Chapter 87: The Four Directions Sword Formation

Gradually calming his inner shock, Lin Cheng continued reading. Beyond were the cultivation methods for the Great Sun Sword Technique, and at the very end, a sword style was appended.

The Nine Swords of the Great Sun!

His eyes lit up, and without realizing it, he became utterly absorbed.

Who knew how much time had passed.

Suddenly, ripples spread across the black square below.

With a flash of light, a figure appeared in the center—it was Dong Wuwang.

The air shimmered again, and soon after, the burly young man with square features from the Western Sands Sect materialized as well.

Both men stared in astonishment before regaining their composure.

Dong Wuwang was the first to speak. “Brother Shaowu, I trust you have been well.”

The burly youth, addressed as Brother Shaowu, cupped his hands in return. “Brother Wuwang, it has been many years. You are as impressive as ever.”

After exchanging these few polite words, the two began to size up the space before them at a leisurely pace.

Their gazes soon fell upon Lin Cheng, standing quietly atop the stone steps. Meeting each other’s eyes, they strode forward together.

The commotion on the black square pulled Lin Cheng from his thoughts.

He turned and looked down. The three men met each other’s gaze, each clearly seeing the others.

Lin Cheng frowned. He distinctly remembered being unable to make out anything on the upper stone steps before. Had the barrier there been broken because he had passed the trial?

That must be it!

Thinking this, he quickly swept up the cultivation manual and storage pouch with a wave of his hand.

“Lin Cheng,” Dong Wuwang exclaimed in surprise.

Lin Cheng flashed them a grin, turned, and with a wave, stepped onto the fiftieth step. In an instant, his figure vanished.

Dong Wuwang and his companion started in surprise and hurried after him.

Had Lin Cheng still been present, he would have noticed that when the two men stepped onto the ninth stair, no barrier was triggered.

They climbed to the spot where Lin Cheng had disappeared, hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.

Their figures vanished as well.

Not long after the three had disappeared, several more figures appeared on the black square, evidently having also triggered the teleportation array within the secret realm.

Among them were Liu Feng, Dongfang Yu, the woman in the yellow dress from the Western Sands Sect, and a youth dressed in golden robes.

After greeting one another, the newcomers began to examine the space around them.

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After a blinding flash of white light, Lin Cheng found himself standing on a floating platform.

From a distance, it looked like an inverted mountain suspended in the air, its base as smooth as if sliced by a single sword stroke.

At the four cardinal points—east, south, west, and north—stood massive stone swords, each a hundred feet tall.

A clear crane’s cry pierced the air.

A celestial crane, crowned in red and cloaked in white feathers, soared overhead, circling the floating platform.

Was this the next trial the beautiful woman had spoken of? There didn’t seem to be any danger.

Just as Lin Cheng was pondering how to pass this test, the crane gently alighted atop one of the stone swords.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunder rumbled all around. The sky darkened. Thick yellow mist billowed upward. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed, while swords and halberds, spears and pikes, formed an unbreakable wall of steel at all four directions, like iron walls of bronze.

Lin Cheng realized he was trapped within a formation.

He gripped his sword tightly, steeling his mind and preparing for battle.

Crack! Crack!

A white radiance burst from the eastern stone sword as it began to shatter.

Whoosh!

With the cry of a sword, a luminous spirit sword, glowing with white light, appeared in its place.

Immediately after, the southern stone sword broke apart, revealing a spirit sword bathed in a cyan glow.

The western stone sword crumbled to dust, and a blood-red spirit sword hovered in midair.

At the northern sword, the celestial crane cried sharply and soared upward.

The stone sword beneath its feet disintegrated to ash, leaving a spirit sword wreathed in black light floating silently.

The four swords of east, south, west, and north stood upright, slowly revolving.

The thunder grew ever more violent, and the world seemed to transform into a vast killing field—clashing steel, warhorses, and the relentless ring of weapons.

A vision of blood-soaked mountains and rivers flickered before his eyes.

A wild, murderous aura erupted from within Lin Cheng. His eyes turned crimson, bloodthirsty. With a roar, he raised his sword and leapt into the bloody scene.

The sounds of battle echoed. Lin Cheng’s figure was engulfed by a tide of red.

Within a few heartbeats, his body was covered in wounds, yet he seemed oblivious, continuing to slash his sword and charge forward, mindless of pain.

Just as he was about to lose himself entirely in the carnage, a thunderous shout rang within his mind.

“Wake up!”

His charge faltered. A flash of clarity returned to his gaze. He shook his head vigorously, and as he took in his surroundings, he gasped. “Uncle? What happened? Where am I?”

A moment of silence passed before the white-robed sword cultivator’s voice responded, tinged with astonishment. “You’ve surprised me. I never thought, after all these years, I would see its shadow again...”

“Uncle?” Lin Cheng called.

“This is a killing array. You were already lost to its influence. Had I not snapped you out of it, you would have been trapped here forever, fighting until you collapsed and died.”

Cold sweat broke out across Lin Cheng’s body. “Then how do I break the array and leave?”

“If this were the original killing formation, you would never escape. But you’re fortunate—this is only an imitation, a sword array modeled after it, its power not even a fraction of the original…”

Lin Cheng was curious. “Uncle, what is this killing array that’s so powerful?”

A look of remembrance flickered in the sword cultivator’s eyes. “It is the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array, the supreme weapon of the Master of the Heavenly Way in the ancient Galaxy Realm.”

“It is said to be the foremost killing formation since the dawn of creation, the ultimate array that governs the slaughter ordained by the heavens. It was the founding treasure and protective array of the Heaven-Cutting Sect.”

“In the beginning, when chaos reigned and the three thousand great Daos were plagued by demonic forces, the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array descended at the will of the Way, annihilating the demons. Later, this supreme weapon fell into the hands of the sect’s master…”

“The array is formed by four slaying swords and a master formation diagram. The four swords are named: the Immortal-Slaying Sword, the Deity-Slaying Sword, the Entrapment Sword, and the Severance Sword.”

“When the sword array is fully unleashed, even Golden Immortals or primordial demon gods are reduced to dust in an instant…”

Listening to the sword cultivator’s tale, Lin Cheng was incredulous. How could such a weapon exist in this world?

“Uncle, so you’re saying the array I’m in now is just a replica of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array? Even if it’s a fake, I’m at a loss here.”

The sword cultivator frowned. “How could such a treasure exist in this realm? It shouldn’t be here…”

Lin Cheng rolled his eyes. “Uncle, never mind that for now. Help me figure out how to break this array. The enemies here seem more and more real…”

The white-robed swordsman set aside his doubts and, through Lin Cheng’s eyes, examined their surroundings. “The sword array is only just beginning. Boy, you’ll have to rely on yourself now. I can only shield your mind from the killing aura—the rest is up to you…”

“Once within this sword array, the only way out is by force. There is no other method.”

“Find the positions of the four swords. Remove even one, and you’ll have a sliver of hope.”

As the swordsman’s voice faded, Lin Cheng understood that this time, he was truly on his own.

The four sword positions?