My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 699 - 454: The Ants Shake the Tree (Combined) _2

If Lu Ying were to leave the "realm of forgetting both self and object," trying to re-enter such a state might require the method of severing the three corpses. However, the risk is extremely high; even the slightest mishap could lead to the complete destruction of the foundation of Taoist skills.

Noticing Zhou Yitang's inner leanings, Chen Yi's gaze darkened.

"Forget it. I don't need your opinion," Chen Yi turned around, ceasing his private conversation with Zhou Yitang, and strode back to the Cave of Severed Swords. "Talking to you about this is pointless. I don't want to see her like this, and the person she was before definitely wouldn't like herself like this either."

Zhou Yitang snapped back to reality and sneered coldly at his words, "Can you decide everything?"

"I don't know if I can or cannot," Chen Yi paused for a moment before continuing, "but I don't want her to live unhappily. Besides... surely there must still be realms different from the realm of forgetting both self and object."

This statement was overly confident, a mere attempt to patch his argument, yet Zhou Yitang did not refute it.

She reached the realm of forgetting both self and object, becoming only half of a remarkable young talent as described by Wu Buxu. If such a realm truly existed, it would be enough to surpass Wu Buxu's sword. But over the years, no one had ever made that old Sword Demon utter the phrase "remarkable young talent."

Chen Yi ascended the slope, faintly seeing Lu Ying's figure seated by the cliff's edge, gazing at the heavens. Gathering his thoughts, he walked over slowly. Entering the realm of forgetting both self and object was easy; breaking free from it in a short time was impossible. His earlier words were mere bravado, as he remained stuck in the Fourth Rank, far from truly refining the spirit back to emptiness. How could he hope to find such a higher realm? Even so, the words still needed to be said.

Just as he was about to approach, Chen Yi suddenly halted. Out of nowhere, a faint golden thread unexpectedly appeared. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Where did it come from?

He saw that it wasn't just one golden thread. Following it were countless strands, dense and varying in thickness, seemingly trying to rip and bind him. Chen Yi looked in the direction the golden thread led...

Straight toward the clouds.

The wildly dancing thunder snakes unknowingly became calm and subdued; the lightning ceased, replaced instead by a dazzling sky bathed in swirling violet energy, as black clouds split apart on both sides.

It was as if the heavens opened a slit!

The immortals broke through the wind and clouds, arriving!

...

With gentle pattering sounds, twenty vibrant golden-glazed brush strokes scattered across the sky, splashing and spreading amidst the white mist at the mountain's peak. The blades of tall grass swayed wildly in the wind, pressed down by the dense aura of revered violet energy.

Leading them was True Monarch Wu Ling, sweeping his sleeve, halting the mountain winds, causing the blades of tall grass to bow as if in submission.

The elder's head also hung low.

The immortals' figures appeared shadowy and hazy, as if stepping out of murals. Some carried zithers, others commanded cauldrons, one held a horsetail whisk—all were shrouded in immortal radiance and exuded auspiciousness. Among them, three shone the brightest.

True Monarch Wu Ling, of course, needed no introduction. The other two were True Monarch Taihe, donning a gold-embroidered vestment robe, his translucent skin revealing a head-sized Golden Core suspended within his abdomen, clearly a master of the Inner Core school; and the other, with a cold and severe visage, dressed in a green robe resembling Taoist attire yet with narrowed cuffs akin to martial sleeves. His demeanor and aura both exuded sharp Sword Intent, and at his waist hung an Ancient Sword—this was True Monarch Jinggu.

Among the mountain-top blades of grass, True Monarch Wu Ling stepped forward, slightly bowing his head to greet, "Senior Wu, it is with the utmost respect that we disturb you."

The elderly man's sparse white eyebrows dipped, his eyes remaining lowered. He replied, "Spare me the nonsense about utmost respect. You're only here because you're worried that if the heavens collapse, no one will be able to hold them up."

At these words, the gathered immortals furrowed their brows slightly, glaring at the elder with a low-hanging head.

True Monarch Wu Ling did not grow angry, maintaining his bow as he continued, "We are not cowardly seekers of self-preservation. Yet for centuries, suitable candidates have been rare; besides Xiao Daoping, there is only one."

The moment he finished speaking, a roll of distant thunder echoed, deep and lingering. The rift in the Sword Pool's cave-heaven had reached a point where even the assembled immortals could no longer suppress it.

At this time, the elderly man coldly spoke, "If that young girl were to patch that hole, would that not mean I'd be trapped in this place guarding it for the next twelve hundred years?"

True Monarch Wu Ling had anticipated this. His gaze shifted slightly, showing that True Monarch of the Ancient Sword had already stepped forward.

Ancient ropes suspended the Ancient Sword.

Its tassels hung long, touching the ground, catching the gaze of Wu Buxu's weary old eyes.

Unable to see it while raised, his lowered head now saw it.

The immortal paused momentarily before speaking in a deep voice, "Elder Sword Master Wu, I, as one who deeply admires swords, had lamented bitterly in the past for not witnessing the techniques of the Elder Sword Master. It was a profound regret. I even dreamed of arranging with Xiao Daoping a celestial clash over swords, considering him a kindred spirit, only to later learn it was you who killed Xiao Daoping. My sorrow has been immense,"

His eyes sparked with brilliance, "and I now humbly plead for the Elder Sword Master's guidance!"

