Great River Sword Art

Long ago, when a single Rain Character Art could draw fresh spiritual energy down with the torrential rain, Lin Jiufeng had sensed that this world was undergoing immense changes in silence.

Boundless fresh spiritual energy was quietly descending upon the Human World. The Rain Character Art had merely accelerated that process.

Under its subtle influence, most people might not have realized that the Human World's spiritual energy was now several times richer than it had been years ago.

But this was far from the limit.

The rate at which spiritual energy descended was still accelerating, changing with each passing day. Thus, the peerless Ninth Restriction experts of today might not remain so in the future.

After hearing Lin Jiufeng's words, White Fox muttered, "The Cultivation World in this Human World really is weak right now. It is completely different from the era I saw in my memories. It would not be bad if it returned to its peak."

"So you must cultivate diligently. Spiritual energy is surging throughout the Human World, the Great Dao has opened its source, and a world of Cultivation is descending. Countless geniuses will be born then, as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river. Do not fall behind them," Lin Jiufeng said, stroking White Fox's ears until she narrowed her eyes in comfort.

"I would never. Not only will I not fall behind, I will leave everyone in the dust—even surpass you," White Fox huffed.

Lin Jiufeng laughed heartily. "Then I shall look forward to it."

"Hmph, you are looking down on me. I am not talking to you anymore. I am going to cultivate hard and surpass you when the time comes." White Fox turned and left with a proud little huff.

Lin Jiufeng watched White Fox leave, then returned to his study. Standing by the window, he gazed at the Sword Sea stretching hundreds of li before the Feather Transformation Sect's gates, carved out by his own strike, and seemed to gain an insight.

Like a longsword, a great river had cleaved through the earth. Countless streams of sword qi surged forth, racing and whirling in a magnificent spectacle.

Lin Jiufeng had carved it out himself.

This sword qi can be improved further, Lin Jiufeng thought.

The next second, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

You observed the Sword Sea and activated Heaven-Defying Comprehension, comprehending the Great River Sword Art.

Lin Jiufeng said in delighted surprise, "I did not expect that watching the Sword Sea I created myself could let me comprehend a sword art."

"I wonder whether this Great River Sword Art is powerful?" Lin Jiufeng immediately examined it.

The line of text turned into a stream of light and entered Lin Jiufeng's mind.

At once, Lin Jiufeng grasped every detail of the Great River Sword Art.

The core Sword Intent of the Great River Sword Art was—The sword of the great river descends from the heavens!

This was not the Human World Sword.

The Great River Sword Art was a sword of the Human World, but a method from heaven.

Lin Jiufeng closed his eyes. Within his Sea of Consciousness, an incomparably vast great river appeared, plunging down from the heavens in roaring torrents. It crashed onto the earth and purified the Human World.

The next moment, he opened his eyes and said with deep emotion, "The power of this Great River Sword Art is already the limit of all sword arts I understand."

Even with his current Ninth Restriction cultivation, even if he gave it his all, he could not fully display the Great River Sword Art.

Perhaps he needed to step into the legendary Tenth Restriction!

"Now that spiritual energy is reviving, the threshold for Cultivation has lowered, and the road ahead has opened wide. The Tenth Restriction, which no one has broken through all this time, may no longer be a problem," Lin Jiufeng murmured.

Compared with others, he had at least one advantage.

White Fox's bloodline inheritance contained many methods for breaking through to the Tenth Restriction. Coupled with his Heaven-Defying Comprehension, Lin Jiufeng was innately far ahead.

Of course, he was in no hurry to ask White Fox for a method to break through the Tenth Restriction.

He had only just entered the Ninth Restriction. His foremost task was to stabilize his realm while cultivating the Great River Sword Art and increasing his strength.

Thus, in his study, Lin Jiufeng burned incense as he cultivated. With his eyes closed, he breathed in and out, dense spiritual energy coiling around him as he absorbed it, exhaled it, and transformed it without end.

