Chapter 635: My One Sword, Slaying the Gods and Buddhas in Your Heart

Dark clouds loomed overhead, pressing down like a Jian He that spanned the entire realm.

The atmosphere in the arena was thick with a murderous intent.

"Outrageous!"

Before Gou Wu Yue could make a move, someone from among the white-robed figures could no longer suppress their fury.

Without a doubt, among the crowd, there were those who held the Wang Zuo title, and others who had achieved Zhan Dao.

Perhaps sword cultivators revered the Eighth Jian Xian as a divine being, but under the heavens, there were far more than just sword cultivators.

"You hunched wretch, how dare you speak of devouring us?"

Accompanied by a furious shout, a white-robed figure, whose mind was on the verge of exploding from the persistent chanting of the mantra, lunged forward fiercely.

"Wang Rang!"

"No—"

Cries of alarm rose up instantly.

But with everyone preoccupied, no one could stop Wang Rang's actions.

"Pi Sheng Wu Jie!"

Wang Rang's hair and beard flew wildly as he raised his hand.

A burst of dark golden light unfolded, enveloping everyone in the arena.

In an instant, the world seemed to fall completely silent.

The wind, the shouts, the sword cries...

All vanished!

Except for the mighty azure Jian He that still lingered faintly, even the sounds from the eight revered Buddhas summoned by the mantra were instantly erased.

"Zhan Dao?"

Ba Zun An turned his gaze slightly, his eyes showing no ripple of emotion.

This technique of the Void Realm could indeed eliminate, in a short time, all negative effects unfavorable to the white-robed ones in this place.

But even Gou Wu Yue had to fall silent under his rebuke.

Where had this fellow come from, daring to point fingers at him?

"You hunched wretch?"

Ba Zun An murmured, letting out a scoff.

He was indeed slightly hunched, no longer bearing any trace of a strong warrior's demeanor.

Even standing upright atop the great Buddha,

The weight of years still pressed down, making it hard to breathe.

But in his view,

If not for Gou Wu Yue supporting him from the side, how would this person dare to be so arrogant?

"The first one."

Ba Zun An raised a finger toward Gou Wu Yue.

A flash of shock crossed Gou Wu Yue's eyes, as he already sensed something amiss.

Suddenly, azure sword energy erupted from his body, instantly shattering the sword energy that had frozen him in place. Then, gripping his sword, he counterattacked with momentum.

"Ni He!"

The azure Jian He surged abruptly, and endless sword energy rushed forth like water bursting from a dam.

With a booming sound, Ba Zun An's body was shattered by the Jian He's waters.

Yet, as his form dissipated, the mocking smile at the corner of his lips seemed to herald something.

"Watch out!"

Gou Wu Yue reacted in an instant, roaring at Wang Rang.

Others might not see it, but he knew full well why the Eighth Jian Xian was called the Eighth Jian Xian, the faith of the eastern domain's sword cultivators—it was because he had perfectly mastered the nine ancient sword techniques!

Not just one.

But all nine!

"Huan Jian Shu?"

Wang Rang seemed to realize something.

He had battled ancient sword cultivators before, so he knew this was a sword art that used space as a mirror to create illusions, and at its peak, it could even turn the illusory into reality.

But Ba Zun An had shattered under Gou Wu Yue's Jian He.

And yet, he couldn't detect the opponent's presence at all.

"Where is he?"

For a moment, Wang Rang felt a surge of terror.

With his Zhan Dao cultivation, he had even severed the great Dao.

But now, he couldn't sense the shadow of someone with merely Houtian cultivation.

Absurd!

"Found him yet?"

A voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

Wang Rang's pupils contracted, and his spiritual energy exploded outward, instantly forming a protective barrier.

Even his realm contracted sharply.

But despite that, the echoing laughter couldn't be dispelled at all.

The frightening voice of Ba Zun An rang out again:

"Little one, how many years have you been cultivating? Not even thirty?"

"The great Dao you practice isn't even complete. Even if you achieved Zhan Dao quickly, there are still aspects you haven't comprehended."

"You see Huan Jian Shu clearly enough, but have you ever witnessed another of the nine sword techniques—Xin Jian Shu?"

Xin Jian Shu?

Wang Rang was completely stunned.

He had heard of it!

But this long-lost sword art...

Far from seeing it, he didn't even know what kind of attack it was.

