Chapter 862: A Contingency Plan
On Tuoyue Mountain, aside from the cultivators and the various mountain-governing spirits and strange creatures that guarded the mountain, all inanimate objects had long since been refined and integrated by the great demon culprit. Thus, each time the mountain-protecting grand formation was destroyed and reactivated, it was like an invisible reverse flow of time by one year. This rendered all concealment techniques and escape methods of the mountain's demon clan cultivators utterly meaningless. After each round of sword inquiries from the five sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall, all demon clan cultivators except the great demon culprit would reappear in their original positions. However, their acupoint spiritual energy and accompanying magical treasures would not be restored along with their tracks.
They were like a pitiful group of travelers, walking beside the river of time, forced to press on through wind and rain, heads down, constantly changing the ferry crossings of time, gradually wearing out their strength, and then time and again inexplicably returning to where they started. They had to face greater despair, having to confront those sky-obscuring sword lights.
Previously, each time the five sword cultivators joined forces to inquire of Tuoyue Mountain, it was mostly the Hidden Officer who was responsible for wielding the sword to split open the mountain, being the first to break the mountain-protecting grand formation of that river of time. The other four sword cultivators were responsible for slaying demons, while simultaneously using their abundant sword aura and vast sword intent to wear away the spiritual and mountain-river luck accumulated by Tuoyue Mountain over ten thousand years, ultimately altering the favorability of heaven and earth.
Chen Ping'an alone had delivered a full three thousand swords.
The great demon culprit, the senior disciple of the Desolate Barbarian Grand Ancestor, was each time split in two from the center of its forehead by a line of sword light.
Because Chen Ping'an's sword was too fast, each time it struck the yellow-clad culprit standing atop the mountain, and this great demon, extremely arrogant, remained utterly motionless, allowing the sword light to chop down upon its head.
It was as if it had been cleaved in two, with a golden line of light in the middle that remained condensed and unbroken, like a golden river separating two opposing peaks.
The current predicament of this peak Flying Ascension realm great demon was remarkably similar to that of the two severed sections of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Perhaps this was a kind of unconventional reciprocation deliberately orchestrated by the last Hidden Officer.
The Jade Pure realm demon clan cultivators on the mountain had long since died out, let alone those Earth Immortal realm cultivators who had followed them as guests to Tuoyue Mountain.
Now, only three great demons at the Immortal realm remained, either relying on a innate technique related to time, or by repeatedly consuming their innate magical treasures and thousand years of cultivation, barely holding on.
Among them, the six Jade Pure realm demon clan cultivators who had been participating in the discussions here had been extraordinarily unlucky, unable to believe that they would be caught in a trap at Tuoyue Mountain.
Escape? Where could they escape to? Going outside Tuoyue Mountain, they would lose the protection of the river of time formation and have to face the sword lights of those Flying Ascension realm sword cultivators. Moreover, this formation of Tuoyue Mountain both isolated the sword lights and served as a natural prison trapping the demon clan cultivators, leaving each of them crying out to heaven and earth to no avail. After all, who could have imagined that in the safest place in the Desolate Barbarian world, they would become collateral damage from a sword inquiry.
The old sword immortal Qi Tingji, who had carved characters on the city wall, was most skilled at helping people undergo divine dissolution and depart on their journey.
Lu Zhi, once known along with Xiao Xun as one of the "fierce and formidable" of the Sword Qi Great Wall, seemed to have made further progress in her swordsmanship.
Ning Yao, the number one of the Five Colors World, who was roughly equivalent in status to Feiran, the current overlord of the Desolate Barbarian realm, had entered the Flying Ascension realm even earlier than him.
And then there was a man who had appeared from who knows where, calling himself the "Punishment Officer," an undeniable Flying Ascension realm sword cultivator.
Therefore, in various places across the Desolate Barbarian realm, whether in their own ancestral halls, or temples similar to the Great Mountain Azure Mountain God Shrines, or in certain hidden, heavily forbidden mountain-river secret realms, life-bound lamps were being lit one after another. These lamps helped cultivators undergo a radical transformation, escaping death. However, while cultivation could start over, the previous realm was already gone. Moreover, although the life-bound lamp could extend life, the future path of cultivation would be secretly abandoned by the Great Dao. It was said that cultivators who had lit a life-bound lamp would face Heart Demons of unimaginable magnitude before entering the Upper Five Realms.
