Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 520 Listening to the Sword's Whispers in the Flowing Waterfall and Secluded Pool, Nuwa Reflects Starlight at the Abyss (Seeking Donations and Subscriptions!)

The sacred realm of Nuwa is filled with spiritual energy, and the coming and going of cultivators creates a radiant glow that stretches across the sky.

The first round of the Immortal Pool Sword Competition has concluded, with a total of 135 cultivators remaining. Lu Cheng, Jin Shayu, and An Xiaoyue from the Taiqing Sect have all made it into the top 100.

Lu Chengjian defeated Xie Chenxiao, a genius from the Eastern Extreme Creation Heavenly Palace; Jinsha Yufenchen Dingli suppressed Shi Zheng, a rising star from the Wanyue Guiyuan Sect; and An Xiaoyue Quan broke Han Shuangzi's "Eternal Profound Ice Realm" from the Xuanpin Golden Immortal Sect. Their achievements were dazzling, earning much attention for the Taiqing Sect, which had been dormant for many years.

However, at the Immortal Pool Gathering, although the Nascent Soul cultivators possessed profound magical power, the fierce battles meant that their magical power could not be fully restored in a short time.

Therefore, the Nuwa Sacred Realm specially reserved a one-month rest period for all cultivators who had advanced in rank.

The Sacred Realm of Nuwa is vast enough to accommodate cultivators from various sects. It also provides an opportunity for high-ranking human cultivators to fully exchange ideas and discuss Daoist techniques; working in isolation is unwise.

Jin Shayu and An Xiaoyue had some free time, but their faces showed little joy; instead, they were mostly solemn and anxious.

Because the two of them had already witnessed Yuwen Zhuo of the Divine Firmament Heavenly Sect's attack that day—the scene where, within three exchanges, purple lightning streaked across the sky, severely injuring Mu Yanluo, the young master of Guiku Ridge in Beiman Mountain, with an almost overwhelming force—was too shocking to bear.
Under the overwhelming and unparalleled divine thunder of the Nine Heavens, the myriad fierce souls and vengeful spirits commanded by Mu Yanluo were as fragile as paper, instantly reduced to ashes.

The power of that lightning technique was beyond their understanding of Nascent Soul cultivators, almost reaching the level of Void Returning techniques! The two of them thought to themselves that if they were to face Yuwen Zhuo now, their chances of winning would be slim, and they probably wouldn't last more than ten moves.

The month-long rest was not for enjoyment, but to strive for a higher ranking, for myself, and even more so for the sect!

A month is too short a time, and it is unrealistic to expect one's cultivation to increase rapidly. The only way is to desperately make up for it with external things such as magic weapons, spirit beasts, and protective talismans.

Jin Shayu dragged An Xiaoyue along and plunged into the most famous markets in the Holy Realm: "Yunxu Wanlingwei", "Liushang Xianfang", "Wanzhenge", and "Tiangongge". Every day, they searched, bid, and traded.

However, it wasn't just the two of them who were anxious during this time. A large number of defeated cultivators withdrew from the Immortal Pool Sword Fighting Tournament, and a large number of magic treasures, talismans, and spirit beasts flooded into various markets. At the same time, a large number of cultivators from various sects and factions entered the major markets to purchase them.

Even if it meant exhausting their spirit stones or incurring debt, they were willing to do so—every round they advanced in the Immortal Pool Sword Battle broadened their future path and solidified their position within the sect. Jin Shayu and An Xiaoyue understood this principle, as did the other cultivators.

Within a short time, the various immortal markets were filled with dazzling light and swirling immortal energy. The figures of outstanding individuals from various sects moved among them, some whispering secrets, others shouting bids, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

In stark contrast to the hurried search of these people, Lu Cheng let go of all his burdens and enjoyed the rare tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle.

The beauty of Nuwa's Sacred Realm surpasses all other realms.

Lu Cheng disliked the glitz and clamor of the Immortal Market, preferring instead to explore the more secluded and tranquil places of the Sacred Realm.

