Chapter 51

No, wrong! This isn't sword aura.

Just after saying that, Chen Shicheng shook his head, dismissing the idea.

Exactly, this is sword intent. Hui Siye nodded his little head, looking fearfully at the center of the void and said, "Back then I mistakenly thought that ray of light was a treasure, so I stayed. I never expected that after fifty years of approaching it, I would discover that it was merely a lingering phantom."

Huh?

Chen Shicheng asked in disbelief, "A phantom? There's no treasure in here?"

What treasure? Hui Siye's tone was somewhat desperate, "Nothing at all, just this shadow left who knows how many years ago; the lingering sword intent corrodes the surroundings, slowly forming a formation. I discovered this and momentarily lost myself, dying inside."

Possibly recalling something sad, it covered its eyes with its two tiny front paws and began to sob.

Chen Shicheng truly didn't know how to comfort a crying mouse, so he awkwardly turned his head and carefully examined the ray of light at the center of the void.

From the start he felt familiar with that ray of light, but he just couldn't remember where he had seen it.

Fortunately, his divine attribute is nearly ten times that of an ordinary person; although it can't raise his IQ, it can speed up his thought processes, allowing him to quickly recall all his memories after entering the game.

Unfortunately, he ran through all his memories from entering the game to now, yet still couldn't think of anything similar to what lay before him.

"It's impossible to have seen it in reality either? There's no supernatural power existing."

Chen Shicheng, half‑believing half‑doubting, began to look for something similar in reality, but as soon as he recalled it faintly, he shouted in shock, "WTF, Immortal‑Slaying Flying Knife!!!"

His voice was so loud that even the ray of light at the center of the void seemed startled, flickering without warning; the brow and eyes at its tip glanced his way imperceptibly, then everything returned to normal, as if nothing had moved.

Hui Siye beside him was awakened by that echoing shout, momentarily forgetting to cry, and asked blankly, "What Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife?"

You haven't heard of the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife? What about Lu Ya Daoist?

Chen Shicheng was somewhat surprised that Hui Siye, such a high-level NPC, didn't know this ancient treasure! "Lu Ya Daoist." Hui Siye quickly recalled the ancient masters, then shook his head, "I've never heard of it; could it be some reclusive cultivator?"

You don't know that either? Then you should at least know the Golden Crow Little Prince.

"Golden Crow?" Hui Siye nodded, "I know that one."

"You know the Golden Crow's tenth prince, but not Lu Ya Daoist or the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife." Chen Shicheng looked at Hui Siye, seeming thoughtful.

The tale of Hou Yi shooting the suns has been turned into a story, spread among mortals, even three-year-olds know it; how could we cultivators not understand? Because nine princes were shot dead, the demon court's lord and the witch clan launched a great war, causing suffering to all living beings, even piercing a hole in heaven; they fought day and night with no light, stars falling, resulting in now no trace of immortals or gods, likely both sides suffered mutual destruction.

Possibly Chen Shicheng's expression hurt Hui Siye's pride, it chattered on about a bunch of ancient secrets, trying to prove itself erudite.

However, Chen Shicheng listened with a strange expression, "Immortals and gods vanished? Have you got something wrong?"

"Did you eat the Investiture of the Gods war?"

The Zhu Xian Sword Formation battles saints, Kong Xuan slaps the face of Zhunti; with so many top gods fighting, you actually say immortals and gods have vanished? It seems his earlier guess was correct—the game's history likely suffered a break after the witch-demon war; they know nothing of the Investiture of the Gods war, which explains why Hui Siye doesn't recognize the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife or Lu Ya Daoist.

Good, I've learned some more of the game's secrets. But these are just background lore, not much use to him now; the most important thing right now is to complete the task.

After he obtained those three pieces of equipment, the task was automatically accepted; he didn't want to become a petty person who goes back on his word.

"Alright, I know you're strong, don't say more—hurry in and retrieve your corpse; I can't afford to waste more time here."

Chen Shicheng interrupted Hui Siye's nonstop chatter, pointing solemnly at the seemingly empty boundary and asked, "You said sword aura is the key to entering the formation, but I can't even see it—how do I get in?"

"It's not about seeing; you need to sense it with your heart."

Mentioning his corpse, Hui Siye immediately took it seriously: "Although sword aura is a level lower than sword intent, you already have the preliminary ability to sense it; close your eyes and perceive it with your heart."

As Chen Shicheng sensed and closed his eyes, darkness fell instantly, before him lay utter emptiness.

But as time passed, insights into the broken-line level Basic Sword Technique flitted through his mind one after another.

In the endless void, strands of white light appeared, containing that unstoppable, all-cutting sword intent that made his heart leap; he instantly opened his eyes.

"I 'saw' it!"

Unfortunately, as his emotions fluctuated, that trace of sword intent instantly vanished from his perception.

But he wasn't disappointed; experience with this is either zero or countless—once you have a start, the rest can be left to time.

After calming his emotions, Chen Shicheng closed his eyes once more amid Hui Siye's excited expression.

This time went more smoothly; within just a few seconds, a dense mass of white rays of light appeared before his eye, strands of all-cutting sword intent intertwining to form a three-dimensional net-like structure.

Only... it's too dense! "Fourth Master, are you sure I can walk completely into this formation?" Chen Shicheng opened his eyes, asking doubtfully.

It's no wonder he has such doubts; the junction of the tunnel and void is the formation's outer edge, yet even here the intertwining sword intent is hardly different from a fisherman's extermination net.

He really couldn't imagine what would happen if he went further inside; likely he'd be sliced into chunks of meat like stone.

"Don't worry, although this formation is formidable, I've already figured out its nodes; as long as you follow my lead, the sword intent you face will be at the absolute minimum." Hui Siye patted his chest in assurance.

Fine! Your experience decides.

A worker just needs to act; this process Chen Shicheng is very familiar with.

With Hui Siye's assurance, he no longer hesitated, closed his eyes, resignedly stepped into the formation's range.

Upon entering the formation, pressure surged; the once tranquil sword intent, like a shark smelling blood, blanketed the sky and earth, densely slashing at this "foreign object" that was him.

Chen Shicheng calmly raised his hands, fingers spread, his qi and blood began to surge wildly.

(End of chapter)