Yun Xian's forehead had weathered countless storms and was now as hard as a wall of iron and steel, not to mention this tail swing attack which did not have much power. However, she still felt a little dizzy for no reason and sat back on the ground.
Something's wrong. Something's wrong here.
Yun Xian sat back on the ground and found a piece of torn cloth next to him. He looked at it intently for a moment and vaguely made out that it was the remains of Feng Ye's pants. He immediately felt that something was wrong: "..."
What is Feng Ye wearing now?
Forget it. Now wasn't the time to dwell on these things. I was already in danger. Furthermore, Su Chi had transformed into a sword, and the two of them couldn't communicate. Yun Xian, clutching his sword, suddenly seemed to think of something and whispered to the spirit palace, "Taiping?"
After a long while, Taiping Sword said listlessly, "I'm here."
"What's wrong with you?" Yun Xian asked, "Do you know where we are now?"
"I know." Taiping spoke incoherently, seemingly under great influence. "I've been here before... Long, long ago, lava swallowed me. This is... the Trial Ground."
The Sword God had wielded countless swords throughout his life, but only two were the most talked about. One was the Black Iron Longsword, the Su Chi sword in her hand... That was truly bizarre! The other was the Demonic Sword Tai Ping.
Taiping's life story is filled with twists and turns, and numerous rumors abound. Some say it's a heavenly sword born from within a volcano, while others claim it was snatched from the hands of demons and ultimately vanished along with the Sword God, ascending together.
But now it seems that the Sword God didn't take either sword with him when he ascended. Common sense dictates that a swordsman wouldn't leave their sword behind, no matter where they go. Thinking about it from another angle, could it be that she didn't intentionally leave them behind, but rather couldn't take them with her, so she chose to enshrine Taiping beneath the Sword Pavilion, lest it cause trouble without a new master to suppress it?
"The trial ground." Yun Xian gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and said solemnly, "It seems that the place behind this door is not a good one."
Taiping: "With your luck, is it your turn to get a good place?"
"...Can you shut up?" Yun Xian felt a prick in his heart and said, "Yes. It's a good place. Zhong Changyao has been here before, so now it's my turn."
I haven't seen Zhong Changyao in a while. I wonder if he's still alive. I hope he's okay.
The sword felt warm in her palm. Yun Xian stood up again and looked around. She felt as if she was standing on a suspended island inside a volcano. All around her were boiling lava and falling debris. It didn't look like a naturally formed landform, but more like a barrier, not unlike purgatory.
"If it didn't hurt, I would have thought I was dreaming." Since there was nowhere to go, Yun Xian walked forward. As she walked forward, a mysterious fiery red staircase appeared on the isolated island again, leading straight to the invisible horizon.
Yun Xian paused slightly and walked towards the long steps.
The long staircase had no support, neither front nor back. Even Lian Yunxian, who had no fear of heights, felt dizzy when he looked down. Everywhere was red, blood-red, brilliant red, swirling magma. Within the magma lay the remains of unknown animals, countless white bones covered in dust, and broken black stones, all swirling and drifting in the current.
Yun Xian glanced down again and confirmed that they were human bones.
"Big Brother." Yun Xian's face was full of heat. She said, "If this falls, the two of us will become skewers of incense."
Su Chi couldn't speak, but the hilt of his sword trembled again. Even without a sound, Yun Xian could probably tell what he was going to say. "Nothing," "I won't let you fall," he kept repeating these few words over and over. Su Chi was so easy to guess.
"The trial ground... what's the trial?" The long staircase seemed to stretch out forever. In the silent space, Yun Xian's thoughts also extended. "I thought there would be a lot of monsters and inner demons, or at least spiritual shadows with the faces of relatives and friends, and then I would swing my tear sword to cut down the shadows, and at the same time, there would be a revolving lantern of life, whirring and whirring... Why is there nothing here? It's so quiet!"
It was very quiet, but her nagging disturbed it. Taiping said, "You should read less storybooks!"
