Chapter 645: Taking the Golden Core
The young sword cultivator saw this scene and, before he could be shocked, the old sword cultivator had already withdrawn his fist stance, standing elegantly with one hand behind his back, stroking his beard and laughing smugly: "My sword aura is truly invincible."
The young sword cultivator stared blankly for a long time. The battlefield had become empty and desolate. In the distance, some demonic beasts that had seen the situation turn unfavorable, even if most were not yet intelligent, understood the danger and fled around, heading elsewhere.
The old sword cultivator swept his gaze across the battlefield. Among them were a few demonic cultivators of modest realms; their weapons, along with their bodies and souls, had been completely obliterated, leaving nothing behind. A bit of a pity.
Next time he attacked, he would have to be a little more restrained. Even a mosquito's leg is still meat.
The young sword cultivator flew over to the old sword cultivator's side. "Old senior?"
The old sword cultivator's voice was hoarse, and he stroked his beard with a smile. "Call me Sword Immortal Senior. I'm not that old. The word 'old'—I can't bear it, can't bear it."
The young sword cultivator was left stunned and speechless.
The old sword cultivator had already traveled far on his flying sword. The sword hugged the ground, quickly carving formations, like a fish swimming among water plants. He only launched his flying sword at those demonic cultivators, killing them if he could, wounding them if he could.
Moreover, his timing for choosing when to strike was perfectly judged, never delaying the Sword Qi Great Wall's sword cultivators from making their own attacks.
The young sword cultivator glanced at the figure and sword strikes of that "Sword Immortal Senior," but couldn't discern the depth of his realm or cultivation. He set aside his doubts, grasped his sword, and headed south to the next battlefield.
For this battle leaving the city, the Sword Qi Great Wall had over six thousand Middle Five Realm sword cultivators, which sounded like a huge number. But in reality, across a thousand-mile battlefield, every single person would still be in dire straits, surrounded by the demonic army. Coupled with the large number of Cave Dwelling and Observing Sea realm sword cultivators, who were more there to hone their sword edge and familiarize themselves with battle, they had to both kill demons and practice swordsmanship. This made it inevitable that they would need some care from their fellow sword cultivators of higher realms. According to the rules of the Hidden Official lineage, for sword cultivators of these two realms, the priority was first to stay alive, then to break through realms, and only lastly to kill more demons. As for the Earth Immortal sword cultivators, who had the highest realms and the greatest killing power, their first duty was to kill demons and earn merits, and their second was to protect the lives of the Cave Dwelling and Observing Sea realm sword cultivators.
Atop the city wall, sword cultivators stood guard. As long as the northern and southern front lines didn't collapse too badly, there was no need to worry about demonic beasts circumventing the sword cultivators and heading for the city wall.
For Dragon Gate realm sword cultivators, who fell in between, things were relatively the most straightforward and clear. They could go alone, wielding their swords to break formations and kill demons, or they could band together with friends of the same realm. There weren't too many restrictive rules.
During this time, there were also many teams of three or five sword cultivators who were quite special: those whose lifebound flying swords' innate abilities could be superimposed. For this battle outside the city, they strove to become skillful in coordinating their flying swords on the battlefield. The Golden Core or Nascent Soul sword cultivator responsible for protecting the formation for this group often had as their primary duty the protection of the former, with killing demons and earning merits coming second. Once the former sword cultivators' life path or flying swords were damaged, these Earth Immortal sword cultivators would face severe punishment. Trying to make up for it with battle merits would be an extremely unprofitable affair.
Once outside the city, the rules of engagement formulated by the Hidden Official lineage were actually few, so each one was paid especially close attention to by the sword cultivators.
The old sword cultivator passed by a battlefield far from the city wall, where the slaughter was exceptionally brutal.
The fact that they had been able to clear the demonic beasts near the city wall and push southward for over ten li itself demonstrated that this group of sword cultivators had considerable killing power and even greater killing intent.
But at this moment, those seven sword cultivators were already deeply surrounded. There were dozens of demonic cultivators, and thousands of soldiers under their command. Just Golden Core "great demons" alone numbered three.
The old sword cultivator spotted two acquaintances: Dragon Gate realm sword cultivator Ren Yi and Golden Core sword cultivator Pu Yu. Both were sword cultivators who had guarded the Three Passes on the main street back then. The old sword cultivator glanced at Pu Yu and sighed. This fellow still had that eye-catching getup that seemed to have "I'm asking for a beating" written on his forehead.
