Chen Kuang really did want to show it to him, but unfortunately, the Wujian Demon Sword was now sealed within his consciousness and could not be drawn out.
If it were released, the nightmare-like tragedies that had occurred before would unfold again. And this time, the scale of devastation would not be limited to tens of thousands, but could reach into the millions, even tens of millions!
Moreover, the fact that the Demon Sword had managed to hide within the dream realm for such a long time without any Sage taking action likely wasn't due to unwillingness, but rather inability...
As far as Chen Kuang was concerned, the Wujian Between was something that defied all conventional logic.
No matter from a public or personal perspective, there was absolutely no way Chen Kuang could allow the Demon Sword to be released again.
He spread his hands and said, "I want to, but I can't."
He didn't go into details: "This Demon Sword is now essentially one with me. Since you can sense the 'Heart', 'Will', and 'Realm', you should be able to feel that too."
Chen Kuang had previously learned from Qi Sibai about the sword-forging evaluation system of the Sword Furnace Pavilion. If a sword was forged with all three elements, 'Heart', 'Will', and 'Realm,' then it would be called a San Cai Sword.
Such swords were the highest standard of the Sword Furnace Pavilion, and were treasures sought after by cultivators everywhere.
Judging from the situation, Jiang Yunqing was clearly very invested in this Demon Sword, which explained why he had chosen Chen Kuang as a teammate even without fully understanding who he was.
In Jiang Yunqing's view, it must have felt like he was simply helping out this Tower Ascension Realm rookie.
And it wasn't hard to understand.
Think about it, this sword genius had forged a sword at the age of nine.
It was surely far inferior to the many Good Swords of the Sword Furnace Pavilion, yet because it was the only sword recognized by his master, he continued to use it to this day. That alone showed how highly Jiang Yunqing regarded Jie Kun.
Though to those hundred thousand victims, Jie Kun was undoubtedly a butcher soaked in blood.
And to Chen Kuang, he was the one responsible for his separation from his family and thirteen years of lonely struggle, undeniably the mastermind behind his misfortune.
But in Jiang Yunqing's eyes, Jie Kun might have been nothing more than an eccentric master, someone he once aspired to follow.
Chen Kuang didn't want to bring up all those past grievances, so he pointed at himself and joked, "If it really can't be helped, just look at me a bit more. It's pretty much the same as looking at that sword."
What he said wasn't even wrong. Since the Demon Sword was inside his consciousness, saying he was the sword was practically correct.
Chen Kuang was just making a casual remark, but unexpectedly, Jiang Yunqing actually seemed to take it seriously.
He stared intently at Chen Kuang for several seconds, making him feel incredibly awkward. Chen Kuang's smile froze as he waited for a response that didn't come, finally asking:
"Uh... did you actually see anything?"
Jiang Yunqing seemed to have confirmed something and nodded.
"I did."
Chen Kuang didn't know what he meant by that, so he raised an eyebrow and asked, "In that case, should we go look for the others? If they're on this battlefield, some of them should be in the Bitian faction, right..."
Jiang Yunqing shook his head. "No."
He looked down at the battlefield and said, "The Ancient Battlefield of Meditation won't assign identities that would be easily exposed."
Chen Kuang's pupils contracted. Remembering the strange behavior of the Bitian faction's disciples, he immediately understood:
"Their demonic cultivation method can alter their physical structure? So regular cultivators wouldn't be able to blend in at all?"
At the same time, he also realized something: his passive skill 'You Can't See Me' should still have been active earlier, but that bitian disciple, after killing a Mysterious Divine Path Sect disciple, had instantly pinpointed Chen Kuang's position and attacked.
'You Can't See Me' made it harder for others to notice or perceive him.
But if the other party had already noticed him beforehand, then the passive effect would be nullified.
And most of this "attention" came from sight and observation.
That meant the disciples of the Bitian faction must have other means of instantly detecting his presence...
Thinking back to their behavior, which resembled the Night Barbarians, a hypothesis took form in Chen Kuang's mind, these Bitian faction disciples could clearly distinguish between "prey" and "kin."
