Chapter 472: Ying Shuang Finally Facing Zhao Changhe

Chapter 472: Ying Shuang Finally Facing Zhao Changhe

Sixth on the Heaven Ranking, Snow Owl, Master of the Listening Snow Tower...

Since the Bashan Sword Cottage was the Listening Snow Tower’s public facade, he had assumed Shi Wuding was Snow Owl, and had wondered why his strength fell short of the Heaven Ranking... Looking at it now, he really wasn't?

To think Shi Wuding was actually doing all this under someone else’s orders; had his prestige plummeted into the mud?

Zhao Changhe cast a strange look at Shi Wuding, feeling that his actions didn't seem like those of someone taking orders. Furthermore, if Snow Owl had been lurking and watching all along, why hadn't he acted, letting Shi Wuding fall into peril and even lose the bone sword... Was it out of excessive faith in Shi Wuding's strength? By the time he realized something was wrong and rushed over, it was already too late?

It was a plausible stretch...

In any case, this time the sixth on the Heaven Ranking had been lured away by the Saint of Thieves, so the bone sword must be crucial to him... At least he didn't have to face a Heaven Ranking master himself.

As for the situation here... Zhao Changhe's gaze fell upon the cavern, sensing that the aura within was slightly amiss.

As the bearer of the Blind Woman, having seen more secret realms in the less than two years since his transmigration than others would see in a lifetime, Zhao Changhe felt he could already sense the overlapping auric weaves of two worlds, and the Heavenly Book within his ring reacted faintly, as if a new page of their companion lay not far away.

It seemed that although the crucial bone sword was gone and space could not be broken by force, Shi Wuding's maneuvers had still weakened the spatial barrier; if they could just find the right spot, they might be able to slip inside.

However, that spot would be difficult to find, much like the Kunlun Volcano back then—looking down from the crater, it seemed a mere ordinary volcanic belly, yet who could have guessed that jumping down would lead to a small secret realm hiding the Heart Flame? Chichi had wandered outside for three days without finding it, separated by a mere wall, while he had spent those three days inside embracing Huangfu Qing...

Where was that spot now?

"Hey, Blindie."

The Blind Woman: "?"

Regardless of whether she heard him, Zhao Changhe muttered in his mind, "Do you want the third page of the Heavenly Book or not?"

Who exactly was manipulating whom? The Blind Woman had tested and transferred many people, but this was the first time she had seen a guest turn into the master, and she was almost driven to laughter by sheer irritation. "Let me reiterate, it is you who wants the Heavenly Book."

"You don't?"

"..."

"Stop pretending, tell me how to get in, otherwise it won't be good if I constantly have to maintain the Heavenly Book."

"Go maintain it to your heart's content!" the Blind Woman spat coldly and fell silent.

Though she seemed to have left in a huff, Zhao Changhe nonetheless sensed the faint presence of a node, its location roughly inside the cavern, likely requiring them to crash straight into the innermost wall... It made sense; after all, the formation and the bone sword had burrowed within the cave for so long, making it highly probable that the spatial intersection here was at its weakest... Yet this was definitely not the standard entrance to the secret realm, and there was no telling where they would land once inside...

Why is everyone I meet a stubborn tsundere? Weren't tsunderes supposed to be out of style by now...

...

The exchange with the Blind Woman lasted only an instant.

While Zhao Changhe pondered, Shi Wuding stood somewhat blankly in place, whether because he too was weighing the same doubts flashing through Zhao Changhe's mind, or because he was dazed by the ruin of his long-hatched grand scheme.

Ying Shuang and the others watched Han Wubing in silence, their eyes filled with complex emotions.

"I truly do love the sword."

Who among them didn't...

They were all swordsmen who had trained since childhood; the way of the sword had woven itself into the very fabric of their lives. In a world where martial prowess was the ultimate passport, losing it was far more fatal than a modern person losing their phone and internet. Ying Shuang did not even know if he would have the courage to live on without his sword.

Zhao Changhe recalled the sword chamber beneath the Sword Lake, where he and Chichi had been lost in their own affection, while Wubing paid no heed to anything else, his eyes fixed only on a room full of swords, as if that alone were the meaning of his existence.

Did sword slaves truly possess no self...

In truth, most of the time they did. For instance, right now they did; Ying Shuang could do anything he wished, and if he wanted to cripple his own cultivation at this very moment, he could.

Yet the four white-robed swordsmen present stood in silence amid the biting wind, not a single one willing to let go of the sword in his hand, not a single one willing to turn himself into a powerless cripple.

To sever one's own wrist like a brave warrior was easy to say, but sometimes harder than death itself.

Yet Han Wubing had done exactly that without changing his expression.

Even Yue Hongling could not help but feel a touch of poetic sentiment and admiration welling up within her. Zhao Changhe, however, could not be bothered with such thoughts. Amidst the bleak desolation, he shifted his feet, took another step, and suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Han Wubing and turning to bolt, while quietly transmitting his voice: "Hongling, retreat."

Yue Hongling snapped out of it as well, fleeing swiftly.

Though Shi Wuding was wounded, the two of them were in no great shape either; a true fight was still unwinnable. It was enough to seize the chance to escape with Han Wubing; they could save the sentimentality for when they got back home.

