Chapter 392: Azure Lotus Sword Master

When he left Golden Ao Island, Mu Yi felt that this trip was truly not in vain.

Jiuzhou's old tradition means that some hidden corners might conceal valuable things.

In the Shushan world there is a Blood God Son and a host of divine‑beast descendants; in this world lies the Trial Hall of Golden Ao Island's Biyou Palace.

Mu Yi still doesn't fully grasp the effect of traversing Biyou Palace, but the Eight‑Nine Profound Technique is described in Zongwang as exceptionally domineering.

Speaking of the Eight‑Nine Profound Technique, the most famous practitioner should be Yang Jian from Fengshen, who not only has endless transformations but also resists various artifacts with overwhelming strength.

【Eight‑Nine Profound Technique】

Type: Technique

Quality: Sacred

Effect: Each realm layer adds +1 to physique effect (total nine layers)

Traits:

Change at will: Consumes ability to transform into any unit; special bloodline requires blood as a conduit, and after transformation the attribute cap is limited by the chosen unit.

Diamond‑hard Body: Immune to ordinary physical damage; physical damage mitigation increased by 11% (affected by technique realm).

Soul‑out‑of‑body ability: Can perform soul out‑of‑body; while doing so, perception attributes increase by 11% (affected by technique realm).

Body immune to a hundred poisons: After the first turn immune to ordinary toxins, after the third turn immune to Transcendent toxins, after the fifth turn immune to Legend toxins, after the seventh turn immune to any toxin.

ps: This technique consumes massive resources, requiring large amounts of genius earth treasures for assistance; Zongwang Disaster Coins and Universal Experience can be spent to enhance it.

ps: Cultivating the first turn requires one million Zongwang Disaster Coins and one million Universal Experience; each subsequent turn consumes nine times the previous layer.

"Another bottomless resource‑eater!"

Mu Yi made a quick calculation of the required resources and could only sigh in that way.

Immortals and deities often measure time in centuries or millennia, not to brag about their cultivation years but because the deeper the cultivation, the more terrifying the resource demands become.

The practice of Supreme Celestial Method, which ingests and expels the world's vital Qi, is several times more efficient than the breathing techniques Mu Yi previously learned; yet, by his estimate, without any genius earth treasures, completing the first turn would still take at least three years.

And that assumes he already possesses such a foundation; an ordinary person would likely need a hundred years just to reach the entry level.

Just as Mu Yi was reflecting, the heavens and earth suddenly changed color, and the surrounding environment transformed completely.

"I've finally been waiting for you; hand over the celestial trace!"

Twelve silhouettes appeared around the three of them, eyes greedily fixed on Mu Yi and his companions as if eyeing a priceless treasure.

"Twelve Heavenly Demons!" Li Taibai exclaimed.

"I recall I should have already killed one!" Mu Yi rubbed his chin, looking toward the twelve silhouettes opposite.

"'Twelve Heavenly Demons' is merely a label; kill one and replace it with another!" a slender man in golden robes said calmly.

"You are their leader, the Swallow‑Heaven Demon?" Mu Yi sensed the aura from the man before him, whose threat was roughly comparable to a Yellow Turban Warrior.

What concerned him more was the great array now enveloping them; it felt no weaker than a weakened Ten‑Absolute Array, and since it was formed by the twelve people before him, its power was likely even greater than that weakened Ten‑Absolute Array.

"I am!" the golden‑clad man nodded.

"You are strong; the Heaven‑Shaking Demons are no match for you. Hand over the key to the celestial trace relic, and I can decide to spare you!"

"So confident you can eat me?" Mu Yi asked with a faint smile.

"This array is called the Twelve Capital Celestial Demon Great Array; it stacks the power of the twelve of us together. One strike would leave you without a place to be buried. Before you answer me, I hope you think it through!"

"As long as you hand over the key and tell us the details within the relic, I can swear to the heavens to spare you; we will not stain your gains at all."

The golden‑clad man's words were earnest, as if he truly possessed a merciful heart and did not wish to trouble Mu Yi and his companions.

"What did you just call this great array?"

However, Mu Yi's concern was not whether the golden‑clad man was truthful, but the array itself; he almost thought he was hearing an auditory hallucination.

"The Twelve Capital Celestial Demon Great Array—have you heard that name before?" the golden‑clad man frowned but still answered Mu Yi's question.

The Twelve Heavenly Demons set up the Twelve Capital Celestial Demon Great Array; the absurd realism made Mu Yi chuckle.