So no matter how much one tried to suppress their presence, it was like trying to hide a person-sized sausage in a crowd, still painfully obvious... They didn't even need to think to tell the difference.
Jiang Yunqing confirmed Chen Kuang's reasoning:
"Exactly. As long as you're not one of them, they'll detect it instantly. The Ancient Battlefield of Meditation would never assign such an identity."
"Therefore, by default, we would all be assigned to the Mysterious Divine Path Sect."
Chen Kuang frowned.
If everyone was in the same faction, it meant much less internal conflict.
But given how much effort Mu Zhao had gone through, even destroying jade slips, could it really be that easy?
Jiang Yunqing said, "I once accompanied an elder to visit the Mysterious Divine Path Sect, so I know the layout of the Fuli Suspended City."
"We should head to the Hall of Moral Virtue first. Right now, most of the six Dao Lords of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect should be there."
He stated concisely, "As long as we gain their trust, surviving on this battlefield won't be difficult."
Chen Kuang truly knew very little about the Mysterious Divine Path Sect, so having someone to guide him was ideal.
But to his surprise, this seemingly sword-obsessed Jiang Yunqing didn't opt to explore and gain enlightenment through combat. Instead, he prioritized survival and was heading straight for the top leadership of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect for protection.
So not all prodigies were arrogant after all.
Chen Kuang was quite pleased by that.
He had no desire to die meaninglessly due to Mu Zhao's manipulations before even entering the main battle...
Being upfront with the highest ranks of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect was the best plan.
After all, the upper echelon of the sect certainly knew about the Ancient Battlefield of Meditation. Just mentioning it would make them understand the current situation immediately.
This wasn't some infinite horror movie where telling the truth would get you erased.
It's worth noting: all six Dao Lords of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect were at Upper Third Grade in cultivation!
Among them, the Heavenly Sage Dao Lord, Fanglu Daoist Lin Qingya, was not only the sect master but also its founder, and the most mysterious Sage of all.
The mystery lay in the fact that the Mysterious Divine Path Sect had been established for nearly four thousand years.
But the lifespan limit for a Sage was only three thousand years.
By that logic, Lin Qingya should have long been dead.
Even if he had reincarnated and cultivated again, the position of sect master should have experienced a vacancy, especially during that era of chaos over a thousand years ago, when all of Cangyuan was torn by war, and many sects fell apart.
The Mysterious Divine Path Sect had even suffered from internal betrayal during that time, with several powerful defectors attempting to seize control.
Yet Lin Qingya's name was never removed from the records. According to official sect histories, nothing ever changed.
Those traitors vanished from history with barely a trace.
Thus, some speculate that Lin Qingya may have broken the limits of lifespan, and lived for four thousand years!
But that remains an unconfirmed rumor.
Lin Qingya himself resided year-round atop the Astrology Platform of the Hall of Morality, and was known as the most approachable Sage of all. Even if low-ranked disciples came to him with questions, he would always answer with a smile.
It was because his Dao was that of "Non-Action."
Next in rank was the Earth Spirit Dao Lord, Qingpingzi Lu Zhexuan, a Half-Step Sage and the current actual administrator of the sect.
He was also Shen Xingzhu's master.
Without Lu Zhexuan, the Mysterious Divine Path Sect likely wouldn't function with just a non-intervening Sage in charge.
Then there were four other Dao Lords of the East, South, West, and North, all of them at the Profound Realm. These six leaders formed the backbone of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect.
With five Profound Realm cultivators and one Daoist Shore Realm Sage overseeing everything, anyone who thought of challenging the sect would first have to weigh whether they wanted to lose their head.
That Bitian Mansion had pushed the Mysterious Divine Path Sect to such a desperate point was no small feat.
It also emphasized how deadly this battlefield truly was.
If even the Profound Realm couldn't solve the problem, what chance did mere "prodigies" like them have? They'd be walking to their deaths.
Better to surrender now.
And besides, at this very moment, Shen Xingzhu had most likely already arrived at the Hall of Morality.
Compared to them, this was truly her home turf.
Chen Kuang moved swiftly through the fuli Prefecture, the Floating Glass Immortal Province, all the while lost in thought.