Although they had offended the descendants of the five families of Li, Wang, Nangong, Jiang, and Yun, the younger generation of the five families were indeed severely warned by their patriarchs, and none of them dared to cause trouble.

The Immortal Pool Sword Duel is a grand event throughout the ages and the foundation of the five clans, so it cannot be lost. Compared to this, the minor squabbles between Tonglu City are nothing at all.

Lu Cheng strolled leisurely across the Sunset Rainbow Bridge. Below the bridge, the clouds and mist churned like a sea, refracting countless rays of light. The young Taoist walked along the Hanging Pearl Star River. What flowed at his feet was not river water, but a dazzling ribbon of light with floating stardust and silver sand, rich in spiritual energy.

Lu Cheng sat quietly deep in the ancient, towering Lingmu Forest, listening to the songs of hundreds of birds and appreciating the vibrant life of the plants.

More often than not, he would find a secluded valley where no one was around, either to gaze at the sea of ​​clouds from the cliff or to sit cross-legged on a solitary peak and breathe in the starlight.

The Taoist priest seemed to be cleansing his mind and spirit, or perhaps he was quietly listening to the silent Daoist rhythm emanating from this ancient sacred place itself.

The Xuanhuang Pagoda was hidden in his dantian. The purple and red gourds, after being carefully nurtured in the quiet room with extraterrestrial star marrow and earth lung flame crystal, gradually regained their spiritual light and were quietly placed in his sleeve. Although the Samadhi True Fire had consumed a great deal of energy, he was not in a hurry to recover it. The Xuanhuang Pagoda, together with the Five Elements Thunder Sword, was enough for him to reach a very high ranking. In the previous battle of the Thousand Caves Netherworld, most cultivators were distracted by the Samadhi True Fire of the Returning Void Realm. Before the arrival of the high-level cultivators, Lu Cheng had already put away the Xuanhuang Pagoda. He believed that not many people had discovered its secrets.

On this day, the sun set, melting gold, and twilight began to descend.

Lu Cheng followed a narrow path almost entirely hidden by vines and ancient trees, venturing deep into a rugged mountain range.

The spiritual energy here is far richer than elsewhere, and the faint sound of ten thousand horses galloping can be heard coming from the mountainside. After passing through a dense, impenetrable ancient forest, the view suddenly opens up before you.

A waterfall, like a white dragon, roared down from the sheer cliff.

The cliff seemed to have been cleaved by the axe of a god, smooth and steep. The water of the waterfall was not an ordinary mountain stream, but a condensed liquid of spiritual energy that shimmered with a faint light of life.

The waterfall, carrying an unstoppable force, crashed into a deep pool hundreds of feet in diameter below.

The pool water was dark and deep, with swirling eddies and rising mists. However, under the glow of the setting sun and the shimmering light, the mist rose up into a colorful rainbow, like a dream.

The roaring sound shook the valley and stirred up the echoing pines, yet strangely contained a kind of ethereal tranquility that could cleanse the depths of one's soul.

The pure water elemental energy of heaven and earth, vast and refined, rushed towards us.

Lu Cheng stood on a large, damp blue stone a little distance away from the waterfall, letting the splashing water droplets soak the sleeves of his Taoist robe.

This is no ordinary waterfall; it must be the location of a spiritual vein hub somewhere in the sacred realm.

Lu Cheng slowly closed his eyes, neither refining any magical artifacts nor using any supernatural powers, but simply immersing his mind in this magnificent natural wonder:

"Thunder is inherently a supremely yang and masculine element, but the thunder I cultivate is demonic thunder. If I could tame thunder into water..."

The torrent of immense power symbolizes ultimate strength, yet it also contains ultimate gentleness;

Those seemingly delicate water droplets, which shatter upon impact with the bluestone, can wear through the rock over thousands of years.

