Chapter 140: The Sevenfold Mountain of the Dao Sword!
(This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation)
What resistance?
What pretense of calm indifference?
Ji You was unscathed, so why would he need to feign composure?
He was simply seeking a flaw in Chu He’s spellcraft, while Chu He was desperately trying to break through his defense. Was that not the truth?
Listening to the murmurs around him, Ji You appeared genuinely puzzled.
“But I am injured…”
Above the sea of clouds, four Hall Masters stood with hands clasped behind their backs, remaining silent for a long while after the previous exchange.
Chu He’s strength could still be attributed to the heritage of the Chu Clan—as though all mystical wonders in this world, when placed within immortal sects or millennia-old families, were simply not worth mentioning.
But Ji You, a mere wandering rogue cultivator from Yuyang County, had demonstrated strength beyond expectation.
He had no elders from a prestigious lineage to teach him, nor did he seem to possess any profound techniques, yet his physical resilience was beyond comprehension.
Thus, in that moment, Zuo Qiu Yang deployed his Upper Five Realms divine sense.
Upon close inspection, he confirmed that Ji You’s back, the first point of impact from the earlier strike, bore not even a single mark. However, his waist, where the last punch had landed, had indeed turned slightly red.
“Perhaps… this is the trait of the Huntian Spell.”
“A trait?”
Zuo Qiu Yang turned to his junior brother, Chai Hu, who stroked his long beard in thought.
“Chu He’s power has been steadily increasing. It appears that the true strength of the Huntian Spell lies here—so long as his spiritual energy does not deplete, his force will grow heavier and heavier. That is the true challenge.”
“Then, Junior Brother Chai, what do you think Ji You’s chances are?”
“If Chu He’s spiritual energy remains unexhausted, his power will continue to increase. While Ji You’s physical body is formidable, if he relies solely on his Sword Heart, he may never be able to truly harm Chu He.”
And the battle that followed proved Chai Hu’s words true.
With each passing moment, the purple-red aura around Chu He surged like a roaring inferno.
A deafening boom resounded as his iron sword struck fiercely, followed immediately by a crushing fist force. Ji You was pushed back step by step, until he was forced to the very edge of the White Jade Terrace.
Among the many Inner Court disciples spectating, some had already realized that Chu He’s Huntian Spell was growing stronger over time. They speculated that this must be the secret of the Chu Clan’s martial arts, and they couldn’t help but feel anxious for Ji You.
Just then, Ji You’s golden eyes flashed brightly. His sword lifted toward the sky.
He saw it…
That chaotic, turbulent qi force…
But it shifted too quickly—so he needed a sword even faster.
As that thought ignited within his mind, a resonant sword cry suddenly echoed through the mountains. A magnificent sword aura erupted like a torrential river.
The first to look up were the disciples of Spirit Sword Mountain. Even the one who had been furiously transcribing the duel a moment ago now raised his head, eyes widening.
Spirit Sword Mountain’s Dao Sword—Return and Come.
With a single reverberation, the expressions of the onlookers drastically changed. A sword of unparalleled speed whistled forth, skimming just above the ground in a lightning-fast arc. Its sword intent nearly overflowed from the White Jade Terrace.
Chu He, mid-strike, saw only a brilliant flash of snow-white radiance before him. There was no time to retreat.
Crack!
His amethyst crown shattered before his eyes.
The supreme fast sword had cleaved into him, sending him flying and slamming into the ground.
The moment the sword fell, the world turned silent.
Many clenched their fists so tightly that their knuckles turned white.
Everyone had known that Ji You had stolen the swordsmanship of Spirit Sword Mountain. Yet even those who had traveled with him to seek Dao enlightenment had never seen him draw his sword within the Sword Forest.
But now, that single supreme fast sword revealed what Ji You had truly learned.
This was true swordsmanship. No tricks, no flourishes—only pure speed.
A sword that knew only to move forward without hesitation.
Before the stunned gazes of the crowd, Ji You withdrew his blade with a light motion. The sword aura had yet to fade, and sword intent still boiled in the air.
His upper body was bare, his broad chest smooth as jade, and his battle spirit blazed like fire.
This sight left Lu Qing Qiu, Lou Si Yi, Sun Qiao Zhi, Fang Ruo Yao, and many of the female disciples of the Heavenly Script Academy completely entranced—including even He Ling Xiu, a Direct Disciple of the Hall of Tranquility.
[This is bad… my Dao Heart is wavering. How could this be…]
Her cheeks warmed. To be so shaken by mere mortal flesh—how laughable.
Yet, she did not know that even the Little Mirror Master of Spirit Sword Mountain had been left bewildered at this sight, let alone the eldest daughter of the Pill Sect, who dreamed of this figure night after night.
“This is not Sword Heart Clarity… he saw it.”
Upon the distant mountain cliff, Chai Hu’s eyes trembled.
Previously, when Ji You had shifted his strike from a diagonal slash to a circular cut, they had attributed it to his Sword Heart Clarity, allowing him to grasp a fleeting opportunity.
But just now, the Dao Sword of Spirit Sword Mountain had been a direct downward cleave, with no variation.
A fast sword prioritizes one thing above all—directness.
Only a perfectly straight sword path can achieve the fastest speed.
Yet, against the Huntian Spell, to execute such a direct and swift strike, there was only one explanation—Ji You saw the flaw.
He had seen the weakness of Huntian Qi.
But the Dao is formless and traceless—how could anyone possibly see through it with the naked eye?
Chai Hu pondered deeply before arriving at a single conclusion—
This was not Sword Heart Clarity.
This was never the Sword Heart Clarity that Spirit Sword Mountain believed it to be.
