241: Chapter 241 The Essence of Sword Intent

Ye Tian gestured for Hou Xiaojie and the Dragon Ape to stay quiet, then silently approached the corner and peered around.

In a small courtyard behind the corner, two corpses lay sprawled on the ground!

Judging by their clothing, they were two Loose Cultivators with cultivation bases around the first level of the True Martial Realm.

Their deaths were gruesome; their bodies were covered in fine sword scars, as if they had been subjected to torture.

In the center of the courtyard, three clumps of silver light hovered, constantly twisting and shifting!

A sharp Sword Intent emanated from that silver light!

“It's ‘sword intent essence’!”

Ye Tian's heart stirred.

This was an essence formed over long years from highly condensed, ownerless Sword Intent. To a Sword Cultivator, it was a supreme treasure; refining it could greatly enhance one's comprehension of the Sword Dao and the quality of one's Sword Qi!

However, around those three clumps of sword intent essence, the sword scars on the ground faintly formed an invisible sword formation.

Those two Loose Cultivators had clearly tried to forcibly take the sword intent essence, triggered the Restriction, and were instantly shredded!

“Senior Brother, there's treasure!”

Hou Xiaojie also saw the three silver lights, his eyes brightening, but seeing the corpses on the ground, he shrunk his neck back.

Ye Tian did not rashly step forward.

He carefully observed that invisible sword formation.

The operation of the sword formation blended into the surrounding environment and was extremely aggressive.

If he tried to force his way in, even he would have to put in some effort, and the commotion would be too large, easily attracting others.

He pondered for a moment and came up with a plan.

He had Hou Xiaojie and the Dragon Ape retreat a bit while he slowly activated his Five Elements Sword Body, releasing a sliver of his own Sword Intent to cautiously probe toward the sword formation.

His Sword Intent was upright and peaceful, yet carried the mystery of splitting light and shifting shadows, completely different from the violent Sword Intent within the formation.

At first, the sword formation trembled slightly, showing signs of being triggered.

But Ye Tian controlled his Sword Intent, not meeting it head-on, but instead searching for the gaps and patterns in the formation's energy flow, attempting to “communicate” with it.

This was an extremely delicate and dangerous process, requiring powerful Divine Sense and superb control over Sword Intent.

Ye Tian focused intently, his forehead slightly beaded with sweat.

Hou Xiaojie watched nervously, not daring to breathe loudly.

The Mini Dragon Ape also squatted quietly, its small eyes unblinking.

Time passed bit by bit.

Finally, under Ye Tian's constant attempts, the fluctuations of the invisible sword formation gradually grew calmer, and the repulsive force against his Sword Intent weakened.

He felt the timing was right; his Sword Intent suddenly shifted, wrapping around one of the clumps of sword intent essence and gently drawing it out!

“Swish!”

That silver orb of light obediently left the range of the sword formation and flew into Ye Tian's hand!

Ye Tian was overjoyed and continued the same process, safely extracting the other two clumps of sword intent essence as well.

The entire process was smooth, without triggering any counterattacks.

“Senior Brother! You're amazing!”

Hou Xiaojie ran over excitedly.

Ye Tian put away the three clumps of sword intent essence, his heart filled with joy.

The quality of this sword intent essence was extremely high, and it would be of great benefit to his cultivation of the Taiyi Light-Splitting Sword Art.

He glanced at the corpses on the ground and shook his head.

Greed harms people; without the corresponding strength and means, an Opportunity becomes a death warrant.

Just as he was about to head deeper, the chaos bead in his bosom suddenly sent another, even stronger throb, pointing toward a relatively well-preserved black great hall deeper within the “Suspended Sword Palace”!

That sense of summoning was several times stronger than before!

“What is... in there?”

Ye Tian's gaze sharpened as he looked in that direction.

The great hall was built from an unknown black stone, its style ancient and slightly different from the design of the other surrounding ruined palaces; it was likely the core of the entire Suspended Sword Palace.

The chaos bead's resonance made Ye Tian certain that there must be something extraordinary there.

“Let's go to that black great hall.”

Ye Tian said to Hou Xiaojie and the Mini Dragon Ape without hesitation.

“Senior Brother, it looks very dangerous over there...”

Hou Xiaojie looked at the solitary black giant hall in the distance, feeling somewhat uneasy.

The Mini Dragon Ape also tilted its head, an instinctive wariness in its golden eyes.

“Opportunities often coexist with risks. Follow me closely and act according to the situation.”

