Chapter 115: Sword Dao Xiao Chong Shan
As the sword waves surged, the two Sword Intents in the forest met fiercely, and a clang resounded instantly.
The iron sword vibrated.
This first sword incorporated a heavy technique, with an intent to suppress. Upon contact, one could feel its immense power and weight, carrying an Aura that sought to forcefully overwhelm the opponent.
However, in the brief moment of encounter, Ji You's Aura, as he wielded his sword like a wave, also reached its peak.
Thus, before the heavy sword could strike, it was slapped down by the surging sword waves after a sharp whistle.
This aggressive first sword instantly disintegrated into nothingness amidst a series of clangs, transforming into Qi within the forest sea.
Ji You's steps were steady, and he continued forward with his sword, his white robes fluttering.
The bamboo forest was not quiet at this moment; a faint tremor of Qi lingered in the dark green forest sea, and then two more swords rose from the bamboo forest, striking from the east and west.
These two swords were different from the previous one, arriving almost instantly, as fast as lightning.
Ji You wielded his sword, slashing forward, Spiritual Qi surging under his feet, directly piercing through the forest to meet the swords, drawing a sharp sword arc.
With two clangs, the iron sword slashed wildly, and the two incoming fast swords were directly shattered.
Witnessing this, Yan Ye nodded slightly from behind, thinking that this Disciple of Tianshu Academy indeed had some skill. His ability to move his sword with his heart, and the clean and decisive way he retracted and released it, already surpassed many others.
However, this was merely an appetizer, and it was too early to say he handled it with ease.
As expected, a Mystic Light suddenly flashed across Ji You's eyes, and then three more profound swords rose before him, their condensed Aura overflowing.
The Aura of these three swords was no longer comparable to the previous three, and killing intent began to surge with them.
Amidst the buzzing sound, the green bamboo trembled slightly.
A whistling wind tore through the surroundings, and three swords attacked from all sides, both fast and heavy, rustlingly shredding the scattered leaves.
Ji You instantly furrowed his brows, holding his sword to meet them. Upon contact, the iron sword vibrated and hummed, with three clangs.
In an instant, three white marks appeared on the blade, making his wrist tremble slightly from the pressure.
“The first sword is immensely powerful and heavy—
“The latter two swords are as swift as the wind—
“The last three swords are both fast and heavy——
“Elder Qi's combo must have some side business——
After a moment of thought, Ji You raised his sword again, but this time, he was no longer as cautious as before, instead quickening his pace.
The spectators here stared at his figure, and seeing him move rapidly, they couldn't help but exchange glances.
The next instant, they felt sword hums vibrating in their ears, and dozens of Sword Intents rose before them, their outward Aura even outlining shapes in the Void Realm.
Then, a fierce wind whistled, and with a whoosh, the Sword Dao scattered in all directions.
Ji You no longer cared about specific sword moves; he relied entirely on his heart's impulse, charging into the sword waves with a grim expression.
The sword light in his hand surged wildly, like overlapping waves.
The Sword Qi here was fierce and swift, completely different from the previous few swords.
The white-robed swordsman still met the attack head-on with his sword, then turned sideways and slashed, traversing through the Sword Qi, his sword style becoming increasingly ferocious.
Amidst the dazzling Sword Intent, the crowd could only see someone wildly wielding a sword. Although clear cutting sounds came from all directions, everything was still cut down by his sword.
Then, Sword Intent rose again, continuously and instantly arriving.
Ji You's steps were no longer as composed as before, sometimes retreating, sometimes advancing, but the iron sword in his hand became smoother and smoother, gradually growing hot with continuous hacking and slashing.
With a whoosh, a burst of Sword Qi thrust forward, its light moving like thunder, pushing away the three swords in front.
At this point, the dozens of Sword Qi that had been darting through the bamboo forest earlier were all cut down.
Now, in the deepest part of the first forest, as the set Sword Qi was completely shattered and dispersed into the heavens and earth, a bright sword light rose into the sky, causing everyone to hold their breath, their hearts trembling slightly.
Yan Ye had also followed in by now, standing at the edge of the forest sea, narrowing her eyes.
This was the wonderful creation 【Xiao Chong Shan】 that Elder Qi had comprehended in the Dao of the sword in his youth, placed at the end of the first forest.
