The night was deep.
In the study of the Tranquil Abode, Lin Zhao was cultivating the Eternal Sword Scripture when a figure descended from the sky and landed outside the window. It was Lin Zhujie. He cupped his fists and said, "Mountain Lord, the trail you asked me to scout has been found. In a desolate mountain southwest of the Fusu Great Wall, Shi Jungang is leading about fifty thousand demon soldiers and is currently engaging Chen Xi's Cangnan Iron Cavalry."
"Good."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Don't leave yet, I'll need you again shortly."
"Yes!"
Lin Zhao looked south and said in his heart, "Tang Guangjun, come up the mountain."
Immediately, the disheveled man sitting on a bare, large rock south of the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake Mountain looked solemn and said, "I'm coming."
A moment later, Tang Guangjun stepped out in a wave of sword intent, appearing outside the study. He respectfully cupped his fists and asked, "Mountain Lord, what are your orders?"
"Shi Jungang."
Lin Zhao said, "You should know that Shi Jungang has always been a demon in my heart. Her seizing Wang Yue's body right under my nose is something I can never forget. Now that Shi Jungang is in trouble, she will definitely not admit defeat and return to the Ancestral Mountain until her fifty thousand demon soldiers are all dead. This is a heaven-sent opportunity for us to kill Shi Jungang."
"Oh?"
Tang Guangjun grinned. "Shi Jungang, a mere eleventh-realm Hyena Queen, can be easily slain by the Mountain Lord with Tong Yu. Why do you need my thirteenth realm?"
"Because it's not a simple matter of killing her and being done with it."
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "I need you to sever Shi Jungang's primordial spirit with a single sword strike, but to leave her physical body intact. That body belongs to Wang Yue, who is now a Sword Attendant under my aunt. Although I don't know if this body is still useful to her, I still wish to retrieve it and return it to Wang Yue."
"I see!"
Tang Guangjun felt as if he had been enlightened. "Mountain Lord, rest assured. A wisp of sword intent that blends reality and illusion can kill the primordial spirit without harming the physical body. While this technique is considered extraordinary on the mountain, I am capable of it. My years of eating cold pork trotters at the Martial Temple were not in vain. As for whether the body will be useful or not, there's no need to worry. Although Wang Yue is a Sword Attendant enshrined by the Yin God, if she can regain her physical body and refine it to merge with her spirit, it will be of great benefit to her. Perhaps she can walk between Yin and Yang and become a unique deity."
"Oh?"
Lin Zhao's eyes lit up. "If that's the case, then it's for the best. Lin Zhujie, draw your sword, let's go find Shi Jungang and bring her bad luck."
"Yes!"
Lin Zhujie smiled gleefully. This time, Shi Jungang was truly out of luck.
...
Southwest of the Fusu Great Wall, in a barren mountain forest.
The fifty thousand demon soldiers were divided into multiple units, patrolling the forest to evade the pursuit of the Cangnan Iron Cavalry, while also looking for opportunities to strike back with overwhelming force. The pursuing Cangnan Iron Cavalry was not large in number, only a little over ten thousand, but they were personally led by Chen Xi. Thus, this hunt and counter-hunt became a contest between Chen Xi and Shi Jungang.
Chen Xi was a renowned general in the human realm, lauded alongside Lin Ruo as the twin pillars of the dynasty. Her strategic brilliance, mastery of formations, and command were second to none in the human realm. Therefore, although the more than ten thousand Cangnan Iron Cavalry were outnumbered, they instilled fear in the hearts of the demon armies.
Shi Jungang, on the other hand, was the strategist of the Demon Ancestral Mountain, a person highly valued by the Azure Kui Demon Ancestor. Although Shi Jungang had suffered many defeats at Lin Zhao's hands in past major battles, the demons had long established a consensus that losing to Lin Baiyi was not a disgrace. Furthermore, Shi Jungang had commanded with great skill in the great battles around the Fusu Great Wall, indeed causing much trouble for Qin Yu, Han Yetang, Chen Xi, and others.
Currently, the fifty thousand demons had been driven into a corner of the territory by Chen Xi, essentially facing a desperate situation.
In the forest, outside a simple and crude command tent, torches blazed. Inside, Shi Jungang, clad in a black long dress, her face covered by a veil. Despite having seized Wang Yue's body, a perfect maiden's form, Shi Jungang, having previously been a "stitched monster," still habitually wore a veil.
She looked down at a map, her finger landing on a certain spot. "Chen Xi's next move should be here. Have our ambush troops arrived?"
"They have."
Beside her, an eleventh-realm Great Demon serving as a staff officer frowned. "However, we just received news that Chen Xi did not appear in the Pine Seed Forest. Instead, she appeared at Pig Crow Ridge. One of our groups of two thousand men was massacred by the Cangnan Iron Cavalry. Apart from a few accompanying cultivators who managed to escape back, almost no one survived."
"How could this be?!"
Shi Jungang gritted her teeth and slammed her palm onto the map. "Is Chen Xi not afraid of walking into my trap? How dare she be so reckless, charging forward with ten thousand cavalry? Is she tired of living?"
She said fiercely, "Issue an order, tighten the encirclement, and prepare weapons, arrows, and other armaments. I will ensure Chen Xi never returns!"
"Yes, my lord!"
As the eleventh-realm Great Demon departed, Shi Jungang suddenly sensed something amiss. A piercing cold emanated from above her head. She hastily shifted her body, and a beam of sword light sliced past her shoulder. The attacker severed the top of the tent with a single sword and, descending through the air, swept out with another sword, knocking Shi Jungang unconscious on the spot.
Under the moonlight, Shi Jungang recognized that face even in death.
