Chapter 209: Thousand Swords Converge

Without Han Li's spiritual sense connection, the electric light on the Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords immediately subsided, but for some reason, they still struggled incessantly, as if trying to break free from the grave mounds.

The three teams of cultivators stationed in the area where the Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords were located changed expression and cast spell seals toward the grave mounds. The bun-shaped mounds then lit up with green light, emitting waves of strong binding force.

Yet even so, they could not fully suppress the unusual movement of the Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords. Several flying swords still struggled fiercely, as if about to burst forth.

“Senior Brother Ye Feng, what’s going on? Although these flying swords act up every so often, they’ve never been as hard to suppress as today.” A purple-haired man asked, his face full of confusion.

Beside him, the tall, dark-skinned youth did not answer. He simply stood up from the ground, approached the few flying swords, formed a hand seal, and tossed it high.

Several palm-sized black stones flew up, tracing gentle arcs in the air, and landed precisely on the grave mounds.

These stones had rough textures and reflected faint black light, appearing quite ordinary. In fact, they were a type of rare stone called “Sword-Suppressing Stones,” capable of temporarily suppressing the spiritual nature of flying swords.

As the Sword-Suppressing Stones fell, the light on the grave mounds grew brighter. The remaining flying swords suddenly lost momentum, and all electric light on them faded away.

In truth, the grave mounds, though seemingly ordinary, held hidden secrets. They not only nurtured the flying swords, preventing their spiritual nature from fading after leaving their original owners, but also possessed binding power to ensure the swords would not escape.

Seeing all the Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords settle down, Ye Feng sat back in his original spot without a word.

The purple-haired man could only sigh silently.

For some reason, since a day a few years ago, Ye Feng, who had once been the pride of the sect, suddenly underwent a drastic change in temperament, becoming very silent. His once rapid cultivation progress also seemed affected, greatly displeasing Elder Mo Xie.

As the purple-haired man sighed inwardly, another person came up beside him and said:

“Senior Brother, today is the last day of our sword tomb guard duty. After this, there won’t be such a task that’s both easy and safe, with stable merit points every month.”

“Hehe, weren’t you complaining last time that this task was so boring it could drive you crazy?” The purple-haired man chuckled and joked with him.

Meanwhile, far away at the entrance, Han Li had cut off his connection with the Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, but his attention had not left them.

When he saw Ye Feng also serving as one of the overseers of the sword-suppressing formation, one of his doubts was resolved.

When he first arrived at the Bell Tone Mountains, the auras of the Crab Daoist and the Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had been simultaneously blocked. Hence, he had always believed the two must be together. Later, when he recovered the Crab Daoist but failed to find the Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, it had troubled him.

Presumably, Ye Feng had happened to be performing maintenance tasks there that day, and the Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had exhibited unusual activity, causing both to be concealed by the forbidden area’s formation, leading Han Li to misunderstand.

“The time is about right. I will now explain everyone’s tasks.” Xiong Shan’s gaze swept over the crowd as he spoke.

Upon hearing this, the True Immortal realm elders quickly composed themselves and listened attentively.

The observing Elder Mo Xie also straightened his expression and looked toward Xiong Shan.

“The great formation you see before you is called the ‘Thousand Swords Converge Spirit Sword Formation.’ With this formation, I can erase the imprints left by the original owners on the thousand-plus flying swords in this sword tomb, transforming them into pure sword essence. What I need to do is to fuse all this pure sword essence into my life-bound flying sword.” Xiong Shan announced loudly.

At these words, everyone, including Elder Mo Xie, was shaken.

Han Li was also secretly astonished.

If one could truly fuse the essence of these high-quality flying swords into a single sword, that sword, gathering the essence of myriad metals, could potentially break through the spiritual treasure barrier and reach the level of a post-natal immortal artifact, with unimaginable power.

“As you should have seen, aside from the central sword sacrifice platform, this place is divided into ten zones. What you need to do is to guard one zone, control the flying swords in that zone, assist me in erasing the sword imprints, and absorb the sword essence.” Xiong Shan continued.

Upon hearing this, everyone’s gaze swept across the grassland, each seemingly calculating which zone to choose.

Han Li, while observing his surroundings like the others, was pondering the content of Xiong Shan's words, trying to find some useful clues.

The tombs in this Sword Grave appeared to be distributed chaotically, as if built at random, but in fact they were clearly structured and orderly. Flying swords with similar sword intent or from the same origin were often placed in the same area, while those with conflicting sword intent were separated into two different areas.

