parentshiftbook Chapter 401 Time Tribulation: The Sword That Cuts Away Lifespan
Chapter 401 Time Tribulation: The Sword That Cuts Away Lifespan
Chapter 401 Time Tribulation: The Sword That Cuts Away Lifespan
The moment Li Xijun's divine sense was absorbed into the silver-gray Enlightenment Stone, he did not feel any discomfort or danger. On the contrary, like a fish returning to the sea or a weary bird returning to the forest, his consciousness was gently guided into a bizarre and fantastical realm that transcended the ordinary concept of time and space.
This place seems like a section of time frozen in time.
The surroundings were not empty space, but rather an endless flow of silvery light sand. It was not still, but flowing at countless different, even contradictory, speeds and directions.
Some of the light and sand move as fast as lightning, disappearing in an instant and leaving behind dazzling trails; others move as slowly as a glacier, taking thousands of years to show any change; and in some places, the light and sand converge into vortexes, where time twists and reverses, revealing hazy silhouettes of the past.
In the center of this silvery sea of sand, a figure stands quietly.
He was dressed in an extremely old-fashioned and simple gray linen robe. He was tall and slender with an indistinct face, except for his eyes, which were crystal clear and seemed to reflect every wave of the river of time and every frame of all things from birth to death.
He didn't have a physical sword in his hand, but he himself was like a sword of time that spanned the past and present!
Without needing an introduction, Li Xijun naturally realized that this was the peerless sword immortal who left behind the "Sword Chapter of Momentary Eternal Calamity".
The moment Li Xijun's consciousness arrived at this place, the sword immortal moved.
He pointed his fingers like a sword and gently touched the endless silver sand sea of time ahead.
The sword was drawn silently.
But Li Xijun "saw" a sword intent that was invisible and intangible, yet incredibly clear, like the gentlest breeze, brushing across the sea of sand.
In an instant, the rapidly flowing silver sand slowed down abruptly, as if its restlessness had been soothed by an invisible force, becoming as gentle as a babbling brook, and some of it even stopped completely, like elves frozen in amber.
"The essence of this sword lies in slowing down, in stagnation. It is not about brute force resisting the passage of time, but about merging the sword's intent with the flow of time, smoothing its speed, temporarily slowing its flow, and even—making it freeze for a moment. Used on oneself, it can delay a split-second reaction; used against an enemy, it can slow their speed."
This demonstration is already incredibly profound.
Even if an ordinary martial artist observed it, they would probably find it difficult to understand even a fraction of what it was about, no matter how hard they tried.
But Li Xijun is different!
The moment he witnessed this move, the innate affinity for the power of time deep within his body, stemming from the White Dragon King's bloodline, was fully activated.
An ancient dragon's roar seemed to resound from the depths of his bloodline, activating countless vague instincts about time and creating a strong resonance with the sword intent he saw before him.
He grasped the core essence of the move almost intuitively.
At the same time, deep within his sea of consciousness, the drop of time condensation liquid, which he had obtained from the Feathered Serpent Mystic Realm and had been dormant ever since, seemed to be drawn by the same source of power, trembling slightly and emitting a gentle and pure aura of time.
This aura acted like the finest lubricant and catalyst, helping Li Xijun's already powerful soul to more easily capture and analyze every subtle change in the gray-robed sword immortal's sword intent.
The gray-robed swordsman did not pause. As if sensing the special resonance of time within Li Xijun's body, he changed his sword gesture again.
The sword intent suddenly shifted from "slow" to "fast"!
This time, as he pointed his sword, the frozen sea of time suddenly "thawed" and surged wildly at a terrifying speed a hundred or a thousand times faster than usual.
The silver light sand transformed into a dazzling stream of light, instantly traversing a distance that would normally take countless years to flow, leaving behind a blurred trail of time in the void, as if it had been "accelerated."
"The essence of this sword lies in speed," in swiftness, compressing time to unleash ultimate speed in an instant. The sword is drawn like an arrow, a fleeting moment, chasing light and lightning, striking the enemy before they even realize it.
This extreme pursuit of speed resonated once again with Li Xijun's White Dragon King bloodline.
The flow of the Time Condensation Liquid made him feel as if he had personally experienced the mysterious sensation of time being compressed and speed being pushed to the limit. He understood it even more smoothly than the first move!
"So that's how it is. These two sword strikes represent the speed and slowness of time..."
In Li Xijun's mind, the scene of the Fairy Jinghong in the capital city, who killed two Dharma Aspect Grandmasters with two swords, appeared. "After successfully cultivating the true meaning of these two swords, it will become the most famous sword technique of the Sword Sect, 'A Fleeting Moment of Life, A Fleeting Moment of Beauty'."
As Li Xijun pondered and continued to comprehend the Sword of Time,
The sword intent of that time changes again!
Although the Sword of Time was mysterious, it was still within the scope of controllable "techniques" and "methods".
At this moment, the gray-robed sword immortal seemed to merge with this secret realm of time. He once again pointed his sword finger at the sea of sand, which triggered the violent, chaotic, and all-ending power of time annihilation at the bottom of the secret realm!
Something amazing happened.
The flow of time within that mass of light and sand became disordered and superimposed under the influence of the sword intent!
It seemed as if, in an instant, it simultaneously experienced the complete cycle of germination, growth, blooming, flourishing, withering, and extinction!
A phantom flower, formed from the power of time, blooms with a brilliance that surpasses eternity in an instant, before vanishing into nothingness, leaving only a lingering, heart-wrenching echo of time.
"The intent of this sword is to depict the cycle of birth and death of all things in an instant, compressing a long period of time into a single burst."
Ultimate beauty is often accompanied by ultimate destruction.