It was a good thing this handsome young master wasn't part of his own family; otherwise, the old sword cultivator would have already chewed him out. A flowing white robe, drinking in the city, sparring swordsmanship with others—that could be forgiven. But on the battlefield, he insisted on showing off this "banished immortal" demeanor; it wasn't appropriate. That robe workshop's Dharma robe wouldn't cost you half a Snowflake Coin; putting one on wouldn't hurt. If not for the rule that only one robe could be given to a sword cultivator, the old sword cultivator would have worn seven or eight, and carried seven or eight swords from the sword workshop before heading to the battlefield.
This old sword cultivator, who let people call him "Sword Immortal Senior," was naturally none other than the now infamous Hidden Official.
After the nicknames "Fair-Trading Second Shopkeeper" and "Knocked Out Chen Ping'an with One Punch," he now had another: "Truly Hidden Official Who Lets Others Die."
Atop the city wall, after the Hidden Official had been "assassinated" by the defecting sword immortal Lie Ji.
The sword cultivators of the Hidden Official lineage had moved to the Hidden Official headquarters, which had remained vacant for a long time. By the time the flying sword inscribed with "Hidden Official" delivered its message to the city wall, most sword cultivators on the Sword Qi Great Wall had already figured things out. After all, during the two great battles—the demonic assault with a torrent of Dharma artifacts and the Barbarian World sword cultivators challenging the wall—the sword qi waterfall atop the wall had undergone numerous changes, killing quite a few Nascent Soul demonic cultivators. After a string of such moves, once the sword cultivators chewed on it a bit, they could taste the flavor of that wine shop.
If not for the incident where the peak great demon Yangzhi had tortured and killed a sword immortal while the Hidden Official's flying sword blocked other sword cultivators from rescuing him, the young outsider who went from being the Second Shopkeeper to the Hidden Official would actually have improved his reputation on the Sword Qi Great Wall from extremely bad to extremely good.
Chen Ping'an didn't rush to act. Pu Yu, as a Golden Core sword cultivator, was likely the formation-protecting sword master for this group of young sword cultivators. Ren Yi, as a Dragon Gate realm cultivator who could move freely on the battlefield, probably wanted to team up with his acquaintance Pu Yu to break the formation—both to have some support and to kill more demons. Because Pu Yu's lifebound flying sword, "Rain Curtain," was highly effective for misdirection, conjuring numerous illusions. On the battlefield, it was easy to confuse the enemy. Moreover, the switch between real and fake flying swords was swift, and its killing power was not negligible.
After carefully examining the battlefield, Chen Ping'an was in even less of a hurry. He put on an air of wanting to help but lacking confidence, and even circled around several times, intercepting some demonic beasts that were trying to bypass the battlefield and charge north toward the city wall. After all, for demonic cultivators, simply reaching the city wall was a merit, and climbing onto it was a major merit. Even if they ultimately died without any gains, both minor and major battle merits would still be recorded in the Barbarian World's military tents and granted to their tribes, direct disciples, or relatives.
What Chen Ping'an was focusing on was an unremarkable-looking demonic cultivator. It wasn't that this opponent had leaked any great demon aura; it was just an intuitive sense of "annoyance," and the kind of absolute confidence in a small battlefield—able to attack and retreat freely, with no worry about life or death—yet possessing an utterly irrational will to die. This demonic cultivator, whose realm Chen Ping'an couldn't yet determine, attacked with seemingly reckless abandon, sparing no effort, wielding a rather flashy offensive spiritual tool. But running into this "old sword cultivator," a kindred spirit in that regard, was just bad luck for it.
A Golden Core demonic cultivator stationed at the battlefield also found that old sword cultivator, who kept circling but never engaged, very annoying. He sent three of his subordinate cultivators to test the waters.
What Chen Ping'an cared about wasn't those three demonic cultivators who had left the battlefield, nor even the command of that Golden Core "great demon." It was always that one demonic cultivator who was hiding his true abilities and likely concealing his realm. He became even more certain that this one had alerted the Golden Core demonic cultivator to deal with him, this minor unexpected variable, lest it ruin the major plan—like killing Pu Yu and Ren Yi, these two young geniuses.
Because Pu Yu and Ren Yi, after all, were not low in realm. They had fully participated in the two previous offensive and defensive battles. If they were willing to abandon the other young sword cultivators' lives, they had a very good chance of withdrawing from the battlefield.
Pu Yu and Ren Yi were two undeniable young geniuses of the Sword Qi Great Wall. One shouldn't think that just because they were on the same small mountain peak as the dazzling Qi Shou and Gao Yehou, Pu Yu and Ren Yi were insignificant figures.
