265: Chapter 265 Heart Sword Shatters Dreams

Ye Tian snapped his eyes shut, no longer looking at the Heart Demon phantoms lunging at him from all sides!

"With my heart as the heavens, my intent as the earth, and my sword as the Law!"

"Mental Image World, open!"

Boom!

With Ye Tian at the center, a completely different wave of energy—carrying the endless cycle of the Five Elements and an unyielding sharpness—suddenly erupted from his body, violently clashing against the surrounding Dream-Weaving Realm!

In an instant, an "alien domain" was forcibly wedged into the ever-changing Dream-Weaving Realm!

It was the phantom of a small, constantly evolving world.

Above the vault of heaven, halos of gold, green, blue, red, and yellow light rotated faintly; beneath the earth, an invisible force provided support.

In the center of this heaven and earth, the illusory image of an ancient sword floated quietly, guarding the center and stabilizing the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind.

This "Mental Image World" spanned only a few dozen feet, appearing as tiny as a speck of dust compared to the boundless Dream-Weaving Realm, yet it was the manifestation of Ye Tian's own will and sword Dao!

It resisted the erosion of the external illusions, becoming a self-contained entity!

"A Mental Image World?!"

From the depths of the dream, Yun Zhiying's low exclamation, filled with shock, drifted out!

She never expected that a minor Cultivator in the True Martial Realm could actually forcibly construct his own mental image projection within her Dream-Weaving Realm!

Just how firm a conviction in one's own path and how terrifying a control over Mental Energy did this require?!

Although Ye Tian's Mental Image World was still nascent and extremely small in scale, that will of "my Dao is mine alone, no external evil shall invade" moved even her.

"Good! Well done, Ye Tian!"

Yun Zhiying's voice carried a hint of excitement. "I didn't expect you to give me such a surprise!

Then let this elder sister see just how long your Mental Image World can hold out!"

Within the Dream-Weaving Realm, the winds and clouds shifted again!

Even more powerful Heart Demon Incarnations began to coalesce, and the rules of the dream intensified their pressure and erosion against Ye Tian's Mental Image World.

Ye Tian's Mental Image World, though only a few dozen feet in diameter, stood tenaciously with its own rules, like a reef amidst raging waves.

The Five Elements halos rotated and the ancient sword phantom stood guard, blocking the surging dream erosion and Heart Demon phantoms.

Ye Tian stood within it; though his face was pale, his posture was upright and his gaze was as sharp as a sword, staring directly into the depths of the dream.

Yun Zhiying's figure slowly emerged amidst the hazy light and shadows, her bare feet treading the air, her crimson dress and blood-colored mandalas swaying in the dream winds.

On her exquisite face, the previous lazy playfulness had been tucked away.

The dream-weaving pen in her hand, condensed from starlight and mist, now pulsed with light, emitting a terrifying Mental Energy that caused the entire Dream-Weaving Realm to throb in resonance.

"To condense a mental image domain while in the True Martial Realm... Ye Tian, you truly surprise me time and time again."

Yun Zhiying's voice was ethereal and fleeting, as if coming from high above the Nine Heavens. "However, there are levels to a Mental Image World.

Your world is newly born and immature, its Laws incomplete. How long can it block me?"

She spoke no more, her jade-like fingers gripping the dream-weaving pen as she made a gentle stroke against the void.

This stroke seemed casual, yet it sliced through the boundary between dream and reality, channeling the most primal Origin power of the Dream-Weaving Realm.

Countless bizarre scenes, colors, and sounds converged frantically, finally condensing before the tip of the pen into a dreamlike, translucent ripple that seemed both real and unreal, capable of severing all thoughts and Soul connections.

"Time is non-existent in a dream; one strike severs the spiritual connection."

Yun Zhiying uttered a ten-word incantation: "Dream-Severing Spirit!"

Buzz!

That translucent ripple moved faster than thought, slashing toward Ye Tian's Mental Image World—or rather, directly toward the core spiritual essence of Ye Tian's Sea of Consciousness!

This was not a physical attack, nor a common mental shock, but a strike aimed directly at the 'Spiritual Origin.' It was designed to sever the deep connection between a Cultivator and their Cultivation Technique, will, and even memories, causing their spirit to be clouded and their Dao Heart to shatter, turning them into a walking corpse!

This was an extremely profound and eerie mental offensive technique!

Wherever the ripple passed, even the dream itself was "severed," leaving behind an eternal rift of blank space.

At the periphery of Ye Tian's Mental Image World, the Five Elements halos fluctuated violently, and the central ancient sword phantom hummed and trembled.

He instantly felt a great terror descend!

It felt as if his connection to the Star Qi Induction Art was fading, his resonance with the ancient sword pill was being cut off, his control over his Martial Dao Will was loosening, and even his perception of his own existence was starting to blur!

