Chapter 414: Shocking All Sides
“Everyone, according to our previous plan, help me control all the people in the forest!”
“I’ll take care of the harvest and end everyone inside!”
“Please lend me your strength!”
With Yun Zhonghe’s thunderous shout, everyone sprang from their hiding spots, their nerves strung tighter than a bowstring!
Mu Jixue’s purple eyes were more serious than ever. This surprise attack was crucial; the power of each person was key to capturing everyone in the forest!
But Yun Zhonghe believed in their abilities, and they were willing to trust him in return.
Yun Zhonghe landed first, steadily touching down in an open area three miles from the forest’s edge.
However, he didn’t move forward; rather, it was Mu Jixue and the other girls who continued ahead.
What exactly was he planning to do?
Yun Zhonghe took a deep breath, closed his eyes, seemingly gathering his thoughts.
The All-Encompassing Sword Technique required one’s own insights to meld into a form that could evolve into myriad sword techniques.
After defeating the Xue Yunjian, Yun Zhonghe had grasped what belonged to his All-Encompassing, envisioning a grand and sweeping landscape that dominated mountains and rivers.
That was the unique realm of his All-Encompassing.
How to manifest this realm into practical power in swordsmanship was undoubtedly a massive test of a swordsman’s comprehension.
Unluckily for him, his comprehension was top-notch, and he had already outlined a clear answer in his heart regarding his All-Encompassing.
“This is…”
At that moment, Master Qin, sitting in the main peak’s viewing platform, had been fixated on Yun Zhonghe’s image. When he saw Yun Zhonghe’s sword posture, he suddenly realized something.
The All-Encompassing Sword Technique?
Master Qin remembered that at Cangzhou City, Qin Hongye had requested the sword manual for the All-Encompassing Sword Technique on Yun Zhonghe’s behalf, and he had also agreed to grant Yun Zhonghe the opportunity to learn this technique.
However, Master Qin didn’t believe Yun Zhonghe could wield this sword technique just yet; without deep personal insight, it was merely an ordinary low-grade sword technique that would struggle to show its true power.
“Now using the All-Encompassing? Could he really have comprehended it?!”
Master Qin’s eyes narrowed, a strong premonition forming in his mind.
This was huge!
After all, if he could discern his own All-Encompassing, it meant he had one foot firmly in the realm of sword intent!
The All-Encompassing Sword Technique was specifically created to guide sword cultivators towards understanding sword intent.
At this moment, as Yun Zhonghe began to execute his sword technique, the essence radiating from his movements caught the attention of the Wine Sword God, Master Youyue, and the Yin-Yang Sword God.
All three stood atop the pinnacle of swordsmanship, mastering profound sword intent. Yet, as they observed Yun Zhonghe’s seemingly simple but infinitely potential-laden initial movement, they sensed a presence that could rival their own!
“Sword intent?!”
The three sword gods exclaimed in unison!
“Incredible! Absolutely unfathomable!” the Yin-Yang Sword God remarked. “At his age, let alone comprehending sword intent, reaching sword momentum is already a considerable obstacle!”
His words rendered the Wine Sword God and Master Youyue silent.
Yun Zhonghe was indeed a prodigy; recalling the astonishing display when he combined six hundred enhancement spells, everyone had momentarily overlooked a crucial fact—his true strength lay in the sword path!
“Could it… be the All-Encompassing?”
It was Master Youyue who first snapped back from her shock.
Upon hearing her words, the Wine Sword God and the Yin-Yang Sword God finally connected the dots, but still felt he was a prodigy.
Even if he’d comprehended the All-Encompassing, that was already impressive.
They remembered that at their age, they hadn’t even stepped into the realm of sword cultivation.
“But… why is he standing so far away?”
Someone detected an oddity.
Sword cultivators are known for close combat; aside from rare exceptions like Huang Hong, most swordsmen aren’t adept at long-range combat.
Yet right now, Yun Zhonghe was several miles away from the fray!
What on earth was he planning?
Countless powerful eyes fell upon the golden figure.
At this moment, a surge of sword qi surged around Yun Zhonghe.
This sword qi floated like smoke, light and agile, in stark contrast to the sword cultivators’ daily pursuit of the dense, solid sword qi.
