Chapter 144: Sword Twenty-Three, a Perilous Situation

Even the Wine Sword Immortal was perplexed.
In mythology, Nüwa created humanity and shaped the earth, serving as the mother of all living beings in the vast cosmos. Yet why did every single generation of her bloodline descendants suffer from an early death akin to a curse?
Why did every generation confine themselves to protecting that tiny, insignificant place known as the Southern诏 Kingdom?
He could not answer.
Subsequently, Jiang Ming asked him numerous questions. For instance: Did the Fire Kirin exist?
Did the Fire Phoenix exist?
They existed.
However, they were far from as powerful as the myths and legends portrayed; their strength was merely at the seventh or eighth realm. Moreover, demons and monsters ran rampant across the wild mountains. Take Shushan, for example: they regarded slaying demons and protecting the mortal realm as their sacred duty, and had even constructed the Demon Locking Tower to suppress countless demonic entities.
"Why not completely annihilate the demons?" Jiang Ming asked. "Imprisoning them leaves a possibility of escape."
"There are good demons, and there are bad demons!"
"Incorrect. Since they need to be suppressed within the Demon Locking Tower, they can no longer be considered good demons."
"This..."
The Wine Sword Immortal’s eyes flickered, but he gave no reply.
Jiang Ming smiled and did not press further.
He asked again, "Are the Five Spirit Pearls over there?"
"Yes. The Five Spirit Pearls possess miraculous, peerless power, and according to legend, they are connected to Goddess Nüwa. However, they are currently scattered and their whereabouts are unknown." The Wine Sword Immortal did not conceal this.
Jiang Ming posed many more questions.
For instance: What was the cultivation level of the Master of the Moon-Worship Cult?
Was the Water Beast truly that powerful?
And so on.
"Kid, enough is enough!" The Wine Sword Immortal was truly exasperated. "What is my daughter's name? If you don't tell me right now, I'm going to go ask the Saintess."
"Do you dare?" Jiang Ming asked with a strange expression.
"I—I..." The Wine Sword Immortal hesitated.
"You're already at that age, yet you're still trapped by the shackles of love. I truly don't know what to say to you," Jiang Ming shook his head. "The best method is to visit the pleasure houses. Give it a month, and I guarantee you'll shatter the prison of love. Besides, there is a woman who loves you deeply and willingly bore you a child, yet you refuse to cherish her. What you chase is always sweeter than what pursues you—how utterly despicable!"
"You're still wet behind the ears, what do you know!" the Wine Sword Immortal snorted.
"Alright, alright!" Jiang Ming laughed. "Her name is A'nu, and she likes Tang Yu Xiaobao. Go find her!"
"Brother Jiang, many thanks!" The Wine Sword Immortal grew immensely impatient, instantly channeling his wine gourd and preparing to leave. But Jiang Ming grabbed him by the arm. "Don't rush! Aren't you going to stay and watch the duel between two terrestrial immortals?"
"Watch my foot!" the Wine Sword Immortal retorted. "I could poke them all to death with a single sword!"
"When you head back, keep an eye out for the Five Spirit Pearls for me. Consider it your token of gratitude!"
"Very well!"
The Wine Sword Immortal departed immediately.
"The Five Spirit Pearls!"
Jiang Ming stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.
Ever since discovering the Wine Sword Immortal, he had been hatching a plan. Regardless of the origins of the Five Spirit Pearls, terrifying power was contained within them. To him, they were nothing less than a treasure trove.
Two days later.
The plaintive strains of an erhu drifted through the air, echoing among the mountain ranges, moving all who heard it to tears and casting a desolate sorrow over their hearts. Immediately afterward, a sword qi soared straight into the nine heavens, sweeping across the firmament.
"Have they all arrived?" Jiang Ming's spirit roused, and he stepped through the void.
He had deliberately avoided going to the Great Wilderness territory, intending precisely to witness the battle between these two individuals.
Moments later, he halted atop a mountain ridge. Standing before him were two figures: one dressed in blue robes, playing an erhu; the other in gray robes, with silver hair, a white beard, and a vigorous, spirited demeanor.
"Such exceptional movement technique from this young friend!" Nameless of the Mythologies looked toward Jiang Ming, his gaze narrowing as a serious expression appeared on his face. "Rippling the void, akin to shrinking the earth into an inch—even with my current cultivation, I lack the confidence to achieve such a feat. A short while ago, a world-shaking battle took place here, presumably waged by a terrestrial immortal. Could it have been the handiwork of young friend? May I ask your esteemed name?"
