249: Chapter 249 The Sword Stele of Zhenyue

"Let's go."

Ye Tian stepped into the light gate, bringing along Hou Xiaojie and the Dragon Ape.

A flash of light occurred, and they appeared atop an even more expansive, giant stone platform!

This platform was located at the very center of the Hanging Sword Platform and was far taller and larger than the others; it was the Main Platform!

The ground of the Main Platform was paved with a white stone as warm and smooth as jade, covered in carved sword patterns.

Clouds and mist swirled around the edges of the platform, with a bottomless Void Realm below.

And at the center of the Main Platform stood a sword stele about thirty feet tall, its entire body a dark gold!

The sword stele was covered in dense ancient characters and sword-shaped patterns, emitting a terrifying Sword Intent that seemed to suppress the heavens!

Even a single glance from afar was enough to make one's soul tremble!

At this moment, there were already people on the Main Platform!

Jing Wutian, Sikong Changhe, Ye Yiyi, and Zhao Chenzhi emerged from the light gates in the other three directions almost simultaneously, appearing on the Main Platform!

It seemed they had all successfully passed the trials of their respective Auxiliary Platforms!

As the four appeared, their auras were more condensed than before, and their gazes were sharper; clearly, they had each gained something from the Auxiliary Platforms.

But when they saw Ye Tian appearing almost at the same time as them, looks of undisguised shock appeared on their faces!

Ye Tian had actually passed the trial this quickly?

Moreover, they could feel that the invisible pressure emanating from Ye Tian was a notch stronger than it had been before the Auxiliary Platform trial!

"Brother Ye, congratulations on passing the trial."

Jing Wutian was the first to speak, his tone complex.

He considered himself to have benefited greatly from the Auxiliary Platform, but facing Ye Tian, he felt that the gap between them had not narrowed.

"Congratulations to you as well," Ye Tian replied calmly.

Sikong Changhe smacked his lips. "Impressive!"

"My Auxiliary Platform was all head-on Sword Intent confrontations; it was a truly satisfying fight!"

"Ye Tian, how was it on your end?"

"I merely gained a few insights."

Ye Tian gave a faint smile.

Ye Yiyi's beautiful eyes flickered as she chuckled. "Brother Ye is too modest; it seems your gains were not small at all."

"It really makes this little sister quite curious."

Zhao Chenzhi remained silent.

Just then, the Main Platform vibrated again, and several other light gates lit up one after another.

Zhao Qing, the commander of the Governors Mansion, arrived on the Main Platform along with Zhao Mang and several others, as well as the three mysterious cloaked figures.

They looked somewhat disheveled, and Zhao Hegang even bore injuries; clearly, passing the Auxiliary Platform trial had not been easy.

The three cloaked figures were still shrouded in their robes, their expressions unreadable, but their auras were steady, seemingly unaffected.

As everyone gathered on the Main Platform, their gazes were involuntarily drawn to the dark gold sword stele in the center, which radiated a vast Sword Intent!

On the sword stele, the ancient characters seemed to sense their arrival and began to glow. A wave of information flooded into everyone's minds: "To ascend this platform is to have the initial formation of a Sword Heart."

"This is the 'zhenyue sword stele,' containing the Ancient Sword Manor's 'General Outline of Basic Sword Dao' and the Legacy imprints of the 'Nine Forms of the Zhenyue Sword Art'."

"By meditating on the sword stele, one can obtain the essence of the General Outline. Those with high Comprehension Ability may have the Opportunity to glimpse one form of the Zhenyue Sword Art."

"The time limit for sword meditation is three days."

"Once the time limit expires, the sword stele will close, and the gateway to the 'Sword Pavilion' will appear."

As the information poured in, everyone was shaken, and then a fervent light erupted in their eyes!

The Ancient Sword Manor's General Outline of Basic Sword Dao!

And a powerful sword art Legacy!

This was the true Opportunity of the Hanging Sword Platform!

Without any hesitation, everyone immediately sat cross-legged, sinking their minds into the massive zhenyue sword stele to begin their full-scale meditation!

Ye Tian also took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart. He found a spot near the sword stele and sat down, slowly extending his Divine Sense toward it.

In an instant, he saw a vast and boundless ocean of the Sword Dao!

Countless fundamental and essential principles of the Sword Dao shone like stars!

Chop, stab, point, collapse, lift, hang, cloud, smear...

The most basic sword forms were explained to the extreme, giving rise to infinite variations!

The value of this "General Outline of Basic Sword Dao" was not even inferior to a profound sword art!

It would cause one's understanding of the Sword Dao to undergo a qualitative leap!

Ye Tian hungrily absorbed this knowledge, cross-referencing it with his own Taiyi Light-Splitting Sword Art. Many points that had been blurry in the past suddenly became clear.

His Sword Dao Foundation was changing at an astonishing speed!

At the same time, he also sensed the imprints of the nine forms of the "Zhenyue Sword Art" deep within the sword stele!

