Chapter 55 Heart of Swords Palace's Ten Malefic Weapons
Another four or five days passed, Zhong Yue got up from his bed and walked around, his ribs were fully recovered and the wounds were all healed leaving only faint marks of scars, the only thing was that he could still feel vaguely feel some vestigial pain in his chest when he breathed.
It would take at least half a year for an ordinary man to recover from such heavy injuries, but his body was countless times stronger than the ordinary humans, in addition to the high-quality medicines of Swords Gate, he was able to fully recover in such a short while.
The next time I go for a training trip, I must bring some of these medicines.
Zhong Yue moved his muscles and bones around, the Qi Practitioner outside of the door saw him exercising and he walked in smiling, "Junior martial brother your wounds are all healed? You are indeed a physique-refiner, your body is stronger than the others and is able to recover quicker than the others. If I'm in your position, I'm afraid I will have to lay on the bed for another few days before I recover."
"Junior martial brother?"
Zhong Yue was startled, he smiled and replied, "This junior martial uncle…."
The Qi Practitioner quickly stopped his words and said, "It is fine for junior martial brother to acknowledge me as Senior Martial Brother Gu, please don't call me junior martial uncle. You have acquired the first place in the Lawless Battles and is destined to be a Qi Practitioner, according to the rules, all of the upper house disciples will have to acknowledge you as their junior martial uncle. But before you enter the Ethereal Palace, the elders would like to meet you. Junior martial brother, please follow me."
The elders would like to meet me?
Zhong Yue's heart shifted, he stood up and followed behind. He knew that the prowess he had shown during the battle between him and Tian Myriad Mother had caused a surge of distrust among the Swords Gate elders.
An ordinary disciple from mediocrity that spent five or six years cultivating before entering the upper house, but in months, his prowess had ballooned to the point that he was able to claim the name of strongest upper house disciples, such a cultivation speed was too good to be true, sure enough he would attract the attention of the Swords Gate elders.
"Senior Martial Brother Gu, the medicine that was applied to my wounds, can I exchange them from the Swords Gate?"
The Senior Martial Brother Gu led the way and they slowly walked out from the upper house towards the inner hall of Swords Gate, he smiled and answered, "This medicine is known as the Lingyu Paste, it was made with various kinds of medicinal herbs by the Qi Practitioners, you can indeed exchange it from the Valley of Remedy of the inner and outer halls of Swords Gate. If it is applied to the normal wounds such as injuries to the muscles and tendons, it will take a day or so to recover and heal. While if it is the major wounds like how you were a few days ago, resting for tens of days will also have the wounds fully healed. Junior martial brother your body physique is stronger than the others, which is why you are able to recover this quickly."
He paused for a moment before continuing while shaking his head, "But the Shui Tu Clan young lady is not that lucky, her neck was nearly slashed off by you, I hear that the elder was only able to heal her neck by opening her neck and poured a pot of the medicine onto the wound."
Zhong Yue said in an indifferent tone, "Her prowess is not weaker than mine, she is probably all healed up now."
Senior Martial Brother Gu nodded and said, "I hear that the junior martial sister of the Shui Tu Clan is recovering fast, she might just be fully healed up now, the elders requested to meet with you and at the at same time summoned her too."
Zhong Yue's heart shifted, the elders summoned him and also 'Shui Qingyan', could it be that they were also suspecting 'Shui Qingyan'?
Not long later, they have come to the side of a steep escarpment, Zhong Yue glanced around, the steep escarpment was a few miles wide and the bottom of the cliff lurked with surges of dark black rays. In the escarpment there was an ever-present evil and demonic aura, Zhong Yue lowered his head and as the dark black rays entered his sights, an extreme dizziness struck Zhong Yue as if his soul was getting sucked into the bottom of the escarpment!
Billowing waves of dark black rays surged and lurked their way up to the escarpment, but every time the dark waves gushed its way up there would be totem carvings at the slopes of the escarpments emerging out and suppressed the malevolent dark rays. The totem carvings were complex, majestic and awe-inspiring.
This air, this aura, it feels so familiar….
Zhong Yue's heart shifted, he immediately recognized where he had felt it before, "The Devil Soul Yin Effluvium! These dark black rays, their aura is the same as the Devil Soul Yin Effluvium!"
Just right the moment when the dark black rays were suppressed, he could see flesh and blood all around the escarpment from the bottom to the top, without skins, this flesh and blood were squirming their way up to the escarpment as if they were trying to crawl out it.
"What is at the bottom of this escarpment?"
Zhong Yue repressed his shock, in his inner mind Xin Huo was all pumped up, he glanced around through Zhong Yue's eyes and exclaimed out, "The devil souls, they are really repressed here. Hehe, this is surely the seals of the gods, Swords Gate is established on top of an active volcano, a moment of neglect could have turned everything into ash and dust…."
"These seals are not placed by Swords Gate Qi Practitioners?" Zhong Yue's calmed heart was again disrupted, he quickly asked.
"The Swords Gate Qi Practitioners are not strong enough to repress these underground devil souls."
Xin Huo shook his head and said, "The totem carvings below are the seals of the gods, the gods have turned their psyches and images into totem carvings, that is why they are able to repress whatever is underneath. I suppose the Devil Soul Yin Effluvium only got triggered because there is a crack in the seals, thankfully it is not in Swords Gate or otherwise, Swords Gate would be in deep trouble."
Senior Martial Brother Gu smiled and said, "Junior martial brother, below this escarpment, is the forbidden land of Swords Gate, there is a force of strange power that can wipe off every art and skill above it, not a single technique can be cast right here. To cross the escarpment to the other side, we can only wait for the Croc Dragon."
"Croc Dragon?"
Zhong Yue was puzzled, there were two swords gates on each side of the escarpments with clouds billowing in between them, Senior Martial Gu led him to one of the swords gates and he rang the copper gong that was dangling in the wind. Dang dang - a deep and yet bright sound echoed, in the clouds, a giant crocodile made its appearance and swam over, it had wings and flew in the air towards the source of the echoing sounds of the gong.
The crocodile was like a floating island, Zhong Yue looked at it, it had four eyes and on its back were a few pairs of wings, its conformation was weird and peculiar.
No one could visualize any arts around the escarpments, thence the wings on the crocodile's back were not visualizations but rather flesh and blood wings, it could fly in the air and therefore the strange power that represses every technique had no effect on it.
