Chapter 610: I Am Named, Eight Revered Masters

"Attack!"

Gou Wuyue didn't move. Instead, Chang Yi, clad in white, let out a furious shout and instantly ascended into the sky, transforming into a streak of light. He knew that regardless of the ongoing conversation between the two leaders, the fundamental rules of this operation remained unchangeable. Even if Senior Wuyue genuinely owed the Saint Slave leader a favor, certain matters could not be simply dismissed with a personal obligation. As Senior Wuyue's most trusted aide, it was his duty to deliver a harsh reminder when even Senior Wuyue was momentarily unable to make a decision. Business was business, and personal feelings were separate. This conflict between the White Robes and the Saint Slaves... Senior Wuyue could not make a unilateral decision on this matter. A decision that could not be made by one person had to be taken by others. Even if the consequences of striking first would be difficult to bear...

"Light Pulsation!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Chang Yi flung his hands backward, instantly dissolving into shimmering points of light that merged with the Heavenly Dao.

The next moment, everyone felt the world briefly plunge into darkness, only to be instantly bathed in light once more. Yet, the returning light seemed subtly different from the light that had vanished.

"Stop."

The masked man's foot halted in mid-air, bringing his body to a stable stop. Cen Qiaofu and the Storyteller, who were following closely, instantly detected the anomaly. Both stopped simultaneously, even holding their breath. However, Xu Xiaoshou, trailing behind with his thoughts jumbled, was still preoccupied with other matters and didn't react quickly enough. By the time he heard the command, even if he had wanted to stop, his foot had already taken a step forward.

"Whoosh."

Ripples spread through the air. Xu Xiaoshou froze, not daring to move an inch, as cold sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down. "What's going on?" he asked, a hint of surprise and confusion in his voice. Why did everyone suddenly freeze? Even the White Robes were motionless, each frozen in a fixed posture. Those running were caught mid-stride, those flying were suspended mid-flight; they exhibited various poses—like a rooster on one leg or a fish leaping through a dragon's gate—creating a peculiar spectacle. After Chang Yi, clad in white, made his move, it was as if space itself had been completely frozen. Not a single person made the slightest movement. Even their breathing became imperceptible.

"Pitter-patter..."

The sound of rain once again grew loud in his ears. Xu Xiaoshou sensed that something was amiss. The rain, falling from the heavens, should have consisted of individual drops. Yet, each drop, as it descended from mid-air and approached the ground, appeared to be sliced tens of thousands of times mid-flight, shattering into a hazy mist that sprayed in all directions. The rain across the entire area suddenly transformed into an enormous humidifier, spraying wildly. A dense, chaotic mist of rain filled the air. This phenomenon could no longer be called rain; at most, it was the sky itself spraying a fine mist!

"Gulp..."

Xu Xiaoshou swallowed with difficulty. Like a sudden chain reaction, by the time he fully grasped the situation...

"Attack received, damage value: 9999.""Attack received, damage value: 9999.""Attack received, damage value: 9999."

Three messages rapidly popped up in his information log. Xu Xiaoshou was instantly stunned. This must be the absolute limit! "In a single instant, I sustained three instances of maximum damage?" A wave of realization crashed over Xu Xiaoshou. Only then did severe pain register in several parts of his body.

"Whoosh."

Xu Xiaoshou's right leg, which had just taken a step, burst open, transforming into a hazy crimson mist. His bones and flesh were pulverized, scattering everywhere with the swirling rain mist.

"Whoosh."

Another whoosh sound, and Xu Xiaoshou's Adam's apple burst open, a jet of blood atomizing into a crimson spray. The exact spot where his Adam's apple had moved as he swallowed was instantly sheared flat by an inexplicable force, leaving not a shred of flesh behind; the cut was impossibly smooth.

"Whoosh."

Yet another whoosh, and his lips, which had just formed the word "What's," also shattered directly. Blood gurgled forth. Xu Xiaoshou's entire body went rigid. The intense pain nearly made him scream in agony. Yet, the inexplicable nature of the injuries brought forth a deeper, soul-level terror, rigidly suppressing his body's instinct to convulse. Xu Xiaoshou knew with certainty that if he made even the slightest movement at this moment, his entire body would be instantly pulverized, just like the rain mist.

"What in the world is this?!"

Shaken to his core, Xu Xiaoshou focused his "Perception." Only then could he vaguely discern that the light in the surrounding world was subtly brighter than usual. Upon closer inspection, he realized this light was clearly artificially controlled, composed of countless intricate light threads interwoven together. Light, by nature, was formless. But Chang Yi, clad in white, had incredibly compressed light into a tangible form, transforming it into rays imbued with extreme cutting power that completely sealed off the entire space.

