"Sword Spirit Realm cannot exist in Ancient Tomb Mountain, this is a very ancient rule.
No one knows where this rule comes from, but everyone silently follows it.
To circumvent this rule, one needs to use the Ancient Array as a point of connection, constantly shuttling through the array to avoid the rules within Ancient Tomb Mountain. Only then is this possible.
However, this does not apply in the City of No Tears.
Because the City of No Tears is only suitable for those stronger than the Sword Spirit Realm."
Zhou Yan was condensing thousands upon thousands of ancient Essence Blood, approaching the Sword Spirit Realm, but suddenly, his mind was flooded with a series of rules within Ancient Tomb Mountain, causing him to momentarily stop the transformation of his realm.
At this moment, his black hair flew about wildly, like a Demon God from another world, standing between heaven and earth.
He stood there quietly, yet no one dared to overlook his existence, nor did anyone dare challenge his power, because even just the ancient Sword Intent aura was enough to make their souls tremble; the Emperor Qi in his Emperor Qi Sword Body appeared, and their Sword Intent and Sword Spirit were shivering, unable to face it directly.
This was a momentum, a terrifying might, originating from the world’s most dominant constitution—the Emperor Qi Sword Body.
In terms of realm, the ancient Essence Blood, having been refined by the Purple Flame, reached a terrifying level of purity, such purity almost comparable to the most precious Essence Blood within ancient Demon Beasts!
And such Essence Blood nearly filled Zhou Yan’s entire body, not just the basic hundred thousand. It had reached a horrifying number of a million drops!
However, these Essence Blood filled the space between Zhou Yan’s brows, with only about ten thousand ancient Essence Blood coursing through his body.
And this was even the limit that his strong physique could accumulate at this moment!
That is, while many geniuses only have about ten drops of ancient Essence Blood at their Origin, Zhou Yan already had nearly ten thousand Origin ancient Essence Blood in his body, with nearly a million in reserve! This gap in cultivation was reflected in every process of cultivation.
At this point, Zhou Yan felt that he had reached a true bottleneck, a bottleneck he was confident he could easily break, to perceive something on another level, yet he held back.
Breaking through would mean leaving the Ancient Array and entering the City of No Tears. But in reality, Zhou Yan still could not let go of Ancient Tomb Mountain.
In addition to the geniuses in his family, there was also the safety of Qi Meng that he couldn’t quite let go of.
Thinking about these things, Zhou Yan sighed softly, and the terrifying aura that made one’s heart tremble gradually disappeared and calmed down.
"Zhou Lingzhe... all the Demon Beasts of the Nine Lives Gate have been slain, but have you... made a breakthrough?"
At this point, seeing that Zhou Yan’s aura had returned to calmness, Chen Tianjian spoke with an extremely solemn and sincere face.
At this moment, the seriousness he showed when facing Zhou Yan was unprecedented. But no one was surprised anymore, because by now, Zhou Yan had thoroughly impressed everyone with his capabilities.
Refining and absorbing the Essence Blood of nearly ten thousand ancient Demon Beasts by oneself without going mad was something that would frighten anyone.
And the scene of thousands of beasts roaring earlier, where Zhou Yan, with the ancient inheritance of Essence Blood, struck a sword that treated living beings as mere ants, also stunned many with ill intentions!
This sword was also recorded by many Cultivators in the Sword Illusion Realm, leaving an eternal, indelible mark.
So, now, the Cultivators could only look up to Zhou Yan, with no hostile intentions, because this man, once grown, would be terribly frightening!
"I can at any time, it’s just that I have some wishes unfulfilled in my heart, I don’t want to enter the City of No Tears so quickly.
However, the promises I made to you, don’t worry, I will definitely fulfill them for you."
Zhou Yan spoke calmly, but his gaze wandered before finally settling on a short old man standing beside Lie Wanqing.
The old man wore pitch-black Spirit Armor, his cheekbones protruding, his face pale gold, and his eyes piercing like those of a hawk.
It seemed that he sensed Zhou Yan’s gaze, because the old man’s complexion turned slightly paler, yet he still met Zhou Yan’s gaze.
"Zhou Lingzhe, may I ask what guidance you have?"
The old man’s expression was somewhat unnatural, but he still clasped his hands and asked respectfully.
"Earlier, when condensing Ancient Sword Intent, you acted twice, albeit very discreetly. Did you really think I wouldn’t know?"
Zhou Yan’s gaze now fixed on him, his eyes filled with killing intent.
The short old man gave a sinister smile and said, "The Emperor Qi Sword Body, truly the finest since ages past, is not just all talk. Just the skill in Condensing Bloodline alone makes you the unmatched number one in today’s world.
I merely harbored killing intent twice earlier, thought about acting but actually did not, Zhou Lingzhe, you must have sensed that too.
I believe, apart from the Emperor Qi Sword Body itself, no one can match your sensing power!
Unexpectedly, I, a disabled person, still managed to catch extra attention from Zhou Lingzhe."
As the old man spoke, everyone then noticed that this short old man was actually missing a leg!
He was a one-legged old man, yet all along the way, no one had noticed this.
This was both astonishing and surprising.
Such a character, previously slaying Demon Beasts without anyone noticing his movement technique, how could such a capable person be missing a leg?
This was indeed a matter worth deep reflection.
"Such words, spoken out loud, are merely for attracting strong opponents to become my enemies, competing over an illusory ’number one’ title—that is your real purpose.
Unfortunately, those who acted against me earlier, now, can only be completely erased!"
Had he not been strong enough, he would have been killed during his cultivation session earlier! How could he not seek vengeance now?!
He had not yet made a move, but his words alone had already drastically changed the expression of the short old man. The previously dense crowd of genius cultivators also immediately retreated, creating space and distance, silently waiting for a battle to occur.
Clearly, a spectacular battle was about to unfold here!
One, an old-school powerhouse at the Sword Soul Third Layer Heaven Realm.
Another, a genius upstart, a Spirit-level genius with the most ancient and mysterious Emperor Qi Sword Body.
This battle, not yet started, had already filled all the cultivators present with intense anticipation.
"Since you dare to speak so, it seems you have truly excelled in your cultivation! Well then, let’s see what you are truly capable of!"
His expression uncertain, yet seeing Zhou Yan lay everything out in the open, the short old man’s face took on a menacing look, making his expression particularly ferocious as he spoke.