"We're almost at Ten Thousand Swords Mountain."
"Once we fly over the barrier of the Mountain Protection Array, we'll be there."
As the giant feathered bird spoke, its roughly six hundred feet long mystical wings suddenly flapped vigorously, and its speed increased once again. It carried Ye Chen and Jiang Yao straight toward the Sky-supporting Giant Mountain ahead.
After flying for a short time, a strange sensation of resistance came over them, and Ye Chen felt as though he were passing through an invisible barrier.
Was this the barrier of the Mountain Protection Array that the giant feathered bird mentioned?
While Ye Chen was experiencing this sensation, within a few moments, his body suddenly felt lighter, and his entire perception seemed to change abruptly, as if he had entered another world altogether.
Around his ears, the sound of countless swords humming could be heard, and within the Sword Palace Acupoint on his forehead, the Sword Qi Spirit Liquid furiously surged. Lifting his eyes, the Sky-supporting Giant Mountain was now right in front of him!
At that moment, the six great vortices of True Qi within his body seemed to freeze, ceasing their rotation.
Previously, the giant feathered bird had said that upon stepping into Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, all True Qi would solidify and become unusable. It appears that was indeed true!
"Such a powerful restriction, all the True Qi in my Spirit Sea is bound!"
Jiang Yao, who was sitting in front of Ye Chen, also let out an exclamation of surprise. Her clear, bright eyes were fixed on the towering Ten Thousand Swords Mountain in front of them, her delicate face filled with wonder.
To restrain True Qi with a great array, constructing Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, was nothing short of a divine feat!
As the two of them were feeling the changes in their bodies after entering the range of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, the giant feathered bird had already landed at the foot of the Sky-supporting Giant Mountain.
They both jumped off the back of the giant feathered bird and looked up at the mountain. The densely packed swords covering the mountain became even clearer, sprawling from the base all the way up into the clouds at the summit.
Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, it truly is the mountain of ten thousand swords!
At the base of the giant mountain, not far from where they stood, there was also a huge sword-shaped stone stele.
"Eh, there are characters on that stele!"
Jiang Yao tugged on Ye Chen's sleeve and pointed her delicate finger toward the sword-shaped stele, speaking up.
Ye Chen had also seen the huge sword-shaped stele, which stood over two hundred meters tall. Piercing the sky like a sheathed sword standing upright, it was situated in front of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain!
"That is the 'Ten Thousand Swords Stele,' which records the history of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain. If you want to enter Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, you should first take a look at that stele," said the Three-Eyed Giant Ape.
It took the lead and started walking toward the Ten Thousand Swords Stele.
When the giant feathered bird saw the "Ten Thousand Swords Stele," its divine eyes seemed to dim slightly. Without speaking, it also made its way toward the stele.
"What's wrong with Senior Feathered Bird?"
Noticing the suddenly somber expression of the giant feathered bird, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao were puzzled. Both followed behind the Three-Eyed Giant Ape and the giant feathered bird, heading toward the Ten Thousand Swords Stele.
There were characters etched on the Ten Thousand Swords Stele, and upon reaching its base, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao looked toward these characters.
The stele read, "On the Barbaric Wilderness Continent, the Sword Fencing Great Meet has been passed down through generations; countless sword cultivators gather, testing their swordsmanship against one another!"
"The losers leave their treasured swords at the venue, while the winners take all the swords with them, earning the highest honor!"
"The two of us, over the course of three Sword Fencing Great Meets, won a total of 'forty-nine thousand three hundred sixty-eight' treasured swords, which we buried within the mountain of the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode. Hence, we named this mountain 'Ten Thousand Swords Mountain.'"
Reading the text about the origins of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain on the stele filled Ye Chen with overwhelming excitement.
The Sword Fencing Great Meet, where thousands of sword cultivators compete, with winners taking thousands of treasured swords and establishing the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain!
The very thought was thrilling.
"But I don't know where the Ten Thousand Swords Conference is held."
"One day, I too will go see this Ten Thousand Swords Conference!"
Ye Chen thought to himself.
"A swordfighting conference, so the swords on Ten Thousand Swords Mountain were won from the swordfighting conference!"