It was like Huai Qian of the Central Earth Divine Continent, a favored son of heaven with great promise. If not for his unexpected downfall in the Northern Julu Continent, given his cultivation aptitude, Huai Qian had a great hope of becoming one of the ten young candidates across several worlds.
The yellow-clad great demon culprit was completely indifferent to the life and death of those demon clan cultivators, showing no pity for those dying right under its own eyes.
They were born like ants, drowning in a torrential rain of sword aura.
The culprit glanced at the sword in Chen Ping'an's hand. Even though it had struck Tuoyue Mountain so many times, the sword's edge showed not the slightest sign of damage; instead, it had become even sharper and more unmatched.
The culprit recalled the celestial phenomenon that longsword had brought, combined with those few pages of ancient history passed down only by word of mouth, and roughly guessed the origin of this sword. It smiled and said, "What good fortune, to be recognized as master by this sword. And of course, your fate is hard enough to withstand this sword without being reduced to a puppet."
Since ancient times, divine weapons have all possessed inherent spirituality, like so many unruly existences. A cultivator's nature often aligned with them, and they would often be influenced by the divine weapon they had refined. Those with violent natures became even more ferocious, those with indifferent hearts became even more cold-hearted on the Dao path. Moreover, if there was the slightest deviation on the Great Dao, the weapon would quietly lead its master onto a divergent path. Eventually, when the cultivator could no longer bear it, the divine weapon could break free from its cage and regain its freedom. Whether it was an innate supreme treasure from ancient times, or a postnatally refined treasure of heavenly materials and earthly wonders, gradually elevated to the rank of divine weapon, this was a common root of the Great Dao for all divine weapons in the world: "Masterless."
Therefore, every grand cultivator who had reached the Fourteen Realms had a very subtle attitude towards divine weapons. It was far from being a simple matter of "the more, the better."
Many Upper Five Realm cultivators, when entering a life-or-death seclusion, would, if they unfortunately underwent divine dissolution, often see a flash of treasure light. Even a divine weapon, which was a great refined object, would not follow the cultivator in its dissolution. It would return to the world and then hide in some place, waiting for the karmic opportunity of its next master. The more top-tier grand sects would not deliberately prevent such divine weapons from leaving, because even if they forcibly kept them, it would only bring many inexplicable calamities to the mountain peak, a loss that outweighed the gain.
Otherwise, given the preciousness of divine weapons, they would have long been plundered by the peak cultivators of several worlds, and their ownership would have long been established. A human body has over three hundred acupoints. For Flying Ascension realm and Fourteen Realm grand cultivators, opening a spirit mansion was not difficult. Why would no grand cultivator fill their innate spirit mansion with great refined divine weapons?
Consider that precious wooden box that stored eight long swords. Lu Chen lent it to Lu Zhi as if it were nothing.
Bai Ye, apart from the poems in his heart, only had the immortal sword Taibai as his offensive tool. Yu Dou, besides his own Dao techniques, similarly only had the immortal sword called Daozang.
As for the old thrones of the Desolate Barbarian realm, each had aimed to reach the summit and merge with the Dao in the Fourteen Realms. Previously, when attacking the Haoran world, they absolutely would not target so-called mountain treasures, but rather intangible, formless entities like mountains, rivers, and dynastic luck.
The culprit asked with a smile, "Hidden Officer, you've delivered three thousand swords in a row. Are you tired? Shouldn't I return the courtesy now?"
Chen Ping'an's ten-thousand-zhang Dharma form, wearing a lotus crown, dressed in blue robes and barefoot, stood holding a single sword between heaven and earth.
With each breath he took, streams of purple-gold aura swirled around the Dharma form's face.
For the three Immortal realm demon clan cultivators clinging to life, the silver lining was that the four sword cultivators other than the Hidden Officer had gone on a distant journey with their swords, seemingly intending to ascend to a bright moon? Coupled with the culprit's declaration of returning the courtesy, did it mean that from this moment on, the situation between the two sides was about to reverse?
