Chapter 25: Heart Sword
“Sect Leader, save us!”
Behind Xuan’ai Daoist Nun, thousands of disciples cried out in unison, their voices filled with heart-wrenching despair.
Qingyu Daoist Nun couldn’t tell whether Xuan’ai had momentarily loosened her control over them or if she was deliberately making them beg like this.
“What exactly do you want? The position of Sect Leader? Fine, take it. You can have anything—just let these disciples go!” Qingyu gritted her teeth, forced to lower her head in the face of the dire situation.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth—she was so enraged that it was making her cough up blood.
Xuan’ai sneered, striking Qingyu with a palm and sending her flying. “Sect Leader? I did want it once. But now, I only want to stay by the Ancestral Master of the Mortal World’s side.”
“Jiang, the Human Sovereign, may have already sensed something is amiss. I need control of the Sect-Protecting Formation to keep him and Holy Maiden Jingxin out. So be a good girl and hand over the formation core.”
…
“Jiang, the Human Sovereign. Jingxin, my dear junior sister. You’re too late.”
Xuan’ai Daoist Nun stepped on Qingyu’s back, her face full of mockery.
The Sect-Protecting Formation activated, enveloping the entire Pure Land of the Mortal World like a fragile bubble. It looked as if it could be popped with a single touch, yet it was indestructibly solid. The Pure Land had stood for ten thousand years, renowned for its mystery and unmatched beauty. Countless people had tried to infiltrate it, and it had faced multiple crises, yet none had ever breached its defenses.
Xuan’ai had no concerns about Jiang Li breaking the formation. This was an array brought from the Celestial Realm by the Ancestral Master of the Mortal World. Even a full-force attack from an ordinary celestial being wouldn’t make it budge.
She refused to believe that Jiang Li could break it! He was just a mere mortal body at the Mahayana Stage, not some supreme deity of the Celestial Realm. How could he possibly overcome a formation from the Celestial Realm?
Holy Maiden Jingxin, who often made decisions beyond her authority, had bloodshot eyes at the sight of her master being humiliated. She attacked the Sect-Protecting Formation.
A supreme azure lotus bloomed and spun in the void, its weight causing ripples to spread through space as if the very fabric of reality couldn’t bear its presence. Jingxin pointed forward, and the azure lotus smashed fiercely into the barrier, shattering the space around it.
Seeing the formation remain unscathed, dozens more azure lotuses bloomed in the void and crashed into the barrier together.
The violent explosions flattened the surroundings, yet the Sect-Protecting Formation remained untouched.
Jiang Li took a step forward and patted the panting Jingxin on the shoulder.
“My turn.”
Just two simple words, yet they exuded absolute confidence.
Xuan’ai burst into laughter as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. “Jiang, the Human Sovereign, I respect your contributions to the Nine Provinces and have no desire to humiliate you. Step back now, or else the myth of your invincibility will be shattered today!”
Jiang Li ignored her and instead called out to Qingyu, who was still pinned beneath Xuan’ai’s foot. “Sect Leader Qingyu, I’m saving your life today. Let’s call it even—how about that?”
Before Qingyu could even respond with a “Fine,” Jiang Li swung his fist.
The Sect-Protecting Formation, untouched for ten thousand years, shattered like a fragile mirror.
Xuan’ai’s eyes widened in shock, sheer terror rising in her heart. Seeing Jiang Li and Jingxin walking toward her step by step, she frantically pointed at the thousands of disciples behind her, screaming in panic, “Don’t move! I’ve implanted them all with Mind-Control Gu! A single thought from me, and they’ll all kill themselves! No matter how fast you are, can you be faster than a single thought?”
Jiang Li stopped, gazing at her quietly. Slowly, he said, “I can’t be sure that I’m faster than a thought.”
Xuan’ai let out a breath of relief—her life was safe for now. She couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.
Whether it was the once-proud Qingyu or the almighty Human Sovereign Jiang, weren’t they both at her mercy simply because they cared too much for the lives of these Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Soul Formation disciples?
