Twenty years ago, some young lives had spilled their scalding blood in this vast snow region; twenty years later, their fellow disciples came to this place on such a clear moonlit night, drawing swords against this evil land that had claimed their lives, making their enemies pay back the blood debt from years past!

Yashan!

Yashan…

Drawing the sword—this was the most fearless mark it left on every disciple under Yashan.

Qu Zhengfeng had arrived very early and hadn’t been discovered by anyone, or rather, the Treasure Seal Dharma King who was in the Sacred Hall at that critical moment was at a crucial juncture. Even if he had discovered him, he wouldn’t have acted immediately.

And he also didn’t immediately support Jian Chou.

Not until just now, at this critical moment, did he draw his sword and rise, displaying to the snow region under the night sky the most oppressive edge of the Mingri Xinghai generation’s Sword Emperor!

His usually scholarly face, through the accumulated might of many years in Xinghai, had gained several traces of fearsome majesty. His brows and eyes were even more tinted with an indelible sternness from his swift and fierce action just now.

His black robe fluttered, golden embroidered patterns vivid under the moon.

The Sea Light Sword in his hand, dark blue like surging waves in the deep sea, yet still faintly resembled its appearance from years past.

As many people who recognized his figure knew his origins.

At this moment, who would think he wasn’t the same Qu Zhengfeng from the past?

Liao Kong and Yang Jin stood in the corner of the collapsed ruins, looking at these two figures standing side by side with swords, but they weren’t very clear about the past disputes related to Yashan, so they only felt this scene was extremely captivating, while being quite confused about everything else. Zen Master Xuelang at the foot of the sacred mountain knew everything about the past and present in great detail. From these two standing side by side, he actually saw something identical in them.

It was present in them, and also in all other disciples under Yashan.

It would never change with the passage of time and changing circumstances.

That was the most unique temperament of the Nineteen Continents, of the Central Region.

At the very front of the sacred mountain was the Sacred Hall that had already been crushed to collapse by Qu Zhengfeng’s sword.

The sinister array within the hall was still operating, as if connecting this massive sacred mountain to some strange space. Following the array’s tracks one by one, black qi surged up like tides, completely wrapping around the Treasure Seal Dharma King’s body, even making his skin bleed inch by inch as if corroded by something. But the flesh hidden beneath the skin swelled up several times, with meridians buried inside like worms and snakes, swimming through the flesh…

The Treasure Seal Dharma King’s body suddenly expanded twice in size!

Such a sudden transformation brought tremendous pain!

He suddenly threw back his head and roared silently!

On his originally solemn and grave face, ferocious veins instantly appeared. The black qi swirling around his body even gathered toward his eyes, extinguishing the human light in the depths of his eyes. In its place was that ferocity and deathly silence from the most ancient times!

In the golden light pouring down like a ten-thousand-zhang celestial waterfall, he finally slowly stood up!

The expanded vertical mark between his brows showed deep darkness. Though it only had the form of a vertical eye without distinction between whites and pupils, when he raised his head to look toward Jian Chou, toward Qu Zhengfeng, and even toward the more distant existence that could no longer be called either Ji or Qielan, this extra eye gave people a feeling of substantial gaze!

As if behind this eye, there were hidden thousands upon thousands of other eyes!

Hair-raising!

Even when facing the Treasure Bottle Dharma King’s strongest strike earlier, Jian Chou had never felt such heart palpitations close to trembling!

This wasn’t even acting—it was just such simple gazing!

Twenty years ago, the Snow Region New Esoteric had already conspired and plotted with the Extreme Region, but they hadn’t expected Kunwu Yashan to send elite disciples from within the sect to investigate, seeing through their plans at the time and preferring to fall and die rather than fail to transmit this news back to the Central Region.

That was why Jian Chou and Xie Buchen had to explore the snow region again.

The New Esoteric’s plan that had been prepared for many years thus fell short of success, forced to interrupt under strong pressure.

But it was merely interrupted…

The conspiring heart from back then still remained. Even with Jian Chou and the others’ obstruction, it had only delayed this plan by twenty years.

Twenty years later, the Treasure Seal Dharma King had finally completed the ritual he should have completed back then!

Even if the price paid seemed very painful: the power of the Sacred Hall quickly perished under the crushing force of the three parties—Chanzong, Xinghai, and Yashan—attacking from below; the Sacred Ritual array was also weakened by the continuous awakening of believers below; even the Treasure Bottle Dharma King, the only one remaining in the snow region besides him, had just perished under the sword of this Yashan female cultivator before his very eyes…

But he had ultimately completed it!

One general’s success built on ten thousand bones! What did others’ honor, disgrace, life, and death have to do with him? Even someone as familiar as Treasure Bottle would be merely a hurried passerby in his coming long life.

The deity Shaoji!

