Chapter 1943: Sword Easy

"Hua Changdeng, as agreed, you are mine now."

From the brink of a collapsing mental world, Bei Huai’s voice suddenly resounded, like a demonic whisper, echoing and overlapping.

This was the final straw!

No...

Hua Changdeng’s pupils lost focus, frantically looking around.

The pattering rain beside his ears grew louder, and the world became surreal, instantly transporting him to the muddy roads of Beiming Dijng.

"Welcome, welcome!"

"Yunshan Shengdi is here, everyone, come out and welcome!"

The flowers and trees along the road, emitting the joyous voices of young children, manifested into countless Bei Huai faces.

From left to right!

From top to bottom!

In an instant, faces filled Hua Changdeng’s entire vision, and overwhelming pressure assailed him.

With a crash, the whole world shattered into chaos again.

Beiming Dijng was no more; the tiny self looked up at the void, seeing only the towering Zushu Dashihuai.

Beneath the ancient Huai tree stood a barefoot figure in white.

The intricate branches and leaves of the Huai tree’s canopy outlined an old, lifelike face.

"Hua! Chang! Deng!"

A heavy roar exploded from all directions.

Dashihuai did not move, nor did the white-robed figure beneath it.

Voices pierced his mind, disjointed, stirring countless memories:

"You have no chance..."

"If you succeed in your journey to Shengshan Dalu, achieving Hedao Fengzu, you can stand shoulder to shoulder with us."

"Yao Bei is not the enemy. Our matters can be settled later. The urgent priority is to deal with Mozu and Chongsui."

Hua Changdeng’s head throbbed.

The world before his eyes shattered again. He saw himself, after being named Shengdi, carrying a lamp to hunt ghosts, single-handedly storming Beiming Dijng.

But even after the image disappeared, the voices did not leave; instead, they grew closer:

"Indeed, you have no choice..."

"Mozu and Chongsui are both two-in-one, with grand designs. Neither Yao Bei nor Gui Hua alone can resist them."

"But they are not at full strength; they can be attacked separately. Of course, all of this is contingent on your success in Hedao."

A finger touched his glabella.

The muddy Beiming mountain road instantly swayed, and the bronze lamp fell at his feet, candle wax flowing into the sword marks on the battle-scarred mountain rocks.

"If you fail, you belong to me."

No...

Buried painful memories seemed to awaken.

Hua Changdeng struggled against the advancing finger, but it was like a Gui Zu pressing him down; his limbs were completely immobile.

Even his head, which he tried to tilt back, could not resist the relentless push of the index finger.

*Chi! Chi!*

The finger, sharp as a sword, pierced skin and flesh, punched through the skull, and relentlessly entered his brain marrow.

"Uh..."

"Ahhh..."

Hua Changdeng roared repeatedly, straining his body.

He finally reclaimed strength from the magical chaos, squeezing out the last shred of self before his Daoxin collapsed.

"It’s not over yet!"

"I said, it’s not over yet!"

A pillar of black light shot into the sky.

Not only did Lingyu Shan tremble, but all cultivators who had witnessed Ba Zun’an’s enlightenment and were immersed in their own insights were jolted awake.

"This is..."

Wu Ji stood on Yu Zhiwen’s head, high up, seeing far.

Hua Changdeng had a trump card?

No, this power seemed more like...

"Life?"

Ba Zun’an looked slightly surprised.

Life represented Yao Zu. With such dense life force, had Hua Changdeng already fallen victim?

Bei Huai had just entered Shengshan Dalu when Kuilei Han hammered him out of Wuyu. It couldn’t have been contact from that time.

Then, was it before that?

"Being a stooge, that’s not your style." Although the black light power was grand, Ba Zun’an didn't retreat a single step.

But at this moment, was Hua Changdeng in a state to listen to outsiders?

Ba Zun’an’s step to zero had already shattered his mental state.

Jian Wo no longer had a chance to be swallowed, nor could it be learned from, meaning all opportunities to reverse the situation were gone.

He had hit rock bottom!

He was knocked out of his two-in-one state.

After his sword opened to profoundness, his hope for life was severed.

Hua Changdeng was as dejected as a dog. At this moment, his only remaining sanity was the unbroken obsession to win and the strong desire to seek survival in despair:

"Ba Zun’an, it’s not over yet!"