"It was only after accompanying my master to participate in a swordfighting conference once that I began to harbor the thought of cultivating swordsmanship!"
Jiang Yao's delicate face brimmed with excitement; clearly, she knew the reputation of the swordfighting conference.
"Jiang Yao, you know about the swordfighting conference? Where is this swordfighting conference held?"
Ye Chen looked at the spirited girl beside him and asked her.
"The swordfighting conference is said to have four levels.
The True Qi Realm swordfighting conference is held at a place named Thousand Cliffs Cave in our Heavenly Wind Kingdom's neighboring Heaven Departure Nation, the Spirit Sea Realm swordfighting conference is held inside the Immeasurable Mountain of the Great Qian Dynasty, the Rotating Pill Realm swordfighting conference on the Piaomiao Peak in the Middle Region of the Barbaric Wilderness Continent, and the highest level, the Heaven Saint Realm swordfighting conference, is rumored to be held in the mysterious and chaotic Sea of Chaos!"
With a soft smile, Jiang Yao looked at Ye Chen and shared everything she knew about the swordfighting conference.
The True Qi Realm, Spirit Sea Realm, Rotating Pill Realm, and Heaven Saint Realm are the four major realms of cultivation in the Barbaric Wilderness Continent.
The four levels of the swordfighting conferences correspond to the four major realms, held in four different places on the Barbaric Wilderness Continent, attracting elites to converge and compete in swordsmanship.
Jiang Yao's words gave Ye Chen further insight into the fascinating world of martial arts on the Barbaric Wilderness Continent!
Competing in sword arts, crossing blades with heroes from all corners of the world!
This is the martial world that Ye Chen was pursuing!
This is the martial world that Ye Chen desired!
"The four major swordfighting conferences, if I have the chance, I want to experience each and every one of them!" Ye Chen thought to himself.
He and Jiang Yao continued to look at the inscriptions below the Ten Thousand Swords Stele.
It continued to be written on the huge stele: "Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, from bottom to top, conceals swords of different levels."
"The lower mountain region of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain buries 'thirty-eight thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven swords,' all won from the 'Thousand Cliffs Cave True Qi Realm swordfighting conference,' these thirty-eight thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven treasured swords are all 'Mystic Instruments'."
"The middle mountain region of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain buries 'ten thousand and four hundred thirty-two swords,' all won from the 'Immeasurable Mountain Spirit Sea Realm swordfighting conference,' and these ten thousand and four hundred thirty-two are all 'Spirit Instruments'."
"The upper mountain region of Ten Thousand Swords Mountain buries 'nine swords,' all won from the 'Piaomiao Peak Rotating Pill Realm swordfighting conference,' and these nine are all 'Treasured Instruments'."
"The two of us buried 'forty-nine thousand three hundred sixty-eight swords' in Ten Thousand Swords Mountain to hone our swordsmanship, sword Qi, and sword intent, entering the mountain to forge swords and to comprehend the great path of the sword!"
At the very bottom of the Ten Thousand Swords Stele, two names were carved, "Thousand Mechanisms" and "Lian Yue."
The entire script on the Ten Thousand Swords Stele was flowing and graceful, the bone structure of the characters was sword-like, similar to the handwriting of the name "Thousand Mechanisms," but those two characters "Lian Yue" were in another style of handwriting, soft and beautiful, seemingly the work of a woman's hand.
Upon seeing the name "Lian Yue," the giant feathered sparrow was utterly stunned, murmuring in its heart, "Master! Master!"
"This Ten Thousand Swords Mountain is a place where two people buried their swords together?"
"Thousand Mechanisms, Lian Yue? Thousand Mechanisms must be the predecessor Qian Jizi, but who is Lian Yue?"
Both Ye Chen and Jiang Yao were shocked by the text on the Ten Thousand Swords Stele, neither of them had expected to see another name alongside Qian Jizi's, appearing in Thousand Lotus Cave Abode.
Thousand Lotus Cave Abode, Thousand Mechanisms, Lian Yue...
A guess faintly formed in Ye Chen's mind.
Just then, the Three-Eyed Giant Ape sighed deeply: "You two probably don't understand what the 'Lian Yue' represents."