"That reminds me of something," Yun Xian said suddenly. "If it was indeed Chi You who was suppressed by the Sword God back then, and you snatched this sword from Chi You, then it must have seen you at least three times. How could it be possible that it had no reaction at all?"
For anyone, having their weapon robbed is a great shame and humiliation, not to mention that Taiping is a magic sword. If it is snatched back, it will be even more powerful. There is no reason to just leave Taiping in your hands without any interest at all.
Taiping said without hesitation: "But Chiyou does know how to use a sword."
"How do you know?" Yun Xian asked inexplicably, "It has never used a sword in front of us."
Taiping was also startled: "I just feel..."
"Feeling, feeling. Where does this feeling come from?" Yun Xian continued to climb the long steps, pondering, "And that erased name. Was it the Sword God who erased it, or someone else?"
She had a vague and absurd guess.
If someone else erased it, there could be many reasons. A secret they didn't want future generations to know is the most likely option, but what if they erased it themselves?
The emotions involved were difficult to comprehend. Yun Xian thought about it, and realized that someone who did something like this was probably filled with anger, even hatred—I don't want to be in the same place as you, I don't want anyone to know I'm related to you! But the Sword God was the only true god to ascend to heaven, and everyone was too lazy to flatter him. Disdain was practically impossible, and Yun Xian always felt a vague sense of shame.
Of course, this is just her guess and may not be true.
The long steps finally reached the end. Yun Xian stepped into the suspended ground. The magma and stairs behind him suddenly disappeared, leaving only a large dark void.
The overwhelming, unbearable smell of blood greeted him. It was different from the scent he'd experienced on the ancient battlefield, mingled with a subtle fermentation aroma. Corpses had rotted in this airless land, turning to bones, but rivers of blood had already seeped into the stone, tinging it with a lingering stench. Yun Xian tightened his grip on his sword and raised his eyes—
Amidst the corpses and bones, there was a narrow path just wide enough for a person to pass through. It couldn't even be called a road, more like a passage forcibly cut by someone. Looking along the path, a dim red light flashed in the distance.
"It seems that there are demonic beasts, and inner demons." Yun Xian glanced at the still lifelike demonic beast skull, with flesh clinging to it, and its residual power still lingering. This was a demonic beast at the lowest level of the Void Stage. The entire Sword Pavilion was not enough for it to eat. Yun Xian touched it and said coldly, "It's just that our ancestors killed them all, leaving no one alive."
She walked along the path without hesitation. If it was as she thought, then this trial ground would no longer be dangerous.
After passing through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, Yun Xian finally saw the end of this journey.
On the high black jade platform, there is an invisible object guarded - that object was taken away thousands of years ago.
If she guessed correctly, she could only ascend after passing the trial ground and reaching the end.
This couldn't be the only entrance. The "monster" formation connected the stone gate to this place. But even so, with such a position within easy reach and supreme power, she still couldn't ascend. Each stone gate had a corresponding sect. The devil could seize everything, but not this established position. Heaven forbid!
However, the "monster" could not ascend. She couldn't do it, but she could make it impossible for others! For thousands of years, all the cultivators who could enter the trial grounds were all incredibly talented, but now the result is that except for the Sword God, no one has ascended. All have turned into a vast expanse of bones on the road ahead, continuously providing vitality and spiritual energy to the formation until today.
She had created a secret checkpoint in this trial ground, becoming the lifeline of these geniuses. The Sword God couldn't detect this—she couldn't even enter the trial grounds of other sects, so how could she discover it?
As expected of a body of pure evil, he has taken the idea of "If I don't have a good life, you won't have an easy life either" to the extreme.
"Only those who gather the destiny of a whole world can enter the trial ground. After ascending, they will live as long as the heaven and earth, and shine as brightly as the sun and the moon..." Yun Xian looked at the vast void, and it seemed as if small golden characters kept appearing. She said, "Then how did I get in? And, live as long as the heaven and earth?"
