Chapter 85 (End of main text) ...

The horizontal wave arrived just in time. Wen Jie, who was always calm and collected, was now covered in bruises, though he was still quite a sight to behold.

As for Chen Ping, with one arm severed, he was running around screaming and cursing Jiang Chaosheng.

Hengbo's brows furrowed, and he immediately joined the battle.

The moment she made her move, not only Hengbo herself, but Jiang Chaosheng on the opposite side also immediately noticed Hengbo's unusual nature. Unlike before, when the power was only contained in the sword moves, at this moment, every movement of hers seemed to carry the "momentum" of heaven and earth, as if all things in heaven and earth were at her fingertips.

Looking at her, her aura is now roughly at the early stage of the Heavenly Realm, and there is even a hint that she is climbing towards the middle stage.

He himself wondered about others in the same way: "Did you 'eat' your master?"

Hengbo suddenly felt nauseous, and only regretted that he was mute and not deaf.

Without further ado, Hengbo took a starting stance that Jiang Chaosheng had never seen before and launched the first attack.

Since Master said he would use "random punches," then I will not hold back.

Hengbo recalled the happy days when he was a child, when he used his self-created sword moves to torment Qingxuzi, causing him physical and mental injuries. Although this misguided pleasure was short-lived, it was truly unforgettable.

The first trick is to steal chickens.

As the name suggests, this move was something that Xiao Jiyu had a flash of inspiration to come up with while secretly roasting chicken on Biyun Mountain. The key to this move is speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness.

As fellow swordsmen, defeating enemies of higher ranks is a pipe dream. But what does it matter if there's a difference in skill level among those of the same rank? In terms of talent, comprehension, and diligence, Hengbo doesn't believe he's inferior to anyone else.

Quickly, the transverse wave appeared with lightning speed, less than two feet away from Jiang Chaosheng.

Accurate. The sword flashed like silk, its tip always aimed straight for his throat.

Ruthless. Without the slightest hesitation, the powerful internal force, carrying the sword blade, thrust forward fiercely.

Jiang Chaosheng retreated rapidly, his stray hairs falling to the ground in fragments. He murmured, "Interesting."

Hengbo never intended to defeat his enemy in one move; the next move was to pat the dog.

This move, while not particularly harmful, is extremely insulting. It's also the move that Qingxuzi despised the most, but it's surprisingly effective in the present day.

Dogs are smarter than chickens. Just smelling the scent, a dog becomes alert, even lowering its body to steady itself, barking wildly and preparing to bare its fangs at any moment.

At this point, the best course of action is...

Jiang Chaosheng swiftly dodged the swords that were repeatedly thrusting towards his instep, his jumping posture both laughable and comical. His face contorted with rage; this move was utterly nonsensical! It was even worse than that old spider's attacks on the groin! Yet, it was a move that forced one to be wary of.

He could already imagine how pathetic he looked, with the old spider's shrill laughter still echoing in his ears...

How exactly does Qingxuzi teach his disciples?! This is utterly disgracing the reputation of the Jingchun lineage!

Whether the Jingchun lineage has been utterly disgraced is unknown to Hengbo, but everyone present knows that Jiang Chaosheng has completely lost face.

Hengbo observed Jiang Chaosheng gradually adapt to her rhythm from his initial flustered state, and inwardly marveled at how strong he was. At the same time, she began to change her moves and play the monkey.

She gave Chen Ping a wink, and Chen Ping immediately stopped smiling and nodded.

As everyone knows, it is often the humans who are being played by monkeys. Therefore, watching Hengbo swinging his head back and forth with the help of silk threads while throwing sword winds at his forehead from all sorts of tricky angles, Jiang Chaosheng finally couldn't help but ask, "What exactly are you doing!?"

Hengbo was innocent; unlike Biyun Mountain where towering trees and gnarled trunks were everywhere, this place was unsuitable. She had no choice but to make do and create her own conditions.

Jiang Chaosheng felt like a fool being played around by a group of monkeys. This was the greatest humiliation he had ever suffered in his life!

His rage finally erupted completely: "Die!"

He no longer held back his inner strength, unleashing a barrage of deadly attacks at Hengbo. Hengbo lamented that he hadn't even had a chance to use his remaining "Sword Qi Dissection of Ox" and "Inner Strength Roasted Suckling Pig" techniques, while inwardly complaining, "How come Jiang Chao's temper is worse than Qingxuzi's after all these years?"