Regular sword cultivators aimed to condense their sword qi as solidly as possible to enhance its might.
The Six Harmony Sword Qi was a tier of sword qi forged through accumulation and combination once the sword qi was honed to perfection.
The denser the qi, the mightier it became—a common truth in the cultivation realm.
Yet, Yun Zhonghe did the opposite; he deliberately scattered his sword qi, allowing it to take on an ethereal state like smoke.
Though ephemeral, it didn’t lessen its power, and seemed even more substantial!
This was Yun Zhonghe’s realization.
Light and airy though it may be, it could still swallow mountains and seas.
This was the true reflection of his inner realm.
His comprehension of the All-Encompassing was painted with visions of majestic mountains and rivers, vast and infinite, causing the heavens to tremble and all beings to bow!
No matter how dense his sword qi became, it couldn’t compare to those mountain and sea symbols of ultimate power; it couldn’t cleave through them. In the face of such peak might, his sword felt pitifully weak.
Thus, he opted for another path—swathing the insurmountable mountains and seas in a veil of clouds and smoke!
This was an entirely new understanding and interpretation of the sword path.
Yun Zhonghe scattered all his sword qi, forming clouds and smoke, which while seemingly light and unfixed, contained colossal, earth-shattering power, just like the expansive visions in his heart!
Moreover, because he abandoned the traditional sword cultivators’ fixation on dense sword qi, focusing instead on ethereality and agility, his spiritual energy was released like never before, allowing him to control several times, even dozens of times, more sword qi than before.
Ninety spiritual pearls surged forth simultaneously, continuously channeling pure and immense sword qi, which he then scattered, infusing it into the All-Encompassing Sword Technique.
“Yun Zhonghe is ready!”
Though the preparations seemed laborious and intricate, the time from when he began adjusting his sword qi to being fully prepared took barely a few breaths.
The preparation wasn’t explosive and grand; compared to when he had gathered six hundred enhancement spells last time, this felt much more restrained and steady—like night and day.
Even his own aura at that moment was as ethereal as smoke, appearing to merge with the heavens, making it hard to gauge his true strength.
No exchange happened between Yun Zhonghe and Mu Jixue, but she sensed through intuition that he was ready; what came next was up to them to execute.
They had to unleash their might at lightning speed, delivering the highest output and control to catch their enemy off guard!
With wings of ice flapping, Mu Jixue rapidly soared into the air while the power of Extreme Cold in her was quickly gathering, squeezing every bit of spiritual energy within her to the utmost.
In this battle, she needed to give it her all!
Not only Mu Jixue harbored this determination; the other girls in their team also shared the same unwavering belief.
Despite minor disagreements and some past unpleasantness, they all had the same goal at this moment.
The group charged into the dense forest in an instant.
Meanwhile, the people inside were still in the midst of a fierce battle, completely unaware that a new threat was approaching.
When Mu Jixue and the others rushed in, they immediately unleashed their ultimate techniques!
“Ice Seal!”
With a delicate cry, Mu Jixue unleashed her Extreme Cold spiritual energy; her hand lightly slapped the ground, and immediately, a large area ahead quickly froze into a mirror-like ice surface.
Just like back when they dealt with the giant lizard.
At the same time, Qin Hongye and Luo Yan both made their moves, each forming their respective gestures.
“Evil Desire Sovereign Fire!”
“Sea Water Flame!”
The twin extraordinary fires were unleashed simultaneously, igniting the ice surface below, while the black-red cursed flames rained down from above, crashing towards the depths of the forest.
It was a massive dual-element fire attack, with assaults from ground and sky colliding, echoing with booming sounds, raising a spectacular elemental bombardment around them.
A symphony of ice, fire, and water!
The void shuddered!
The disciples still engrossed in combat had no time to react before getting swept away by this turbulent wave of elemental chaos.
They were… what kind of lunatics just showed up?!
Everything was happening too fast.
With reckless bombardment—not giving a thought to collateral damage or precision—it was all about creating shock and creating chaos, pounding their enemies into a dizzy state of confusion!
Their opponents were no pushovers: they were all prodigies and top talents, as well as many elite inner disciples. Even under such furious onslaught, they rapidly shielded their vital points thanks to their deep spiritual energy cultivation.
Under ordinary circumstances, this wave of surprise attack would have been enough to wipe out an entire squad.
