Peak of the Innate Ninth Layer—just one step away from Foundation Establishment. If I add in the Azure Lotus Sword Codex, could I actually fight a Foundation Establishment expert?
Ian Song stood up and walked out from his place of seclusion.
This round of seclusion took only a day.
With a flicker, he stepped onto his flying sword and soared toward the mutant beast zone. Now that all the zombies in Harbor City are wiped out, only mutant beasts and mutant plants pose a threat to humanity. So, he decided to go slay that Mutant Python King.
That Mutant Python King is enormous, and with Ian’s Clairvoyant Vision, as long as it’s anywhere in Harbor City, it can’t hide.
Soon, he was riding his sword-light, hovering above the mutant beast territory.
From what he knew, among these mutant beasts, the python was the strongest. Besides it, there was a Lion King, Tiger King, Leopard King, and a Gorilla King—these four mutant beast kings had just reached the seventh tier.
Mutant beasts have even sharper senses than zombies. Even though Ian was flying at an altitude of a thousand meters, the four mutant beast kings still detected him and let out earth-shaking roars.
With a thought, his sword-light shot downward and landed atop a ruined building.
"Roar!"
This was the Leopard King's turf. The moment Ian landed, it shot toward him like a bolt of lightning.
This Leopard King stood over four meters tall, its body several times larger than a grown water buffalo. Its steel-like claws sliced through the air, swiping hard at Ian’s head. In its eyes, this little human should be smashed into dust with a single blow.
But unfortunately...
"Let’s see how strong the Azure Lotus Sword Codex really is—with you as my test subject!"
With a low shout, an alloy longsword appeared in Ian’s hand. He slashed straight out, and a cyan lotus bloomed in midair.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
Lotus Blooming.
The cyan sword-lotus suddenly burst apart, transforming into countless lotus leaves. Each leaf was pure, concentrated sword-qi to the extreme.
"Thud thud thud!"
Even with a body like steel, the Leopard King couldn’t withstand the lotus leaves. In an instant, sword-qi pierced its flesh, and its massive frame exploded into bloody chunks, scattering in all directions.
Putting away his longsword, Ian Song shook his head.
The Azure Lotus Sword Codex has nine ultimate moves; with his current cultivation, Ian had barely learned two.
The first move is called Lotus Blooming. When fully unleashed, it can vaporize the target, but Ian only managed to smash the Leopard King into bloody chunks, showing he still has a long way to go with this technique.
The second move is called Lotus Sword Formation. When used, nine sword-lotuses instantly form a sword domain, sealing the void and shredding enemies inside.
If the first move, Lotus Blooming, could be considered minor achievement for Ian, the second move he could only barely execute.
With a wave, Ian collected the Leopard King's Evolution Crystal and turned his attention to the other three beast kings.
Mutant beasts that reach seventh tier possess a certain level of intelligence.
Slaying the Leopard King with a single sword made the other three beast kings wary of Ian. They hesitated a hundred meters away, unsure whether to advance.
Seventh-tier mutant beasts are no weaker than Innate Eighth Layer, and if they go all out, can rival Innate Ninth Layer. So, Ian could not afford to let them go.
Go!
His flying sword flashed out.
Splurt!
The sword pierced through the Tiger King's skull. At the same time, Ian soared from the ruined building, heading straight for the Gorilla King.
Raging Tidal Surge, Fifth Form!
Boom!
Like a river pouring down, an overwhelming pressure instantly enveloped the Gorilla King. It only managed a short, unwilling roar before being ground into a mist of blood by boundless true essence.
Seeing Ian slay two beast kings in an instant, the Lion King was stunned and turned to flee.
Unfortunately, it was a step too slow. With a flicker, Ian landed atop the Lion King's head, his right hand pressing down like a great seal.
Buzz!
The Lion King's body froze, unable to move an inch. Even the ground around it sank several centimeters.
Boom!
Ian Song withdrew, and the Lion King's massive body exploded, turning into clouds of blood mist.
After collecting the Evolution Crystals from the three beast kings, Ian once again mounted his flying sword and flew toward a lake. This used to be a park lake, but now it's the lair of the eighth-tier Mutant Python King.
There was forest around the lake.
Within the forest, no fewer than ten seventh-tier Mutant Pythons were coiled up. That's why this python was the undisputed king of the mutant beasts—even the four beast kings who just died dared not show it any disrespect.
Hiss hiss hiss!
The pythons hissed in chorus as twelve seventh-tier Mutant Pythons shot out of the forest, rearing up on the open ground. They raised their ferocious heads toward Ian in the sky, flicking their tongues—half in provocation, half in warning.
Let's try the Lotus Sword Formation!
The alloy longsword appeared once again in Ian's hand. He formed a hand seal with one hand and slashed down with the other.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz!
Nine fist-sized azure lotuses flashed into existence, appearing around the twelve Mutant Pythons and forming a sword formation. However, these nine lotuses were not fully solidified, appearing somewhat blurry.
As soon as the sword formation took shape, the entire void seemed to freeze, and sword-qi filled the air, making the twelve Mutant Pythons feel an immense threat.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Suddenly, all twelve Mutant Pythons did the same thing: they all opened their mouths and spat out beams of light.
These beams of light were red, green, blue, or purple. As they appeared in the air, they transformed into flames, ice spikes, water blades, meteor fire rocks, and even thunder pillars.
Mutant beasts all have special abilities, but unless absolutely necessary, they rarely use them—because once they do, they become weakened for a long time. But as soon as the sword formation appeared, they all unleashed their powers, showing how threatened they felt.
Buzz buzz buzz!
The nine azure lotuses spun rapidly, and the void became increasingly solidified. At the same time, countless transparent sword-qi appeared.
Boom boom boom!
Sword-qi collided with flames, ice spikes, and the rest, causing a series of earth-shattering explosions. Ian was stunned watching from the side—the power of those flames, ice spikes, and thunder pillars was immense, enough that even most Innate Ninth Layer cultivators wouldn’t dare take them head-on.
The explosions were tremendously powerful, but were sealed within that patch of void by the nine lotuses.
After a while, everything calmed down. Ian looked up and saw that all twelve Mutant Pythons had been blasted into several segments—dead beyond saving. The nine lotuses grew more and more blurry, and after three seconds, they vanished, the solidified void disappeared, and the python corpses fell from the sky, landing with a series of loud slaps.
So strong!
Ian couldn’t help but marvel. But what disappointed him was that although he could unleash the Lotus Sword Formation, he couldn’t control it—so it could only be used against enemies, not for sparring.
After collecting the Evolution Crystals from the Mutant Pythons, Ian turned his gaze to the lake.
This lake was man-made, no more than twenty meters deep at its deepest point. The eighth-tier Mutant Python King was coiled up in the deepest area.