The cold deep ravine held mostly freezing accumulated water.

When the extremely cold temperature struck, the world that had penetrated through her brow suddenly exploded open, and thus all external things and sensations were stripped away from this flesh and blood body.

Jian Chou only felt her whole body grow heavy, already being dragged into that world.

Vaguely, it was still the vast land of Shijiu Zhou.

Only the mountain and river patterns within, the terrain and topography, were not the Shijiu Zhou of her memory, but rather resembled the landscape from thousands of years ago as recorded in ancient texts.

A plain-robed cultivator fought fiercely in the wind-swept and cloud-surging Western Sea.

She seemed to fall straight down from the horizon, actually possessing this figure in an instant, then raised high the sword in her hand.

The next moment, a massive phantom suddenly appeared at the bottom of the sea.

She couldn’t see anything clearly at all before falling into this enormous phantom, then pain transmitted through, and she separated from this body again.

Her consciousness instantly floated upward like smoke and clouds.

Jian Chou looked down and saw that beneath the bottomless Western Sea was actually a gigantic flounder, opening its bloody maw and swallowing that cultivator in one gulp.

Between heaven and earth, there was only a faint sword cry.

The blood-stained seawater turned dark purple, disappearing in the blink of an eye into the rolling waves. Only the deep white long sword, half-submerged from being battered by the seawater, rose from the water with a trembling mournful cry and drifted eastward!

“Rumble!”

It crashed violently into the snow-covered Yashan armory.

The moment the sword pierced into the ice layer, Jian Chou’s consciousness was pulled again toward the southeastern demon path in the southern region of Shijiu Zhou. The famous Tongguan Station was built in a wasteland, letting the yellow sand blow and swirl.

Between heaven and earth, countless shadows of cultivators shuttled through.

There were those from Kunwu, from Yashan, from Wangjiang Tower, from Wanghai Tower…

Fighting against them were the evil demon cultivators from the demon path. For a time, the battle cries shook the heavens, even drowning out the desolate wind sounds in the wasteland.

Endless blood was splattered in the yellow sand, instantly evaporated by the scorching sunlight, leaving only dark red marks on those coarse sand grains.

Blades fell, swords fell.

Cultivators fell one after another. Whether their blades and swords were stained with enemy blood or their own blood, they all flew high into the sky the moment they fell dejectedly, disappearing beyond the layered clouds.

…

Scene after scene, all was destruction!

Jian Chou completely couldn’t control her own consciousness, nor could she resist this powerful consciousness in her brow. Following along with these Yashan cultivators one after another, she continuously experienced pain, experienced death, experienced the fear of approaching death!

She was already someone who had essentially died once, no longer afraid of death itself.

However, perhaps it was the scene of Qu Zhengfeng acting immediately without saying a word that ultimately stirred her memory of some extremely taboo terrible thing. What she experienced now actually gave rise to a heartfelt disgust.

Disgust at people’s inability to control their own life and death.

Disgust at humanity’s inherent weakness and helplessness against fate.

Between heaven and earth, all things change constantly, eternal only—

Only destruction!

Only death!

She was like a strand of wandering dust, drifting through these countless deaths and destructions, watching those countless disciples of Yashan fall, watching those countless swords of Yashan return to the armory with mournful cries.

Some were sorrowful, some were desperate.

Others showed unyielding dignity, towering proud bones…

From the Western Sea to the southern region, then to Mingri Xinghai, even to the extreme region!

That was a scene Jian Chou had already experienced.

Ghost axes swung, the Underworld flowed backward, endless ghostly shadows poured from the earth’s cracks, submerging the tragic crowd. Everyone’s face bore fresh blood, bore anger and despair…

Defending desperately to the death, yet reinforcements never arrived.

Over a thousand cultivators! Over a thousand figures with proud, unyielding bones! They fell one after another, their souls torn apart by those endless evil spirits, shattered and extinguished. Their swords floated in mid-air, yet their eyes still gazed vacantly at that gloomy sky of the extreme region!

In their bodies, the will from when their souls perished seemed to still remain.

Opening their mouths in murmurs, it was actually a hoarse cry that moved one to tears: “Yashan…”

Swords are born for slaughter.

Those who wield swords will also be trapped in slaughter!

Jian Chou’s soul was completely immersed in that call of “Yashan,” unable to extricate herself. In the blink of an eye, thousands of forms flashed by, and all of this vanished like phantoms. What reappeared before her eyes was a massive, blood-red sword palace.

The majestic palace was forged entirely from swords.

