The three-hundred-year reign of the Great Qian Dynasty appeared to have come to an end in the space of a single night.
The capital city, which had already been cracked by the earth's ley lines, was now shrouded in an eerie atmosphere. There was no wind or thunder; only countless tiny, dark purple ice crystals were falling from the sky. Any imperial guard who touched these ice crystals was instantly transformed into a crystalline sculpture.
This was a 'field' woven from mortal martial arts and half-step spiritual power.
Xiao Wuchen stood with his hands behind his back on the dragon-spine-like structure of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
His silver hair rippled slightly amidst the ice crystals, each strand emitting an icy aura of life and death. A hundred paces away, on the opposite eave, Chief Eunuch Bixie's figure flickered in and out of focus.
Today, Bixie wore the official robes of a first-rank imperial eunuch that had been worn for a century. Under the moonlight, the gold-embroidered python patterns exuded an aura of decay. He held a slender needle in his hand that looked like a willow leaf, its tip condensed with a wisp of almost tangible 'bone-dissolving Yin Spirit Qi'.
Bixie spoke, his voice hoarse yet resounding, causing the glazed tiles beneath his feet to crumble into dust. 'Wuchen, do you know how many restless ambitions like yours and mine lie buried beneath the dragon throne of this Great Qian Dynasty?
I only know that tonight, one more skeleton will be added to the bones beneath the throne.' "
Xiao Wuchen slowly raised his hand. The 'Life and Death Sword' remained unsheathed, but the surrounding void began to emit ear-piercing explosions as it succumbed to the pressure of the yin energy. Just as their killing intent locked, an unprecedented crimson high-energy warning lit up on Xiao Wuchen's system panel:
[Detected two 'Mortal Path Ultimate' energy fields of the same origin and attribute colliding rapidly].
Causality Determination: The host and the 'Evil-Repelling Steward' share the same Great Qian Yin Meridian Qi'.
[System Logic Mandatory Execution: This battle is a 'unique' survival battle. The winner will forcibly devour all of the loser's 'Qi', 'Lifespan' and 'Spiritual Root Seed', merging them into one.
[Current Balance Status:
Xiao Wuchen: Victorious due to the sharpness of the 'Life and Death Sword Intent' and the transformative power of the system's enhancement.
Evil-Repelling Steward: He is victorious thanks to the depth of his century-long cultivation and the unpredictability of his blood energy incarnation.
'Go!'
Bixie struck first. Without moving, the willow-leaf needles at his fingertips transformed into a shower of meteors that precisely targeted Xiao Wuchen's 108 vital points. The speed was beyond the capacity of the naked eye to perceive.
'Flowers bloom to reveal the Buddha; leaves fall silently.'
Xiao Wuchen's eyelids drooped slightly and he half-drew his longsword.
A black, crescent-shaped ripple spread out from him. The needles, which could pierce refined iron, slowed drastically when they entered the ripple's range, as if they were sinking into a viscous swamp. Then, like fine silk, black sword energy churned the needles into ashes.
'What a magnificent sword intent of life and death!'
Bixie laughed loudly, his body transforming into nine afterimages amidst the flying ash. Each afterimage unleashed a 'Yin Sha Palm' strike powerful enough to shatter mountains.
The nine palms combined, changing the very fabric of the world!
Xiao Wuchen had nowhere to dodge. He stomped his foot, unleashing the full power of his 'half-step Core Formation' spiritual energy.
'Life and Death Sword Intent—Severing Cause and Effect!'
He transformed into a streak of black light and crashed head-on into the overwhelming barrage of palm shadows.
A deafening roar echoed throughout the city and the seemingly indestructible roof of the Taihe Palace collapsed with a crash. The aftershocks of spiritual energy spread outwards in a white ring.
Within a radius of one mile, the once magnificent palace complex instantly froze into ice and was then reduced to dust. This was the ultimate mortal duel. Although they were not immortal, to mortals it was a miracle that changed the world.
Xiao Wuchen and Bixie brushed past each other amidst the ruins.
Xiao Wuchen had a bloody hole in his shoulder, pierced by Bixie's hidden force, while Bixie's magnificent court robes were torn open from collar to abdomen. Instead of blood, decaying purple spiritual smoke flowed from the wound.
Xiao Wuchen had a bloody hole in his shoulder, pierced by Bixie's hidden force, while Bixie's magnificent court robes were torn open from the collar to the abdomen. Instead of blood, purple spiritual smoke flowed from the wound. "Wu Chen, your words 'Birth and Death' are indeed designed to restrain me." Bixie coughed violently, his eyes filled with a mixture of greed and killing intent.
