Chapter 30: The Sword Demon Dugu, Gains for All, The Road Ahead in Sight

Hand in hand through the martial world, the beauty grows old; looking back at the vicissitudes, a century has passed.

Yi Tianxing stood before Bingxin’s grave for a very long time. His silent heart began to thump with unease once more. Having kept a lonely vigil for over a decade, he could deceive others, but he could not deceive his own heart.

When that sword intent, as vast as the heavens, swept across thousands of miles, Yi Tianxing felt the urge to return to the martial world and witness the state of the current landscape.

"Bingxin, I may truly have to say goodbye to you this time."

Yi Tianxing murmured to himself. He turned around and looked toward the distance, a majestic sword intent rising from his body. Like a peerless divine blade, it seemed poised to pierce the clouds and vie with the heavens, declaring his presence to the world.

Where he stood, the entire valley—every fallen leaf, every blade of grass, every tree, bamboo, and stone—was saturated with a terrifying sword intent.

...

In the Great Song, within a nameless valley.

An old man with white hair, who seemed to have merged into the fabric of heaven and earth and was covered in fallen leaves, suddenly opened his eyes. His figure shot out like lightning, soaring tens of feet into the air. With a few mid-air leaps, he stood atop the mountain peak, gazing toward a certain direction in the Great Ming with a mixture of shock and ecstatic joy.

That place was Jiayu Pass.

"The Sword Dao! The Sword Dao!"

"The so-called sword intent, the unity of man and sword, the five realms of Sword Dao I once defined—how laughable, utterly laughable."

In the face of this Sword Dao, everything else paled in submission.

Dugu Qiubai had always believed he stood at the pinnacle of the Sword Dao. Unless the likes of Yan Shisan, the other man once known as the Sword Demon, were to return to life, even if the Great Ming’s Sword God, Xie Xiaofeng, unleashed his peerless "Fifteenth Sword," the result would at best be mutual destruction; he could not be truly defeated.

Because he and Xie Xiaofeng were both figures at the absolute peak of the sword.

Xie Xiaofeng had his Fifteenth Sword, the sword that belonged to the Third Young Master, but Dugu Qiubai also had his own five realms of Sword Dao—the realm where everything in heaven and earth could be a sword. Even if he could not break the Fifteenth Sword, he could at least force a draw.

But now...

A peak of the Sword Dao had appeared, one level higher than both himself and the Sword God Xie Xiaofeng, and even higher than the former Great Ming Sword Demon, Yan Shisan.

The moment it appeared, it stood at a summit that no other swordsman in the world could reach.

"Damn it, why does it have to be in the Great Ming!"

However, despite his desperate urge to fight and his intense longing to witness that higher scenery, Dugu Qiubai, who had been on the verge of action, was forced to suppress his desire to travel to the Great Ming to investigate.

The reason was simple: he was the Sword Demon. His surname was Dugu, a descendant of the Xianbei people, not a native of the Central Plains.

Years ago, when he stirred chaos in the Great Ming, attempting to force his way into the Imperial Palace, he had been hunted by the Great Ming’s Eunuch Sanbao, Zheng He, the Sword God Xie Xiaofeng, and several Grandmasters of the Heavenly Phenomenon realm.

If not for the fact that Zhang Sanfeng was being held at bay outside the borders of the Great Ming by the Great Yuan’s Grand Master Phags-pa, the Esoteric Sect Master Hamilton, the Great Liao’s Heavenly Pillar King Xiaoyao, the Northern Mang National Preceptor Tuoba Pusa, and the Moral Sect’s Kirin Immortal Yuan Qingshan—several Land Immortals and Heavenly Phenomenon masters pinning him down with their aura—the arrogant Sword Demon who called himself "Seeking Defeat" would likely have perished in the Great Ming.

Afterward, the national guardians of various countries retreated. Zhang Sanfeng severely wounded King Xiaoyao and the Northern Mang National Preceptor Tuoba Pusa, cut off Yuan Qingshan’s path forward, and chased Phags-pa for three thousand miles, blocking the gates of the Potala Palace for several days until the Great Yuan sent a large army to break the siege, forcing Zhang Sanfeng to withdraw.

Since then, Zhang Sanfeng, Xie Xiaofeng, and the others had declared that if Dugu Qiubai dared to step foot into the Great Ming again, it would be a fight to the death; they would hunt him to the ends of the earth.

Although Dugu Qiubai did not fear Xie Xiaofeng, Zhang Sanfeng was another matter.

If there was anyone in this world who could defeat him head-on, it was undoubtedly Zhang Sanfeng.

