I became an immortal in the mountains

Chapter 695 The Wonderful Scenery of the Grotto Heaven
"I have only now barely reached a level comparable to my cultivation in swordsmanship. Although I have used the Demon-Subduing Sword to fight against Hun Tian before, I relied more on my vast power to break through the law with force."

Gu Yuanqing knew this in his heart.

Although swordsmanship was his earliest path of cultivation, after gaining enlightenment through observing the mountains, he began to cultivate all paths, with swordsmanship being just one of them.

Sword practice emphasizes a pure sword mind, integrating the Dao into the sword, and using the sword to break through all laws.

Given his circumstances, it would naturally be difficult for him to do so. Therefore, his progress in swordsmanship relies more on his higher level of self-cultivation.

Today, within this tranquil grotto, under the tempering of the sword formation laid out by our predecessors, we abandon all other paths and focus solely on the sword path for testing, ultimately taking the sword path to a new level.

Especially in this Tomb of Ten Thousand Swords, stimulated by the various sword wills, and having honed his own sword heart with the swords of his predecessors, Gu Yuanqing finally showed some of the appearance of a great sword cultivator, and was finally worthy of the title of inheritor of the Demon Subduing Sword!

Climbing this mountain is like climbing the peak of swordsmanship, using the methods of great swordsmen throughout history as steps to ascend straight to the clouds.

Three days later.

Gu Yuanqing climbed to the top of the mountain and saw a sword stele standing on the summit.

The monument is nine zhang tall, made of neither gold nor jade, its material resembling solidified eternal night, yet its surface is shimmering with tiny starlight.

The stele is blank except for a sword mark deeply embedded in it.

The sword marks exuded a sense of vastness and antiquity, as if they were freshly cleaved last night, yet also as if they had existed since time immemorial. A boundless and majestic aura was deeply hidden within them, containing the meaning of suppression and order.

Gu Yuanqing only needed one glance to understand.

This is the Demon-Subduing Sword Dao Stele!
It was left by the Heavenly Sword Elder himself, who infused it with his Demon-Subduing Sword Dao, leaving it for future generations of fellow Daoists.

The Demon-Subduing Sword above his head seemed to sense the aura within, trembling slightly and conveying joy, elation, and affection.

Gu Yuanqing observed for a moment, then focused his spiritual sense on the sword mark.

In an instant, a sudden change occurred.

Deep within the sword scar, a pair of eyes reflecting the stars in the sky slowly opened, their gaze piercing through time and space, landing on Gu Yuanqing.

Starlight descended from the celestial array of stars into the stele, causing the entire stele to radiate light and intertwine to form a silhouette.

He wore a gray linen robe, and his hair and beard were all white, but he did not look old. Instead, he exuded a kind of clarity that came from being untouched by worldly affairs.

His face was like warm jade polished over the years, bearing the marks of time and wisdom.

With high brow bones, his left eye is as deep as the night sky, reflecting the principles of the movement of stars in the heavens; his right eye is as clear as a mirror, containing the profound truth that all things can be used as a sword.

His hands have distinct knuckles and calluses on his palms, as if they were indelible marks of swordsmanship after countless times of holding, refining, and comprehending the sword.

When standing still, it is like an ancient sword without a sheath, its sharpness concealed, simple and unadorned, blending into the world and nature.

But when his gaze fell on Gu Yuanqing, his aura suddenly changed, and a vast sword intent that seemed to overturn heaven and earth soared into the sky.

His illusory figure remained silent, only slowly raising his finger and pointing it at Gu Yuanqing's brow, striking in mid-air!
In an instant, Gu Yuanqing felt the world change, and thousands of sword energies hung in the sky, thus forming the Demon-Subduing Sword Formation.

These myriad sword energies resembled stars, with the Big Dipper suddenly shining brightly, its brilliance surpassing even the scorching sun, forming a profound and awe-inspiring Star Sword Domain.

In that instant, Gu Yuanqing felt his soul and true essence become sluggish, and he finally experienced what it felt like to be enveloped by the Demon-Subduing Array.