The duo jumped onto the crocodile's back, Senior Martial Gu said with a smile, "Croc Dragon, please bring us up to the mountain."
The giant crocodile nodded and its wings fluttered, it turned around and flew towards Swords Gate on the other side of the escarpment, in a deep and yet loud voice it said, "Brother Gu, this little brother is looking unfamiliar, is he a new Qi Practitioner?"
Senior Martial Gu smiled and answered, "This is Junior Martial Brother Zhong from the Zhong Shan Clan, he has claimed the first place in the Lawless Battles."
"I see."
The giant crocodile said, "To be able to claim the throne out of a few thousands of disciples, one must be very talented. Zhong Shan Clan's member, if you eventually manage to strive to the sky, please don't forget to look after the Croc Dragon."
Zhong Yue nodded and answered.
The giant crocodile shook its head and swung its tail, its wings fluttered in the wind and brought the two up to the other side of the escarpment. When Senior Martial Brother Gu and Zhong Yue landed down safely, the giant crocodile flew back into the clouds and disappeared from their sights.
"Junior Martial Brother Zhong, the escarpment is the dividing line between the inner hall and outer hall, pass through the boundary of the escarpment and you are an inner hall disciple."
Senior Martial Brother Gu said, "The Croc Dragon is the guardian of the escarpment, do not belittle him because he is of the monster race. He is already over hundreds of years old, a mutant among the monster race that lived in the Lei Hu Clan, he was later brought over to Swords Gate by the Leihu Qi Practitioners to guard the escarpment. Junior martial brother, the Valley of Swords is just right in front, the elders are waiting for you in the Hearts of Swords Palace."
Zhong Yue walked into the Valley of Swords, the high-pitched keening of swords could be heard accompanied by the flashing sword rays. Vaguely, Zhong Yue could tell that the sword rays were actually soul weapons, they clashed with each other in mid-air and loomed over across the air, they would often turn into a multitude of forms such as fishes, birds, and beasts - the scene was fairly strange.
"The Valley of Swords is can be called the final resting place of the soul weapons that formerly belonged to the elders. All these soul weapons were left behind by the previous elders, some elders died centuries or even millennia ago but their soul weapons continue on living in this valley."
Senior Martial Brother Gu said, "The Ten Malefic Weapons are also sealed here. Ordinarily, we the inner hall disciples would have no access to the Valley of Swords. We are here today because the elders wanted to meet with Junior Martial Brother Zhong here, only then could I have the chance to enter this place."
"The Ten Malefic Weapons?"
Zhong Yue's heart skipped a beat, he glanced around and asked, "Where are they?"
"Sealed in the Hearts of Swords Palace, the inner hall disciples can't even enter the Valley of Swords, not to mention entering the Hearts of Swords Palace to have a look at the Ten Malefic Weapons. This time, junior martial brother, you are summoned by the elders to the Hearts of Swords Palace, there are so many disciples out there that are envious of you."
Senior Martial Brother Gu led him to the entrance of the Hearts of Swords Palace, he bowed and said, "Elder Yu, Zhong Yue of the Zhong Shan Clan has arrived."
When the doors of Hearts of Swords Palace opened widely, it feels like as if there were countless rays of Sword Qi that rushed out from the Palace, they shuddered as if the Sword Qi could really hurt their souls.
"Let him come in." an old and yet loud voice said.
Senior Martial Brother Gu whispered to him, "Junior Martial Brother Zhong, Elder Yu is the grand elder of Swords Gate, you must not lose your formalities after you enter. Junior martial brother,I will not accompany you to enter the Palace."
Zhong Yue thanked him and strode forward into the Hearts of Swords Palace.
The moment he entered the Palace, he could see a fifty feet wide and eighty feet tall shrine beside him. On it, a soul weapon was enshrined, it was few dozen feet long and pierced into the shrine at an oblique angle, it looked like a sword and a saw, the edges of the dark-red blade were serrated and were rusted with dried blood stains.
"Blood Ray Sword, ranked number nine among the Ten Malefic Weapons, the soul weapon of Lei Hu Clan's Lei Fang, it was soaked in blood for too long, eventually giving birth to an evil spirit inside of it. It was a baneful sword that defied and devoured its owners; it's killed ten of its previous masters."
Zhong Yue was shocked by the tidal surges of demonic aura surrounded the Blood Ray Sword as a demon lived in the sword enticing the humans to worship it and soak it in blood!
"Demon Scabbard, ranked number ten in the Ten Ominous Weapons."
Zhong Yue saw another shrine on the other side, a sword scabbard of a man's height stood on it, there was fresh blood flowing out from the bottom of the sword scabbard, it looked very wicked and pernicious.
"Soul weapon of Tian Feng Clan's Tian Tuozi. In the sword scabbard, is contained 130 soul weapons as light as the cicada's wings that goes by the moniker of the Soul Devourers and it has devoured eight masters."
Zhong Yue was startled as he gazed at the Demon Scabbard, "This soul weapon also devours its masters?"
He walked forward and saw another shrine, this time, the shrine contained over sixty Sword Cocoons, his heart thumped quicker, "The Sword Cocoons!"
"Sword Cocoons, ranked number eight in the Ten Malefic Weapons, the soul weapon of Shui Tu Clan's Shui Zian, a total of sixty-four soul weapons, blood-soaked for too long and exhibited elementary signs of devouring its master, hence, they are now sealed in the shrine."
Zhong Yue inhaled deeply, he mumbled, "Such strong soul weapons can only be ranked as number eight in the Ten Malefic Weapons, then how strong would the first seven ominous soul weapons be?"
"If you think that the first seven ominous soul weapons are stronger than the Sword Cocoons, then I am afraid you are wrong."
A white-haired elder came out of nowhere and walked to the side of Zhong Yue, hairs on his timeworn face were winter-white, he said in a casual manner, "The Sword Cocoon sword silk was placed at number eight but it is not any weaker than the others. Rather, it is actually much stronger, it only was placed at number eight for the reason that it had yet to spawn an evil spirit, therefore, its name was not as famous as the others."
"Zhong Yue of the Zhong Shan Clan, greets the grand elder." Zhong Yue bowed and greeted the elder in a manner of neither humble nor pert.
