Chapter 1003: Where the Dao Merges
Three-Mountain Nine-Marquis merely glanced over there, and that group of great demons from the same era immediately restrained themselves considerably.
Chen Ping'an sighed in admiration—this was the unique aura of an alternate of the ten ancient heroes.
Unlike the mountains of later eras, where a person's reputation casts a shadow, and there are many bamboo-plaited "experts" who are all show and no substance, those qi refiners who personally participated in the Heaven Ascension Campaign or had witnessed that war, who could step by step walk to the peak of the human world—without exception, they were all extremely adept at slaughter. Not to mention others, just consider Xiao Mo at Chen Ping'an's side. In those days, any of the targets he challenged with his sword, if placed in the present, would they not be called "invincible"?
Although this was their first meeting during this distant journey beyond the heavens, after careful examination, Chen Ping'an seemed to have a deep and winding connection with this Three-Mountain Nine-Marquis.
Just speaking of the last time he rushed to the hinterlands of the Barren Wastes, and ultimately made an abrupt detour to Tuoyue Mountain—that was all thanks to that Three-Mountain Talisman.
Although this great talisman was not originally created by Three-Mountain Nine-Marquis, according to Lu Chen, it was precisely because this senior was a guest at the Green Jasper City of the Jade Capital, and after some Dao inquiries, that his senior brother was able to draw this talisman.
Before Grand Master Kou Ming disappeared, that Jade Emperor City of "twelve towers of Jade Capital, lofty and leaning against green jade" regularly held public Dao transmissions to the world, without any thresholds, not restricting cultivators' origins or realms—they could all enter this city through the "great gates" set up in several prefectures. Three-Mountain Nine-Marquis once hid his identity and entered the city as a spectator. In the end, Kou Ming detected his trail, performed courtesy as a junior, and consulted this alternate of the ten heroes on the subject of talismans.
Furthermore, the Three-Mountain Blessed Land, occupied by the Wanyao Sect, was once one of Three-Mountain Nine-Marquis's cultivation grounds.
As for the founding ancestor of Wanyao Sect, Chen Ping'an speculated that he might have been one of this senior's unregistered disciples.
Otherwise, how could such a coincidence occur—a young woodcutter from Tongye Continent, by sheer chance, obtained a celestial scroll painting, ignoring all formation restrictions, and managed to break into a blessed land?
It must be known that in the jade plate city of the Cloud Pattern Dynasty in the Barren Wastes, Chen Ping'an obtained a coral brush holder—that was the key to open a calligraphy scroll in the Linlang Tower of the Jade Capital, which contained a hidden dragon palace secret realm.
And to enclose a great river dragon palace of extremely high rank within a calligraphy scroll was already enough profound magic. Lu Chen even speculated that within that site, there were still aquatic descendants alive. Even more extraordinary was that one of the Jade Capital pavilion masters had spent two to three thousand years yet still could not open the mountain-sealing restriction, never finding a way in. From this, one could see the lofty talisman attainment of Three-Mountain Nine-Marquis.
Bai Jing suddenly opened her mouth to request, "Mountain Lord, how about a deal? Since we still have some time, I want to go meet a friend. Don't worry, I absolutely won't delay the main business. If you don't trust me, I can sign a military pledge—when the great formation activates to repel enemies, if I haven't returned here, I'll bring my head to see you."
In fact, Bai Jing was very self-aware. On this side, there wasn't much for her to do. Stationing at one of the overlapping formations, the Intercalary Month, compared to the entire great formation, was like one snowflake coin to a grain rain coin—besides, Xiao Mo was watching nearby.
Chen Ping'an looked at the eager Bai Jing and nodded, "Go quickly and return quickly."
Presumably Bai Jing wouldn't switch sides on the battlefield. If she truly intended that, leaving the formation early might be a good thing.
According to the agreement earlier at Yeluo River, Bai Jing had personally promised Bai Ze not to be an enemy of the Barren Wastes. But her interpretation was actually very simple—just not to be an enemy of Bai Ze.
Since using the entire Barren Wastes world as a battering ram was that Zhou Mi's method, not Bai Ze's instruction, then her beating the side drum here presumably wouldn't count as violating the rules.
