Chapter 1717: Initial Test of the Sword Formation

The Human World

The armored man was Saint Lord Zishen.

The situation was irreversible. These Great Sage Demon Kings were fleeing, each one faster than the last.

With none of his clansmen present, Saint Lord Zishen was free to come and go.

With their high cultivation levels, they were not worried about their safety. Even if the Saint King Palace suffered a crushing defeat, the great clans would not force them to their deaths.

Unless they could guarantee a flawless kill, no great clan would be willing to endure the mad retaliation of a Demon Great Sage.

After this battle, it was a foregone conclusion that the Saint King Palace would change hands.

Saint Lord Zishen felt a pang of regret.

Their greatest loss was forfeiting their right to share in the Holy Land's resources.

However, for many years, the Saint King Palace had lorded over the various clans of the East Sea. Having followed Saint King Azure Fox, they had already received generous rewards. It was time to return to their cave dwellings for quiet cultivation.

If necessary, they could emerge again and still be honored guests of a great clan.

The East Sea had always been this way: one power rises as another falls, and after a period of dormancy, a new era begins.

As a general of a defeated army, Saint Lord Zishen remained composed, showing no anger.

He was deep in thought when suddenly, a voice revealed his presence.

The voice was directly behind him. He hadn't detected the uninvited guest at all before they spoke, something even Saint Lord Dragon Whale couldn't have done!

“Who?!”

Saint Lord Zishen was greatly startled.

Having been in countless battles, he didn't turn his head but lunged forward, his armor radiating dazzling green light.

This armor was similar in design to the one he wore when he infiltrated the mainland, but it was vastly different. The old armor was for concealing his aura, while this one was the treasured armor for which Saint Lord Zishen was renowned.

The green light left his body, transforming into a sharp claw, like a three-foot azure blade, incredibly sharp.

‘Swish!’

The sharp claw struck unexpectedly, tearing through the air like lightning, emitting a piercing screech.

Unexpectedly, the attack hit nothing. Saint Lord Zishen felt no resistance, and there was clearly no one behind him.

Saint Lord Zishen's heart sank as he heard the voice again.

“Fellow Daoist, you are now a stray dog. Why don't you seek help from the Saint King?”

Though addressed to him, the other party's tone was unusually calm.

Even more terrifying, the voice came from all directions, as if the opponent was omnipresent and ghost-like.

At this moment, Saint Lord Zishen suddenly realized that the surrounding space had dimmed at some point, as if the daylight was covered by a veil. Looking closely, he saw sword qi, thin as silk, drifting around him, exuding an oppressive sword intent.

“This sword intent…”

From this sword intent, Saint Lord Zishen inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity.

The demon race excels at cultivating their bodies and bloodlines. Many use swords, but those who forgo shortcuts and devote themselves to the path of the sword are anomalies and rarely seen.

As this thought flashed through his mind, Saint Lord Zishen saw a stream of light cast directly in front of him, flickering and transforming into a phantom figure. One hand was clasped behind its back, the other held a sword pointed diagonally downwards, its aura elusive.

The figure was very blurry; he could vaguely discern the contours of its features. Its eyes were grayish-white, and its expression was indifferent.

“It's you!”

Saint Lord Zishen finally recognized his opponent and paled in shock.

He had a profound impression of Qin Sang. After the auction at Six States Hall, he was forced to flee in disarray by Qin Sang, and two of his brothers who had followed him for years died at Qin Sang's hands.

Later, when the matter of the Boundless Immortal Sect spread, Saint Lord Zishen learned that even the Saint King had suffered a notable loss at this person's hands, which surprisingly brought him some relief.

Unexpectedly, this person dared to appear in the heartland of the demon race!

And this person's cultivation level…

Saint Lord Zishen discovered there was more than one phantom figure.

There were a total of seven such phantom figures, appearing somewhat like avatars but not quite, completely surrounding him.

The phantoms appeared incredibly ethereal, as if they could be shattered with a touch. However, as these phantoms integrated, the sword formation's aura dramatically changed. Saint Lord Zishen felt the illusion of facing seven peerless swordsmen simultaneously.

Outside the sword formation.

Qin Sang stood suspended in mid-air.

