Upon Mount Tuoyue, aside from cultivators and the various mountain spirits serving as protectors, all inanimate objects had long been refined into one entity by the Grand Demon Fiend. Therefore, each instance of the mountain’s protective array being shattered and re-established was akin to an unseen reversal of time by a year. This rendered all concealment and escape techniques of the mountain’s demon cultivators utterly meaningless. After each round of sword inquiries by the five sword cultivators from the Great Wall of Sword Qi, all demon cultivators, save for the Grand Demon Fiend, would reappear in their original locations. However, their spiritual energy and protective treasures would not revert to their previous states.

They were like a group of pitiable travelers walking along the banks of the River of Time, forced to brave wind and rain, heads bowed, constantly changing temporal crossings, gradually weakening their stamina. Then, time and again, they would be inexplicably thrust back to their starting point, forced to confront even greater despair and those sky-obscuring sword lights.

Previously, when the five sword cultivators jointly questioned Mount Tuoyue, the Hidden Official was primarily responsible for wielding his sword to open the mountain, first severing the protective array that was the River of Time. The other four sword cultivators were responsible for slaying demons, while simultaneously using their abundant sword energy and vast sword intent to erode the spiritual energy and mountain fortune accumulated on Mount Tuoyue for millennia, ultimately altering the celestial timing and geographical advantage.

Chen Pingan alone delivered a full three thousand sword strikes.

The Grand Demon Fiend, the prime disciple of a barbaric ancestor, was consistently split in two by a line of sword light cleaving down from between his brows.

Because Chen Pingan delivered his sword strikes so swiftly, each time aiming at the yellow-robed Fiend standing atop the mountain, and because this great demon was so arrogant, he remained motionless, allowing the sword light to cleave him head-on.

He seemed to be cleaved in two, with a central line of golden light condensing and unyielding, like a golden river separating the opposing peaks.

The current predicament of this Ascension Realm peak great demon was remarkably similar to that of the severed Great Wall of Sword Qi.

Perhaps this was a form of unconventional reciprocation deliberately enacted by the last Hidden Official.

The Jade Purity Realm demon cultivators on the mountain were already completely annihilated, not to mention those Earth Immortal cultivators who had accompanied them on their visit to Mount Tuoyue.

Currently, only three Celestial Realm great demons remained, desperately clinging on, either relying on a natal art that touched upon the flow of time, or sacrificing their natal treasures and millennia of cultivation.

The six Jade Purity Realm demon cultivators who were participating in the conference here could be considered to have suffered eight lifetimes of misfortune. They could not believe that they would be encircled and ambushed on Mount Tuoyue.

Escape? Where could they escape to? Beyond Mount Tuoyue, without the protection of the River of Time array, they would face the sword light of those Ascension Realm sword cultivators. Moreover, the array on Mount Tuoyue not only isolated sword light but also served as a natural prison, trapping the demon cultivators and rendering them helpless. After all, who could imagine being caught in the crossfire of a sword inquiry in the most secure place in the barbaric world?

The old sword immortal Qi Tingji, who carved words on the city walls, was most adept at helping people disembody and ascend.

Lu Zhi, once known as one of the “ferocious” figures of the Great Wall of Sword Qi alongside Xiao Xun, seemed to have further refined her sword skills.

Ning Yao, the unparalleled figure of the Five Colored World, had entered the Ascension Realm even earlier than Fei Ran, the current roughly equivalent ruler of the barbaric world.

And then there was a man who had sprung from who-knows-what corner, calling himself “Criminal Official,” yet another unquestionable Ascension Realm sword cultivator.

Therefore, throughout the barbaric lands, either in ancestral halls, or similar mountain and river shrines, or within secluded mountain and water secret realms with numerous restrictions, life lamps were being lit one after another, helping cultivators shed their mortal forms and escape death. However, while cultivation could be restarted, their previous realm had vanished like smoke. Furthermore, while life lamps could indeed prolong life, the path of cultivation ahead would be rejected by the Great Dao in the shadows. It was said that cultivators who had lit their life lamps would face unimaginable inner demons before reaching the Upper Five Realms.

