19. The Eight Desolations Sword Technique
Gong Yiling was furious now.
In her eyes, this guy’s actions were a direct challenge to her bottom line.
It was supposed to be a life-or-death battle. If you won, you won. If you lost, you lost.
But this guy dared to bypass her and try to kill Leng Yuli first, using her as a stepping stone.
Although the sudden attack almost shattered her hand, and her qi and blood were churning, she managed to suppress the urge to vomit blood.
But she wouldn’t take back her words, and she had no intention of letting this guy go.
Since she was angry, she would throw all caution to the wind.
“System, if I can use this sword, can I use its skills?”
“It’s recommended that the host be careful. You are not the true master of this sword. Using it will surely result in some kind of backlash.”
“So ‘careful’ means ‘can’?”
“If the host considers risking your life an acceptable option, then yes.”
“Heh.” Gong Yiling chuckled. “You know, when have I not been risking my life?”
The system fell silent.
In an instant, an extreme blue light erupted from her, and with it, a powerful wave of qi.
“Whoosh—!”
This wave of qi sent the man flying, the force even stronger than before, shaking the pillars of the hall.
“Eight Desolations: Sword Heart Unity!”
The girl held the sword horizontally, a sharp sword intent flashing in her eyes. The extreme condensation of this sword heart made Prince Kui pause.
This girl… seemed different from before.
Yes, when she decided to forcefully use the Eight Desolations Sword’s innate skill, a vast sword intent poured into her spiritual sea.
It was like an ancient will, gradually eroding her consciousness and sword heart.
Was this the price of using this thing?
Gong Yiling forced herself to calm down, suppressing the feeling of a thousand needles piercing her body, and fiercely resisted the ancient sword intent.
Under the full power of the Heavenly Saint Technique of the Myriad Paths, the sword intent, which could have consumed her, slowly submitted.
—This cultivation technique truly lived up to its name.
After taking a quick breath, the uses of these skills immediately flashed in Gong Yiling’s mind.
“Innate Skill [Sword Heart Unity]: Can only be activated when sword intent has reached the peak. Forcibly raises sword intent to the Sword Saint level and unlocks the use of all Eight Desolations Sword techniques and the fusion technique—the Eight Desolations Sword Heart Art.”
“Innate Skill [Eight Desolations Sword Master]: The wielder’s sword intent level is passively increased by one, and when using Eight Desolations Sword techniques, power and speed are increased by 30%.”
“Active Skill [Command]: The Eight Desolations and the Four Seas, I am the master. When activated, all swords within a five-kilometer radius can be freely controlled by the user. If the user has learned the Sword Control Technique, then this skill can use its second effect—Extreme: Myriad Swords Return to the Source.”
This was what an Immortal Artifact should be like. Compared to the previous strange props, this sword was incredibly powerful.
However, forcefully activating it wasn’t without consequences. She now had a debuff on her head.
“Effect: The Price of Showing Off: Forcefully using the Eight Desolations Sword without meeting the conditions. Every fifteen seconds, the body’s burden will increase by 10%. After 2 minutes, the dantian and sword heart will be damaged by the sword intent’s backlash.”
Although this was all represented by data, Gong Yiling could feel the pressure herself.
It wasn’t as bad as when she mixed the two cultivation techniques against Yin Wuzong, but after a few dozen seconds, she would start to feel the effects.
Her time was limited, at most one and a half to two minutes.
She had to win within this time!
With a determined mind, Gong Yiling immediately unleashed the fusion version of the Eight Desolations Sword Technique.
The Eight Desolations Sword Technique had eight styles, and her afterimage naturally split into eight.
Each represented one of the eight styles, and with all the sword techniques unleashed at once, it almost completely locked down Prince Kui, aiming for a quick victory.
“…Interesting.”
Prince Kui hadn’t intended to fight her head-on, but seeing her burst with such power, a competitive spirit welled up within him.
He sneered, and his bone fan also changed, a few thin threads extending from it.
And in that instant, the three Sword Alliance members who had died here earlier stood up again and charged towards the afterimages.
They also used the two styles of the Eight Desolations Sword Technique they knew, so only two styles actually reached Prince Kui.
And he dealt with these two styles with ease, his movements graceful and effortless, as if he were just plucking flowers. But as he blocked them, a few cracks appeared on his bone fan.
His strength was only around the Heavenly Soul realm. Although he was three realms higher than her, she could already fight against Earthly Nether cultivators. Now, with the boost from the Wind and Cloud Sword, her strength was extraordinary.
Since her sword technique could already damage his weapon, then this move!
Without a word, Gong Yiling immediately summoned a tidal wave of swords.
In an instant, all the swords within a five-kilometer radius, regardless of their quality, as long as they weren’t higher than the Eight Desolations Sword’s level, began to vibrate violently.
The lower-grade swords even broke free from their owners’ control and flew towards the palace hall, like moths to a flame, rushing towards Prince Kui.
Although the quality of these swords varied, most were just ordinary iron weapons, not very impressive.
But this was the palace, and the five-kilometer radius included all the ordinary guards and the Red and Black Demon Slayers, all of whom carried swords.
These swords all rushed together, and the sheer number of them, the dense stream of blades, created an incredibly oppressive aura.
Prince Kui had clearly never encountered such a sword technique before and was stunned.
What the hell was this?
Although he immediately raised a barrier of spiritual energy, blocking most of the scrap metal, some of the weapons were unusually powerful, like Gong Muzhi’s and that Sword Master’s sword, and now, her father’s sword, who was currently fighting someone else.
Yes, Extreme: Myriad Swords Return to the Source was just that chaotic. All the swords you could imagine in this area were now here.
