Without Han Li's spiritual perception, the lightning on the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords immediately subsided. But for some reason, they continued to struggle as if they were trying to break free from the tomb.
The three teams of cultivators stationed in the area where the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords were located changed their complexions when they saw this. They struck a spell seal at the tombs, and the tombs lit up with azure radiance, emitting bursts of powerful restraining power.
But even so, they weren't able to completely suppress the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords. Several of the flying swords continued to struggle fiercely, as if they were on the verge of breaking free.
"Senior Brother Ye Feng, what's going on?
These flying swords will stir up trouble every once in a while, but they've never been as difficult to suppress as they are today, "a purple-haired man asked the person beside him with a puzzled look on his face.
The tall, dark-skinned Youth didn't reply. Instead, he stood up from the ground and arrived near the flying swords. Then, he formed a spell seal with his hand and tossed them high into the air.
Several palm-sized black stones flew into the air, drawing gentle arcs in the air before falling on the tombs.
These Stone veins were coarse, and they reflected specks of jet-black light. They looked very ordinary, but were actually a type of strange stone known as the "Sword Suppressing Stone". It could temporarily suppress the spiritual nature of flying swords.
As the Sword Suppressing Stones fell one by one, the light above the grave grew brighter. The remaining few flying swords suddenly shrank in size, and the electricity all over their bodies dissipated.
In fact, although those tombs looked ordinary, they actually contained a secret. Not only could they maintain the flying sword so that it would not lose its spirituality after leaving the nurturing of its original owner, but they also had the ability to confine it to ensure that the flying sword would not leave the place.
Seeing that all the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had settled down, Ye Feng sat back down without saying a word.
The purple-haired man could only sigh in silence when he saw this.
For some unknown reason, Ye Feng's temperament had undergone a drastic change since a few years ago. He had become very taciturn, and his rapid progress in cultivation had been affected. This had caused Elder Mo Xie to be extremely dissatisfied.
While the purple-haired man was sighing secretly, another person next to him came over and said,
"Senior Brother, today is the last day of our duty in the Sword Catacomb. In the future, it won't be as easy, dangerous, and rewarding as before."
"Hehe, didn't you complain last time that this mission is so boring that you can give birth to birds …" The purple-haired man chuckled and joked with him.
At the same time, although Han Li's connection with the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had been severed, his attention was still focused.
When he saw that Ye Feng was also here as the host of the Sword Suppression Formation, one of the doubts in his mind was immediately resolved.
Back when he had first arrived at the Zhong Ming Mountains, the auras of Daoist Xie and the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had been blocked by someone at the same time, so he had always thought that the two of them had to be together. Later on, when he found Daoist Xie, he was unable to find the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.
Presumably, Ye Feng had just so happened to be here on a maintenance mission that day, and the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had both been blocked by the formation, thereby leading to a misunderstanding between Han Li and the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.
"It's about time. I'll talk about everyone's mission now," Xiong Shan said as he glanced at everyone.
All of the True Immortal Stage elders hurriedly listened with rapt attention.
Elder Mo Xie also turned to Xiong Shan with a serious expression on his face.
"The formation that you're looking at now is known as the Thousand Sharp Spirit Gathering Sword Formation.
With this formation, I'll be able to erase all of the marks left behind by their previous owners in the Sword Catacomb and convert them into pure sword energy.
What I'm going to do is fuse all of this pure sword energy into my flying swords, "Xiong Shan said in a clear voice.
Everyone, including Elder Mo Xie, felt their hearts skip a beat when they heard this.
Han Li was also speechless.
If he was really able to fuse the Sword Origin of these flying swords of excellent quality into one and transform them into a flying sword, then the sword would be able to gather the aura of all metals, and it was extremely possible for it to break through the barrier of a Spiritual Treasure and attain the level of a Postnatal Celestial Artifact.
"As you can see, apart from the Sword Altar in the center, there are a total of ten areas.
What you need to do is to guard one of these areas and be responsible for controlling the flying swords in that area. Then, you'll help me erase the marks of the flying swords and devour the sword energy, "Xiong Shan continued.
When everyone heard this, their gazes swept across the surroundings of the grassland, as if they were calculating in their hearts which area they should choose.
Han Li looked around like everyone else, but he was trying to figure out what Xiong Shan had said, trying to find some useful clues.
The tombs in the Sword Tomb seemed to be distributed in a disorderly manner, as if they were built randomly, but in fact, they were arranged in an orderly manner. For example, some flying swords with similar sword essences or the same origin would often be arranged in the same area, while those flying swords with different sword essences would be separated into two areas.
