Chapter 143: Azure Billow

The sound of "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" echoed incessantly as several more people successfully gained the recognition of their swords. Huangfu Xiu, Daofan, Daohui, and the young monk all acquired their resonant swords.

The sword that Huangfu Xiu obtained was extremely ornate, named the Azure Moon Autumn Light Demon-Sweeping Sword. Its blade was a pure green color, and when swung, it released green sword arcs that were quite a sight to behold. As for its power, there were no mediocre items in this place, so its power was naturally formidable.

However, up to this point, the swords acquired by everyone were merely middle-grade spirit artifacts, and no one had yet connected with a upper-grade or top-grade spirit artifact.

Seeing that everyone else had already obtained theirs, Lixing felt somewhat anxious. He had chosen an upper-grade spirit artifact right from the start, believing himself to be exceptionally talented and naturally deserving of the best among all the swords.

Even if Core Formation cultivators possessed upper-grade spirit artifacts, they were unable to wield them; trying to communicate with one was naturally exceedingly difficult. Still, Lixing refused to give up. Since he had already fallen behind in terms of speed, he had no choice but to focus on quality.

Zhou Qi felt even more anxious. The sword he had chosen was also an upper-grade spirit artifact, yet it still showed not the slightest response. What was going on? Could it be that this sword was simply unsuited for him?

Realizing he could not succeed, Zhou Qi had no choice but to change his target and continue sensing the swords.

Before long, all the cultivators present had gained something, leaving only Zhou Qi and Lixing empty-handed. The crowd did not leave; knowing that these two were at odds like water and fire, they stayed behind to watch.

When everyone looked at the sword Lixing was trying to communicate with, realization dawned upon them instantly. His chosen target was simply too high, making it naturally difficult to acquire.

Turning to Zhou Qi, he had already tried every single sword in the arena, yet still without success.

Huangfu Xiu, Huangfu Rou, Daohui, Jiang Yiyi, and Gao Shiyu all stepped forward to share their insights, but Zhou Qi still felt nothing. In the end, even the burly cultivator and the young cultivator came forward to impart their experiences.

What was going on? Zhou Qi pondered. Logically speaking, his talent and comprehension were not inferior, so why couldn't he gain the recognition of even a single sword?

Zhou Qi quietly calmed his mind, reflecting on his own path, his own Dao. Did he want a sword simply to kill people?

Naturally not. He had never regarded slaying enemies as his path.

Was it to subdue demons and eliminate fiends?

Right now, demons and fiends were having an even more miserable time than the human race, so that was unnecessary as well.

That was it. His Dao, his path, had always been protection—protecting himself, protecting the people he cared about, and protecting his own path.

Since that was the case, his sword should be a sword of protection: killing for the sake of protection, and halting for the sake of protection.

A feeling arose within Zhou Qi's heart. A sword in the sword graveyard suddenly established a connection with him. It was a heavy sword, about two meters long, fifty centimeters wide, entirely black, and its grade could not be discerned.

The sword was trembling slightly. Zhou Qi poured all his consciousness into it, recounting his Dao to the heavy sword.

At that exact moment, the sword Lixing had been communicating with finally flew out. Its killing intent was overwhelming and filled with arrogance, but the moment it flew in front of Lixing, it restrained its aura.

Lixing laughed heartily. As the only person present to acquire an upper-grade spirit artifact, he had every right to do so.

"I was wondering what kind of upper-grade spirit artifact you had chosen that made you so slow, only to find out it's such a piece of trash that doesn't even make the grading charts." Lixing launched into mocking mode.

The sword Zhou Qi had communicated with was already in the eyes of the other cultivators as well. Aside from being large and black, this sword was completely unremarkable in the sword graveyard. After all, the other swords either radiated dominance or possessed unique designs, and the crucial point was that this sword had no grade at all—it could not even be counted as a lower-grade spirit artifact.

The crowd could not help but shake their heads, feeling a sense of sympathy for Zhou Qi. Lixing had obtained an upper-grade spirit artifact and would surely use this matter to strike down Zhou Qi, avenging the humiliation at Wuyang Village.