But the force of the attack was overwhelming, and given the violent clashes of elements, Qin Hongye’s Evil Desire Sovereign Fire was like a runaway horse, spitting flames everywhere, the rampaging fire causing strong tremors on all levels of consciousness, leaving everyone feeling dazed and disoriented, as though their souls were dancing out of their bodies.
What did I just want to do… oh no! What am I even thinking?!
Though everyone suffered no tangible harm, the intense shock left them nauseous, head-pounding, as if their very souls had taken quite the beating.
In helplessness, the crowd had to expend all their energy to suppress the ongoing disturbances of Evil Desire Sovereign Fire on their sea of consciousness. However, when they finally managed to open their eyes, they were met with five ferocious spirit pets barreling towards them!
Not only that, but the surrounding ancient trees were uprooting, as if springing to life!
Massive fists grew larger in their field of vision, every blow weighed down with the force of thousands, eventually smashing down upon their faces—feeling like their features were about to be squished in!
The giant treemen were attacking like mad, beating everyone to a pulp like a whack-a-mole game!
It was the Su Family’s secret art!
Su Xiaoxiao had been accumulating strength as she approached and now was finally revealing her trump card.
With a sudden strike to the ground, ancient and mysterious power surged from below, awakening dozens of towering treemen of a hundred meters height!
These treemen had stood on this earth for ages, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, now summoned by Su Xiaoxiao, each enormous, their punches could easily shatter solid rock, let alone the unprepared disciples.
In the battlefield, they were like colossal beasts, one punch per ‘child,’ one kick per ‘Karami,’ crushing their enemies without mercy.
Adding to that, Qing Luan’s five spirit pets crashed about, further disorienting the disciples who hadn’t yet recovered from Su Xiaoxiao’s treemen attack.
The treemen summoned by Su Xiaoxiao were so powerful that even the three prodigy disciples were knocked dizzy by a few hits.
After the uproar, Su Xiaoxiao quickly and accurately controlled the treemen, grouping them to focus on the prodigies and the top disciples, hard-controlling them while hammering away.
The damage might not be high, but they could hard control their opponents, leaving them unable to move a muscle.
The seven girls exerted all their efforts, pouring out their capabilities to suppress the opponents who outnumbered them six to seven times!
Their actions were too swift, so swift it felt outrageous, nearly exploding in an instant.
“Too fast! We can’t even react; could it be that these seven girls could eliminate everyone themselves?!”
In the viewing area, many spectators widened their eyes, holding their breath.
Seven girls managed to take down foes with sheer numbers.
Too insane! The chaotic battle was already dizzying enough, and now someone was trying to wipe everyone out in one go—simply a madman among madmen!
“Uh…”
However, just then, while controlling dozens of giant treemen amidst battle, Su Xiaoxiao suddenly felt a strong wave of discomfort wash over her.
Not good… She had summoned way too many treemen at once.
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t master the family’s secret arts skillfully enough, having clumsily summoned more treemen than her capabilities allowed, leading to overwhelming spiritual energy consumption, her body started to feel a bit wobbly.
Sure enough, she had overreached! Su Xiaoxiao regretted internally.
Originally, the plan set by Yun Zhonghe for her was to summon nine treemen to deal with the three most troublesome prodigy disciples; if she could suppress them for a moment, it would suffice. But fearing her own lack of strength might lead to failure, she rashly summoned many more treemen.
After all, among their numerous opponents, those three prodigy disciples were undeniably the priority; their strength was too formidable, so they had to ensure their elimination.
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t want her mistake to lead to Yun Zhonghe’s plan failing, which was why she summoned extra.
At this moment, she sensed her spiritual energy severely drained and her controlling of the treemen became sluggish.
In a moment of vulnerability, the three prodigy disciples keenly picked up on it.
The three of them, almost smothered by the treemen, felt a revival like a phoenix rising, surging spirits flooding out once more!
It’s over!
Watching this unfold, Su Xiaoxiao’s face turned pale, at a loss for what to do.
【Xiaoxiao, you did well, leave the rest to me!】
Just then, Su Xiaoxiao seemed to hear Yun Zhonghe’s voice, as if he had embraced her from behind, comforting her, a warm sensation enveloping her.
