Chapter 285: Killing Sword Mountain
The mountain that stood in front of Zen looked like a wild beast from ancient times.
There were hundreds of thousands of swords embedded in the mountain, one on top of the other, from the bottom to the top.
“These swords...” Zen, amazed by the sight, was suddenly at a loss for words.
It was hard not to gasp in awe as he looked at those long swords protruding from the mountain.
The metal blades at the foot of the mountain were not high grade. But all were classified as mysterious weapons, whether low-grade, middle-grade, or top-grade. A variety of sword types were in that mountain.
There were wide blade swords, short-handle swords, serpentine swords, jade swords, and so on.
The mysterious weapons of different grades spread from the foot of the mountain to the top. But when Zen examined the slopes closer, he discovered the swords embedded there were not all the mysterious kind. There were also spiritual weapons!
The spiritual weapons only covered the lowest portion of the mountain. Looking further up, Zen found many more fairy weapons halfway up its slopes!
To his amazement, there were low-grade, middle-grade, and even top-grade fairy weapons!
Even a low-grade fairy weapon was tough enough to make the martial artists of the Eastern Region go crazy. Disciples from the declining noble clans like Nory, and even family-owners like James, didn't have a fairy weapon yet!
The top seven noble clans might have more low-grade fairy weapons, but on average, each family would only have a few of these, at most.
Middle-grade fairy weapons were even rarer. Only five of the top seven noble clans owned this type of weapon. The Yu and Yun Clans were the two that did not have middle-grade fairy weapons.
Each of the top seven noble clans was fabulously wealthy and were known for having illustrious family backgrounds. And the inheritance that came down to the Yu and Yun Clans was no weaker than that of the other five clans, so it was puzzling why they had yet to possess a middle-grade fairy weapon. So, it was not difficult to imagine how precious the middle-grade fairy weapon was in the Eastern Region.
As for the top-grade fairy weapon with three fairy textures...
It was already legendary. It might exist in the Eastern Region, but no one had ever seen it.
However, there were many and various fairy weapons halfway up the mountain. There were tens of thousands of middle-grade and top-grade fairy weapons as far as the eye could see.
And it shocked Zen to see so many of these fairy weapons stuck in the mountain. These were clumped together like cabbage, which anyone could take at no cost.
“It will likely ignite every scale of the cyan dragon in my body if I can swallow all these mysterious weapons, spiritual weapons, and fairy weapons!”
In his excitement, Zen didn't realize he had voiced out his thoughts.
His gaze wandered further beyond the fairy weapons, and Zen found there were other swords that spread from the mountainside to the top ridge. What grade of swords could those be?
“Sacred weapons...” Zen murmured in wonderment.
If people of the Eastern Region found it hard to imagine a top-grade fairy weapon as a kind of powerful weapon, what more would they think about a sacred weapon?
What exactly was this sword mountain anyway?
Why was the mountain immediately visible to him as soon as he comprehended the consummation of the sword intent?
Clouds and mists shrouded the upmost part of the mountain, so Zen was unable to see what was on it. But based on the way those swords were arranged presently, would there be divine weapons on top of the mountain?
Using his present insight, Zen could well imagine the power and strength of the sacred weapon. But the might of the divine weapon was beyond his imagination. He had no idea what the divine weapon looked like, nor could he visualize its strength.
He had a sense that in imagining, he would make it appear ridiculous.
As an example, he thought of peasants from remote mountains who believed the shoulder pole used by the emperor to carry water was made of gold since the royal leader had a lot of gold and silver jewelry. And that was ridiculous.
Inhaling deeply, Zen took a drink of water, restrained his cranky thoughts, and approached the sword mountain. When he reached the first mysterious weapon, he attempted to pry it out. But the low-grade weapon remained deeply embedded in the mountain and could not be pulled out.
Initially, Zen thought his strength was insufficient, thus his failure. But after expending all his energy, it remained stuck in the ground, hardly moving an inch.
Suddenly, Zen clearly heard a voice in his head.
“It's a sword on the Killing Sword Mountain, so you cannot pull it out even if it is a mysterious weapon,” he heard the voice say. It sounded quite old to him.
Aghast at what he was experiencing, Zen stood still and asked, “Who are you?”
“Who am I?” the voice spoke, and then laughed.
“I've been inside your head for so long yet you don't even know who I am?” There was a hint of desolation and majesty in his tone as he replied.
"The cyan dragon?
You're the cyan dragon!" Zen blurted out.
The young disciple could not believe what was happening.
He had suspected a long time ago that the cyan dragon had his own consciousness as a dragon. But he had never taken the initiative to communicate with him until Zen competed with Jacques on the battlefield. The cyan dragon's goal then was to secure the flood dragon bone, and this was what eventually prompted him to roar so he could communicate with Zen.
It was with the help of the cyan dragon that Zen finally defeated Jacques and swallowed the flood dragon bone.
So technically, Zen didn't defeat Jacques with his strength alone but with the help of the cyan dragon.
However, it didn't seem fair to Zen to give all the credit for the victory to the dragon. After all, Jacques also took advantage of the flood dragon bone spear in his hands.
The birth of a genius always depended on several aspects: strength, talent, adventure, and luck. And you could not do away with a single one of them.
“Yes, you are right. I am the cyan dragon in your mind,” the dragon made the confirmation.
It was when Zen ignited the first of his dragon scales that the cyan dragon woke up.
But he didn't have much reserve energy to communicate with the young disciple after waking up. He had been confined to the mysterious smelting furnace for so many years and was far too weak.
Although the heavenly essence could help the cyan dragon restore a fraction of his strength, there was only a little of this essence. There were too many scales on his body, and more than a hundred dragon scales only occupied a small section of him.
