Chapter 217: Longevity is the Great Calamity of the Formless Hell

Completely unable to resist—

Not even a moment's worth of delaying effort could be attained!

In place, his body only coalesced and exploded, coalesced and exploded, coalesced and exploded!

Blood light sprayed forth, endless and unceasing!

After hundreds of cycles of dying and living, living and dying, Chen Heng had not even walked a single zhang.

Always, the moment his divine consciousness cleared slightly and he just managed to find his own mind amidst the chaos,

The next instant,

Amidst pain that penetrated to the marrow, his vision would plunge into deep darkness again, and all perception would vanish.

This place was the seventh layer of the Formless Sword Cave—Inner and Outer Utterly Void!

As for the mysterious strangeness of this seventh realm of the Sword Dao, let alone sitting in meditation to comprehend it, even preserving one's life and body under this sword intent was impossible.

Indeed, one knows one's own affairs best.

If it were so,

It was as if something had been firmly locked in place!

Below were heaven, sun, moon, and stars; above were vegetation and floating earth; he knew exactly where east, west, south, and north lay, as for where the boundaries of that square of heaven and earth were, or how vast or small it was, he knew nothing of it at all.

Waiting until I vaguely woke up and hastily steadied my mind before—

……

It collapsed again into a handful of bloody mist, red and dazzling!

"The Formless Sword Cave, the gate of all wonders…"

……

Long before deciding to retreat into the Formless Sword Cave, Zhang Ying had imagined that the outcome of this endeavor might not be entirely satisfactory.

"……"

"It seems my previous expectations were slightly off; this method truly…"

Similar to the True Dharma Realm.

The moment he clearly saw the scene before his eyes, both his arms detached at the roots, trailing a burst of blood light as they fell to his feet.

The Dun Dun Jiesuo saw that although my current state was wretched, my spirit had not declined too much.

And before the Dun Dun Jiesuo departed, inside the room,

Apart from Chen Heng, Ning Shi truly could not think of anyone else.

It was unknown how much time had passed.

Once again.

Only then would the Formless Sword Cave rotate again, causing the divine consciousness paused within to return to the present world…

Only by waiting quietly until a day had passed.

And in an instant,

However, he had not walked a few steps before that chaotic qi mechanism suddenly contracted, returning to its former appearance, stirring up no waves.

Ning Shi shook his head slightly, sighing with regret in his heart.

Two hours had passed.

"As long as you are safe, that is good."

Although what Ning Shi entered into the Formless Sword Cave was merely a strand of divine consciousness,

Chen Heng's supernatural qualities needed no elaboration.

……

Without actual verification.

"The law within the True Dharma Realm is 'one day in the present world equals ten days in the Dharma Realm'… but if I remain within the Dharma Realm the entire time, can I simply drag out that single day of time inside the Sword Cave?

The Dun Dun Jiesuo had just settled down when suddenly its expression shifted; it frowned and glanced toward Ning Shi.

Died then lived, lived then died.

Before Ning Shi could even look at the scene before his eyes, his vision immediately blurred.

He did not enter uprightly through the proper position of the "Gate of the Seven Marquis"; rather, upon entering, he discovered he was located in the fourth or tenth layer of the Sword Cave, which was also entirely possible.

Like a blind man feeling an elephant, no matter how hard he tried, he ultimately could not guess the full picture, obtaining only fragmented pieces.

Only this uninterrupted death could allow him to briefly perceive his own life.

And when the Dun Dun Jiesuo moved out of the void and he clearly saw the scene before his eyes,

Zhang Ying suddenly felt his divine consciousness plummet, retreating back into a Zhang Ying Bo.

He then knew that even if some mishap had occurred, it was merely a minor injury and should not hinder matters, so he set his mind at ease.

All the pain was naturally the same.

But there was no help for it; it had to be done…

Ning Shi pushed himself up from the ground with his hands, rising slowly, yet his heart could not hide its joy.

However, it was slightly different from "one day in the present world equals ten days in the Dharma Realm."

Ning Shi's ears heard only a "boom" of a huge noise; it was as if he stood upon the Yangtze River, unable to hold his form steady, and immediately a surging great force transmitted over, causing Ning Shi within the True Dharma Realm to also become aware, his gaze shifting.

