Chapter 864: Single Combat
Within the mountain and beyond, the two sides stood in opposition, each displaying their abilities.
One came calling as a guest, the other responded as a host.
On Chen Ping'an's side, the azure-clad Daoist who had walked out of the wooden house appeared behind Tuoyue Mountain, standing atop the five-colored mountain peak like a divine being, holding a water seal that contained forty percent of the river transport from the Yeluo River, and hanging at his waist a rain-praying scripture shimmering with precious light.
Behind the ten-thousand-zhang-tall Daoist Dharma form stood a golden divine statue with fire dragons coiled around its arms, feet atop a replica of White Jade Capital manifested from the former town-mountain treasure of the Jade Talisman Palace. A sword-immortal banner was erected within the Divine Thunder City, and a Five Thunder Seal was lifted by the divine being as it ascended, hovering at the highest point of the Cage Sparrow smallworld. After Chen Ping'an dotted the eyes of the thirty-six various deities, they, along with eighteen white-robed, ethereal sword-immortal spirits, roamed freely across the six thousand li of rivers and mountains, wantonly slaughtering the demon clan cultivators around Tuoyue Mountain.
After the thirty-six deities emerged from the seal, each was followed by a large group resembling mural flying celestials, drifting ethereally. The goddesses had long eyebrows and narrow eyes, round faces, and elegant bone structures.
They wore jeweled crowns on their heads, colorful sashes draped over their shoulders, necklaces adorned their chests, and bracelets circled their arms, trailing flame-like long lines. Colorful clouds swirled as heavenly flowers scattered across the void.
It was like a sudden burst of fireflies in the night sky, the light flowing and incredibly dazzling.
Compared to this scene, the picture painted earlier by the fleeing cultivators of the Immortal Hairpin City was utterly insignificant.
Lu Chen crouched inside the Lotus Dao Field, with a small painting table before him. As he drew a Time-Wandering Horse Diagram talisman, he sighed with emotion: "What a lucky sight, a feast for the eyes."
These ancient spirit-like flying goddesses were not depicted on the four sides of that seal. They were an unexpected bonus, born from adhering to the heavenly cycle's natural way.
They were the residual rhyme of the broken Ascension Platform at Tuoyue Mountain, undispersed for ten thousand years, similar to the lingering pure sword intent that haunted the Sword Forbidden Region. After Chen Ping'an dotted their eyes, completing a portion of their Great Way, he commanded them forth, as if winning for them a place in this new human world after ten thousand years.
In the ancient era, there were two Ascension Platforms in heaven and earth. By the Lizhu Cave Heaven, Old Man Yang was responsible for guiding male earthly immortals to ascend and become gods. Naturally, the Ascension Platform at Tuoyue Mountain was for guiding female earthly immortals to be reborn and become deities.
On the side of the demon culprit, his true form held the golden spear refined from the remains of gods. Additionally, the separated Yin Spirit that had traveled far away was accompanied by a puppet-like attendant. The River Maiden was extremely spiritual; she turned her back to her master and Chen Ping'an. From her sleeve surged a rolling green river, rushing toward the azure-clad Daoist to counter water technique with water technique.
The culprit's Yang Spirit incarnation stood on the second highest peak of Tuoyue Mountain, holding a fiery great hammer. Before him appeared a massive drum brimming with a barbaric aura. He struck the drum with the hammer, and with each drumbeat, the replica of White Jade Capital behind Chen Ping'an's golden deity seemed to have a large patch of void space torn open, forming crimson whirlpools. The drum sound smashed countless bits of heaven and earth qi, causing the sword-immortal banner inside the city to shake violently and rustle noisily.
The golden deity with fire dragons coiled around its arms landed within the Divine Thunder City, stabilizing the banner with one hand while simultaneously controlling the Five Thunder Seal hanging high in the sky. Thousands of golden threads flowed across the seal. In an instant, countless golden bolts of lightning crashed down onto Tuoyue Mountain, constructing thousands of sky-bridging beams between the earth and sky.
Lu Chen sighed, "What a pity that only I, this poor Daoist, get to witness this battle of Dao arts."
Between heaven and earth there is great beauty but it does not speak; the birth and destruction of all things contain the indescribable Dao of nature.
Lu Chen glanced at the long sword in Chen Ping'an's left hand. No wonder it was the sole existence surpassing the four celestial swords—Taibai, Wanfa, Daozang, and Tianzhen.
It soared beyond the heavens, reaching heights that could not be higher.
Chen Ping'an's act of "paying respects" to Tuoyue Mountain this time was equivalent to him, wielding his sword alone, cleaving open Tuoyue Mountain over three thousand times.
If word of this spread, no one would believe it.
It would be like the Merit Grove of the Central Plains Confucian Temple being overturned three thousand times, or the White Jade Capital being shattered three thousand times. Who would believe that?
Even if it were just an empty shell, with no Fourteen Realm cultivators stationed within, it was still Tuoyue Mountain, the Confucian Temple and the White Jade Capital.
As for why he couldn't slay the culprit with one sword strike and completely shatter Tuoyue Mountain, and could only do something like when he was young and split the Central Plains' massive Sui Mountain with his sword—first, because the demon culprit in the peak Ascension stage had merged his Dao with this mountain, using bizarre techniques that allowed Tuoyue Mountain to restore itself ten thousand times; second, because Chen Ping'an's swordsmanship was still not... invincible.
Thus, he could not replicate the feat of Chen Qingdu shattering the Ascension Platform here ten thousand years ago, nor match the Tuoyue Mountain Grand Ancestor snapping off a piece of the Sword Forbidden Region ten thousand years later.
And it was certainly not because the long sword was not sharp enough.
Of course, Chen Ping'an, this kid, had his own agenda. He was essentially using Tuoyue Mountain to practice his sword, attempting to fuse his various swordsmanship techniques, intents, and methods through several thousand or even ten thousand sword strikes, ultimately trying to combine them into... a certain personal sword path.
Probably also practicing for the upcoming challenge to the White Jade Capital.
Lu Chen sensed the turbulent changes in Chen Ping'an's personal microcosm and couldn't help but ask through thought communication, "Injured? Not lightly?"
It must be a problem with the half Sword Forbidden Region that his Dao was merged with.
That was only natural; otherwise, the old Sword Immortal wouldn't have appeared.
But since Chen Qingdu was already delivering sword strikes over there, Lu Chen didn't think there would be any accidents.
Once a cultivator appeared, it seemed to make both friend and foe feel that all accidents would detour and make way. Over the past ten thousand years, there had been few such individuals.
They could be counted on one's fingers.
Lu Chen admitted that he couldn't do it yet for himself, and neither could his senior brother Yu Dou.
The Fourteen Realm and Fifteen Realm had always been considered lost realms, with no names.
So-called "lost" meant there was no teacher transmission; no Dharma teachings or incense continuity existed. To break through the bottleneck of the Ascension stage and enter the Fourteen Realm, one could only seek, prove, realize, and attain it on their own.
