A cultivator who has grasped the true Great Dao possesses a remarkable trait: the seeming absence of separation and death. When the opportune moment arrives, reunions, however long delayed, become possible.

What does ten thousand years matter, when I have met Chen Qingdu again, and he has met me?

The only difference is that I stand on this shore of the River of Time, while Chen Qingdu stands on the opposite bank.

The child didn’t even glance at the nameless youth, but instead looked up at the city wall, at the old man with his hands clasped behind his back – Chen Qingdu, the one known as the Eldest Sword Immortal.

Since gaining his spiritual awakening, his master and senior apprentice-brother had never concealed anything from him. Therefore, Chen Qingdu was not only an old friend of his master’s, but also truly a friend of his own.

Back then, the three most experienced, most skilled, and deadliest criminal sword cultivators traveled far together. They took advantage of the fact that the Great Dao of the Wild Lands had not yet been firmly established, and the shifting of sun, moon, and stars, and the changes of the four seasons, had not yet become fixed laws. No matter what, his master was recognized as the master of the Wild Lands’ Great Dao at that time. Chen Qingdu, along with Guanzhao and the Dragon Lord, who were also leaders of the criminal warriors, risked being overwhelmed by the advantageous timing and terrain against their swordsmanship. They had to take their swords to Mount Tuoyue, which was tantamount to challenging the entire Wild Lands.

Regarding that battle, neither the process nor the result was ever recorded in the history of the Wild Lands. The number of people who knew the inside story could be counted on one’s fingers. The child heard from a direct disciple of Mount Tuoyue that at that time, within tens of thousands of miles, it was a literal overturning of the heavens and earth. It was said that Mount Tuoyue was halved, as a result of the last sword strike of the owner of that tattered robe before his death. As for the earliest form of the present-day Yelong River, it was said that it was cleaved out by his sword, which led to the later magnificent spectacle.

It was just that he was the most miserable, his soul incomplete and scattered in all directions. The gatekeepers of Mount Tuoyue had always had a secret mission, which was to help him gather his soul. Until now, they had only gathered one soul and one spiritual entity, and patched together the remaining soul fragments. As for his physical body and remains, they had been completely annihilated, and it was absolutely impossible to reshape them. In this respect, he was not as fortunate as the Dragon Lord, who at least left behind a solid head. It was just unfortunate that it was constantly trampled and played with by that skeletal demon he had named Bai Ying. Whenever she was in the mood, she would pour wine into a cup and use some unorthodox magic to transform it into a puppet with a combat power equivalent to a Great Sword Immortal. It was a pity that he couldn’t learn this trick. Otherwise, as long as he breached the Sword Qi Great Wall, wouldn’t there be more fun?

It was just that for some unknown reason, the Dragon Lord, who had only lost one soul and two spiritual entities, clearly retained most of his intelligence. As a comrade who had followed Chen Qingdu to fight in all directions in the past, the earliest sword immortal of the human race, he not only never appeared in the world with his true face, but even refused to take back the head that belonged to him, allowing Bai Ying, whose killing power was roughly equal to his, to trample his skull, turning a blind eye. On the contrary, he harbored inexplicable and deep-seated hatred for his former friend Chen Qingdu.

The child yawned, quietly waiting for the other party to make a move. The ending was already predetermined, and it was really boring.

After looking at Chen Qingdu, he looked at the young woman standing on the edge of the city wall.

Ning Yao.

She was a young sword cultivator whose name had long been known in the Wild Lands. It had little to do with her current cultivation realm, but her future realm would determine her status in the hearts of many great demons in the Wild Lands.

What is a genius?

It was as if, as long as you ignored them for a few days or years, that “future” would arrive, almost instantly, with no accidents or ifs in between.

He was like that, and that hybrid carrying a Mo Family mechanical “sword rack” was half of one, perhaps. His name was strange, called Beiqie.

Beiqie’s master was truly remarkable.

Even his master had said, “It’s a pity that his temperament is not domineering enough, which has led to his swordsmanship not reaching its peak. Otherwise, the most suitable candidate to suppress the Sword Qi Great Wall is this person.”

