84: Chapter 83 The Master of the Prison Tower

Moonlight, like a silver gauze garment, scattered softly over this ancient city.

The city walls were draped in a layer of silver moonlight as Chen Zhiwen strolled along them.

A moment later, Chen Zhiwen's figure suddenly came to a halt, his gaze falling upon the wall surface below.

Where his gaze landed, hundreds of sword blades of various shapes were solemnly embedded in the wall, with only half of their blades and hilts exposed.

Chen Zhiwen's gaze swept across these blades, finally resting on a sword that was entirely jet-black.

As Chen Zhiwen looked at this nameless sword, the abnormal movement of the prison suppressing pagoda within his spiritual sea became increasingly intense.

After some thought, Chen Zhiwen rose and flew down from the wall, his body hovering before that jet-black sword.

Chen Zhiwen reached out his palm and grasped the hilt of the sword.

As the sword entered his hand, a cold sensation suddenly surged from his palm, before Chen Zhiwen could even react.

A bone-chilling Aura suddenly erupted from the sword, enveloping Chen Zhiwen.

The sword body was dark and lustrous, seemingly containing endless mysteries and power; when a wisp of flowing light shimmered across it, it was like a meteor streaking across the night sky, brief yet dazzling.

In that instant, Chen Zhiwen's consciousness suddenly blurred, as if drawn by a powerful force, and he was involuntarily pulled into the darkness.

This darkness was boundless, without a glimmer of light; Chen Zhiwen's consciousness drifted within it, as if having lost its direction. Time seemed to lose its meaning here; it felt like an instant, yet also like ten million years.

When he opened his eyes again, he found that the surrounding darkness had faded, replaced by an entirely unfamiliar environment.

Just as Chen Zhiwen was curiously looking around, the heavens and earth suddenly changed; dark clouds pressed down for ten thousand miles, a wild wind howled and swept through, and the atmosphere became extremely oppressive.

Chen Zhiwen was startled, and with a sudden feeling, he looked up toward the high sky.

He saw that high above in the sky, a figure stood beneath the firmament, holding a nine-story spiritual pagoda in their left hand, with brilliant rays of light bursting from each level of the tower.

When Chen Zhiwen saw this pagoda, his pupils constricted.

The spiritual pagoda in the hands of that person high in the sky was None other than the prison suppressing pagoda!

Looking again at the figure's right hand, they held a three-foot-three-inch long, jet-black, lustrous sword blade—it was exactly the sword from the wall of Ten Thousand Swords City.

"Indeed, I guessed correctly; the owner of this prison suppressing pagoda is not only a Body Cultivator who has reached Major Achievement, but also a Sword Cultivator!" Chen Zhiwen murmured in shock.

After a brief shock, Chen Zhiwen calmed his emotions and stared intently at the figure in the high sky.

As for where this place was, if Chen Zhiwen had not guessed wrong, this should be a scene caused by a trace of Sword Intent left behind in the sword by the owner of the prison suppressing pagoda when they used it during their lifetime.

When he touched the sword, it activated that trace of Sword Intent, pulling Chen Zhiwen's consciousness here.

High in the sky, the owner of the prison suppressing pagoda stood there, their figure appearing somewhat small against the vast sky.

However, when Chen Zhiwen looked closely, he discovered that although this middle-aged man looked plain and unremarkable, his entire body was permeated with a pressure that could not be ignored.

His face was as resolute as if carved, with distinct lines, revealing a cold and stern Aura. His eyes were deep and sharp, as if they could perceive the essence of all things in the world. Despite his plain appearance, the majesty of a superior being radiated from his every movement and expression, making it impossible for one to meet his gaze.

Just as Chen Zhiwen was staring at him, the man suddenly let out a roar, like a thunderous strike.

He swung his left hand violently, launching the prison suppressing pagoda in his hand like a cannonball.

The prison suppressing pagoda flew rapidly through the air, its speed as fast as lightning, making it almost impossible to capture its trajectory. However, the moment it spun rapidly, its size continuously expanded!

The prison suppressing pagoda was like an inflating balloon, rapidly growing larger until it finally transformed into a pagoda towering into the clouds.

This pagoda exuded a heavy Aura from its entire body, like a towering peak in the world, giving one a feeling that it could not be shaken.

Carrying supreme power, the prison suppressing pagoda, like a falling meteor, smashed straight toward the dark clouds above the man's head.

Those dark clouds were originally thick and oppressive, but under the impact of the pagoda, they were easily torn apart like thin paper.

