Chapter 160: Enlightenment on Canglan Island, a One-versus-Two Battle

Chapter 160: Enlightenment on Canglan Island, a One-versus-Two Battle

Outside Canglan Island, on the turbulent Cang River, massive waves crashed and darkness loomed as a formidable pressure swept through the battlefield, akin to a storm of terrifying proportions.

Xie Lingfeng and Hu Shan retreated further and further, keeping their distance.

Their gazes fixed on the battlefield, their expressions grave.

"Young Master, will Xu Yan emerge victorious?" Hu Shan asked with a hint of worry.

After all, they were facing two Great Perfection Grand Masters, whose initial move had shaken the heavens and earth, unleashing a storm that seemed capable of destroying the world.

"If Xu Yan chose to stay and fight, he must have his reasons," Xie Lingfeng replied solemnly.

Despite his words, a hint of concern lingered in his heart.

"Who are these black-robed individuals, and what power do they represent? To be able to deploy two Great Perfection Grand Masters means they possess considerable strength and must have a Peak Grand Master backing them," Hu Shan said in a low voice.

"They belong to one of the hidden forces in the Inner Realm," Xie Lingfeng said, his eyes grave. "Apart from the numerous known factions, there exist some covert groups that operate discreetly or engage in unsavory activities. They never reveal their names."

Although their existence was known, their identities remained shrouded, hence the term "hidden forces."

Of course, there were varying degrees of power among these hidden forces. Some were entirely unknown, even to the major factions, and their strength was undoubtedly formidable. The black-robed individuals belonged to this category.

The battle raged on, the waves growing more ferocious by the second. Towering waves dozens of feet high churned, and layer upon layer of blade light resembled a tempest, relentlessly pounding their target.

From a distance, the battlefield resembled an apocalyptic scene!

Xu Yan's innate true energy surged as he fought with abandon, a faint spiritual glow even appearing around him—a sign of the mighty Dragon Soaring in Rivers and Mountains Spirit Bone manifesting in the heat of battle.

Heavenly spirit energy surged into him, replenishing his true energy as he fought with increasing bravery and a mounting aura.

Amid the battle, he continued to gain insights from the formidable auras of the two black-robed individuals, whose every move seemed to bring about a world-destroying pressure that stirred the heavenly spirit energy.

The longer the battle dragged on, the more alarmed the black-robed individuals became. They resolved to kill this young man, for they knew that letting him live would spell disaster. Their curved blades moved with increasing ferocity, their blade auras becoming sharper and sharper. Finally, their auras merged, indicating the use of a collaborative technique!

Buzz!

A massive curved blade aura appeared in mid-air, pouring down like a waterfall that spanned the entire sky, sealing off all directions.

The rampaging blade aura devoured the waves, and the world seemed enveloped in a blade aura inferno.

Xu Yan's eyes narrowed as he realized that by merging their auras, his opponents had managed to boost their strength and seal off his escape routes.

He couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. If he wanted to flee, could they really stop him?

Boom!

In an instant, Xu Yan's aura surged, his sword intent sweeping across the heavens with ruthless killing intent.

Mountains and rivers materialized, sealing off the surroundings to prevent the black-robed individuals from escaping.

With a palm strike, a golden dragon roared forth, its dragon eyes shining brilliantly. The powerful dragon's mighty will, infused with a furious momentum, even seemed to calm the raging waves of the Cang River.

Roar!

The golden dragon charged at one of the black-robed individuals.

Its formidable might shattered the blade light, its relentless assault pushing forward.

However, the black-robed individual was powerful, and their curved blade easily shattered the golden dragon before it could get too close.

Undeterred, Xu Yan unleashed another relentless palm strike, the mighty Descending Dragon Palm Power smashing through layer after layer of blade light, each strike pushing him closer to his opponent.

At this moment, Xu Yan unleashed his full strength, his left hand wielding the Descending Dragon Palm, while his right hand channeled the Mountains and Rivers Sword Intent. Sword after sword slashed out.

Facing two opponents, he managed to gain the upper hand.

Furthermore, he turned the tables on them, sealing off their escape routes and trapping them.

His sword slashed down.

Roar!

Dragon roars echoed, and the mountains and rivers enveloped one of the black-robed individuals, as if to bury him within the landscape and annihilate him completely.

Another sword slashed out.

Mountain River Myriad Phenomena Sword!

The majestic sword aura surged, and as the sword intent rippled, the dragon roars and the myriad phenomena of the mountains and rivers overlapped in an instant.

Then, another sword strike fused the dragon roars with the myriad phenomena once more.

Sword after sword relentlessly pressed the black-robed individuals, completely overwhelming them.

The mountains and rivers sword intent grew stronger and stronger, and the killing intent filled the heavens with a chilling aura.

It seemed as if the very heavens had been incited to kill.

As the battle reached this critical juncture, the black-robed individuals' faces underwent drastic changes. They felt a profound sense of crisis, understanding that their situation was extremely perilous.

Roar!

Xu Yan unleashed another palm strike, and a massive golden dragon surged forward, targeting the other black-robed individual. Just as the opponent's blade was about to strike the dragon, the golden dragon suddenly split into eighteen smaller dragons, each charging at its target from a different direction.

