Chapter 848: Long Hatred: The Human Heart is Not as Constant as Stone

Primordial Sword Realm.

The sound of the collision was like a thunderclap, and the force rippled outward in waves, causing the entire Sword Realm to tremble!

Li Fei and Bai Chen traded a blow; blades crossed, and both men surged toward opposite sides.

But in reality, the Ghost-Slaying Blade did not truly make contact with the opponent's sword; instead, it struck a layer of crystalline light.

Bai Chen, along with the sword in his hand, was enveloped in this layer of crystalline light; the space around this radiance was distorted, seemingly carrying an unimaginably heavy force!

When Li Fei approached this light, the six divine abilities within his Dao foundation were all suppressed.

"The Dao-Establishing Realm?"

Li Fei stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Bai Chen.

A Grandmaster of the Dao-Establishing Realm can highly compress and condense their Martial Dao Domain, attaching it to the surface of their body.

In this way, the power of the Martial Dao Domain is multiplied, and when engaging in combat, it can likewise suppress the divine abilities of Martial Dao Masters.

Not only that, when fighting Grandmasters below the Dao-Establishing Realm, a highly condensed Martial Dao Domain can not only ignore the counter-effects brought by the opponent's Martial Dao Domain, but also cause severe damage to others' Martial Dao Domains!

Therefore, the Dao-Establishing Realm is a critical threshold.

Perhaps some Grandmasters of the Peak Realm, who possess more divine abilities and have mastered Dao-force at the level of Creation, can overcome the gap to defeat Grandmasters of the Divine Derivation Realm.

For instance, Bai Chen himself defeated many Divine Derivation Realm Grandmasters when he was in the Peak Realm.

But very few Divine Derivation Realm Grandmasters can overcome the gap to defeat a Dao-Establishing Realm Grandmaster.

Li Fei had already slain Bai Chen twice, so he felt almost no psychological pressure when facing this Master of the Hook-Deep Sword.

When his 【Primordial Sword Realm】 could truly rival a Martial Dao Domain, Grandmasters were no different from Martial Dao Masters to him.

But after just one exchange, his expression turned serious.

After acquiring the 【Sword Sacrifice】 divine ability, Li Fei's combat power had already risen to a new level.

And by breaking through to the Dao-Establishing Realm, Bai Chen's combat power had likewise risen to a new level!

The power contained in that last sword strike could overwhelm Li Fei, even with the augmentation of Dragon-Elephant Strength, in a direct confrontation.

During the previous two times he slew Bai Chen, Li Fei had many helpers by his side.

But this time, he had to face Bai Chen alone.

"【Sword Sacrifice】."

Bai Chen was not in a hurry to attack Li Fei; his expression looked somewhat strange, as if the previous exchange was merely to confirm something:

"Did Zhang Yuanhong give it to you?"

Less than half a month had passed since their last fight, and Li Fei had gone from five divine abilities to six.

With normal implantation and refinement of divine abilities, such speed was simply impossible!

Either he had used demonic methods.

Or he had refined a divine ability seed.

Li Fei did not answer him; he vanished from his spot in an instant, then appeared behind Bai Chen and slashed out with his blade.

As if possessing foreknowledge, Bai Chen turned around the moment Li Fei vanished, holding his sword horizontally before him to block Li Fei's incoming strike in time.

The augmentation of Dragon-Elephant Strength had reached fourfold, and the terrifying explosive force of nearly fifty thousand tons, combined with force and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, was all condensed upon the blade's edge!

Yet this strike still failed to break through that layer of crystalline light.

Li Fei felt as if he had slashed through rivers and mountains, as if he had slashed into an entire heaven and earth.

Creation Sword Art—《Great Thousand》!

After breaking through to the Dao-Establishing Realm, Bai Chen's sword art had also ascended to a higher level; the power of heaven and earth from the 《Great Thousand》 perfectly fused with his highly condensed Martial Dao Domain, all converging upon the three-foot azure blade.

Bai Chen flicked his long sword, shaking off the Ghost-Slaying Blade, and countered with a thrust toward Li Fei, but it struck empty air.

Although Li Fei did not answer his question, he already had the answer in his heart.