Although Dong Heitan had once privately commented on these two sword cultivators who guarded the passes, he had nicer words for Ren Yi, who was a realm lower. He said Ren Yi was among the youngest Dragon Gate realm sword cultivators with the fastest flying sword. As for Pu Yu, his evaluation was not high; he called him the most showy among Golden Core cultivators. But such evaluations were true for one-on-one duels and sword challenges, yet not comprehensive. The Hidden Official lineage had extremely high regard for Pu Yu and his lifebound flying sword. Because his flying sword had a miraculous effect on the battlefield, it was rated as Class C. In terms of rank, it was second only to Qi Shou's lifebound flying sword "Tiao Zhu" (Jumping Pearl), which the Hidden Official lineage had rated as Class B. As for Class A, there was Wu Chengpei's "Gan Lin" (Sweet Dew). Class B also included Yue Qing's Baizhang Spring and Skylark in the Sky, as well as the lifebound flying sword of the Bosuo Continent sword immortal Yuan Qingshu. Many sword immortals' lifebound flying swords had immense killing power, yet they ranked lower at the Summer Retreat.
Of course, this classification was an extremely utilitarian and "mercenary" assessment by the Hidden Official lineage, considering only the battlefield.
Since he had confirmed the opponent's true trump card, Chen Ping'an no longer hesitated. He stopped circling and wandered, stepping on the sword from the sword workshop, using proper sword cultivator flying technique, charging towards the three demonic cultivators who were trying to test him. He made a large arc close to the ground with his sword. The "old sword cultivator" narrowly dodged a streak of light from a lifebound artifact attack. He tapped his flying sword, and the sword continued charging toward one demonic cultivator ahead. The standard sword from the sword workshop under his foot shot forward as fast as a flying sword.
The old sword cultivator himself had already left the sword, deploying his lifebound flying sword, named "Account Book," targeting another Observing Sea realm demonic cultivator. The flying sword pierced through the opponent's head. He reached out to "support" the corpse, preventing it from exploding its lifebound acupoints. With a swift move, he snatched a copper bell from its waist, tucking it into his sleeve. Then he grabbed the dead demonic cultivator's body and threw it at a flashy spell from a third demonic cultivator.
Flawless execution, smooth as flowing water—truly a master at work.
He stretched out his hand, recalled the sword from the sword workshop, stepped forward, planted his foot on the sword, and ignored the two low-realm demonic cultivators, heading straight for the hidden suicide great demon. He tapped his toe, dodging several spells and a bombardment of attack artifacts, stomped the sword workshop sword into the ground, leaped high into the air, formed a hand seal with two fingers, and his "Account Book" flying sword, just like Pu Yu's "Rain Curtain," instantly split into over a dozen copies. However, each flying sword carried different thicknesses of sword aura and sword intent. Their tips pointed at the suicide demonic cultivator, vanishing in an instant.
Chen Ping'an used mind transmission to warn Pu Yu and Ren Yi, his voice old and hoarse: "Don't be greedy for battle merits. Beware of ambushes."
That demonic cultivator, who had seemed throughout the battle to be at most an Observing Sea realm, now saw that hiding was useless. With a transformation, he not only became a sword cultivator, but at least a Golden Core bottleneck sword cultivator at that.
A flash of sword light at his brow, his lifebound flying sword, with mysterious abilities, emitted countless specks of golden light, floating and shifting, perfectly protecting his body. After a series of crisp sounds, all of the unknown old sword cultivator's dozen-plus flying swords were repelled.
This sneak-attacking suicide demonic sword cultivator also used mind transmission to warn the three Golden Core demons: "Minimum Golden Core sword cultivator. His flying sword is strange—each one is real. It's different from Pu Yu's 'Rain Curtain.' Don't hold back. Try to kill Ren Yi and wound Pu Yu, to lure this person into staying here. Then we'll surround and kill him."
The golden specks from this demonic sword cultivator's lifebound flying sword quickly gathered together, condensing into a tiny grain, its brilliance growing even more dazzling. It shot forward in a straight line, aiming for the enemy's head.
The old sword cultivator, with his sharp eye that had exposed the great demon's identity, dropped sharply to the ground, nimble as he changed course and continued charging forward.
The demonic suicide soldier casually grabbed a sword workshop sword that had fallen on the battlefield, held it in his hand, slightly turned sideways, and slashed out.
The old sword cultivator bent his knees slightly, then suddenly exerted force. Dust flew up from the ground, a heavy rumbling sound shook the earth, and his figure shot forward like a wisp of smoke, dodging a flying sword, then dodging a sword's light, closing in.
The demonic suicide sword cultivator felt greatly relieved. The opponent had plenty of flying swords, they were strange, and he handled them with sufficient finesse, but their killing power was average, not outstanding. The flying sword might still have some unknown lifebound abilities hidden, which would actually be the trickiest part. But seeing that the opponent actually dared to engage in close combat, this demonic sword cultivator would no longer hold back. This old man, not knowing when to die—trying to match me in physical toughness and body strength?!