Only "people" can come in, no wonder Su Chi was forced to transform into a sword.
As for the idea of living as long as Heaven and Earth, it's even more unclear whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. For Yun Xian, living as long as Heaven and Earth is definitely not a good thing. After all, living for three or four hundred years is enough. Living longer than that is meaningless. But for demons, the meaning is different. Looking at the great pendulum clock of Tang Ling Kingdom, it's clear that demons' obsession with power and longevity is beyond imagination. It's just a pity that the Heavenly Dao has no intention of allowing any demon to ascend.
There was no place for the demons from the beginning, so they couldn't squeeze in no matter how hard they tried.
But how would you know if you don't try? Perhaps that's what the monsters thought back then. If you humans only need to gather the luck of one realm to enter the trial ground, then I can't possibly steal the luck of four realms, right? If not, then this world has no reason to exist. If Heaven won't allow her to ascend, then she'll take over as Heaven, in charge of everything. Same thing.
Yun Xian stood in front of the stone platform and raised his eyes to heaven and earth, "If that's the case, why are you dragging me into this? Where were the missing elders from Jiange taken? What about those from other sects?"
The stone platform hummed.
It seemed that he wanted her to go over. Yun Xian did not let go of the sword in her hand and walked over cautiously. With a swish, a shadow of a sharp sword flew past and cut a gash on the back of her hand. Blood splattered and dripped on it.
Yun Xian hissed, as if he sensed that it was indeed the Jiange bloodline. The stone platform crumpled twice and "puffed" out a tattered book.
Yun Xian quickly took the book and saw two extremely ugly words written on it:
【journal】.
Yun Xian: “…………” It’s easy to guess who it belongs to.
Who would write a diary if they were serious? And you leave your diary lying around, who are you trying to show it to?
She suppressed her inner complaints, sat down on the ground, and opened the tattered book. After turning two pages, she stood up again and found a stone to sit on.
Taiping: "I told you to sit anywhere, but your butt must have been burned."
Yun Xian: "You really talk a lot."
Taiping: "How dare you say I talk too much?!!"
However, since it was a handwritten note from the mysterious Sword God, Yun Xian didn't show it on his face, but he was still a little curious and opened it:
[I opened this new diary to encourage myself to practice swordsmanship more. I need to finish writing the sword manual I have on hand first...]
【Enjoy the rapeseed flowers.】
【Enjoy the lilac flowers.】
【Appreciate wild peach blossoms.】
Yunzhou, Yunzhou! How could you have fallen so low? Have you forgotten all the plans we made earlier? Confucius said, "I examine myself three times a day." This cannot go on! Starting tomorrow, I will practice swordplay for twelve hours!
【Enjoy the honeysuckle. 】
【Appreciate the unknown small white flowers. 】
Yun Xian: “…………?”
What's so special about this?! Aren't these just the same flowers you'd see everywhere along the road?! And Jian □□hui's name is actually Yunzhou... somehow, it's actually quite approachable, just like her.
Taiping Dao: "Focus on the key points, focus on the key points!"
Yun Xian didn't know why the sword was so excited. You know, if Taiping had a good brain and a good memory, wouldn't she and the others have to work so hard to deduce the truth? She said, "I know, I know," and turned another page.
Today, "" came to me for instruction. I've taught him five times, but he still can't seem to get it right. He's a hopeless case of a broken tree. First this, then that, then this, and finally this, and the sword technique will be ready. Why would he need to write something so simple?
"I've been feeling a bit unstable lately, I don't know why. But it's none of my business. Appreciating the flowers is more important."
Rumor has it that a monster has appeared in the martial arts world. Its power comes from its heart, but its heart is unusual and very strange. "He said that if you could obtain its heart, your skills would be greatly improved. I said, eating everything will only harm yourself, and he got angry again.
Yun Xian's fingertips stopped on this strange blank space and he frowned suddenly!
