The First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 465: Chapter 465 Sword Fight_1

Subconsciously, Shen Mo wanted to activate the Nine-Extreme Crystal Sand Energy and release a Palm to protect his Dao Body!

However, as the thought arose, the Crystal Sand Energy hidden within the chakras of his body showed no reaction; the Three-Heads Six-Arms True Immortal Technique and the Constellation Great Hand Seal also seemed to have been sealed, failing to operate smoothly.

It was then that he remembered the Giant Corpse Master’s admonition.

After entering the Sword Washing Pool trial, apart from sword-related immortal arts, martial techniques, and flying sword-type magical artifacts, all other abilities were unusable.

The only thing he could rely on was the three-foot-long sword in his hand!

The iron sword in the hands of the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage was already stabbing towards his throat...

Even though he knew that any fatal injuries sustained here would cease to exist once he left this strange space, a chill still gripped Shen Mo’s heart.

It was not fear of injury, nor regret at potentially failing to pass the trial, but the purest, most primal terror inspired by this sword technique!

In a flash, Shen Mo swung the Demon Slaying Sword, employing the Reincarnation Sword Style to meet the iron sword’s edge.

The sword Qi had barely erupted when it was crushed by the iron sword’s momentum, leaving only the physical blade of the Demon Slaying Sword to meet the attack.

CLANG!

The swords crossed, the sound of metal clashing echoed.

Sparks and acrid green smoke, carrying the smell of burning, burst forth!

The immense force Shen Mo had anticipated did not materialize. Instead, in the very next instant, he saw the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage change its tactic; the iron sword shifted from a thrust to an upward flick, aimed at Shen Mo’s glabella.

Immediately, Shen Mo also changed the sword technique in his hand, intending to block this deadly intent.

But in the next instant, the iron sword’s momentum changed again...

In a single instant, as fleeting as twenty thoughts, the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage changed its sword techniques hundreds of times within the span of just three or four such thoughts!

Every move—be it a thrust, a flick, a chop, a slash, a downward smash, a point, a block, a pare, or a bind—exuded an immense sense of crisis. Even the warnings from his [Chanjue] Destiny, which he had always worn, hadn’t ceased for a single breath.

Yet, whenever he tried to counter with a different sword technique, the iron sword in the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage’s hand would instantly shift from solid to illusory, transforming into yet another sword style!

Of course, completely ignoring it was also not an option. The iron sword’s techniques shifted unpredictably between real and illusory; if he treated a move as illusory, it would solidify in the next instant and strike him out of this strange space... In that case, his trial in the Sword Washing Pool would end in complete failure.

At this moment, it wasn’t hard to see that this unnamed Heavenly Monarch’s practice of sword martial arts in life tended towards the path of truth and falsehood!

The related sword-based immortal arts were clearly of a high grade and had reached an extremely profound level. Even if they hadn’t reached the Extremely Perfection realm of Epic, they were not far from it.

If a Heavenly Monarch in the Divine Bridge Realm, with a lifespan of 3,000 years, dedicated their entire life to cultivating a single Truth and Falsehood Swordplay...

Even if they reached the Perfection realm common in the cultivation world, any progress each year thereafter would be negligible. However, the accumulation over vast stretches of time could allow one to surpass ordinary imagination and reach an even higher standard!

This was the first time since achieving all his accomplishments in swordplay that he had encountered such a formidable opponent, one who could match him on the Sword Path.

Even the Dustless Sword Master of the Heaven Sword Sect was somewhat his inferior.

As for the Sect Master of the Heaven Sword Sect, who had also reached the Godlike Swordplay level many years ago, Shen Mo had never crossed swords with him, so he couldn’t jump to conclusions!

But Shen Mo could sense that the Heavenly Monarch afterimage before him had definitely touched upon the Godlike Swordplay realm during its lifetime. Furthermore, when it executed its swordplay, it was augmented by special abilities from Skills akin to [Sword Body] and [By the Stars].

Fortunately, he wasn’t someone to be easily trifled with either.

With Skill enhancement, his All-Encompassing Sword Canon alone was enough to trade blows evenly with his opponent.

