One Sword Breaks the Realm

Outside Lingling City, a carriage, surrounded by guards, exited the city and headed towards Shuikou Temple. The carriage was extremely ornate, with a golden roof topped by a golden phoenix, and golden bells hanging from its four corners.

The carriage body was painted red with gold accents, and the carriage pole was about a foot thick. Around the base of the carriage, a guard sat on each side, vigilantly scanning their surroundings. Pulling the carriage were two Demon Kings, with ox heads and human bodies, nearly twenty feet tall. Their muscular bodies were ferocious, possessing boundless strength. As they walked, a demonic wind billowed around them, and smoke puffed from their nostrils.

After traveling only a few miles outside the city, the carriage suddenly stopped. A guard bowed and said, "Governor, there are starving citizens of Lingling blocking the road to petition."

Seated inside the carriage was the Governor of Yongzhou, Zhou Heng, a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties. He had a large belly, a goatee, and two strands of beard hanging from his lips.

Governor Zhou Heng lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside. He saw a line of gaunt-faced, starving citizens kneeling by the roadside for over ten miles, all crying out, "Gracious Lord!" like a flock of ducks encountering their master.

Governor Zhou Heng asked, "What is their petition? I am an upright and incorruptible official. If it's not too excessive, I will grant it."

A guard went to investigate and returned, reporting, "They say they cannot afford to pay taxes, cannot afford to eat, and that the River of Oblivion is causing havoc, new lands are encroaching on fertile fields, and ghosts are rampant. They wish for you to exempt this year's taxes."

"Villagers!"

Governor Zhou Heng flew into a rage, veins bulging on his forehead. He slammed the table and shouted, "Truly a bunch of scoundrels! They are farmers, and farming produces grain, yet they have the audacity to say they can't afford to eat! It's just an excuse to not pay taxes! The River of Oblivion invades, ghosts run rampant, do ghosts eat grain? Shameless!"

He stood up and sneered, "Furthermore, if you have no money, wouldn't renting out your houses in the bustling market give you money? Wouldn't you earn money by driving your carriages as taxis? This group of old farmers, instead of renting out their houses in the market or using their horses for work, are kneeling before the official's carriage begging for food, and they have the nerve!"

He grew angrier as he spoke, roaring, "If they dare to block the road today to demand tax exemption, tomorrow they will demand the officials give them money! You will relay my order: if they block my path again, I will confiscate all their property and turn it over to the public treasury!"

The guard hurriedly went out and ordered the other guards to drive away the crowd. After a moment, the ten miles of starving citizens had scattered completely.

Governor Zhou Heng laughed, "I just can't stand poor people. It feels so much better now. These scoundrels heard about confiscation and ran away in a panic, which shows they still have money at home. If they had no money, why would they run so fast?"

"Your wisdom is unparalleled, my lord!" the guards exclaimed in admiration.

The carriage and horses continued their journey, charging forward, kicking up dust and smoke, heading straight for Shuikou Temple.

In Shuikou Temple, Zhou Yihang burst into laughter, his voice booming and making Xu Ying's Blood Essence fluctuate. "Send me on my way?"

Most of the other Nu Masters adventuring in the new lands were also shaken, stumbling, feeling dizzy and disoriented, losing their footing and falling from the immortal mountain with long cries of agony.

Zhou Yihang ignored them. Before his laughter had even subsided, the old man's back arched and straightened, his body expanding as he activated his Indestructible Diamond Body, transforming into a sixteen-foot-tall figure radiating golden light.

His Indestructible Diamond Body was cultivated to four arms, far surpassing Zhou Yang's. Zhou Yang had not cultivated four arms and could only be considered to have a preliminary grasp of the Indestructible Diamond Body, but Zhou Yihang had already mastered it!

He was wielding the Dong Jun Pingtian Seal, and under his palm strikes, flames flowed.

His mastery of the Dong Jun Pingtian Seal also far exceeded that of his son, Zhou Yang. Xu Ying had once witnessed him clash head-on with the City God Xue Lingfu, and in just one move, he had injured the City God's Golden Body!

At that time, Zhou Yihang had achieved the unity of soul and body, his physical form and spirit perfectly integrated. It had truly amazed Xu Ying, giving him a sense of invincibility.

Now, as Xu Ying watched Zhou Yihang unleash his Indestructible Diamond Body and the Dong Jun Pingtian Seal, he felt a different sensation: "He doesn't seem as strong as he was in my memory."