Chen Ping'an ignored the culprit's question. He simply looked around. Beyond the ten-thousand-mile mountains and rivers, there were still many demon clan cultivators hiding in various places, mostly affiliated mountain gate sects of Tuoyue Mountain. Did they think they could get a share of the spoils by being close? Or did they just enjoy watching the show?
With a flicker of thought, a celestial phenomenon arose as he willed. A sea of clouds churned in one part of the sky, and beneath the sea of clouds happened to be a demon clan mountain peak. The white clouds eventually manifested into a giant hand, as white as jade, reaching down from the sea of clouds. The palm lines, as large as mountains, were like rivers and streams, blooming with verdant green lotuses, budding and swaying gracefully. There was also bright moonlight, spilling into the lotus ponds, and suddenly, countless translucent, snow-white lotuses burst into bloom.
This technique of Chen Ping'an's was clearly stolen from She Yue, and She Yue had been imitating the Lotus Temple Master at the time. When Chen Ping'an executed it, it was about seventy to eighty percent similar in form, and forty to fifty percent similar in spirit.
The great demon culprit didn't care about the existence or destruction of that mountain peak either. It extended a hand, and lightning condensed into a thread, ultimately manifesting into a long spear covered in gilding, refined from the corpse of an ancient deity. This was one of the culprit's few key innate objects.
From the peak of Tuoyue Mountain, it broke through the air, drawing a straight line, like a rainbow piercing the sun, dazzling and brilliant.
Chen Ping'an frowned slightly and moved his foot sideways.
At Immortal Hairpin City, Chen Ping'an's Daoist Dharma form had completely ignored all offensive techniques from beginning to end.
The line of light brought by the golden spear pierced into the shoulder of the blue-robed Dharma form. Compared to Chen Ping'an's ten-thousand-zhang Dharma form, the golden light dragged by the spear was as thin as a sewing thread. It was a straight line, with one end of the sword light at Tuoyue Mountain and the other end plunging over a hundred miles into the earth. A Tuoyue Mountain mountain-protecting offering, who had been furtively hiding underground, suddenly revealed its true form, half-dragon and half-flood dragon. It held a white bowl-shaped heavy treasure in its hand, swallowed the white bowl that had caught the golden line into its belly, and then began to move laterally with its innate escape technique. The ground shook violently, and muffled thunder rumbled.
The golden line, like a blade, began to cut diagonally into the shoulder of Chen Ping'an's Dharma form, producing a harsh, grating sound like a knife carving metal and stone, and countless sparks flew off.
Chen Ping'an reached out with two fingers and gripped the golden thread that had pierced his shoulder, but he couldn't snap it off.
Lu Chen, who had been somewhat distracted by his unanswered question earlier, now forced himself to focus. Using his heart voice, he explained to Chen Ping'an, "It's because you are carrying the true names of the great demons. They've become a burden. You haven't truly entered the 'Void Boat' state that I am in. As for the method to break it…"
But before Lu Chen could offer any guidance, Chen Ping'an simply took a big step sideways, deliberately refraining from continuing to strike the mountain with his sword, letting the great demon culprit have some idle time.
The ten-thousand-zhang Dharma form then moved in the opposite direction to the Tuoyue Mountain mountain-protecting offering. As if annoyed by its slowness, Chen Ping'an simply helped it cut clean through the shoulder of his own Dharma form.
Lu Chen, an outsider lying within the Lotus Dao Field, felt a pang of sympathetic pain for Chen Ping'an.
At the same time, the ten-thousand-zhang Dharma form reached out and grasped the longsword Night Roam, which had been sheathed. After holding it in his right hand, Night Roam suddenly grew to match the height of the Dharma form. He then turned around and drove the longsword Night Roam straight into the earth. Twisting his wrist, he wrapped the golden thread around his arm and began to drag the underground creature, whose true body was not small, continuously towards himself.