"So what if it’s a step to zero? Is such forced growth truly flawless... Can you strike again?"

Amidst loud rumbling, the Jian Gui San Jian were drawn from Wugen Guiyu and landed around him.

Hua Changdeng formed a hand seal, and the surging life force from his body flowed into the three swords around him.

*Rumble...*

*Rumble rumble rumble...*

The Jian Gui San Jian visibly expanded, their sword chains strained and then shattered.

*Charge! Charge! Charge!*

Three black lights, echoing Hua Changdeng’s rampaging black pillar of life, also shot into the sky.

He gripped the Hunt Ghost in his palm.

Hua Changdeng lunged forward with his sword, his eyes ablaze with madness.

"Ba..."

But his mouth had barely opened...

His body and the four black pillars of life around him had just twisted, not yet imprinted on his body or the swords...

"Tap."

Ba Zun’an took a step.

This step was a phantom one, yet it was as if he stepped on the hearts of everyone in Wuyu, the sound of ripples clear and melodious.

The entire world seemed to have been paused.

The white snow stopped before them, just enough to cover half the world. The wind died in their ears, and all the howling noises vanished...

"You still don’t understand."

White snow obscured their vision, not knowing the height of the mountains.

But that calm, unhurried voice indeed descended from a place higher than the heavens:

"How can Wuwei be 'nothing to do'?"

In the starry sky, the image of the coffin beneath the pagoda suddenly trembled, instantly shattering and disappearing.

In Beiming Dijng, the Dashihuai tree canopy shook, shooting countless Huai branches in all directions, enveloping the entire world and sealing itself off.

In the Sixiang Mijing, Yue Gongli held a Shengdi position, her face complex, staring silently into the void.

Outside the Mijing, on Yueya Shan, Dao Qiongcang jolted, transforming into a pile of bones, concealing and fleeing.

"Wuwei, no contention, no snatching, no obsession, no madness... just asking your true heart, moderation, and going with the flow, this is enough."

"How can my current enlightenment give you the illusion of being unable to draw your sword, of having nothing to do, yet also achieve 'Wu Buwei'?"

Ba Zun’an did not seem to be drawing his sword, but rather explaining his own Dao to someone.

He reached out again, grasping the east.

This time, it wasn't just pulling out half of Qing Ju.

The myriad rays of light surging from the direction of Dongyu Zangjianzhong also fully embraced him.

"Ming!"

At this moment, not only did Xu Xiaoshou understand Ming.

The Wuyu cultivators could also see from the dense, substantial rays of light that it was a massive amount of Ming power, enough to define oneself.

Was that the power accumulated by Zangjianzhong over so many years?

Ba Zun’an could also borrow it with a single hand?

But what was the purpose of this Ming blessing?

With his current power, if he truly "Wuwei without doing anything," would he still need external assistance?

In an instant, too many thoughts flashed through the minds of the Wuyu cultivators, but there was no time for them to ponder the answer.

Ba Zun’an gripped Qing Ju, and his foot gently rotated.

"Ho!"

Wind and snow surged on Lingyu Shan; time seemed to resume.

Everyone saw Hua Zu slash out with a sword, but it only tore through a phantom around Ba Zun’an.

"Above!"

"Up there!"

A scream rang out from somewhere unknown, and the Wuyu cultivators looked up, seeing above...

"What is this?!"

It was not illusionary sword art.

Nor was it Ba Zun’an appearing above.

Rather, it was Hua Changdeng, appearing beyond the starry sky!

He was clearly on the peak of Lingyu Shan, and though the Wuyu Lianlingshi could not see beyond the starry sky, this time, everyone could see:

Ba Zun’an took a step, drawing near.

Hua Changdeng split into four, his body, spirit, consciousness, and self, each confined to the four heavenly layers above the starry sky, like celestial realms.

"Shatter my body, spirit, and will..."

"Ba Zun’an is going to retaliate, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth?"

Below the four heavenly layers, Hua Changdeng exhibited four completely different essential forms.

His body was utterly inhuman, muscles wildly splitting, having grown into a mass of granulation.

His soul boiled and twisted, with nameless karma flames burning everywhere, scorching his self-state into confusion.

