Chapter 422: There Are Bad People in the Sword Pavilion!
Jiangnan Sword Pavilion, Piercing-Earth Abyss.
As the name suggested, this place stood opposite Extreme Heaven Cliff—one piercing the clouds to touch the azure firmament, the other delving deep into the earth's crust to form an abyss of yin fiends.
Yet precisely because of this, it served as an excellent cultivation site. Dwelling deep within, tempering swords with earthly fiend fire and battling sinister demons was akin to endless combat—either succeed or perish. Without reaching Foundation Establishment and lacking resistance to the fiend fire and yin demons, one wouldn't even qualify to enter this place.
As for the deepest part of the Piercing-Earth Abyss, like the summit of Extreme Heaven Cliff, it had once been the Dao arena of Sword Pavilion's True Lords.
After the True Lords retreated into seclusion, just as True Person Dangmo presided over Extreme Heaven Cliff, the Piercing-Earth Abyss also gained a new master—Evil-Banishing True Person of the Sword Pavilion.
Boom!
At this moment, within the Piercing-Earth Abyss, rolling fiend fire gathered. Fire bred thunder, and the intertwining flames and lightning illuminated the dark abyss as if it were daylight.
Deafening roars echoed endlessly.
After a long while, a figure in cyan robes finally emerged from the layers of thunder and fire, his sharply defined face filled with solemnity.
His attire bore no extravagance, not even a single spiritual treasure. Only through divine sense observation could one perceive the soaring sword intent radiating from him, faintly resonating with the Piercing-Earth Abyss. At first glance, it seemed not a man stood there, but a sword forged from flowing fire!
"Amitabha."
Suddenly, a serene Buddhist chant rose from within the fiend fire, followed by a glow of Buddhist light dispelling the yin demons as a young monk stepped forth.
Buddhist disciple Guangming!
This was still not his true form—far inferior to his overseas avatar—merely a projection of his thoughts. Smiling at Evil-Banishing True Person, he said:
"Congratulations, Benefactor Quexie. Your sword intent has advanced further."
"...Not enough."
Evil-Banishing True Person shook his head in response to Guangming's praise. "My [Sword Intent] remains incomplete... How did he achieve it?"
Guangming knew well that "he" referred to True Person Dangmo. Throughout Sword Pavilion's history, countless sword cultivators had emerged, yet only True Person Dangmo had prefixed his [Sword Intent] with [No Killing]. Only those deeply versed in the Sword Dao understood how astonishing this feat truly was.
"The foundation of the Sword Dao was personally established by our Patriarch."
"Later, [True Lord of Rigid Form Preaching the Dao] presided over its development, naming this method of honing one's soul and will to its extreme as [Sword Intent], thereby formalizing its designation."
Though merely a designation, it carried profound symbolism—especially coming from a late-stage Golden Core Great True Lord—granting the name [Sword Intent] an immovable weight akin to Mount Tai.
Otherwise, if sword intent existed, why were there no other "intents" in the world?
Saber intent, spear intent, arrow intent... These differed only in weaponry, sharing the same essence. Yet once [Sword Intent] was formally established, other intents vanished.
From then on, all insights of successive generations of sword cultivators were forever confined within the framework of [Sword Intent]. Like pieces on a chessboard, they could only move within its bounds, never becoming true players—ultimately serving only to pave the way for the formation of the [Sword Dao Fruit Position].
True Person Dangmo was the sole exception.
Though he hadn't escaped the [Sword Intent] framework, he innovated, transforming it into [No-Killing Sword Intent] and truly forging his own path.
Otherwise, why would the Sword Pavilion value him so highly?
"Benefactor need not worry."
Seeing this, Guangming chuckled lightly. "This humble monk's visit is to congratulate you, resolving a matter that has long troubled you."
"Oh?"
Evil-Banishing True Person raised an eyebrow, then performed a quick calculation, immediately grasping the context. "Yun Qingchuan... He actually succeeded in returning?"
Yun Qingchuan—patriarch of the Yun Clan.
Previously guided by Guangming, he had ventured into the Refinement Secret Realm to seek out Innate True Person Mu Changsheng, aiming to acquire a method for severing consciousness.
The next moment, Guangming casually waved his hand, summoning a newborn infant into his palm. Bathed in spiritual light, the baby exhibited an aged demeanor despite its infancy—clearly Yun Clan's patriarch, awakened from the fetal mystery.
"Greetings, True Person."
Yun Clan's patriarch revealed eager anticipation before refining his divine sense into a Dao manual, presenting it to Evil-Banishing True Person. "This old man has not failed in his mission."
"Well done."
Evil-Banishing True Person received it calmly but didn't rush to examine it, instead turning to Guangming. "Venerable Monk, you know what I seek is not this."
With True Person Dangmo currently overseeing Jiangnan, Guangming dared not enter in person—yet they met secretly. Surely it wasn't just for a consciousness-severing method? What Evil-Banishing True Person truly desired was Guangming's "Buddhist affinity"! Since [White Wax Gold] proved unattainable, he sought to compete for a gold-related opportunity through this!
Much like Prince Wu Tai'an of the South Suppression from the Dao Court.
Since their meeting, Evil-Banishing True Person had repeatedly hinted to Guangming, expressing willingness to become his chosen disciple in Jiangnan.
Yet Guangming persistently feigned ignorance.
This time was no different. Facing Evil-Banishing True Person's gaze, Guangming clasped his hands. "Buddhist affinity follows fixed destiny. Benefactor should not force what cannot be."
'As if you're worthy?'
A cultivator of [White Wax Gold], whose Dao path was severed by [Chen Earth] due to [Ang Xiao]—such trash dreaming of becoming my disciple? Preposterous!
"...Very well."
Evil-Banishing True Person sighed, clearly aware of his own predicament, and turned his attention to the consciousness-severing method.
"This item... No need to rush its use."
"If the Venerable Monk is willing to assist, I wish to compete once more."
With that, Evil-Banishing True Person abruptly raised his head, his gaze piercing through layers of obstruction to land upon Extreme Heaven Cliff—yet not daring to look directly at the figure atop it.
'Dangmo... How much longer can you hold out?'
As a fellow perfected Foundation Establishment cultivator, Evil-Banishing True Person could also perceive True Person Dangmo's current fortune. In his view, True Person Dangmo's pursuit of gold would culminate within days.
This matter left him no choice.
The consciousness-severing method was merely a backup plan.
After all, employing it equated to completely abandoning this golden age of opportunity. Unless utterly desperate, how could he resign himself?
'Moreover, the [Sword Dao Fruit Position]... I still have hope!'
'With my sword intent, transitioning fully to sword cultivation holds great promise! If only Dangmo would sacrifice himself to achieve it—no, he must achieve it!'
Observing Evil-Banishing True Person's shifting expression, Guangming softly chanted another Buddhist mantra.
At this point, no further words were necessary.
Human desire resembled a boulder rolling down a mountain—once set in motion, it could never stop. A gentle push sufficed; all that remained was to await the spectacle.
Extreme Heaven Cliff.
Lü Yang manipulated his sword Dao avatar to exit the ancestral hall. Through Yun Clan's patriarch, he had fully grasped the schemes of Guangming and Evil-Banishing True Person.
'So this is it!'
'Not just [Ang Xiao]'s machinations, but Guangming's plots too—colluding with Sword Pavilion's True Persons to move against True Person Dangmo!'
With this realization, Lü Yang immediately summoned his escape light, soaring toward Extreme Heaven Cliff's summit—True Person Dangmo's secluded cultivation site.
Master! I must report this!
There are bad people in the Sword Pavilion!