The pool is deep and dark, with hidden currents that can carry all things and capsize a thousand boats; the mist is ethereal and seemingly shapeless, yet it can take shape according to its surroundings... Yin and Yang flow, strength and gentleness complement each other, and the Great Dao is revealed between movement and stillness.

Some profound passages in the "Collection of the Origin and Evolution of Yin and Yang Qi" seem to subtly resonate with the sound of the waterfall and the reflection in the pool before our eyes, and the rhythm of heaven and earth.

Lu Cheng comprehended the true meaning of the "water" element among the five elements, experiencing the agility of the "soft water sword" within his own Five Elements Thunder Sword. It was as if the sword intent itself transformed into an invisible wisp of water vapor, merging into the vast water elemental energy, rising and falling with the waves, moving with the current.

In a daze, I don't know how much time has passed.

"Catch her!"

"You lowly servant, you stole the Yun family's ancestral jade, you deserve to die a thousand deaths!"

"The 'Starfall Waterfall' is just ahead, a dead end. Let's see where she can escape to!"

In fact, most of what could be understood at this moment has already been understood; what remains is something that Lu Cheng simply cannot comprehend.

However, suddenly, a sharp shout and several sharp sounds of air being torn apart ruthlessly shattered the tranquility of the waterfall pool area, which still displeased Daoist Lu Cheng.

Looking with his Fiery Eyes of Truth, he saw several streaks of light, each a different color and carrying a powerful spiritual pressure, shooting towards him from the direction of the dense forest from which Lu Cheng had come. They were menacing and carried an undisguised killing intent.

Lu Cheng frowned almost imperceptibly.

Just as those streaks of light were about to reach the edge of the waterfall cliff, a slender figure in blue, accompanied by a muffled groan of suppressed pain, suddenly plummeted diagonally from mid-air!

Clearly, he was at his last gasp; his clothes were torn at the back of his chest, revealing a deep, bone-revealing sword wound that emanated a ruthless aura.

The figure, dressed in a blue cloth robe, was in a sorry state. He was being swept along by the enormous impact and was about to crash into the sharp rock wall by the pool. Even if he didn't die, he would definitely be seriously injured and lose the ability to resist.

The pursuing beams of light arrived close behind, their speed increasing, revealing three figures:

A handsome young man in fine clothes, but with a furious expression on his face; an old man with a gloomy face; and a middle-aged guard with sinister eyes.

Judging from their clothing and the characteristics of their magical power, they belong to the Nangong and Wang families of the Nuwa Sacred Realm.

"Hmph, trying to escape on your own is courting death!" The young man from the Nangong clan, dressed in fine clothes, sneered, his five fingers spread wide, as if to grab her in mid-air. However, at that very moment, silently, a gentle yet overwhelming invisible force, like an invisible whirlpool surging beneath the water, skillfully supported the falling body of the woman in green.

The force was gentle as water, yet resilient and enduring, stabilizing her body and gently moving her aside to avoid a fatal collision. At the same time, it easily neutralized the grabbing force of the richly dressed young man, landing her steadily on a relatively flat bluestone not far from Lu Cheng.

"Pfft!" The moment the female cultivator in green landed, she could no longer suppress her anger and spat out a mouthful of scalding blood, which splashed onto the bluestone and the pool water. The blood was not bright red, but rather had a faint, almost imperceptible pale golden hue. It was instantly diluted by the spiritual energy rising from the pool water, but Lu Cheng noticed it keenly.

"A primordial deity, of the Nuwa clan bloodline?"

She struggled to her feet, her face deathly pale and stained with blood, but the fleeting glimpse of her features revealed an unusually refined and stubborn strength. As if sensing something, she turned sharply towards Lu Cheng with a mixture of fear and confusion.

At the same time, Lu Cheng remained standing on the bluestone, his body motionless, and even his clothes were only slightly fluttered by the wind.

However, the gentle and peaceful aura that he originally exuded, as if blending into nature, has quietly changed.