He activated the Heavenly Eye passed down by the Maiden in the Coffin, observing Zhou Yihang's physical body and the techniques of the Dong Jun Pingtian Seal. Even Zhou Yihang's Hidden Scenery was clearly visible to him, as if it were right before his eyes!

Within Zhou Yihang's body, a four-armed Vajra was tightly integrated with him, as if they were one. This four-armed Vajra was his Hidden Scenery, formed through contemplation using the power of his Ni Wan Secret Treasury.

Under the gaze of the Heavenly Eye, he could observe Zhou Yihang's weaknesses.

Zhou Yihang took a step forward, his four palms striking in succession. His palm strikes were accompanied by clouds and fire, flowing like banners. The palm force was agile yet contained immense power.

He was like a four-armed sun god, driving the clouds and fire before him!

This move was the "Cloud Banner Serpent" from the Dong Jun Pingtian Seal.

Instantly, Xu Ying pushed his Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist to its limit. Behind him, pure Yang Qi condensed into the Elephant King Divine Body. He unleashed a punch, accompanied by thunderous roars, striking directly at the flaw in Zhou Yihang's technique!

At the same time, Yuan Qi's tail tip became a fist, and the white elephant swung its trunk. Its massive body moved like a pillar supporting the sky, sweeping forward with a roar.

"Bang!" "Bang!"

Muffled impacts echoed as Xu Ying and Zhou Yihang collided. The Elephant King Divine Body behind Xu Ying was struck heavily, like being buffeted by a strong wind, its Blood Essence scattering backward like dust and sand!

The Elephant King Divine Body was composed of Blood Essence, including Yuan Qi and vaporized blood mist. The scattering of Blood Essence like dust and sand was a sign that the divine body had been shattered.

Xu Ying groaned, his limbs and bones vibrating. His Blood Essence churned like boiling water, and he retreated several steps.

Yuan Qi's cultivation was inferior to Xu Ying's, and the Elephant King Divine Body behind him was directly destroyed!

The giant snake's bones rattled, and the dragon mane behind it swayed like waves, its body almost being dispersed by the power contained within Zhou Yihang's strike!

Xu Ying's attack had interrupted Zhou Yihang's Blood Essence, causing the "Cloud Banner Serpent" move to falter. His Blood Essence churned briefly before he suppressed it.

Seeing this, Xu Ying understood why the Elephant King Divine Body had been broken: "His martial arts techniques are far more advanced than ours! His techniques contain Hidden Scenery, and when he attacked, he coordinated it with the Hidden Scenery of the four-armed celestial god! Whereas the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist that Yuan Qi and I cultivate lacks the support of Hidden Scenery!"

Hidden Scenery is the manifestation of the Great Dao. If a martial arts technique can be coordinated with its corresponding Hidden Scenery, it can unleash unexpected power. For example, if the Elephant Strength Bull Demon Fist could comprehend the Elephant God as its Hidden Scenery, its power could be elevated to a higher level.

Without a comparable technique, even if Xu Ying could find Zhou Yihang's weakness, it would be difficult to injure him.

"Although I don't have Hidden Scenery, I have just cultivated a Great Dao manifestation!"

Xu Ying retreated several steps, then suddenly stopped and shrugged his shoulders. A sword energy came from behind him, slashing down towards Zhou Yihang!

This sword strike was like a rainbow from beyond the heavens, sudden and unexpected, its sword energy and intent attacking Zhou Yihang's consciousness!

Without hesitation, Zhou Yihang clasped his palms together, catching the sword energy. His other two palms continued to strike at Xu Ying.

As his hands clamped down on the sword energy, he felt its power surge. Unable to focus on killing Xu Ying, he quickly brought his other two palms together, using all four palms to catch the sword strike.

Xu Ying suddenly strode forward, taking advantage of Zhou Yihang's exposed center, and pointed at his chest. The sword energy erupted!

"Ch-!"

A sword energy pierced through his Indestructible Diamond Body, like a steel nail, stabbing into his heart!

But fortunately, the sword energy from Xu Ying's fingertip was far less terrifying than the Great Dao manifestation. It only penetrated three inches into his body before being blocked by the Indestructible Diamond Body.

However, the next moment, Xu Ying's ten fingers flew, like a storm beating pear blossoms, and the tips of his ten fingers successively pressed on various acupoints on Zhou Yihang's body!