He heard that in the Central Continent of the Vast World, there was also a young man learning fist techniques, named Cao Ci, who was also one of his kind.

The child stood on the head of that Ascension Realm great demon, who nominally was still a direct disciple of the same lineage as Mount Tuoyue. However, in the prison on the Sword Qi Great Wall side, his physical body must have been damaged too much, and his cultivation base had been worn away too much, which was why Chen Qingdu casually pulled out his head. However, the Ascension Realm was unstable, and the physique was still that of a great demon from the Wild Lands. Even if the current him chopped at it with several immortal weapons for a few years, it would not be successful. Chen Qingdu was indeed very powerful. This time, following his master down the mountain to visit the Sword Qi Great Wall, seeing so many dying people, and the fact that the city wall was full of those so-called Upper Five Realms sword immortals, made the trip worthwhile.

This twelve-year-old child who looked like a toddler, pondered many things, but on the battlefield, it was only a few blinks of an eye. He patted his mouth and said, “I will deliberately not kill you, kindly leaving you half a life. Will Ning Yao come down to finish this fight for you? If she does, then you are really lucky. In the future, two worlds, or even four worlds, will remember you, and that you were the first person I chose to fight after coming down the mountain, and still not die.”

That old man with a long pole over his shoulder, with the divine power of “hibernating half-dead,” had swallowed more than a dozen majestic mountains of the Wild Lands in his belly in one breath in his early years, and had been sound asleep for thousands of years. He softly smiled and asked the dragon-robed woman next to him, “Did this child have a sudden impulse, or did the old ancestor instruct him?”

The woman shook her head and said, “In the old ancestor’s eyes, there is only Chen Qingdu and the entire Sword Qi Great Wall. He has no interest in thinking about these trivial matters.”
As the mistress of the Yiluo River and thirty-six other mighty rivers, she was not in eternal slumber. Or rather, that scarlet serpent, her rival for the Great Dao, wouldn’t allow her peaceful cultivation. They had been locked in a life-and-death struggle for three thousand years, their disciples and grandchildren perishing in countless numbers. Yet, their own cultivation remained unscathed, steadily improving. The fallen soldiers under their command served as nourishment, a better bargain than risking reputation to occasionally devour a great demon. Instead, every eight hundred or a thousand years, they would arrange a duel. This “duel” involved isolating a realm, revealing their true forms, and creating earth-shaking spectacles. Mostly, it was each fighting their own battles, breaking a few semi-immortal artifacts and a pile of inferior magical treasures obtained through offerings. When they were tired of playing, they would shatter the isolated realm, deliberately making their true forms appear bloodied and battered to show for it. After all, they both knew their strength wasn’t significantly different, and if they truly fought to the death, many of their peers on the Ancient Well Throne wouldn’t mind joining forces to devour them. Especially that skeleton, who loved to act surreptitiously, digging three feet into the ground, causing many great demons who were secretly healing to die quietly, only to be turned into puppets. Therefore, the great demon Bai Ying’s apparent combat strength was not high, but his resources were deep and unfathomable.

The sword-wielding elder gently tapped his long staff, “That’s a bit interesting. I like this kid. When he arrives in the Great Harmony, I must give him a welcoming gift.”

The woman in the dragon robe was half a Daoist couple with the sword-wielding elder. She joked, “The Ancestor’s closed-door disciple, is it your place to give him a gift?”

The elder laughed, “Whether the kid accepts it is his business, whether I give it is my business. If he doesn’t accept it, one strike of my staff will shatter his soul, and he can come back again. The Great Harmony is famous for its abundance of treasures; piecing together tendons, bones, and souls is easy. Maybe this kid will be even more talented next time he appears. The Ancestor might even thank me for helping out. After all, a master killing his own disciple will eventually hurt their relationship.”

The child, originally named “Guan Zhao,” suddenly grinned. He preferred to replace his formal opponent in this first battle with Ning Yao.

As expected, he received his hint.