"Shut your stinking mouth! If you delay my brother from taking his sword, I won't spare you," Huangfu Xiu scolded. Although Lixing was the Holy Son of the Heavenly Dao Sect, he himself was no worse. In terms of strength, they were both in the Core Formation stage, each backed by dozens of disciples from their respective factions; in terms of background, they were both among the future successors.

Jiang Yiyi also cast a somewhat dissatisfied glance at Lixing. Her senior brother showed complete lack of composure, which made her even more disgusted.

"This fellow looks human enough, yet no ivory comes out of a dog's mouth," Gao Shiyu could not help sneering.

"Extremely true, extremely true," Daohui agreed wholeheartedly.

"You..." Lixing was so angry he almost coughed up blood. He found that ever since leaving Wuyang Village, he still had no way to deal with Zhou Qi. Meanwhile, the people standing behind him didn't make a peep and couldn't even win an argument, and the crucial part was that there was an internal traitor named Jiang Yiyi.

"I am not wrong. The sword he chose is nothing more garbage; I could pick it up with a wave of my hand, so why shouldn't I say so?" Lixing said unwillingly.

Just at that moment, the heavy sword awakened, transforming into a massive black beam of light that slashed toward Lixing.

The giant sword carried an intense oppressive force, howling as it arrived. Even the surrounding air was cleaved open by this sword, and in a flash, it appeared right above Lixing's head.

Lixing was terrified. The giant sword had locked onto him, and a set of armor instantly materialized on his body, while a massive shield appeared above his head.

The giant sword slashed down onto the large shield, which shattered instantly and turned to fine dust.

Before the giant sword even reached Lixing's body, cracks had already surfaced all over his armor.

A fierce crisis of life and death forced him to spit out a mouthful of vital blood. A phantom image formed in front of him, raising its head and pointing a finger to prop up the giant sword. The imposing momentum of the giant sword vanished into thin air in an instant, and it flew into Zhou Qi's hand.

Lixing's face turned pale. He had not expected this giant sword to possess such terrifying might, forcing him to use the trump card left behind by his master.

"A sword cannot be insulted; you truly brought this upon yourself," Zhou Qi shook his head. This sword was not driven by him; it had sensed Lixing's insult toward it and launched a spontaneous attack.

Zhou Qi gripped the heavy sword. This sword was named Canglan, and it weighed ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine catties. If he were not a body-refinement cultivator, he probably wouldn't even be able to swing Canglan.

Zhou Qi attempted to channel his spiritual Qi into it, but his spiritual energy felt like a stone sinking into the sea, without the slightest reaction.

Could this really just be an ordinary heavy sword? Zhou Qi refused to believe it. To be able to survive in a Sword Immortal's sword graveyard, it was definitely not an ordinary item.

Yet it had no grade, and spiritual energy could not control the sword either. How was one supposed to fight with it? Engage in close combat wielding a giant sword?

Flying on the sword was completely out of the question.

However, having already obtained Canglan, Zhou Qi was still extremely excited. A heavy sword was something he had always dreamed of.

This sword was so heavy that its sheer weight alone could heavily injure an enemy, and coupled with his body-refinement cultivation, it was simply a match made in heaven. However, if he used this sword, he feared he would no longer be able to use the Myriad Swords Return to宗 technique.

Having been nearly cleaved in half by the Canglan Sword, Lixing no longer dared to say much more. He could also see that this giant sword was not driven by Zhou Qi, but rather launched a spontaneous attack. *Humph, once it's in your hands, let's see what kind of power you can actually unleash.*

Daofan and Shui Bing both wore solemn expressions. They harbored deep, irreconcilable hatred, and this Zhou Qi was becoming increasingly difficult to deal with. If they did not suppress him early with superior cultivation, by the time he reached their level of cultivation, they feared they would be no match for him at all.

The two of them made up their minds in their hearts, pondering ways to kill Zhou Qi.