Chapter 855: I Haven't Tried the Taste of Illusion Sword Technique Yet

The sword's name was Guixue. Wielding the first-grade spirit sword inherited from her grandfather, Su Qianqian unleashed a horizontal slash that unexpectedly drew upon the Grand Dao of Heaven and Earth.

“Time manipulation?” Watching from behind, Xiao Wanfeng was stunned. He might be concealing his sword, but his knowledge was not hidden. He could still discern the power of that strike.

Swordsmanship encompassed myriad paths; in the previous era, sword cultivators were considered equivalent to spirit refiners. Consequently, almost all attributes were integrated into the Three Thousand Sword Paths. This is why people claimed that a Sword Dao Monarch could never master the profound truths. Because if a Sword Dao Monarch truly grasped these profound truths, their understanding of the Dao principles would be equivalent to a spirit refiner at the Monarch realm having fully comprehended all Grand Daos of Heaven and Earth!

Su Qianqian was clearly still only a Sword Sect cultivator. A Sword Sect cultivator is still a master. The Master realm typically involved merely touching upon the Dao, not comprehending or entering it. Xiao Wanfeng considered his comprehension extraordinary, but his cultivation was insufficient, which was why he had embarked on the path of comprehending various sword daos from the start. But Su Qianqian was a sword cultivator trained by orthodox spirit refiners, wasn't she? Such individuals, at the Master realm, could clearly not master the Nine Great Sword Arts. Yet, when she executed that strike, it subtly bore traces of the Illusory Sword Art's time manipulation. How old was she?

Xiao Wanfeng was dumbfounded. For a girl her age to possess such powerful comprehension... If she were given time to develop, wouldn't she be able to reach the first realm of the Illusory Sword Art's profound truths in just three or five decades?

“Sorrowful Snow.” With a soft cry, Su Qianqian, stepping into the air, caused the heavens and earth to change. On the desolate mountainside, white snow suddenly began to fall, and an aura of sorrow quickly permeated, affecting everyone present. Even Xiao Wanfeng, standing outside the immediate area, felt his vision blur. Before he knew it, his eyes were wet with tears. The dozens of spirit refiners rushing from all directions fared even worse.

“What kind of spirit technique is this?” “Am I slowing down, or is she too fast... No, it seems everyone is slowing down!” “Why can’t I see anymore? Why am I crying?” “This snow…” “Illusory Sword Art?”

Su Qianqian's shift in mental state occurred in the blink of an eye. In that instant, the time-slowed challengers found even their thoughts beginning to lag. They hadn't yet been able to react.

The next second, not only was time manipulation drawn upon, affecting them, but even the falling snow began to influence their minds, which had been prepared for a bloody battle. Sorrow welled up uncontrollably.

With several tearing sounds, the falling snowflakes, as if having accumulated countless ages, instantly formed a thick layer on the ground. At this point, Su Qianqian's horizontal slash seemed to have barely completed…

“Boom!” A resounding explosion. Snow scattered everywhere. Snowflakes, torn apart by sword energy, instantly filled the entire world. Su Qianqian retracted her sword and heavily thrust it towards the ground.

“Tablet Weight!” With a deep rumble, a bolt of lightning struck from the clear sky above. The pure white snow instantly turned black, then plummeted violently from the void as if under immense gravity. During this process, even the spirit refiners' bodies could not prevent the falling, piercing snow.

“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh…” Numerous streams of blood spurted out, instantly dyeing the surroundings red. Xiao Wanfeng's heart suddenly stopped. He blinked hard, trying to tell himself, *This must be an illusion, an illusion…* Then, shaking off the sword's influence, he reopened his eyes.

It was empty! There was nothing in front of him. Let alone accumulated snow. Not a single snowflake was visible. The jets of blood spurting from the challengers were also illusions. However, amidst these illusions, Xiao Wanfeng could see that around thirty challengers suddenly burst into bright light. Their trial jade pendants had detected mortal injuries and opted to teleport them out of the Cloud Ridge Mountains.

“Too late…” Xiao Wanfeng understood. These people might already be dead. Their physical bodies might not have suffered any harm. But under Su Qianqian's Illusory Sword Art, their consciousnesses believed they had died, triggering the trial jade pendant's protection mechanism. But could this mechanism truly work…? Xiao Wanfeng didn't know. He thought that the trial jade pendant might help avert physical harm, but for consciousness death caused by the Illusory Sword Art, even immortals couldn't save them, could they?

“Illusory Sword Art… she really knows the Illusory Sword Art! And not just as a beginner, but extremely proficiently, capable of using it in actual combat!” Xiao Wanfeng thought of himself, a bitter smile on his face. He was also a Sword Sect cultivator. But currently, he had no combat power whatsoever. Although he prided himself on having researched the Nine Great Sword Arts, and wouldn't be modest enough to deny his own talent, his Nine Great Sword Arts were all purely theoretical. Even some of these theories had earned praise from Mr. Si Ren. However! Theoretical knowledge was superficial; he couldn't put swordsmanship into practice. At least, Su Qianqian's strike. Even if he hadn't concealed his sword, Xiao Wanfeng didn't know if he could truly execute it. It was like… He understood the principles, and his fundamental capabilities seemed to barely meet the requirements, but whether he could use this strike in actual combat was another matter.

