A not particularly large lake shimmered with rippling waves, each wave resembling golden scales, seemingly forged from countless sword qi or knife auras. Merely gazing at it created the illusion of ten thousand swords piercing the heart and a billion blades stabbing the eyes.
Meanwhile, rays of light—some deep blue and emerald green, some pure cyan and golden yellow, some crimson red and blazing white—occasionally shot out from the lake’s depths, soaring into the air, swirling and twisting, displaying their ferocity before eventually returning to the water for refinement and nourishment.
This was the Yaichi—unique across all heavens and worlds!
Not far away, a figure as red as fresh blood slowly materialized, its gaze slightly burning as it stared at the scene, as if everything here would soon belong to it. It was none other than the Blood Sea Rakshasa, who had silently vanished during the earlier battle.
Its form was blurred, its body flowing like water, seemingly composed of overlapping layers of bloody shadows. Each shadow exuded a sense of ferocity, cruelty, and torment.
Something significant seemed to have happened to it, but it still clutched the thin Divine Blood Severing Blade in its hand.
“The core fragment of the Hao Tian Mirror, the fragment of the Dong Huang Bell—all will be mine…” the Blood Sea Rakshasa muttered in a low voice. It stepped forward, leaving behind a blurred blood trail, darting and weaving through streams of vicious light. It always seemed to anticipate attacks in advance, skillfully evading the strikes of divine weapons and the coverage of magical artifacts.
As it drew closer to Yaichi, the grade of the divine weapons and artifact fragments increased, making them increasingly difficult to avoid. Even someone as mighty as Su Wuming had to rely on the legendary trait—”the projection remains undestroyed, so the self remains alive”—to carve a path forward.
Suddenly, the Blood Sea Rakshasa’s vision darkened. A ghostly beam of light appeared out of nowhere, strangely emerging directly before it, and in an instant, pierced its body.
Puh!
The eerie light pierced through the Rakshasa’s body, leaving a hideous hole. Inside, there were no internal organs, only writhing blood and blurred shadows. At the wound’s edge, the blood had turned blue-black, as if freezing.
At this moment, the Rakshasa finally saw the source of the light—it was a broken sword, lacking both tip and hilt, seemingly forged from black liquid. Seals drifted within its depths, some shattered, others intact, bearing the ancient seal script “Xuan Ming,” exuding a cold and sinister aura.
“A divine weapon of the Celestial Immortal grade…” The Blood Severing Blade in the Rakshasa’s right hand suddenly radiated a red glow, flowing back into its dharma body. The freezing effect was neutralized and assimilated; the blue-black hue vanished. Its blood writhed, and the wound rapidly healed, leaving no trace.
With no time to linger, the Rakshasa swung the Blood Severing Blade backward. Layers of bloody shadows surged forth, and in midair, it seemed as though an endless sea of blood had appeared, surging and roaring, instantly swallowing and clashing with the fragment of the Xuan Ming sword.
Seizing the opportunity, the Rakshasa sped forward. The mists beneath its feet began to dissipate, revealing substances gleaming with metallic luster—Gengjin Essence and Tai Bai True Gold. These were originally mists along Yaichi’s edge, gradually transformed over years of being washed by the lake’s waters into the essence of the Metal element. The portion closest to Yaichi was especially rare and precious, suitable for forging divine weapons!
Seeing them meant the Blood Sea Rakshasa had officially entered Yaichi’s domain!
Just then, a beam of emerald light descended from above—it was a Buddhist banner inscribed with scriptures, its voice chanting, “Thus have I heard.” Golden Mantra characters emerged within the Bodhi-green glow.
“The Bodhi Prajna Banner!” The Rakshasa seemed to recognize it, and the Blood Severing Blade in its hand suddenly flared with crimson light.
This was a treasure from the era before the Bodhi Ancient Buddha attained enlightenment, especially adept at subduing demons, binding, and sealing!
Though only a fragment remained, under the illumination of green and golden light, the Rakshasa’s repeated dodges only brought it closer, until the Bodhi green light swept over it. Instantly, it was enveloped by the banner. One by one, golden Mantra characters transformed into shackles, wrapping tightly around its body, their chants echoing through the air.
Suddenly, a deep crimson light shot forth from the gaps between golden Mantra characters.
The moment this light appeared, crimson beams burst forth one after another, like the rays of a blood-red sun, impossible to suppress!
The blood light coiled, reforming the Blood Sea Rakshasa’s figure nearby. The Blood Severing Blade in its hand exuded a sinister, almost tangible malevolence—as if even a slight wound from it would turn one into a pool of pus and blood.
“Phew, good thing the ferocity overpowered the tranquil wisdom; their contradiction saved me. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have been so easy…” The Rakshasa coughed lightly, its aura slightly weakened. In a flash, it darted toward the lake’s edge.
It activated its cultivation technique, revealing a faint trace of the Hao Tian Mirror’s aura it had grasped within the Eternal Valley, attempting to attract the core fragment resting at Yaichi’s center.
The aura slowly spread outward across the water. Suddenly, the surrounding atmosphere froze. Without a sound, a vortex silently formed at Yaichi’s center.
The vortex deepened instantly, and beams of dark light shot forth from its depths, illuminating every corner of the sky. The divine weapons and artifact fragments circling above simultaneously wailed, trembling lightly before one by one plunging back into Yaichi, clearing the sky.
The ghostly light bloomed like a lotus, petal by petal. From the vortex’s depths, the waters of Yaichi lifted an object upward.
