Chapter 222: The Nine Nether Sword Formation, Tracking the Man in Black Robe

In the deepest part of the eighth layer, a slender and tenacious figure stood proudly.

Gazing at the surroundings and seeing everything in pieces, Situ Yanran understood everything without saying a word.

Over the years, she has been here, with ice as bones and sword as soul. She has fought with the sword intent that has transformed into an ice python countless times. They know each other well and she would recognize him even if he turned into ashes.

The cultivator who called himself "Wu Guang" just now chopped the ice python into pieces in a short moment. His technique was so sharp and his speed was so fast that it was simply astonishing.

Such strength has almost touched the peak of sword intent penetrating the body. Only one step is needed to cross that threshold and step into the whole new world of sword intent taking shape.

This one skill alone is enough to make him one of the few outstanding people in the world of cultivation in the early stage of refining emptiness. It is not an exaggeration to say that he has "few rivals".

Situ Yanran is naturally no ordinary person. After years of hard training, she has also reached a high level. However, because she specializes in ice sword skills, she stays at this level. For her, the gains are far greater than those at the next level.

Having stayed on the eighth floor for many years, visitors are seldom seen. It is not surprising to see one today. On the road of cultivation, it is common for people to make breakthroughs and challenge the sword tower.

But the arrival of two uninvited guests today makes people wonder whether things are far from as simple as they seem.

"I heard that Chu Fenglei has recently arrived in Feiyun City and his sword intent bottleneck is about to be broken. If he really comes, I'm afraid he is on the ninth floor." Situ Yanran's eyes pierced through the layers of fog, looking at the unknown ninth floor, and whispered.

Chu Fenglei, the fifth adopted son of Emperor Jiang Ren, although the youngest among the five, has already reached the realm of refining emptiness. His swordsmanship is even more perfect, with sword intent penetrating his body, honed over many years.

This visit to the Ten Thousand Swords Tower may be for the ultimate leap of sword intent into form, to achieve the transformation of sword skills from cocoon to butterfly.

"This guy has come to Feiyun City again. I wonder what kind of trouble he will cause."

Driven by curiosity, Situ Yanran's mind moved slightly, her purple skirt swayed slightly, and she walked slowly towards the door leading to the ninth floor with light lotus steps.

Behind her, the scattered fragments of the ice python seemed to have life and were slowly wriggling, gathering together in one place, as if foreshadowing that soon everything would return to its original state.

The ninth floor of the Ten Thousand Swords Tower.

Before my eyes was a vast ocean of lightning-attributed sword intent. Every inch of space was filled with the violent and pure power of thunder. The sky was shrouded in dark clouds all year round. The lightning and thunder were like an eternal melody, deafening.
In this area, the earth is covered with cracks, and each crack seems to be a scar of nature. Dazzling lightning flashes out from it from time to time, like a giant dragon soaring into the sky, illuminating everything around it like daylight.

Being in the middle of it, Chen An was not interested in the environment here. Not far ahead, there was a man in black robe, chatting with a young male cultivator opposite him.

The young man was like a gentle man who walked out of a painting, with a handsome face, delicate features, and a gentle smile, giving people a sense of friendliness and harmlessness.

Looking from a distance, this person has a slender figure and carries himself with a scholarly air. His long jet-black hair is tied up with a simple jade hairpin, seemingly spotless.

Seeing that the two of them were chatting happily, not knowing what they were talking about, Chen An did not go forward to disturb them. Instead, he quietly walked away and slowly examined the cracked ground nearby.

After excavating the seventh and eighth floors and studying the distribution of the sword-eating grass spirit species, he also summarized some patterns.

No matter which level of rules we look at it from, these sword-loving grasses were not planted randomly, but were planted intentionally by the man in black robes to form a certain formation between them.

On the seventh floor, the man in black robes planted sword-loving grass in four directions, forming the power of the Four Symbols, representing the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise respectively. He used the power of the Four Symbols to stabilize the structure of the entire formation, while defending against external prying and interference, ensuring the concealment and stability of the formation.

