252: Chapter 252 The Gate of Preaching

The moment his palm touched the light gate, a suction force pulled him in. After a flash of white light and a slight sense of vertigo from the shifting space-time, he found himself in a completely new environment.

There were no flashing blades as he had anticipated, nor were there any treacherous mental attacks.

What met his eyes was a vast and boundless starry sky.

Beneath his feet was a void ground as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the stars across the heavens.

Within this starry sky, countless points of light shimmered with various colors. Upon closer inspection, each point of light was a spectral projection of a light sword, each with a different form and aura!

Some were as scorching as the sun, some as icy as the moon, some as heavy as a mountain, some as light as the wind, and some as treacherous as shadows...

There were thousands upon thousands, too many to count!

Every spectral light sword represented a type of Sword Intent, a Concept of the Sword Dao!

They hovered silently, emitting fluctuations of the Sword Dao—some strong, some weak—together forming this "Starry Sky of Sword Intent"!

"Is this the world behind the Gate of 'Dao-Imparting'?"

Hou Xiaojie looked around curiously, shaken by this magnificent and miraculous sight.

The Mini Dragon Ape also tilted its small head, its golden eyes reflecting the specks of sword light.

Ye Tian felt the vast aura of the Sword Dao in the air, and a realization dawned in his heart.

This place was not a field for actual combat, but a Legacy space. It tested one's understanding and perception of the Sword Dao!

Just then, at the center of the starry sky, the brightest point of light suddenly expanded, transforming into a humanoid silhouette composed of a blurry halo.

The silhouette's face could not be seen, but it emitted a profound wave of intent that swept over Ye Tian and the other two.

"Latecomer, welcome to the 'Heaven of Ten Thousand Swords Derived Dao'."

An aged voice rang out directly within Ye Tian's mind. "This place contains the imprints of ten thousand Sword Daos collected by the Ancient Sword Manor.

You must use your own Sword Heart as a guide to communicate with the Sword Intent, understand its principles, and realize its Dao.

If you can trigger the resonance of a hundred Sword Intents, you shall obtain the Introductory Legacy.

Trigger a thousand, and you shall obtain the Core Legacy.

If you can trigger the Ten Thousand Swords Worshiping the Ancestor... you shall obtain a clue to our Manor's Supreme Sword Scripture."

"The Legacy trial begins now. The time limit is three days."

The voice dissipated, and the halo-formed humanoid faded away with it.

"Trigger the resonance of Sword Intent?"

Ye Tian's gaze swept over the spectral light swords filling the sky.

This trial could be said to be extremely difficult, as it required a profound understanding of various Sword Daos to trigger a resonance.

Yet it could also be said to be easy; if one's Sword Dao Foundation was solid enough and their inclusiveness strong enough, they might achieve twice the result with half the effort.

He did not rush to try. Instead, he sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and immersed his mind into the gains he had just made before the zhenyue sword stele.

The essence of the General Outline of Basic Sword Dao, his insights into the Taiyi Light-Splitting Sword Art, his initial understanding of the 'Mountain-Suppressing' Concept, and the trace of ancient Sword Dao Origin aura transmitted by the partially refined ancient sword pill flowed through his heart.

He needed to organize himself first and clarify where his 'Sword Heart' lay.

Time passed bit by bit.

The aura around Ye Tian became increasingly harmonious, and his understanding of the Sword Dao grew clearer.

The core of his Sword Heart lay in the 'splitting light into shadows, changing at will' of the Taiyi Light-Splitting Sword Art. Now, it had integrated the 'condensed momentum and heavy weight, suppressing ten parts with one strength' of the 'Mountain-Suppressing' Concept, further bolstered by the high-level perspective brought by the sword pill's Origin.

His Sword Dao was evolving toward a direction that embraced all rivers while remaining unique.

"I can begin now."

Ye Tian opened his eyes, a divine light shining brilliantly within them.

He held his fingers like a sword and slowly pointed toward the void.

He did not execute any specific sword move; he simply transformed his current Sword Dao insights into a wisp of Sword Intent and let it spread outward.

This wisp of Sword Intent first touched a crimson spectral light sword that emitted a scorching aura.

"Buzz..."

The crimson light sword trembled slightly as if it felt something, but it soon settled back into silence.

With a thought from Ye Tian, the parts of his Sword Intent belonging to 'fierceness' and 'explosiveness' echoed with it, while he used his understanding of 'Light-Splitting' to comprehend its 'blazing' diffusivity.

A few breaths later, the crimson light sword let out a soft cry, its light brightening several degrees as it resonated with Ye Tian's Sword Intent!

The first one was a success!