When the cyan dragon noticed that piece of the flood dragon bone on the battlefield, he finally decided to communicate with Zen. Usually, a cyan dragon hardly paid attention to a small part of the flood dragon's spine. As a genuine dragon, he thought the flood dragon was just a kind of beast many generations away from him. Therefore, there was not much genuine dragon blood within a flood dragon.
Regardless of how little genuine dragon blood there was in a flood dragon, it would still help the cyan dragon, already too weak at this point, recover. Even a small amount of genuine dragon blood as a supplement could slowly restore the cyan dragon's strength.
After swallowing the spine of the flood dragon, the cyan dragon finally regained strength and was able to communicate with Zen.
"Did you just say this is the Killing Sword Mountain?
Does this only exist in my mind?
Why can't I pull out the sword stuck in this mountain?" Zen fired the questions rapidly in a show of confusion. Since the cyan dragon knew what this mountain was, he must also be aware of the secret of the Killing Sword Mountain.
"Haha! How is it possible that the Killing Sword Mountain exists only in your mind?
The Killing Sword Mountain is a sacred place for practicing sword skills. It cannot belong to any one person. But it is almost dreamlike,“ the cyan dragon explained. Smiling gently, he went on, ”There was a resonance between your soul's consciousness and the Killing Sword Mountain when you comprehended the consummation of the sword intent, and then you were chosen to practice in the mountain. It is an opportunity for you!
And your opponent today, the boy named Rocher, must have gone for practice in another place, but I guess wherever that is, it cannot compare to yours here. The one who has the chance to be chosen into the Killing Sword Mountain is... Hahaha!"
Abruptly, the cyan dragon stopped what he was saying as he laughed out loud.
As curious as he was, Zen didn't dare ask the cyan dragon any more questions since it seemed he no longer wanted to say anything about the Killing Sword Mountain. What Zen was most concerned about now was how to practice in the sacred mountain.
No sooner had he thought of the question when the cyan dragon continued, "The Killing Sword Mountain is one of three sacred places for practicing sword skills. More than that, it is a way of practicing the killing sword skill! When the swordsman comprehends the consummate sword intent, there will be a slight chance for him to project his consciousness into the Killing Sword Mountain and have a contract with it. And what you need to do now is climb the mountain!
Those swords under your feet? They are actually projections of weapons left by climbers who came before you. They are simply projections of other people's weapons, so of course, you can't pull them out!"
Incredulous, Zen asked, “All those swords were left by others?”
Only then did he understand why he was unable to pull any of the metal blades embedded in the Killing Sword Mountain.
“There is no need to feel strange about that. The world is much bigger than you can imagine, and there are billions, no, trillions, of creatures practicing sword skills. Just as you have the chance to cultivate your skills in the Killing Sword Mountain, so do others. How high you can climb the mountain depends on your ability,” the cyan dragon continued to speak in a calm tone.
“Climb the mountain? That's easy!” Zen said confidently.
Although the Killing Sword Mountain's aura came out much too strong, it was only a mountain after all.
Mocking laughter was followed by, “You can give it a try to test whether or not it's easy. But let me remind you that the higher you climb the Killing Sword Mountain, the more benefits you will reap. It's a rare opportunity for you, so you must take it!”
Once the cyan dragon had finished speaking, he kept quiet, just waiting for Zen's performance.
The cyan dragon's words were replayed in Zen's head. 'The higher I climb the mountain, the more benefits I will get.'
Staring at the swords scattered on the mountain, Zen arched an eyebrow, inhaled deeply, then took on the challenge. With the Streamer Sword in hand, he advanced towards the Killing Sword Mountain a step at a time.
He had only taken two steps when a few low-grade mysterious weapons suddenly began to vibrate. Then to Zen's surprise, a handful of sword intents shot out from those very weapons and headed towards him.
Several thoughts raced in Zen's mind as he tried to comprehend all that was happening.
'These sword intents come from the masters of these low-grade mysterious weapons.
And they're at the marrow refining level?'
He furrowed his brows in fascination.
Based on what the cyan dragon just said, only those able to comprehend the consummate sword intent had the opportunity to practice on the Killing Sword Mountain. But at the same time, not every swordsman who fully understood the sword intent had the chance to get to this mountain!
Because he comprehended the consummate sword intent when he was at grade two of the nature level, Zen was considered talented enough, yet someone was even more skilled than the young disciple!
How could any person understand the consummate sword intent at the marrow refining level?
The thought was a great shock to Zen. This kind of genius couldn't exist in the Eastern Region or even the Central Region, and for that matter, it was rare anywhere in the world!
So it was truly unbelievable!
Although unsettling, Zen wasn't depressed by his discovery.
'There is always something unfair in this world, ' he thought.
Using himself as an example, Zen recalled he was imprisoned at age 15, while disciples from the noble clans had the privilege of taking pills, practicing tier 4 cultivation methods, and using spiritual weapons that even masters of ordinary families did not have.
And yet, all of these warriors had been surpassed by Zen by leaps and bounds.
It took a very long time to practice and be a master in martial arts. Maybe it seemed inconceivable for Zen to comprehend the consummate sword intent at the marrow refining level, yet there was no question that he was a man of great power. After all, he surpassed the descendants with great family backgrounds and supreme blood. They were born with gifts that others couldn't even imagine, while all Zen had now was only enough for their meals.
But when Zen thought about all the inequity in the world, he didn't care about them one bit.
Since he wasn't born to a family with a great background, he would try his very best to take everything he desired little by little!
“Break into pieces!” Zen shouted.