The handsome great demon, with a beautiful sword-nourishing gourd hanging from his waist, glanced at Ning Yao on the city wall again and also felt that fighting Ning Yao would be more rewarding. So, the great demon patted his sword-nourishing gourd, and a streak of sword light shot out, heading straight for the young man who was delaying matters. Only if Ning Yao died under the city wall would he have more opportunities to peel off the little girl’s face. Ning Yao’s face, along with the Green Mountain Divine Consort and the female martial goddess Pei Bei, were the great beauties he was determined to obtain.

After the sword light left the sword-nourishing gourd, it went straight in a line, as thick as a wellhead. The sword aura was so strong that it shattered countless sword auras and sword intents in the world. The sword light was so fast that just as it was about to hit the young man in the green shirt, a wide gully several feet deep was torn open on the ground.

Did they care about battlefield rules or the status of a peak great demon?

The Wilderness truly didn’t care about such things.

Back then, during the Thirteen-Way Struggle, who in the Wilderness truly cared that they lost?

Only the sword immortals and the Great Harmony did.

After the breach of contract, the two great demons who made heavy vows on behalf of the Wilderness died on the spot.

Was the Wilderness at a disadvantage?

Being able to exchange lives with the sword immortals of the Great Wall of Sword Qi, what did it matter if a few more great demons died? The Wilderness could afford to lose them. What the Wilderness had always been troubled by was the indestructible Great Wall of Sword Qi and the top sword immortals’ ability to advance and retreat freely. Every sword immortal who could be injured but not killed, and fight again next time, was the most troublesome! Falling in cultivation realm was seen as the greatest tribulation on the path of cultivation in both the Wilderness and the Great Harmony, but the falling realm of sword cultivators in the Great Wall of Sword Qi was almost never called a fall in realm!

After the great demon patted the sword-nourishing gourd and sent out a sword, he waited for the result of winning more or winning less.

As long as that young man died, the Ancestor’s disciple could continue the fight. Wasn’t there still Ning Yao? The people of the Great Wall of Sword Qi cared about face, the kind that would die for it.

If he displeased Chen Qingdu, who chose to attack him, the Ancestor would definitely not be ambiguous. Then, he might as well start a chaotic battle, saving both sides trouble and completely opening the prelude to the war.

On the city wall, Chen Qingdu wasn’t particularly happy or unhappy. Before the great demon reached out and patted the sword-nourishing gourd, he had already smiled, “Zuo You, as the eldest senior brother, it’s not difficult to create a clean battlefield for the little junior brother, is it? If the other party goes too far, you can leave the city wall, and I’ll personally back you up.”

Zuo You nodded.

Then, in front of that green-shirted figure, where the sword light was heading, thousands of strands of sword energy rose into the sky, instantly smashing the surging sword light like a rainbow.

“Is he making a move already? Isn’t the opponent me?”

After landing, the great demon sitting in thousands of jade towers did not put away the ancient immortal residences he had painstakingly collected. Large and small, they surrounded him, slowly rotating, like stars moving beside an immortal. The great demon slowly raised his hand, and a palm-sized, simple and unadorned white jade palace flew towards the battlefield above the two, suddenly becoming larger, covering the sky and the sun, and smashing towards the Ancestor’s disciple and the green-shirted young man, regardless of friend or foe.

Zuo You drew his sword and unsheathed it. His sword intent was far from being vast; it was almost still. He just slashed down with his sword casually.

The white jade palace, as large as a mountain, was split in two. Not only that, but sword energy splashed everywhere, the palace turned into powder, giant rocks crumbled, and jade shattered like rain.

The immortal-like great demon didn’t feel the slightest bit of heartache. He clapped his hands and laughed, “Good swordsmanship, plenty of weight.”

The great demon turned to look at the big bearded man with a saber and sword on his back, “What do you think? Can this sword cultivator who can stand beside Chen Qingdu be sent to you for disposal?”

The big bearded man said indifferently, “On the battlefield, let Zuo You kill you first, and then I’ll help you take revenge. If you want to thank me, shut up, or it will be the Great Wall of Sword Qi’s turn to thank me.”

