Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Luo Xiu leaped from the flying boat and plunged into the mist-shrouded Sword Forest below.
The so-called Sword Forest was not a verdant expanse of trees. On the contrary, it was barren and utterly lifeless—not a single blade of grass in sight. This was a forbidden territory ford by hundreds of thousands of swords!
These hundreds of thousands of swords were the spoils of war collected by the Azure Emperor after his exhausting battles across the Three Thousand Worlds, taken from the fallen cultivators. Among them were ordinary blades left by common loose cultivators and also swords that once belonged to the formidable experts of the Emperor Realm.
The residual Sword Intent from hundreds of thousands of swords fused here, nourished over thousands of years, to finally form this perilous forbidden territory.
「On the flying boat.」
Luo Yue and the others sat inside the luxurious and comfortable cabin, enjoying their pastries and fruit wine in great leisure. Since Bai Haoran had passed the Mighty Celestial Stone's test, it proved he was a one-in-a-million genius. Therefore, the organizers of the Sword Conference naturally treated a genius's friends and family with courtesy and friendliness. It was because of this that people from the Outer Plains like Luo Yue and Wang Wu, who would normally find it difficult to even enter the Inner Plains, received such treatnt.
A Wei, munching on sunflower seeds, said earnestly, "This Sword Forest is nothing like the Mighty Celestial Stone. You can use so clever tricks over there, but the Sword Forest is a true test of a person's abilities."
"I heard that a Red Emperor once entered the Sword Forest, and it took him a full five years to get out!"
At this mont, a disciple from the Yue Wu Dojo looked toward Wang Wu and asked, "Sect Leader, do you think that kid, Bai Haoran, can make it out of the Sword Forest?"
Wang Wu curled his lip and shook his head. "I doubt it. After all, in a place like the Sword Forest, being clever won't help." He then laughed offhandedly. "Besides, why are you all fussing over this? I never expected that pretty boy to achieve much anyway. I mainly just wanted to take this chance to look around the Inner Plains."
A Wei laughed beside him. "Old Wang is right. Having the opportunity to see the Inner Plains and witness the legendary Sword Forest with our own eyes is satisfaction enough. This was well worth the 500,000 Spirit Jade we spent!"
"After all, this Sword Forest was left behind by His Majesty, the Azure Emperor! How fortunate we are to behold it up close with our own eyes!"
Just then, a disciple from the Inner Plains' Luo Clan approached slowly. He glanced at Luo Yue, a barely perceptible flicker of disgust in his eyes. Although they were outwardly polite, the Luo Clan mbers from the Inner Plains harbored a deep-rooted disdain for those from the Outer Plains, believing the Luo Clan Outer Tribe to have a tainted lineage. If it weren't for the Azure Emperor of old, those from the Outer Tribe would not have rely been exiled; they would have definitely been treated as slaves by the Inner Tribe.
The Inner Tribe disciple swept his gaze over the group, forcing himself to be patient, and said with an expressionless face, "According to the rules, if a participant cannot exit the Sword Forest within a month, they will be disqualified."
"You may all bypass the Sword Forest and wait in Wangjian Town at its outskirts. There, you'll find the 'Mountains and Rivers Scroll,' which displays a live feed of all the prodigies within the Sword Forest."
A Wei smiled. "Alright then, let's head to Wangjian Town and check it out. That baby won't make it out within a month anyway. We can hang around Wangjian Town for a month and buy so local specialties from the Inner Plains to take back."
"We can't let these 500,000 Spirit Jade go to waste!"
「Within the Sword Forest.」
Luo Xiu completely disregarded the fierce Sword Qi assaulting him and walked forward at a steady pace. He could sense that this violent Sword Qi was a singular Sword Intent ford from the fusion of hundreds of thousands of different Sword Intents—it was truly terrifying. Even a Red Emperor would be affected here!
But to Luo Xiu, a Sword Intent of this level was sothing he could completely ignore. After all, he had played with Dream and Asura. Dream and Asura was a fusion of countless beings from multiple epochs, so how could a re few hundred thousand Sword Intents compare?
After walking for so distance, Luo Xiu noticed many young prodigies trapped by Sword Arrays. The Sword Intent had even manifested into all sorts of hideous monsters, applying targeted pressure on them. Many of them scread with their hands clasping their heads, blood streaming from all seven orifices, seemingly on the verge of a complete ntal breakdown from the tornt. Others had already fallen to the ground, their bodies convulsing uncontrollably.
