Chapter 40: Chapter 37: The Twin Prides
"What a comfortable feeling,"
Ye Chen sat crossed-legged in the midst of the lake\'s waters, the Fire Lotus Law Pattern on his forehead faintly emerging. Strands of Sword Qi slowly flowed toward his Law Pattern and gradually penetrated inside, spreading a slight coolness throughout Ye Chen\'s limbs and bones.
This sensation was like when he cultivated True Qi, with his body enveloped by the True Qi of heaven and earth, extremely comfortable.
"This feeling is quite nice!"
Five or six meters away on the opposite side, Jiang Yao, who sat facing Ye Chen, also revealed a shallow smile on her delicate little face. Likewise, a faint blue lotus water pattern slowly appeared on her forehead.
This faint blue Water Lotus Law Pattern was what she had nurtured after entering the "Path of Water" during the third trial in the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode\'s Outer Mansion three years ago.
Jiang Yao\'s Water Lotus Law Pattern, much like Ye Chen\'s Fire Lotus Law Pattern, was also a preparation for opening the Sword Palace.
The first trial of the Inner Mansion of Thousand Lotus Cave Abode, the Lotus Sword Pool, was not as perilous as imagined. On the contrary, it was extremely suitable for the two of them to cultivate.
By the edge of the Lotus Sword Pool.
The three-eyed giant ape and the huge feathered bird watched the two hazy figures enveloped in Sword Qi within the lake.
"I wonder how long Ye Chen and Jiang Yao will take to open up the Sword Palace Acupoint," the three-eyed giant ape became somewhat nervous.
Although Ye Chen and Jiang Yao had performed exceedingly well in the Outer Mansion, being regarded as the best pair of trial-takers since the founding of Thousand Lotus Cave Abode over three hundred years ago, with immense combat strength, comprehension, and willpower, the three trials of this Inner Mansion were all related to the inheritance of flying swords.
If they were not suitable for flying sword cultivation, even with their excellence, they would have no connection to the ultimate flying sword inheritance.
"I hope they can create the same miracles in the Inner Mansion as they did in the Outer Mansion!"
The three-eyed giant ape was both worried and hopeful.
Hearing the three-eyed giant ape\'s words, the huge feathered bird spoke indifferently, "When the trial-takers enter the Lotus Sword Pool, the first day is generally about adapting to the Sword Qi Spirit Liquid within the pool. If they can open up the Sword Palace by the second day, that would be quite good."
"These two little fellas, even if you think highly of them, you\'ll have to wait. It won\'t happen that quickly!"
Before its words had finished, a sudden loud rumble came from within the lotuses of the Sword Pool.
The noise was like raging waves and surging tides, abruptly cutting off the voice of the huge feathered bird!
"What\'s going on?"
The three-eyed giant ape and the huge feathered bird both looked toward the Sword Pool, and what they saw next was incredible.
Within the lake, where the Sword Qi Spirit Liquid had been calm, it suddenly began to churn violently as if ignited. Amidst the churning, the vast Sword Qi Spirit Liquid surged towards the figure sitting in the lake like a giant serpent or godlike dragon.
That figure was none other than Ye Chen!
Former trial-takers who entered the Sword Pool to absorb Sword Qi Spirit Liquid needed a day to draw it out, and even on the second day, they would only attract it in thin strands.
Never before had anyone caused such a disturbance in the waters of the Sword Pool in such a short time!
Never before had anyone attracted such an enormous amount of Sword Qi Spirit Liquid all at once!
Watching the Spirit Liquid furiously rushing toward Ye Chen\'s brow, the three-eyed giant ape revealed an ecstatic expression in an instant, and the huge feathered bird was also stunned, showing an incredulous look.
While the two mystical creatures were still in shock, not long after Ye Chen had attracted the Sword Qi Spirit Liquid, a major disturbance also occurred where Jiang Yao sat.
Around the girl\'s waterfall-like hair and her delicate body, countless strands of Sword Qi erupted with a heaven-piercing light!
Within the radiance, another vast and inexhaustible column of Sword Qi Spirit Liquid, in no way inferior to Ye Chen\'s, furiously surged towards the Water Lotus Law Pattern at the center of Jiang Yao\'s brow.
Jiang Yao had, just like Ye Chen, attracted a tremendous amount of Sword Qi Spirit Liquid in a short period.
When one person created a miracle, it was enough to astonish the three-eyed giant ape and the huge feathered bird, but the scene of two people creating miracles simultaneously was so astounding that the mystical creatures could hardly believe their own eyes!
"How could this be?"
"How could this be?!"
The previously indifferent and even somewhat aloof huge feathered bird now swept away its former composure, even exclaiming in shock and disbelief!
"What a surprise!"
"A great surprise!"
"Who could have thought that Ye Chen and Jiang Yao had such an affinity with flying swords, to enter the state of opening the Sword Palace so smoothly!"