The great mountains and rivers, which had become extraordinarily solid after being soaked in heaven and earth spiritual energy and mountain-river luck for ten thousand years, now became soft as mud and churned. The demon's true body underground seemed to sense the line between life and death. It used its innate divine ability to connect its mountain roots to Tuoyue Mountain, then frantically twisted its body, trying to flee backwards. On the surface, chasms extending for tens or even hundreds of miles continuously spread.
Finally, that colossal half-dragon, half-flood dragon creature was violently dragged out from underground by Chen Ping'an. It was then pulled inch by inch towards the upright blade of the longsword Night Roam.
During this process, the demon's true body kept jumping and arching its back violently. Many mountain peaks were flattened or crushed into huge valleys by its massive body.
Lu Chen sat up and observed this scene. This was no longer fishing; it was like a man dragging a large fish ashore. There was no technique or skill, just a contest of raw strength.
In the end, that flood-dragon-like creature, whose true body was several thousand zhang long, was split from head to tail by the longsword Night Roam, which was fixed in place, and became two halves in an instant.
One good turn deserves another.
As for why this Tuoyue Mountain offering didn't retract its true body, partly it was because it had swallowed the golden thread, and the great demon culprit seemed to intend for it to maintain its true form. Additionally, Chen Ping'an had simultaneously activated Cage Sparrow and Well Moon. A small world, exactly the right size, suddenly appeared, just enough to envelop the creature's body with tens of thousands of flying swords densely clustered together.
Lu Chen was full of admiration. The Hidden Officer was indeed straightforward and efficient in fighting others.
No wonder he could gain considerable advantage over even Cao Ci.
After dismembering this Tuoyue Mountain offering, Chen Ping'an held his sword in his left hand and delivered another sword strike towards Tuoyue Mountain.
After the sword split the mountain, the golden thread wrapped around Chen Ping'an's arm dissipated, and the culprit had a golden spear in its hand again.
Lu Chen warned, "The culprit was testing you with this move, to determine the distribution of the true names of the great demons on you. Be careful."
Chen Ping'an's Dharma form dissipated on the spot and reappeared a thousand miles away. Unexpectedly, the golden thread followed like a shadow, this time aiming directly at the Dharma form's heart. Chen Ping'an reached out and grabbed the thread, and just as he snapped it, it was far less tough than the first throw. Chen Ping'an knew something was wrong, but from the peak of Tuoyue Mountain, it was like a golden flower blooming. The culprit's spear simultaneously threw out a thousand rays of light. The speed was so fast that even Chen Ping'an couldn't dodge. Those golden threads struck the places on the Dharma form that carried the true names of the great demons, stirring up rings of golden ripples.
Being the senior disciple of the Desolate Barbarian Grand Ancestor, the culprit's cultivation aptitude was certainly not bad. After merging with the Dao of Tuoyue Mountain, although it could only increase its Flying Ascension realm cultivation year after year, effectively losing the possibility of the Fourteen Realms entirely, after ten thousand years of cultivation, stagnating at the so-called peak of the Flying Ascension realm, it was indeed worthy of the name 'peak'.
Chen Ping'an struck Tuoyue Mountain with his sword, killing the culprit once more. The golden threads entwined around the Dharma form disappeared as well.
Day and night reversed, a heavy darkness fell.
The culprit looked up. It was a dense sword formation of flying swords, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
The suspended sword formation slowly pressed down towards the mortal world.
This scene was like the sky falling to the earth.
The culprit pressed its two fingers together and silently recited a Daoist incantation. With its other hand, it made an upward supporting gesture. Daoist intent flowed in the lines of its palm, and a multi-colored precious mirror appeared. It gently lifted its hand, and the mirror rose high, meeting the descending sword formation.
Lu Chen sighed in admiration. "Impressive, truly impressive."
The culprit's move was essentially equivalent to performing 'Severing Heaven and Earth' in a 'small corner.'
Of course, Chen Ping'an's intention was equally profound. In fact, in Lu Chen's view, there was probably no better case of 'using stones from other mountains to polish jade' than this anywhere in the world.
The flying sword formation of Well Moon seemed to leap out of the void with each sword, as if arising from an autumn sound, containing the momentum of ten thousand jun.
