Two voices sounded simultaneously, echoing in front of the Taiyi Hall.
“Impossible! How could you possibly come out alive from that cursed place?” The two exclaimed in unison, their faces full of disbelief.
In front of the forest of swords, Li Fan stood with his hands crossed, looking at the pale-faced Sikong Yi and Baili Chen, sneering without a word.
He just stepped onto the sword hilts, like he was about to chase after them.
The phantom sword pierced through, and an excruciating pain followed.
Li Fan almost couldn’t control his body and nearly fell down.
Falling from the sword hilt wouldn’t lead to death, but it would just teleport him back to the outer periphery of the sword forest, starting anew.
Of course, if someone couldn’t accept it and tried to fly over the top of the sword forest…
Then they would truly experience what it felt like to have a thousand swords pierce through their hearts.
This was the trial in front of the Taiyi Hall, the trial of the sword forest.
As opposed to the other parts of the Cloud Water Celestial Palace, as long as you didn’t act recklessly, there was no fatal danger here.
At most, it was experiencing the feeling of being pierced through the heart by sword after sword.
In the previous life, many cultivators endured the intense pain and passed through the sword forest, entering the interior of the Taiyi Hall.
However…
The hall was empty, completely devoid of anything!
“Could it be that the treasures in the Taiyi Hall were taken by Sikong Yi in the first place?”
“The opportunity in this Taiyi Hall is the ‘Cloud Water Map’?”
Although Li Fan could use the Insect Binding Technique to capture these two now, he couldn’t guarantee that he would be able to force them to reveal how they obtained the “Cloud Water Map.”
Li Fan knew there were methods of soul searching in the ancient cultivation world that forcibly read a cultivator’s memories.
Unfortunately, Li Fan didn’t know how to perform them yet.
So, to be on the safe side, he had to wait for these two to take out the “Cloud Water Map.”
Li Fan contemplated, and the Azure Flame Illusionary Spirit emerged in his mind.
His body temperature gradually dropped, and Li Fan felt himself becoming extremely calm and rational.
Nothing could disturb his state of mind.
Stepping forward, he stood on the sword hilt.
Although he could still feel the pain, Li Fan wasn’t afraid.
He took several steps forward in a row. To avoid scaring Sikong Yi and Baili Chen too much, he stopped and pretended to rest.
Sikong Yi and Baili Chen, seeing that Li Fan was still alive, were greatly shocked.
At this moment, seeing Li Fan getting closer and closer, they couldn’t help but become anxious.
At that moment, they became ruthless, clenched their teeth, and took a few violent steps towards the front.
Four sharp swords were added to their body at the same time, and the pain brought about was not as simple as simply adding up the pain of each sword.
The agony multiplied several times, making it almost difficult for the duo to maintain the stability of their figures.
Fortunately, they were able to stabilize themselves by supporting each other for a moment before they were about to fall.
Seeing this, Li Fan also took three steps forward, and then he looked like he was having trouble maintaining his stance again.
In this way, Li Fan always maintained a distance from the duo, pulling down the other’s guard.
But yet, he was threatening to catch up, giving them a sense of oppression.
As if they were prey being chased by hounds, Sikong Yi and Baili Dust, step by step, were getting closer and closer to the Taiyi Hall.
Eventually, they walked to the end of the sword forest.
Jumping down from the hilt of the sword, the two of them fell to the ground as if they were deflated.
However, with Li Fan pressing step by step behind them, getting closer and closer, they could not afford to rest.
In a hurry, Baili Chen took out a blue token from his chest and shouted loudly in the direction of the Taiyi Hall.
“I am Baili Chen, the 165th generation direct disciple of the Cloud Water Celestial Palace, and I request an audience with Patriarch Taiyi!”
Baili Chen’s voice echoed continuously.
Li Fan abruptly stopped the steps he was about to take and stared ahead.
The majestic Taiyi Hall seemed to come alive at this moment, slowly rising into the air amidst constant tremors.
