Chapter 1272: Sword Pool

Although Zhang Jiuxiao's strength was far inferior to his own, he was definitely above average among the group. With various tricks up his sleeve, according to his speculation, he should have been able to hold out until the end. Yet, just over ten minutes after entering the island, he was eliminated...

Who did it?

How could it be so fast?

"Let's see where he was eliminated; that should reveal something..."

With a flick of his finger, a drop of blood appeared before his eyes.

It was the drop of blood essence that Zhang Jiuxiao had given him earlier to test his bloodline.

His palms danced continuously, and a series of hand seals fell into the blood. In the blink of an eye, the compass in his palm spun unceasingly, pointing in a direction.

The isolated island did not allow communication, but it did not forbid using blood to track its owner.

Zhang Jiuxiao had been eliminated as soon as he arrived on the island, which struck him as very strange.

He flew off in the direction indicated.

The tiger-bone beast, which had thought it was doomed, breathed a sigh of relief when it saw its would-be killer leave. It quickly tucked its tail and hid, no longer daring to swagger around.

After flying for several minutes and covering over a hundred li, Zhang Xuan stopped.

"Why do I feel like I'm going in circles?"

He frowned.

After walking so far, logically, even though the island was vast, he should have seen the edge or something different!

But for some reason, the scene before him always felt familiar, as if he had been racing along... going in circles all along.

"It's a formation..."

After taking a few more steps, he quickly understood.

This island actually contained a massive formation. Because its scope was so large, even he, trapped within it, hadn't noticed at first.

"To trap me and go unnoticed for so long... it's at least at the quasi-eight-star level!"

His understanding of formations had already reached the peak of the seventh level. With the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao Formation, he could easily set up even some early eighth-level formations.

With such strength, he should have easily detected any formation. To be trapped this long before noticing... the formation's level must be high.

"Eye of Clarity..."

However, no matter the level, once he knew it was a formation, the rest was simple. He lifted his eyelids, and patterns flickered.

Soon, strands of spiritual energy lines appeared before his eyes.

"It should be... the quasi-eight-star [Linjiang Maze Formation]! And it covers at least thousands of li in radius. A formation this large... where exactly is this?"

The Linjiang Maze Formation was not only high-level but also had an extremely wide coverage, usually used to conceal mansions or areas, like the Poison Hall in Jingyuan City, which hid the entire island...

It was here too, covering thousands of li...

Where exactly was this place?

A formation of this level would take centuries to set up. Even he would need at least a month to complete it...

He had thought it was just an ordinary island, never expected it to be so formidable!

"Knowing it's a formation makes it simple..."

He didn't know much about Qianchong Empire. After thinking for a while and coming up with nothing, Zhang Xuan shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.

This formation could confuse people, making them lose their bearings and stay trapped in the same place, unable to escape. Now that he knew its structure, he wouldn't be fooled anymore. He looked around, found the right direction, advanced over ten kilometers, then moved seven or eight kilometers to the left. After changing direction more than ten times, he stepped forward.

Splash!

It was as if he had broken free from some shackles. Although the scene before him was still mountains and forests, still various vegetation, the spiritual energy was different—heavier, carrying a faint pressure and killing intent.

"It's sword qi!"

His expression turned serious.

He was very familiar with this aura; it came from sword qi.

Looking in the direction from which the aura came, he immediately saw a patch of trees lying on the ground, as if cut down by a single sword strike. In the center, a few drops of blood were imprinted on the rock, not yet fully congealed.

"It's Zhang Jiuxiao's blood..."

He frowned.

He had studied Zhang Jiuxiao's blood carefully and could recognize it at a glance. The blood was here, and there were signs of battle. Could it be that he was eliminated here?

But...

Wasn't the use of weapons forbidden?

What was with the sword qi?

Cutting down so many trees with one sword strike—even he would find it difficult.

When had such a powerful person appeared?

"Eye of Clarity, track!"

The patterns appeared again, and he searched around.

The other party had just used sword techniques here to eliminate Zhang Jiuxiao, so they couldn't have gone far. If he tracked the traces, he should find something.

Sure enough, a faint trace of sword qi soon appeared not far away, extending faintly into the distance.

He followed the direction and dashed off.

After only two steps, his ears rang again, and the voice continued: "Chi Yurui, jade talisman shattered, second elimination. Remaining... thirty-one!"

"He was eliminated too?"

This guy, Zhang Xuan had some impression of him. He was a peak Divine Soul realm expert from Qianyun Empire, extremely strong and very clever... Unexpectedly, just over ten minutes after Zhang Jiuxiao was eliminated, he was also eliminated... That was too fast!

He continued forward, and another area appeared before him, flattened by sword strikes. The sword qi here was even more rampant. When he lightly touched it with his finger, it felt like it might pierce his skin.

