640 Formlessness

Inside the bottomless trench, the grey-haired old man surnamed Gao was like a dummy made out of a pile of blue sand. Collapsing loudly and evenly, he turned into tiny drops of Gu Poison Bugs. His vortex-shaped Dharma Form was the same. The only difference was that its bugs were nearly illusory, not at all resembling the real thing.

The two types of Gu Poison Bugs swallowed Sword Qi and exhaled sharp tips. They began vibrating gently, their color gradually paling until they were translucent.

They scattered with a buzzing noise before disappearing completely as if integrating with the void.

Hands still clasped behind his back, He Qi remained still. He knew well that the old man had obtained the essence of the Formless Sword Vermin. The old man turned himself into a bug, and that bug stood in the line between illusion and reality. It was capable of integrating into the sea of Vital Qi and becoming a droplet in the vast ocean!

Before detaching from heaven and earth, all martial artists must inhale and exhale Vital Qi. When they reach the Oneness of Heaven and Men realm, they could directly sense the sea of Vital Qi and immerse in it. With that, their every pore would be moisturized. It would allow them to subsequently obtain an extreme ability to restore their genuine Qi, maintain the vitality of their physical bodies and Vital Spirits, and give their every movement a great boost in power.

The Formless Sword Vermin had truly transformed into a "drop" of the sea of Vital Qi, allowing the physical body to inhale the Qi deep inside itself. Each pore was one of its Nine Innate Apertures. Once the Qi entered the body, the Sword Vermin would turn into an entity with a vigorous sword Qi. It whipped the weakest part with an unstoppable force. It could be considered the bane of many protection skills—an exceptional assassination skill!

Even more terrifying was the fact that these "drops" were everywhere. There was so little difference between them and regular drops of the sea of Vital Qi that it was virtually impossible to distinguish the two. If the pores were closed and the inhalation of Vital Qi ceased, leaving only the physical body as support, no Exterior master would be able to continue at peak condition for long. Their energy levels would be rapidly depleted until they were defeated in an "ordinary" manner.

This skill, as strange as witchcraft, was named the Sword Vermin!

The Sword Vermin lineage explored the secrets of the Blue-blooded People to learn how to integrate with the sea of Vital Qi in the same way the latter merged with water. Their goal was to achieve a genuine formlessness!

Many years later, the old man surnamed Gao seemed to have finally achieved this level!

He Qi did not seal the "link" between his physical body and heaven and earth as he continued to inhale Vital Qi. This cheered the old man. The bugs he had transformed into carefully approached He Qi from all directions, following the tide of the Vital Qi entering the latter's body. Even if the latter merged his Dharma Form and physical body and imbued every part of his body with Dharma and Logos so that the Interior and the Exterior were the same, there was still a distinction between the strong and the weak. If the old man could grasp it well, he could strike He Qi from the latter's Interior. Tens of thousands of Sword Qi would be more than enough to inflict serious damage on He Qi.

More importantly, He Qi was suppressing his cultivation so his strength was only in the Half-step to Dharmakaya realm. This gave the old man every opportunity he needed to win and realize his long-cherished wish!

The tide surged, hiding the Sword Vermin deep in its waters. As the Vital Qi quietly permeated He Qi's pores, the delighted old man prepared to strike!

However, at this moment, he suddenly found that he could no longer sense He Qi!

Heaven and earth continued to exist. The volatile sea of Vital Qi continued to permeate every corner of the world. The battle remained as fierce as ever and the sea continued to fill the gaps in itself. Everything was the same aside from He Qi's disappearance. He had disappeared completely!

Every trace of him, from his breath to his appearance, was gone. The second the delighted old man entered He Qi's body, he felt himself entering an illusion.

Suddenly, he heard a concealed, confident voice next to his ears.

"Uncle Gao, this is what true 'formlessness' looks like!"

Every part of the nearby void spouted small, fine Sword Qi. It struck the Sword Vermin with incredible precision and illuminated the darkness as if a pure, luminous Sword Qi had blossomed in the air above the trench.

Pow, pow, pow! The sound of the Sword Vermin being smashed into pieces rang incessantly. Sword Qi engulfed the area before turning into flowers gleaming with multicolored lights whose petals opened one by one.

The sea of Vital Qi was eliminated along with the subsiding light. He Qi reappeared with his hands still behind him. He remained expressionless for he had never once doubted his victory.

