Jiangnan, Gantang Channel.
Sword light traversed the sky and soon arrived at Gantang Channel. It abruptly parted, and Perfected One Subduing-Spirit stepped out, his eyes instantly filled with soaring ambition and heroism.
Within his sea of consciousness, a voice quietly rang out:
"Little friend, you are currently at a critical juncture in your cultivation. You should be in secluded cultivation within the [Mortal World]. Why waste your time running all the way out here?"
The speaker was precisely Long Tu.
"Senior's words are incorrect," Perfected One Subduing-Spirit said faintly. "Cultivation taboos working behind closed doors. Besides, as a sword cultivator, one must always find opponents to test one's sword."
"How is that difficult?"
Long Tu still didn't understand. "There are so many opponents in the [Mortal World], more than enough for you to test your sword. Why forsake the root to chase the branches, taking risks to act in the outside world?"
"Are the ones in the [Mortal World] even considered opponents?" Perfected One Subduing-Spirit smiled disdainfully. "Almost all of them are cultivators from outer heavens; practically none are natives of the Immortal Nexus. It's only because I haven't reached Foundation Establishment Perfection yet that I can easily be suppressed in terms of realm. Otherwise, not a single recorded image in the [Mortal World] could withstand a single strike from my sword!"
"Therefore, to truly test my sword, I still need to find someone from the Demon Sect."
"The Master of Heaven-Mending Peak is an Inner Sect Peak Master of the Demon Sect. His status isn't low."
Speaking of this, Perfected One Subduing-Spirit's face filled with anticipation. "Back then, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon made his name by slaying the Buddha Child. Today, I will kill the Master of Heaven-Mending Peak to establish my own reputation."
"When I reach Foundation Establishment Perfection in the future."
"The title of the number one Foundation Establishment cultivator will have to change hands!"
On this point, Perfected One Subduing-Spirit had absolute confidence in the [Sword Edge Gold]. After all, this was a supreme divine ability capable of severing the future. How could Vanquishing-Demon possibly compare to him?
At this thought, he immediately pressed down his sword light.
Soon, Gantang Channel came into view. The layered restricting formations were completely powerless to stop his sword light. He cleaved through them with a single strike and descended effortlessly.
The next second, the radiant light of a divine ability slowly rose.
"Who goes there?"
Before the words faded, a dense, watery light surged into the sky, gathering dark clouds and churning with the phantom of a dragon. It blocked his path with a hint of nervousness.
"Oh? Ren Water?"
Seeing this, Perfected One Subduing-Spirit raised an eyebrow slightly, then revealed a mocking smile. "[Dragon Cloud Rain]? Is this how a divine ability is supposed to be used?"
Following that, with a shift in thought, a majestic aura far surpassing the newcomer's erupted explosively from him. Like a torrential flood, it scattered the surrounding spiritual qi. Subsequently, an even more massive dragon phantom shot straight into the clouds. A dragon's roar in the highest heavens shocked the sky, and in the blink of an eye, he seized control of the sea of clouds within a radius of ten thousand miles.
[Dragon Cloud Rain]!
Ren, Shen, Gui, You—these constitute the [Sword Edge Gold]. Only when Yin and Yang, Metal and Water converge can the sword be drawn. Therefore, Perfected One Subduing-Spirit's first innate Divine Ability was also Ren Water!
Two identical divine abilities crashed into each other violently.
The result was unquestionable. Even though the divine abilities were identical, the foundations of the two parties were on entirely different levels. Perfected One Xiaohai was knocked out of the clouds right then and there.
Having done all this, Perfected One Subduing-Spirit nodded in satisfaction. He retracted his divine ability, pressed down his sword light, and descended, looking at Perfected One Xiaohai with a half-smile.
Before he could speak, Perfected One Xiaohai hurriedly bowed and said:
"This humble cultivator Xiaohai greets the Perfected One from the higher sect."
As his words fell, Perfected One Subduing-Spirit did not excuse him from his bow. Instead, he spoke in a deep voice, "Where is Junior Sister Ye? I saw in the message you sent that she has already perished?"
"To reply to the Perfected One, that is indeed the case. However—"
Before Perfected One Xiaohai could finish, an oppressive sword pressure crashed down on him, forcing him to plant his head onto the ground. All his words were cut off, stuck in his throat.
"Junior Sister Ye is dead, so why are you still alive, Fellow Daoist?"
"To... to reply to the Perfected One, the situation at the time was critical. The attacker was the Master of Heaven-Mending Peak from the Demon Sect, at the peak of the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. This humble cultivator was truly powerless to do anything..."
