Chapter 1063: Nothing Accomplished, Yet Enlightened to the Sage Path

“No, impossible!”

Rao Yaoyao articulated through gritted, bloodied teeth: “Jiang Buyi, you’ve seen it, you know it. Teng Shan Hai… he cannot die!”

“But you also know that if he doesn’t die, I will!”

Jiang Buyi was enraged. The Cloud Light of Saint Extermination intensified, showing Rao Yaoyao no mercy.

“Your Holy Divine Palace is so noble and protective of its own, but did you ever spare a single thought for me, a Saint?”

“Don’t push me…” Jiang Buyi shook his head, his eyes frenzied: “I, a Saint, don’t want to harm you!”

“Pfft!”

Under the immense pressure of the Cloud Light of Saint Extermination, Rao Yaoyao vomited blood like a waterfall. Her entire body cracked, yet she stubbornly held on. “I promise you, as long as he lives, he will never harm you or the Jiang Clan of the Northern Region again…”

“What good is your promise?!” Jiang Buyi roared.

Who was he? If he believed such one-sided words, how could he have grown into a Half-Saint in the harsh environment of the Northern Region? Naive, pitiful souls had long been completely eliminated by the great waves of life. Among the Spirit Cultivators who had risen by treading on the bones of ten thousand people, who would dare to harbor even a sliver of false hope?

Teng Shan Hai, he must die! Even if the King of Hell himself came, he couldn’t save him!

“Get out!”

Jiang Buyi exerted more force, and Rao Yaoyao finally couldn’t withstand it, being blasted away.

The Cloud Light of Saint Extermination was controlled with exquisite precision. It only repelled Rao Yaoyao, while all its remaining evil-purging power was unleashed upon the specks of Teng Shan Hai’s blood foam that Rao Yaoyao had tried to protect.

“Sizzle.”

The sound of evaporation and dissipation.

Rebirth from a single drop of blood, resurrection from leftover flesh… these mysterious methods seemed dreamlike to mortals. Yet, Jiang Buyi had used such techniques countless times to escape death on his path to growth.

If he could do it, the Holy Divine Palace naturally could too! Therefore, Jiang Buyi knew that not a single speck of Teng Shan Hai’s flesh and blood could remain today. Moreover, his soul fragments, spiritual will, and even the slightest trace of his existence in this world… Jiang Buyi would completely erase them later with his Half-Saint will!

The greatest fear wasn’t being soft-hearted, but rather, after exerting full effort, the enemy clinging to a sliver of life, resurrecting countless years later, hiding in the shadows, and finally returning for revenge after successfully cultivating. That was the most despairing outcome.

Jiang Buyi didn’t want his future self to be caught in a stalemate.

The Cloud Light of Saint Extermination might not match the quality of fully developed demon god power. However, the demon god power wielded by a mere Void Cultivator couldn’t even unleash one ten-thousandth of its strength. Thus, the Cloud Light of Saint Extermination was the best solution for the current situation.

Reduced to fragmented flesh, Teng Shan Hai was completely unable to retaliate, only able to watch as every trace of his existence in this world gradually vanished.

“Purify.”

Jiang Buyi softly declared. Holy light permeated the Saint Domain, cleansing everything into nothingness.

Spirit, flesh, will, and hope…

Teng Shan Hai was completely erased!

“Hiss!”

In the deep pit underground, Rao Yaoyao propped herself up with her sword plunged into the ground. Witnessing this scene, her delicate body trembled.

Teng Shan Hai, dead…

Under her very eyes, Jiang Buyi, without a shred of mercy, completely erased him. Looking back at the battlefield, aside from the widespread desolation, where was there any trace of Teng Shan Hai’s bloodstains? Within the Saint Domain, nothing could hide from a Void Cultivator. Any hidden move Teng Shan Hai might have had to turn the tide was completely suppressed and obliterated.

“Jiang Buyi…”

Rao Yaoyao drew her Profound Azure Divine Sword, muttering in disbelief.

She flew out of the deep pit and landed before Jiang Buyi, gently shaking her head, letting out a long sigh: “You won’t want to know the consequences of killing Teng Shan Hai, and you… won’t be able to bear them…”

Jiang Buyi silently stared at the woman before him. The person was dead, what could the Holy Divine Palace do to him? Attack a Half-Saint for a dead man? “My condolences.” He closed his eyes.

“Heh!” Rao Yaoyao was so angry she laughed. Dragging her sword, she turned to leave. “Jiang Buyi, all I can say is… you were used as a pawn!”

