Chapter 363: Uncovering the Dark

The cold white blades swam slowly out of the hazy mist. This was already a scene that made people feel cold, and what was even more eerie was that it had the agile posture of a dragon or snake. When stared at by that faceless head, a chilling cold rose directly from the heart.

Pei Ye held his sword and stared at it, realizing that this was exactly the characteristic born from the 【Star Insect】. The creator made limited and fitting modifications to it, making it turn from an insect into a snake, which was indeed more suitable for the physical nature of a sword.

At this moment, it climbed onto the cliff terrace and stared straight at Pei Ye.

But it didn't look like it was going to attack. Its huge yet agile body swam up, coiled on the cliff terrace for six or seven zhang, and slowly swayed its head toward Pei Ye.

Was it... asking for something?

Pei Ye paused, tried to slowly hand over the Soul-Snatching Bead taken from Xi Tianji's waist, but there was no reaction, as if this wasn't what it was seeking... Pei Ye was about to withdraw it, when the next moment it lunged toward the youth's waist abruptly.

The sword whistled and screamed. Pei Ye's body, which had always been vigilant, jumped up extremely fast and swept back three zhang.

The three people peeking from the tunnel entrance exclaimed, but this sword dragon didn't care and still went toward Pei Ye. The moment the youth swept back, it also suddenly increased its speed, and in the blink of an eye, it was already pressing on his chest.

First of all, Pei Ye couldn't figure out for a moment how these many sword tools, since they hadn't been cast into a whole like the star insect, could be connected and act as one.

Then this sword flow indeed possessed all the characteristics of the star insect.

These days, either in danger or in a bad mood, the Zhanxin Liuli had rarely shown a joyful and jumping appearance in front of him, and he rarely poked it back and forth with curiosity and love like when they first got along.

Pei Ye smiled and let it go, walking toward this sword dragon. At this moment, he knew what it had been staring at just now.

Then he seemed to have just discovered that the Zhanxin Liuli seemed to be too well prepared.

What would be this ability that the sword dragon had in addition to the star insect?

Pei Ye frowned deeply, and only after the sword flow showed signs of rising again did he flash his eyes. He reached out and was about to take a sword from it, but this sword dragon suddenly rose agilely and swept down the cliff at an extremely fast speed.

It was simply unable to hold back.

A sword technique might have many moves, and a sword strike often couldn't be explained by a single stab or a single swing.

And the Zhanxin Liuli wasn't shaken by even a fraction. It even swept out a winding path along the direction of the sword dragon's body. Among the hundred swords, from head to tail, it swept through in one go.

This was actually a common law of sword techniques: ten thousand complexities becoming simplicity is the only sword.

Pei Ye remembered at this moment that Zhang Meiqing seemed to have failed to keep one of them back then.

A sword change was a movement. The meaning in Zhang Jingbi's words was exactly the seven sword moves in "Feng Shan Ming," which were built by one hundred and eighty-nine sword movements.

Pei Ye stopped in front of it. It also didn't suffer serious injuries or die like a living creature, just slowly reorganizing its body.

The new array pattern represented a new characteristic. Qu Zhu designed such a part... What was its function?

The Zhanxin Liuli swept back, sticking to Pei Ye's side and circling, like a sticky little cat.

The remaining manpower was not much, and at this moment, everyone had a solemn face. Several people had already gone in different directions. The corpses of Xi Tianji and Jiang Yitong at the rear cliff had already been confirmed. The remaining people were almost all gathered around the injury hall at this moment, looking at the youth lying on the bed with tight expressions from time to time.

"Zhanxin Liuli! Knock one down!"

And now the famous sword had spirit, and 【Slicing Heart Zhanxin Liuli】 was even more sensitive to the human heart. The moment the youth's mood opened up a bit, it stuck to his side.

The clear sword body swept up, but the next moment this sword dragon plunged into the cliff wall and disappeared. The Zhanxin Liuli crashed into a big pit with a bang, but amidst the flying mountain rocks, nothing could be seen anymore.

However, except for this main pattern, another strange part was cleverly connected to it... Pei Ye frowned and identified it. He had absolutely never seen it before, so he recorded it carefully with 【Quail Head】.

