Chapter 139
Nian Qiuyan knew where Mei Liangyu and the other two were going. He didn't stop them, nor could he stop them.
Being able to delay until now before being discovered by Mei Liangyu, Nian Qiuyan considered this already an extraordinary performance on his part.
However, the people from the Prince's manor and Nangong Sui's involvement were somewhat unexpected.
Nian Qiuyan could calculate who might come to Taiyi, but that Nangong Sui would participate in Xuankui and Lan Poison matters, he truly hadn't predicted at all.
There was no sign of this in his divinations, which wasn't a good thing.
At this moment, in the abyss sea of Mechanism Island, thunder roared across the sky and waves surged violently. One wave crashed over like it wanted to split the mountain rocks and cliffs, with enough force to crush a watchtower.
Xing Chun stayed far away, shouting loudly at the two men standing by the sea: "Standing so close, are you looking for death! Waiting for the waves to come and drown you both?"
The position where Mei Liangyu and Zhongli Shan stood was still quite a distance from the sea's edge. They had already gone around from the top of the cliff to the sandy ground below, with towering dangerous cliffs on both left and right sides, and they stood in the middle.
Sea waves crashed head-on against the mountain walls, and the splashing water fell like heavy rain. After a brief pause, it quickly came again.
Though the two didn't get soaked by seawater, they were thoroughly dampened by the moisture.
Zhongli Shan stood holding his sword, his expression solemn, his clothes and hair dancing in the hurricane that came with the sea waves, like a solitary mountain swordsman undergoing arduous training.
Mei Liangyu stepped back a pace, letting this solitary mountain swordsman bear the hurricane and waves alone, while asking him: "You've been standing there for nearly a quarter hour. Can you do the sword-breaking waves thing or not? Give me a straight answer."
Xing Chun behind them also shouted against the wind and rain: "That's right! You need to split the waves first before I can balance the Five Elements energy on the sea. Let's be clear, if we don't stabilize the Five Elements energy on the sea, we'll have no chance of coming back alive once we go down!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of waves mixed with hurricane crashed against the three men's eardrums. In the night sky, thunder roared once, and lightning briefly illuminated this part of heaven and earth.
They weren't as fortunate as Nian Qiuyan had been back then, having time to calculate the day when the abyss sea's power was weakest. Moreover, before that, Nian Qiuyan had already been using arts to reduce the abyss sea's power.
Now, for Mei Liangyu's three to reach the underwater forest to find Six Mysterious Wood in such harsh conditions, they could only cooperate with each other. First break the waves to find a path, then have Xing Chun use the Yin-Yang School's Star Array to stabilize the Five Elements energy in the wave-breaking area, so they wouldn't be swept into storms and deep sea whirlpools after entering the water.
In the raging waves, Zhongli Shan glanced at Mei Liangyu beside him and asked: "If Little Shan and Xing Chun hadn't come, if it were just you alone, what would you do?"
Mei Liangyu raised his chin slightly to look at the waves ahead: "I'll think about it when I come alone."
Zhongli Shan also looked at the waves ahead. His gaze was calm as a mountain, a mountain standing by the sea that wouldn't compromise or crumble no matter how the waves crashed and beat against it.
"The Military School's sword techniques number in the tens of thousands. Hundreds and thousands have been lost by now, but my Zhongli family's sword techniques have continued to this day without interruption." Zhongli Shan's voice was low, mixed in the storm, easily overlooked if one didn't listen carefully.
Xing Chun behind them rubbed his hands together excitedly: "Are you finally willing to show us your Zhongli family's exclusive sword technique 'Tai'e' today?"
Tai'e was a sword name that could be counted among the finest miraculous weapons throughout all of Xuangu Continent.
Legend had it that the divine weapon Tai'e could cut through horses and cattle on land, strike down wild geese on water, and instantly slay enemies upon encounter.
No one could match it in combat. When the sword emerged, it sealed the throat.
But the Tai'e sword had long since transformed into sword energy scattered throughout heaven and earth, formless and bodiless. Only the Zhongli family of Qingyang inherited part of its sword energy and could use the sword technique of the same name.