It was a mirror fragment the size of a palm, with a clear break on the left and no defined edge on the right. Its surface bore unique and arcane patterns—like imprints of the Dao itself, similar to those on the Tian Zhu Axe and the Tyrant Blade. It was ancient and weathered, its surface black and dull, seemingly reflecting nothing—yet faintly connecting all heavens and worlds.
The Blood Sea Rakshasa’s heart leapt with joy, whispering to itself, “The core fragment of the Hao Tian Mirror!”
This was the most important goal of its journey. Compared to it, even acquiring the Dong Huang Bell fragment or stealing the blood essence of Su Wuming and other dharma bodies paled in significance. With this fragment, it could possess most legendary traits and potentially attain legendhood itself in the future. As for the Dong Huang Bell fragment—ambition without foundation was unwise. First, attain legend; then, pursue transformation.
Just as this thought arose, the mirror’s dark surface suddenly emitted a ghostly beam of light, condensing into a single ray that struck the Rakshasa.
Instantly, everything froze—the Blood Sea Rakshasa was frozen in place, like a clay statue or wooden puppet.
When in the hands of the Green Emperor, one of the Hao Tian Mirror’s greatest abilities was immobilization. Once struck by its light, whether one was a Buddha, Immortal, demon, or monster, one would be frozen in place. Even legends could not escape, and even transformations would freeze for several moments unless countered by a special cultivation method or divine treasure. It was even said that at its peak, it could freeze a River-Crossing expert for an instant!
Though now shattered and no longer as mighty as before, the core fragment could still easily immobilize the Blood Sea Rakshasa.
At the same time, the mirror’s reflected light spread in all directions, seemingly dividing Yaichi’s heaven and earth into countless separate worlds!
When Gu’erduo and Han Guang regained their senses, they found themselves isolated from each other, unable to communicate. They could only follow their respective paths toward Yaichi’s edge before attempting to reunite.
Even Meng Qi found himself momentarily disoriented. The Great Master Lu beside him had vanished into another world, and all he could see was the dark, deep Yaichi nearby.
The core fragment of the Hao Tian Mirror trembled slightly. The beam of light striking the Blood Sea Rakshasa slowly condensed. The mirror’s surface grew clearer, reflecting the Rakshasa’s figure.
As the reflection appeared, the surrounding misty void suddenly flattened, and the Rakshasa’s body began transforming from three-dimensional to flat.
In a brief moment, the Blood Sea Rakshasa and its surrounding world became a thin sheet of paper—completely flat, with no thickness.
The fragment of the Hao Tian Mirror could simulate the connection between higher and lower universes, allowing one to glimpse the “other self” ahead of time. Naturally, the core fragment could connect higher states with lower ones, creating a planar world of only length and width, transforming anything reflected into that realm.
The Blood Sea Rakshasa’s reflection in the mirror flickered like ripples on water, and the paper-like form was then torn apart by an invisible hand, never to be restored.
Suddenly, a flash of blood light appeared in the distance—the Blood Sea Rakshasa’s figure reappeared. It gasped for breath, filled with lingering fear. Had it not prepared a substitute puppet in advance, it would have perished just now!
But this was also an opportunity! It gazed at the still trembling fragment of the Hao Tian Mirror, transformed into a streak of blood light, and swung the Divine Blood Severing Blade, attempting to corrupt this treasure into its own possession!
Its ferocity turned into burning desire. But just then, Yaichi’s waters surged violently, and a beam of seven-colored light erupted, striking the Blood Severing Blade.
With a crack, the Blood Sea Rakshasa was swept directly into Yaichi!
At that moment, it finally saw the source of the seven-colored light—a severed Bodhi branch, two finger-lengths long, embedded with seven treasures like lapis lazuli, radiating pure Buddhist light.
It was the Seven-Treasure Wonderful Tree!
A treasure equal to the Bodhi Tree, used by the Bodhi Ancient Buddha on his path to enlightenment!
It had shattered!
Plop! The Blood Sea Rakshasa plunged into Yaichi…
…
The Great Master Lu and Meng Qi, separated by the Hao Tian Mirror’s strange power, could only cautiously make their way toward Yaichi. After walking for a while, the void before Lu suddenly rippled, and a figure emerged—it was none other than the Dharma King of Salvation!
Instead of choosing to ambush, the Dharma King gazed deeply at Lu and hoarsely said, “We are of the same generation. In the beginning, I was in my prime while you were merely an ordinary martial artist, not even worth a second glance. Yet you grew stronger and stronger, eventually surpassing me completely. It is truly bitter…”
“I admit I am not your equal now, but today, in this place, I possess the advantage of terrain. I wish to test myself against you properly.”
The Dharma King also pursued the martial path and had not chosen to sever his bridge and retreat!
Lu’s expression turned solemn. He raised the Sword of Single-Mindedness and assumed a respectful starting posture, showing the greatest respect.
…
Under the illumination of the Hao Tian Mirror, the ferocious divine weapons and artifact fragments sank back into Yaichi. Meng Qi advanced smoothly, encountering no obstacles, and soon reached Yaichi’s edge, where he saw the dark, broken mirror fragment.
Just then, the waters surged, and a blood shadow shot forth—it was the Blood Sea Rakshasa, recently swept away.
The Blood Sea Rakshasa immediately spotted Meng Qi, glanced at the still-present core fragment of the Hao Tian Mirror, raised the Divine Blood Severing Blade, and chuckled, “Hmph. Foes always meet again. I searched everywhere without success, only to find you here effortlessly. You’ve finally fallen into my hands.”
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