“Whoosh.” On the mountainside, Su Qianqian slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air after completing her move. Her face instantly turned pale, as if her essence, qi, and spirit had been drained in an instant, making her appear unsteady even while standing. “It's too difficult.” The Illusory Sword Art was extremely taxing on mental power. It not only required the user to instantly construct a flawless spiritual world but also demanded that this ethereal spiritual world provide the most realistic feedback to enemies. Killing in dreams was no different. Su Qianqian was only a Sword Sect cultivator. She was also not yet an adult, and her mental strength had not fully matured. Forcing herself to use her grandfather's legacy to eliminate so many people in one go was already the absolute limit. Even so, a Sword Sect cultivator, after all, had their limits. The various challengers from the Five Domains were all young talents. Her single strike eliminated more than half, but over a dozen still resisted and did not suffer consciousness death. Moreover, another group of challengers was continuously arriving from a distance… In a blink of an eye, she was surrounded by dozens more!

“She's weakened!” Someone, feigning boldness, shouted, attempting to incite everyone's anger and initiate another attack. But the others weren't foolish. After seeing her take down dozens with a single strike, everyone was intimidated. “This Sword Sect cultivator is simply too terrifying.” “How does she know the Illusory Sword Art? Some Sword Sect cultivators I've seen possess sword intent but can't even utilize the Three Thousand Sword Paths or the Eighteen Sword Streams, let alone the Nine Great Sword Arts.” “Currently, the legacy of ancient sword cultivators is only passed down in the Eastern Domain.” “Such exceptional comprehension of the Illusory Sword Art could probably only be learned within supreme powers like 'Moon-Gazing Immortal City' or 'Sword Tomb of Buried Relics'.” “What is this girl's background, to have learned such swordsmanship?”

Suddenly, everyone grew suspicious of Su Qianqian's identity. Someone panicked, “Could she be from Moon-Gazing Immortal City or Sword Tomb of Buried Relics?” “Impossible!” someone immediately retorted. “The people of Moon-Gazing Immortal City are devoted to swordsmanship. We've only heard of sword cultivators from all over the world coming to Moon-Gazing Immortal City to comprehend the sword intent of the Eighth Sword Immortal, never of its inhabitants failing to fully grasp the Dao or having the leisure to contend for fame and fortune.” “As for Sword Tomb of Buried Relics, even fewer inherit its legacy; this generation only has three practitioners, and they are all male.” “This girl…” Someone, speaking, began to flash with eager light in their eyes, conclusively stating, “She must have obtained some ancient sword cultivator's legacy!”

A spatial source stone, ancient sword cultivator legacy… How could two supreme treasures, both found on a seemingly exhausted young girl, not incite others' envy? Everyone began preparing themselves mentally, intending to launch a second assault. Xiao Wanfeng's heart clenched. “Miss Su, oh Miss Su, you're only a Sword Sect cultivator, not a monstrous individual like Young Master Xu. When you don't need to push yourself, don't push yourself so hard! It's just a spatial source stone; wouldn't it be better to just hand it over?” At that moment, he truly wanted to step forward and persuade Su Qianqian. But as he took a few steps, Su Qianqian happened to glance back.

Their eyes met. Though no words were exchanged, Xiao Wanfeng felt a momentary daze. He saw the girl's unwavering resolve in her eyes, and her determination to burn her bridges. It was as if… Miss Su wasn't merely guarding the spatial source stone; her only thought was that she simply disliked handing over what she held. Xiao Wanfeng didn't know how he had perceived this. But in that moment, their minds connected; as fellow Sword Sect cultivators, he could instantly see the girl's stubbornness. Just as he firmly believed in the correctness of his own sword dao, this young girl before him also had something she wished to protect.

“How old is she…?” Xiao Wanfeng didn't know what this girl had experienced. But at this moment, he didn't hesitate, choosing to step forward, pulling out his wooden sword, “If you can't hold them off any longer, leave the rest to me.” “Can you manage?” Su Qianqian glanced at his wooden sword. Xiao Wanfeng hesitated, paused, then said, “Perhaps, it might scare you.”

“Click.” Above a distant mountain range, a floating, short young man with white hair watched the scene of wolves besieging a hungry tiger, clenching his fists. Others didn't understand what Su Qianqian was defending. He understood. Just as he was about to move, the white-haired young man seemed to sense something, suddenly looking in another direction, and halted his steps.

“Clap, clap, clap.” Just as everyone was about to launch their second assault, several ill-timed claps echoed. “What a Sword Sect cultivator, what an exquisite and peerless Illusory Sword Art!”