'This is just the beginning.'
Xiao Wu Chen wiped the blood from his shoulder and drew his longsword. The purple light emanating from the god-demon's core made the entire desolate capital city feel the pressure of superiority.
'With the next strike, I will take your life.'
The chill in the capital had become not just cold, but a lifeless, desolate stillness.
Amidst the ruins, the Chief Evil-Repelling Steward let out a shrill, mournful laugh. His once withered body began to swell violently under the influence of some strange force. He suddenly raised his hands, his ten fingers like hooks, and reached out to grasp the myriad lights outside the Forbidden City.
'Wu Chen, do you really think that our family has protected this capital for two hundred years just to serve this corrupt imperial power?'
Bi Xie's eyes turned completely blood red and a dark purple aura spread rapidly from his body, sweeping across the entire city like a plague.
'These million people in the capital are all blood sacrifices that we have planted! Today, we will use these million souls to extend our family's immortal reign by another hundred years!'
As he roared, countless citizens, both asleep and awake, felt a sudden tightness in their hearts. Invisible, blood-red vortices rose from their heads and converged into long rivers of blood that surged wildly towards the highest point of the Forbidden City.
Bi Xie's skin turned rosy and his previously weak aura broke through the mortal path's bottleneck, showing faint signs of entering the 'Perfect Golden Core' realm.
[Ding! Large-scale malicious sacrifice detected! System determination: If the host allows him to complete the sacrifice, the survival rate is 0%.' Emergency Plan Activated: Destiny Plunder!
[Mode description: The host can use the 'Sword Intent of Life and Death' to sever ownership of blood energy and forcibly convert the stolen lifespan and luck into the 'Demonic Spiritual Pressure' required for system upgrades.
'Trying to reap the rewards before me? You're not qualified.'
Xiao Wuchen closed his eyes slightly and the Sword of Life and Death slammed into the ground.
'Domain of Life and Death — Reversal of Fortune!'
A thick, inky black light instantly spread across the floor tiles. The surging rivers of blood energy halted strangely upon contact with the black light, then transformed into sharp whistles as they poured frantically into Xiao Wuchen's body.
'How dare you steal from our family?'
Seeing this, Bixie trembled with rage; the loss of his lifespan meant that his last breath was drawing near. He let out a beast-like roar, abandoning his magic and transforming into a blur as he charged at Xiao Wuchen.
The two figures collided violently amidst the rubble of the collapsed Taihe Hall.
This was the pinnacle of mortal combat; each punch carried enough force to tear through space and each palm strike was capable of shattering refined iron.
'Bang!' Xiao Wuchen was struck in the chest by a palm strike; the sound of breaking ribs was crisp and piercing. Instead of retreating, however, he used the momentum to press forward, his right hand piercing through Bixie's abdomen like a sharp blade.
'Sizzle!' Xiao Wuchen ripped off Bixie's purple python robe — a symbol of honour — along with large chunks of flesh.
'Bixie, you've always prided yourself on being high and mighty, manipulating all living beings at will. But peel back the layers and you're nothing but a cowardly mad dog!' Xiao Wuchen was covered in blood, yet his eyes were terrifyingly clear. He gripped Bixie's throat tightly and pressed his former master against the cold, broken wall of the dragon throne.
'Spare...spare me...' The bloodlust in Bixie's eyes faded, replaced by a primal fear born of the drain on his life force.
'Too late.'
Xiao Wuchen lowered his head until their foreheads touched, surging his life-and-death true energy wildly into Bixie's consciousness through the point of contact.
[Ding! Separation begins!]
[Successfully plundered: Former Master's Luck (100%), a Century's Worth of Remaining Cultivation (100%), Foundation Establishment Stage Spiritual Root Seed (Pseudo)]
With a piercing scream, Bixie's body rapidly withered and disintegrated, finally turning into a cloud of black dust that vanished completely in the cold wind.
Xiao Wuchen stood up, feeling the spiritual power surging within his body due to the devouring of evil spirits, which almost caused his meridians to burst. The 'half-step Core Formation' within him produced a clear, crystalline sound. In the centre of his sea of consciousness, a dark golden core slowly formed, exuding the aura of an immortal.
Xiao Wuchen stood on top of the ruins, holding onto the torn remains of his purple python robe.
The crimson vortex that had once been in the city had long since vanished. Though the people were weak, they had survived; however, their gaze towards the Forbidden City held nothing but fear.