This strike targeted the very Foundation of his cultivation and the root of his consciousness!

"I cannot retreat! I cannot falter! My heart is my sword, my intent is my Dao!"

Ye Tian roared in his heart as the Illusory Sea Heart Sutra circulated frantically. Within his Sea of Consciousness, the chaos bead erupted with a brilliant clear light, stabilizing his nearly collapsing Spiritual Platform.

At the same time, he condensed all of his mind, will, understanding of the sword Dao, the tempering he received in the Illusory Heart Cave, the insights from the Sword Washing Pond, and his unyielding Battle Intent against this powerful opponent!

He did not try to defend, because there was no way to defend against this.

He transformed all of it into an invisible, intangible "sword"!

A "Heart Sword" that originated from the Illusory Sea Heart Sutra but was fused with all of his own unique traits and will!

"The illusory sea is boundless; govern the sword with the heart!"

Ye Tian snapped his eyes open, a peerless sharpness flashing within his pupils!

He pointed his fingers and stabbed toward the incoming translucent ripple!

Two invisible, intangible intents collided violently within the void of the dream!

Pop...

Immediately following, with the collision point of the two intents as the center, Ye Tian's Mental Image World and Yun Zhiying's Dream-Weaving Realm actually began to merge and erode each other violently!

Ye Tian "saw" it.

In the depths of the Dream-Weaving Realm dominated by Yun Zhiying, there was more than just change and control.

He saw an eternal, lonely sea of flowers forgotten in a corner of time. In the sea of flowers was the back of a small girl in red sitting with her knees pulled to her chest. Her figure was frail, out of place with the surrounding dreamlike prosperity, exuding a loneliness that reached the very marrow of her bones.

The girl felt his gaze and slowly turned her head, revealing a face that was seventy to eighty percent similar to Yun Zhiying's, yet much more youthful and stained with tears. Her eyes were filled with confusion and a hint of... longing.

Simultaneously, Yun Zhiying also "saw" it.

In the center of Ye Tian's nascent yet firm Mental Image World, beneath that ancient sword phantom, there was more than just unyielding sharpness.

She "saw" scenes of a young boy practicing basic sword forms day after day in the Ye family's backyard; she saw his despair and resentment upon learning he couldn't Cultivate; she saw his desperate life-and-death struggles after obtaining the chaos bead and the technique, his facing of Heart Demons in the Illusory Heart Cave, and his perception of the sword pill's true nature in the Sword Washing Pond.

Among those scenes were resilience, Opportunity, and even more, a pure Dao Heart that charged forward, believing in its own Dao and unmoved by external things!

Such a Dao Heart was not something that could be achieved by relying on external objects or luck, but was a path walked step by step by enduring hardships and holding fast to one's original heart.

Forcefully seizing things might allow one to obtain the treasures on his person, but it would never allow one to obtain this tempered Dao Heart and will.

The collision of the two intents did not last long, nor was there a clear winner or loser.

Or rather, victory and defeat were no longer important.

Buzz...

The intertwined Mental Image Worlds began to slowly separate and fade.

The translucent ripple and the Heart Sword dissipated into nothingness at the same time.

Yun Zhiying's figure became clear again. She still stood barefoot in mid-air, the dream-weaving pen in her hand slightly dimmed. Her exquisite face bore a complicated, indecipherable expression as she quietly watched Ye Tian for a long time.

That brief moment of merging and peering had allowed her to see the firmness of Ye Tian's Dao Heart, and it had also touched a soft corner deep within her own heart.

Ye Tian also withdrew his Mental Image World, panting slightly with sweat covering his forehead. That strike of the "Illusory Sea Heart Sword" just now had nearly drained his Mental Energy.

He had also seen that trace of loneliness deep within Yun Zhiying, which gave him a more complex perception of this mysterious woman.

The scenery of the maple forest highway began to reappear as the Dream-Weaving Realm receded.

Sunlight, fallen leaves, the breeze... the sensations of the real world returned.

Hou Xiaojie and the Dragon Ape also "saw" Ye Tian and Yun Zhiying again.

Hou Xiaojie had a face full of lingering fear, while the Dragon Ape stared warily at Yun Zhiying, pale flames flickering in its mouth.

Yun Zhiying suddenly gave a soft sigh. This sigh lacked her usual allure and carried a hint of an indescribable sentiment.

With a wave of her jade hand, the dream-weaving pen turned into a stream of light and vanished into her body.

The invisible pressure shrouding the area also dissipated.

"You are even more special than I imagined, Ye Tian."

She looked at Ye Tian, her voice returning to its usual soft and charming tone. "No, I should say, you have given me a great surprise.

To be able to construct a mental image within my 'Dream-Weaving Realm' and even peer into my Spiritual Platform with a Heart Sword... among those in the True Martial Realm, you are the first."