The great demon sighed, “Even if I kill Zuo You, it looks like a losing deal. After all, no matter how good the memorial archways of the Chen clan Confucian scholars of the Posa Continent are, they are just new things. My old things that I have treasured for many years are all treasures, and they are all unique in the world. Once they are gone, they are gone. Where can I find them? As expected, you sword cultivators are more straightforward. When you fight, you never have to care about these gains and losses.”
On the city wall, Pang Yuanji was visibly displeased, and said in a deep voice, “These great demons are deliberately helping that little beast to create an atmosphere of heaven and earth, to suppress Chen Ping An’s state of mind!”

Chen Sanqiu’s expression was grave.

This is the battlefield on the side of the Sword Qi Great Wall. Those who charge into battle for the sake of emotional disputes often don’t have good endings. The demon race in the wild lands love sword cultivators who act rashly the most.

Once the war begins, no matter if you are a high-ranking sword immortal, if anyone thinks they can turn the tide with a single sword, they will find it difficult to achieve their wishes. Instead, they will be exploited by the demon race, offering up a battle achievement or even a series of them.

Many great demons will deliberately set traps, seizing heavily injured sword cultivators, slowly tearing off their limbs, chewing them in their mouths, or skinning and dismembering them bit by bit. Such tragic scenes are unbearable to witness. Sword cultivators in distress will only experience a fate worse than death. Those whose souls are imprisoned and suppressed will find even suicide a luxury. The great demons do this to lure more sword cultivators away from the Sword Qi Great Wall and deep into their territory to fight. If a sword immortal makes a move, the great demons will instantly surround them, sharing the credit afterwards. Historically, there have been many bloody lessons like this.

When a young, promising sword cultivator is captured, their family elders or teaching sword cultivators will try to rescue them, only to die. Then, a sword immortal will go, only to die as well. A close friend of the sword immortal will try to rescue them, and still die.

In the end, the young sword cultivator is often the last to die. Some young sword cultivators who suffered such disasters were not even killed by the great demons in the end. The young man, with incomplete limbs and a shattered flying sword, was simply thrown on the ground by the great demon, who ordered all demons to detour when retreating, leaving the favored son of heaven to the Sword Qi Great Wall. Many young people whose natal flying swords were shattered and whose Bridges of Longevity were completely broken often met this fate. They either mustered a bit of strength on the battlefield to choose suicide, or were carried off the battlefield to commit suicide later at the city.

The wild lands only care about victory and defeat, life and death, and never care about the process.

Ning Yao said, “They will regret it.”

Zuo You gently gripped the unsheathed sword in his hand, the tip pointing directly at the great demon who summoned a white jade palace.

Before the line where the gray-robed old man and fourteen peak great demons stood, gigantic vortexes suddenly appeared, each with a sword tip slowly emerging, piercing through the void.

It was as if fifteen small worlds had been added between the wild lands and the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Zuo You, a sword cultivator of the Vast Expanse, was simultaneously challenging all the great demons with his sword.

In the wild lands and the Sword Qi Great Wall, regardless of their cultivation realm, both sides knew very well that on today’s battlefield, the more prominent one is, the greater the chance of dying in the next great battle. Those who could have avoided death were courting it, and those who could have died later would die sooner.

First, it was Chen Ping An.

Then, it was Zuo You.

The lineage of the Confucian Sage of the Vast Expanse has always been unreasonable.

The burly man in golden armor suddenly revealed his enormous true form, and the golden armor he wore expanded with him, still firmly suppressing the great demon. The golden-armored man reached out and blocked the sword tip, pushing the sword and vortex backward together. Eventually, the sword and vortex shattered together. The golden armor on his body was splattered with sword qi, but the man didn’t even look at it. He simply looked down at a slight flaw that appeared in his golden palm. Unfortunately, it was quickly filled and covered by the dense golden light gathered from other parts of his fingers. The burly man was greatly annoyed, returning to his human form, but after a moment’s thought, he decided that Zuo You, whose swordsmanship was not low, must be dealt with by him in the next great battle.