Moreover, Bai Jing saw that Li Gou and those others, from their posture, didn't seem like they came to fight. At most, they came here to join in the excitement. Using the small town's local saying, it's like standing by the ditch watching the flood.
Besides, if she were truly going to break the rules, given Bai Ze's temper, he would have appeared long ago to teach her a lesson himself.
Thus, having obtained Chen Ping'an's permission, Bai Jing burst into laughter, raised a hand and patted her head, resuming the appearance of the marten-capped girl. Her form instantly transformed into a rainbow light, stretching a ray tens of thousands of miles long in the void beyond the heavens. The sword light was slender but condensed. In the blink of an eye, Bai Jing, or rather Xie Gou, rushed near that group of Barren Wastes great demons. She suddenly stopped, extended a finger at that double-pupiled youth, adjusted her marten cap with her hand, and said with a grin in some local dialect she had picked up from who knows where, "Li Gou, play a few rounds with your elder sister?"
Chen Ping'an asked, "What is Bai Jing doing?"
Xiao Mo hesitated for a moment, and after confirming that his master wasn't speaking in jest, he answered honestly, "She intends to challenge Li Gou with the sword."
Yu Xuan sat cross-legged atop Tianjin Peak, grinning widely, and raised his hand to pat his knee.
Lü Yan stroked his beard and smiled, "Mountain Lord Chen's question is a bit superfluous."
Chen Ping'an asked in confusion, "Isn't she afraid of being surrounded by enemies?"
These six ancient great demons, including Li Gou, were all of the most outstanding Barren Wastes throne strength. Figures like Crimson Consort and Yellow Luan were inferior to these old antiques whose Dao ages were all over ten thousand years. Although Bai Jing was a genuine Ascension realm perfected sword cultivator, she was after all not yet a fourteenth realm pure sword cultivator.
Xiao Mo patiently explained, "When Bai Jing fights, she has never used her brain."
Then Xiao Mo added, "Bai Jing is one of the very few sword cultivators who is not afraid of being ganged up on."
"In other words, Bai Jing likes to take on a group single-handedly, and she is extremely good at counter-killing."
"Therefore, in ancient times, Bai Jing had no enemies."
"First, Bai Jing would not actively provoke those beings that were surely beyond her ability to provoke, such as Little Master, Bai Ze, Master of Blue Firmament Cave, etc. This was also Bai Jing's shrewdness."
"Second, every time Bai Jing drew her sword, she would not stop until she achieved her goal. In short, for anyone with whom she forged an enmity, she had extreme patience and perseverance. It was said that when Bai Jing was still at the Earth Immortal realm, she spent a full thirty years relentlessly harassing a senior Ascension realm cultivator. While she cultivated to break through realms, she simultaneously launched ambushes. Often, if a strike failed, she would flee far away, and they would continuously engage in a farcical scene of chase and counter-chase. Eventually, when Bai Jing broke through to Ascension realm, that cultivator met his complete annihilation."
As for Guan Yi and that group of great demons, except for Wu Mingshi and Li Gou who had a genuine friendship, the rest couldn't even be considered allies among themselves.
If not for Bai Ze holding them down, they might be sharing confidences one moment and smashing each other's brains out the next.
In the past, Xiao Mo was accustomed to this style of conduct and never bothered to think deeply about it. When he reached Fallen Mountain, he had earlier chatted with Zhu Lian. That old gentleman's one sentence made Xiao Mo experience a great enlightenment.
"As long as you are still pursuing that kind of pure freedom, then your greatest enemy is not the rules, but the freedom of all others."
On the battlefield, Li Gou looked at that confused-minded Bai Jing and said heavily, "Do you never get tired?"
Last time at Yeluo River, the two sides had already clashed.
He didn't even know how he had offended Bai Jing.
Could it be that she coveted his treasures? Hardly. It must be known that Bai Jing's accumulated wealth was also extremely deep.
Xie Gou waved her hand, "Unrelated people, retreat far away, make a space for me and Li Gou. Don't dawdle, finish quickly!"
That big man crossed his arms over his chest, motionless, and smiled, "As for moving places, forget it. You can just treat me as not here."