Yuan Qi, who had not yet calmed his scattered Blood Essence, saw this scene and felt his bones go soft.

What Xu Ying was using was the Bone Dismantling technique of the Snake Catcher. It was precisely because Xu Ying had dismantled all his bones that he was captured by Xu Ying.

And in Zhou Yihang's perception, with every finger Xu Ying dropped, it was like a steel nail piercing his body, cutting off his Blood Essence flow.

He was terrified, "What kind of method is this? Why can he see the path of my cultivation technique?"

His Blood Essence was cut off, and his four arms' strength was greatly reduced. The sword energy above his head broke through his four-palm attack, pressing down on his four arms and slashing at his head!

This was precisely the Great Manifestation of the Way of the Sword that Xu Ying had comprehended before the dilapidated temple!

The great rift contained the sword energy and intent of a peerless sword master. Although Xu Ying had never seen such a powerful expert attack, he had comprehended the essence of this Flying Rainbow Sword from the residual sword intent.

This sword grew stronger when facing an opponent. If there was nothing in front of it, it would not have such immense power.

To fully unleash the power of this sword technique, there must be something to block it.

It was precisely because of the obstruction of a mountain in the Underworld that the peerless swordsman's sword intent grew stronger when facing an opponent, splitting the mountain and reaching an unprecedented limit when severing the mountain's roots, surpassing himself!

It was the same for Xu Ying fighting Zhou Yihang. The sword energy encountered the obstruction of Zhou Yihang's four arms, its power surged, directly crushing Zhou Yihang's strength and slashing at his forehead!

At the same time, Yuan Qi flicked his tail again, its tip speed exceeding sound. He gathered all his Blood Essence and unleashed his strongest attack. With a snap, he fiercely whipped Zhou Yihang!

"Snap!"

The old man's clothes exploded, his Indestructible Diamond Body was beaten bloody, and the sword above his head penetrated straight through, all the way to his brow!

Zhou Yihang's brain was damaged, his eyes became cloudy, and his consciousness was unclear, in a daze.

Xu Ying exerted force and continued to slash, but the sword energy still struggled to advance another inch, encountering great resistance.

Suddenly, he sensed the sword energy in his hand vibrate violently, causing his tiger's mouth to crack. He quickly let go and retreated.

The sword energy embedded in Zhou Yihang's head exploded with a snap, and the sword energy nails Xu Ying had driven into his body also exploded one after another with pops.

Xu Ying's heart sank. He had greatly defeated Zhou Yihang in terms of technique, but the gap in cultivation was too large, causing him to be unable to kill Zhou Yihang even with the advantage in technique.

Xu Ying let out a long roar and activated the Taiyi Guiding Technique.

The Great Bell sensed his intention and quickly said, "A Ying, breaking through the pass requires the aid of a great medicine. Otherwise, there won't be such powerful Blood Essence to charge through! Don't mess around!"

As soon as it finished speaking, the sky suddenly brightened. Countless light particles in the sunlight of this dilapidated temple world surged over, their density more than ten times that of the outside world!

The light particles instantly formed a half-acre Light Field, and its brightness was also more than ten times that of the outside world!

Beneath the Light Field, Xu Ying's Blood Essence surged. The Great Bell was shocked. Xu Ying's Blood Essence was surging and powerful, as if he had taken a great medicine for breaking through the pass, charging towards the Black Iron Profound Pass in the Realm of Serenity!

"The solar essence here is so intense, more than ten times that of the outside world. Could this really be the Immortal Realm?" the Great Bell wondered.

With the solar essence being so intense, it didn't matter if he had a great medicine for breaking through.

"A Ying, the so-called breaking through the pass mainly lies in the word 'knock.' Knock on the profound pass, comprehend the profound roots of heaven and earth, and then you can open the profound pass."

The Great Bell said rapidly, "There is a poem as proof: 'The primordial qi knocks on the primal pass, deep and dark lies the great medicine. Inverting heaven and earth forms the Tai symbol, coming and going between Li and Kan establishes the profound roots.' This is not the proper way for a Qi Refiner to break through... Hmm?"

Xu Ying's Blood Essence roared and surged within his body. Under the impact, the Black Iron Profound Pass shook and trembled. The two doors creaked and opened to the sides!

He did not comprehend the heaven and earth Tai symbol at all, let alone the Li and Kan profound roots. He directly used brute force to impact the tail gate profound pass!