Just as he was about to continue, his heart stirred, and his body suddenly shook. In the blink of an eye, he appeared over a hundred meters away.

Splash!

From the spot he had just left, a sharp aura shot up from underground, straight into the sky, as if it would tear space apart.

Hum!

He quickly looked and saw a long sword floating up from beneath the ground. Seeing that it hadn't hit anyone, it seemed displeased.

"A peak Divine Soul realm mid-grade holy artifact? Why is it here?"

Zhang Xuan was stunned.

He had thought it was some mastermind hiding underground to ambush him, but he never dreamed it was just a mid-grade holy artifact at the peak Divine Soul realm!

Such an artifact, like the Golden Origin Cauldron, had intelligence. Sensing someone following, it had hidden and ambushed him.

Fortunately, he had the ability to sense danger in advance and had noticed something was off. Otherwise, if the sword had pierced through, even if he wasn't injured, he would have been in a sorry state.

"Hmph!"

Zhang Xuan, displeased, reached out and grabbed, sending a surge of force.

Whoosh!

Seeing him move, the long sword didn't hesitate. Its hilt twisted, and it tried to burrow back into the ground.

"You stab me and then try to escape... Not so easy!"

The surrounding space instantly froze. The long sword seemed to fall into mercury, moving with difficulty and unable to stir.

"Come here!"

Then, a fierce suction force transmitted. The sword trembled twice, then could no longer hold out and flew straight toward Zhang Xuan.

It fell into his palm, and he tapped it several times.

With a hum, it had been trying to escape but soon became docile.

It had been refined!

"Was it you who ambushed Zhang Jiuxiao and Chi Yurui?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Not me, it was the Zhaoyu Sword!" The long sword twisted its body and let out a crisp sound.

"Zhaoyu Sword? What's your name?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

Could it be... besides this sword, there were other mid-grade holy artifacts?

"My name is Muyun Sword!" the long sword said.

"Zhaoyu and Muyun... Why are you here, and what is this island?"

Hearing the names, he knew they should be a set of treasures. Frowning, Zhang Xuan continued asking.

Not only was there a great formation, but there were also long swords ambushing people. It was too strange.

"We came here many years ago. This is the Qianchong Empire Sword Pool!" said the Muyun Sword.

"Sword Pool?"

Zhang Xuan was stunned again.

Back then, Hall Master Xing had told him that the geniuses selected by the War Master Hall of the Four Empires would have the opportunity to train in the Qianchong Empire Sword Pool. He had thought it had nothing to do with him, but he never expected the venue for the second round to be set here!

"Yes, there are many swords here, and many sword intents left by powerful experts... You intruded here, and you carry something that attracts us, so naturally we ambush you!"

said the Muyun Sword.

"Something that attracts you?" Remembering something, Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist and took out the jade talisman: "You mean this?"

"This thing contains a sword intent. If we devour it, it helps increase our spirituality. So... we wanted to break it!"

explained the Muyun Sword.

"Sword intent?"

Zhang Xuan extended his divine sense into the jade talisman and indeed felt a sword intent. Although faint, it was the understanding of the sword by a Domain realm expert, which was extremely attractive to swords.

"So that's it..."

Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

By setting the second round here, Zhao Xingmo ostensibly had the masters fight each other, but in reality, he had secretly left a backup plan, drawing the swords of the Sword Pool to ambush people!

Coupled with the formations and such... With a slight misstep, one would fall into a trap, impossible to defend against!

Zhang Jiuxiao was probably unlucky enough to run into that Zhaoyu Sword, which shattered his jade talisman, eliminating him and losing his qualification.

"Where is the Sword Pool? How many swords of your level are there?"

Understanding what was going on, Zhang Xuan couldn't help asking.

"The Sword Pool is about a hundred kilometers from here. There are over a hundred swords like me!"

Having been completely tamed, the Muyun Sword concealed nothing.

"Over a hundred... peak Divine Soul realm swords?" Zhang Xuan's eyes widened.

Swords at the peak Divine Soul realm had already reached the mid-grade holy artifact level. There wouldn't be many in the entire Qianchong Empire, yet here there were over a hundred. If he could tame them all, his combat power would surely skyrocket again.

"The Qianchong Empire Sword Pool was left by Sword Elder back in the day, containing his inheritance and countless sword intents and techniques... Every year, it attracts countless sword-training experts who come seeking fortune. However, no one has ever seen what the inheritance looks like, nor has anyone obtained a complete fortune..."

"The sword qi here crisscrosses, and the sword intents and techniques differ. Staying long causes conflicts in philosophy, which is very damaging to sword practitioners. Moreover, all sorts of people mix here, so conflicts are inevitable... Many sword cultivators, once they came, never left, wasting their lives..."

At this point, the Muyun Sword's tone became low: "The owners of me and the Zhaoyu Sword died here just like that..."