In an instant, the two sides' flying swords clashed again. One side transformed into a dozen-plus swords, the other's single grain of golden light condensed and dispersed. At a distance of a dozen or so zhang, sparks flew everywhere.
When the distance between them was less than five zhang, their respective lifebound flying swords collided once more. This time, sparks of fire scattered, sword qi ripples exploded violently, and spiritual energy became chaotic. Many sparks carrying residual sword qi splattered outward. Though they appeared the size of mustard seeds, any demonic beast they touched would feel a piercing pain. On looking, there would be a bowl-sized wound, already mangled and bloody.
The demonic sword cultivator's heart grew even calmer. The two sides' flying swords were at a standoff; he still had strength to spare, while the opponent had likely exerted all his force. At five zhang, both faces were clearly visible. As expected, that old sword cultivator, seeing that his fast and numerous flying swords couldn't succeed, had already intended to retreat. A flicker of panic showed in his eyes. His next forward step suddenly slowed a beat, yet he still tried to feign calm. Then he stopped, recoiled backward. At the same time, he strained to operate his flying swords, using even his most hidden tricks, because the flying sword finally deigned to reveal its lifebound ability, no longer concealing anything. It was a linked sword formation, which just happened to block between the two sword cultivators.
The demonic sword cultivator had no more concerns. The old sword cultivator before him, though not a figure listed in the records, killing one more Golden Core sword cultivator from the Sword Qi Great Wall was still an unexpected joy, a great merit!
Using his lifebound flying sword to break through the opponent's sword formation, the demonic sword cultivator gave him no chance to retreat further. He dashed forward, catching up to the anxious-looking old sword cultivator, and slashed down with his sword right at the head.
If he dared to save others, he had to pay with his life!
Panicked, the old sword cultivator could only twist his head and raise a hand to block the sword, otherwise he would still be unable to escape being split in two by the blade.
A moment later.
The demonic suicide sword cultivator felt dazed. He looked down, his soul trembling, his heart twisting in agony.
His opponent, the old sword cultivator now inches away, still wore a panicked expression. But his left hand had firmly grasped the sword. Not only that, his right hand had pierced through his opponent's chest like a cavalry charge breaching a formation, but without exiting through the back. His fist was loosely clenched, just holding a ethereal Golden Core. Before this, with a bang of surging fist intent, he had already churned and destroyed the nearby spirit mansions of the lifebound acupoints, completely isolating a small world, giving the suicide sword cultivator no chance to explode his Golden Core.
Before dying, the demonic suicide sword cultivator saw that damn old sword cultivator still had the mood to act, his face full of sincere relief, then he broke into a smile, and said with a guilty, timid air: "A small victory, a small victory. Luck, just luck."
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The Barbarian World's army besieging the city was split in two by the golden river jointly created by the Three Blessed Sages.
Sword immortals guarded the long river with their swords. The demonic beasts behind these sword immortals could only struggle like cornered beasts, with no reinforcements left. They had to engage in chaotic slaughter with the Middle Five Realm sword cultivators who had left the city wall.
However, it was no easy task for this wave of sword immortals from the Sword Qi Great Wall to hold the long river, cut the battle formation in half, and long impede the advance of the subsequent army.
Each sword immortal had to withstand the surging demonic army charging forward.
Outside the battlefield.
Jiashen Tent.
Although this military tent housed children not yet of age, it was a major tent among the sixty tents, heavily guarded, with many rules. Any outsider daring to approach the tent without important military business, even if they were a sword immortal or great demon, would be summarily executed.
Today, Jiashen Tent received two distinguished guests of extremely high status.
One was a burly old man in a bright red robe. That crimson Dharma robe blazed like clouds reflecting sunlight, red light flowing, appearing and disappearing, flickering uncertainly. This was an immortal-grade Dharma robe, rumored to have originally come from the Yeluo River, one of the entrances to the Great Abyss, and was once a foundational suppressive artifact of the river. The old man had extremely high seniority, on par with Yangzhi and Huang Luan, though they had their own grudges and a very complicated relationship.
This old man was one of the reserve great demons for the Hall of Heroes throne in the Barren Wasteland World, with even higher combat power than the great demon Chongguang. However, he had always acted alone, so his fame was less than Chongguang's. His most recent public appearance was when, during the rumored journey of A Liang, he had "gotten an itch he couldn't resist" and, with one sword strike, collapsed most of the old man's den. The old man then joined forces with Chongguang, furiously pursuing A Liang for hundreds of thousands of miles, all the way to the Sword Qi Great Wall, where he also "incidentally" experienced Dong Sangeng's sword strike outside the city.