Ye Tian felt a slight joy; this method was feasible!

He steadied his mind, and his Sword Intent continued to spread, reaching toward even more spectral light swords.

An icy blue light sword contained the intent of 'extreme cold' and 'freezing'.

Ye Tian observed the 'stillness' and 'congealment' of its energy flow, using the high perspective of the sword pill's Origin to understand the essence of 'low temperature,' and soon triggered a resonance!

An earthy yellow light sword was heavy and steady.

Ye Tian's newly comprehended 'Mountain-Suppressing' Concept flowed naturally, triggering it easily!

A pale green light sword was light and swift.

The Taiyi Light-Splitting Sword Art was already adept at speed variations; with a little guidance, the resonance formed on its own!

...

Initially, the speed at which Ye Tian triggered resonances was not considered fast. He needed to carefully perceive the characteristics of each Sword Intent and then use his own Sword Heart to match them.

But as time went on, his understanding of various Sword Intents grew faster and faster, and the inclusiveness of his own Sword Heart became stronger.

His Sword Intent became a massive furnace, constantly absorbing and digesting the external Sword Dao essences, making them a part of his own accumulation.

Ten, fifty, a hundred...

When he triggered the hundredth Sword Intent resonance, a flash of light appeared at the center of the starry sky, and a white Jade Slip emitting Dao charm appeared out of thin air, hovering before Ye Tian.

The Introductory Legacy: "Falling Cloud Sword Step," a High Grade Profound Rank movement sword technique.

Ye Tian glanced at it but did not take it immediately.

His goal was far beyond this.

He continued to immerse himself in the comprehension of the ten thousand Sword Intents.

Two hundred, five hundred...

The more Sword Intents he triggered, the more the subsequent difficulty seemed to increase.

Some niche and treacherous Sword Intents, such as Poison Sword, Illusion Sword, and Curse Sword, required him to expend more mental effort to understand.

But Ye Tian remained calm and unhurried. The Illusory Sea Heart Sutra ensured his mind did not tire, his Martial Dao Will allowed him to always grasp the essence, and the sword pill's Origin provided a high-level perspective.

His Sword Dao accumulation grew at an astonishing speed.

When he triggered the eight-hundredth Sword Intent, Jing Wutian, Ye Yiyi, and Zhao Chengzhi, after a period of recovery, entered the Gate of 'Heart-Questioning' once more.

Meanwhile, the three cloaked figures, seemingly unwilling to give up on the Gate of 'Edge-Sharpening,' also tried to enter again.

By the time he triggered the nine hundred and fiftieth Sword Intent, Ye Tian felt as if his Sword Heart had undergone a complete baptism, becoming even more transparent.

His understanding of the Taiyi Light-Splitting Sword Art was faintly touching the edge of breaking through to a higher level!

Although his cultivation was still at the True Martial Sixth Stage Middle Stage, his combat power had undoubtedly risen by another notch!

"Only fifty more to go to obtain the Core Legacy!"

Ye Tian felt invigorated and was about to finish it in one go.

Suddenly, he sensed a burst of violent energy fluctuations and cries of alarm coming from not far away!

It was from Hou Xiaojie and the Mini Dragon Ape's side!

It appeared that Hou Xiaojie had tried to imitate Ye Tian by attempting to trigger a relatively gentle-looking green light sword. However, his cultivation was too low and his understanding of the Sword Dao insufficient; instead of triggering a resonance, he provoked the light sword's automatic counterattack!

A sharp green Sword Qi shot toward Hou Xiaojie!

"Watch out!"

Ye Tian's expression changed, and he was about to intervene.

"Roar!"

The Mini Dragon Ape perched on Hou Xiaojie's shoulder suddenly let out a low roar. It opened its small mouth and spat out a small tuft of pale white flame, which collided with the green Sword Qi!

"Sizzle."

The green Sword Qi and the pale white flame were annihilated simultaneously, erased from their very source by some kind of power!

Hou Xiaojie was so frightened his face turned pale, and he plopped down onto the ground.

The Mini Dragon Ape smugly wagged its tail and gave two "wo-wo" cries toward Ye Tian, as if showing off.

Ye Tian breathed a sigh of relief, but a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes.

The Dragon Ape's pale white flame seemed to have a special restraining effect on energy bodies, especially Sword Intent energy!

This little fellow's Origin power seemed to be manifesting in a different form after its memory loss.

This small interlude did not distract Ye Tian for long.

He focused his mind and continued to trigger the Sword Intents.

Nine hundred and eighty... nine hundred and ninety... nine hundred and ninety-nine!

The instant the thousandth Sword Intent resonated!

Boom!