Practice one's own path, prove one's own method, achieve longevity, and attain immortality—all depended on the cultivator's personal realization. What cultivators called "cultivation" was merely borrowing the boundless qi of heaven and earth to shape the limited human form, sustaining the easily decaying life force, ultimately achieving unity of heaven and humanity. Then they would no longer be thieves of the Great Way, owing nothing to heaven and earth.
Thus, Fourteen Realm grand cultivators were only known at the mountain summit by a few obscure and unspoken titles that had never been widely circulated. Among them was the so-called "Heavenly Human Realm," which was neither god nor immortal.
All three teachings had their own interpretations of the term "heavenly human." Once, the Old Scholar, while visiting the Celestial Master's Mansion on Dragon Tiger Mountain, presented a couplet to the current Great Celestial Master Zhao Tianlai, along with a plaque inscribed "Unity of Heaven and Humanity."
Chen Ping'an continued to operate the sword formation of the Well in the Moon, colliding with the culprit's technique of severing heaven and earth, seeing who could outlast whom. He answered through thought communication, "Minor matter, I'm used to it."
Lu Chen chuckled, "This is harming the very foundation of your Great Way. If this is still a minor matter, then what is a major one?"
If that half fortress top were cut through by someone, Chen Ping'an's Longevity Bridge would be severed once more. By the time he returned the borrowed Dao methods to Lu Chen, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Lu Chen couldn't help but say, "The old Sword Immortal is really good to you."
Chen Ping'an nodded, "I've always had good luck with elders."
Lu Chen said worriedly, "Chen Ping'an, according to my calculations, after about eight thousand sword strikes, you'll fall into a situation of robbing Peter to pay Paul. If you're lucky, you can slowly repay the debt with your future cultivation years. If you're less lucky, you'll have to directly use a realm to patch the hole. If you're even less lucky... forget it, I won't speak inauspicious words."
Chen Ping'an nodded, "I have a grasp on it."
Lu Chen's last sentence was about how many realms he borrowed now, he would fall back that many realms later.
But that was the worst-case scenario. Lu Chen thought that the combined luck of himself and Chen Ping'an shouldn't be that bad.
Earlier, Lu Chen had been worried that Chen Ping'an would go to Qingming Heaven to stir up trouble within a short seventy or eighty years, early on challenging his senior brother Yu. Now he began to worry that Chen Ping'an, due to the aftermath of this mountain-cleaving battle, would be delayed and not show up when it was his turn to preside over White Jade Capital affairs. How lonely would that be? Don't get him wrong—in his home heaven, his reputation was average, but within White Jade Capital, he was a widely recognized orthodox, dignified, and solemn leader, alright?
Lu Chen asked doubtfully, "Why didn't you let Ning Yao and the others stay a bit longer?"
With the four sword cultivators combining their strength, Chen Ping'an wouldn't have had to cleave the mountain alone, making things much easier.
In terms of influence on the qi fortune of the Barren Wastes Heaven, cleaving the mountain and dragging the moon were on par.
Accomplishing just one of those feats was enough. Aside from timing, both would severely damage the Dao hearts of the Barren Wastes demon cultivators.
Of course, in the long run, moving away that central bright moon, leaving the Barren Wastes with only one moon, was certainly more meaningful than smashing the empty shell of Tuoyue Mountain.
"What difference is there between a twenty to thirty percent chance and a thirty to forty percent chance of dragging the moon? In my view, it's not like a fifty to sixty difference, or a ninety to ten difference—there's essentially no distinction between the two."
In Lu Chen's view, the safest choice was still for the five sword cultivators to combine their strength to cleave the mountain and slay the culprit on the spot, rather than insisting on dragging the moon.
Chen Ping'an explained, "If there are more uncertainties on my side, there can be fewer uncertainties in the moon-dragging matter."
Lu Chen sighed and turned to look at the top of Tuoyue Mountain, at the yellow-robed man who had been trapped there for over ten thousand years. Truly, every family has its own difficulties.
The demon culprit's wood-attribute lifebound object, which had yet to appear, was like an ancient tree that had simultaneously refined the River of Time. Every time Chen Ping'an cleaved the mountain with his sword, the culprit would lose one lifebound annual ring. When all the rings were gone, that would be the moment the Barren Wastes Grand Ancestor's first disciple died and his Dao vanished.
Within Tuoyue Mountain, the three great demon Immortal realm cultivators who should have been reigning supreme in their home regions were miserable. They knew pleading with the culprit was useless, so they had to steel themselves and unleash their own life-saving trump cards. Besides the centipede coiled around the mountain peak several times, there was an Immortal realm demon clan cultivator sitting on a multicolored mat, pouring water to nourish over a hundred types of flowers that sprouted, bloomed, and then withered and decayed continuously.
A female Immortal realm demon clad in golden-thread embroidered copper-nail patterned armor stood before an ancient jade lamp held by a celestial being. She was burning talismans to light the wick, producing a pure golden flame like the molten color of a gold essence coin. Clearly, they had all offered their lifebound treasures and used their ultimate life-preserving techniques.
The centipede raised its massive head, exchanging a glance with the ten-thousand-zhang Daoist Dharma form.
The culprit sneered, "With just one look, you've already formed an alliance with the Hidden Officer? Good, then try to join hands with him and turn against me."
The culprit added, "As long as you three can escape the territory of Tuoyue Mountain alive, I can promise that Feiran and the Barren Wastes Heaven will not pursue your betrayal."
These three demon cultivators, who had once dominated their own regions, were probably scared out of their wits by now and wouldn't dare oppose the Haoran Heaven in the future.
If they were in the mundane world with elders still alive, they might need someone to call their souls back for them.
The culprit's incarnation continued beating the drum with the fiery hammer. The drum's surface was made from the true body of a former Ascension stage peak aquatic demon. With each thunderous beat, besides colliding with the golden Dharma form's thunder techniques, the massive centipede coiled around Tuoyue Mountain also suffered, its flesh torn and bloodied by the dull shockwaves. The other two Immortal realm cultivators, who still maintained human forms, bled from all seven orifices. Their mats shook violently, the white bowls showed signs of cracks, and the lamp that had been as white as a beauty's skin now appeared dull and aged. The flame flickered as they took out a stack of golden talismans, enduring the pain of unstable Dao hearts and trembling souls as they lit them all at once, desperately trying to keep the lamp from going out.
The centipede, in agony, writhed and rolled, crushing the mountain. Rubble from Tuoyue Mountain fell to the base, raising dust and rolling yellow sand.
These three Immortal realm great demons were pitiful, trapped in a difficult position as if both the sword cultivator and the culprit were targeting them together, making it hard to survive.
But after the centipede's thoughts were exposed by the culprit, it no longer dared to hold onto any hope. Earlier, it had thought about joining forces with the young Hidden Officer to add some icing on the cake. If it could keep its realm and escape Tuoyue Mountain alive, and if the culprit died, it could present a "ticket of surrender" to the Haoran Heaven, then simply turn its coat, sneak back to retrieve its lifebound lamp, find a return ferry, and defect to the Haoran Heaven. Maybe it could seek refuge with Zheng Juzhong, the great demon head of White Emperor City.