Above the line, those great demons with ancient well thrones each used their supernatural powers, some punching to shatter the flying sword and the vortex together.

Some created great movements, causing the earth to tremble. For example, the sword immortal standing next to the skeletal demon Bai Ying used a sword against a sword, the sword tips of vastly different sizes meeting, scattering countless sparks, like a dazzling rain of fire falling on the earth.

Some great demons’ methods were profound, similarly creating a small world with a wave of their hand to collide with it.

The bearded man did not act himself, but instead had his disciple fly into the air with a sword to defend.

The Confucian scholar dealt with it most easily. He allowed the giant flying sword to rush out of the vortex and head straight for him. Then, the flying sword shrank its sword qi in the air. The size of the flying sword changed drastically, eventually becoming a miniature flying sword, hovering in front of the Confucian scholar. He put two fingers together, smiled slightly, and flicked it casually. The flying sword turned its tip and flew towards a very distant place in the Sword Qi Great Wall, disappearing in a flash.

The Confucian sage sitting at one end of the city wall also flicked his fingers, sending the flying sword into the rolling white mist transformed by the illusory river of time in the wild lands. Then, the next moment, it inexplicably fell straight down from the sky above the southern Confucian scholar. The man smiled, raised his sleeve, and the flying sword disappeared, the sharp flying sword with a trace of the aura of the river of time returned to heaven and earth.

On the battlefield, the child never cared about the sword light piercing through the air behind him, or the white jade palace that soared into the sky being destroyed and scattered by a sword from the city wall.

It was just that the sword light leaving the Sword Nurturing Gourd shattered, and the white jade palace exploded, causing the sword qi around the battlefield where the two were located to become chaotic, and the child’s vision became slightly blurred.

The child tugged at the corner of his mouth, gently pushed aside the head of the great demon under his feet, and kicked it away, lest it get in the way. What was a direct disciple of Mount Tuoyue who had died completely?

The child retracted his foot, then just stood there, not dodging or avoiding.

The other party was finally willing to make a move. What a gentle and cautious old man.

Being so careful and cautious is meaningless. Leaving the city wall and confronting him, it is difficult to live, but easiest to die.

However, when he thought about how to deal with the corpse and soul in order to induce Ning Yao on the city wall to take the initiative to land and fight him again, to die together, the child was a little embarrassed.

He really couldn’t bring himself to chew hands and feet and gnaw at people’s faces. He wasn’t a demon, and he didn’t have a true form that was hundreds or thousands of feet tall. Even if he opened his mouth as wide as possible, how long would it take to disgust people? He was afraid that he would be disgusted half to death before he could disgust others. Moreover, he was just a half-baked sword cultivator with an unstable soul. It was already very difficult to practice swordsmanship, and he hadn’t learned any immortal spells that used the soul as a wick.
Now, the child who had named himself “Li Zhen” felt that fighting was just fighting. But after truly reaching the battlefield, he realized he had to think about so many things. He somewhat regretted not practicing his sword more diligently before, and he was secretly delighted by the jealousy and resentment hidden in the hearts of some senior brothers and sisters.

Li Zhen glanced around, absent-mindedly.

The opponent was passable, a sword cultivator with two natal flying swords.

One flying sword was extremely slender and sharp, like a needle, ancient and weathered, with a hint of rustling pine breeze. It resembled the flying swords of many sword immortals known for their speed in killing, rather than raw power.

The other natal weapon possessed an undisguised aura of interwoven lightning, unwilling to hide. This was more akin to those sword immortals renowned for their formidable killing power.

No wonder the grand sword immortal placed a heavy bet on him; he did possess some small skills.

However, there was a slight peculiarity. Despite unleashing two natal flying swords in one breath, he wasn’t using them to kill the enemy. He still approached for close combat, and his movements were quite swift.

