The strength of sword cultivators was evident for all to see. Even a novice sword cultivator was not to be underestimated. Among all weapons, swords were considered the foremost, which was proof enough of a sword cultivator's might. Yun Feng, seizing the moment while Qing Yun's sword intent was still elusive and unstable, launched a decisive attack. His legs, like sharp sickles, closed in from both sides with ferocious speed, converging towards Qing Yun's neck. Seeing Yun Feng's assault, Qing Yun gently flicked his long sword. A sword trace sliced through the air, and Yun Feng's legs were actually drawn upward by Qing Yun's blade. Yun Feng's attack was thus completely thwarted.
Yun Feng was surprised by the profound subtlety of Qing Yun's swordsmanship, which had managed to redirect his attack. He couldn't even find a weakness in the sword move. Qing Yun's swordplay was entirely different from his current demeanor. They were in no way comparable. Although Qing Yun's sword intent was ephemeral, the sword moves he executed were utterly flawless. Yun Feng dared not underestimate him, suspecting this fellow might be feigning weakness to strike a fatal blow. Yun Feng immediately unleashed his full strength. There was no longer any need to conceal his power.
Yun Feng's legs began to spin ferociously, vortexes of energy swirling around them. The blade-like wrist guards on his legs shot out countless projectiles. The blades rained down from the sky, a dense barrage aimed at Qing Yun. Each blade carried immense power. Qing Yun's eyes opened, and he began to dance with his sword, creating blooming sword flowers and entangling sword traces. The surrounding sword energy began to materialize, forming myriad long swords. Qing Yun thrust his sword forward, and countless swords flew out, colliding with the projectiles. Explosions erupted repeatedly as neither side ceased their assault.
The battle between Qing Yun and Yun Feng was no less intense than that between Chen Tian and Huang Feng Long. The battlefield was extremely fraught, with swords and blades clashing relentlessly, neither giving way to the other. Yun Feng's spinning accelerated, and the projectiles were launched with even greater ferocity. Seeing this, Qing Yun swung his sword in rapid succession. Behind him, sword energy slowly formed into spectral figures. However, this time they were not sword figures, but rather spectral beasts formed from sword energy.
There, a fierce tiger appeared. The sword energy at this moment seemed to have transformed entirely, feeling different from before. The previous sword energy had an aura of dominance, while this new sword energy possessed a fierce intensity, and even other subtle energies. No one had ever comprehended such sword intent before.
After all, each strand of sword intent had its own unique characteristics. In this life, Qing Yun had abandoned the dominant sword intent to instead comprehend the Hundred Beast Sword Intent, a sword intent forged by combining the strengths of various beasts, possessing over a hundred variations. It could be said to be unpredictable.
Sword intent permeated the entire spectral figure. A fierce tiger charged directly into the rain of projectiles. Seeing this, Yun Feng sneered internally, thinking that such a move could never resist his own techniques. It was a pipe dream.
Qing Yun's sword intent spectral figure was naturally not that simple. It was merely a nascent form, not even having fully coalesced the essence of a hundred beasts, but merely a manifestation of sword intent. Qing Yun needed to identify the flaws in the tiger sword intent within the spectral tiger.
In Qing Yun's eyes, the tiger's characteristic was ferocity, an unstoppable charge, destroying anything that stood in its way with ruthless efficiency. A tiger was not a brute; the spectral tiger charged towards the countless projectiles. Suddenly, the spectral tiger roared, waves of sound rippling outward. The spectral tiger actually extended its claws. The blades, minuscule as dust before its massive claws, shattered the instant they made contact.
The spectral tiger continued to advance, as if no amount of attack could impede its progress. The surrounding cultivators watched in astonishment.
What kind of sword intent was this? Why did this sword intent possess self-awareness?
Qing Yun's spectral tiger sword intent had been endowed with self-awareness, the ability to think – something cultivators, especially sword cultivators, had never heard of. It was universally known that sword energy was inanimate and fixed; its characteristics and abilities were predetermined from birth. Yet, never had there been talk of sword intent possessing consciousness.
The spectral sword energy tiger before them was like a true tiger emerging from the mountains, shattering all obstacles in its path. Soon, the spectral tiger charged straight ahead. Yun Feng, sensing danger, stopped spinning. He stomped his feet, and the wrist blades on both his legs spread open, transforming into wings. With a swift whoosh, he vanished from his original position.
The spectral tiger's attack missed. Yun Feng reappeared elsewhere. Fortunately, his leg armor possessed acceleration capabilities; otherwise, enduring that strike would have resulted in severe injuries. Qing Yun, seeing Yun Feng evade the attack, paid it no mind. After all, Qing Yun hadn't expected this move to inflict damage on his opponent. Qing Yun closed his eyes, and magnificent sword energy surged around him, more fierce than before. Yun Feng sensed something and angrily exclaimed, "You look down on me!"
