Chương 74: Upon Blood Lion Mountain

The second layer of sword cultivation was known as Shadow of the Blade. The first layer was the Awakening of the Sword Heart, that moment when a cultivator first touched upon the will of the sword. But in the second layer, one could begin to wield that sword intent, manifesting sword shadows to exponentially amplify the power of their techniques. Zhang Huaijin still wasn't certain what kind of Sword Heart he had awakened. It felt as if it carried a trace of primordial chaos, something formless and absolute.

Whatever sword technique he used, its power was magnified. Without exceptions. And now, as Huaijin executed Shadow of the Blade, the force of his Azure Flame Slash spiked instantly, splitting into three blazing sword intents. A cataclysmic wave of energy erupted, engulfing the Sun Crystal Jackal's body. It all happened in the span of a single second. Shlik! The sword shadows tore across the Sun Crystal Jackal's hide, leaving behind three ghastly, deep wounds. Blood sprayed into the air.

Flesh curled back from the gashes, revealing gleaming white bone beneath. In the space of an instant, the Sun Crystal Jackal was mortally wounded. It stared at Zhang Huaijin, its eyes filled with sheer, primal terror. Huaijin's expression, however, remained as calm as ever. Crack! Inside his body, the barrier to the next level shattered like thin ice. A wild, tempestuous aura exploded outward, revealing his new cultivation base, second level Foundation Establishment Realm.

Zhang Huaijin had broken through to the next level, in the middle of battle. The surrounding cultivators stood frozen, stunned speechless. Advancing during combat… for any cultivator, this was an almost impossible feat. A cultivator's body was inherently fragile. Absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth required absolute stillness and stability. But in the heat of battle, the spiritual energy coursing through their meridians boiled like a raging river.

One wrong move, the slightest misstep and their meridians would be crippled. Most cultivators, even if they felt a breakthrough approaching, would desperately suppress it. They were terrified of ruining their foundation. But not Huaijin. The Sun Crystal Jackal let out an urgent, desperate roar, summoning other beasts to its aid. When Huaijin was only at the first level, the beast had already been no match for him. Now that he had advanced to the second level…

if it didn't call for help immediately, there would be no tomorrow. Zhang Huaijin didn't seem to care. He remained planted at the formation's entrance pressing his attack without pause. By now, he had become the center of attention. And breaking through mid battle only added to his rising legend. The Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators from Langya County exchanged uneasy glances. Their wariness of Zhang Huaijin deepened with every passing day. His combat prowess was simply monstrous.

The members of the Gao and Yan families felt a cold knot of unease in their stomachs. But Tian Jianwei… Tian Jianwei felt as if he had plunged into an icy abyss. Dread coiled around his heart like a serpent. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Zhang Huaijin's strength was terrifying. A fourth level Foundation Establishment Realm Sun Crystal Jackal and he had beaten it into critical condition.

Tian Jianwei knew, with certainty that he stood no chance. He remembered the old grudge all too well. Years ago, Tian Jianjin was the reason Zhang Chongwen's wife had died. Though Tian Jianjin was long dead, the enmity had never faded. It had passed down like an inherited wound. How quickly fortunes could change. Thirty years ago, the Zhang family had been like ants in the eyes of the Tian family, insignificant, crushable under a single heel. But now?

The Zhang family had produced two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators in a row. The number and strength of their family cultivators were growing with every passing year. And Zhang Huaijin… had just displayed power that defied logic. Fear flickered across Tian Jianwei's face. Huaijin's strength was unfathomable. Tian Jianwei suspected that even the fourth level Tian Jianmo would lose to him. The Zhang family was rising too fast. —— The great battle on Blood Lion Mountain raged on.

Spirit beasts fell one after another, their roars of defiance cut short. The balance of death was shifting. Though several Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators from Qingtai Prefecture had also fallen, their losses were far fewer than the spirit beasts'. ROAR! High above, a sixth level Purple Mansion Realm Raging Blood Lion bellowed with earth shaking fury. It charged directly at Fang Xinjin and Zhou Yuezi. The four Purple Mansion Realm spirit beasts behind it followed without hesitation.