However, although 【Xiao Chong Shan】 was a sword of slaughter, its power was discounted because there was only Sword Intent and Sword Qi in the Sword Forest, not actual swords emerging.
Yan Ye thought that since this Disciple of Tianshu Academy was in the Tong Xuan Realm, taking on 【Xiao Chong Shan】 should not be a problem.
Just as Yan Ye was pondering, the forest sea before her began to tremble violently, seemingly resonating with this Sword Qi.
A powerful Aura stirred up wind and waves, surging with it, and killing intent continuously overflowed, like a mighty thunderbolt.
The crowd narrowed their eyes and saw Ji You stack his sword forward, his surrounding Aura surging relentlessly, his Sword Intent instantly meeting the sky.
And that 【Xiao Chong Shan】 also slashed down directly, without any pause.
Clang!
Upon contact, the Sword Qi generated repulsion, like an inverted ocean wave, heavy as ten thousand tons.
The crowd stared intently and found that Ji You, who attempted to forcefully withstand 【Xiao Chong Shan】, was directly sent flying several steps back.
The iron sword in his hand trembled uncontrollably.
Before anyone could react, the Sword Qi condensed again, and Ji You, without stopping, continued with his sword, changing the sword style he had used before, and expressionlessly met the newly condensed 【Xiao Chong Shan】.
Heavy, sharp, extremely fast, furious, fierce.
The final sword in this first forest was unpredictable, making even the spectators tremble.
One Chong Mountain, Two Chong Mountain, Three Chong Mountain-----Six Chong Mountain, Seven Chong Mountain, Eight Chong Mountain. Under the Sword Qi, Ji You continuously slashed, his expression unchanged, but his sword style was constantly changing wildly.
They had arrived at this time, and it only took Ji You a few moments from the first sword of the first Chong to encountering 【Xiao Chong Shan】.
But from the first Chong Mountain falling, re-condensing, then meeting the sword, and repeatedly meeting the Xiao Chong Shan eight times, this process took an hour.
During this period, Ji You changed his sword eight times, yet never managed to suppress Elder Qi's Sword Qi.
In the emerald forest sea, Yan Ye was somewhat puzzled, then her brows furrowed deeper and deeper, finally shaking her head.
Ding Yao, hidden not far away, made almost the same movement as her, while Zhuo Wanqiu next to her had deeply furrowed brows.
【Xiao Chong Shan】, which a Tong Xuan Realm practitioner could pass in a few tries, was so difficult for him?
At noon, at the first quarter of the hour, the fifteenth 【Xiao Chong Shan】.
Ji You took a step back, held his breath, and began to infuse all his Spiritual Qi into his sword, charging forward with a circular cut around his body.
Amidst the raging wind as the two swords clashed, suddenly, the white-robed figure rapidly melted away like ice and snow in the sword light.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the forest sea became completely silent. The frantic sword hums from before seemed to have vanished, the wildly dancing bamboo leaves began to fall slowly, and the dust settled. Ji You's figure was no longer in the forest.
Witnessing this, Zhuo Wanqiu gently exhaled and turned to look at Ding Yao, only to find that Ding Yao seemed to have completely lost interest in watching Ji You attempt the Sword Forest.
“Did he pass?”
“This first Sword Forest isn't strong; even Outer Courtyard Disciples can try a few swords. It's not strange for a Tong Xuan Realm practitioner like him to pass.”
Yan Ye spoke, looking in the direction Ji You had disappeared, then whispered “sixteen times,” and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
As she had just said, 【Xiao Chong Shan】, with only Sword Intent and Sword Qi, although a technique of slaughter, did not actually involve swords flying out, so it wasn't truly strong.
The worst of the Tong Xuan Realm Disciples in the mountain passed the first Chong in no more than eight attempts.
But Ji You, on the other hand, tried sixteen times, and even nearly got struck down a few times.
At this moment, a Disciple from Mountain and Sea Pavilion slightly cupped his hands and looked at Yan Ye: “Elder Yan, how many Chong do you think Ji You of Tianshu Academy can reach?”
“The second Chong is completely different from the first. Judging by his Aptitude in passing the first Chong just now, the second Chong should be quite difficult for him.”
“The second Chong—”
“Indeed. Moreover, the Asked the Dao Sect will end in three days, and the Tianshu Academy Disciples will have to leave. He probably won't have time to slowly get used to the Sword Intent of the second Chong. If he's a bit slow, he might not even get to see Elder Qi's Willow Color New.”
