ATPnovel Chapter 394 The Sword Formation's Foundation! Alarming Daoist Qinglian!
Chapter 394 The Sword Formation's Foundation! Alarming Daoist Qinglian!
Chen Fan stood in the center of the sword mound, the eleven swords in his hand hanging low. The faint causal intent on the sword blades had not completely dissipated, and they shone with a faint gray-white luster in the dark cave, like condensed mist.
With the initial completion of the Karma Severance, Chen Fan was overjoyed!
Furthermore, the stronger the causal concept, the stronger the sword technique will be!
When he first grasped the essence of swordsmanship, he never expected that by chance, he would merge the two!
However, Chen Fan still needs to find an opponent to test the exact strength of this Causal Slash!
With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, he then spread his divine sense like mercury spilling onto the ground, sweeping across the hundred-foot-wide sword mound and stele forest.
Upon closer inspection, the hundreds of ancient swords on the bronze sword platform were still trembling slightly. This was the resonance triggered when the "Causal Slash" was first formed, and it had not yet completely subsided.
The light traces flowing on the jade wall of sword intent were also several degrees brighter than usual, as if they had been awakened by some higher level of power.
But Chen Fan's gaze did not linger on these swords and stone tablets.
His purpose in coming here was never just to comprehend the essence of swordsmanship.
"The Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Sword Formation..." Chen Fan muttered to himself, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
When he first came to Qingyun Sect, he obtained the "Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Sword Formation" diagram from Qingyunzi by chance!
Once this sword formation was mastered, its power was comparable to that of a Core Formation cultivator, something Chen Fan still remembers vividly!
According to Qingyunzi, the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Sword Formation is only a mid-level sword formation in the Qingyun Sect!
Those truly powerful sword formations are even more terrifying and stronger!
Thinking of all this, Chen Fan sheathed his sword and strode into the depths of the sword tomb.
Beyond the central sword platform, there was another area hidden in the shadows. There were no stone tablets or swords there, only a dark black stone wall embedded at the end of the cave, covered with dense silver array patterns. Upon closer inspection, these patterns were found to be composed of countless miniature sword-shaped runes strung together.
Three jade platforms, each about half a person's height, stand in front of the stone wall, with a jade slip floating on each platform.
Chen Fan walked to the nearest jade platform and reached out to touch the jade slip.
"Buzz..."
Ripples spread across the surface of the jade slip, and a phantom image was projected from within the slip, unfolding into a three-dimensional array in mid-air.
The array diagram consists of thirty-six sword shadows, intertwined and interconnected, evolving into various profound and mysterious changes. Below the array diagram, there is also a line of ancient seal script annotations!
Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Sword Formation!
One of the intermediate sword formations of the Qingyun Sect, it requires thirty-six spirit swords of the same origin as its foundation. The one who forms the formation can borrow the power of the Heavenly Gang Star to transform the swords into stars, which are scattered like stars, trapping and killing early-stage Core Formation cultivators as easily as slaughtering dogs.
Chen Fan's eyes lit up.
He continued to touch the second jade slip.
The phantom reappeared, this time forming an array of seventy-two sword shadows. Its momentum was even more magnificent than the Heavenly Gang Sword Array, with the sword shadows layered upon each other like surging waves!
The Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Sword Formation!
A variant of the Heavenly Gang Formation, it has many more swords and more complex variations, but it requires an extremely high level of spiritual awareness from the person forming the formation; it cannot be easily controlled by anyone who is not at the Nascent Soul stage.
The contents of the third jade slip surprised Chen Fan slightly.
That was not a formation diagram, but a general outline of a sword formation written with sword intent as ink and the void as paper.
The opening statement elucidates the Way of Sword Formations, emphasizing the importance of unified intent. Without a clear flow of sword intent, even a thousand or ten thousand swords are like scattered sand. Our sect's sword formation tradition comprises one hundred and eight sets, yet their core principles boil down to nothing more than three!
The Heavenly Dipper draws upon the power of the stars, the Earthly Fiends borrow from the earth's veins, and man and sword become one. Future disciples should first comprehend the essence of the sword, then learn the formation diagrams; do not put the cart before the horse!
Chen Fan put away all three jade slips and then looked at the dark stone wall engraved with array patterns.
He stretched out his right hand and placed his palm on the center of the wall.