Chen Ping'an was both practicing swordsmanship and refining his swords.
A manual, 'The Orthodox Scripture of Swordsmanship,' which Chen Ping'an had long since memorized by heart, combined with his travels, he had casually perused the 'Thousand Sword Studio' that Lu Chen had built in Jade Pivot City. Then, searching his memory, he distantly visualized all the sword strikes, sword manuals, sword techniques, sword intents, and sword Daos he had seen from sword cultivators at the Sword Qi Great Wall, transforming them all for his own use. And in the previous three thousand sword strikes, he had practiced and perfected each one.
Different sword techniques, different sword intents, but all were delivered with the same trajectory of splitting the mountain.
Now that he had offered up two innate flying swords, he was using Tuoyue Mountain as the largest 'Dragon-Cutting Stone' in the world to hone the Great Dao and sharpness of his two innate flying swords.
The innate divine ability of the flying sword Cage Sparrow was extremely rare: it could form its own small world. The size of the world was not only related to the realm of the sword cultivator but also to the size of Chen Ping'an's mindscape. Everything seen in response to his mind, everything thought of in dependence on his mind, was a series of expansions of the world unknown to outsiders. Within this, Chen Ping'an had actually been searching for a second innate divine ability, just as the Five Sacred Mountains of the world could have a 'crown prince's mountain.'
As for the second innate flying sword, the number of flying swords depended on a bright moon rising slowly. At the bottom of the well, to within the well, and finally from the well's mouth to outside the well.
The culprit, standing on Tuoyue Mountain, had another golden spear in its hand.
In addition, the culprit's Yin Spirit left its body, manifested a Yang Spirit external body, and there was also a Dharma form standing behind its true body.
Behold, beside the culprit's Yin Spirit, a woman appeared out of thin air. Her face was blurry, her figure ethereal and graceful, her sleeves fluttering unpredictably, as if she were the legendary 'River Maiden,' the most spiritual.
The Yang Spirit external body held a flaming hammer in its hand, its brilliance making the culprit's face look like that of an ancient fire deity.
It seemed that the culprit's cultivation path also involved refining innate objects of the Five Elements.
The Five Elements were: Tuoyue Mountain under its feet, the golden spear in its true body's hand, the spiritual maiden by the Yin Spirit's side, and the fire hammer in the external body's hand.
As for the wood element, it was still not revealed. It was most likely used to continuously generate spiritual energy, helping the culprit sustain the execution of its techniques and divine abilities.
And Tuoyue Mountain was undoubtedly the root of its Great Dao, ensuring that the five great refined innate objects, even if split open once by a sword, would be renewed year after year, with no worry of damage or shattering.
If not for the price of having to stop cultivation advancement due to merging with the Dao, if the culprit could have taken another step forward and successfully entered the Fourteen Realms, and if it could carry Tuoyue Mountain with it, freely migrating across the Desolate Barbarian realm, such a Fourteen Realm cultivator would probably give anyone a headache.
Therefore, the great demon culprit could be roughly regarded as a pseudo-Fourteen Realm cultivator who had merged with the Dao of a specific location.
Chen Ping'an looked into the distance and roughly discerned the true boundaries of Tuoyue Mountain, about six thousand li in radius.
This meant that within this six-thousand-li territory, the great demon culprit could move freely. The reason it stayed on the small square area at the mountain peak, standing still and being struck by three thousand swords, was of course that it felt the mountain's spiritual energy was a bit insufficient.
On the path of life, Chen Ping'an was very familiar with sword inquiries and fist inquiries against others, but relatively speaking, he had fewer experiences of pure dharma combat.
So, with one Cage Sparrow, it encompassed six thousand li of mountains and rivers.
On the back side of Tuoyue Mountain, a blue-robed Daoist appeared, standing atop a five-colored mountain peak, holding a Water Character Seal.
Having previously obtained a considerable amount of Yeluo River water transport, this Water Character Seal had become the first among Chen Ping'an's five great refined innate objects to reach the divine weapon rank.
In addition, hanging from his waist was a paperless Dao scripture, radiating treasure light—the Prayer for Rain chapter.
Thus, naturally, he could pray for rain and get rain.
