Sword Wheel

*Buzz!* At the very moment the blood sword erupted, a low sword hum resonated from across the clearing. The youth surnamed Fang narrowed his eyes. The next instant, dazzling sword light burst forth. Qin Sang's figure vanished, replaced by a sword wheel formed of countless sword lights and sword qi. Like a full, radiant moon, it blossomed before the horrified eyes of the youth surnamed Fang. By now, Qin Sang had comprehended sword light differentiation to the realm of great success. Yet constrained by his cultivation, the number of distinct sword lights he could produce was limited, and the vast majority were merely sword qi in disguise. The genuine sword lights cast from the ebony sword intertwined with the illusory sword qi, forming a glittering, spinning wheel of swords that made it impossible to distinguish truth from illusion. Still, its momentum and destructive power were undeniably real! After mastering sword light differentiation, Qin Sang had attempted to comprehend the next realm of the sword—a sword formation born from a single strike—yet he had remained completely without a clue. According to the ancient records he had gathered, achieving that realm hinged on the deeply abstruse concept of "momentum." Only by grasping true sword momentum and sword intent could one assemble myriad sword lights to manifest a sword formation out of thin air. Unable to find the threshold, Qin Sang had not given up. Drawing upon the swordsmanship he had learned along the Sword Path, he racked his brains and devised this weakened version of a sword wheel, which had only truly taken shape not long ago. Though far from matching a true sword formation, it could still be counted a formidable divine ability among Core Formation cultivators. When sparring with that Dark Corpse Sect golden core cultivator in the Liefeng Archipelago, Qin Sang had not even deployed the sword wheel; otherwise, he could have defeated him with ease. Once he comprehended the true meaning of sword momentum, its power would increase even further. Under Qin Sang's full effort, the sword light surged like a vast azure mist, and the sword wheel shone like a bright moon illuminating the world—resplendent, blinding, and utterly unstoppable. Wherever it passed, it seemed capable of cleaving through anything, radiating an astonishing aura. If someone were watching from afar, they might well have assumed some mighty Nascent Soul figure had intervened, completely unaware that this was mostly an impressive façade meant to intimidate. The youth surnamed Fang knew in his heart that his opponent's swordsmanship was not quite as terrifying as it appeared, yet among Core Formation cultivators, it was undoubtedly at the very pinnacle. Now, he genuinely sensed danger. *Buzz... buzz...* The drone of insects arose from the youth surnamed Fang. Within his insect armor, strands of violet light suddenly surfaced, filling the entire carapace in an instant until it looked as though it were forged from violet crystal. The buzzing abruptly turned frantic, and an intense purple glow erupted, enveloping him and rapidly morphing into a gigantic beetle. The beetle shimmered with violet radiance from head to tail. Spikes bristled along its dorsal shell, and its chelae were keen as blades, brimming with feral ferocity. *This is an Amethyst Heavenly Beetle...* Qin Sang was surprised. He had spent all this time wondering what the youth's natal insect gu was. Only now, seeing the creature manifest, did he realize it was the Amethyst Heavenly Beetle, ranked tenth on the Witch Insect Registry. Spirit insects of this caliber were exclusively reared by Witch Clan sects. As the eldest disciple of Black Snake Mountain, it was hardly surprising that the youth possessed such a natal insect gu. The carapace of an Amethyst Heavenly Beetle was exceedingly hard. When transformed into battle armor, it was acclaimed as the most defensive of all spirit insects on the Witch Insect Registry, falling short only of a handful of rare, exotic insects. Best of all, nurturing an Amethyst Heavenly Beetle was far simpler than raising an exotic insect. Who knew how much blood and sweat the youth had poured into this Amethyst Heavenly Beetle, yet it had already reached the late third metamorphosis. Once transformed into insect armor via secret arts, an early Core Formation cultivator likely could not even breach it, let alone injure the youth. No wonder he had remained energetic and unharmed after taking the Lightning Command Technique years ago. Even if he had guarded against it beforehand, the contribution of this insect armor could not be overlooked. Once the Amethyst Heavenly Beetle took shape, it tucked its chelae inward, transforming into a purple barrier that shielded the youth surnamed Fang tightly. At the same time, the youth frantically poured true essence into the blood sword. The crimson sword qi surged with escalating fury, swelling as thick as a colossal pillar and churning with skies-filling bloody light as it thrust straight toward the sword wheel. *Bang!