Chapter 256: Magical Treasure Fusion Technique

To step into the highest realms of the cultivation world requires not only astonishing innate talent, but more importantly, unremitting perseverance and an unshakeable conviction.

This principle was vividly embodied in Yang Yan.

Even back when Yang Yan was considered a good-for-nothing incapable of cultivation, he had never once slackened in his training throughout two full years, and his perseverance had finally yielded its reward.

After his cultivation stepped into the Spirit Sensing realm, Yang Yan did not allow himself to be intoxicated by the overwhelming wave of excitement. Walking steadily step by step over such a long period, he had now reached a level where he could contend evenly with a cultivator at the peak of the fifth layer of the Spirit Sea realm.

Along his journey, Yang Yan had experienced life-and-death crises several times. Those who had delusions of stepping over his corpse to rise higher had all perished by his hands.

Facing this expert from the Wind and Cloud Pavilion who possessed a cultivation at the fifth layer of the Spirit Sea realm, Yang Yan was naturally not intimidated. For by now, he truly possessed the qualifications to engage in direct, head-on combat with these apex powerhouses of the Wind and Cloud Empire's cultivation world.

Yang Yan was also confident that Xu Chao before him would undoubtedly meet a catastrophic end, just like those who had previously tried to block his path.

This was not arrogance on Yang Yan's part, because he now genuinely possessed such strength.

The figures of the two individuals in the arena were still continuously crossing paths. Each exchange whipped up a violent tempest of spiritual energy, and the shockwaves of their clashes were almost enough to easily slaughter a cultivator who had reached the peak of the Spirit Sensing realm.

Although everyone in the Fantong Valley below was quite far from that battlefield, every single one of them currently kept their eyes wide open, watching the battle high in the sky.

It was the first time they had witnessed a battle between experts at the fifth layer of the Spirit Sea realm. Even within the Flying Cloud Empire, such powerhouses belonged to the absolute apex of the pyramid. Those who attained this level of strength generally chose to remain in seclusion to break through to higher tiers, making it extremely rare for two such figures to appear simultaneously—especially when one of them was merely an eighteen-year-old youth who happened to be the future son-in-law of the Fantong Valley Master.

Although the two were not of the same generation, the gap in their actual combat prowess was not wide, which made the battle immensely intriguing while also full of surprising spectacles.

Of course, what mattered even more was that once Yang Yan suffered defeat, this mysterious figure would likely choose to raze the Fantong Valley directly to the ground.

Yang Yan naturally understood Xu Chao's intentions in his heart.

The reason the Wind and Cloud Pavilion and the Profound Heaven Palace were able to form an alliance was entirely because of the Spirit Absorbing Art in his possession. Furthermore, he had consistently remained under the protection of the Martial Dao Gate, which was why the two factions had hesitated to make a move against him.

In truth, the reason the three major cultivation sects of the empire had maintained a tripartite balance for so many years was largely because their strengths were comparable and exceptionally formidable.

Therefore, even if the Profound Heaven Palace and the Wind and Cloud Pavilion joined forces, while destroying the Martial Dao Gate would only be a matter of time, doing so would inevitably exact a horrific price from both sides—an outcome neither faction's leadership wished to see.

Thus, unless driven to absolute desperation, they were unwilling to reach a state of irreconcilable enmity with the Martial Dao Gate.

Consequently, the Profound Heaven Palace had directly utilized the Xu family, the Jade Sword Pavilion, and the Dragon Subduing Fortress to exert pressure on the Zhang family, attempting thereby to capture Yang Yan and seize the Spirit Absorbing Art from him.

The Wind and Cloud Pavilion harbored the exact same design, which was why they used the people of the Fantong Valley to force Yang Yan to reveal himself while secretly arranging high-level experts to intercept him.

Naturally, all these actions by both factions were carried out in secret, all to prevent the other side from discovering them and causing the alliance to rupture.

Yang Yan naturally had no time to bother with the scheming between these two factions. His principle was simple: if others did not offend him, he would not offend them; but if any faction dared to harbor malicious intentions toward him, Yang Yan would simply erase them from this world.

As the battle in the arena continued, Xu Chao felt increasingly alarmed with every clash.

By now, he could vaguely sense that Yang Yan's cultivation was merely at the peak of the Communion realm, having not even reached the first layer of the Spirit Sea realm.

The gap between them spanned five or six entire tiers. Yet, what astonished him greatly was that after fighting Yang Yan for so long, the latter showed not the slightest sign of his internal spiritual energy nearing exhaustion.

