Chapter 778: Amidst Laughter and Talk
Wu Shuangjiang had previously surveyed the entire star chart, unwilling to entangle with Cui Dongshan any further. He produced four imitation swords, effortlessly breaking through the restrictions of the first small world, and arrived behind the Mountain-Searching Formation. Facing a rain of countless arcane techniques like a volley of arrows, Wu Shuangjiang pinched a talisman and transformed it into a person. The woman in the fox-fur robe, wearing a pair of Ascending Flying Shoes that tread upon white clouds, evolved a sea of clouds to suppress the mountain spirits and fiends. The handsome youth, pressing his hand on the Huanglang belt, took a jade tablet from his pouch, which could naturally restrain those "immortal-ranked" Mountain-Searching Generals. The sky above and the earth below were like two armies facing off—one side was the mountain spirits and generals of the Mountain-Searching Formation, while the other had only three people.
Wu Shuangjiang then employed his divine powers, unwilling to let the four hidden ones watch the show from the shadows. Besides Cui Dongshan, before Ning Yao, Chen Ping'an, and Jiang Shangzhen, disregarding the multitude of heavenly restrictions, mysterious figures resembling their respective beloved partners in their hearts appeared.
Ning Yao looked at the spirited young swordsman in blue robes. She let out a scoff. "Playing tricks, pretending to be a ghost—can't even mimic properly."
With a casual sword stroke, she severed its head.
If the real Chen Ping'an had witnessed this scene, he probably would have felt that hiding that scroll titled "Teaching the Women of the World How to Apply Makeup" earlier was not at all excessive.
Unexpectedly, that blue-robed swordsman actually re-condensed itself. Its expression and voice were exactly like the real Chen Ping'an's, as if meeting a beloved woman after a long separation and whispering sweet nothings. "Miss Ning, long time no see. I've missed you dearly."
Ning Yao raised an eyebrow slightly. "Truly seeking death." She struck again with her sword, shattering it once more. After that, every time the blue-robed swordsman reformed, Ning Yao would strike with her sword. Many times, she would deliberately wait a moment, as if giving it a chance to appear, but never giving it a chance to speak. Each time Ning Yao struck, it was merely a line of sword light. But each seemingly slender thread of dazzling sword light possessed a sword intent that could shatter the rules of heaven and earth. Yet she controlled her strikes perfectly, not damaging the Caged Finch, but allowing the blue-robed swordsman to be "absorbed" by the sword light. It was like swinging a sword and creating a guixu, forcibly dragging seawater or even river water of the starry sky into it, ultimately turning into endless nothingness.
In short, the "Chen Ping'an" in front of her was no match for Ning Yao, a Flying Ascension realm cultivator.
The swordsman seemed to feel resentment. Within the Caged Finch, another imitation Caged Finch emerged. Ning Yao's expressionless face tightened slightly as she released her sword qi. The newly appeared imitation world, along with the torrential rain of swords from the imitation Well-in-the-Moon sword, instantly shattered like thousands of pieces of glass. The brilliance of heaven and earth was dazzling, the scene magnificent. A female Flying Ascension realm cultivator, wielding a sword, walked slowly through it. The strands of hair at her temples fluttered slightly, accentuating her extraordinary beauty—no other color in the world could compare.
In that lawless place of the formation, Chen Ping'an, who had been waiting quietly for Wu Shuangjiang to visit, stood up. He returned his sword, Night Travel, to its sheath, and a pair of Caozi daggers slid out from his sleeves. He shifted one step sideways, and a "Ning Yao" wielding a sword appeared, a line of sword light landing exactly in the original spot. Chen Ping'an stomped the ground and instantly arrived behind the illusion of Ning Yao. He pressed his palm against the back of her head, crushing it on the spot. Then he swept his sword backward. Chen Ping'an landed gracefully a dozen zhang away, frowning slightly. He immediately restrained his thoughts. That female illusion's body remained completely still, but her head turned backward, grinning mockingly at him.
