Sword Shadow Weaves Array, Composite Breakthrough

The stone door on the fourth floor of the Sword Tower slowly opened, and a more complex Sword Intent than the previous three floors rushed out to meet him. It wasn't just wind or earth, but a mixture of faint gold and light blue, as if countless swords were poised in the darkness, waiting to launch a surprise attack the moment an intruder stepped in. Ling Yun had just crossed the threshold when the stone door behind him slammed shut. Countless tiny, glowing white dots lit up on the surrounding stone walls, and thin sword shadows shot out from these dots, stabbing towards him like a sudden downpour.

"This is the 'Sword Shadow Maze.' Each sword shadow contains a trace of an ancient sword cultivator's lingering will, mimicking basic sword techniques of different attributes and adjusting its trajectory based on your response," Sword Elder's voice grew taut. "Be careful, these sword shadows, though intangible, can cleave Sword Intent. If you are hit continuously, the sword energy within your body will become disordered."

Ling Yun dared not be careless. He held the Sky-Rending Sword horizontally in front of his chest, Chaos Sword Qi flowing down his arm. The faint cyan and brown halo on the coarse cloth sword sheath became even more pronounced—after the fusion on the third floor, these two attributes of Sword Intent could already cooperate preliminarily. The first sword shadow attacked, imbued with the ferocity of the metal attribute, aiming straight for his heart. Ling Yun twisted his wrist, deflecting the sheath diagonally. He once again employed the 'Heaven and Earth First Form's' method of receiving momentum. The faint brown sword energy wrapped around the sheath and accurately struck the side of the sword shadow, guiding it towards the ground.

"Pfft!" The sword shadow stabbed into the bluestone floor, splashing tiny fragments of light. However, before dissipating, it suddenly changed direction, transforming into a light blue water-attribute sword shadow that rebounded from the ground, slashing towards his ankle.

"Such a fast change of tactic!" Ling Yun's toes pushed off the ground, and his body retreated three feet. Simultaneously, he swung his sword horizontally. The 'Wind Song' sword technique broke through the air, and a wall of faint cyan sword energy formed, blocking the water-attribute sword shadow outside the wall. But as soon as the wind wall touched the sword shadow, it changed again, merging into the wind momentum and slipping through the gaps in the wind wall, heading straight for his throat.

In just a few breaths, Ling Yun had been forced to retreat repeatedly by three sword shadows of different attributes. These sword shadows had no fixed trajectory and could switch attributes at any time, making them more difficult to deal with than the puppets on the second floor. This tested not only sword technique proficiency but also the real-time judgment of Sword Intent changes, which was the core difficulty of the 'Sword Shadow Maze.'

"Don't just defend passively! Use Clear Sword Heart to see the core of the sword shadows!" Sword Elder's voice sounded urgently. "Each sword shadow has a faint golden light spot; that is the core where the lingering will is condensed. Only by shattering the core can the sword shadow be completely dissipated!"

Upon hearing this, Ling Yun immediately activated Clear Sword Heart. The scene before him instantly changed. The chaotic sword shadows slowed down in his eyes, and at the end of each sword shadow, there was indeed a grain-sized faint golden light spot. The frequency of the light spot's flicker was synchronized with the attribute changes of the sword shadow. For example, the light spot of the metal-attribute sword shadow flickered the fastest, the water-attribute the slowest, and the wind-attribute was in between.

"Found it!" A sharp glint flashed in Ling Yun's eyes. He no longer just dodged but actively charged towards the sword shadows. He aimed at the light spot of a metal-attribute sword shadow, and the faint cyan and faint brown sword energy within his body intertwined madly, surging out along the blade of the Sky-Rending Sword, forming a spiral composite sword energy. This was the first time he had unleashed his full potential, completely merging the two types of Sword Intent. Although he hadn't reached the realm of the 'Seven Absolute Sword Slashes of Wind and Water,' it was already the prototype of his own composite sword technique.

"Swish!"

The composite sword energy precisely hit the faint golden light spot. The metal-attribute sword shadow instantly disintegrated into fine Sword Intent, which was automatically absorbed by Ling Yun's Chaos Sword Body. What surprised him even more was that after this sword shadow's metal-attribute Sword Intent merged into his dantian, it formed a subtle balance with the original wind and earth Sword Intent. The sword energy circulation within his body became faster, and the consumption from the previous battle was instantly replenished by more than half.

"The Chaos Sword Body can indeed accommodate all attributes!" Sword Elder's voice was filled with excitement. "Continue absorbing the Sword Intent from the sword shadows. Not only will it replenish your consumption, but it will also accumulate a foundation for refining basic Sword Intent later!"

Ling Yun's confidence surged. He weaved through the sword shadows, Clear Sword Heart constantly active, aiming for the light spots with every strike. His composite sword energy became more and more proficient. Sometimes he used wind-attribute Sword Intent to guide the trajectory, and sometimes he used earth-attribute Sword Intent to enhance its power. After absorbing several metal-attribute sword shadows, a hint of faint gold was added to his sword energy, making the spiral sword energy even more penetrative.