Until his death, Teng Shan Hai still believed that the Jiang Buyi who killed him was Xu Xiaoshou in disguise. This certainly wasn’t without reason! Rao Yaoyao wondered if something had already happened in this place before her arrival, before Jiang Buyi’s arrival. Teng Shan Hai must have already met Xu Xiaoshou. He had indeed obtained the Divine Xiao Spear from the other party and had also heard that “Jiang Buyi” speak in Xu Xiaoshou’s tone. That was why Teng Shan Hai was so certain that the Jiang Buyi who attacked and killed him was always Xu Xiaoshou in disguise. Unfortunately, the dead couldn’t speak… The true Half-Saint Jiang Buyi gave no chance at all. He didn’t even clarify anything before slaying the man.

Was Jiang Buyi foolish? Rao Yaoyao knew full well that perhaps, in his position, her choice would have been the same. If offended, and this person would become very powerful in the future, then the only option was to offend them to death! This wasn’t about “foolishness”; it was simply forced by circumstances. And the person who devised the scheme was too brilliant!

“Xu Xiaoshou…”

“Heh heh, ha, heh heh haha…”

The tapping footsteps echoed Rao Yaoyao’s increasingly bleak laughter. The sound faded into the distance.

Jiang Buyi, remaining rooted to the spot, kept his eyes tightly closed. He had broken his promise. He had originally wanted to keep Teng Shan Hai’s head to confront Dao Qiongcang on Mount Guizhe, but now, Jiang Buyi dared not leave even the slightest chance for Teng Shan Hai.

“Used as a pawn?”

“Xu Xiaoshou?”

Jiang Buyi knew full well that he might indeed have been used as a pawn by that junior he had never met, “Xu Xiaoshou.” But Teng Shan Hai was intolerable! Just for his vile words… If it weren’t for his firm belief that the Holy Divine Palace and the Sacred Slaves could never cooperate, Jiang Buyi would have thought Teng Shan Hai was trying to sacrifice his life to help the Sacred Slaves pin the blame on him, as if he were the hidden Tenth Seat of the Sacred Slaves! Teng Shan Hai was too eager to die! A head offered to the blade—if not severed, how could his arrogance be cured? It could be said that Teng Shan Hai brought about his own death entirely due to his foul mouth.

Jiang Buyi didn’t even believe that “Xu Xiaoshou” could manipulate people to such an extent as to lead Teng Shan Hai to commit such blasphemous acts. Or perhaps the scheme itself didn’t account for the death of a single pawn; it was purely a matter of letting things unfold naturally. Teng Shan Hai was disgraceful… But from another perspective, he was too eager to prove himself!

“Tap, tap, tap…”

At the border of the Saint Domain, footsteps were about to leave the area. Jiang Buyi took a deep breath, not dwelling on those pointless troubles. With Teng Shan Hai’s death, this matter was both big and small; whether it would ultimately dissolve into nothing depended entirely on how he handled it.

“Stop.” He finally opened his eyes, his gaze fixed on the departing Rao Yaoyao.

Rao Yaoyao paused, reversing her grip on the Profound Azure Divine Sword. Infuriated, she spun around: “Jiang Buyi! You’ve killed the man, and you refuse to give me any face. What? Now you even want to detain me?”

“Sword Immortal Rao, you’re overstating things…” Jiang Buyi’s gaze shifted from the distant woman’s beautiful face, moving downwards, gliding over her blood-soaked robes, finally settling on her blood-stained feet. To be precise, it was the shoes Rao Yaoyao was wearing.

“You can go, but leave the shoes.” Jiang Buyi didn’t look further, shifting his gaze. Within the Saint Domain, nothing could hide. Rao Yaoyao thought her trickery had deceived him, unaware that Jiang Buyi had long held everything in his grasp. Stepping on blood foam and propping herself up with the Profound Azure Divine Sword, using both overt and covert methods, and she thought she could take Teng Shan Hai’s blood this way? Did she think Jiang Buyi grew up in a greenhouse?!

“Snap!”

Hearing this, Rao Yaoyao clenched her fists, knowing her little trick could no longer be hidden. With a kick, she sent her right shoe flying. “Here.”

With a hiss, the Cloud Light of Saint Extermination descended. Jiang Buyi didn’t even dare to touch it with his hand, fearing it would be used against him, and incinerated the shoe into nothingness from a distance.

“The other one,” he said again.

Rao Yaoyao was furious. She had only used her right shoe to collect the blood; her left foot hadn’t had time to step in it. Since Jiang Buyi had noticed her small trick, it was impossible for him not to have noticed this detail.

“My apologies.” Jiang Buyi, however, didn’t flinch. Facing her rage, he calmly said, “You know, walking with only one shoe isn’t very convenient.”