There was no time to make any preparations in advance.

But at this moment,

A sword qi abruptly sprang forth from his eye socket, not only shredding his right eye into pieces but also slicing through half of his skull in one go, leaving a scarlet, ferocious blood line.

In that endless, repetitive cycle, Ning Shi's sanity had already begun to blur slightly.

And at that time.

All the sensations from that moment of death still remained preserved within his memory.

That slight flicker, though it made the condensation feel somewhat tangible, did not hinder the overall situation in any way.

……

"Condensation Great Master... what are you doing?"

Yet placed in the present world, it vanished in the snap of a finger, merely an instant's effort.

Ning Shi also hesitated, then turned his mind back toward the Formless Boundary Sword Cave.

Now, for Ning Shi, that Formless Boundary Sword Cave was precisely akin to the streams of the Senluo Earthly Hell.

"Only a few breaths' time? Already suffering qi deviation; what essential Xue Xuan Gong could reach such a state? Are these the dual-cultivation methods people speak of?"

The nose has intervals, the ear has spaces; this is temporal time, this is spatial space, this is the realm where karmic retribution is received in measure!

……

Had an ordinary person been here, their mind would likely have already collapsed; waiting out a day in the Sword Cave, even upon returning to the present world, they would surely have been tortured into madness, losing their intellect, becoming foolish and dazed, with no rationality left to speak of.

"Pity, the Formless Boundary Sword Cave can only be activated once a month; this time it was unfortunate, actually reaching the first layer of the Sword Cave, thus wasting a great opportunity in vain..."

Ning Shi thought no further, simply sitting cross-legged in silent meditation to regulate his breath and nurture his spiritual intent.

The First Realm of the Sword Dao—Inner Turbidity and Non-Existence.

Every time his form was torn apart by sword qi, exploding into a mist of blood, it was accompanied by indescribable, intense agony.

In such a state, if there was anything that could lend me a helping hand.

Forcing himself to endure within the Sword Cave for an entire day.

All sensations within the Sword Cave were utterly indistinct and chaotic.

With a single moment of carelessness, it could instead confuse one's perception, harming one's own proper Daoist cultivation; one could not be too cautious.

But once the spiritual intent returned to the physical body in the present world, a natural resonance arose between spirit and flesh; though far from fatal, a certain amount of suffering was inevitably unavoidable.

Even the breath entering the internal organs.

Ning Shi lifted his head to gaze at the sky, his eyes glinting slightly, his heart stirred by an inexplicable impulse.

At this very moment, within the small courtyard.

There was no need to suffer the harm of that penal ordeal, the torment of pain.

That agony, resembling death by a thousand cuts and ten thousand slices, was real and not illusory with each occurrence; no matter how hard one struggled or strove forward, it was difficult to advance even a little.

……

His pupils contracted involuntarily, and a strange expression flowed across his face.

Spending a day within the True Dharma Realm was exactly the same as spending a day within the Formless Boundary Sword Cave, with not a shred of difference.

What the result would be.

Looking out across the expanse.

From this, one could know.

His body exploded once again, shattered into pieces!

But turning the thought over in his mind, he still shook his head.

The connection between spirit and flesh naturally could not be severed; they were inseparable and hard to part.

With his current level of cultivation and merit, it was truly difficult to cross the seventh realm and comprehend any inspiration from it to increase his own attainment in the Sword Dao.

It was only because Ning Shi's consciousness was as solid as a stone in the river, difficult to shake.

The learning of the Sages is to exhaust one's nature and fulfill one's destiny; nature exists through destiny, destiny exists through nature, and the principle of nature and destiny is wholly united!

However, Chen Heng was an exception.

Nature is spirit, destiny is qi; the mixture of nature and destiny constitutes the body of the Primordial Heaven, while the movement and transformation of spirit and qi constitute the function of the Former Heaven.

In a dazed, trance-like state.

"The First Realm of the Sword Dao—Inner Turbidity and Non-Existence; this realm indeed possesses the ability to startle gods and ghosts... While within it, I could not even mobilize a single thought to communicate with Chen Heng in that instant.

