Chapter 56 Besieged by the Malefic Weapons
The tone with which he uttered the last few words suddenly deepened and turned gravelly, “killed his opponents!” The three words resounded through the whole palace, resonating with the malefic weapons!
In the Hearts of Swords Palace, the malefic weapons quivered on the shrines with great killing intent, the temperature of the surrounding air plummeted down rapidly while some parts of the palace turned burning hot and another corner was filled with blood-red fumes, all of a sudden, the palace turned into an unearthly and wicked place!
Zhong Yue was a man that could face squarely with the terror of the boundary between life and death, he would surely not be afraid of the palpitation of the Ten Malefic Weapons, he said in an indifferent tone, “Did the grand elder notice anything?”
Grand elder’s sights fixated on him, he stared at the young man with his eyes filled with praise, he shook his head and said, “Not yet. But you are able to face squarely with the Ten Malefic Weapons without the slightest ripple of fear, your guts are way better than the others. Even among the Qi Practitioners, not many can be as steadfast as you are. To be courageous and brave enough to face the malefic weapons, I suppose this is one of the reasons why you were able to survive through the assaults of the Sword Cocoon.”
How intense was the killing intent of the Ten Malefic Weapons?
With the dreadful and fearful aura of the malefic weapons, even some Qi Practitioners would shudder in fear when faced with the Ten Malefic Weapons, their courage and bravery would crumble like a thin layer of ice and would they have no guts to even to put up a fight – they could only be slaughtered like pigs.
While Zhong Yue had the courage and bravery, his fortitude was better than the others, he did not waver in front of the dreadful and deadly aura, hence, he was able to unleash all of his prowess without any fear detracting from his focus.
The Grand elder walked forward and Zhong Yue followed behind him, he saw another shrine with a malefic soul weapon of the name “Flying Swallow”, left behind by a Swords Gate female elder from the You Yu Clan. On the opposite side was another shrine, the malefic soul weapon occupying it was the “Cloud Sword” from another female elder from the Tao Lin Clan.
The two female elders had been dead for thousands of years, they were both killed by their own soul weapons, devoured by their own “Flying Swallow” and “Cloud Sword”.
Other than the two elders, these two soul weapons had a few masters after, but none of them lived long as they were also devoured by the two ominous weapons, dying in the most tragic way.
“Grand elder, the malefic weapons had their own spirits, why did they kill the souls of their masters?” Zhong Yue was puzzled and he asked.
“The Ten Malefic Weapons are from the top ten clans, they were all carved with the totem carvings of the techniques from the top ten clans that could be said to be the consummate techniques of the Great Wilderness.”
Another elder walked over, his voice sounded as if thunders were rumbling, he said, “When the soul devours its master, it was actually the heart of sword that devours. The heart of sword is the heart of the Qi Practitioner and also the heart of the soul weapon. The soul weapon kills in tandem with the Qi Practitioner and when the inner evil burgeons within the Qi Practitioner’s heart, the heart of sword of the soul weapon will also be corrupted. These elders, they were not killed by their soul weapons but rather, they died because they could not win over their inner evil, bedeviled by the demons of their hearts that were engendered by the slaughter they committed in the past!”
He was a brawny man with a psyche larger than the ordinary humans, his voice rumbled like thunder and when he walked, lightning trailed behind him in the air, the thunder and lightning around him clearly denoted his identity as an elder that comes from the Lei Hu Clan.
The elder from Lei Hu Clan had an imposing manner with thick hairs and strong muscles, he stood beside the shrine that contained Lei Hu Clan’s Blood Ray Sword and continued, “Elder Shui Zian willingly gave up the Sword Cocoons as he was able to defeat the inner evil within him, it is also why his prowess is incredibly strong, he is one of the strongest men in Swords Gate. Zhong Shan Clan member, you have the ability to survive under his malefic weapon and you practice the lighting refining soul technique of my Lei Hu Clan, you are suspicious, very suspicious!”
His aura was like a lightning god standing in the lightning clouds, his aura surrounded Zhong Yue and his sights struck like lightning intending to see through the secrets behind Zhong Yue’s unusual prowess!