Because the "Sword Immortal" in her hand, flowing with golden light, had previously been in a strange state between reality and illusion. But when Chen Ping'an's thoughts stirred slightly, involving that Sword Immortal and the Dharma robe Golden Sweetness, the sword in the woman's hand and the robe on her body instantly became extremely close to the truth in Chen Ping'an's mind. This meant that the woman, no matter how she manifested, her combat power skyrocketed.
Just as another thought flashed through Chen Ping'an's mind, the woman's lips moved slightly, as if saying the word "come." In that lawless small world, strands of ancient essence sword intent materialized out of thin air. It was like four tangible long swords, with the sword intent giving rise to crisscrossing, subtle sword qi, all protecting the formation around the woman's small world. She nodded slightly, squinting and smiling. "The number one person in a world—truly worthy of the title."
Chen Ping'an felt a headache. He understood. Wu Shuangjiang's divine power move was insidious to the extreme.
Chen Ping'an quickly suppressed all the troublesome thoughts about "Ning Yao" in his mind.
The woman smiled. "Is this enough? That sword strike that broke the restriction of the Night Traveler earlier was solid Flying Ascension realm cultivation. Plus, this sword and the Dharma robe—two immortal artifacts. I should thank you, making me more real. Oh, I forgot—with you, there's no need for thanks. That would be too distant."
Chen Ping'an didn't feel it was impossible to fight, just troublesome. No matter how profound Wu Shuangjiang's Dao techniques were, this woman in front of him was like a copy from a painting, resembling the original but not the real Ning Yao—not a genuine Flying Ascension realm sword cultivator. Whether the woman was sustained by Wu Shuangjiang's thoughts, or her own spiritual foundation, or the sword Sword Immortal and Dharma robe Golden Sweetness, as long as Chen Ping'an could restrain his thoughts, she and all her external possessions would gradually wear down and eventually dissipate.
A lawless place was the best battlefield. And being trapped here wasn't entirely bad for Chen Ping'an—it was just right for tempering his Tenth Realm martial artist's physique.
But she was truly persistent.
Chen Ping'an took a deep breath, his body slightly stooped, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Earlier, aboard the ship, he had moved through the Item City as an Eighth Realm martial artist. Even when seeking out Ning Yao, he had suppressed his realm to the peak of the Mountain Summit Realm. Now, he was truly at the Stage of Flourishing Qi.
Unexpectedly, another Ning Yao appeared behind the woman, like a paper cutout, split down the middle by a sword. It was the real Ning Yao arriving with her sword. The real and fake Ning Yao were immediately distinguishable.
Ning Yao took a step and came to Chen Ping'an's side. She frowned slightly. "What did you talk to her about?"
The next moment, a locust-wood sword materialized in the sword box behind Ning Yao.
Chen Ping'an swept his arm horizontally, slamming it into Ning Yao's face. She flew sideways for over a dozen zhang. Chen Ping'an formed a sword seal with his hand, using finger-sword technique as a flying sword, piercing through her head. With his left hand, he offered a seal, gathering the Five Thunders. The patterns on his palm, like mountains and rivers thousands of miles long, were everywhere imbued with the True Method of the Five Thunders. He enveloped the Ning Yao who had two locust-wood swords in her box, like a heavenly tribulation descending upon her. The Dao method crashed down violently, shattering her form.
Chen Ping'an squinted, shook his sleeves, and assumed a relaxed posture, waiting for the next "Ning Yao" to appear.
Just now, a single additional thought about the locust-wood sword, which had little to do with combat power, had made her reveal her flaw.
As for Jiang Shangzhen, he stared blankly at a frail woman with a face streaked with tears. She walked slowly and stopped in front of him. She lightly kicked him, punched him—as gentle as floating catkins, neither painful nor itchy. She pursed her lips, raised her head, and looked at the tall figure before her. Sobbing, she said, "Jiang Lang, you've aged. You even have white hair."
Jiang Shangzhen's gaze was clear. He looked at the woman in front of him, but in his heart, he was thinking of a different woman. They were not the same person at all. He smiled slightly. "In my whole life, I've never seen her cry. What the hell are you?"
