"What are you thinking about?" Lu Yang asked, seeing Meng Jingzhou crouching on the ground in deep thought, looking as though he were pondering some profound mystery.
Meng Jingzhou craned his neck to look up at Lu Yang. "I'm wondering which imperial concubine Junior Brother Li was in his sixth life, and whether he ever became empress. If he did, he'd be the current Emperor's ancestor."
Lu Yang: "..."
Emperor Xia's lifespan was nearly exhausted, and here Meng Jingzhou was, already looking to saddle him with a new ancestor.
"Junior Brother Li, you've only just broken through and still need to consolidate your realm. We won't disturb you any longer." Li Haoran had already shared everything he knew, and Eldest Senior Sister had obtained the answers she sought. There was no need to delay his cultivation any further.
...
Three days later, Tianmen Peak.
Lu Yang sat cross-legged on a sword stone, beside which lay a naturally formed stone basin—the Sword-Washing Pool that had stubbornly attached itself to him.
Within the pool, seven longswords swam about like seven lively, cheerful fish.
Feeling his connection with the Seven Stars Sword Set grow clearer and clearer, Lu Yang snapped his eyes open. With a flick of two fingers, the Seven Stars Sword Set leaped from the water like breaching fish, glinting brilliantly in the sunlight as they obeyed his command with effortless ease.
Lu Yang let out a long breath. At long last, he had established a bond with the Seven Stars Sword Set.
He carefully took out the manual for the first layer of the Immortal Extinction Sword Formation. This was genuine immortal-tier material—something precious enough to incite bloodbaths wherever it appeared.
"My things are precious too. How come I never see you treat them so delicately?" the Immortal Fairy grumbled, feeling slighted. To her, an immortal that even Girl Yun could kill was of pitiful caliber; why bother fussing over junk left behind by someone like that?
"And what exactly have you given me, Fairy?"
"The Invincible Core and the Invincible Nascent Soul, of course! Those are priceless treasures that let you stand invincible among your peers! In ancient times, my illustrious reputation was built entirely on that Invincible Core!"
"Just go ask around! Back then, which prodigy didn't turn pale with fright and flee in terror at the sight of me? Who knows how many geniuses had their Dao hearts utterly shattered by my hands..."
Having cultivated to this stage, Lu Yang had long mastered the art of multitasking. He listened with one ear to the Immortal Fairy recounting her glorious ancient feats while dedicating the rest of his focus to studying the sword formation.
The Immortal Extinction Sword Formation was an immortal-grade grand array, obscure and arcane even in its first layer. Fortunately, Lu Yang possessed the Sword Spiritual Root and had unmatched talent in the Sword Dao. He managed to grasp its principles in just half an hour. Had it been Meng Jingzhou, he wouldn't have made head or tail of it even after half a month.
In the preface, the sword formation's author recounted the mental journey of creating it, which Lu Yang read softly aloud:
"While wandering the world in search of ancient immortals' traces, eager to test my mettle against them, I chanced upon a remnant sword formation stained with immortal blood. From these clues, I deduced that it had been left behind by an ancient immortal.
"Truly, the ancient immortals possessed boundless genius to have devised such a formation. Magnificent indeed! Yet my own brilliance rivals that of any ancient immortal. If an ancient immortal could create such a sword formation, that means I could have created it as well. Had I been born in the ancient era, this formation rightfully would have been my creation.
"Such being the case, this sword formation may as well be considered my own work; only the timing went awry."
Lu Yang: "..."
He desperately wanted to know which ancient immortal had concocted this formation, and where this author got such shameless audacity.
At the same time, he found it odd: none of the Four Ancient Celestials seemed to have wielded swords. If any had, the Immortal Fairy wouldn't be so utterly clueless about the Sword Dao.
Setting his doubts aside for the moment, Lu Yang continued delving into the formation.
Though its documented origin was preposterous, its power was undeniably formidable.
