115: Chapter 115 Sword Dao Blocks the Way

The demon soldiers began to retreat.

The Talisman Array trapped most of them, and Jingchen led his people to scatter those who broke through. The remaining demon soldiers finally grew afraid. They no longer charged forward but turned and fled deeper into The Rift.

Lu Mingyuan's heart eased when he saw this scene.

But before he could fully relax, Bai Ze's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

“They can’t be allowed to escape back.”

Lu Mingyuan was startled.

“Why?”

Bai Ze stared at the fleeing demon soldiers.

“If they escape back, they will be reabsorbed by the core of resentment. The more it absorbs, the stronger that thing will become. The next Demon Tide will be larger and stronger than this one.”

It paused.

“They must be stopped.”

Lu Mingyuan's heart tightened.

He looked at the demon soldiers—at least five or six hundred of them were fleeing towards The Rift.

Chase and kill them?

It was too late. They were escaping too fast.

He looked at Zhang Lingyun. Zhang Lingyun was still lying on the ground, his mental energy exhausted, unable to get up.

He looked at Fa Ming. Fa Ming was covered in injuries, unable to stand steadily.

He looked at Li Haoran. Li Haoran's face was pale, his Noble Spirit completely depleted.

He looked at Jiang Yichen. Jiang Yichen's sword was broken, and he was grasping a borrowed great saber, panting heavily.

Only Yue Wushuang remained.

Yue Wushuang stood not far away, holding “shouxin,” gazing at the fleeing demon soldiers.

His face was also pale, and his monk's robes—no, Daoist robes—were soaked with blood, making it impossible to tell if it was his own or someone else's. But his eyes were brighter than ever.

Lu Mingyuan looked at him.

“Brother Yue—”

Yue Wushuang did not turn his head.

He simply raised “shouxin” and, facing the fleeing demon soldiers, gently waved it.

A flash of Sword Qi slashed out, cutting down the three demon soldiers at the very front.

But that was merely a drop in the bucket.

The remaining demon soldiers were still desperately fleeing towards The Rift.

Yue Wushuang took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes.

Then, he did something no one had expected.

He plunged “shouxin” into the ground.

He clasped his hands together—no, he formed a sword-hand seal with both hands, pointing towards the sky.

Jiang Yichen was the first to react.

“He’s going to set up a Sword Array!”

He looked at Lu Mingyuan.

“Stop him quickly! In his current state, setting up a Sword Array will kill him!”

Lu Mingyuan rushed towards Yue Wushuang.

But a sword curtain suddenly rose around Yue Wushuang.

That sword curtain was composed of countless tiny Sword Qi, incredibly sharp, and anything that approached would be shredded.

Lu Mingyuan stopped outside the sword curtain.

“Brother Yue! Stop!”

Yue Wushuang did not reply.

He merely kept his eyes closed, his sword-hand seal raised higher and higher.

In the sky, light suddenly shone.

Not one, but countless rays.

Those lights converged from all directions, falling onto Yue Wushuang's hands, onto “shouxin” plunged beside him, and onto the ground around him.

Shadows of swords began to appear.

Some of these sword shadows were long, some short, some wide, some narrow, some complete, some incomplete. They floated in the air, densely packed, at least a thousand of them.

Each sword shadow had a faint light.

Those lights connected into a single expanse, illuminating the entire sky.

Three

Fa Ming was stunned.

“Is this—Myriad Swords Art?”

Jingchen shook his head.

“It's not the Myriad Swords Art. It's a Sword Array. Mount Qingcheng's long-lost—Demon Sealing Sword Array.”

He looked at Yue Wushuang.

“Where did this child learn it?”

No one could answer him.

Yue Wushuang opened his eyes.

There were no longer pupils in his eyes, only two dazzling orbs of light.

He looked at the fleeing demon soldiers.

Then, he pointed both hands forward.

A thousand sword shadows flew out simultaneously.

They streaked across the sky like a shower of meteors, landing in front of the demon soldiers.

Not on the demon soldiers, but in front of them.

One, two, ten, a hundred, a thousand—a thousand sword shadows plunged into the edge of The Rift, forming a dense wall of swords.

That wall of swords stretched from left to right, from the ground to the sky, sealing the entrance to The Rift completely.

The demon soldiers rushed to the sword wall, desperately trying to break through.

But the sword shadows moved.

They began to spin, shredding anything that came near.

One demon soldier rushed up and was shredded into black mist. Two demon soldiers rushed up and were shredded into black mist. Ten demon soldiers rushed up and were also shredded into black mist.

Not a single one could pass.

Beyond the sword wall was The Rift.

But they couldn't get past that sword wall.

The demon soldiers despaired.

They turned around, wanting to flee back.

But behind them were Lu Mingyuan and his group, Jingchen and his group, and the arriving reinforcements.

With a sword wall ahead and pursuers behind.

They were trapped in the middle, with nowhere to escape.

Lu Mingyuan watched this scene, his heart filled with shock.

He looked at Yue Wushuang.

Yue Wushuang still stood there, his sword-hand seal pointing towards the sky.

But his face was as white as paper.

His body began to tremble.

The sword shadows also began to tremble.

Jiang Yichen's face changed drastically.

“Oh no! He can't hold on!”

He rushed towards Yue Wushuang, but the sword curtain was still there, preventing him from entering.

“Yue Wushuang! Sheathe your sword! You can't hold on!”

Yue Wushuang did not reply.

He merely gritted his teeth and continued to endure.

The sword shadows continued to spin and shred.

