She Dominates the Immortal Realm with Her HP Bar-Chapter 125

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The moment Yan Luoyue delved into the depths of the Puppet Love-Devouring Web's consciousness, she saw its current form.

At last, the mystery from earlier was solved.

No wonder this Puppet Love-Devouring Web had stubbornly blocked her and Wu Manshuang every time they tried to enter the demon realm before.

Back then, Yan Luoyue had angrily spat out a few taunts like, "If you’ve got the guts, open the door!" But the creature remained unmoved.

Now, Yan Luoyue understood why it had been so adamant about keeping them out.

It was undergoing yet another evolution.

Yes, this Puppet Love-Devouring Demon—originally just an ordinary puppet master—had once, through a stroke of fate, evolved into a puppet master capable of opening spatial passages.

Later, it merged with the modern network, evolving into the Puppet Web.

And then, in one world, it stuffed a massive Love-Devouring Demon into its network, transforming into what it was now—

Finally, this Puppet Love-Devouring Web was experiencing its fourth evolution.

By the standards of aberrant species, this Puppet Love-Devouring Web was undoubtedly among the elite.

Whether in talent, luck, or ability, it stood at the pinnacle of its kind.

Some aberrant species spent their entire lives without even evolving from a mud-burrower into the most basic mud demon.

Yet this Puppet Love-Devouring Web, after evolving spatial abilities from its puppet master state, had managed to undergo one evolution after another. Each time, it fortuitously patched up its weaknesses in just the right way, leaving onlookers astonished.

"What kind of insane luck is this?!" Yan Luoyue exclaimed. "If we had even half of this thing’s luck—"

She wasn’t expecting to evolve from the "Moonfall Tree" into the "When Will the Bright Moon Appear, I Raise My Wine to Ask the Blue Sky Tree," but couldn’t this damned thing have arrived twenty or thirty thousand years later?

If this Puppet Love-Devouring Demon had infiltrated their world just a little later, that great battle back then wouldn’t have ended up the way it did.

When your opponent has absurdly good luck, it’s impossible not to curse inwardly during the fight.

At this moment, Yan Luoyue finally understood why some demonic races had invented an entire lexicon of curses specifically for the Mother of Aberrants.

—No matter what these aberrant species did, cursing the Mother of Aberrants was always the right move.

Wu Manshuang asked with concern, "What’s its evolution direction this time?"

"I’ll shove a Black Crow’s Flame down the Mother of Aberrants’ throat!" The mere mention of it made Yan Luoyue’s temper flare. "This time… it’s trying to evolve into me!"

Black Crow’s Flame: "???"

Wu Manshuang: "!!!"

Yes, it was true.

This puppet master, which had undergone three evolutions, blessed with freakish luck, each time perfectly assimilating the most suitable ability or creature for the situation—

In this evolution, its form shifted from a pitch-black humanoid shape to something tall, sturdy, and elongated.

Countless jet-black threads, freshly formed, burrowed into the ground beneath it like roots.

Clearly, after confronting the Moonfall Tree for thousands upon thousands of years, this Puppet Love-Devouring Web had decided to use the Moonfall Tree as the blueprint for its next evolution.

Thus, in this evolution, it anchored itself into the demon realm’s soil like a great tree.

Unfortunately, Yan Luoyue and Wu Manshuang had arrived too early and acted too swiftly.

The Puppet Love-Devouring Web’s evolution was only halfway complete when Yan Luoyue forcibly interrupted it. freewēbnoveℓ.com

When they first encountered it, the Puppet Love-Devouring Demon had feigned passivity and silence.

But once Yan Luoyue exposed its scheme, it immediately abandoned its previous reticence.

In an instant, the silver threads controlled by the Puppet Love-Devouring Web surged with an overwhelming flood of information, enough to burst a person’s mind.

Evidently, after weighing its options, the Puppet Love-Devouring Web had decided that even if it had to slow its evolution, it would focus its efforts on fighting Yan Luoyue.

Because Yan Luoyue would never stand by and let it complete this evolution unscathed.

Beyond the information flood assaulting the Moonfall Tree, Yan Luoyue sensed something else.

As the Moonfall Tree, her roots stretched deep beneath the earth, spreading throughout the demon realm.

These roots were her extended arms, ears, and eyes, allowing her to perceive every movement in the demon realm and gather the heroic spirits of fallen demons into the Moonfall Tree.

Because of this, she could see that many humans and demons had stealthily infiltrated the demon realm through various spatial passages.

The Moonfall Tree’s roots coiled beneath their feet, draping these beloved warriors in a veil of undetectable concealment.

Moreover, Yan Luoyue could feel—the aberrant species of the demon realm were growing even more restless than before.

No, it wasn’t because everyone was busy dosing the Mother of Aberrants with sterilizing agents. Those powders wouldn’t take effect for some time yet.