"How could this happen...

"How could your ability be cultivated to this extent if you didn't turn yourself into one of the Blue-blooded People..."

The old man's pained, lethargic voice was heard. A droplet-sized dark blue Gu Poison Bug floated in front of He Qi, its shell lined with cracks as if it would shatter at any time.

He Qi smiled. "There are multiple paths but they lead to the same destination: enlightenment. You have your ways of the Devil; we have our ways of the Immortals."

"Impossible... Impossible! This level of 'formlessness' is impossible even after claiming Dharmakaya! I got it! You... Is this what you've obtained from comprehending the Buddha's Palm?" Realization seemed to be dawning on the old man.

"The theory of formlessness is most widely discussed in Buddhism!"

This elicited a laugh from He Qi. "I was capable of this even before comprehending the Buddha's Palm. It just wasn't as flawless as it is now and there would have been a lapse in my transformation into formlessness. Admit your loss, Uncle Gao. Why find so many excuses?"

"You're right. Whatever the case is, you people found your way and cultivated the Formless Sword Qi to such an extent while I... I suffered such immense hardship but still lost by a little..." The old man's gloomy voice was full of sorrow and dejection.

"You weren't too bad either. Without knowledge of the mystery of the Sword Vermin, how many of your peers in this world can win against you?" He Qi's expression turned solemn and respectful.

These words were not meant solely for the old man's ears. The current mastery of this skill by Eastsea Sword Village was the result of the exploration, improvement, and auguration of several of their large lineages. It was built on the failures of generations after generations of talents and their attempts to improve it.

The He family could not rival those sects that inherited the impartation of great ancient powers. Back then, they possessed only a badly-damaged "Nameless Sword Method." Several friends who had gone through life and death together managed to comprehend the method. Though their paths were different, they were able to help each other discover new ideas and gradually improve their understanding. The two Dharmakayas in the first few generations demonstrated a great flaw in their skill, to the extent that they had to pay the price with their lifespans with each use. By the time He Qi was born, it was already an ordinary Dharmakaya skill.

He Qi's grandfather and father were short-lived and died in their prime in order to perfect the skill.

Without the suffering of their elders, Eastsea Sword Village would not exist today!

Though the old man went astray and turned to the Devil Path, He Qi admired his determination in exploring martial arts.

Of course, the more worthy of appreciation someone was, the greater of an enemy he would be if he went down the wrong path!

The old man chuckled as if feeling gratified. "Never mind. Since it's my loss, what's the point of resentment? The Sword Vermin Charm is in Qianyuan's hands. Something went wrong in his transformation, causing his lifespan to be depleted whenever he used all his strength. Though he had consumed the Immortality Elixir of East Pole, it doesn't take much to deplete a lifespan of 60 years. So I passed him the charm lest he always need to use his full strength. If you manage to get it from him, you must disseminate the skill of Sword Village far and wide..."

His voice turned weaker as the dark blue Gu Poison Bug cracked and shattered into powder.

"Brother Qianyuan..." He Qi muttered.

Suddenly, he lifted his head to look at the great blue tower. Following a series of strange, abstruse movements of the High Priest in front of the tower, it began to radiate serene rays of light as if receiving a faintly discernable yet resolute breath. Simply through sensing it with his consciousness, He Qi could feel the sky turning azure. With the sudden eruption of a crashing sound, water radiance filled the entire universe.

"The so-called Ancestral God..." He Qi neither panicked nor became solemn. He was confident and felt no fear of such a phenomenon. In his consciousness was the reflection of the battlefield around him, giving him a good grasp of the unfolding battle.

Above the Master of the Wang family, the Book of Luo was contending with a Blue-blooded man with a strength equivalent to the peak of the Exterior realm.

The radiance of the Book of Luo focused downward as it operated the Five Elements of Yin and Yang, storing the force of the water and the growing breath. This caused the surroundings of the Master of the Wang family to sink into deathly stillness. The Blue-blooded master's ability to manipulate water down to its tiny droplets and nurture vitality was rendered useless. He was forced to put up an honest fight. The momentum of his palm turned into a wave that transcended mountain peaks.