A fierce, murderous intent flashed in his eyes; the crystalline light on the surface of his body suddenly became dazzling, and the sword Qi within the Sword Realm fluctuated like a tide drawn by gravity.

Bai Chen turned and swept his sword horizontally in a casual manner.

A white mark appeared in the Sword Realm, instantly spreading to both sides, as if cutting the entire Sword Realm in two.

The distant altar, the sun and moon in the sky, all bore an extra sword mark!

The final landing point of this sword strike was exactly where Li Fei appeared using 【No-Distance】; he had just stepped out from the spatial interlayer when a dazzling sword light came rushing toward his face.

Li Fei raised the Ghost-Slaying Blade to block the strike and was swept back by the immense force.

He was not injured, but the 【Primordial Sword Realm】 had suffered heavy damage!

The sword Qi composing the Sword Realm rioted, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth went out of control, and the balance of yin and yang was about to be broken.

"【Sword Heart】, is it?"

Li Fei's thoughts raced.

He had learned about Bai Chen's various divine abilities in detail from Zhang Yuanhong and knew that the opponent possessed a 【Sword Heart】 divine ability.

With this divine ability, all sword moves are as one wishes, and all sword moves can be broken!

Li Fei's 【Primordial Sword Realm】 was built with sword Qi, sword intent, and sword momentum as its framework.

Various divine abilities integrated into it could not be separated from their connection to the 'sword'.

That was why when Li Fei used 【No-Distance】 within the Sword Realm, it was seen through by Bai Chen using 【Sword Heart】, allowing him to possess foreknowledge every time and accurately predict Li Fei's landing point.

Bai Chen even viewed the entire Sword Realm as a single sword move and then used 【Sword Heart】 to break it, which was why every move could cause such great destruction to the 【Primordial Sword Realm】!

During the previous two encounters, with the Martial Dao Domains canceling each other out, Bai Chen's 【Sword Heart】 had been greatly weakened, and there were other experts on the side to restrain and interfere.

Therefore, Li Fei had not felt such strong targeting.

Now that he was one-on-one with Bai Chen, and the opponent had reached the Dao-Establishing Realm, he truly felt the suppression of the 【Sword Heart】 divine ability against him.

Li Fei immediately activated 【Primordial Golden Palace】 and 【Refining Objects】 to refine spiritual energy, adjust yin and yang, and stabilize the Sword Realm.

Bai Chen had already attacked with his sword; it was just a simple, straightforward thrust, yet Li Fei suddenly felt as if he had been elevated into the Thirty-Three Heavens of the Immortal Realm.

All around were jade towers and magnificent palaces. White jade bridges, golden lotuses in ornate ponds, and immortal cranes flying in unison...

Creation Sword Art—【Palaces in the Heavens】!

Bai Chen's sword strike directly used Creation Dao-force combined with his Martial Dao Domain to sever the surrounding spatial interlayers, preventing Li Fei from using 【No-Distance】 to dodge again.

Li Fei held his blade with both hands and stepped forward to slash; a scorching blade aura erupted from the Ghost-Slaying Blade, and a massive fireball rose within the immortal realm and exploded—

The fireball enveloped the entire immortal realm, also shrouding the oncoming Bai Chen within it, and then the fireball was sliced open; everything was severed in two by a single blade.

Heaven and Earth Single Blade!

The flames dissipated, the immortal palace was left in ruins, the Jade Pool was scorched, and broken bridges were everywhere...

But Bai Chen still took Li Fei's strike head-on; the sword tip pierced Li Fei's chest, breaking through the golden light on his body and his Golden-Thread Jade Scale Armor.

Before Bai Chen could continue to channel sword Qi to inflict more damage, Li Fei vanished again.

Although 【Heaven and Earth Single Blade】 failed to injure Bai Chen, it at least broke the sealed space.

Li Fei appeared a hundred meters away and decisively used 【Sword Sacrifice】 again, consuming another 1, 00 blood souls.

The already unstable 【Primordial Sword Realm】 was re-stabilized, and the sword Qi, sword intent, and sword momentum all doubled as a result!

A strange look flashed in Bai Chen's eyes.