Before any pain had even struck, his head was sliced cleanly apart, his vision thrown into chaos.

This treasure is my greatest secret and backup plan; its origin and function are both extraordinary!

Within the obscure void...

But Zhang Ying harbored a sliver of hope, believing Chen Heng might surpass the laws of the Formless Boundary Sword Cave.

The span of a day passed away just like flowing water.

Immediately, Ning Shi still felt a suction force strike, intending to drag him into the True Dharma Realm!

"Letting my senior see me make a fool of myself; a small mishap occurred."

For him.

In the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss, there was once a Buddhist verse stating:

It would absolutely not be an easy matter; one could not view it lightly...

After exchanging a few words of conversation, he continued on to the side room to guard the Dharma.

The Peng Qian Dao transforms, each rectifying its own nature and destiny.

On this day.

After watching for a while, he slightly flicked his sleeve and then vanished from sight once more.

"Wait until after a day, when the time limit for staying in the Formless Boundary Sword Cave has expired, and then return to the present world; that way... there would be no need to suffer the agony of being sliced by a thousand knives."

According to reason, all of one's Daoist arts, talismans, and artifacts would be unusable, suppressed by the Sword Cave; one could only rely on one's own Sword Dao cultivation to act.

A voice suddenly rang out beside Ning Shi's ear:

Just like that, amidst repeated cycles of death and life, without knowing how many times.

The transformation of nature depends on the body; the transformation of destiny is tied to the body.

Before knowing little, having been torn apart by sword qi and revived many times, finally, after dying once again, I barely managed to stabilize my mind.

In the previous moment, my form had once more emerged like a golden cicada.

That day's life and death struggle was truly long and unbearable.

Suddenly, a thought floated up in Ning Shi's heart.

I did not sit down calmly to regulate my breath; instead, beneath the ground of the Yizhen Fa Zhi Jie, using my hand as a brush, I frowned and wrote a line of characters before hastily relaxing my mind and closing my eyes.

And upon that entry into meditation.

Suddenly, a surge of excitement rose within my heart!

As for that process.

The Dun Dun Jiesuo was startled in its heart, yet its reaction was fast; sensing the anomaly, it slowly pushed the door open and went out.

One could say that before me, every blade of grass and tree in this world, every grain of sand and speck of dust, every beast and bird.

Only then did he stand up, a slight flash appearing in his eyes.

It was still this empty, vast, and wild realm.

Ning Shi was silently pressing the acupoint at his brow with his fingers; at his slender neck, muddy veins bulged out, beating violently like great snakes coiling and struggling.

Just as that thought floated up in Ning Shi's heart, his thoughts abruptly ceased, and consciousness returned.

Although some painful torment was inevitable.

Being able to retreat into Zhang Ying's space meant I had barely found a way forward.

Seven days passed in a flash.

The Daoist scriptures say:

Although Ning Shi had already grown accustomed to self-destruction within the Yi Zhen Fa Zhi Jie, treating it as a common occurrence, dealing with such a fierce scene within the Sword Cave was still difficult.

I sighed heavily, thinking in my heart.

"The first time—"

"It has finally begun..."

Only when Ning Shi was indeed situated within the Yi Zhen Fa Zhi Jie, having detached his body from the first layer of the Formless Boundary Sword Cave, was that speculation finally confirmed...

And even though it was only a divine sense retreating, not carrying Chen Heng's true physical body, and the Sword Cave had isolated the inner world, possessing a suppressing power.

Thus.

The Dun Dun Jiesuo said with shock and doubt.

"..."

It was as if several years of time had flowed by.

For those bound by a physical body, death is eternal; a long life is merely a minor calamity of the bounded hell!

It made my skull ache as if splitting, as though pierced by ten thousand needles, ready to crack and explode at any moment...

Only after being killed nearly a thousand times did I barely stabilize my divine sense and retreat into the Yi Zhen Fa Zhi Jie."

This thought arose hazily in Ning Shi's brain, and before he had time to show joy.

Thinking of this.

One saw that beneath this apricot-yellow rush cushion.

I could not help but let out a long laugh!

But if one bitterly investigates, becoming obsessed without achieving enlightenment.

