Chapter 154: A Single Sword Enters Mount Kunwu

Lü Dongbin's method of teaching his disciples was direct and brutal, yet it went straight to the essence, often giving Yuntian and Yu Wei the feeling of parting the clouds to see the clear sun and experiencing sudden enlightenment.

During their days in the mansion of Emperor Donghua, Yuntian and Yu Wei spent most of their time cultivating independently. Lü Dongbin would only summon them at intervals to inquire about their progress and offer brief guidance.

In the blink of an eye, more than a decade had passed. Amidst comprehending the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao and integrating various profound truths of the Dao into the Great Dao of Qiankun, with the aid of the tens of millions of catties of primordial liquid obtained at the Immortal Fate Gathering, Yuntian's primary body and second avatar had both easily reached the late stage of the Return-to-Void Earth Immortal realm, just a step away from the perfection of Return-to-Void.

"What? You wish to travel abroad?" In the courtyard of Lü Dongbin's residence within the Emperor Donghua's mansion, Lü Dongbin furrowed his brow, turned his head to look at Yuntian standing to the side, and asked while watering a peony flower, "With your comprehension of the Dao and the tempering of your Dao heart, you should be fully prepared to undergo the tribulation. Trying to further increase the success rate of the tribulation through other means will not be easy!"

"Master, this disciple wishes to walk among the mortal world to properly temper his Dao heart before preparing for the tribulation," Yuntian replied calmly.

Lü Dongbin pondered and nodded, "Very well. Being more thoroughly prepared carries no harm. However, you mentioned not only traveling within the Donghua Great World, but also wishing to visit other small worlds. This..."

"Master, those other small worlds harbor very few cultivators, so this disciple will not be in any danger," Yuntian quickly said.

"Alright!" After thinking it over, Lü Dongbin nodded in agreement. "With your current strength, coupled with your complete comprehension of the Great Dao of Qiankun, even a Pure Yang True Immortal would find it difficult to keep you detained. I have nothing to worry about."

As he spoke, Lü Dongbin flipped his hand and produced a primitive, chaos-colored jade slip. "This contains general information regarding the Three Thousand Great Worlds and countless small worlds. Take it and familiarize yourself with it."

"Thank you, Master!" Yuntian's eyes brightened, and he eagerly stepped forward to receive it. This was precisely what he needed! Fortunately, Lü Dongbin had wandered through numerous great and small worlds. If it were any ordinary Heavenly Immortal or True Immortal, they likely wouldn't be able to produce such a detailed map of the Three Realms.

Watching Yuntian depart via the Great Teleportation technique, Lü Dongbin could not help but sigh with emotion, "This disciple of mine comprehended the Great Dao of Qiankun and mastered the Great Teleportation back at the Wanxiang realm. With such monstrous talent, one can only wonder how terrifying his Heavenly Immortal Tribulation will be. It is indeed time for him to go out and temper himself further! His Dao heart is remarkable; if he could only comprehend heart force, then..."

"I am overthinking! How could heart force be so easily comprehended?" Muttering to himself, Lü Dongbin shook his head and continued watering the flowers.

...

The Donghua Great World was by no means smaller than the Great Xia World. Even though oceans accounted for well over half of its surface area, its landmass remained vastly expansive, teeming with countless living beings, tribes, and sectarian forces. Furthermore, the influence of the demon race here was by no means inferior to that of humankind. Especially within the boundless seas, the dragon clan reigned as absolute overlords, with all marine demon clans holding the dragons in supreme reverence.

Blood Cold Mountain, situated in the bitter, cold northwestern region of the Donghua Great World, bordered the Kunwu Mountain Range—a gathering place for the demon race. Calamities brought by demons occurred frequently here, leaving the humans living in the area in utter misery.

At the foot of Blood Cold Mountain lay an ancient human tribe. However, shortly before, it had been reduced to a heap of ruins and a living hell. Among the broken walls and shattered bricks, traces of scorching flames could still be faintly discerned, while the earth was littered with bones and corpses. Some corpses were mangled and bloody, while others were reduced to stark white skeletons with blood that had not yet fully dried. Even the howling, biting winter wind failed to completely disperse the heavy stench of blood.

By a mountain stream not far away, a bonfire burned brightly. A youth in black sat cross-legged in silence, an aura of icy hostility emanating from his entire body.