The child was somewhat troubled. He had too many external possessions. Since leaving Tuoyue Mountain with his master, he had been busy receiving gifts all day. First, his senior brothers and sisters insisted on giving them, then countless demons whose names he couldn’t remember eagerly offered them. Did they really think he was a junk collector? It was simply delaying his cultivation. He hadn’t expected them to be of any use today. Otherwise, as his realm increased, he would have to deal with a batch of junk every few years. He was reluctant to give it away, and it was a pity to throw it away. Therefore, his master was right; one should not be too lax in cultivation. It wouldn’t be too late to be lazy after entering the Upper Five Realms, at least after learning the “Sleeve Universe” divine ability, which would save a lot of trouble. Even if countless treasures were piled up like a mountain, there would be no fear. That senior sister, who was now in seclusion, once said that the Vast World was unimaginably rich, and immortal sects were as numerous as hairs. Those cultivators, young and old, with high and low realms, were very clever and feared death even more. To avoid death, they could disregard everything. When he arrived there, he should test people’s hearts more; it would be very interesting.

The child hesitated for a moment, then simply stopped hesitating. He would take one of the opponent’s moves. If he had the ability to produce another flying sword, he would take that sword. If he had immortal treasures, he could smash his head with them.

However, letting the opponent make this move didn’t prevent him from laying the groundwork for his next move. He had promised to send his opponent to his death as soon as possible, and it wasn’t just empty boasting.

So, it was true that the child was standing still, but within ten zhang, the ground rose slightly, like pulling out a small mound of earth. Then, in an instant, in all directions, not only in the battlefield where the two were located but also far to the vicinity of the Sword Qi Great Wall’s city wall, and high in the air, hundreds or thousands of zhang above the city wall, a kind of pure sword intent with the same origin as the Great Dao, not sword qi, materialized without warning. Intertwining and crisscrossing within this mound, it was like silk threads wrapping around, countless strands. Under the sunlight, snow-white sword intents shimmered, weaving a sword intent cage that seemed to imprison the child.

That figure in azure robes didn’t choose close combat. In the instant before the cage appeared, he seemed to sense the anomaly in the heavens and earth and changed his course. However, he didn’t stop; he only slowed down slightly, like a wisp of blue smoke, a lonely wandering spirit, wandering ten zhang away from the child, never approaching the cage filled with sword intent. He held stacks of talismans in each hand, endless in number, throwing them out at will, or letting the talismans drift in the wind, or embedding them around the earth. From time to time, some yellow paper talismans approached the slightly raised mound of earth, only to be silently and repeatedly torn apart by the static sword light condensed from those sword intents, eventually scattering into fragments on the mound.

Li Zhen was somewhat disappointed. “You don’t even dare to exchange your life with me? You’re a really boring sword cultivator. I rarely give you a chance to die heroically, and you don’t even seize it. We’re not relatives, and we don’t have the custom of burning paper money during the Qingming Festival here. What are you doing?”

Li Zhen walked slowly, and the entire cage moved with him. The sword intent that was originally scattered in the heavens and earth gathered more and more, and the cage grew larger and larger. For some reason, outside the Sword Qi Great Wall, all the ancient sword intents that shared the same path but not the same origin chose an extremely rare state of stillness at this moment, neither following that sword intent to merge with it nor overly hostilely intercepting it.

Two old sword immortals, Chen Xi and Qi Tingji, who had inscribed large characters on the Sword Qi Great Wall, said with heart-voices, “It’s that senior watching over the residual sword intent he left here in his early years. For ten thousand years, he has never favored any descendant of the Sword Qi Great Wall. No wonder.”

Qi Tingji frowned and sneered, “Senior? This kind of despicable person who can betray the way of the sword in order to reach the peak of his own sword arts, is he worthy of being called our senior?”

Chen Xi was unwilling to dwell on this matter and sighed, “Fortunately, Chen Ping’an ran fast. Otherwise, if he were in it, a nascent soul sword cultivator would have to give up his body to have a chance of survival. But if that were the case, how could he continue fighting?”