"Lin Baiyi!"
She gritted her teeth.
"Indeed."
Lin Zhao looked at Shi Jungang, Zhanlu gleaming coldly in his hand, and smiled. "The sins you committed back then must now be repaid."
"You dare not!"
Shi Jungang, with her fierce nature, immediately activated her spiritual nexus, intending to self-detonate.
However, at that moment, a figure descended from the sky. It was Tang Guangjun. He raised his hand and drew a wisp of sword intent from his Ascending Heaven Sword. This strike seemed to possess a quality of separation between form and spirit. He thrust the sword towards the top of Shi Jungang's head and laughed heartily, "You damn bitch, remember you died at the hands of Tang Guangjun, the ancestor of the military school. You can't complain!"
"You!"
Shi Jungang's expression turned to horror. She didn't even have time to self-detonate her spiritual nexus. The next moment, she was pierced through the forehead by Tang Guangjun's wisp of sword intent. Her blood-red primordial spirit let out a shrill cry in the wind, then dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind a complete physical body.
Lin Zhao lunged forward and gently held Wang Yue's body in his arms. Although her primordial spirit had completely vanished, the body was still warm. He looked towards the approaching eleventh-realm Great Demon in the distance and said, "Help me deal with this one for Chen Xi?"
"Certainly."
Tang Guangjun unleashed a fierce sword strike that tore through the void. The eleventh-realm Great Demon was horrified. How could he withstand it? With a pained cry, he turned into a rain of blood within the sword light, instantly slain.
"Let's go, to the Sword Washing River!"
...
Late at night, by the Sword Washing River.
Lin Zhao, holding Wang Yue's body, stood on the water with one foot and smiled. "Aunt, please guide her."
"Coming."
A golden wisp of sword intent split the surface of the water, guiding Lin Zhao, Tang Guangjun, and Lin Zhujie towards the River God Temple. In front of the temple, Lin Xingchu, Wang Yue, and Lin Xiaoke were already waiting. The moment her gaze fell upon the person in Lin Zhao's arms, Wang Yue's heart trembled. It was her physical body, looking exactly like her current self.
Lin Xingchu smiled with dimpled cheeks. "Revenge served?"
"Yes."
Lin Zhao nodded. "This was a demon in my heart, and I believe it was also a demon in Wang Yue's heart. Aunt, Tang Guangjun said that after retrieving her body, Wang Yue has a chance to merge her Yin spirit with her physical body and cultivate into a deity capable of traversing both Yin and Yang realms. Is that correct?"
"Yes, there is a chance."
Lin Xingchu smiled faintly. "Wang Yue, would you like to try? In this world, there are not many deities who possess a physical body. If you succeed, you will be different on the Sword Washing River."
Wang Yue pursed her red lips. "I will listen to the Empress."
Saying this, she looked at Lin Zhao with her beautiful eyes and said softly, "Brother Lin Zhao... thank you. You've been very thoughtful."
Lin Zhao smiled calmly. "This is for you, and for myself."
"Mm."
Lin Xingchu nodded gently and raised her hand, conjuring a wisp of water fortune to support Wang Yue's body and send it back into the River God Temple. "It will take some time to refine and merge the body. Since that's the case, I will immediately make arrangements for Wang Yue. Xiao Zhao, I won't entertain you further."
"Alright."
Lin Zhao cupped his fists and smiled. "It's late, I'm going back to sleep."
As he spoke, he looked at Wang Yue and said, "Keep going!"
Wang Yue's nose felt a sting, and she almost cried. She nodded repeatedly, unable to imagine why Lin Zhao, who was already the renowned Lin Baiyi throughout the three realms, would still be so dedicated to a small figure like herself, when she was just an insignificant person.
...
Upon returning to the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, Lin Zhao rested on his bed in the study.
As he lay on the bed, his heart was filled with peace. Another wish had been fulfilled. He no longer felt much debt towards Wang Yue, and his heart was at ease. He then cultivated the Eternal Sword Scripture for a while longer until his spiritual power was almost depleted, before activating the game's hibernation mode and falling asleep.
This sleep brought about a world-shattering change.
While Lin Zhao was in slumber, a celestial-grade sword heart within his spiritual nexus was slowly transforming. The surface of the sword heart, which was originally like bluestone, continuously shed, revealing a new, golden sword heart beneath. The new sword heart was still covered with countless chisel marks, with sword intent and immortal energy swirling around it, exuding an indescribable transcendence.
Outside the Tranquil Abode, streaks of golden clouds began to gather in the sky from the early hours of the morning and grew denser by dawn.
"..."
On top of the small pavilion, Yu Wanning looked up at the dense golden expanse in the sky and said, "Is it the Mountain Lord?"
"Mm."
Huang Tingyu stood with his arms crossed on top of a bamboo stalk and smiled. "The wish has been fulfilled. If not now, when will you break through? I didn't expect the Mountain Lord's breakthrough to come so quickly."
Tang Guangjun sat on a rock by the lotus pond, looking up at the sky and smiling. "The Mountain Lord's foundation in the way of the sword is truly the most profound in the mortal world. His twelfth-realm sword intent and destiny are comparable to my thirteenth realm, Tang Guangjun..."
Huang Tingyu smiled and said, "Lin Zhao has profound fortune, how can it be compared to ours?"
Everyone simply smiled and waited, no one daring to disturb Lin Zhao.
...
Inside the Tranquil Abode, Lin Zhao slept until dawn and woke up naturally. When he opened his eyes, streaks of golden light were already flowing within them. The moment he opened his eyes, he was already a twelfth-realm Sword Immortal.
Ten years of life-and-death trials beneath Mount Wuwang. This twelfth realm was rightfully earned.