To Xuan’ai, it was laughable.
Qingyu and Jiang Li were just powerful cultivators, nothing more. They couldn’t abandon others—they lacked the ruthlessness needed to be truly strong. Only someone like her, with both high cultivation and a heart of stone, deserved to rule!
She was certain that one day, she would surpass Jiang Li and rule the Nine Provinces!
“My demands are simple. Let me take the Ancestral Master of the Mortal World away. You must all swear an oath to the heavens—”
“—But why would I need to be faster than a thought?”
Jiang Li took a sword out of his storage ring. Sensing danger, Xuan’ai immediately commanded some disciples to commit suicide to intimidate him.
Jiang Li swung his sword.
There was no visible sword energy. Yet, every Gu worm inside the disciples’ bodies was instantly severed in two—dying on the spot!
The disciples, moments away from taking their own lives, were suddenly freed from control.
“My swordsmanship is crude. I only know one move.” Jiang Li continued walking toward Xuan’ai. She collapsed onto the ground, legs scrambling to push herself backward in sheer panic.
“This move is called Heart Sword. It begins in the mind and falls in the sea of consciousness. In that single rise and fall, sword energy forms within the body.”
“It was originally meant for severing tendons and peeling flesh. But as it turns out, it’s also quite effective at cutting Gu worms and saving people.”
“Wait! I still—”
Xuan’ai’s eyes widened in terror as Jiang Li raised his sword. Under the moonlight, its blade gleamed with an icy glow. Desperately, she tried to speak, to bargain for her life.
But Jiang Li didn’t bother to listen.
His sword swung.
Her head flew into the air.
Xuan’ai died with her eyes wide open in disbelief.
“Killing you doesn’t require any fancy sword techniques.”
With a simple, ordinary slash—one that required no skill—the dust settled.
Jiang Li had originally planned to let Holy Maiden Jingxin handle the matter herself. But since this had spiraled beyond what she could manage alone, he had to step in.
“Many thanks to the Human Sovereign for saving the Pure Land of the Mortal World from this calamity. I, Jingxin, have nothing to offer in return… except myself.”
“……”
Seeing that Jingxin could still joke, Jiang Li figured her Dao heart remained intact. He ignored her and turned to Qingyu.
“Your entire sect was nearly turned into a dual-cultivation brothel. Be more cautious next time. I won’t spread word of this—it’ll stay a secret.”
Qingyu knelt down sincerely and performed a grand salute to Jiang Li. Just as he had said before rescuing her, their past grievances were now settled. She no longer saw him as the man who killed her former lover, but as the benefactor who saved the Pure Land of the Mortal World.
Without Jiang Li, their sect would have become a laughingstock. Qingyu herself would have been forever branded as the shame of the Pure Land.
“The Pure Land of the Mortal World will forever remember what the Human Sovereign has done tonight.”
…
“Brother Jiang… am I going to die?”
In Xiahe Town, Du Xiner’s eyes were unfocused. She could barely make out the person standing before her, recognizing him only by instinct.
In truth, it wasn’t just Jiang Li who had come. Holy Maiden Jingxin was there too, but she concealed her presence—she didn’t dare face her kindhearted junior sister.
With Xuan’ai dead, her Gu worms perished as well. Now, the corpses in both Shanghe and Xiahe Towns lay still, the air thick with death.
Du Xiner, once a Golden Core cultivator, was barely holding on. But she wouldn’t last much longer.
Jiang Li spoke to her softly, explaining everything.
Jingxin, hiding nearby, silently wiped away tears.
“I see… so I was already dead all along. No wonder I could never cultivate…”
Du Xiner smiled, though she didn’t know why.
“Jingxin-shijie isn’t here? I’d like to see her one last time…”
Jingxin no longer hid. She rushed forward and clutched Du Xiner’s cold, frail hands. “Xiner-shimei, I’m here! I’m here!”
But Du Xiner did not respond.
Her head slumped to the side.
She was gone.