This sword can, in a single instant, slice away an opponent's long-accumulated vitality, momentum, and even—lifespan!
This technique involves the "qualitative change" and "reincarnation" of time, making it even more profound.
Li Xijun's talent for controlling time emitted an excited chirp; this method of manipulating the flow of time and enacting the cycle of life felt incredibly fitting to him.
At this moment, the Time Condensation Liquid also seemed to be activated, transforming into streams of time power to help Li Xijun stabilize his mind and withstand the true meaning contained in the sword of the true "Time Tribulation".
At this point in the demonstration, the mark of the gray-robed swordsman had faded to a wisp of smoke and was about to dissipate.
He gave Li Xijun one last "look," his gaze seemingly piercing through eternity, landing on this junior who possessed the talent of time.
Then, it completely turned into specks of silver dust, merging into the surrounding flowing sea of time and sand.
Li Xijun's consciousness was already immersed in the profound meaning of the sword intent of time, unable to extricate himself.
The White Dragon King's bloodline was like the perfect key, and the Time Condensate was like the most precious fuel, giving him an unprecedentedly profound understanding and resonance with this supreme sword technique that ordinary people could hardly grasp even in their entire lives.
Countless insights and flashes of inspiration collided, merged, and sublimated in his mind.
I don't know how much time has passed; it may be just a fleeting moment in the outside world, or it may be an eternity in my heart.
His consciousness, like the receding tide, detached from that silvery sea of time and returned to his original form.
Inside the cave at Wujian Cliff, Li Xijun opened his tightly closed eyes.
In his eyes, a fleeting glimpse of silvery sands of time flashed by, carrying a profound and weathered quality as if he had grasped some of the mysteries of time.
He exhaled a long breath, and within that breath seemed to carry a barely perceptible ripple of time.
"The Sword Chapter of Momentary Eternity—manipulating time, momentary eternity—truly lives up to the name of the Three Perfections of the Sword Sect." He murmured to himself, with an undisguised sense of shock and satisfaction.
At the same time, a familiar message quietly appeared in my field of vision:
[Your "Fleeting Eternal Calamity Sword Chapter" level has increased from 0% to 100% of the beginner level.]
[Your mastery of the "Fleeting Eternal Calamity Sword Chapter" has increased from 0% proficiency to 100% proficiency.]
[Your "Fleeting Eternal Calamity Sword Chapter" level has increased from 0% to 71% True Meaning.]
Even with Li Xijun's resolute will, seeing this remarkable progress still stirred up emotions within him.
"Is this the effect of combining talent with external forces?" he wondered to himself.
This is in stark contrast to the situation when he was lingering outside the door of cultivating the "Divine Firmament Nine Heavens Calamity Extinction Blade".
This astonishing first realization fully demonstrates how important it is to choose a path that perfectly aligns with one's own talents.
After just one observation of the inherited mark, combined with his own strengths, he was able to elevate himself to 71% of the true meaning!
Although it doesn't have the same perfect meaning as "The Sword Chapter of Life and Death in the Wheel of No Heaven," which is a sword technique that has been mastered to the level of Dharma Body.
"But now I can also use [Fleeting Moment of Life, Fleeting Beauty] and I am even stronger than Fairy Jinghong."
Even the ultimate technique of the "Eternal Moment of Time and Calamity Sword Chapter"—the Sword of Time and Calamity—I can barely use, but the price to pay is...
While comprehending this sword strike, Li Xijun also had a vague understanding of it.
"Yuanshou..."
. ! ! ! !"
"Using this sword of calamity to cut off the opponent's lifespan is certainly incredibly powerful, but the price is that it also consumes my own lifespan."
Eliminating enemies of lower realms might not be very costly, but eliminating those of the same realm would require me to pay a heavy price, losing eight hundred percent of my own lifespan. As for beings of higher realms, the time lost would be several times greater.
Perhaps as the true meaning of this sword is perfected and it completely becomes the sword of the Dharma Body, the cost will also be reduced.
"For example, killing a thousand enemies while losing five hundred of your own."
But this is still a price most martial artists would find difficult to accept.
After all, unless it's a real life-or-death crisis, and you're about to die in the next moment.
Otherwise, few martial artists would be willing to expend their lifespan to deliver this sword strike.
However, I am an exception!
"I possess the Blood Pearl, a supreme treasure of the Blood Sea True Immortal. Even if I lose my lifespan, I can replenish it using that Blood Pearl!"
In this way, the price of the Sword of Calamity is nothing to me at all!
He composed himself, turned around, and looked at the Fairy Jinghong who was quietly waiting to the side, and Ye Wuqing who was sitting cross-legged in the shadows.
The Fairy Jinghong stared at him with her cool eyes. When she saw the lingering traces of time in Li Xijun's eyes and the subtle change in his aura around him, as if he had gained a touch of the sedimentation of time, even she, with her calm and indifferent nature, couldn't help but be slightly moved.
She could sense that the other party had not simply "seen" the inheritance.
Ye Wuqing, however, had opened his eyes at some point.
His all-seeing gaze fell on Li Xijun, lingered for a moment, and then his face once again showed undisguised amazement.
"Okay, okay, okay."
Ye Wuqing said "good" three times in a row, his voice filled with rare emotion, "The soul resonates with the imprint of time, and the body merges with the talent to trigger the Dao rhythm—the profound meaning of the Time Tribulation Sword Chapter of the Momentary Eternal Time Tribulation Sword has been touched."
""
"Your talent and compatibility in the Time Sword Art far exceed my expectations. Jinghong, it seems you will have another senior with whom you can truly exchange and learn from each other in the future."
Upon hearing this, Fairy Jinghong looked at Li Xijun with even more admiration and solemnity.
She knew what it meant to receive such an evaluation from her own grandmaster.