Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1709 – Legendary Grade Sword Demon

In the deep level of the Sword Prison.

Xu Jing’s face was as hard as steel and his eyes were filled with fury.

Something was wrong!

Although the Sword Prison was dangerous, its terror was not to this degree.

The Sword Demon attack just now not only exceeded expectations in power, there were actually two Shadow Sword Demons. If not for the treasure of the South Sea Sword Sect that he brought with him to allow him to sense the demons earlier, the situation would be much worse since he would not have had time to warn the disciples.

“Elder!”

The disciples of the South Sea Sword Sect bowed; most of them were still in shock. These men were usually arrogant because of their talent and they had not recovered from the ambush.

Xu Jing said sternly, “There are changes in the Sword Prison. Take care of your comrades corpses; we will temporarily back out from the deep level.” His eyes swept pass the two corpses on the ground and there was a flicker of pain.

He had impressions of these two men. They were two of the most talented disciples who enrolled in the South Sea Sword Sect recently. They should not have died in the Sword Prison. If they had grown smoothly, they would have become strong supports of the South Sea Sword Sect within a hundred years.

He shut his eyes for a while and then opened them again. Xu Jing wore a calm face. They were dead and so be it – thinking about this now served no further meaning. It was more important to protect the rest of the disciples and minimize their losses.

“Elder!” Jin Hua’s expression changed. “When we entered the Sword Prison, we were already prepared to sacrifice for the sect.”

The South Sea Sword Sect was a foreign sect. Although it was one of the ten greatest sects, people were mocking them from behind. It was too much and the disciples were deeply affected by it.

The South Sea Sword Sect had to remain vigilant constantly such that this mocking remained only as gazes and they did not take any drastic actions.

The rankings from the Sword Sect Contest were the best place to display their muscles.

Xu Jing lifted an arm and stopped them from talking, “I am asking you to retreat from the deep level for now, not asking you to give up on the contest. The situation is currently unknown and it is best to observe.

“Alright, I have made my decision, you shall not speak anymore!”

Jin Hua and the rest of the disciples lowered their heads and acknowledged the order.

After collecting their comrades’ bodies, Xu Jing led them to head up from the Sword Prison without stopping.

Very quickly, Xu Jing stopped and his eyes narrowed as he stared into the darkness.

Where he was staring, the light green light given off by the moss on the walls seemed to have been devoured by an invisible force. It was extra dark there.

The place felt like an abyss; immense fear washed out from his chest and threatened to devour his heart.

The group of disciples were also pale.

Step –

Step –

The sound of footsteps broke the stillness of the darkness. A Sword Demon that was holding a white sword but was covered in black scales walked out. It had a pair of bloodshot eyes that were filled with death and destruction. There was also a sense of cruelty and coldness.

It almost felt like it was an intelligent creature meant for massacring.

“Legendary grade Sword Demon!”

Xu Jing came to his senses immediately…the Sword Prison had lost control!

As a not so ordinary elder from the South Sea Sword Sect, he knew much more than he ought to know. He also knew what the appearance of a legendary grade Sword Demon meant.

“You guys, run!”

Buzz –

Xu Jing’s sword immediately burst forward and he did not hesitate to attack with the top grade Vast Sea Sword Skill. Immediately, there were deep crashing sounds of waves in the dark underground.

He directly targeted the legendary grade Sword Demon.

Xu Jing had attacked with his strongest skill not just to buy time for the disciples. If he had not done so, he would have died too!

When they heard the words ‘legendary grade Sword Demon’, the rest of the disciples shivered and they did not hesitate to turn and run.

Before they entered the Sword Prison, they were informed about their history. One of the forbidden topics was the legendary grade Sword Demons.

“If a legendary grade Sword Demon appears in the Sword Prison, ignore the Sword Sect Contest. All disciples must return to the surface of the Sword Prison immediately. Protect yourselves!”

These were the words of Sect Master Wei Heng.

Now, a legendary grade Sword Demon had truly appeared.

Although Jin Hua and the rest of the disciples did not know what this meant, they were obviously in danger.

Kaboom –

A deafening explosion came from behind them. The familiar energy of Elder Xu Jing’s Vast Sea Sword Skill had obviously been unleashed.

But his opponent was just a Sword Demon…was this the power of a legendary grade Sword Demon?

Before the disciples could think further, darkness rushed out in the direction that they were escaping to. Sword Demon after Sword Demon roared fiercely as they headed for them.