If he rashly entered the Great Ming, he would likely be met with a siege by Zhang Sanfeng, the Sword God Xie Xiaofeng, and at least five other Land Immortals before he even caught a glimpse of the infinite wonders of the higher Sword Dao.

However, although he could not enter the Great Ming, Dugu Qiubai pondered for a moment and found a way.

He would send word to the young girl he had accidentally taken in while being pursued by Xie Xiaofeng, asking her to help find this expert who stood above all sword intent and find a way to lure him out of the Great Ming for a duel.

To seek defeat in battle, and to find victory within that defeat.

Only in this way could he find a path to ascend, break his shackles, and use the Sword Dao to knock upon the door of Heavenly Human Longevity.

...

Jiayu Pass, Tiance Mansion.

Zhu Jinzhen’s sword intent filled the sky, drawing responses from the world’s various forces. Naturally, he clearly sensed the presence of those people.

This was a discussion of martial arts between him and Zhang Sanfeng, and also a probe by Zhu Jinzhen against the various powerful figures of the world. The results were, naturally, quite substantial.

Sensing that familiar aura from the direction of the Great Yuan, Zhu Jinzhen sneered inwardly: "Phags-pa, you are indeed hiding in Dadu. Let's see where you run this time."

Furthermore, several powerful auras within the Great Ming also caught Zhu Jinzhen’s attention.

"Two Land Immortals."

"Fourteen unfamiliar Heavenly Phenomenon auras. The Great Ming is indeed full of hidden talents." Zhu Jinzhen’s eyes flashed with thought. One of the sword intents was so strong that it was barely inferior to his own from five years ago, catching his eye.

Although Zhu Jinzhen had never met Xie Xiaofeng, he knew that this sword intent could not be his.

Who could it be?

Zhang Sanfeng was unaware of Zhu Jinzhen’s current doubts. He took a deep breath, his eyes filled with wonder and a sense of reverence that should not have been there: "Your Highness’s mastery of the Sword Dao truly surpasses the current era; it is beyond what any ordinary mortal could achieve."

Wind and clouds as a sword, yellow sand as a sword, the heavens as a sword, the earth as a sword—just now, from Zhang Sanfeng’s perspective, wherever Zhu Jinzhen’s gaze fell, there was sword intent.

Even the world itself could not avoid becoming a part of that sword intent.

It was terrifying.

In Zhang Sanfeng’s view, this could no longer be called sword intent; it was the Dao.

The Sword Dao!

Upon hearing this, a faint smile appeared on Zhu Jinzhen’s face, but he shook his head slowly: "Daoist Zhang is too kind. The limit of human strength, the limit of pure intent—to cross this threshold is to touch the Dao."

"I am still lacking."

Yes, only a little bit more.

Zhang Sanfeng’s insights into Taiji and Yin-Yang had benefited Zhu Jinzhen greatly. With a little more time, he would be able to take that final half-step and enter the brand-new realm of the Sword Dao.

The realm that belonged to the "Dao."

When that time came, with a flick of his finger, he could manipulate all things, travel thousands of miles in an instant, and command heaven and earth as his sword. Even if there were Immortals above the heavens, he could slay them.

But these were words Zhu Jinzhen would never speak aloud.

Zhang Sanfeng bowed with a full smile: "Then, this humble Daoist wishes to congratulate Your Highness in advance on your early realization of the Great Dao."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded with a smile: "It seems Daoist Zhang has also gained something?"

"With the Sword Dao before me, it is as if the heavens and earth are unfolding their mysteries. This humble Daoist is dull, but I have gained some insights."

Zhang Sanfeng did not hide it. The scene of Zhu Jinzhen’s sword intent sweeping across the heavens and earth, as if creating a world of its own, had caused a massive impact on his soul and had also given him new perceptions of heaven, earth, martial arts, and the Sword Dao.

"The Daoist was but a step away from the Heavenly Human realm; and now?"

"It is already before my eyes."

The exchange between the two, and the information revealed, would be enough to shake the world.

Zhu Jinzhen was also somewhat surprised.

But thinking that Zhang Sanfeng was a myth in his own right, having already stepped into the Land Immortal realm for many years, his current enlightenment and the opening of the Heavenly Human shackles were merely the natural result of his cultivation. He immediately felt at ease.

At this moment, Zhang Sanfeng suddenly stood up and bowed toward Zhu Jinzhen: "That I could gain this much is thanks to Your Highness, Prince Su. In the future, if Your Highness has any need, as long as this old Daoist can do it, I will never refuse."