Chapter 728: Plum Blossom White Tiger Head Hat
(A bit late with the update. There will be a big chapter on the 28th.)
Zhou Mi, the Wenhai of the Barren Wild World, left the northernmost ferry of Tongye Continent and used his divine abilities to find Sheyue and Feiran one after another. One was casually roaming the mountains and wilderness, having suffered two losses in a foreign land and her homeland. That round-faced girl in a cotton-padded jacket had become even more cautious, diligently gathering and refining moonlight from various places. The other was atop Zhaopingshan Peak outside the Great Spring Mirage City, admiring the moon. Zhou Mi casually summoned one of the top ten young talents of the Two-colored Throne World to his side, making him accompany him to observe a dharma manifestation building and a parasol tree hiding behind it.
Embroidered Tiger Cui Chan excelled at not competing with others at their strongest, preferring first to fill in shortcomings and then to maximize certain of his own strengths. This made the battle for Bottle Gourd Continent largely meaningless no matter how much Zhou Mi schemed or employed tactics; he could only attack with offense.
Feiran and Sheyue both bowed to Mr. Zhou.
Zhou Mi smiled and nodded, then looked at Feiran, saying with a slight smile, "Finally willing to bring out your senior brother Qieyun's reputation?"
Feiran said, "Letting Mr. Zhou see a joke. Feiran is willing to go to the Wuzi Military Camp afterward to apologize and exchange vested interests based on military achievements. If Feiran's own merits are insufficient, I'll borrow from my senior brother."
The Great Spring capital was temporarily preserved, not because the landscape formation of Mirage City was difficult to break, nor because the Great Spring border army was hard to attack after consolidating into one city. Rather, it was because after Feiran had previously left Taoye Ferry, he had a sudden inspiration at Zhaopingshan. He had the audacity to send a flying sword message to the old Wuzi Camp, demanding that the Great Spring Mirage City become his latest territory on Tongye Continent. Moreover, Feiran wanted to occupy the city alone, not even asking for it on behalf of his own Guiyou Camp. This caused a major conflict with the Wuzi Camp stationed at the old Southern Qi capital. The title of one of the top ten young talents was not enough to intimidate the entire military camp. In the end, the reason they didn't fight was that Feiran convinced them with a single sentence.
"Qieyun is my senior brother."
Feiran didn't even need to mention using Senior Brother Qieyun's military exploits to exchange for Mirage City. Several upper fifth realm cultivators from the Wuzi Camp fell silent and left without a single harsh word.
The Jiajia Camp swordsman Tan was the direct disciple of the Throne Great Demon Yangzhi. Yusi was even addressed as "Young Master" by the Great Demon Feifei. And Feiran's relationship as Qieyun's junior brother was a top-tier secret of the Jiazi Camp. In the Barren Wild World, reasoning was easiest.
However, since Mr. Zhou had brought this up in jest, Feiran was naturally willing to reason in a different way. In the Barren Wild World, reasoning was simple precisely because the rules were too shallow. Truths had sizes, and right and wrong could both be overridden.
Zhou Mi waved his hand and said something Feiran didn't quite understand, "A trivial matter. I'll handle the accounting for you personally later. Not just one Mirage City, but the entire Great Spring Dynasty is something Feiran deserves."
The upper fifth realm demon race cultivators on Tongye Continent had almost all sensed a change in the continent's celestial timing. Fortunately, there wasn't too much trepidation; they were somewhat relieved.
In the central part of Tongye Continent, there appeared a majestic building that should have appeared long ago but didn't, and shouldn't have appeared now but did—one of the nine Grand Suppression Towers built by the Confucian Literary Academy: the Demon Suppression Tower. It was meant to suppress the entire Tongye Continent.
This Demon Suppression Tower drew a circular boundary encompassing a thousand li of mountains and rivers. Zhou Mi happened to stand outside the boundary with Sheyue and Feiran. Zhou Mi extended two fingers pressed together and gently touched the forbidden formation screen of heaven and earth. Ripples arose, causing the scene within a thousand li to begin shaking. As demon race people cultivators, Feiran and Sheyue instantly felt a suffocating pressure of the Great Dao bearing down. Feiran used sword qi to dispel the natural suppression, while Sheyue condensed moonlight around herself. Only Mr. Zhou seemed completely unaware, but not because he, Jia Sheng, was not of the demon race. On the contrary, for some reason, even though Zhou Mi had not yet stepped into the jurisdiction of the Demon Suppression Tower, the surging rainbow-colored ripples of the river of time solidified into substance, continuously gathering at Zhou Mi's fingertip. The power could be known from the fact that Feiran and Sheyue each retreated several steps. This was only because the tower's formation was constantly suppressed by Zhou Mi; otherwise, Feiran and Sheyue would probably have had to flee quickly.
Zhou Mi withdrew his two fingers, and the forbidden phenomena gradually dissipated.
