Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1499 - 796: Interest

Cultivator Lu, the last one standing from Central State Commerce, stood utterly rigid, waves of terror and disbelief surging through his eyes.

The instant the concealed 'Traceless Illusion Sword' emerged, he picked up on a deeply familiar and overwhelming sword intent, coupled with the unmistakable vibe of a magical treasure.

Right away, Cultivator Lu realized this sword intent stemmed from the same source as that legendary prodigy's from Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion, the one where Li Yuanba, a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Sword Cultivator, unleashed it to slay a Great Cultivator. Even at Nascent Soul Middle Stage, Li Yuanba earned the respect of Great Cultivators as an equal.

And the 'Chaos Sword Intent' that Li Shiming unleashed right in front of him surpassed Li Yuanba's version in sheer might.

This made perfect sense, since Li Yuanba's grasp of 'Chaos Sword Intent' only reached Nascent Soul Middle Stage level, while Li Shiming's version embodied the full force of a Great Cultivator's sword intent.

The difference between them loomed vast, as the Great Cultivator's sword intent held a hint of the Sword Intent Rule.

On top of that, Li Shiming commanded a bizarre concealed magical treasure flying sword, which vanished once more into the 'Traceless Illusion Sword' after felling Great Cultivator Qian Yi.

Cultivator Lu hesitated to trigger his defensive Jade Talisman straight off; he shared a tight bond with Great Cultivator Qian Yi and knew that in such a pinch, the Great Cultivator must have tried to activate his own Jade Talisman, yet that horrifying hidden magical treasure flying sword robbed him of any chance to react.

He ramped up his safeguards using every defensive trick he had, summoning barrier after barrier of spells around himself while activating a barrage of protective magical treasures.

It took encasing himself in more than a dozen defensive layers before a faint feeling of security washed over him.

Linking his mind to the defensive Jade Talisman, he glanced at Li Shiming with puzzled eyes just before triggering it, baffled as to why Li Shiming hadn't seized the moment to strike.

In that split second of doubt, Li Shiming's form vanished from his spot.

Next, Li Shiming popped up inside the web of spells and treasures shielding Cultivator Lu, hugging right up against his rear.

In Li Shiming's grip, the Fourth-Grade Top Quality Sword Foundation took shape.

Normally, even clutching the Fourth-Grade Sword Foundation would make it tough to strike at point-blank range.

But thanks to the 'Nameless Sword Canon,' Li Shiming had delved deeper into the ways close-quarters Sword Cultivators fought.

The Fourth-Grade Sword Foundation glided by, its flat side scraping along the body. The moment it touched Cultivator Lu and slid past, a quick wrist flick transformed the flat into a razor-sharp edge.

By now, Cultivator Lu had set off the defensive Jade Talisman, and a water escape spell infused with potent Rule Power was taking form, ready to whisk him far from the fray.

Given their height above the ground, if Cultivator Lu could break free from the battle zone and plunge into the sea, that water escape backed by a mighty one's Water Rules would guarantee his getaway.

Yet fate twisted sharply; right as Cultivator Lu's form melted into water, the Fourth-Grade Sword Foundation's blade sliced through the liquid.

Against a standard flying sword, that slash would barely scratch the surface.

During water escape, a cultivator turns into flowing water that shrugs off most harm.

Still, the Fourth-Grade Sword Foundation brimmed with 'Chaos Sword Intent,' and this blow followed the intimate fighting style of close-quarters Sword Cultivators from the 'Nameless Sword Canon.'

In the modern Cultivation World, close-quarters Sword Cultivators might have faded into obscurity, but back in the day, they rivaled flying sword masters in fame, and up close, their strikes terrified even more than distant sword strikes.

A close-quarters Sword Cultivator swings a longsword fused to their very being, letting them tweak the energy inside it on the fly for attacks that pushed far beyond normal bounds.

Flying swords, by contrast, always stay apart from the body. When attacking, they get loaded with sword intent and spiritual power, capping their power at a level well below what a gripped longsword could unleash.

Sure, it's hard to call one better than the other overall, but looking at today's Cultivation World, flying sword users endure while close-quarters Sword Cultivators teeter on the edge of losing their traditions entirely.

The Fourth-Grade Sword Foundation carved through Cultivator Lu mid-water escape, its 'Chaos Sword Intent' inflicting grievous wounds that yanked him back to solid form.

Staring in disbelief at the Jade Talisman clutched in his hand, now in pieces, he saw it had fired off but utterly failed to spirit him to safety.

This didn't mean the life-saving Jade Talisman from a mighty one fell short; in the Cultivation World, it ranked among the ultimate escapes.

The snag came down to when he used it. After Cultivator Lu spent precious moments building his defenses, he triggered the Jade Talisman a beat too slow, letting Li Shiming time his assault perfectly as the water escape from the Jade Talisman began to coalesce. The escape hadn't cleared the battlefield before the Fourth-Grade Sword Foundation hit it.

Though the 'Chaos Sword Intent's' Sword Intent Rule couldn't match the Water Rules a mighty one bestowed on the Jade Talisman, it still packed a devastating punch.

Had the mighty one unleashed the water escape in person, Li Shiming's 'Chaos Sword Intent' wouldn't have dented it, but since it was just embedded in the Jade Talisman by the mighty one, the 'Chaos Sword Intent' shattered it anyway.

The Jade Talisman's own limits stopped the mighty one from packing in excessive Water Rules, leaving it just a notch above what a Great Cultivator could summon, yet still capped by how much the Fourth-Grade Spirit Jade could handle.