Volume 12 Chapter 64: Mutually Forgetting Those Ruffian Years
Within this massive city not even the fastest Sacred Expert could visit every corner of within a single day, just like the most busting days of the world of cultivation roughly ten years before Yunqin Empire was established, there were definitely going to be many battles between Sacred Experts that were normally rarely seen.
Battles between Sacred Experts were just like that between Nangong Weiyang and that True Dragon Guard within True Dragon Mountain, just the mention alone making one think of powerful flying swords.
However, this world's most powerful and most majestic city was a place where the great scholars of all different clans gathered.
In the decade or so before Yunqin was established, in Ni Henian's memories, the number of Sacred Experts who used all different fighting styles was greater than now, definitely not just the flying sword path.
The battle between him and Zhong Cheng also didn't involve the use of flying swords.
Zhong Cheng walked within the endless whirlwinds, walking towards Ni Henian.
The originally brightly shining world, because of the countless wind currents, instead made the surrounding scenery seemingly enter a state of confusion.
Zhong Cheng seemed to be walking within a thick mist, a mist that covered this entire city.
His figure warped within the light rays produced within the countless winds, also producing many mirror images which looked like shadows. The disorder of vital energy made it so that regardless of whether it was through perception or line of sight, it would be hard to deduce the exact difference between the two of them.
However, Ni Henian instead retained a calm expression. His white hair was blown about crazily in the air behind him, yet his body didn't move at all, only watching as Zhong Cheng approached.
Zhong Cheng walked up to Ni Henian's face.
His arms rose up to where his dantian was, making an empty hugging gesture. A boundless wave of Sacred Expert soul force surged from between his arms and chest, instantly filling his arms and dantian with brilliance, as if he was hugging a bright moon.
Then, he just hugged this bright moon, charging straight into Ni Henian in an extremely simple manner.
This was called the Bright Moon Hammer.
It was a one strike technique.
The previous storage of soul force within the body, stirring the vital energy of the world chaotically, guiding the wind streams to distort light rays, producing mirages to prevent the opponent from being able to accurately gauge the distance, these methods that seemed extremely mysterious and unimaginable in the eyes of ordinary cultivators weren't actually where Zhong Cheng was most powerful.
As Zhong Family's most powerful cultivator, the dao he cultivated the most bitterly was precisely erupting with all of his strength for one attack.
The power of the flesh and the power of soul force would be completely released in one blow. There was only one strike.
After this strike, he wouldn't have the strength to release a second strike.
If he succeeded, then it was one strike, if he lost, it was still one strike. That was why this one strike was exceptionally domineering, there was no turning back.
When Zhong Cheng carried the bright moon, his body also completely turning into a hammer, the stone surfaces on the ground around him were completely flung into the air.
Following the rapid eruption and contraction of soul force, the air in the surroundings quickly gathered into that bright moon he held, lifting the surrounding stones. As if he defied some principles of gravity in this world, they didn't seem to have any intent to fall, instead, it was as if they were just going to continue floating in the sky.
During these years, within the brilliant Central Continent City, regardless of whether it was the Sacred Experts who took up long term residence within, or those who had entered and left, not many people dared use a flying sword before Zhong Cheng.
It was because there were previously two sword controlling Sacred Experts who used their flying swords against Zhong Cheng. In the end, under Zhong Cheng's Bright Moon Hammer's strike, their flying swords were blasted to pieces, the fragments flying into their bodies.
All materials that could make flying swords were the world's most durable metals or crystals, or else they wouldn't be able to endure countless strikes and clashes, unable to endure the powerful infusion of a Sacred Expert himself. Power that could completely shatter a flying sword was naturally terrifying to the extreme.
However, when facing Zhong Cheng's strike, Ni Henian's hands also reached out from his extremely precious robes' sleeves, calmly pressing against Zhong Cheng's hands.
Countless stone strips floated in the air.
The instant Ni Henian's hands pressed against Zhong Cheng's hands, all of the floating stone strips shook, their surfaces that had experienced the stepping of many cultivators suddenly produced many cracks.
However, Ni Henian didn't actually plan for his hands to directly face Zhong Cheng's strike.
In this instant, he only calmly poured out soul force into Zhong Cheng's body.
...
In this extremely brief amount of time only Sacred Expert level cultivators could react to, Zhong Cheng sensed the other party's soul force quickly penetrating and entering his body, rushing into his own dantian. A radiance of speechlessness appeared within his previously calm eyes.
He finally knew Ni Henian's most powerful methods, finally understood why Ni Henian was the most powerful Sacred Expert in Central Continent City for all these years, the only unshakeable Great Consecrator.
The soul force of every single cultivator could move soul weapons. For soul weapons, soul force was their fuel.
This reasoning was extremely simple.
However, soul force itself was actually also extremely mysterious and profound, just like the blood flowing through every cultivator's body, their essence carrying the condensed power of some type of special vital energy.
The soul force of every single cultivator was like their own blood, the characteristics about the same, but there were also slight differences.
This meant that every person's soul force could serve as fuel for soul weapons. However, even though the fuel of every cultivator could be ignited, they were different types of fuel.
When a cultivator had the soul force of another infused into them, it was completely like transplanting someone else's incompatible organ.