He looked up and said to Sheyue, "Lotus Nunnery Master had to die, but it was a bit early. Do you know that you are the 'Former Body of the Bright Moon'? That's why Tuoyue Mountain has always thought highly of you. The direct disciple of the Great Ancestor, Xinzhuang, who stayed behind at Tuoyue Mountain, used to visit you often in the Bright Moon Abode in the early years, but she always looked coldly upon the Lotus Nunnery Master, who was far above you in realm. That's because Xinzhuang's true form in the past was a goddess who watered the osmanthus tree on the moon. So of course she looked down on the Lotus Nunnery Master."
Sheyue said, "I've guessed and thought about it, but I was never sure."
Zhou Mi suddenly laughed, "I urge you to raise the hand that supports the sky, while many onlookers watch with cold eyes."
A heart full of ancient schemes, chest choked with ten thousand coals of ice, cooling a passionate liver and intestines, burning away the sacred books in the heart.
Sheyue heard it but pretended not to.
Feiran asked, "Can Mr. Zhou destroy this Grand Suppression Tower?"
Zhou Mi said, "It's possible, but the gain wouldn't be worth the loss, so there's no need for now. However, compared to that Southern Bahuan Continent's Grand Suppression Tower, which is just a decorative piece, this one is indeed an eyesore and a hindrance."
Feiran truly admired this Mr. Zhou from the Haoran World. In his early years, Feiran had studied under Zhou Mi for several years, though there was no formal master-disciple relationship. When they parted, Zhou Mi had joked with Feiran, saying that when it came to the sages' books, one should only read half. Read less and you can't become a sage; read more and you become a true sage. Half is just right—gain both fame and fortune.
Zhou Mi looked up at the sky, as if waiting for something.
Feiran suddenly felt his sword heart tremble and instinctively wanted to distance himself from Zhou Mi.
But the next moment, Feiran was relieved, though Sheyue had disappeared without a trace.
Zhou Mi gently shook his sleeve. On one cuff, the snowy moonlight shimmered brightly. Zhou Mi looked at the bright moon of the Haoran World and smiled, "Just in case."
The three landscape forbidden zones of Fuyao Continent. The real killing move, aside from trapping Bai Ye, was Zhou Mi using his heaven-defying means to forcefully detain the river of time of that continent, turning it into an almost stationary lake.
Zhou Mi suddenly spoke to Feiran via heart-to-heart communication, "Your senior brother asked me to pass on a message: he has already done well enough in accepting disciples on behalf of the master. From now on, it's up to you."
Feiran's face turned cold as he stared at this Wenhai of the Barren Wild World.
But Zhou Mi's figure disappeared in an instant.
---
A sword light split the sky, descending from the Azure Underworld to the Haoran World. It was a common truth that even immortals riding the wind could hardly outpace a flying sword. And as one of the four immortal swords, the Daozang, traveling this far, was naturally even faster.
At the highest point of the Jade Capital, Lu Chen had returned and sat back down on the railing, smirking as he looked at his second senior brother, who wasn't very receptive to advice.
Dao Laogong frowned in displeasure and asked, "What?"
Lu Chen raised both hands to adjust the slightly tilted lotus crown that symbolized his position as head of the sect, "Aren't you afraid of ending up like the Taibai Sword? Truly invincible is truly invincible, but after eight thousand years of a flawless reputation, are you going to throw it away yourself? Even if Bai Ye cherishes old ties and favors, he still has to survive to repay this enormous favor. I think it's doubtful. Brother, this deal leaves your junior brother confused. May I ask your reason for giving away the sword?"
Once he lost the handy immortal sword Daozang, the title of "Senior Brother Truly Invincible" might fall to someone else.
Dao Laogong countered, "You allowed an outer demon to sneak into Jiang Yunsheng's Dao seed, acting against the rules. Do you need a reason for that?"
Lu Chen said helplessly, "Of course I have a reason. I just know you'd be too lazy to listen. Your junior brother is considerate, so I won't bother."
Dao Laogong said, "Then I gave away the sword to the Haoran World. I really don't have a reason. Always scheming, trying to approach non-action through action—how tiring. I've wanted to say that to you for a long time. But you never listen to others' opinions. As your senior brother, I used to be too lazy to say anything."
Lu Chen turned to look at the ethereal Five Cities and Twelve Towers, sighing, "Senior Brother acts without needing reasons. Maybe that's why, even though our Daos are different, I still acknowledge the brotherly bond."
The three vice-heads of the Jade Capital in the past had a very delicate relationship. Just by looking at how each of them managed the world's affairs during their century-long tenure, one could see three different great Daos. Especially Lu Chen and his senior brother Dao Laogong, who left all cultivators of the Azure Underworld puzzled and uncertain.
When Dao Laogong presided over the Jade Capital for a century, the world obediently followed the rules of the Jade Capital for a hundred years. The most unruly was a legendary genius from the Great Profound Capital Temple, who had gathered countless Dao lineages. He was famous for his defiance, and Dao Laogong personally questioned him with his sword, causing his Dao to scatter across heaven and earth. The Jade Capital and the Great Profound Capital Temple thus became mortal enemies.