"How immense a feat is this?"

Xu Xiaoshou's "Perception" swept across the entire area, and he clearly saw that the same effect extended for several miles in all directions. It was almost like a dense version of an infrared cutting field—a saturated domain!

"A Spatial Domain?"

"Light Pulsation?"

At this moment, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly understood why everyone present seemed to have been put on pause, frozen and afraid to move. Even a slight movement... the extreme cutting light rays, which had already sealed off all space and possibly even penetrated their body cells and pores, could instantly claim a person's life!

"You won't escape."

Chang Yi withdrew his hands from the void, his gaze fixed coldly on the four individuals before him. He formed a hand seal with both hands.

"Light Body Translucence."

"Hum—"

With a soft hum, a faint curtain of light appeared around the White Robes. As this light curtain materialized, the White Robes finally breathed a sigh of relief and resumed their movements. Those who had been mid-stride resumed their positions, those who had been mid-flight continued their ascent... But the four Saint Slaves were not enveloped by this light curtain. This meant that if this "Light Spatial Domain" were to be manually manipulated and set into motion, the four Saint Slaves would instantly perish!

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils constricted.

"Whoosh."

His eyelids, in a single flicker, instantly dissolved into a fine bloody mist. Before Xu Xiaoshou could fully grasp the terror, he instinctively tried to transmit a message to the masked man. But how could the masked man not have anticipated an attack method that even Xu Xiaoshou could conceive?

"Cen Qiaofu!"

The masked man let out a sharp cry. In this deadly predicament, as if moving through an empty space, his body shimmered and vanished. When he reappeared, he was already standing directly in front of Chang Yi.

"Bang!"

A massive cloud of blood mist erupted before him. Chang Yi was utterly dumbfounded. Wasn't this a suicidal act? He had never anticipated the masked man appearing so recklessly before him, even at the cost of abandoning his entire physical form. "Seeking his own demise?" The thought had barely crossed his mind when from within the blood mist, an arm-shaped appendage, seemingly outlined by high-speed, continuously slicing sword energy, shot out and seized him by the neck.

"A hand?"

A piercing "shriek" echoed in his ears—the jarring sound of high-speed sword energy whistling through the air. Chang Yi was startled. "You... you don't fear pain?" His voice was strained. Because the arm before him was truly too terrifying to comprehend! It had no bones, no tendons, and no flesh. Yet, like a solid arm, after seizing Chang Yi's neck, it didn't hesitate for a moment, and its fingers tightened.

"Crack."

Chang Yi's neck snapped, and his head dropped from mid-air.

"Pain?" the masked man countered, and his entire human-shaped silhouette, defined by rapidly moving white sword energy, stepped out from the blood mist. The light rays had indeed sliced through his body. Within a single breath, they could inflict tens of thousands of injuries. Yet, the masked man didn't even flinch. He lowered his head, looking at his outstretched hand of white sword energy, and sighed softly, "If you're talking about fright, then yes, there's a little. But this much pain, to my shattered body, truly means nothing at all." As he spoke, he slowly turned to face Gou Wuyue, "I said..." He paused.

"Don't move!"

The masked man flexed two fingers.

"Boom!"

Behind him, Chang Yi, his head severed from his body, was about to dissipate into points of light and escape. But suddenly, an endless torrent of white sword energy erupted from both his head and body, directly pinning him firmly in place. The masked man lifted a hand. Chang Yi's head and body, riddled with sword energy, hovered and spun before being reassembled into a complete form by the masked man's gentle flex of his palm.

"I said," the masked man resumed his previous statement, looking at Gou Wuyue and saying, "If you truly wish to fight, your subordinates will suffer far greater losses than mine." His gaze settled on the twitching figure in his hand, whose white robes were drenched crimson with flowing blood. The masked man let out a soft chuckle. "Dao Severance, light attribute... His potential is truly remarkable. Someone like this, Gou Wuyue, you must truly cherish, which is why you keep him by your side and personally cultivate him, isn't that right? Speak! Do you want him dead or alive?"

All the White Robes present were awestruck. Only after he shed his acquired cultivation body, revealing his true sword physique, did everyone finally understand why the masked man had appeared so weak earlier. Merely by existing, he was constantly enduring the ceaseless cutting damage from the high-speed sword energy within his body. How could such a person possess the superficial brilliance and vitality of others? The fact that he was still alive was nothing short of a miracle!

"Immortal Sword Physique?"