The leveled ground was piled with swords, the standing walls were assembled from swords, and even the high palace ceiling above was hung with countless swords of different lengths and shapes!

Standing in the hall, looking around in all directions, everything was swords!

She subconsciously felt intimidated by its imposing presence and uncontrollably stepped forward—

“Clap.”

It was just an extremely slight sound, but almost simultaneously with her footstep touching the ground, this massive palace actually resonated with the sound of ten thousand sword cries, while ten thousand sword shadows appeared, ten thousand figures wielding swords in battle appeared!

Ten thousand tides of people!

Ten thousand tides of swords!

All rushing toward her head-on, immediately trapping her in a deadly situation of slaughter, forcing her to counterattack with extreme speed within her own consciousness! There wasn’t even half a moment to be distracted! Dodging and turning, moving her sword like stars and moon, she actually pushed her own potential to the extreme in this instant!

In the depths of consciousness, it was already a battle between heaven and man.

However, her body knew nothing of this.

She opened her eyes vacantly, her entire being sinking unconsciously beneath that ice ravine. The already dried blood stains on her moon-white robes spread outward, accompanied by the flickering red line on the spine of the Yixiantian sword at her brow, actually emanating a bloody cold beauty.

Qu Zhengfeng stood above gazing down, recalling her extremely certain “I don’t believe” from earlier. He actually laughed once, though one couldn’t distinguish the meaning within.

He didn’t watch for long at this place.

After observing for just a moment and seeing no other anomalies, he turned and left the armory again, just as he had many times before.

The Yin-Yang Boundary war had restarted, and Shijiu Zhou’s attack into the extreme region was already in its tenth day.

However, the battle situation was not optimistic.

Even though they had launched a surprise attack on the snow region and gained the initiative, fighting in the extreme region remained extremely difficult. Moreover, after eleven cycles of sixty years had passed, whether it was Shijiu Zhou or the extreme region, neither side dared act rashly. Most of the time, only small-scale battles broke out. The occasional two large-scale confrontations were evenly matched, with victory and defeat difficult to determine.

“It’s truly strange. The enemy doesn’t move, we don’t move. Now we seem to be trapped fifty li in front of this Ghost Gate Pass, unable to advance even an inch.”

A Wangjiang Tower elder stood before the deep black gobi, looking toward the other end of the ten-thousand-li badlands.

The towering and menacing shadow of Ghost Gate Pass stood at the far end.

Between them lay a dangerous and desolate open space where sparse grass grew in barren stone crevices, swaying in the wind.

The distant sky showed deep and shallow dark shadows, appearing extremely peaceful.

But no one knew how much danger lurked in these seemingly quiet shadows.

Xie Buchen stood above that gobi, overlooking the terrain from on high. His somber azure robe fluttered in the fierce wind of the wasteland, and between his ink-dark brows resembling mountain waters, there was vaguely some majestic and stern coldness, though his thin lips bore a peaceful smile.

Planning strategies from within the tent, achieving victory from a thousand li away.

Hearing the Wangjiang Tower elder’s complaint, he showed no sign of displeasure, only saying: “Chanzong has only recently arrived, and fellow Daoists from Yashan and Xinghai have not yet come. It’s normal that we cannot advance even an inch. There’s no need to be too anxious.”

No need to be too anxious?

This Wangjiang Tower elder truly had nothing to say, only feeling that this true disciple under Hengxu Real Person of Kunwu, this prodigy of Shijiu Zhou second only to Yashan’s Jian Chou in recent centuries, was perhaps too calm, too much like someone who could speak without understanding the difficulty.

“But dragging this out is no solution!”

“Those who cannot win should defend; those who can win should attack. Defense comes from insufficiency, attack from abundance. Those skilled at defense hide beneath the nine earths; those skilled at attack move above the nine heavens. Thus they can preserve themselves and achieve complete victory.”

How could Xie Buchen not sense this elder’s impatience?

It was just that such emotions from others could hardly affect him anymore.

He had been familiar with military texts from childhood, proficient in troop formations and tactics, naturally possessing unparalleled wisdom and strategy. After coming to Shijiu Zhou, he further refined his study of formations, so he was naturally composed and calm, coldly observing the overall situation.

Standing with hands behind his back, the Human Emperor Sword in his palm.

Knowing that this Wangjiang Tower elder couldn’t understand what he had just said, he continued without turning his head: “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat. This Ghost Gate Pass is truly the most important gateway into the extreme region. The Eight Directions Yama Halls have deployed heavy troops here in ambush. A frontal assault would inevitably be a hard battle. Victories with fewer defeating many are actually rare in this world. No matter how many clever stratagems, they cannot overcome a gap in actual strength. Elder must maintain patience.”