If his guess was correct, then within the shell of "Shen Xingzhu" dwelled that fool of a girl, Shen Meinan.
Even Chen Kuang himself had been momentarily shaken by the mountains of corpses and oceans of blood on this battlefield, how could Shen Meinan possibly bear it?
...
At this very moment, across the various regions of the Floating Glass Immortal Province, all those who had previously stepped through the stone gate were beginning to act.
The first to enter, Yan Hui, had naturally noticed right away that something was wrong with this battlefield.
But after discarding his shattered jade slip, he did not retreat. Instead, he began rampaging across the battlefield, indulging in unrestrained slaughter.
"Whoosh, Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Dressed in a bright red robe, the handsome youth snapped the neck of a Bitian Prefecture disciple with a vicious twist, then turned into a streak of crimson light. In a flash, he pierced through an entire row of enemies standing in a straight line ahead, leaving nothing in his wake but death.
His body was like a sharpened sword, unstoppable wherever it went.
"Roar!!!!"
A Bitian Prefecture disciple, towering nearly three meters tall, let out a deafening roar.
He shoved the captured Daoist disciple into his mouth and bit down. Half a severed leg still dangled from his blood-filled maw. Then, black veins surged beneath his skin, expanding violently and wrapping around his entire body like armor.
In the blink of an eye, this disciple ballooned into a five-meter-tall monstrosity, grotesque and terrifying.
"Boom!"
He stomped down with one foot, splitting the earth within a ten-li radius. The ground sank abruptly, forming a massive crater.
Agonized screams rang out. Hundreds of cultivators were instantly struck by the invisible shockwave, their internal organs ruptured on the spot. They collapsed into the chasm, dead.
The beast's crimson eyes now resembled those of a wild animal. He threw his head back and howled toward the sky, before turning his gaze to the only remaining "food" still alive on the battlefield.
Yan Hui hovered in the air, snorted at the scene, and sneered: "Of all things to imitate, you chose to mimic those beasts from the Northern Wastes?"
"Demons and monsters struggle their whole lives trying to become human, and now I see that there are humans trying to become monsters?"
Having finished mocking the disciples of Bitian Prefecture, Yan Hui then swept a scornful gaze across the Daoist disciples among the blood-soaked corpses:
"This Mysterious Divine Path Sect, always meddling in others' affairs. They're not all that great after all, getting pushed to this point by a bunch of brainless brutes..."
With no reservation, Yan Hui laid into both sides of the battlefield with equal contempt.
"Whoosh-"
The monstrous brute lunged at him with terrifying speed, like a mountain falling from the sky, intent on smashing Yan Hui into paste.
Yan Hui looked up coolly:
"Foolish."
"Shing! Shing!"
Two streaks of golden light suddenly came whirling in from behind, slicing through the air with piercing whooshes.
The monster was instantly on high alert. He turned with a violent motion, raised both hands, and attempted to grab the incoming lights.
But the golden streaks were moving at an unfathomable speed, crashing into his massive palms.
"Boom!"
It was as if an enormous force had slammed into him. The monster staggered back, carving deep trenches into the earth with his feet.
He gritted his teeth. Black veins popped across his body, his eyes bulged, and the veins in his palms burst open one by one, spraying blood everywhere.
Even so, he could not stop the golden lights, he could only slow them.
Now moving more slowly, the lights revealed themselves for what they were: two golden rings Yan Hui had worn on his wrists earlier.
Realizing he couldn't stop them, the monster made a snap decision. Red light flashed in his eyes as he abruptly retreated, intending to use his momentum to bring the rings closer to Yan Hui, so that he could launch a surprise attack.
"Heh... No brains means no brains." Yan Hui mocked coldly.
He raised a hand and clapped it together.
The golden rings abruptly changed direction and, with unstoppable momentum, pierced through the monster's palms and then-
"Splurt!"
The moment the two rings snapped shut, they crushed the monster's head in between.
Red and white fluids sprayed in all directions from the gap between the rings.
The decapitated body stood for a moment longer, then collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Yan Hui raised a hand, and the golden rings returned to his wrists, spotless and gleaming.