The Tai'e sword energy was incomparably sharp. Forceful use might result in injury to oneself due to inability to control it. Under his father's guidance, Zhongli Shan had observed that formless, bodiless sword energy almost daily since childhood.
Zhongli Ci said that if you couldn't grasp that formless, bodiless sword energy and couldn't make it merge with your sword technique, then even if you learned the form of the sword technique, you couldn't unleash the true power of Tai'e swordsmanship.
Moves and body techniques, these were things the eyes could learn, but understanding sword techniques still required the mind and heart.
Zhongli Shan didn't dare say he had completely mastered Tai'e swordsmanship even now.
But as long as he wasn't using it against people, he still had some confidence.
Otherwise, facing the fierce winds and waves before him, Zhongli Shan really had no other Nine Schools Arts that could achieve cutting the sea and breaking waves.
"Step back." Zhongli Shan gripped the sword hilt with one hand, making the gesture to draw his sword.
Mei Liangyu and Xing Chun immediately retreated far away.
Zhongli Shan looked back: "..."
They didn't need to retreat quite that far.
Mei Liangyu and Xing Chun both gestured with their eyes for him not to mind them and quickly let them see the Zhongli family's divine sword technique.
They had known each other for so long, yet had never seen Zhongli Shan use Tai'e swordsmanship. Zhongli Shan had never used it in front of anyone other than his father and sister.
Zhongli Shan turned to look back at the abyss sea ahead, calming his mind and concentrating, feeling his Five Elements energy swirling around his fingertips while also sensing the chaotic, violent Five Elements energy on the sea ahead.
In the chaos, let that unique, special sword energy merge into himself.
A voice deep in his heart asked Zhongli Shan: In what form do you wish it to manifest?
Cut through ten thousand li of sea, break through a thousand layers of waves.
Zhongli Shan suddenly drew his sword, so fast that it collided exactly with the oncoming tide, making Mei Liangyu and Xing Chun behind him both raise their eyebrows.
The originally black long sword made of dark iron burst with brilliant light the moment it left its sheath, its radiance like jade, yet covering heaven and earth.
Xing Chun cried "Wah!" and turned his face away. Mei Liangyu opened one eye and closed the other, clearly seeing the unsheathed long sword wrapped by some power, becoming transparent, like flowing water, like elusive mist, and most aptly, like formless energy.
It still maintained the shape of a long sword. Zhongli Shan gripped the sword hilt with one hand in reverse, the blade facing backward when drawn. The long sword spun in a fan shape in his palm, already creating sword shadows. He changed to gripping with both hands, the blade facing the rolling giant wave, and without hesitation swung it down vertically.
The sword's cry was like the roar of a fierce beast. The mighty sword energy instantly burst forth, unstoppably splitting the giant wave down the middle. The smoothness and power of the force made Mei Liangyu and Xing Chun behind feel no resistance whatsoever.
Zhongli Shan struck quickly and sheathed just as quickly. The sword's radiance was like jade, more blinding than lightning illuminating the sky. The sword hilt spun once more against his palm. After sheathing, he immediately turned sideways and said to the two behind him: "Set up the formation."
His right hand still gripped the sword hilt while his left hand inconspicuously clenched into a fist, his knuckles numb.
In the abyss sea, the Five Elements energy was chaotic, with water element being predominant. So Mei Liangyu and Xing Chun chose to use the Yin-Yang School's Northern Dark Black Tortoise Star Array for suppression and stabilization.
The two rapidly changed hand seals, summoning the star array to deploy above the sea surface split by Tai'e sword energy.
Deep blue stars appeared one after another, pale purple star mist spread and enveloped them, with star lines connecting to each other, appearing and disappearing.
Mei Liangyu set up the entire Northern Dark Black Tortoise Star Array, encompassing all of Black Tortoise's constellations, suppressing the Five Elements energy of this area while also making it convenient to mobilize the power of all constellations within Black Tortoise if accidents occurred later.
Xing Chun specifically chose the water-attributed Wall constellation from Black Tortoise, stabilizing this section of sea surface split by Tai'e sword energy so it would no longer be affected by the chaos.
With two Wall constellation star arrays in place, they drew and formed giant walls of non-falling sea waves, like two giant gates on the sea. After all preparations were complete, Mei Liangyu's three walked toward the space between the two sea walls.