One demon soldier fell, two demon soldiers fell, ten demon soldiers fell—

But Yue Wushuang's face grew paler and paler.

Blood began to seep from the corners of his mouth.

Blood began to flow from his eyes.

His body swayed precariously.

Lu Mingyuan stood outside the sword curtain, watching Yue Wushuang.

He knew what Yue Wushuang was doing.

He was using his life to sustain this Sword Array.

The longer he held on, the more demon soldiers he could kill. The more demon soldiers he killed, the weaker the next Demon Tide would be.

But if he continued to hold on like this, he would die.

Lu Mingyuan took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes.

The Wanxiang True Qi circulated wildly within his body.

Then, he stretched out his hand, reaching towards the sword curtain.

The Sword Qi of the curtain cut his palm, and blood streamed out.

But he didn't stop.

He continued to reach forward.

One inch, two inches, three inches—

His entire hand was inside.

The Sword Qi left countless wounds on his hand, deep enough to see bone.

But he gritted his teeth and continued to reach forward.

Finally, his hand touched Yue Wushuang's shoulder.

At that instant, Wanxiang True Qi surged from his body and flowed into Yue Wushuang's.

Yue Wushuang's body trembled.

He opened his eyes and looked at Lu Mingyuan.

Lu Mingyuan looked at him, saying nothing.

But Yue Wushuang understood.

He was helping him.

Using his Origin Qi to help him sustain this Sword Array.

Yue Wushuang closed his eyes and continued to hold on.

With Lu Mingyuan's Origin Qi, the sword shadows stabilized considerably.

They continued to spin, continued to shred.

One, two, ten, a hundred—

Finally, the last demon soldier fell before the sword wall.

Yue Wushuang's hands fell.

The sword shadows instantly dissipated.

He fell backward.

Lu Mingyuan caught him.

Yue Wushuang lay in his arms, his face as pale as a corpse, his eyes half-closed, his mouth full of blood.

Lu Mingyuan looked at him.

“Brother Yue.”

Yue Wushuang's eyes moved slightly.

He looked at Lu Mingyuan, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

As if smiling.

Lu Mingyuan's eyes grew warm.

“Are you crazy?”

Yue Wushuang did not reply.

He merely looked at Lu Mingyuan for a long time.

Then, he whispered:

“Sword... Dao... is... heart... Dao...”

Lu Mingyuan was stunned.

He remembered the phrase he had comprehended on Mount Hua in Chapter 64.

Sword Dao is Way of the Heart.

Now, Yue Wushuang had used his life to prove this statement.

He closed his eyes.

Jiang Yichen rushed over, knelt beside Yue Wushuang, and reached out to check his breathing.

Still there.

Very weak, but still there.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

“He's still alive.”

Lu Mingyuan held Yue Wushuang, remaining silent for a long time.

Jingchen walked over and looked down at Yue Wushuang.

“This child's Sword Heart is complete.”

Lu Mingyuan looked at him.

“What do you mean?”

Jingchen whispered:

“Sword Dao is Way of the Heart. When the Way of the Heart is complete, the Sword Dao is half complete. The rest is just a matter of time.”

He paused.

“He didn't use his life to set up this Sword Array today to kill enemies.”

Lu Mingyuan asked:

“Then why?”

Jingchen looked at the demon soldiers blocked by the sword wall.

“It was to let them know—this path, they cannot pass.”

He looked at Lu Mingyuan.

“Do you understand?”

Lu Mingyuan thought for a long time.

Then, he slowly nodded.

He understood.

Sword Dao blocks the path.

It wasn't the path that was blocked, but the heart.

To let those demon soldiers know that this Rift was guarded. To let that thing called An know that this defensive line was being held with lives.

They couldn't pass.

They would never pass.

All the demon soldiers were annihilated.

The two General-level Demons also died.

On the ruins, there were traces everywhere left by the dissipating black mist. The air carried a faint burnt odor, the smell of Devilish Qi after burning.

The living gathered in small groups, bandaging wounds and counting heads.

Many people had died.

Longhu Mountain lost seven Daoists, Shaolin Temple lost nine warrior monks, Yuelu Academy lost five Confucian scholars, Mount Qingcheng lost four swordsmen, and over a dozen Loose Cultivators died.

Including those who had fallen in previous battles, a total of over forty people had died.

But they won.

Over two thousand demon soldiers, all annihilated.

Two General-level Demons, all annihilated.

Lu Mingyuan stood there, looking at the deceased, for a very long time.

Zhang Qingyuan, holding the heart lamp, walked to his side.

“Master.”

Lu Mingyuan did not turn around.

“Hmm?”

Zhang Qingyuan was silent for a moment.

“The lamp is still lit.”

Lu Mingyuan looked down.

That heart lamp was indeed still lit.

The incense in the lamp was almost burned out, but the wisp of green smoke still rose straight upwards.

He looked at the lamp, at the deceased, and at the living.

Then, he whispered:

“Light it up.”

Zhang Qingyuan was startled.

“What?”

Lu Mingyuan looked at him.

“Light it up. Let the deceased see.”

Zhang Qingyuan understood.

He held the heart lamp higher.

That wisp of green smoke drew a thin line in the night sky.

Like a path.

Like the path walked by the deceased.

And also like the path the living still had to walk.

Lu Mingyuan gazed at that wisp of green smoke for a very long time.

Then, he turned and walked towards the camp.

“Tomorrow, we still guard.”

He said.

Behind him, the living followed.

The deceased remained where they were.

But they knew that the deceased would not have died in vain.

Because there was a lamp shining.

There were hearts remembering.

There were people continuing to walk.