"Would you consider changing the name?" Mu Yi suggested sincerely.

"You don't seem afraid? Do you think I'm deceiving you?" the aura around the golden‑clad man began to turn murderous.

Mu Yi could clearly feel the golden‑clad man's momentum multiplying exponentially, and the entire array‑shrouded heavens and earth tilted toward him.

"I was just thinking of something funny!" Mu Yi waved his hand.

"The celestial trace relic is right here; there is no key. As long as you can find it, you can enter directly!"

"Stubborn and dull! I intended to let you go, but since you're so obstinate, you shall not leave!" the killing intent on the golden‑clad man surged.

"You never intended to spare us from the start, did you?" Mu Yi also suppressed his smile.

From the beginning the golden‑clad man was buying time; from the Heaven‑Shaking Demons we can see these people's conduct style, and calling them devout believers is less accurate than calling Mu Yi an enlightened monk.

"You are clever, but cleverness can be one's downfall!" the golden‑clad man raised his hand and struck at Mu Yi.

The force was comparable to the punch of Duobao Daoist.

"You are buying time, and I am buying time as well!"

Mu Yi calmly thrust the Zhanlu Sword, and the once thunderous golden‑clad man was instantly struck as if by lightning; the twelve silhouettes simultaneously spewed blood, staring at Mu Yi in disbelief.

"Honestly, if you were the original twelve, today might have been a tough battle, but lacking one person makes the great war impossible to flow smoothly; I can easily find a flaw!"

Mu Yi calmly sheathed his sword, looking at the scenery returning to its natural hue, and said,

"In formations, the higher the ceiling, the lower the floor; I don't know where you obtained this array!"

Mu Yi had actually identified the flaw from the start; he delayed time partly to analyze the array and partly to let the golden‑clad man push his power to the limit.

Only by doing so could he inflict the greatest backlash damage; since the last time the Piercing Heaven Demons fled, Mu Yi understood that these people might not be his opponents, but at full strength they all aim to run, and he truly cannot keep everyone.

"Alright, can you tell me how you found this place?"

Mu Yi smiled and unfolded the barrier, intercepting all twelve fleeing silhouettes.

"We will fight you!" someone gritted teeth and launched a fierce attack toward Mu Yi. Several people combined, their momentum was tremendous.

"Answer wrong!"

Mu Yi, as if taking a leisurely walk in an idle courtyard, passed through several people's attacks, passing through beside several people, the sword light cut several people in an instant, their souls fell like a thousand-jin stone into the Hell Path.

"A mysterious person told us that you would appear here, so we are waiting here!" the Heaven-Swallowing Demon's face was grim.

"Mysterious person…" Mu Yi silently shifted his gaze to Li Taibai, shook his head, he probably already understood what was going on.

"I really didn't lie to you; entering the Immortal Traces Ruins requires no key, just a bit of luck and strength!"

Turning his gaze back to the Heaven-Swallowing Demon, Mu Yi said regretfully.

If the Heaven-Swallowing Demons weren't courting death themselves, I'd really be willing to point them toward a bright path; the Azure Wandering Palace will sooner or later manifest in this world, and if we could send some heavenly pride in ahead of time, it might even drive the overall advancement of this world.

It's a pity that human greed is never enough—like a snake trying to swallow an elephant—from the very start, the Heaven-Swallowing Demons have been eyeing what Mu Yi and his group obtained from the Immortal Traces Ruins.

"Greed is the original sin; pay attention in your next life!"

Mu Yi waved his hand, and countless hungry ghosts crawled out of the Hungry Ghost Path, swarming toward the remaining heavenly demons.

"Kill!" the Heaven-Swallowing Demon, unwilling to sit and wait for death, struck out with both palms, and Mu Yi felt the surroundings blasted into a vacuum.

The next moment, an unknown heavenly demon's fingertip sword qi shot out like a machine gun, relentless and wasteful, completely enveloping every point of Mu Yi's body.

At the same time, the space around Mu Yi solidified, a great bell hovered above his head, as if it were suppressing the very essence of heaven and earth in one breath.

The Heaven-devouring demon can swallow all the essence of heaven and earth, the Heaven-locking demon can lock space, the Heaven-suppressing demon can suppress all things—indeed only the names are wrong, the nicknames are not wrong!

Mu Yi remarked lightly; after seeing such a peerless expert as Daoist Duobao, these originally astonishing abilities could no longer stir his heart.