On the eighth floor, eight "sword-guiding veins" were arranged according to the eight trigrams. These veins were made up of each seed of the sword-eating grass. They went deep into the ground and connected to the source of sword intent in the Ten Thousand Swords Tower, guiding the sword intent along the veins to the core area, just like leading water into a canal, ensuring a stable supply of sword intent.

Logically speaking, if one only uses the Sword-Addictive Grass to absorb the sword intent of the Ten Thousand Swords Tower, thereby condensing the sword essence that can improve one's own sword realm, then a layout of these two layers would be enough.

But the man in black robe did not stop there. Instead, he came to the ninth floor. It was obvious that he had other plans.

Chen An's heart moved, he glanced at the surrounding environment, pondered for a moment, and then went to a certain edge and came to a relatively small crack.

The sword intent penetrated through the body and penetrated into the crack. After a while, it emerged with a few spirit-eating grass seeds.

After a series of actions, Chen An found nine similar cracks one after another. Without exception, all of them were planted with sword-loving grass of varying sizes.

However, his actions caused the man in black robe to look at him frequently and grit his teeth. Perhaps because of some concerns, he was reluctant to step forward to stop him.

It was not until Chen An was heading towards the central area that he suddenly looked panicked and finally couldn't help it.

But before he could go forward, he heard Master Wenrun beside him say, "This Taoist friend looks unfamiliar. How should I address him?"

"My name is Wu Guang."

"Chu Fenglei, I see that your sword power is as strong as a rainbow, and your sword skills are quite strong, but why are you digging holes in the ground around here?"

"Oh, I'm looking for this thing."

Chen An smiled lightly and calmly threw a seed in his hand to the other party.

"Sword-loving grass!"

With just one glance, Chu Fenglei identified the origin of this object. Just as he was about to say something, the man in black robe suddenly saw that the situation was not good and turned around and ran away.

"Want to run? I've been on guard against you!"

In an instant, five sword intentions flew out from the cracks where Chen An had just taken out the sword-eating grass seeds, surrounding the man in black robe.

"What do you mean, fellow Daoist?" A deep and hoarse voice came from under the black robe.

"It's nothing. I've always liked these spiritual plants and seeds. When I saw someone burying them, I couldn't help but dig them out."

"You can dig as you like, why would you attack me? Besides, the adopted son of Emperor Jiang is watching here, do you still want to do anything dirty to me?"

Emperor Jiang’s adopted son?

Chen An's expression was slightly surprised, and he couldn't help but think of Zhao Lingyun, the adopted son of Emperor Jiang, whom he met in Lingxiyuan before.

Both of them are at the Refining Void stage, but the man in front of them has a slightly lower level of cultivation. He is probably the fifth adopted son of Emperor Jiang.

"Is there any misunderstanding between you two?"

Chu Fenglei also understood. From what Chen An said, these sword-eating grass seeds were planted by the man in black robe in front of him.

"This person has planted quite a few sword-loving grasses. Over time, they will definitely damage the Ten Thousand Swords Tower, and thus affect our sword practice. People like this should be killed!"

"It's just a few sword-loving grass seeds. There's no need to make such a fuss."

Chu Fenglei subconsciously glanced at a few hidden places and said nonchalantly.

"How many? Just?"

Chen An couldn't help but be speechless. Did this guy really not know the harm of sword-loving grass, or was he just pretending to be crazy?

But he didn't care about so much, and immediately went to the ninth floor near the center, controlling the sword intent to dig again.

Not long after digging, a sword pool appeared below.

This is a "sword pool" surrounded by a special material called "black iron rock". It is the core of the Nine Nether Sword Formation. Its function is to compress and condense all the sword intent gathered here, and gradually form a huge sword evil spirit.

Judging from the capacity, if it is full, if someone with bad intentions intends to destroy the Ten Thousand Swords Tower, most of the tower will probably be damaged.

After digging out the sword-eating grass on the seventh and eighth layers, Chen An felt that there was something wrong with the formation. It was not until he surveyed the location of the sword-eating grass on the ninth layer that he was sure that the formation set up by the man in black was the Nine Nether Sword-eating Formation.

This sword formation can accumulate sword intent and condense sword evil, so that after accumulating enough power, it can launch a devastating attack.