The aberrant species’ agitation coincided precisely with the Puppet Love-Devouring Web’s first counterattack.

Wu Manshuang and Black Crow’s Flame, limited by their innate conditions, lacked the Moonfall Tree’s vast, delicate perception of the entire demon realm.

But after hearing Yan Luoyue’s explanation, Wu Manshuang frowned immediately.

"When did its control over the aberrant species grow so strong?"

This was Yan Luoyue’s question as well.

After all, though the Puppet Love-Devouring Web had taken root in this world with the aberrant species for tens of thousands of years, their societal structure was inherently loose.

Higher-tier aberrant species typically commanded lower-tier ones by virtue of their superior position on the evolutionary hierarchy.

This meant that while higher-tier aberrant species could issue orders, they couldn’t control whether lower-tier ones had their own agendas or slacked off.

For example, some low-tier mud-burrowers or Green Mane Demons would steal food meant for the Mother of Aberrants while tending to her.

As for the Puppet Love-Devouring Web, it could "meticulously" control lesser aberrant species—

But the prerequisite was connecting them with thin silver threads, like puppet strings.

Yet now, it was rousing the entire demon realm’s aberrant species on such a massive scale—without even attaching a single puppet thread to their leaders. When had the Puppet Love-Devouring Web gained such formidable control?

Yan Luoyue and Wu Manshuang exchanged a glance and instantly grasped the answer.

In unison, they said, "This is its evolution direction!"

—Stronger, stringless control. That was the Puppet Love-Devouring Web’s new evolutionary path.

If that was the case, Yan Luoyue absolutely could not let it succeed.

Wu Manshuang silently placed his hand over Yan Luoyue’s.

His skin was pale, the faint blue veins visible beneath its translucent surface.

Wu Manshuang's palm was slightly larger than Yan Luoyue's, his strong fingers jade-like in appearance, each precisely an extra knuckle longer, allowing them to press firmly against the trunk of the Falling Moon Tree.

An unending stream of extreme Yin energy flowed through his hand, transforming into Yan Luoyue's unstoppable blades and spears, piercing ruthlessly into the core of the Puppet Love-Eating Net.

After several rounds of battle, the Puppet Love-Eating Net realized it held no advantage in this confrontation.

In the next moment, it decisively changed tactics.

The silver net no longer engaged head-on, instead weaving cunningly between the branches of Yan Luoyue's tree and its own silver threads.

At the same time, the Puppet Love-Eating Net activated its newly evolved but incomplete ability, issuing two commands to the alien species.

A cold, intrusive thought flooded Yan Luoyue's mind.

This was the first time since arriving in the demon realm that the Puppet Love-Eating Net had shown any desire to communicate.

It said, "Do you know what I’ve ordered them to do?"

Even without this taunt, Yan Luoyue had never once relaxed her surveillance of these alien creatures.

So, in the very first instant, she noticed that the demon realm's alien species had split into two groups.

One group gathered together and began attacking every root of the Falling Moon Tree they could find.

These creatures were easy for Yan Luoyue to handle.

With Wu Manshuang and the Black Crow’s Flame by her side, the forces of extreme Yin and Yang could channel through her, reaching any part of her roots.

This time, Yan Luoyue deliberately kept Yin and Yang separate.

The entire Falling Moon Tree became like a mirror image, divided into stark black and white. The opposing forces surged through her roots, striking back with devastating power against the foolishly reckless alien species.

In an instant, the battlefield around the Falling Moon Tree was marked by destruction.

To the south, alien creatures turned to ash, their bodies scorching as if burned by the sun.

To the north, they froze into brittle remnants, their bones and bodily fluids instantly crystallizing before sublimating into icy mist.

These attacks did no real damage to the Falling Moon Tree—at most, they served as a distraction.

And in that same moment, Yan Luoyue realized something—

No wonder the alien species in the demon realm built their dwellings the way they did: hollowing out mountains to hide within, digging deep underground to lurk in caves…

It wasn’t necessarily that they preferred living beneath the earth—they were trying to claim the space before the Falling Moon Tree could.

Because in the demon realm, anywhere there was soil, the roots of the Falling Moon Tree could grow.

So, these creatures excavated the underground, seizing territory to prevent Yan Luoyue’s roots from spreading throughout the entire demon realm—lest one day, those very roots become the ropes that strangled them or the blades that ended their lives.

The number of bold alien creatures daring to attack the Falling Moon Tree’s roots was small.

It seemed their only purpose was harassment.

Far more numerous—and far more perplexing to Yan Luoyue—were the remaining alien species.

Aside from leaving a few broodmothers and low-level creatures in their nests, nearly all the others had gathered into a massive army, surging toward the human realm!

Uncertain why the Puppet Love-Eating Net had chosen this tactic, Yan Luoyue felt a flicker of suspicion and wariness.

