At first, he had thought Xu Taiping's ability to withstand the Sword Qi head-on was entirely thanks to that swordsmanship.
But as he reached the mountainside, the Sword Intent left behind by that Great Sword Cultivator grew stronger and stronger, the force it stirred grew fiercer, and the Sword Qi grew purer. The role that swordsmanship could play gradually became very limited.
Under such surging Sword Intent, Xu Taiping had no way to think through how to dismantle it. Several times, he was nearly swallowed by the Sword Qi and swept off the cliff.
Even now, Huang Que found it hard to imagine how he had made it all the way here against the Sword Intent along the mountain path.
"All we can say is that the right sword techniques met the right person."
Prefect Liu Chuxuan watched the bronze mirror with a grave expression.
"But on this next stretch, if he keeps choosing to go against the current to cut those plum blossoms, I'm afraid he'll struggle to endure it with his physique as he did before."
He continued.
"What do you mean by that, Prefect?"
Huang Que was somewhat puzzled.
He had walked this final stretch himself and had only felt that the Sword Intent was, at most, fiercer. There had been nothing else special about it.
"If you had gone against the current on this final stretch, you would have discovered that the Sword Intent combines the force and Sword Qi along the entire mountain path into a single sword strike aimed at you."
"That strike is equivalent to one delivered personally by that Great Sword Immortal."
Prefect Liu Chuxuan spoke with a frown.
"So it's actually true that each path leading to Jade Gourd Peak conceals a sword strike?"
Huang Que was somewhat surprised.
"Of course."