Holy Spirit Sword Technique Appears

Tiandou Imperial Palace, backyard.

The morning sun had just risen, and the thin mist had yet to dissipate.

Yet, at this moment, this secluded backyard presented a scene that made one's scalp tingle.

Over a hundred Yan Lingji sat cross-legged.

Each one possessed fluffy, snow-white fox ears, with nine voluminous fox tails fanned out behind them.

Their black and red dresses spread across the bluestone floor, the necklines plunging low to reveal vast expanses of snow-white skin encased in black silk bodysuits.

Their peach-blossom eyes were slightly lowered, red lips pursed; the originally enchanting and seductive faces now wore a rare solemnity.

Over a hundred identical figures sat in this not-so-large backyard, densely packed yet orderly.

Their auras were connected, as if they were one.

This was precisely Yan Lingji's sixth soul skill—Celestial Fox Nine Thoughts.

Consuming half of one's soul power, it creates a physical clone identical to the original body, possessing independent consciousness.

The clone shares perception, cultivation experience, and combat insights with the original body.

With two other soul skills that provide soul power consumption reduction, stacking them made it easy to split into three clones at once.

Once soul power recovered, she continued to divide.

Every single clone was deducing the Holy Spirit Sword Technique.

Over a hundred clones contemplating simultaneously was equivalent to increasing the speed of cultivation and deduction by a hundredfold.

And what these hundred-plus clones shared was not merely Yan Lingji's own sword insights.

Jiang Ce shared the cultivation concepts of Xiaomeng, Tide Enchantress, Snow Maiden, and others.

Xiaomeng was the number one person of the Heavenly Sect; she defeated six elders at eight, took charge of the Heavenly Sect at eighteen, and possessed peerless talent in the way of the sword.

As for Yan Lingji herself, she was a martial artist in her original world. Although not top-tier, she had a solid foundation in Fire Charm Technique, Fire Control Technique, and swordsmanship.

More importantly, the mind of Jiang Ce, a modern man, was filled with countless novels, television dramas, anime, and manga from his past life.

Ximen Chuixue's sword was ruthless and pure, sealing throats with a single strike, never dragging its feet.

Ye Gucheng's Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens was like a meteor from beyond the sky, coming from the west with a single strike, stunningly beautiful.

Xie Xiaofeng's sword aimed for vital points with every strike, vicious and decisive, leaving no room for error.

Nine Swords of Dugu, winning without moves, breaking all martial arts under heaven.

And those concepts and wild ideas from fantasy worlds—breaking ten thousand laws with one sword, opening the gates of heaven with a sword, or slicing stars with a sword.

In his past life, these were merely entertainment, topics for casual conversation.

But in this world, possessing a true foundation in the way of the sword, these "concepts" became seeds.

They took root and sprouted in Yan Lingji's consciousness, intertwining and merging with Xiaomeng's sword insights, eventually growing into a towering tree.

A mere ten days.

The sword intent in the backyard grew increasingly dense.

At first, it was only a faint sharpness, as if someone were holding an invisible sword, gently brushing it through the air.

Gradually, the sword intent began to condense, transforming from formless to tangible.

Translucent sword qi radiated from the women, weaving and entangling within the courtyard.

From Sword One to Sword Eighteen, taking the meaning of "three-three is endless, six-six is infinite," the sword qi was like silk and nets, continuous and unending, trapping enemies in the invisible.

Yan Lingji and her hundred-plus clones repeatedly deduced, polished, and revised these eighteen styles of the Sentient Sword.

They integrated Xiaomeng's sword philosophy and the artistic conceptions of the sword masters from Jiang Ce's memories.

The Holy Spirit Sword Technique that finally emerged was no longer the original version of Dugu Jian from the Wind and Cloud world.

It was a brand-new version unique to Yan Lingji, fusing the essence of swordsmanship from multiple worlds.

After Sword Eighteen, the sword intent began to change.

That sword qi, once warm as water, gradually cooled, becoming sharp, frigid, and devoid of a trace of emotion.

Sword Nineteen.

Sword Twenty.

Sword Twenty-One.

Sword Twenty-Two.

The Ruthless Sword Style.

From sentient to ruthless, Dugu Jian spent decades, accumulating from his youth to his twilight years, before he could fully deduce Sword Nineteen through Sword Twenty-Two.