On the grassy ground nearby covered with an animal skin mat, a young girl of about eight or nine years old lay curled up. She wore a filthy, blood-stained animal skin garment, her fair little face covered in grime, her spirited brows knitted tightly together. Her body shuddered from time to time, as if she were trapped in some dreadful nightmare.

"Father... Mother... No... Mother..." Mumbling softly, the girl suddenly shuddered violently. She sat up abruptly as if startled awake, gazed around in fearful confusion, and then climbed off the animal-skin mat like a madwoman, running off into the distance. The direction she headed toward was precisely the tribe at the foot of Blood Cold Mountain, which had now turned into a ruined hellscape.

Frowning as he watched the girl's retreating figure and letting out a light sigh, Yuntian stood up and followed behind her.

"Ah... Ah..." Amidst the vast expanse of bloody corpses and white bones, the girl knelt on the ground like a wounded beast, emitting a cry of despair and agony.

Quietly observing the scene, Yuntian narrowed his eyes slightly. "Even in the Donghua Great World—a realm relatively peaceful and devoid of massive natural or man-made disasters—this peace is merely superficial. The lives of those at the very bottom of this world are perhaps worth even less than those of wild beasts; they are fragile, immensely insignificant, and as trivial as dust in the wind."

"Do you want revenge?" Yuntian walked up to the girl and asked in a low voice.

The girl raised her head to look at Yuntian without speaking, but her pitch-black eyes slowly suffused with a bloody red glow.

Sighing inwardly at the sight, Yuntian raised his head to look in the direction of the distant Kunwu Mountain Range, a scarlet, freezing glint welling up in his eyes as well.

The space of a cup of tea later, atop a towering mountain deep within the Kunwu Mountain Range, a fierce sword Qi descended from the sky like a destructive storm, instantly enveloping the entire mountain. Amidst shrill shrieks and resentful roars of beasts, all the trees and vegetation on the mountain were pulverized into dust. A heavy stench of blood and hostility filled the air, and the massive mountain was stripped of all living things.

Swish... A beam of sword light tore through the space, and the corpse of a great demon at the Return-to-Void Earth Immortal realm plummeted from the sky. High in the air, Yuntian held a dark-red immortal sword shimmering with a bloody light in one hand, while using the other to hold the filthy little girl. With a flicker of his figure, he transformed into a stream of light and vanished deep into the Kunwu Mountain Range.

This journey was one of blood and slaughter. Wherever he passed, every mountain inhabited by the demon race failed to escape the baptism of Yuntian's endless sword Qi, which swept across them like a destructive storm. Countless demons and unawakened wild beasts perished by Yuntian's hand. As his hostile aura grew heavier and he ventured deeper into the Kunwu Mountain Range, the strength of the demons he encountered increased correspondingly.

Following his first encounter with a great demon at the Return-to-Void Earth Immortal realm, Yuntian subsequently encountered a growing number of great demons at the Return-to-Void Earth Immortal and Loose Immortal levels. Eventually, powerful Loose Immortal great demons comparable to Heavenly Immortals began to appear. Yet, none of them could withstand a single sword stroke from Yuntian.

Boom... Swish... Roar... Detestable human... Ah... Chaotic sounds of violent energy explosions and sword Qi tearing through the fabric of space echoed endlessly. Accompanied by rivers of sword light sweeping across the firmament, the grand formations arrayed by the Earth Immortal and Loose Immortal great demons were shattered. One after another, these powerful demons were easily and ruthlessly diced apart by Yuntian's sword. Magical treasures flew wildly through the air; even some inferior storage treasures were shredded by the sword Qi, spilling out vast quantities of items, most of which were promptly pulverized into nothingness by the sword Qi.

In less than the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, the thirty-six Return-to-Void Earth Immortal great demons and nine Loose Immortal great demons who had come to encircle and annihilate Yuntian were all slain.

Yuntian's unbridled slaughter of demon powerhouses within the Kunwu Mountain Range finally drew out the true higher-ups of the demon race from the depths of the mountains.

"After slaying dozens of Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals, has it finally reached the upper celestial grade?" Lowering his head to look at the dark-red immortal sword in his hand, upon which a bloody light flickered invisibly, the intent to kill in Yuntian's eyes grew dense. When Yuntian first forged this blood-炼 (blood-refined) divine weapon, it was merely a lower-grade immortal sword. Ever since the blood refinement, he had never truly utilized it. Now, it was time to let it drink the blood of genuine powerhouses to complete its evolution and transformation.