This blank space was exactly the same as the one erased from the book "Love, Hate, and Vengeance." It wasn't simply an artifact of erasure on the page, but rather a magical technique. As soon as the name was mentioned, whether before or after, it would be erased exactly as it was!
Is he a relative or a friend? Judging from his tone, the Sword God doesn't particularly like him. They're more like relatives, so they have to get along. After the Sword God killed the monster, was his heart "eaten" by this person? Was he really eating it or just pretending? That's too shameful... No, was he really eating it, or just absorbing it?
Yun Xian recalled that everyone knew that the Xiantian demons had two hearts. One was the heart in the left chest, and the other was a top-secret weak point. Destroying this weak point was equivalent to destroying the source of power, which was the ultimate way to kill a demon.
Are the innate demons truly born with them? This strange blank is most likely the present-day Chi You, who devoured the heart of a "monster" and became a creature neither human nor demon. But it defines itself as an "innate demon," and who can question it?
A person of modest cultivation, having devoured the essence of a body of pure evil, was fortunate not to explode and die. After the demon was slain by the Sword God, the Sword God ascended immediately. It wasn't that Chi You didn't want to act; he simply needed to continually devour and refine it, waiting until the last trace of the Sword God had completely vanished from the world. Then, he could reactivate the formations the demon had laid, aiming to seize the luck of the four realms and ascend once more... Did Chi You know that demons could never ascend? He might or might not. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that he believed it was true and was determined to give it a try.
"Even though I tell it every day it's stupid, it wouldn't be that stupid, right? Knowing it can't ascend, yet it still tries?" Yun Xian murmured, "More likely, it's desperate... Because it's been dormant for so long, if it doesn't take action now, it will be too late. It's going to die anyway, so what's the big deal?"
Taiping said: "Why are you so obsessed with ascending? It was originally a human, not a demon."
Yun Xian remained silent, but he could probably guess some clues that transcended time and space.
It would be wonderful if someone with an exceptionally broad mind could be with the Sword God. She's righteous and unrestrained, and as long as you tolerate her slightly unusual ways and ideas, you can be friends. But even a normal person, even a normal person with a bit of a competitive streak, would never be able to get along with her—the heavens are truly too unfair. Why is it that she spends her days admiring flowers and playing with dogs, fishing for three days and drying the nets for two days, yet her cultivation advances by leaps and bounds, her sword manual spreads far and wide, and she easily gains good luck and is on her way to ascension? Moreover, reading the Sword God's diary, she has absolutely no sense of humility. It's not her fault. For a genius, she really can't understand why some people don't know how to create their own sword manuals, just like she can't understand why some people don't understand that one plus one equals two.
This is too cruel for people with mediocre talents and who are competitive. Even a casual word feels like a knife cutting their hearts.
After so many years, Chi You's paranoia only grew stronger, even becoming an obsession. The Sword God wanted to ascend, and so did it, wanting to prove that it was the one who had the last laugh.
Taiping said, "So why did you name yourself Chiyou... don't you want to have anything to do with the Sword God?"
Yun Xian said, "It's hard to say. Chi You is the god of war, so it has a good meaning, right? Or maybe it's because the original name was too ugly. But if they are really relatives, what ugly names can the surname Yun come up with? It wouldn't be a random combination."
She really thought so until she saw the old family tree at the end. There was indeed another character under the "zhou" of that generation, but it was followed by the character "long".
Chi You's real name was Yunlong.
Yun Xian: “…………” Who came up with this name? Can you find something nice in ancient poetry?
Su Chi stood quietly beside him. Yun Xian quickly finished reading the diary and put it back on the platform. She patted her butt, sorted her clothes, and said in a very calm voice, "I know everything."
The stone platform was still buzzing, as if it was not very satisfied with her answer.
"I see. No matter what its background is or what difficulties it has, the final solution is to kill it, right? Besides, there are no difficulties at all." Yun Xian said: "If it doesn't come to the East Realm now, then it must have gone to find Zhong Changyao."
Taiping didn't dare to speak. It vaguely sensed that Yun Xian's tone was a little agitated.