But just thinking about the culprit's words spoken in reverse, the three demons, who had been quite tempted, had to abandon that notion.
All around the mountains and rivers, the two mountain-top cultivators' techniques emerged endlessly, like flowers blooming everywhere.
Around Tuoyue Mountain, there was actually no sect-level school. Occasionally, Upper Five Realm cultivators would appear in the mountains, but they would be sensible enough to leave immediately and establish their own sects elsewhere.
It seemed like an unspoken rule: "resting under the shade of a big tree"? In the Barren Wastes Heaven, there was no such saying. In fact, many demon cultivators from these scattered and insignificant mountain sects might never have approached within a thousand li of that peak in their entire lives.
Among the Grand Ancestor's direct disciples, only Xinzhuang occasionally descended the mountain to relax and rarely traveled far. She was too lazy to use illusionary techniques, allowing the demon cultivators in the surrounding areas to catch a fleeting glimpse.
At a mountain sect five to six thousand li from Tuoyue Mountain, the celestial mansion was built with carved beams and painted rafters, surrounded by colorful clouds.
Suddenly, a giant hand emerged from the sea of clouds, jade-like and translucent, with palm lines like lakes and pools, blooming lotuses between rivers and scattering countless snowflakes.
In an instant, snow covered the entire mountain, bringing a catastrophic disaster.
In a distant reed marsh rich in water transport, another sea of clouds gathered overhead, and without warning, a torrential rain fell, each drop containing sword intent and fist will.
An Nascent Soul demon, forced to leave its water-cave cultivation abode and reveal itself, had just fled the calamitous downpour when a snow-white sword-immortal spirit patrolling nearby delivered a sword strike. The demon just barely avoided the sharp sword beam by using an escape technique, teleporting over a hundred li through the mountains, but behind it, another sword spirit from the banner followed with a strike, forcing it to reveal its true form. It endured the blow, reluctantly resumed human form, and fled deep underground, only to encounter a deity waiting like a guard at a tree stump. It was the ancient Rain Master, suspended in a void space seemingly flooded with Dao transformation. The deity reached out and trapped the Nascent Soul demon in place, stripping its water techniques from its soul, creating thousands of threads connecting them.
On the originally pure and spotless Daoist Dharma form, a series of withered-white true names of great demons suddenly appeared, like ancient wells with slightly rippling water, spreading continuously.
The culprit's golden spear seemed to possess a power similar to Confucian lifebound characters, causing such anomalies to appear within the Daoist Dharma form. As those watery ripples spread, the ten-thousand-zhang Dharma form showed signs of Great Way collapse, with ashes dispersing.
Lu Chen squinted. It was said that Buddhism had 84,000 Dharma gates, which further gave rise to countless other side-door divine powers. Although they were not among the orthodox methods, their power could not be underestimated. One of them was this kind that pushed a cultivator's Dao heart into a state of utter despair.
Chen Ping'an was unperturbed.
He first condensed the Buddhist Vase Seal, then formed the Teaching, Fearlessness, Wish-Granting, Demon-Subduing, and Meditation seals, ultimately forming 386 seals in an instant, stacked layer upon layer, solemn and majestic.
That instantly stopped the scattering of ashes from the ten-thousand-zhang Dharma form.
The azure-clad Daoist behind Tuoyue Mountain responded in kind. Without needing to step in the Big Dipper star pattern, he formed a total of 356 Daoist hand seals, each seal being a thunder talisman. Heavenly mechanisms moved and shifted according to his will, ultimately creating a majestic thunder formation.
Lu Chen was stunned. He hadn't taught these things to Chen Ping'an. These were Daoist techniques beyond Lu Chen's own knowledge, so even if Chen Ping'an had rummaged through his heart’s images for ten thousand years, it would have been meaningless.
Because this "thunder formation" belonged to the orthodox lineage of the Celestial Master's Mansion on Dragon Tiger Mountain. Generally speaking, unless one was a candidate for Celestial Master, they could never learn this supreme thunder technique. Thus, the only ones capable of evolving a "thunder formation" were the successive Great Celestial Masters.
If Lu Chen were willing to work hard and spend over a hundred years of time, he could imitate a thunder formation about seventy to eighty percent similar, but such behavior among mountain cultivators was too unrighteous. It would be tantamount to jumping up and spitting in the face of the current Great Celestial Master Zhao Tianlai. With Zhao Tianlai's taciturn temperament, he would likely directly take his celestial sword and the Celestial Master's seal, travel to Qingming Heaven, and go to the White Jade Capital to find him for a Dao technique spar.
At the top of Tuoyue Mountain, the culprit suddenly said to Chen Ping'an, "Spare the ants nearby. I'll have a real fight with you, a genuine exchange of swords."
The culprit shook his wrist, and the golden spear in his hand instantly transformed into a long sword covered in golden cloud seals. "How about it?"
Chen Ping'an nodded unexpectedly. "Alright."
He truly reduced the Cage Sparrow's microcosm territory to a thousand li, leaving only the confrontation between the mountain and its surroundings.
And the three surviving Immortal realm demon cultivators on the mountain.
The culprit smiled, "These three, kill them as you please. So they don't interfere with a clean sword duel."
The thunder formation then crashed down upon the already severely wounded centipede.
After that, Chen Ping'an delivered three consecutive sword strikes. One cut off the River of Time and one of the culprit's annual rings. The other two targeted the two Immortal realm demons.
At the same time, heaven and earth flipped. Within the Cage Sparrow's own microcosm, Chen Ping'an encountered several uninvited guests.
It was like a belated heart-demon interrogation. When Chen Ping'an had broken through to the Jade Pure realm back then, he had seemingly circumvented the heart demon, but the heart demon had not actually dissipated.
Lu Chen was puzzled. It seemed that both sides of the sword duel had fallen into a mysterious state of stillness. Sensing something was wrong, Lu Chen quickly withdrew his hands into his sleeves and rapidly performed calculations.
Good heavens. This first disciple of the Grand Ancestor was indeed a genuine sword cultivator. No wonder he dared to propose a sword duel with the Hidden Officer. As for the culprit's lifebound flying sword, no one could guess its name, but its lifebound divine power was soon revealed. It resembled one of the twelve high-level deities, the "Imaginer," but it also possessed a portion of the "Echoer's" lifebound divine power!
If the loneliness of a cultivator on the path of ascension was murmuring alone and hearing echoes from the mountains, then the so-called solitude was standing on the mountaintop, looking around in confusion, murmuring to oneself, but no matter how many words you spoke, heaven and earth would not echo, leaving you lonely for thousands of autumns and ten thousand years.
What the eyes see is like encountering a heart demon.
Truth and falsehood mix, reality and illusion are uncertain.
A man in scholar robes, the City God of Ermuda Prefecture in Porcelain Vase Continent, Shen Wen, sighed softly. He was not angry, but his eyes held some disappointment. "Chen Ping'an, why did you shatter your civil heart? Why for that indiscriminate killer Gu Can?"