Just from the name, could it be that after Ba Zun An vanished, he had gone into his...

Heart?

"Nonsense!"

Wang Rang was startled by his own thought.

How could a physical being enter someone's heart?

He was Ba Zun An, not some Yu Ling Di!

"Not nonsense."

Though it was just a mental voice, Ba Zun An seemed to read all of Wang Rang's thoughts.

After that, Wang Rang's vision shifted, and he suddenly discovered that among everyone in the arena, including Gou Wu Yue,

In everyone's hearts, a faint shadowy figure was reflected.

—Ba Zun An!

"Xin Jian Shu, formed through observation, lodges the spirit in the physical form, for all who have desires, fears, awe, joy..."

"The eight aspects move with emotion, manifesting shadows in nameless places..."

"What the heart perceives is spirit, is divine..."

Wang Rang felt like he was going mad.

That mantra had originally only the words "Om Mani Padme Hum," but when the shadowy figure appeared in his vision, the repeating six syllables directly interpreted themselves in his mind.

"No!"

A chill ran down his spine as Wang Rang realized in horror that this wasn't the real issue.

The real point was, under his "Pi Sheng Wu Jie," shouldn't all things he wanted to eliminate be dispelled?

How could the mantra's sound return?

As if intent on not letting him die of fright, Ba Zun An's laughter echoed again.

"Little one, have you underestimated me too much? Someone even Gou Wu Yue treats with caution—how could you think..."

"My Huan Jian Shu could be seen through so easily?"

In his shock, Wang Rang saw the shadowy figures standing atop everyone's hearts vanish in an instant.

The next second, they transformed into massive golden Buddha statues.

Those Buddhas, unbound by physical constraints, burst forth in a flash, turning into enormous Buddhas that filled the sky.

"Om Mani Padme Hum..."

The sound of tolling bells and drums shook them to their core, scattering their vision and blanking their minds.

Wang Rang didn't even realize that as the first syllable rang out, his temples exploded on the spot.

And with each subsequent word,

After a series of "thuds," his limbs and body were all shattered and obliterated.

"Death..."

So swift!

"Hah!"

It was like a dream within a dream; Wang Rang jolted awake as if falling from a height, drenched in cold sweat.

He blinked, lifting his gaze.

In the moment he realized he still had eyes and wasn't dead, the scene before him left him utterly speechless with shock.

He saw Ba Zun An, standing atop the Buddha statue, with his withered branch merely touching it—Wang Rang's "Pi Sheng Wu Jie" hadn't penetrated Ba Zun An's body at all from the start.

The bloated realm sphere deformed under some immense force upon contact with the branch.

No matter how it deformed, it couldn't encompass Ba Zun An; it only kept extending outward.

Under that exquisitely controlled power, the realm didn't shatter—it just extended, extended, and extended further...

"This!"

Shouts of alarm erupted from the white-robed figures.

"What's happening?"

"Wang Rang—Wang Rang isn't dead?"

"I clearly saw his entire body explode! What is this?"

"My heavens..."

Turning his head, Wang Rang was horrified to find that not only he had been deceived by the Huan Jian Shu, but everyone in the white robes seemed to have witnessed the same scene he had.

Since he was still alive, that meant what had just happened wasn't real.

But the incredibly realistic sensation of death—if it wasn't real, then it must be...

"Huan Jian Shu?"

Wang Rang stiffly turned his head, trying to discern something from Gou Wu Yue's eyes.

But aside from the deep shock hidden in those eyes, he found nothing.

"So, even the Jian He piercing the body was fake?"

"Even Senior Gou Wu Yue couldn't see through Ba Zun An's Huan Jian Shu?"

Wang Rang was terrified.

He couldn't understand how this Houtian cultivation individual could achieve all this.

Even if he was an ancient sword cultivator, the former Eighth Jian Xian.

What about the Jin Wu Ling?

After so many years of suppression, even if he had some power to break the restraints, could he really ignore them all?

And besides, there was Gou Wu Yue.

Even if he was once the Eighth Jian Xian, he was still only the eighth.

Since he never earned the title of the seven Jian Xians, he wasn't truly the foremost in swordsmanship.

But now, one of the true seven Jian Xians was right there.

And even he couldn't see through Ba Zun An's sword techniques?

"Can't see through it?"

