Chapter 183: Sword Qi Materialization

"What is that?"

Jiuyou looked up. A shadow was slowly pressing down from above.

The shriek of parting air closed in, sharp as tearing silk. Streaks of golden sword qi gathered high above, growing thicker and more solid until they formed a massive golden palm several zhang wide. Its five fingers spread apart, carrying a heavy, oppressive might as it slammed down at his head.

Jiuyou stood his ground on the mountain path, merely narrowing his eyes. The giant palm was not formed by an ordinary spell. Every line crossing it was a strand of sword qi, and every finger bone was an unseen sword. The strike was forged entirely from sword intent, not a mere accumulation of spiritual energy.

"Sword qi forming a palm... interesting," he murmured.

An Ember Moon Sword shot from his sleeve, golden light flowing across its blade as it crashed straight into the massive hand.

The two forces collided in midair with a piercing screech, like iron dragging across stone. The shockwaves of scattered sword qi flattened huge swaths of the surrounding bamboo forest and sheared a layer of earth right off the ground.

"This imposing might already rivals a full-strength strike from a Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator."

Jiuyou's gaze flickered. Channeling magic power into his palm, he caused the golden light on the Ember Moon Sword to erupt. With a flick of the blade's tip, he split the massive golden palm right down the middle. It shattered into a sky full of scattered sword light, raining down onto the ground before the wind blew some of the remnants away.

But he did not immediately withdraw his spiritual energy.

He could feel that the sword light hadn't truly dissipated. Its form had simply been shattered—like splashed water that still seeped into the earth where it fell.

Sure enough, within moments, the shattered sword qi began to gather once more. This time, it didn't just come from the sky. Strands of golden light began seeping from the dirt, the snapped bamboo, and the cracks in the stones. As if awakened by some long-slumbering will, the streaks surged toward a single convergence point in the sky.

Jiuyou withdrew his gaze and lightly stroked his chin. Instead of rushing to attack, he released all thirty-two of the Ember Moon Swords he kept ready in his sleeve.

Golden light drifted as the blades fanned out behind him in sequence. Their glowing silhouettes illuminated half the mountain peak, standing in distant opposition to the massive golden figure taking shape overhead.

High above, the endless streams of sword qi finished condensing, forming a golden flood dragon a hundred zhang long. Its massive body coiled in the air, every scale sharply defined. Fine fragments of sword qi flickered between its jaws with every breath, making it look like a ferocious beast that had finally found a chance to escape its cage. It lowered its eyes, staring coldly at Jiuyou, as if weighing the intruder's worth.

Jiuyou didn't rush to attack, simply sizing the creature up for a few breaths.

"If you were still at the height of your power, or if someone were controlling you, I might have shown you a measure of respect," he said. "But now? You are nothing but a broken array clinging to life on a few scraps of lingering spiritual energy..." He paused, his tone flat. "...and you dare block my path?"

The flood dragon seemed to understand his words. It let out a low roar and opened its jaws, unleashing a massive, crescent-shaped blade of sword qi that swept forward, trailing countless jagged fragments of light.

Jiuyou didn't even attempt to dodge. The Golden Luo Bowl had already silently materialized at his side. It cast a golden barrier downward, and the crescent sword qi slammed into the shield with a heavy thud, shattering inch by inch as though it had struck a solid wall.

The flood dragon didn't pause. Using the shattered sword qi as cover, it twisted through the air, bypassing his front to silently launch a sneak attack at his back. Its razor-sharp claws tore through the air, leaving a shrill shriek in their wake.

"A clever little trick."

The corners of Jiuyou's mouth twitched. Without even turning his head, he willed the Ember Moon Sword in his hand into a massive golden blade several zhang long. Turning the blade, he smoothly slashed backward.

The motion didn't seem fast, yet it intercepted the dragon's plunging claw at the perfect instant. A deafening clash of metal on stone erupted. The dragon recoiled in pain, its massive body skidding back several zhang through the air as it let out a furious, low hiss.