Xie Gou shifted her gaze. Guan Yi and Hu Tu shrank the mountains and rivers and went straight far away. The old crone snorted coldly, stamped her walking stick, and though full of complaints, she dared not stay on the battlefield for fear of being caught in the crossfire. The old Daoist in a bamboo crown held a whisk, lightly tapped the deer's antler, and the white deer jumped several times, treading up circles of rainbow ripples in the void beyond the heavens, like birds fluttering from branch to branch, vanishing in an instant.
Xie Gou asked with a smile, "So, shall we start?"
As for that Wu Mingshi standing there in place, he was just an eyesore, but wouldn't be an obstacle.
Li Gou's expression was wooden, saying nothing.
In an instant, Li Gou in his youthful appearance had his head severed. His head was thrown high, then seemed to be inexplicably hit, like someone had kicked it flying. With a bang, it sounded like thunder.
For an ordinary demon, having his head cut off from his true body—
Far away, Guan Yi, watching this sword challenge, had a complex expression. This was the terror of the combined divine abilities of Bai Jing's two lifebound flying swords.
No sword aura, not even needing Bai Jing to use her sword intent—using a flying sword that flowed in the river of time as if it didn't exist, she effortlessly took a life.
It was said that Bai Jing had given those two lifebound flying swords two names, as sloppy as her inexhaustible Daoist titles—"Upstream" and "Downstream".
This meant that when Bai Jing had earlier left the great formation presided over by the young Hidden Official, she had already formally challenged Li Gou with the sword, thus giving him no chance to refuse the sword.
Because it involved the "flow" of the river of time, for all peak cultivators in the world, from ten thousand years ago until now, this had always been a huge unresolved mystery. So how to counter Bai Jing's two lifebound flying swords, which completely occupied the advantage of striking first? Nearly unsolvable.
How could every qi refiner situated in "the present" block the attack of two flying swords coming from "the past" and "the future"?
Yu Xuan, sitting atop Tianjin Peak, raised one hand, with the back of his hand against his knee, and kept forming hand seals with five fingers. He squinted at the distant battlefield. "Daoist Chunyang, facing such an unreasonable flying sword is quite troublesome."
Lü Yan smiled slightly. "The one forced to receive the sword hasn't completely fallen to the disadvantaged position just because of this."
Yu Xuan praised, "These old seniors who have lived over ten thousand years indeed have some real skills."
On the surface, if a qi refiner had foreknowledge and was proficient in divination, it seemed he could handle the seemingly irrational darting flying sword. But the battlefield changes with every moment. Especially when facing an Ascension realm sword cultivator, how could a same-realm cultivator afford to be distracted to calculate the flying sword's trajectory?
Zheng Juzhong glanced at Xie Gou.
This Bai Jing, as expected of the sword dao genius who had become famous ten thousand years ago. As an outsider and observer, she had to some degree "replicated" this overlapping formation of theirs. Her sword trajectory followed the formation arrangement. Not only that, she deliberately traced backward all the way, so the flying sword speed was extremely fast, and it was bound to get faster and faster.
Although Bai Jing's imitation was slightly rough and the Dao intent not pure enough, it was enough to make one look at her with new eyes. Even if she were not a sword cultivator, her Dao achievements would surely not be low.
If the first sword was Bai Jing's courteous greeting,
Then after that came the true sword challenge.
As expected, just as Zheng Juzhong had predicted, Xie Gou seemed to be presiding over the main altar, conducting a grand all-heaven rite, offering sacrifices to three thousand six hundred divine positions, with all stars and constellations arrayed, perfectly matching the ritual patterns. Xie Gou, appearing like an ancient deity manifested, raised one hand and smilingly said two words, "Lower the banner."
Three thousand six hundred sharp sword lights occupying star positions instantly converged at one point—that Li Gou who was separated from his head and body.
Li Gou was stabbed like a beehive by the sword lights. Not only was his flesh and blood blurred, his bones shattered, but his entire human-body world's cave dwelling exploded completely.
Yet even so, no one thought Li Gou had lost from this, and he might not even be injured.
Li Gou instantly pieced together his complete true body, then beckoned once, placing that head that had been casually "trampled" concave back onto his neck. Dao aura flowed, radiance shimmered, and his face was as before.
As for that Wu Mingshi, he just stood there in place, even taking out a flask of wine from his sleeve. Relying solely on the abundant fist qi that he released and scattered, he blocked those "passing" sword lights.