When it was Lu Chen's turn to preside, the world would go its own way for a hundred years, gathering and scattering, chaos and order uncertain, the threads tangled like a mess. But Lu Chen had good relations with the Great Profound Capital Temple and other Daoist sects outside the three main lineages of the Jade Capital, like the Suichu Palace. Lu Chen often traveled among them, freely discussing heaven and earth, drinking, enjoying scenery, and having fun—just not sparring in Dao techniques. It was rumored that the Suichu Palace master's long seclusion and the fact that "Twenty-two," one of the young reserve ten of several worlds, could eventually marry a female founding ancestor of an enemy sect at the Flying Ascension realm, had countless connections to this most carefree third vice-head of the Jade Capital.
Later, when the Great Headmaster of the Jade Capital returned, the potential situation in the world became clearer. Many Daoist officials, dynastic magnates, and immortal mansions were able to rest and recuperate, each growing stronger.
As for the two junior brothers, they had relatively harmonious relationships with the Dao Ancestor's first disciple, who had accepted disciples on behalf of the master. Before Lu Chen ascended from his home world to the Jade Capital, he had already ranked the future Great Headmaster senior brother together with the Dao Ancestor as an ancient vast and true man. In fact, before Lu Chen set sail overseas, he had specifically gone to find an ancient Celestial River ruin lost in the river of time. Because there, in the past, the Dao Ancestor had driven a blue ox pulling a thin board cart through a pass, and someone had forced him to write a book, leaving five thousand words for later generations. That person was precisely the Dao Ancestor's first disciple, an ancient true man whom Lu Chen praised as "surveying celestial phenomena and earthly geography, observing the high and examining the low, nothing not thoroughly penetrating."
In short, Lu Chen felt that the Great Headmaster's Dao skills were very high, his great Dao nearly approaching the Dao itself. But in the eyes of the peak cultivators of the Azure Underworld, Lu Chen might not necessarily approve of that "Dao Laogong," who claimed "first in civil arts, second to none in martial arts."
Lu Chen closed his eyes and used a secret technique to observe the mountains and rivers through the eyes of a direct disciple, sensing the flow of fate in the Haoran World for a moment. Opening his eyes, he clasped his hands behind his head and laughed, "Pity that the proud Great Celestial Master Zhao Tianlai was faster than Senior Brother in sending his sword. Otherwise, that would have been a good joke."
Dao Laogong sneered, "Then let's see whose immortal sword enters Fuyao Continent first."
The tall Daoist casually waved his sleeve, and a majestic surge of Azure Underworld Dao Qi, like a Milky Way hanging in the sky, surged after that immortal sword, once again tearing open the sky.
Lu Chen couldn't help turning his head and asking, "Senior Brother, you even have to compete for who arrives first?"
Dao Laogong countered, "Do I really have to bring out the Master to make you obediently go to the Outer Heavens?"
Lu Chen was about to slowly rise and ride the wind away leisurely, when he suddenly chuckled, "This matchmaker of mine, tying the red thread, really is unmatched."
It turned out that in the Fifth World, another immortal sword, "Tianzhen," had followed the renowned Wanfa and Daozang, dormant for ten thousand years on the Sword Qi Great Wall, and had now appeared for the first time. Back then, when Lu Chen was painstakingly hawking his wares in the Lizhu Cave Heaven, to tie this red thread, he had expended tremendous effort to finally push his cart to Mud Vase Alley. Later, on the Sword Qi Great Wall, half of the red thread on Ning Yao's side was cut by Chen Qingdu. But no one knew what Chen Ping'an was thinking; he seemed to intentionally or unintentionally keep the other half uncut.
The complexity and unpredictability of human nature inherently wander between divinity and bestiality.
Only by the tug-of-war within the human heart could humanity ultimately become the "One" that shattered the grand Dao of the ancient heavenly courts.
The gods regarded it as the worst, but humanity achieved the best, each going to extremes, ebbing and flowing, thus replacing that "One."
Dao Laogong glanced at the smug junior brother Lu Chen.
Lu Chen was about to speak further.
A young-faced little Daoist appeared beside the railing. "Oh?"
Even Dao Laogong and Lu Chen were caught off guard, completely unaware.
Lu Chen immediately shut his mouth and composed himself.
Dao Laogong respectfully made a Daoist salute and said solemnly, "Disciple Yu Dou pays respects to Master."
Dao Laogong of the Jade Capital, secular name Yu Dou, hailed from the Azure Underworld. He had cultivated for eight thousand years.
Lu Chen quickly leaned back, flipped to land, straightened his waist, and made a Daoist salute, "Disciple Lu Chen pays respects to Master."
The third vice-head of the Jade Capital, secular name Lu Chen, Dao name Xiaoyao. He hailed from the Haoran World, had cultivated for six thousand years, and had presided over the Jade Capital for five thousand years.
However, the Dao Ancestor's appearance while observing the Dao within the Lotus Small Cave Heaven was not that of a youth.
The Dao Ancestor smiled, "Pity that I couldn't witness Bai Ye's sword strike with my own eyes."