This young man before him clearly did not practice the sword, yet the strength of the sword Qi and sword intent he erupted with now was something few Sword Dao Grandmasters in the world could rival!

If one were to say Li Fei lacked technique, the ingenuity of this Sword Realm's conception and the superiority of his methods were enough to make even Bai Chen, the Master of the Hook-Deep Sword, admire him.

But if one were to say Li Fei's attainments in the Sword Dao were very high, he was holding a blade to hack at Bai Chen, and he had never practiced a single proper set of sword techniques...

The 【Sword Heart】 divine ability was indeed mysterious, but if the opponent's 'sword' was strong enough—especially since Li Fei's strength lay in his stats, not his technique—

Then the difficulty of breaking it became very high.

Li Fei activated 【No-Distance】 again, instantly appearing before Bai Chen and slashing down with his blade.

Bai Chen used the 《Great Thousand》 sword art to gather the power of heaven and earth onto his sword, the tip of which tapped the middle of the blade's edge.

Hum—

A muffled, thunderous explosion.

The crystalline light condensed on the sword tip distorted; Bai Chen flicked his wrist, skillfully offloading the force, but his offensive momentum also stalled.

The power on the blade was even stronger!

The 【Primordial Sword Realm】 was composed of divine abilities; the more divine abilities there were, and the stronger they were, the stronger the Sword Realm naturally became.

Conversely, when the Sword Realm was strengthened, it could also provide feedback to the divine abilities.

Li Fei used 【Sword Sacrifice】 to strengthen the 【Primordial Sword Realm】, and the 【Primordial Sword Realm】 in turn strengthened his other divine abilities!

Thus, the augmentation speed of his Dragon-Elephant Strength increased by a notch; he went from a fourfold increase in power to a sixfold increase!

Not giving Bai Chen a chance to continue his sword moves, Li Fei decisively used 【No-Distance】 to swap positions.

He kept flashing around Bai Chen, the blade and sword only colliding once each time before separating.

With every collision, the rippling force of the aftermath spread outward, and the entire Sword Realm trembled violently.

The altar in the center developed more and more cracks.

The sun and moon in the sky grew dimmer and dimmer...

But after every blade-sword collision, the vibration amplitude of the three-foot azure blade in Bai Chen's hand grew larger, and the time he needed to offload the force grew longer.

Li Fei knew that in terms of moves, he certainly could not compare to Bai Chen, so he used 【No-Distance】 every time he made a move.

Even if Bai Chen could predict his positioning, the execution of his sword moves would inevitably lack continuity.

Li Fei intended to force Bai Chen into a state where he could not fully unleash his sword techniques.

With 【Primordial Golden Palace】 continuously absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to keep 'recharging his mana', he simply used 【No-Distance】 as a movement technique, flashing with every step!

For a time, dozens of Li Feis appeared around Bai Chen, all attacking with their blades.

This was the result of the flashing frequency being too high.

Gradually, Li Fei's power began to approach a sevenfold amplification.

This already exceeded the limit of power he had displayed when previously exchanging blows with Bai Chen!

Bai Chen's expression changed slightly.

He discovered that he seemed to have never truly seen this Marquis of Jing'an clearly.

Every time he thought this was Li Fei's limit, Li Fei was always able to continuously refresh that limit!

Only at this moment did Bai Chen truly regard Li Fei as an opponent on the same level as himself, rather than a target he was destined to kill.

His expression was solemn, and the sword technique in his hand changed once more.

The crystalline light on his body surface suddenly expanded; he took the initiative to unfold his Martial Dao Domain to form a counter-clash with the 【Primordial Sword Realm】.

Immediately following this, one blue lotus after another bloomed, forming yet another realm within the sword realm, shrouding the two of them.

Creation Sword Art—《Blue Lotus》!

Within the Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth, all of Li Fei's divine abilities were suppressed once again, and the majestic dragon-elephant power imbued upon him was also severed; his power plummeted.

The previous two times, Li Fei had been outside the Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth.

This time, it was his turn to personally experience this killing move of Bai Chen's.

After reaching the Establishing the Dao Realm, the 《Blue Lotus》 sword art had ascended to a higher level; the Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth had become more stable and powerful, such that even if a few Grandmasters came from the outside to destroy it now, it could still hold for a while.

