God and Sword Unite

A quarter-hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Yi had already expended over a third of his inner qi, yet he remained trapped amidst countless phantoms.

Each phantom seemed as real as a living person; when he crossed swords with them, the force transmitted through his blade was identical every time.

"A sword technique like this could practically be called sorcery!"

For every phantom he shattered, another appeared. Zhou Yi's swordplay grew faster and faster.

He firmly believed that if he could destroy the phantoms faster than they manifested, the Illusion Sword Intent would collapse on its own.

There were many ways to break illusionary sword techniques in the martial world, but only Zhou Yi would do it like this.

Combine strength and speed to overcome cunning!

By now, Zhou Yi no longer cared about distinguishing the real body from the illusions—he simply swung his sword faster.

The Purple Lightning Sword truly transformed into a bolt of violet lightning, its strikes rising from ten per breath to fifteen.

Then it climbed to twenty per breath, yet still couldn't outpace the Thousand Illusions Sword Intent. No matter how many phantom bodies Zhou Yi annihilated, they appeared faster than he could kill them.

This was already Zhou Yi's limit. Even though his body and inner energy were tempered to perfection, without flaw or leakage, there was still a ceiling.

Twenty strikes per breath—that was his peak.

The Purple Lightning Sword hummed incessantly. Purely relying on strength and speed to wield the blade, even this divine weapon left by Xiahou the Swordsman was nearing its breaking point.

"Not enough! Xiahou the Swordsman's sword speed was unmatched under heaven! I can go faster!"

Zhou Yi swung his sword without pause, his entire body like a machine, veins bulging as he pressed against his limits.

Mo Wentian's pressure was no less than Zhou Yi's. If not for the Sword Sealing Platform, where the sword intents left by the sect's ancestors aided him, the Thousand Illusions Sword Intent would have long been broken.

Generations of Hengshan Sect patriarchs had practiced and comprehended swordsmanship on the Sword Sealing Platform. Over centuries, countless imprints had been left behind, turning the place into a mystical ground.

On the Sword Sealing Platform, whether practicing Hengshan sword techniques or executing them, one felt divinely aided.

All ancient sects with long lineages had such ancestral grounds—like Shaolin's Pagoda Forest or Wudang's Golden Summit. The spiritual imprints of countless predecessors allowed later disciples to cultivate swiftly, ensuring the legacy never ceased.

Zhou Yi knew nothing of this inheritance mystery. He simply thought Mo Wentian was terrifyingly skilled, that his swordplay profundity alone rivaled an Innate Grandmaster.

"The Xiahou Sword Scripture says: 'See the target, and the sword arrives; the mind reaches, and the sword follows... Spirit and sword unite!'"

"Sword and spirit as one!"

As if struck by divine inspiration, Zhou Yi began using the techniques of the Sword Control Technique as he swung his blade.

Spell: Sword Control Technique Rank: 1st Tier Description: Quench the sword with mind and spirit; when spirit and sword unite, wherever the spirit goes, the sword arrives!

The Sword Control Technique was far superior to the Xiahou Sword Scripture, yet they shared one point in common—the description of sword and spirit.

Xiahou the Swordsman had comprehended a sword intent that surpassed all under heaven in speed, earning the title of the world's greatest sword saint. His path naturally aligned with the Sword Control Technique.

Zhou Yi's spiritual sense attached itself to the Purple Lightning Sword. At first, his spirit and body were out of sync.

The spirit was too fast—when the mind reached, the spirit followed, with almost no speed limit—so the sword's speed naturally couldn't keep up.

Ordinary swordsmen who grasped this level had already embarked on the path of Swift Sword Intent.

They would spend decades seeking the way to unite spirit and sword, perhaps becoming the next Xiahou the Swordsman after years of insight.

But Zhou Yi was different. He had cultivated the Sword Control Technique and already knew how to merge spirit and sword.

From disharmony to sword following spirit, it took him only a quarter-hour.

Wherever the spirit went, the sword intent followed.

"Could it be that there are truly those born with knowledge in this world?"

Mo Wentian watched with his own eyes as Zhou Yi went from complete ignorance to sudden realization, then directly mastered the Swift Sword Intent.

There were at least a dozen famous sword intents in the world, and the strongest among them was undoubtedly the Swift Sword.

Speed alone is invincible!

When speed reaches a certain level, it also represents power!

Zhou Yi's sword transformed from a single violet bolt into a dozen streaks of light, reaching the extreme of speed, one becoming ten.

