Chapter 1543: Swimming Dragon Sword Formation

"Experience isn't everything, and neither is aptitude. Those cultivators with spirit bodies didn't have extensive experience, yet they still advanced to the Nascent Soul stage. The Five-Spirit Rogue Cultivator had five spirit roots and still reached the Nascent Soul stage, didn't he?"

Wang Changsheng didn't agree with Wang Qingling's statement, his face filled with worry.

Wang Huayu had already failed; hopefully, Wang Mengbin would succeed!

Wang Mengbin's experience was indeed richer than Wang Huayu's, but Wang Changsheng couldn't be certain that Wang Mengbin would definitely reach the Nascent Soul stage.

Thunder rumbled continuously, and silver lightning bolts poured down. The entire valley was engulfed in dazzling silver lightning, the ground shook violently, dust flew, several mountain peaks trembled fiercely, and large amounts of rubble rolled down from the rock faces.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the thundercloud had shrunk to over a hundred zhang in size. Amidst a mighty roar, the thundercloud transformed into a giant silver tiger, over thirty zhang in size, and plunged down from high altitude, directly into Wang Mengbin's cultivation cave.

Boom!

Following an earth-shattering roar, two mountain peaks suddenly exploded, turning into a sky full of dust and thick smoke. A powerful shockwave sent countless flying stones and sand scattering.

As these flying stones and sand approached within a hundred zhang of Wang Changsheng and the two others, they were blocked by an invisible force and could not advance further.

After a while, the dust and smoke dissipated, and the valley was leveled. The Thunder Apricot Spirit Fruit tree had also been obliterated by the lightning tribulation, leaving behind some silver wood shavings scattered on the ground, faintly gleaming with spiritual light.

Wang Changsheng, Wang Qingling, and Ye Haitang flew into the valley, their gazes sweeping around, searching for Wang Mengbin.

A cloud of dust erupted from the ground as Wang Mengbin crawled out of a dirt mound. He was disheveled, covered in dirt, and looked somewhat ragged. His face was pale, his expression agitated, and a powerful spiritual pressure emanated from his body.

"Haha, I've finally advanced to the Nascent Soul stage!"

Wang Mengbin threw his head back and laughed wildly. After hundreds of years of cultivation, he had finally reached the Nascent Soul stage. Throughout history, how many cultivators had been stopped at the Core Formation stage?

Wang Changsheng smiled faintly, his anxious heart finally at ease. The more Nascent Soul cultivators the family had, the safer it would be, allowing him to travel with peace of mind.

It took a while for Wang Mengbin to calm down. He composed his excited emotions, quickly approached Wang Changsheng, bowed, and said, "Your grandson greets the ancestor."

"Mengbin, congratulations! Today brings three joyous occasions."

Wang Changsheng said with a smile, referring to the advancements of the Gold-Devouring Ant Queen, the Two-Eyed Rat, and Wang Mengbin, one after another.

Wang Mengbin paused slightly, then asked curiously, "Three joyous occasions? Did Great Aunt and the others also advance to the Nascent Soul stage?"

"No, they haven't. Qingjing and Qingjun are still in seclusion, and Huayu failed. Mengbin, you've just formed your Nascent Soul. Take good care of yourself, consolidate your cultivation, and go train on Qinglian Peak first. Mengfen will send someone to help you rebuild your cultivation cave."

Wang Changsheng's face was full of concern as he instructed.

Wang Mengbin acknowledged, then followed Wang Changsheng, flying towards Qinglian Peak.

***

Eastern Wilderness, Taiyi Immortal Sect.

In a secluded small courtyard with blue tiles, there was a silver fruit tree over ten zhang tall in the corner. The tree was lush with branches and leaves, bearing dozens of light silver fruits. Some silver leaves were scattered on the ground; they appeared to have been cut cleanly by a sharp object, with perfectly smooth edges.

Wang Qingshan sat cross-legged beneath the fruit tree, his gaze fixed on the silver fruit tree. Nine Azure Glaze Swords moved slowly among its branches, surprisingly without touching a single leaf or the trunk.