As the Saint King Palace army began to collapse, he had guessed that the Great Sage Demon Kings would scatter. He had infiltrated ahead of them, and before him and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, no enemy could hide. The first he sought was the Azure-Furred Rat Demon who had fled alone.

The seven phantom figures were transformations of his seven sword souls.

After stabilizing his cultivation, Qin Sang condensed his sword souls according to his cultivation method. Initially, the sword souls were illusory and erratic. Even so, when integrated into the sword formation, they brought about a revolutionary change in the Seven Souls Killing Array.

Unable to find an opponent of equal rank, he had to test his swordsmanship against a Great Sage of the demon race!

Qin Sang had set up the sword formation in advance. Saint Lord Zishen was completely unaware and blundered into it.

Inside the sword formation.

A dense green light erupted from Saint Lord Zishen, and within it, the shadow of the Azure-Furred Rat Demon appeared, directly manifesting its true demon form.

The demon body donned the treasured armor, which fit perfectly.

This treasured armor could change according to his will.

The Azure-Furred Rat Demon tilted its head back and roared furiously at the sky. The treasured armor blazed with light, and bones within its body exploded with loud cracks. Its body swelled rapidly along with the armor, reaching several zhang in height in an instant.

Its physical body grew wildly, seemingly without end.

The Azure-Furred Rat Demon stood towering, its massive body shaking. With a fierce glint in its eyes, it suddenly pounced forward, fiercely swinging its giant claws. The sharp tips sliced through the void, emitting a piercing screech, as if tearing apart both the sword threads and space itself.

The power of a single claw could cleave mountains and rivers!

Qin Sang, already aware of the scene within the formation, remained expressionless and casually formed a sword incantation.

The sword soul's arm trembled slightly, its treasured sword slightly raised, its tip pointing in unison at the Azure-Furred Rat Demon.

Suddenly, an unparalleled sword intent erupted. The sword threads drifting in the formation were drawn in, frantically converging on the sword soul's treasured sword. The blinding sword light stung the Azure-Furred Rat Demon's eyes.

The sword formation and the sword souls seemed to vanish, leaving only seven beams of sword light between heaven and earth.

Boundless killing intent and sword intent, like a mountain collapse and a tsunami, surged towards the Azure-Furred Rat Demon's mind, crushing everything in their path. The Azure-Furred Rat Demon's heart pounded violently, its eyes filled with terror, and its massive body involuntarily began to tremble.

No one could imagine what it was currently enduring.

It had never witnessed such terrifying killing intent. The sword souls, once they moved, appeared as if out of thin air, instantly exploding to their peak. Anyone with weaker resolve would have their mental defenses shattered on the spot.

Furthermore, there was a sense of coercion it had only ever felt from Saint King Azure Fox, as if it wasn't just facing one opponent, but the heavens and earth themselves were rejecting it, leaving it helpless and alone.

Deity Transformation!

‘Swish!’

The sword light pierced the air.

These were no longer mere sword lights, but seven true blades of slaughter. Their sword trails crisscrossed in the void, finally converging above the Azure-Furred Rat Demon's head, and suddenly slashed down!

‘Boom!’

The swords struck!

The Azure-Furred Rat Demon's towering body suddenly shrank by a segment, letting out a piercing cry—it was hard to tell if it was a wail of pain or a roar of fury.

The Azure-Furred Rat Demon wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to go.

A series of continuous explosions rang out.

Only a ball of sword light remained in the void, obscuring the rat demon. The sword light was heavy as a thousand jun, like a meteor striking the sea.

‘Splash!’

A deep crater was smashed into the sea surface.

Qin Sang appeared above the waves. A beam of sword light shot up and swam into his sleeve.

Looking down, the Azure-Furred Rat Demon had returned to its original size, cowering and trembling. Not only had its divine ability been broken by a single sword strike, but its treasured armor had lost its luster, showing visible cracks from which blood continuously gushed out.

‘Crack!’

Several parts of the treasured armor shattered, and the fragments were swept away by the waves.

Seeing this, Qin Sang nodded in satisfaction.

