Chapter 178

Heng Xian followed the instructions, moving south three zhang; this place was almost where sword qi was thickest, and various strange emotions flooded his mind.

Immediately he moved left three chi, sat in a recessed rock crevice, took a deep breath, crossed his legs, and began sitting‑forgetting meditation.

Soon, countless emotions surged in disorder; his vision blurred and swayed, and in an instant a strange space appeared—

This was a vast expanse of land; the sky glowed with a blinding blood‑red hue, and within those blood‑red clouds floated more than ten gigantic golden dragons, qilin and other divine beasts, their deep, terrifying eyes glaring down fiercely,

Countless corpses lay on the ground, along with shattered splendid divine beast carriages and horses, dazzling jewels and strange treasures!

Meanwhile, in the mid‑air lightning intertwined, and two groups of people stood within the lightning.

On the left was a group wearing wide robes and large sleeves, with a "cloud" mark on their foreheads, each exuding a terrifying might so extreme it could destroy heaven and earth.

On the right stood three or four people, their noble splendid garments now torn, each gravely wounded and near death, yet their aura still surged to the heavens, their gestures capable of shaking heaven and earth.

As soon as Heng Xian focused his gaze, he vaguely noticed that among those three or four on the right, one bore a very strong resemblance to his father, Heng De.

At that moment, a girl beside the figure resembling his father suddenly slashed out a sword, mumbling indistinctly the word "evil"; the blade pierced heaven and earth, supremely evil, as if it could annihilate a nation in an instant, and it struck Heng Xian's brow.

"Ah—"

Heng Xian jolted awake, involuntarily flung backward, slammed into the wall, his face pallid, his head drenched in cold sweat!

He stared blankly for a while before regaining clarity.

Truly, that sword's momentum was too terrifying—no! Those people were too terrifying!

Such a realm and aura, even if it were a phantom lingering from twenty‑seven‑million years ago, made him shudder to the point of death, his mind unsettled, his whole body numb.

It's hard to imagine what it would feel like to actually be there; perhaps… it would be no better than an ant.

Merely this vision—if they say a half‑breath is truly a half‑breath, a moment's dazed lapse and it was gone; he never saw it clearly at all.

All he remembered was that someone there… vaguely resembled his father a bit!

His father actually resembled an ancient person a bit—who could he reason with about this?

Moreover, this scene was merely the tiniest fragment of that heaven‑and‑earth tableau; above, left, and right there seemed to be countless more battle scenes and people!

What happened back then?

He closed his eyes, panted heavily, struggled desperately to adapt and free himself from that terrifying vision; after a long while he opened the Profound Yellow Heavenly Hexagram: "What kind of scene is that?"

The hexagram's answer hesitated for ten seconds.

Heng Xian startled, thinking the Heavenly Hexagram had failed.

Then the hexagram displayed again: 【The hexagram is vague, cannot be measured—perhaps the era is too remote, or it has surpassed the limits of what the Profound Yellow Heavenly Hexagram can deduce!】

Holy shit! Is that possible?

Heng Xian had no choice but to give up, rubbing his brow.

The sword slash from the girl beside the man who resembled his father felt as if it had truly chopped his head, lodging in his brow and refusing to fade away.

It's hard to imagine that this sword scar was inflicted by a woman.

Heng Xian shook his head hard; that sword still lingered in his mind, so he simply sat cross‑legged to contemplate and ponder it carefully.

The more he pondered, the more unfathomable it seemed.

To fully simulate it would be utterly impossible—his realm, comprehension, and state of mind were all insufficient,

so he could only grasp a "simplified" version.

One shichen.

Two shichen.

Three shichen.

As his contemplation deepened, that sword gradually faded from his mind.

……

A full five shichen.

Heng Xian flung his eyes open, drew the "Badass Sword" from his waist, and slashed forth: "Evil‑Sword!"

As if he wanted to cleave all the wicked thoughts in his heart away.

The sword light took shape, exuding a rich evil aura, and shot straight ahead.

"Boom—"

The wall bearing the explained sword scar collapsed in a large chunk!

From beside came an "Ay ya" cry.