Yet Yan Lingji, under the triple stack of Xiaomeng's sword foundation, the reinforcement of Jiang Ce's concepts, and the simultaneous deduction of over a hundred clones...

It took only ten days to deduce these four forms of the Heartless Sword Technique.

Because Xiaomeng herself is a practitioner of the Path of Heartlessness.

The Heart Like Still Water of the Taoist Heavenly Sect, where all things do not disturb the heart, neither joy nor sorrow, without discrimination.

This coincides perfectly with the "heartless" philosophy of the later stages of the Holy Spirit Sword Technique.

Xiaomeng's understanding of "heartlessness" is even purer than that of Dugu Jian, because she has been cultivating this state of mind since she was a child.

Therefore, when Yan Lingji integrated Xiaomeng's insights into the sword path from Sword Nineteen to Sword Twenty-Two, these four forms of the Heartless Sword Technique displayed even greater sharpness and coldness.

At this moment, the hundreds of Yan Lingji in the backyard were shrouded in sword intent that had reached its peak.

Streaks of sword qi shot out from their bodies, intertwining, coiling, and condensing in mid-air to form a massive web of sword qi.

Three by three without end, six by six without limit; the sword qi layered upon itself, infinite and endless, enveloping the entire backyard.

Then, the sword intent began to spread outward.

Passing through the courtyard walls, through the palaces, through the city gates, it spread across the entire Heaven Dou Imperial City.

The citizens of Heaven Dou City were beginning their new day.

Vegetable vendors pushed their carts through the streets, the blacksmith's shop rang with the clanging of hammers, and the teahouses were already filled with early-rising patrons.

Suddenly, everyone stopped what they were doing at the same time.

A chill rose from their spines, like ice water poured over their heads, making their entire bodies tremble.

Some looked up at the sky, their pupils constricting violently.

The clouds directly above the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace were being torn apart by an invisible force.

They rolled away from the center to both sides, revealing the azure sky.

And in that azure sky, a gigantic sword shadow hung suspended.

The sword shadow was transparent, yet it emitted a blinding, cold light, its tip pointing downward at the entire palace, as if it could fall at any moment.

"What, what is that?!"

"The sky... the sky has split open!"

"What kind of soul skill is this?"

Some keen-witted soul masters turned deathly pale.

They could clearly feel that the sword intent spreading from the depths of the palace could no longer be described merely as "powerful."

It was pure intent to kill, so sharp that it made breathing difficult.

"Sword path... this is pure sword path!"

A middle-aged soul master stared fixedly at the sword shadow in the sky, his voice trembling. "The number one sword master on the Douluo Continent is Sword Douluo Chen Xin, a level ninety-three Titled Douluo, but his sword intent... surely isn't this terrifying, is it?"

No one answered him.

Because everyone was pondering the same question.

When did such a terrifying sword master appear in the palace?

In the backyard, hundreds of Yan Lingji opened their eyes simultaneously.

In those peach-blossom eyes, sharp edges were fully revealed.

The eyes, originally enchanting and seductive, were now like two unsheathed sharp swords, so piercing that one dared not look directly at them.

Hundreds of gazes stared into the void at once, and the sword shadow suspended above the imperial city trembled slightly, its sword intent surging once more.

"Sword One to Sword Twenty-Two... complete."

Hundreds of voices spoke in unison, overlapping like celestial music.

Then, the clones began to merge.

Each figure walked toward the main body, blending into it.

With every clone merged, the aura of the main Yan Lingji surged, and the sword intent swirling around her grew more concentrated.

When the final clone merged into her body, the sword shadow suspended above the imperial city suddenly contracted, transforming into a beam of sword light condensed to the extreme, descending from the sky and sinking into the center of Yan Lingji's brow.

A deep blue floral pattern appeared between Yan Lingji's brows.

In an instant, the heavens and earth changed color.

The sword intent that had spread throughout the entire imperial city did not dissipate; instead, it became even sharper.

The citizens of Heaven Dou City felt the chill suddenly intensify, as if an invisible Sword of Damocles were hanging over their necks, ready to fall at any moment.

"Alright, alright, stop scaring everyone."

Jiang Ce's voice echoed in Yan Lingji's mind, carrying a hint of amusement, "If you keep this up, the entire city will be wetting their pants in fear."