"Master!" Jian Chen and the others hurried over, bowing respectfully. After glancing at Jiang Ming, Jian Chen continued, "His name is Jiang Ming, a friend of this disciple. Back in the Great Song, he slew the Black Mountain Old Demon and contended with the Seven Nights Holy Monarch; upon coming here, outside the Loulan/Lingyun Cavern, he beheaded the Great Yuan Celestial-realm expert Pang Ban; inside the Lingyun Cavern, he gave the Fire Kirin a severe beating; and shortly before this, he beheaded the terrestrial immortal Juexin/Di Shitian right here."
Knowing that Jiang Ming wished to make a name for himself, he unhesitatingly recited his past exploits.
A look of profound shock crossed the face of Nameless.
The Black Mountain Old Demon could be overlooked; he was not worth fearing.
However, the Seven Nights Holy Monarch was extraordinarily powerful—prior to his own breakthrough, Nameless would not have had the confidence to defeat him. As for Pang Ban, he was similarly formidable, holding a resounding reputation across the Great Yuan territory and suppressing the martial world.
Beating the Fire Kirin?
Perhaps he himself could manage that.
Yet the final sentence deeply rattled his mind.
Beheading a terrestrial immortal?
Di Shitian?
"Impossible!" The Old Sword Master's gaze was piercingly sharp. "His intent harmonizes with heaven and earth, yet he has only fused with a single layer of the realm, manifesting as meteorological pressure. He hasn't even reached the Celestial realm—how could he possibly behead a terrestrial immortal! One who has not entered the Immortal realm cannot comprehend the might of an immortal. I have comprehended the Sword Dao, exhausting all my mental energy and burning through my lifespan. Yet upon breaking through, it was like withered wood meeting spring; not only did my lifespan surge, but my vitality suddenly flourished, restoring me to my absolute peak."
As his voice fell, he condensed his Qi into a sword and slashed directly toward Jiang Ming.
Fast. Fierce.
And ruthlessly, exceptionally vicious.
Fail to block it, and die.
"What a fine Sword Master!" Jiang Ming's expression turned angry.
If it were merely a test, that would be one thing, but this fellow was clearly vicious and murderous.
The Fire-Scaled Sword materialized, a single sword stroke severing the void like a ribbon of flowing river, blocking the opponent's strike.
"Not bad! You are qualified to serve as a sacrifice for my sword!" Brilliant light erupted in the Sword Master's eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, he struck again, pointing his fingers like a sword, jabbing into empty space, and shouting, "Sword One!"
Sword qi poured down like a waterfall, roaring forward.
Nameless shifted his form, blocking in front of Jiang Ming. With a single palm strike into the empty air, he shattered the sword qi and said, "To strike against a junior—that goes too far!"
"A junior? I refuse to accept that!" Jiang Ming wore a chilling smile. "Nameless, step aside and let me cross swords with him first! Di Shitian had achieved his Dao for a millennium, and I still beheaded him, let alone someone who has merely just stepped into the Terrestrial Immortal realm!"
"Sword One, Sword Qi Roars Across the Firmament!"
Jiang Ming launched a sudden attack.
The Heavenly Sword intent roared forth, condensing boundless sharpness as it descended toward the Sword Master's head.
"Impudent!" The Sword Master's brow twitched. A thousand-foot sword intent surged from the crown of his head, while dense, razor-sharp sword qi materialized around him, capable of slicing skin and fracturing stone.
"Sword One!"
He once more unleashed the exact same sword technique.
Though it was Sword One, the manifestation was unmistakably different.
In an instant, the two engaged in fierce combat.
Sword Two, Sword Three, Sword Eight...
The pair fought mid-air, shifting across the void at lightning speed.
The erupting sword qi grew increasingly terrifying, sweeping outward for a thousand meters, severing mountain peaks and tearing deep ravines into the earth.
Some martial artists who had come to watch the battle were caught in the aftermath; some were shredded into mists of blood, while others were heavily injured by the shockwaves.
Countless individuals turned pale with fright and hastily retreated.
"So strong!" Nameless revealed a look of shock. "The Sword Master's Spiritual Sword Technique is something I have long since mastered in my heart. Though it is now even more powerful and unfathomable, it still shares the same fundamental roots. But he..."
"Master, he is strong. Truly strong!" Jian Chen arrived by his side, reiterating the fact.