He found her too annoying. Gently, he extended his hand and pushed aside her head. The woman stumbled and fell to the ground. She sat there, biting her lip, gazing resentfully at the heartless man. Jiang Shangzhen, with a touch of frost at his temples, only looked into the distance, murmuring, "My heart is not a mat that can be rolled up."
Within the small world of the Mountain-Searching Formation, the imitation Tianzhen sword hovered. The small spirit creature that looked like Jiang Shangzhen reached up and rubbed his neck, probably because his head had been placed slightly askew earlier. He steadied it with both hands, twisted it a bit, and sighed. "Huh, fighting a Fourteen Realm cultivator is really exhausting. Now I inexplicably find Pei Min's expression very kind and amiable."
The four swords stood at the four corners of the Mountain-Searching Formation diagram. Their sword energy soared into the sky like four mountain-high candles, burning four black holes in the scroll of peace. So if Wu Shuangjiang wanted to leave, he could choose one "gate" and travel far away with his two attendants. But for now, Wu Shuangjiang clearly had no intention of leaving.
Jiang Shangzhen, with his sharp eyes, immediately saw that the handsome youth beside Wu Shuangjiang was actually the same person as the woman in the fox-fur robe, just at different ages. One was the young beloved in Wu Shuangjiang's memory, the other a slightly older young woman. As for why she was disguised as a man, Jiang Shangzhen felt the true flavor was like a woman drawing her eyebrows in the boudoir—not to be shared with outsiders.
Wu Shuangjiang turned his head and spoke softly to the "youth Tianran," his eyes tender, his voice mellow, filled with genuine affection. He explained to her the differences between various small worlds in the world. "When a sage sits in a small world, or an immortal uses creation divine powers, be it talisman arrays or mind manifestations, to create sun, moon, stars, and thousands of miles of mountains and rivers—these are all great divine powers. But they are also divided into grades."
"When a Three Teachings sage sits in an academy, Daoist temple, or Buddhist monastery, or a military sage sits in an ancient battlefield, the world is most real, the Dao rules operate orderly and without flaw. Thus, they rank first. Beyond the Three Teachings patriarchs, Chen Qingdu sat in the Sword Qi Great Wall, with the greatest killing power. Old Blind Man sat in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the most solid. The Mohist Elder built his city, creating his own world. Though it might seem to lean on both sides, it approaches the ultimate of both terrain and human power for a Refining Master. Plus, it is both offensive and defensive, quite impressive. After this ship matter is settled, if there's still an opportunity, I'll take you to the Barren Wilderness World to have a look."
"Previously, Mr. Cui's star chart seemed vast and boundless. It tampered with the divine sense of cultivators who fell into it, confusing finiteness and infinity. It was most suitable for trapping and killing immortals. But dealing with a Flying Ascension realm cultivator would be very difficult. As for this Mountain-Searching Formation small world, its essence lies in the uncertainty of truth and falsehood. So many divine powers, techniques, and offensive treasures—how could they all be real? It's only nine parts false and one part true. Otherwise, Jiang Shangzhen's accumulated merits on the Tongye Continent battlefield and in the Confucian Temple would have at least doubled. But it's just that Jiang Shangzhen's natal flying sword is already hidden in it, able to exchange with any general, spirit, treasure, or technique at will. If any fish slips through the net and gets close, any ordinary cultivator facing him would end up with their head chopped off by a flying sword. Unfortunately, the greatest flaw of every small world, whether mind manifestation or talisman array, is that there is a definite 'one'—they cannot cycle endlessly through the Dao. So for the star chart and the Mountain-Searching Formation, if it weren't that I wanted to hurry and see some new scenery, I could have waited until Mr. Cui and Jiang Shangzhen exhausted that 'one' before moving to the next world."
Cui Dongshan repeatedly flicked his sleeves to clear away the lingering sword energy stirred up by the imitation Tianzhen swords. It was a pity that the scroll of peace, the Mountain-Searching Diagram, was firmly pinned to the "desk" by the four imitation immortal swords. It was more like several viewers holding lamps close to look at the scroll, the lamps' flames scorching it up close, so that the four corners of the scroll world showed varying degrees of yellowish discoloration.