Like that Huai Qian of the Central Earth Divine Continent, such a promising prodigy of the Great Dao. If he hadn’t capsized in a ditch in the Northern Ju Continent, Huai Qian’s cultivation aptitude would have given him a great chance of joining the ranks of the young hopefuls in several worlds.

The yellow-robed Fiend was utterly indifferent to the life and death of those demon cultivators, showing no pity for their deaths under his very nose.

Their lives were like ants, drowning in a torrential rain of sword energy.

The Fiend glanced at the sword in Chen Pingan’s hand. After being used to cleave Mount Tuoyue so many times, the sword’s edge showed no signs of wear and tear, instead becoming even more incomparably sharp.

The Fiend recalled the celestial phenomena brought about by this sword and, connecting it to the few pages of the old almanac that were only passed down orally, roughly guessed the sword’s origins. He smiled and said, “You’re fortunate to have been recognized as its master, and you’re strong enough to withstand it, never falling to become a puppet.”

Since ancient times, all immortal weapons have possessed their own inherent spirituality, like untamed and rebellious entities. The temperament of the cultivator often aligns with the weapon, and they are often influenced by the immortal weapon they refine, subtly changing them. Cruel individuals become even more ferocious, and heartless individuals become even more detached. Moreover, on the path of the Great Dao, a slight deviation can silently lead the master down a divergent path. Eventually, the cultivator cannot bear the burden, and the immortal weapon can break free from its cage and regain its freedom. Whether it is an ancient innate treasure or a treasure refined from natural materials, gradually elevated to the rank of immortal weapon, this is the common foundation of all immortal weapons: “Masterless.”

Therefore, every great cultivator who reaches the Fourteenth Realm has a very subtle attitude toward immortal weapons. It is not as simple as “the more, the better.”

Many Upper Five Realms cultivators enter closed-door cultivation and, upon unfortunate dissolution, a treasure light often flashes. Even immortal weapons created through great refinement will not dissipate with the cultivator, but will return to the heavens and earth, later concealing themselves somewhere, awaiting the karmic opportunity for the next master. The more top-tier a sect is, the less likely it is to deliberately prevent these immortal weapons from leaving, because even if they are forcibly retained, they will only bring inexplicable disasters to the mountain, resulting in more harm than good.

Otherwise, given the preciousness of immortal weapons, they would have long been plundered by the peak cultivators of several worlds, and all ownership would have been predetermined. The human body has over three hundred acupoints. For Ascension Realm and Fourteenth Realm great cultivators, opening a Qi palace is not difficult, so why hasn’t any great cultivator filled their natal Qi palace with immortal weapons created through great refinement?

Like that precious wooden box containing eight swords, Lu Chen lent it to Lu Zhi without hesitation.

Bai Ye, apart from the poems in his heart, only uses the immortal sword Taibai as a weapon of attack. Yu Dou, apart from his own Taoist arts, also only has the sword named Daozang.
The old overlords of the desolate wilderness all once aspired to reach the pinnacle, to harmonize with the Dao at the fourteenth level. Their previous invasions of the Radiant World were never aimed at the so-called treasured artifacts of the mountains, but rather at the more ethereal things like the mountains and rivers, and the fortune of dynasties.

The prime culprit smiled and asked, “Official Yin has delivered three thousand sword strikes in a row, are you not weary? Shouldn’t it be my turn to return the courtesy?”

Chen Ping An’s ten-thousand-foot-tall Dharma Idol, adorned with a lotus crown, dressed in a green robe and barefoot, stood tall between heaven and earth.

With each breath, wisps of purplish-golden Qi intertwined around the Dharma Idol’s face.

For those three surviving Immortal Realm demon cultivators, their only stroke of luck was that the four sword cultivators besides Official Yin had embarked on a sword-wielding journey, seemingly ascending towards the bright moon in the sky?

Coupled with the prime culprit’s offer to return the courtesy, did this signify that the situation between the two sides was about to reverse from this moment on?

