Chapter 1487: The Ninth Floor
Although the three strands of sword Qi were only equivalent to attacks at Reciprocity, the power of the Way of the Sword originated from the Nirvanic Immortal Exalt. Although the power had dropped below the level of Sword God due to how much time had passed and was no longer as great as it had been before, they strands of sword Qi were still more powerful than Sword Origin, so each strand of sword Qi possessed the power to kill ordinary Reciprocity experts.
Even the artifact spirit on the eighth floor was unable to endure the attack from three strands of sword Qi, so he began to collapse.
However, the red-robed boy did not die. The residual mist in the air began to surge and condense into the boy’s figure once again. His figure was so faint that he was almost invisible. Even burning his body would not work this time.
“I never thought you’d have four strands of that Nirvanic bastard’s sword Qi, not just one. However, the four strands of sword Qi just happen to match up to the four swords of that old bastard. Now that you’ve used all of them, I’d like to see how you will deal with me on the ninth floor. The ninth floor will be where you truly fall. I will be waiting for you there,” the boy sneered.
Jian Chen said nothing. With a way of the Zi Ying Sword, he immediately shot out a strand of sword Qi and completely dispersed the red-robed boy’s figure.
Jian Chen did not hurry to the ninth floor. Instead, he sat down on the eighth floor and recovered to his peak. After all, the most powerful fragment of the artifact spirit was on the ninth floor. It was extremely likely that that fragment had reached Godhood. Even though the four strands of sword Qi still possessed two uses at Reciprocity, Jian Chen was not completely confident they could kill the artifact spirit. It was extremely likely to be a vicious battle.
“If the tower spirit on the ninth floor really does possess strength at Godhood, I’ll probably be slain the first moment we start fighting even with the Azulet swords. With my current strength, I cannot even put up a struggle against a Godhood expert. However, the artifact spirit isn’t without weaknesses either. His greatest flaw is that he is unable to replenish the energy he consumes, so his power will only decrease during battle. At the same time, whenever he’s injured, his strength will fall. Therefore, I’ll use the four strands of sword Qi from the Nirvanic Immortal Exalt to heavily injure him the moment I step onto the ninth floor, causing his strength will fall. Once he becomes injured enough, his strength will fall below Godhood.”
Jian Chen sat on the ground with his eyes closed as he pondered his options. He simulated his next battle against the artifact spirit of the ninth floor time and time again. Jian Chen visualized and then analyzed the battle from all aspects. He even added in all the techniques that he knew the artifact spirit could use. The outcome he reached against the final artifact spirit was not necessarily defeat. It would all depend on how the four sword Qi were used.
“It’s a pity that I’ve used all these sword Qi once already and that they can only be used two more times. If they all could be used three times, my chances of victory could be as high as eighty percent.” Jian Chen sighed inside. He felt very helpless. The artifact spirit on the eighth floor was so powerful that it was almost impossible for him to deal with. If he had not used the sword Qi from the Nirvanic Immortal Exalt, he would not have been able to reach the ninth floor at all. He would have died on the eighth.
“But I still have a final trump card. It’s just that the price of this technique is just far too precious; even I cannot endure it. However, it’s the only thing I can do if I am at my wit’s end.” A gleam of light flashed through Jian Chen’s eyes. The fusion of the two swords was his final card to protect himself as well as the technique he least wanted to use.
This time, Jian Chen stayed on the eighth floor for half a month. Not only did he make sure he was in top shape, but he even came up with many methods to deal with the final artifact spirit. He made all the preparations he could.
Jian Chen stood up and finally stepped onto the ninth floor.
Before Jian Chen could even make out his surroundings, he immediately moved in a flash, leaving the entry point in a single moment to prevent the possibility of an ambush from the artifact spirit.
Everything was tranquil. The dreary world of the ninth floor was terrifyingly silent. There were no signs of life at all. Jian Chen cautiously hovered in the sky as he vigilantly looked around. He felt rather surprised inside. The artifact spirit was not waiting at the entry to ambush him as he had expected.
“Is the artifact spirit so confident that he can deal with me that he doesn’t need to stoop so low and ambush me?” Jian Chen thought and immediately became rather stern.
At this moment, a smear of golden light appeared near the horizon in the distance. It illuminated a portion of the sky, forming quite a wondrous scene in this dreary world.
Jian Chen stared at the golden light and hesitated before flying over. The Zi Ying Sword and Qing Suo Sword hovered above Jian Chen’s head. Both of them flickered with light, ready to dish out an attack at a moment’s notice.