The white-haired elder was the grand elder from the You Yu Clan, he raised his arm and made a gesture as he said, "Rise. The Sword Cocoons sword silk is incredibly strong, that is why I summoned you here, to see how can a disciple without the prowess of a Qi Practitioner can survive so long under the onslaught of the Sword Cocoon and even more so manage to nearly killed his opponent!"
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Chapter 56 Besieged by the Malefic Weapons
The tone with which he uttered the last few words suddenly deepend down and turned gravely, "killed his opponents!" The three words resounded through the whole palace, resonating with the malefic weapons!
In the Hearts of Swords Palace, the malefic weapons quivered on the shrines with great killing intent, the temperature of the surrounding air plummeted down rapidly while some parts of the palace turned burning hot and another corner was filled with blood-red fumes, all of a sudden, the palace turned into an unearthly and wicked place!
Zhong Yue was a man that could face squarely with the terror of the boundary between life and death, he would surely not be afraid of the palpitation of the Ten Malefic Weapons, he said in an indifferent tone, "Did the grand elder notice anything?"
Grand elder's sights fixated on him, he stared at the young man with his eyes filled with praise, he shook his head and said, "Not yet. But you are able to face squarely with the Ten Malefic Weapons without the slightest ripple of fear, your guts are way better than the others. Even among the Qi Practitioners, not many can be as steadfast as you are. To be courageous and brave enough to face with the malefic weapons, I suppose this is one of the reasons why you were able to survive through the assaults of the Sword Cocoon."
How intense was the killing intent of the Ten Malefic Weapons?
With the dreadful and fearful aura of the malefic weapons, even some Qi Practitioners would shudder in fear when faced with the Ten Malefic Weapons, their courage and bravery would crumble like a thin layer of ice and would they have no guts to even to put up a fight - they could only be slaughtered like pigs.
While Zhong Yue had the courage and bravery, his fortitude was better than the others, he did not waver in front of the dreadful and deadly aura, hence, he was able to unleash all of his prowess without any fear detracting from his focus.
The Grand elder walked forward and Zhong Yue followed behind him, he saw another shrine with a malefic soul weapon of the name "Flying Swallow", left behind by a Swords Gate female elder from the You Yu Clan. On the opposite side was another shrine, the malefic soul weapon occupying it was the "Cloud Sword" from another female elder from the Tao Lin Clan.
The two female elders had been dead for thousands of years, they were both killed by their own soul weapons, devoured by their own "Flying Swallow" and "Cloud Sword".
Other than the two elders, these two soul weapons had a few masters after, but none of them lived long as they were also devoured by the two ominous weapons, dying in the most tragic way.
"Grand elder, the malefic weapons had their own spirits, why did they kill the souls of their masters?" Zhong Yue was puzzled and he asked.
"The Ten Malefic Weapons are from the top ten clans, they were all carved with the totem carvings of the techniques from the top ten clans that could be said to be the consummate techniques of the Great Wilderness."
Another elder walked over, his voice sounded as if thunders were rumbling, he said, "When the soul devours its master, it was actually the heart of sword that devours. The heart of sword is the heart of the Qi Practitioner and also the heart of the soul weapon. The soul weapon kills in tandem with the Qi Practitioner and when the inner evil burgeons within the Qi Practitioner's heart, the heart of sword of the soul weapon will also be corrupted. These elders, they were not killed by their soul weapons but rather, they died because they could not win over their inner evil, bedeviled by the demons of their hearts that were engendered by the slaughter they committed in the past!"
He was a brawny man with a psyche larger than the ordinary humans, his voice rumbled like thunder and when he walked, lightnings trailed behind him in the air, the thunder and lightning around him clearly denoted his identity as an elder that comes from the Lei Hu Clan.
The elder from Lei Hu Clan had an imposing manner with thick hairs and strong muscles, he stood beside the shrine that contained Lei Hu Clan's Blood Ray Sword and continued, "Elder Shui Zian willingly gave up the Sword Cocoons as he was able to defeat the inner evil within him, it is also why his prowess is incredibly strong, he is one of the strongest men in Swords Gate. Zhong Shan Clan member, you have the ability to survive under his malefic weapon and you practice the lighting refining soul technique of my Lei Hu Clan, you are suspicious, very suspicious!"
His aura was like a lightning god standing in the lightning clouds, his aura surrounded Zhong Yue and his sights struck like lightnings intending to see through the secrets behind Zhong Yue's unusual prowess!
Zhong Yue bowed and greeted the elder, "Zhong Yue of Zhang Shan Clan, greets Elder Lei. Did Elder Lei spotted anything?"
"No, not yet."
The elder from Leihu Clan was startled for a moment, he then laughed and said, "Although I didn't know where you learn the Lei Hu Clan's secret technique of refining your soul with lightnings, but the techniques of the Lei Hu Clan, hehe, are not any weaker than the Shui Tu Clan's. Hence, it is only naturally for you to be able to survive under the attacks of the Sword Cocoon. Otherwise, if you are killed in the battle, doesn't it indicate that the Lei Hu Clan's techniques are weaker than the Shui Tu Clan's? But…."
His voice turned cold and dense, "Where did you steal this technique from the Lei Hu Clan?"
"Other than the Lei Hu Clan's techniques, you still practiced the extreme training of between life and death."
You Yu Clan grand elder stood beside the shrine of the ominous sword Flying Swallow, he said, "Training in the state of between life and death, although one can cultivate very fast and increase his prowess rapidly, but the death rate is too high. Only the headmaster of Swords Gate had once practiced with such a training method and survived. I had heard from Feiyan that you practiced such a foolhardy method but still survived. Such an extreme training method, who taught you about it?"
Just when he finished his sentence, another elder came out with his hands on the back, he said, "During the battle between you and the Shui Tu Clan young lady disciple, you used a strange visualization art, the Xiang Dragon. You have been to the Beast God Ridge where thousands of monster race elites eternally rest. That place is the tomb of the beast god while the beast god was a Xiang Dragon. Zhong Shan Clan member, your prowess increased rapidly after you've returned from the Beast God Ridge, your psyche was now able to materialize the virtuality to the level of a Qi Practitioner's."
His aura was like a mountain that crushed downwards compressing the surrounding air to become denser and he walked to the side of the shrine that contained the Nan Lu Clan's malefic weapon.