It was Yun Zhonghe’s spirit message; at this moment, the Xue Yunjian was ready to strike, and even the sword body seemed to undergo an earth-shattering transformation!
The sword body became more exquisite, now carrying an additional air of mystery and majesty. Light golden lines flowed along the blade, like ancient runes being awakened, shining with brilliant light.
The visibly thin clouds and smoke wound around the sword body, making the Xue Yunjian appear even more transcendent, as if it were a wisp of pure air from the heavens; once drawn, it could stir up a storm.
At this moment, the Xue Yunjian had temporarily leveled up into a mid-grade magical treasure after being infused with copious amounts of Yun Zhonghe’s sword qi!
【Ah~❤ My master’s love has filled me up! I feel so full, I might burst out~~~❤ (Peace sign, eyes rolling back)】
Still just as flamboyant as ever.
Yun Zhonghe ignored her, pouring all his strength into this strike!
Although it deviated slightly from the plan, Yun Zhonghe was determined to remedy Su Xiaoxiao’s blunder.
After all, he was their righteous partner, their unwavering support!
【Everyone, retreat quickly!】
Yun Zhonghe’s spirit message was rapidly sent to the seven girls. As soon as he finished, the Xue Yunjian swung towards the forest ahead, unleashing a white cloud dragon’s roar, an immense wave of sword qi gushing forth like a torrential flood, unstoppable!
Puff~~~~!!!
Whoosh——!!!
The sword qi surged like a torrent! Clouds churned! A fierce wind swept through everything around, kicking up dust and debris all about!
At that moment, it felt like the only thing left in the world was this raging sword qi, howling and rampaging.
The clouds and smoke streaming from the Xue Yunjian spread wide like a lake… oh no, more than that, the white cloud sea was broad as an abyssal ocean, swallowing everything in its path!
Spectacular to the point of making hearts race, the sword qi clouds released from the Xue Yunjian surged, so unstoppable it seemed even heaven and earth could not contain its momentum, vast and boundless, carrying destructive power as it swept over the entire forest in an instant.
The clouds and smoke expanded at an astonishing speed, the howling sound deafening, like a tempest blasting through, covering thousands of meters in an instant, and still expanding at incredible speed, as if it aimed to fill the entire space.
In the blink of an eye, it had completely devoured the whole dense forest!
Long-range strike! Ultra-wide area!
In that moment, it seemed the apocalypse had descended, the sword qi clouds blotting out the sky. Everywhere they passed, whether towering ancient trees or low shrubs, succumbed, splintering into fragments, swept away with ease—utter devastation!
At this moment, everyone within the forest felt their pupils constrict, horror flooding through them!
“Holy cr*p!!!!”
“What the hell is that?! What pressure…”
“Not good… ah!”
“Ugh! d*mn it… something’s getting into my body!”
“Ah! It’s inside!”
The three prodigy disciples gritted their teeth, utterly baffled by the mysteries of the clouds; the instant they were engulfed, their robes were instantly shredded, and bl**d spewed from every pore!
The sword qi was invincible! So finely woven it was indistinguishable to the n*ked eye, even spiritual perception couldn’t grasp it. It penetrated like gas, effortlessly slipping in through the slightest gaps.
But its sharpness remained unmatched, cutting through anything!
Even their protective treasures couldn’t withstand it, as the sword qi clouds would snake in through the gaps.
Although all these were scattered sword qi, taken on their own, each strand didn’t seem powerful, possibly less than a full-force hit from a foundation establishment cultivator.
But the crucial point is, it was omnipresent! Like an invisible ghost, it could silently infiltrate the human body, piercing the most resilient skin, slipping into tiny pores, weaving through intricate meridians until it struck deep into the viscera, directly targeting a cultivator’s most vulnerable life core!
This method of attack was practically impossible to defend against, for the sword qi was so small that the n*ked eye couldn’t perceive it, and spiritual senses struggled to capture it, completing its lethality in silence.
“Ah!”
“This sword qi… it can’t be defended against!”
“d*mn it!”
Many didn’t even understand what was happening before the secret realm’s elimination mechanism took effect, mercilessly exiling them from this space.
Even among the twelve top disciples, six were eliminated within just a second, caught off guard by this invisible sword qi, exiting in despair.
