"This is Sword Intent!"
After a moment of stunned silence, he was jolted back to reality by the roars of the demonic beasts.
Yang Hong hovered in mid-air and opened his status panel.
[Yang Hong: Sixth Prince of the Great Sui Dynasty.
Daily灌顶 (Guanding) Slots: 8/8
Lifespan: 23/450
Cultivation: 10 million years of True Qi (Fusion Realm, 450,000 jin of Strength, 560 zhang of Divine Sense)
Cultivation Techniques: Intermediate Breathing Technique Level 196, Intermediate Body Forging Technique Level 104
Martial Skills: Mystic Maiden Spirit Gathering Technique Level 99... Casual Punch, Casual Blade, Casual Sword
Spells: Minor Rainmaking Spell (Mastered), Spring Scenery Demonic Sound (Mastered)...
Intent: Fist Intent: Fearless Valor (61.233%)
Sword Intent: Gentle Breeze
Special Abilities: Eidetic Memory, Farming Mastery.]
Yang Hong noticed significant changes in his Martial Skills. Cultivation techniques were still displayed under Martial Skills.
However, only three martial skills remained, representing the three types of martial arts he had fully comprehended.
Axe techniques, due to insufficient comprehension and integration, were not displayed.
In the Intent section, his Fist Intent, [Fearless Valor], had upgraded to 61%.
A new Intent had also appeared: Sword Intent, [Gentle Breeze].
Yang Hong could feel that [Gentle Breeze] was a complete Sword Intent, as the system did not display a percentage next to it.
"Is it because I've learned and deeply integrated so many sword techniques that I've been directly granted a complete Sword Intent?"
Sensing that his True Qi and True Essence were largely depleted, Yang Hong took out four red fruits and began to chew them slowly.
They were incredibly spicy, so he dared not eat them too quickly.
Occasionally, flying demonic beasts would charge at Yang Hong, all of whom he easily killed with a casual sword strike.
These were at least Fusion Realm demonic beasts, capable of easily killing Foundation Establishment cultivators, and could even heavily injure Golden Core cultivators with sneak attacks.
With a mere casual sword strike, a breath of sword energy was enough to turn the demonic beasts into corpses.
...
While Yang Hong was immersed in the comprehension of martial arts, Song Yuzhi and the other ten had arrived at the meeting point they had agreed upon with Yang Hong.
They were all Foundation Establishment cultivators and could already fly for short periods.
It was easy for them to shake off the first and second-tier demonic wolves that lacked flying abilities.
After they broke free from the siege of the demonic wolves, they did not encounter any significant or large-scale attacks.
This was because the Fusion Realm commander-level third-tier demonic beasts had all gone to pursue Yang Hong.
The fourth-tier Golden Core Realm demonic beasts had also gathered in the inner circle, resisting the offensive of the Golden Core cultivators.
Therefore, as long as a Foundation Establishment cultivator was not particularly unlucky or overly arrogant, they could escape the pursuit of demonic beasts and reach this safe haven.
However, all cultivators entered this secret realm to collect resources, not for sightseeing.
Thus, when the ten of them arrived at the agreed-upon location, there was no one else there.
It was an ancient city with its architecture relatively well-preserved.
The city gate bore the inscription: [Barren Desolation City].
"This is Barren Desolation City. According to the map, this is the teleportation point within the training area.
As long as we are inside the city when the secret realm closes, we will be teleported out."
Holding the map, Song Yuzhi confirmed it several times before speaking seriously.
"Eldest Sister, should we enter the city and stay, or continue fighting outside?"
Jia Yuanchun asked verbally, but her eyes were fixed on the dense forest outside Barren Desolation City.
There were many demonic beasts in the forest, mostly second-tier Foundation Establishment Realm beasts, which were perfect for them to gain experience.
"Let's go in and rest for the night. Although we haven't encountered any dangerous enemies, traveling for over ten consecutive days is tiring.