Ye Tian's voice was calm, but his gaze was firm.

He took the lead and walked toward the black great hall.

Seeing this, Hou Xiaojie could only suppress his unease and follow closely.

The Mini Dragon Ape also hopped along behind them.

The closer they got to the black great hall, the more dilapidated and deathly silent the surrounding scenery became.

Collapsed stone pillars and shattered statues were everywhere, and many places still bore traces of intense battle; some sword scars were several feet deep, which was a shocking sight.

The Sword Intent in the air also became more violent and chaotic, buffeting one's mind.

If not for Ye Tian's powerful Divine Sense, his mind would likely have been shaken long ago.

Along the way, they discovered several more corpses of people who had died recently. There were Loose Cultivators and Disciples of small Sects whose deaths were similar to the previous two, mostly killed by sharp Sword Qi or suddenly activated Restrictions.

Clearly, many people had already ventured into this area and paid a heavy price.

This also made Ye Tian more cautious; every step he took was exceptionally careful, his Divine Sense fully probing the surrounding energy fluctuations.

Suddenly, a burst of intense fighting and shouting came from behind some ruins ahead!

“Stop them! This ‘god-hiding iron’ was discovered by our Xuanjian Sect first!”

“Bullshit! Treasures in ruins belong to those destined for them! Why should they belong to you!”

“Courting death! Form the ‘Lesser Profound Light Sword Array’!”

Ye Tian's eyes narrowed, and he signaled Hou Xiaojie and the Dragon Ape to hide their presence as they quietly approached the source of the sound.

Passing through a collapsed palace wall, they saw a scene of chaos.

Seven or eight young people wearing uniform green sword robes with small sword emblems embroidered on their sleeves were forming a simple sword array, besieging four or five other Loose Cultivators in various attire.

Three or four people were already lying on the ground, their lives unknown.

Among the besieged Loose Cultivators, the leader was a large man wielding a saber. His cultivation was around the third level of the True Martial Realm, but he was currently covered in blood and struggling to cope.

At their feet lay several dark blue metal fragments shimmering with starlight, emitting pure Astral Power.

“It's ‘god-hiding iron’! A top-grade material for refining spirit swords!”

Ye Tian recognized those fragments.

It seemed the two sides were fighting to seize these Artifact Refining Materials.

The sword array formed by those green-robed Sword Cultivators was quite sophisticated; Sword Qi crisscrossed and echoed each other, driving the Loose Cultivators into a perilous situation.

The cultivation of these Sword Cultivators was mostly at the eighth or ninth level of the Ningyuan Realm, with only the leading youth having reached the first level of the True Martial Realm.

By virtue of the sword array, they completely suppressed the Loose Cultivators who had higher cultivation bases.

“It's people from the ‘Xuanjian Sect’!”

Hou Xiaojie whispered, his tone filled with disgust. “A Sect near Cangya County. Relying on a bit of sword array Legacy, they are usually arrogant and often bully Loose Cultivators.”

Ye Tian nodded; he had heard a bit about this Sect, and its reputation was indeed not great.

He didn't want to meddle in others' business and was preparing to bypass them.

In ruin treasure hunts, killing and fighting were inevitable; he was no savior.

However, just as he was about to turn away, that True Martial Realm youth from the Xuanjian Sect seemed to notice the movement here. He forced back the saber-wielding man with a sword strike, and his cold gaze swept over, meeting Ye Tian's eyes.

When the youth saw the three of them, especially sensing the weak aura of the “eighth level of the Ningyuan Realm” from Ye Tian and Hou Xiaojie's even more pathetic Ningyuan cultivation, a trace of disdain instantly flashed in his eyes.

He snorted coldly and called out loudly, “You lot over there! What are you looking at? The Xuanjian Sect is conducting business here. Unrelated people, get lost! Otherwise, don't blame our sword array for being heartless!”

His words were arrogant; he clearly treated Ye Tian and the others as small fry he could shout at at will.

The Xuanjian Sect Disciples beside him also cast mocking glances.

Hou Xiaojie's face turned red with anger, but just as he was about to talk back, Ye Tian stopped him with a look.

Ye Tian looked at the youth expressionlessly. Not wanting to cause unnecessary trouble, he simply said faintly, “Just passing through. Carry on.”

After saying that, he signaled Hou Xiaojie and the Dragon Ape, intending to bypass the edge of the battle.

His goal was the black great hall; he didn't want to waste time on these minor characters.