Breakfast was the usual shredded eel noodles, shredded pork with green pepper noodles, and so on. However, Dong Cang and Liu Liying also knew that the journey today would be perilous, so they added a few stir-fried dishes for everyone.
After eating their fill, Lin Zhao rose and looked at Tong Yu, Zhang Luobai, and Zhuang Yirong, three from the younger generation. "Alright, those with higher realms will accompany me to Wuwang Mountain. The rest will remain at the Mountain Peak Villa and follow Chu Yu and Yu Wanling's arrangements."
"Yes!"
The children stood at attention and nodded in unison.
"Let's go."
Lin Zhao stepped onto his flying sword and gracefully ascended to the mountainside. Behind him, Su Qingjiu, Fu Zhi, Huang Tingyu, Gu Lingyu, and others followed suit.
On the mountainside, piles of jumbled rocks lay scattered, like an assembly of generals on a battlefield. Bing Xian Han Xin, clad in white, stood atop the highest pile. After looking at everyone, he calmly said, "Step into the center of the formation. This Dou Zhuan Xing Yi Formation will activate soon. Once you reach Wuwang Mountain, it will depend on your own fortune. I can't help much."
"Mmm."
Lin Zhao led everyone to stand in the formation's core. He then turned to face them and said solemnly, "Upon reaching Wuwang Mountain, Ling Yu and Chen Ben will stand guard on the flanks, stabilizing the formation and preventing the great demons on Wuwang Mountain from harassing us. All other sword cultivators must exert their full strength to cleave the base of Wuwang Mountain, trying to slow its descent."
"Yes!"
The group nodded in unison.
Han Xin looked towards the people at the Mountain Peak Villa with a complex expression. Whenever the human realm faced disaster, so many proud sons of humanity would step forward. Now, all he hoped for was that these individuals would return alive.
After all, Wuwang Mountain was undoubtedly a place of extreme danger, a place even the Sage of War and the Sage of Dao were unwilling to go alone. The peril was unimaginable.
"Prepare yourselves!"
Han Xin let out a sharp command, drew his sword, and with a slight tremor of the blade, reached into his robe. He pulled out a handful of soybeans and scattered them. Instantly, the soybeans transformed into soldiers on the ground, becoming armored figures imbued with the strong aura of military tactics, driving the Dou Zhuan Xing Yi Formation into motion.
The stone piles on the outer perimeter of the formation spun faster and faster, yet each stone remained motionless. The armored figures dissolved into faint golden-red light, and the entire formation hummed. At the heart of the formation, Lin Zhao and the others were enveloped by the array's power, their bodies involuntarily lifted.
"Go!"
With Han Xin's roar, their bodies vanished from the Mountain Peak Villa in streaks of light.
...
"Swish swish swish—"
Streaks of light flickered at the base and roots of Wuwang Mountain. The moment Lin Zhao and the others appeared at Wuwang Mountain, they felt the oppressive, dense demonic energy that was almost suffocating. Moreover, Wuwang Mountain descended with an astonishing speed.
"Be careful, everyone!"
Gu Lingyu cried out in a low voice, his literary aura surging rapidly. His palms fluttered, and he instantly struck out with pieces of great Dao scrolls. The scrolls transformed into auspicious Confucian light, enveloping everyone. In the next moment, they were heavily impacted against the base of Wuwang Mountain.
"Pfft!"
Lin Zhao, with the lowest cultivation, had his health bar depleted by 75% immediately. He spat out a mouthful of blood, appearing disheveled. The others, with higher realms, fared slightly better. Especially Fu Zhi, Huang Tingyu, and Tang Guangjun, three sword cultivators at the thirteenth realm, instantly merged with their swords and retreated, unleashing a sword strike each towards the base of Wuwang Mountain!