Qi Tingji looked into the distance, “Chen Ping’an’s fist intent must go through a process of receiving and releasing in order to reach its own peak. That little brat isn’t idle either, and he’s good at creating opportunities and seizing them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to use this trick so easily right from the start; most of the sword intent would have intercepted him. Fortunately, Chen Ping’an isn’t losing out too much. Opportunities like this, where he can use the laws of heaven and earth to temper his fist art, are rare. This sword formation is only being borrowed for temporary use after all; it can’t last too long.”

Chen Xi shook his head and said, “Don’t forget what his status is now. He won’t be lacking in good things to protect himself.”

Li Zhen strolled leisurely on the battlefield and smiled, “One move has passed. It wouldn’t do to let you wander around like this all the time. Don’t think that just because you’re far away from me, you can set up talisman formations at will. Do you know that you’re very annoying like this? Do you really think I can only stand here and take a beating?”

The child shook his sleeve, and a crystal-clear seal rolled out, which he stepped on and crushed through the earthen mound, falling to the ground below.

Then, he threw out a half-remaining, sheathless broken sword, covered in rust and with a turbid sword light.

The child then shook out a small, exquisite bronze pagoda from his sleeve, seemingly imitating the White Jade City of the Azure Sky. However, the pagoda was on the verge of breaking, with obvious gaps, making it seem somewhat useless. It was mostly for one-time use and then discarded. The pagoda fell and sank directly into the earth, disappearing without a trace, due to its extreme weight.
Li Zhen walked unceasingly, each time the same. Every time a celestial treasure was flung out, he stomped it into the ground, leaving it in place. As he walked, he tossed things aside, all the while saying, “With each step, I create a small flaw, kindly reminding you that your flying sword can’t break through the sword formation. At the very least, you could seize the opportunity to control your flying sword, drill into the earth, and try to prick me from below. But no, you don’t appreciate it, insisting on waiting for death. Fine, let’s see if you have more Qingming yellow papers to throw, or if my treasures can clear your grave faster.”

Once, Li Zhen threw out a scroll, but noticed it didn’t unfurl when it hit the ground. Nevertheless, the treasure still functioned. The boy squatted down anyway, spreading it open – a tattered painting of the Eighteen Sword Immortals.

Only then did Li Zhen stand up and continue walking, his steps slow, yet each stride covering tens of feet.

Whenever Li Zhen made a move, the nearest long strand of the sword formation would automatically avoid his hands and feet. Li Zhen didn’t even need to think about it.

Li Zhen just strolled casually, tossing down a treasure every three or four miles. Eventually, he decided that those of too low a grade weren’t worth embarrassing himself with. Finally, Li Zhen stopped, extending two fingers to pinch a sloping strand of sword intent that had been hovering a foot in front of him. He gently twisted it, causing it to hum, and smiled. “I wonder how the original Xing Tu Guanzhao attained such soaring swordsmanship. Now, even I can barely imagine it. Back then, who were the other great figures, besides Chen Qingdu, who walked the path of swordsmanship together, striving to overcome the heavens? It’s a pity I can’t remember.”

That figure in azure robes stood twenty feet ahead, finally ceasing his escape. Indeed, he probably felt it unnecessary now.

Li Zhen didn’t know if this person was stupid or foolish.

Just because the sword formation around him was about to dissipate? Did the other party really think the sword formation was there to protect him from flying swords and talismans?

Li Zhen asked, “By the way, what’s your name?”

Seeing that he didn’t seem inclined to speak, Li Zhen sighed. “What’s with you? In many books passed down from the Vast World to the Savage Lands, the clashes of experts are all bright and upright. You announce your fist technique, I shout out my sword move. The ants and onlookers just need to yell and cheer, marveling in amazement. How lively! Then, when the trump card is unleashed, they’re all dumbfounded, speechless, the silence more resounding than any noise. But look at you, are you doing justice to all those sword immortals watching from the city walls? Because you’re playing mute, I can’t even get excited.”

From the moment Li Zhen began speaking, the sword formation had already begun to falter and fluctuate. The interwoven strands of refined sword intent began to dim, though they didn’t simply return to heaven and earth. Instead, they seemed to transform into clouds of spiritual energy, slowly flowing into the child’s acupoints.