Zhong Yue bowed and greeted the elder, “Zhong Yue of Zhang Shan Clan, greets Elder Lei. Did Elder Lei spotted anything?”
“No, not yet.”
The elder from Leihu Clan was startled for a moment, he then laughed and said, “Although I didn’t know where you learn the Lei Hu Clan’s secret technique of refining your soul with lightning, but the techniques of the Lei Hu Clan, hehe, are not any weaker than the Shui Tu Clan’s. Hence, it is only natural for you to be able to survive the attacks of the Sword Cocoon. Otherwise, if you are killed in the battle, doesn’t it indicate that the Lei Hu Clan’s techniques are weaker than the Shui Tu Clan’s? But….”
His voice turned cold and dense, “Where did you steal this technique from the Lei Hu Clan?”
“Other than the Lei Hu Clan’s techniques, you still practiced the extreme training of between life and death.”
You Yu Clan grand elder stood beside the shrine of the ominous sword Flying Swallow, he said, “Training in the state of between life and death, although one can cultivate very fast and increase his prowess rapidly, the death rate is too high. Only the headmaster of Swords Gate had once practiced with such a training method and survived. I had heard from Feiyan that you practiced such a foolhardy method but still survived. Such an extreme training method, who taught you about it?”
Just when he finished his sentence, another elder came out with his hands on the back, he said, “During the battle between you and the Shui Tu Clan young lady disciple, you used a strange visualization art, the Xiang Dragon. You have been to the Beast God Ridge where thousands of monster race elites eternally rest. That place is the tomb of the beast god while the beast god was a Xiang Dragon. Zhong Shan Clan member, your prowess increased rapidly after you’ve returned from the Beast God Ridge, your psyche was now able to materialize the virtuality to the level of a Qi Practitioner’s.”
His aura was like a mountain that crushed downwards compressing the surrounding air to become denser and he walked to the side of the shrine that contained the Nan Lu Clan’s malefic weapon.
Zhong Yue’s heart shifted, he again bowed and greeted, “Zhong Yue of Zhong Shan Clan, greets Elder Nan.”
The elder was from the Nan Lu Clan, he smiled and said, “What was interesting is that when you were in combat, you had the signs of turning into a Xiang Dragon. The beast god, a Xiang Dragon, your visualization, a Xiang Dragon, the relation in between the two is indeed interesting.”
“Did Elder Nan find out anything?” Zhong Yue asked.
Nanlu Clan elder shook his head and said, “No, the Xiang Dragon is a godly auspicious beast. Your psyche materializes the Xiang Dragon and you have the Xiang Dragon Sword Qi, it is possible for you to survive under the Sword Cocoon’s attacks.”
“Although it is fairly possible, your rapid increase in prowess is too dubious.”
Another female elder appeared in the Hearts of Swords Palace, she had a beautiful face with a warm bright smile, dressed in a golden sheer silk blouse and wasp waist, her aura was like an ethereal cloud, she smiled and said, “You have cultivated for five years in the outer hall lower house, you were one among the mediocrity, but less than half a year in the upper house, you are like a changed man. Your immense increase in prowess and the capability to defeat the top ten clan core disciples. It is normal for a disciple with the innate spirit body but you are not one of them, how can you explain such a peculiar phenomenon?”
“Zhong Yue of Zhong Shan Clan, greets Elder Tao.”
Zhong Yue pondered deeply for a moment, he then said, “My talents are starting to bloom.”
The female elder from Tao Lin Clan stood right at the shrine with the malefic weapon of Tao Lin Clan, she tittered and said, “Compared to such an explanation, I am more inclined towards that there is an extremely strong and dangerous man standing behind you imparting you his knowledge, or rather, that someone had claimed your body as his own! Zhong Shan Clan member, I’m afraid you are not the Zhong Shan Clan member anymore, but someone else, or maybe, something else, a demon god or maybe a celestial god!”
“What was more interesting is that you were in the Demon Ruins when the radical changes took place that caused the death of thousands over of upper house disciples.”