Not because he couldn't, but because he was unwilling to break the rules. The Supreme Sage, the Dao Ancestor, and the Buddha—the three religious founders—had established rules for heaven and earth ten thousand years ago, and none of them had violated them even once since.
Beside this "youth," appearing a step later, was a first-time visitor to the Jade Capital: the old abbot of the Guandao Temple in the East Sea, Tongye Continent, Haoran World.
As for that old abbot at the fourteenth realm, Dao Laogong clearly didn't hold him in high regard, not even sparing him a glance.
Lu Chen laughed, "Old Abbot, your Dao skills are so heaven-defying that you can even arm-wrestle with my master. How did you lose to Old Scholar back then? First losing a hairpin, then losing the sun-moon essence of Lotus Flower Blessed Land. This junior is truly surprised."
The old abbot sneered, "Lose? Is there a first or last in the Dao? Is there big or small in the Dharma? Is there high or low in the empty boat?"
The old Daoist seemed to speak casually, but his words carried the force of the Dao, causing the entire Five Cities and Twelve Towers of the Jade Capital to react. Especially the Divine Thunder City, whose master position was temporarily vacant, shook the most violently.
Lu Chen pretended to understand, "I am taught, I am taught."
Dao Laogong snorted coldly, and the abnormal movement in Divine Thunder City ceased.
The Dao Ancestor said, "Lu Chen."
Lu Chen immediately understood, smiling, "I obey the Master's dharma decree."
But this third vice-head wasn't going to the Outer Heavens; he was going to the Great Profound Capital Temple.
Dao Laogong, on the other hand, was going to the Outer Heavens, destined to clean up his junior brother Lu Chen's mess in the near future.
The old abbot said, "The Fifth World is about to change."
A brand-new world at the dawn of creation bore the heaviest Dao suppression; whoever was highest bore the weight. But Ning Yao had previously been too "vigorous," her edge unmatched, to the point where even the world's Dao had to temporarily yield. Originally, without surprises, Ning Yao would have broken into the Flying Ascension realm. That would have been the crucial point for the Dao, for the difference in accumulated heavenly tribulation between the world's first Flying Ascension and the first fourteenth realm was as vast as clouds and mud.
But when that little girl summoned an immortal sword to travel to the Haoran World, one move affected the whole, creating immense variables. Those ancient existences stirring restlessly would not ignore this and would likely emerge from their hibernation everywhere.
The Dao Ancestor said, "Not necessarily."
The old abbot nodded, "A change in the heavens may not necessarily change the heavens."
The Dao Ancestor smiled, "Indeed."
---
Flying Ascension City.
Nianxin looked at Ning Yao, whose face was slightly pale, and asked, "Why must it be this way? Why suffer like this?"
Nianxin really didn't agree with Ning Yao's choice. Too reckless, too aggressive.
She almost regretted showing that confidential letter to Ning Yao early.
Whether it was the Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion's sword strike or the Jade Capital Dao Laogong's sword strike, both had ample power. But Ning Yao was still only at the bottleneck of the Immortal realm sword cultivator. To sacrifice her true natal flying sword, not only traveling to another world but also meddling in that undeniable battle of immortals, seemed utterly unprofitable. If the immortal sword "Tianzhen" were damaged and returned wounded, that would already be a massive loss. If the sword were shattered and lost on the Fuyao Continent battlefield, Ning Yao might directly drop to the Jade Rung realm. Flying Ascension City would lose the invincible Great Sword Immortal Ning Yao, and Ning Yao's distance from becoming the first Flying Ascension in the new world would increase rather than decrease. One step slow would mean every step slow. Not only would Ning Yao's own Dao be obstructed, but Flying Ascension City might lose its prime opportunity to contend for the world with one city.
Ning Yao sat on the threshold, silent. She simply reached up to wipe the blood from between her brows.
No matter how one weighed the pros and cons, Ning Yao should not act so impulsively. Nianxin shook her head, "If Chen Ping'an were here, he would definitely stop you."
"For Flying Ascension City, I will do what needs to be done."
Ning Yao said, "But Flying Ascension City is Flying Ascension City, and I am I. If Flying Ascension City losing one Flying Ascension sword cultivator means losing the world's momentum, I don't think having Ning Yao here can truly win the world. Even if Flying Ascension City loses its advantage, I owe it nothing."
Only that she owed him so much for his painstaking scheming.
And Ning Yao didn't think that if he were here, he would stop her from using her sword.
Besides, if he were in Flying Ascension City as the Hidden Officer, she would only have more leisure. Then she wouldn't need to work so hard—just swing her sword.
Ning Yao held the back of her hand against her forehead.
This offering of the sword was no small matter.
Before this, on the Sword Qi Great Wall, besides Chen Qingdu, only a few old sword cultivators like Dong San'geng and Chen Xi knew that she actually possessed a second "natal flying sword" besides "Slay Immortals."