Chen Ping An ignored the prime culprit’s query, merely surveying his surroundings. Beyond the ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, there were still many demon cultivators lurking in various places, mostly from the subordinate mountain sects of Mount Tuoyue. Were they hoping to get some advantage due to their proximity, or did they simply enjoy watching the spectacle?

With a flicker of his mind, a celestial phenomenon arose according to his will. In one area of the sky, the sea of clouds surged, and below the cloud sea was a demon mountain. The white clouds eventually manifested into a giant, jade-like palm, reaching down from the cloud sea. The palm, as large as a mountain, had palm lines resembling rivers and streams, filled with emerald green lotus flowers, swaying gracefully, with the bright moonlight sprinkling upon the lotus ponds, suddenly causing countless crystal-clear, snow-white lotus flowers to bloom.

This technique of Chen Ping An’s was clearly borrowed from She Yue, who in turn had imitated the Abbess of the Lotus Monastery. When executed by Chen Ping An, it resembled the original by seventy or eighty percent in form, and forty or fifty percent in spirit.

The great demon, the prime culprit, did not care about the survival of that mountain. He extended a hand, and lightning coalesced into a line, eventually manifesting into a gilded spear, fully engraved. It was refined from the corpse of an ancient deity, one of the prime culprit’s few crucial natal treasures.

It pierced through the void from the summit of Mount Tuoyue, drawing a straight line, like a rainbow piercing the sun, dazzling and radiant.

Chen Ping An frowned slightly and took a step to the side.

In Immortal Sundries City, Chen Ping An’s Daoist Dharma Idol completely ignored those offensive techniques.

The line of golden light, dragged by the golden spear, pierced into the green-robed Dharma Idol’s shoulder. Compared to Chen Ping An’s ten-thousand-foot-tall Dharma Idol, this golden light was as thin as a sewing thread, drawing a straight line. One end of the sword light was at Mount Tuoyue, and the other end penetrated over a hundred miles into the earth, where a treacherous Mount Tuoyue guardian, hiding beneath the earth, held a treasured artifact resembling a white jade bowl. It suddenly revealed its true form, a half-dragon, half-jiao (蛟, a mythical dragon-like creature) form, swallowing the white bowl that received the golden line in one gulp. It then began to move swiftly underground using its innate escape technique, causing the earth to tremble and muffled thunder to rumble.

The golden line, like a blade, began to cut into Chen Ping An’s Dharma Idol’s shoulder at an angle, stirring up a rough sound like a knife carving into metal and stone, and countless sparks flew.

Chen Ping An extended two fingers, grasping the golden line that pierced his shoulder, but failed to snap it.

Lu Chen, who had been somewhat absent-minded after his unsuccessful questioning, now perked up his spirits and explained to Chen Ping An with a mental voice, “It’s because the great demon’s true names you bear have become a burden, preventing you from truly reaching my state of the ephemeral vessel. As for how to resolve it…”

Unexpectedly, before Lu Chen could offer any guidance, Chen Ping An had already taken a large stride to the side, deliberately refraining from continuing to open the mountains with his sword, allowing the great demon, the prime culprit, to remain idle for now.

The ten-thousand-foot-tall Dharma Idol then moved in the opposite direction from the Mount Tuoyue guardian, as if disliking its sluggishness, and simply helped it cut open its own Dharma Idol’s shoulder in one fell swoop.

Lu Chen, an outsider sitting within the lotus dojo, felt a pang of heartache on Chen Ping An’s behalf.

The ten-thousand-foot-tall Dharma Idol simultaneously reached out, summoned the longsword Night Wanderer from its sheath, and gripped it in its right hand. Night Wanderer suddenly became compatible with the Dharma Idol’s height. It then turned around, plunging the Night Wanderer longsword straight into the earth, twisting its wrist, wrapping the golden line around its arm, and began dragging the rather large earth demon towards itself.

