161: Sword Sense

"Great Snow Mountain Sword Sect?"

"What a strange name."

Yun Qingsi had also recovered from the noisy illusory sounds, following Zhou Xiuyuan's gaze, and softly read out the seal script on the stone gate.

"It seems we've come to the right place."

"I've only seen fragments of ancient Sword Dao in some surviving texts."

"Speaking of which, Fellow Daoist Zhou should be the first Sword Cultivator I've ever met."

"Now, I can finally glimpse its mysteries..."

Shen Xuanzhao sighed slightly, standing shoulder to shoulder with Zhou Xiuyuan.

Hearing this, Zhou Xiuyuan's heart stirred. These two had extraordinary origins; they weren't Cultivators from Huichuan Prefecture. If even they hadn't seen other Sword Cultivators, did that mean there was no Legacy of Sword Cultivators in the outside world either?

"If that's truly the case, I'll have to properly thank Fellow Daoist Shen in the future."

Zhou Xiuyuan tightened his grip on the one heart sword, suppressing the slight doubts in his heart.

"Let's go, let's explore inside."

Shen Xuanzhao was full of interest, his expression slightly excited.

Zhou Xiuyuan and Yun Qingsi nodded.

The three of them remained vigilant, observing their surroundings, and walked unhurriedly towards the stone gate.

Upon reaching the stone gate, the three felt a slight relief; no unexpected dangers had occurred in between.

They meticulously searched the area around the stone gate but found no dangers.

Shen Xuanzhao put away the tortoise shell in his hand, took a step forward, and placed his hands on the stone gate.

"Om~"

The stone gate hummed softly, vibrating slightly.

Shen Xuanzhao's magical power surged, and judging by his Aura, he had already achieved a Breakthrough to the Eighth Level of Qi Refining.

"Open!"

Shen Xuanzhao pushed with all his might, his hair and robes fluttering, as he shouted loudly.

"Rumble~"

The stone gate's shaking intensified, and a sliver of light permeated from the gate's crack, but the entrance always seemed to be just a little bit short. No matter how Shen Xuanzhao's magical power surged, he couldn't completely open this entrance.

Seeing this, Yun Qingsi was about to step forward to help, when she saw Zhou Xiuyuan, not far beside her, suddenly draw the one heart sword from his hand and swing it towards Shen Xuanzhao.

"No!"

Yun Qingsi's mind reeled, and she cried out in alarm.

All her magical power surged into the magic mirror in front of her.

"Boom!"

A sword light disappeared into the crack of the opening stone gate, and the invisible restraint within the stone gate seemed to be broken by this sword light.

Shen Xuanzhao seized the opportunity, pushing with both hands, and the stone gate slowly opened. An endless white light emanated from behind the door, engulfing the three figures.

Seeing this, Yun Qingsi quickly stopped the fully activated magic mirror, her expression changing, realizing she had misunderstood Zhou Xiuyuan.

Just as she was about to apologize to Zhou Xiuyuan, the white light completely engulfed the three of them.

Yun Qingsi's mouth was slightly agape, her voice disappearing into the white light before it could even be uttered.

Enveloped by this white light, the three of them vanished from their original spot before they could react.

The stone gate closed again, returning to its original state, as if no one had ever been there.

"Where is this?"

The white light was too dazzling. Although Zhou Xiuyuan had made ample preparations, his reaction couldn't keep up with the speed of light.

By the time he came to his senses, he had already appeared here.

Zhou Xiuyuan forced his eyes open to look.

He seemed to be in the Void Realm, and neither Shen Xuanzhao nor Yun Qingsi were here.

There was nothing around him, no up or down, no left or right; even the distinctions of time and space seemed to no longer exist here.

Zhou Xiuyuan instinctively reached for the one heart sword at his waist, but grasped at air.

Zhou Xiuyuan's expression changed dramatically.

He examined his body.

The one heart sword and Storage Pouch that had been at his waist were all gone; only his clothes remained on his entire body.

He couldn't sense the magical power of the Qi Refining Level Seven on his body. Without magical power, he was just an ordinary person with a strong Physical Body.

"This...my magical power..."

"The Old Ancestor's scale is also gone..."

Zhou Xiuyuan felt uneasy, but he remained relatively calm.

He tentatively took a step. Although it seemed to be the Void Realm, he had the sensation of stepping on solid ground.