Intercept!

A sweep of his longsword made space, the great bell, and sword qi all vanish; Mu Yi directly severed the root of their power.

After battling Daoist Duobao, he understood one thing: these mechanism monsters are only meaningful when everyone's stats are equal; now the twelve Heavenly Demons have been shattered and backlashed by the great formation, their vital energy reduced to less than one-tenth—what waves could such power still raise?

An ant can lift a hundred times its own weight, yet it still cannot move a human, let alone a boulder or even a mountain.

A blood line appeared on the throats of the remaining Heavenly Demons; Mu Yi's intercept was merely superficial, but since he wields the Register of Life and Death, the Judge's Pen, and holds an Underworld Yin God post, his intercept now leans more toward severing vitality.

The burly Shaking-Heaven Demon helplessly clutched his neck wound; even if beheaded he could rebirth, but now the sword intent severing vitality lay across his vitality, leaving him unable to regenerate no matter what.

He could only watch death draw near bit by bit, until he was completely engulfed by death's shadow, dragged into the abyss by evil ghosts of the Hungry Ghost Dao, and began to atone for his sins in life.

"Let's go, this journey should also end!" Mu Yi turned his head and said to Lily.

"Those two seniors, I'll take my leave first!"

Li Bai watched the famed twelve Heavenly Demons crumble like shattered tiles before him, and resolved to find a place to seclude and cultivate assiduously, refusing to emerge until he becomes the strongest under heaven.

"Go, I hope we can meet again somewhere someday!" Mu Yi waved his hand, seeing Li Bai off.

"Anything else to do?" Lily looked at Mu Yi doubtfully, sensing he was deliberately sending Li Bai away.

"Come out, he's already gone far!" Mu Yi nodded, then shouted at the empty space before him.

"Not bad for an immortal descended from the celestial realm; even the famed twelve Heavenly Demons are no match for you!" A figure clothed with embroidered azure lotus appeared before Mu Yi and Lily.

Lily furrowed her brows; the magic book before her fluttered without wind, countless spells unfurled, yet none could detect the presence of the person before her.

Clearly visible to the naked eye, yet completely imperceptible to the other party.

"Azure Lotus Sword Master, what are you up to with this?" Mu Yi looked at the figure before him, somewhat puzzled, and asked.

"Cannot see the road ahead, can only take risky measures; fortunately the outcome is good!" The Azure Lotus Sword Master spoke calmly, as if speaking of something unrelated to himself, yet Mu Yi still heard a hint of madness.

"For this, would you not hesitate to sacrifice the life of the disciple you raised yourself?"

"Seeking immortality naturally entails severing worldly ties, right?"

Mu Yi's face gradually darkened; he could basically confirm that the guy before him is a lunatic, planning to drag everyone into a vain, illusory hope.

Feigning death to escape, he used his disciple's life to lure masters from all over into the scheme, aiming to obtain the techniques and treasures they bring out from the immortal traces ruins, so he could find a further path.

In this process, he doesn't care how many people die, nor whether his disciple lives or dies.

Or perhaps his disciple was destined to die anyway, only Lily and his intervention altered his plan.

"Let me see just how strong an immortal really is!"

At the end of words there is only slaughter; the Azure Lotus Sword Master's sword is like a cold flash—clearly visible and known where it comes from, yet there's a feeling it cannot be dodged.

As if it has seen through all your moves, internalized all your evasion methods, as if fighting from a god's-eye view.

"Supreme Forgetting Love?"

Mu Yi felt it absurd; clearly the Azure Lotus Sword Master entered the ruins of the Azure Wander Palace, how could he take this path?

"What is that? A technique you comprehended from the murals?"

Only when speaking of the immortal traces ruins does the Azure Lotus Sword Master show noticeable emotional fluctuation.

"Not Supreme Forgetting Love, then what is this?"

Mu Yi shook his head; he was being too sensitive, after talking with Daoist Duobao he subconsciously thought everything was high-end, but this is ultimately just an attached world of Jiuzhou—how could there be so many good things?

"Named Sword Heart Clarity!"

The Azure Lotus Sword Master replied indifferently, his sword in hand without the slightest pause, the blade drawing ever closer to Mu Yi's throat.

The sword tip was less than half an inch from Mu Yi's throat, yet this tiny distance was blocked by another sword.

"Last question, do you have any last words?"

Mu Yi pointed his sword at the Azure Lotus Sword Master; it was time to give this journey a perfect ending.