"Only in the case of the former master and the predecessor Lian Yue have I seen such a miracle!"
As it spoke, the three-eyed giant ape looked toward Ye Chen and Jiang Yao, sitting in the Sword Pool, and suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
The youth in the Sword Pool, with a fair and handsome face, wore a steadfast expression, while the girl in the Sword Pool, her hair fluttering, was like a fairy.
What a pair of heaven\'s prides!
What a perfect match!
"Ming Que, looking at the two of them, doesn\'t it remind you of our two masters cultivating in the Heavenly Pond all those years ago?" the giant three-eyed ape whispered to the immense feathered bird beside it.
"Master?"
At this word, the massive body of the feathered bird trembled greatly, and its eyes softened.
It remembered the woman it had accompanied through the Four Seas and the Eight Wastes!
"Master, my master."
Its tender eyes now looked towards Jiang Yao and Ye Chen in the pool.
"It really does look alike."
"Our master had acquired the \'Twin Swords\' with Senior Thousand Mechanisms in the Sea of Chaos back then but couldn\'t enjoy the fortune... Could it be that fate has already destined it, and the Twin Swords are finally about to find their rightful masters?"
The immense feathered bird and the giant three-eyed ape both thought of that event from over three hundred years ago and fell silent.
...
"So, this is the Sword Palace!"
Within the Sword Pool, Ye Chen\'s consciousness surveyed an acupoint at the center of his forehead, which was precisely located where the Fire Lotus Law Pattern had been before.
By this time, the Fire Lotus Law Pattern had disappeared, replaced by a newly unblocked spatial acupoint.
As if creating the heavens and earth, another spatial world was born within Ye Chen\'s body!
The Sword Palace Acupoint space!
Just as when he had entered the True Qi Realm and cultivated the Qi Sea Acupoint, the Sword Qi Spiritual Liquid surged crazily into this Sword Palace Acupoint, and the inner space of the Sword Palace Acupoint expanded rapidly.
An hour, two hours, three hours!
The Sword Palace World kept expanding as myriad streams of Sword Qi Spiritual Liquid wildly flew into it, just like True Qi entering the Qi Sea!
Elsewhere.
Jiang Yao had also entered the grand opening of her Sword Palace Acupoint!
Having stepped into the True Qi Realm, she was well-acquainted with the creation of internal acupoint spaces.
After entering the Spirit Sea Realm and turning True Qi into liquid, she was extremely familiar with this world of Qi Sea, and now, as she entered the creation of the Sword Palace World, she crazily absorbed Sword Qi Spiritual Liquid, and her Sword Palace World continuously grew and stretched.
With Ye Chen and Jiang Yao\'s frenetic absorption, the vast Sword Pool Lake\'s water level even dropped significantly, and it was still falling!
"To absorb so much Sword Qi Spiritual Liquid!"
"This pair of young male and female, Ye Chen and Jiang Yao, they are absorbing more Sword Qi Spiritual Liquid than all those who entered the Inner Mansion before them combined!"
"The more Sword Qi Spiritual Liquid absorbed, the larger the Sword Palace that will be opened. Given the situation, it\'s likely that the Sword Palace World of the two of them will be able to support the nurturing of \'Spiritual Artifact\' grade flying swords!"
"No, not just Spiritual Artifact grade, their rate of Sword Qi Spiritual Liquid absorption has not slowed down at all. If this continues, \'Treasure Instrument\' grade, or even \'Sacred Instrument\' grade weapons could be nurtured!"
"The Twin Flying Swords at the Peak of Ten Thousand Swords are of Sacred Instrument grade. If their Sword Palace World can be opened up to the Sacred Instrument grade level, then there will be no issues in nurturing those Twin Flying Swords when the time comes!"
A day later.
Under the unwavering watch of the giant three-eyed ape and the immense feathered bird, the surface of the Sword Pool Lake dropped by one-third, yet Ye Chen and Jiang Yao didn\'t stop their progress in opening up the Sword Palace Acupoint.
Two days later.
The entire Sword Pool Lake was almost depleted when the immense feathered bird had to call forth seven giant snow-white lotus flowers again. Streams of Spiritual Liquid poured out from the lotus flowers, causing the water level in the Sword Pool Lake to rise once more.
Three days later.
Just before the final moments of absorbing Sword Qi Spirit Liquid at this first challenge arrived.
Ye Chen and Jiang Yao in the Sword Pool opened their eyes in succession.
Between their brows, it seemed as if endless sword qi radiance shone forth, and their presences underwent a drastic transformation.
As the light converged, everything returned to normal. Yet, two vast worlds were now securely fixed between their brows.
The Sword Palace World, completed!
Ye Chen and Jiang Yao opened their eyes to find themselves looking at each other; they exchanged smiles and soared up from the Sword Pool.