Chapter 268: Transformation into a Sword, Turning into Flying Leaves

A sickle blade came spinning through the air; Liu Xia hurriedly kicked away a demon monster beside him, then used the strength in his waist to perform a backbend, barely dodging it. He then flicked the Huasheng Sword to create a sword flourish, piercing the sole of the monster that had kicked at him.

Just at this moment, a tinkling sound was heard, and a leopard-faced monster appeared, brandishing a Nine-Ring Broadsword and slashing toward Liu Xia. Liu Xia slapped the ground with one palm, his body spinning and flying up like a top. As the Huasheng Sword whistled, he pierced the leopard-faced monster's throat with a single strike.

In an instant, demon blood splattered. The surrounding demon monsters seemed to be intimidated; they surrounded Liu Xia in a tight circle, roaring to bolster their momentum but not daring to step forward.

This gave Liu Xia a moment to catch his breath, yet he was worried about Banxia and felt quite anxious. However, with so many demon monsters, he feared he would not be able to escape for the time being.

Liu Xia felt deeply agitated, yet he had no good strategy.

Do not underestimate these; although they were merely low-level demon monsters, each was like a wild beast, waiting for a single moment of negligence from Liu Xia to swarm him together.

Seeing this situation, all Liu Xia could think of was to strike down these demon monsters one by one. But with such a large number of them, he feared he could not resolve it in a short while, and even if he did, it was unknown whether his physical strength could hold out.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from Liu Xia's forehead; he pondered other countermeasures while remaining vigilant of the demon monsters' movements.

……

"My disciple, those who cultivate must never belittle themselves. Only by firming the Great Dao within your heart can you be fearless and undaunted, moving ever forward."

"Once fate is obtained, accept it with peace of mind; only with a sincere heart can you achieve true devotion."

……

Liu Xia suddenly remembered the teachings of Chengxin Zhenren.

This master of his, though unremarkable among the many Elders, could always provide him with strength when he was lost, making his inner heart more resolute.

"Huasheng Sword," Liu Xia murmured, "Our meeting is a matter of fate. This time, I shall entrust myself to you!"

……

"Master, does your implication mean I should achieve Spirit Communication with it? But as a disciple with only Qi Refining cultivation, how can I connect with its heart?" Liu Xia asked in confusion, hurrying to inquire.

Chengxin Zhenren shook his head: "It is not to command you to achieve Spirit Communication with it, but to ask you to try to accept it and like it. Do not look at it as merely a weapon; it can also sense your emotions. Just like in human affairs, if a person dislikes you from the bottom of their heart and rejects you, how could you approach them, entrust your body and mind to them, and become friends with them?"

……

Liu Xia held the sword to cover his face; the sword seemed to understand his whisper just now. A fluorescent light flashed across the blade of the Huasheng Sword, and just as Liu Xia leaped up to charge at the demon monsters, the blade of the Huasheng Sword actually separated segment by segment, with spiritual light connecting them.

With a single swing, the Huasheng Sword became like a whip, the fragmented blades spinning and piercing deeply into the bodies of the surrounding demon monsters.

Liu Xia was astonished, withdrawing his hand in a mix of surprise and joy. He saw the spiritual light connecting the fragments tighten abruptly, pulling all the segments back in, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed back into an ordinary sword.

This is? The Huasheng Sword?

Liu Xia stared at the sword in his hand, seemingly not yet recovered from the shock. He had only ever seen the Huasheng Sword turn into vines; this was the first time he had seen it in such a whip-like, sword-like form.

And at this very moment, green leaves sprouted abruptly from the wounds of the demon monsters pierced by the sword fragments. They grew continuously, as if flowers were blooming, and in an instant, they wrapped them up tightly, making it impossible for them to break free no matter how they struggled.

As the demon monsters struggled, the green leaves formed clusters and bloomed into flowers—red, yellow, and a riot of colors. Once these green leaf balls were covered in clusters of flowers, there was not the slightest movement from within them anymore.