In the center of each area, there was a black stone pillar that was more than ten feet thick and more than ten feet tall. It was the array pivot of each area, and there were more than ten longan-sized Immortal Meta Stones inlaid on the stone pillar.
Putting everything else aside, this alone was enough to shock all the elders in the True Celestial Realm who were present.
"Fellow Xiong, in my opinion, why don't you erase the marks of the original owners of these flying swords in advance? Wouldn't it be more convenient?" Mo Xie suddenly asked.
"What do you know?
After the marks of the flying swords are erased, most of their spirituality will be lost, and it will continue to fade over time. Therefore, only erasing the marks during the formal sacrificial refining can the original spirituality and power be preserved to the greatest extent, "Xiong Shan snorted and said angrily.
"Haha, I see, I've learned something!" Mo Xie laughed indifferently and nodded.
Xiong Shan didn't say anything. He turned his wrist and a golden flying sword immediately appeared.
The sword was more than three feet long and about two inches wide. It was completely golden, and it was full of sword essences. It had an amazing momentum that looked down on the world and was sharp and unstoppable. On the hilt, there was a ferocious ancient beast's mouth. The beast's mouth was wide open, and its eyes were shining. It looked like a living creature.
The surrounding people only took a glance at the sword, and then they looked away. It seemed that the sharpness of the sword was so strong that it would hurt their eyes.
"It's worthy of being Fellow Xiong's Natal Flying Sword. After several years of refining and preparation, it's even more powerful than before!
Once this sword is completely refined, you only need to meditate in seclusion for a few hundred years. I believe that with this sword, you will be able to cross the threshold and become a Golden Immortal. "Mo Xie's eyes lit up, and he praised.
"Then I'll thank you for your kind words, Fellow Mo!"
After Xiong Shan took out his Natal Flying Sword, the momentum he exuded was even stronger than before. He let out a long roar and flew up with his sword. His figure rose and fell like lightning, and he arrived at the sword altar in the middle of the grassland.
The entire sword altar had a circumference of three hundred and sixty feet and a height of seven hundred and twenty feet. It was crystal clear, as if it was carved from beautiful jade. There were various complicated formation patterns engraved on it, and many unknown spirit stones were embedded on it. They connected with each other to form a huge formation that covered the entire sword altar.
"I've been preparing for this for tens of thousands of years.
If I succeed, everyone will be happy.
But let me warn you first. If anyone fails at a critical moment, don't blame me for turning against you later. "Xiong Shan suddenly turned around and said to Han Li and the others.
"Don't worry, Sect Master Xiong. I'll do my best. There won't be any mistakes!" Zhufeng cupped his fist and promised.
The other local elders also patted their chests and promised. As for Han Li and the other itinerant elders, they nodded respectfully.
"Enter the core of the formation!"
Following Xiong Shan's deafening roar, Han Li and the others rose into the air and sped toward the grassland.
Han Li's body flashed with green light and he immediately rushed toward the northwest. However, his figure came to an abrupt stop in mid-air halfway.
The moment he stopped, Zhufeng's figure rushed past him and looked at him from the corner of his eyes. He snorted disdainfully and then flew toward the area where the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords were. He floated toward the black stone pillar in the center.
Han Li watched him fly past and turned around, flying toward an area in the southwest.
The division of these areas was not very orderly. The shape of each area was not square, and the number of flying swords distributed in each area was not exactly the same. Some areas only had dozens of swords, while others had more than a hundred. The area where the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords was located only had the 72 green flying swords.
If the entire 'Thousand Sharp Spirit-Gathering Sword Formation' had a shape, it would look like a budding flower. The 'Sword Altar' in the center was like the stamen of the flower, and the 10 sword formation areas around it were like petals wrapped around the stamen.
Seeing that everyone had stopped moving, Xiong Shan put his hands together in front of him and made a hand seal.
The golden flying sword that was originally floating in front of him suddenly shone brightly!
As he chanted the incantation, there seemed to be a strange force in the forbidden area of the Sword Tomb that resonated with him, causing his chanting to resound throughout the sky like Sanskrit in a Buddhist land.
At the same time, the Sword Altar beneath him also began to shine brightly. The complex formation engraved on it also seemed to be watered by golden water, spreading a golden formation pattern.
A rumbling sound came from the high platform, and a white jade altar that was three feet square slowly rose from the center of the high platform.