Above Tuoyue Mountain, a torrential rain fell. Each raindrop contained both fist intent and sword intent.
Behind Chen Ping'an's Daoist Dharma form, another Dharma form was born: a suspended golden-bodied deity. Twin fire dragons coiled around its arms. It held a Sword Immortal Banner in one hand, and in the palm of the other, it offered up a divine and peculiar Dharma Seal. The golden-bodied deity slowly raised the Five Thunder Seal, thunder dharma gathered, and myriad transformations were born within a single palm.
Chen Ping'an shook his sleeve. A bronze pagoda, modeled after the White Jade Capital, took root at the feet of the golden-bodied deity's Dharma form. Suddenly, five cities and twelve towers stood towering and rugged, reaching as high as the extreme sky.
This object was originally an ancient relic. The Lotus Temple Master had given it as a meeting gift to Li Zhen, a sword cultivator and the closed-door disciple of Tuoyue Mountain. But in fact, it had been the town-mountain treasure of Jade Talisman Palace. The old palace master was one of the top talisman masters in the world, once as famous as the talisman master Yu Xian of the Haoran world. He had secretly refined this pagoda. To hide it from others, he had deliberately crafted it in the style of a bronze pagoda as a decoy. Unexpectedly, a young boy Daoist later passed by riding an ox while traveling through the Desolate Barbarian realm. Besides pointing a finger at the Hall of Heroes, knocking a great demon of an old throne down to the bottom, he also, right there, raised his sleeve as if gently patting the air.
The result was that at the Jade Talisman Palace, millions of li away, the old palace master, who was in seclusion, along with a small cave heaven, was shattered on the spot. He barely escaped with his life, but the Flying Ascension realm old cultivator lost his physical body and was reduced to an Immortal realm ghost immortal. As for the bronze pagoda, the Dao Ancestor seemed to have shown mercy and hadn't destroyed it. Ultimately, the Lotus Temple Master saw the opportunity and took it, but only dared to use it to study the talisman Daoist intent of Jade Talisman Palace, not daring to refine it into an innate object. She probably felt it was too hot to handle, worried that one day the Dao Ancestor might remember it and send another pat from afar, smashing even a bright moon along with it. It wasn't worth losing a place of Dao cultivation for the sake of a divine weapon.
In the end, the Lotus Temple Master maliciously tricked Li Zhen. Sure enough, Li Zhen was killed by Chen Ping'an on the battlefield of the Sword Qi Great Wall, when Chen Ping'an wasn't even the Hidden Officer or a sword cultivator yet.
Lu Chen glanced at that Dharma Seal and held his forehead, speechless.
Earlier, in the prison, with the help of the 'Thread-Clincher' Twisted Wick, Chen Ping'an had transferred the Six Full Seal from this mountain's mountain shrine to a 'mountain peak' in the lines of his palm. The seal's base inscription was a sixteen-character worm-bird seal script: 'Gather the Five Thunders, Govern All Dharmas. Cut Off the Five Leaks, Pivot of Heaven and Earth.'
The other four sides were etched with borderless drawings, depicting nine 'closed-eye' deities each: Thunder Lord and Lightning Mother, Rain Master and Wind God, Cloud Clerk and Spirit General, Fire Department Heavenly Official—all deities who had once been part of the Heavenly Court's governance of heavenly Dao operations. There were a total of thirty-six deities, but they had always remained in a dormant state, as if their divine duties were unmanifested, their 'Heavenly Eyes' not yet opened.
Chen Ping'an pressed his two fingers together and began to 'dot the eyes' for those ancient deity portraits.
The Third Teachings Leader of the White Jade Capital, when drinking at the tavern in Liquan Sect earlier, had borrowed 'the ancients said' to express his own sentiment: 'Proofreading books is like sweeping fallen leaves; as you sweep, more fall.'
Lu Chen had temporarily lent Chen Ping'an a full set of Fourteen Realm Dharma techniques with great sincerity. It wasn't just about the realm; it also included a body of knowledge. So as long as Chen Ping'an was willing, with a flicker of his mind, he could casually rummage through all of Lu Chen's mindscapes except for a few restrictions. It was like an unmoored boat, a celestial untroubled and unimpeded carefree journey, touring a nearly boundless ocean of learning, yet one with a sky having four walls.