Top grade Sword Demons!

They had met an attack by one when two of their fellow disciples died.

“Die!”

Jin Hua roared and slashed down with his long sword.

The moment one met a group of Sword Demons in the Sword Prison, it was do or die for the swordsman. Unless all Sword Demons were killed, they would not be able to escape.

The only lucky thing was that there wasn’t a scary legendary grade Sword Demon among the group of Sword Demons before them.

If there had been one, a single strike by the legendary grade Sword Demon would have been enough to massacre the entire group.

Right as the the South Sea Sword Sect encountered this battle, teams that were barging into the deep level of the Sword Prison were in deep trouble.

One example was the Opening Heavens Sword Sect. action

When they entered the deep level of the Sword Prison, they suddenly realized that aside from the darkness, it was much more ominously calm from before.

In simple terms, they had entered the deep level of the Sword Prison and for the last four hours, they had not met a single Sword Demon.

Not even one!

Not to mention top grade, there weren’t even low grade Sword Demons.

Qin Yu could now confirm that Rourou had done something to them to make the Sword Demons automatically avoid them.

However, the danger was not gone just because of this.

In the dead silent darkness, he could sense a lot of eyes on him. They were cold and suppressing and it made his heart clench. Since they entered the deep level, it had not disappeared.

“Sect Master…” Zhang Xiashan muttered. His eyes scanned his surroundings and he involuntarily shrunk himself.

He was more nervous than the other members of the underdog team. If they were not completely fearful of Rourou, they would be bawling out in tears and begging to leave here.

This seemingly peaceful environment was the worst torture. It felt like there were walking where the wind and the waves were the fiercest. At any moment, they could stumble into a hall and fall and break their bones.

It was torturous!

Qin Yu shook his head, “I am not sure what happened either…but I can tell you that we are much luckier than the other swordsmen who entered the Sword Prison.”

The darkness was incredibly silent and the space in the Sword Prison vibrated from an invisible force. His sensing abilities were much more unstable and blurry. However, Qin Yu could sense something amiss in it.

There was also…a light scent of blood.

It was light but it permeated every inch of the darkness.

People were dead.

And it was a lot of them.

Those who managed to enter the deep level of the Sword Prison at this point of time were obviously talented disciples of the various great sword sects in Swallow Mountain.

These teams from great sword sects would often be accompanied by a powerful guardian. For instance, Qin Yu saw that the South Sea Sword Sect was accompanied by Elder Xu Jing.

With such powerful guardians and talented disciples, the power of the teams was high. But such severe injuries had been sustained and so many died…unavoidably, Qin Yu thought of that scene that happened before – that swordsman who was covered with injuries and that hand that was covered in black scales which killed the swordsman and pulled him to the darkness.

It was obvious that there was an incident in the Sword Prison. However, was it an accident or not?

Qin Yu believed that it was caused by humans.

But who did this?

Rourou?

Qin Yu did not think so. The Sword Sect Contest did not involve them at all and it was the decision made by the Main Sword Masters. The Opening Heavens Sword Sect simply followed instructions.

However, the driving force was the mysterious Frost Cold Sword Sect that hid itself behind the South Sea Sword Sect in the Main Sword Masters. This was not a secret and Hu Zhiming, as a rogue cultivator, knew a lot about it.

As such, it was possible that this was a combined move by the South Sea Sword Sect and the Frost Cold Sword Sect.

But what was their objective?

Furthermore, both sects had to send disciples to participate in the Sword Sect Contest.

Outside the Sword Prison, Qin Yu had sought out the teams from the two sects since they were prospective opponents. Although he merely had a glance from afar, he could confirm that they had not sent in weaklings. Both the guardians and the disciples from the sects were strong and they lived up to their titles of being among the Main Sword Masters.

Unless they had a similar technique that helped them to avoid attacks from Sword Demons in the Sword Prison. Otherwise, it seemed foolish to send these disciples in because the losses would be massive.

Disregarding everything and self destructing themselves to harm the various sword sects in Swallow Mountain…this did not seem logical.

If it was truly the South Sea Sword Sect and the Frost Cold Sword Sect, there must be another reason. It was also possible that there was someone else pulling the strings and he used the sudden opening of the Sword Prison to give the various sword sects a surprise.

Qin Yu continued to ponder but he was suddenly cut off by a disturbance. He turned towards the darkness and his expression changed.