But Jiang Shangzhen didn't care at all, and Cui Dongshan was even more composed. He smiled. "When sword cultivators duel, it's like fighting on the battlefield. Old Wei said it best: it's just about setting ranks, arranging lines, slashing wildly with random blades. When qi refiners spar in Dao methods, it's like two states planning their military strategies—it depends on who has more tricks up their sleeves. Different styles, different flavors. Let's not be scared out of our wits by Palace Master Wu. The four swords gathered together—this is definitely the first time. Palace Master Wu looks like he's doing it effortlessly, but he's actually paying a heavy price."
Wu Shuangjiang stood in the sky, nodded from afar, and said cheerfully, "Mr. Cui's guess is not wrong. Originally, I was going to first go and challenge the Xuan Du Temple, then discuss sword techniques with the Second Daoist. Meeting you on this ship is a rare opportunity. Mr. Cui can be considered a sword cultivator. I'll just use you all to practice, to have a mutual sword discussion. I only hope that two Flying Ascension and one Jade Pu immortals, four sword immortals joining forces to slay a Fourteen Realm cultivator—don't let me think lightly of the sword cultivators of Haoran."
Jiang Shangzhen reached out his hand, and a banner appeared in it. He waved it vigorously, still in the form of that small spirit creature. He cursed and sputtered, "I consider myself a good conversationalist—good at flattering and also good at disgusting people. Never thought I'd meet another Dao rival besides Brother Du today! And I really can't stand this flirting and teasing! I really can't! Junior Brother Cui, don't stop me. Today, I must have a go at this Old Immortal Wu!"
As the banner waved, fierce winds blew, and strange phenomena arose in the world again. Except for those mountain generals and spirits that had retreated, they began to ride the wind again, surging toward the three people in the sky. Among them, four generals were most conspicuous. One was a thousand zhang tall, stepping on a flood dragon, wielding a giant sword, leading an army to attack Wu Shuangjiang and his group.
A Giant Guardian Mountain Envoy stood atop a mountain carried by a giant turtle, holding a Demon-Locking Mirror. Under the sunlight, the mirror's light shot out like a continuous river, like a sharp sword light seemingly infused with endless solar essence and Dao intent, heading straight for the jade tablet hanging like the moon.
A general in golden armor, with three heads and six arms, holding a sword, spear, halberd, and lance, flickered and disappeared. He shrunk the ground, taking a few steps, and in an instant arrived before Wu Shuangjiang.
A celestial maiden with flowing ribbons, holding a pipa, had a strange appearance—one head with four faces.
The jade tablet thrown by the handsome youth was bombarded by the light pillar of the Demon-Locking Mirror. Sparks flew everywhere, and golden rain fell from the sky. Finally, the first crack appeared on the jade tablet, accompanied by a sound of splitting.
Wu Shuangjiang smiled. "Put it away. After all, it's a treasured item collected for many years."
The youth nodded and was about to retrieve the jade tablet into the pouch. Unexpectedly, within the light beam emitted by the Demon-Locking Mirror on the mountaintop, there was a trace of emerald green sword light, almost imperceptible, like a fish hiding in a river. It was as fast as a thunderbolt, about to strike the crack in the jade tablet. Wu Shuangjiang smiled faintly and casually manifested a Dharmic image. In the gesture of cupping water, he gathered a palmful of mirror light, large as a lake. Inside was an extremely small emerald fish darting around wildly. But in the view of a Fourteen Realm great cultivator, it was still clearly visible. The Dharmic image closed its palms, crushing the mirror light, leaving only that strand of sword qi intent for reference and tempering, ultimately refining and forming a near-truth Jiang Shangzhen natal flying sword.