Between heaven and earth, a scroll spread out like a landscape, allowing Chen Ping'an to walk alone, hastily reviewing that stretch of worldly landscape again.
Then a young monk in white robes appeared, holding prayer beads, smiling, "If the world learns from you, they will fall into a demon's lair. Because as long as you make one mistake, even just once, everything will be turned upside down."
A middle-aged man whose face coalesced and dissipated had an openly pleased smile, as if he felt his junior apprentice brother had come too far too easily, but also seemed somewhat disappointed, as if the Chen Ping'an who had come this far should not be this kind of Chen Ping'an.
Finally, a woman in green appeared. Her gaze was gentle, her ponytail flowing in the wind.
She seemed to be looking at Chen Ping'an from afar, neither of them speaking.
Cultivators distance themselves from the mundane world, live in seclusion, and cultivate. Once love and hate arise, the Dao heart retreats.
It had finally come.
Chen Ping'an's suspended Dao heart, on the contrary, finally landed at this moment.
"Spring breeze follows me, making the lion's roar."
Chen Ping'an closed his eyes. The hand holding the sword swayed with his large sleeve, surrounded by spring breeze.
He delivered a sword strike that fully belonged to his own sword path.
——
Jiang Shangzhen led the nine people in holding talismans to travel far. As for the actual talisman drawing, he left it to the young Celestial Master Zhao Yaoguang and Chunqing. As for the talisman paper needed, Liu Youzhou had provided a lot earlier.
Jiang Shangzhen only reminded the nine that this talisman must not be spread outside and also mentioned the geographical taboos of the Three Mountain Talisman: they must pay respects to the Three Mountain Nine Marquis at every mountain market.
The journey was long and arduous, roughly requiring crossing one continent of the Haoran Heaven.
Earlier, while drawing the talisman, Zhao Yaoguang asked with a smile, "Does little Dao need to take an oath?"
Jiang Shangzhen shook his head. "With a great war imminent, since you all stand as gentlemen and act as heroes, there's no need to waste your mental energy."
Afterward, everyone used the talisman to travel far. What connected the three mountain markets was the River of Time, which cultivators most desired to access but found hardest to reach.
This was just the right opportunity to examine the depth of cultivation and toughness of constitution of this batch of favored children of heaven.
In Jiang Shangzhen's view, except for Cao Ci and Fu Jin, the other children were indeed far behind their own Mountain Lord Chen.
Especially Xu Bai. The first time he appeared at the mountain market, he started to feel dizzy and swayed, making him the last to light the mountain incense.
However, this young man, known as "Xu Xian," quickly returned to normal. It seemed that with just a thought, a blurry golden character manifested beside him.
Jiang Shangzhen took an extra look at Xu Bai, recalling that this kid's ancestral home seemed to be Zhaoling, and that his ancestors were keepers of a wish bridge. Perhaps he had a deep connection with the Character Saint, Master Xu.
In terms of fortune and luck, indeed, none were lacking.
Among the nine, during the crossing of the mountain markets, several small factions invisibly formed.
Cao Ci and Yu Juanfu. Two pure martial artists, somewhat like teacher and friend.
Fu Jin and Gu Can. Disciples of the same master. One was the first disciple, the other the last disciple. And the two brothers thought highly of each other.
Yuan Pang, Zhao Yaoguang, and the young monk with the Dharma name "Xumi" had once secretly examined the time scales of various continents together, so they had a tacit understanding between them.
Chunqing and Xu Bai. Due to their teacher-disciple relationship, they had traveled through Porcelain Vase Continent together, and their relationship was not bad.
Pausing at a mountain market, Chunqing asked, "How did Mr. Jiang become the chief offering of the Fallen Mountain?"
This question had piqued the curiosity of everyone present.
In Porcelain Vase Continent, during the Fallen Mountain's observation of the Righteous Sun Mountain's "mirror flower, water moon" grand ceremony, Jiang Shangzhen had appeared as the chief offering without using any mountain-covering techniques.
Mountain-top news spread extremely fast, even across an entire heaven. Chunqing still learned of this fact.
The legendary man before them had temples flecked with gray, wore a blue gown and cloth shoes, and held a green bamboo mountain-walking staff, gently tapping his shoulder.
In Chunqing's impression, the young Hidden Officer, whom he had never interacted with, was quite a sentimental person. On the other hand, Jiang Shangzhen of the Jade Scepter Sect was a notorious playboy.
Logically speaking, two people with such contrasting temperaments shouldn't have gotten along at all.
Jiang Shangzhen smiled. "It's a small world. We once fought side by side in a blessed land in my hometown, waded through the jianghu together, and hit it off instantly. We're 'die-hard' friends who have gone through life-and-death situations."
Along the way, the nine of them each revealed some cultivation secrets they should have kept hidden. Otherwise, when they fought with those demon cultivators later, there would be no cooperation, only individual battles.
For example, Fu Jin, aside from having the Dao Ancestor's sword-nurturing gourd called "Three," also possessed three lifebound flying swords.
The flying sword "Wedding Dress," also known as "Plain White," was the snow-white robe he wore. The flying sword "Shroud" was like a natural sword-locking talisman targeting sword cultivators.
This sword immortal, known as the Little White Emperor, had a third lifebound flying sword named "Empty Boat," also called "Autumn Cicada."
Only Cao Ci and Yu Juanfu, as pure martial artists, had nothing much to say besides their martial arts realms: one at the pinnacle of Return to True, the other at the bottleneck of the Mountain Peak realm, on the verge of breaking through.
In addition, there was little else for them to mention.
In the starry sky, a gaunt old man and a young cultivator were gazing down at the Barren Wastes land.
They were Yu Xuan, who merged his Dao with the stars, and the Three Mountain Nine Marquis.
Before the young cultivator, blue smoke curled up as if incense was being lit.
Yu Xuan exclaimed in wonder, "Senior, the incense is flourishing, the presence is a bit frightening."
Earlier, the five sword cultivators of the Sword Forbidden Region had successively paid respects to the Three Mountain Nine Marquis.
They had connections to both the Wen Sheng lineage and the Multicolored Heaven, especially Ning Yao, who was the number one person in her entire heaven.
This time, the nine young people included the great martial artist Cao Ci, two direct disciples of White Emperor City, the Qing Shen Mountain lineage.
The Confucian Temple's Yasheng lineage, the Celestial Master's Mansion on Dragon Tiger Mountain, the Central Plains Broken Mountain Temple, and the Central Plains Military Ancestral Court lineage.
Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and the Military faction—all three teachings and one school were represented.
A hint of a smile appeared on the young cultivator's face, not because of the added incense, but because within such a short span of time, two groups of young people had simultaneously offered their respects—even he found it surprising.
If one considered that both groups were also holding talismans and traveling through the Barren Wastes Heaven, the impact on the direction of several heavens would be incalculable.
Yu Xuan said, "It seems we have to thank Fellow Daoist Chen again."
The young cultivator hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Yu Xuan smiled knowingly, stroking his beard. This nod from the senior before him was not trivial.
