Chapter 2025: Ling Yun Sword God’s End

He was telling the truth. He had originally followed intending to protect Zhang Xuan. As it turned out, of the three black-robed figures at the peak of the True Immortal realm, Zhang Xuan single-handedly killed one, stabbed another to death during their fight, and brutally hacked the last one to death with his longsword. As for the Immortal Lord realm expert, this guy in front of him had even smashed him to death with a book.

Frankly speaking, he hadn't really helped much. At most, he had just drawn some monsters and attracted some aggro. Of course, he didn't even get any equipment; it was all taken by the other party. He had been astonished earlier. The other party's progress was simply too fast; how... in the blink of an eye, did he go from the initial stage to the peak again?

Seeing that revealing his true cultivation had scared the other party so much, Zhang Xuan explained, "On the way here, I felt my strength was too low, so I ate some Immortal Essence Pills and broke through!"

If he had already reached the peak of the True Immortal realm earlier, then even the three Temple Warriors combined might not have been his match, and he wouldn't have had so much trouble. Therefore, for self-preservation, he continuously consumed Immortal Essence Pills on the way here. With the Heaven's Path cultivation technique and the tempering from the recent battle, he reached the peak from the initial stage in a short amount of time. He hadn't revealed it earlier, but now that he had arrived at the Elder Hall and was safe, he felt there was no need to keep it hidden. He didn't expect it to surprise the other party so much.

"You ate some... Immortal Essence Pills, and just broke through?" Not only was Elder Chou Huo driven mad, but Han Jianqiu, Elder He Tian, and the others in front also swayed, almost spitting blood. Earlier, they had been a bit displeased, thinking he wasn't cultivating properly. Then they learned he had advanced nearly two major realms in a single day, which shocked them to the point of nearly fainting. And that wasn't even the end... How long had he been out? Two hours? Three hours? He even broke through to True Immortal, and reached the peak? The key was his attitude... "Just ate some Immortal Essence Pills and broke through!" "Come, come, come, I have a whole basin here. Why did I eat them and nothing happened at all?"

"Wait, you just said... Elder Zhang Xuan used the Crimson Robe Sword... He refined this sword?" After the initial shock, Sect Leader Han remembered something even more unbelievable and looked over again. The Crimson Robe Sword was a treasure he had obtained, and he knew its unyielding nature best. It would have taken him a tremendous effort to refine it, and he hadn't bothered doing so because it was too much trouble. But the other party, who was only a Void Immortal when he got it, succeeded? The key was... how long had it been?

"Yes, when I saw it, it was already refined..." Elder Chou Huo nodded with a bitter smile. Following this guy, all his self-confidence would be shattered, ceasing to exist. Soon, he recounted the events he had personally experienced earlier in detail. Hearing that the Immortal Lord expert from the Temple had defeated Elder Chou Huo with a single finger, everyone was utterly astonished. Then hearing that this person in front of them had smashed him to death with a book, they were all speechless.

"This... book is a protective artifact my teacher gave me," Zhang Xuan said. "It disappears after one use..." He couldn't explain the matter of the library, so he could only invent a non-existent "teacher" for himself again. Anyway, the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion did not investigate disciples who learned cultivation techniques from other sects.

Everyone's expressions turned serious. Previously, they had been wondering why this young man in front of them, only in his twenties, possessed such cultivation and understanding of the Sword Dao. Hearing that he had a teacher, they simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. He must have been trained by a super expert to possess such abilities. Without a lineage, no one would believe it.

"The Temple has always been overbearing," Zhang Xuan asked Sect Leader Han, "However... they usually wait until cultivators reach the Immortal Lord realm before intervening. To send an Immortal Lord and True Immortals for a mere Void Immortal, even sealing off space... even I have never heard of such a thing before!" After explaining, Zhang Xuan then asked Sect Leader Han about what he had inquired about on the way. The latter also frowned, full of doubt.

"More importantly, everyone who knows your identity is in this hall; no one has left. How did they know? Even if the Temple is high and mighty, it is not omniscient and omnipotent!" They discussed for a while longer, but truly didn't know what was going on, so they had to give up.

"If... the Temple sends people over," Zhang Xuan asked, "can the Sword Pavilion defend against them?" He was currently more concerned about this. What if the Sword Pavilion couldn't hold them off, and he no longer had the Heaven's Path Record for self-preservation? He wouldn't even know how he died then.

"Likely not!" Sect Leader Han shook his head. "We are exiles of the Temple, the so-called 'God-abandoned race.' If the Temple, high above, acts secretly, that might be fine, but if they openly storm into the sect, it will inevitably provoke a backlash from everyone. At that time, even if the Temple is powerful, they won't be able to control it! Furthermore... the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion is blessed by the power of countless ancestors. Even an Immortal Lord expert from the Temple, upon entering, will be unable to cause any trouble. It will only lead to their demise!"

Zhang Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to be safe. It made sense when he thought about it. If they truly intended to act openly, they wouldn't have pulled him into a special space first before making their move!

"I wonder... besides the Elder Hall, do we have any more Immortal Lord realm cultivation techniques here?" Zhang Xuan asked. "The more, the better. I still have some areas of cultivation that I don't understand, and I'd like to look at more..."