It felt as if the surrounding air had transformed into wisps of sword energy, and even the spiritual energy was like that.

Even breathing is like inhaling the enemy's sword energy into the body, transforming it into a sharp sword to attack from within.

This is the Heavenly Pivot Sword, the general outline of the Demon-Subduing Sword Dao, the sword domain construction, and the overall command.

Gu Yuanqing's Demon-Subduing Sword was also activated, transforming into a sword domain to contend with the Heavenly Sword Elder's sword.

The next second, the external formation changed, and billions of sword energies fell.

Gu Yuanqing suddenly felt as if he had been seen through, as if all the flaws in his sword formation had been exposed to the opponent's sight.

Strands of sword energy drifted in through the gaps in Gu Yuanqing's sword formation.

Like a torrential downpour, it seeps into every nook and cranny.

"Use your mind as a mirror to reflect your true self!"

Gu Yuanqing activated the Heavenly Pivot Sword Intent, and the Heart Sword Technique reflected the outside world. The sword formation changed to deal with attacks, and the sword heart was repeatedly tempered in the rain of swords, tending towards clarity and purity.

At that very moment, starlight condensed in the void.

A massive, dark gold sword, as large as a mountain, crashed down, its sharpness unremarkable, its sole aim being absolute crushing power!
It was as if the power of the entire sword formation had condensed into one in an instant.

"Well done!"

Gu Yuanqing laughed loudly, his sword intent soaring into the sky, and the Demon-Subduing Sword Formation transformed into a giant sword to meet the attack.

Sparks flew as the giant swords clashed, just like real swords.

This is a spirit as strong as the earth's veins, bones as solid as divine metal, and power that penetrates ten thousand layers!
Although it was a clash of giant swords, Gu Yuanqing felt as if his soul and body were being subjected to tremendous force.

His eyes suddenly lit up; he realized there were such changes within the Demon-Subduing Sword Formation!
In the blink of an eye, the sword formation changed again.

The sword light transformed into two serpents, one blue and one white, which intertwined and ascended. Sometimes hard, sometimes soft, sometimes illusory, sometimes real.

When strong, it is like thunder splitting the sky; when gentle, it is like a willow binding a dragon.

The ultimate meaning of balance lies in the harmonious interplay of strength and gentleness, and the interplay of emptiness and fullness.

Gu Yuanqing could no longer stand still. He clashed with the blue and white sword light as he changed his movements, reflecting his own shortcomings and perfecting his swordsmanship.

The Heavenly Sword Elder's swordsmanship changed again. A thousand blazing white sword lights followed a mysterious arc, cutting in all directions to form a constantly shrinking sword cage, thus sealing off Gu Yuanqing's movement techniques.

Gu Yuanqing's pupils shrank slightly, and the illusory image of Beiquan suddenly opened, possessing both the sharpness of a sword and the grandeur of a mountain, as immovable as a towering rock.

Then, amidst the thousands of blazing white sword lights, a hundred dark purple sword beams suddenly pierced out!
The trajectory was as treacherous as a venomous snake emerging from its hole. Each sword beam suddenly split, refracted, and blurred as it approached its target, making it unpredictable. These sword beams, like gossamer threads, broke into the illusory image of Beiquan Mountain and attacked Gu Yuanqing directly through the gaps in its power.

Gu Yuanqing gave a light snort, made a hand seal, and transformed the illusory image of Beiquan into the Beiquan World-Suppressing Seal to suppress the sword energy.

The incoming sword energy changed again, suddenly erupting like a final, ultimate transformation, and actually broke into the Northern Spring Town Seal.

Gu Yuanqing's pupils shrank as he was about to unleash his full power, but the power that was about to fall on him suddenly vanished without a trace.

It transformed into wisps of sword-wielding spiritual light, and into insights into the sword-wielding way that merged into Gu Yuanqing's mind.

After a long time, Gu Yuanqing in reality opened his eyes.

It turns out that everything just now was merely a manifestation of the clash between divine souls, and the Demon-Subduing Sword Stele has now returned to calm.