Each form contained immense power, but meditating on them was extremely difficult!

Time passed quietly as everyone was lost in their meditation.

Atop the Main Platform, Sword Qi flickered, and Dao Rhymes flowed.

Ye Tian's Divine Sense frantically absorbed the "General Outline of Basic Sword Dao" flowing from the sword stele.

This general outline was all-encompassing, progressing step-by-step from the most basic sword-holding postures and power-delivery techniques to the transition of sword stances, the condensation of Sword Intent, and finally to the supreme Realms of sword-heart unity and heart-intent unity, explaining the most essential laws of the Sword Dao.

"So that's how it is... the key to the variation in this form lies in the subtle twitch of the wrist, and the true essence should circulate through the Meridians like this..."

"To think there's such an exquisite technique..."

While digesting the basic general outline, Ye Tian also split off a thread of his mind to try and touch the imprints of the nine forms of the "Zhenyue Sword Art" deep within the sword stele.

Boom!

As soon as his consciousness touched the first imprint, a terrifying Sword Intent that could suppress mountains and rivers surged toward him!

This Sword Intent was completely different from the light and agile sword path Ye Tian had previously practiced; it followed a fierce and forceful path where one strength could overcome ten skills!

If it were an ordinary Sword Cultivator, suddenly coming into contact with such a vastly different Sword Intent would inevitably lead to a shaken soul.

But Ye Tian had long since comprehended Martial Dao Will and practiced the Illusory Sea Heart Sutra, making his mind incredibly firm. He did not confront it forcefully but instead used the principles of variation from the Taiyi Light-Splitting Sword Art to understand the operation of this "Zhenyue" power.

"A heavy sword has no edge; great skill lies in simplicity..."

"This Zhenyue Sword Intent pursues the absolute condensation of 'power' and 'momentum'..."

"Though different from my Martial Dao Will, there are commonalities."

"My 'power' lies in control, while the 'power' of Zhenyue lies in suppression..."

He did not attempt to learn this sword form immediately but instead drew upon its Concept to nourish his own.

He felt his understanding of "power" gain another dimension, and a path of combining hardness and softness began to take shape.

After an unknown amount of time, he had understood thirty to forty percent of the first imprint's Concept. Though he couldn't perform it, its essence was etched into his heart, potentially to be integrated into his own Sword Dao in the future.

Time passed silently.

On the Main Platform, everyone's performance varied.

Jing Wutian was surrounded by Sword Gangs, his presence becoming increasingly sharp and pure. Clearly, he had benefited greatly from the basic general outline, refining his own Sword Dao more clearly.

His brow was slightly furrowed, as if he were trying to break through a certain form of the Zhenyue Sword Art, but his progress seemed slow.

Sikong Changhe's Battle Intent was boiling, and he occasionally swung his arms, creating sharp gusts of wind. His fierce path partially aligned with the Zhenyue Sword Art, leading to significant gains, but he seemed to lack the patience for deep meditation on the path of variation.

Poisonous mist flickered around Ye Yiyi, her aura becoming even more eerie and unpredictable. She seemed more focused on the "deceptive" and "illusory" parts of the Sword Dao general outline to enhance her poison technique variations.

Zhao Chenzhi's Sword Intent was bone-chillingly cold, and he was the most focused in his meditation, but the ferocity of the Zhenyue Sword Art seemed to conflict with his stern sword path, leading to slow progress.

Zhao Qing and the others from the Governors Mansion were also meditating with all their might, their auras growing.

The three cloaked figures remained the most mysterious, their auras steady, making it impossible to gauge their depth.

Hou Xiaojie and the Mini Dragon Ape couldn't help, so they could only stand guard nervously by Ye Tian's side, watching the surroundings.

About a day had passed.

Suddenly, Jing Wutian's body shook slightly, and his surrounding Sword Intent retracted before becoming even more condensed. He slowly opened his eyes, a flash of joy appearing in them as he whispered, "I've finally mastered the basic general outline; my Sword Heart has progressed further."

"I've also glimpsed the basics of the first form of the Zhenyue Sword Art."

His gaze swept over the others and saw that Ye Tian was still immersed, his surrounding Sword Qi flowing smoothly and seemingly resonating with the sword stele. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly again: "Brother Ye's Comprehension Ability is truly terrifying."

Another half-day passed, and Sikong Changhe suddenly snapped his eyes open, laughing heartily. "Satisfying!"

"This Zhenyue Sword Intent is indeed overbearing!"

"Although I've only touched upon the surface, it's of great benefit to my spear techniques!"

His aura had thickened considerably.

Soon after, Ye Yiyi, Zhao Chenzhi, Zhao Qing, and the others also woke up from their deep meditation one after another. They each had their gains, but their gazes toward the sword stele remained fervent; clearly, the three-day limit wasn't up yet, and they wanted to continue.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!