400: Chapter 400 Sword God Platform

Gao Feng did not follow immediately.

He stood at the hall entrance, watching Su Ning's back—she walked slowly, but her steps were steady.

Behind him, his teammates walked past him one by one. Lin Yue grinned at him, a smile that was a bit weary but very genuine; Tian Xin kept her head down, her fingers still pinching that Sword Heart Talisman; Luo Li held her flowing sound zither, gently blowing the dust off it; Chu Lan ran out skipping and jumping, turning back to wave at him; Yao Guang leaned on Tian Xin's arm, whispering something; Lin Jingyu unsheathed his sword, using the twilight to check the blade for any damage; Situ Lan rested the azure phoenix sword across her knees, sitting on the stone steps outside the hall, gazing at the distant sea of clouds, lost in thought.

Everyone was alive; everyone was still there.

Gao Feng stepped over the threshold, the last one to leave the Sword Soul Hall.

Elder Li was waiting outside the hall. Seeing them emerge unscathed, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes. He flipped open a register and wrote a few lines on the page for the Sword Soul Hall. After finishing, he closed the register and looked at Gao Feng: "The eighth trial, you have passed."

He paused, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately only said: "The ninth trial, the Sword God Platform. Tomorrow morning, I will come to get you."

After speaking, he turned and left. In the twilight, his back was somewhat hunched, as if he had suddenly aged ten years.

The group stood on the stone steps outside the Sword Soul Hall, watching the distant sea of clouds dyed a golden red by the setting sun.

“Tomorrow is the final trial.” Chu Lan supported her chin with both hands. “Once we pass this, the Heavenly Sword Sect's secret techniques will be ours.”

“We haven't passed yet.” Lin Yue leaned against the stone railing, his gaze fixed on the faint outline of a stone platform higher up on the main peak.

Situ Lan sat quietly on the stone steps, holding the azure phoenix sword, her expression calm. Looking at the outline of the stone platform in the distance, she suddenly spoke in a very soft voice, as if talking to herself: “Grandmaster said that the Aurora Sword Art was never meant to be an unorthodox branch.”

The twilight deepened as the group headed toward the guest house. The night wind of the Heavenly Sword Sect was very cool, carrying the bitter fragrance of pine needles.

The outline of the stone platform at the top of the main peak grew increasingly blurred, almost swallowed by the night. But tomorrow, at dawn, they would stand upon it.

The entrance to the ninth trial was at the highest point of the Heavenly Sword Sect's main peak—the Sword God Platform.

It was a circular stone platform suspended above the sea of clouds, about a hundred zhang in diameter, paved entirely with a dark green stone that was as smooth as a mirror.

In the very center of the stone platform was embedded a giant stone sword, its tip pointing to the sky and its body covered in dense runes. That was the Formation eye of the Sword God Platform—the place where the 'Heaven's Punishment' Sword Intent of an ancient Sword Cultivator was condensed.

Elder Li stood at the edge of the Sword God Platform, his register flipped to the final page. He closed the book and, without looking at them, simply said: “The ninth trial, the Sword God Platform. The rules are simple—the Sword Intent on the platform must be triggered. Once triggered, the phantom of the ninth-grade sword 'Heaven's Punishment' will manifest. Resonance with Heaven's Punishment signifies passing the trial.”

He paused, then slowly added: “Triggering the Sword Intent does not depend on cultivation or talent, but only on willpower. For those with weak willpower, standing here forever would be useless.” Having said that, he stepped aside to clear the path. His gaze lingered on them for a moment; his lips moved as if to speak, but he swallowed his words.

Gao Feng did not hesitate and was the first to step onto the Sword God Platform.

The moment he stepped onto the stone platform, he felt an invisible force surge from beneath his feet, like ten thousand fine needles piercing his Meridians simultaneously. It wasn't Sword Qi, but a suppression of spiritual power—a Formation had been set up on the platform.

The Spirit Sealing Formation.

