Chapter 1068: Second Generation Thorough Divine Consciousness

Thump!

In the ancient forest, Xiao Kongtong's footsteps abruptly halted. He looked up in disbelief, tightly gripping the sack on his shoulder. As if sensing something, his entire body began to tremble with excitement.

"What's wrong?" Ye Xiaotian, who was ahead, turned his head, puzzled. The senior disciple of Sans Yue Immortal City had stopped, and Ye Xiaotian certainly wouldn't dare go into the Holy Realm alone to face the Saint.

"See for yourself..." Xiao Kongtong didn't explain, but pointed forward with a trembling hand. Ye Xiaotian followed his gaze, initially seeing nothing unusual, but then his legs suddenly trembled violently, and he nearly collapsed to his knees on the spot.

He saw the Holy Realm, which had sealed off a section of the world, suddenly shatter in the distance. A point of crimson light flared, then endless Mo Swords transformed into the Azure River Sword Domain, shattering the holy light descending from the sky. The next second, behind the holy light, a holy statue stood in mid-air, the holy light morphing into the Hand of Saint's Judgment!

The demigod's aura, no longer contained by the Holy Realm, even from this distance, made Ye Xiaotian's scalp tingle and his heart race. "A demigod, attacking with full force?" Ye Xiaotian was shocked. He wondered if the senior disciple of Sans Yue Immortal City behind him truly had the confidence to withstand such power for ten breaths. In this world, only a demigod could fight another demigod! Even the true Seven Sword Immortals would struggle against such saintly might! Let alone a rising star like Xiao Kongtong, who hadn't even earned the title of Seven Sword Immortal yet?

But the next second, just as Ye Xiaotian was about to despair, before the holy statue, a being devoid of holy power, yet whose will intensity was even fiercer than a saint's aura... a monster? It rose to its full height! As it rose, the monster made no discernible movement, yet the descending Hand of Saint's Judgment was instantly shattered!

"Wha—?" Ye Xiaotian was stunned, staring in disbelief at the scene in the distance. That saintly technique, shattered by an illusory image? No holy power, no saintly might—it must be an illusory image, right? An illusory image that even a Grand Void practitioner could conjure! But this illusory image... how could it not be illusory at all, appearing even more substantial than the holy statue?

"What in the world is that?" Ye Xiaotian glanced dazedly at the person behind him. He couldn't understand it, but he was profoundly shaken. He could only associate it with ancient sword cultivators, given the monster's pervasive, biting sword intent.

"This is the first realm of 'Mind Sword Art,' 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze.'" Xiao Kongtong swallowed hard, responding with difficulty.

"'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze'?" Ye Xiaotian remained dumbfounded. He had heard of it! He had even seen Ba Zun'an use it during the battle in the Eight Palaces that he'd spied on. It was that very technique that had slain seven hundred white-robed figures and shattered Gou Wuyue's will to keep people. But even then, the 'image' conjured by Ba Zun'an's 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze' was nowhere near as shocking as the 'monster' that had just appeared in the distance!

"Whose 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze' is this?" Ye Xiaotian grew nervous. If it was an ally, it would be fine; but if it was an enemy... He didn't dare think further. If the enemy really possessed such a monster, he felt there would be no need to save Xu Xiaoshou. They should just run for their lives while there was still time, and perhaps manage to save half a life.

"It's not an enemy..." Xiao Kongtong knew what Ye Xiaotian was thinking, and said, slightly agitated, "This is Mr. Jiren's 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze'!"

"Mr. Jiren?" Ye Xiaotian couldn't immediately grasp the name. But soon, a name came to mind—Mei Jiren, one of the Seven Sword Immortals.

"Is that the elder from your ancient sword cultivator lineage?"

"Yes, it's him!" Xiao Kongtong tightened his grip on the swaying sack on his shoulder, and said excitedly: "My teacher once said that in terms of will, even he might not surpass Mr. Jiren. Because Mr. Jiren follows the path of enlightenment; as a teacher, he constantly reviews the old to learn the new. One could say Mr. Jiren is always progressing. He truly embodied the saying: 'With a heart vast as the four seas, he alone nurtured the sword path.' Do you see? Mr. Jiren's 'mind-image'—that is his true form..."