Bai Chen was confident he could kill Li Fei, who was unable to unleash his divine abilities, during this time!

Blue lotuses danced, sword Qi crisscrossed, and a biting sword intent landed on the center of Li Fei's brow.

Bai Chen thrust his sword, the sword giving birth to blue lotuses, evolving into ten thousand sword moves, only to ultimately return to a single sword!

Li Fei's expression was calm; as early as when he learned that Bai Chen was not yet dead and that he might still face this person, he had already prepared himself to confront this killing move.

With a thought, the 【Primordial Sword Realm】 outside the Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth, which was currently clashing with Bai Chen's Martial Dao Domain, suddenly and actively disintegrated.

Countless sword Qi bloomed from his body once again, six clusters of light ignited within his dantian, and in an instant, a new 【Primordial Sword Realm】 was formed within this Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth.

It was likewise a domain within a domain!

"Hmm?"

Bai Chen widened his eyes, completely failing to anticipate this situation.

He had already regarded Li Fei as an opponent of the same level, yet he had subconsciously overlooked one point—

Li Fei was not yet a Grandmaster; he was only a Martial Dao Master.

To become a Grandmaster, one must fuse all divine abilities within the Dao foundation together, much like taking several fragments and, after piecing them together, throwing them into a furnace to be thoroughly melted into a single whole.

This whole is the Martial Dao Domain.

Therefore, a Grandmaster's Martial Dao Domain can be retracted and released at will, but it cannot be gathered and dispersed at will.

Once divine abilities have aggregated into a Martial Dao Domain, forcing them apart would mean falling in realm!

However, although Li Fei's 【Primordial Sword Realm】 was comparable to a Martial Dao Domain, and even comparable to the Martial Dao Domains of many Divine Derivation Realm Grandmasters after being strengthened twice by 【Sword Sacrifice】.

The 【Primordial Sword Realm】 was not a true Martial Dao Domain.

Li Fei could retract and release it at will, and he could also gather and disperse it as he pleased.

Bai Chen's 《Blue Lotus》 sword art, combined with the derivative changes of his divine abilities, was what had created the "domain within a domain."

This Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth could block a small world acting as a single whole, but it could not block the power of divine abilities after they had been dispersed.

Just as a large net can stop a big fish, but cannot stop small shrimp.

Facing Bai Chen's killing move, Li Fei only needed to actively dissolve the 【Primordial Sword Realm】 outside the Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth and retract his divine ability power to immediately raise a new sword realm within the Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth!

Bai Chen did not understand the profound mystery of Li Fei's integration of law and martial arts, and naturally regarded the 【Primordial Sword Realm】 as a true Martial Dao Domain.

Caught off guard, he was shrouded by the new 【Primordial Sword Realm】.

Li Fei calmly used 【No Distance】 to dodge the sword Bai Chen had thrust.

"Damn it!"

Bai Chen's expression changed.

Li Fei could immediately disperse the 【Primordial Sword Realm】 outside and retract his divine ability power, but he could not!

Although the outermost Martial Dao Domain no longer had the 【Primordial Sword Realm】 clashing against it, it could not directly "pass through" the Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth.

Now that he was shrouded by Li Fei's 【Primordial Sword Realm】, he instead had two layers of separation from his own Martial Dao Domain.

Now, he had become the person trapped by the "domain within a domain"!

And this predicament was one he had caused for himself; Li Fei originally did not have such a means.

The strongest killing move he prided himself on had become the strongest killing move Li Fei used against him!

To break this predicament, Bai Chen needed to first dissolve the Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth, then manipulate his own Martial Dao Domain to form a counter-clash with the new 【Primordial Sword Realm】.

But the Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth was, after all, not a true Martial Dao Domain; Bai Chen's control over it was not as effortless as with a Martial Dao Domain, and added to the fact that he was now suddenly isolated by Li Fei's 【Primordial Sword Realm】, his control was even weaker.

He needed a little time.

But Li Fei would not give him time!

With a flicker, Li Fei appeared behind Bai Chen and slashed vertically with his saber.