It wasn't a simple copying and appropriation. Even if all the pattern details were handed over, very few people in the world could replicate a 【Buried Mai Mai Xing Zhong】, because in the carved array, a simple change in mass and shape would affect the outlining of the array patterns, not to mention transforming and applying it to these many scattered sword tools.

Clouds flew and feathers shattered, and a straight, magnificent sharp line was drawn from it. It crashed straight into it, piercing through the sword dragon's head from one end to the other, and the sound of gold and iron clashing connected into a piece!

The sword tips in this dragon flow were originally facing forward. When the Zhanxin Liuli rushed into it, these demon swords moved over to block one after another. Thus, amidst the clear clashing sounds, swords lost control and flipped one after another, and the entire sword dragon became a mess in an instant.

—Hanging on his waist was that older, already full Soul-Snatching Bead.

As mentioned before, it was the condensation of all abilities of the star insect except for the characteristic of "being alive." How could a piece of bronze absorb star power and operate and fly? How could it shuttle through mountains and sense the surroundings... Even without the finishing touch of the 【West Court Heart】, the 【Buried Mai Mai Xing Zhong】 itself was already a rare mountain-protecting array in the world.

Pei Ye simply felt a trace of joy from it, as if it had encountered so many "peers" for the first time. The Zhanxin Liuli swept through it time and time again, colliding with every sword with a clatter. This sword flow that could tear people into pieces felt like a happy bath to it.

Nearly two hundred swords stabbed out several zhang at the same time, twisting clouds and mist. Large chunks of air were squeezed and cut into sharp winds.

The higher and more subtle the sword move, the more subtle and exquisite sword-wielding details it had. Like 【Holding New Corpse】 of "Jade Jade Sword," like 【Piercing Sun】 of "White Rainbow Chapter," falling into human eyes was just a straight line, but behind it were many turns, changes, and movements built together, and only when released could it become this simple and straight amazing sweep.

However, today's gains were already enough. Pei Ye recalled the Zhanxin Liuli and turned to look at the three people at the mountain tunnel entrance.

Facing such a giant object without flesh and blood with such momentum, the youth clearly couldn't show that spiritual sword technique anymore. Seeing that there was no way to retreat, he stood still and pointed with his finger.

Until no sword was under the control of this sword flow, the sword dragon was completely twisted into a mess on the cliff terrace, with swords combing their own flipped and misaligned bodies one by one.

Pei Ye burned out the Chi Fire, letting it swim slowly across the sword body. Under the reflection of the ghostly blue, in addition to the forging patterns, there was another fine and dense outline gradually revealed... Pei Ye quickly recognized this familiar shape, which was exactly the bronze array pattern born from the star insect.

Pei Ye had seen this set of patterns many times and had gradually understood its function.

Pei Ye lowered his head and squatted on one knee, holding a sword that was temporarily powerless. Unlike the simple sword seen in 【Illumination of the Dark】 that night, they were all standard Kongdong swords, and this one even had traces of having been used.

Pei Ye couldn't help but smile, held the sword hilt, and stroked the vermilion heart under the sword gently, receiving a burst of slight tingling vibration.

"One hundred and eighty-nine swords," Zhang Jingbi murmured in a daze. "That is the number of all sword movements in 'Feng Shan Ming'."

In the front hall of law enforcement, all four were bandaged and settled.

Pei Ye seemed to see Zhao Zilong of Changban Slope with "sword light like frost and horses flying," because after the Zhanxin Liuli rushed out, it didn't wait for orders at all, but rushed down again impatiently, and from tail to head, swept through again amidst the sword-flipping and blade-turning, the chaotic clashing of gold and iron sounding like war drums cheering for it.

Pei Ye remained silent. The things the Huan Si Lou was doing were surfacing more and more, but their purpose... and the person manipulating everything... were still shrouded in clouds and mist.

"Xi Tianji and this Jiang Yitong," Pei Ye looked at the Law Enforcement Hall members staring at him and finally turned his head to ask this most sensitive question, "Are they both true transmissions of Yuanwu Peak?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 364 =====