Immortal Soaring Blade

Vol.3-Chapter 86 – Twilight Cloud

Pei Su Su turned and asked Han Yu, “Is this the place?” Although the building had the giant plaque with the words “Bliss Palace” on it, she had to ask. She was always someone that wouldn't allow even a single grain of sand into her eyes. After encountering this matter, if she doesn’t deal with it, she would always feel a bit uncomfortable.

“Let us go down, this is definitely the place. I can feel the Happy Monk’s aura inside, along with 100 to 200 people. However, they are all very weak. The strongest is only at the Foundation Realm, so there is no need to worry.”

San Wu’s expression was solemn and his brows furrowed. While Pei Su Su felt sympathy as a woman, San Wu felt abhorrence that a scourge like this had appeared among the buddhist monks.

The moment San Wu spoke, Pei Su Su couldn’t help but look at him in shock. She couldn’t help but be impressed. Not even she could feel the Happy Monk’s aura. This meant that San Wu’s strength was not as simple as it looked on the surface, or he had some other hidden methods.

The two flying swords landed about 100 meters from the Bliss Palace. Zhao Jiuge felt that this place wasn’t very large, plus it was constructed at a remote place. Ordinary people would never come here, and if a cultivator felt the fluctuations coming from the palace, they would choose to retreat. Without a certain cultivation level, it would be impossible to feel Happy Monk’s aura inside.

“Just wait here, there will be no danger. It’s enough for just the three of us to go inside. You have done more than enough just by bringing us here,” Pei Su Su said softly to Han Yu. She knew that Han Yu didn’t want to return to this place. Just like all the other women, she also feared this place. Pei Su Su was doing this for her own good.

“No, I’ll go inside with you guys. I must see the Happy Monk die, or else I can’t die in peace.”

Unexpectedly, Han Yu rejected Pei Su Su’s good intention. She was very determined!

Pei Su Su was startled and pursed her lips before nodding. The three of them were more than enough to deal with the Happy Monk, so even if Han Yu went with them, she wouldn't get hurt.

The four of them fell into a brief moment of silence.

There was a lush, green forest in front of the Bliss Palace. The three of them quietly stood inside this small forest, none of them taking the lead.

After looking for a while, Zhao Jiuge said, “No wonder there is no one on guard outside. This formation is powerful enough to stop weaker cultivators.”

Although he was not proficient in formations, he had learned a bit from Elder Waning Moon. Even though she specialized in the sword, given her cultivation level, her understanding of these things were naturally profound.

Zhao Jiuge had lived at the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect for almost six years. He wasn’t proficient in formations, but at least he was knowledgeable. After observing it for a while, he was able to discern the nature of this formation.

The surface of the Bliss Palace gave off a golden glow. It looked like it was made of gold, but in truth, this was the effect of the formation.

This formation was only a defensive formation, and it was not very strong. As a result, the amount of spirit stones consumed wasn’t great. This formation also served as an alarm. Once it was broken, the person who set it would be alerted.

There were normally two methods to break this kind of formation. One was to know the correct method to break it, and doing so without the person who set it being alerted. The second was to rely on brute force. Usually, people at higher cultivation levels would just break the formation with sheer power.

None of them were proficient at formations, so they could only choose the latter method. This time, they absolutely had to get rid of the Happy Monk. Otherwise, if he escaped once more, it would be almost impossible to find him again.

San Wu asked with a heavy voice while turning the buddhist beads in his hand, “Who will go? We only have one chance. If we don’t break the formation in one blow, the Happy Monk will notice and will definitely escape. Even if we break the formation with the second attack, it will be pointless.”

“I’ll do it. Su Su, you stay on guard and wait for the Happy Monk to escape. It's unlikely since there should be a bigger structure below, but just in case.”

Zhao Jiuge’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the building before him. He was going to use the fourth layer of the sword art. Although he hadn’t fully comprehended the fourth layer, Twilight Cloud, it had been long enough for him to get a grasp of it. He lacked the power to help deal with the Happy Monk directly, so this was the time for him to contribute.