It was neither deliberately activated nor released with murderous intent.

But when he looked up at the three cultivators who were pursuing him, an indescribable aura naturally spread out.

The three cultivators from the five surnames who had been pursuing them all paused in surprise.

"hiss--"

"It's...it's him?"

"Lord Lu, what are you doing here?!"

The three streaks of light abruptly stopped in mid-air, revealing their true forms. Their faces no longer held any arrogance or ruthlessness, only deep apprehension.

Red lotus, white lotus root, green lotus leaf—the three religions were originally one family.

No matter how weak the Taiqing Sect becomes, it will always be one of the holy lands of the human race. It may weaken, but the Shangqing Sect and the Yuqing Sect will not allow the Taiqing Sect's lineage to be severed. When necessary, these three lineages can be regarded as one family.

At this moment, they were frozen in mid-air, dozens of feet away from Lu Cheng and the female cultivator in green, unable to advance or retreat, and cold sweat poured down their faces.

After the battle at the Thousand Caves Netherworld, the five elders have strictly forbidden provoking this fellow. Even if they want to regain face, they must do so on the Immortal Pool Sword Fighting Arena, leaving no room for criticism.

Given Lu Cheng's previous achievements and the instructions from the clan elders, the three cultivators from the five clans were momentarily at a loss.

"...Lord Lu...Lord Lu," the old man surnamed Wang, whose cultivation was higher, forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and forced out an extremely strained smile, bowing respectfully from afar as he said:
"The Nangong and Wang families are pursuing a runaway slave who stole a treasure, unaware that the Divine Lord is here in seclusion. There have been many clashes, and we hope for your understanding... This fiend is of great importance to our two families. Could you do us a favor and hand her over to us for disposal?" He adopted an extremely humble posture, and his words contained both pleading and probing, directly identifying the female cultivator in green as a runaway slave who stole a treasure.

The young cultivator from the Nangong family beside him hurriedly added, "Yes, Fellow Daoist Lu, this is a matter between our two families. This runaway slave is treacherous and cunning, and she is also poisonous. We must not let her defile this place."

Lu Cheng did not respond immediately. His gaze swept over the three faces and finally landed on the female cultivator in green robes who was still vomiting blood on the blue stone, struggling to get up, with despair and a hint of stubbornness in her eyes.

"If someone isn't even afraid of death, what would they easily steal?"

Lu Cheng immediately understood. The so-called "family matter" of the five families opposite him was just one side of the story. Stealing treasure? There was probably more to it than met the eye.

Under normal circumstances, out of respect for the Holy Land, most cultivators from the nine sects and thirty-six factions of the human race would choose to back down when facing cultivators from the Holy Land, provided that the other party had already yielded. Even Lu Cheng was no exception.

But at this moment, Lu Cheng slowly took a step forward. His voice, like cold jade in a deep pool, neither too loud nor too soft, clearly drowned out the roar of the waterfall, carrying an undeniable calm: "Get out."

Just one word, and the facade was torn off.

The old man surnamed Wang's expression suddenly changed, becoming unpredictable.

Are we just going to retreat like this? What will become of the reputation of the Nangong and Wang families? More importantly, if that female cultivator in green were to come into contact with Lu City… the consequences would be unpredictable!
A hint of ruthlessness finally overcame the fear.

The old man surnamed Wang's eyes gleamed with a dark light. He suddenly raised his withered hand, and a plume of pale green phosphorescent flame silently ignited. As the flame twisted, it transformed into a ferocious ghost claw. Runes flowed between the claw, exuding an eerie aura that could tear apart the soul, and it reached straight at Lu Cheng from afar.

At the same time, he shouted, "This person is something that both families must have. Divine Lord, don't meddle in other people's business!" He actually wanted to seize the opportunity to forcibly abduct the woman or force Lu Cheng to retreat.

"They don't know when to advance or retreat."

