Chapter 185: Sword Intent, Divine Restriction

"To think that this Bamboo Scroll records Perfected Jinli's lifelong comprehension of the Sword Dao." Jiuyou finished reading the last column of text and slowly closed the Bamboo Scroll, his eyes flickering. "So the path of the sword involves Sword Intent, rather than just sword forms and the channeling of magical power. I heard those sword cultivators mention it in the past, but since I wasn't a sword cultivator myself, I naturally paid it no mind. Looking back, it seems I missed something crucial."

He unrolled the Bamboo Scroll again and reread the section concerning "Sword Intent."

Sword Intent could not only activate sword-type magical treasures and reduce magical power consumption, but also amplify their might. The higher a sword cultivator's realm, the fiercer the killing moves they could unleash. Some grandmasters of the sword could even condense their own unique sword domains, suppressing their opponents and empowering themselves within them. And the foundation of all this was Sword Intent.

"Sword Intent—" he repeated in a low voice, as if gently catching the words between his teeth, slowly savoring their weight.

He had already reached the Nascent Soul Late Stage and wielded the Golden Li Ember Moon Sword; in the eyes of others, he was a mighty expert of the sword. Yet he knew very well that his understanding of the sword remained superficial, far from touching the true threshold of the Sword Dao.

If he could condense Sword Intent as described in the Bamboo Scroll, his strength would undoubtedly rise to another level. Perfected Jinli had managed to delve into the Sword Dao to such a degree; it was no wonder he had stood at the helm of the Daoyang Sect a thousand years ago. It was just a pity that heaven had not granted him a longer life, leaving him to pass away in meditation far from home.

As he pondered, the Ember Moon Sword that had guided him to this cave dwelling suddenly flew from his hand. It dropped on its own, its tip pointing straight at the ground. The moment the blade touched the stone surface, a flash of golden light flared from beneath the floor, rebounding the Ember Moon Sword.

Jiuyou's gaze narrowed, but he quickly calmed down, as if expecting this.

"As expected, there's more to this place." He crouched down and pressed his hand against the stone, his Divine Sense following that lingering ripple of restrictive power down into the earth.

A moment later, he frowned slightly. "There's a formation buried down here, and its grade isn't low. Even I can't see through it at a glance."

He retracted his Divine Sense and looked at the Ember Moon Sword in his hand. "That sword array earlier already surprised me once. Could there be something even more important hidden down here?"

He naturally couldn't dig it up with great fanfare. The people of the Daoyang Sect were still observing him, and any massive commotion might draw unwanted attention.

He tried pressing the Ember Moon Sword against the ground to see if it would trigger the restriction like it had when opening the door, but there was no reaction.

He then tried probing it with his magical power, but it was like tossing a stone into the sea.

He searched all over the bookshelves and the stone platform, but failed to find any clues related to this place.

Finally, he remembered the array disc. He took it out and flipped it over several times, yet he still couldn't spot anything unusual. Just as he was about to put it away, his fingertips accidentally brushed against the back of the disc, and he paused.

Right in the center of the disc's back was a groove. It had been obscured by dust just a moment ago and wasn't very noticeable, but once he brushed the dirt away, the groove became clear. Its size perfectly matched a standard spirit stone.

He embedded a top-grade spirit stone into it and injected a sliver of magical power. A faint resonance traveled up from the soles of his feet, as if something that had slumbered for a long time had been gently nudged.

Immediately after, the stone platform began to shake. The massive platform surrounded by the pond, along with the entire section of ground beneath his feet, began to slowly sink.

Its descent wasn't fast at first, but as it went deeper underground, it moved faster and faster. The rock walls on either side were no longer ordinary mountain stone, but layers upon layers of runes and formation restrictions. The array patterns carved into the walls lit up sequentially with spiritual light, neatly arranged as if someone had meticulously orchestrated them just for this moment.

Bronze pivots turned and spiritual runes flowed as the entire stone platform descended steadily along a predetermined path. He stood in the center, watching the runes light up one by one on either side. It felt as though something was waiting in the depths, something that had been waiting for a very long time.

"These are..." Jiuyou's gaze suddenly focused. He remembered seeing a similar description in a fragmented text concerning ancient formations, and his voice unconsciously lowered. "The scale and layout of this entire grand array is very likely a set of ancient divine restrictions."

His breathing grew slightly heavier, and his fists clenched unconsciously. His gaze darted across the rapidly flashing restriction runes, displaying a rare lapse in composure.

An ancient divine restriction!

If he could truly claim it for his own use, the methods at his disposal would climb to unprecedented heights. Even if it were a restriction laid down by a Deity Transformation Cultivator, it might not be impossible to contend with it.

He couldn't help but reevaluate Perfected Jinli's standing in his mind. For someone to possess such a divine restriction, his identity and origins were likely far more complex than merely being the "number one figure of the Daoyang Sect a thousand years ago."

He subconsciously reached toward the intersecting, turning bronze pivots and runes. The moment his fingertips touched the edge, he snatched his hand back as if struck by lightning. A searing heat radiated from his palm, as though he had touched a rapidly spinning blade. If he hadn't also practiced the arts of body refinement, that brief contact alone would have been enough to mangle his entire hand into a bloody mess.

Jiuyou looked down at his palm. The red mark was slowly fading, but he already understood that the strike just now hadn't been a real attack. It was merely the grand array's self-defensive instinct. If he had pushed even a fraction harder, his entire arm would have likely been severed and sent flying.

But he didn't feel the slightest trace of fear. Instead, a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes.

"Good. As expected of an ancient divine restriction, it has a temper. I like it," he murmured with a smile, then raised his gaze and looked ahead.

A moment later, the stone platform beneath his feet noticeably began to decelerate. Its descent gradually slowed, and finally, with a slight tremor, it landed solidly.

Jiuyou carried his momentum forward and landed lightly on the solid ground. He looked up to scan his surroundings, his Divine Sense spreading out like flowing water to take in the entire contour of the underground space.

It was perfectly square, vast, and deep. Aside from a few massive stone pillars several zhang thick that held up the vaulted ceiling, there was absolutely nothing else. It was as bare as a hollowed-out box, or perhaps a massive training room.

But what truly made his gaze pause were the sword scars covering the four stone walls. These sword scars varied in depth and crisscrossed over one another, looking like marks left behind by repeated hacking and slashing. Even after an unknown number of years, one could still feel a heavy, piercing sharpness from them. He took a few steps forward and reached out to touch the wall. The sensation transmitted from his fingertips made him pause. This wasn't ordinary stone; it was a forbidden Spirit Treasure.

He had seen this type of stone material in Ancient Records before. Its function was similar to Azure Goldstone, as it could massively absorb spiritual power from incoming attacks. Even the full-force strike of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator could only leave a shallow mark on it, making it incredibly difficult to truly destroy.

Yet at this moment, the six broad wall surfaces of this forbidden Spirit Treasure were densely covered with sword scars. Every single one was deep and powerful, as if they were marks left behind by someone repeatedly hacking at the exact same spot for decades.