"Boom boom boom—"
The thunderous roars were incessant. The attacks of a thirteenth-realm great sword immortal were naturally formidable. Lin Zhao flew back rapidly, maintaining a distance of tens of meters from the mountain base with his flying sword, Hong Ye. He raised his Zhan Lu sword and unleashed a combination of the "Sunken Sword Stance" and "Horizontal Sword Stance" towards the front. Sword light shuttled forth, infused with the brilliance of the Great Dao. Although this tenth-realm sword cultivator could help, it wasn't much.
"All of you, attack with all your might!"
Gu Lingyu lightly patted a scroll, summoning a Confucian Dharma manifestation tens of thousands of feet tall, shimmering with golden light. Bamboo slips fluttered around, relieving the others of their worries.
"Chen Ben!"
Seeing this, Lin Zhao immediately said in a deep voice, "Punch to hold back Wuwang Mountain's descent!"
"Yes!"
Chen Ben let out a low roar, his fist intent flowing. He used the eighth form, "Overturning the Sea," of the Farmer's Nine Fists. Waves surged behind him. When his fist landed on the mountain base, it shattered a section of the roots. Wuwang Mountain trembled violently. The martial artist's punch was indeed slightly heavier and more grounded than the sword cultivator's strike.
In the wind, Su Qingjiu, Huang Tingyu, Fu Zhi, and Tang Guangjun, all thirteen-realm cultivators, entered the state of human-sword unity. Sword light erupted around them, attacking the mountain base like a barrage of artillery. Wuwang Mountain rumbled continuously. Although the mountain was immense, its descent was significantly slowed by the onslaught of these great sword immortals.
"Bastard!"
Far from the apocalyptic scene at the base of Wuwang Mountain, a falcon spread its wings and streaked across the sky. As it approached, it flipped and transformed into a young man in a grey short shirt, exuding a potent and overwhelming sword intent, with even stronger demonic energy.
He was a demon king, and at the thirteenth realm!
"A bunch of ants, daring to defy heaven?!"
The grey-shirted youth's sword swept across the heavens and earth, arriving with immense force. His eyes, filled with rage, fixed on Gu Lingyu, who had formed a Dharma manifestation to protect everyone. He sneered, "A mere thirteenth-realm Confucian, die for me!"
Sword qi descended like a torrent, its momentum terrifying.
Gu Lingyu's expression remained calm. He lightly flipped his wide sleeves, and golden bamboo slips flew out, forming a strong and dense barrier on the west side with intricate and obscure golden Confucian characters. With a loud bang, the demon king's sword strike landed fiercely on the barrier. Dozens of bamboo slips shattered instantly, but the strike failed to breach Gu Lingyu's defense.
"Oh?"
The grey-shirted youth raised an eyebrow slightly, finding it even more interesting. He lowered his stance, and his potent sword intent erupted, filling the entire sky with dense sword qi. He laughed, "A thirteenth-realm Confucian who fights this well is truly rare. Then I shall grant you a complete corpse!"
In the next instant, the sword qi filling the sky was gathered by a single finger, transforming into a colossal sword qi that shot straight towards Gu Lingyu!
"Book Sea."
Gu Lingyu also pointed a finger, and a golden finger force erupted. Surrounding the finger force were wisps of golden slip fragments, protected by Confucian characters. The heavens and earth buzzed. The opponent was a formidable thirteenth-realm demon king, and a sword cultivator at that. To put it bluntly, he was even fiercer than Man Yuan and Liu Bai from the Water and Fire Domain. Gu Lingyu had to go all out; he would likely be killed within ten moves!
"Thud!"
In the sky, Gu Lingyu's finger collided with the opponent's sword. Neither gained any advantage. However, the opponent's recovery and offensive speed were faster. His long sword swept out, and three more brilliant sword qi cleaved through the sky.
Gu Lingyu's face turned slightly pale. Bamboo slips emerged from his sleeve, continuously transforming into Confucian techniques to resolve the opponent's three sword qi. However, he was starting to struggle to cope. The ten-thousand-foot-tall Confucian Dharma manifestation also dimmed slightly. After all, the opponent was a troublesome thirteenth-realm demon king sword cultivator. Fighting alone, Gu Lingyu found it quite difficult to handle.