The laughter in his mind echoed again. Wang Rang subconsciously nodded slightly, then reacted, immediately looking up in horror at the figure atop the Buddha.

But that person...

Ba Zun An's eyes held only Gou Wu Yue.

That question wasn't directed at him, Wang Rang—it was for Gou Wu Yue!

"Ignored..."

This complete disregard, being used merely as a tool to test a strong opponent's power, stirred a rage in Wang Rang that he hadn't felt since becoming Zhan Dao.

This feeling of weakness was something he despised.

Yet, this reality was something he was utterly powerless to change.

Cold sweat began to bead on Wang Rang.

On Gou Wu Yue's side, silence fell as well.

Incredible disbelief filled his eyes, as if he had thought of something and was completely lost in thought.

Ba Zun An, standing atop the Buddha, let out a carefree laugh. With his withered branch pointed once more, the realm shattered with a boom.

"If you can't see through it, then you can't protect this person."

With those words, Ba Zun An swung his withered branch.

"Dao Zhe, Shun Ye."

One of the three thousand sword paths—Shun Dao!

Amid flying blood, Wang Rang felt the world flip upside down. In the swirling scenes, he saw a headless corpse spurting blood...

That blood was still warm.

That headless corpse looked all too familiar.

"Me?"

Wang Rang widened his eyes, refusing to close them.

But the world grew dim, and even without shutting his eyes, he could see no more.

"Zhan Dao?"

Ba Zun An lowered his withered branch and sighed. "It's merely just one realm, after all."

He gazed at the heavenly Dao, and a flash of sword intent passed through his eyes.

"Boom—"

The rules of the great Dao manifested, shattered in an instant under his gaze, breaking into countless fragments that scattered away.

Silence.

The entire arena was deathly silent.

Everyone was dazed.

No one could have imagined that, under the Jin Wu Ling, someone could still shatter the heavenly Dao with a single glance, not even allowing Wang Rang a chance to revive.

"Guan Jian Shu?"

The white-robed figures spoke haltingly.

Everyone recognized this technique.

But for those not of the same era, without personal combat experience, only wandering in hearsay and rumors gilded by the masses...

In such a situation, who could have thought

That Guan Jian Shu could be so direct, so decisive?

Not a single wasted word.

Just one glance.

The heavens shattered, Zhan Dao beheaded!

"Ba Zun An..."

Gou Wu Yue's heart raced, his brows trembled, and his fingers clenched with a crack.

He couldn't believe it, nor did he want to believe that the Ba Zun An of the past was truly about to stand against him, on the opposing side.

And in a even more arrogant manner!

"Your cultivation..."

Gou Wu Yue couldn't finish his sentence; the sound of his famous sword Nu Lan buzzed and trembled, as if startled by that single glance that observed and severed the heavens.

"Ha ha ha!"

Ba Zun An threw his head back in laughter. After a long while, he scratched his head with the withered branch, his brows furrowed, looking amused.

"Gou Wu Yue, even now, are you still hung up on such trivial matters?"

"This isn't trivial!" Gou Wu Yue's eyes bulged wide.

Ba Zun An's face turned serious, his cold voice striking like thunder: "Then your vision is too narrow!"

A thunderous boom echoed in Gou Wu Yue's mind, leaving him momentarily blank.

Vision...

Too narrow?

Even the hundreds of white-robed figures showed expressions of shock, staring at the unrestrained man atop the Buddha.

Ba Zun An shook his head, his eyes on Gou Wu Yue filled with disappointment. After a long silence, he continued:

"From the moment I appeared, all your focus has been too narrow, too limited."

"You never ask about my aspirations; you only impose your own ambitions and desires on me."

"You don't listen to others; you cover everything with your own voice."

"I have to say, the title of the seven Jian Xians, and that of the ruler, have completely confined you!"

Gou Wu Yue listened, his heart pounding, as he and the others lifted their gazes.

They saw the backlight of the great Buddha's shadow rising layer by layer, and even the disheveled man atop it seemed enveloped in a faint golden divine glow.

Ba Zun An paused, recalling Gou Wu Yue's earlier question, and found it quite amusing.

He raised the withered branch in his hand, gazing at it for a long time, murmuring: "From my sword, to my cultivation, to my form..."

"Hunched?"

"Hah!"