Gu Yuanqing straightened his clothes and bowed deeply before the Sword Dao Stele.

When I got up and looked at the sword tomb again, I had a completely different feeling.

The thousands of swords that had been flying around had been plunged back into the mountain, and each of these swords belonged to a cultivator who had practiced the Demon-Subduing Sword technique.

The previous scenes depicted how this cultivator from the previous generation infused his own insights into the sword, passing on the way of the sword to Gu Yuanqing across tens of thousands of years.

Gu Yuanqing stood at the highest point, his gaze falling into the distance.

Only then could one clearly see the entire scene within the cave.

Qingping Cave was quite large, even more expansive than the current Beiquan Cave.

The cave is not a flat land, but is composed of countless floating islands, some suspended and some overlapping.

The islands are of various shapes and have sharp edges, like "sword-inspired peaks" cleaved by a giant sword. The mountains are covered with natural sword marks that make a clanging sound.

There is a "Qi Ding Xuan Qiu" that is round like a furnace, with underground fire surging and spewing out smoke containing the energy of metal;
There is also the "Array Plate Plain" which is inscribed with intricate array patterns and flows with spiritual energy.

Between the islands, there is not emptiness, but a river of spiritual veins flowing through it. The river water is condensed from pure spiritual energy, and there seem to be countless unformed artifacts floating in it, with shimmering rune light.

The Demon-Subduing Sword Domain where he was located was just one of the islands. It was located at the foot of the mountain and was shrouded by a sword formation, so he couldn't see any other scenery. Only when he reached the top of the mountain could he see the surroundings.

Even divine sense could hardly perceive further; layers of powerful formations seemed to divide this world apart.

"The Heavenly Sword Elder is also known as the Three Perfections Elder. His swordsmanship, array formation, and weapon crafting are all at the pinnacle of his time. He reached the pinnacle of the cultivation world with these three skills and eventually ascended to immortality. Although we have never seen his true form, we can get a glimpse of his talent just from the finger he just pointed at and the scene inside Qingping Cave at this moment!"

Gu Yuanqing admired in his heart that the swordsmanship and formations here had arranged this world into a completely unique little world.

His gaze finally settled on the very center of this world, where clouds and mist swirled, and magical arrays enveloped it, obscuring his divine sense and vision. However, based on the information he had gleaned from the sword monument, he could already determine that this was the true center of the world, and also the location of the Qingping Dao Palace!
Having passed through the Sword Stele, Gu Yuanqing can be considered a true successor of the Demon-Subduing Sword Dao.

That's how I learned about all the challenges I encountered later.

He looked up at the sky and, through the changes in the phantom images of the other three swords within the celestial constellation, judged the situation of the other three.

"That's pretty fast!"

Gu Yuanqing chuckled softly, then sensed a gaze and followed it.

Landing thousands of miles away, atop a mountain peak similar to this place, a figure was looking at him.

Gu Yuanqing was very familiar with this person; it was none other than the Heavenly Demon Sword Master, the one he had fought against!

Gu Yuanqing suddenly smiled, wondering if the Heavenly Demon Sword Master knew about the situation of his clone who had fallen into the Qian Yuan Realm. If the two met, it would be quite interesting.

Of course, this is all predicated on him surviving this battle with himself!

Facing an enemy like the Heavenly Demon Sword Master, Gu Yuanqing would not show any mercy.

However... what I hope for is that the Heavenly Demon Sword Master who arrives is not an avatar, but the real one.

After all, Gu Yuanqing was also quite interested in the other half of the Heavenly Dao Scripture in his possession!
As for who the other two were, Gu Yuanqing was also quite curious, but the other two did not seem to be in this direction, and it was difficult to find their traces.

Gu Yuanqing was not in a hurry. If they could withstand their respective tests, they would naturally meet; if they couldn't even get through this, then it was not worth mentioning!

With a thought, the Demon-Subduing Sword light enveloped Gu Yuanqing and then headed towards the center.

On the other side, the Heavenly Demon Sword Master also rose up, riding on his sword light...

(End of this chapter)