Jiuyou gave it no chance to catch its breath. The giant sword flew from his grasp, splitting from one into two, and two into four, until thirty-two streaks of golden light filled the sky. Like several rivers rushing and intertwining at once, the flying swords sealed off the dragon's retreat. The golden blades spun like a grinding wheel, wrapping the beast in layers of light.

The flood dragon struggled for a few breaths before the grinding blades abruptly shredded it to pieces. It exploded into a sky full of golden fragments, drifting down like golden snow scattered by the wind.

But Jiuyou didn't lower his hands. He could feel that something else was taking shape within the fragments.

Sure enough, the fragments swirled in the wind before abruptly fusing together into a Golden Crow. Its entire body was woven from sword qi. As it spread its wings, each blade-like feather stood out sharply—every single one capable of shooting out as an independent streak of sword qi. With a high shriek, the bird beat its wings, unleashing a torrential downpour of countless golden feathers. The barrage was so dense it almost blotted out the sky, forcing Jiuyou to halt his advance.

Jiuyou merely glanced up at the sky full of sword feathers. The thirty-two Ember Moon Swords aligned into a wall of blades in front of him, spinning rapidly. Like a golden grinding mill, it pulverized every incoming feather one by one.

Seeing its strike miss, the Golden Crow didn't linger. It condensed into a point of golden light, darted behind him, and reformed into a vicious golden wolf. The beast tipped its head back and howled at the sky before exploding into a dozen slightly smaller wolves. They pounced from every direction at the same time, their extreme speed making it seem as if they had rehearsed this exact kill countless times.

Jiuyou didn't even spare them a glance. With a light wave of his hand, the Golden Sun Mountain flew from his sleeve, expanding rapidly upon contact with the air. It swelled to the size of a small hill and shook in the air, completely crushing all of the wolf shadows. The shattered sword light bounced against the earth a few times before drifting back up.

This time, the fragments didn't rush to materialize. Instead, they slowly drew together into a colossal, golden phantom sword. Hundreds of zhang long, it possessed no hilt, only a blade. With its tip pointed straight down, it rotated slowly, as if searching for the best angle to strike.

Then, it moved. It plummeted straight down toward Jiuyou with a steady, unstoppable momentum. The blade's path left a long, slender trail of golden light in its wake, as though the sky itself had been sliced open.

Jiuyou watched the slowly descending giant sword and let out a soft breath, as if to say, "Finally down to business." He summoned no further magic treasures. Instead, he simply raised a hand and lightly flicked his finger. A tiny halo of golden light rippled from his fingertip, drifting unhurriedly up to meet the colossal blade.

The halo was very faint, like a ripple on a pond. But the moment it touched the colossal golden sword, a dense web of cracks abruptly surfaced across the blade. Like a frozen lake receiving a light tap, the fractures raced outward from the point of impact, spreading across the entire phantom sword in moments.

The giant sword paused for a fraction of a second. Then, as if unable to bear the weight, it shattered with a deafening boom. It burst into countless fine motes of golden light that slowly scattered in the wind and snow like a long-delayed snowfall. The specks of light struck the ground, bounced, and fell again, before finally exhausting the last of their strength. They slowly faded into the rocks and dirt, falling completely still.

The wind sweeping across the mountaintop seemed to suddenly soften.

Jiuyou withdrew all his magic treasures. After the Golden Sun Mountain and the Ember Moon Swords vanished back into his sleeves, the Golden Luo Bowl hovering in the air slowly dimmed its spiritual light and dropped back into his hand.

He cast a glance over the surrounding ground, which had been sheared flat by the sword qi. His gaze lingered on the fading remnants of sword intent for a moment, as though committing something to memory.

"Sword Qi Materialization... this sword array is quite imaginative," he noted. "If I can repair it, it might prove useful."

Setting the thought aside, he turned without another look and continued his trek up the mountain path. Behind him, the remaining motes of golden light drifted gently through the wind, falling like a silent farewell.

The severed bamboo forest lay slanted against the ground. Every stalk bore a perfectly even cut, as if the entire grove had been sheared by the exact same blade at the exact same time.