He appeared very displeased. Qing Yun remained silent. At this moment, Qing Yun was comprehending and refining the tiger sword intent. From the preceding events, Qing Yun had already grasped the shortcomings of the tiger sword intent. As for how it gained self-awareness, it was a simple technique involving a divine being splitting off a trace of its spirit and attaching it to the sword energy.
To others, it appeared as if the sword intent possessed its own consciousness, but it was Qing Yun's own mental energy controlling the spectral tiger sword intent. Seeing that Qing Yun did not reply, completely disregarding him, Yun Feng felt like he was being treated as mere whetstone, an object to hone the opponent's sword intent and techniques. The opponent clearly disdained him.
Yun Feng grew furious and gathered his strength. A grey light erupted from his legs, and wisps of black energy unpredictably seeped into them. Chen Tian suddenly sensed something, but only for a fleeting moment – a familiar aura. Chen Tian was uncertain if it was what he suspected.
Yun Feng's legs were accumulating power, while Qing Yun was comprehending and refining. Both intended to deliver a killing blow in one strike. The sword energy around Qing Yun converged, forming a spectral figure. This time, the spectral tiger appeared even more lifelike, and its size was over a hundred times larger than the previous one.
Qing Yun's long sword flew directly into the spectral figure. Qing Yun opened his eyes, raised his arms into a stance, and repeatedly punched. The spectral tiger behind him roared and charged directly at Yun Feng. This move was one Qing Yun had comprehended by merging the Hundred Beast Fist with sword energy, and it was called the Fierce Tiger Tear Kill Fist!
Yun Feng's legs were still accumulating power, but as they did, they visibly merged into one. The leg armor on his legs perfectly fused, forming a black and silver drill. Yun Feng's body spun, and he, along with the drill, charged directly at the spectral tiger.
The two beams of light collided, generating earth-shattering energy fluctuations. There was an eerie silence. At the center of the energy, Qing Yun and Yun Feng clashed, the spectral tiger and the drill colliding. It was a stalemate.
Seeing this, Qing Yun raised his arms and made a whipping motion. Then, he powerfully swung his fists. The surrounding sword energy poured madly into the spectral tiger, causing its aura to surge with immense power.
Yun Feng felt the strengthening power of the spectral tiger, a force he couldn't resist. What kind of power was this?
Yun Feng gritted his teeth. It seemed he had no choice but to reveal his final trump card. An explosion resounded. Everyone assumed Yun Feng would be killed, but from within the explosion, Yun Feng emerged, his body enshrouded in black energy.
Chen Tian and Qing Yun's expressions turned grave. Then, Chen Tian shouted, "Leave here quickly, if you don't want to die!"
Chen Tian and Qing Yun looked at Yun Feng, now enveloped in black energy, and recognized it as the evil spirit energy of the Evil Spirit Race itself, not merely that of some lesser demon. Yun Feng was actually connected to the Evil Spirit Race. Damn it, had the infiltration of the Evil Spirit Race reached the myriad worlds already?
Chen Tian appeared somewhat astonished. This speed was not what he had anticipated, given that there were others watching over the myriad worlds. The Evil Spirit Race should not have been able to infiltrate so quickly.
"No, something is not right. The aura on him… it's an aura in a sealed state."
"Could it be?"
Chen Tian suddenly thought of something. Memories flooded back. Some members of the Evil Spirit Race betrayed their tenets and were sealed by their own kind. This aura was likely from one such individual. The seal could not be easily broken, which could only mean one thing: that fellow, Tian, had interfered.
Only Chen Tian and Tian knew how to break the seal, and it required time. It appeared Yun Feng had stumbled into this situation.
Qing Yun's expression was grim. He looked at the surrounding cultivators. Chen Tian moved to Qing Yun's side and said, "Let's join forces to form a barrier. Otherwise, everyone here will be assimilated, and that would be a true crisis."
No one had heeded Chen Tian's earlier words to leave, as they were all greedy for the three treasures.
Qing Yun and Chen Tian nodded. They simultaneously raised their palms, and two beams of light shot into the sky. The beams transformed into countless lines, enveloping the battlefield. Those cultivators were shut out.
"What is this?"
"This barrier gives me a sense of invincibility."
"Heavens, why are these two holding up such a powerful barrier?"
"Quick, quick, look at Yun Feng, his appearance is so strange!"
The crowd turned their attention, and Yun Feng's form underwent a tremendous change. Black wings grew from Yun Feng's back, formed from a viscous, eerie black liquid. Yun Feng's entire body was enveloped in black energy. His left eye remained human, while his right eye turned black. A black longsword sprouted from the top of his head. His hands transformed into sharp, black claws, while his legs remained human-like, with black markings winding around them.