The earth and mountains, which had been hardened over thousands of years by the infusion of heaven and earth spiritual energy and mountain and river fortune, suddenly softened like mud, surging. The demon’s true form underground seemed to sense a life-or-death crisis, using its innate divine power to continuously connect its mountain roots to Mount Tuoyue, and then frantically twisting its body, trying to escape backwards. On the earth’s surface, ravines ranging from tens to hundreds of miles long constantly appeared.

Eventually, the enormous half-dragon, half-jiao creature was dragged out from under the earth by Chen Ping An, and then slowly dragged towards the Night Wanderer longsword, which was erected with its blade facing upwards.

During this process, the demon’s true form constantly jumped, arching its back forcefully, flattening many mountain peaks or smashing out huge valleys.

Lu Chen sat up and looked down at this scene. This wasn’t fishing at all, but like a person dragging a large fish ashore, with no skills or techniques, just a contest of brute force.

As a result, the jiao dragon, thousands of feet long, was cut in two by the Night Wanderer longsword, which was nailed in place, starting from its head.

An eye for an eye.

As for why this Mount Tuoyue guardian didn’t retract its true form, one reason was due to swallowing the golden line; the great demon, the prime culprit, seemed to have intentionally kept it in its true form. Another reason was that Chen Ping An had simultaneously summoned the Caged Bird and the Moon in the Well. No more, no less, a small world appeared out of thin air, using tens of thousands of densely packed flying swords to envelop the opponent’s body.

Lu Chen was amazed, Official Yin’s fights were indeed decisive and swift.

No wonder he was able to gain a considerable advantage over Cao Ci.

After dismembering the Mount Tuoyue guardian, Chen Ping An then held his sword in his left hand and delivered another sword strike towards Mount Tuoyue.

After a single sword strike, the golden line wrapped around Chen Ping An’s arm dissipated, and the prime culprit had another golden spear in his hand.

Lu Chen reminded him, “The prime culprit’s move is to test you, to determine the distribution of those great demon true names on your body. Be careful.”
Chen Ping’an’s Dharma Aspect vanished from its original location, reappearing thousands of leagues away. Unexpectedly, the golden thread followed like a shadow, this time piercing directly towards the Dharma Aspect’s heart. Chen Ping’an reached out and grabbed the thread, instantly tearing it apart, but its tenacity was far inferior to the first one thrown. Chen Ping’an knew something was amiss, and from the summit of Mount Tuoyue, a golden flower seemed to bloom. The great demon Yuanxiong, wielding a long spear, simultaneously launched thousands of rays of light. Their speed was so great that even Chen Ping’an could not evade them. These golden threads, carrying the great demon’s true name, stirred up ripples of golden light within the Dharma Aspect’s core.

To become the chief disciple of a Wildlands Great Ancestor, Yuanxiong’s talent for cultivation was certainly not lacking. After merging with Mount Tuoyue, although he could only increase his ascension realm cultivation year after year, effectively losing the possibility of reaching the fourteenth realm, his ten thousand years of cultivation, stagnating at the so-called peak of the Ascension realm, was indeed a well-deserved “peak.”

Chen Ping’an struck Mount Tuoyue with a sword, seeking to kill Yuanxiong once more, and the golden threads entangling the Dharma Aspect vanished along with it.

Day and night reversed, and darkness descended.

Yuanxiong looked up to see a dense sword formation of hundreds of thousands of flying swords.

The suspended sword formation slowly pressed down upon the mortal realm.

This scene was like the sky falling to earth.

Yuanxiong joined two fingers together, chanting a secret incantation, and with the other hand raised upwards, the Daoist patterns on his palm swirled, revealing a multicolored treasure mirror. He lightly raised his hand, and the mirror ascended, meeting the descending sword formation.

Lu Chen was filled with emotion, “Remarkable, truly remarkable, such extraordinary power.”

Yuanxiong’s move was akin to performing “severing the connection between heaven and earth” in a limited area.

Of course, Chen Ping’an also had profound intentions. In fact, in Lu Chen’s view, there could be no better opportunity to learn from others and improve oneself.

The Well-Moon Sword Formation, with each sword seeming to leap out of the void, was like a flurry of autumn leaves, containing the force of a thousand jun.