Standing beside the old man was a young great demon carrying five long swords on his back, wearing an equally famous emerald green Dharma robe called "Shujiaolian" (Bundle of Plantain Refined). His appearance was handsome and young, but one of his eyeballs presented a lifeless pale white. This young great sword immortal hadn't deliberately concealed it, nor even bothered with a mere illusion. If not for that eyeball ruining his looks, he might have rivaled the Sword Qi Great Wall sword immortal Mi Yu in the splendor of his physique.
But what was most different from the Jade Perfection realm sword cultivator Mi Yu was that this sword immortal great demon had extremely high swordsmanship. He was the youngest among the Upper Five Realm demonic sword immortals. In the Thirteenth-Place Competition, he had openly and fairly defeated a long-renowned great sword immortal, Zhang Lu, causing the latter to lose both reputation and standing, becoming a disgraced convict sent to guard the main gate of Inverted Mountain, where he could only keep company with a little Daoist boy who liked to sit on a meditation cushion and read books. It was rumored that Zhang Lu had a very good relationship with the sword immortal couple of the Ning Manor, but it seemed the three friends all ended up badly—two died in battle, one survived but became a laughingstock.
The female sword cultivator of Jiashen Tent, Liubai, accompanied the tent's leader, the young man in wooden clogs, as they both went out to welcome the guests.
The young man in wooden clogs bowed respectfully and said, "Paying respects to Ancestor Guan Xiang and Sword Immortal Shouchen."
Liubai's words were more casual, carrying familiarity. She smiled and said, "Greetings to old Guan Xiang, and greetings to Senior Brother Shouchen."
The great demon Guan Xiang nodded with a smile. "Little Liubai, you've become even more beautiful. When you go to the Bright World later, I'll personally catch some worthy scholars from the academies for you to choose from."
Such were the benefits of having a master.
Liubai's teaching master was Zhou Mi, who used the alias "Old Bookworm," the second-highest seat on the throne, hailed as the "Sea of Learning" of the Barren Wasteland World. Sword immortal Shouchen happened to be Liubai's senior brother. Among Zhou Mi's many disciples, all were sword cultivators: Shouchen, Caiying, Tongxuan, Tongyin, Yuzao, and Liubai. All were great Dao seeds of the Hundred Sword Immortals as appraised by Tuoyue Mountain.
The Hundred Sword Immortals of the world, as appraised by Tuoyue Mountain, were not ranked by realm. Liubai's senior brother Shouchen was not only high in realm but also very highly ranked, closely positioned with Liu Cha's direct disciple Zhuqie and Tuoyue Mountain's close-door disciple Lizhen.
Liubai noticed something strange about Shouchen and asked worriedly, "Senior Brother Shouchen?"
She didn't understand why, in just a few years, Senior Brother Shouchen had suffered such a severe injury. When they last parted, Senior Brother Shouchen had apparently received orders from their master to go on a long journey.
Shouchen pointed to his eye, the one that had been replaced later. Great demons had resilient bodies, especially an Upper Five Realm great demon. But he hadn't regenerated a new eye, nor had he refined the replacement eyeball. It was as if he deliberately let people see that he was blind in one eye. He said with a laugh, "That old blind man gouged out one of my eyes and threw it to that watchdog to chew on as food. There's no greater humiliation than that. I cannot rest easy until I have my revenge. But revenge isn't easy, so I just have to show it to others as a reminder, lest as time passes, I forget it myself."
The young man in wooden clogs was deeply shaken internally.
Not to mention that old blind man who liked to command golden-armored puppets to move mountains—just that "watchdog" was said to be an Ascension realm great demon that had broken through its bottleneck to cause trouble. But instead of causing trouble, it ended up staying there as a literal lapdog.
Back then, Great Demon Guan Xiang had brought Sword Immortal Shouchen to negotiate with that old blind man, hoping he would contribute to the invasion of the Bright World. But the meeting had ended in discord.
Twelve against thirteen, an Immortal realm facing an Ascension realm. Even if they couldn't win, with no chance of victory, at least escape was possible.
But when Twelve and Thirteen realms faced the next realm, there was truly no reasoning to be had. Of course, an Ascension realm sword immortal could still fight, as long as the sword was fast enough to break through the world manifested by the Great Dao. The legendary Fourteen realm—wherever its practitioner was, there was that world, and the suppression of the Great Dao was omnipresent, far from the simple small world created by a barrier those other realms had. For Ascension realm Qi refiners who weren't sword immortals, being inside was the most uncomfortable. So it wasn't that Immortal realm sword cultivator Shouchen's sword path was inadequate; it was simply that the old blind man was too strong—so strong that even outside, in the Barren Wasteland World, he was the god of the vast, vast territory of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. A Liang once made an extremely interesting analogy: the old blind man was the "Second Uncle" of the Barren Wasteland World. Unless that "First Uncle," who had disappeared for over ten thousand years, became displeased and personally took action to suppress him, then all spells and divine abilities were nothing but floating clouds and flowing water, all illusions.