Yan Lingji curled her lips, the sharpness in her peach-blossom eyes slowly receding.

That piercing sword intent retreated like a receding tide, and she returned to being the enchanting and seductive Calamity Enchantress.

She raised her hand, a strand of sword qi as thin as a hair condensing at her fingertips, dancing lightly.

"Master, what do you think?"

"Not bad." Jiang Ce's voice held a note of approval, "To deduce from Sword One to Sword Twenty-Two in just ten days—this has far exceeded expectations."

A pitch-black tentacle emerged from beneath Yan Lingji's dress, gently stroking her red lips.

"This is all thanks to Master's grace."

Yan Lingji reached out to caress the tentacle and kissed it, her peach-blossom eyes filled with coquettish charm, "Otherwise, this concubine would never have been able to deduce such terrifying sword techniques."

She knew very well that her talent was originally only second-rate.

In her original world, while she could be considered an expert, she was far from being at the top.

That she could now deduce the Holy Spirit Sword Technique to the level of Sword Twenty-Two in a mere ten days

relied on the sword dao foundation of Xiaomeng shared by Jiang Ce, the spiritual power application of the Tide Enchantress, the sonic and ice-attribute insights of the Snow Maiden, and Jiang Ce's own sword dao philosophies.

These resources, combined with the hundred-fold deduction speed of the Celestial Fox Nine Thoughts, had created today's results.

"Dugu Jian was a genius of the sword. Sword One to Sword Eighteen were co-created with his lover, Miyamoto Xueling.

Both possessed profound sword dao foundations, and they completed the first eighteen styles of the 'Sentient Sword' during their passionate romance."

Recalling the information Jiang Ce had instilled in her, Yan Lingji said softly, "As for Sword Nineteen through Sword Twenty-Two, he transitioned from sentiment to ruthlessness, accumulating experience from his youth to his twilight years, spending decades to fully deduce them."

She paused, a hint of emotion flashing in her peach-blossom eyes, "As for Sword Twenty-Three, it was an epiphany he reached at the very last moment of his life.

During his final battle with Xiong Ba, exhausted and at the end of his rope, in the final instant as his body died and his life faded, his primordial spirit transcended the shackles of the flesh, realizing that ultimate sword strike capable of freezing time and space."

"Had it not been for the interference of Bu Jingyun, Xiong Ba would have undoubtedly died to that strike."

Jiang Ce's tentacle tapped her lightly:

"So, you have only deduced up to Sword Twenty-Two; you haven't reached Sword Twenty-Three yet."

"How could it be that easy?" Yan Lingji rolled her eyes at him, "Sword Twenty-Three is no longer a 'sword technique'; my current realm is not yet enough."

"However—" she changed the subject, a hint of cunning flashing in her peach-blossom eyes, "With the philosophies Master shared, plus Sister Xiaomeng's sword dao insights, and the deductions of over a hundred clones... Sword Twenty-Three is only a matter of time."

"This is still all thanks to Master's grace."

"What is yours is yours. Others cannot envy it. Luck is also a form of strength."

His tentacle brushed lightly over Yan Lingji's red lips, and the snow-white fox ears atop her head twitched.

"By the way," Jiang Ce shifted the topic, "Xiaomeng and the others will soon drive those twenty thousand Horned Scale Horses back. You need to send people to receive them."

"Very well, Master. I will send them immediately." Yan Lingji nodded, "The Heavenly Strategy Army's cavalry battalion is currently expanding, and we have prepared stables and training grounds specifically for these Horned Scale Horses. Once they arrive, training can begin immediately."

"Excellent." Jiang Ce paused, "On the other side, the construction of the Tyrannical Mechanism Art should be nearly complete as well. Go and take a look."

Yan Lingji's eyes lit up.

Tyrannical Mechanism Art—Earth-Breaking Three, Hundred-Battle Divine Crossbow, Earth-Breaking Seven, Three-Zhang Bat Wings.

These were things she had only heard of and had yet to see the finished products of.

"Yes, Master." She licked her red lips and stood up, her nine snow-white fox tails swaying gently behind her, her eyes reflecting the wisps of smoke rising from the direction of the workshops in the distance.

Just as Master said, it was time to let the natives of the Douluo Continent experience what a dimensional strike truly felt like.