Among the crowd, sword cultivators and others recognized the nature of this technique. Through cultivating sword energy, one could shed a frail physical body. With acquired power, one could forcibly forge the mortal body, a gift of innate nature, into a Saint Physique. —This method was truly terrifying!

"Is this real..."

"This guy... he's still conscious? How can he possibly be alive?"

"No wonder he had only an acquired cultivation level before, unable even to fly."

"Under constant exposure to such damage, let alone maintaining an acquired cultivation level, how... how did he keep his soul from dissipating?"

"Is this even human?!"

"Saint Slaves... Those Saint Slaves are all insane! No sane person would ever cultivate such a method, right?"

"Cultivate? I don't think that's entirely it. Perhaps, this isn't even his own sword energy?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Look at this sword energy; if he could control it himself, would he choose to inflict such self-harm instead of simply stopping the sword energy?"

"But he's a lunatic!"

At this, no one could offer a counter-argument. Indeed! From the current situation, it seemed the Saint Slave leader truly was a madman. For the sake of cultivation, he had completely discarded every shred of his flesh and blood. Whether it was self-inflicted or externally imposed, by this sheer, tenacious willpower alone, no one present dared to withhold their profound respect.

"Immortal Sword Physique..."

Gou Wuyue's expression grew truly solemn. He could sense a wisp of highly familiar sword energy emanating from this sword physique. "Hua Changdeng?"

Without directly responding to the masked man's words, Gou Wuyue didn't even spare a glance of concern for Chang Yi, his closest guard, but instead stared at the sword-energy figure in astonishment as he spoke.

"I asked, dead or alive?" the masked man repeated, seemingly to himself.

"Who exactly are you?!"

Gou Wuyue was enraged, and his famous sword, the Voice of Narla, instantly slid from its sheath. He pointed his sword tip, and a black line shot through the void, directly piercing the sword-energy figure's head. Yet, the masked man remained unperturbed. There was no longer a single drop of blood left to shed from his body.

"No blood, no tears?"

"Then let one perish first!"

With a heavy sigh, the masked man's fingertips twitched slightly.

"Boom!"

Endless white sword energy exploded, transforming into countless white energy swords that converged from all directions, piercing directly into Chang Yi's body with the force of ten thousand swords uniting.

"Save him!!!"

A shrill cry echoed from among the White Robes. The void's spirit array light finally resealed, overlaying itself with another layer of golden barrier.

"Flash."

Just before the sword energy could pierce Chang Yi's body, a streak of light descended from the sky, engulfing him. With a swish, the masked man's sword energy struck nothing. The person he held was clearly gone, having been teleported away.

"Nation-Covering Sky Barrier?"

The masked man tilted his head back, looking at the golden barrier in the sky. He seemed to want to smile, but his face remained obscured, revealing no hint of expression. At this point, a faint crimson appeared on his chest. From that crimson hue, in mere moments, a heart began to form. Then, bones, tendons, and blood regenerated. Finally, a complete human form materialized, and even the head-covering black robe was restored. The slightly hunched and frail figure solidified once more in the void. But by now, no one dared to underestimate this individual who appeared to possess only an acquired cultivation level. This was an inhuman being!

"Cough..."

The masked man gave a slight cough, then fell silent. Behind him, concern flickered in the Storyteller's eyes. He knew that every time his brother took action, he suffered a severe depletion of energy. The current exertion was far greater than what he normally endured. After this battle, his strength would undoubtedly plummet even further. How could his brother's body possibly endure this?

"Put down your sword."

In contrast, the masked man himself appeared completely unfazed, his gaze fixed directly on Gou Wuyue's sword. "In this world," he declared, "no one has ever dared to point a sword at me."

The White Robes immediately erupted in an uproar. Sword Immortal Wuyue, one of the Seven Sword Immortals! Even if this masked man possessed an Immortal Sword Physique, where did he get the audacity to utter such words? Xu Xiaoshou was utterly astounded. He had heard similar words before. Back then, when Xiao Qixiu had pointed his sword at the masked man, the latter had even uttered something more audacious: "Among those who dare to strike at me, you are the weakest!" At the time, he had assumed the masked man was merely showing off. Who would have thought that facing one of the Seven Sword Immortals, this Saint Slave leader could still be so utterly arrogant!

Gou Wuyue's pupils trembled violently. Others might perceive the masked man as arrogant. But this familiar tone, these familiar words, ringing in his ears, directly pulled him back to the memory of that battle decades ago.

"Who, exactly, are you?!"

The masked man smiled silently. He slowly turned his head to look at Xu Xiaoshou. "Is a name truly that important?" he asked.

"Huh?" Xu Xiaoshou blinked in surprise. Only then did he recall that Gou Wuyue's question was one he himself had posed to the masked man numerous times.