Great Demon Guan Xiang said with a smile, "First, let's talk business. The Jiazi Tent was worried that you kids might get too stifled. According to the tent records, this is the second time the Jiazi Tent has rejected a major proposal from the Jiashen Tent. So they had me come personally to give you some inside information. Once we enter the Jiashen Tent and I explain the situation, just keep it to yourselves. It must not be leaked."
Everyone in the Jiashen Tent rose to welcome the two seniors. One was old and had a long history—his Ascension realm was right there; many pages of the Barbarian World's old almanac held the old man's pseudonyms and related deeds.
The other was young, with brilliant battle exploits, and was a sword immortal.
The old man nodded with a smile, gesturing for everyone to sit down and not stand on ceremony.
Sword Immortal Shouchen looked around. For the young ones who weren't sword cultivators, he just swept his gaze over them. For those who were sword cultivators, he took a closer look.
Lizhen, Zhuqie, Yusi, Tantan, and his junior sister Liubai—Jiashen Tent had five sword immortal seeds of the Barren Wasteland World.
Great Demon Guan Xiang said, "According to your plan, including myself and Chongguang, if all the Ascension and Immortal realm experts go all out, at most, how many sword immortal heads can we reap?"
The young man in wooden clogs said, "If we follow our strategy, we would first kill only the Jade Perfection realm sword immortals of the Sword Qi Great Wall, and we must kill this wave of foreign sword immortals first, including Yuan Qingshu and Pu He. Once two die, the native sword immortals of the Sword Qi Great Wall will definitely not retreat, nor can they be allowed to leave the battlefield. Then, in the best-case scenario, we can kill four or five Jade Perfection realm sword immortals, plus two great sword immortals. In the worst case, we can still get three Jade Perfection realm and one great sword immortal. After that, no matter what, those sword immortals guarding the long river should be forced to retreat."
Great Demon Guan Xiang nodded. "An excellent result. The Jiazi Tent has carefully reviewed your booklet. The plan is meticulous. Even if it's a one-for-one trade with the Sword Qi Great Wall, our side can fully accept it. So this is also your most unwilling point, isn't it?"
The young man in wooden clogs nodded. "Exactly. With so many of their sword immortals finally forced away from the city wall, engaged in formation warfare, even if the Three Blessed Sages helped them create a world with some protection, it's not unbreakable. Seniors, if you make a full-strength attack, and the number of sword immortal heads is fewer than four, I, the one in wooden clogs, am willing to let Lizhen cut off my head and bring it to the Jiazi Tent to apologize to all the seniors."
The old man laughed. "The Three Blessed Sages atop the city wall can create the long river a few times to cut off the battlefield and relieve pressure on the city wall sword cultivators—have you made any deductions about that?"
The young man shook his head. "We've made guesses, but it's too mysterious. We dare not use our conjectures as a basis for deducing the battlefield's trend."
The old man said, "That's not something to blame you for. Such major matters can only be answered by the Jiazi Tent. You kids could think about it for a hundred years and still just have to gamble. The Jiazi Tent's result is three times. After three times, the Three Blessed Sages will have their Great Dao foundations damaged."
The young man asked in confusion, "Does the Jiazi Tent want these Three Blessed Sages to perish here directly?"
The old man nodded. "After the Sword Qi Great Wall is breached, what the accompanying sacrificial sages from the Bright World who are guarding the celestial curtain will do, we cannot stop. But these Three Blessed Sages must die at the Sword Qi Great Wall. So the Jiazi Tent has made a new decision. They won't fully accept your plan, but they won't sit idly by while those sword immortals show off their prowess. I, Chongguang, Shouchen, and over a dozen others of sufficient realm will all go all out. But Shouchen and Liubai's master, and Zhuqie's master, will still not act."
The young man smiled radiantly. "The seniors of the Jiazi Tent are far-sighted. This junior from Jiashen Tent is convinced and respectful."
The old man said with emotion, "You are the future of our Barren Wasteland World. We are old and decaying."
Then he turned and laughed. "Of course, Shouchen doesn't count. He's still very young."
The young man in wooden clogs suddenly said, "Ancestor Guan Xiang, Sword Immortal Shouchen, I have one more request."
The old man said, "Speak."