Faced with this vicious ghost claw, Lu Cheng was not surprised at all. The historical achievements of the Holy Land were beyond doubt, but the reputation of the human cultivators within the Holy Land had never been good.

Although the five surnames of Li, Wang, Nangong, Jiang, and Yun intermarried with the Nuwa clan, they could not obtain the bloodline of the innate gods, but the cultivation aptitude of the children of the five surnames was on average much higher than that of people from the outside world.

With this foundation, one can then cultivate less cruel demonic arts and evil techniques, making progress much faster and gaining far more benefits than others.

However, the orthodox Xuanmen sect is difficult to practice, but once mastered, its power and influence are incomparable to demonic arts and evil techniques.

Lu Cheng raised his right hand, without using the Five Elements Thunder Sword or the God-Slaying Stone, simply making a loose clench of his five fingers.

This grasp was swift as a startled swan, yet so slow that one could clearly see the trajectory of each finger joint bending.

The movements subtly conveyed a Daoist concept of "the abyss of weakness, encompassing all laws and assimilating all forces."

hum-

The invisible water-based spiritual energy in the air around the waterfall was suddenly activated.

Instead of transforming into a fierce attack, it became supple, viscous, and heavy. The pale green ghost claw, which had flown halfway through its flight, seemed to have crashed into an invisible, intangible yet infinitely powerful pool of water!
The runes on the claw shadow instantly dimmed, twisted and deformed, and their speed suddenly decreased by more than ten times. The originally fierce and tearing soul attack was dissolved, enveloped and dissolved layer by layer by that flexible and huge water element power. Like snowflakes thrown into hot soup, after struggling a few times, they quickly faded and dissipated in the viscous and soft "water domain". In the end, they completely disappeared without even a ripple.

"What?!" The old man surnamed Wang's eyes bulged out of their sockets. His Netherworld Soul-Chasing Claw, which he had been preparing for a long time, was so easily neutralized that even a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would not dare to directly confront its soul-invading power.

Although he already knew in his heart that the outstanding talents of the human race gathered in the Immortal Pool Sword Battle were different from ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators, and were almost the essence of their race, he still found it hard to accept this result.

How could I, after thousands of years of arduous cultivation, be so far inferior to the other party?
"Attack together and capture that vile maid!"

The young cultivator from the Nangong family still had some ideas, but he and the middle-aged cultivator had not yet cast any spells.

"Roar……!!!"

A dragon's roar, seemingly originating from the ancient past, seemed to resound simultaneously from the bottom of a deep pool and from the clouds above the heavens!

The entire Starfall Waterfall area seemed to tremble at this mighty dragon roar. No, this was not a true dragon roar, but a roar even more magnificent and profound than that of a true dragon... the might of the Water Sword!
The sound originated from the direction of Lu Cheng, but it also seemed like the awakening of the power accumulated by the waterfall itself over millions of years.

Suddenly, the massive waterfall of spiritual liquid, which crashed down from the sheer cliff and carried the brilliance of starlight, underwent a tremendous change!

The massive water dragon that was originally crashing down vertically, the waterfall that was powerful enough to crush mountains, was forced to change direction by the invisible will behind Lu Cheng!
It wasn't just a slight change; rather, it defied gravity and the laws of physics, resulting in a holistic, violent, and magnificent angular tilt!

The thunderous roar was like the Milky Way turning upside down, or the Milky Way breaking apart!
Endless streams of starlight and water, billions of tons of waterfall carrying terrifying kinetic energy and pure spiritual energy, transformed into a gigantic, towering water dragon at a forty-five-degree angle in the center of the cliff amidst a roar like a dragon's cry!

The sword swept fiercely towards Wang, Nangong, and the other two, who were already stunned by Lu Cheng's sword intent in mid-air!

Sword light transforms into rainbows, sword energy takes form. Heaven and earth, round and square, are overturned with a single swing.

With a single sword strike, Lu Cheng gathered and controlled all the water-based spiritual energy in this world, unleashing it with ease.

(End of this chapter)