Wu Shuangjiang withdrew his Dharmic image and opened his hand. In his palm lay a tiny green snake, coiled and wriggling, suppressed by the Dao and forced to shrink to this size. If it were allowed to reveal its true form, it should have been—Wu Shuangjiang suddenly shook his head with a smile. As expected, the snake, which had been unable to move, suddenly grew larger. It had horns on its head, claws on its belly, and pale golden eyes—clearly a flood dragon water descendant. It coiled around Wu Shuangjiang's arm. Wu Shuangjiang gently shook his arm, and the flood dragon's flesh and blood instantly turned to nothing. But the flood dragon's residual image remained, like a white-line drawing of a dragon in gold ink, still entangled stubbornly. The sleeve of Wu Shuangjiang's Dharma robe was twisted and creaked by the flood descendant. The flood dragon opened its mouth and bit into Wu Shuangjiang's Dharma robe, trying to reach the skin of a Fourteen Realm cultivator. Wu Shuangjiang sneered. "Little wretched water descendant, better return to the rivers and lakes."
A stream of light flashed across Wu Shuangjiang's Dharma robe. The flood dragon disappeared. Moments later, it directly fell into the Dharma robe's world and was instantly refined of all its spirit.
That water descendant wasn't simply stained with Jiang Shangzhen's sword intent as a disguise. There was also a refining method as a blind. That is to say, this method was not an improvised action after encountering Wu Shuangjiang but had been premeditated. Otherwise, as one of the foremost Refining Masters in the world, Wu Shuangjiang would not have suffered this accident. Whether refining swords or refining objects, he was one of the few great cultivators at the very peak. Otherwise, how could he even refine a heart demon? He could even refine a Flying Ascension realm outer celestial demon again.
Wu Shuangjiang laughed and asked, "You have all these methods—who were they originally intended for? Was it the swordsman Pei Min? Or was it me from the beginning? It seems Xiao Bai's appearance earlier was superfluous."
When the Flying Ascension from Daoshan Mountain returned to the Qingming World, the four cultivators of the Suichu Palace's Yin spirits traveling far had followed the Fangshanzi Seal back home. Only Xiao Bai, the Shou Sui Ren, took a trip to the ruins of the Sword Qi Great Wall. Using a secret technique, he met the young hidden official guarding half the city wall alone and proposed a deal. He promised that as long as Chen Ping'an handed over the outer celestial demon, he was willing to work for Chen Ping'an personally or for the Flying Ascension City of the Fifth World as a guest elder for a hundred years.
In the Qingming World, it was well known that the Shou Sui Ren of Suichu Palace had an extremely high realm and immense killing power. During Wu Shuangjiang's seclusion, it was Xiao Bai who sat in charge of the Stork Tower. Under his planning, the sect's power increased rather than decreased.
Xiao Bai did not treat the young hidden official, whom he had known for years, as a fool. Friendship was friendship, business was business. After all, the outer celestial demon that had escaped from Suichu Palace not only had a Dao rivalry with Palace Master Wu Shuangjiang but would also become a life-and-death enemy for the entire Suichu Palace.
Manifested as the Dao companion in Wu Shuangjiang's heart, the white-haired child who had escaped to the prison of the Sword Qi Great Wall was a genuine demon. According to mountain rules, it was not a naughty little girl who had run away from home and could be casually brought back once the family elders found her. It was like the embroidered tiger, the eldest disciple of Wen Sheng, who betrayed his master and rebelled against his clan. Qi Jingchun built the Cliff Academy in Dali, and he naturally wouldn't discuss any brotherhood with Cui Chan again. Whether it was Zuo You, later facing Cui Dongshan on the Sword Qi Great Wall, or A Liang, earlier in Dali's capital when he met National Teacher Cui Chan again—at least on the surface, it wasn't a pleasant encounter.
But unexpectedly, the young hidden official refused the proposal of the Shou Sui Ren of Suichu Palace.
Business was business, scheming was scheming.
Originally, if Chen Ping'an had agreed, in Flying Ascension City and the Fifth World, relying on Xiao Bai's cultivation and identity, and having an alliance with sword cultivators, the entire world would gradually become a bloody military battlefield. Every battlefield ruin would be Xiao Bai's Dao field. The Sword Qi Great Wall would seem to gain power, unmatched in a hundred years, sweeping everything in its path, taking full advantage of terrain. But it would come at the cost of losing timing and harmony as invisible prices. Suichu Palace might even have a chance to eventually replace Flying Ascension City's position. Sword cultivators in the world love to kill. Xiao Bai doesn't like killing, but he is very good at it.
