Chapter 197
This was already the third time today.
Ling Pu glanced at the Dao artifact in her hand, which was marred by seven deep cracks, her teeth clenched in frustration.
“Fine, that mysterious sword cultivator checks for me once a day, but what’s going on today? Is he having a fit? Is he out of his mind?! Three consecutive attempts to deduce the heavenly secrets, all trying to pinpoint my location. Is he planning to exhaust his own fortune just to go head-to-head with me?!”
Just then, the sound of a sword-wielding cultivator flying at high speed approached from the distance.
Accompanying it was a sinister laughter.
“Jie jie jie! You dog, I’ve found you!”
As the words fell, a warning surged in Ling Pu’s heart. She formed a seal with her hands and vanished from her spot, leaving only a golden lotus phantom behind.
Boom—!
An incredibly sharp sword aura crashed down.
In an instant, the mountains trembled and the earth cried out, spewing forth clouds of yellow sand that soared dozens of feet high.
When the dust settled, the place where the sword struck was reduced to powder, with only a sword mark cutting through a hundred zhang (about 300 meters).
Ling Pu appeared on a cliff a thousand meters away, her expression grave as she gazed at the figure above her, where spiritual energy surged like a blazing sun.
“How did you find me?”
Chen Huai'an pointed to the sky, having used the heavenly secrets deduction for the fourth time today, his quota exceeding ten thousand.
A golden vertical pupil appeared in the sky behind him, like a golden wheel blooming behind his back.
A cold, indifferent gaze, carrying a hint of heavenly pressure, bore down on Ling Pu through the thin clouds.
“So that’s how it is. You determined my location based on the fluctuations of the heavenly secrets.”
Ling Pu fixed her eyes on Chen Huai'an, a cold smile curling at the corners of her mouth.
“You’re merely a manifestation at the peak of the Transformation Stage.
Let me guess, is it because the heavenly secrets deduction has damaged your original power, leaving you only able to use this level of manifestation?”
The setting sun bled red, dyeing the sea of clouds a brilliant gold. In the booming sound of the Buddha’s voice, the flowing clouds for a hundred miles dissipated.
Ling Pu suddenly turned, and a thousand-armed Guanyin (Bodhisattva of Compassion) manifestation burst forth from behind her.
As golden light swirled, she smirked, “Junior, with your meager cultivation below the Integration Stage, do you really think you can discuss swordplay with me?”
Ling Pu’s bony fingers lightly tapped on her prayer beads, her figure merging with the manifestation.
“Amitabha!” The manifestation clasped its hands together, its thousand arms stretching out as if to support the heavens!
When she opened her eyes again,
an overwhelming killing intent enveloped Chen Huai'an.
…
…
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Chapter 211: Sword Killing Three Realms
“Who said I’m at the peak of the Transformation Stage?”
Chen Huai'an stepped forward toward the manifestation, his aura surging violently, instantly breaking through from the peak of the Transformation Stage to the Integration Stage.
Ling Pu’s manifestation’s brows twitched slightly, about to speak.
Chen Huai'an took another step forward, his aura rising again, reaching the mid-Integration Stage.
With another step, he reached the late Integration Stage.
After seven steps, his realm matched Ling Pu’s, reaching the third level of the Void Realm—Breaking Void.
At this moment, the spiritual pressure surrounding Chen Huai'an twisted the void within ten zhang (about 30 meters).
Ling Pu was utterly shocked, her manifestation’s narrowed eyes widening: “You, you have such strength as a mere manifestation? Then your true body… who exactly are you?”
Ling Pu racked her brain but couldn’t fathom who Chen Huai'an’s true body could be.
In the Void Realm, one realm equals one world.
If a manifestation is at the third level of the Void Realm, the true body must be at least at the sixth level or higher.
There were only a handful of cultivators at the sixth level of the Void Realm in the Cangyun Realm, all of whom were ancient monsters from sacred lands and the Guixu.
Such individuals were certainly not nameless, and she should know them all.
Yet, she had no impression of Chen Huai'an’s aura or the sword techniques he employed.
Chen Huai'an remained silent, taking another step forward.
Boom—!
The heavens and earth trembled!
This time, he surged beyond Ling Pu’s realm, breaking into the fourth level of the Void Realm—Measuring Realm. The void around him began to show signs of collapse, a projection of a desolate small world appearing behind him, with spiritual pressure swirling with the dual energies of yin and yang, and everywhere his gaze fell, sword marks littered the ground.