"Chen Feng!"
From deep within the mountain roots, another voice called out. It was a middle-aged man in a green long shirt, exuding strong demonic energy and water element aura, holding a green steel fork, and standing on surging water element. He chuckled, "Such honored guests have arrived. How can I be left to entertain them alone? Do you not even consider me your uncle?"
The thirteenth-realm demon king named Chen Feng laughed heartily, "Uncle Ji An, feel free to attack! These human ants dare to climb the mountain, let's give them a swift end!"
"Good!"
The fourteenth-realm great demon Ji An, who was close to the water Dao, raised his green steel fork, stirring up a torrent of water. He said with a smile, "Gu Lingyu, you thirteen-realm scholar who has achieved sainthood in the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond is indeed well-read. But can your belly full of poems and books, like a small boat, withstand my surging waves?!"
In the next moment, a torrent of water crushed down from the sky, intending to drown everyone.
"Not good!"
Lin Zhao gritted his teeth and urgently pointed his sword tip, silently reciting the four characters "Support the Heavens, Erect the Seas" from the Eternal Sword Scripture. Instantly, ethereal sword intents gathered in the air, transforming into colossal ancient swords that spanned the heavens and earth. Each ancient sword exuded a potent immortal aura, surrounded by magnificent energy, pushing back the water element like colossal pillars resisting a flood.
"Bang bang bang!"
The ancient swords continuously extended and spread outwards, blocking the water element offensive of the great demon Ji An.
"Hmm?"
The great demon Ji An was taken aback. He hadn't expected the mere tenth-realm sword cultivator to dare to make a move. In reality, the opponent's cultivation was quite ordinary. He was strong among the tenth realm, but ultimately just a tenth realm. How could he possibly contend with a fourteenth-realm demon?!
His gaze turned cold, and he injected a surge of demonic energy into his offensive.
In an instant, Lin Zhao was struck as if by a cannonball, sent flying backward, spitting blood. The health he had just regained dropped significantly. The sword mountain formed by the "Support the Heavens, Erect the Seas" skill was also crushed and annihilated by the opponent's surging floodwaters, disappearing into nothingness.
"Alas..."
Gu Lingyu couldn't help but let out a wry smile. The sword art his junior uncle cultivated was considered the ultimate in the Three Realms, a supreme technique created by the Lord of the Eternal Secret Realm, arguably the most powerful sword art in the world. It was incredibly profound and ethereal. Unfortunately, his junior uncle's realm was too low. At his tenth realm, he simply couldn't support the full power of the Eternal Sword Scripture.
Even if he were at the eleventh realm, the outcome might have been different!
...
For a time, Gu Lingyu could only help plug gaps and make up for deficiencies. Golden slip fragments flew through the air, transforming into characters imbued with true Confucian meaning, imprinted around the Dharma manifestation. The colossal Dharma manifestation raised its hands, supporting the sky and repelling the assaults of the great demon Ji An and the great demon Chen Feng. In a short while, the fissures around the Dharma manifestation had become dense.
Gu Lingyu, at the thirteenth realm, was already a heaven-defying thirteenth realm within the Confucian literary world, even possessing deeper reserves than Mister Zi Huai's thirteenth realm. However, he was facing two heaven-defying individuals from Wuwang Mountain: Chen Feng, a thirteenth-realm demon king sword cultivator, and Ji An, a fourteenth realm. Both were incredibly troublesome characters.
"Old Huang!"
Lin Zhao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and roared, "Assist Ling Yu!"
"Yes!"
Huang Tingyu's sword arrived like a straight line, fiercely slashing towards the head of the great demon Chen Feng.
Thirteenth realm against thirteenth realm. Both were sword cultivators, a match made in heaven.