The various moves that could have easily cost her her life before no longer seemed so dangerous to Hengbo. She even began to look for Jiang Chaosheng's weaknesses while dealing with his moves.

Qingxuzi is right. Jiang Chaosheng's shortcut to the Heavenly Realm will inevitably leave behind future troubles, and those troubles will be Hengbo's opportunity.

But Jiang Chaosheng was well aware of this, which is why he would also tightly conceal his weaknesses.

The old man was very cautious; after hundreds of close-quarters probing exchanges with him, Hengbo finally gave up. However, she didn't leave empty-handed.

She discovered that even when he could press his advantage, Jiang Chaosheng would cautiously choose to play it safe. Furthermore, although he clearly had no intention of sparing Qing Xuzi and her lives, he still chose to slowly wear them down.

Furthermore, in the Spring Startling Sword Technique, he never used the most powerful Day Drum Thunder.

Yokoha had an idea and decided to take the risk.

She abandoned all her exquisite sword techniques and even dropped her sword. She used her bones as a sword, her inner strength as sword energy, and speed as the foundation of her swordplay.

She herself is a sharp sword without a sheath.

This is an extremely aggressive approach, but it's also a style of fighting that will inflict heavy damage on both sides.

Fortunately, after both sides suffered heavy losses, Hengbo finally got the answer she wanted. Jiang Chaosheng did not use the same powerful moves to fight back, but instead chose to use his movement techniques and internal energy to try his best to neutralize most of the damage, and then used his body to withstand the remaining aftereffects.

As expected, Jiang Chaosheng preferred to get hurt rather than confront her head-on.

Hengbo sneered, "So that's how it is."

His advancement in cultivation came entirely from the moment he gained a sudden enlightenment on the mental cultivation method amidst a mix of intense emotions when he killed his closest relatives.

However, the mental cultivation method he gleaned from this was too extreme and difficult to integrate with his daily practice. In other words, he didn't actually have a sword technique that matched the mental cultivation method and could unleash his full potential. Forcing the use of a technique incompatible with the mental cultivation method would only increase the burden on his body and cause a backlash.

Therefore, it wasn't that he was unwilling to use a powerful move like the Daytime Drum Thunder, but rather that he simply couldn't bring himself to do it!

Given this situation, he only has two choices: either die from his injuries or die from the backlash of his cultivation technique.

Just as a smile was about to appear on Hengbo's face, he suddenly felt something was wrong with his body.

She clutched her heart, which was beating slower and slower, and her aura slowly dissipated, the feeling of fullness from her inner strength gradually disappearing...

Jiang Chaosheng also noticed Hengbo's strange behavior. Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of blood and laughed loudly: "Hahaha! Heaven wants me, Jiang Chaosheng, to transcend the mortal realm and become an immortal! It's all worth it, I did nothing wrong!"

After saying that, he drew his sword and charged towards Hengbo.

At the critical moment, Wen Jie managed to draw his sword and block Heng Bo's path. With this brief moment of effort, Chen Ping's last remaining spider silk finally arrived and pulled Heng Bo away.

Feeling her cultivation level regress, Hengbo couldn't help but curse inwardly. That old man Qingxuzi was so unreliable; how could he not even tell her something so important?

Suppressing her physical discomfort and emptiness, Hengbo propped herself up against the broken wall beside her. However, she felt as if her limbs were overcooked noodles, about to collapse again as soon as she stood up.

Wen Jie and Chen Ping were already at their limit, and it seemed they were about to be slaughtered. Heng Bo was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and a half-crippled one at that.

Sigh, if only she had another master! If she were sent to the outer heavens again, she would surely cut that old thing so badly that even Qingxuzi wouldn't recognize him!

Unconsciously, she began to savor the feeling of divine intervention she had just experienced, and Hengbo suddenly had a sudden realization.

Since she can harness the power of heaven and earth, does the question of whether another person's inner strength is needed become less important? She can simply borrow power from the heavens!

Seeing Hengbo cross-legged and enter a state of enlightenment, her "momentum" surged continuously, and even began to show a tendency to merge with everything around her.

Everyone knew that she was about to break through.

The outsiders that Young Master Chu had invited exchanged glances. "Being able to witness the appearance of an extraterrestrial being is enough to make this life worthwhile. Why don't we risk our lives one more time?"

Old Lady Jin Hua glanced at the man and said, "What nonsense are you spouting? Show us your trump cards!"