Without even glancing back, he turned toward the far side of the battlefield, chasing the aura of stronger foes.
To Yan Hui, it didn't matter what sort of schemes Mu Zhao had cooked up.
He only had one goal, fight ever-stronger enemies, and keep winning.
Because... he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
This time, he had entered the Ancient Battlefield of Meditation for one purpose only, to attain enlightenment in his Dao.
The Dao of "Arrogant Defiance."
...
Ji Wangquan and Shen Yuliu also ignored their shattered jade slips and continued acting for their own benefit.
But unlike Yan Hui, they had different approaches.
Ji Wangquan chose to observe the battlefield on a strategic scale, analyzing formations, deployments, and clashes between both sides.
Shen Yuliu, on the other hand, darted around the battlefield, scavenging mystical Spiritual Treasures from corpses wherever he could.
Both of them were cultivators of the Moon-Embracing Realm, still searching for their own "Dao." They were in the exploratory phase. Once they grasped and confirmed their Dao, they would be able to advance into the Master Realm.
Ji Wangquan sought the Dao of "Leadership."
Shen Yuliu sought the Dao of "Falsehood."
To them, attaining the Dao naturally involved risk. And while the battlefield was indeed dangerous, its opportunities were even greater.
...
Xiuzhu, Ming Yan, and Tang Qiusheng had regrouped and, after a discussion, decided to temporarily retreat from the battlefield.
Tang Qiusheng, well-versed in historical records, believed that the current stage of the battlefield was nearing its endgame. Given that none of them had particularly high cultivation levels, their best move was to hide for now and observe how things unfolded.
Xiuzhu and Ming Yan had no objections to this.
The Floating Glass Immortal Province was surrounded by many mountain ranges.
Although the largest of the immortal mountains had already been cleaved in half, the surrounding terrain remained largely intact, enough to shelter the three of them.
With Tang Qiusheng in the lead, they found a slightly elevated mountain cave and concealed themselves inside for the time being.
Xiuzhu voiced his worry:
"I wonder how the others are doing... especially Benefactor Chen. With his cultivation still at the Tower Ascension Realm, how could he possibly survive in a battlefield like this?"
Ming Yan blinked and smiled sweetly. "Little monk, you're overthinking this."
"Whether he can survive, I don't know. But..."
She toyed with a red thread wound around her finger. "He's probably about to gain another Thread of Affinity. At least while he's still alive, I'm sure life will be... quite sweet."
"Huh?"
Xiuzhu touched his bald head, looking a little dazed. "In such a dangerous place... how could he possibly gain affinity?"
But this was probably true... The Glazed Lapis Tantric Sect's Blissful Zen differed from the usual practices of Blissful Zen. It wasn't just dual cultivation, it could also cultivate through the karmic ties of all sentient beings.
Yes, not just romantic affinity, but also karmic affinity, any connection forged in this world, any joy experienced, all could become bliss.
Still, Ming Yan had deliberately emphasized that it was indeed a romantic affinity.
That benefactor Chen... really was something else...
Xiuzhu was about to ask more, curiosity piqued, when they suddenly heard Tang Qiusheng, who had been monitoring the battlefield outside, let out a cry of sheer horror:
"That-what is that...?! How is that possible?! HOW is that possible!!!"
Xiuzhu and Ming Yan exchanged a look. Their expressions turned serious in unison and they rushed out.
Tang Qiusheng stood outside the cave, his face drenched in cold sweat, veins bulging on his forehead as he stared into the distance, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. His previously scholarly elegance had vanished without a trace.
What could cause a cultivator to lose composure like this?
Xiuzhu and Ming Yan followed his gaze, and in that very instant, they too felt an unspeakably vast and terrifying aura descend like a crushing mountain. It was so overwhelming that they froze on the spot.
"Boom..."
Floating in midair above half of that distant immortal mountain on the battlefield... stood a person.
Yes, a person, neither abnormally tall, nor adorned with three heads and six arms.
He wore an ancient bronze mask carved with a beast's face that was part tiger, part bear. His robe was snow-white with golden trim. Most peculiar were the circular earrings he wore, from which hung multicolored feathers.
He looked like some ancient ritual priest.