Xiao Kongtong pointed at the monster in the distance. When speaking of the sword, his eyes glowed.

"Colorful illusory robes of the ultimate nine,Body immersed in the mortal dust, observing decaying emotions.Ghosts resist towers, ten thousand bow in homage,Azure Peerless Sword carried within the palm.Qiongqi silently nurtured in the heart,The outer body withered like old wood.The four seas conceal all knowledge and intent,How can its true essence be known to others?"

The esteemed senior disciple of Sans Yue Immortal City, at this very moment, tugged at Ye Xiaotian's sleeve, as excited as a child seeing their favorite toy, speaking incoherently. "This is it! This is what my teacher spoke of! Ye Xiaotian, do you see it? Do you see it?!"

Ye Xiaotian stood dumbfounded for a long moment, a profound sense of absurdity washing over him. "I see it." He subtly pulled away from Xiao Kongtong's hand. "But what are you talking about? I don't understand..."

"You rotten wood! You blockhead!" Xiao Kongtong grumbled, "You layman, I'm practically playing a lute to an ox! It's infuriating!" At that moment, he wished he could drag the Sans Yue Immortal City disciples over, and truly open their eyes to what a real 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze' was! "The Nine Great Sword Techniques, are you blind? Even if you haven't eaten pork, you should at least have seen a pig run!" Xiao Kongtong was so angry he forgot to respect his elders. Ye Xiaotian didn't mind; strength commanded respect, and at his current stage, he truly couldn't defeat Xiao Kongtong.

After the brief explanation, he glanced at the monster in the distance again, and finally realized what Xiao Kongtong's strange words meant. Indeed, he was familiar with the Nine Great Sword Techniques. Looking at it now, he could truly find traces of each within that monster.

"Are you saying Mr. Jiren's 'image' encompasses all Nine Great Sword Techniques?" Ye Xiaotian couldn't help but swallow, finding it hard to believe.

"Exactly!" Xiao Kongtong nodded emphatically. "I didn't believe it before, but now I do. Mr. Jiren has indeed mastered all Nine Great Sword Techniques! This is definitely a capability he cultivated over years of teaching and self-reflection; he understands everything!" Ye Xiaotian's scalp tingled. Wasn't this implying that Mei Jiren and Ba Zun'an were on the same level?

"Mr. Jiren... compared to your teacher, how is he?" Ye Xiaotian asked.

Xiao Kongtong's excitement faltered, his brow furrowed, unsure how to explain. "Not even your teacher can compare?" Ye Xiaotian was shocked by this. So, Ba Zun'an was merely a junior after all, unable to compare to a venerable old expert?

"The Way of the Sword isn't compared in that manner..." Xiao Kongtong said, deliberating.

"What about 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze' alone?" Ye Xiaotian thought of what he had seen from Ba Zun'an in the Eight Palaces, and comparing it to what was happening now, he felt he already had the answer.

Xiao Kongtong looked sideways, thought for a long time, and said: "From your perspective, of course, my teacher's 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze' cannot compare to Mr. Jiren's."

Ye Xiaotian raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'from my perspective'?"

Xiao Kongtong smiled, and said confidently: "Because what you don't know, the world doesn't know either... my teacher's Mind Sword Art is not ordinary at all!"

"How so?"

"Famous Sword Twenty-One, have you heard of it?"

"Mhm."

"Famous Sword Heavenly Unbinding, have you heard of it?"

"Mhm."

Xiao Kongtong lowered his voice. He hadn't intended to say it, but he couldn't stand anyone belittling his teacher, so he leaned in and whispered: "My teacher's 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze' can also 'Heavenly Unbind' by observing people!"

Ye Xiaotian: ???

Xiao Kongtong, not content until he shocked him speechless, pressed the back of his left hand to his right lips, and said without turning his head: "Even if you're completely ignorant, you must have heard that a Famous Sword can undergo multiple Heavenly Unbindings, right?"