The ground beneath their feet started to shake.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
Four thick legs like pillars emerged from below the Taiyi Hall and stomped forcefully on the ground.
A hideous monster head appeared before Li Fan like a demon descending on the world.
The broken swords in the sword forest kept trembling.
“Roar!”
Accompanied by a strange roar, a giant turtle finally fully manifested.
The Taiyi Hall was carried on the back of the giant turtle.
And as the giant turtle continued to howl, inside the Taiyi Hall, two giant black snakes crawled out.
One moved forward, entwining itself around the head.
The other moved backward, opening a huge bloody mouth, acting as the turtle’s tail.
If the massive creature of this turtle-snake combination was visually impressive enough, then the scenes on this creature’s body were making Li Fan feel physically uncomfortable.
Every inch of the monster’s body was stabbed with broken swords.
It was incredibly bloody, and one couldn’t make out how many swords were actually stuck in the creature’s body.
At first glance, this monster seemed to be composed entirely of swords.
And the small sword forest in front of the Taiyi Hall seemed like an extremely insignificant part of it.
“Cloud Water Celestial Palace’s Patriarch Taiyi? So many years have passed, and he’s still alive? Or has he become something anomalous like Qin Tang and the Gu Daoist?” Li Fan couldn’t be sure.
In the previous life, there was no rumor at all about this Patriarch Taiyi.
Li Fan didn’t dare to act recklessly for a moment and just observed from a distance.
Baili Chen was extremely excited to see the true appearance of the patriarch.
He knelt down and kept kowtowing.
“Your name is Baili Chen? Are you a direct disciple of my Cloud Water Celestial Palace?”
An old voice rang out.
The turtle-snake monster slightly lowered its head, as if wanting to see Baili Chen’s appearance clearly.
“Reporting to Patriarch Taiyi, disciple is from the Whisking Cloud lineage,” Baili Chen replied with a trembling voice.
“Whisking Cloud, huh…” The old voice seemed to be lost in memories.
“Yes, you indeed carry the Whisking Cloud lineage’s aura.”
“So, that kid still has descendants alive?” The turtle-snake monster vaguely felt that something was wrong.
But he was already too old.
So old that even simple thoughts became a problem.
The pain from the countless broken swords on his body was like a malicious curse, constantly affecting his thinking.
After a moment of fruitless contemplation, he slowly spoke, “So, why did you wake me up?”
Baili Chen seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, suppressing his excited expression, and quickly said, “Disciple wishes to ask Patriarch for the ‘Cloud Water Map.'”
“The ‘Cloud Water Map’? What is that? Let me think…”
After a moment.
“Oh. So, it’s this, not something significant.”
The turtle-snake monster’s tone carried a hint of nostalgia. “Back then, Hanhai mentioned that this thing can only be given to the Cloud Water Celestial Palace disciples.”
“Since you’re a descendant of Whisking Cloud…”
Saying this, the turtle-snake monster hesitated for a moment.
Then he slowly said, “In that case, I suppose it’s fine to give it to you.”
Baili Chen’s face revealed an ecstatic look, and he couldn’t stop kowtowing. “Thank you, Patriarch! Thank you, Patriarch!”
Just as the turtle-snake monster was about to hand over the ‘Cloud Water Map’ to Baili Chen, a voice suddenly rang out.
“Hold on!”
Baili Chen and the turtle-snake monster looked towards the direction of the voice.
They saw Li Fan swiftly approaching, stepping through the sword hilts.
Swords continuously passed through his body, but the pain seemed to have no effect on him.
Li Fan took three steps and glided through the sword forest, then descended gracefully.
Sighing in relief, Li Fan cupped his hands towards the turtle-snake monster. “Disciple Li Fan, also a direct disciple of the Cloud Water Celestial Palace. I also wish to ask Patriarch for the ‘Cloud Water Map!'”
As he spoke, he began to activate the “Cloud Water Illusory Dream Art.”