Another elder made his appearance, he walked like a king, he should be an elder from the Jun Shan Clan, like the others he walked to the side of the shrine that contained the Jun Shan Clan’s malefic weapon, his voice was monotonous and indifferent as he spoke, “But only you led a group of disciples and survived. The changes in the Demon Ruins exposed the demon Qi Practitioners and the demonic spirits, they tried to awaken their ancestor, the Tian Myriad Mother. But she escaped right after she was awoken, the elders were searching for her but to no avail, it was right at that time that you led dozens of disciples out of the Demon Ruins.”
“So, who is behind you exactly, the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother?”
Shui Zian Elder Shui also arrived at the palace, he stood right in front of the shrine of the Sword Cocoons, his sights fixated on Zhong Yue with a bright smile as he said, “Or should I say, you are the beast god or the Tian Myriad Mother? Zhong Shan Clan member, give us evidence, something that can prove that your prowess did not come from them!”
Then there were elders from the Li Shan Clan, Tian Feng Clan, and Qiu Tan Clan walking over to the malefic weapons of their respective clans, leaving only the shrine of the strongest malefic weapon.
Zhong Yue frowned, in his psyche ocean, Xin Huo also furrowed his brows, he mumbled, “These old brats are really sly, it is hard to fight our way out from the Hearts of Swords Palace. There are ten malefic weapons here with nine elders, each and every one of them are standing by a malefic weapon, take a single wrong move and they will grind you into minced paste with the ten malefic weapons….”
Zhong Yue noticed it too, the nine elders were dubious of him, suspecting that he was possessed by the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, that was why they summoned him in this palace.
Everything would be fine if he was not the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, but if he was, then death is the only ending for him!
But if they found out I have a peculiar creature like Xin Huo in my psyche ocean, I’m afraid my ending would still be death?
Zhong Yue collected his thoughts, he heaved a deep breath and asked, “Elders, why do you suspect me and not Shui Qingyan of Shui Tu Clan?”
Elder Shui Zian was dumbstruck by his words, he then smiled and answered, “Shui Qingyan was personally taught by me, I gave her the Sword Cocoon on my own, what basis is there for me to suspect her? You can’t be saying that she is the Tian Myriad Mother right?”
Zhong Yue’s face darkened, Xin Huo quickly comforted him and said, “Don’t worry, there are nine old brats with nine malefic weapons, but the last malefic weapon was free to take. This last ominous weapon is way stronger than the other nine ominous weapons, it is the strongest soul weapon in this Hearts of Swords Palace. When the conversation turns sour later, I will take control over your body and control that malefic weapon, we will slaughter these nine elders and erupt the devil souls beneath Swords Gate, you and I will then wander around the world as initially planned ….”
Without Swords Gate, we humans in the Great Wilderness would be food to the monster race.
Zhong Yue pondered and said, “Elders, how can I prove that I am not the beast god nor Tian Myriad Mother?”
The elders all kept silent and pondered deeply.
Shui Zian faked a cough and said, “Beast god and Tian Myriad Mother is no small issue, we would rather end the possibilities here than letting a potential danger walk away freely.”
“No.”
The Tao Lin Clan female elder shook her head and said, “If he is not the beast god nor the Tian Myriad, then wouldn’t our actions cost the loss of a very talented young man?”
“Is a talented young man more important, or the threats of Tian Myriad or beast god greater?”
Shui Zian smiled and said, “If the martial siblings have any better ideas, please do speak up.”
The elders gazed at each other, the You Yu Clan grand elder coughed and said, “Zhong Shan Clan member, lift off the protections on your psyche ocean, we will have to examine your psyche ocean and soul.”
Lei Hu Clan elder nodded and agreed, “This would work. But to examine his psyche ocean, one’s soul would have to enter his psyche ocean, if he really is the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, our souls will be powerless against him, who is willing to take such a risk?”
You Yu Clan grand elder strode towards Zhong Yue and said, “I will. Zhong Shan Clan member, release the protection of your psyche ocean, junior martial siblings, control the malefic weapons and if I am killed, he must not walk away alive!”
Zhong Yue’s heart tightened while Xin Huo said fiercely, “Let him examine, this You Yu Clan is the strongest among the nine elders, I will seize the chance and crush his soul, it will then be easier for us to escape!”