Luo Xiu swept his gaze around, unfazed, and continued on his way. He could feel that the Sword Intent here had reached the Profound Emperor level. For these young cultivators, who were at most in the Dao Jade Realm, trying to brute force their way through would be futile. They needed a sufficiently high talent in the Sword Dao to comprehend and unravel the Sword Intent here.
As Luo Xiu was lost in thought, his vision suddenly darkened. A hideous monster, manifested from Sword Intent, lunged at him with bared fangs and outstretched claws!
SLAP!
Luo Xiu, his expression unchanged, swatted it away with the back of his hand.
"Get lost. You're not worthy."
The ugly monster was sent flying, rolling several tis on the ground before coming to a stop. It scrambled back to its feet, baring its teeth and glaring at Luo Xiu, fear gradually filling its eyes.
The young prodigies nearby witnessed this scene, all of them completely dumbfounded. This profound and mysterious Sword Intent had already gained a degree of sentience and could even generate Sword Arrays on its own. It was a fearso Sword Intent that even a Profound Emperor wouldn't dare confront head-on, yet this young man had just greeted it with a backhanded slap?
That's insane!
Luo Xiu paid no attention to their astonished gazes and walked straight ahead. As he passed the ugly monster, it trembled in fear, not daring to make a single move. From that one slap, it had sensed the strength of Luo Xiu's Sword Intent—an intent it knew it could never hope to withstand!
Luo Xiu's Sword Intent was simple and pure. It was a single word: Kill.
Kill everything that stands in my way!
「A short while later.」
Luo Xiu delved deeper into the Sword Forest. Gradually, he felt an even more dangerous Sword Intent, one that had reached at least the Red Emperor Level! The few young elites who had made it this far on their own skill were now all trapped, completely unable to comprehend it.
Suddenly, the Sword Intent materialized into thousands of humanoid phantoms, forming a vicious slaughtering Sword Array that instantly surrounded Luo Xiu!
Seeing this, the other young prodigies looked on with pity.
"This guy actually triggered such a massive reaction. He's probably dood."
"Sigh, we'd better just worry about ourselves!"
Luo Xiu, expressionless, scanned his surroundings and said indifferently, "You can act tough in front of others, that's fine. But try to act tough in front of , and I'll end you in minutes."
His casually spoken words were fused with his Sword Intent—the supre Sword Intent of slaughter! An invisible army of thousands charged forth, followed by an invisible mountain of corpses and a sea of blood that crushed everything in its path!
In an instant, the Sword Array crumbled into nothing.
Luo Xiu strode forward.
The young prodigies who witnessed this were all left completely dumbfounded.
"No way... He broke the Sword Array with just one sentence?"
"And such an arrogant sentence at that!"
"Could that sentence be the secret to breaking the array?"
"I have to try it!"
And so, a young prodigy began to imitate Luo Xiu's earlier posturing, stating coolly, "You can act tough in front of others, that's fine. But in front of ... AHH!"
Before he could finish, the provoked Sword Array unleashed its divine fury, instantly tearing the young prodigy to shreds, as if venting the frustration Luo Xiu had caused it.
Seeing this, the other young prodigies turned pale and hastily retreated.
"Just as I thought. Not just anyone can pull off that kind of posturing. You need the corresponding strength to back it up!"
「Not long after.」
Luo Xiu reached the deepest part of the Sword Forest. Only six young prodigies were here, all of them blocked by a giant wall constructed from countless broken swords.
Among those six, Luo Xiu spotted a familiar face—Zhu Yu. But Luo Xiu paid him no mind. He had no interest in soone like Zhu Yu.
Then, Luo Xiu noticed fifty-six tall, blurry figures standing atop the massive wall. Though these figures weren't corporeal, they exuded a terrifying aura.
Luo Xiu gave them a single, indifferent glance before striding toward the giant wall.
What an absolute bore.
He was just about to smash the wall with a single punch when a woman's voice, as pleasant as a warbling oriole, ca from behind him.
"Little guy, if you don't want to die, you'd better not go over there so directly."
"Those figures are manifestations of the Sword Intent left behind by the fifty-six heroes of old. If you try to force your way through, you'll have to withstand sword pressure at the White Emperor Level."
Luo Xiu turned to see that the person who had warned him was a stunningly beautiful girl in a white dress. The girl had blood on her dress and her face was pale; she was clearly injured.
"My na is Xi Er. Little guy, what's your na?"
Luo Xiu replied indifferently, "Bai Haoran."
Xi Er swayed as she walked toward Luo Xiu, smiling as she said, "Little guy, since you were able to make it here, it ans you're strong enough... How about we cooperate to get through? What do you think?"
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