The monk remained silent and focused on the battle between those two.
From beginning, their exchanges of moves had actually taken place within just a few breaths.
The spectators heard the sound of thunder. The thunderous sound was loud yet low and it did not vibrate through the heaven and the earth. They could feel their hearts being shaken, and their spirits were overcome by it for a moment.
At that moment, Daoist Shi pierced several times with the iron sword in his hand; it was so fast that it seemed as if he could penetrate through dimensions. The sound of thunder was the sound of the iron sword penetrating the air. The symphony sounded like the mystical rhythm of the heaven and earth, and the resonance of the heaven and earth was created.
At that single moment, the tip of the iron sword vibrated countless times, and it extinguished all the sword aura with precision.
Finally, Daoist Shi showed his impeccable style as a master celestial of sword. His attainment in swordcraft should not be underestimated, not even by Chen Jianmei.
The spectators were amazed by the swordcraft performed by Daoist Shi. At the same time, they was amused by Shen Lian's unfounded confidence. After all, they were not of the same level, and to think that he had the guts to look down on such an experienced and skilled Huandan cultivator!
However, Shen Lian was not affected by their ridicule. Even though he was not a good swordsman, but he was equipped with the qualities of a good swordsman, which was being calm and collected.
The sound of the thunder created from the friction in the air did not affect him at all.
Despite the slight pain at his ear drums, the Qi and blood in his body was still settled and was not disturbed by the vibrations. The sword aura taught by Mister Su encapsulated endless mystical qualities within it, and it had even involved some of the ingenious principles in the heaven and earth. However, Shen Lian's cultivation had not reached the pinnacle yet.
He knew that he could not defeat Daoist Shi with just that.
Chen Jianmei remained calm. The vibration caused by the thundering sound disappeared the moment it reached Chen Jianmei. He observed them with interest, and at the same time he knew the reason why Shen Lian would not use the Taixu Strategy.
To a certain extent, Divine Qi of Taixu was the nemesis of all mana in the world, and it could disintegrate all of the spells performed by the enemies.
Daoist Shi was an experienced Huandan cultivator, and he was also a Cultivator of the Sword. Almost all of the mana within him was consolidated into sword aura. Even if Shen Lian could disintegrate some of his attacks, he would be placing a great burden upon himself, and his chance of winning was not high.
Shen Lian fought against Daoist Shi with his wooden sword. As "Metal restricts Wood", it seemed that he was placed at a disadvantage. Only Chen Jianmei knew what was truly happening. There was something strange with Shen Lian's wooden sword. It was something indescribable that cleared his heart of sword, causing a sense of longing.
Within moments, Shen Lian started battling Daoist Shi.
In order to take care of the intangible sword aura earlier, Daoist Shi had used some of his sword will. However, the iron sword was merely testing the water, and it was still at its peak performance. He had a great advantage as metal restricted wood.
The tips of both wooden and iron sword made contact for countless times, and the sound of wind and thunder was getting louder and louder. Both of them had almost disappeared from plain sight. At the same time, the surrounding grass and trees were broken and the ground seemed as though it had been ravished by an indescribable giant force.
The dusts slowed down, and within the mist, one could see the two shadows started picking up distance from each other. Suddenly, they heard a strange sound.
Shen Lian's wooden sword was absorbing the Taixu Divine Qi within him at an abnormal speed, which was subsequently turned into the most basic form of energy. At the same time, the Qi of heaven and earth was instilled into the wooden sword at a crazy rate, pushing it to its limits. The sword could barely handle it and it started vibrating. The frequency of its vibration was not lower than the sound of the thunder made by Daoist Shi's iron sword earlier.
Daoist Shi was not about to let Shen Lian take a breather and to gather his Qi. Their previous clashes were a heavy burden to the body, which explained the momentary pause.
However, Shen Lian was crazier than him. Shen Lian did not reserve any buffering time and space for himself.
Little did he know about Shen Lian's years of suffering spent at the River of Spirits, and even though Shen Lian's body was not indestructible yet, but the effect of the impact of mana on his body was negligible.
Even if Shen Lian were to unleash all of his Mana, the condition of his body was more than enough to handle it.
Daoist Shi's sudden unleash did not only put his life on the line, and even then, he could not put all of his mana into use.
Despite having attained the state of Huandan, his body was still that of blood and flesh. There was a limit on his mana and the amount that his meridians and acupoints could handle.
Only an immortal Zhenren or the likes of land immortals who cultivated their Primordial Spirit could claim to have unlimited mana and supernatural powers.
This time round, the tip of Daoist Shi's iron sword did not vibrate at all and the void harmonized with the sound of thunder. He turned into a sliver of green light with his sword; together, they attacked Shen Lian directly. Any chances of transformation had been eliminated.
Even the keenest observer could not tell if the move was skewed or if there were any undulating changes.
The combination of man and sword gave birth to this form of minimalistic beauty.
Just as how the greatest painter would only need to draw a straight line on a piece of white paper, and the entire paper would come to live, giving plenty of room for one's imagination.
Shen Lian's wooden sword brightened up. At the same time, the last ray from the setting sun shone through. It seemed like a fated coincidence.
It was as though the wooden sword had been set on fire, and the bright flame was born out of the tip of the sword. The spectators heard the call of the phoenix. The sound did not come from the air, but it travelled the way the light did. It did not vibrate through one's eardrums, but it was just a sound that one could perceive.
A thought flashed through one's mind -"Wood generates Fire, Fire restricts Metal".
The flame at the tip of the sword bore a striking resemblance to the head of the phoenix. With its beak, it tapped lightly at the sliver of green light formed by Daoist Shi.
The Daoist crooned, while the monk seemed to be in deep thoughts.
The fire was not the fire of the secular world, but it was the fire of the phoenix nirvana.
A few drops of iron water fell from the sky onto the floor, and Daoist Shi was separated from his sword. He stared at his iron sword that was half melted.
Out of a sudden, his body exploded and turned into sword aura. Even his Daoist robe had become ashes.
Only the broken sword was left behind, and it hummed lowly.
Shen Lian stood far away and he casually tied his wooden sword at his waist. His impressive aura commanded for him to be taken seriously.
Chen Jianmei walked towards him and tapped on his shoulder. He instilled a pure sword aura into Shen Lian to organise the flow of Qi in his acupoints and meridians.
The both of them walked towards the sea.
Ten miles from here, there was not even a single demon and monster or cultivator who came to stop them.
After all, there were not many cultivators who did not care about their life like Daoist Shi. If Shen Lian was badly injured, there might be some who were willing to challenge him again. However, that would not be necessary anymore.
The monk who wore damaged shoes spoke, "Fellow Huanzhen Daoist, with these two around, it would seem that Qing Xuan would not come in last again during the next Bier Discourse of Dao."