He had won. He had severed his only guide and the last ties he held onto in the mortal realm.
He looked down at the text on the system panel, which read: 'Host has achieved the "Mortal Slaying God" achievement. There are no more challenges on the mortal map. The gate to the cultivation world — the Fallen Dragon Valley boundary — is opening.'
'There's nothing left to cherish in this mortal realm.'
Xiao Wuchen casually tossed aside the tattered purple python robe, letting the wind and snow bury it. Looking north, he saw a beam of blue light tearing through the clouds to welcome the arrival of the strongest demonic swordsman in the mortal realm.
The snowstorm in the Forbidden City stopped abruptly the moment Bixie's body disintegrated.
Xiao Wuchen knelt amid the ruins, pressing his right hand tightly against Bixie's collapsed chest. The anticipated violent devouring didn't last long. He was astonished to discover that this old monster, who had dominated the Great Qian Dynasty for two hundred years, didn't possess a single complete golden core, but rather a pile of dark golden fragments radiating deadly energy. 'Cough... Wuchen, do you think... I'm pathetic?"
Bixie didn't die immediately. His withered, ghostly hand gripped Xiao Wuchen's crimson python robe tightly. A tear of blood streamed from his cloudy eyes, not from excruciating pain, but from a century of pent-up resentment.
'Fifty years ago, I triggered a heavenly tribulation, stepping one foot into the Golden Core realm.' Pi Xie's voice was hoarse and carried a chilling aura. 'At the very moment the core was formed, a swordsman descended from the clouds. He didn't even draw his sword; he merely pointed a finger in mid-air."
Xiao Wuchen's breath caught slightly; he could feel the tremor emanating from Pi Xie's soul.
'That was the guide from the "Heavenly Gang Sect".' He looked at me as if I were a pile of filthy, rotten flesh and said, 'A person with incomplete senses dares to steal the secrets of heaven? A body lacking in destiny is destined to have no hope on the path to immortality.'"
Pi Xie laughed bitterly, his chest heaving violently. "He casually shattered my Golden Core, kicking me back from the clouds to this mortal realm like a dead dog! He said that even if people like us cultivate to the very end, we are merely 'defective products' used by the cultivation world to pass the time!"
Xiao Wuchen gripped the sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
'Incomplete six senses... lacking in destiny?' He repeated these two words to himself, each one searing his heart like a red-hot iron.
He had once thought that, as long as he killed enough people and seized enough destiny, he could rise to the top like an immortal. However, Bixie had shown him the bloody truth: according to the 'rules' of this world, he had lost his chance to reach the top the moment he entered the palace.
'Wuchen... I guard this capital, not for imperial power, but to wait for an opportunity... an opportunity to defy fate.' Bixie's hand slowly fell and his gaze became unfocused as he stared at the sky. 'But now, I can't wait any longer. This despair has come to you.'
[Ding! Host's mentality has fluctuated violently.]
[High-level law suppression detected: The Dao traces left by the 'Tiangang Sect' are eroding the host's sea of consciousness.'
[System warning: The ranking system in the cultivation world has taken effect, defining the host's status as "Discarded". [Awakening: The Loneliness of the Demonic Sword Immortal]
Xiao Wuchen slowly stood up while Bixie's body turned to dust at his feet.
'A defective product?'
He raised his head and looked at the dark night sky. Perhaps, high above, a group of 'righteous sects' were indeed looking down on the mortal struggle with disdainful smiles.
'Bixie, you have knelt for two hundred years because of that one finger.'
Xiao Wuchen suddenly drew the 'Life and Death Sword', pointing it at the sky. His half-step Golden Core let out a beast-like roar, and his dark golden spiritual power was completely stained with a layer of crazed darkness.
'But I, Xiao Wuchen, will not only go up; I will also drag the so-called Heavenly Gang Sect and their high-and-mighty guides down from the clouds and make them taste the filth of this mortal world!'
To the north, in the direction of the Fallen Dragon Valley, a dazzling rift has formed in the boundary wall.
This is the entrance to the cultivation world — the abyss that Bixie had both feared and longed for his entire life.
Xiao Wuchen turned around, the wind and snow tearing at the corner of his crimson python robe. He had taken no Xuanyi Guards or mortal authority with him; he carried only a sword as he walked alone on the frost-covered ground towards the aurora borealis in the north.
The mortal path has ended; the demonic path has begun.
[System notification: Crossing the boundary wall, destination: the cultivation world, "Eastern Wilderness". [Host's current rank: Person who defies fate (extremely dangerous)]