Killing the Body, Destroying the Heart?

At dawn, Great Immortal Kongchen completed a night of cultivation.

He rinsed his mouth with a jar of Drunken Immortal Fine Brew worth twenty taels, took out the box of Spirit Pills, picked through them, and selected the Rejuvenation Pill with the richest spiritual aura before swallowing it.

Mm! The taste was a little lacking.

But...

It left him refreshed and invigorated!

Though he lived in a humble dwelling and led a simple life, the Great Immortal still kept the common people in his heart, asking nothing from worldly things and sparing no hardship as he traveled everywhere to Slay Demons and Exterminate Devils. Truly, his merit was boundless!

He took out the Incense and Fire Divine Diagram and, as usual, checked whether the newest wisp of Incense and Fire Green Qi had formed.

But today differed from all the days before. The instant he took it out, before even unfolding it, he vaguely saw a thread of light shining through.

A flicker of delight immediately appeared in Gao Xian's eyes.

Once he unfolded it, he saw an additional strand of green qi amid the clouds in the painting.

"Where is the Azure Dragon Guardian?"

Clang! A streak of clear light shot forth and stopped before Gao Xian, seeming somewhat impatient.

Even Donkey Guardian General scrambled to his feet and rushed in, as though he had smelled the Incense and Fire Green Qi from far away.

The moment he saw the Azure Dragon Guardian, several traces of worry appeared in his eyes.

"It's over. If this Azure Dragon awakens a divine ability too, General Donkey's position as the foremost guardian may not be secure in the future."

With a lowering of Gao Xian's hand, a wisp of green qi fell into the Azure Dragon Sword.

At once, the Azure Dragon Sword shone brilliantly, and waves of dragon cries began to howl.

First, a thread of hazy mist sprang from the Azure Dragon Sword. Then the mist gradually solidified, revealing a human form.

Finally, a boy with a dragon-whisker topknot could be seen sitting upright atop the Azure Dragon Sword, drifting from side to side with it.

This was the soul of the Azure Dragon Guardian. Only upon reaching this stage had the Azure Dragon Guardian truly condensed a complete soul and gained intelligence.

The Daoist nodded in satisfaction.

Though this boy looked quite young, his face was stern and impartial, his bearing awe-inspiring. He possessed quite a bit of this Great Immortal's own elegance.

He had inherited this Great Immortal's righteous spirit, which hated evil like a personal enemy and would rather break than bend.

Sure enough, only such a guardian was worthy of this Great Immortal's bearing.

Dragging around that donkey all day, with its mouth full of petty scheming and its head full of wicked, lecherous thoughts—anyone who did not know better might think this Great Immortal was some demon lord.

The Azure Dragon Guardian directly lowered his sword tip and bowed his head to Gao Xian.

"Guardian Azure Dragon pays respects to Master."

Upon hearing the Azure Dragon Guardian's form of address, General Donkey's eyes went wide.

Who would have thought it? This thick-browed, big-eyed fellow was a flatterer too?

I call him Great Immortal, but you call him Master. The moment you opened your mouth, you pushed this guardian right beneath you in closeness?

Doesn't that make General Donkey look like an outsider?

General Donkey was heartbroken.

Master? Why had I not thought of that title before?

At this moment, Great Immortal Kongchen had no attention to spare for the donkey's countless twists and turns of petty thoughts. After sizing up the Azure Dragon Guardian with satisfaction, he asked,

"What divine ability has the Azure Dragon Guardian awakened?"

"Sword Array." Azure Dragon Boy was simple-minded and spoke bluntly.

"Hmm? It sounds lofty, grand, and high-class." Great Immortal Kongchen's eyes lit up, feeling that this was surely an exceptionally formidable divine ability.

"Quickly, explain its function in detail." The Great Immortal could hardly wait to see the boundless might of this Sword Array.

"As long as it is cast upon a person or object, even if separated by tens of thousands of miles, Azure Dragon can catch up to it and find him, locking onto its location." Guardian Azure Dragon waved his hand, condensing an Azure Dragon Magic Seal whose head and tail connected.