In the same instant, Xu Yan's sword slashed down, fusing the dragon roars with the myriad phenomena of the mountains and rivers, pulling the black-robed individual into the mountains and rivers sword intent.

"Today, I, Sword God Xu Yan, slay Great Perfection Grand Masters outside Canglan Island. Any who dare covet Canglan Island shall be put to death without mercy!"

Xu Yan's voice, like thunder, rolled across the sky.

The spectators in the distance were stunned, their faces draining of color. Did he just kill two Great Perfection Grand Masters?

Just how powerful was Sword God Xu Yan? Could he be a Peak Grand Master?

"And to the black-robed cowards who dare seek revenge, come find me anytime. I, the Sword God, will gladly welcome you, but remember to bring enough spirit tickets. Dying penniless is not worthy of my blade!"

Xu Yan's cold voice echoed once more.

Everyone drew a sharp breath. He was openly declaring war on a hidden force!

To be able to deploy two Great Perfection Grand Masters meant that the force was undoubtedly a top-tier faction with a Peak Grand Master at its helm.

Could it be that a single person was capable of suppressing an entire top-tier faction?

At this moment, the two black-robed individuals felt an intense crisis of life and death. Their faces paled, and their auras changed abruptly.

A sinister aura clung to them, and their curved blades were imbued with a layer of icy coldness, as if encased in frost. The temperature in the surrounding area dropped sharply.

The sinister aura seemed to carry the scent of death.

It was clear that they were prepared to go all out, resorting to a powerful martial arts secret technique.

Evidently, this martial arts secret technique came at a tremendous cost. However, when faced with life and death, such costs became insignificant.

"Martial arts secret technique? Hmph!"

Xu Yan scoffed, and his sword slashed down, as if the heavens and earth were silent, and the mountains and rivers extinguished. The collapsing landscape enveloped the sinister aura, encompassing everything within the mountains and rivers.

As the mountains and rivers faded, the sinister aura was transformed into the power of their extinction.

"No! What is this...?"

The black-robed individual's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.

Just what kind of sword art was this? Why was it so bizarre and powerful? Their bodies crumbled, disintegrating along with the mountains and rivers, turning to ash.

Boom!

With a single sword strike, one of the black-robed individuals was slain, and the Descending Dragon Palm unleashed its ultimate might, exuding a fierce and masculine force akin to the wrath of a divine dragon, causing the heavens and earth to change color.

The black-robed figure's body exploded, disintegrating into flying ash under the terrifying dragon's might!

The world returned to tranquility.

The Cang River flowed as it always had, and the storm that seemed capable of destroying the heavens and the earth had vanished without a trace.

Only one person remained, standing proudly in mid-air with a sword in hand.

The onlookers were struck silent at this moment.

A name was forever etched into their minds: Sword God Xu Yan!

The youth, holding a sword, had just slain two Great Perfection Grand Masters outside of Canglan Island!

"Among the geniuses of this world, none can rival Xu Yan!"

"With Xu Yan alone, the entire Inner Realm's geniuses are suppressed!"

"It's not hard to imagine that in the near future, Xu Yan will be the number one martial artist in the Inner Realm!"

The Grand Master warriors who had witnessed the battle couldn't help but exclaim.

Xu Yan, at such a young age, had already slain Great Perfection Grand Masters. Perhaps, in no time, he would be capable of killing even Peak Grand Masters.

A true unparalleled genius, unmatched by anyone!

Xie Lingfeng and Hu Shan were deeply shaken by what they had just witnessed.

Xu Yan's strength had far exceeded their imagination. Despite being only at the Innate Realm, he had fought two opponents and slain Great Perfection Grand Masters.

Was this the terrifying aspect of True Martial Arts?

Xie Lingfeng sighed inwardly. He was hailed as Sword Sovereign Cliff, the strongest genius in a thousand years, yet compared to Xu Yan, he felt a sense of inadequacy.

What consoled him was that among the Inner Realm's geniuses, he was still at the very top, retaining his qualifications and confidence to look down on the others.

Xie Lingfeng no longer harbored any hopes of catching up to Xu Yan's pace. He was self-aware, and his greatest aspiration was to attain enlightenment in the sword path and achieve true swordsmanship.

"Brother Xu, your battle today has truly shocked the entire Inner Realm."

Xie Lingfeng walked over and remarked with emotion.

Back at the Seven Stars Academy, the impact of Xu Yan smashing Yin Hong with a single palm was already significant.

Now, outside Canglan Island, he had fought two formidable opponents and slain two Great Perfection Grand Masters. This demonstration of power was far more intimidating than the previous incident.

After all, Yin Hong had just entered the Grand Master realm, and he was considered one of the weaker ones at that stage.

Some powerful Great Perfection Grand Masters, upon hearing about Xu Yan smashing Yin Hong, might not have taken it too seriously. They might have assumed that Xu Yan had employed some sort of instant-boosting secret technique to achieve that feat, and they would likely conclude that with their full power, they could achieve a similar result.