At the same time, the Sword Intent accumulated within his body flowed forth at this moment.

Taking Lin Jiufeng's Sea of Consciousness as the Sky Dome, it encircled his body. Its scale was not vast, but it resembled a miniature waterfall.

Sword qi crashed down, vaporizing at Lin Jiufeng's feet and merging into the spiritual energy, which he then absorbed.

As this cycle repeated, Lin Jiufeng's realm gradually stabilized, and he successfully cultivated the Great River Sword Art.

He had truly stepped into the Ninth Restriction.

While Lin Jiufeng stabilized his newly attained Ninth Restriction within the Scripture Pavilion, the outside world had already been turned upside down.

The Feather Transformation Sect had already drawn considerable attention. In particular, rumors that it possessed a method for breaking through the Ninth Restriction and treasures of Immortals had attracted a large number of elderly Eighth Restriction experts, all hoping to make one final gamble at the end of their lives.

Yet no one had expected Lin Jiufeng to cleave down with a single sword strike, carving out a Sword Sea that stretched across hundreds of li before the Feather Transformation Sect's gates.

Every droplet within that Sword Sea was a strand of sword qi, carrying an incomparably sharp edge that made people afraid to set foot inside.

But Lin Jiufeng had also said that the Sword Sea concealed a method to break through the Ninth Restriction, and that one could obtain it by crossing the Sword Sea. To those Eighth Restriction experts whose lives had reached their limits, this was a fatal temptation.

Thus, during Lin Jiufeng's Secluded Cultivation, no one knew how many people had gathered around the Sword Sea.

Under the sunlight, the Sword Sea shimmered with rippling light. It appeared no different from an ordinary lake, river, or sea, yet everyone knew that what lay within was not water, but sword qi.

Someone crouched beside the Sword Sea and scooped up a handful of water, intending to test it.

But in the next moment, the water exploded into dozens of streams of sword qi, blasting the man away and frightening everyone else.

Fortunately, the sword qi within the Sword Sea had no intention of killing anyone. The man who had been sent flying was merely somewhat disheveled, his blood and qi churning.

"This Sword Sea is too bizarre. The Feather Transformation Sect actually hides such a formidable expert?" the blasted-away man said in shock.

"Tian Suanzi, you claim to be well-informed. Do you know who it was that struck down this Sword Sea with a single sword?" someone immediately asked an elderly man dressed as a Daoist within the crowd.

Tian Suanzi was at the peak of the Eighth Restriction, but he had also been trapped at this realm for several hundred years. With his lifespan nearing its end, he had come to the Feather Transformation Sect to try his luck.

Tian Suanzi gazed at the Sword Sea, which had returned to calm, his heart filled with excitement. He saw hope of a breakthrough.

He believed that an expert capable of cleaving down an entire Sword Sea with one sword would never speak falsehoods.

Facing everyone's gazes, Tian Suanzi said solemnly, "During the years the Feather Transformation Sect was suppressed by the Supreme Dao Sect, its elders and disciples all departed. Only Sect Master Bai Yunfei and his senior brother Lin Jiufeng, who guards the Scripture Pavilion, remained."

"This sword was not wielded by Bai Yunfei. Then it must have been wielded by that senior brother of his."

"He guarded the Scripture Pavilion for a hundred years and remained unknown all that time. No one knew that he was actually a peerless expert whose Sword Intent had reached the utmost limit."

Tian Suanzi spoke with heartfelt admiration.

"Then does this Sword Sea truly contain a method to break through the Ninth Restriction?" someone asked loudly and urgently.

Tian Suanzi nodded. "I believe it does. After all, there is no need for him to deceive us, much less go to such lengths to carve down an entire Sword Sea."

"Then I must go down and give it a try." At that moment, an old man could no longer sit still. He leaped directly into the Sword Sea, intending to seek the method to break through the Ninth Restriction.

Many elderly people nearing the end of their years watched anxiously.