Ye Xiaotian's eyes widened. What the hell... "What do you mean? What else do you want to say?"

Xiao Kongtong's lips curled into a smirk, and he chuckled: "My teacher's 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze' can undergo three stages of Heavenly Unbinding! I've seen it with my own eyes!"

Ye Xiaotian: !

"Are you joking?"

"Heh, why would I lie to you? This is a secret; you absolutely mustn't spread it." Xiao Kongtong felt he had talked too much again, so he immediately zipped his lips and decided to stay silent.

Ye Xiaotian, however, felt his head explode. He recalled the masked man from Tian Sang Spiritual Palace who had severed his arm. He had thought that with his mastery of spatial profoundness, no matter how strong Ba Zun'an was, he could now at least try to contend with him. But now...

Hoo. Ye Xiaotian let out a long breath, trying to relax himself. He felt that Elder Sang was right; years of living cloistered in Tian Sang Spiritual Palace had indeed narrowed his perspective. Still unconvinced, he mustered his courage and asked one last time: "Are all you ancient sword cultivators so abnormal? Even 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze' can undergo Heavenly Unbinding?"

"No, no, no..." Xiao Kongtong immediately waved his hand. "Only two people in the entire world can achieve that."

"Oh?" Ye Xiaotian felt a bit more balanced inside, but soon began to tremble again, sizing up the guy before him with suspicion. "So, you can block a demigod for ten breaths using this?"

Hahahaha... Xiao Kongtong chuckled, somewhat flattered, but quickly shook his head. "You misunderstand. I'm not that strong yet. I can't even compare to Mr. Jiren, let alone master the Heavenly Unbinding of 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze'?"

"Who's the other one?" Ye Xiaotian was slightly startled. He looked at the monster in the distance again, thinking, *No way, it's already so terrifying, can it evolve further?*

"It's not Mr. Jiren." Xiao Kongtong stopped teasing him, and said firmly: "The head of the Seven Sword Immortals, Old Master Youtu!"

Ye Xiaotian fell silent. He suddenly felt powerless. It truly wasn't just a saying—there was always someone stronger, always a higher realm. So, even mastery of spatial profoundness didn't mean he could directly contend with or slay Grand Void practitioners. From what he now knew, there were already so many Grand Void practitioners who could fight demigods; his mere spatial profoundness wasn't even fit to tie their shoes.

"Feeling down?" Xiao Kongtong looked at him.

"A little. I should have been more than this..." Ye Xiaotian admitted rare honesty. He truly felt he had wasted too much time. Had it not been for this trip to Void Island, he would probably have wasted even more time in the future.

Xiao Kongtong patted his shoulder. "Don't be disheartened, senior. Every step you take from now on, with what you've mastered, will be a qualitative leap. If you can achieve Grand Void, won't tearing a demigod apart with your bare hands be a certainty?"

Ye Xiaotian rolled his eyes. Why did that sound so strange? Was he mocking him?

"Let's go. Mr. Jiren is definitely the backup plan my teacher left for Xu Xiaoshou. With him here, we might not even need to act; we just need to hold the line." Xiao Kongtong stepped forward. The stone giants were catching up again. If it weren't for the overflowing holy power here, making them wary, neither of them would have had time to stop and chat.

"Hold the line..." Ye Xiaotian followed him forward, but smiled wryly in his heart. Mr. Jiren was so strong; they two... Bah! What line could *he* hold? Going there would just be a joke.

"Don't be so glum!" Xiao Kongtong's smile remained bright. "'As sword cultivators, we press forward relentlessly'—this saying isn't just for show when I give it to you. Besides..." he paused, "there's still me, isn't there?" Pointing to his own face, Xiao Kongtong chuckled: "With Mr. Jiren here, we probably won't even need to act. And my intervention comes at too great a cost; by not acting, I might even be more effective at deterring the demigod, don't you think?" He winked.