The rotation of his Golden Core became sluggish, and his spiritual power was suppressed by more than half. It felt like wading through a swamp, where every step required double the effort. He quickly estimated in his heart that with his current cultivation at the Middle Stage of the third level of the Golden Core Realm, his combat power under this Formation was only equivalent to the eighth level of Foundation Establishment.

He didn't look back, only saying in a deep voice: “There's a Formation on the platform, it seals spiritual power.”

The others below the platform looked solemn. Lin Jingyu was the first to react; he sat cross-legged, placed his long sword across his knees, closed his eyes to concentrate, and used his own Sword Intent to resonate with Gao Feng on the platform. Invisible Sword Intent rose from him like a silver thread, connecting to Gao Feng.

Situ Lan followed immediately; the azure phoenix sword left its sheath by half an inch, and a silver-blue sword light peeked through the gap, intertwining with Lin Jingyu's Sword Intent. The two used their Sword Intent to construct an aerial bridge for Gao Feng, attempting to share the pressure of the Sword Intent on the Sword God Platform for him.

Tian Xin took a stack of 'Seal-Breaking Talismans' from her sleeve. The Talismans burned in her palm, turning into wisps of green smoke that drifted toward the runes of the Sword God Platform. When the smoke landed on the runes, it sounded like acid corroding metal, making a sizzling noise. The suppression effect of the Spirit Sealing Formation loosened slightly.

Su Ning formed hand seals, and her Space Power transformed into countless invisible blades, precisely cutting several key nodes of the Spirit Sealing Formation. The moment those nodes were severed, the suppression force on the platform decreased by ten percent.

Luo Li sat cross-legged with the flowing sound zither across her knees. Her fingers plucked the strings, and the melody of the Star Battle Song resounded across the Sword God Platform. Golden sound waves gathered Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan's Sword Intent, Tian Xin's seal-breaking power, and Su Ning's Space Cutting into an invisible torrent that poured into Gao Feng's body.

Below the platform, Chu Lan conjured several 'Power-Gathering Vines.' The vines climbed through the cracks in the stone platform to Gao Feng's ankles, transmitting everyone's spiritual power to him through the spiritual plants. Yao Guang stood beside Chu Lan, green healing light condensing in her palm, ready to heal Gao Feng on the platform at any moment. Lin Yue stood on the outermost edge of the team, forming hand seals to protect the entire Sword God Platform with the Rock Demon Prison-Suppressing Array to prevent anyone from taking advantage of their vulnerability.

Everyone was sharing the pressure for Gao Feng in their own way.

Gao Feng took a deep breath, held the vajra sword upright in front of him, gripped the hilt with both hands, and closed his eyes. He probed his Sword Intent into the giant stone sword on the platform, trying to resonate with it.

The stone sword did not react.

It wasn't a rejection, but rather that it couldn't hear him. The Spirit Sealing Formation was like a thick barrier, isolating his Sword Intent. His Sword Intent struck the barrier like a drop of water falling into the ocean, unable to stir even a single ripple.

He did not give up, condensing all his Sword Intent into a single line and striking the barrier repeatedly. Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan's Sword Intent merged in from both sides, Tian Xin's Seal-Breaking Talismans tore tiny cracks in the barrier, and Su Ning's Space Cutting reached deep through the cracks to destroy the Formation's core.

An hour passed, and the stone sword trembled slightly.

But the tremor was too weak and vanished in an instant. A trace of blood seeped from the corner of Gao Feng's mouth—Sword Intent backlash. Yao Guang immediately channeled healing power into his body, repairing his Meridians damaged by the backlash.

“Continue.” Gao Feng's voice wasn't loud, but it was steady.

Lin Jingyu increased the output of his Sword Intent, Situ Lan pushed her Aurora Sword Art to the limit, Tian Xin's Seal-Breaking Talismans burned one after another, Su Ning's Space Cutting never ceased, and Chu Lan's Power-Gathering Vines continuously funneled everyone's strength over.