This organ will naturally die.
That was why even Sanskrit Temple's extreme art which treated oneself as a vessel, using their own soul force to form a crystal wall and protect their meridians, only allowed the enemy's soul force to only move through their own meridians like a path, and was not merging with their own soul force.[1]
If soul force could be simply transfused to another cultivator, then this world's cultivators' cultivation increase wouldn't have the sole path of meditation cultivation, soul force could just be freely poured into another.
Moreover, soul force, this type of thing, unless it was taking the initiative to guide the enemy's soul force into his own body like Yun Hai[2], otherwise, even if it was a cultivator who had a level or two of cultivation advantage over his opponent, if he forcefully poured his soul force into his opponent's body, it would directly explode upon contact with the other party's flesh and soul force... That was why cultivators on a Sacred Expert level could easily blast the body of an ordinary State Master level cultivator to pieces, but infusing their soul force into a certain part into an opponent's body was too difficult.
When two cultivators with similar levels of cultivation fought, when two different soul forces clashed, it would be an instantaneous collision. When pure power faced pure power, there was definitely no way one side could infuse their own soul force into another's body.
However, at this moment, Zhong Cheng could clearly sense that a wave of Ni Henian's soul force surged into his soul force, pouring into his dantian.
This was unrelated to the strength of the power, it could only be a type of powerful secret cultivation technique.
This was precisely the reason why within the past few decades, no one could shake Ni Henian from the position of Imperial Court Great Consecrator, Ni Henian's greatest secret.
...
This wave of Ni Henian's soul force was like an ink brush falling into a basin of clear water, waves of thick ink instantly merging into the clear water, and then spreading densely.
Much of Zhong Cheng's soul force instantly seemed to die, no longer within his control.
The radiance of the bright moon he carried suddenly decreased, the power quickly shrinking. Moreover, during this brief moment of impasse between him and Ni Henian, his quickly perishing soul force began to bash about crazily inside his body.
This was just like how ten years before Yunqin was founded, the period where for better or for worse, cultivators could freely express their art. Two completely different cultivation paths, different cultivation methods clashed, this type of battle wasn't as hair-raising as a battle when flying swords clashed, but it was much more subtle, more dangerous.
Moreover, victory or defeat was going to be decided in this instant. Ni Henian would continue to remain as Central Continent City's most powerful Sacred Expert, while Zhong Cheng would most likely die.
However, in this instant, a ding noise sounded.
This sound came from someone tapping against a blade tip.
Just like Jiang Yanzhi's sword tip strike back then[3] this ding noise suddenly turned into countless sounds, especially many frequencies that couldn't be picked up by the human ear.
These sounds were like countless threads that cut through the air, landing on Ni Henian's body.
The extremely precious robes on Ni Henian's body suddenly produced countless light streaks.
His brows furrowed slightly. Following a light muffled groan, he turned around in shock, looking towards Yellow Sparrow Temple's entrance.
In that instant,because of this strike, the soul force Ni Henian infused into Zhong Cheng's body was cut off. Many streaks of blood and vital energy shot out from his entire body's pores. His figure quickly backed up within this type of bloody mist and crazy winds.
The stone slabs that were floating in the air, originally already covered in many cracks, were completely diced up by the invisible sound threads, turning into chunks of debris before falling.
Ni Henian's robes didn't produce a single bit of rupturing.
The entrance of Yellow Sparrow Temple instead split into countless triangular pieces, as if they were cut by blades.
Standing behind this main entrance was an extremely aged old lady.
This yellow faced old lady was originally a leisurely person who watched over the vegetable garden in this Yellow Sparrow Temple. Normally, she would at most hold a plant watering dipper, yet right now, what was in her hands was a blade, a blade that was similar to the one Jiang Yanzhi was used to using.
She was called Nightingale.
Ten years before Yunqin was established, she was only a girl in Central Continent City's red-light district, previously experiencing some events with Jiang Yanzhi. Later on, Jiang Yanzhi paid for her freedom. She became fed up with those things, in the end choosing to return to this Yellow Sparrow Temple to live in seclusion. Many years later, both her and Jiang Yanzhi had long forgotten each other with those ruffian years, while Jiang Family already didn't have any connection with her.
However, Jiang Yanzhi died and Jiang Family completely perished.There were already no Jiang Family people left in Central Continent City. At this time, she instead stood out, becoming the last Jiang Family person in this Central Continent City.
Ding!
This woman washed clean of her past, forgot the ruffian history, she was even forgotten by those ruffians as well, yet her fingers that were no longer soft once again struck heavily against the sword tip.
"I never expected Jiang Yanzhi's Soul Ripping Technique to be known by another person in this Central Continent City."
Ni Henian's brows furrowed, reaching out his hand.
Countless powerful sounds, audible or not, smashed into his body. The long robes didn't produce any light patterns, but many streaks of light appeared on his hand.
His complexion paled a bit.
Nightingale's long blade instead shattered. Then, she also quickly withdrew together with Zhong Cheng.
Ni Henian began to move, starting to chase after them.
For the emperor, these were two terrifying opponents and assassins, so he couldn't let them leave Central Continent City alive.
1. Lin Xi succeeded because it was a soul merging
2. B10C10
3. B12C44