Yin Hong, being a recent entrant to the Grand Master realm, had an unknown true strength.

However, people speculated that his power was not particularly strong among Grand Masters, placing him in the third-rate category. Thus, Xu Yan's smashing of Yin Hong created a spectacular and impressive scene.

Nevertheless, Great Perfection Grand Masters, including Peak Grand Masters, didn't pay much attention to it.

Now, with Xu Yan fighting two formidable Great Perfection Grand Masters and emerging victorious, the impact of this demonstration was exponentially greater.

Even Peak Grand Masters would have to be cautious of Xu Yan.

"It's just an empty reputation, not worth mentioning!"

Xu Yan waved his hand dismissively.

The three of them continued toward Canglan Island.

"Great Perfection Grand Masters are indeed very strong. To be able to fight me for so long and display such astonishing might, Peak Grand Masters must be even more formidable."

Xu Yan couldn't help but marvel.

He had underestimated the power of Great Perfection Grand Masters and, even more so, that of Peak Grand Masters.

Great Perfection Grand Masters could already stir the heavenly spirit energy, almost manipulating it at will. As for Peak Grand Masters, Xu Yan wondered if they had reached the stage where they could initially control and amplify their combat strength using heavenly spirit energy.

They were truly not to be underestimated.

Xu Yan assessed that with his current strength, he wouldn't be able to defeat a Peak Grand Master.

However, a Peak Grand Master wouldn't be able to defeat him either.

"Once I break through to the peak of the Innate Realm, I'll be able to kill Peak Grand Masters as well."

Xu Yan thought to himself.

The three of them arrived on Canglan Island, and the buildings there remained intact.

Xu Yan headed straight for Yin Hong's location and found that his residence had been opened, which was within his expectations.

After some searching, he finally discovered a hidden chamber.

Upon opening the chamber, he found a pile of spirit crystals and several jade boxes containing seventh-grade spirit medicines.

There were a total of eleven seventh-grade spirit medicines.

However, there wasn't a single sixth-grade spirit medicine, as they were still quite scarce in the Inner Realm.

Xu Yan did a quick inventory and found that there were less than ten thousand spirit crystals, and including the eleven seventh-grade spirit medicines, there were only around thirty spirit medicines in total.

What relieved Xu Yan was that there was a box in the hidden chamber containing spirit tickets, amounting to several hundred thousand.

As for the storage vouchers for the Heaven Treasure Pavilion, there wasn't a single one.

This hidden chamber was indeed well-concealed, and one would need Grand Master strength to open it, ensuring that it remained untouched.

It seemed that those who had taken away the treasures of Canglan Island had intentionally left this chamber untouched, fearing that taking everything would anger Xu Yan and bring trouble upon themselves.

"This Yin Hong guy is quite poor."

Xu Yan sighed.

"I wonder who his backer is, whether they are rich or not, and if they will seek revenge for him!"

Xu Yan was somewhat looking forward to Yin Hong's backer coming to find him for revenge.

To be able to become Yin Hong's backer, that person's identity must be extraordinary, and their strength should not be weak either. They must be incredibly wealthy, and if they were to come for revenge, perhaps he could make a fortune out of it.

Xu Yan shook his head. Based on the current situation, Yin Hong's backer didn't seem to have any intentions of seeking revenge.

"Aside from the spirit crystals, take the rest away."

Xu Yan collected the spirit medicines and spirit tickets, then closed the hidden chamber.

He put everything into the gift box that Du Yuying had sent, intending to bring it all back to the Borderland Region.

"Brother Xie, you and Hu Shan can find a place to stay temporarily. I have some insights I want to explore, so I'll be staying on Canglan Island for a few days."

Xu Yan spoke up.

"Brother Xu, aren't you afraid that the black-robed group will send a Peak Grand Master after you?"

Xie Lingfeng asked, reminding him of the potential threat.

"It doesn't matter. If they come, they come. They won't be able to do anything to me."

Xu Yan replied nonchalantly.

"I, Xie Lingfeng, and Hu Shan will do our best to ensure that no one disturbs your cultivation, Brother Xu."

Xie Lingfeng nodded.

After giving instructions to Xie Lingfeng and Hu Shan, Xu Yan made his way to a small mountain peak on Canglan Island and sat cross-legged under an ancient tree.

He was going to meditate on the Enlightenment of the Profound.

Through his battle with the two Great Perfection Grand Masters, he had gained more insights, and he was now just a thin veil away from fully comprehending the Enlightenment of the Profound.

"The Enlightenment of the Profound is a state where true qi transforms into true essence, and true essence merges with the heavenly spirit energy, comprehending the profound mysteries of heaven and earth. It allows one to manipulate heavenly spirit energy and initially harness the mighty power of heaven and earth.

"I have already grasped the mysteries of true qi, and I now have a direction for how to refine it into true essence. As for merging with heavenly spirit energy...""

Xu Yan's eyes were half-closed, and his mind was filled with the teachings of his master on the Enlightenment of the Profound.

Gradually, the cultivation method for the Enlightenment of the Profound emerged in his mind, connecting with the Innate Realm, and he clearly understood how to break through this realm and cultivate further.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end