Under the violent strike of the pagoda, a hole was punched through the ten thousand miles of dark clouds.

Seeing this, the man's eyes turned sharp, and his figure shot straight toward the dark clouds above. With a thrust of the jet-black sword in his hand, sharp Sword Qi surged forth in an instant.

Countless Sword Qi rippled out from the sword body; the howling Sword Qi filled the entire heaven and earth, and every inch of the air seemed to have turned into Sword Qi.

With the man at the center, the space within a hundred miles suddenly froze, then began to twist continuously, until it could no longer withstand this power and shattered completely, revealing cracks in the Void Realm that spanned the sky.

The man's expression was indifferent to this, his eyes fixed on the ten thousand miles of dark clouds above, becoming burning hot and filled with Battle Intent.

The man gripped the jet-black sword with both hands, his arm muscles taut, veins bulging.

He took a deep breath, then swung the sword violently, the blade carving a black arc in the air, its tip pointing straight upward.

In an instant, a powerful Sword Qi gushed out from the sword body, like surging waves, instantly sweeping across the entire space. This Sword Qi was like an enraged behemoth, roaring and howling, carrying endless might and power.

Following that, all the Sword Qi seemed to be guided by a mysterious force and began to churn. They intertwined and entangled, forming a violent whirlwind. The whirlwind grew larger and fiercer, finally condensing into invisible sharp swords.

These invisible sharp swords were like lightning, speeding toward the ten thousand miles of dark clouds at an astonishing speed. They left silver trails in the air, like meteors streaking across the night sky, brilliant and dazzling.

The dense mass of sharp swords was like a plague of locusts, rushing toward the clouds and covering the sky. Their sheer number and speed made it impossible for the naked eye to capture them; this grand scene left Chen Zhiwen unable to find any words to describe it.

Chen Zhiwen stood to the side, watching this scene with a face full of astonishment. His eyes were wide open, his mouth slightly agape, completely stunned by this earth-shattering sword strike from the man.

In his memory, those swordsmen he once regarded as peerless experts were, compared to this man, simply small fry and paled in comparison.

The power of the man's sword strike was so great that it seemed as if it would poke a huge hole in this sky. That invincible power made one shudder with fear.

Chen Zhiwen felt all of this as if he were there in person, and there was not a shred of doubt in his heart. The cultivation of this owner of the prison suppressing pagoda must have already surpassed the Grandmaster Realm, reaching an unimaginably high level!

But what puzzled Chen Zhiwen was, who exactly was this man fighting?

Or was the man simply showing off his skills here?

And just as this thought popped into Chen Zhiwen's mind, the scene that unfolded the next moment gave him the answer.

Above the firmament, the originally calm ten thousand miles of dark clouds suddenly seemed to sense some danger and began to churn violently. The dark clouds were stirred by an invisible giant hand, continuously gathering toward the center.

As the dark clouds continued to gather, under Chen Zhiwen's gaze, the ten thousand miles of dark clouds actually condensed into a figure!

This figure wore a dark robe, the sleeves fluttering in the wind, as if merged with the dark clouds.

Their facial features were extremely demonic, neither male nor female, making it difficult to distinguish their true gender. Three thousand strands of dark hair cascaded down to the waist like a waterfall, gently brushing against the black robe, adding a touch of mystery.

Facing the incoming attack, this person who looked neither male nor female revealed a wicked and charming sneer. They slowly reached out their hands and pressed down gently.

In an instant, that originally aggressive Sword Qi seemed to encounter a huge resistance, instantly freezing in the air, unable to move forward another inch. It was as if they had been hit by an immobilization spell, unable to move.

The person pinched the air, and with a crisp "bang," all the Sword Qi, like porcelain being crushed, instantly collapsed and scattered, turning into specks of starlight and dissipating in the air.

Seeing this, the owner of the prison suppressing pagoda's expression did not ripple in the slightest, and they summoned the prison suppressing pagoda back into their hand.

Holding the sword in one hand and the pagoda in the other, they rushed straight toward the high heavens, engaging in a fierce battle with that person once again.

The owner of the prison suppressing pagoda's Sword Dao was transcendent, and their physical strength was equally terrifying, yet all the attacks they unleashed seemed to pose no threat to that person at all.

There was not even a trace of Spiritual Qi fluctuation on that person, and they neutralized all of the prison suppressing pagoda owner's attacks with a mere flick of their hand.

Soon, the owner of the prison suppressing pagoda began to show signs of decline, sustaining several wounds on their body, and blood dripped down from the high heavens.

