demonic vines rampaged all around them. Their auras were utterly different, yet their spiritual radiance blended together. Their seamless understanding of each other was plain to see, and it made the retreating enemies grind their teeth.
After this battle, Baiyun Mountain Domain would know that although the Wuling lineage had been forced to appoint a newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator as a pillar guardian, he was no ordinary disciple. Anyone hoping to extort resources from him had better abandon that idea now.
When the boat-shaped artifact had flown away, Xu Ziqing waved his hand and withdrew the demonic vines. His body felt somewhat weak.
Yun Lie likewise recalled his sword domain and sword intent, then reached out and drew Xu Ziqing into his arms.
Xu Ziqing looked up and smiled. “Senior Brother, that was truly dangerous.”
Yun Lie nodded slightly. “If we continue facing such battles, we should make progress.”
Xu Ziqing paused, then smiled even more broadly.
Indeed, this battle had been dangerous, especially coming so soon after their arrival. But had he and Senior Brother not faced many dangers before?
In the end, this was simply another form of training.
Whatever form their trials took, whatever others might think, so long as they remained true to their convictions and tempered themselves, they would not stray from their Great Daos.
And while their Daos remained and their paths toward immortality continued, what else was there to fear?
At last they had successfully defended their pillar. Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie floated down and landed on the Wuling Mountain Domain’s main peak.
Seeing them descend, the Domain Lord stroked his beard and smiled with relief.
Honored Master Xing was even more visibly delighted.
As elders of the sect, Domain Lord Hang and Honored Master Xing had watched the Heaven-Challenging Battle with intense attention. It was rare for two new disciples of such tremendous potential to arrive. How could they neglect their safety? Both had decided that if matters turned desperate, Xing would intervene to block a fatal blow and concede defeat on their behalf.
Instead they had received a tremendous surprise.
Not long after Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie landed, figures descended from the other heavenly pillars.
Looking up, one could see the other members of Wuling returning drenched in blood, murderous auras pouring off their bodies!