Spiritual energy was slowly poured in.
The silver array patterns on the stone wall lit up one by one, spreading outward from the center like a ignited star map. As the light shifted, the wall surface rippled like water, revealing a hidden compartment behind it, just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Twelve animal hide scrolls were neatly stacked in the hidden compartment. The scrolls were old and the edges were slightly yellowed, but they were well preserved.
Chen Fan unfolded and examined them one by one.
Small Heavenly Cycle Sword Formation, Big Dipper Seven Killings Formation, Nine Palaces Sword Locking Diagram, Five Elements Demon Extermination Formation, Yin-Yang Dust Sword Formation...
Each volume of array diagrams comes with detailed annotations, covering everything from the key points of array formation, sword selection, and spiritual energy circulation to the setting of array eyes and variations.
Furthermore, several volumes specifically record the secrets of combining sword formations with terrain, celestial phenomena, and even cultivators' techniques, demonstrating that the study of sword formations has reached its ultimate level.
"This is the true foundation of the Qingyun Sect." Chen Fan sighed softly, and without hesitation, put all twelve scrolls of array diagrams into his storage bag.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, a thought suddenly struck him, and he turned back to look at the dark stone wall.
The array patterns on the stone wall were still faintly glowing, as if they were still hiding something.
Chen Fan focused intently, his divine sense piercing deep into the array patterns like needles. After a moment, his pupils contracted slightly; the arrangement of these array patterns was itself a hidden sword array diagram!
However, the array nodes need to be activated in a specific order for them to appear.
"A series of traps..." Chen Fan's lips curled up. "They're quite cautious."
He pointed his fingers like a sword, gathering a trace of causal sword intent at his fingertips, and quickly pointed at seven different locations on the wall according to the array patterns he had just sensed.
"Ding, ding, ding..."
Each time you tap it, a crisp sound, like jade striking against jade, comes from the wall.
As the seventh finger touched down, the entire stone wall suddenly burst forth with dazzling silver light!
In the silver light, the array patterns moved and reorganized like living things, eventually condensing into three lines of golden ancient seal script in the center of the wall!
The Azure Cloud Myriad Phenomena Sword Formation is the sect's ultimate formation, which cannot be lightly passed on to anyone other than the sect leader. This formation has no fixed form; it is based on sword intent and can combine thousands of sword formations into one. With a single thought, ten thousand swords are born; with a single thought, ten thousand swords fall silent.
When cultivated to its fullest potential, one can transform the sword into myriad forms and evolve the heavens and earth.
Below the character "金", a vast array diagram slowly unfolds.
There were no fixed sword shadows in that array, only countless flowing points of light and lines, colliding, merging, and separating with each other, changing every moment, like an ever-evolving starry sky, or a microcosm of the birth and death of all things.
Chen Fan stared at the array diagram, feeling as if his divine sense was being sucked into it, and countless images flashed before his eyes!
Some sword formations transform into mountains to suppress, some into rivers to rush, some into wind and snow to sweep across, and some into thunder to strike furiously!
"This is the real treasure." Chen Fan took a deep breath and imprinted the array patterns of the Azure Cloud Myriad Phenomena Sword Array deep into his mind.
Having done all this, he didn't linger and turned to walk towards the exit of the Sword Tomb.
But just as he took his third step, something unexpected happened!
The Sword Tomb Cave suddenly shook violently!
It wasn't an earthquake, but rather a vast, overwhelming pressure descending from the outside, like an invisible giant hand gripping the entire solitary peak!
The luminous pearls in the dome shattered simultaneously, and fragments fell like rain.
The hundreds of ancient swords on the bronze sword platform trembled violently, emitting a piercing buzz, as if they were afraid of something.
The light marks on the jade wall of sword intent dimmed instantly, and the sword intent that had been sealed for thousands of years retreated like a tide, shrinking back into the depths of the jade and daring not to show itself.
Chen Fan paused, his expression suddenly turning serious.
He could sense that the owner of that oppressive aura was forcibly scanning the entire Hidden Sword Pavilion with his divine sense, leaving no inch of space unchecked.
The strength of that divine sense was beyond that of a Core Formation cultivator, and even surpassed that of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. It was as deep and unfathomable as an abyss or a prison!
"Qinglian Daoist..." The name flashed through Chen Fan's mind.