“I am—Chen Huai'an!”
Chen Huai'an raised his hand, the void behind him splitting open three zhang, the small world collapsing into a black hole, which then compressed into a black sword in his hand, its blade swirling with light and darkness, the tip pointing at Ling Pu.
“I don’t care what plans you have or what tricks you’re up to!”
“But if you harm my disciple, I will… take your life!”
Chen Huai'an’s eyes narrowed slightly, his arm raised as the might of heaven and earth converged toward the sword in his hand.
“Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things.”
The Qinglian Sword Classic consists of twelve sword techniques.
After mastering all twelve techniques and reaching the Void Realm, one could comprehend three hidden secret scrolls.
And the Void Realm is the minimum threshold for understanding these three scrolls.
The first of the secret scrolls is—
“Dao Gives Birth to One Sword!”
Before the sword was drawn, the world fell silent.
When the sword was drawn, the world lost its color.
The words echoed in Ling Pu’s ears.
Having been suppressed by a whole realm, she had no room for resistance, as if trapped in a stasis, her understanding of the world and herself gradually fading, her perception of time slowly disappearing.
In that moment, she heard the sound of the Great Dao shattering.
And what was shattered,
was her Dao.
…
Chen Huai'an sheathed his sword and turned to leave on his sword.
The Bodhisattva manifestation behind him remained motionless.
Only by getting closer could one see the sword mark that pierced through her forehead, delving deep into the earth’s veins.
Ling Pu’s soul was instantly obliterated by that sword.
Behind her, the vast sky stretched for miles, sword energy crisscrossing for thirty thousand miles.
As the last half of a withered leaf fell to the ground, the entire autumn mountain began to collapse silently.
…
Chen Huai'an’s heart bled.
The cost of a manifestation at the Void Realm is exorbitant; the first level of the Void Realm costs one million per minute.
The second level costs five million, the third level ten million, and the fourth level fifty million.
Having opened the fourth level of the Void Realm for half a minute, over twenty million had been spent.
This wasn’t just burning money.
This was a money shredder.
And the realms beyond the sixth level of the Void Realm couldn’t be purchased; he needed to reach the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage in the real world to continue buying. The sixth level of the Void Realm—Formless—already involved the essence of the Dao, and could even cross the barriers of two worlds to affect his true body, so he had to enhance his true body’s strength to withstand it.
Chen Huai'an found it quite reasonable.
After all, erasing a monster like Ling Pu, who was at the third level of the Void Realm, from two worlds was already outrageous.
What was that sword just now, if not like killing a dog by the roadside?
When calculated this way, spending twenty-five million was a steal.
He spent a lot of money, but Chen Huai'an had no regrets.
Killing Ling Pu also meant eliminating a major headache.
【Player has killed the fallen disciple—Ling Pu, gaining Fragment of Righteous Path Cultivator X1, gaining Damaged Dao Artifact X1】
“Oh? So Ling Pu, who set up a demonic cultivator formation, is considered a righteous path cultivator?”
Chen Huai'an squinted, realizing this matter was not simple.
It seemed the game’s judgment of righteous and demonic paths was primarily based on the cultivation methods employed by the opponent.
However, influenced by countless dramas, he didn’t think so.
So-called righteous paths could also engage in demonic acts.
And those who practiced demonic cultivation methods weren’t necessarily evil.
Take himself, for example.
What’s wrong with practicing the Heavenly Demon Technique?
Everything he did was for the sake of righteousness!
For instance, cleansing the headquarters of the Demon Slayer Division was to make the world that the bearded uncle loved more beautiful.
If sacrificing the aristocrats could lead to a more stable reality,
then what’s wrong with Chen Huai'an being a butcher just this once?
To achieve greatness is to benefit the world.
Now that he had achieved it, he could start the sacrifices.
On the way back to the main force, he took out the damaged Dao artifact to examine it.
To his surprise, it was not a weapon or armor as he had expected.
Instead, it was a skull that had been polished to a sheen.
【Damaged Dao Artifact: Skull of Zhao Zhenlong, a disciple of the Pure Hao Sect. After enduring multiple backlashes from heavenly secrets deductions and sword energy impacts, this artifact can no longer be used. The Dao’s spiritual resonance has vanished, and it is covered in cracks and sword marks. (Perhaps it could serve as a collectible? Or handing this artifact to the leader of Lingxi Valley or the head of the Pure Hao Sect might yield unexpected results?)】
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