Chapter 1216: Nine Swords

Nine hundred billion Genesis Qi reserves surged, shaking heaven and earth, and the entire space trembled slightly at that moment.

In that instant, the world seemed to shift dramatically.

Lü Tai's face also gradually turned solemn and grave. He was genuinely shaken by Zhou Yuan's sudden surge in power; while some Genesis Infant secret techniques could indeed temporarily boost one's foundation, such increases had limitations. He had never heard of a secret technique that could provide such a dramatic surge of nearly twenty billion.

Clearly, he had underestimated the person before him, who had created miracles in the Ancient Origin Heaven.

"It seems I need to retract my previous words."

Lü Tai said slowly, his gaze growing increasingly sharp. "Zhou Yuan, you are indeed worthy of being my opponent. Since that's the case, I will defeat you first, and then extinguish the Ancestral Dragon Lamp. I believe there will still be enough time!"

He took a step forward, and his figure instantly appeared above Zhou Yuan.

He extended his five fingers, and his entire palm gradually became somewhat illusory.

The vast Genesis Qi from the heavens and earth frantically gathered, and his palm seemed to contain a black hole, directly devouring all the surging Genesis Qi.

He struck down with a palm. In that instant, even the sky seemed to darken, and all light vanished. In their vision, only a god-like palm descended.

Zhou Yuan's body surged with Genesis Qi like a sweeping storm. He watched the descending palm, and suddenly, black and white lightning flashed between his sleeves. The next moment, the lightning roared, transforming into a boundless sea of black and white divine thunder, which then collided with the palm.

Yin-Yang Thunder Rune Mirror!

With Zhou Yuan's current Genesis Qi reserves, casting this former Lesser Saint Art unleashed a power several times more terrifying than when he cast the Seven-Colored Heaven-Cutting Sword Light in the Heavenly Sun Stage!

It was no longer just one or two streaks of divine thunder, but an entire sea of it!

Rumble!

The two collided head-on in the void. Instantly, heaven and earth darkened, with only terrifying shockwaves continuously raging and shattering the void.

After several breaths, the aftershocks gradually dispersed.

Both Zhou Yuan and Lü Tai's figures trembled, each retreating half a step.

Lü Tai frowned deeply. His attack had been completely blocked by Zhou Yuan. It was important to note that although Zhou Yuan's foundation had surged to ninety billion, it was still ultimately weaker than his own. Moreover, Genesis Qi boosted by external forces could never be as reliable as his own, cultivated over many years.

Yet he had achieved nothing; it could only be said that Zhou Yuan's overall strength was remarkably formidable.

The surging Genesis Qi had not spiraled out of control; instead, it was completely under his command. Such an individual was indeed formidable.

"Unfortunately, my current state is not optimal," Lü Tai muttered. "Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to make such a display."

Lü Tai gently shook his head, then his eyes flashed with resolve. "Time is pressing now," he declared, "let's decide the outcome in one move!"

He was, after all, ranked third on the Genesis Infant List, having been renowned in Hunyuan Heaven for many years, and he possessed his own pride. Thus, he genuinely refused to believe that he couldn't suppress a junior who had only just entered the Genesis Infant Stage!

Lü Tai took a deep breath, and his palms suddenly changed hand seals.

Finally, his palms came together in a loose embrace, as if embracing the sun and moon.

And at that instant, heaven and earth plunged into complete darkness.

Only between Lü Tai's palms did a single light emanate.

An indescribably terrifying fluctuation compressed and gathered between Lü Tai's palms.

Moments later, a trace of paleness appeared on Lü Tai's face. But between his palms, a glowing seal was born, about the size of a human head. Within it, countless mountains and rivers could be seen, as if it contained an entire world!

Within that single seal, the power of an entire world seemed to reside.

Lü Tai stared at the glowing seal, then his indifferent gaze turned towards Zhou Yuan. A faint voice echoed: "This is the Mountain River Desolation Seal, a Grand Saint Art. If you can block it, I will retreat."