Chen Ping’an was both practicing and refining his swordplay.

A “Classic of Sword Arts” that Chen Ping’an had long since memorized, coupled with his travels, the mental energy he spent casually perusing the Thousand Swords Pavilion built by Lu Chen in Jade Pivot City, and searching his memory to remotely observe all the sword techniques, sword manuals, sword intents, and sword paths of the sword cultivators he had seen at the Great Wall of Swords, were all being transformed by Chen Ping’an into his own. He then meticulously practiced each of the previous three thousand swords to perfection.

Different sword arts, different sword intents, were all being delivered by Chen Ping’an with the same earth-shattering trajectory.

As for now, he had invoked his two Natal Flying Swords, using Mount Tuoyue as the largest Dragon-Slaying Stone in the world to hone the Dao and sharpness of his two Natal Flying Swords.

The Natal Divine Ability of the Caged Sparrow Sword was an extremely rare self-contained small world. The size of the world depended not only on the sword cultivator’s cultivation level but also on the size of Chen Ping’an’s heart. Everything seen in his eyes and everything thought in his heart was a continuous expansion of that world, unknown to outsiders. In this process, Chen Ping’an had been searching for a second Natal Divine Ability, just as there could be a Crown Prince Mountain among the Five Sacred Mountains.

As for the second Natal Flying Sword, the number of swords would depend on a bright moon rising slowly, from the bottom of the well, to the well’s center, and finally from the well’s mouth to the outside.

Yuanxiong, standing on Mount Tuoyue, now wielded the golden long spear.

In addition, Yuanxiong’s Yin Spirit left his body, revealing his Yang Spirit avatar, along with a Dharma Aspect standing behind his true form.

Beside the great demon Yuanxiong’s Yin Spirit, a woman appeared out of thin air. Her face was blurred, her figure ethereal and graceful, her sleeves fluttering. She resembled the legendary Spirit Girl of the River, both intelligent and divine.

The Yang Spirit avatar wielded a fiery hammer, illuminating the great demon’s face like an ancient god of fire.

It seemed that Yuanxiong’s cultivation path also involved refining the five elements into natal objects.

The five elements were represented by Mount Tuoyue beneath his feet, the golden spear in his true form’s hand, the Spirit Girl beside his Yin Spirit, and the fire-attribute hammer in his avatar’s hand.

As for the wood element, it remained unseen, most likely used to continuously generate spiritual energy, helping Yuanxiong support the performance of his spells and divine abilities.

And Mount Tuoyue was undoubtedly the foundation of his Dao, allowing the five refined natal objects to be as new as ever even after being cleaved open by a sword. He didn’t have to worry about them being damaged or broken.

If it weren’t for the fact that merging with the mountain came at the cost of stopping his cultivation, then as long as Yuanxiong had taken it one step further and successfully entered the fourteenth realm, if he could carry Mount Tuoyue with him, freely moving and wandering throughout the Wildlands, such a fourteenth realm cultivator would give anyone a headache.

Therefore, the great demon Yuanxiong could be roughly considered a pseudo-fourteenth realm cultivator who had merged with the advantage of the land.

Chen Ping’an glanced into the distance, roughly discerning the true boundary of Mount Tuoyue, which was about six thousand leagues in circumference.

This meant that within this six thousand league area, the great demon Yuanxiong could move freely. The reason he stayed on the mountain’s peak, standing still and being struck by three thousand swords, was naturally because he felt there was not enough spiritual energy in the mountain.

On the path of life, Chen Ping’an was very familiar with asking others about the sword and the fist. As for the number of times he had purely fought on the mountain, it was relatively few.

Thus, with the Caged Sparrow Sword, heaven and earth encompassed six thousand leagues of mountains and rivers.

On the back of Mount Tuoyue, a Daoist in blue robes appeared, standing on the peak of a five-colored mountain, holding the Water Character Seal.

Having obtained a considerable amount of the River Ye’s water essence, this Water Character Seal had taken the lead in becoming a treasure of immortal weapon rank among Chen Ping’an’s five refined natal objects.