“Take it!”

With another kick of her left foot, Rao Yaoyao sent the remaining shoe flying.

“Sizzle.”

Annihilated!

But Jiang Buyi still didn’t let her go, his gaze once again locked onto Rao Yaoyao.

“Heh?” Rao Yaoyao was amused. “What? My entire body is stained with blood, and even you can’t distinguish which is mine and which is Teng Shan Hai’s? Do you need me to take off my dress for you too?”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Jiang Buyi shook his head. He wasn’t staring at Rao Yaoyao’s dress at all, but at the Profound Azure Divine Sword! This sword, just like Rao Yaoyao’s clothes, hadn’t been stained with any “traces” of Teng Shan Hai just now. But as one of the Five Great Chaotic Divine Artifacts, perhaps it had its own mysterious properties?

“An artifact that suppresses the Holy Divine Palace’s destiny, and you want to inspect it too?” Rao Yaoyao understood his gaze, her expression turning cold.

Jiang Buyi truly wanted to inspect it! But he knew he didn’t have the ability to decipher the Profound Azure Divine Sword; even if he got his hands on it, he couldn’t unravel its mysteries. Moreover, both Rao Yaoyao and the Profound Azure Divine Sword had previously been subjected to the Cloud Light of Saint Extermination’s cleansing. Even if it had truly absorbed something, it was likely clean now. The shoes were simply because Jiang Buyi genuinely felt uneasy.

“Farewell.”

He no longer insisted, choosing to let her go. Pay attention where attention is due, but it’s best not to provoke what shouldn’t be provoked. After all, the person before him wasn’t an ordinary Void Cultivator or Sword Immortal… her surname was Rao!

“Hmph!”

Rao Yaoyao snorted coldly, beckoned the Divine Xiao Spear to her, and turned to exit the Saint Domain.

“The person can leave, but the spear cannot.”

Jiang Buyi intercepted her halfway, taking the Divine Xiao Spear into his possession. Facing her exasperated glare, he added: “Afterward, the Jiang Clan of the Northern Region will present a Relic Tablet Divine Artifact of equal caliber, to be returned to the Holy Mountain.”

Rao Yaoyao clenched her silver teeth tightly. This cursed old man truly wouldn’t leave anyone any room to maneuver!

“Hoo.”

She let out a long breath, intending to say no more, and decisively departed with her sword.

“Rumble—”

Just outside the Saint Domain, the scenery shifted. The oppressive feeling of storm clouds pressing down on the city, brought by the Half-Saint’s fury, was gone. In its place was the completely cracked sky of the Forest of Miracles. This sense of oppression was even more terrifying than facing Jiang Buyi within the Saint Domain!

“Deadly Land…”

Rao Yaoyao paused, comprehending something. Half-Saint Jiang Buyi’s full-power attack had stimulated the Forest of Miracles. As one of the Nine Great Deadly Lands, the Forest of Miracles’ deadly properties had now been activated, transforming into a colossal, voracious maw, beginning to devour all Spirit Cultivators trapped within. The Dao of Heaven had completely abandoned her… Her spiritual energy from the Sea of Qi was rapidly draining, unstoppable…

The previously ruined and desolate Forest of Miracles now saw lush ancient trees rising again, as if fragmented wood had taken form, becoming even denser… And these ancient trees were no longer inert as before. On the contrary, they shifted and changed, baring their fangs and claws, as if imbued with spirits, suddenly lashing out with several branches like whips.

“Swoosh!”

The Profound Azure Divine Sword cut through wood like mud. But upon contact, Rao Yaoyao’s already poor condition weakened further. Her vital energy was drained, her emotions grew more agitated, and a shroud of gloom enveloped her entire being. It was as if the entire world had begun to turn against her!

“I can’t stay here any longer…”

Rao Yaoyao’s heart tightened. Estimating her condition, she felt that within mere moments, her spiritual energy from the Sea of Qi and her vital blood would be completely drained by this Forest of Miracles. At that point, powerless, even if she could wield the Profound Azure Divine Sword, as long as she couldn’t escape this place, the Forest of Miracles would grind her to death, exhaust her to death!

“Jiang Buyi, not leaving?”

Rao Yaoyao subtly glanced back at Jiang Buyi, who was still within the Saint Domain. Seeing his gaze still fixed on her, she could only reluctantly choose to distance herself. Even Half-Saints couldn’t withstand the awakened Nine Great Deadly Lands; Jiang Buyi would certainly have to leave. But his watching her depart surely meant he didn’t want her to discover his reason for lingering. Unfortunately… Rao Yaoyao knew this, but she couldn’t force herself to stop and wait. Firstly, she couldn’t afford to wait. Secondly, Jiang Buyi wouldn’t let her have her way.