Moreover, even with the natal flying sword "Slay Immortals," Ning Yao was reluctant to use it, because it could easily be drawn by "Tianzhen," causing her sword heart to lose control. Then she would truly become the sword attendant of the immortal sword "Tianzhen." An immortal sword's sword spirit was unruly, its sword heart pure to the extreme. A cultivator could either suppress it forcibly with realm or temper it with a resilient sword heart—there was no other way. Concepts like good and evil in the human heart or closeness to the Dao were all illusions.
Ning Yao's nurturing of her two flying swords was both a process of refining the swords and a process of using "Slay Immortals" to question "Tianzhen."
In fact, Ning Yao had once privately asked the Great Sword Immortal a question: about that sixty-year agreement, was Chen Ping'an really alright?
At the time, Chen Qingdu's answer was evasive: it would depend on that senior's mood at the time.
Nianxin suddenly frowned, "You need to be careful that this world's Dao will target you."
Ning Yao turned to look at this seamstress. It seemed that someone was reminding Nianxin, and then Nianxin was reminding her.
Nianxin shook her head, "On this matter, I must still keep my promise."
Ning Yao nodded, "Without 'Tianzhen,' I still have 'Slay Immortals.'"
Nianxin suddenly laughed, "It takes Ning Yao to make him fall in love."
Back then, in the prison, regarding all encounters and reunions with Ning Yao, the young Hidden Officer never mentioned it to anyone. He was like a miser or a scrooge, as if every extra word would cost him silver.
It was that Flying Ascension outer demon Frostfall, who knew some inside information because of mutual scheming with the young Hidden Officer. He was bursting to tell, so he said a bit more to Nianxin.
Frostfall hadn't truly seen Chen Ping'an's complex and profound heart, which was like a labyrinth. He only told Nianxin two relatively vague heart-phantom scenes. One was a youth with heavy steps walking toward a humble alley house. The world was dark and dim, but inside the ancestral house there seemed to be a lamp lit, bright and warm. The straw-sandal-clad youth paused at the doorway, glanced at the light inside, not daring to believe it, yet couldn't help feeling delighted. This made the youth's steps lighten as he crossed the threshold, but he walked more slowly, carefully, as if unwilling to walk too fast.
The other scene was the youth walking alone toward a covered bridge, staggering. The world grew so dark that he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. But when the lifeless youth slowly raised his head and saw someone sitting on the steps, his eyes, which had been dark as ink, as if sinking into a deep ancient well, suddenly saw the brightness of sun and moon.
Ning Yao took her leave.
Nianxin placed the lamp back on the table.
Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion.
After Old Scholar left the Star Picking Platform, Zhao Tianlai said, "Trouble Fellow Daoist Wulei to take a trip to Fuyao Continent. We can't let the various worlds laugh that our Celestial Master Mansion has a sword but it's as good as none."
The young Daoist boy nodded, transformed into a sword light, and was the first to head for Fuyao Continent.
When Old Scholar appeared at the Celestial Master Mansion, it was precisely when the Fuyao Continent battlefield was at its most perilous.
Thus, Old Scholar's departure from Suishan and his revisit to the Celestial Master Mansion were not like a headless fly's random bumping. However, before Old Scholar rushed to Dragon Tiger Mountain in a panic, the Supreme Sage gave him a strange instruction: when he got to the Celestial Master Mansion, first have a look around, no need to rush into reminiscing. So Old Scholar went to find wine by imperial decree. What's the big deal about drinking some of your Zhao Tianlai's wine? How many characters were in that couplet? And especially the horizontal inscription "Heaven and Man United as One"—could that be given casually?
Back then, the Literary Academy had argued over this, feeling it would divert some of the Confucian lineage's literary qi, and more importantly, it violated ritual propriety. Especially those two Literature Academy leaders, who had the merit of reshaping the literary vein's orthodoxy. They ultimately accepted Old Scholar's reasoning, but they didn't give him good faces. So Old Scholar only drank one jar of your osmanthus wine—that couldn't compensate for the gallons of spittle he wasted arguing. As for the other dozens of jars he accidentally forgot to return to their original places, consider them left for your Celestial Master Mansion. Besides, even if he had drunk a hundred jars, who else would you give it to? Could the guests of your Celestial Master Mansion include the first Mountain Lord of the Haoran World, the Suishan Great Spirit? Could they include Bai Ze? Could they include the Supreme Sage or Ritual Sage? People need to have some conscience. Gaining an advantage and then acting smug is not a good habit. Change it.
After Old Scholar was thrown off the Star Picking Platform by Zhao Tianlai, the Fuyao Continent battlefield split into two.
Within part of the ancient battlefield where Bai Ye's heart-phantom was manifested, Central Earth Talisman Yu Xuan and the Skeletal Throne Great Demon Bai Ying were locked in a one-on-one duel.
One of the Barren Wild World's fourteen Throne Great Demons faced off against one of the Haoran World's top ten. The talisman puppets, scattered like beans turned into soldiers, clashed everywhere with the white-bone army under Bai Ying's command, the battlefield spanning heaven and earth.