In addition, a paperless Daoist book, radiating with precious light, hung from his waist – the Prayer for Rain Scripture.

In this way, rain would naturally be prayed for and received.

Behind Chen Ping’an’s Daoist Dharma Aspect, another Dharma Aspect emerged – a suspended golden deity, with fire dragons wrapped around each arm, holding a Sword Immortal Banner in one hand, and a divine magical seal in the palm of the other. The golden deity slowly lifted the Five Thunder Magic Seal, gathering thunder and lightning, creating a myriad of transformations within his palm.

Chen Ping’an shook his sleeves, and a bronze pagoda in the form of the White Jade Capital landed and took root beneath the feet of the golden deity Dharma Aspect, suddenly becoming a towering city with five sections and twelve levels, seemingly reaching the height of the highest heavens.
This item was originally an ancient relic, given by the Lotus Nunnery Mistress to Li Zhen, the closed-door disciple of Mount Tuoyue and a swordsman, as a meeting gift. In fact, it was once the treasure of Jade Talisman Palace. The old Palace Master was one of the most outstanding talisman masters in the human world, as famous as Yu Xian of the Great Harmony World in the art of talismans. He secretly refined this treasure pagoda, and in order to mislead others, he deliberately disguised it as a bronze pagoda. Later, a young Daoist boy riding an ox passed through the wild lands. Besides extending a finger in the Hall of Heroes, knocking a Great Demon of the former throne to the bottom, he also seemed to lightly pat his sleeve in the same place.

As a result, the old Palace Master of Jade Talisman Palace, millions of miles away and in seclusion, along with his small blessed land, was crushed on the spot, almost completely perishing. The ascended realm old cultivator, who lost his physical form, was reduced to a ghost immortal in the Immortal realm. However, the Dao Ancestor seemed to have spared the bronze pagoda, not destroying it. In the end, the Lotus Nunnery Mistress seized the opportunity and dared only to study the talismanic Dao intent of Jade Talisman Palace, still不敢炼化随随便便refining it into a natal treasure. She probably felt it was too hot to handle, afraid that one day the Dao Ancestor would remember it and send another remote palm strike, shattering both the pagoda and the bright moon. She didn’t want to lose a place of cultivation for the sake of an immortal artifact.

In the end, the Lotus Nunnery Mistress unethically坑了 tricked Li Zhen. As expected, Li Zhen was killed by Chen Ping’an, who was not yet the Hidden Official or a swordsman, on the battlefield of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Lu Chen glanced at the Dharma Seal,扶额 speechless.

Earlier, in prison, with the help of Nian Xin the Seamstress, this Six Fulfillment Seal was transferred from the mountain shrine to a “mountain peak” on the palm lines. The inscription on the base of the seal was in sixteen characters of worm-bird script: Accumulate Five Thunders, Command All Laws. Cut off Five Leaks, Pivot of Heaven and Earth.

The other four sides of the seal were decorated with wordless drawings, depicting nine “closed-eyed” deities: Thunder Lord and Lightning Mother, Rain Master and Wind God, Cloud Attendant and Spirit General, Fire Department Heavenly Official, all deities of the ancient Heavenly Court responsible for the operation of Heaven’s Dao. A total of thirty-six deities, but they had not yet been “enlightened to open their heavenly eyes,” as if in a state of slumber where their divine duties were not yet manifest.

Chen Ping’an joined his fingers and began to “enlighten” the portraits of the ancient deities.

The Third Headmaster of White Jade Capital, while drinking in the Wine Spring Sect’s shop, borrowed the words “The ancients said” to express his feelings, that 校书 correcting documents was like sweeping fallen leaves, always appearing as soon as one sweeps.

Lu Chen temporarily lent Chen Ping’an his cultivation of the fourteenth realm, with great sincerity, not only the realm but also his knowledge. Therefore, as long as Chen Ping’an was willing, with a thought, he could freely browse all of Lu Chen’s mental landscape outside of certain forbidden areas, like an unmoored boat, a carefree逍遥游 journey of harmony between Heaven and Man, touring a sea of knowledge that was almost boundless, yet ultimately had four walls.