Zhong Yue's heart shifted, he again bowed and greeted, "Zhong Yue of Zhong Shan Clan, greets Elder Nan."
The elder was from the Nan Lu Clan, he smiled and said, "What was interesting is that when you were in combat, you had the signs of turning into a Xiang Dragon. The beast god, a Xiang Dragon, your visualization, a Xiang Dragon, the relation in between the two is indeed interesting."
"Did Elder Nan find out anything?" Zhong Yue asked.
Nanlu Clan elder shook his head and said, "No, the Xiang Dragon is a godly auspicious beast. Your psyche materializes the Xiang Dragon and you have the Xiang Dragon Sword Qi, it is possible for you to survive under the Sword Cocoon's attacks."
"Although it is fairly possible, but your rapid increase in prowess is too dubious."
Another female elder appeared in the Hearts of Swords Palace, she had a beautiful face with a warm bright smile, dressed in a golden sheer silk blouse and wasp waist, her aura was like an ethereal cloud, she smiled and said, "You have cultivated for five years in the outer hall lower house, you were one among the mediocrity, but less than half a year in the upper house, you are like a changed man. Your immense increase in prowess and the capability to defeat the top ten clan core disciples. It is normal for a disciple with the innate spirit body but you are not one of them, how can you explain such a peculiar phenomenon?"
"Zhong Yue of Zhong Shan Clan, greets Elder Tao."
Zhong Yue pondered deeply for a moment, he then said, "My talents are starting to bloom."
The female elder from Tao Lin Clan stood right at the shrine with the malefic weapon of Tao Lin Clan, she tittered and said, "Compared to such an explanation, I am more inclined towards that there is an extremely strong and dangerous man standing behind you imparting you his knowledge, or rather, that someone had claimed your body as his own! Zhong Shan Clan member, I'm afraid you are not the Zhong Shan Clan member anymore, but someone else, or maybe, something else, a demon god or maybe a celestial god!"
"What was more interesting is that you were in the Demon Ruins when the radical changes took place that caused the death of thousands over of upper house disciples."
Another elder made his appearance, he walked like a king, he should be an elder from the Jun Shan Clan, like the others he walked to the side of the shrine that contained the Jun Shan Clan's malefic weapon, his voice was monotonous and indifferent as he spoke, "But only you led a group of disciples and survived. The changes in the Demon Ruins exposed the demon Qi Practitioners and the demonic spirits, they tried to awaken their ancestor, the Tian Myriad Mother. But she escaped right after she was awoken, the elders were searching for her but to no avail, it was right at that time that you led dozens of disciples out of the Demon Ruins."
"So, who is behind you exactly, the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother?"
Shui Zian Elder Shui also arrived at the palace, he stood right in front of the shrine of the Sword Cocoons, his sights fixated on Zhong Yue with a bright smile as he said, "Or should I say, you are the beast god or the Tian Myriad Mother? Zhong Shan Clan member, give us evidence, something that can prove that your prowess did not come from them!"
Then there were elders from the Li Shan Clan, Tian Feng Clan and Qiu Tan Clan walking over to the malefic weapons of their respective clans, leaving only the shrine of the strongest malefic weapon.
Zhong Yue frowned, in his psyche ocean, Xin Huo also furrowed his brows, he mumbled, "These old brats are really sly, it is hard to fight our way out from the Hearts of Swords Palace. There are ten malefic weapons here with nine elders, each and everyone of them are standing by an malefic weapon, take a single wrong move and they will grind you into minced paste with the ten malefic weapons…."
Zhong Yue noticed it too, the nine elders were dubious of him, suspecting that he was possessed by the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, that was why they summoned him in this palace.
Everything would be fine if he was not the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, but if he was, then death is the only ending for him!
But if they found out I have a peculiar creature like Xin Huo in my psyche ocean, I'm afraid my ending would still be death?
Zhong Yue collected his thoughts, he heaved a deep breath and asked, "Elders, why do you suspect me and not Shui Qingyan of Shui Tu Clan?"
Elder Shui Zian was dumbstruck by his words, he then smiled and answered, "Shui Qingyan was personally taught by me, I gave her the Sword Cocoon on my own, what basis is there for me to suspect her? You can't be saying that she is the Tian Myriad Mother right?"
Zhong Yue's face darkened, Xin Huo quickly comforted him and said, "Don't worry, there are nine old brats with nine malefic weapons, but the last malefic weapon was free to take. This last ominous weapon is way stronger than the other nine ominous weapons, it is the strongest soul weapon in this Hearts of Swords Palace. When the conversation turns sour later, I will take control over your body and control that malefic weapon, we will slaughter these nine elders and erupt the devil souls beneath Swords Gate, you and I will then wander around the world as initially planned …."
Without Swords Gate, we humans in the Great Wilderness would be food to the monster race.
Zhong Yue pondered and said, "Elders, how can I prove that I am not the beast god nor Tian Myriad Mother?"
The elders all kept silent and pondered deeply.
Shui Zian faked a cough and said, "Beast god and Tian Myriad Mother is no small issue, we would rather end the possibilities here than letting a potential danger walk away freely."
"No."
The Tao Lin Clan female elder shook her head and said, "If he is not the beast god nor the Tian Myriad, then wouldn't our actions cost the loss of a very talented young man?"
"Is a talented young man more important, or the threats of Tian Myriad or beast god greater?"
Shui Zian smiled and said, "If the martial siblings have any better ideas, please do speak up."
The elders gazed at each other, the You Yu Clan grand elder coughed and said, "Zhong Shan Clan member, lift off the protections on your psyche ocean, we will have to examine your psyche ocean and soul."
Lei Hu Clan elder nodded and agreed, "This would work. But to examine his psyche ocean, one's soul would have to enter his psyche ocean, if he really is the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, our souls will be powerless against him, who is willing to take such a risk?"
You Yu Clan grand elder strode towards Zhong Yue and said, "I will. Zhong Shan Clan member, release the protection of your psyche ocean, junior martial siblings, control the malefic weapons and if I am killed, he must not walk away alive!"
Zhong Yue's heart tightened while Xin Huo said fiercely, "Let him examine, this You Yu Clan is the strongest among the nine elders, I will seize the chance and crush his soul, it will then be easier for us to escape!"