He was practicing a sword formation, one he had comprehended from the Taiyi Sword Wall.

After a moment, Wang Qingshan changed his sword incantation. The nine Azure Glaze Swords suddenly blazed with azure light, darting erratically up and down within the silver fruit tree. The air whistled loudly, accompanied by resounding sword hums. Sword qi streaked like rainbows, and sword light flashed like lightning. From a distance, nine streaks of azure light danced wildly among the silver fruit tree.

Strangely, none of the nine Azure Glaze Swords touched a single leaf or the tree trunk.

Wang Qingshan's face lit up with joy. With a flick of his sword incantation, the nine streaks of azure light emitted resounding sword hums and flew towards him. They circled unsteadily above his head, causing the void to twist as if about to be torn apart by the nine azure lights.

The nine azure lights accelerated rapidly, leaving behind streaks of afterimages that vaguely formed a miniature azure flood dragon. The azure flood dragon charged wildly about.

After a while, Wang Qingshan changed his sword incantation again. The nine azure lights settled in front of him, transforming into nine gleaming azure flying swords. Each Azure Glaze Sword emitted a resounding hum, vibrating continuously as if alive.

"Let's call it the Soaring Dragon Sword Formation!"

Deep joy appeared in Wang Qingshan's eyes as he murmured to himself.

He had spent ten years perfecting this sword formation. This formation integrated both offense and defense, far surpassing any sword formations he had mastered previously.

It was a well-known consensus in the cultivation world that sword cultivators were almost invincible among their peers, but their defense was not strong, making them vulnerable to close-range sneak attacks from body cultivators.

This Soaring Dragon Sword Formation integrated offense and defense and was highly versatile. With the Azure Lotus Sword as its core, its power would be even greater. However, Wang Qingshan currently had no opportunity to test the formation's true power, which could only be assessed through actual combat.

"I've been out for quite a while; it's time to return to Qinglian Island."

Wang Qingshan murmured to himself. He made a sword incantation, and the nine Azure Glaze Swords transformed into nine streaks of azure light, vanishing into his sleeve.

Wang Qingshan rose and walked out. The Three-Headed Ferret was lying by the courtyard gate; it was currently a middle-grade Tier 3 beast.

As a sword cultivator, he wasn't particularly invested in nurturing the Three-Headed Ferret. For him, the ferret was merely a means of transportation; he wasn't like Wang Qingling, who treated spirit beasts as her everything.

Wang Qingshan leaped onto the Three-Headed Ferret's back and squeezed its abdomen with his legs. The ferret let out a low roar and flew towards the sky.

Along the way, he encountered many disciples of the Taiyi Immortal Sect. They all stopped and made way for him. Wang Qingshan nodded without saying anything.

A quarter of an hour later, the Three-Headed Ferret appeared outside a vast, boundless azure bamboo forest. As far as the eye could see, the spiritual bamboo trees in the forest were over a hundred zhang tall. Outside the forest stood a three-zhang-tall azure stone tablet, inscribed with the three golden characters "Carefree Forest" – this was the cultivation abode of Sword Venerable Xiaoyao.

The moment Wang Qingshan landed, Sword Venerable Xiaoyao's voice suddenly rang out: "It took you this long to comprehend a sword formation. Come in! Your master has something to tell you."

As soon as his voice fell, the azure spiritual bamboo moved quickly, creating a path. Wang Qingshan strode inside.

Soon after, he stood before a simple azure bamboo building. The interior of the building was sparsely furnished. Sword Venerable Xiaoyao lay on a bamboo couch, clutching an azure gourd. His face was flushed red, and he reeked of alcohol.

"Disciple greets Master."

Wang Qingshan quickly walked up to Sword Venerable Xiaoyao and bowed respectfully.

"What's the name of that sword formation you comprehended? It actually took you ten years."

Sword Venerable Xiaoyao took a swig of spirit wine and asked casually.

"The Soaring Dragon Sword Formation. After ten years, this disciple has finally perfected it."

Wang Qingshan's face was beaming with joy. To be honest, ten years wasn't a long time to perfect a sword formation; perfecting a cultivation technique could even take thousands of years.