During his cultivation, Qin Sang had a premonition that integrating sword souls would bring about a revolutionary change in the Seven Souls Killing Array. The Deity Transformation stage was also a moment of enlightenment for the creator of the cultivation method.

His test today proved extraordinary. Not only did it defeat the Azure-Furred Rat Demon, but it also destroyed its treasured armor. Had Qin Sang not intended to capture it alive and held back at the last moment, the outcome would have been even more decisive.

It's important to note that this was with the sword souls newly condensed and without the use of his natal spirit sword.

It's hard to imagine how powerful the Seven Souls Killing Array would become when he used the Cloud Roaming Sword in the future!

Of course, the sword Qin Sang was currently using was also extraordinary.

With a slight tremor of his sleeve, the sword light swam back into his palm, revealing a rather exquisite, slender treasured sword.

This sword was not the Golden Sinking Sword. It was a sword obtained from Su Zinan's belongings, named Grey Warbler Sword.

This wasn't originally Su Zinan's either.

During the battle at Emperor's Grant Mountain years ago, four swords flew out from the Sword Pavilion female cultivator's remains.

The jade sword was destroyed, the golden sword recorded the sword formation inheritance of the Golden Aspect lineage, and there were two other long swords.

One of them, suspected to be the female cultivator's personal sword, disappeared during the chaos. The other long sword was obtained by Su Zinan, and it was this Grey Warbler Sword.

This sword was actually a pseudo-spirit treasure-grade spirit sword!

As it was not the female cultivator's natal spirit sword, its grade had not fallen. However, it had not been nurtured for many years, so it was still far from developing sentience.

Refining a pseudo-spirit treasure was not as troublesome as a true spirit treasure. Qin Sang carried this sword with him at all times and had long since mastered it. Although it was a woman's sword, he didn't mind.

With this sword, Qin Sang no longer needed to bother re-refining the Golden Sinking Sword.

The "Sacrificial Element Art" could not be used on the Grey Warbler Sword. Qin Sang remembered that a secret art for refining ordinary pseudo-spirit treasures had appeared at the Six States Hall auction years ago and was bought by the Grand Elder of the Jade Shadow Sect.

When he had the chance, he could pay them a visit and seek guidance.

Qin Sang refining both the Cloud Roaming Sword and the Grey Warbler Sword alone might deplete his energy, so he would inevitably prioritize the Cloud Roaming Sword, with the Grey Warbler Sword serving as a transitional weapon. However, this didn't prevent Qin Sang from learning that secret art, as it would also benefit his path of artifact refining.

With a pseudo-spirit treasure combined with the Seven Souls Killing Array, and an ambush to boot, it was no wonder Saint Lord Zishen was no match even for a single exchange.

Just then, wisps of purple mist suddenly rose from the seawater. Saint Lord Zishen was not dead and had finally gained a moment to breathe, seemingly having used some extraordinary treasure.

Qin Sang smiled calmly, and his sword intent surged once more.

“Brother Hei, White Mingle Mountain isn't far ahead.”

Four figures sped across the sea surface. One of the white-robed figures pointed ahead and spoke to the black-bearded strongman beside him.

There were several protrusions on the sea horizon. From afar, several large islands could be seen, but they were quite desolate, overgrown with yellow grass, and appeared to lack spiritual energy.

The one who spoke was none other than Saint Lord Baixiao.

The one he was speaking to was another Great Sage under Saint King Azure Fox, whose true form was a black lion, and whose title was equally simple and crude: Saint Lord Black Lion.

After Saint Lord Baixiao finished speaking, he waved his hand from afar, dispelling the illusion there, and the scenery instantly transformed.

Those large islands were actually a single gigantic island. On the island, there was only one mountain range, winding like a dragon, magnificent and brimming with spiritual essence, making it a rare blessed land.

Saint Lord Black Lion observed White Mingle Mountain and rumbled, “You and I have served under the Saint King for many years, yet this is the first time you've invited me to your Daoist sanctuary.”