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Chapter 55 Heart of Swords Palace's Ten Malefic Weapons
Another four or five days passed, Zhong Yue got up from his bed and walked around, his ribs were fully recovered and the wounds were all healed leaving only faint marks of scars, the only thing was that he could still feel vaguely feel some vestigial pain in his chest when he breathed.
It would take at least half a year for an ordinary man to recover from such heavy injuries, but his body was countless times stronger than the ordinary humans, in addition to the high-quality medicines of Swords Gate, he was able to fully recover in such a short while.
The next time I go for a training trip, I must bring some of these medicines.
Zhong Yue moved his muscles and bones around, the Qi Practitioner outside of the door saw him exercising and he walked in smiling, "Junior martial brother your wounds are all healed? You are indeed a physique-refiner, your body is stronger than the others and is able to recover quicker than the others. If I'm in your position, I'm afraid I will have to lay on the bed for another few days before I recover."
"Junior martial brother?"
Zhong Yue was startled, he smiled and replied, "This junior martial uncle…."
The Qi Practitioner quickly stopped his words and said, "It is fine for junior martial brother to acknowledge me as Senior Martial Brother Gu, please don't call me junior martial uncle. You have acquired the first place in the Lawless Battles and is destined to be a Qi Practitioner, according to the rules, all of the upper house disciples will have to acknowledge you as their junior martial uncle. But before you enter the Ethereal Palace, the elders would like to meet you. Junior martial brother, please follow me."
The elders would like to meet me?
Zhong Yue's heart shifted, he stood up and followed behind. He knew that the prowess he had shown during the battle between him and Tian Myriad Mother had caused a surge of distrust among the Swords Gate elders.
An ordinary disciple from mediocrity that spent five or six years cultivating before entering the upper house, but in months, his prowess had ballooned to the point that he was able to claim the name of strongest upper house disciples, such a cultivation speed was too good to be true, sure enough he would attract the attention of the Swords Gate elders.
"Senior Martial Brother Gu, the medicine that was applied to my wounds, can I exchange them from the Swords Gate?"
The Senior Martial Brother Gu led the way and they slowly walked out from the upper house towards the inner hall of Swords Gate, he smiled and answered, "This medicine is known as the Lingyu Paste, it was made with various kinds of medicinal herbs by the Qi Practitioners, you can indeed exchange it from the Valley of Remedy of the inner and outer halls of Swords Gate. If it is applied to the normal wounds such as injuries to the muscles and tendons, it will take a day or so to recover and heal. While if it is the major wounds like how you were a few days ago, resting for tens of days will also have the wounds fully healed. Junior martial brother your body physique is stronger than the others, which is why you are able to recover this quickly."
He paused for a moment before continuing while shaking his head, "But the Shui Tu Clan young lady is not that lucky, her neck was nearly slashed off by you, I hear that the elder was only able to heal her neck by opening her neck and poured a pot of the medicine onto the wound."
Zhong Yue said in an indifferent tone, "Her prowess is not weaker than mine, she is probably all healed up now."
Senior Martial Brother Gu nodded and said, "I hear that the junior martial sister of the Shui Tu Clan is recovering fast, she might just be fully healed up now, the elders requested to meet with you and at the at same time summoned her too."
Zhong Yue's heart shifted, the elders summoned him and also 'Shui Qingyan', could it be that they were also suspecting 'Shui Qingyan'?
Not long later, they have come to the side of a steep escarpment, Zhong Yue glanced around, the steep escarpment was a few miles wide and the bottom of the cliff lurked with surges of dark black rays. In the escarpment there was an ever-present evil and demonic aura, Zhong Yue lowered his head and as the dark black rays entered his sights, an extreme dizziness struck Zhong Yue as if his soul was getting sucked into the bottom of the escarpment!
Billowing waves of dark black rays surged and lurked their way up to the escarpment, but every time the dark waves gushed its way up there would be totem carvings at the slopes of the escarpments emerging out and suppressed the malevolent dark rays. The totem carvings were complex, majestic and awe-inspiring.
This air, this aura, it feels so familiar….
Zhong Yue's heart shifted, he immediately recognized where he had felt it before, "The Devil Soul Yin Effluvium! These dark black rays, their aura is the same as the Devil Soul Yin Effluvium!"
Just right the moment when the dark black rays were suppressed, he could see flesh and blood all around the escarpment from the bottom to the top, without skins, this flesh and blood were squirming their way up to the escarpment as if they were trying to crawl out it.
"What is at the bottom of this escarpment?"
Zhong Yue repressed his shock, in his inner mind Xin Huo was all pumped up, he glanced around through Zhong Yue's eyes and exclaimed out, "The devil souls, they are really repressed here. Hehe, this is surely the seals of the gods, Swords Gate is established on top of an active volcano, a moment of neglect could have turned everything into ash and dust…."
"These seals are not placed by Swords Gate Qi Practitioners?" Zhong Yue's calmed heart was again disrupted, he quickly asked.
"The Swords Gate Qi Practitioners are not strong enough to repress these underground devil souls."
Xin Huo shook his head and said, "The totem carvings below are the seals of the gods, the gods have turned their psyches and images into totem carvings, that is why they are able to repress whatever is underneath. I suppose the Devil Soul Yin Effluvium only got triggered because there is a crack in the seals, thankfully it is not in Swords Gate or otherwise, Swords Gate would be in deep trouble."
Senior Martial Brother Gu smiled and said, "Junior martial brother, below this escarpment, is the forbidden land of Swords Gate, there is a force of strange power that can wipe off every art and skill above it, not a single technique can be cast right here. To cross the escarpment to the other side, we can only wait for the Croc Dragon."
"Croc Dragon?"
Zhong Yue was puzzled, there were two swords gates on each side of the escarpments with clouds billowing in between them, Senior Martial Gu led him to one of the swords gates and he rang the copper gong that was dangling in the wind. Dang dang - a deep and yet bright sound echoed, in the clouds, a giant crocodile made its appearance and swam over, it had wings and flew in the air towards the source of the echoing sounds of the gong.
The crocodile was like a floating island, Zhong Yue looked at it, it had four eyes and on its back were a few pairs of wings, its conformation was weird and peculiar.
No one could visualize any arts around the escarpments, thence the wings on the crocodile's back were not visualizations but rather flesh and blood wings, it could fly in the air and therefore the strange power that represses every technique had no effect on it.