"Om~"

Just then, not far in front of Zhou Xiuyuan, a ripple suddenly emanated from the Void Realm.

Zhou Xiuyuan's heart tightened, he retracted his foot, and adopted a defensive stance.

Even without magical power and the sword in his hand, he wouldn't sit idly by and wait for death.

An illusory figure condensed from that ripple.

The illusory figure held two wooden swords. Looking at the wary Zhou Xiuyuan, it showed no expression or change in countenance. It tossed its left hand, throwing one of the wooden swords towards Zhou Xiuyuan.

Looking at the flying wooden sword, Zhou Xiuyuan gritted his teeth and grabbed the wooden sword in his hand.

A moment later, Zhou Xiuyuan let out a sigh of relief.

This was just an ordinary wooden sword, with no danger.

Holding the wooden sword in his hand, he performed a sword flourish, and his sense of security increased slightly.

Having a sword in hand and not having a sword in hand were two completely different feelings.

Seeing Zhou Xiuyuan catch the wooden sword.

The illusory figure stood, gripping the wooden sword in its hand, and thrust the sword straight forward.

"This is a basic sword technique, the thrust."

Zhou Xiuyuan easily recognized the illusory figure's movement.

At the same time, a passage of words appeared in Zhou Xiuyuan's mind:

"Practice the sword ten thousand times, and its essence will reveal itself."

The illusory figure retracted its sword and turned, then continued to thrust the sword forward, repeating this endlessly.

"Does it want me to thrust ten thousand swords, following this illusory figure?"

Zhou Xiuyuan's heart had some understanding.

He had mastered the basic sword techniques when he was young, laying a solid foundation.

Therefore, he was naturally not unfamiliar with them.

Zhou Xiuyuan raised the wooden sword in his hand and thrust it out horizontally, with power reaching the tip of the sword.

After completing one thrust, just as Zhou Xiuyuan was about to practice again.

The illusory figure suddenly changed, no longer thrusting horizontally.

"Chopping sword..."

Zhou Xiuyuan's heart stirred, and he also chopped downwards, with power reaching the body of the sword.

The illusory figure's movements changed again.

"Lifting sword..."

"..."

Zhou Xiuyuan followed the illusory figure, easily completing the basic sword techniques.

These were what he had always practiced, so they naturally didn't trouble him.

After completion.

The illusory figure stood still, pointed its left hand towards Zhou Xiuyuan, and a streak of light flashed, entering Zhou Xiuyuan's mind.

Zhou Xiuyuan saw the illusory figure's movement and was about to stop it, but he couldn't block it at all and could only let the streak of light hit him.

"Lesser Clear Wind Sword Art..."

The streak of light transformed into a mantra in his mind.

Zhou Xiuyuan focused his gaze; this was an introductory sword art.

After the illusory figure finished, the wooden sword in its hand danced lightly, performing the movements of this sword art.

Zhou Xiuyuan watched carefully, then the wooden sword in his hand danced lightly. A moment later, he had learned this Lesser Clear Wind Sword Art.

The illusory figure suddenly moved, its figure attacking towards Zhou Xiuyuan.

It was performing the sword moves of the Lesser Clear Wind Sword Art.

Zhou Xiuyuan's heart chilled, he swung his sword to block. Just as he was about to perform the sword techniques he usually practiced, a thought emerged.

"I'm afraid I can only use this Lesser Clear Wind Sword Art to deal with this illusory figure."

Zhou Xiuyuan's hand movements changed, and he met the illusory figure with the same sword art.

The two clashed, but after a moment, Zhou Xiuyuan found a weakness and defeated the illusory figure.

The illusory figure flew backward, and another streak of light flew out from its hand.

This time, Zhou Xiuyuan no longer resisted, letting the streak of light approach him.

"Lesser Flowing Light Sword Art..."

Zhou Xiuyuan, familiar with the routine, learned this sword art in less than a moment, performed it, and fought with the illusory figure.

One, five, thirty... The sword arts became increasingly difficult, even making Zhou Xiuyuan feel a bit strained.

As the two constantly clashed, Zhou Xiuyuan had long forgotten where he was or why he had come, completely immersed in the endless stream of sword arts.

In the Void Realm, only a figure could be seen sitting cross-legged, eyes closed in concentration, gently waving a wooden sword in his hand. After an unknown amount of time, the cross-legged figure opened his eyes, stood up, and attacked an illusory figure standing silently with a sword in the distance...