Chen Xian could no longer tell whether the scene before him was an illusion or a real battlefield.
"Damn, am I even human?"
"Smack!"
He swallowed, then slapped himself.
If he really ran away, he'd be a sinner to the human race!
He weighed the long sword in his hand. His cloudy gaze sharpened, and his aged eyes seemed to turn into an eagle's, searching the battlefield for prey.
Soon, he spotted his target.
A pig-headed monster stood with its back to him, holding a rake as it bore down on a saber cultivator.
Chen Xian looked around. Seeing no other enemies, he quietly crept up behind the pig-headed monster.
"Snort! Heh heh, let's see if you can take three hits from my rake, old pig! Die, human!"
He edged closer and closer, until he could even smell the pig-headed monster's rank stench.
The saber cultivator spotted him first, his eyes widening.
An old sword cultivator?
Could a sword expert have come to his aid?
The saber cultivator's spirits soared. He fought back with renewed vigor, his blade flashing again and again until he forced the pig-headed monster several steps back.
"Closer! Just a little closer!"
Chen Xian's nerves were taut. He gripped the long sword in his hand, his mouth dry.
The saber cultivator was already at the end of his strength. When he saw Chen Xian within three meters of the pig-headed monster and still not attacking, he nearly lost his resolve.
"Clang!"
The Nine-Tooth Rake smashed his saber in two. The saber cultivator finally couldn't hold back and shouted:
"Senior! Save me!"
"This old man's coming!"
Chen Xian knew the opportunity would vanish in an instant. He lunged forward and drove the sharp sword in his hand into the back of the pig-headed monster's head.
"Ugh—"
The pig-headed monster's eyes rolled back. In its final moments, it looked on in horror as a sword-tip horn seemed to grow from its forehead.
"Phew... Many thanks, senior, for saving my life!"
Having escaped death, the saber cultivator let out a long breath and clasped his hands in thanks, only to find that the old man had vanished without a trace.
Chen Xian hadn't left the battlefield. He didn't know how to leave it.
Burdened with the mission of fighting for the human race, he had to take it seriously.
But he knew that going toe-to-toe with his enemies in his frail, aging body was suicide, so he struck out on a different path, specializing in stabbing them in the back.
He hid behind trees, in the water, beneath corpses...
From daylight to night, then from night back to daylight, three fingers broken and two chips in his sword, he had killed at least thirty pig-headed monsters—if not fifty.
The sky was just beginning to brighten. A foul-smelling swamp stretched out before him.
A pig-headed monster jumped into the stinking mud and began scrubbing itself with great delight.
It didn't notice the mud behind it suddenly bubbling up in several great burps.
Half a head eerily emerged from beneath the swamp, revealing only a pair of bloodshot old eyes fixed on it.
"Snort... snort..."
The pig-headed monster scrubbed its armpits, grunting contentedly.
Chen Xian inched toward its back, raised the broken sword in his left hand, and prepared to give it a refreshing stab through the heart.
He was close enough to touch it!
"Die!"
"Clang!"
The broken sword struck the pig-headed monster's back, but a hard object blocked it. The blade then snapped cleanly in two.
"Heh heh! Old human, I spotted you ages ago!"
The pig-headed monster stood up, revealing a suit of Black Iron Back Armor. It had clearly been prepared for him.
It stretched out a six-toed pig's hoof, ready to crush the bold old man in one squeeze.
Chen Xian stared at the huge hand reaching for him and didn't move. It wasn't fear—he was too exhausted. Struggling was no better than calmly accepting death.
"Wooo—"
The next moment, he heard the familiar sound of a horn from the sky.
But this time it wasn't urgent. Its long, lingering notes seemed to be calling him.
At the sound of the horn, the pig-headed monster, which had been about to crush Chen Xian, abruptly changed expression. It scrambled out of the swamp and fled, leaving even the axe it had dropped behind. It plunged into the woods and vanished without a trace.
"I'm so tired..."
Having narrowly escaped death, Chen Xian felt his mind finally give way. He had no strength left.
His whole body sank into the mud until he was completely submerged.
"Chen Xian! Wake up at once!" A call rang through his very soul.
Chen Xian's eyes snapped open. He found that he had left the swamp and was now inside a vast golden hall.
It was just like the legendary Celestial Court, with glowing figures standing solemnly in rows on either side.
He looked ahead and spotted a familiar figure.
It was the thousand-zhang-tall Faceless Dharma Image.
"Saint? Where is this?" Chen Xian's eyes widened slightly.
The Saint said, "This is the Temple of Human Dao. You have earned the recognition of the Great Dao of the Sword, and we are here to guide you."
"Then am I on the Path of Defensive Sword, the Path of Offensive Sword, or the Path of Auxiliary Sword?"
Chen Xian's heart shuddered. After cramming in knowledge over the past few days, he knew the Sword Path was divided into several branches, broadly categorized as defense, offense, and support.
For instance, Shangguan Hongyue followed the Path of Defensive Sword, specializing in defensive sword arts.
The Saint shook his head. "None of them."
Then Chen Xian heard what sounded like laughter from the figures standing on either side of the hall.
He frowned. There were other sword paths, too?
He hurriedly asked, "Then what path am I on?"
"You follow the Path of Cautious Sword!" said the Saint.
The Saint had no face, but for some reason, Chen Xian felt that he was laughing, too. Otherwise, why was the Dharma Image trembling slightly?
"What the hell is Cautious Sword?"
Before Chen Xian could ask anything else, his vision blurred. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his own room.
"How could this be? How could I follow Cautious Sword?"
He stared blankly at the Cyan Jade Tablet in his hand, still unable to process it.
He gathered his Dao Consciousness again and sent it into the Cyan Jade Tablet.
This time, only one point of light remained in the space. It was a sword.
"You have earned the recognition of the Sword Path. I shall impart to you the heart method of the Dao Guiding Technique!"
That vast voice rang out once more. A moment later, a heart method appeared in Chen Xian's mind.
Take the sword as your foundation; guide the Dao into your body.
Temper your meridians with Dao Qi; refine your bones with Dao Power.
Draw in Qi with the three suns; let the sea of clouds be your source.
Let your heart follow the sword's movements; unite your intent with Heaven's heart.
Let the Dao follow nature; return the heart-sword to truth.
Chen Xian unconsciously recited the heart method once, and his body suddenly shuddered.
He also instinctively learned how to look within.
He sensed a mysterious energy entering his body from the outside world. It circulated through his meridians, completing the Lesser and Greater Celestial Circuits, then sank into his dantian and condensed into a wisp of solid Dao Power, floating above it.
There was already another wisp of Dao Power in his dantian.
He hurriedly checked his status panel:
[Realm: Dao Disciple Second Layer] [Great Dao of Cultivation: Sword Path (Dogged Sword)]
He had actually broken through a minor realm and reached the second layer of the Dao Disciple Realm!
The status panel had also gained a new line of information.
"No, seriously, how was I cautious? I was just being careful! The Saint must have made a mistake!"
Seeing the Dogged Sword label next to his Sword Path, Chen Xian was thoroughly unconvinced.
But he only dared to mutter it under his breath.
Who knew whether the Saint in that illusion had been real or not?
If the Saint heard him and made life difficult for him, he'd be done for.
Right! He'd better stay cautious for now and wait until he reached Saint Entry before arguing his case with the Saint.
With that thought, he sat down again and continued cultivating the heart method of the Mystic Cloud Dao-Guiding Art.
Breaking through to the Dao Master Realm and raising his lifespan limit was the most urgent matter.