An overwhelming Sword Intent silently spread across the mountain peak.

Wu Buxu finally raised his head at this moment, narrowing his sharp eyes as he scrutinized the man up and down, slowly responding, "Your Sword Intent does carry some weight. Are you standing in for her to test swords with me?"

"It would be an honor!"

True Monarch Jinggu's voice was heavy like tempered iron, crashing with measured intensity. His gaze flickered briefly with admiration before he raised his head, silent and resolute, extending a single hand—its palm lined with grooves seemingly etched by Sword Intent.

It appeared he sought to test Wu Buxu's blade immediately.

Among the immortals, who were trembling with a mixture of awe and trepidation, True Monarch Wu Ling raised his hand to halt him, saying, "The matter at hand takes precedence."

Then, turning his head aside,

he gazed far off, seeing no more than a speck the size of an ant.

That distant dot stood alone amidst the tangled mountain forests, a youth gripping a blade upright, his gaze seemingly slicing through layers of obstructions, striking pain upon the watcher's cheeks.

Such boundless killing intent,

True Monarch Wu Ling shook his head slightly, half sneering, half pitying,

as if the youth intended to kill all these immortals...

Only a fool thinking he could uproot a tree by shaking it.

...…

In this world, immortals are like great trees, living eight thousand years as their spring and eight thousand years as their autumn.

The radiant, glazed brilliance threaded into a continuous line, like a golden celestial canopy advancing closer from afar—it was unmistakable to anyone.

Lu Ying remained expressionless, silently watching, as if insulating herself from the world.

Yin Weiyin and Min Ning, the two women, were greatly astonished. Even if they couldn't grasp the situation, the two immortals they had crossed paths with earlier on the mountain trail had left an indelible impression. Now, with all these immortals arriving, it was plain as day—even without much thought—that their intentions weren't good.

The female crown's face wore an indifferent calm, yet her heart seethed with anxiety. For a moment, she even forgot to gesture with seals, while Min Ning clutched the hilt of her blade firmly. Her gaze flickered with hesitation but steadied as it landed upon a single figure.

Chen Yi faced the gathered immortals head-on.

The wind followed the celestial light as it traveled, revealing the immortal crowd, led by True Monarch Wu Ling, poised upon branches as if skimming water—each figure faintly illusory yet dazzlingly radiant in gold.

What came were all dharma bodies.

A dharma body, in essence, represented the true form—it was the manifestation of the path to enlightenment among immortals and Buddhas. In Taoist sects and Buddhist temples, this pathway held the status of a lifeline. Techniques such as Taihua Mountain's Supreme Forget Love Technique and Shangqing Dao's Shangqing Heart Method were examples of paths to enlightenment, and the Bodhisattva of Medicine that Chen Yi had previously obliterated—inadvertently cooperating with Yin Tingxue—had met her demise due to the destruction of her dharma body.

True Monarch Wu Ling stepped forward, his tone lofty and condescending like a Heavenly Official reciting imperial decrees, and said, "We immortals have descended upon the mortal realm. In consideration of your standing, hand over that female Taoist, and we can pretend none of this ever happened."

Chen Yi wasn't in a hurry to reply. Rather, he asked, "Are all the smugglers gathered here?"

"Arrogant brat!"

Hardly had Chen Yi finished speaking when an immortal carrying a horsetail whisk erupted in fury, shouting loudly.

"Speaking the truth—does that make one arrogant?" Chen Yi raised an eyebrow as he responded.

"We have painstakingly cultivated the Heavenly Dao and achieved eternal life—how dare you defile us with such slander!" The immortal was evidently so enraged that he laughed instead.

True Monarch Wu Ling's demeanor was as still as an ancient well. Just these few brief exchanges sufficed to reveal that this man was by no means amicable nor willing to compromise. Ultimately, it confirmed the old mortal saying: someone who refuses the offered wine must drink penalty wine instead.

Since that was the case, there was no need for further words.

Before True Monarch Wu Ling could speak, the enraged immortal had already stepped forward. His figure moved with lightning speed, instantly appearing before Chen Yi, his horsetail whisk flashing as it descended lightly toward Chen Yi's crown.

The white strands danced in the wind, seeming gentle and harmless, while the immortal's hand formed seals as if he were bestowing longevity.

But the sword light spun quicker.

The immortal had anticipated such a move. Although angered, he maintained a sly smirk as his body grew pliant, shrouded in mist, intending to dissolve the incoming blade like a cloud dispersing...

A slicing sound echoed—it was flesh being torn. The horsetail whisk slipped powerlessly from the immortal's grasp, revealing its true nature beneath its gentleness—the threads opened, hissing with lightning serpent-like ferocity. Thunderous blasts vibrated through the air, shaking all around before settling at last.

Chen Yi brushed past him, his Destruction Zen Sword carving through the void in a decisive stroke. The bloody head of the Six Yang Leader soared high, still bearing the anger-tinged smile, though his wide-open eyes remained fixed in shock!

The faces of the immortals changed subtly; True Monarch Wu Ling narrowed his eyes, and True Monarch Jinggu's Sword Intent surged.

"Here I was, thinking... that you really were immortal,"

Chen Yi grabbed the head as it floated mid-air, flipping it around to ensure the lifeless, terrified gaze confronted the gathered immortals!