It should be noted that most of these people have been stuck at a certain stage of the Earth Rank for many years, observing the progress of others, especially the leap from the Earth Rank to the Heaven Rank, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to gain enlightenment.

After reaching a consensus, the remaining survivors became energetic again, as if they had been injected with chicken blood. The two who had only suffered minor injuries and still had energy even took the initiative to attack Jiang Chaosheng.

Completely unaware of all this, Hengbo, who had already lost herself in a state of selflessness, had already completed her communication with heaven and earth and begun to refine her mental cultivation technique.

A faint voice from the void entered my ears: Why do you wield a sword?

A year ago, Hengbo didn't know how to answer. But now, the answer is clear in her mind.

I wield this sword to sweep away all injustices in the world, to sever all filth from the land, to rid the living of evil spirits, and to restore the heroic names of the martyrs in the underworld.

The voice chuckled: "Your ambition is quite considerable. Is your sword a sword of slaughter or a sword of protection? A sword of the mortal realm or a sword of the underworld?"

This question can only be described as insidious; however, faced with this dilemma, Hengbo did not keep this illusory existence waiting for long.

She returned a light laugh: My sword is me. I kill, and my sword kills. I protect, and my sword protects. I will fight for the living, my sword standing atop the realm of the living. I will dance with the wind for the dead, my sword sinking to the Yellow Springs, never to be ferried back.

As if some long-standing shackles had shattered, accompanied by the crisp sound of a sword, the ethereal voice gradually faded into the distance: "I am not for the sword, yet the sword is me. The sword is my innate sword heart, the Sword Pavilion must have more..."

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in Qishan, a place never before seen on a map, an invisible barrier rippled within a misty cave. However, all of this paled in comparison to the present.

Hengbo opened his eyes, an unprecedented feeling of fullness spreading through every meridian in his body. Although he was only at the initial stage of the Heavenly Rank, and his internal strength might not be as great as the previous "pseudo-Heavenly Realm", this feeling of being one with heaven and earth was far beyond what he could compare to.

However, Hengbo gritted her teeth, feeling the pain of her heart meridian breaking. She knew that now was not the time to feel the power; she had to finish the battle quickly.

Since that's the case, she slowly walked towards Jiang Chaosheng, saying, "I will use you as the first sword I wield after ascending to the heavens."

Only after truly stepping into the outer realms did Hengbo realize that Jiang Chaosheng was nothing more than a fake outer traveler. Since that was the case, she would show him what a true outer traveler should be like.

The remaining fighters made way for her, standing silently to the side. After a simple opening stance, she executed a series of chops, thrusts, and points.

However, even with the most basic movements, Jiang Chaosheng found himself unable to defend himself. He could dodge the sword light, but he couldn't dodge the leaves, dust, or even the air that had transformed into swords.

"How could this be? How is this possible? This is impossible!" He refused to believe it, repeatedly questioning, "This isn't from beyond the heavens!? How did you manage to do this?"

He seemed to have gone mad, muttering repeatedly, "You lied to me! You've already transcended the mortal realm! Yes, you all conspired to fool me!"

...

Hengbo looked at him with pity. He had already guessed it, but he still preferred to deceive himself.

"I've put in so much effort! I've spent fifty years! Fifty years! How is that possible?" Ignoring his battered body, Jiang Chaosheng charged toward Hengbo like a madman.

Hengbo simply lowered his eyes and remained motionless. Just as Jiang Chaosheng was less than ten feet away from Hengbo, a bolt of lightning, large enough to pierce the darkness, suddenly burst forth from the sky, which had darkened at some point. Then, a thunderbolt the size of a bowl fell and struck Jiang Chaosheng squarely.

The drums thundered during the day.

In the end, Hengbo used Jingchun to clean house.

Several moments later, the onlookers were still incredulous, until the charred black figure struck by lightning stopped moving completely and they all began to breathe again.

Surprised, envious, and wary gazes were all directed at Hengbo, but all that could be seen on Hengbo's face, which was the focus of everyone's attention, was a pale white and nothing else.

Until a loud shout came from not far away: "Yu'er, it's your master who has harmed you! Don't be afraid, your master is coming to be with you!"

Hengbo could no longer bear the pain of his heart breaking, and he coughed up the blood he had been holding back in his throat before collapsing.

Before closing her eyes completely, Hengbo had only one thought in her mind: Master, you're too late, but at least you can still collect my body in time.

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Author's note: I'll take a two-day break before writing the extra chapters.