"Powerless to do anything?"
Hearing this, Perfected One Subduing-Spirit shook his head and said coldly, "Don't you still have a life, Fellow Daoist? Why didn't you self-destruct and sacrifice your life to cover Junior Sister Ye's retreat?"
"You must understand, if you had willingly self-destructed then, sacrificing your life to save Junior Sister Ye, she would inevitably owe you karma. In the future, when you reincarnated and returned, Junior Sister Ye would definitely have guided you into the sect and carefully nurtured you. That was your fortune. It's a pity Junior Sister Ye didn't realize you were a coward who clings to life and fears death!"
"She kindly intended to bestow a fortune upon you, but ended up dying an unexpected death."
Speaking of this, Perfected One Subduing-Spirit's gaze towards Perfected One Xiaohai grew increasingly disgusted. "From such actions, it is clear that Fellow Daoist is truly a petty person devoid of the Righteous Dao in his heart."
"If it were before, Fellow Daoist could have become an official disciple upon entering my Sword Pavilion."
"However, with this karma between us, I'm afraid Fellow Daoist will only be able to serve as a menial disciple in the future. This is the bitter fruit born from an evil seed. Let this serve as a warning to you, Fellow Daoist."
"...This humble cultivator understands."
Perfected One Xiaohai lowered his head deeply, his tone remaining respectful. However, beneath his lowered eyelids, a streak of ferocious black qi abruptly flashed across his eyes.
Meanwhile, outside Gantang Channel, Chong Guang, who was hiding in a mountain forest, witnessed this scene through the inner demon's perspective. He couldn't help but laugh out loud on the spot:
"As expected of a Sword Bastard!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. That entire speech was truly more effective than my [Heaven of Sovereign]. Perfected One Xiaohai's inner demon actually grew stronger out of thin air!"
In fact, if he hadn't deliberately controlled it, given the inner demon's reckless and unrestrained nature, it would never have swallowed its anger. It would likely have attacked Perfected One Subduing-Spirit already.
"Look at you, getting anxious again."
Sensing the restless inner demon, Chong Guang shook his head and pacified it, while pondering inwardly: 'Now is not the right time to strike.'
'According to my intelligence, this Perfected One Subduing-Spiritcultivates the [Sword Edge Gold]. As a dignified Supreme Dao Fruit, his status in the Sword Pavilion probably even exceeds Vanquishing-Demon's. He inevitably has a life-saving item like the [Imperial Order Jade Tablet] on him. Killing him now will only alert the snake in the grass. It's best to take things slowly.'
This was Chong Guang's combat style.
Plan before acting. First observe, gather intelligence on the opponent, and only strike when absolutely certain of victory. If he didn't strike, so be it, but once he did, he must achieve results.
Just then, his heart suddenly stirred.
Following that, he clapped his hands and laughed. "As expected, arriving early isn't as good as arriving at the perfect time. Good, good, good! I'll just let you two fight until both sides are heavily injured, and then I'll make my move!"
The verdant mountains stretched like the sea; the setting sun was as red as blood.
Outside Gantang Channel, dusk was already approaching. The firmament was no longer bright. However, radiant colors rose from the ground, and shortly after, a man stepped out from within.
This person was tall and powerfully built, his face sharp as if chiseled by a knife or axe. Just by standing there, he naturally exuded a commanding presence that inspired awe without anger. Following behind him were the Master of Heaven-Mending Peak, whose old injuries hadn't yet healed and whose face was pale, along with the two Foundation Establishment Perfected Ones, Tuan Xu and Wu Cang.
It was exactly the Saint Sect's most unique cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection, Hong Ju.
But at this moment, the Great Perfected One's eyes were filled with bitterness, and his heart brimmed with complaints. 'He's clearly worried there's a trap, yet he still sent me to test the waters...'
Even though I was enlightened by you, you can't just throw me away like this.
Is my life not a life?
Fortunately, after all these years of watching Hong Yun's ups and downs while remaining the exact same, Hong Ju was actually used to it. He quickly adjusted his mindset.
'Forget it, there will be benefits in the end.'
'As long as my Lord can return to the Golden Core position, my efforts won't have been in vain.'
'No time to lose. The longer I drag this out here, the more likely something will go wrong. I must extract the Grotto-Heaven fragment beneath Gantang Channel as quickly as possible and then evacuate immediately!'
With this in mind, Hong Ju immediately took large strides toward Gantang Channel.
However, in the eyes of Chong Guang in the distance, he looked just like a perfectly roasted piece of fat meat, leaping headlong into his gaping, bloody maw without hesitation.