This scene was truly breathtaking; Liu Xia had no idea the sword in his hand possessed such power.

Master was right after all!

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Just as Liu Xia was filled with astonishment and the demon monsters were cowed and hesitant, a round of applause rang out.

"Truly spectacular!" Behind the monsters, Huiwu stood on a tree branch, clapping his hands with a ferocious grin on his face.

……

The Dharma Array that Banxia had set up inadvertently was, to put it plainly, exactly the same as the Dharma Array in the Ancient Bamboo Forest. Although Banxia's cultivation was far inferior to Zhuzhang Laoren's, for this kind of Instrument Array Technique, the level of cultivation was not that important.

It is not to say that array techniques are unrelated to cultivation; take the Mountain Guarding Array of Jiuque Mountain of the Yuanqing Sect, for example—it was precisely because of Zhaoming Zhenren's profound cultivation that it was so sturdy.

The Mountain Guarding Array of Jiuque Mountain was a Dharma Array that Zhaoming Zhenren had set up by drawing on the array-setting methods of Zhuzhang Laoren, combining Instrument Array Techniques with Art Array Techniques. This kind of Dharma Array could be as durable as an Instrument Array Technique, yet also possess the extensibility of an Art Array Technique.

However, this also simultaneously possessed the shortcomings of both: it would be as easy to crack as an Instrument Array Technique, and as dependent as an Art Array Technique.

And so, the eye of the Instrument Array Technique that Banxia had inadvertently set up was a Hundred-Turn Thousand-Return Talisman. It was precisely because of this talisman that the demon monsters were always trapped within the array and unable to get out.

Yet, it was also because of the chaos of the demon monsters trapped inside that they collided everywhere and scratched wildly, and before long, they had scratched off the Hundred-Turn Thousand-Return Talisman that served as the array eye.

As soon as the talisman of the array eye hit the ground, all the Yellow Talismans that had been attached to the tree trunks fell off, scattering all over the ground in a sparse mess. This left both Banxia and the trapped demon monsters stunned on the spot, their eyes fixed on the drifting Yellow Talismans; the scene was truly ridiculous.

But one must not underestimate these low-level demon monsters. Although their grade was not high and they had not yet gained wisdom, they were, after all, of the Demon Race and still possessed emotions. Even wild beasts have seven emotions and six desires, do they not?

For instance, these demon monsters were currently staring blankly at the scattered talismans. Once they came to their senses, they began to roar in anger, and their steps in searching for Banxia became even more chaotic, looking quite manic.

Banxia was miserable, shrinking her body and not daring to move, let alone make the slightest sound, for fear of being detected by these ferocious monsters.

However, heaven was not kind; for some reason, a sudden gust of wind blew in her face, causing the forest to rustle, and the talismans on Banxia's body were blown off in scattered pieces like autumn leaves.

Banxia scrambled in a panic to protect the talismans on her body, but the more flustered she became, the more unlucky she was. She would attend to the left only to neglect the right, and grasp the front only to lose her footing; in the end, she failed to save a single one.

Looking at Banxia, who was gradually revealing her form, there was another long silence in the forest. The demon monsters and Banxia stared at each other—one side astonished, the other embarrassed.

"Uh..." In this silence, Banxia finally made a sound. It was not that she wanted to break this stillness, but she truly felt that this was somewhat unbearable.

Perhaps it was because this silence was broken, or perhaps the previous moment was merely the calm before the chaos, but those demon monsters suddenly roared, baring their fangs and brandishing their blades as they charged toward Banxia.

"Oh my heavens!" Banxia exclaimed in alarm, hurriedly taking out the Judge's Pen from her waist, and then began a frantic bout of scribbling and painting.

In the chaos, Banxia did not even know what kind of thing she was drawing; she only knew to channel her spiritual energy and swing with all her might—she did not want to die here!