However, Chen Ping’an had been relatively restrained all along, until this moment, when he finally summoned the seal and used talismans to “enlighten” the deities.

Lu Chen held back for a long time before slowly saying with a hint of regret, “It would have been better if you had engraved the words ‘Three Mountains and Nine Lords’.”

Lu Chen quickly added, cheerfully, “Of course, the current inscription has a better meaning!”

Originally, when Chen Ping’an obtained the seal, the inscription seemed to have been削去削去 removed by someone. Later, on the city wall, Chen Ping’an used a method of creating talismans recorded in authentic丹书 cinnabar calligraphy. Chen Ping’an then reversed the process, using a “reverse and inverted” technique. He did not write in any worldly talismanic script, but in his most familiar and skilled handwriting, engraving four characters in sequence: Ling (令 – command), Chi (敕 – decree), Chen (沉 – submerged), and Lu (陆 – land). Therefore, the final inscription that completed the Six Fulfillment Seal was “Lu Chen’s Decree (陆沉敕令).”

The golden-bodied Fire Attribute divine manifestation held up the Five Thunder Dharma Seal, instantly suspending it high in the sky. The golden-bodied deity then stuck the Sword Immortal Banner into the imitation White Jade Capital city, like erecting a great banner. The eighteen Sword Immortals hidden within the banner were as small as dust mites. After walking out of their hiding places, they suddenly became the height of ordinary people, like eighteen comets shooting into the distance. They flew away from the city at lightning speed, soaring away in all directions, bringing up eighteen streams of light, within the six-thousand-mile radius of the small world, wielding their swords to slay those remaining demon cultivators who thought they were hiding and concealed, but in reality had traces to follow.

Once all thirty-six deities of each department of the Dharma Seal were enlightened by Chen Ping’an, they were reborn and left the Five Thunder Dharma Seal one by one.

It was as if the Heaven’s Dao that had collapsed ten thousand years ago had been supplemented with its main trunk and returned to order, making the small world of the caged bird more and more in line with the perfection of the Great Dao.

But for some reason, the closer Lu Chen got to that One, the more he felt himself moving away from the truth of that One.

Although what Lu Chen saw was like a prototype of the old Heavenly Court, his Dao heart was becoming more and more regretful and disappointed.

Because the last time his Master appeared in White Jade Capital, he had told Lu Chen that all thoughts and ideas were outside of the myriad possibilities.

The fight between two fourteenth realm great cultivators, 放开手脚 without restraint, was something that no one could hope to help with except for ascended realm cultivators. Anyone who interfered would have difficulty saving themselves.

An Immortal realm demon cultivator pleaded bitterly to the yellow-robed mastermind, “Ancestor, save me!”

All his life-saving techniques and magical treasures had been exhausted.

He had no choice but to reveal his true form, a crimson centipede as long as a mountain range, encircling a section of the Mount Tuoyue peak. He raised his huge head, begging the mastermind on the mountaintop for protection.

The other two Immortal realm great demons, one shrunk to the size of a mustard seed, and the other relied on a natal robe that could travel through the flow of time, also began to beg the mastermind for help.

Within Mount Tuoyue, there were three Immortal realm great demons, six Jade Purity realm cultivators, and a group of terrestrial immortals.

The five swordsmen of the Sword Qi Great Wall traveled here together. Apart from Wu Ti, the ascended realm cultivator in the Hairpin City, the battle merits of jointly斬斩 killing Mount Tuoyue this time seemed to be enough to be regarded as斩 kill an ascended realm cultivator.

Chen Ping’an glanced at Mount Tuoyue. Now the mountain was like an empty shell.

It was as if Fei Ran, or perhaps Zhou Mi even earlier, deliberately left only a mastermind behind, waiting here for someone to ask about the sword. As for who would come to ask about the sword, it didn’t matter.