* Following a terrifying collision, visible shockwaves swept out in all directions. Beneath their feet, ancient trees that had stood for countless years met with disaster, disintegrating instantly into dust. At the center of the battlefield, the sword wheel shone brilliantly like a genuine, colossal wheel, shredding the crimson sword qi inch by inch. The next instant, the sword wheel shuddered violently, and the remaining sword light poured out in a torrential deluge. The phantom of the Amethyst Heavenly Beetle was engulfed by sword light, producing sounds like a pelting storm, though no cry of pain came from the youth. Qin Sang's eyes narrowed. Having already closed in behind the sword wheel, he made his move without hesitation, pressing a single hand forcefully down toward the insect phantom. *Boom!* With a thunderous crash, a figure flew backward and stumbled to regain his footing. It was the youth surnamed Fang. He looked rather disheveled, but he had suffered almost no real injury. Only the phantom of the Amethyst Heavenly Beetle had grown somewhat faint, and several scattered, shallow scratches marred the carapace itself. His eyes turned ferocious, and he opened his mouth to say something, only to hear a bloodcurdling scream. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his junior brother being knocked through the air by a sword strike from Qin Sang's incarnation, after which the two-headed hou seized the opening to tear away an entire arm. The man was merely a mid Core Formation cultivator. Facing the combined assault of a late Core Formation incarnation and the two-headed hou, he was powerless to fight back, let alone break out and flee. "Senior Brother, save me!" the elder cultivator screamed in agony. The youth surnamed Fang's expression shifted repeatedly. Gritting his teeth, he wrenched his gaze away, turned abruptly, and fled. He knew his junior brother could not hold out much longer. Once he died, Fang would face a siege from three powerful combatants. Qin Sang's true body alone was no weaker than himself; if he remained entangled, his own survival would be bleak. Yet the youth had barely darted several yards when his vision blurred, and Qin Sang stood directly in his path. His expression shifted, and he instantly veered in another direction, only to be effortlessly blocked by Qin Sang once more. After several successive attempts, the youth came to a halt. He glared fixedly at Qin Sang, his face pale with fury and his heart seized by profound terror. The speed Qin Sang displayed was simply too terrifying. Though the youth did not excel at escape arts, as a peak Core Formation cultivator, he had believed no one in the same realm could possibly pin him down. Only now did he realize a Core Formation cultivator could achieve such dreadful velocity. Unless he defeated Qin Sang, escape was out of the question. And that was indeed the truth. After activating the Heavenly Demon Transformation, Qin Sang's speed was already exceptional among peers of his cultivation realm. Combined with the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman, he was not far behind a Nascent Soul Patriarch—a standard far beyond anything the youth could hope to match. Otherwise, given Qin Sang's temperament, he would have prepared the Lightning Command Technique in secret long ago and struck them with a devastating blow right at the start. He had chosen to spar with the youth surnamed Fang merely to test his own mettle, and it seemed several decades of painstaking cultivation had not been in vain. *Thud!* The corpse of the other cultivator withered into a dried husk and was tossed aside like a rag. The two-headed hou and the incarnation cut off the remaining angles of escape, securing the perimeter for Qin Sang. Qin Sang paused for a fraction of an instant before closing in once more, gripping his ebony sword as the sword wheel reappeared. Seeing this, the youth surnamed Fang understood that today's clash could hardly end in peace. Begging for mercy was something he could never bring himself to do; his only choice was a fight to the death. The youth threw his head back in wild laughter. Stirred by its master's state of mind, his natal insect gu let out a mournful wail, tinged with tragic desolation.