That alone shouldn't have been so shocking.
What mattered was, this priest-like figure raised a hand and pointed toward the Profound Realm cultivator behind that colossal flaming bird, one of the Dao Lords of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect.
And the moment his finger pointed:
The sky... split open.
Yes, the sky cracked apart just like that, ripping open into a gash.
Within that rift shimmered what looked like an endless astral void... or perhaps an ocean of densely packed, watchful eyes.
The Profound Realm cultivator behind the flame bird raised his head and glanced at the rift, just one glance.
And from that rift, a pale giant hand suddenly reached out, grabbed him, and pulled him inside.
Gone. In an instant!
The Dao Lord of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect didn't even get a chance to react.
Or rather, perhaps he had reacted... it just didn't matter.
In any case, within the space of a breath, that Dao Lord, and the rift, vanished without a trace.
Inside the cave was dead silence.
Below, the entire battlefield erupted into even greater chaos.
Tang Qiusheng stood silent for a long time, finally regaining a bit of composure. He turned to Xiuzhu and Ming Yan, his voice trembling:
"You saw it too, right? It wasn't just my imagination?"
Xiuzhu fumbled with the prayer beads in his hand, chanting "Amitabha" repeatedly.
"I-I saw it... That was-that was a cultivator?!"
Tang Qiusheng shook his head. "I'm not certain."
"How could a person exist... who could render a Profound Realm cultivator completely powerless?"
Xiuzhu was incredulous. "That was really a Dao Lord?!"
Tang Qiusheng nodded solemnly. "Yes. A Dao Lord of the southern faction during this period, named Li Huai. He was known for mastering the Dao of Flame. The aura of a Profound Realm cultivator can't be faked. You sensed it too."
Xiuzhu pinched himself hard, yelping in pain, to confirm he wasn't dreaming.
He still kind of wished he was.
How could such a thing appear on a battlefield like this?
Even a Saint couldn't slaughter a Profound Realm Dao Lord so easily!
Then Ming Yan suddenly said, "What's he doing now?"
Xiuzhu and Tang Qiusheng looked back toward the distant sky. That mysterious figure still hadn't left, he now seemed to be lowering his head and scanning the battlefield, as if searching for someone.
Xiuzhu's eyes widened. "He's... looking for someone?"
He was puzzled.
On this battlefield, the major combatants were merely mid-tier cultivators. There shouldn't be anyone here worthy of that level of power intervening.
Ming Yan added, "Did you notice... his eyes?"
Eyes?
Tang Qiusheng's gaze snapped into sharp focus.
From beneath the bronze mask, the man's eyes, partially revealed, turned just enough to be seen.
In those eyes... were four pupils.
Xiuzhu finally realized who the figure was, and cried out in shock: "Dual Pupils?! That man is Wen Yao!"
...
Chen Kuang looked up.
Before him stood a towering, grand palace. A plaque hung above its doors, bearing four solemn, upright words:
"Hall of Moral Virtue."
Because the Mysterious Divine Path Sect revered peace and abhorred conflict, even their calligraphy adhered strictly to traditional orthodoxy.
It was unusually quiet all around. Inside, the air was thick with incense, but that couldn't mask the pungent stench of blood.
The disciples guarding the entrance... were dead.
One disciple's lifeless eyes still held an expression of terror and confusion.
Chen Kuang and Jiang Yunqing both felt a chill in their hearts. They flew into the hall, only to find it utterly empty.
Empty, save for a single figure in dark robes, standing motionless.
It was "Shen Xingzhu."
Chen Kuang immediately stepped forward and called out, "Fellow Daoist Shen!"
"Shen Xingzhu" whipped her head around. The moment she saw Chen Kuang, she rushed forward instinctively and threw herself into his arms.
She nearly burst into tears: "You finally came... I was so scared... wah-hic?"
Her sobs were cut off abruptly, as she spotted Jiang Yunqing entering behind him. Her tears turned into an awkward hiccup.
Jiang Yunqing: "...?"
The white-haired sword cultivator's face remained expressionless, but his gaze lingered on the two in an embrace, his eyes looked subtly surprised.
So this... was their relationship?