Earlier, Yu Xuan had deliberately mentioned a question, asking this senior whether, when an orchid blocks the path, it must be removed.
The young cultivator hadn't given an answer at that time.
Within a bright moon.
Ning Yao, Qi Tingji, Lu Zhi, and Hao Su. Using the Moon-Chasing Talisman, the four sword cultivators ascended together, landing on the silent, desolate ancient ruins.
The three bright moons of the Barren Wastes Heaven in ancient times—the one called "Jade Hook," the cultivation site of the Lotus Nunnery Master, had already been dragged by Dong San'geng to crash into the human world.
The cultivation site of "She Yue" was named "Toad Palace."
And the central bright moon was called "Golden Mirror," the only one with the alternative name "Bright Radiance."
Ning Yao looked at the sky and said, "I'll be responsible for opening the way with my sword and dealing with any unexpected events."
The Punishment Officer Hao Su was responsible for temporarily "Dao-ifying" this bright moon using the power of his lifebound flying sword.
Qi Tingji and Lu Zhi were responsible for delivering their swords together in the same direction, propelling the moon along the trajectory Ning Yao had carved out, moving a lunar body towards Qingming Heaven.
At the Sword Forbidden Region, the four sword cultivators each performed their duties.
Ning Yao held the celestial sword Tianzhen, glancing sideways at a certain spot in the sky.
Then she split the sky with one sword strike.
——
A bewildering encounter. Caught in that inexplicable encirclement, Feng Xuetao immediately unleashed a grand spectacle of moving mountains and overturning seas. Within a thousand li radius, mountains were uprooted, and rivers were hurled at the suspended demon cultivators.
At the same time, Feng Xuetao took out two precious golden talismans he had kept for years. The two talismans hung in his sleeve, slowly rotating. Using the Sundial Talisman to fix the time scale and the Compass Talisman to set the direction of heaven and earth.
All wild cultivators under heaven fear sword cultivators on their cultivation path and are annoyed by formation masters. Fighting one-on-one with a sword cultivator is not advantageous. If the enemy has a formation master stationed, it's as if they are already surrounded.
Feng Xuetao had suffered greatly from these two types of cultivators on more than one occasion.
Feng Xuetao was not flustered. As a wild cultivator, what dangerous situations hadn't he seen? He had faced life-and-death perils more than once.
To test the waters, Feng Xuetao used a lifebound escape technique. His figure dispersed, shrinking to a golden mustard seed. At the same time, black smoke billowed, accompanied by ethereal mist and a white rainbow streaking across the sky, fleeing in four directions.
None of the demon cultivators stopped Feng Xuetao. They completely ignored his offensive techniques.
The cultivator who looked like a child wore a mocking smile. "Grasshoppers after autumn, just keep jumping."
The ten Heavenly Stems cultivators of the Barren Wastes Heaven blocked Feng Xuetao's northern return path.
The only latecomer was the Jade Pure realm sword cultivator Liubai, who had rushed over from Feiran's side.
Thanks to her teacher Zhou Mi's bestowed dharma robe "Fish Tail Cave Heaven," she had taken a shortcut to heaven, suppressing the heart demon that rose from the Nascent Soul realm bottleneck, successfully breaking into the Upper Five Realm.
Her lifebound flying sword had never been publicly revealed, not even recorded in the Sixty-Year Accounts early on. That was probably the exclusive treatment of being a direct disciple of Zhou Mi.
The moment Liubai arrived, the grand formation was completed, and they began to close the net on that Ascension stage great fish.
Earlier, they had made four moves. Two were against their own Barren Wastes cultivators who were disobedient, acting against Feiran's rule as the common lord and the troop deployments of Tuoyue Mountain.
Another was against a Jade Pure realm sword cultivator from the Sword Forbidden Region who had hidden in the Barren Wastes for a thousand years. His most recent move was to besiege that Immortal realm wild cultivator from Haoran Heaven who liked to pick up bargains. They had also made a small adjustment to him, or he would have dropped more than just one realm to Nascent Soul.
Although it was covert, they didn't think they would necessarily succeed. After all, on the other side of the Dark Trace was the White Emperor City lord, the world's number one demonic overlord. That title didn't mean much in the Barren Wastes Heaven—after all, even Ye Pu of the Cloud Pattern Dynasty, who had just broken through to Ascension stage, had given himself the Dao name "Unrivaled."
But Zheng Juzhong, as a demonic cultivator who had managed to establish a foothold in the Haoran Heaven, carried immense weight. Moreover, the scene at Tuoyue Mountain was still fresh in everyone's memory. So after the failed negotiations between the two heavens, a rumor began to circulate in the Barren Wastes.
They would trade three Ascension stage great demons for one Zheng Juzhong.
Besides Zheng Juzhong of White Emperor City, there was Fire Dragon True Person, who had once made a move deep in the Barren Wastes, Liu Qi, who had intercepted Yang Zhi upon returning to the Haoran homeland, and the famous Hidden Officer Chen Ping'an. Together with the martial artist Cao Ci, these ten were regarded by the Barren Wastes Heaven as the ones they most hoped would change camps.
The white-robed youth grinned. "Yo, Sister Liubai, you're free today? If you had been a bit later, maybe the nine of us wouldn't have been able to hold this Ascension stage big fish 'Qingmi.' That would have been bad enough—at worst, Feiran would hold us accountable. But if Qingmi went berserk and killed a few, with our small arms and thin legs and low realms, wouldn't we be dead for sure? In that case, Sister Liubai could be considered our savior."
Liubai said calmly, "I'll teach you something else: when you speak with innuendo, your expression should be serious; otherwise, you'll just seem slick-tongued."
The youth in snow-white robes wore a snow-white mask, his two large sleeves hanging straight down. His alias was Qiuyun, a pure martial artist at the Mountain Peak realm, with a narrow saber at his waist.
The slender saber was called "Empress." It was an ancient treasure of roughly the same generation as the narrow saber "Zhan Kan" that Chen Ping'an had obtained in the Sword Forbidden Region prison.
In the ancient celestial court, under the twelve high-level deities, there were the Executioner and his subordinates, including four prison officials: the Summer Officer Jinyun, who was in charge of the Dragon-Slaying Platform specifically for dealing with the dragon race; and the Autumn Officer Baiyun, responsible for overseeing the Thunder Pool executions.
Qiuyun sighed. "Ah, Sister Liubai is so learned, truly worthy of being our Hidden Officer's nominal Dao companion."
The white-robed youth slapped himself. "Look at this broken mouth of mine, mentioning the wrong thing."
Liubai remained silent.
The youth stopped provoking Liubai, his eyes sparkling as he murmured to himself, "I wonder if that Cao Ci is all talk."
Zhuqie was as usual, carrying a sword rack on his back with densely packed long swords, like a peacock spreading its tail.
He somewhat missed the days of the Jiashen Account, when there was at least Muji, now known as Zhou Qinggao, who could command respect.
This bunch of Heavenly Stems cultivators were all mentally unstable. When they got together over the years, they only behaved a little better around Feiran.