Yun Feng was completely unrecognizable from before, like a demon emerging from hell. His current appearance was indeed demonic.
Yun Feng looked at Qing Yun and Chen Tian, his voice losing its human quality as he spoke, "You forced me to become like this. I will kill you. As long as I obtain your treasures, I will have no regrets even if I become like this."
Yun Feng had originally been unwilling to use this form, as each use pushed him further away from being human. He had used it twice before without any side effects, but now the side effects were manifesting, preventing him from maintaining his human form. This semi-human state meant that the next use would likely see him completely shedding his humanity and becoming an anomaly.
The immense power had corrupted his mind. This power was what Yun Feng yearned for. In the eyes of cultivators, any action was permissible in the pursuit of power.
Chen Tian sensed Qing Yun's aura and then his eyes widened in shock. "It's him! What was that guy, Tian, thinking, letting him out?"
Chen Tian's change in expression was noticed by Qing Yun. Qing Yun realized that this battle would not be easy.
Chen Tian took a deep breath. Fortunately, it was merely an attached body; if the actual person had appeared, Chen Tian might truly have died here.
Chen Tian was very familiar with that aura. It was he who had suppressed that entity before. Evil Devourer, whose ability was to devour, to consume any primordial energy. The more he devoured, the faster his realm would improve, with no concept of unstable realms.
At the time, he had wantonly devoured his own kind, the Evil Spirit Race, and Chen Tian had no choice but to suppress and seal him. He never expected that fellow, Tian, would release him. However, the seal seemed to be holding for now.
Chen Tian needed to consolidate the seal. He absolutely could not allow the actual entity to escape, as that would endanger the entire universe. Evil Devourer's ability, once reaching a certain level of consumption, could swallow an entire world in one gulp.
The most terrifying aspect of this ability was that if left unchecked, the worlds of the myriad realms would disappear one by one. As for Evil Devourer himself, his mind had long been lost to his own abilities and power. As long as he could increase his strength, he cared not for the lives of the beings in the worlds.
Chen Tian unleashed sixty percent of his power. Facing this power, Qing Yun felt minuscule. Chen Tian's reincarnation body was likely even more powerful than his own.
Otherwise, even in his previous life, he could not have resisted such an imposing aura.
Yun Feng and Chen Tian's auras collided. Chen Tian's sixty percent power was actually on par with Yun Feng's aura. This alone shocked the surrounding cultivators. But then, Qing Yun also unleashed an extraordinary aura. In the clash of the three auras, Chen Tian and Qing Yun barely held the upper hand.
Heavens, just how strong was Yun Feng now? What was that aura and appearance?
Qing Yun moved beside Chen Tian and said, "I'll help you."
"Be careful, this is merely an attached body of his. Together, we still have a seventy percent chance of victory."
Chen Tian said grimly. Qing Yun was somewhat stunned to hear that. A seventy percent chance, not a hundred percent? Had Yun Feng's strength increased so terrifyingly?
However, seeing that Yun Feng had already transcended humanity and was transforming into the appearance of the Evil Spirit Race, he could somewhat understand. After all, a true Evil Spirit Race member was far more powerful than this form.
Chen Tian seemed to know information about the Evil Spirit Race member behind Yun Feng, but Chen Tian did not say anything, and Qing Yun did not ask further.
Three beams of light collided in the air. Chen Tian and Qing Yun joined forces, this being the first time Chen Tian had allied with a cultivator from another world to fight an Evil Spirit Race member.
Yun Feng's claws and Chen Tian's figure flashed past each other, their impacts grazing one another. Qing Yun suddenly appeared behind Yun Feng and unleashed the Hundred Beast Fist with all his might, combining the power of over a hundred fierce beasts.
Yun Feng's claws lashed out in response, claws meeting fists. The clash of energy currents produced waves of sound that permeated the entire barrier.
Because they were covered by the barrier, the abilities of the Silent Forest could not penetrate. Thus, sound could still exist.
Chen Tian, taking advantage of the stalemate between Qing Yun and Yun Feng, saw that Yun Feng was struggling. He launched a surprise attack from behind, his fists flying out. The three powers merged into one, this punch appearing like the dawn of chaos.
A sense of crisis arose. Yun Feng's legs reacted, colliding with Chen Tian's fists. His legs slashed vertically, kicking Chen Tian's arms away.
His claws erupted with power, pushing Qing Yun back. Qing Yun forcibly stabilized himself. Chen Tian, seeing Yun Feng advancing towards him, transformed into countless afterimages.
Yun Feng's body flickered and trembled. The afterimages dissipated, and Chen Tian and Qing Yun stood together.