Simultaneously, the Blue-blooded master was still engulfing the sea of Vital Qi. Like the aftermath of a drowning, it left the humans breathless. He unleashed his greatest palm stroke, making it nearly impossible for other masters to breathe.

Even so, he was in imminent danger despite being supposedly able to suppress his enemies. Each time his opponent thrust his sword, in the blink of an eye, it would inevitably strike him in the axis and shatter his palm stroke. When he wanted to change his method, his opponent would be one step ahead.

He felt like he was laid bare in front of his opponent. His intentions, thoughts, and moves were all plain to see. There were no longer any secrets in him.

The breath did not escape the attention of the Master of the Wang family. The Book of Luo abruptly turned, its black-and-white dot becoming prominent as it deduced every manifestation of nature and formed a dimension of its own.

The light from the book cascaded, forming golden divinatory diagrams that spread over the void. They rapidly formed an integral whole as they revealed the secrets of the Great Path. Life and death were turned on their ends and the Cosmos became inverted. Together, they firmly bound the Blue-blooded master.

The unadorned long sword was pointed at the Blue-blooded master, causing him to collapse and condense into a blue gem.

Old Master Ruan was working together with Third Childe, Huang Taichong, and his family elders to fight five grandmasters of the Blue-blooded People. His hands were clasped within his sleeves. The sound of the zither persisted with Heavenly Phoenix Cries, Dragons' Vast Cries, and Clock Quaking the Three Dimensions of the 12 Magical Sounds of Langhuan resounding in succession. The sound firmly entrapped the five grandmasters, creating the perfect opportunity for the three human grandmasters. Third Childe and the rest changed to use zither tunes with greater offensive power. Together, they torched mountains, boiled seawater, and tore apart the grandmasters' Vital Spirits. The Blue-blooded People were pathetically thrashed in a battle where their enemies triumphed in numbers. One after another, they used their treasures as countermeasures.

Even so, they seemed incapable of enduring much longer. If they did not find a chance to flee, they would die.

Thus, they were delighted to detect the breath of the Ancestral God.

It was right at this moment that Old Master Ruan's expression changed. He removed his hands from his sleeves and instantly pressed the scorched tail of his zither.

Clang!

With his white hair dancing around him, he looked as if he had aged a little. He continued to play the zither, the sound rushing into his Vital Spirit. The five Blue-blooded grandmasters shuddered so violently that they failed to transform into water droplets. Their movements became warped as if they were under control.

Sky-splitting and Earth-changing Tune!

Huang Taichong and the rest took the opportunity to launch their killer moves in succession.

Suddenly, a sword light radiated and rapidly swam between the five Blue-blooded masters.

Pow, pow, pow! The sounds rang out continuously as they were sent to their deaths. It was He Qi who had made the move to clear the battlefield in advance.

...

Inside the city of Langya, Meng Qi was listening to Ruan Yaoguang's narration when he realized the main forces of the family had gone to the seabed. This place was just a cover-up. No wonder the attitude of the family was so bizarre earlier.

"The battle should be beginning right about now. There's no need to worry about exposure. We must trigger the opening of the formation in case other enemies take advantage of the battle and attack," Ruan Yaoguang said as he glanced at the sky.

Inside the courtyard, the expression of the nine-fingered blue-blooded man was solemn. He suddenly said,

"Let's go!"

In their ordinary state, they were no different from humans. Thus, they were sent here to snoop for news. They dared not linger now that they knew something unusual was going on at the seabed. Besides, what chaos could a grandmaster, two masters in the peak of the Exterior realm, and three ordinary Exterior experts cause in Langya?

Even if the change in the seabed was the Ruan clan's doing, there was still a grandmaster left no matter how bad it would be. Coupled with the roaming Friar Jiedu from earlier, they could only stir up trouble without the ability to make a comeback. They might as well take this chance to leave the city and escape. That way, there would still be hope!

It would take several days to return to the seabed; there was no time!

...

When he saw the ugly defeat of his subordinates, an idea came to the High Priest's mind. He abruptly pressed both of his hands downward.

The breath of the Ancestral God integrated with the great tower, causing it to shake violently while flickering with dazzling light.

Suddenly, the ornamental wings of the tower unfolded. From under the tower was an eruption of airflow. The entire tower turned illusory.

Boom! The great tower rapidly soared!

To think that the High Priest had wanted to run away, and out to the Green and Darkness to boot!