Moreover, this Ascension realm perfected cultivator and final realm martial artist's fist intent, upon careful inspection, branched into as many as ten layers.
After that were two Daoist grand rites. Bai Jing's sword light numbers decreased sharply in sequence, but became even more incomparably sharp.
But after three successive swords, Li Gou would restore his original appearance in the gap before the next sword was delivered.
When the seventy-two seasonal sword formation activated, seventy-two "Bai Jings" stood at various places, trapping the double-pupiled youth in the center of the great formation. Together, they held swords in one hand and pointed at that Li Gou. Seventy-two sword lights, like snow-white dragons interwoven with thunder and lightning, smashed onto Li Gou's body, causing him to instantly turn into a large pool of golden light where flesh and blood dissolved. But within the golden light were interwoven countless thread-like veins.
After that, Bai Jing's sword attack order was methodical, thus somewhat rigid, so it looked more like showing off.
Compared to the earlier expressionless youth, Li Gou, having restored his true body again, had eyes that sparkled with brilliance as he glared at that Bai Jing.
Seeing this, Bai Jing laughed and said, "Oh, got a bit of drizzle on you, and you're already angry?"
Xiao Mo explained with his mind voice, "This Li Gou, though still at Ascension realm for now, has defense so high that it can roughly be regarded as fourteenth realm. The reason Bai Jing keeps pestering Li Gou is that she wants to find on him a unique sword technique that can break 'realmless people'. She needs to determine which of two sword paths to walk: whether to break the illusory with the real, using an infinitely small mustard seed sword light to cut open an infinitely great grand void realm, or to cover the illusory with some greater illusory form, ultimately... devour the opponent. Like the earlier move of 'casting the net' was an example shown by Bai Jing on this sword path. And the reason she replicated our formation so quickly was, at root, because it coincided with her other sword path, so she just put it to immediate use. All this is because Bai Jing, ten thousand years ago, wanted to accomplish a great deed: before she breaks into fourteenth realm, she must first kill a fourteenth realm cultivator."
Chen Ping'an nodded. A mind like Bai Jing's seemed qualified to enter the Summer Retreat Palace.
Chen Ping'an joked, "Xiao Mo, how do you know these secrets concerning Bai Jing's Dao roots? Miss Xie treats you with great sincerity."
Xiao Mo looked helpless. "It's not that she told me. It's just that after dealing with each other for so long, we both know each other's background quite well."
Chen Ping'an suddenly asked, "Then wouldn't my two lifebound flying swords just become one of Bai Jing's excellent Dao food?"
Xiao Mo smiled. "She wouldn't dare."
Chen Ping'an said self-deprecatingly, "Provided I don't get caught alone."
Xiao Mo narrowed his eyes.
Chen Ping'an said in exasperation, "Just a joke, don't be so serious."
Xiao Mo said, "Unless forced by circumstances, I actually don't want to be her enemy either."
Chen Ping'an nodded. "That's the right way to think."
Li Xisheng gazed into the distance and said, "Zhou Mi is trying to force that existence of the Barren Wastes world to reveal itself."
Hearing this, Chen Ping'an immediately became worried and asked, "Logically speaking, shouldn't that existence in the Barren Wastes be opposed to Zhou Mi's actions?"
Once the two worlds collided, whether after the collision the two ferries scraped past each other, flattening at least one or two continents each, or they smashed into each other leaving an enormous crater and then bounced apart, or the East Victory and Barren Wastes became adjacent... No matter the situation, it seemed absolutely undesirable for the "landlords" of the two worlds. Especially
the third scenario was the worst—it was like making two "landlords" who had to protect their own small patches of land, leaving them with no room for maneuver, caught in a situation of meeting on a narrow path with short blades clashing.
Of course, this way, the impact on Ritual Sage was the greatest.
It was obvious that after Zhou Mi ascended to heaven, he regarded Ritual Sage as the greatest hidden danger; perhaps Chen Ping'an was only second.
Dealing with Chen Ping'an was just throwing a chess piece at Fallen Mountain.
Targeting Ritual Sage, he directly moved a whole Barren Wastes world.
Chen Ping'an knew that this so-called existence existed in every world, and was the mutual nemesis of the number one of each world—a counterbalancing object.