"Important..." Xu Xiaoshou glanced at Gou Wuyue, then hesitated, "Is it?"

"Is it important?" the masked man repeated softly, slowly returning his gaze to Gou Wuyue. "First, put down the sword."

"Tell me!" Gou Wuyue roared, his emotions somewhat out of control, even the hand clutching his sword trembled slightly.

The masked man's gaze shifted downward, settling on the famed sword, Voice of Narla. "He dared to point a sword at me. Do you, too, dare to point your sword tip at me?" As everyone felt bewildered, they heard the renowned sword tremble.

"Whoosh..."

It seemed to whimper. The famed sword, Voice of Narla, bowed, slowly lowering its tip. Its posture was akin to a renowned general bowing before his sovereign. No matter how proud a head, it would never be raised against its own emperor. Everyone felt their hearts tremble. Sword Immortal Wuyue's sword bowed before the masked man!!

The masked man nodded slightly, then tilted his head back further. "My name cannot appear beneath this cloud-shrouded sky. If it is to see light, then it must see true light."

"Boom!"

The golden barrier above the void was directly pierced by his sharp, sword-like gaze. The swirling rain and gloomy clouds were swept away as if by an invisible giant sword, completely clearing the sky. The sky brightened. It brightened by more than just a little! Everyone felt the situation was spiraling out of control. Some sword cultivators trembled slightly, as if witnessing a miracle, their eyes filled with shock and excitement. Even Xu Xiaoshou, whose answer to a certain question had been suppressed in the darkest corners of his mind, a question he had sworn never to revisit, found it surfacing unbidden.

"A name, I believe, is merely a designation. It cannot represent anything, and so for decades, I have not spoken mine." The masked man's clouded gaze met Gou Wuyue's, perfectly calm.

"Tell me!" Gou Wuyue roared.

"You already possess the answer. Why force me to utter it?"

"I don't have an answer!" Gou Wuyue's eyes turned crimson, and he leaned forward, unsteady from agitation, as if he might fall.

"Another person without an answer..." The masked man's gaze shifted to Xu Xiaoshou.

Xu Xiaoshou tightly clenched his fists, an inexplicable fervor rising within him. At the same time, from the masked man's clouded eyes, he discerned the message being conveyed. It was just like the confusion he had experienced earlier in the White Cave. The Storyteller couldn't provide an answer. Cen Qiaofu couldn't provide an answer. He, Xu Xiaoshou, also couldn't provide an answer. But the masked man could.

"The answer they cannot provide, I can give you!"

Why could the masked man? Why was he capable when others were not? What exactly was the answer he could provide?!

Dawn was breaking, and the heavy rain had just cleared. Everyone held their breath, and the entire scene fell silent. The masked man remained hunched. His gaze settled on Gou Wuyue, then seemed to pierce through him, landing on the space behind him. He tilted his head back, as if his gaze pierced through the firmament, broke through a domain, and landed upon the headquarters of the Sacred Palace in the Central Region. His gaze then shifted away from that place revered by the world, seemingly piercing through all Five Regions. He saw the Great Dao's rules and the invisible colossal hand lurking behind them. Indeed, as Gou Wuyue had stated earlier, this battle was not merely a clash between a few dozen individuals on the field. Outside, seven to eight hundred Sacred Palace Guards were operating the "Nation-Covering Sky Barrier" according to the Sacred Palace's directives. Everything happening here would be observed by the Sacred Palace's intelligence and then transmitted to their ears.

But the masked man didn't care. His answer was never intended to merely enlighten Xu Xiaoshou or to satisfy Gou Wuyue's curiosity. The Saint Slaves' declaration of war from the White Cave had, after all, only been heard by a single water-elemental ability user. Whether it would reach the ears of those in power, and whether it would then spread across the continent after reaching them... These were all uncertainties. Therefore, if a name truly held significance, it could serve as a symbol, conveying the Saint Slaves' declaration of war and inducing panic among those in power. Then, let it be spoken!

The masked man stood with his hands clasped behind his back. The light of the heavens streamed down everywhere through the shattered "Nation-Covering Sky Barrier." Everyone was waiting. His slightly hunched shadow seemed to lengthen, mirroring the prolonged anticipation.

"Cough." The masked man coughed lightly, breaking the silence, and caught the scent of blood on his lips and nose. He paid it no mind. Beneath his mask, his lips moved, and his voice, neither loud nor soft, was perfectly calm, filled with tranquility. Yet, in that same instant, it seemed to resonate across all Five Regions of the continent.

"My name is Bazun An!"