Another hour passed.

The trembling of the stone sword became more obvious, and the runes on its body began to light up one by one. Under their combined efforts, the suppression of the Spirit Sealing Formation was weakened to the limit, and the barrier was teetering, ready to shatter at any moment.

Just then, footsteps came from the edge of the stone platform. Someone was coming, and not just one person.

Elder Zhao.

An outer sect Elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect, at the seventh level of the Golden Core Realm, with a gloomy expression. He stood with his hands behind his back on the viewing platform below the Sword God Platform, followed by dozens of Heavenly Sword Sect Disciples. His gaze fell upon Gao Feng, and the look in his eyes was not the scrutiny one gives a Junior, but the cold severity one reserves for an enemy.

“Does an outsider even deserve to step onto my Heavenly Sword Sect's Sword God Platform?” His voice was not loud, but amplified by spiritual power, it clearly reached everyone's ears. He didn't make a move, but his presence itself was a warning.

Elder Li took a step forward: “Senior Brother Zhao, this is the Sect Master's command.”

“The Sect Master's command?” Elder Zhao sneered. “The Sect Master told you to lead wolves into the house?”

Elder Li wanted to say more, but Gao Feng's voice came from the Sword God Platform: “Elder Li, no need to argue. It will be ready soon.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the vajra sword jolted violently. A dazzling golden sword light shot out from the tip, piercing straight into the clouds!

The sword light exploded above the clouds, transforming into a hundred-zhang-long phantom of a giant sword suspended over the Heavenly Sword Sect's main peak. The phantom was entirely golden, with the outline of the words 'Heaven's Punishment' inscribed on its body, the tip pointing to the sky and the hilt toward Gao Feng on the Sword God Platform. That was the phantom of a ninth-grade sword—the ancient Sword Cultivator 'Heaven's Punishment' had slept for ten thousand years and was now awakened into resonance for the first time.

The Spirit Sealing Formation shattered completely.

Elder Zhao's expression changed.

The phantom of Heaven's Punishment sent down a beam of sword light, enveloping Gao Feng. That sword light was not an attack, but an empowerment. An incredibly vast and pure Sword Intent poured into Gao Feng's body, merging with the first six styles of the 'Nine Styles of Heavenly Sword' taught by Jian Chen.

Gao Feng felt his Sword Intent undergoing a qualitative change. It wasn't a growth in quantity, but a Breakthrough in Realm. From a mere glimpse of the Dao of the sword to the Clarity of the Sword Heart. The Sword Intent in his Sea of Consciousness was being reshaped; his previously vague insights into the Dao of the sword became clear. How to strike, when to strike, and why to strike—he now had clear answers in his heart.

“To protect what I love” was not an empty phrase, but a direction. As long as the direction was right, the sword would not stray.

The shackles of his cultivation were also torn apart the moment his Sword Intent broke through. The barrier of the Middle Stage of the third level of the Golden Core Realm was pierced by the sword light; his spiritual power surged, and his cultivation climbed to the Late Stage of the third level of the Golden Core Realm in just a few breaths. The golden round core in his Dantian vibrated slightly, the patterns on its surface becoming finer and more stable.

Seeing Gao Feng's Breakthrough, Elder Zhao's face turned from gloomy to ashen. He could no longer restrain himself; his figure blurred as he lunged toward the Sword God Platform.

Lin Yue's defensive array was shattered by a single palm strike from him, and the Rock Demon Phantom crumbled into countless stones. Lin Yue spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying back, caught by Yao Guang.

Tian Xin's Seal-Breaking Talismans and the Sword Intent of Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan had no time to block him under the pressure of a seventh-level Golden Core expert.

Elder Zhao's movements were too fast; in almost the blink of an eye, he was already standing on the Sword God Platform, striking a palm toward Gao Feng. That palm strike contained the full power of a seventh-level Golden Core attack, intending to kill Gao Feng on the platform with a single blow.