The cultivator who looked like a child was named Yupu.
He wore a cotton cloth bag at his waist inscribed with four ancient characters: "Talisman Mountain, Seal Sea." Inside the bag was a considerable collection of talismans, said to be the legacy of the Jade Talisman Palace, and a symbol of the palace master's authority.
Talisman cultivation had a high threshold, and once you started, if your aptitude was good enough, it could consume more gold and silver than sword cultivation.
So this demon talisman cultivator, named Yupu, most admired Li Jùbǎo of the Aiai Continent, respecting that god of wealth's ability to make money. After all, on the path of talismans, to reach the peak, immortal money was almost not money at all.
A woman wore a golden bead in her ear, its light soft and rippling, casting a clear boundary on one side of her face. She was named Jindan.
The tall, burly man had a wooden expression. He wore a pair of small battle-axes at his waist and held a lantern that could draw souls to the underworld. He was named Yuanying.
Also, a man carrying a bamboo pole with a gourd hanging from it was named Yusu.
He excelled in deep contemplation of Dao techniques and imagining immortals, able to shape mud into horses and cup water into empty boats. Furthermore, Yusu was as proficient as Yupu in talisman arts. He could throw talismans to command mountain ghosts and water creatures, all of whom would obey his orders.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with him was a slender woman, Yusu's sister.
She had a slim waist, carried a giant bow on her back, and continuously twirled a dagger in her delicate hand. She was named Yaotiao. Like Qiuyun, she was both a cultivator and a pure martial artist.
"A beauty as thin as a plum, a plum as beautiful as a poem."
Jiang Shangzhen, that wisp of mind attached to Senior Qingmi, wasn't idle. He glanced at that woman's chest and silently recited, "A kumquat is still a tangerine."
As for the other one—should he call her sister or aunt—she was a completely different style: graceful, plump, and good for birthing children.
Unfortunately, the woman carrying a guqin case on her back wore a mask, so her face couldn't be seen.
But the Dao technique scene manifesting behind her, the female zither player, was too creepy: countless hanged ghosts, their bodies suspended in the air, touching neither heaven nor earth.
She held a round fan painted with hundreds of courtesans, all beautiful in face but skeletal in body—harder to look at than ferocious ghosts.
This woman excelled at weaving dreams, visualizing a Ding River, and breaking up countless lovers in spring-night dreams. When she put on a mask, her heart image manifested behind her: countless hanged corpses suspended in the air. This was also one of her lifebound flying sword abilities, capable of suspending time. Death was a big sleep, and sleep was a small death. Her lifebound flying sword was actually that ancient guqin, its name being "Mound of Skulls."
Jiang Shangzhen didn't yet know her name was Ziwumeng, with the Dao name Chunxiao.
Jiang Shangzhen felt somewhat indignant for Senior Qingmi. "A few brats at most at the Jade Pure realm dare to surround and kill an Ascension stage wild cultivator most familiar with bloodshed? Isn't that just 'beng' (collapse)?"
Feng Xuetao forced a bitter smile, finding it not funny at all.
He had a full set of Ascension stage grand cultivator techniques and divine powers. The close-range mind voices were so clear, yet the close distance seemed to be the distance between heaven and earth.
Within the grand formation, the demon cultivators of lower realms might not be real, but each time they struck, they took full advantage of timing and terrain.
Moreover, within this microcosm, strange phenomena abounded: suns rose and moons set, constellations shifted, and day and night alternated. Spring thunder rumbled, sweet rain fell, mountains and rivers produced clouds, and then it was night and day again, the four seasons cycled, year after year, day after day. When day ended, bright clouds faded; at night, constellations shone like rivers. Additionally, there were Dragon Palace spring rains giving birth to water, clouds moving and rain falling, river stars and autumn dew washing away the summer heat, celestial signs clear and bright, crisp autumn air, heavy snow, plants growing... All these scenes changed so quickly that one couldn't keep up.
The key was that each cycle of the four seasons would invisibly consume one year of Feng Xuetao's cultivation, draining the Dao accumulations he had painstakingly built up in the Ascension stage, like a leaking kettle—there was no way to stop the water from flowing out.
In an instant, the mountains and rivers changed color, turning into a black-and-white ink painting, making Feng Xuetao feel even more lost in a fog.
Thanks to the guy who called himself "Beng Zhenjun" (Collapsed True Lord), who once again sent a mind voice to guide Feng Xuetao to take the Xuchen-Xuji-Southeast route, teleport to a place with thick earth qi, and be sure to avoid a certain fire light, or else he would fall into the dangerous situation of a precious pearl falling into a furnace... Sure enough, except for the place where Feng Xuetao had hurriedly flown to, the rest of the world turned into a blazing sea of fire. That wouldn't have just cost him one year's cultivation in the formation.
Then, a wide river suddenly appeared underfoot.
Jiang Shangzhen reminded again, "Senior Qingmi, don't just stand there. Keep responding. This is the Fen River illusion. Fly straight across, don't care about anything else. Just remember to calculate the time accurately. Cover exactly ten thousand li, no more, no less."
"When you stop, you can greet the next attack technique. If nothing unexpected happens, you'll see a mirage resembling an imperial palace. Lost in the maze? Don't panic. I'll continue to lead the way, Senior."
Feng Xuetao flew without stopping, asking through thought communication, "May I ask, Fellow Daoist, what is the reason for this?"
Jiang Shangzhen sighed helplessly. "An Ascension stage senior, at such an age—haven't you read a few books? What have you been doing for thousands of years?"
Feng Xuetao was speechless.
Jiang Shangzhen had to patiently explain. "The Third Palm of the White Jade Capital has a 'Heaven and Earth' chapter that revealed the celestial mechanism long ago: 'Ride on those white clouds to reach the Emperor's hometown.' There's also a poem, 'Startled Autumn on the Fen River,' which says, 'The north wind blows the white clouds, crossing the Fen River for ten thousand miles.'"
Feng Xuetao asked, "Why doesn't the other side tamper with the distance?"
Jiang Shangzhen rolled his eyes. "When the Great Way is in motion, heavenly principles are clear. These are just young brats using temporal techniques to manipulate the Dao methods. Their realms are still low, so they dare not recklessly add unnecessary things. One wrong move, and they'll reveal a flaw, allowing Senior Qingmi to seize the opportunity, escape, and maybe even take a few heads as war trophies."
"This microcosm, after all, can't escape the framework of the illusion technique. What it truly blinds is not the eyesight, but Senior Qingmi's divine sense perception. Otherwise, could these few really change the cycle of the four seasons? So your Sundial Talisman and Compass Talisman are not meaningless—on the contrary, they are the most meaningful, even more crucial than your senior's techniques. By the way, Senior, how many more of those talismans do you have? Bring them all out."
Talking with Senior Qingmi was really tiring.
He increasingly missed the days of fighting alongside the good mountain lord and Brother Cui.
Back then, a single glance was enough, no need to waste so much saliva.
Feng Xuetao said shamefacedly, "I only have these two."
"What? Only two? Senior, aren't you an Ascension stage grand cultivator? How can you be so stingy when traveling?"