The stone platform hummed even louder.
Yun Xian turned around and tried to leave, but the island remained an isolated island, with no staircase leading back to the island. "..."
As if sensing her intentional silence, a small golden character finally appeared on the stone platform, just like the hint at the Miaoshou Gate, and a word flickered out.
It turned out to be the “Shu” in Jimo Shu!
Taiping's confused mind finally suddenly came to a light. He not only didn't dare to speak, but he didn't even dare to breathe.
...In fact, Yun Xian had already had a premonition without the need for Tiandao to remind her. This method has always been there, but she just didn't want to think about it too deeply.
Chi You, already nearing the end of his lifespan, had placed Jimo Shu by Zhong Changyao's side at the outset of the Four-Way War, intent on stealing his fortune. Now, having been unexpectedly and gravely injured, his plans abruptly collapsed, and he immediately confined Jimo Shu, forbidding her from any contact. This was definitely not just to prevent information leaks, but also to eliminate any possibility of rescue!
Mei Yanliu and Jimo Shu had both mentioned that no matter how furious Chi You became, he would always leave Jimo Shu with a breath of fresh air and would never kill her. Could it be because of feelings? How could that be possible? Chi You had originally raised Jimo Shu precisely to strip her of her demonic consciousness and seize her body, thus extending her lifespan.
In heaven and on earth, only Jimo Shu could meet its requirements. At least before it completely disappears, it can't find another body!
In other words, if Chi You's strength is too strong, then killing Jimo Shu will result in it having no body to move to, thus completely eliminating future troubles... As long as this period of time can be delayed, the final result will be a happy ending for everyone.
Compared to targeting Chi You, killing Jimo Shu was clearly a much easier method. Anyone who saw this would think so.
Taiping's little eyes rolled around.
But Yun Xian...will Yun Xian agree?
"Don't even think about it." Yun Xian stood still and said, "I can't possibly do that."
The stone platform remained motionless, revealing no secrets. But its silence was an answer.
Yun Xian drew his sword for the first time since entering the trial ground. The sword energy was so sharp that it was unstoppable. It instantly shredded the pages of the book that contained all the secrets. Only debris fell on the open ground, which was extremely desolate.
It has to be said that the black iron sword that Su Chi transformed into is a truly magical weapon, and there is no flaw to be found in it.
"Although I don't want to say anything shamelessly like you have to listen to me if you choose me, but, okay, this is what I mean." Yun Xian hugged his sword and said coldly, "You didn't choose a good pillar of the Four Realms, but chose someone my age. Then you have to be prepared in advance - this age is exactly the rebellious period. Do you know what rebellion means? I'm at an age that even dogs hate. You don't think I'm obedient, do you?"
"I know what you mean. If you could speak, you would have said it by now. What about the overall situation, what about there being no other way, what about being helpless... Ah, no, I'm so annoyed. I won't listen." Yun Xian scratched his ears and said, "For me, putting my friend on the side of the scale is already a great insult to her! I won't even think about it. The only reason I saw her was to save her. There is no other way!"
Taiping said: "Yun Xian, stop talking!"
"I said, the other party can't say it, doesn't that mean I should say it?" Yun Xian said: "Besides, how can there be no other way? There are obviously many ways, but you have to choose the weakest one to attack, and you have to sacrifice the weakest one. Don't you feel embarrassed if you say it to others? Of course, I never think I'm that great, I just think so."
"I will only do what I think is right." Yun Xian placed his sword on the ground, crossed his arms, and said casually, "If you want to do what you say, then please find someone else!"
He said "seek help from others", but ended up completely destroying the final evidence beforehand. He had absolutely no intention of taking another path. Not only did he not take it himself, but he also blocked the path. How truly...
A sword energy with a familiar aura flew over, brushed past Yun Xian's face, and hit the ground heavily.
The long staircase appeared again.
Yun Xian held the sword, looked back, turned around and left without looking back.
In the silent space, a barely audible laugh was heard.
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