“What a failure…”

A bitter smile touched Rao Yaoyao’s lips as she looked up at the sky, laughing self-deprecatingly. The fractured sky mirrored her current state of mind. Since taking command, she had achieved nothing; Yi was dead, and Teng Shan Hai couldn’t be saved.

“What have I done?”

Rao Yaoyao felt a twisting pain in her heart. Gou Wuyue, alone, could even capture Sacred Slave Sleeveless. And she? What had she accomplished? —Nothing!

The deaths of Yi and Teng Shan Hai, both inwardly and outwardly, revolved around the name “Sacred Slave Xu Xiaoshou.” Yet, Rao Yaoyao, even now, couldn’t figure out how Xu Xiaoshou had done it. Before this, she hadn’t truly paid attention to this junior. Flying high? What kind of strategy could a little fellow who only knew how to fly high possibly have? Now, Rao Yaoyao felt that the Holy Divine Palace’s greatest concern might truly be named “Xu” in the future. She recalled that, indeed, she had begun to target Xu Xiaoshou under the persuasion of Shouye and others. But when Xu Xiaoshou moved, when he counterattacked, what methods he used, and what goals he aimed to achieve… Rao Yaoyao still couldn’t comprehend! She hadn’t even truly focused on this junior, but somehow, she had unwittingly been drawn into Xu Xiaoshou’s scheme. Just as Shouye had said, the best way to deal with Xu Xiaoshou wasn’t to parley, but to directly capture him… Rao Yaoyao finally understood the meaning of Shouye’s previous words! Yet, these lessons learned in blood seemed unable to support her in continuing.

“Shouye…”

Thinking of Shouye, Rao Yaoyao remembered the helpless cries for help from deep beneath the sea. She heavily closed her eyes. In the end, even Shouye seemed to know something and might choose to betray them. The only gratifying outcome was that Zhan Dao would inevitably be consumed by the deep sea, meeting a tragic end there…

“Heh!” Rao Yaoyao gave a bleak laugh. Alone, she now only had the Profound Azure Divine Sword, which she had summoned, for company. Gripping Profound Azure, Rao Yaoyao shook her head, her gaze becoming firm once more.

“Let it go, Rao Yaoyao, let everything go!”

“You are no longer that young mistress; it’s time to pay the price for your actions!”

Only then did she suddenly realize that she was not a talent for leadership. Why, decades ago, was she given the task of leading the Red-Clothed, dealing with unintelligent ghost beasts, merely needing to be a figurehead, rather than the White-Clothed, who dealt with the cunning dark forces on the continent… Rao Yaoyao seemed to understand a little. Trying to use what was gained by power to prove that her wisdom was not weaker than Dao Qiongcang would only result in a tarnished reputation. Perhaps, like Hua Changdeng, cultivating in seclusion behind a screen for thirty years, becoming a Saint on the spot, was the greatest respect to the Holy Divine Palace.

“Dao Qiongcang, could you have predicted all of this as well…?”

Rao Yaoyao silently gazed at the sky but received no answer. If Dao Qiongcang could foresee all heavenly secrets, would he not have predicted the deaths of Yi and Teng Shan Hai? In such circumstances, why would he still allow her to oversee the Eastern Region? If he couldn’t…

“Clang!”

Gripping the Profound Azure Divine Sword, Rao Yaoyao no longer hesitated. She flew directly across the area, leaving the Forest of Miracles. Just as she had now realized… Admit that you are a fool! Ask what needs to be asked face-to-face, slay those who need to be slain with a sword… This was her Swordsmanship. Why waste decades, abandoning the fundamentals, to toy with so-called “power” and “influence,” “schemes” and “strategies”?

“Whoosh!”

Within the ancient forest, the figure was gone, leaving behind only a rippling vortex, emitting faint ripples of the Saint Path.

“Saint Power…”

Jiang Buyi withdrew his gaze, narrowing his eyes in thought. Indeed, had Rao Yaoyao already touched upon this level? But why, just now, when she attacked, was there no trace of her having touched the Saint Path?

Without dwelling on it, Jiang Buyi sensed the anomaly in the Forest of Miracles, knowing his time was running out. Things had to be resolved one by one. Teng Shan Hai’s matter was concluded, so next, it was time to settle accounts with the brat who had used him as a pawn!

“Xu Xiaoshou? That’s his name, right?”

Jiang Buyi paced with his hands behind his back, calmly speaking to the void: “I, the Saint, have sent her away. Now it’s just the two of us left. Come out, shall we talk?”