His consciousness was even more chaotic, formless, not even smoke or mist, and rapidly fading with time.

His self...

Hua Zu had already lost his "self"!

Seeing this, Wuyu paled in horror, even Gou Wuyue’s pupils flickered.

This was the first time someone had dissected the essential form of life so thoroughly, clearly discerning and revealing the body, spirit, consciousness, and self.

In the eyes of the world, Hua Zu, once again erupting with power, was clearly unstoppable; there was no second way to break his moves other than overpowering him.

But in Ba Zun’an’s eyes, this fellow, dissected into four layers, was full of flaws!

"Is this the perspective of a genius?"

"Is this the ability of a Guiling Zushu to perceive the essence of all things?"

The Zushu Miefa Dajie had just formed beyond the starry sky.

Ba Zun’an, with his broken sword Qing Ju in hand, lightly slashed forward, cutting across Hua Changdeng’s pouncing neck.

"Tian Qi Zhi."

"Chi!"

Blood gushed out.

Beyond the border, the four heavenly layers merged back.

The materialized anomaly disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Hua Zu’s body, spirit, consciousness, and self had never been separated from beginning to end; he had not truly gone beyond the starry sky but remained on Lingyu Shan.

But the situation had already reversed.

Hua Changdeng, who had flown out with four great pillars of life and a sword, couldn’t even unleash his sword move.

The broken sword Qing Ju, a sword to the throat.

"Mmm!"

Hua Changdeng clutched his neck, his eyes bulging, staggering past Ba Zun’an.

The latter didn’t even glance sideways.

Beneath his feet, ten thousand feet of Ming light shot out, stabilizing the mountains and seas of Shengshan Dalu.

Ba Zun’an was like a sheath; Qing Ju spun in his palm, slowly returning to his body.

"Guiling."

He didn’t say a word.

Everyone in Wuyu read the return to zero again, because the thunder tribulation had disappeared.

But...

What was the inherent essence?

Ba Zun’an looked towards Fusaicheng, not at Yue Gongnu, but at the eagerly anticipating Wu Ji.

Just as Xu Xiaoshou, upon his return to Gujin Wangyou Lou, told "me" every detail.

He also shared his insights without reservation.

And likewise, how much he could understand depended entirely on his fortune:

"Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things. You often say this; you should understand it yourself. This is Wuwei—not 'nothing to do,' but adapting to natural evolution."

"By borrowing the power of Yin and Yang, I entered 'Yi Zun' in an instant. The sword went out and returned, balancing the two principles, merging into Taiji, then retreating to Wuji, placed in a state of no beginning and no end."

"This 'borrowing' process, seemingly artificial, seemingly for contention and snatching, destroying 'Wuwei,' is actually not."

Wu Ji nodded.

Wu Ji was trying to digest it.

It was also trying to understand this.

If "Wuwei" was destroyed, Ba Zun’an’s current "self" would be disordered, gone, signifying death.

But he didn’t die.

This meant his perfect state was not destroyed by drawing his sword.

So, what was the principle behind his sword-drawing and exertion process also conforming to the principles of Wuwei, natural evolution, and so on?

"The Dao I cultivate, of course, is not just Wuwei, but also the unchanging and ever-changing self of Mozu and Chongsui. What they didn't find, I found."

"The 'borrowing' process conforms to the ever-changing self, to any state under the Dao’s transformation. You can understand it this way: at that moment, I... or rather, the Dao, in the human form of 'Ba Zun’an,' underwent a Yin-Yang alternation, and the power was at a critical point."

"Are Yin and Yang always balanced? No, at dusk and dawn, the Yin flourishes and the Yang wanes, or the Yang flourishes and the Yin wanes. These are all natural, and can all be understood as 'Yi Zun'."

After a pause, Ba Zun’an continued:

"From their perspective, what they saw should also be merely 'borrowing'."

"I wasn’t quite clear just now, but now, after one sword, I can tell you accurately, the word 'borrow' is not precise."

"Dao transforms into 'Ba Zun’an,' avoiding Yang and seeking Yin, but respects 'Qing Ju,' under 'my' will, underwent a two-principle rotation of Yin flourishing and Yang waning. This process is not called 'borrowing'..."

What was it called?