Those sword-loving grasses that were planted are part of this formation. With its blessing, the power of the sword formation will be even greater.

From this, it can be seen that the purpose of this black-robed man is probably not to secretly plant sword-loving grass to increase his own sword intent, but to destroy the Ten Thousand Swords Tower!

This kind of behavior is even more intolerable!

But the strange thing is that he had clearly dug out all of the opponent's sword-loving grass, but why was this sword pool still constantly absorbing the sword intent?

Seeing that the truth was revealed, the man in black robe suddenly looked ashen. After glaring at Chen An hatefully, he rushed towards the thunder-attributed sword intent around him.

With this collision, his body flashed and then disappeared here.

"Oh no! This guy was teleported away by the tower spirit!"

Chen An remembered that if someone was hurt in the tower, he would not be really injured. The tower spirit would force him to be transported out, which was a kind of protection for the monks in the tower. "Chase! This person must have bad intentions in setting up the Nine Nether Sword Formation. We can't let him go!"

Chu Fenglei's attitude was completely different from before. This behavior was different from planting a few sword-loving grasses. It would cause irreparable and huge damage to the origin of the Ten Thousand Swords Tower and was completely intolerable.

Chen An and Chu Fenglei, two highly skilled monks, followed the mysterious man in black like a shadow, until they stepped out of the towering shadow of the Ten Thousand Swords Tower and into the bustling world of human life.

However, there were so many people here that the trace of the man in black robe was like a drop of water falling into the sea, disappearing without a trace in an instant, as if he had never existed, making the pursuit confusing.

"Haha, Brother Chen, don't worry." Chu Fenglei laughed loudly, with confidence flashing in his eyes, as if everything was under his control.

"As soon as we stepped out of the tower gate, my message was passed on to the Heavenly Guards I am familiar with in Feiyun City. With them around, even if the man in black is an 'invisible man', he will have a hard time escaping tracking."

Chen An heard this, and the worry between his brows was slightly relieved, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "If that's the case, I can indeed feel a little more at ease."

The Heavenly Guards of Feiyun City are all of the strength of the Refining Void Realm. Their duty is to protect Feiyun City. This kind of thing is just right for them to do.

"My two Taoist friends, what interesting things are there here?"

Following a clear and pleasant questioning, Situ Yanran followed closely with light steps and walked out of the solemn gate of the Ten Thousand Swords Tower.

She originally planned to quietly go to the ninth floor to take a look, but unexpectedly she witnessed the black-robed Chen An and Chu Fenglei running out for their lives. Curiosity drove her to follow them closely to find out what was going on.

"Oh, it turns out that it's Fairy Situ who has come!" Chu Fenglei's eyes flashed with surprise, and he hurriedly stepped forward to greet her.

After a brief exchange, he slowly explained the black-robed man's trick of planting sword-eating grass and setting up the Nine Nether Sword-Devouring Formation.

"How could there be such a despicable act?" Situ Yanran frowned slightly, her face turning cold.

Destroying the Ten Thousand Swords Tower is tantamount to declaring war on Feiyun City and many cultivators. This matter is of no trivial importance.

"That's right, I have contacted Tianwei"

Before Chu Fenglei finished speaking, a handsome man came quickly from a distance. Chen An recognized him at a glance. This was Li Zhen, who had passed on the Heavenly Order to his clone Chen Sheng.

"Brother Chu, my men have completely blocked off the central city area. That guy can't escape."

As soon as Li Zhen arrived, he greeted Chu Fenglei.

The speed of his action made Chu Fenglei praise him: "Brother Li's efficiency is admirable. He saw it just after leaving the tower. It's really timely."

"Let's stop talking. Destroying the Ten Thousand Swords Tower is an unforgivable crime. I want to capture this thief myself. Oh, by the way, the city lord has told you to concentrate on breaking through and not cause any more trouble." Li Zhen looked at Chu Fenglei deeply, with a hint of seriousness in his words.

"Of course, I am a law-abiding person." Chu Fenglei nodded repeatedly with an innocent look on his face.

Situ Yanran's pretty face turned dark. You abide by the law?
Then there will be no bad people in the whole Feiyun City!
During the conversation, Chen An calmly took out the Soul Lamp, which flashed with a faint green light, revealing an unusual clue.