When Jian Chen arrived at the source of the golden light, he discovered an extremely vast palace. The palace was letting out a blinding light and gave off a terrifying pressure. It was slightly illusory, making whatever was behind it slightly visible. This palace was only a projection and not the real thing.
Jian Chen stared at the grand palace. Even though it was just a projection, it felt like it was dominating Jian Chen, as if all the laws of the world were beneath it.
“The Heavenly Palace of Bisheng!” Jian Chen’s eyes landed on the huge plate above the main entrance of the palace. There were four words on the plate, and they seemed to possess the variations of the laws of the world. The mysteries of the world were infused into the words. He clearly did not recognize them, but in the moment his eyes landed on the plate, the name somehow appeared in his head.
“I’ll let you die before master’s world. That way, you can die without regret. Hahaha…” Wild laughter rang out and the red-robed boy charged out of the palace, heading toward Jian Chen as a blur. The pressure he gave off was so powerful that Jian Chen felt like he was shouldering a mountain. Jian Chen’s movements had become rather slow while the presence of death spread through his head. He was greatly shocked.
Currently, the strength of the boy made Jian Chen feel like he was facing an apocalypse.
Jian Chen’s eyes lit up, and with a wave of his hand, he used the four strands of sword Qi from the Nirvanic Immortal Exalt. However, he seemed to see an odd smile that was barely visible on the boy’s face at this moment.
Jian Chen’s eyes suddenly narrowed due to the smile. At this crucial moment, Jian Chen seemed to sense something. His hand continued along the same trajectory as before, but he shot out four small swords transformed from regular sword Qi instead of the Nirvanic Immortal Exalt’s sword Qi. He imbued the sword Qi with the presence of the Nirvanic Immortal Exalt’s Way of the Sword so that they seemed just like the sword Qi that the Immortal Exalt had left behind.
As soon as Jian Chen sent out the four strands of sword Qi, he swung his hand again and shot out four more similar strands of sword Qi. He sent a total of eight strands of sword Qi contaminated with the Nirvanic Immortal Exalt’s presence toward the boy at the same time.
However, he did not stop there. After shooting out the eight strands of sword Qi, Jian Chen then began to use his own sword technique. The Zi Ying Sword immediately became a hundred meters long and the Sword Domain emerged, transforming the region enveloped to a whole different domain. It trapped the red-robed boy.
The boy came to a halt. He was frozen, having been immobilized by the power of the Sword Domain.
The eight strands of sword Qi with the Nirvanic Immortal Exalt’s presence arrived with unbelievable speed and passed through the boy almost simultaneously. Soon afterward, the hundred-meter-long Zi Ying Sword also cleaved down on the boy, splitting him into two.
The boy rapidly disappeared, but he did not show any signs of pain or regret at all. Instead, he just smiled, oddly.
Jian Chen stared at the disappearing boy in shock. His face immediately became extremely ugly as he exclaimed with a sunken face, “That’s fake. It’s not the real thing!”
“Hahaha, that’s right. That wasn’t my true body just then, but a clone I condensed from energy. It’s just a pity that you realized too late.” A familiar voice rang out from nearby as soon as Jian Chen finished speaking. Another red-robed boy suddenly appeared, walking over form the side of the palace. He had hid himself there, using the pressure of the palace to conceal his own presence and trick the sword spirits.
“Just as I had expected. You actually still have the sword Qi from that old Nirvanic bastard. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was cautious and condensed a clone to test you, I would have been heavily injured already. However, now that you’ve used up all your sword Qi, I’d like to see what you’ll use to take me on. Killing you will only take a single move. So what about how forbidden you’ll become in the future. You’ll still die in my hands,” the boy sneered. He suddenly pushed his right hand toward Jian Chen and an ancient tower immediately condensed over Jian Chen. The tower was several dozen meters tall and appeared exactly the same as the Anatta Tower. It radiated with a presence that made Jian Chen lose his courage to battle. It loudly fell toward Jian Chen.
Suddenly, an extremely terrifying pressure appeared from the tower, completely immobilizing Jian Chen. His feet were pushed into the ground by the pressure while all his bones creaked, as if they were about to break from the load.
The tower above was filled with the destructive power of a law. The power had far exceeded anything Jian Chen had seen on the floors below.
Jian Chen became extremely stern. His presence exploded, and with a flash of light through his eyes, the Zi Ying Sword immediately shot toward the tower in the sky. Jian Chen formed a seal with his right hand and the Qing Suo Sword began to use its spiral sword Qi, producing rings of azure waves in an attempt to weaken the tower’s power.