Jiang Shangzhen somewhat admired this Ascension stage grand cultivator's courage and boldness. "Coming to the Barren Wastes with Senior A Liang, did you really think it was a sightseeing trip the whole way?"
Feng Xuetao was speechless. But afterward, as the "Beng Zhenjun" had said, he found himself in a misty imperial pavilion. Following the other's directions, he expertly threaded through corridors and halls, as if he were the owner strolling leisurely. He couldn't help but ask, "Is Fellow Daoist proficient in divination?"
"Not really, just learning on the fly. The sage said that a gentleman does not divine. Besides, I don't believe in fate, so I cram at the last minute and only burn incense when I enter the temple. Fortunately, I've done a few good deeds in my life."
"Fellow Daoist is joking."
"Aren't you afraid that I am the tenth person who hasn't shown up yet?"
"My gambling luck has always been good; my intuition has been spot-on in this life."
When Feng Xuetao was young, he met an extraordinary man in a gambling den who later led him onto the path of cultivation.
At the gambling table, he won nine out of ten bets, but he always lost money whenever he left the gambling den.
He had excellent gambling luck but poor gambling skills. That immortal master said that he had a fate of "having the Dao but lacking the technique." Because he was ignorant and unskilled, he was most suited for cultivation; otherwise, it would be a waste.
But in the end, that immortal master didn't accept him as a disciple, saying his own fate was too shallow to withstand Feng Xuetao's kowtow to become a master.
Jiang Shangzhen suddenly shouted, "Quickly inspect your personal microcosm! Beware of flying swords sneaking in!"
Feng Xuetao quickly investigated his microcosm, but even so, he was too slow. A wisp of sword qi instantly shredded several of his acupoints. Fortunately, Feng Xuetao reacted in time, but it only affected some "wild mountains and wilderness" within his body's microcosm. It almost spread to two neighboring lifebound acupoints. The wisp of sword qi had even found the door, but it probably felt it couldn't break into the qi mansion, and didn't want to fight an alerted Ascension stage master's mind face-to-face, so it instantly broke through the microcosm's barrier and withdrew from Feng Xuetao's body.
Feng Xuetao looked at the "sky" exit of his microcosm, which was from the flying sword. He worried immensely. If he didn't look closely, the wound was almost traceless.
A sword cultivator's lifebound flying sword, however tiny, was supposed to become as large as a mountain when entering an enemy's body microcosm.
Jiang Shangzhen was a bit disappointed. "It's a pity that my true body isn't here, or with those stacks of sword-locking talismans, I might have had a chance to catch the turtle in a jar."
He explained to Senior Qingmi, "It's the female sword cultivator Liubai's lifebound flying sword. At the Summer Palace, the Hidden Officer temporarily named it 'Mustard Seed.' This bizarre flying sword is so subtle it can't be detected. It's of a very high rank."
It could truly merge with heaven and earth qi, like a leaf in the center of a vast lake. For cultivators, like ordinary people standing on the shore, it would be invisible to the naked eye.
"Fellow Daoist was a sword immortal from the Sword Forbidden Region? Hiding in the Barren Wastes, waiting for an opportunity?"
This reclusive master of unknown origin called himself Beng Zhenjun, which sounded like a Daoist. But since he was so familiar with the secrets of the Summer Palace, he was probably a sword immortal who kept his true nature hidden.
"Senior Qingmi must have never visited the eastern three continents of the Haoran Heaven, or else my Dao name would have a slight reputation there. My reputation among the mountains is decent—I'm known for being warm-hearted and chivalrous."
Feng Xuetao was puzzled. A Daoist master who amused himself in the Haoran Heaven?
"Why would Fellow Daoist take such a risk?"
For no reason, why would this strange master named "Beng Zhenjun" be so willing to help him?
"I'm used to taking unconventional paths, seeking wealth in danger."
Jiang Shangzhen smiled. "Besides, meeting is fate. Senior is the first fellow countryman I've encountered on this journey to the Barren Wastes. If I let you die, I'm afraid I'd be struck by lightning."
Feng Xuetao said solemnly, "If Feng Xuetao can escape this time, I won't make any grand promises, but the mountains are high and the rivers long. Fellow Daoist, just wait and see."
The sincere promise of an Ascension stage wild cultivator was worth something.
Jiang Shangzhen chuckled. "Easy to say, easy to say. The ethos of my mountain sect is excellent; we have a tradition of doing good deeds without expecting repayment."
Afterward, a "long" period of time, fraught with danger and mentally torturing, began.
The folklore tales of monsters and immortals in the market often liked to talk about "a day in heaven equals a year on earth," or "a jiazi in the mountains equals a thousand years in the world."
Who would have thought that Jiang Shangzhen would witness it today.
The time stream within this small microcosm flowed extremely fast in the hearts of Jiang Shangzhen and Feng Xuetao.
Unfortunately, it was not at all exciting.
Because he was with a real grown man. Besides having to stay alert to deal with those bizarre offensive techniques, they chatted about everything to pass the time. Jiang Shangzhen asked, and Qingmi answered—equivalent to about "two jiazi" of time passing. By now, Jiang Shangzhen knew everything about Senior Qingmi, including his ancestors up to eighteen generations, how many sweethearts he had, how they met, and how they fell for each other.
Feng Xuetao said helplessly, "If this continues, I'm afraid I'll drop realms."
This fight was truly frustrating.
According to Beng Daoist's explanation, this grand formation fixed the celestial phenomena, modeled the earthly instruments, and drew on yin and yang. The sky began at the North Pole, and the earth began at Tuoyue Mountain. If those ten demon cultivators were of higher realms, say at least all Immortal realm, it would be three thousand six hundred years, the cycle of the sun, moon, and five planets. After a few cycles of time, probably no one except a Fourteen Realm cultivator could survive an Ascension stage cultivator falling into the River of Time.
Where did the Barren Wastes gather these young cultivators each with their own unique powers and the ability to form a formation to steal heavenly creation?
"Don't panic."
Jiang Shangzhen smiled comfortingly. "Fortunes turn. Soon it'll be ten against ten, and it'll be Senior Qingmi's turn to watch the show."
Because his true body was already leading that group of Haoran Heaven young ones, on their way here.
According to Cui Dongshan, the three heavens—Haoran, Barren Wastes, and Qingming—each had their own blessed lands like Immortal Caverns and Golden Jade Forests, where the younger generation rose in response to the times.
As for the Lizhu Cave Heaven, Jiang Shangzhen never went to Huaihuang County to wander around whenever he brought money to the Fallen Mountain. He wasn't a coward, but every time he was at the Fallen Mountain, Chief Zhou, as he was, almost never descended the mountain to stroll.
So Jiang Shangzhen truly respected that green-clad boy, saying that Chen Lingjun, after falling into a ditch, learned from that lesson—or maybe he didn't learn at all—both were correct.