He had sacrificed all the power he could control in the snow region through the Sacred Ritual to Him; in return, He granted him a completely new path that no one else had ever walked!

Strange and powerful force filled his aged body.

At this moment, the Treasure Seal Dharma King almost didn’t regard anyone at all!

Whether it was the imposing Qu Zhengfeng in mid-air, or Jian Chou who had just destroyed Treasure Bottle’s divine soul, or even the betraying Dakini Yang Jin hiding in the corner of the Sacred Hall, and that little monk Liao Kong he could crush with one finger, or even Zen Master Xuelang who had quietly appeared on this sacred mountain peak with one step…

Everything was as weak as ants!

In this world, the only thing that could still catch his attention was the Buddha Child wrapped in Buddha light in the most distant place!

The chanting that had originally risen in the world due to the Sacred Ritual had already diminished when Ji appeared and manifested, but with more people awakening, it became the kind of truly devout and moving prayer after witnessing the Sacred Ritual…

They knelt in the mandala toward the figure wrapped in magnificent light on the heights of the sacred mountain.

Everything related to the Sacred Hall and the Dharma Kings was forgotten by them at this moment.

Believing in the Sacred Hall and submitting to the Dharma Kings was merely awe and faith in authority; believing in the Holy Son and taking refuge in the true Buddha was genuine offering and true faith!

Regardless of good or evil, love or fear…

All emotions came from the most genuine depths of their hearts, transmitting toward the dark red great array overhead.

After countless ordinary believers in the snow region awakened, the Sacred Ritual array’s light had originally begun to dim, as if about to disappear from the world. But when new prayers and chanting arose, it also brightened again accordingly.

The direction of rotation suddenly changed.

The originally obscure and gloomy dark red gradually faded away, and what covered it anew was a layer of gentle, pale golden light.

The endless golden light carrying power that had originally poured down from the array also became sparse, finally disappearing entirely.

A new golden thread descended from the sky.

Like a conscious spiritual light, and like silk ribbon falling from the clouds, it floated and swayed, as if by telepathy, probing into the Buddha light above the Sacred Lake ruins.

The feeling at this instant suddenly became mysteriously subtle to the extreme.

There was no longer any trace of the sinister and eerie feeling when the Sacred Ritual array had connected with the Treasure Seal Dharma King. The entire array, the entire world, fell into a strange peace and tranquility.

That thread of golden light looked exactly like an umbilical cord…

Then it became vast and mighty.

Golden light like a celestial waterfall once again washed down, pouring into the radiance that wrapped Ji and Qielan at an even swifter, more fierce speed.

A devout and inclusive posture.

Heaven and earth, along with the countless mortals growing between heaven and earth who were troubled by joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, seemed to become the nurturing mother body through this array.

That ball of light that could no longer be seen clearly was the place being nurtured.

The twin lotus flowers joined into one. Soft and hard bodies overlapped; gentle and clear curves outlined into one; beautiful and distant brows and eyes merged into one face…

No longer him, no longer her.

But Him.

A being that originated from this mortal world yet transcended it, a being that originated from good, evil, truth, and falsehood yet rose above them!

He gently closed his eyes, allowing the spring-water-like power from the Sacred Ritual array to wrap around Him. His slender arms embraced his curled body at this moment, like an infant curled in the womb, then gradually stretched out as that gradually filling power expanded.

He was growing.

At a speed visible to everyone’s naked eyes.

Until those tender limbs became strong and powerful, until those immature contours became angular and distinct…

This was the clearest yet most blurred shell in the world.

This was also the most beautiful yet most ugly face in the world.

Because He came from the deepest part of everyone’s heart, the existence most desired yet most feared by every mortal who couldn’t escape the mortal world, and also the cleanest yet most polluted existence in the hearts of every being struggling in the sea of suffering!

Even the Treasure Seal Dharma King, who at this moment considered himself to have transcended ordinary cultivators and touched the unreachable door of the Upper Void immortal realm, could not completely block that strange longing and fear surging from the deepest part of his heart at this instant…

Beauty, or ugliness.

Good, or evil.

There had never been truly supremely good people in the world, nor truly supremely evil people. Good and evil constantly pulled against each other in a person’s long or short life, forming the most certain trajectory of a person’s existence…

The array in the sky had changed, but the array in the Sacred Hall was still quietly operating, still injecting that ancient and vicissitudes malevolent power from some mysterious space into the Treasure Seal Dharma King’s body. His cracked skin had been completely eroded by that substantial black qi, forming strange and archaic black patterns one after another.

“Buddha Child, Buddha Child!”

His lightless pupils stared at Ji in the Buddha light, and from his throat that had been deformed by the compression of flesh and meridians, he let out a hoarse angry roar mixed with intense hatred. At this moment, he actually raised his palm high, and across this vast void, was about to grab toward that Buddha light!