But since Xiao Bai didn't reach an agreement with Chen Ping'an and failed to help Suichu Palace gain a hidden advantage, Wu Shuangjiang didn't care much. He didn't feel regret. He had never been very interested in worldly trends or whether his sect could surpass Sun Huaizhong's Great Xuan Du Temple.
Probably unwilling to let the scroll of peace, the Mountain-Searching Diagram, be destroyed too early, the two imitation swords, Taibai and Tianzhen, suddenly disappeared.
Following the clues, they went to the world where Ning Yao and Chen Ping'an were.
The four imitation immortal swords were all medium-refined items of Wu Shuangjiang, not major-refined natal objects. Moreover, it was indeed impossible to accomplish major refining—not only could Wu Shuangjiang not do it, but even the owners of the four real immortal swords would be equally powerless.
Just to forge the embryos of the four immortal swords, Suichu Palace had exhausted countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Wu Shuangjiang, early on his cultivation path, had collected and purchased dozens of swords left by sword immortals, ultimately re-smelting and refining them. In fact, when Wu Shuangjiang was still a Golden Core Earth Immortal, he had already had this "fantastic" idea, and he had begun to plan step by step, accumulating resources bit by bit.
The three swords—Daozang, Taibai, and Wanfa—were easier, as they had already existed for a long time. Only the Tianzhen, based on Ning Yao, had kept Wu Shuangjiang waiting for many years.
So, on this night ship journey, when Ning Yao came to the Haoran World wielding her sword after reaching Flying Ascension and headed straight here to meet Chen Ping'an, who possessed a fragment of Taibai's sword tip, it was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise for Wu Shuangjiang.
The two swords went away to seek Ning Yao and Chen Ping'an, of course, to steal more of Tianzhen's and Taibai's sword intents.
But Ning Yao struck too fast, and her sword intent was too pure to capture easily. The young hidden official was too cautious, so he simply put away his sword. The gains were smaller than Wu Shuangjiang had expected.
The white-clad youth smiled without speaking, his form dissipating as he went to the next mind-manifested small world, the Ancient Shu Swamp.
But before leaving, a snow-white sleeve flipped over. The four words "drawing legs on a snake" that Wu Shuangjiang had spoken were condensed into golden characters, put into the sleeve, and taken into the mind-manifested world. Within the Ancient Shu Swamp world, Cui Dongshan scattered those four golden characters. Thousands of flood dragon descendants received them like sweet rain, as if they had received a decree from a sage speaking with heavenly authority. They didn't need to go through the river snake transformation to become flood dragons.
Wu Shuangjiang recalled the green bamboo staff of the white-clad youth earlier. With a thought, an object materialized in his hand—an ancient green bamboo staff, adorned with a green jade head. The jade's color was verdant, no less than that willow leaf. The jade had twelve facets, like a full moon seal. It was inscribed with a total of thirty-six characters, beginning with the phrase "circulate qi." These thirty-six ancient seal characters were part of a very high-generation ancient Dao formula. The line "Heaven's pestle above, earth's pestle below" was still debated by many. According to Lu Chen, many branches of Dao evolution had never obtained a correct interpretation of this phrase.
Wu Shuangjiang threw the green bamboo staff in his hand. It followed the white-clad youth, heading first to the Ancient Shu Swamp. The green bamboo turned into a dragon, a secret technique of the Immortal Staff Mountain. It appeared like a true dragon, its claw pressing down, crushing the mountains beside the Ancient Shu Swamp. Its tail swept, splitting a giant lake and water in two, tearing open a ten-thousand-zhang chasm. The lake water seeped in, revealing an ancient dragon palace on the exposed lakebed. Sword lights in the mind-manifested world came one after another. The dragon transformed from the green bamboo staff, its scales glittering, exchanging one scale for a sword with the sword lights that showed only brightness but no sword immortals.