The duo jumped onto the crocodile's back, Senior Martial Gu said with a smile, "Croc Dragon, please bring us up to the mountain."
The giant crocodile nodded and its wings fluttered, it turned around and flew towards Swords Gate on the other side of the escarpment, in a deep and yet loud voice it said, "Brother Gu, this little brother is looking unfamiliar, is he a new Qi Practitioner?"
Senior Martial Gu smiled and answered, "This is Junior Martial Brother Zhong from the Zhong Shan Clan, he has claimed the first place in the Lawless Battles."
"I see."
The giant crocodile said, "To be able to claim the throne out of a few thousands of disciples, one must be very talented. Zhong Shan Clan's member, if you eventually manage to strive to the sky, please don't forget to look after the Croc Dragon."
Zhong Yue nodded and answered.
The giant crocodile shook its head and swung its tail, its wings fluttered in the wind and brought the two up to the other side of the escarpment. When Senior Martial Brother Gu and Zhong Yue landed down safely, the giant crocodile flew back into the clouds and disappeared from their sights.
"Junior Martial Brother Zhong, the escarpment is the dividing line between the inner hall and outer hall, pass through the boundary of the escarpment and you are an inner hall disciple."
Senior Martial Brother Gu said, "The Croc Dragon is the guardian of the escarpment, do not belittle him because he is of the monster race. He is already over hundreds of years old, a mutant among the monster race that lived in the Lei Hu Clan, he was later brought over to Swords Gate by the Leihu Qi Practitioners to guard the escarpment. Junior martial brother, the Valley of Swords is just right in front, the elders are waiting for you in the Hearts of Swords Palace."
Zhong Yue walked into the Valley of Swords, the high-pitched keening of swords could be heard accompanied by the flashing sword rays. Vaguely, Zhong Yue could tell that the sword rays were actually soul weapons, they clashed with each other in mid-air and loomed over across the air, they would often turn into a multitude of forms such as fishes, birds, and beasts - the scene was fairly strange.
"The Valley of Swords is can be called the final resting place of the soul weapons that formerly belonged to the elders. All these soul weapons were left behind by the previous elders, some elders died centuries or even millennia ago but their soul weapons continue on living in this valley."
Senior Martial Brother Gu said, "The Ten Malefic Weapons are also sealed here. Ordinarily, we the inner hall disciples would have no access to the Valley of Swords. We are here today because the elders wanted to meet with Junior Martial Brother Zhong here, only then could I have the chance to enter this place."
"The Ten Malefic Weapons?"
Zhong Yue's heart skipped a beat, he glanced around and asked, "Where are they?"
"Sealed in the Hearts of Swords Palace, the inner hall disciples can't even enter the Valley of Swords, not to mention entering the Hearts of Swords Palace to have a look at the Ten Malefic Weapons. This time, junior martial brother, you are summoned by the elders to the Hearts of Swords Palace, there are so many disciples out there that are envious of you."
Senior Martial Brother Gu led him to the entrance of the Hearts of Swords Palace, he bowed and said, "Elder Yu, Zhong Yue of the Zhong Shan Clan has arrived."
When the doors of Hearts of Swords Palace opened widely, it feels like as if there were countless rays of Sword Qi that rushed out from the Palace, they shuddered as if the Sword Qi could really hurt their souls.
"Let him come in." an old and yet loud voice said.
Senior Martial Brother Gu whispered to him, "Junior Martial Brother Zhong, Elder Yu is the grand elder of Swords Gate, you must not lose your formalities after you enter. Junior martial brother,I will not accompany you to enter the Palace."
Zhong Yue thanked him and strode forward into the Hearts of Swords Palace.
The moment he entered the Palace, he could see a fifty feet wide and eighty feet tall shrine beside him. On it, a soul weapon was enshrined, it was few dozen feet long and pierced into the shrine at an oblique angle, it looked like a sword and a saw, the edges of the dark-red blade were serrated and were rusted with dried blood stains.
"Blood Ray Sword, ranked number nine among the Ten Malefic Weapons, the soul weapon of Lei Hu Clan's Lei Fang, it was soaked in blood for too long, eventually giving birth to an evil spirit inside of it. It was a baneful sword that defied and devoured its owners; it's killed ten of its previous masters."
Zhong Yue was shocked by the tidal surges of demonic aura surrounded the Blood Ray Sword as a demon lived in the sword enticing the humans to worship it and soak it in blood!
"Demon Scabbard, ranked number ten in the Ten Ominous Weapons."
Zhong Yue saw another shrine on the other side, a sword scabbard of a man's height stood on it, there was fresh blood flowing out from the bottom of the sword scabbard, it looked very wicked and pernicious.
"Soul weapon of Tian Feng Clan's Tian Tuozi. In the sword scabbard, is contained 130 soul weapons as light as the cicada's wings that goes by the moniker of the Soul Devourers and it has devoured eight masters."
Zhong Yue was startled as he gazed at the Demon Scabbard, "This soul weapon also devours its masters?"
He walked forward and saw another shrine, this time, the shrine contained over sixty Sword Cocoons, his heart thumped quicker, "The Sword Cocoons!"
"Sword Cocoons, ranked number eight in the Ten Malefic Weapons, the soul weapon of Shui Tu Clan's Shui Zian, a total of sixty-four soul weapons, blood-soaked for too long and exhibited elementary signs of devouring its master, hence, they are now sealed in the shrine."
Zhong Yue inhaled deeply, he mumbled, "Such strong soul weapons can only be ranked as number eight in the Ten Malefic Weapons, then how strong would the first seven ominous soul weapons be?"
"If you think that the first seven ominous soul weapons are stronger than the Sword Cocoons, then I am afraid you are wrong."
A white-haired elder came out of nowhere and walked to the side of Zhong Yue, hairs on his timeworn face were winter-white, he said in a casual manner, "The Sword Cocoon sword silk was placed at number eight but it is not any weaker than the others. Rather, it is actually much stronger, it only was placed at number eight for the reason that it had yet to spawn an evil spirit, therefore, its name was not as famous as the others."
"Zhong Yue of the Zhong Shan Clan, greets the grand elder." Zhong Yue bowed and greeted the elder in a manner of neither humble nor pert.