The young man then described in detail the ambush scenario that Jiashen Tent had already agreed upon. He hoped that during the next sword immortal presence guarding the long river, the five sword cultivators of Jiashen Tent would all leave the formation, hidden within the army, and jointly surround and kill Chen Ping'an, the new Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall. So he hoped the Jiazi Tent could arrange a senior to be responsible for cutting open a path of retreat. Of course, Jiashen Tent would also judge the situation and would not reveal itself hastily from the start, so as not to put the senior responsible for opening and protecting the formation in too dangerous a situation.
The old man said, "This is a very important matter. It's useless for me to nod in agreement. I'll need to bring it up at the Jiazi Tent. Wait for my news."
The young man thanked him.
Liubai said, "Senior Brother Shouchen, please make sure to get Master's approval."
Shouchen said helplessly, "That depends on how effective your two plans, big and small, turn out to be. Otherwise, you know Master's temper."
Besides the big plan targeting the sword immortals who had left the city for the golden river, there was also an unspoken contest between the younger generations, already brewing with undercurrents and ready to go.
Led by the Jiashen Tent, several tents had jointly planned and carefully selected a large wave of demonic suicide soldiers, all Earth Immortal sword cultivators who had been stuck at the Golden Core or Nascent Soul bottleneck for many years.
These various heroes, even though they were sword cultivators, had become suicide soldiers. Before heading to the battlefield, each received a small booklet compiled by the Jiashen Tent, which recorded all information on fifty genius sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Ning Yao was on the first page.
Qi Shou, Gao Yehou, Pang Yuanji, Situ Weiran, Luo Zhenyi, Chen Sanqiu, Dong Huafu, Diezhang, Yan Zhuo, Xu Ning, Chang Taiqing, Gu Jianlong, Guo Zhujiu, Gao Youqing...
A long list of names, realms, flying swords, their lifebound abilities, temperaments, fighting styles, and which familiar friends were likely to appear on the same battlefield. The booklet had nearly exhaustive records.
It was estimated that even if there were gaps compared to the Sword Qi Great Wall Hidden Official lineage's files, they wouldn't be too far off.
However, Pang Yuanji was recorded in the booklet but had his name crossed out, replaced by three words written in red: "Cannot Kill."
During this time, an old demonic Golden Core sword cultivator who had volunteered to be a suicide soldier was suddenly found by tent cultivators and executed on the spot just before heading to the battlefield.
The surrounding demonic sword cultivators were merely startled and didn't think much of it. The ones who died were just dying earlier; those who hadn't died didn't need to laugh at others—they would die later.
It was probably a traitor who intended to tip off the Sword Qi Great Wall.
This little story about demons and humans, sword cultivators and life and death, the Barren Wasteland World and the Sword Qi Great Wall, thus vanished forever into the river of time, like a floating leaf drifting for a long time, spinning once, and disappearing without a trace.
Among this generation of the Sword Qi Great Wall, geniuses abounded. It was hailed as the second great year in ten thousand years for sword immortal seeds. What the Barren Wasteland World intended to do next was to use the lives of their own Earth Immortal sword cultivators as a price to forcibly grind this opponent's great year into a small year.
Even if it seemed done, it wouldn't be a profit.
But in truth, it wasn't.
Facts had already proven that the pure sword intents left behind by the Sword Qi Great Wall, the more ancient the sword intent, the less they rejected sword cultivators of the Barren Wasteland World. As long as the latter had a pure and clear sword heart, they could also gain the favor of those ancient sword intents and seize the Great Dao opportunities.
Among the several worlds, in terms of sword Dao luck alone, the Sword Qi Great Wall was undoubtedly the most vast and prosperous.
So once the Sword Qi Great Wall was breached, the sword immortals dead, and the fewer young geniuses that survived, the more the Barren Wasteland World could seize. The Hundred Sword Immortal seeds could then bask in an invisible rainfall, growing quickly.
---
On the battlefield, Pu Yu wasn't idle either. He fully deployed his lifebound flying sword, "Rain Curtain." Even if he couldn't help much, he tried to ensure that the old sword cultivator, who seemed to be in a bad situation, wouldn't end up surrounded because of saving them. After all, for sword cultivators, nurturing their flying swords involved not only tempering sword intent but also tempering the sword itself, which could also temper their physique. Demonic beasts were naturally tough in physique; if one was also a sword cultivator, the solidity of its body would reach an exaggerated level.
Ren Yi, moreover, coordinated with Pu Yu's flying sword abilities, using his very fast flying sword to assassinate demonic cultivators. However, the Golden Core demonic cultivators on the other side deliberately ignored Pu Yu and Ren Yi, unless the flying sword came close, they specifically targeted the younger, lower-realm sword cultivators, forcing the two genius sword cultivators to be unable to fully unleash their swords.