He flicked his finger gently, and the glowing seal slowly drifted out. Its speed appeared slow, yet it seemed capable of piercing through space and time, directly falling down towards Zhou Yuan.

As the glowing seal descended, it sealed off space, leaving no room for evasion.

As the small glowing seal descended, even the void seemed to wail, as if unable to bear such terrifying power.

"Grand Saint Art..."

Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed. Saint Arts naturally had different ranks, and the simple, ancient character 'Grand' already conveyed everything. This was clearly a more powerful tier than ordinary Saint Arts. It was also rumored that above Grand Saint Arts were Super Saint Arts, techniques that even Law Domain experts coveted.

Among all the techniques Zhou Yuan had learned, only the Seven-Colored Heaven-Cutting Sword Light could truly be considered a Saint Art.

However, Zhou Yuan couldn't say for sure what level this art truly was. It wasn't even recorded within the Cangxuan Sect, as those who successfully cultivated it were exceedingly rare throughout the millennia.

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, his eyes sharp. The next moment, a clear, resonant sword hum echoed throughout heaven and earth.

One after another, seven-colored sword lights slowly rose from above Zhou Yuan's head.

One... three... five!

The five seven-colored sword lights quietly floated like iridescent glaze, exuding overwhelming sharpness.

Previously, Zhou Yuan could condense four seven-colored sword lights, but now, with his surging Genesis Qi reserves, he was able to condense one more.

Lü Tai looked at the scene and slowly said, "Your sword lights are indeed formidable, but unfortunately, five are probably not enough!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan seemed to smile. "Not enough?"

"That's simple..."

A silver glow flashed in his eyes, and silver light patterns began to crawl out from his skin.

Buzz!

The next moment, an earth-shattering sword hum rang out again, and Lü Tai's expression subtly shifted as he saw more seven-colored sword lights slowly rising.

Another four seven-colored sword lights formed!

Adding the previous five, that made a total of nine!

At this moment, sword qi filled the heavens and earth, gradually shattering even the void.

"Nine Heaven-Cutting Sword Lights..." Zhou Yuan gazed at the nine Heaven-Cutting Sword Lights suspended above his head. If the Seven-Colored Heaven-Cutting Gourd was cultivated to its peak, it could hold seven Heaven-Cutting Sword Lights, yet he had conjured nine.

Of course, the latter four sword lights were naturally generated with the aid of the Silver Shadow's power.

Zhou Yuan instinctively felt that the Seven-Colored Heaven-Cutting Gourd, formed by the fusion of the Seven Cangxuan Arts, held considerable mysteries. Conceiving seven Heaven-Cutting Sword Lights might not be its true secret. As for its other powers, Zhou Yuan felt they could only be unlocked when he truly managed to conceive seven sword lights on his own.

However, these nine sword lights conjured by Zhou Yuan didn't count fully, because four of them were unleashed by the Silver Shadow. Since they had different origins and had not fully integrated into the Heaven-Cutting Gourd, they naturally couldn't trigger its deeper changes.

Nevertheless, when these nine sword lights appeared simultaneously, the might they brought was still astonishing.

In that scene, the sword qi seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth.

Zhou Yuan pulled back his thoughts. The mysteries of the Seven-Colored Heaven-Cutting Gourd would naturally be revealed when he managed to conceive seven Heaven-Cutting Sword Lights on his own. But for now, it was better to deal with this powerful enemy first.

He looked up, gazing at the Mountain River Seal of light descending from the void.

Then he flicked his fingers repeatedly.

Buzz! Buzz!

The next instant, nine seven-colored sword lights shot out, trailing brilliant light tails. Like nine meteors, they streaked across the sky, eventually colliding violently with the descending glowing seal with indescribable sharpness.

At the moment of collision, numerous gazes converged upon it.

Even the four battling Saints cast their gazes over.

In the overall schemes of both sides, this clash between the two Genesis Infant stage cultivators had ironically become a crucial link...