The white-haired elder was the grand elder from the You Yu Clan, he raised his arm and made a gesture as he said, "Rise. The Sword Cocoons sword silk is incredibly strong, that is why I summoned you here, to see how can a disciple without the prowess of a Qi Practitioner can survive so long under the onslaught of the Sword Cocoon and even more so manage to nearly killed his opponent!"
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Chapter 56 Besieged by the Malefic Weapons
The tone with which he uttered the last few words suddenly deepend down and turned gravely, "killed his opponents!" The three words resounded through the whole palace, resonating with the malefic weapons!
In the Hearts of Swords Palace, the malefic weapons quivered on the shrines with great killing intent, the temperature of the surrounding air plummeted down rapidly while some parts of the palace turned burning hot and another corner was filled with blood-red fumes, all of a sudden, the palace turned into an unearthly and wicked place!
Zhong Yue was a man that could face squarely with the terror of the boundary between life and death, he would surely not be afraid of the palpitation of the Ten Malefic Weapons, he said in an indifferent tone, "Did the grand elder notice anything?"
Grand elder's sights fixated on him, he stared at the young man with his eyes filled with praise, he shook his head and said, "Not yet. But you are able to face squarely with the Ten Malefic Weapons without the slightest ripple of fear, your guts are way better than the others. Even among the Qi Practitioners, not many can be as steadfast as you are. To be courageous and brave enough to face with the malefic weapons, I suppose this is one of the reasons why you were able to survive through the assaults of the Sword Cocoon."
How intense was the killing intent of the Ten Malefic Weapons?
With the dreadful and fearful aura of the malefic weapons, even some Qi Practitioners would shudder in fear when faced with the Ten Malefic Weapons, their courage and bravery would crumble like a thin layer of ice and would they have no guts to even to put up a fight - they could only be slaughtered like pigs.
While Zhong Yue had the courage and bravery, his fortitude was better than the others, he did not waver in front of the dreadful and deadly aura, hence, he was able to unleash all of his prowess without any fear detracting from his focus.
The Grand elder walked forward and Zhong Yue followed behind him, he saw another shrine with a malefic soul weapon of the name "Flying Swallow", left behind by a Swords Gate female elder from the You Yu Clan. On the opposite side was another shrine, the malefic soul weapon occupying it was the "Cloud Sword" from another female elder from the Tao Lin Clan.
The two female elders had been dead for thousands of years, they were both killed by their own soul weapons, devoured by their own "Flying Swallow" and "Cloud Sword".
Other than the two elders, these two soul weapons had a few masters after, but none of them lived long as they were also devoured by the two ominous weapons, dying in the most tragic way.
"Grand elder, the malefic weapons had their own spirits, why did they kill the souls of their masters?" Zhong Yue was puzzled and he asked.
"The Ten Malefic Weapons are from the top ten clans, they were all carved with the totem carvings of the techniques from the top ten clans that could be said to be the consummate techniques of the Great Wilderness."
Another elder walked over, his voice sounded as if thunders were rumbling, he said, "When the soul devours its master, it was actually the heart of sword that devours. The heart of sword is the heart of the Qi Practitioner and also the heart of the soul weapon. The soul weapon kills in tandem with the Qi Practitioner and when the inner evil burgeons within the Qi Practitioner's heart, the heart of sword of the soul weapon will also be corrupted. These elders, they were not killed by their soul weapons but rather, they died because they could not win over their inner evil, bedeviled by the demons of their hearts that were engendered by the slaughter they committed in the past!"
He was a brawny man with a psyche larger than the ordinary humans, his voice rumbled like thunder and when he walked, lightnings trailed behind him in the air, the thunder and lightning around him clearly denoted his identity as an elder that comes from the Lei Hu Clan.
The elder from Lei Hu Clan had an imposing manner with thick hairs and strong muscles, he stood beside the shrine that contained Lei Hu Clan's Blood Ray Sword and continued, "Elder Shui Zian willingly gave up the Sword Cocoons as he was able to defeat the inner evil within him, it is also why his prowess is incredibly strong, he is one of the strongest men in Swords Gate. Zhong Shan Clan member, you have the ability to survive under his malefic weapon and you practice the lighting refining soul technique of my Lei Hu Clan, you are suspicious, very suspicious!"
His aura was like a lightning god standing in the lightning clouds, his aura surrounded Zhong Yue and his sights struck like lightnings intending to see through the secrets behind Zhong Yue's unusual prowess!
Zhong Yue bowed and greeted the elder, "Zhong Yue of Zhang Shan Clan, greets Elder Lei. Did Elder Lei spotted anything?"
"No, not yet."
The elder from Leihu Clan was startled for a moment, he then laughed and said, "Although I didn't know where you learn the Lei Hu Clan's secret technique of refining your soul with lightnings, but the techniques of the Lei Hu Clan, hehe, are not any weaker than the Shui Tu Clan's. Hence, it is only naturally for you to be able to survive under the attacks of the Sword Cocoon. Otherwise, if you are killed in the battle, doesn't it indicate that the Lei Hu Clan's techniques are weaker than the Shui Tu Clan's? But…."
His voice turned cold and dense, "Where did you steal this technique from the Lei Hu Clan?"
"Other than the Lei Hu Clan's techniques, you still practiced the extreme training of between life and death."
You Yu Clan grand elder stood beside the shrine of the ominous sword Flying Swallow, he said, "Training in the state of between life and death, although one can cultivate very fast and increase his prowess rapidly, but the death rate is too high. Only the headmaster of Swords Gate had once practiced with such a training method and survived. I had heard from Feiyan that you practiced such a foolhardy method but still survived. Such an extreme training method, who taught you about it?"
Just when he finished his sentence, another elder came out with his hands on the back, he said, "During the battle between you and the Shui Tu Clan young lady disciple, you used a strange visualization art, the Xiang Dragon. You have been to the Beast God Ridge where thousands of monster race elites eternally rest. That place is the tomb of the beast god while the beast god was a Xiang Dragon. Zhong Shan Clan member, your prowess increased rapidly after you've returned from the Beast God Ridge, your psyche was now able to materialize the virtuality to the level of a Qi Practitioner's."
His aura was like a mountain that crushed downwards compressing the surrounding air to become denser and he walked to the side of the shrine that contained the Nan Lu Clan's malefic weapon.