This had long shattered Bai Ye's heart-phantom realm, but Yu Xuan held it together with tens of thousands of talismans. Such immortal arts of mending heaven and earth were truly miraculous, far harder than creating a separate small world.
Bai Ye still wielded the Taibai Sword, cutting down the Throne Great Demons one after another with his sword and poetry, both dashing and romantic.
When Yangzhi finally identified the location of Bai Ye's fourteenth realm union: it was precisely the poems within this "Poetry Invincible of Haoran"'s heart.
Almost simultaneously, in a small realm with Talisman Yu Xuan, Bai Ying's sword attendant Long Jian held a long sword refined from observing and capturing souls. He gently twisted the sword, creating a ripple, and a string of golden characters trembled and turned to ash.
Yet not a single trace of spiritual energy appeared in the world.
Qieyun helplessly pressed his forehead, smiling wryly, "Oh my dear mother, Sister Yangzhi, you finally figured it out. But that's not the problem now. The problem is whether we can guess how many poems still remain in Bai Ye's heart, how many lines remain?"
The union of the fourteenth realm could be roughly divided into three types: Heavenly Timing, Earthly Advantage, and Human Harmony.
Uniting with a region's landscape was Earthly Advantage, similar to the Haoran World's Yasheng and Wensheng.
Lotus Nunnery Master and Talisman Yu Xuan belonged to Heavenly Timing, related to the eternal sun, moon, and stars that seemed untouched by the river of time.
Bai Ye's union with the fourteenth realm belonged to Human Harmony.
Additionally, for sword cultivators seeking to reach the fourteenth realm, it was roughly the same. Heavenly Timing was not to be hoped for, and Earthly Advantage was meaningless. Moreover, sword cultivators themselves pursued "Heaven and Earth unrestrained by my sword," so they would not actively seek to fit with heaven and earth to prove the Dao.
Bai Ye's sword strikes were unceasing. Not only did they ignore the stagnation of all things and laws caused by the river of time, but the sword light was also traceless. More importantly, Bai Ye's spiritual energy consumption was extremely slow. No matter how many times he struck, aside from the qi consumed by the act of delivering the sword, the real consumption was only the poems in his heart.
A waterfall descended from the heavens, the Yellow River falling from the sky to the East Sea, crashing fiercely against the Ye Luo River manifested by Yangzhi's Dao. Huge waves surged, and within a white-miao landscape painting, ten thousand li turned into a watery marsh, its momentum no less than the Dao struggle between Yangzhi and Feifei.
Bai Ye split Yangzhi's giant dragon-headed dharma manifestation, which no longer maintained a human form, into two with a single sword.
Yuan Shou approached with his ten-thousand-foot true form holding a staff, now within a hundred li of Bai Ye, becoming one of the Throne Great Demons closest to Bai Ye.
Taibai swept horizontally, its brilliant sword light opening a line in heaven and earth, forcibly blocking the blow of Yuan Shou's staff.
The staff in Yuan Shou's hand shattered again. He twisted his right wrist and clenched, producing another staff inscribed with "Calming the Seas." He spat out a mouthful of blood. If Bai Ye's heart-poems couldn't be reused, this fight would drag on to the end of time!
Not only that, but the lingering sword intent of Bai Ye's strike gave rise to new heart-phantoms, causing the increasingly savage Yuan Shou to swing his staff wildly, as if intent on smashing heaven and earth to pieces.
As for the one who had closed in on Bai Ye with his sword earliest, Wuyue, he was in a situation similar to Bai Ying's.
Floating clouds and setting sun, green mud winding, sad birds circling the forest, withered pines hanging upside down, rocky paths steep, cliffs turning ten thousand times... The Great Dao's blue sky, only they could not exit.
Even I, Bai Ye, cannot exit, let alone that great demon Wuyue trapped in this heart-phantom realm, even less able to exit.
These strange heavenly phenomena caused Wuyue's three heads and six arms, his dharma form towering nearly to the sky, yet even his fists and weapons could not open the heavens.
Bai Ye the immortal seeker.
Yangzhi barely broke through the Yellow River water, only to find another sword strike from Bai Ye arriving.
White hair thirty thousand feet, I once fished for a white dragon, drew a sword to cut the flowing water, released the dragon by the stream.
Three thousand snow-white flying swords fell like rain into the stream, sword-cutting the dragon true form of Throne Yangzhi.
Far away by the stream, there was a general on a white horse, holding a flag crossing the river, iron cavalry arrayed thick as snowy mountains, watering horses in the cut river.
Arrows shot in volleys, iron spears thrust forward, sword qi fell like rain again.
Bai Ye the frontier warrior.
Making Yangzhi suffer unbearably.
The great demon Niudao, who had escaped the golden armor cage, was about to close in on Bai Ye when the world changed. Northern clouds crossed the sky, autumn colors spread for ten thousand li, the vast wilderness, and a stern wind arose.
Where the wind rose was where the sword qi rose, sword qi heavy as mountains piling up, peaks linking together to block the Milky Way, contending with the Big Dipper.