Ba Zun An sneered, "I talk to you about stance, and you respond with doubt; I speak of aspirations, and you counter with strength... For someone who chooses to blind themselves, even the gods can't awaken them!"

With that, he clearly had no more patience for idle words.

With a boom, spiritual energy surged, and Ba Zun An slowly rose into the air.

In that instant, everyone was stunned.

Even Hai Tang Er, hidden in the spatial realm, jumped in fright.

"Flying?"

Wasn't that exclusive to Xiantian cultivation?

Upon closer inspection, Ba Zun An's aura continued to climb, clearly breaking into the Xiantian realm at that moment.

It seemed his breakthrough was entirely at his own will.

Gou Wu Yue sensed something wrong and wanted to act.

But under the slowly rising Ba Zun An, everyone felt an immense pressure descend, forcing their bodies to hunch and tremble involuntarily.

Ba Zun An looked up at the sky.

When Tai Xu raged, dark clouds gathered; when a famous sword was drawn, the Jian He descended.

These meant nothing to him.

He had considered Gou Wu Yue a friend, and even with differing stances, he wanted to offer some enlightenment.

But now, there was no need for more words.

As before, for someone who chose to blind themselves, even the gods couldn't awaken them.

If he truly had to give an answer, it would be one drenched in blood, forged in bloodshed.

Atop the Buddha, a mournful song began to play.

Ba Zun An pointed his withered branch, and the mantra echoed in everyone's hearts once more, each word crystal clear, as if the interpretations dawned in that deafening rhythm:

"Dark clouds bully the sky, great river flows westward against the current."

Everyone's hearts trembled with inexplicable fear.

The clouds covering the sky moved without wind, twisting and tearing.

The Jian He that had opened this realm rippled and surged in reverse.

A peak, unbeatable power was manifesting.

Everyone was terrified, but the mantra's interpretation shifted:

"The Dao's principles are absent, power causes ministers to bow."

From scene to essence, though not speaking of themselves, everyone felt utterly crushed.

Their knees trembled wildly, on the verge of collapsing, yet their resistance to subservience kept them upright amid the mantra.

The mantra chanting never paused.

The man atop the Buddha grew more majestic, the Buddha's light spreading, like a deity continuing to chant:

"Broken-winged bird that won't submit, sealed sword in an unordinary body."

It seemed to tell his own story. After Ba Zun An broke through to Xiantian, not only did he leave the ground and gain the ability to fly,

His spiritual sense also recovered, allowing him to see the entire Ba Gong battlefield, the scattered white-robed figures who couldn't return in time or dared not return.

As golden light filled the sky, he suddenly looked up, straightening his hunched body, his eyes filled with endless divine light.

"I bow in fear and trepidation? I say the heavens are too low!"

In that moment, the dark clouds shattered, the sky collapsed.

The great Buddha's shadow bloomed to its peak in everyone's eyes, its splendor like the lingering glow of a setting sun, captivating.

Everyone watched as the withered branch in the hand of the man floating atop the Buddha was shattered by some nameless force, silently breaking into two pieces.

A soft "whoosh" of wind, and the branch fell.

With a few pats,

Everyone's lingering gazes turned eternal.

Clang! The famous sword hit the ground, and Gou Wu Yue heavily closed his eyes.

This scene, in his eyes, also became eternal.

What the deceased saw was beauty; what this outsider saw was, under the ascent of hundreds of great Buddha shadows, a fleeting silver light.

That was sword intent.

It was also the sword light that severed the great Buddha.

More so, the holy force that ended the lives of hundreds of white-robed figures!

"Holy force..."

Merely a trace.

But the outcome was entirely different.

No pain, no groans, no cries.

As the great Buddha was severed, the Buddha's light exploded, dividing the heavens and earth, dividing people as well.

Thud after thud of bodies hitting the ground came; Gou Wu Yue opened his eyes in grief, but all he saw was a sea of blood and floating corpses, each face peaceful.

He clenched his fists, suddenly realizing his sword had fallen from his hand at some point.

Sword guest...

Versus guest...

One word's difference, worlds apart!

Tap.

Ba Zun An lightly touched down.

He gazed at the person before him, pondering for a long time without speaking.

Then, he turned sideways.

Glancing back at the famous sword on the ground, Ba Zun An paused briefly, but ultimately stepped away, choosing to leave.

"With my one sword, I sever the gods and Buddhas in your heart. May you reflect on yourself."