Chapter 597: 550 Sword Controlling Technique

That lethal sword strike just now was not some special Sword Art or Sword Technique, but a move—Sword Controlling Technique!

Sword Controlling Technique does not rely on the sword itself; it is a technique where a person leads and manipulates the sword, and it can be used on swords, Dharma Artifacts, and Art Tools. It is ever-changing; things like Flying on a sword, long-distance control, and splitting Sword Light can all be considered Sword Controlling Technique.

Beyond these basic Sword Controlling Techniques that everyone can learn, there are also Sword Controlling Techniques passed down by various schools. Although the moves actually have similarities, the focus is different, and there is a significant gap in effectiveness. For example, the "Seven Kills Sword Controlling Technique" of the Yunzhou Inspection Bureau, or the "Yao Sword Art" Sword Controlling Technique used by Tang Zhao.

Which is to say, the Sword Controlling Technique of the Yanggu Sword.

Because of the Sword Manual, he can easily learn the Sword Controlling Techniques of the swords in the manual when he mimics them. Many Sword Controlling Techniques are quite ancient inheritances; compared to modern sword control, some are outdated, but their power is unquestionable. Tang Zhao tried each one several times, and the Sword Controlling Technique of the Yanggu Sword's predecessor was still the most suitable for him.

This move just now was a sword-drawing technique similar to the "Iai" style of blade-drawing. It involves storing power within the sword sheath, then suddenly drawing the sword to gain a powerful force bonus, pushing explosive power to the limit.

This move of the Yao Sword Art is called: "Rising Sun".

This sword strike is very powerful; theoretically, it has no upper limit. The more power stored, the stronger it is. It can also be combined with the sword's own Sword Light and Sword Essence to gain a greater bonus. In terms of pure lethality, it can rival Sword Arts or even Sword Techniques.

However, there is no move that truly has no upper limit. The restrictions on this move are actually quite significant. First, one must remain motionless while storing power, with only the momentum being mobilized. If there are any superfluous movements, all previous efforts are immediately wasted. And if you stand there without moving, maintaining a posture without adjusting to the opponent, even a fool would know something is wrong. They would have been on guard long ago.

Furthermore, there are signs when storing power. You can use the sword sheath to cover it if you store power for a short time, but if you store it for a long time, the Sword Essence will overflow. As a Sword Controlling Technique for a sneak attack, with killing intent overflowing everywhere, what kind of sneak attack is that?

Then, the attack range of this Sword Technique is not large. It nurtures the sword itself, not Sword Qi. It is strongest only within the range the sword body can reach; after the Sword Qi dissipates, it weakens significantly, and after a few more zhang, it becomes mediocre.

The most effective distance is just over one zhang.

This is a distance that Sword Guests will not easily step into during a duel. The distance between Tang Zhao and Gui Rong during their first confrontation was over three zhang, and that was already closer than most Sword Guest duels. In a head-on confrontation, Sword Guests will also specifically guard against this kind of sharp, frontal offensive Sword Technique.

Therefore, this is a Sword Technique only suitable for sneak attacks in special circumstances.

Tang Zhao's choice of this Sword Controlling Technique today was also quite accidental. When Manying dragged Xin Ying to defect to him, he suddenly discovered that Gui Rong's state was a bit off.

His frantic pursuit of the Abyss Envoy was less like a plan and more like he couldn't control himself, killing one after another without stopping, just like a gambler who can't stop shaking dice.

Perhaps it was because drawing power from the Sacrifice was too easy? This kind of power belonging to others is not painful to squander, and it is easier to fall into a state of "lostness," so naturally, vigilance will drop significantly.

It was an opportunity.

Tang Zhao instantly decided on his tactics—this Sword Fighting was not over. As long as Gui Rong neither admitted defeat nor died, how could it be called over? He had clearly lost just now, yet he used the Sacrifice to prolong his life; this off-the-board trick was shameful, wasn't it? He was gaining more and more power from the Sacrifice, but he could never cross that Life-Death Transformation; it seemed to be a rule restriction, and Tang Zhao was the key to the Life-Death Transformation. So he would definitely have to find Tang Zhao to settle things.

Strike first to gain the advantage.

Therefore, Tang Zhao chose to use Xin Ying as bait to see if he could trick Gui Rong into coming over, letting him approach his side without being so guarded.

Coupled with the fact that he had previously displayed the Celestial State, he was already motionless; he didn't move even when pierced by Gui Rong's Death Struggle, so it wasn't strange for him not to move now. Then, using the light that hadn't dissipated as cover for himself, he stored power to use this Sword Controlling Technique, and with Gui Rong's "cooperation," he succeeded in one fell swoop.

Before Gui Rong killed Tang Zhao, he was ultimately lingering on the other shore; Tang Zhao gave him one more sword strike, leaving him with no chance to return to the Human World.

He was dead, after all.

Although Tang Zhao himself knew that his success was very lucky, the effect was very shocking.

That sword strike, even though it was out of the sheath for only an instant and the attack was no more than a few feet in front of him, only displayed pure power, yet it seemed even more shocking than the scene where he turned into the Celestial State to view the rules of the Human World.

Didn't you see that Xin Ying and Manying were scared silly?

Xin Ying's wide-open mouth could swallow an egg; Manying couldn't make an expression, but it was clearly stunned as well, and its strings were trembling.

"You two—" Tang Zhao put away his sword and said unhurriedly, "We should stop Gui Rong's conspiracy now."

Xin Ying said "Ah?" and replied, "Right... right. Didn't you already stop it?"

