NOVEL NEXT Chapter 306 The Fool
Tie Dan also coldly watched the receding figure of True Steel Extinguisher.
These cowardly bastards are all bark and no bite; since they don't even dare to challenge his Sword Array, how could they take the initiative to collude with the rebel army without the sect's permission?
Moreover, if there truly was evidence of collusion with the rebel army, they would probably risk everything to join forces with the rebels to kill and silence him.
Therefore, they might have done this under the sect's instructions; it's just that everyone pretends not to know and can't say it out loud.
In fact, Tie Dan can somewhat understand, after all, Stone Dragon has personal enmity with him, but what does the Immortal Palace's throne have to do with the Mystic Sect? As long as there are benefits to gain and tribute is paid, anyone can be an ally.
Besides, if they truly want to establish long-term roots in Genzhou, eventually they'll have to turn a blind eye and secretly reach a ceasefire cooperation with the rebel army. Therefore, the Tianyin family, it seems, indeed is enduring humiliation to acquire resources for the sect, bearing the blame for the mountain.
However, they should have given Tie Dan a heads-up beforehand, now they're screwed.
Obviously, that old fool probably didn't expect Tie Dan to truly dare, and indeed have the skills to kill people by the thousands...
No matter, just pretend not to know, it's your problem to blame for letting some petty crook make him stand at the entrance for two hours.
So, Tie Dan also put these trivial matters aside and focused on improving the Jade Candle Sword Formation.
Through Tie Dan's contemplation and research, the problem with the Jade Candle Sword Formation is that its power is indeed too immense. Essentially, it's just laser cutting; with enough energy, it can even slice through Cloud Platform Peak, but if the power is adjusted too low, it simply turns into sword light, which lacks lethality.
However, that's not really a problem, since the Kaiyang Sword Formation was originally designed to guard the mountain and protect the path, not for cutting down small fries. Moreover, those daring to challenge the Nine Yin Mountain with their swords are no ordinary folk.
Therefore, placing this Jade Candle Formation after the Eternal Wind Sword Formation basically assumes that those capable of forcibly breaking through the Eternal Wind are rare masters of the world. Should the sect face a crisis of life or death, they would naturally unleash their full forces to grind such threats to dust.
However, the Heavenly Spirit Roots of Nine Yin Mountain, the peerless Grotto Heaven, can deploy such a Sword Formation, but the Hidden Sword Manor at most serves as an Outer Door outpost, not worthy of deploying such a fate-suppressing, sect-guarding Sword Formation.
And, of course, Tie Dan couldn't possibly leave the Corpse Resolving Immortal Bone here, worried it might be stolen by some vile presence from the Honzan. If it were to use Hidden Sword Manor's Earth Vein instead, the Sword Array's energy is evidently insufficient.
Therefore, after some calculations, Tie Dan changed the eight swords to twenty-four swords based on the Earth Vein's limits, but they were just candlelight in appearance; in reality, only one Jade Candle Sword Light could be activated at a time.
This ostentatious display, combined with the first battle achievement, was enough to deceive people.
Of course, Tie Dan set up the Array Eye Sword Position and sword seal talismans. Once an army besieges, as long as Immortal Bones, magic treasures, or cultivators stand under the sword light to provide energy, it could blast out like plasma cannon fire...
Such arrangements fortified Hidden Sword Manor's defenses, meanwhile the sword boy had cleaned the battlefield, collected the scattered corpses, and thoughtfully piled over two thousand heads into a hill at the entrance, marking it as Guangxia Mountain Tie Dan's achievement, to be cashed in at the Immortal Palace later.
At this moment, each Sword Servant child was bowing respectfully by the roadside, their waists bent almost at right angles. Now, hardly anyone would be so blind as to dare block him at the door, even if faced with misfortune from the Honzan, they'd have to bear it themselves.
Heh, the change from arrogance to humility is amusing.
Tie Dan could not be bothered to deal with them, inquiring about Hui Ming Zhan Tie not yet returning, and no disciples sent over. With those two spoiled second generations having fled, now only he, a Nascent Soul, was guarding the manor. He handed the sword talismans to the children to guard the formation, arranged for someone to connect with the Shen Family, lest they be affected by rogue soldiers or bandits, then directly returned to his study for breathing control and recuperation.
This time, after a brief tour in Genzhou, he casually acquired Corpse Resolving Immortal Fate, Kaiyang Sword Inheritance, Taiyin Divine Skill, Nine Cauldrons Treasure, Heavenly Materials Immortal Bone, Daoist companion disciples; in other words, Magic Couple Materials and Land were all acquired.
However, Tie Dan was not satisfied.
Yes, although the Corpse Resolving Immortal Bone Ash is an excellent Heavenly Material Treasures, it is constructed of Death Qi and cannot be directly used. Rather than painstakingly grinding it into Spiritual Qi, it would be better to use it as a Nine Cauldrons' transmission medium, or as array setup materials. Once outside the Genzhou boundaries, it is indeed a tasteless, discarded rib of regret.
As for the Kaiyang Sword Inheritance and Yao Guang Sword Light's various updates and changes, they merely convert internal power into output functionality. Though the design of the moves is exquisite, it fundamentally does not increase cultivation, nor are their application scenarios broad. In daily sword fighting, they are of limited use, less efficient than simply striking with a Lightning Sword.
In the end, these things are dispensable external objects, embellishing techniques. Tie Dan's own hard power, however, has not fundamentally improved, and instead, his cultivation was delayed underground, isolated by Death Qi, and when emerged, was severely injured by the Qingluo Old Bird, requiring seclusion for healing.
Of course, for Tie Dan, improving cultivation itself is not difficult; what is difficult is how to quickly enhance cultivation.
In the end, the amount of power you possess depends on how many resources and how much cultivation time you have.