Fang Xinjin and Zhou Yuezi's expressions remained unshaken. They were both at the fifth level Purple Mansion Realm cultivators. Fang Xinjin activated the Black Glass Mirror. At their level, wielding a tier 3, low grade spirit artifact meant they could unleash its full, devastating power. HUM! The mirror shuddered. A terrifying silver white pillar of light erupted from its surface, causing the surrounding space to ripple like disturbed water. The air itself screamed with explosive cracks.

The pillar locked onto the sixth level Raging Blood Lion. Even a mid stage Purple Mansion Realm beast couldn't help but tense up at the full power of the Black Glass Mirror. ROAR! A hideous, thirty meter wide bloody lion claw materialized in the air radiating a chaotic, iron blooded aura. It shot forward to meet the pillar of light. This was the Raging Blood Lion's innate skill, Blood Rending Claw. BOOM! The two attacks collided with apocalyptic force.

Blazing energy waves surged outward in all directions, roaring like a dying world. The sky above Blood Lion Mountain shuddered violently. Fang Xinjin remained calm. He trod the Nine Star Black Glass Array, drawing upon its accumulated power, using the Black Glass Mirror to blast out silver white pillar after silver white pillar. The two sides engaged in a furious, relentless exchange.

The Black Glass Mirror, charged with nearly a century's worth of stored energy, firmly suppressed the sixth level Raging Blood Lion, displaying its vast and terrible majesty. The third level Purple Mansion Realm Raging Blood Lion followed its clan leader into the fray. Meanwhile, the fourth level Purple Mansion Realm Raging Blood Lion, along with the second level Purple Mansion Realm Goldback Mantis and Blood Jade Spider, encircled Zhou Yuezi. Zhou Yuezi's gaze turned icy cold. A black bell appeared in his palm.

It was a tier 3, mid grade spirit artifact, the Void Ancient Bell. Like Huaijin's Green Ape Seal, it was a versatile artifact designed for both attack and defense. But it had an additional deadly feature, it could unleash sonic attacks, making it the perfect weapon for fighting multiple enemies at once. Zhou Yuezi held his ground against three foes, neither advancing nor retreating. Two Purple Mansion Realm human cultivators. Five Purple Mansion Realm spirit beasts. Above Blood Lion Mountain, they waged war. BOOM!

RUMBLE! Terrifying energy waves swept across the sky, shaking the very air thin. The ambient blood aura grew sparse under the relentless bombardment. Blood Lion Mountain was stained crimson from peak to base. The cries of injured cultivators mixed with the death screams of spirit beasts, intertwining into a symphony of horror that made the hairs on the back of the neck stand on end. High above, the blood energy grew denser and denser.

At the heart of the fiercest fighting, the thick blood aura condensed into actual crimson clouds that hung low and heavy over the battlefield. Zhang Huaijin gazed up at the battle in the sky. The energy fluctuations of the Purple Mansion Realm were… terrifying. They distorted the surrounding space noticeably. Not enough to tear reality apart, but any Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator caught in that devouring light would be erased from existence in an instant.

The sheer, overwhelming power was almost incomprehensible. Then, a message spread to every Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator on the battlefield.

"The top ten in battle merit will receive Foundation Establishment Pills! Possibly more than one!" Fang Xinjin and Zhou Yuezi were locked in a stalemate. They couldn't break through quickly. Killing a Purple Mansion Realm spirit beast was incredibly difficult. They had to rely on the Foundation Establishment Realm battlefield to tip the scales. If enough Foundation Establishment Realm spirit beasts fell, the horde might achieve their limited objectives and retreat.

But if they could manage to kill even a single Purple Mansion Realm spirit beast, it would be a monumental victory for Qingtai Prefecture. The two great Purple Mansion Realm families would have deployed their full forces long ago, if they didn't need their own experts to guard their Spirit Mountains. For now, they simply couldn't. So the battle continued.