Tang Zhao pointed to the still-flashing Turtle Shell Sacrificial Array; the array was still operating, but the power was not being sent to Gui Rong, but to someone else.

To that old guy, right?

Manying said, "Right, we must stop the Sacrificial Array! Summon all the Abyss Envoys back and break it!"

You must know that the turtle shell below is suppressing most of the audience in the stands. It basically includes the power of the most important part of the "people" on Wangliang Mountain, namely the five First-tier Manor Lords and the ten Second-tier Manor Lords. There are also some distinguished guests who have come from afar, and behind them are powers capable of bringing trouble to Wangliang Mountain.

If this Sacrificial Array is allowed to continue drawing their power, I'm afraid they will all be wiped out.

Now that the Abyss Envoys have been hacked to pieces, if these people die too, Wangliang Mountain will become an empty shell. The subsequent trouble will be endless.

At this moment, Manying is undoubtedly still an Abyss Envoy; it cannot allow such a terrible thing to happen—although it is already terrible enough now.

Xin Ying said in a dilemma, "But they have all run far away; we can't call them back, can we?"

Manying said, "They can't run. Now Yinglang is blocked; no one can go back, so where can they run to? Your spiritual link is still connected to them. Tell them to come back quickly; if we don't break the Sacrificial Array, we won't be able to return to Lang Xia in the future, and we will all become lonely ghosts."

Xin Ying suddenly realized and said, "Okay, I'll tell them. Damn Gui Rong, he actually cut off the connection to Yinglang, causing us to have no home, and we didn't recover even after dying. How did he manage that?"

Manying said, "I don't know; it might not have been him. They have been planning for a long time, so naturally, they have many means."

On this side, Tang Zhao smiled secretly: This was also one of the reasons why he wanted to thank Gui Rong at the last moment:

Cutting off Yinglang, could that really be done by Gui Rong and his ilk?

Without Yinglang, Manying and the others wouldn't know that, besides the accident in Sunset Manor, there were bigger and more accidents happening all over Wangliang Mountain.

When the people here walk out of Sunset Manor and walk out of Wangliang Mountain to see the scene before them, I'm afraid they will suspect that the world has been turned upside down, right?

So it's not that Gui Rong didn't have any benefits; the good thing is that he died.

Dead people can do many things.

Tang Zhao said sternly, "You two, you Abyss Envoys go and attack the array head-on; I will try to see if I can remove the firewood from under the cauldron." As he spoke, his figure flashed and he had already disappeared from where he stood.

Xin Ying said blankly, "What does he mean?"

Manying said, "He should be going to chase the real mastermind behind the scenes."

Xin Ying said, "Eh? Can he find them?"

Manying plucked its strings a few times and said, "I don't know. Let's worry less about the affairs of such experts. Let's take care of ourselves first. With such heavy losses now, what should we do when the Sacrifice happens? How should we report to Wangliang?"

Xin Ying said "Ah..." and asked again, "What do you think we should do?"

Manying said irritably, "How would I know? I'm not omnipotent. Perhaps Wangliang will descend in person again. This is Wangliang Mountain; if it can come out, it will be easy to regain control of the situation."

Speaking of this, it said softly, "No matter who is trying to cause trouble, there isn't much time left for them."

In a place known to one person, in the darkness, an old man sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed.

Even though he was the only one here and it was pitch black all around, the sounds of many people talking reached his ears.

"Great Sage, the Great Venerable has passed away."

"Mm."

The only response to this bad news was a calm sound. In fact, the old man had sensed the news of Gui Rong's death earlier than anyone else.

That power which had been drained away was now flowing back to him in an endless stream.

This is for the best.

"Great Sage, the survivors outside have rioted; they are desperately hunting down the people of Sunset Manor, as well as our own people, killing everyone they see."

"Mm."

It was expected; since the decision was made to carry out this great undertaking, sacrificing a portion of people is only right.

Although these people who died were all sword slaves, and it could be said they were mere cannon fodder, their deaths were of no consequence and not worth lamenting. But the Great Sage treats everyone equally—he acknowledges that those people were also sacrifices.

Worthy of regret.

"Great Sage, the remaining Abyss Envoys are laying siege to the Longevity Array."

"Mm."

Still a calm reply.

Let them lay siege; the sacrifices below cannot hold out for long, and even if it is broken, there will only be a pile of withered remains left.

In fact, the moment the Array was activated, the Long Life Society had already won; he had already won.

Therefore, no amount of bad news is truly bad news; at most, it is just a minor flaw in victory.

He only needs to complete the finishing work and return the final portion of power to himself. That power is enough to make him perfect and take him to a higher level.

At that time, he, this Great Sage, will truly live up to the name.

Although Gui Rong is dead and the organization has lost a pillar of stability, once he succeeds, he will become the sole Pillar of the Long Life Society, embodying wisdom, talent, and martial might. By then, even if the current manpower has suffered some losses, it will be easy to replenish.

There will not even be a need to remain holed up in Wangliang Mountain to develop. The world is vast, and there is much to be accomplished.

This is even better than anticipated.

In this dark space, the old man's mood was excellent, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.

Until—

Click!

With a soft sound, the darkness overhead cracked open, revealing a sliver of light. The light shone on the old man's face, making his features, mostly hidden by his beard and hair, clearly visible.

By the grace of this light, anyone who knew him would recognize him at a glance.

A young voice said lightheartedly: "Yo, Lao Cangtou, hiding here to stir up trouble?"