Additionally, in the Qingming Heaven, a dynasty was a rare giant, with a long-lasting dynasty and profound foundations. Within several capital prefectures specially designated for the descendants of founding nobles, there was a group of splendidly dressed noble scions historically known as the Wuling Youths. Among them were the rice thief Wang Yuanlu and the sword-carrying guest Qi Gu, both registered here.
Slightly earlier, two genius cultivators had ascended the mountain to cultivate even earlier. They were among the three thousand Daoists heading to the Multicolored Heaven. Their names were Youran and Nanshan, both now at the Nascent Soul realm. This pair, from opposing sects, was born on the same day, month, year, and even the same hour—truly a match made in heaven.
In the Barren Wastes Heaven, a lower-tier blessed land called "Lingshuang Blessed Land," besides Zhuqie, who had been taken away from his homeland by Liu Cha, there were two young demon sword cultivators who had also made it into the Hundred Sword Immortals of Tuoyue Mountain, along with several earthly immortals with promising Great Ways.
Lizhu Cave Heaven, the dynasty's Wuling, and Lingshuang Blessed Land—these were all genuinely small places, yet they displayed such an indescribably grand atmosphere.
The ten Heavenly Stems cultivators had jointly blocked Feng Xuetao's retreat for one purpose: to besiege and kill this Haoran mountain-top cultivator with the Dao name Qingmi.
This was the difference between only searching for cultivation seeds on one continent and scouring the entire heaven to pluck cultivation geniuses.
The white-clad youth with sleeves hanging straight down had already put on his mask, chuckling, "Haoran Embroidery Tiger—truly pitiable, lamentable, and deplorable. Even a clever housewife cannot cook a meal without rice. With the strength of a whole nation or continent, you toiled to create the Earthly Branches lineage, yet in the end, you couldn't even find a pure martial artist of substance."
Yupu laughed, "Say that in front of the Hidden Officer if you dare."
Qiuyun laughed heartily, "If the Hidden Officer were present, I'd have to phrase it differently. Too bad I've been saving up a bellyful of flattery but can't deliver it."
There were two fights that Qiuyun remembered vividly and cared about the most. One was between the Grand Ancestor of Tuoyue Mountain's last disciple, the sword cultivator Lizhen, and Chen Ping'an. The other was a martial artist they had encountered on the battlefield, exchanging fists.
Qiuyun had a senior brother named Hou Kuimen.
He was once a Far Travel realm martial artist who had obtained the title "Strongest" in the Barren Wastes. He liked to show off his flashy heavy treasures, wearing a bright red chainmail suit, a purple-gold crown with two long tail feathers—this set of ancient treasures was called the "Sword Cage," which was both offensive and defensive, fully comparable to a half-immortal grade sword-locking talisman.
Unfortunately, Hou Kuimen's appearance on the battlefield of the Sword Forbidden Region was a flash in the pan. He not only failed to achieve anything but also didn't break through. After his death, he became the subject of considerable ridicule.
Finally, an old throne great demon used a technique to possess Hou Kuimen, who had been trying to break through to seize martial luck. Using a Nine Realm martial artist's life as a disposable piece, he aimed only to cause serious injury to the young Hidden Officer on the battlefield.
In the eyes of this younger martial brother, his death was utterly inglorious.
The key point was that, aside from the sword cage that the Hidden Officer had unusually not picked up, which was returned to the younger martial brother according to Tuoyue Mountain's rules, he gained nothing else.
Within the grand formation, only nine of them had appeared—Liubai, Zhuqie, and the others. The last Heavenly Stems cultivator was the formation microcosm itself.
Her name was Lianyan.
A woman several zhang tall appeared, her long dress trailing on the ground, surrounded by flowing light. She said to the nine cultivators, "About sixty thousand li away, on a mountain peak, a group of outsiders with thick qi fortune has arrived."
Qiuyun was silent for a moment, then his eyes suddenly blazed. "Are the Hidden Officer or Cao Ci among them?!"
"There is Cao Ci."
A grand formation of heaven and earth was forcibly broken open by one person's fist. A white-clad man appeared. After announcing his name, Cao Ci nodded and asked with a smile, "Looking for me?"
The white-robed youth blinked and grinned questioningly, "Can it be 'nothing'?"
Barren Wastes: Zhuqie, Liubai, Qiuyun, Yusu, Yaotiao, Ziwumeng, Jindan, Yuanying, Yupu, Lianyan.
Haoran: Cao Ci, Fu Jin, Yuan Pang, Gu Can, Yu Juanfu, Chunqing, Zhao Yaoguang, Xumi, Xu Bai.
And of course, there was Jiang Shangzhen, holding a walking stick. He vigorously waved the green bamboo staff at Feng Xuetao, shouting, "Senior Qingmi, I am Beng Zhenjun! Junior has come to your rescue, albeit a bit late!"
When Feng Xuetao saw the true face of "Beng Daoyou," he stood dumbfounded for a moment, then burst out laughing, followed by a torrent of curses at Jiang Shangzhen. This bastard surnamed Jiang, when traveling through the Northern Julu Continent in his early years, had claimed to be the direct disciple of Qingmi of the Central Plains. He had indeed deceived many female immortals. So much so that whenever Fire Dragon True Person traveled through the Central Plains Divine Continent, he would specifically seek out the wronged party, Feng Xuetao, to reminisce. Of course, reminiscing was a pretense; the real purpose was to fleece him.
Cao Ci said, "Then let's find something to do."
The entire microcosm trembled violently as Cao Ci threw a punch.
——
At the Yeluo River, Bai Ze crouched down, spread one hand, and gently placed it on the ground.
Feifei was horrified to find that her heart—not even her Dao heart—was involuntarily trembling.
Then the entire Barren Wastes Heaven emitted a dull sound like a sleeper's heartbeat.
Several ancient, fierce auras appeared.
Like several long-hibernators slowly awakening at the time of the Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects) solar term.
Bai Ze said solemnly, "Stop sleeping."
Feifei was full of spirit.
Bai Ze suddenly looked up and smiled, "Stay far away from me—the farther, the better."
Because this move by Bai Ze was equivalent to a sword challenge.
There was no choice. In the current Barren Wastes Heaven, the one best able to withstand that sword strike from Chen Qingdu was himself.
The likewise elderly Chusheng, or the nominal common lord, the sword cultivator Feiran, and the Fourteen Realm Xiao Xun—none were up to the task.
Feifei said nothing. After hearing Bai Ze's warning, she exerted all her water technique divine powers and ran as far as she could.
Bai Ze stood up, revealing his Dharma form.
A sword light arrived in an instant.
After one sword strike, the earth was shattered. Even Bai Ze's Dharma form was knocked over a thousand li deep into the earth by the sword light.
Actually, it was only half a sword.
This half-sword came from the Sword Forbidden Region.
Then the other half of the sword, which had originally surged into the sky, seemed to descend from beyond the sky, landing on the human world.
Bai Ze's Dharma form had just stretched out its giant hands, placing them on the vast earth outside the "well's mouth."
Bai Ze was struck by that half-sword deeper into the earth.
Bai Ze was nearly completely pierced through the Barren Wastes Heaven by the sword light along with his Dharma form.