"Did he really behead a terrestrial immortal?" Nameless still found it hard to believe.
"He really did!" Jian Chen nodded heavily.
"Inconceivable!" Nameless murmured. "His Sword Dao is even more inconceivable. Every single sword strike contains infinite variations, capable of evolving into an entire series of sword techniques. Any single sword form is enough to exhaust a lifetime of mental effort to comprehend, yet he..."
Even Nameless couldn't help but shake his head.
It was an astonishment that shook the soul, drawing him in to watch and comprehend. Even without carefully deliberating over it, he was gaining massive insights.
With a slight movement, he gave chase.
"Sword Eleven, Light and Darkness Great Luo Realm!"
Jiang Ming slashed out with this sword, transforming into a domain of the Sword Dao, blending it with meteorological pressure. Like a terrifying domain, it bound, suppressed, and imprisoned.
Even the Sword Master faltered slightly.
Controlling the power of the firmament, he shattered the domain with a single stroke.
The two men slashed through wind and cloud, stirring the nine heavens, the ripples of their sword qi spreading for a hundred miles.
"Splendid sword technique!" the Sword Master praised, moved. "Every single sword strike possesses a unique Dao rhyme—the Dao of light and darkness, the laws of space, and even a sword of alternating life and death that drains away my vitality, almost rendering me unable to suppress it."
"You are not bad either!"
Jiang Ming replied.
His blood boiled hotter, his battle intent soaring wildly.
Although he was suppressed, it was nowhere near the irresistible despair he had faced against Di Shitian.
"Sword Eighteen, Extreme Point Without Sharpness!"
Jiang Ming's sword momentum shifted, the extreme point intent fusing into it. A single sword pierced the void, his entire body seemingly transforming into a single point of sharpness capable of piercing through everything.
The pinnacle of sharpness.
Like a beam of light, resembling moving imagery.
In a mere flash, he closed the distance, causing the Sword Master's pupils to constrict. The Sword Master rapidly retreated, pointing into the void as the sword qi within his body surged forth, stirring up a tempest of vital energy to intercept the blow.
Boom...
The forces detonated, kicking up an endless torrent that directly pulverized the mountain peak beneath their feet. The chaotic sword qi further shredded countless trees down the mountainside.
"What a terrifying sword!" The Sword Master stared at the droplets of blood welling from his fingers, a look of profound shock on his face.
Even his arm was trembling.
"Had you been in the Celestial realm, that single sword would have been enough to kill me!" The Sword Master grew grave to the absolute extreme.
"If you had used a spear instead..." His gaze turned icy. "I'm afraid this arm of mine wouldn't have been saved. The Martial Dao's Heavenly Phenomenon realm is actually this terrifying! I had originally thought that in the Sword Dao, only Nameless could compare with me. I never expected you to be this dazzling—I am inferior to you!"
"Then taste another sword from me!" Jiang Ming did not cease his attack, his sword tip pointing obliquely toward the sky as he shouted, "A Single Sword to Open the Heavens!"
He integrated the intent of splitting the heavens into his sword technique.
Though it lacked the absolute terror of the Heaven-Splitting Law, the moment the sword form unfolded, it caused the Sword Master's pupils to shrink, filling him with a hair-raising sensation.
"Sword Twenty-Two!"
Holding nothing back, the Sword Master erupted completely, manipulating the pressure of the firmament to descend with a crash. Yet Jiang Ming split the pressure apart with a single sword.
The firmament itself was cleaved in two.
Boundless sword qi collided, ultimately dissipating into nothingness.
Yet a distant mountain peak was silently split cleanly down the middle.
"Sword Twenty-Three!" The Sword Master pointed his finger-sword outward, a brilliant light blooming between his brows. In an instant, the space within a radius of a hundred meters abruptly froze.
The air halted, dust particles hung suspended in mid-air.
Within that boundary, a forbidden domain was formed, as if space itself had frozen. Even Jiang Ming's body was bound by a terrifying pressure.
Only the Sword Master's finger-sword transformed into an afterimage, striking toward Jiang Ming's glabella.
"This is the power of space!"
"And it's fused with soul power!"
Within a ten-thousandth of a finger-snap, Jiang Ming made his assessment. The True Qi in his body circulated madly, his blood Qi surged, and his soul power was fully ignited.
Instantly, the three merged into one, forcefully and overwhelmingly shattering the restriction. But the Sword Master's attack had already reached his brow.