One had to know that the vast difference in the purity and abundance of spiritual energy between a Communion realm cultivator and a Spirit Sea realm cultivator was as different as heaven and earth. If the spiritual energy within a Communion realm cultivator's body was like a rushing river, then the spiritual energy within a Spirit Sea realm cultivator's body was as unfathomable and inexhaustible as the vast ocean.

Yet under these circumstances, Yang Yan's spiritual energy showed no signs of depleting. Moreover, the opponent seemed to grow stronger the longer they fought, resembling an undying cockroach. The somewhat clumsy parries he displayed at the beginning of the fight had gradually smoothed out, and at times, he was even able to launch active counterattacks.

Unlike Yang Yan's mindset of growing ever bolder through battle, Xu Chao harbored many concerns of his own. To avoid drawing the attention of the Profound Heaven Palace faction, he had originally concealed himself in the shadows, planning to capture Yang Yan with thunderous speed the moment he appeared, seize the Spirit Absorbing Art, and execute a plan to deceive the world.

Who could have anticipated that Yang Yan's tenacity would completely exceed his expectations? Not only had he failed to capture Yang Yan in a short time, but the two had instead fallen into a protracted deadlock.

"I cannot drag this out any longer. Although this place is a valley region, the spiritual energy fluctuations of our clash will inevitably arouse the detection of other powerful experts nearby."

Thinking of this, Xu Chao gritted his teeth fiercely. After violently retreating to put distance between himself and Yang Yan, his hands suddenly began to form seals.

Seeing Xu Chao's reaction, Yang Yan's heart stirred as well. Clearly, the opponent intended to end the battle swiftly by employing a martial arts technique. This suited Yang Yan's wishes perfectly; he too could not afford a prolonged war of attrition, and it was the ideal moment to test the power of his newly learned martial arts technique.

"Myriad Blades Piercing Heart!"

A shrill, furious roar suddenly erupted from Xu Chao's throat. Immediately afterwards, everyone watched in shock as, following the completion of the complex hand seals before him, the two daggers floating in front of him directly transformed into countless daggers in that instant. Each and every dagger was identical to the original pair, indistinguishable from one another, and all emitted an intensely dangerous aura of volatile energy.

Accompanied by a wave of Xu Chao's hand, the dense swarm of daggers—resembling a plague of locusts—surged toward Yang Yan's location not far away at a terrifying, naked-eye-defying speed. Along the path, even the air was sliced apart by the razor-sharp kinetic force, producing a wailing sound of tearing wind, and black scars even ripped across the spatial fabric in their wake. From this, it was easy to see just how formidable Xu Chao's move truly was.

"My good friend, after all this time, we can finally fight side by side once more."

Facing the fiercely incoming violent assault, Yang Yan's face not only lacked any trace of panic, but instead stirred with boundless, raging battle intent.

With a sudden flick of the Moon Shadow Twin Swords in his hands, countless identical sword phantasms materialized behind him as well, densely packed like a forest of swords and blades that made one's scalp tingle at a mere glance.

"Four Swords Extermination Technique: Four Swords Merged into One!"

As the explosive shout left his lips, Yang Yan's sword-wielding arm swept forward violently. The densely packed blades behind him similarly surged forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye, fiercely slamming into the oncoming wave of daggers.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang..."

Continuous, unceasing metallic clashing sounds erupted violently mid-air. Colorful sparks burst forth across the sky like brilliant fireworks blooming. Every time a dagger or long sword snapped and broke, it shattered into a massive shower of jagged blade fragments that flew wildly in all directions. The crowd from the Fantong Valley below hurriedly retreated further, terrified of being accidentally caught in the crossfire of the splintered steel.

This intense collision lasted for approximately several dozen seconds before all the daggers and long swords were mutually nullified and exhausted. The mid-air was left empty and clear, save for the swirling, violent residual energies of heaven and earth, which served as a testament to the fiercest and most eye-catching clash that had just taken place there.

"He actually blocked my Earth-grade high-tier martial technique? How is this possible?!"

Gazing at Yang Yan, who stood unharmed in the void not far away, a stormy sea of shock overturned Xu Chao's heart. His complexion turned as ashen as one mourning the dead, and he muttered in incredulous disbelief.

Even though Yang Yan's cultivation talent was quite exceptional, Xu Chao had never believed that Yang Yan possessed the qualifications to truly fight him on equal terms.