Saint Lord Baixiao laughed heartily, “In the past, Brother Hei had a place in the Saint King Palace, so how could you possibly fancy this humble place? If I had invited you, wouldn't I just be making a fool of myself? Rest assured, Brother Hei, from now on, you and I will be co-masters of this mountain, and your cave-dwelling will certainly not be inferior to mine in the slightest…”

While Saint Lord Zishen had clansmen, Saint Lord Black Lion, like Saint King Azure Fox, came from the mainland and was a complete loner. Saint Lord Baixiao had specifically sought to win over this demon to strengthen White Mingle Mountain's forces for future needs.

Saint Lord Black Lion chuckled, saying no more.

The other two were both demon kings under Saint Lord Baixiao, and other demon kings were leading their troops behind them. Seeing the unfavorable situation, Saint Lord Baixiao had immediately taken his trusted subordinates away.

The group of demons flew towards White Mingle Mountain, reaching the shore in a short while.

Thin mist drifted above White Mingle Mountain. Saint Lord Baixiao had specifically built a mountain gate and a training ground for demon soldiers, all of which were now concealed by a grand formation.

The demons landed before the mountain gate. Before they could open the demon formation, Saint Lord Baixiao, who was joking with Saint Lord Black Lion, suddenly twitched his nose and frowned deeply, “There's a scent of blood!”

The mist parted, revealing the mountain gate.

The expressions of all the demons changed dramatically!

They saw blood gathered into a river in front of the mountain gate, with two corpses sprawled across it.

A skeletal bird and a demon fish.

Judging by the vital energy radiating from the demon corpses, they must have been Demon Kings in the Transformation stage during their lives!

“Minggu!”

A demon king exclaimed in shock upon seeing the skeletal bird.

These two demons were indeed Saint Lord Baixiao's capable subordinates, tasked with guarding White Mingle Mountain. They had died mysteriously right outside their own gate.

An ominous premonition arose in the hearts of several demon kings.

Just then, a Daoist priest suddenly appeared from behind the mountain gate. He nodded at them with a smile, then looked at Saint Lord Baixiao, “You've arrived too slowly. This humble Daoist has been waiting for you for a long time.”

“It's you!”

How could Saint Lord Baixiao not remember Qin Sang? His expression changed drastically.

Immediately after, the expressions of all four demon kings became stunned.

Qin Sang had not concealed his cultivation level.

The person they had chased and hunted in the past had now reached Deity Transformation!

Qin Sang looked at the two demon corpses below him.

As luck would have it.

He had arrived at White Mingle Mountain in advance, intending to intercept Saint Lord Baixiao before the mountain. This mountain was sealed by a grand formation, and even with his divine abilities, it would have been difficult to infiltrate without being detected.

If the people within the formation fully activated its defensive power, breaking the formation would have required some effort and alerted the enemy.

However, these two demons happened to be wandering outside and were spotted by him. Seeing they were old enemies, he killed them easily, then seized Saint Lord Baixiao's cave-dwelling and waited here.

He only targeted demon kings; he had no interest in the smaller demons.

‘Swish!’

A black demonic wind appeared out of nowhere. Saint Lord Black Lion reacted extremely quickly, turning his head and fleeing.

Saint Lord Baixiao was also not slow. Not expecting Qin Sang to show him any mercy, he didn't dare return home and led his subordinates in flight.

Qin Sang remained still, watching the four demons flee in panic. His eyes gleamed with a strange light, becoming as profound as the boundless starry sky, with thousands of stars appearing within their depths.

The next moment.

White Mingle Island became dark and dim.

The four demon kings looked up in terror.

It was midday, yet the great sun had inexplicably vanished, and it was now deep night.

High above, constellations hung, shining down.

Starlight showered upon them, bringing an bone-chilling cold.

A closer look revealed that this starry sky was incomplete, lacking the full array of celestial bodies. It only contained the Seven Mansions of the White Tiger, but it was more than enough to seal them off.

The four demon kings felt as if the space around them was infinitely stretched, and the sea beneath their feet had also vanished. They were pulled into the depths of the starry sky, and in an instant, they were surrounded by stars.

Qin Sang changed his tactic again. This formation was precisely the Seven Mansions Star Field Sword Array!

Positions of the Seven Mansions.

Within each star mansion, there was a sword-star guarded by a sword soul.

Qin Sang flew high, robes fluttering, and entered the formation in his true body.

Star rivers flowed.