Zhong Yue's heart shifted, he again bowed and greeted, "Zhong Yue of Zhong Shan Clan, greets Elder Nan."
The elder was from the Nan Lu Clan, he smiled and said, "What was interesting is that when you were in combat, you had the signs of turning into a Xiang Dragon. The beast god, a Xiang Dragon, your visualization, a Xiang Dragon, the relation in between the two is indeed interesting."
"Did Elder Nan find out anything?" Zhong Yue asked.
Nanlu Clan elder shook his head and said, "No, the Xiang Dragon is a godly auspicious beast. Your psyche materializes the Xiang Dragon and you have the Xiang Dragon Sword Qi, it is possible for you to survive under the Sword Cocoon's attacks."
"Although it is fairly possible, but your rapid increase in prowess is too dubious."
Another female elder appeared in the Hearts of Swords Palace, she had a beautiful face with a warm bright smile, dressed in a golden sheer silk blouse and wasp waist, her aura was like an ethereal cloud, she smiled and said, "You have cultivated for five years in the outer hall lower house, you were one among the mediocrity, but less than half a year in the upper house, you are like a changed man. Your immense increase in prowess and the capability to defeat the top ten clan core disciples. It is normal for a disciple with the innate spirit body but you are not one of them, how can you explain such a peculiar phenomenon?"
"Zhong Yue of Zhong Shan Clan, greets Elder Tao."
Zhong Yue pondered deeply for a moment, he then said, "My talents are starting to bloom."
The female elder from Tao Lin Clan stood right at the shrine with the malefic weapon of Tao Lin Clan, she tittered and said, "Compared to such an explanation, I am more inclined towards that there is an extremely strong and dangerous man standing behind you imparting you his knowledge, or rather, that someone had claimed your body as his own! Zhong Shan Clan member, I'm afraid you are not the Zhong Shan Clan member anymore, but someone else, or maybe, something else, a demon god or maybe a celestial god!"
"What was more interesting is that you were in the Demon Ruins when the radical changes took place that caused the death of thousands over of upper house disciples."
Another elder made his appearance, he walked like a king, he should be an elder from the Jun Shan Clan, like the others he walked to the side of the shrine that contained the Jun Shan Clan's malefic weapon, his voice was monotonous and indifferent as he spoke, "But only you led a group of disciples and survived. The changes in the Demon Ruins exposed the demon Qi Practitioners and the demonic spirits, they tried to awaken their ancestor, the Tian Myriad Mother. But she escaped right after she was awoken, the elders were searching for her but to no avail, it was right at that time that you led dozens of disciples out of the Demon Ruins."
"So, who is behind you exactly, the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother?"
Shui Zian Elder Shui also arrived at the palace, he stood right in front of the shrine of the Sword Cocoons, his sights fixated on Zhong Yue with a bright smile as he said, "Or should I say, you are the beast god or the Tian Myriad Mother? Zhong Shan Clan member, give us evidence, something that can prove that your prowess did not come from them!"
Then there were elders from the Li Shan Clan, Tian Feng Clan and Qiu Tan Clan walking over to the malefic weapons of their respective clans, leaving only the shrine of the strongest malefic weapon.
Zhong Yue frowned, in his psyche ocean, Xin Huo also furrowed his brows, he mumbled, "These old brats are really sly, it is hard to fight our way out from the Hearts of Swords Palace. There are ten malefic weapons here with nine elders, each and everyone of them are standing by an malefic weapon, take a single wrong move and they will grind you into minced paste with the ten malefic weapons…."
Zhong Yue noticed it too, the nine elders were dubious of him, suspecting that he was possessed by the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, that was why they summoned him in this palace.
Everything would be fine if he was not the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, but if he was, then death is the only ending for him!
But if they found out I have a peculiar creature like Xin Huo in my psyche ocean, I'm afraid my ending would still be death?
Zhong Yue collected his thoughts, he heaved a deep breath and asked, "Elders, why do you suspect me and not Shui Qingyan of Shui Tu Clan?"
Elder Shui Zian was dumbstruck by his words, he then smiled and answered, "Shui Qingyan was personally taught by me, I gave her the Sword Cocoon on my own, what basis is there for me to suspect her? You can't be saying that she is the Tian Myriad Mother right?"
Zhong Yue's face darkened, Xin Huo quickly comforted him and said, "Don't worry, there are nine old brats with nine malefic weapons, but the last malefic weapon was free to take. This last ominous weapon is way stronger than the other nine ominous weapons, it is the strongest soul weapon in this Hearts of Swords Palace. When the conversation turns sour later, I will take control over your body and control that malefic weapon, we will slaughter these nine elders and erupt the devil souls beneath Swords Gate, you and I will then wander around the world as initially planned …."
Without Swords Gate, we humans in the Great Wilderness would be food to the monster race.
Zhong Yue pondered and said, "Elders, how can I prove that I am not the beast god nor Tian Myriad Mother?"
The elders all kept silent and pondered deeply.
Shui Zian faked a cough and said, "Beast god and Tian Myriad Mother is no small issue, we would rather end the possibilities here than letting a potential danger walk away freely."
"No."
The Tao Lin Clan female elder shook her head and said, "If he is not the beast god nor the Tian Myriad, then wouldn't our actions cost the loss of a very talented young man?"
"Is a talented young man more important, or the threats of Tian Myriad or beast god greater?"
Shui Zian smiled and said, "If the martial siblings have any better ideas, please do speak up."
The elders gazed at each other, the You Yu Clan grand elder coughed and said, "Zhong Shan Clan member, lift off the protections on your psyche ocean, we will have to examine your psyche ocean and soul."
Lei Hu Clan elder nodded and agreed, "This would work. But to examine his psyche ocean, one's soul would have to enter his psyche ocean, if he really is the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, our souls will be powerless against him, who is willing to take such a risk?"
You Yu Clan grand elder strode towards Zhong Yue and said, "I will. Zhong Shan Clan member, release the protection of your psyche ocean, junior martial siblings, control the malefic weapons and if I am killed, he must not walk away alive!"
Zhong Yue's heart tightened while Xin Huo said fiercely, "Let him examine, this You Yu Clan is the strongest among the nine elders, I will seize the chance and crush his soul, it will then be easier for us to escape!"
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