The Wangjiang Tower elder immediately found himself speechless.

Several days ago, the Chanzong and Mizong cultivators who had participated in the surprise attack on the snow region had already quickly rushed to the extreme region battlefield. However, what was surprising was that there had been no sign of people from Yashan and Xinghai for a long time. After a couple of days, word came from Qu Zhengfeng saying that the two groups of cultivators from Xinghai and Yashan had suffered severe losses and injuries in the snow region battle, needing to stay several days to recover before coming.

Everyone actually didn’t believe Qu Zhengfeng.

So they sought confirmation from Chanzong’s Xuelang Zen Master, but the Zen Master remained silent. Instead, the Little Wise Monk Liaokong beside him, being pure-hearted and kind, blurted out that Senior Sister Jian Chou of Yashan indeed had something wrong with her eyes, looking worried.

This being the case, they could only let it be.

After all, these several hundred cultivators from Xinghai and Yashan, while not insignificant, wouldn’t exactly be like adding wings to a tiger when they came, providing an additional fighting force for Shijiu Zhou.

So although everyone had some doubts, no one dared say much in front of Yashan.

Now the battle situation was at a stalemate. After discussion between Hengxu Real Person and Fudao Shanren, they decided to send out several teams to scout the surroundings to see if there were any anomalies.

Their team had the highest cultivation levels, so they naturally came to this most dangerous Ghost Gate Pass.

Besides him and Xie Buchen, there was another figure with an extremely sensitive and special identity standing nearby—Fu Chaosheng, who had caused quite a stir in Xinghai some days ago.

When Xie Buchen spoke, he just stood to the side listening, with no particular reaction.

Only after Xie Buchen finished talking with that elder did he turn toward him. His light gaze showed no readable emotion, and he asked without the slightest evasion: “Fellow Daoist Fu has profound cultivation and has been to the extreme region before. Now, separated by fifty li and looking at Ghost Gate Pass from afar, can you discern any clues?”

With Jian Chou absent, Fu Chaosheng spent most of his time with Yashan people. He had come along this time only because Kunwu’s Xie Buchen had actively requested to come look, so he had annoyingly followed along.

But unexpectedly, Xie Buchen had maintained his composure and hadn’t lashed out.

Hearing the question now, Fu Chaosheng said: “Your assessment is correct. Behind Ghost Gate Pass lurk one hundred thousand evil spirits. Among the Ten Great Ghost Clans, the Ghost King and Bird Beak clans have already stationed themselves within. It’s a place easy to defend but difficult to attack.”

“Fifty li is already extremely close. The enemy formation must also have great powers presiding. Since we have already seen the situation clearly, let’s return to report and deliberate.”

Fu Chaosheng spoke briefly, and Xie Buchen didn’t press for more details.

He calmly said this and took the lead down from the gobi. The Human Emperor Sword had no sword light, only a sword shadow, supporting his figure as he departed gracefully like a cloud crane.

The Wangjiang Tower elder and Fu Chaosheng naturally followed after.

However, halfway through, the elder went far ahead while Fu Chaosheng and Xie Buchen fell behind.

Xie Buchen then smiled: “That Yashan and Xinghai people haven’t arrived must mean something has truly happened, some ‘incident’ that we outsiders all know nothing about. However, I’ve long heard that Fellow Daoist Fu is Jian Chou’s close friend and confidant. I imagine you should know everything clearly?”

“…”

Fu Chaosheng wasn’t human. Even though he had once served as a national teacher on a solitary island in the human world, he truly didn’t understand those twists and turns deep in human hearts.

Hearing the words “outsiders,” his expression grew subtly cold.

Xie Buchen seemed not to notice at all. The Human Emperor Sword continued forward, vaguely maintaining his former dignified bearing as the third young master of the Xie Marquis residence. Yet between his indifferent brows, compared to the past, there was added stern immortal qi of slaughter.

The mortal world didn’t stain his body—he was extremely clean.

At this moment, he only sighed peacefully and said: “Since ancient times, humans and demons have walked different paths. The sectarian prejudices among Shijiu Zhou cultivators cannot even be eliminated, let alone the great distinction between species. Even if Fellow Daoist Jian Chou and Yashan mutually disregard all past grudges, other sect forces may not truly be able to set aside their individual biases. A gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall. If I were Fellow Daoist Fu, I would never risk coming here.”