Dissolving the 【Primordial Sword Realm】 was indeed a stroke of genius, but the 2, 00 Blood Souls consumed by 【Sword Sacrifice】 earlier had been wasted.

The dragon-elephant power that had been continuously imbued was also severed, requiring him to start over from the beginning.

Li Fei did not unleash 【Dragon-Elephant】 again, because there was no time.

Now, Bai Chen was the one whose divine abilities were all suppressed; he was at his weakest.

But if the opponent were given a few seconds to dissolve the Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth, the opponent's "weak period" would immediately pass.

Therefore, Li Fei needed to end the battle quickly!

Once this opportunity was missed, with his Blood Souls already running low, he would never have another chance to defeat Bai Chen.

The next few seconds would determine the life and death of both men!

Li Fei decisively consumed 500 Blood Souls to unleash 【Blood Might】, then drove the 【Refining Matter】 divine ability to consume 1, 00 Blood Souls to convert into mental power.

A move of 【Blood Might Spirit】 slammed into Bai Chen's mind!

A monstrous sea of blood engulfed Bai Chen's mental lake.

Without the imbuement of divine abilities and without the protection of a Martial Dao Domain, this strike of 【Blood Might Spirit】 immediately caused Bai Chen to lose his mental defense.

Li Fei slashed open the opponent's protective sword Qi with his saber and struck down from the head.

When the blade broke through Bai Chen's skull, that same fated sense of palpitation from before surged in Li Fei's heart once again.

The Dao foundation within his dantian suddenly vibrated violently, and a cluster of light shone with brilliance.

【Sword Sacrifice】 divine ability!

Following the guidance of this divine ability, a sword light suddenly erupted from within Bai Chen's body, rushing out from the top of his head to collide with Li Fei's Ghost-Slaying Saber!

"Zhang Yuanhong."

Li Fei's expression was complex.

In truth, upon seeing Bai Chen and experiencing that fated attraction, he had realized that when Zhang Yuanhong had actively sacrificed himself to let him refine the divine ability seed, the purpose had not been that simple.

Zhang Yuanhong had indeed told Li Fei all the information he knew, but he had hidden only one point—

Bai Chen's "slaying the self to achieve the Dao" required establishing a causal connection with the target.

Li Fei had killed Bai Chen twice, so the causality between the two had actually already been established.

It was just that it was not Li Fei alone who had killed Bai Chen, so it still needed to be strengthened.

Zhang Yuanhong had also practiced the 《Slaying Karma》 sword art of the Hook-Deep Sword Sect, only he had not practiced it to the realm of creation.

By actively sacrificing himself to let Li Fei refine the divine ability seed, using the 《Slaying Karma》 sword art as a guide, and adding his status as the Sect Master of the Hook-Deep Sword Sect.

Zhang Yuanhong had connected the final thread for the causality between Bai Chen and Li Fei!

He had actively exposed extremely important intelligence, which instead caused Li Fei to overlook this thorn buried in the dark.

His hatred was so real, how could one doubt it?

It was precisely because of this causal connection that Bai Chen would abandon his own opponent, specifically run over to find Li Fei, and insist on killing him with his own hands.

At this moment, the "thorn" personally buried by Zhang Yuanhong was finally revealed!

At the critical moment of life and death, no mental control was needed; with only the guidance of causality, the sword light was born autonomously.

The stronger the causality, the more intense the sword intent.

This was the Creation Sword Art—《Slaying Karma》!

This suddenly erupting sword light connected the minds of Li Fei and Bai Chen in a profound way.

In a trance, a scene appeared in both of their consciousnesses; it was the final moment before Zhang Yuanhong died:

This Sect Master of the Hook-Deep Sword Sect had his entire body's flesh and blood dissolve, his meridians snapped, his acupoints destroyed, enduring extreme pain far beyond imagination!

He slowly closed his eyes, and two lines of blood tears flowed down.

"Do you have any last words?"

"Grandmaster..."

"Yuanhong, dares not hate!"

As this final thought echoed, Li Fei and Bai Chen both snapped back to reality.