It was best to have power in his own hands. If he reached the Immortal Lord realm, he wouldn't need to worry, no matter how many Temple experts came. Therefore, the most urgent task was still to find a way to break through.

"The Immortal Lord realm cultivation techniques are all in the Elder Hall..." Sect Leader Han Jianqiu shook his head. Immortal Lords already stood at the peak of the Forsaken Continent; every set of cultivation techniques was incredibly rare. How could there be many?

"Only a dozen?" Zhang Xuan was stunned. He had been to the Elder Hall's library and had specifically looked at Immortal Lord realm cultivation techniques. There were only a little over ten. A Heaven's Path cultivation technique simply couldn't be formed... How could he cultivate like this?

"Yes!" Han Jianqiu nodded. "Apart from the Soaring Cloud Sword God Art, which only the Sect Leader is qualified to cultivate, all others are in the library!"

"Soaring Cloud Sword God Art?" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. "Am I... qualified to learn it?"

Sect Leader Han said, "You have comprehended the Sword Intent of the Gods, making you the future Sect Leader of the Sword Pavilion. Naturally, you are qualified! However, this cultivation technique is not a manual; to learn it, you must experience it personally. Follow me!"

Following behind him, he walked out of the hall. Increasing his strength was paramount now; everything else was secondary. Soon, they arrived at a sealed room. He took out a token that only the Sect Leader possessed, opened the seal, and entered.

Inside the room was a row of statues. Counting them, there were exactly twelve. Each held a longsword, performing different sword moves. "This is the Soaring Cloud Sword God Art?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Yes, this Sword God Art is the key to comprehending the Sword Intent of the Gods, and the cultivation technique is also contained within it!" Han Jianqiu said. Zhang Xuan looked. The statues in front of him had various forms and completely different movements. There were no markings indicating the flow of immortal energy or the direction of power, and it looked completely unrelated to a cultivation technique.

"These twelve are all sword moves," Han Jianqiu explained. "But each move is very strange, defying the structure of human anatomy. As long as you strictly follow these movements for cultivation, immortal energy pathways will naturally form within your body... And this is not only the Sword Pavilion's method for Immortal Lord breakthrough to the highest deity, but also the key to breaking through to pseudo-god!"

Zhang Xuan looked carefully and indeed saw that the movements of these sword moves were very bizarre. Each one involved bending in ways that seemed to defy human instinct, forming incredible curvatures.

"You can start experimenting with the first move," Sect Leader Han Jianqiu said with a bitter smile. "Each move is harder than the last. Back then, it took me a full three days to complete the first move!"

"Three days?" Zhang Xuan looked at the first movement: his back was bent backward, and the longsword thrust out from above his head, which felt very awkward.

"Yes," Sect Leader Han Jianqiu explained, "and this is already the simplest one. The second move took me ten days, the third, a month... It took me a full fifteen years to learn all twelve statues in front of me!" As the most profound cultivation technique of the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion, an abstruse martial art left behind by the founding patriarch, for him to finish learning it in fifteen years was considered extremely fast and showed immense talent. Zhang Xuan clicked his tongue.

"Don't underestimate this speed," Han Jianqiu said, his expression serious. "Among all the past Sect Leaders of the Sword Pavilion, I'm definitely in the top ten for finishing it in fifteen years..." To be able to become a Sect Leader, one's talent naturally couldn't be weak. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to surpass others and arrive here! Fifteen years sounded slow, but for cultivating the Soaring Cloud Sword God Art, it was already considered extremely fast.

"Is that so?" Full of doubt, Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist, and the Crimson Robe Sword appeared in his palm. His back bent, and a sword qi extended from the sword's tip. His movement was identical to the first statue in front of him.

Han Jianqiu's eyebrows twitched. He had just said it took him three days to complete, and the other party performed it instantly... giving him an ominous premonition. "The first move is relatively simple..." he said awkwardly. "Since you've comprehended the Sword Intent of the Gods, it shouldn't be difficult for you to perform. The later ones won't be so easy..."

"I'll try..." Zhang Xuan's body twisted again into an incredible curvature, completing the second move! Then, the third move! The fourth move! The fifth move! In the blink of an eye, he reached the tenth move.

Han Jianqiu truly felt like he was going crazy. The other party completing the first move could be attributed to its simplicity, but doing the remaining moves in one go, what the hell was that? Had he practiced them before? That was absolutely impossible! No one else besides the Sect Leader had ever been to this place.

Just as he was too astonished to speak, he saw the young man in front of him finish performing the last two movements, and then look over at him, full of doubt. "This is quite simple... Did you really cultivate for fifteen years?"

"I..." Han Jianqiu wished he could crawl into a crack in the ground. He had spent fifteen years and had been boasting and feeling smug, thinking he ranked in the top ten... yet the other party took less than fifteen breaths... Comparing oneself to others only invites frustration!

Just as he didn't know what to do, he heard the young man in front of him, his voice full of doubt, continue speaking. "But... you cultivated for fifteen years, didn't you realize that the sequence of these sword moves is wrong?"

"Wrong?" Han Jianqiu froze on the spot.