Chapter 577 - 525: Outer Celestial Demon

Chapter 577: Chapter 525: Outer Celestial Demon

’Omnipresent, boundless... As soon as I will it, the Sword Light will strike.’

Holding the Qing Si Sword, Bai Zichen wasn’t surprised by the might of this Tier Five Flying Sword, nor was he astonished that a single strike had nearly depleted his True Essence as a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator. Instead, he was focused on the True Intent contained within the Sword Light.

’The difference between a Tier Five and Tier Four Flying Sword is this vast? Why didn’t the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword display such power in the hands of Blood God True Monarch? Is this unique to the Qing Si Sword, or did that Demon Sword simply never recognize him as its true master?’

Magical Treasures began to possess Artifact Spirits at the level of Spiritual Treasures, allowing them to operate on their own without a wielder’s control.

Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasures, however, weren’t just an enhancement of their spiritual nature; they had Great Dao True Intent integrated into them.

Take the Five-Fire Seven-Bird Fan, for example. It represented mastery over the Power of the Fire Element.

With this fan in hand, the wielder became the very embodiment of the Fire Element Path in the world, commanding all Fire Element Heaven and Earth Primordial Power.

In this single aspect, their control could rival that of a Divinity Transformation Great Power.

In its presence, other Cultivators couldn’t even cast Fire Element Techniques.

The Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword had only ever displayed pure, supreme destructive power. It had led Bai Zichen to believe that all Flying Swords were the same, pursuing the pinnacle of slaughter and annihilation, unable to carry Great Dao True Intent for their wielder’s use like other Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasures.

’It seems now that the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword must have looked down on Blood God True Monarch and never truly revealed its power to him.’

’Otherwise, my fight against Blood God True Monarch would have been far more perilous, and the victor would have been anyone’s guess.’

The Power of the Great Dao from the Qing Si Sword was simple: within five thousand miles, its Sword Light would arrive in an instant.

It was somewhat like an application of Spatial True Intent, yet different—as if countless Qing Si Swords were on standby at all times.

With a single thought, the Sword Light of the Qing Si could descend upon anyone’s head within five thousand miles.

A Primordial Spirit Cultivator’s Divine Sense range was a limitation, making it difficult to lock onto distant targets with precision.

However, thanks to the miraculous nature of the Tier Five Flying Sword, combined with a sweeping attack using Sword Light Division, a deviation of a few yards was a trivial matter.

Furthermore, its lethality wouldn’t diminish even across five thousand miles, making it somewhat similar to the Primordial Spirit Sword Control of Ancient Sword Cultivators.

Except this was over a greater distance and at a higher speed, making it even harder to react to.

Bai Zichen imagined it: flying peacefully through the air when, suddenly, a brilliant flash of Sword Light slashed toward him, yet he couldn’t find his attacker no matter what he tried.

Even he would have immense difficulty dealing with such a scenario.

Wielding the Qing Si Sword, he was practically invincible among those in the Nascent Soul Stage.

By always maintaining a distance of five thousand miles, what Nascent Soul Cultivator could possibly withstand the Qing Si Sword’s attacks while simultaneously crossing such a vast chasm?

Bai Zichen’s gaze upon the Qing Si Sword grew even more fervent. In the hands of another Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator, even after Refinement, it would only grant them the power for a few strikes.

But with his Supreme Qingwei Sword Box, he could wield a Tier Five Flying Sword normally, even with only a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul cultivation.

From this day forward, in addition to his Star River Sword Array and Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, he now possessed a regular method for fighting opponents above his level.

"Elder Qing Si, please help us!"

Po Jun yelled anxiously.

The entrance to the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven flickered, at times large enough for a person to embrace, at others shrinking to the size of a bowl.

Even with four Star Lords working together, it wasn’t enough to stabilize the passage into the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven.

The original plan had involved six Nascent Soul True Monarchs, but now, with one dead and one missing, they were left in this awkward predicament.

"Ten!"

The Qing Si Sword gave a disgruntled snort. Its blade shuddered and flew out on its own, propping open the collapsing passage.

The group passed through as quickly as possible, and the Qing Si Sword transformed into a streak of green light, flying back into Po Jun Star Monarch’s hand.

"Po Jun, what did it mean by ’ten’?"

Bai Zichen asked impassively. ’It seems the Sword Spirit has some trust in Po Jun. Seducing it away won’t be so easy.’

"The passage closed. Will we need to break it open again when we leave?"

As the Qing Si Sword withdrew, the connection between the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven and the Star Palace Secret Realm was severed again, leaving no path of return.

The Star God Mask had lost its effectiveness here, too; it couldn’t sense the Star Palace Secret Realm.

"Ten Top-Grade Spirit Stones—the payment I promised the elder Sword Spirit each time it takes action..." Po Jun Star Monarch rushed through the first part of his sentence, the pain in his voice palpable. "Normally, one should be able to enter and exit the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven freely. But no one has been inside for over ten thousand years, and it has merged with the Star Palace Secret Realm, so I’m not sure anymore. Worst comes to worst, we’ll just need another strike. We’ll have to trouble you to do it then."

"Fellow Daoist Ziwei, do you need to rest for a while and recover your True Essence?"

"Alright. Give me half an hour."

Bai Zichen mulled it over for a moment before sitting down directly in mid-air and closing his eyes to meditate.

In truth, he had a way to instantly recover the energy he had expended with that strike.

But in an unfamiliar Grotto Heaven, it was necessary to keep a trump card hidden.

Besides, using that technique would make it easy for any observant person to guess his true identity.

However, once news spread that the Thousand-Legged Golden Centipede had died at the hands of Ziwei Star Star Monarch, every Mid-Stage Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator in the Cultivation Realm would become a suspect.

The moment he appeared in public and was discovered to have successfully achieved his breakthrough, his identity as Ziwei would be all but confirmed.

’But that’s all a matter for the future. Right now, the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven and the Qing Si Sword are more important.’

When he heard that Po Jun Star Monarch had to offer up ten Top-Grade Spirit Stones every time he wanted the Qing Si Sword to act, a chill ran down Bai Zichen’s spine, and he almost gave up on the idea of luring away the Tier Five Flying Sword.

He couldn’t even afford a single Top-Grade Spirit Stone, let alone ten for a single strike.

Bai Zichen had only been cultivating for a little over two hundred years, and there was no way the Qingfeng Sect had any Top-Grade Spirit Stones to pass down to him.