Chapter 1649: She Really Did It
Chapter 1649: Chapter 1649: She Really Did It
She also knew that even if she could gather Zhuang Ping’an and the others’ sword power together, it was absolutely impossible to break through the Heavenly Curtain’s might; Shao Chengxiong was not wrong. Moreover, without Jiang Qiling by her side, her innate divine ability could not be awakened, and it was impossible to fuse their sword power, so she never had the thought of breaking through the Heavenly Curtain’s might from the beginning.
As she executed the last few hand gestures, the sword lights in the sky underwent subtle changes, forming a sword net with her "Star Falling in Eight Desolates" sky-piercing sword light as the core, standing like a shield above everyone’s heads.
This was the only method Han Yan could think of. Without Jiang Qiling’s assistance, it was impossible for her to gather and fuse everyone’s sword power again, but due to her deep understanding of everyone’s Sword Dao and Sword Intent, she managed to barely link them together with her current divine sense, forming a defensive sword net. Although its power was far inferior to being gathered, and it would be full of flaws against a true formidable enemy, it was more than enough to serve as a shield against the Heavenly Curtain’s might.
After all, people are alive, but the Heavenly Curtain is dead.
Under the protection of that sword net, Zhuang Ping’an and the others felt the pressure suddenly lighten and hurriedly followed Han Yan, moving forward quickly. While walking, Han Yan took out elixirs and distributed them to everyone to consume.
Although this sword net lasted longer than when the power was gathered, it still would eventually disappear. Without timely replenishment of their Qi, they wouldn’t be able to move an inch and might die even more miserably as they got deeper.
While advancing quickly, everyone desperately refined the Dan Power to accumulate Qi.
They soon took dozens of steps forward, and as they saw the sword net above getting weaker while the pressure on their bodies grew heavier, Han Yan cast hand gestures again and then slashed with her sword. With previous experience, knowing that her method was effective, Han Yan didn’t use "Star Falling in Eight Desolates" again; though powerful, it could only be used three times, so she had to save it when possible.
At the instant when the sword light in the sky disappeared, everyone’s longswords slashed simultaneously, forming a new sword net. To conserve Qi as much as possible, Han Yan’s timing was impeccable.
Protected by this sword net, everyone continued to quicken their pace and move forward...
"How did she do it, where did she learn the magic formula?" Watching Han Yan and the others advancing step by step, Shao Chengfeng was dumbfounded, unable to recover his senses for a long time.
"I always said, things you can’t imagine, she may achieve." Wei Xiaotian, with a look that seemed to have expected this outcome, said with a smile.
No matter how big the grievances were in the past, he and Han Yan were now friends, and seeing Han Yan create miracles again, even he felt proud.
Beside him, Ye Lanfeng and Dantai Changqing glanced at Shao Chengfeng with half-smiles. Perhaps others might have thought Han Yan was unrealistic, but knowing her well, they understood there must be a reason for her actions, and they just wanted to see Shao Chengfeng face his self-contradiction.
"Even if they’ve passed one hurdle, so what? The next one will inevitably be deadly." Noticing their mocking glances, Shao Chengfeng’s face turned red, as if he’d been slapped hard, but he was still unconvinced.
Hearing his words, Ye Lanfeng and the others put away their smiles, their eyes turning solemn. Though under Han Yan’s lead, the descendants of the Divine Guardian passed the first dangerous threshold without trouble, the subsequent crises were fiercer. If now they still had a chance to exit the Heavenly Curtain to save their lives, the next crisis would leave them with no chance even to escape.
Led by Han Yan, the descendants of the Divine Guardian pressed forward, yet their speed slowed down. Even with the protection of that sword net minimizing the pressure, everyone was drenched in sweat, feeling like each step consumed their last bit of energy.
It’s no wonder, since every sword strike to form the sword net was made with full power, and even though they continuously consumed elixirs, the speed of Qi recovery couldn’t match the rate of consumption, let alone the fact that the pressure from the Heavenly Curtain was only lessened but not completely eliminated, consuming a considerable amount of Qi as well.
Step by step, despite the increasingly heavy footsteps, they didn’t give up, enduring with clenched teeth. Overexertion of Qi even caused their meridians to rupture, with tiny threads of blood seeping through the skin and staining their sword robes with mottled bloodstains.
Only now did they understand why Han Yan had insisted they traverse the North Abyss Misty Plain on their own before. Without the grueling training for the past half year, they wouldn’t have been able to withstand the Heavenly Curtain’s might; even if their bodies hadn’t collapsed, their wills would have long been broken. Thinking about Han Yan’s painstaking efforts and her covert support along the way, Zhuang Ping’an and the others were full of gratitude.
Though their journey was fraught with hardship, Han Yan herself was not faring much better. Even if the consumption of "Nine Heavens Star Fall" was far less than "Star Falling in Eight Desolates," continuously forming sword nets was still a huge test of her divine sense.
Though not as blood-stained as Zhuang Ping’an and the others, the excessive strain on her mental state brought waves of stabbing pain in her mind, with cold sweat continuously rolling down her forehead.
But since even Zhuang Ping’an and the others hadn’t given up, she naturally wouldn’t either, besides knowing that giving up now would definitely lead to Zhuang Ping’an and the others’ deaths, and without their combined effort to form a sword net, she would likely face dire consequences.
Above their heads, the sword light steadily weakened, seemingly unable to withstand the Heavenly Curtain’s pressure much longer. Han Yan drew the Cold Sky Sword again. Zhuang Ping’an and others also raised their longswords, though hands gripping the hilts trembled uncontrollably, defying efforts to hold tight.
Seeing them utterly exhausted, Han Yan worried whether they could focus their strength like before to reform the sword net.
Not far behind, Ye Lanfeng grasped his sword hilt; he too saw that Zhuang Ping’an and the others had reached their limits. If they truly couldn’t hold on, he would at least protect Han Yan with all his might, and try to send the others out of the Heavenly Curtain; of course, even with his strength, it was impossible to save everyone. Of the over a hundred descendants of the Divine Guardian, at least half would die. But the path they chose was their own; whether they lived or died depended on their own fortune.
The sword light in the sky grew weaker, and both Han Yan and Ye Lanfeng prepared to act. At this moment, the endless pressure suddenly disappeared.
In the sky, the sword net formed by over a hundred sword lights shattered like a soap bubble, and all the descendants of the Divine Guardian fell to the ground simultaneously.