Yet the moment the three of them moved, Shi Wuding, who had seemed in a daze, instantly snapped awake. With a dark expression and not a word spoken, he thrust his sword through the air straight toward the center of Han Wubing's back, seemingly unable to accept a sword slave escaping his control in this manner, determined to slay him on the spot.

Zhao Changhe yanked Han Wubing behind him, his saber Longque slashing out in fury: "Shi Wuding, have you no shame!"

Yue Hongling coordinated seamlessly, the ancient sword Dragon Emperor driving straight for the side of Shi Wuding's neck.

Shi Wuding truly felt a weariness; this man and woman shared an absurd chemistry, as if they spent every night embracing and practicing together, knowing exactly how to complement each other from a single movement.

Yet he said nothing. No matter what, if they could rescue the "traitor" he was bound to kill under these circumstances, then the Sword Cottage would have no right to hold its head up in the martial world.

Shi Wuding's sword light erupted fiercely, sweeping all three of them into its shroud: "What are you all standing there for! Lock down their path of retreat!"

Ying Shuang and the others rapidly closed the perimeter.

Zhao Changhe noticed a trait in Shi Wuding that might or might not be considered a virtue... Whenever he fought, Ying Shuang and the others were only ever responsible for blocking the paths and sealing off escapes; he never allowed them to join the siege, even at a point like this.

At the very least, he retained the foundational pride of a swordsman; sixth on the Earth Ranking, a peak grandmaster, it would be far too disgraceful to resort to a group assault against a few juniors.

Yet this very moment granted Zhao Changhe an opportunity. So they were all blocking the rear? The only one positioned near the direction of the cavern was Ying Shuang, and even he wasn't blocking it head-on, but rather from the flank.

The cave entrance ahead lay completely unguarded, like a defenseless maiden waiting for someone to slip inside.

As Shi Wuding thrust his sword, Zhao Changhe flashed a glance at Yue Hongling, pulling Han Wubing aside into a parry, making a feint to retreat.

How could Shi Wuding guess that Zhao Changhe intended to plunge into the dead end of the cavern ahead to seek his doom? He instinctively swept his sword toward Zhao Changhe's rear, sealing off the space for retreat.

Yet Zhao Changhe's figure suddenly wrenched around, his backward momentum defying physical laws as it shifted directly forward. Yue Hongling, who should have helped him counter the sword behind them, withdrew her blade as well, and the young couple dragged Han Wubing along, dashing toward the cavern like a streak of smoke.

Shi Wuding: "?"

"Are they seeking death?" Shi Wuding instantly realized there was a trick, shouting fiercely, "Stop them!"

Ying Shuang took a diagonal stride, his sword sealing the cave entrance.

A draconic form manifested before his eyes as the ancient sword Dragon Emperor reached his face.

Ying Shuang parried sideways; his strength as the former thirty-third on the Human Ranking was no trivial matter, and despite her injuries, Yue Hongling's strike failed to force him aside.

A broad blade arrived silently at his chest.

Just as Ying Shuang was about to evade, his mind suddenly went blank, as if his thoughts had skipped a beat.

In this realm of heaven and earth, there was no god, no buddha, and no self.

Ever since Zhao Changhe uncovered the truth about these sword slaves, he had been pondering a question throughout the battle... his own technique, No Self in Heaven and Earth.

What did No Self in Heaven and Earth truly mean?

Did these sword slaves still count as possessing a "self"?

Where lay the difference between himself when controlled by malevolent aura, and them?

Was it surrendering all thoughts to the sword intent, to the malevolent aura, to slaughter, or was it forgetting the desires of the "self" for the sake of something far more important, turning the blade against heaven and earth for that which lay beyond oneself?

If Blood Filling the Mountains and Rivers could extend from the self to others, drawing upon external malevolence from one's own malevolent intent, and triggering changes in the enemy's vital energy through one's own, then could No Self in Heaven and Earth use one's own state of selflessness to make the opponent—or at least an opponent with a similar experience—achieve a brief state of "no self"?

What kind of hell would it be if only he himself lacked a self.

When a single strike was delivered, stripping the opponent of their "self"...

At that moment, hell would be manifest.

This must be the blade intent of the Second Hidden Realm... He had finally glimpsed the threshold.

The blankness in Eaglefrost's mind cleared, and a sharp pain seared his chest, as if blood were spurting in blossoms.

He looked down at his inexplicably ripped-open chest, then at Zhao Changhe and his two companions who had broken through and entered within a single strike, still as if in a dream, not knowing how he had died.

Shi Wuding rushed to his side but did not spare him a glance, chasing straight into the cave.

Yet upon entering, the cave was utterly empty, with only a broken array glowing brightly on the ground.

"Where are they!" Shi Wuding's roar came from within the cave: "How could they vanish? Search every inch for me!"

Eaglefrost gave a bitter laugh and fell backward, gazing at the sky.

Golden light flashed across the heavens.

"Mid-May. Eaglefrost, after nearly a year of hesitant searching, finally faced Zhao Changhe head-on... Zhao Changhe slew him with one strike."

"The Human Roll falls, and the ranks are filled..."