Qieyun remained motionless, again tearing open his skin to slightly avoid Bai Ye's sword. He watched with anticipation, glancing at the sky, thinking it might be the sword qi of the heavenly falling white jade coffin hitting the ground. Then he looked down at the mortal world, guessing it might be the rustic scene of green wheat ridges in March. But it was neither—it was a scene beside a bustling tavern. A youth learning sword techniques, drunk among flowers and willows, sharing a cup of wine, carrying this heroic spirit through life. A young knight-errant, laughing over a cup of wine, killing people in the market.
Bai Ye the wandering knight.
This time, Qieyun failed to dodge the young knight's sword.
The next moment, after Qieyun's body had just closed together, he found himself again in the starry night sky, smiling bitterly. He himself found it unbearably annoying. He guessed the other Throne Great Demons were even more determined and murderous.
Dreaming of riding a white deer westward into the mountains, mountains four thousand ren high with thirty-two peaks, a thousand jade maidens following in the clouds. Singing aloud the immortal chapter of purple clouds, you all open the heavenly palace for me. True spirits refining jade for millennia, a bridge stepping on rainbows, the banished immortal walking around the vast sky, leaving behind infinite forms. Taibai vast and grey, stars densely arrayed, dead drunk, leaning on a sword relying on an ancient pine. Who says the Celestial River beneath my feet is so broad? In my eyes, it's as narrow as a bolt of silk. Suddenly turning my head, reaching out to laugh and beckon the green boy...
In another battlefield.
Talisman Yu Xuan, after all, didn't need to roll up his sleeves to fight personally, and since Bai Ying had a similar style, Yu Xuan taught Bai Ying many sayings: "Rob anything but don't rob a coffin to lie in," "A frog wants its life, a snake wants its fill," "This old man is a featherless bird blessed by heaven, you're a sow squeezed in a corner still grunting three times..."
His nonsense didn't prevent Yu Xuan from handling a top priority.
First, he silently concealed two golden talismans among thousands of varying ranks, suspended at the eastern and western ends of the small realm. These were the Sun Talisman and the Moon Talisman, each hanging in the east and west, eventually forming a "Bright" character talisman.
The sun and moon shone on each other, emitting great brilliance illuminating the world, leaving no darkness untouched. Hence the mountain dwellers praised: once Yu Xuan's talisman appeared, the mortal world needed no lamps to light.
However, Yu Xuan used these two talismans to determine one thing: whether the flow speed of the river of time within the forbidden zones of Fuyao Continent was faster or slower. If it indeed differed, what was the exact difference? But even with the sun and moon talismans combined into a "Bright" character talisman, he still couldn't detect it. To accurately discern the scale of time within layers of forbidden zones and small realm cages was no easy feat.
Talisman Yu Xuan then threw out two green talismans, focusing his mind in two places, reciting spells: "Sundial stops flowing, starlight ceases moving, scented rain falls beside, sweet dew hangs above. Sun shadow reveals time, flowing water sets the hour. Urgent as the law!"
"Light in the candle, water in the arrow. Shining in the sky, essence and radiance intertwine, the celestial qi turns white, the sundial becomes small, melting clouds and breaking through the sky! Command!"
Yu Xuan gritted his teeth and threw out another green talisman—his self-created Pavilion Standing Talisman.
In the mountains without a water clock, immortals stand by clear spring water, planting twelve lotus leaves that float with the waves, fixing the twelve hours of the day, the shadow of the sundial without error.
Once these three talismans appeared, the Great Dao was instantly revealed.
Though the three green talismans burned up in an instant, Yu Xuan, even with just a fleeting glance, had glimpsed the celestial mechanism. He warned Bai Ye, "Beware of the river of time reversing and flowing backwards..."
Talisman Yu Xuan suddenly fell silent.
It turned out that just as Talisman Yu Xuan shouted half of his heart's message, three immortal swords broke through the three layers of forbidden zones of Fuyao Continent. The three swords precisely negated the three phrases of Yu Xuan's warning: "Beware," "river of time," and "reversing and flowing backwards."
Not only that, but Qieyun, who was in Bai Ye's heart-phantom realm, also smiled at Bai Ye and said, "The most proud in the mortal world—Bai Ye truly lives up to it."
This "Qieyun" certainly couldn't control three immortal swords, but "Qieyun" could control the three forbidden zones and the river of time.
Thus, even though Talisman Yu Xuan had seen through the celestial mechanism, he could not tell Bai Ye part of the truth.
Bai Ye said, "Jia Sheng."
The death-substitution technique was in Bai Ying. But the doppelgänger technique was in Qieyun. So this current Qieyun could be alive or dead, either way.
Another world, or another "truly deserved" mortal world.
Four immortal swords gathered beside Bai Ye. Bai Ye successively wielded Taibai, Daozang, Tianzhen, and Wanfa, each delivering a full-powered sword strike.
Four swords slew Bai Ying and "Qieyun" along with four other Throne Great Demons. The four sword kills made Wuyue, Yangzhi, Yuan Shou, and Niudao dead beyond dead.