Half an hour passed. Ling Yun had shattered nearly a hundred sword shadows. The sword energy within his body was three times denser than when he entered the fourth floor. The cyan, brown, and gold halos swirling around him were particularly conspicuous in the dim stone chamber. But just then, the glowing white dots on the stone walls suddenly lit up simultaneously, shooting out dozens of sword shadows. These sword shadows no longer attacked individually but intertwined, forming a massive sword net that, imbued with the Sword Intent of gold, water, wind, and earth, descended upon Ling Yun.

"Not good! It's the Great Sword Shadow Array!" Sword Elder exclaimed. "This is the ultimate trial of the fourth floor. You must shatter the core of all sword shadows at once, or you will be trapped within the sword net and continuously suffer the pain of Sword Intent being cleaved!"

Ling Yun's pupils contracted. The sword net covered an extremely wide area, with dozens of faint golden light spots distributed in different positions, making it impossible to shatter them one by one. In a moment of crisis, he suddenly remembered the record of 'breaking the surface with points' in the 'Qiankun Sword Canon.' Sword Elder had once said that the essence of Chaos Sword Qi was 'fusion,' which could not only fuse attributes but also fuse Sword Intent in space, forming an area attack.

"I'll risk it!" Ling Yun took a deep breath, gripped his sword with both hands, and poured all the composite sword energy within him into the Sky-Rending Sword. This time, he no longer deliberately controlled the form of the sword energy. Instead, he let the cyan, brown, and gold Sword Intent overflow along the blade, forming a massive sword energy vortex above his head. As the vortex spun, free Sword Intent in the surrounding space was forcibly drawn in. The vortex grew larger and larger, eventually transforming into a three-colored interwoven sword energy pillar that shot straight towards the sword net above.

"Boom!"

The moment the sword energy pillar collided with the sword net, the entire fourth floor of the Sword Tower trembled. Countless sword shadows disintegrated within the sword energy pillar, faint golden light spots shattered one after another, turning into a sky full of Sword Intent, all of which was absorbed by the sword energy vortex. Ling Yun felt his sword energy surge, and his meridians ached with fullness, yet it carried the opportunity for a breakthrough. He could clearly feel his realm steadily approaching the Swordsman realm from the late Sword Apprentice stage.

The sword net dissipated, and the glowing white dots on the stone walls all dimmed. The cold mechanical voice sounded again: "Sword Shadow Maze trial, passed! Reward: one 'Sword Intent Refining Pill,' which can purify the mixed Sword Intent within your body and help you break through your realm!"

A pill, entirely glowing white, fell from the air. Ling Yun reached out and caught it. As soon as the pill entered his hand, it emitted pure Sword Intent. As it neared his dantian, a wisp of medicinal power automatically seeped in, beginning to sort out the three-colored sword energy in his body. The originally slightly mixed sword energy gradually became refined under the effect of the medicinal power. The cyan, brown, and gold colors were no longer simply mixed but formed a circulating ring of sword energy.

"This pill has come at the perfect time!" Sword Elder's voice was full of relief. "You now have one foot in the Swordsman realm. Just a few more days of consolidation, and you will officially break through. However, the trial on the fifth floor will be even more difficult. As far as I know, the fifth floor, 'Sword Intent Overload,' requires maintaining a stable Sword Heart under constantly increasing Sword Intent pressure. A slight carelessness will crush your Sword Intent."

Ling Yun nodded and looked up at the stairs leading to the fifth floor. The Sword Intent swirling around the stairs was already as thick as substance, a faint purple color, clearly belonging to the wood or dark attribute, and more oppressive than the mixed Sword Intent on the fourth floor. Just as he was about to step forward, his gaze was drawn to a sword mark on the stone wall. The sword mark was slender and sharp, deeply embedded in the stone wall. Pure wind-attribute Sword Intent lingered around the sword mark—it was Murong Shuang's doing.

Next to the sword mark, a line of small characters was also carved: "The Great Sword Shadow Array requires pure Sword Intent to break it. Mixed will lead to chaos; pure will lead to strength."

Ling Yun looked at these words, lost in thought. Murong Shuang had used pure wind-attribute Sword Intent to break the sword net, while he had used composite Sword Intent to break through with force. Two different paths, yet both passed the trial. This was the charm of the Sword Dao; there was no single correct way, only the choice that best suited oneself.

He gripped the Sky-Rending Sword. By now, most of the coarse cloth on the sheath had loosened, revealing a small section of the blade. The blade was dark cyan, with blurred ancient patterns carved on it, gently trembling with his Sword Intent, as if yearning for more battles and growth.

"Fifth floor, I'm coming." Ling Yun took a deep breath, put the Sword Intent Refining Pill into his embrace, and stepped onto the stairs leading to the fifth floor. He knew that the higher he went, the closer he would be to the Sword Intent Stele on the seventh floor, the closer to his goal of revenge, and the closer to the vast Spirit Realm and Immortal Realm. And every trial within this Sword Tower was a necessary path for him to reach the pinnacle of the Sword Dao.