Chen Zhiwen watched the battle in the high heavens without blinking, his heart filled with curiosity about the opponent of the prison suppressing pagoda owner.

Just as Chen Zhiwen was constantly guessing the identity of this person, everything before his eyes suddenly began to blur.

Before Chen Zhiwen could react, he had already been pulled out of that vision, appearing in a dark space.

Just then, the air in front of Chen Zhiwen suddenly rippled like a stirred lake, and following that, a figure slowly emerged from these fluctuations.

The owner of this figure was None other than the owner of the prison suppressing pagoda.

Having just experienced an earth-shattering battle, the man's physical condition was miserable.

The prison suppressing pagoda and the jet-black sword that he had been tightly gripping were now nowhere to be found. His entire body was soaked in his own blood, and the scarlet color formed a stark contrast with his pale face, making one shudder.

Even more shocking was that the man's body was covered in hideous and terrifying wounds; these wounds were deep enough to see the bone, as if torn by some extremely fierce power.

Generally speaking, with the man having cultivated his Body Refining path to Major Achievement, his vitality should have been strong to a shocking degree, and ordinary wounds should be able to heal as before within the span of a breath.

However, at this moment, the wounds on his body strangely showed no signs of healing at all; instead, a layer of black substance was tightly attached to the surface of the wounds, continuously eroding his flesh, as if it were a curse that could not be dispelled.

Despite suffering such immense pain, the man still endured it; his Aura was as weak as a candle in the wind, likely to be extinguished at any moment.

Looking at the man's current state, even Chen Zhiwen could not help but gasp in shock.

"What is the origin of that person, to be able to wound the owner of the prison suppressing pagoda so severely!" Chen Zhiwen murmured in his heart.

The owner of the prison suppressing pagoda, not knowing what Chen Zhiwen was thinking, looked at Chen Zhiwen calmly with clear eyes.

A moment later, the owner of the prison suppressing pagoda stepped in front of Chen Zhiwen and slowly raised a finger, placing it on Chen Zhiwen's forehead.

In an instant, a unique Aura surged into Chen Zhiwen's body.

The man lowered his finger, looking at Chen Zhiwen with some gratification, a smile curling on the corner of his lips.

Chen Zhiwen was startled and was about to open his mouth to ask the man something, but his consciousness blurred again.

Chen Zhiwen could only watch helplessly as the distance between himself and the man continuously widened, until he could no longer see the other's figure.

In a trance, Chen Zhiwen's consciousness seemed to have experienced a long journey, finally slowly returning to reality. He blinked, discovering that he had returned to Ten Thousand Swords City, and was still gripping the hilt of the jet-black sword.

Chen Zhiwen was slightly stunned, looking at everything around him with some confusion, and it took a while for him to come back to his senses.

He steadied himself and focused his attention on the jet-black sword in his hand. This sword looked quite ancient, the body entirely jet-black, faintly emitting a mysterious Aura. Chen Zhiwen gently gripped the hilt, feeling its weight and texture, and an indescribable sense of intimacy welled up in his heart.

He hesitated for a moment, then slowly applied force with his palm, preparing to pull this sword out of the wall.

With a "clang," the sound of metal rubbing against stone rang out, and the jet-black sword was actually pulled out by Chen Zhiwen with ease!

The moment the sword body left the wall, a sharp, cold glint suddenly flashed from it, as if a power suppressed for a long time had finally been released. This cold glint was exceptionally powerful, making one unable to help but cast their eyes toward it.

At the same time, a powerful Sword Intent that had been dormant for many years also dissipated from the sword body, like a surging torrent, rapidly spreading in all directions. Wherever this Sword Intent passed, the air seemed to be torn apart, emitting a slight whistling sound.

On the city wall, when the nine hundred thousand-plus swords sensed this Sword Intent, their bodies suddenly vibrated violently, emitting crisp sword humming sounds. These sword hums intertwined, forming a grand and stirring symphony that resounded throughout Ten Thousand Swords City.

Ten Thousand Swords Resonance; this spectacular scene was breathtaking.

The swords in the hands of all the Sword Cultivators in the city vibrated uncontrollably, as if wanting to break free from their scabbards.

All the Sword Cultivators were alarmed by this sudden turn of events and walked out onto the streets, looking toward the city wall with expressions of astonishment.

Some powerful Sword Cultivators' eyes shone brightly, as if they had guessed something, and they all set off, flying toward the city wall.

When they arrived on the city wall and were searching for something, they discovered that there was no one on the wall...