It was something greater—Dao Heart Clarity.
Yet the most astonishing revelation was still to come.
For at that moment, Chu He rose to his feet.
He had not been knocked out of the ring.
Just moments ago, that lightning-fast sword strike had bent his Spirit Sword, yet all it had done to Chu He was cause his tiger’s mouth to crack and bleed slightly.
“How is Chu He’s physical body this strong?! What is going on?!”
“Could it be that the Outer Court instructors have taught them different cultivation methods?”
Amid the murmuring discussions, everyone marveled at Chu He’s formidable body. Only Chu Xiong, the Clan Chief of the Chu Family, who had remained composed the entire time, suddenly furrowed his brows. It seemed he found it hard to believe that Ji You had managed to injure his son’s physique.
Even when Ji You had executed Return and Come, he had not reacted this drastically.
At this moment, Chu He casually tossed aside his bent sword and retrieved another from his Storage Gourd.
“The flaw in Huntian Spell appears only once every half an hour. I never expected you to find it, but all you managed to do was leave me with this insignificant wound. Next, my sword and fists will be even stronger.”
He then smirked venomously. “Tell me, do you think I can kill you within half an hour?”
His voice was laced with malice, but it was loud enough for all to hear.
The expressions of Ban Yang Shu and the others, who had initially smiled after Ji You’s successful strike, immediately stiffened, their faces growing solemn.
They knew Ji You’s physical strength well. After all, they often visited his courtyard to drink tea, witnessing firsthand his inexplicable body-tempering methods. They were also aware that Ji You had relied on this very body, combined with the consumption of Pills, to endure the final strike of the Sword Forest of Spirit Sword Mountain, the infamous Thought Without Evil.
Yet, none of them had anticipated Chu He’s body to be this resilient. Even Ji You’s Return and Come had only managed to crack his tiger’s mouth…
And if Huntian Spell truly functioned as Chu He claimed, with only a single moment of vulnerability every half an hour, then Ji You’s next opportunity to land a decisive strike would come only after thirty minutes.
More crucially, Return and Come had not dealt any fatal damage to Chu He. Even if Ji You managed to land a strike every half hour, it wouldn’t be enough to bring him down.
Yet, within that half-hour interval, Chu He would have the advantage, launching a relentless barrage against Ji You.
Furthermore, the properties of Huntian Spell would only serve to amplify Chu He’s attacks, making each blow even more powerful. Even if Ji You currently felt little pain, he would inevitably suffer injuries.
“This… this is way too unfair…”
“The spell arts of a millennia-old noble clan… they’re truly this terrifying…”
Chu He’s lips curled into a cruel smile as the aura of Huntian Spell roared around him. The crowd watched in astonishment as his blade surged with even more overwhelming energy before he struck once again.
However, in that instant, Ji You suddenly smirked.
Then, the Spirit Qi beneath his feet howled, and his Spirit Sword surged forward with unwavering determination. The boundless Sword Qi flowed like an unstoppable river!
With a thunderous boom, Chu He met his strike head-on!
In that moment, a force as immovable as a mountain struck forth. Chu He, his pupils constricting, felt a searing pain course through his arm.
A sharp crack echoed beneath him as the stone slab underfoot shattered, forcing his feet into the ground.
Buzz!
A crisp and chilling sword hum resonated as Ji You loosed his sword, then immediately brought down another devastating strike.
Then came a third, a fourth…
Chu He, overwhelmed, could do nothing but desperately parry. His mind grew hazy as though lost in a chaotic storm of sword slashes.
The wound on his tiger’s mouth, initially just a minor crack, now bled profusely, spraying crimson with every impact.
Seeing this unfold, many on the high platform turned pale.
Just moments ago, Chu He had arrogantly declared the invincibility of Huntian Spell, asserting that Ji You’s strikes should be rendered useless under its influence within the half-hour period. Yet reality had veered completely off course.
Now, Ji You had released his sixth sword, only to seamlessly grip the seventh, which had already been lying in wait midair, its stance primed.
Chu He had assumed that Ji You was searching for a flaw.
But he was wrong.
Why must a sword always strike its opponent directly?
Why couldn’t it simply shake its opponent to death?
Ji You had never been looking for an opening. Instead, he had sought out the most discordant point of energy within the Huntian Spell, a clash between its nature and his Sword Intent, to serve as the perfect landing point for his Heavy Sword.
It was akin to wielding an impenetrable iron shield—though it could block every strike, the sheer force of impact would still shake the one holding it to their core.
As the sharp and roaring sword hum continued to resonate, Ji You, his arms powerful as iron, spread them wide, and his seven Heavy Swords hovered in midair like mountains.
“The Spirit Sword Mountain Dao Sword—Little Overlapping Mountain…”
From the royal seats, Prince Chong, Titled Princess Chang Le, and Wei Li all turned in unison, looking toward the Spirit Sword Mountain disciples seated behind them.
They all gazed up at the seven floating swords, their blood stirring despite not being combatants themselves.
“No… that’s not Little Overlapping Mountain.”
“It isn’t?”
“Senior Brother Gong Shu says this is Seven Overlapping Mountains… a sword technique even Elder Qi himself cannot use. Truly, Ji You is worthy of nearly killing Senior Brother Gong Shu.”
High above the Cloud Sea, deep within the Hall of Longevity, its master gazed upon the towering, mountain-like swords and murmured inwardly.
So he truly has seen through the flaws of Huntian Spell…
With a deafening roar, the Dao Sword—Seven Overlapping Mountains coalesced, the sheer weight of its gathered Sword Qi pressing down so intensely that those in front of it found it difficult even to lift their heads.