Chapter 420: Extreme Fire Sword Intent

Shen Daoxing ignored the strange looks from the crowd. He followed Wan Hai and Tang Yi to the Steward Elder and handed over his Trial Jade Token.

The Steward Elder took them and inspected each token. Finding no issues, he nodded. "Good. Wan Hai, Tang Yi, and Shen Daoxing, you three have passed the first trial. You may now proceed to the next stage."

As he spoke, the Steward Elder pointed toward Pengze Immortal Mountain.

Shen Daoxing looked up. Pengze Immortal Mountain was lush and green, covered with pines and spruces. But at this moment, streaks of light were zipping through the trees.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Whistling sounds rose and fell, filled with a sharp, deadly intent, like a storm engulfing the entire forest.

Even from a distance, it sent a chilling, terrifying sensation down one's spine.

"Elder, what is this?"

Wan Hai couldn't help but ask.

The Steward Elder slowly began to explain, "This is the Sword Intent Forest. Ancestor Dan Chen created it in his lifetime, coalescing it from his own Sword Intent. To pass the second trial, you must cross this forest made of Sword Intent."

At that moment, a young man could be seen with his hands behind his back, leaping upward. He tapped his toes lightly on the branches, moving as if taking a leisurely stroll, dodging the incoming attacks of Sword Intent with just a slight twist of his body.

This was Xiao Fei, a disciple from the Fusang Immortal Island. He was an expert at the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm. Although not on par with Jun Wushuang, Gu Muyun, or Ouyang Cheng, he was still ranked among the top ten disciples of the Four Vein Immortal Island.

He continued his effortless ascent, easily reaching the mountainside of Pengze Immortal Mountain. As he climbed higher, the surrounding Sword Intent grew stronger.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Suddenly, two piercing sounds split the air.

Two sharp, silver-white streams of Sword Intent carved two graceful, intersecting arcs in the sky, flying forward with unstoppable momentum as if to pierce through everything.

However, Xiao Fei merely raised the fan in his hand and casually swatted it.

BANG!

BANG!

With two soft sounds, the two sharp streams of Sword Intent were deflected, sent flying far into the distance.

Seeing this, Xiao Fei couldn't help but smile smugly. With his hands clasped behind his back, he resumed his leisurely climb.

But he had only taken two steps when, without any warning, the frenzied streams of Sword Intent around him suddenly fell silent. Then, a speck of fiery red light appeared on the mountaintop.

The fiery red light grew brighter and brighter. The next moment, a rainbow-like stream of Sword Intent shot down from the summit, wreathed in roiling flames. It was like a fire from the Ninth Heavens, setting everything in its path ablaze. It even left a long, fiery tail in the sky, as if it had set the very heavens on fire.

In an instant, this stream of Sword Intent was before Xiao Fei.

Xiao Fei froze for a moment, then hastily raised his fan to block.

However, before his fan could even touch the Sword Intent, it burst into flames with a WHOOSH.

The next moment.

BOOM!

A deafening crash.

Sparks flew, like brilliant fireworks blooming beneath the sky.

AGH!

Xiao Fei spat out a large mouthful of blood as his entire body was thrown high into the air.

At the same time, he was engulfed in raging flames.

Seeing this, the Steward Elder's figure flickered and vanished. He reappeared in the sky, catching the falling Xiao Fei.

Then, he gently swept his sleeve over Xiao Fei's body, extinguishing the flames. He leaped once more, carrying Xiao Fei back to where he started.

At the same time, the Steward Elder slowly announced, "Xiao Fei, trial failed."

Seeing the sudden appearance of the fiery red Sword Intent, Wan Hai and Tang Yi were both stunned. "What is that?"

The Steward Elder turned his head to look at the fiery red Sword Intent on Pengze Immortal Mountain.

"That is the Nine Heavens Extreme Fire Sword Intent. It is an Absolute Sword Intent that Ancestor Dan Chen comprehended long ago in the Nine Heavens Secret Realm. It's one of the Ancestor's strongest Sword Intents and can burn all of heaven and earth. If you wish to pass this second trial, you must be careful. You cannot afford to be hit like Xiao Fei was."

The Steward Elder paused, then added a warning, "Although I am here and can save your lives, if you are struck by this Extreme Fire Sword Intent, your foundation will be damaged. Even if I save you, I'm afraid you will find it very difficult to advance your cultivation in the future."

Hearing this, Wan Hai was instantly horrified.

'Nine Heavens Extreme Fire Sword Intent?'

'One of Ancestor Dan Chen's strongest Sword Intents?'

Shen Daoxing, however, found his interest piqued. He turned and gave the fiery red sword light on the mountain a meaningful look.

As if sensing Shen Daoxing's gaze, the Nine Heavens Extreme Fire Sword Intent dancing above Pengze Immortal Mountain suddenly paused. It then changed direction and shot toward the crowd.

Everything in its path ignited, and even the sky itself seemed to warp and burn.

"Wait! That Sword Intent is coming this way!"

"No way! Quick! Run!"

The crowd jumped in fright. Seeing the Extreme Fire Sword Intent about to reach them, they screamed in terror and scrambled to flee.

Fortunately, the Steward Elder beside them acted in time, summoning a bronze Eight Trigrams Divine Disc.

CLANG!

It smashed heavily into the Extreme Fire Sword Intent.

Both the Extreme Fire Sword Intent and the Eight Trigrams Divine Disc faltered, retreating several steps.

The Nine Heavens Extreme Fire Sword Intent circled a few times under the sky, leaving a trail of flames before slowly flying back to its place above Pengze Immortal Mountain.

Only then did the crowd let out a sigh of relief, panting heavily with lingering fear on their faces.

'It's sentient.'

But Shen Daoxing hadn't retreated a single step. Instead, he smiled meaningfully. If the Steward Elder hadn't intervened just now, the Extreme Fire Sword Intent would have already struck him.

In that inscrutable moment, Shen Daoxing felt as if he had grasped something.

CRACK!

In a daze, he felt as if he had broken through something and arrived in the Ninth Layer of heaven. But his surroundings weren't an ethereal paradise; they were an endless inferno where everything was burning.

The roiling clouds were burning. The faint, ethereal immortal palaces within them were burning. Even the high heavens were a crimson red.

RUMBLE!

A tremendous roar.

It was like a thunderclap on a clear day.

The next moment, a massive meteor suddenly tore through the sky, trailing deep red flames as it hurtled downward.

Shen Daoxing's vision went dark, then was filled with nothing but red.

BOOM!

The massive meteor crashed into Shen Daoxing's body.

But Shen Daoxing felt no pain. There was only an incredible, scorching heat that penetrated beneath his skin, into his organs, deep into his marrow, and even into the very depths of his soul, as if it were incinerating everything.

In the unseen, Shen Daoxing saw something, felt something. A flash of red streaked past his eyes.

Instinctively, Shen Daoxing reached out and grabbed it.