Li Zhen let out a burp, expelling clouds of mist, all the old and turbid sword intent that had been pushed out of his personal microcosm.

Seeing this, a great sword immortal turned to look at the chief sword immortal.

Chen Qingdu shook his head and smiled. “What’s meant to be his will be his. Even seeking death will lead to death.”

Li Zhen asked with a smile, “In the process of the sword formation disappearing, there were six minor flaws, then two more. You’re still holding back? Do you think I talk too much? Do you find me annoying, or do I find you more annoying?”

Li Zhen’s smile faded, his eyes becoming desolate. He snapped his fingers. “Coincidentally, I’ve also completed my formation. Even upper five realm sword cultivators would find it difficult. So, you can die now.”

In the space between heaven and earth, along Li Zhen’s path, a long string of faint golden characters appeared, slightly differing in height and size, fragmented and discontinuous, yet ultimately connected into a line. The faint golden characters resembled the true words of talismans written on golden talisman paper. The content was all of Li Zhen’s previous trivial words. Some were spoken aloud, but through the fleeting glimpses, it was clear that Li Zhen also had many inner thoughts revealed. Especially at the locations where the Five Thunder Seal, Bronze Pagoda, Rusty Broken Sword, Immortal Painting, and many other treasures had fallen, the accumulation of characters was the greatest.

On the ground, a massive golden lightning strike formed a distorted large circle, encompassing both sides of the battlefield within a hundred miles.

Higher than the Sword Qi Great Wall, the sea of clouds gathered, thunder rumbling in response to the thunder pool on the ground.

At the same time, the Five Thunder Seal began to slowly ascend, radiating intense light.

A hundred-foot-tall pagoda, shimmering with rosy light, stood tall.

The broken sword shattered with a bang, all the fragments arranged along the edge of the thunder pool.

The eighteen sword immortals in the painting slowly stepped out. Even though they were suppressed by heaven and earth and sword intent, their forms were only the size of mustard seeds. But each of the “Sword Immortal True Intents” that formed them still possessed abundant sword energy, hovering close to the ground, riding their swords, like a natural trajectory of sword energy. Finally, the eighteen mustard seed sword immortals were each responsible for guarding a treasure.

Because each of the treasures that Li Zhen seemingly casually flung out of his sleeves had different anomalies.

The reason for so much talking was naturally because there were too many treasures.

His cultivation wasn’t high enough for the time being, so he had to make up for it with magic treasures, semi-immortal weapons, and immortal weapons.

Li Zhen stopped yawning and speaking, his expression calm as he looked at the young man who was his enemy.

One hand was loosely clenched, and a sword pellet spun within his palm, lacking any aura of treasure, yet it was an immortal weapon.

The other hand was also clenched, but instead of an immortal weapon grade sword pellet, it held an ancestral talisman of the Five Peaks True Form Chart of later generations.

The sword immortals of the Sword Qi Great Wall, and even the era before the Sword Qi Great Wall was built, had always favored human effort overcoming the heavens.

Then, I’ll have you endure the heavenly tribulation first.

After the heavenly tribulation is the earthly tribulation.

After the earthly tribulation, Li Zhen still had a greeting gift, using the identity of a Savage Lands sword cultivator to test swords with a Sword Qi Great Wall sword cultivator.

So behind Li Zhen, several black-clad immortals, tens of feet tall, appeared, their forms ethereal and unpredictable, only their long swords possessing condensed sword intent and dazzling sword light.

The central sword immortal was taller than the others, his face clear, his expression indifferent, and his form the most stable. He was Guanzhao, the human sword immortal of ancient times.

Li Zhen frowned slightly.

The azure-robed guest, with one hand behind his back and the other clenched into a fist in front of him, stared with burning eyes. His azure robes, no longer rolled up at the sleeves, stood in the midst of the gale winds formed by the gathering of the heavenly tribulation, his large sleeves fluttering and billowing as if filled with a fresh breeze, making them appear extremely wide and loose, like a dark azure, almost ink-black lotus flower in bloom. He asked with a smile, “Is that all you’ve got?”