Chapter 981 – The Resistance from the Ancient Sabers
Qin Nan’s vision blurred.
He had been able to see the peak clearly a moment ago, but it was now blocked by a mysterious force, preventing anyone from peeking past the clouds.
“The mysterious force is coming from the inside of the mountain, which means…”
Qin Nan’s heart shuddered.
He had entirely forgotten something critical until now. The Nine Sabers Ancient Mountain was not powerful because of the ancient sabers, but the mountain itself!
The fact that it was able to hold so many sabers brought a question to Qin Nan, Where exactly did it come from?
In the midst of his doubts, the First Elder of the Heaven-Saber Sect broke the silence, “Core disciples, head to the first layer of the clouds. Inner disciples the second layer, and outer disciples the third layer. Once you find yourself a spot, start comprehending at once.”
It appeared that the three layers of cloud were specifically set up for the core, inner, and outer disciples.
In other words, the core disciples would have an advantage trying to communicate with the ancient sabers.
Due to the mysterious force of the mountain, the crowd was unable to see the eight ancient sabers on the peak directly regardless of their eye-techniques. However, those at the first layer of cloud could easily see them with their naked eyes, as they were extremely close to them.
Even if it were a zhang closer, the chance of communicating with the ancient sabers was higher as well.
Under the crowd’s admiring gaze, Dao Qianzhong, Wen Wu, and the rest of core disciples proceeded to the first cloud layer. Following this, Qin Nan, Tang Qingshan, and the inner disciples flew to the second cloud layer.
The disciples sat down on the ground as their Divine Sense flew toward the peak.
The lines of sabers on the Nine Sabers Ancient Mountain began to vibrate, emitting a faint glow responding to the summoning, apart from the eight ancient sabers that remained motionless as usual.
“I’m not sure if anyone will be getting the ancient sabers this time.”
The elders exchanged glances with one another with a stern expression, before setting their eyes on the peak.
…Meanwhile, at the second cloud layer…
As Qin Nan unleashed his Divine Sense, his mind was filled with voices, as if many people were trying to summon him from a distance away.
The voices were the sabers that had answered the summoning of his Divine Sense.
Qin Nan’s Divine Sense scanned the area quickly before moving forward. The reason being that every cultivator was only given one attempt, with ten being the maximum number of sabers they could retrieve at a time, thus he would not waste his chance easily.
“Mm?” Qin Nan raised his eyebrows.
As his Divine Sense moved toward the peak, its movement was restricted by an invisible force.
“It’s most likely due to the cloud layers. The advantage that the core disciples are given is greater than I had thought!” The thought crossed Qin Nan’s mind as he gathered his Divine Sense and thrust forward like an invisible saber.
Following a soft thud, his Divine Sense broke free from the barrier and reached the top of the mountain.
At that instant, in addition to him, the Divine Sense of other outer disciples, inner disciples, and core disciples had also gathered at the peak.
Everyone wanted the ancient sabers.
Unlike the other sabers along the way, the eight ancient sabers did not respond to Qin Nan’s summoning.
Qin Nan was not surprised either. After all, his Martial Skill Talent was not enough to capture the attention of the ancient sabers.
“Let’s try a stream of the Heaven-Shattering Saber’s will!”
Qin Nan unleashed a stream of the Heaven-Shattering Saber’s will into his Divine Sense and directed it at the eight ancient sabers.
Buzz!
As he thought, the eight ancient sabers immediately reacted.
“Something’s not right!” Qin Nan’s expression changed instead of being filled with joy.
Eight shocking intents from the ancient sabers sprang toward Qin Nan’s Divine Sense, trying to shatter it.
Fortunately, Qin Nan’s Divine Sense was protected by the copper mirror, thus the intents were neutralized as soon as they entered Qin Nan’s mind.
“How could this be?” Qin Nan frowned.
The outcome had entirely exceeded his expectations.
He had initially thought he could convince the eight ancient sabers to surrender with the will of the Heaven-Shattering Saber, but the outcome was the other way around.
“Could it be…”
A sudden thought crossed Qin Nan’s mind. Was it possible that the will of the Heaven-Shattering Saber was too powerful, thus the eight ancient sabers subconsciously tried to resist it?
“What should I do then? I can at most unleash a stream of the Heaven-Shattering Saber’s will. Anything more would surely grab the attention of the elders, or even irritate the Nine Sabers Ancient Mountain!”
Qin Nan was troubled.
The Heaven-Shattering Saber could easily overwhelm the ancient sabers, but he could not use too much of its power in this situation.
“It seems like I can’t rely on the Heaven-Shattering Saber. I have to find some other ways to earn their approval.” Qin Nan soon reached a conclusion, as his Divine Sense observed the eight ancient sabers, trying to locate a breakpoint.
“Interesting, the patterns on the ancient sabers seem out of place, but each contains a special purpose. Each of the symbols of gods and demons must represent something.”
Qin Nan’s eyes flickered.
Judging from the way the trial was set up, apart from using their aura to summon the ancient sabers, observing the patterns on the sabers was the only option left. If they were able to learn something through the patterns, they could find the way to communicate with the ancient sabers.
“One with the mind!”
Qin Nan gathered his focus.
His Divine Sense scanned the patterns on the eight sabers, as countless ideas popped up in his heart.
Comprehending the eight sabers at the same time!
Time gradually passed. The eight pictures in Qin Nan’s mind became clearer as he pondered; some were filled with rumbling oceans, destruction of nature, or the lamentation of life.
Eight ancient sabers, eight entirely different wills!
“This is a demonic saber, and the patterns on it represent blood and fire, which could be combined into a terrifying saber art…” Qin Nan murmured as he continued to deduce the saber arts represented by the patterns on the ancient sabers.
One incense, two incense…The period it took three incense to burn had passed.
Qin Nan had finally comprehended the saber arts illustrated by the patterns of the first and second ancient sabers.
“Crimson Sky-Butcher Art!”
“The Collapse of the Sun and Moon!”
Qin Nan groaned as he presented the Monarch Arts to the first and second ancient sabers through his Divine Sense.
The two ancient sabers emitted a faint glow as if they were awakened by Qin Nan’s summoning.
A moment later, the glow vanished, replaced by a stronger saber intent that slashed in Qin Nan’s direction!
“What happened?” Qin Nan was startled.
Why were the two ancient sabers still attacking him when he was using the Monarch Arts to communicate with them?