However, Chen Ping'an had been quite restrained along the way. Only at this moment did he offer up this seal and begin to draw talismans for those deities, as if opening their Heavenly Eyes.
Lu Chen held back for a long time before speaking with a slightly regretful expression, "It would have been even better if you had carved the four characters 'Three Mountains and Nine Marquises.'"
Lu Chen quickly added, cheerfully, "Of course, the current heavenly inscription is even more auspicious!"
It turned out that when Chen Ping'an obtained it, the seal seemed to have had its heavenly inscription shaved off. Later, on the city wall, Chen Ping'an used a method of opening mountains with talismans recorded in cinnabar calligraphy, but he reversed the method. His talisman-drawing technique could be described as 'going against the grain.' Instead of using any worldly talisman seal script, he carved the four characters he was most familiar with and best at: in order, they were 'Ling,' 'Chi,' 'Chen,' 'Lu.' So the final heavenly inscription for the 'Six Full Seal' was 'Lu Chen's Command.'
That fire-attribute golden-bodied deity Dharma form, holding the Five Thunder Seal in one hand, instantly suspended it high in the sky. The golden-bodied deity then thrust the Sword Immortal Banner into the ground within the imitation White Jade Capital, like erecting a great flag. The eighteen sword immortals hidden in the banner, their bodies as small as dust, stepped out of their dwelling and instantly grew to the height of ordinary people. Like eighteen comets, they shot off into the distance, speeding away from the city on their swords, traveling far and wide. They brought with them eighteen streams of fireflies, and within the bounds of the small world of six thousand li of mountains and rivers, they roamed on their swords, slaughtering the remaining demon clan cultivators who thought themselves hidden but were in fact traceable.
After Chen Ping'an had dotted the eyes of all thirty-six deities of the seal's departments, they each seemed to be reborn and left the Five Thunder Seal one by one.
It was as if the Heavenly Dao, which had collapsed ten thousand years ago, was at this moment having its main trunk restored, returning to order, making the small world of Cage Sparrow even more aligned with the flawless Great Dao.
But for some reason, the closer Lu Chen got to that 'One,' the more he felt he was distancing himself from the truth of that 'One.'
Clearly, what Lu Chen saw with his eyes was a prototype that was becoming more and more like the old Heavenly Court. Yet, Lu Chen's Dao heart was becoming more and more regretful and disappointed.
Because the last time his master appeared at the White Jade Capital, he had said to Lu Chen, 'All thoughts and considerations lie beyond the ten-thousand-to-one chance.'
For two Fourteen Realm grand cultivators to go all out in a life-or-death struggle, besides Flying Ascension realm cultivators, there was no point in hoping for help. Anyone who got involved would find it difficult to even save themselves.
An Immortal realm demon clan qi refiner pleaded desperately with the yellow-clad culprit, "Ancestor, save me!"
All its life-saving techniques and magical treasures were exhausted.
It had no choice but to reveal its true form, a red centipede whose body stretched like a continuous mountain range. It coiled around a section of Tuoyue Mountain's peak, raised its huge head, and begged the culprit on the summit for protection.
The other two Immortal realm great demons, one shrinking to the size of a mustard seed, the other relying on an innate dharma robe that could travel through the river of time, also began to beg the culprit for help.
On Tuoyue Mountain, three Immortal realm great demons, six Jade Pure realm, and that group of Earth Immortal cultivators.
The five sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall, having traveled here together, aside from slaying the Flying Ascension realm Wu Ti at Immortal Hairpin City, the military merits from this joint strike on Tuoyue Mountain alone seemed enough to count as slaying another Flying Ascension realm.
Chen Ping'an glanced at Tuoyue Mountain. Now this mountain was like an empty shell.
It was as if Feiran, or perhaps Zhou Mi even earlier, had deliberately left only the culprit here to await the sword inquiry. As for who would come to inquire, it didn't matter.
