Chapter 678
All the way, the Xianjian spirit was acting up, incessantly chattering in his ear, wanting to kill this one or that one. According to her, Shi Nandang was a child who must not be left alive.
Xie Qingxue watched the Xianjian spirit in Zheng Fa's hands, both adorable and helpless, flailing without any power to resist. A pang of bitterness welled up in her heart—after all, this was the artifact of their ancestor. As a disciple of the Tianhe sect, her feelings towards the Xianjian were quite complex. Seeing it controlled by Zheng Fa naturally made her feel uneasy.
“Who says I’m sick?” The Xianjian spirit, held aloft by Zheng Fa, flailed her limbs in the air and puffed up her cheeks, saying, “I was born this way!”
Xie Qingxue was taken aback.
“The Four Swords of Killing Immortals are born to kill! Everything in heaven and earth can be slain!”
The excitement in Xie Qingxue's eyes gradually faded, as if she suddenly understood the terror of fundamentalism. Her lips trembled slightly, “So this is what the ancestor thought…”
“Of course not.”
Zheng Fa, curious, released the Xianjian spirit and said, “Speak properly.”
The Xianjian spirit tidied her hair and shot Zheng Fa a glare, seemingly displeased, but she still explained, “The Four Swords of Killing Immortals are the purest treasures of the path of killing, born to slay. Tianhe entrusted the four disciples with the four swords to actually restrain our murderous nature, only drawing them when necessary.”
Seeing Zheng Fa listen intently, the Xianjian spirit became a bit more animated, saying, “Especially the Killing Immortal Sword Formation. This formation is extremely terrifying; once set up, its power is boundless. Tianhe entrusted the four swords to four disciples also to create a balance among us.”
“In his view, the only thing that could unite the four disciples would be a true life-and-death crisis for the Tianhe sect.”
Zheng Fa and Xie Qingxue fell silent, perhaps the Tianhe venerable never imagined that the true threat the four disciples would unite against was him.
“Do you know why the four disciples of the Tianhe venerable…”
The Xianjian spirit shook her head. Zheng Fa felt a twinge of disappointment but then heard the Xianjian spirit say, “I did hear the Xian ancestor sighing, saying that the master wanted to completely cut off the path of survival for the Xuanwei cultivators.”
Zheng Fa and Xie Qingxue exchanged glances, their minds racing with speculation.
From the perspective of the Four Swords of Killing Immortals, it seemed the Tianhe venerable was targeting not the Xuanwei beings, but the Xuanwei cultivators themselves.
This was consistent with his actions of destroying mountains and temples.
Yet now, Zheng Fa was still unclear why the Tianhe venerable chose this path; he only vaguely understood that the venerable stood against the four sects.
He also didn’t know if the Xianjian was lacking in awareness due to being suppressed by Haori Mountain over the years or if she simply didn’t know much about many things. Her knowledge of the Tianhe venerable was indeed limited.
Zheng Fa pondered for a moment and suddenly asked, “What about the Killing Immortal formation diagram? Do you know what the Jiu You Demon Ancestor intends to do?”
To his surprise, the Xianjian spirit was startled, exclaiming, “The Killing Immortal formation diagram has been refined?”
Her reaction only piqued Zheng Fa's curiosity further, prompting him to ask, “You know about this formation diagram?”
“This matter, I also heard from the Xian ancestor,” the Xianjian spirit said, her face showing a hint of fear. “He said that the Tianhe ancestor wanted to refine a formation diagram to suppress, control, or even reforge the four swords… He also said that if the formation diagram were completed, the four of them would have to submit to the Tianhe venerable, with no room for resistance.”
Zheng Fa raised an eyebrow. If that were the case, the Killing Immortal formation diagram might have been the catalyst for the Tianhe sect's rebellion in the previous era.
This indicated that the formation diagram was of great significance, and it was actually in the hands of the Jiu You Demon Ancestor.
“You mean to say, refine?”
The Xianjian spirit nodded and explained, “With the Killing Immortal formation diagram, the four swords would be melded into a true whole, capable of deploying the Killing Immortal formation at any time.”
“So, the Jiu You Demon Ancestor's goal is quite easy to guess…” Xie Qingxue said softly, “He wants to refine the four swords of the sect to control the Killing Immortal formation?”
Zheng Fa frowned, “But aren’t these four swords fake?”
To his surprise, the Xianjian spirit shook her head, “If I were refined by Haori Mountain, then the Xian ancestor would indeed be real, and he could even attain true immortality.”
Zheng Fa suddenly understood, finally grasping why the four ancestral masters of the Tianhe sect wanted to hand over the Four Swords of Killing Immortals to the four sects—because the Dao fruit could not coexist.
The Xian ancestor wanted to turn the fake into the real, and the original Xianjian was the obstacle.
“At first, I still had contact with the Xian ancestor, or rather, I was the master and he was the assistant…”
Zheng Fa nodded gently; this aligned well with Xie Qingxue's situation.