Wu Ji felt as if he was just one word away from cracking the mystery of Ba Zun’an’s Dao and the principle of his actions.

Ba Zun’an articulated each word clearly, stating with certainty:

"Yi!"

*Boom!*

Shengshan Dalu suddenly trembled violently, mountains collapsed, and seas roared.

With Gui Fo Jie as the north, and the rest of the land as the south.

The world seemed to have been sliced by a gigantic, invisible Yi sword, actually separating north and south, on the verge of falling apart.

"What happened?"

"Ba Zun’an really can’t strike? After one sword, Hua Zu didn’t die, and Shengshan Dalu is going to explode?"

But before anyone could panic.

The ten thousand feet of Ming light that had shot out from beneath Ba Zun’an’s feet earlier stabilized the mountains and seas, forcibly piecing the divided land back together.

On Dongshan, beside Jian Ma.

Wen Ting’s Sheng Nian overlooked this horrifying scene, his gaze distantly falling on Ba Zun’an, sighing powerlessly.

The Ming he had drawn out was to help Ba Zun’an pass through the Hedao period.

He had once thought that Ba Zun’an didn’t even have such a thing as a Hedao period, or rather, he completed it in an instant.

This fellow had truly achieved ascension in one step.

This was "overnight success"!

"Ming..."

It could be considered not to have failed its mission.

At least, it came from Shengshan Dalu and saved Shengshan Dalu once.

"I still have this."

From afar, Wen Ting held up many jade bottles containing Qing Ju’s sword tears.

He knew Ba Zun’an could hear and see him.

But at this moment, he didn’t feel like speaking much. These bottles of sword tears accumulated over thirty years were certainly not due to a peculiar habit.

In fact, they were just so that when Ba Zun’an returned, he could better integrate with Qing Ju, and better comprehend the Dao from these bottles of stored emotions.

It seemed they wouldn't be needed...

Indeed, Ba Zun’an didn’t need them at all.

He gave a distant smile, speaking in that annoyingly calm tone:

"You use them yourself. Attain godhood and become an ancestor as soon as possible; I have shown you the way."

He paused, then added:

"I just fear you won’t understand."

*Crack!*

Wen Ting’s fists clenched until they cracked.

"It’s burning!"

"Look, Hua Zu is burning!"

After the Jian Yi Yin Yang, Ba Zun’an did not make another move.

Hua Changdeng, however, plunged into the abyss. He had no more signs of recovery. His body was engulfed in a blazing fire that seemed both formless and distinctly white!

Only then did everyone remember.

What kind of power Ba Zun’an had subtly planted with that one sword.

"Tian Qi Zhi!"

"What an authentic Tian Qi Zhi!"

"But it’s not just the Jian Zu’s artistic conception; it’s gradually abandoning Hua Changdeng from the four layers of body, spirit, consciousness, and self?"

Hua Changdeng’s body was slowly being "burned" away.

Even his clothes gradually disintegrated into primal nothingness, and his body, spirit, consciousness, and self vanished in large chunks.

"No..."

"Impossible..."

Power also gradually abandoned and left his body.

The fission, flourishing, and robust growth of life completely reversed into a negative effect after Ba Zun’an’s single sword strike.

Even Yao Zu and Bei Huai’s life force could not save what he had lost of himself.

"Ha..."

Half of Hua Changdeng’s face burned and fell off.

At the very last moment of his life, he stopped roaring, as if he had regained all his sanity.

In the wind and snow, he struggled to exhale, witnessing the intertwining of scorching heat and bitter cold.

He saw self-disorder and absolute rationality.

He saw the collision of soul reincarnation and endless life.

He saw the beginning and end of the Gui Jian Dao, struggling without a path, hitting walls everywhere, just like the white sun he had transformed into, having shone brilliantly, only to wither in its splendor.

All kinds are the white sun, withered sprouts are no less.Clothes return to primal dissolution, the supreme abandons and departs.

Hua Changdeng’s pupils fell out, landing on his wide-eyed hands. His knees trembled until the last moment; he propped himself with the Hunt Ghost, never kneeling, only his obsession refusing to die, only his unwillingness, his powerlessness to reverse the tide.

"Ba Zun’an, heh..."

"Since heaven gave birth to me, why must it debase me so..."

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