This profound pass actually showed signs of being opened.

The Great Bell was stunned. It heard bursts of thunder from within Xu Ying's body. Bundles of radiant light, about an inch long, bloomed outward from his body.

One could even see a great dragon radiating light within his body, like a dragon drinking water, moving from top to bottom, attacking the tail gate at the very bottom of the spine, attempting to conquer the profound pass!

This profound pass was located at the tailbone of the human body, called the tail gate!

Once this pass is opened, it connects life and death, understands yin and yang, opens the Heavenly River, receives the dew of the Heavenly Court, and opens the Heavenly Mountain within the body!

One Heavenly Mountain, one Heavenly Mountain. From then on, cultivation would have a path!

The Great Bell was startled and thought, "If I hadn't stolen fifty percent of his Blood Essence to heal myself, he would have probably opened the profound pass in one go this time! This is my fault, I must make amends."

It also activated its own breathing technique. The Great Bell inhaled and exhaled, its form growing and shrinking. The half-acre Light Field in the sky instantly became a square acre!

Xu Ying's Blood Essence immediately surged. With a roar, his Pure Yang Yuan Qi finally broke through the Black Iron Profound Pass!

The surging Heavenly River water flowed eastward!

In the Realm of Serenity, the Heavenly River water, coming from the nine heavens, rushed out of the profound pass and flowed mightily through the continent below, passing through mountains and rivers, forming waterfalls on highlands and lakes on plains, making the Realm of Serenity suddenly become incredibly vivid and colorful!

Xu Ying felt his internal organs being nourished by the Heavenly River, and his Yuan Qi grew. The boundaries of his previous Yuan Qi cultivation vanished!

His cultivation was rapidly improving, and his Blood Essence was far more abundant and pure than before!

With the support of this increasingly powerful Blood Essence, the sword energy like a rainbow flying from beyond the heavens in his Realm of Serenity also became clearer and clearer.

Xu Ying stabilized his retreating posture and looked up at Zhou Yihang, whose wound had healed. He looked at him like a pig or dog waiting to be slaughtered, eager to try, "Uncle Bell, let me fight him in my peak condition."

The Great Bell hesitated for a moment and said, "Be careful."

Xu Ying immediately felt his Blood Essence still increasing. This was the first time since he met the Great Bell that his Blood Essence had recovered to its peak!

Suddenly, a voice echoed from afar, "Yihang, why are you in such a sorry state?"

The fifth immortal mountain slowly rose, floating in the distance. Governor Zhou Heng's carriage was parked at the foot of the mountain. The carriage curtain was opened, and the surrounding windows were removed. Zhou Heng, with his belly bulging, sat in the carriage and laughed, "Is this the demon Xu Ying? The Xu Ying who can decipher demon race cultivation techniques?"

Originally, many people were watching the battle from the surroundings. Upon hearing this, they all turned their gazes toward Xu Ying, their eyes filled with a strange curiosity.

Seeing the Prefect Zhou Heng, Zhou Yihang felt a chill in his heart. Fearing that he would stop him from killing Xu Ying to avenge Zhou Yang, he immediately roared in anger, pushing his Indestructible Diamond Body and Dong Jun Pingtian Seal to their limits as he charged at Xu Ying!

He wanted to accomplish his goal in one fell swoop, to kill Xu Ying and present his head as a sacrifice to Zhou Yang!

Suddenly, a brilliant sword energy illuminated the sky, causing the shadows of the surrounding trees to vanish!

The sword energy pierced the sky, emitting a sharp whistling sound. With a whoosh, it flashed and disappeared without a trace!

In the nearby mountain forest, the leaves of many trees were now floating in the air!

These leaves suddenly split apart in unison, as if an invisible sword energy had neatly cleaved them in half!

Every single leaf was like this, perfectly aligned, without the slightest deviation!

The leaves danced in the wind and fell to the ground!

A cool breeze blew, and the onlookers even felt a bone-chilling coldness, as if an incomparably sharp sword was pointed at them, about to pierce their skin!

Beside someone's cheek, a strand of hair lifted by the wind silently parted in the middle, as if an invisible sword had split it.

A young man stood amidst the swirling fallen leaves. In front of the young man, Zhou Yihang's divine-like body split down the middle, slowly falling to either side!

----Yesterday, the author suddenly felt no joy and was in low spirits, unable to find creative inspiration. I apologize to everyone. I've adjusted my mindset, and everything is fine now.