Then, two seconds later, three more top disciples followed suit, also getting eliminated!
In an instant, forty cultivators were tossed out, leaving only three prodigy disciples and three more prodigies still struggling to hold their ground!
Though they barely resisted the assault of the sword qi, it was clear their strength was almost spent. Had it not been for Su Xiaoxiao’s blunder, they likely would not have even made it this far.
Meanwhile, Yun Zhonghe’s sword qi clouds continued to pour forth.
Spouting! Shot after shot!
Flowing! Plethora on end!
Shooting! An endless stream!
At this moment, Mu Jixue and company, who had barely escaped the forest, gazed at the forest now completely overwhelmed and ravaged by sword qi clouds, revealing an expression of absolute awe.
The sword qi swirling like cloud dragons instilled a sense of reverence.
Even Mu Jixue couldn’t help but feel overshadowed by Yun Zhonghe’s prowess; his talent and abilities were undoubtedly unparalleled in the cultivation realm!
After all, he was also the one she cherished!
Naturally, he was the best and the strongest!
A sense of pride and joy surged within her heart.
…
“What kind of sword qi is this?!”
“What… what an exaggerated scale!”
“This is swordsmanship? Is this even possible?! Even high-grade spells don’t cover this much area!”
With Yun Zhonghe’s strike, every spectator in the viewing area was left astounded, many gasping with wide eyes, even some leaping from their seats.
Previously, when Yun Zhonghe combined six hundred enhancement spells, it left everyone dumbfounded, and now he pulled off another breathtaking display!
How many trump cards did this guy actually have?!
Everyone knew sword cultivators were typically known for their single-target explosive power, rarely mastering long-range or area-attacks. Even those few gifted sword cultivators capable of ranged or area attacks usually displayed relatively limited scale, unable to compare with spellcasters.
Yet, at this moment, the scope of Yun Zhonghe’s All-Encompassing was on par with high-grade spells!
This scene completely reshaped everyone’s understanding!
“So cool! Yun Zhonghe is so cool! Hu Chou, did you see that?” In the corner, Little Fox, Hu Shang, squealed excitedly, her eyes sparkling.
“What… what sword technique is this? I’ve never seen anything like it!” Even Miss Hu Chou was left dumbstruck, staring incredulously at the mist-wrapped forest in the water screen.
Turns out sword cultivators could play like this?!
“Great! Great! Awesome! Hahaha!”
On the main peak’s viewing platform, Master Qin stood up, excitement evident in his voice, pride bubbling within him as he even smashed the table beside him, completely disregarding his masterly image.
As expected of my son!
He was so thrilled; he never expected Yun Zhonghe would truly comprehend his All-Encompassing, signaling that Yun Zhonghe was on the verge of grasping sword intent, potentially becoming the next sword god!
Such accomplishment was more than enough to make the entire sect proud.
Moreover, the All-Encompassing that Yun Zhonghe understood was incredibly extraordinary, instantly eliminating forty enemies. This achievement got even Master Qin so invigorated, reminiscent of the bl**d-pumping feelings from his youth.
He was even so excited he wanted to jump down and compete with these young talents!
“Congratulations, Master Qin! Your disciple is a swordsmanship prodigy!”
The Wine Sword God, ever the supporter, grinned widely and offered his congratulations at the perfect moment.
Providing high emotional value~
Master Qin broke into a beaming smile; he felt thoroughly pleased, albeit with an inexplicable sensation of someone wanting to steal his possessions.
On the other side.
“Dear, dear, we have to secure this child! We need to bring him to the Xia family, make him one of us!”
“Our darling seems to like him; why don’t we do something direct, just tie him to our child’s bed, and voilà, a wonderful future is set!”
“Our darling has such a great figure, there’s no way any man could resist her!”
The Head of the Xia Family chattered away, saying some outrageous things that only Yun Yu Zhenren could hear.
“Ahahaha…” Master Yun Yu chuckled, tinged with bittersweet nostalgia.
Is this really okay? Linglong is my precious daughter; how could we send her off to someone else’s bed like this?
But then again, she couldn’t help but chuckle quietly, recalling that the Head of the Xia Family had done the same to win her over, and coaxed Yun Yu Zhenren into becoming a member of the Xia family.
Seems they plan to use their daughter to employ the same trick again.