Wu Shuangjiang pinched two fingers together, holding an emerald bamboo hairpin. He gently inserted it into the hair bun of the woman in the fox-fur robe. Then a small, exquisite rattle appeared in his hand, which he smilingly handed to the handsome youth. The small drum had a peach wood handle, made from a piece of the ancestral peach tree of the Great Xuan Du Temple. The painted drum surface was sewn from dragon skin. At the end hung a glass bead tied with a red thread. Both the red string and the precious bead had great origins. The red string came from a blessed land of Liu Qi; the precious bead came from a secret realm of a deep-sea dragon palace. Both were obtained and personally refined by Wu Shuangjiang.
But these two items from Wu Shuangjiang were not physical objects; they could still be regarded as genuine mountain treasures.
Ordinary sects could take them as town-sect treasures. But for Wu Shuangjiang, they were just love tokens.
This person, Wu Shuangjiang.
His thoughts: he liked to have fantastic ideas. His techniques: he was good at gilding the lily.
For commoners, too many skills won't weigh you down. The more skills, the better.
But for cultivators at the peak, the size of their personal small world was ultimately limited, and the amount of spiritual qi had a fixed quantity.
The closer one got to the Fourteen Realm, the more one needed to make choices. For example, the Fire Dragon True Person's mastery of fire, thunder, and water methods was already an astonishing and exaggerated state.
As for why he didn't continue to cultivate the gold, wood, and earth methods, even the Fire Dragon True Person had to admit one thing: as long as one was still at the Thirteenth Realm, it couldn't be done. One could only learn a little, but couldn't advance further.
In fact, at the Flying Ascension realm, even at the Immortal realm, unless one was a sword cultivator, one almost never lacked heavenly materials and earthly treasures. But the supplementation of natal objects would inevitably hit a bottleneck in quantity.
So the three ways of achieving the Dao at the Fourteen Realm were a great way to blaze new trails.
And before Wu Shuangjiang entered the Fourteen Realm, he had already perfected the principle of "too many skills won't weigh you down" to an extreme. He had forged everything into one furnace, alternating between reality and illusion, reaching a level of incredible subtlety.
The graceful woman in the snow-white fox fur robe offered the hairpin flying sword. The sword flew thousands of zhang away and turned into an emerald green river. The river formed a circle in the air, becoming a green jade ring. The emerald river water spread out, eventually turning into a thin piece of paper like a letter. In the letter, densely packed words emerged. From each word, a young woman in blue clothes floated down. A thousand people had the same face, same clothes, same ornaments. But the expressions of each woman were slightly different. It was like a master painter, having gazed at a beloved woman for a long, long time, painted thousands of paintings under his brush, every detail vivid, but only capturing her joys, angers, sorrows, and happiness within a single day.
And that handsome youth disguised as a girl, "Tianran," just lightly shook the rattle. With each tap of the glass bead against the dragon skin drumhead, thousands of generals, giants, spirits, and fiends fell one after another.
Wu Shuangjiang smiled. "Don't think Mr. Cui and Jiang Shangzhen are talking nonsense today. They are both scheming and have ulterior motives."
The girl kept shaking the small drum, nodding and smiling.
Wu Shuangjiang sensed signs from another world. He nodded. "Ning Yao's sword heart is truly rare."
The woman in the fox-fur robe frowned slightly. Wu Shuangjiang immediately turned his head and apologized. "Sister Tianran, don't be angry, don't be angry."
The girl squinted her eyes like crescent moons, covering her mouth and giggling.
Wu Shuangjiang looked at the girl he regarded as the "little immortal with yellow ribbon," then turned to look at the slightly different-faced woman in the fox fur. He took their hands and smiled. "I once promised you that we would walk through all the worlds together. I will fulfill that."
The woman in the fox fur suddenly asked, "Have you forgotten who killed me?"
Wu Shuangjiang smiled. "That's not cute at all."
The woman in the fox fur instantly became as brittle as porcelain. With a soft sound, she shattered with a bang.
The girl suffered the same fate.
Wu Shuangjiang performed the Cloud-Expelling Art. A fierce wind swept through the world, and the Mountain-Searching Formation instantly shattered.
He arrived at the small world of the Caged Finch.