The changes in the Treasure Seal Dharma King’s body had been seen by both Jian Chou and Qu Zhengfeng—in the Silver Tower of former Mingri Xinghai, on Liang Tingyu who had fought with Jian Chou on the night sailing ship!

This was clearly the power of that ancient deity Shaoji!

The moment that palm stained with his own blood extended, it carried endless rolling black qi, transforming into a giant claw like a fierce beast, pouncing toward Ji who hadn’t yet opened his eyes above the Sacred Lake ruins!

“Attack!”

Qu Zhengfeng’s voice held no hesitation!

Decisive and resolute!

As his words rang out, the Sea Light Sword in his palm suddenly turned, instantly re-condensing ten thousand zhang of sea light, but because of the long accumulation of power during the previous silence, it contained deeper, more violent force!

“Swoosh!”

Descending from the sky, it was a dark blue celestial waterfall, as if one sword had split the entire vast sea! The dark blue sword light was like a collapsing high wall, angrily pouring down toward that giant claw!

Another sword light from the side rose almost simultaneously!

Not a bit slower than his!

Jian Chou’s full attention had never moved away from the Treasure Seal Dharma King. Even before Qu Zhengfeng’s vocal warning, her Burning Lamp Sword had already manifested the brilliant lights of ten thousand homes, and with a completely different color and posture from the Sea Light Sword, she slashed out a ribbon-like sword light, directly targeting the Treasure Seal!

Sword light reflected alongside sword light!

Sea Light and Burning Lamp advanced side by side!

These two sword-wielding people, one was a current disciple under Yashan, one was a former disciple under Yashan. There had once been some indescribable grievances between them, but their response at this moment showed an amazing coordination.

However, they were both very clear—

This wasn’t because they truly had some telepathic understanding, but merely because strong opponents of the same realm often had similar thoughts and responses.

That was all.

The true power of the Holy Son Ji was awakening. Since it was feared by this Treasure Seal Dharma King who had already drawn divine power into his body, it must be something that could threaten him.

He stood above the snow region peak, born from reincarnation.

As long as they could drag this Treasure Seal Dharma King for a moment, without even needing to fight with all their might to severely wound him, they could welcome the real turning point of this battle!

“Boom!”

The full-power strikes of three great powers instantly collided, erupting in a terrifying circle of spatial fluctuations that completely leveled all buildings on this sacred mountain!

Sword light and sword light disappeared.

That menacing giant black claw was also blasted into scattered dust and smoke!

How could the Treasure Seal Dharma King have thought that in this world there would still be such blind cultivators who dared to attack him!

With one strike unsuccessful, he flew into a rage from embarrassment.

On that face filled with sinister cold, his eyes were pitch black and lightless, appearing strange and eerie, as if clay puppet eyeballs had been forcibly embedded in a flesh and blood body!

“Yashan, hehe, Yashan!”

He easily identified the origins of these two people, chanting once while staring at Qu Zhengfeng, chanting once while staring at Jian Chou, then throwing back his head in wild laughter.

“Eleven cycles have passed, and a sect of cowards finally dares to come seek revenge? Hahahaha…”

Jian Chou suddenly frowned.

Qu Zhengfeng’s originally calm face became suddenly ice-cold upon hearing this sentence, and the palm holding the Sea Light Sword loosened and tightened again.

Finally, he actually laughed along!

At this instant, under the magnificent array, in his tightly gripped palm, the dark blue and gentle shadow of the Sea Light Sword suddenly disappeared.

An extremely sharp momentum rose frantically from his body!

What re-condensed its outline in his palm was already a completely new sword!

It was that Yashan Sword that had followed him when he betrayed and left Yashan!

Though the giant sword’s form had shrunk, its outline and edge remained.

The simple and ancient sword body gathered the essence of Yashan’s entire mountain range, profound and weathered, nurtured in the turning of stars and shifting of constellations since ancient times—the most magnificent righteous qi in the world!

He simply raised this sword flat, and his tall frame had the spirit to support heaven and earth!

Facing the Treasure Seal, standing on this majestic sacred mountain, he was like another mountain more majestic and heavy than this sacred mountain!

That was the mountain in his heart, the sword in his heart!

The words that came out were also the hatred and killing intent that had accumulated in his chest for eleven cycles, but when they floated in this vast world, they added several traces of heroic disdain for gods and Buddhas.

“Blood debts shall be repaid with your blood!”

Cowards?

If all disciples under my Yashan are cowards, then in this vast world, what person would still dare to call himself a “true man”!

But there was no need for argument!

What was least needed was argument.

He simply laughed loudly and advanced with his sword!

The Yashan Sword in his palm grew with the wind, and on this snow region sacred mountain, it actually carved out the silhouette of another mountain peak long renowned in the Nineteen Continents—

An infinitely majestic shadow!