The hidden meaning in his words could be said to be quite obvious.

Even if Fu Chaosheng was unfamiliar with human relations and worldly wisdom, he could hear it clearly. He knew that this Xie Buchen, whom Jian Chou regarded as a mortal enemy, had considerable ability, so he was too lazy to believe whatever the other said.

He only replied: “Whether it’s dangerous or not, an old friend naturally weighs it for me. No need for others to worry.”

Old friend…

Was this how they addressed each other?

Hearing this, Xie Buchen made no further rebuttals, only smiled faintly and transformed into flowing light and residual shadows, heading toward where the Shijiu Zhou cultivators were temporarily stationed.

Billions of star rivers reversed in the universal cosmos.

People sink into the world of consciousness, having neither years nor seasons.

When Jian Chou awakened in that ice ravine and opened her eyes to see that unchanging sky above, she actually felt as if she had been in another world, completely unaware of how much time had passed or what had happened.

Discovering herself lying at the bottom of the ice ravine, she was startled with alarm.

Subconsciously turning over, she was actually light as a swallow, immediately soaring up to mid-air like riding clouds.

Her brow transmitted a dull pain.

She reached out and pulled, actually extracting that sharp sword blade bit by bit from her brow. Wasn’t it the Yixiantian that Qu Zhengfeng had suddenly struck toward her earlier?

Only now, holding this sword again, the feeling was completely different from before.

Though the mental connection wasn’t as solid as a blood-bonded sword, there was vaguely a deeper resonance, like using one’s own arm and fingers—this was not an exaggeration at all.

At this moment, everything that had happened earlier flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern: countless scenes of approaching death and destruction, the massive and eerie sword palace, endless sword-wielding shadows and infinitely changing sword techniques, and those enlightenments gained in that extreme slaughter…

With a thought, Yixiantian instantly became six feet long.

Everything else was not much different from before, except that dangerous red line on the sword spine was actually an inch shorter.

The inch closest to the sword handle had disappeared without a trace.

If shrunk to a three-foot sword, it would be half an inch shorter.

Jian Chou didn’t react at first glance, then frowned and suddenly raised her hand to touch her brow.

At the position where Yixiantian had previously penetrated, there was actually an additional touch of blood red!

Thin as a line, strange and perilous, exactly half an inch!

Her mind raced, countless thoughts surging upward in an instant.

But very quickly, her rationality made her suppress this series of complex thoughts. She only raised her eyes to look around, seeing only ice and snow everywhere. Where was Qu Zhengfeng’s shadow?

Her expression immediately grew somewhat darkly overcast.

Jian Chou couldn’t spare time to think much more. Grabbing Yixiantian, she left the armory with a thought, crossing dozens of li in one movement and directly returning to Yashan.

Others suddenly seeing her were all delighted with surprise.

She paid them no mind, releasing her spiritual sense to find where the person was. With another thought, she was already standing at the corner where the Yashan path turned toward Lingzhao Peak.

This was precisely the Star-Plucking Platform among Yashan’s eight scenic spots.

It was deep night.

The star river spread across the ink-blue sky, mountain winds blowing, tide sounds faintly audible, and the crisp air actually carried the scent of strong wine.

Qu Zhengfeng sat on the Star-Plucking Platform that jutted out beyond the mountain, drinking wine.

Jian Chou stopped behind him, coldly asking: “The Sword Emperor’s strike is indeed extraordinary. If the sword weren’t Yixiantian, I’m afraid Jian Chou would already be separated from her head at this moment. I’m quite curious—since you intended to act, why ask me whether I believe you? What was the purpose?”

“If you had answered that you believe me, I would have first explained the ins and outs and what would happen next. If you answered that you don’t believe me, then as yesterday, there would be no need for many words, no need for many words.”

Qu Zhengfeng didn’t turn around though he knew it was her, continuing to drink wine.

Only after his words fell did he inexplicably laugh once, actually turning his head to stare at her intently, his voice carrying some penetrating sharpness: “However, Fellow Daoist Jian Chou’s cultivation is not much weaker than mine, and it wasn’t a complete sudden sneak attack. Could Fellow Daoist Jian Chou truly not avoid it? Or rather, do you truly not believe me?”

“…”

Jian Chou held her sword looking at him, her eyes showing some wariness, but she didn’t speak.

Qu Zhengfeng completely didn’t need to hear her answer. He casually picked up another wine jar from the ground and threw it to her, saying: “Drink wine. After drinking, it’s just time to set off on the journey.”