The culprit seemed to have been holding in a bellyful of grievances, only now able to finally vent them. It narrowed its eyes and smiled, "Chen Ping'an, did you forget one thing? You are currently also merged with half of the Sword Qi Great Wall?"
"Do you really think that a saintly attendant of the Confucian Temple, just by risking his life, can protect that half of the city wall?"
"If I remember correctly, the one time you were scolded the most was when the Summer Retreat Palace ordered the blocking of the city wall sword cultivators who wanted to sacrifice themselves to save others. What, when it's your turn, you can't restrain yourself? Or does this last Hidden Officer want to carve his name on the city wall so badly, hoping to prove himself worthy of the title sword cultivator?"
Lu Chen's heart grew heavy. "This guy is not just bluffing."
Chen Ping'an delivered a sword strike and said with his heart voice to Lu Chen, "It doesn't matter."
He'd kill this peak Flying Ascension realm first and talk later.
The culprit's greatest frustration was actually a small matter: this damned young Hidden Officer, during the entire sword inquiry at Tuoyue Mountain, hadn't said a single word to him, not one character.
Every boat in the world needs ballast stones.
When Chen Ping'an merged with half of the Sword Qi Great Wall, before his strange return home to meet his senior brother Cui Chan, in order to endure more years, he had first stripped away sadness, weariness, hatred, anger… almost all of his negative emotions. In the end, he even removed more emotions, all just to look after that half of the Sword Qi Great Wall for longer, even if it was just one year, one month, or even one more day.
That was why, in the Great Li capital, the Chen Ping'an who stepped out of the mirror in the form of purest divinity was so powerful.
Because at that time, his humanity was incomplete.
And the price Chen Ping'an paid might only have been known by Saint Li, who, through tracing the source of that distant journey afterward, understood the answer.
Ning Yao didn't know, his master didn't know, his students and disciples didn't know.
And the largest ballast stone Chen Ping'an left on that half of the Sword Qi Great Wall was the one nature he cherished most in this life.
Its name was Hope.
In the northernmost region of the Desolate Barbarian realm, deep underground south of those two severed sections of the Sword Qi Great Wall, an ancient aura appeared.
The earth cracked open.
A high-ranking deity, who had been sleeping here for several thousand years, began to open its eyes and awaken.
First, it broke through the ground. The flying dust quickly dispersed, revealing an empty suit of armor. It had only a pair of golden eyes, staring at the high city tens of thousands of li away.
Then, pure divinity continuously gathered from all over the Desolate Barbarian realm. The white armor, the enormous body, mottled with ancient traces, blazing flowing flames. It reached out and pressed down on its faceplate, leaving only its golden eyes. It slowly stood up, holding a huge giant blade.
It spoke in the language of the ancient deities, slowly stating, "Woe to those who see my blade."
At Tuoyue Mountain, Chen Ping'an paid no attention. He simply continued to deliver sword strikes at Tuoyue Mountain while simultaneously engaging in dharma combat with the culprit.
Lu Chen was speechless for a moment. He suddenly stood up, turned around, and, with a leap, looked towards the far north. He muttered, "This old senior sword immortal, doesn't he keep his word?!"
Chen Ping'an laughed with his heart voice, "It's not the first time anyway."
On that half of the Sword Qi Great Wall, where no one should have appeared, an old man did appear, the person who, according to all reason, should have been the least likely. One hand behind his back, the other rubbing his chin, he looked up at the deity that had arrived near the Sword Qi Great Wall in one step. He clicked his tongue and said, "Everyone thinks they're invincible."
The old man casually extended a hand. All the sword intent remaining on the Sword Qi Great Wall over ten thousand years received a command. Even some who seemed 'unwilling to listen' had no choice but to obediently come, despite their reluctance. Finally, in the hands of this old sword cultivator, it condensed into a single sword. The old man weighed it in his hand. The weight was acceptable. He then made a sweeping horizontal strike with his sword, seemingly effortlessly, towards that ancient high-ranking deity.
After one sword strike, heaven and earth were peaceful.
The old man nodded to himself, as if explaining the simplest principle to all the sword cultivators from the past ten thousand years, "See that? This is swordsmanship."