For example, in the Five Colors World, that little girl named "Yuanxiao", who was also the direct disciple taken in by Huang Ting of Taiping Mountain, was now cultivating at Ning Yao's side.
On the Azure Mirror World side, Chen Ping'an speculated it was that martial artist of Leap Month Peak, Xin Ku. After all, in several casual conversations, Lu Chen had provided too much evidence.
As for the East Victory World, it was that ferryman who supposedly "contended on equal terms" with the Supreme Sage. Chen Ping'an even speculated that the "neighbor" killed by the Supreme Sage, and someone later portrayed in unofficial histories as having been chopped down by the Supreme Sage himself with an axe in the mountains, had once been that divine existence manifested by the East Victory world.
Li Xisheng shook his head. "Regarding the East Victory counterattack against the Barren Wastes, that existence of the Barren Wastes world must have felt a huge hidden danger, and thus become extremely angry."
"Speaking only of the three worlds of Azure Mirror, East Victory, and Barren Wastes, you can probably guess. Among them, the suppression by the Dao Ancestor over this type of existence has been the most effective. Apart from high Dao techniques, this is related to the root of Daoism and the pursuit of natural Dao. The martial artist Xin Ku of Leap Month Peak still hasn't been able to break through to the eleventh realm of martial arts—and this is with the Dao Ancestor deliberately relaxing his restrictions. In the East Victory World, because the ritual system is the most dense, the Supreme Sage and that existence are mutually as incompatible as fire and water. As for the Barren Wastes, the Great Ancestor of the Tuoyue Mountain was only half a step away but never made it to the fifteenth realm. From this, it can be seen that this existence is the most..."
Chen Ping'an laughed bitterly. "Relatively speaking, it's the best fighter."
Li Xisheng looked up elsewhere and nodded. "I believe this is related to Zhou Mi's plan. If he had failed to ascend to heaven, his fallback plan would likely have been to 'merge with the Dao' of this existence, thereby breaking into the fifteenth realm."
Chen Ping'an frowned. "Aren't these existences extremely hard to find and impossible to kill completely?"
Li Xisheng smiled, glanced at Chen Ping'an, and asked back, "Must you kill?"
Chen Ping'an was speechless.
Indeed, just lock them up.
On the distant battlefield, the sword lights vanished abruptly. Xie Gou curled her lip. "Small skirmishes, no fun."
The key was that she had encountered a fellow who wouldn't strike back when hit or talk back when cursed.
Wu Mingshi waved his hand, dispersing those lingering chaotic sword intents, and smiled. "Bai Jing, are you done venting? Not fighting for sure now?"
Li Gou's face was slightly pale, silent.
He had lost several hundred years of Dao power to that madwoman Bai Jing again.
Xie Gou twitched her mouth. "Bai what Jing, Xie what Gou? Now my name is Plum Flower."
After all, he was an East Victory cultivator. Yu Xuan couldn't help but glance at that sword cultivator whom the young Hidden Official called "Xiao Mo".
Xie Gou stepped forward to stand before Li Gou, facing the youth. She put her hands on her hips and glared. "What are you staring at? Still not convinced?"
If not for worrying that Xiao Mo might misunderstand, she would have smashed that expressionless youth's head in with one headbutt.
Li Xisheng asked, "Do you know why Ritual Sage wanted to bring both you and Mr. Xiao Mo here?"
Chen Ping'an looked ahead at the Talisman Mountain and Script River, and nodded. "Because I merged with the Dao of half the Sword Qi Great Wall."
Li Xisheng asked, "Are you truly willing? Can you bear to part with it?"
Chen Ping'an said, "As long as the Confucian Temple credits this merit to Ascension City, I have nothing to begrudge."
Half the Sword Qi Great Wall—this might have originally been the foundation for Chen Ping'an to break into the fourteenth realm in the future.
Xiao Mo spoke up to remind Bai Jing that she could return.
Xie Gou suddenly turned back, showing a brilliant smile to Xiao Mo. She stopped bothering with that Li Gou, and with a flash of sword light, immediately returned to the great formation.
It turned out that at the very front, the Dharma form of Ritual Sage had already extended a hand to hold back the entire Barren Wastes world.