For he believed that once he unleashed his martial arts technique at full power, he would undoubtedly crush Yang Yan with overwhelming force. After all, Yang Yan was merely a young master from a minor family, whereas he was born into the prestigious Wind and Cloud Pavilion. The martial arts techniques and cultivation methods he practiced were bound to be things Yang Yan could never hope to compare with.

Yet now, he realized just how absurdly wrong he had been, because he could clearly sense that the sword-phanthom attack unleashed by Yang Yan was not the slightest bit inferior in power to his own dagger assault.

One had to know that the move Xu Chao had just executed was a technique within the Wind and Cloud Pavilion that only individuals at the elder level or above were permitted to study. Though rated as an Earth-grade high-tier technique, its potency bordered on a low-tier Heaven-grade martial art. Consequently, it had always served as one of Xu Chao's ultimate trump cards; even fellow experts at the fifth layer of the Spirit Sea realm could not easily block it.

He had originally assumed Yang Yan would be reduced to dust under this attack of his, yet who could have anticipated that his offensive would be completely and utterly neutralized by Yang Yan? Even Yang Yan himself harbored no small amount of shock in his heart.

A moment ago, he had acted on impulse, experiencing a sudden flash of spiritual enlightenment. He had wondered whether the four sword stances of the Four Swords Extermination Technique could be combined to form a single sword-play attack of immensely formidable power.

Facts had proven that this approach of his was indeed extraordinary, and its might had even far surpassed Yang Yan's own expectations.

That rain-of-swords attack was not only immensely destructive, but it also covered an extremely wide area. Compared even to the Heaven Piercing Demonic Fist unleashed via a high-tier spirit weapon, it was not inferior in the least. One could well imagine that this Four Swords Extermination Technique would become yet another powerful trump card mastered by Yang Yan in the future.

"Come on, continue."

At this moment, Yang Yan crooked a finger toward Xu Chao in the distance, the provocative intent within the gesture self-evident.

"Brat, do you really think I can't deal with you?"

To be so heavily provoked by Yang Yan in front of so many people caused Xu Chao's complexion to turn extremely unsightly in an instant. With a furious roar, he gripped the two handles in his hands while silently reciting a cultivation formula, and an astonishing scene suddenly occurred.

Those two daggers actually began to fuse directly with Xu Chao's palms at that moment, eventually connecting completely without the slightest sense of awkwardness—as if that pair of daggers had originally grown out of Yang Yan's... *Xu Chao's* arms instead of fists.

As time slowly ticked away, Xu Chao's entire arms gradually became as smooth as if carved by knives and polished by axes, taking on a metallic texture as though his forearms had transformed into a pair of narrow, elongated broadswords.

"Brat, you forced me into this. To be able to compel me to use a magical artifact fusion technique, even if you die here today, you can rest in peace."

When the mocking laughter subsided, Xu Chao's figure abruptly vanished from mid-air. When he reappeared, he was already less than two or three meters away from Yang Yan, his blade-like arms swinging down fiercely in a furious slash toward Yang Yan's head.

Seeing this, Yang Yan felt a profound sense of shock. At this very moment, Xu Chao's speed had increased even further compared to before. Seeing the razor-sharp blade-light closing in imminently, he dared not delay. He raised the Moon Shadow Remnant Frost with both arms in a slanted upward sweep, clashing fiercely against Xu Chao's arms.

*Clang!*

A crisp sound resembling the collision of gold and iron resounded abruptly. Amidst a burst of erupting sparks, Yang Yan's figure was knocked back at rapid speed, his arms faintly tingling from the previous impact.

In contrast, Xu Chao showed no signs of retreat whatsoever. His arms had now transformed as if forged from fine steel; their hardness was no longer inferior to the Moon Shadow Remnant Frost in his hands. What made it even trickier was that because the daggers had fused completely with his arms, his offensive and defensive maneuvers had become far swifter and more troublesome than before.

"Is this the power of a magical artifact fusion technique?"

After a single exchange of blows, Yang Yan felt quite astonished in his heart. He could sense that Xu Chao's overall combat prowess had increased by at least two whole tiers compared to before, and all of this relied upon the magical artifact fusion technique he had just employed.

This kind of offensive and defensive technique involving the fusion of a cultivator and a magical artifact was the rarest type of martial art across the entire cultivation world. Probably no more than ten people within the entire Flying Cloud Empire were capable of mastering such a technique, yet unexpectedly, the Xu Chao before him was one of them.