Chapter 962: Chapter 102: Adding Some Difficulty for You

Soon, as history has often unfolded, Qiu Changtian made his famous assertion, suggesting that the Demon Cult could not possibly control the neutral cultivators and would inevitably flood into the secret realm all at once.

Thus, the Shushan side decided to remove restrictions, allowing all Peak Masters and elders who wished to enter the secret realm to do so, without worrying anymore about the trial’s difficulty.

An Zhisu and Ling Yunpo were already part of the team entering the secret realm. Seeing the Kunlun team set off, led at the forefront by Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian, they immediately employed Man-Sword Unity and charged toward the golden stream of light in the sky.

In a moment of dizzying speed, the two were already high in midair.

Beneath them lay a boundless sea of clouds stretching endlessly; above them was the fragile Heavenly Dome, now riddled with holes. Stars crushed through the dome, plummeting straight downward, while the waters of the Celestial River relentlessly surged back, painting a scene of apocalypse-like devastation.

An Zhisu was so horrified by the sight that she was rendered speechless for a moment. Ling Yunpo, however, had expected this, and simply held tightly to his Senior Sister’s hand while continuously scanning the surroundings with his Divine Sense.

Suddenly, an elder appeared ahead, his gaze landing behind Ling Yunpo. With a frown, he asked:

“Tai Yin Sword Master?”

“Greetings, Senior,” Ling Yunpo immediately clasped his hands in respect.

“Since you’re the Tai Yin Sword Master, then the trials of this Seven Treasures Mysterious Garden secret realm will need some adjustments,” the elder pondered for a moment before saying. “With the aid of the Tai Yin Suming Sword, ordinary natural catastrophes won’t be able to kill you.”

“Let’s do this: any cultivator within ten thousand zhang of you will receive a secret realm transmission. If anyone kills you, the Tai Yin Sword Master, they will directly obtain the position of master of the Seven Treasures Mysterious Garden… Hmm, excellent, let’s proceed this way.”

“How can you do this!” An Zhisu said in alarm and anger, while Ling Yunpo was equally shocked. He quickly retorted, “This is unfair! Everyone is here for the trial; how can you treat us differently?”

“Heh, young one, you don’t understand,” the elder said leisurely. “This Seven Treasures Mysterious Garden secret realm doesn’t test anything other than destiny and fortune.”

“Unfortunately, I had some grudges with someone in the past, and that person happened to be the owner of the Tai Yin Suming Sword. So, I find you displeasing and want to up the difficulty against you. Blame your bad luck.”

Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu were stunned into silence, as they heard the elder continue:

“Of course, if you can withstand wave after wave of attacks and survive as one of the last twelve standing, go ahead and claim the title of master of the Seven Treasures Mysterious Garden. How about that? I’ve still left you a way to live, hahaha…”

The elder laughed loudly and vanished, leaving An Zhisu quiet for a moment before her expression suddenly changed.

Ling Yunpo immediately understood–An Zhisu had received a transmission from the secret realm. He quickly asked:

“Senior Sister, what did the transmission say?”

“It revealed your exact location,” An Zhisu quickly said, “and also stated that anyone who kills you will automatically gain the position of master of the Seven Treasures Mysterious Garden.”

Ling Yunpo’s expression shifted instantly, and he frantically scanned the surrounding area with his Divine Sense.

“No one’s around,” An Zhisu reassured him. “Our luck isn’t bad; we haven’t encountered any hostile cultivators.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Ling Yunpo said darkly. “I bear the title of Tai Yin Sword Master, so enemies won’t underestimate me. If they come within ten thousand zhang of me and receive the secret realm transmission, will they recklessly charge in for a single duel? No, they’d certainly rally allies to launch a siege against me for a better chance.”

“What do we do then?” An Zhisu said, growing nervous.

Even though she had an Innate Sword Heart and feared no danger, she understood the logic that strength in numbers could overwhelm her.

The two of them might be able to handle four, eight, or even more than ten opponents. But what if thirty or forty adversaries came at them?

Unless they had some impenetrable three-hundred-sixty-degree defensive Magical Treasure, they’d risk getting pierced by Flying Swords in a coordinated assault!

“We flee first,” Ling Yunpo quickly suggested. “The immediate priority is to figure out the transmission’s time intervals!”

The two of them swiftly moved forward using Sword Control Technique. Following Ling Yunpo’s instructions, An Zhisu observed closely and soon calculated: the secret realm transmission occurred three times per incense stick’s duration–approximately once every five minutes.

Five minutes of full-speed Sword Control wouldn’t allow them to escape ten thousand zhang, no matter how hard they tried.

“In other words,” An Zhisu said swiftly, “if someone is within the transmission range, just standing still would ensure we couldn’t escape out of range by the next transmission!”

“Senior Sister, that’s not quite accurate,” Ling Yunpo reassured her. “We need to consider the difference in speed between us and the opponents, and calculate how long it would take to increase the distance to over ten thousand zhang.”

“The Seven Kills Sword Technique focuses on speed and should surpass other Sword Control Techniques in velocity,” An Zhisu analyzed. “But even so, the advantage in speed is limited. If the adversary persistently pursues us, breaking the ten-thousand-zhang range would take considerable time.”

“Additionally, if we only focus on fleeing, it will turn into a contest of True Yuan consumption,” Ling Yunpo added anxiously. “I worry that elder might still have more tricks up his sleeve. So running isn’t the solution–we must fight!”

The mention of fighting instantly calmed An Zhisu. Her brows knitted tightly, exuding a chilling killing intent as she asked:

“How do we fight?”

“Follow me, Senior Sister,” Ling Yunpo replied with determination.

He led An Zhisu downward through the clouds, entering the range of a violent storm.

Beneath the cloud layer, torrential rain poured, and the atmosphere was thick with Water Element Spiritual Energy, severely hindering both visibility and Divine Sense scans.

However, the Kunlun Mirror’s scans were entirely unaffected, so Ling Yunpo merely guided An Zhisu to fly diagonally and steadily downward while using it to confirm their surroundings.

“Another transmission,” An Zhisu suddenly announced.

“Move now!” Ling Yunpo instantly turned back, joining An Zhisu in activating Man-Sword Unity and rushing toward their rear.

After three or four minutes, just as they neared the edge of the cloud layer, they encountered a group of around ten cultivators–neither from the Orthodox Sect nor the Demon Cult, but neutral Nascent Soul Loose Cultivators.

Seeing them, many of the opposing cultivators showed panic and alarm. Ling Yunpo instantly understood that they had banded together to hunt him and quickly secretly transmitted to An Zhisu:

“I’ll take the left, you take the right. Finish them quickly!”

Having given these instructions, the two immediately split up and lunged toward the group of cultivators.

Senior Sister An’s swordsmanship remained as precise and adept as ever. Using the super-speed granted by Man-Sword Unity, she first performed a wide flank maneuver to escape the opponents’ sight, and then attacked from behind, swiftly dispatching two or three enemies.

The neutral Nascent Soul Loose Cultivators attempted to target An Zhisu but found that her speed was utterly astonishing. Unable to lock onto her quickly, they descended into chaos–some unleashed large-scale Daoist Magic, while others tried retreating, but all acted without coordination.

Ling Yunpo’s fighting style was even more brute force. Relying on his abundant and powerful True Yuan and the high rank of the Tai Yin Suming Sword, he ignored whatever Daoist Magic and Magical Treasures they threw at him, charging directly into the crowd and killing swiftly.

After a violent skirmish, none of the ten-odd Nascent Soul cultivators escaped; all were slain by the two and eliminated as flashes of white light.