Qieyun's form dissipated, not having taken a single sword strike, yet it was the Dao disappearance of death. Zhou Mi smiled, "Using a sword of the future to kill a person of the present. Bai Ye must go."
Zhou Mi finally said, "We'll have another sword duel in the future, if you and I both have the chance."
A sword strike arrived.
Bai Ye unhesitatingly used a sword of the present to slash the current Throne "Qieyun."
Zhou Mi allowed the sword light to fall on him.
The entire continent flipped over, the river of time in chaos.
Yangzhi and Yuan Shou looked at each other, seeming not to understand why they were still alive.
Niudao and Wuyue looked grim, staring at Bai Ying, whose Dao had inexplicably collapsed.
The biggest puzzle was: where was Bai Ye? Moreover, why did Qieyun's aura match Bai Ying's exactly, as if the Dao was completely severed yet slightly connected, as if Qieyun had inexplicably transformed into Zhou Mi?
As for where Talisman Yu Xuan and the four immortal swords had gone, it made the resurrected Throne Great Demons even more confused.
How had Bai Ye, under Zhou Mi's nose, killed Qieyun and Bai Ying?
Liu Cha sheathed his sword, his expression complex.
The Haoran World no longer had the fourteenth realm Bai Ye.
As for the immortal sword Taibai, except for its scabbard, which remained but was missing, the sword itself had split into four, scattering to various places, their trajectories like rainbows.
One fragment of Taibai's sword tip went to the vicinity of the Inverted Mountain ruins.
A gray-clad old man seemed to be slapped on the head by a palm, falling into the vortex at his feet.
Central Earth Divine Continent, Zouzi suddenly reached out, took a sword-nurturing gourd from Liu Cai, and absorbed a sword light into the gourd.
Returning the gourd to Liu Cai, he asked this direct sword disciple to bow in thanks to that scholar.
Feiran, who thought he was just protecting a Mirage City out of boredom, suddenly widened his eyes as a fragment of a sword blade paused before him.
The third sword light followed the immortal sword Tianzhen, breaking through the sky of the Fifth World, diving sharply, and finally landing lightly beside a green-robed Confucian scholar: Zhao Yao.
As for the final sword light, the gate-guarding Great Sword Immortal Zhang Lu ignored it as it entered through the gate. He guarded the gate by stopping people, not sword fragments. Besides, Zhang Lu admitted he couldn't stop it.
That sword light went to half of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Chen Ping'an suddenly raised his head. Though separated by the forbidden zone of a Jiazi Camp formation, he still sensed the presence of that sword qi.
Li Zhen wanted to speak but held back, silently watching that gray-robed figure cross the northern city wall for the first time, just to prevent the immortal sword fragment from falling into Chen Ping'an's hands.
Chen Ping'an stumbled, and a dharma manifestation rose, revealing Chen Qingdu holding a long sword, slashing at the gray-robed figure: "Dragon Lord, take my sword."
Chen Qingdu's final sword in his life, struck after his death years later, to cut down the Dragon Lord.
Li Zhen crouched on the city wall, covering his head with both hands, refusing to look at a scene he had already seen once.
Central Earth Divine Continent, a plum blossom tree—Bai Ye's plum blossoms bloomed like Taibai.
Beneath the tree, a small child appeared out of nowhere, looking around in slight confusion, finally raising his head to gaze at the plum blossom tree.
A tiger-head hat was suddenly placed on the child's head. An old scholar, holding the carefully prepared tiger-head hat, laughed heartily, "If heaven's fate is thus, let's enjoy the cup. Brother Bai Ye, shall I take you for a drink?"
Sword Qi Great Wall. Chen Ping'an barely sat up and saw a clump of gray-white cloth wrapped around a sword tip, hovering before him. What was this? Had that old dog Dragon Lord and that little thief Li Zhen learned to scheme? It looked like quite a valuable item.
An old man's figure appeared beside Chen Ping'an. He bent down and slapped Chen Ping'an on the head, saying, "Consider this compensation for breaking our appointment."
Chen Ping'an turned his head but only saw the dissipating image of the Great Sword Immortal. Before Chen Ping'an could stand, Chen Qingdu sat down on the ground of his own accord. He placed his hands clasped on his abdomen, lightly clenching his fists. The old man asked with a smile, "How was that sword strike?"
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment, then said sincerely, "Impressive."
Chen Qingdu laughed, "Just saying whatever comes to mind—just like me in my younger days."
In the past by the river, a young swordsman had said, "Let's fight, then."
Chen Ping'an said, "Don't worry."
Chen Qingdu nodded, "Good."
Chen Ping'an said no more.
Chen Qingdu then dissipated from the mortal world.
The young Hidden Officer in a bright red dharma robe clenched his fists on his knees. After a moment, his robe suddenly turned white. He stood up and walked to the city wall, looking at the opposite half of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Then a figure landed beside him—a large-bearded swordsman carrying a sword on his back, the swordsman Liu Cha.