The other young sword cultivators had already received warnings from Pu Yu and Ren Yi, temporarily focusing only on mutual support and using their flying swords for self-defense.
That old sword cultivator, who had sneakily obtained a Golden Core and hidden it in his sleeve, seemed to have taken a heavy blow himself. He flew backward, tumbling to the ground, "vomited blood" into his palm, then deployed his flying sword again, stabbing wildly at the already dead suicide sword cultivator. Then he flew sideways again, sliding several zhang on the ground. He stood up crookedly, swaying, and wiped a streak of blood across his face.
The old sword cultivator reached out and grabbed the sword workshop sword lying on the ground.
Another sharp sword light arrived in an instant.
Another Golden Core demonic sword cultivator!
The old sword cultivator held his sword, blocking the light, sliding backward, carving a furrow into the ground that started deep and grew shallower.
The sword workshop sword eventually snapped from the sword light. The old sword cultivator used hand seals to control the broken sword, returning both halves to the sheath on his back. He stared at the lone Golden Core suicide sword cultivator from a distance.
Not only were the young sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall, like Pu Yu, shocked, even the demonic Golden Cores and their soldiers were bewildered. Since when had their side gained two of the most valuable sword cultivators in the Barren Wasteland?
Chen Ping'an roughly understood the situation.
The Barren Wasteland World, though its battlefield had been cut, had also prepared countermeasures.
For example, Pu Yu and Ren Yi had each attracted a Golden Core suicide sword cultivator.
Those with advanced age, most likely sword cultivators whose lifelong bottleneck was unbreakable and whose Great Dao was hopeless, were the most suitable to serve as suicide assassins.
If such circumstances were repeated everywhere on the battlefield—a meticulous plan long orchestrated by the Barren Wasteland World—it would be extremely troublesome for the young genius sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Thus, Chen Ping'an decided not to stay much longer. After cleaning up this battlefield, he would first use flying sword transmission to inform Wei Jin atop the city wall, passing the message to the Summer Retreat. Then he needed to hurry to that other battlefield.
After all, he was also the formation-protecting sword master for Fan Dache, and he had to fulfill his promise.
Chen Ping'an rolled up his sleeves, stamped his foot, and his figure vanished from the spot in an instant.
That Golden Core demonic sword cultivator clearly didn't know what to do. His flying sword had been launched, but he couldn't find the man. What now?
In that split second, the gloomy Golden Core sword cultivator flew backward, his unusually tough body smashing straight through the entire encirclement. The demonic beasts he hit were pulped, dying on the spot.
The old sword cultivator, carrying a sword workshop sword and wearing a robe workshop Dharma robe, was like a shadow. Before the Golden Core sword cultivator's body could hit the ground, he delivered a second punch, shattering both the body and the lifebound Golden Core.
The next moment, the old sword cultivator landed lightly. He silently sent a flying sword message to the city wall, instructing the stationed Earth Immortal sword cultivators to draw a portion of their forces, leave the city wall, conceal their auras, and try to intercept and kill the enemy's suicide sword cultivators.
The demonic army on this battlefield scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing for their lives. The several Golden Core demonic cultivators were especially fast at wind-riding, deploying defensive lifebound artifacts. As long as they didn't retreat too far south and switched battlefields to continue fighting, it wasn't considered a fault. Moreover, with the battlefield cut in half, the Barbarian World's overseers couldn't really punish anyone for temporary cowardice. The demonic soldiers on the field, though each fought desperately for merits, were ultimately not seeking certain death. Even just touching the city wall a few times would be fine—that still counted as a merit.
The sword cultivators, including Pu Yu, gave chase.
Ren Yi glanced at the old sword cultivator flying away on his sword, his expression complex.
Pu Yu said helplessly, "No need to guess. It's that damn Second Shopkeeper."
But neither of them understood why, in just a year since they last saw him, this young man, the new Hidden Official, seemed to have completely changed.
Especially the weight of killing intent in that last punch—even these young sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall felt uncomfortable, a feeling of suffocation.
What would it be like to face him on the battlefield?
The two genius sword cultivators, veterans of many battles, almost simultaneously cast aside distracting thoughts, their minds clear, their sword hearts pure, striving to make their swords faster.
As for whether that young Hidden Official was now a sword cultivator or had some new disguise, neither of them bothered to guess. They couldn't guess anyway. Only heaven knew the truth.
Regardless, all they knew was that this guy, roughly the same age as them,
now killed Golden Cores like picking weeds.
Both beneath his fist and his sword were but ants.