The mastermind seemed to have accumulated a bellyful of grievances, and only at this moment could he finally release them. He squinted and smiled, “Chen Ping’an, have you forgotten something? You seem to be harmonizing with half of the Sword Qi Great Wall?”

“Do you really think that a Confucian Temple’s secondary worthy sage, risking his life, can protect that half of the city wall?”
“If I recall correctly, the time you were most criticized was when you ordered the obstruction of the city wall sword cultivators’ selfless rescue at the Summer Palace. What’s this? Now that it’s your turn, you can’t restrain yourself? Or are you, this last-generation Hidden Official, so eager to carve words on the city wall, using this to prove that you are worthy of the title of sword cultivator?”

Lu Chen’s mood became heavy. “This fellow isn’t just bluffing.”

Chen Pingan offered a sword, saying to Lu Chen telepathically, “It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Let’s just kill this Ascension Realm peak cultivator first.”

The Yuanxiong’s greatest frustration was actually a small matter, that this damned young Hidden Official, throughout this sword duel at Mount Tuoyue, hadn’t said a single word to him.

Every ship in the human world needs ballast.

Before Chen Pingan merged with half of the Sword Qi Great Wall and returned to his hometown in a bizarre way after meeting his elder brother Cui Chan, he had, in order to endure more years, first stripped away nearly all negative emotions such as sorrow, weariness, hatred, and anger… In the end, he even extracted more emotions, one by one, just to be able to watch over half of the Sword Qi, for longer, even if it was only for a year, a month, or even just one more day.

This was also why Chen Pingan, who walked out of the mirror in the Great Li capital and appeared in the world with pure divinity, was so powerful.

Because at that time, Chen Pingan’s humanity was incomplete.

And the price Chen Pingan paid might only be known by Ritual Master after tracing the origins of that distant journey.

Ning Yao didn’t know, Master didn’t know, and the students and disciples didn’t know.

And the largest ballast Chen Pingan left behind at half of the Sword Qi Great Wall was a state of mind that Chen Pingan cherished most in this lifetime.

It was called hope.

In the northernmost region of the Wildlands, beneath the southern land of those two segments of the Sword Qi Great Wall, a primordial aura emerged from the deepest depths.

The earth cracked and split.

A high-ranking deity who had been slumbering here for thousands of years began to open its eyes and awaken.

First, it broke through the ground, and the flying dust quickly dissipated, revealing an empty shell of armor, with only a pair of golden eyes gazing at the high city tens of thousands of miles away.

Then, pure divinity continuously gathered from all parts of the Wildlands. The snow-white armor, the enormous body, ancient and mottled, with flames of burning radiance. It reached out and pressed against its mask, leaving only its golden eyes, and slowly stood up, holding a huge blade.

It spoke slowly in the ancient language of the gods, “Those fortunate enough to see the edge of my blade are unfortunate.”

On Mount Tuoyue, Chen Pingan only focused on exchanging sword strikes with Mount Tuoyue, while simultaneously battling with the Yuanxiong.

Lu Chen stood speechless, then suddenly got up and turned his head, leaping and looking towards the northernmost region, murmuring, “This Old Grand Sword Immortal, why doesn’t he keep his word!”

Chen Pingan said telepathically with a smile, “It’s not the first time anyway.”

On that half of the Sword Qi Great Wall where no one should have appeared.

An old man appeared who, according to reason, should not have been there, one hand behind his back, the other stroking his chin. He looked up at the deity who had arrived near the Sword Qi Great Wall in one step, and tutted, “Everyone thinks they are invincible.”

The old man casually extended a hand. All the sword intent remaining from the Sword Qi Great Wall for ten thousand years received an order, and even some that seemed “unwilling to listen” had to obediently come, however reluctantly. Finally, they condensed into a sword in the hands of this old sword cultivator. The old man weighed it for a moment, finding the weight acceptable, and simply swept the ancient high-ranking deity with a light, dismissive sword strike.

After the sword strike, heaven and earth were clear and quiet.

The old man nodded to himself, as if telling all the sword cultivators within ten thousand years the simplest truth, “See? This is sword art.”