After we've rested well, we'll go into the forest for training and see if there are any special plants we can collect for my husband."
Song Yuzhi was not one to seek an easy life. Although Yang Hong's mission for them was to enter Barren Desolation City and await the closing of the secret realm and teleportation,
the ten of them did not want to leave just like that. Even if they couldn't achieve great gains,
they wanted to at least strive to improve their combat experience.
Thus, the reputation of [Shadow Phoenix] began to spread among some cultivators.
...
On the other side, after checking his status, Yang Hong did not immediately descend but continued to fly higher.
He only felt the strain when he reached three hundred zhang, so he did not go any higher.
"Holy crap! Have these demonic beasts gone mad? So many are attacking me?"
From the low altitude of three hundred zhang, looking all around, Yang Hong let out a vulgar exclamation.
In all four directions within his line of sight, there were densely packed demonic beasts. Even the sky was filled with a large number of them.
Some were flying demonic beasts, and more were third-tier Fusion Realm demonic beasts that had just learned to fly and possessed the ability to hover briefly.
The non-flying demonic beasts would fly for a distance, land, and then continue running on the ground. Once they recovered somewhat, they would fly again.
Their target was singular and clear: Yang Hong.
"They're going all out! I haven't had a good rest in over ten days. If this continues, I'm afraid I'll be worn down to death here."
"No, I must find a way to escape."
It wasn't that Yang Hong was a coward, but the sheer number of demonic beasts was overwhelming. Based on a simple estimate of the situation he was currently witnessing, there were at least tens of millions of demonic beasts surrounding him.
This was after he had been fighting for nearly 20 days, killing at least tens of millions of demonic beasts, and they were still surrounding him.
"Damn flies! Let me clear them out first."
Yang Hong took out his map to confirm his location and look for a place to temporarily hide, but the constant aerial attacks from demonic beasts were incredibly bothersome.
"A third-tier magical artifact flying sword, with one full burst of [Gentle Breeze] Sword Intent, was rendered useless.
What about a fourth-tier magical artifact flying sword?"
Yang Hong, feeling a pang of regret, took out the only fourth-tier magical artifact flying sword he had obtained and began to channel his [Gentle Breeze] Sword Intent.
Wind, ubiquitous in the world.
As long as you could still breathe, wind existed around and above you.
Gentle Breeze was pervasive, omnipresent wind.
Soft and warm.
When he channeled the [Gentle Breeze] Sword Intent again, Yang Hong felt as if only the wind existed in the world,
an omnipresent wind.
And he was but an insignificant wisp within this omnipresent wind.
"Wind Rise ~"
Yang Hong softly uttered two words, and the wind in the world began to stir.
The previously soft and warm wind immediately carried a sharp edge.
And this sharpness was continuously increasing. The wind remained gentle, but it was filled with sharp Sword Intent.
"Wind Surge!"
Yang Hong shouted lightly.
The sharp Sword Intent, like a gentle breeze, blew outwards from him silently and swiftly.
"Swoosh ~"
A sound like a blade slicing through silk rang out,
melodious and pleasant.
The world seemed to fall silent because of this sound.
After three breaths.
"Swish ~"
Within a five-li radius centered on Yang Hong, all demonic beasts above a hundred zhang from the ground were cut into several sections and fell from the sky.
In just one move, Yang Hong cleared a five-li radius!
Over a million demonic beasts perished directly.
These were millions of third-tier demonic beasts, comparable to human Fusion Realm cultivators, which was Yang Hong's current realm.
They had all died.
However, it was not over yet.
"Wind Halt!"
Yang Hong once again shouted, and pointed his long sword downwards.
The sharp Gentle Breeze wafting in the sky, as if obeying a command, blew softly towards the ground.
"Swoosh ~"
Another pleasant slicing sound.
Three breaths later, in the same five-li radius,
millions of Fusion Realm demonic beasts on the ground instantly met their end.
"Alas ~ What a shame!"
Having finished the sword technique, Yang Hong exclaimed with regret.