Zhang Ying's sleeve fluttered; he hastily propped his forehead with his hand, muttering to himself.

There is no interruption, no liberation—

Yet in truth, it was only the span of a short quarter-hour.

But very quickly.

Inside the side room.

That clearly indicated that during Xing Gong, the energy had gone astray, gradually showing signs of qi deviation...

This was also self-evident.

In the next instant.

"Young master, this old man just saw something interesting and came specifically to ask your opinion."

"It works! It truly works!"

And before that broken corpse had even touched the ground, merely stumbling slightly, it was torn into pieces by the ensuing, sky-covering sword qi, leaving not a trace behind!

Ning Shi let out a furious roar, his eyes blood-red.

And indeed, it was so.

Ning Shi hastily removed his fingers, the corners of his lips pulling up as he smiled and said.

Although this hypothesis was not wrong, it ultimately lacked empirical proof; only by personally testing it a few times could a correct conclusion be reached.

The Dun Dun Jiesuo was slightly surprised; it stepped forward quickly, and before separating the doors, it looked with its eyes.

After settling his mind, Ning Shi hesitated no longer; he simply took a deep, hurried breath, then sent his consciousness into the Yi Zhen Fa Zhi Jie, returning to the Formless Boundary Sword Cave.

Waiting until his divine sense had once again revived within the Sword Cave.

And with the Yi Zhen Fa Zhi Jie serving as a shelter, next time when I open the Sword Cave, if fortune still does not favor me and I find myself deep within the Formless Boundary Sword Cave.

What retreated into that Formless Boundary Sword Cave was only a strand of my divine sense, not my true body arriving in person.

Until now, this treasure has been visible and touchable only by me; its origin is clearly significant.

And after waiting until my spirit was fully restored.

Every layer of the Sword Cave is formed and shaped by sword qi from the You Yi Jing.

That day.

In other words.

Passing through this was ultimately just a fleeting thought.

The substance within is entirely sword qi from the seventh realm of the Sword Dao!

I waited until the exhaustion in my body had completely dispersed, my thoughts were no longer withered, and I had returned to the peak state I possessed upon first entering the Sword Cave.

Although Ning Shi had already stayed in the Yi Zhen Fa Zhi Jie for several years and was extremely familiar with that unchanging, dull scenery.

Yet after merely a few steps, just as I had closed the door, I felt Ning Shi's qi mechanism become like a tangled mess, rushing left and right, swaying unsettled.

If not for the Yi Zhen Fa Zhi Jie to provide relief and serve as a place to rest.

The scene before my eyes had quietly changed; I was no longer within the Formless Boundary Sword Cave.

My forehead and back were covered in fine, hot sweat, my breathing had become involuntarily much heavier, as if I had just been startled awake from a dream, my mind not yet fully gathered.

Even without touching Chen Heng's true physical body.

The method I devised to prolong my time in the Sword Cave within the Yi Zhen Fa Zhi Jie is indeed feasible!

Ten million karmic tribulations, continuing endlessly, with no date of release!

Chen Heng had only entered here with a strand of divine intent, not his true body, and pitting his second-realm cultivation in the Sword Dao against the Di Qi Jing, the gap between them was truly immeasurable.

Even though Chen Heng had already committed suicide many times within the Yi Zhen Fa Zhi Jie, he still had not adapted to that horrific torment and could not face it with equanimity.

In other words, I had just been killed nearly a thousand times.

At the mere thought of it.

Dun Dun Jiesuo raised an eyebrow, as if sensing something; his gaze was extremely vigilant. He circulated his magic power, stepped forward, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.

"... Zhang Ying!"

Once things reached that point, even if one wished to exit the Formless Boundary Sword Cave to avoid suffering and torment, one would be powerless to do so.

The flow of time in Zhang Ying's uncle's residence is actually no different from that of the Formless Boundary Sword Cave.

The book review section is for discussing the plot, not for everyone to attack each other... It's just a novel; if you can enjoy it, read it, if not, delete it; there's no need for so much nonsense. I suggest everyone stay as calm as my little salted fish updates_(?? ω?? 」∠)_; of course, everyone need not worry that I will be swayed by any opinions, for that does not exist.