“But ever since he started stuffing countless thoughts into me from who knows where, it was as if he had transcended the constraints of the sword body. Later, I felt as if there was another Xianjian in this world.”
“Felt?” Zheng Fa listened, his mind filled with both confusion and clarity—he understood many things he hadn’t before, yet new questions arose.
“Why do you say that if you are refined by Haori Mountain, he can attain true immortality?”
The Xianjian spirit glanced at him, seemingly surprised that he didn’t understand this basic knowledge, but she still answered:
“Because the transition from scattered immortality to true immortality is the process of attaining the unique Dao fruit.”
“Unique Dao fruit?”
“A cultivator achieving scattered immortality is about grasping their own fate, as the saying goes, stepping outside the three realms. But that alone does not qualify as true transcendence.”
Zheng Fa recalled the heart demon tribulation he faced since the Yuan Ying stage, and compared it to this notion of fate, he began to understand.
“True transcendence?” He thought for a moment and guessed, “Is it about the cultivation method? The Dao fruit? Breaking free from the control of other Dao fruit cultivators?”
“Exactly. The journey from scattered immortality to true immortality is about walking a unique path of one’s own. This path must be one of a kind, without relying on the methods of others, which is what is meant by the unique Dao fruit.”
“Achieving true immortality means not being bound by the five elements.”
Zheng Fa listened and understood part of it:
Scattered immortals are likely those who have gathered all their parallel selves?
But the transition from scattered immortality to true immortality tests the uniqueness of a cultivator's Dao fruit. Existing spells are all based on the five elements; not being bound by the five elements means that true immortals have their own new methods, outside the existing spell systems.
“What about above true immortals?”
“Golden immortals.” The Xianjian spirit spoke with a hint of pride, “As for what kind of existence golden immortals are, I don’t know. I only know that the Tianhe venerable once said that if the Killing Immortal formation is set up, it can slay golden immortals.”
Zheng Fa was immediately taken aback.
“Given the nature of the Jiu You Demon Ancestor, he should be lurking in the shadows, but if it’s to refine the four swords, it’s understandable.” Hearing about the power of the Killing Immortal formation, Zheng Fa began to comprehend the Jiu You Demon Ancestor's choice.
This thing is just too powerful!
As far as Zheng Fa knew, Haori Mountain didn’t have any golden immortals.
A Killing Immortal formation capable of slaying golden immortals would be enough to make all cultivators take risks.
“The four sects will definitely not sit idly by.” Xie Qingxue’s expression turned slightly anxious.
Zheng Fa knew she was worried about Master Yan.
“Master Yan…” Zheng Fa shook his head, “He’s not someone without a plan. Making such a choice likely means he has some confidence.”
Seeing Xie Qingxue still frowning, Zheng Fa added, “We don’t yet know how the four sects will respond, but for now, no news is good news.”
If the Jiu You Demon Ancestor's plot were thwarted, news would naturally reach the Xuanwei realm. Even if a great battle were to occur, the Jiu Shan sect would see signs.
Xie Qingxue relaxed her furrowed brow and gently nodded at Zheng Fa, as if thanking him for his comfort. Then, as if recalling something, she said, “In that case, the Jiu Shan sect might have it a bit easier.”
Zheng Fa agreed, though he didn’t show it in front of Xie Qingxue.
While he felt some sympathy for the Tianhe sect, he had to admit that the Jiu You Demon Ancestor's actions had provided Zheng Fa and the Jiu Shan sect with a hard-won strategic window.
The more arrogant the Jiu You Demon Ancestor became, the more terrifying the power of the Killing Immortal formation, and the more the four sects would pay attention.
The Jiu You Demon Ancestor seemed to have a deep-seated grudge against the four sects. To put it simply, in modern terms, it’s like your arch-nemesis is crafting a nuclear bomb—wouldn’t you be worried?
As it stands, while the four sects are strong, they have yet to neutralize the Jiu You Demon Ancestor in the short term.
Though the reasons are unclear, their focus on the Jiu Shan sect would be significantly less… even Haori Mountain, which harbored the deepest animosity towards Zheng Fa, would be the same.
What Xie Qingxue meant by “easier” was precisely this.
Zheng Fa was secretly cheering for the Jiu You Demon Ancestor—
If he could hold on for a hundred years, Zheng Fa would even be willing to erect a grand monument for him at the Hall of Worthies!
If he could hold on for a thousand years, Zheng Fa would be willing to rename the Jiu Shan sect to the Jiu You sect!
Xie Qingxue counted on her fingers:
“Your transformation into a god.”
“The first fifty-year plan.”
“Even the development of the seas…”
“The Jiu Shan sect is only lacking time.”
At this point, her expression became a bit dazed, and she suddenly laughed, “I really wonder, after the four sects have finally dismantled the Killing Immortal formation, what would they feel if they saw a Jiu Shan sect that’s even more terrifying than the formation…”
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