Willow Color New, like Xiao Chong Shan, is a guardian sword, which is the last sword of the second Chong.
Earlier, when they were playing around in the small courtyard on Xuanjian Peak, Yan Shuyi had said that Ji You should be able to enter the third Chong.
This conclusion was partly because she had a filter for Ji You, and partly because she hadn't considered that Ji You couldn't stay long on Lingjian Mountain.
Women are like that; when they are with someone they are comfortable with, they always forget the time.
But as Elder Yan said, the second Chong is already the limit for the Tong Xuan Realm.
After Elder Qi set up the Sword Forest half a month ago, dozens of Tong Xuan Realm Disciples from Lingjian Mountain had already been attempting it, but even now, only a handful have managed to reach the third Chong.
Now, with an added time limit, Ji You naturally had no hope for the third Chong.
No sooner had her voice fallen than a whooshing sound suddenly echoed from within the Sword Forest, instantly drawing their attention.
And as the sound drew closer, everyone saw a figure rapidly retreating from deep within, finally falling directly to the ground, raising a wave of dust, and incidentally breaking three green bamboos.
Yan Ye and the others focused their gaze, and their mouths twitched, realizing that this person was none other than Ji You, who had just passed 【Xiao Chong Shan】 and entered the second forest.
Elder Qi's Sword Forest setup was quite reasonable. Once a Disciple broke through 【Xiao Chong Shan】, if the Disciple didn't actively try to challenge the sword, the Sword Qi of the first Sword Forest would no longer actively rise.
So, when Ji You retreated at this moment, he did not re-activate that Sword Qi.
However, his fall back into the first Chong, while not activating Sword Qi, did activate a flurry of whispers.
From his retreating posture to his landing action, everyone could tell he had been cut out.
And to be cut out from the second Chong, that sword must have been the first sword of the second forest.
Some people here already believed Yan Ye's words: this second forest was truly completely different from the first forest.
But besides those who cared more about the Sword Forest, more people were discussing Ji You's current disheveled state.
“He couldn't even withstand the first sword? This is a bit too much—”
“Elder Yan Ye said that the swords in the second forest are extremely strong.”
“But even if it's strong, it's still the first sword. It seems this so-called 'naturally gifted Disciple of Lingjian Mountain' is really an exaggeration.”
“After the incident at the ruins, some people said that his 'one person, seven swords' was just a trick. Which true Sword Dao Master would use so many swords?”
Yan Ye listened to the discussions around her, then shook her head, put away her sword, and left the Sword Forest.
As a Master-in-charge Elder, her presence here was naturally not for challenging the Sword Forest.
It was simply because the tea party and the Asked the Dao Sect event had led to more people ascending the mountain recently, and many were interested in the Sword Forest, so she was ordered by Tianjian Peak to oversee it for half a day to prevent any trouble.
When Ji You arrived earlier, she had already decided to leave, but hearing that people were calling him a “naturally gifted Disciple of Lingjian Mountain,” she decided to stay and watch.
But having seen this much, she also felt it was an exaggeration and completely lost interest.
After Yan Ye left, Ji You rested on the ground for a while and then re-entered the second forest.
The second forest also had Disciples from Asked the Dao Sect and Mountain and Sea Pavilion, all in the Tong Xuan Realm, but the largest number were Lingjian Mountain Disciples.
Because the Sword Qi and Sword Intent here were more than a little stronger than in the first forest, they were all trapped within it.
At this moment, everyone in the forest looked at Ji You.
Ji Hanfei was already accustomed to such gazes in Tianshu Academy, so he wasn't too uncomfortable. He held his sword and prepared to walk forward.
However, at this moment, footsteps suddenly echoed from the deep green depths of the second bamboo forest.
A woman dressed in a golden embroidered spiritual dress gracefully emerged from within, with long legs and a slender waist. Her Sword Intent had not dissipated, but the iron sword in her hand had already been sheathed.
“Look, it's the direct Disciple of Xuanjian Peak, Yan Shujing.”
“So it's her.”
“It's said she's already reached the last sword before the third Chong.”
“Isn't she supposed to fight He Lingxiu of Tianshu Academy? Why is she still in the Sword Forest at this time?”
“Perhaps she doesn't take the people from Tianshu Academy seriously at all—”