Around the Ten Thousand Swords Tower, faint traces left by the man in black robes can be seen. They are as light as a feather and almost blend into the air, which shows how skilled he is in hiding.

Even under the illumination of the Soul Lamp, one could only barely catch a trace pointing towards the North City District.

Did this person go to North City?
Judging from the traces left around, the direction in which the man in black robe fled was obviously towards the northern city area.

"You two can do whatever you want. I'll go take a look around."

Chen An said goodbye to the two of them and his figure disappeared into the night.

Looking at Chen An's receding back, a hint of imperceptible worry flashed across Chu Fenglei's eyes.

Following the guidance of the Soul Lamp, Chen An sneaked into the North City area quietly.

"Beicheng is the territory of Feiyun City Lord. How dare this man in black robe be so arrogant and go straight to the dragon's den and the tiger's lair?"

Although Chen An was full of doubts, he couldn't suppress his curiosity. He followed the faint traces and walked all the way to a remote courtyard.

If nothing goes wrong, the man in black might be hiding in there.

For this kind of thing, Tianwei is enough. Chen An's intervention is just meddling in other people's business.

However, he could ignore everything else, but he was very interested in the Nine Nether Sword Formation in the opponent's hand.

Obviously, this formation has a great effect in ripening the sword-eating grass. If you can get it, it will be much easier to cultivate the sword-eating grass in the future.

There are only a few low-level cultivators in this villa, and they have only set up a few third- and fourth-level formations for defense.

This method was completely useless to Chen An. He sneaked into the villa as if he was in an empty place.

After searching for a while, the man in black was found in a room in the backyard!
However, this person did not escape, but was in a secret room in the basement, doing something unknown.

This secret room is made of special materials and has a certain effect of isolating spiritual consciousness. Ordinary cultivators cannot detect it, but Chen An's spiritual consciousness is comparable to that of a cultivator at the fifth or sixth level of the Refinement Realm, so he can naturally detect clues.

"This Chu Fenglei is too unreliable. He didn't even help me when I saw the truth. Fortunately, I have a backup plan."

At this time, the man in black robe was in a corner of the secret room, constantly taking out some precious materials and setting up a formation.

"I'm afraid you can't use this back-up plan of yours anymore."

At some point, Chen An suddenly appeared in the secret room. He glanced at the half-completed teleportation array and smiled.

"When did you come in? How did you find this place?"

The man in black robe suddenly felt like he was facing a formidable enemy and looked behind Chen An.

"Don't look, I'm the only one there."

"You chased me here alone, it seems you really don't want to die!"

When the man in black robe saw that Chen An was the only one there, he smiled contemptuously.

Chen An didn't intend to waste time talking to him. With a thought, three rays of divine light, green, red and black, appeared together and surrounded the man in black robe.

"Let me ask you, who are you and why do you want to destroy the Ten Thousand Swords Tower?"

"I don't know, I just followed orders."

"Ok?"

Chen An's face turned cold, and the three divine lights suddenly shrank rapidly. Not only that, several sword intentions flew out from his dantian, completely blocking the opponent's retreat.

"I tell you! I tell you! It was all Chu Fenglei's fault. He wants to destroy the Ten Thousand Swords Tower!"

Perhaps because he clearly felt the power of the three divine lights, the black-robed man's anxious voice rang out.

"Chu Fenglei? As the adopted son of the Emperor, why would he do such a thing?"

"How would I know? Ask him."

Chen An remained silent. He did not see anyone on his way to the ninth floor.

But after reaching the ninth floor, Chu Fenglei and the man in black were both there, which meant that Chu Fenglei saw with his own eyes the man in black planting the sword-loving grass.

At this age, Chen An already has some plans in mind.

"What are you going to do!"

While he was deep in thought, he noticed that the aura of the man in black robe suddenly became extremely violent and the magic power in his body expanded rapidly.

This is obviously an attempt to self-destruct!

"Stop!"

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Chen An was quick-witted and used divine light to roll up the storage bag on the other party's waist. Then he used the True Essence Body Protection Technique and jumped out of the secret room.

(End of this chapter)