At the center of each area stood a black stone pillar, over three zhang in thickness and more than ten zhang in height, which served as the array hub of that area. Embedded in the pillar were over a dozen immortal essence stones, each the size of a dragon's eye.

Not to mention anything else, this single stroke was enough to shock all the True Immortal realm elders present.

"Fellow Daoist Xiong, if you ask me, why didn't you erase the original owners' imprints on these flying swords earlier? Wouldn't that be more convenient?" Mo Xie suddenly asked.

"What do you know! Once the imprint on a flying sword is erased, most of its spiritual nature is lost, and it continues to diminish over time. Only by erasing it during the formal ritual refinement can the original spiritual nature and power be preserved to the greatest extent." Xiong Shan snorted and said impatiently.

"Haha, I see! I stand corrected!" Mo Xie laughed nonchalantly and nodded.

Xiong Shan said nothing. With a flick of his wrist, a gleaming golden flying sword immediately materialized.

The sword was over three feet long and about two inches wide, entirely golden, and brimming with an overwhelming sword intent that exuded a domineering, invincible aura. At the hilt, a ferocious ancient beast's mouth was cast, its jaws wide open and eyes gleaming, appearing almost lifelike.

The surrounding crowd glanced at the sword only once before quickly looking away, as if its sharpness was too intense, almost stinging their eyes.

"As expected of Fellow Daoist Xiong's life-bound flying sword. After years of refinement and preparation, it is truly incomparable to its former self! Once this sword is fully forged, with just a few more centuries of secluded meditation, crossing that threshold to become a Golden Immortal should be within reach," Mo Xie praised, his eyes lighting up.

"Then I shall take Fellow Daoist Mo's kind words as an omen!"

After unleashing his life-bound flying sword, Xiong Shan's aura surged even more. With a triumphant cry, he soared into the air, sword and man moving as one, and in a few lightning-fast bounds, he landed on the Sword-Offering Platform in the center of the grassland.

The entire Sword-Offering Platform measured thirty-six zhang in diameter and seventy-two zhang in height. It was crystal clear and translucent, as if carved from fine jade, adorned with intricate array patterns and inlaid with many unknown spirit stones, all interconnected to form a massive array diagram enveloping the entire platform.

"I have prepared for today's matter for tens of thousands of years. If it succeeds, all will be well. But let me be clear: if anyone drops the ball at a critical moment, don't blame me for turning hostile afterward," Xiong Shan suddenly turned and said to Han Li and the others.

"Daoist Bear, rest assured. I will do my utmost and not fail!" Zhu Feng clasped his hands and was the first to give his assurance.

The other local elders also patted their chests in assurance, while Han Li and the few scattered-cultivator elders nodded respectfully.

"Enter the array core!"

With Xiong Shan's earth-shaking shout, Han Li and the other nine shot up and sped across the grassland.

A flash of azure light surrounded Han Li as he dashed northwest, but halfway there, he halted abruptly in midair.

In that instant of his start and stop, Zhu Feng rushed past him, casting a sidelong glance and letting out a contemptuous "hmph," then flew toward the area of the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords and drifted down onto the black stone pillar at its center.

Watching Zhu Feng's retreating figure, Han Li turned and sped toward a region to the southwest.

These regions were not neatly divided; each area was irregular in shape, and the number of flying swords distributed in each varied—some had only a few dozen swords, others over a hundred, while the area of the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords held only those seventy-two azure swords.

If the entire "Thousand-Edge Spirit-Gathering Sword Formation" could be said to have any shape, it looked like a flower bud about to bloom: the "Sword Sacrifice Platform" at the center was like the stamen, and the ten surrounding sword-array regions were like petals encircling it.

Seeing everyone in position, Xiong Shan pressed his hands together before him and formed a hand seal.

The golden flying sword that had been floating before him suddenly blazed with golden light!

As he chanted the incantation, a strange power seemed to resonate within this sword-tomb forbidden ground, making his recitation echo across the entire sky like Buddhist chants.

At the same time, the Sword Sacrifice Platform beneath him began to glow with bright radiance, and the complex array diagram engraved on it spread out like golden liquid, extending a network of golden patterns.

A rumbling sound rose from the platform, and a white jade altar three feet square slowly ascended from its center.

It was covered in runes, and at its center was a black hole as wide as a sword blade.