Bai Chen did not immediately dissolve the Blue Lotus Heaven and Earth, but instead manipulated this heaven and earth to form a counter-clash with the 【Primordial Sword Realm】, thereby allowing himself to at least recover a portion of his divine abilities.

Li Fei, without hesitation, converted all 2, 00 Blood Souls in his blood spring into Blood Rage power!

At this moment, his Blood Soul count was already below 30%, allowing him to enter the "Blood Demon Extreme State."

And in the "Blood Demon Extreme State," all active Blood Soul techniques no longer had restrictions.

【Blood Rage】 would no longer cause any burden to the body; as long as there were sufficient Blood Souls, Li Fei could unleash Blood Rage power without an upper limit!

With less than ten minutes of time, the previous Blood Rage power had not yet dissipated, and adding another 2, 00 units of Blood Rage power, after doubling, it was equivalent to 7, 00 units of Blood Rage power!

Although this power was inferior to the strength bolstered by the 【Dragon-Elephant】 divine ability just moments ago, for Bo Chen, who was not in his prime state at this moment, it was already unrivaled.

The sword light erupted from "Karma-Severing" was slashed open by Li Fei with a single blade, and the Ghost-Severing Blade continued to slash down along the wound just created!

A bloodstain appeared between Bo Chen's brows, spreading all the way down:

His skull was split open, his brain was destroyed, his heart was shattered, and the Dao foundation within his dantian was pulverized by the terrifying force...

The powerful vitality of a Grandmaster prevented Bo Chen from dying immediately, and many memories surged from the bottom of his heart like a revolving lantern:

Zhang Yuanhong had excellent talent, and his master worried that he could not teach him well, so he sent him to Bo Chen, letting this Gouchen Sword Master cultivate him personally.

Although there was a generation gap between the two, they were actually more like master and disciple.

After Zhang Yuanhong became the Sect Master, he learned of Bo Chen's risky idea; at first, he was firmly opposed, but Bo Chen did not listen to the advice.

Later, in order to practice his avatar, Bo Chen exhausted many of the sect's resources.

He actually wanted to leave a portion of the resources for Zhang Yuanhong, unwilling to delay the other's cultivation.

But Zhang Yuanhong said:

"Since Grandmaster has already made up his mind, you should leave no room for retreat and fight with all your might. My aptitude and swordsmanship are far inferior to Grandmaster's; what meaning does breaking through a day earlier or a day later have for our Gouchen Sword Sect? I only hope that Grandmaster can succeed in the end!"

Thus, he told Bo Chen not to worry about him and to practice the avatar with all his strength.

"Yuanhong."

Bo Chen's eyes were filled with sorrow.

His original target was the Martial Saint Wenren Zheng, but Li Fei was the number one prodigy in history, burdened with great destiny.

If he changed the target of the causal connection to Li Fei and succeeded in severing karma, Bo Chen might still have a glimmer of a chance to break through to the Martial Saint realm, though it would not be as likely as the original plan.

As long as Bo Chen could become a Martial Saint, the Gouchen Sword Sect could still make a comeback!

Since things had already reached this point, he might as well make one last gamble, leaving no room for retreat!

This was Zhang Yuanhong's calculation, and Bo Chen understood the other's intention instantly.

He had watched the other grow up from childhood and knew that the other had always been such a person.

Even if there was hatred in his heart, even if he was unwilling, since it was already reality, Zhang Yuanhong could grit his teeth and accept this reality, then strive with all his might to pursue the best possible outcome.

"Anyway, I am certain to die; I only ask that if you can kill Bo Chen again in the future, you must tell him personally..."

Under the causal connection, Bo Chen likewise 'heard' this sentence that Zhang Yuanhong had once said to Li Fei, feeling the deep hatred within it.

Long-lasting hatred for the human heart being inferior to stone!

"... his sword is one that I, Zhang Yuanhong, as the Sect Master of the Gouchen Sword Sect, strike on behalf of the Gouchen Sword Sect!"

Bo Chen looked one last time at the light at Li Fei's dantian that symbolized the 【Sword Sacrifice】 divine ability, and closed his eyes:

"Bo Chen accepts the sword."

Swish—

A blazing light slashed through.

There was no longer a Gouchen Sword Master in this world.

Seeking monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)