Hearing Zhao Jiuge’s words, Pei Su Su smiled. Although she didn’t say anything, her smile betrayed her heart. “Let's both attack together and leave San Wu to stay on guard. We only have one chance, and I’m afraid you’re not strong enough alone.”

Pei Su Su didn’t give Zhao Jiuge any face, but Zhao Jiuge didn’t mind, given their relationship. Pei Su Su was also doing this out of caution and not because she felt disdain toward Zhao Jiuge.

Zhao Jiuge turned his head and pretended to be hurt. “How can a man say no? Whether I can or not, let us find a place with no one around and we’ll find out.”

When San Wu heard this, his mouth twitched, but he was used to this and decided not to interject.

Pei Su Su’s face turned red and she gently scolded Zhao Jiuge. “Quickly, get ready. Don’t blame me for twisting your ear if we fail to break it in one go. If the Happy Monk gets away, you know the consequences.”

Hearing this, Zhao Jiuge revealed a proud smile and then quickly calmed himself down. He concentrated and immersed himself in the fourth layer of the sword art in preparation.

Pei Su Su’s expression became serious. Her white, slender fingers formed a seal and she went for the killing move right away. She started emitting powerful spirit force fluctuations and then green light slowly appeared.

The green light slowly gathered and formed a cyan lotus. Pei Su Su didn’t plan to hold back; she immediately used one of her hidden aces, the Cyan Serene Lotus.

Pei Su Su continued to form seals, and the cyan lotus slowly bloomed. Each leaf that opened up caused the lotus to become even stronger. While forming seals, Pei Su Su looked at Zhao Jiuge to signal him that she was ready and was waiting for him.

The cyan lotus was still slowly rotating in the air and accumulating strength. The formation on the surface of the Bliss Palace looked ordinary, but just to be safe, Pei Su Su and Zhao Jiuge were going all out. They didn’t want the Happy Monk to have a chance of escaping once they alerted him.

Zhao Jiuge nodded slightly and his eyes became aggressive. When he pulled the Cold Underworld Sword from his back, a phoenix cry echoed and the sword shined brightly.

Zhao Jiuge slowly closed his eyes and felt his understanding of the fourth layer of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Art. There were seven layers, and normally each layer corresponded to a cultivation realm. The fourth layer was meant for the Nascent Soul Realm, but there were exceptions. Some talented people could stay in one realm but comprehend several layers of the sword at once. His second senior brother, Ceng Qingniu, was only at the Nascent Soul Realm when he disappeared. However, he had managed to comprehend the sixth layer of the sword art. If he fought a Soul Formation Realm cultivator, he might even be able to kill them in a desperate struggle.

Zhao Jiuge was at the late stage of the Core Formation Realm and was only one step away from the Nascent Soul Realm, but he wasn’t able to comprehend the sword intent of the fourth layer of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Art. However, this didn't stop him from using the fourth layer. Even though it wouldn’t be as strong, it would still be a bit stronger than the third layer.

Zhao Jiuge suddenly opened his eyes and quickly moved the sword in his hand. Every moment created dazzling specks of light.

The chant for the fourth layer, Twilight Cloud, continued to echo inside Zhao Jiuge’s head.

Once the full chant appeared in his mind, Zhao Jiuge suddenly raised the sword and then slashed down. A violent ray of silver sword energy shot out like a silver dragon charging out from the sea.

The moment this ray of sword energy appeared, Zhao Jiuge was shocked because this used up ? of his spirit force!

Only now did Zhao Jiuge understand why people who could master the later layers didn’t have heaven-defying strength. He was always confused by this, and only after doing it himself did he understand why.

The fourth layer was meant to be used by Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, and even this incomplete version had already consumed so much of his spirit force. Although its strength was great, so was the consumption. No wonder his teacher had told him that Ceng Qingniu would have to go all-out to kill someone at the Soul Formation Realm even though he had mastered the sixth layer of the sword art.

The sixth layer of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Art couldn’t be this weak, but a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator wouldn’t have the spirit force to use it. Zhao Jiuge had a very rare rank-8 spirit core, so he hadn’t consumed every ounce of spirit force inside him when he used the fourth layer. However, it was likely that Ceng Qingniu would have to exhaust all his spirit force to use the sixth layer just once.