Only Mo Qi Bai sat cross‑legged on a strange wooden contraption, eyes wide, curiously gazing at the wall then at Heng Xian.

Heng Xian came to, gave an embarrassed smile: "How did you get down here?"

Mo Qi Bai had just come to his senses from the Evil‑Sword, saying: "Ma Yong, A Su and those little rascals ran up, saying you'd met with trouble and jumped into the sword‑scar abyss,

coincidentally the Black Raven Valley folk came charging in, the two great valleys fell into chaotic slaughter, so only I came down!"

Speaking, he eyed Heng Xian's sword: "That move just now… is it a newly grasped technique?"

Heng Xian nodded: "Yes, how does it feel?"

Mo Qi Bai thought seriously: "Using wicked intent as a guide, killing intent as the bone, the aura in an instant will surely make many feel a hint of fear from the heart; it's very strong—what's its name?"

Heng Xian mused: "It has no name; I'll just call it Evil‑Sword, and I'll teach you how to use it."

"No need!" Mo Qi Bai waved his hand: "I am a kind, pure, and benevolent person; I cannot wield such a sword—keep it for yourself!"

Heng Xian said: "You're overdoing the act, aren't you?"

Mo Qi Bai gave a dry laugh: "Really not suitable; the Mo School governs the world with benevolent love, second brother, I appreciate your good intentions—let's go up now; they've been fighting up there for several shichen, it's bound to be intense!"

"Let's go up and see." Heng Xian said.

This matter actually has some connection to him, after all his breakthrough aura triggered the war between the two valleys.

Mo Qi Bai patted the wooden contraption beneath him, then suddenly extended a seat: "Come onto my climbing beast."

Heng Xian exclaimed in surprise: "Can it work?"

Mo Qibai laughed and said: "Alright!"

Heng Xian sat onto it.

Mo Qibai casually pressed a button; the machine suddenly "creaked" a few times, extended seven or eight claws, like a spider, clung to the wall, and quickly climbed up.

In the blink of an eye it reached above, adjusted its posture, and swiftly darted toward the cave entrance, completely ignoring sword qi!

Heng Xian was astonished; looking at the machine beneath him, he found its design very strange and complex, yet its whole body was wood, using only a little iron sheet for hands and feet, yet it was incredibly agile.

This is definitely not an engine device from my previous life!

"How did you do that?" Heng Xian asked.

Mo Qibai smiled and said: "This is just a simple climbing beast; I have many inventions, from weapons for killing and looting to handy little helpers, everything you could want!"

Heng Xian felt genuine admiration, clasped his fists, and said: "Awesome, my brother!"

Mo Qibai chuckled and said: "You're too kind, my younger brother!"

As they spoke, they had already reached outside the cave.

At that moment, the whole valley was filled with war smoke, and shouts of killing and cries of anguish rose endlessly.

The two exchanged a glance, abandoned the climbing beast, leapt into midair, and looked ahead.

Upon seeing this, both were shocked.

All they could see was that at the place where Peach Orchard Valley bordered the deep mountains, the two sides were engaged in fierce combat.

One side were the white-clad cultivators of Peach Orchard Valley, the other side the black-clad cultivators of Black Raven Valley; overall, the Black Raven Valley side held an absolute numerical advantage,

In an instant, spear tips flew, swords clashed, and bodies fell in layers on both sides, blood flowing across the ground.

Peach Orchard Valley could barely hold out anymore, and even the elders and children rushed forward, but this only added to the slaughter!

Heng Xian inexplicably recalled the battle of the "Nine Families Annihilation of Heng" from his hometown of Donglan City.

Mo Qibai shook his head and said: "I made many weapons for Peach Orchard Valley—repeating crossbows, hundred-arrow tubes, wood-chip soldiers, and so on—but sadly they never had the chance to use them,

"Black Raven Valley has always been reckless; they come fast, kill fast, and don't even want to waste words!"

Heng Xian nodded and said: "Peach Orchard Valley can't hold out!"

Mo Qibai looked at him and said: "When I left the Mo Qi family, I once swore a blood oath to never create slaughter in this life; younger brother, you now have some connection with Peach Orchard Valley, so why not go help?"

(End of chapter)