"The Immortal Extinction Sword Formation requires a specific number of blades: at least two, and at most nine. The more swords used, the greater the formation's might."
Nine longswords were arrayed before Lu Yang: the Seven Stars Sword Set, with which he had just forged an emotional rapport, along with the Green Blade Sword and the Dark Moon Sword.
"Rise!"
With a single thought, the swords moved to his will like startled swans. The nine blades shot straight up, piercing the clouds and soaring into the firmament at blinding speed. In the blink of an eye, they exceeded Lu Yang's range of control, severing his connection to them.
Lu Yang tilted his head and waited for quite a while before gravity finally brought the nine swords plunging back down into his sphere of control.
Lined up side by side like the prongs of a rake, the nine swords descended from the sky and sliced effortlessly into the earth like a knife through bean curd, leaving only their hilts exposed.
Ordinarily, a Nascent Soul sword cultivator could never command nine longswords at once, let alone with such seamless freedom.
Yet Lu Yang's spiritual sense far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators. Moreover, with the Immortal Fairy's prior intimidation of the Seven Stars Sword Set and their intense yearning to soak in the Sword-Washing Pool once more, Lu Yang's mind was in perfect harmony with the set. Without him exerting much effort, the seven swords could anticipate and make the optimal choice on their own.
As for the Green Blade Sword and the Dark Moon Sword, they went without saying. Lu Yang treasured them immensely. In battle, he would rather forget he was a sword cultivator and cast spells than bring them to bear.
Such pampering of swords was virtually unheard of among sword cultivators.
It was precisely these bonds with the nine swords that made his present achievement possible.
"Formation, rise!"
Lu Yang uttered the two words softly. The nine swords resonated in unison, and the grassy slope beneath his feet trembled slightly, subdued by the sword qi radiating from the blades.
The nine swords formed an inescapable perimeter sealing off both sky and earth. The sheet of sword qi they produced was so dense that not even spiritual energy could penetrate it.
"Formation, activate!"
With the Green Blade Sword taking the lead, the nine blades hummed ceaselessly, suspended high in the heavens like an inverted celestial blade poised to sever all foes. With a single gesture from Lu Yang, the first layer of the Immortal Extinction Sword Formation went into motion, crashing downward with crushing pressure no less terrifying than an inverted mountain bristling with sword tips.
Rumble—
Beneath the nine swords, everything was obliterated. Even Lu Yang, as master of the formation observing from the side, was awed by its devastating power.
"Phew... As expected of the Immortal Extinction Sword Formation!"
Not far off, Third Senior Sister Gan Tian was asking Jiang Lianyi about ancient history. Jiang Lianyi had been keeping an eye on Lu Yang's side all along, and when she saw him unleash the Immortal Extinction Sword Formation, an odd expression crossed her face.
Puzzled, she asked Gan Tian to pause for a moment and walked straight over.
Even after the formation dissipated, subtle traces of Sword Dao lingered in the air; any ordinary Golden Core cultivator standing here would have been nicked and scratched.
Lu Yang slumped onto the ground, panting heavily. Executing the formation from start to finish had pushed both his spiritual sense and spiritual energy to their limits.
Still, its power was truly remarkable—far greater than wielding just the Green Blade Sword alone.
"Senior Lianyi, what brings you over?"
"I can't shake the feeling that the sword formation you just performed looks familiar, Senior Brother."
"Familiar?"
Jiang Lianyi said nothing, recalling the way Lu Yang had deployed the formation just moments ago. Then, realization dawned on her.
"Wait, isn't that the sword formation my husband used to kneel on!"
Immortal Kirin had knelt on sword formations so often that she had grown accustomed to the sight—so accustomed that she had forgotten the contraption her husband knelt on whenever he got into trouble was actually a sword formation.
Lu Yang asked carefully, "Then where is the sword formation Senior Immortal Kirin knelt on now?"
Jiang Lianyi waved her hand dismissively. "I snapped it in half ages ago and tossed it somewhere. Who knows where it ended up?"
Chapter 647