Everyone stopped their actions and looked over in unison. Not far away, a gentle breeze brought forth a youth like an exiled immortal: sharp eyebrows, bright teeth, radiant forehead, and red lips, with a pristine, flawless face. His mere appearance was enough to overpower everyone present. He exuded a radiant glow, his entire being imbued with immortal spiritual energy. The only thing starkly out of place with his temperament was likely his eyes. They were ordinary eyes—though spirited and bright—yet, set on the face of such an exceptionally elegant person, they seemed too common, creating a sense of incongruity. It was as if a saintly figure like him shouldn't possess merely such ordinary eyes.

“Who are you?” Someone in the crowd, annoyed that this fellow had interrupted everyone's momentum, angrily demanded. Behind the youth, a rumbling sound approached, and soon hundreds of figures arrived, terrifying everyone. This person had actually brought a large team and charged in recklessly. With hundreds of people preceding him, the youth's demeanor appeared even more noble.

“He is Young Master Jiang of the Northern Domain's Jiang Clan!” A person behind the youth stepped forward, a mocking expression on his face and a tone of reverence. “Jiang Xian?”

This time, everyone was truly awed. The newcomer was actually Jiang Xian, a Semi-Saint's descendant? The previous fire-element source stone had been contested for so long, and it seemed only a mysterious ‘Honest’ had emerged. But this sudden appearance had sent everyone sprawling. The source stone's whereabouts eventually vanished, and it was rumored to have been obtained by a Semi-Saint's descendant, so no one dared to contend for it again. Unexpectedly, this spatial source stone had attracted a Semi-Saint's descendant so quickly? What was to be done now? With a Semi-Saint's descendant present, ordinary people couldn't possibly compete!

Jiang Xian completely ignored those present, looking at Su Qianqian with an appreciative expression. He said, “I recall Moon-Gazing Immortal City and Sword Tomb of Buried Relics don't have someone like you. Follow me, and the spatial source stone will be yours.” Su Qianqian's expression was indifferent; she didn't reply, using the time to recuperate. Jiang Xian remained still. The person behind him, however, couldn't hold back. He stepped forward and angrily rebuked, “Young Master Jiang thinks highly of you because of your exceptional talent in the sword dao and wishes to cultivate it. Don't be ungrateful!” Su Qianqian remained silent. Young Master Jiang's subordinate felt ignored and shouted, “I'll give you three breaths to think! Know this: without Young Master Jiang's help, not only will you be unable to handle these people in front of you, but with a single command from Young Master Jiang, his team of over six hundred can tear you to shreds!”

Xiao Wanfeng couldn't listen anymore. “These people's words were truly disgusting. Who recruits people like this? Even if she agreed, the spatial source stone wouldn't be safe once she joined them, would it?” He lifted his foot, about to step forward. “Get lost!” The person behind Young Master Jiang glared, sneering, “Do you have a place to speak here?” Xiao Wanfeng's expression froze, and he reluctantly retracted his foot.

“Oh?” “Bullying a weak girl and a young boy?” Suddenly, an ethereal female voice echoed from another direction. Jiang Xian turned his gaze, his pupils contracting. The newcomer wore a red voluminous skirt, her entire body wrapped in bandages, revealing only two bright eyes. “Miss Duo'er of the Blackheart Fruit Tribe?”

Duo'er directly ignored Jiang Xian, looking at the focal point of the crowd and tilting her head to ask, “You, are you Xiao Wanfeng?” Xiao Wanfeng was startled. He hadn't expected anyone to notice him in such a situation. “Shouldn't they be focusing on Su Qianqian, the main target?” “I am…” “You're Xiao Wanfeng, so why are you such a coward? You back down just because someone shouts at you?” Duo'er's tone held displeasure.

Xiao Wanfeng was utterly bewildered. “What kind of situation was this? If I didn't back down, should I have gone up and let him hack at me? I'm a useless person…”

Duo'er's eyes flashed with disdain, but soon, she seemed to remember something amusing and smiled, “Xiao Wanfeng, didn't you obtain the source stone? Was it taken by her? Give me the spatial source stone from her, and I'll guarantee your safety.” Before Xiao Wanfeng could respond, a rough voice sounded from afar. “Heh, so many people have arrived? Perfect, everyone leave half your points, then leave!” A burly man appeared, carrying a large saber. “Tang Zheng!” “Big Saber Tang Zheng!” Everyone who had experienced the first source stone struggle panicked. This was the super demon king, Tang Zheng, who had sliced away half of their points and many lives! He had arrived so quickly too?

Tang Zheng looked at Su Qianqian, grinned, and drew his saber, facing her. “You're different. You won't just give me points; you'll also offer up the spatial source stone. And finally, you'll need to use your Illusory Sword Art to exchange a few moves with me.” He licked his lips, his gaze turning somewhat bloodthirsty. “I've never tasted the Illusory Sword Art before!”