Ling Tian was preparing to destroy the array core of the Ghost Realm when he was stopped by a blade, the Kiku-kiru, a true demonic sword.
What was particularly striking was that the spirit materialized by Kiku-kiru was its former owner, Watanabe no Tsuna. This spirit possessed rich combat experience and was virtually one with the demonic sword Kiku-kiru.
Ling Tian engaged Watanabe no Tsuna in battle, but the fight was not spectacular. Both Ling Tian and Watanabe no Tsuna were extremely cautious, rarely making a move unless it was with their full power.
At this level of martial artists, battles were not boisterous but rather brief exchanges. Both sides focused on probing the opponent's intentions.
Even after more than ten seconds, they had only exchanged one or two rounds, and these brief exchanges were far from simple. Almost every strike condensed their mental energy, and each blow was fraught with peril!
Ling Tian's spirit was in a state of extreme tension, yet his body was incredibly relaxed.
He had to use all his energy to lock onto his opponent's movements, which was immensely draining on his mental energy. If his body were not relaxed at this moment, it could easily lead to muscle cramps, resulting in extremely severe consequences in battle!
For Ling Tian, facing an opponent of this caliber meant every move was a life-or-death struggle!
However, Ling Tian was not discouraged; instead, he greatly enjoyed the process. This level of combat was incredibly beneficial for improving his martial skills!
At Ling Tian's martial arts level, further improvement was difficult unless he was in a life-or-death situation like this!
They fought for over half an hour, yet only exchanged nearly a hundred rounds!
At this point, both Ling Tian and the materialized Watanabe no Tsuna were not faring well. Such high-intensity combat and concentration had severely depleted Ling Tian's stamina and mental energy.
Although Watanabe no Tsuna was a spirit, manifesting the spirit consumed a terrifying amount of energy.
When Abe no Seimei designed this Ghost Realm barrier, he integrated the Kiku-kiru demonic sword into the formation to protect the array core. It had drawn upon a vast amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, accumulating for thousands of years to amass this meager foundation.
In Abe no Seimei's view, the Kiku-kiru longsword was terrifyingly powerful. Even against some opponents, with the aid of its spirit, it could likely annihilate them in a few moves.
However, the battle had turned into a war of attrition, and Watanabe no Tsuna, in his spirit form, was nearing his limit!
Just then, something extraordinary happened. The Kiku-kiru longsword suddenly emitted a purple glow, followed by a surge of demonic energy!
This was the energy that the Kiku-kiru longsword had absorbed over the years from the ghosts and demons it had slain. Now, the Kiku-kiru longsword was preparing to fight with all its might!
This energy gradually permeated the blade of the Kiku-kiru longsword. Soon, under the influence of this energy, a demonic ghost head appeared behind Watanabe no Tsuna.
Upon seeing this, Ling Tian almost burst out laughing. It was truly an old acquaintance. The Kiku-kiru had once severed the arm of Ibaraki Doji, absorbing a great deal of energy from it and gaining significant benefits.
Now, the sword was preparing to go all out. After all, if it didn't make a desperate gamble, its energy would be depleted, and without the materialized spirit of Watanabe no Tsuna, it wouldn't be able to kill Ling Tian!
However, the Kiku-kiru longsword's actions also ignited Ling Tian's fighting spirit. Ling Tian unleashed his internal true essence, which flowed like a torrent, enveloping his body and the Tang sword in his hand.
"Come on, let's fight to the death! Let's see who the true Kiku-kiru is!"
Watanabe no Tsuna gripped the Kiku-kiru longsword with both hands. With a swift movement, the ghost image of Ibaraki Doji charged directly at Ling Tian.
At this moment, Ling Tian's fire-attribute true essence condensed into a fiery phoenix on the longsword in his hand!
Ling Tian also swung his sword with all his might. A fiery phoenix lunged towards the ghost head of Ibaraki Doji!
"Boom!"
The ghost image collided with the fiery phoenix, causing a violent explosion. The shockwave swept through their location, and the intense blast also impacted the obsidian discs that formed the array core of the Ghost Realm barrier.
Meanwhile, inside the White Fox Palace, Abe no Oishi stared blankly at the array disk in his hand. Cracks had appeared in the center of the disk!
This meant that the core area of the Ghost Realm barrier had likely been damaged, which was a very serious blow!
In the core of the Ghost Realm barrier, as the smoke cleared, Ling Tian's figure appeared. He looked extremely disheveled, with over a dozen knife wounds of various sizes on his body. His clothes were tattered from the impact, making him look like a beggar.
Among these knife wounds, the most severe was a diagonal cut across his chest.
This strike was incredibly perilous. If the blade had gone even a centimeter deeper, Ling Tian would have been disemboweled.
Ling Tian leaned heavily on the ground with his Tang sword to remain standing. A few meters in front of him, a samurai sword lay on the ground. This sword was the Kiku-kiru, also known as the Hyena Cutter.
At this moment, the energy within the sword had been completely depleted, and its entire body was dim.
Just then, Ling Tian's spiritual world sensed a message being transmitted. This message came from the samurai sword on the ground.
The message was clear: surrender!
Yes, the demonic sword Kiku-kiru had been subdued. It had unleashed its full power and used its most formidable killing move, only to be blocked by Ling Tian.
Once a weapon develops a spirit, it gains a certain level of intelligence and can autonomously choose a master.
For a weapon, the most crucial criterion for choosing a master is strength!
The strength that Ling Tian had displayed had earned the recognition of the Kiku-kiru longsword!
Ling Tian walked forward and picked up the Kiku-kiru longsword, weighing it in his hand.
"Not bad, it's a good sword. However, I don't like it. I'm going to re-melt you and forge a peerless sword!"
With that, Ling Tian stored the Kiku-kiru longsword into his spiritual realm space!
Ling Tian's condition was dire at this moment. Both his mental energy and physical strength were completely depleted.
What was even more critical was the knife wounds on his body, especially the one on his chest. If the wound were to reopen in another fight, Ling Tian would be in serious trouble. As a doctor, Ling Tian knew his body had reached its limit, and if not properly treated, it would put him in a very dangerous situation.
With a flash of thought, Ling Tian summoned two giant bears.
"Hurry up, you two, it's time to get to work!"