Ye Xiaotian: "..." *Living off his looks, huh!* Sometimes he really wondered if Ba Zun'an was truly that divine; could anyone with that face really stand guard alone and repel a thousand? Xu Xiaoshou was like this, and so was Xiao Kongtong.

"I still have a question..." Watching the silent figure carrying the sack disappear into the distance, Ye Xiaotian suddenly stopped.

"Speak." Xiao Kongtong stopped and turned his face towards him.

Ye Xiaotian gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and finally, unable to suppress his curiosity, he jutted his chin forward and asked: "It's chaos up ahead, you've seen it... Now, you, how much taller are you still?"

After a moment of surprise, Xiao Kongtong smiled again, his large white teeth gleaming on his dirty face, and responded as before. "If I said ten breaths, it's ten breaths... I don't lie." With that, he stepped forward, not looking back.

Ye Xiaotian finally closed his eyes, heavy-hearted. He had anticipated that this question might upset him, but he couldn't help but ask. Because after seeing that monster in the distance, he felt that the time he could hold out probably couldn't even compare to Teng Shanhai. Not even half a breath! Yet Xiao Kongtong still responded the same way!

"Ten breaths, you say?" Ye Xiaotian sighed, shaking his head, then suddenly smiled. "You really are merciless, always, always, striking me down!"

***

The battlefield. Shattered, chaotic, desolate... these were the words that defined the current battlefield. The holy statue and 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze' confronted each other; even before they moved, visible shockwaves exploded layer upon layer in the void, spreading for thousands of miles. The earth shattered, space collapsed, as if the end of the world had arrived.

Xu Xiaoshou remained hidden. When he saw that Jiang Buyi's Hand of Saint's Judgment was all thunder and no rain, directly shattered by Mr. Jiren's 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze,' he realized something was wrong. "My perspective was too narrow, my horizons too limited. I actually used the ordinary Grand Void cultivators I had dealt with before to gauge this battle between Mr. Jiren and Demigod Jiang Buyi. In this world, there are indeed ways for Grand Void cultivators to fight demigods. And below the demigod realm, it's not like holy blood is the only way to resist holy power..."

Xu Xiaoshou hid far away, watching Mr. Jiren, who, after shattering the Hand of Saint's Judgment, completely overwhelmed Demigod Jiang Buyi in aura. He felt as if he had understood something, yet at the same time, understood nothing at all. "Is it an illusion? Mr. Jiren's 'intent' is too strong. He clearly has no holy power, yet it feels like he could crush a demigod the next second? But what good is strong intent? The objective fact is right before me: Jiang Buyi is a definite demigod! If one can kill with will alone, couldn't I also defeat a demigod by holding my 'Qi Swallowing Mountains and Rivers' for a bit longer?"

Xu Xiaoshou frowned. He knew his 'Qi Swallowing Mountains and Rivers' had no upper limit. Yet he still felt that his 'intent' and Mr. Jiren's 'intent' displayed at this moment were somehow different. "What is it? I think I've learned something like this before, but why can't I... recall it?"

Before he could find the answer himself, Jiang Buyi, in the midst of the battle, spoke. "So that's how it is..." After his realization, he looked at the ferocious 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze' behind Mei Jiren, a flicker of jealousy and resentment in his eyes. "I originally thought Ba Zun'an was the trailblazer in the Way of the Sword, capable of combining spirit refinement to break free from the shackles of the previous era. I never imagined your path, Mei Jiren, would be no less impressive in comparison!"

Jiang Buyi gazed at the faint sword light coalescing around 'God and Buddha Beneath the Gaze,' took a deep breath, and his eyes gleamed with intense jealousy: "'Body and intent merge, intent and qi merge, transforming the formless into the tangible, changing the abstract into the concrete, emerging from fantasy, arriving in reality...' To think that old fellow could also keep up with the times. In this regard, this Saint seems quite outdated." His gaze fixed, Jiang Buyi looked up and asked: "Able to resist holy power without falling into disadvantage... If this Saint's guess is correct, this is your 'Profound Divine Will,' Mei Jiren, isn't it?"