Although he was not too familiar with the various sword sects in Swallow Mountain, he had done some homework on the top ten. This was also thanks to Hu Zhiming.

It was the South Sea Sword Sect’s Vast Sea Sword Skill!

Furthermore, the other party had obviously grasped the skill to a deep level. The aura from the skill actually had the vigor from the rough seas.

It crashed and spread out in all directions with a powerful energy.

There was only Xu Jing among those in the Sword Prison who had managed to comprehend the skill to such an extent. Evidently, he was in a tough battle now and his opponent had a violent and weird aura. It was murderous.

This disturbance, it was a Sword Demon!

Such a terrifying Sword Demon actually existed in the Sword Prison…Qin Yu’s eyes flashed and he felt like he had missed out on something.

At least it was obvious now that the South Sea Sword Sect was not the mastermind behind the disturbance in the Sword Prison. Otherwise, there was no reason for them to throw themselves into so much danger. They would have taken some precautions to ensure that they would not end up in such a dangerous scenario.

Qin Yu raised his hand and the underdog team behind him immediately halted, “Can the hidden card that Grand Elder gave you handle the deep level of the Sword Prison?”

Zhang Xiashan thought about it and answered. “Probably.” He hurried to add, “We have not tried it before.”

“You guys stay here. If there is an accident, you may use the hidden card to protect yourselves. I will head forward to see.” Once Qin Yu was done talking, his body flashed and he disappeared with a ‘woosh’.

If Rourou really pulled some strings to ensure that the Sword Demons in the Sword Prison would avoid them, the underdog team would have it and Qin Yu would have it too. He should not be in too much trouble from leaving the group.

Taking them with him would probably drag down the South Sea Sword Sect and place them in a more risky situation. Furthermore, it would not help Qin Yu in observing them silently and checking if what he saw was the truth.

More importantly, Qin Yu was not far from them and if anything happened, he would be able to rush back too.

The disturbance ahead grew louder and louder and Qin Yu could hear the sound of crashing waves clearly.

He was arriving.

Qin Yu restrained his sword aura and he assimilated into the darkness like a shadow. He concentrated and headed forwards. As he expected, one of the parties in the battle was Xu Jing from the South Sea Sword Sect. From a glance, Qin Yu knew that the battle was not an act.

Xu Jing was in a dangerous position and he was completely suppressed. Without the Vast Sea Sword Skill as a defense in front of him, he would have been killed by a sword.

Opposite Xu Jing was a strange Sword Demon that was covered in black scales. Its eyes were as red as lava and the snow white sword in its hand gave off a sharp and destructive energy. Every strike felt like it could destroy everything in the world.

A legendary grade Sword Demon!

This name immediately jumped into Qin Yu’s head. It had been mentioned by Hu Zhiming before.

He did not know what the term legendary grade meant. However, he knew that when such a terrifying Sword Demon appeared in the Sword Prison, it spelled disaster for the swordsmen here.

The hand that Qin Yu saw when he first stepped into the deep level of the Sword Prison came from a legendary Sword Demon.

Qin Yu’s art of being invisible was good, but he was discovered. It was not by Xu Jing but the legendary grade Sword Demon covered in black scales that was opposite him. Its violent eyes that looked like boiling lava directed a deadly stare at where Qin Yu was hiding.

Although it was only a brief glance, it made Qin Yu feel instantly numb, as though electricity had shot through his entire body. His heart clenched and he raised his guard.

The thought swept by quickly and Qin Yu made his decision. He stepped forward and revealed himself.

Boom –

A brilliant sword strike was unleashed but it did not feel very grand. It felt endlessly dark and sinister.

Xu Jing was slammed back and the massive sea-like Vast Sea Sword aura in front of him jerked. His chest ached painfully and he spat out blood.

“Sect Master Qin!”

When he saw Qin Yu, his face changed.

Opposite him, the legendary grade Sword Demon’s bloodshot eyes glared at Qin Yu. However, there seemed to be a deep sense of fear from its violent stare.

Roar –

“Run…get lost…”

As expected, top grade Sword Demons and legendary grade Sword Demons had their own intelligence. That was why the team from the Opening Heavens Sword Sect had such a smooth journey and had not met a single Sword Demon on the way.

Roar –

With a loud roar, the legendary grade Sword Demon turned around. There was a ‘whoosh’ sound and it disappeared into the darkness.

It actually ran!

Xu Jing’s eyes bulged wide open in disbelief when he saw this and he unwittingly grew more cautious of Qin Yu.