In an extremely short period, he executed nearly a hundred sword moves. Although his dazzling sword Qi couldn’t strike the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage directly as usual, he still managed to counter its wildly shifting and ferociously aggressive attacks, thanks to the profundity of his swordplay!

After an intense exchange of sword techniques, Shen Mo largely figured out the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage’s patterns. He then executed the Startling Swan Sword Technique, transforming into a streak of sword light and rapidly distancing himself from it.

In the next instant, with a flick of his sleeve, seven Big Dipper Swords spiraled out.

A powerful Sword Array was also a component of one’s Proficiency in Swordsmanship, and thus was not restricted by the mysterious power of this place!

Amidst the RUMBLING resonance of the Sword Array, the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage had no time to dodge and was enveloped by The Big Dipper Array.

Shen Mo had originally cultivated this Sword Array to the Extremely Perfection realm. Later, by expending an astronomical amount of Spirit Stones and leveraging the wondrous effect of his [Martial Performance] Destiny, he had pushed it to an entirely new stage. Its intricacy and the Sword Array’s might had been elevated to a new level!

With his current cultivation, which wasn’t exceptionally profound, Shen Mo could use this array to trap and kill cultivators half a step into the Golden Core realm, or even expectant Class IV experts.

If the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage were to break the restriction limiting its cultivation to the middle-stage Spirit Sea Realm, it could naturally shatter this array with sheer power. However, by doing so, it would utterly lose the contest of Proficiency in Swordsmanship!

Only by relying on various sword techniques and martial arts, whether using brute force or skillful maneuvers to break the array, would it be considered a pure contest of swords.

Trapped in The Big Dipper Array, there was not a hint of panic on the face of the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage.

Or rather, it was merely a pre-set protocol, all its reactions based on the Heavenly Monarch’s demeanor in life. Such a personage would naturally not exhibit excessive negative emotions merely from falling into a slight disadvantage!

”The Big Dipper Array, Conversion!” Shen Mo uttered in a low voice, activating the Sword Array’s Killing Power to annihilate the afterimage trapped within.

Immediately, the area enveloped by the Sword Array blazed with countless, dazzling sword lights. The entire scene seemed to warp and shimmer under the oppressive killing intent, becoming dreamlike.

The Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage twisted its wrist. Its iron sword flew into the air and instantly split—one became two, two became four, four became eight...

In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of flying swords had materialized. They all vibrated ceaselessly, then surged forward to intercept the dazzling sword lights, colliding and entangling in a chaotic fray!

It had to be said, this Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage truly possessed the bearing of the Heavenly Monarch in life.

Even while manipulating tens of thousands of flying swords, it remained perfectly composed. Each iron sword, employing the simplest of moves and consuming minimal True Yuan, shattered the intensely powerful beams of annihilating sword light.

After a period of stalemate, a hint of delight flickered across the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage’s face. It formed a sword technique with its hand and pointed towards the sky.

Instantly, seven of the manifested iron swords pierced through the dense blockade of sword Qi, thrusting towards the seven Dao swords concealed within the boundless sword light.

Each Dao sword was a critical array core for the Sword Array’s operation.

Once the Sword Array was activated, these Dao swords would be concealed amidst the innumerable sword lights, their stellar positions constantly shifting!

Ordinary cultivators would struggle merely to locate them, let alone touch them with magical artifacts or immortal arts, even if they did perceive some anomaly.

But the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage’s Proficiency in Swordsmanship truly transcended the mundane. Not only did it identify the crucial pivot points of the Sword Array, but the iron swords it launched had also preemptively locked onto the next stellar positions to which the Big Dipper Swords were about to shift.

DING!

DING! DING!

A series of seven sharp sounds rang out as the Big Dipper Swords, hidden within the sword light, were all struck from their original trajectories.

Instantly, the entire Sword Array trembled, its operation faltering for a brief moment.

And in that fleeting moment, the Heavenly Monarch’s afterimage fiercely propelled over ten thousand iron swords, which converged into a long dragon of iron. With a shake of its head and a lash of its tail, this dragon shattered the now-flawed Big Dipper Array!