No matter how many phantom bodies the Thousand Illusions Sword Intent produced, they were all slain simultaneously. It looked like one strike, but in truth, he had unleashed dozens of sword strokes in an instant.

The surrounding phantoms all moved as slowly as snails.

Zhou Yi's sword flashed, and over a dozen phantom bodies were wiped out at once. Mo Wentian's true body could no longer dodge and was blasted several zhang away by the violent force.

Zhou Yi felt as though everything had slowed down. He could clearly see the Hengshan Sect disciples opening their mouths in shock, closing them again in slow motion, like a scene playing at reduced speed.

"So this is the Swift Sword Intent—similar to Bullet Time!"

After just a few breaths, Zhou Yi felt a wave of spiritual exhaustion, as if he hadn't slept for days. He instantly withdrew from the sword intent state.

Only then did he notice a half-chi-long wound on Mo Wentian's chest, blood pouring freely. The Hengshan Sect's divine physician was frantically treating him.

The Hengshan Three Swords and the many Hengshan disciples glared at him with fury, drawing their swords.

"This junior just had a sudden insight and lost control for a moment, accidentally injuring Senior Mo." Zhou Yi took a jade bottle from his bosom and handed it to Hengshan Sect Leader Ji Taizhen.

"This is the Miraculous Flower Jade Dew Pill, a secret formula of Senior Huang, the East Sea Whale Rider. It can be taken internally or applied externally, with miraculous effects on both internal and external injuries."

Ji Taizhen's expression finally eased. He had seen what happened—Zhou Yi seemed to enter some kind of artistic conception, reversing the disadvantage in an instant to defeat his master.

The Miraculous Flower Jade Dew Pill lived up to its reputation as a renowned elixir. Its effects were astonishing. Mo Wentian took one pill internally, crushed another to apply on his external wounds, and within moments, he slowly regained consciousness.

"Mr. Zhou's strength and talent are even more astonishing than that Song Family Swordsman. This old man admits he's no match."

Mo Wentian had long since opened all eight meridians. After waking, his profound Internal Force circulated, stabilizing his injuries.

"Senior is too modest. This junior was merely fortunate to gain an insight, and I must thank Senior for the sparring."

"From now on, don't speak of senior and junior. I'm a few years older, so I'll call you young friend. You've just comprehended a sword intent—you need to nurture and reflect on it well, and your spirit will naturally reach perfection."

"If you achieve the Innate Grandmaster realm in the future, I hope you'll come to Hengshan Sect for a sword debate."

Mo Wentian had comprehended the Thousand Illusions Sword Intent for decades. He pointed out some subtle details, and Zhou Yi's understanding suddenly became clear.

"Hengshan Sect's swordsmanship is renowned across the land, with more than one Innate Grandmaster produced. I admire it deeply. Once I've settled my affairs, I will surely come to Hengshan to keep the appointment and debate swords with Brother Mo."

Zhou Yi did not linger. He set the future sword debate appointment, then turned and left the Sword Sealing Platform.

Hengshan Sect Leader Ji Taizhen personally escorted him down the mountain, leading the way with the posture of a junior.

"Daoist Ji, no need to be so polite. I am also of the Daoist path, with the Dao name Chixiao."

"Senior Chixiao, please don't jest. You and my master are peers in seniority, so you are naturally a senior of the Wen Generation of Hengshan. This junior dare not disrupt the ancestral rules."

Zhou Yi was taken aback. How had he suddenly become a member of Hengshan Sect's Wen Generation?

After descending the mountain.

Zhou Yi mounted his horse and headed straight for Jiangzhe.

In two years, he had tested his sword across Jiangnan and finally touched the threshold of spiritual perfection.

After returning to nurture it for a time, he would be able to connect with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and step into the Innate Grandmaster realm.

Along the way, Zhou Yi continuously tried to enter the Swift Sword Intent, finally gaining control over it.

Entering the sword intent in an instant, exiting it in an instant.

Using the sword intent this way not only made his swordsmanship shift unpredictably between speed and slowness but also placed little strain on his soul.

"The Swift Sword Intent is truly terrifying. If I wield it with a divine weapon, I might be able to instantly kill the me from before."

Zhou Yi's body had no leaks inside or out, but it was still flesh and blood.

Not to mention that divine weapons could cut through iron like mud—Zhou Yi still had vulnerable spots.

Whether it was his eyes or ear canals, if pierced in an instant, how could he possibly survive?