Great Immortal Kongchen waited for quite some time, only to discover that there was no continuation.

"And then? After catching up to it and locking onto its location?"

Azure Dragon Boy said, "There is no more. It can only lock onto and catch up to another's location."

"..."

"Hahahahaha! What an immensely powerful divine ability indeed."

Donkey Guardian General immediately burst into laughter, nearly rolling all over the floor.

But suddenly, the donkey's eyes lit up, as though he had thought of some rotten idea.

"Master, Donkey Guardian has thought of an excellent use for this divine ability." The donkey instantly changed his form of address, grinning ingratiatingly and flicking his ears, clearly up to no good.

Still, Gao Xian felt it would not hurt to hear him out. Only by gathering collective wisdom could he demonstrate his broad-mindedness.

"On this descent from the mountain to Slay Demons and Exterminate Devils, Master will surely encounter more wicked and lecherous scoundrels."

"Some of these demon lords are exceedingly cunning. Even before the bright and radiant Great Dao, beneath the clear heavens and Master's torchlike discerning eyes, they still cling to blind hope."

"For those who submit with their mouths but not their hearts, Master must not only destroy their bodies and souls, but utterly crush their wills as well."

The donkey imitated Great Immortal Kongchen's bearing and manner of speech. Unfortunately, he resembled him not in the slightest; it was entirely an image concocted by his own imagination. His donkey head was nearly raised to the heavens, as though saying that trash like you were unworthy of his gaze.

"So? You refuse to accept this Great Immortal's judgment?"

The donkey immediately ran off to the side and began imitating a villainous demon lord.

This time, the imitation was vivid and penetrating, striking straight to the bone.

"I refuse! What kind of immortal are you, acting like this?"

His voice changed again. "Very well. Heaven cherishes life, so this Great Immortal permits you to flee for half a month first."

The donkey began running about before Great Immortal Kongchen again. "Then he takes a boat across rivers, scales mountains and ridges, crosses grasslands, and climbs snow-covered peaks."

The donkey mimed swimming to represent rowing a boat, leaped over a chair to represent crossing mountains and ridges, then abruptly braked to a halt before Great Immortal Kongchen.

"At that moment, when this cunning demon lord surely believes he has escaped alive and laughs that immortals are nothing special after all—"

"The Great Immortal releases his immortal sword, and from beyond countless mountains and waters, it descends from the heavens and stabs him dead with a single strike."

"Like divine punishment descending from heaven, even if he flees to the Ends of the Earth, only a dead end awaits him."

General Donkey was incomparably pleased with himself, as though he could already picture that person fleeing to the Ends of the Earth and seeing a streak of sword light split the clouds as it came for him.

"Wouldn't that be utterly despairing? Wouldn't that be cruel?"

"Only then will this demon lord truly understand: the net of Heaven is vast and wide-meshed, yet nothing slips through."

The donkey immediately stepped forward again, as if claiming credit, certain that his genius-like idea and script would surely win Kongchenzi's approval.

"Killing the body, destroying the heart—killing the body, destroying the heart!"

"By then, Master's great name will surely spread across the world once more, leaving behind countless legends and becoming a fine tale."

"Afterward, perhaps someone will even turn this story into an opera to sing and pass down for a thousand years."

The Azure Dragon Guardian was so enraged by the donkey that he let out cry after cry of sword hums, yet he could not say a single word. Clearly, when it came to verbal sparring, he was not in the same league as that sly donkey.

Great Immortal Kongchen raised a hand. "Enough. Slaying demons and exterminating devils is not merely about killing them; it is about saving the common people who suffer beneath demons and devils. If we let them escape, who knows how many people they would harm along the way?"

"This poor Daoist descended the mountain to save the common people, not for the sake of such trifling fame."

Though he said so, for some reason, when he imagined the scene the donkey had described, it actually felt rather exhilarating?

Gao Xian shook his head. Still, the donkey's words gave Gao Xian a simple idea.

This divine ability seemed as though it could be used as a Flying Sword Message?