Chapter 495 - 505: Leaving the Sword Forest

’Nine Waves Sword Technique, Junior-Level Emperor Grade. Must be executed within one hour.’

Wen Qingye glanced at the instructions, instantly committing the entire Heart Method to memory and grasping its subtleties. With a flick of his wrist, the sword in his hand began to dance.

His figure became a blur in the air, weaving through a chaotic yet orderly dance of sword afterimages. Cold light flashed from the blade as his aura flowed, continuous and inexhaustible. Clearly, Wen Qingye was already executing the Nine Waves Sword Technique to perfection.

Forget an ordinary person; even someone like Qii Yue would need an unknown amount of time just to comprehend this Emperor-level Sword Skill, let alone wield it with the masterful perfection Wen Qingye displayed.

After thirty breaths, a vast and surging wave of Sword Dao Divine Rhyme once again flooded the area. Wen Qingye absorbed it directly, comprehending its essence and integrating it into his Primordial Spirit.

Time flowed like water. One Sword Technique appeared after another. Each time, Wen Qingye would observe it, memorize it, execute it, and then absorb the resulting wave of Sword Dao Divine Rhyme.

A faint resonance began to form between the Rock Law and the Vibration Law, a connection that grew stronger and expanded.

Mid-Level Emperor Grade!

High-Level Emperor Grade!

...

Mid-Level Spirit Grade!

As time passed, Wen Qingye executed every Sword Technique presented to him, no matter the difficulty. With each success, more and more Sword Dao Divine Rhyme surged toward him.

WHOOSH!

Wen Qingye’s sword came to a slow halt in mid-air, the Mid-Level Spirit Grade Sword Technique fully executed. He had done this without using any Primordial Qi, of course. Had he used it, he likely could have managed only a single move.

Even so, Wen Qingye still felt a trace of fatigue. In just over two hours, he had executed a full thirty-seven Martial Arts techniques—most of them Emperor Grade or higher, with quite a few Spirit-Grade ones as well.

BOOM!

The next moment, all the Sword Dao Divine Rhyme surged toward him like a tidal wave. Wen Qingye immediately sat down cross-legged and rested the One Thought Sword across his knees.

A massive, spectral tree materialized behind Wen Qingye. It was ancient and gnarled, with lush foliage, and its branches seemed to spread out infinitely.

From its trunk sprouted countless branches and boughs, some thick and sturdy, others slender and delicate.

Suddenly, two of the thickest branches began to glow with a vibrant, emerald light, and their leaves started to sway as if caught in a breeze.

If the Slaying Immortal Sword Dao was this great tree, then the Laws were its branches and its very structure. The Overlord Law, Rock Law, Vibration Law, and Bursting Law were merely a few of these branches. And, of course, many other Laws still awaited Wen Qingye’s comprehension.

Right now, the two glowing branches represented the Vibration Law and the Rock Law. They began to gradually fuse, seeking a point of resonance between them.

The Sword Dao Divine Rhyme within the Sword Forest had saved Wen Qingye countless years of arduous cultivation. Otherwise, the Rock Law and the Vibration Law would never have begun to resonate so intensely.

It was a known fact that the higher a Dao ranked among the Three Thousand Great Dao, the more powerful it was—and the more difficult it was to comprehend.

As Wen Qingye slowly comprehended the surrounding Sword Dao Divine Rhyme, the Immortal Slaying Sword Dao Tree began to sway wildly. It seemed to grow thicker and stronger, shooting up from three zhang to a height of four zhang.

The spectral tree danced, emitting an endless divine light filled with profound mysteries.

The light emanating from the two thickest branches grew ever more intense, ever more brilliant.

Then, the two branches began to pulsate, their frequencies seemingly synchronized. They emitted one halo of light after another.

The two halos slowly collided and then merged into one.

A point of perfect resonance formed between them.

In a flash of inspiration, everything clicked into place for Wen Qingye. It was a moment of pure enlightenment. The Rock Law and the Vibration Law had finally begun to fuse.

...

Outside the Sword Forest, the crowd felt the very heavens and earth begin to tremble.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

The deafening sound reverberated in everyone’s ears.

Mingkong’s brow furrowed. "What in the world is going on?" he asked.

"Brother Mingkong, look! The Sword Forest!" Huang Zishan exclaimed.

The vast, towering pavilion had become translucent and indistinct, flickering in and out of existence as if it might vanish at any moment.

Lu Wushuang asked in confusion, "What’s happening?"

It wasn’t just him; all the disciples of Cloud Conceal Peak were stunned, staring at the Sword Forest with looks of utter confusion.

"This... This is..." Jian Chunqiu stared at the phantasmal Sword Forest, his face a mask of horror. A storm of shock raged within him.

"How can this be possible?"

It wasn’t just him; Qii Yue’s heart also pounded in his chest. A look of someone who had just seen a ghost appeared in his eyes as he muttered, "This Wen Qingye... If not for his shattered meridians, he would be a peerless prodigy, the likes of which the Celestial Profound Sect hasn’t seen in a millennium."

"What in the world happened?" the Third Elder of Cloud Conceal Peak, standing nearby, could no longer contain his curiosity and asked.

CREAK!

The gates to the Sword Forest suddenly swung wide open.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

The footsteps were so light they were almost inaudible, yet they seemed to match the thumping of the crowd’s own hearts. All eyes were fixed on the figure slowly emerging from the gateway.

Dappled golden sunlight illuminated his face, lending it a soft warmth. A faint, familiar smile played on his lips as he calmly and serenely gazed at the crowd.

Nangong Xin stared at him with a complicated expression. ’Does time really pass so quickly?’ she thought. ’Not long ago, he was someone I looked down upon. Now, he’s the center of everyone’s attention, and I’m the one forced to look up.’

A hint of killing intent flashed in Sunx Shijun’s eyes, and his palms began to tremble.

Xi Yuheng glanced at Sunx Shijun beside him. ’So, the real swordsmanship genius has emerged,’ he murmured to himself, already certain of who it was.

Seeing everyone staring at him, Wen Qingye’s smile deepened. He parted his lips and said, "What is it? Is there something on my face?"

His words finally snapped the crowd out of their daze.

"Brother Wen, you’re incredible! You actually made it to the 6th Layer of the Sword Forest!" Yum Baobao rushed over and hugged Wen Qingye’s arm, her large, beautiful eyes filled with adoration as she gazed up at him.

Everyone present was stunned by Yum Baobao’s words. The disciples from Cloud Conceal Peak, in particular, had faces etched with utter astonishment.

The 6th Layer! As far as they knew, no one present had ever heard of anyone reaching the 6th Layer. They weren’t familiar with Jian Chunqiu’s own achievements, so they naturally didn’t consider him.

"The 6th Layer, you say?" Wen Qingye gave a slight smile and said nothing more.

In truth, he had already broken through the 6th Layer and was about to proceed to the 7th when the entire Sword Forest’s Sword Dao Origin had run dry, preventing him from continuing.

At that moment, Jian Chunqiu walked over and said slowly, "You are Wen Qingye. I understand what happened here. Since you possess a Cloud Concealment Order, this situation is a result of Cloud Conceal Peak’s inadequate preparations. In the future, once I have activated the legacy Array and released more Sword Dao Origin, you are welcome to challenge the Sword Forest again."