Naturally, anxiety also rose within her, impossible to suppress.

—What is this thing planning?

At this moment, the Falling Moon Tree and the Puppet Love-Eating Net were entwined in battle.

Their communication wasn’t through speech, but through the most direct exchange of signals.

The next second, Yan Luoyue "heard" the invading alien species emit a revoltingly gleeful laugh in her mind.

Along with the laughter came the Puppet Love-Eating Net’s unmistakable malice.

"You’ll be distracted," it declared confidently. "Now, we’re even again."

In this moment, the Puppet Love-Eating Net was distracted by its evolution, while Yan Luoyue was distracted by the situation in the human realm.

By this calculation, the Puppet Love-Eating Net still came out ahead.

But the reason it was only "probably" ahead was because…

Yan Luoyue tested, "Do you know how many of your alien species will be lost under this command?"

The Puppet Love-Eating Net laughed.

"After tens of thousands of years, you—and all the creatures of this world—still cling to such naïve, tender-hearted notions."

If alien species were capable of humor, its tone might have been mocking.

But it seemed to lack such sophisticated emotions.

Instead, the emotion it projected was nothing but cold, arrogant disdain.

"—Those alien species are endless. Even if they all die, new ones will be born swiftly enough."

For this battle, it had mobilized nearly all its alien species to press upon the human realm.

But even a village farmer knows to save seeds for next year’s planting.

So, the Puppet Love-Eating Net had kept all the broodmothers and a few low-level caretakers.

It held not a shred of compassion for its own kind.

In its calculations, even if every last alien species perished in this battle, as long as Yan Luoyue was distracted and its own evolution proceeded safely, it was no loss at all.

After all, broodmothers could produce replacements so very quickly.

"...Oh," Yan Luoyue replied flatly.

It seemed the Puppet Love-Eating Net’s new evolution only allowed it to control the alien species’ actions.

Unlike the roots of the Falling Moon Tree, it couldn’t simultaneously receive information from all locations.

Or perhaps, it simply couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to the reports of such lowly creatures.

Otherwise, it would have known that in certain nests, some broodmothers had already begun refusing food, unable to produce new offspring.

And the reason for this was, naturally…

Switching perspectives to Shen Jingxuan and the others in the demon realm—

Walk the night path too often, and you’ll meet a ghost. Get lost enough times, and you’ll stumble upon the unexpected.

Just moments ago, under Shen Jingxuan’s leadership, the Zhunti Flag Master’s group had found themselves face-to-face with a large swarm of high-level alien species.

"!!!"

From their numbers and formation, it was clear—this was a full-scale mobilization.

The Zhunti Flag Master gasped, "They’ve discovered us!"

These creatures likely also knew exactly why they were here.

And their reaction? To eliminate these intruding humans and demons in one fell swoop.

Just as everyone braced for a brutal fight—Shen Jingxuan even raising her sea urchin gauntlets—the densely packed swarm of alien species marched right past them, utterly ignoring their presence.

They left with such swiftness, waving their thick, unwashed arms that hadn’t seen water in years, leaving behind only a stifling, murky stench in their wake.

Shen Jingxuan: "..."

Zhunti Flag Master: "..."

It wasn’t until the last of the invading aberrant creatures brushed past them that the Zhunti Flag Master blinked dumbfoundedly.

"G-Great Master," he stammered, "these aberrants… they all seem blind—could this also be the work of fate?"

Shen Jingxuan: "..."

"Amitabha." Shen Jingxuan set down his sea urchin gauntlets and picked up his prayer beads again, rolling them between his fingers. "The Buddha is merciful. Those who believe shall see; those who do not shall not."

Everyone: "..."

At first, they truly hadn’t believed.

But after being led around by Master Jingxuan, the situation left them no choice but to believe.

As for the scene just now—it was practically enough to make every demon shave their fur and seek refuge in Buddhism!

Shen Jingxuan’s senior sister, being more composed, cleared her throat and steered the conversation back on track:

"Those aberrants had a dazed look in their eyes, unlike their usual bloodthirsty frenzy. Something must have happened."

"Indeed," Shen Jingxuan agreed firmly. "I didn’t see any Mother Demons in that group just now. They must have all been left behind in their nests. This is our chance to infiltrate and administer the poison."

With no guards around, they could simply open a packet of powder at the entrance and let the wind carry it inside.

Someone suggested, "Shouldn’t we just kill the Mother Demons?"

"Slaughtering them all would take too long and make too much noise."

The Zhunti Flag Master made the final call: "Let’s make this quick."

Creatures like Mother Demons, once stripped of their reproductive capabilities, were like tigers with their fangs pulled—hardly a threat anymore!

Thus, under Shen Jingxuan’s leadership, the group swiftly moved through the first nest, then the second, the third, the fourth…

By the time they had raided twenty-eight nests, even the battle-hardened Zhunti Flag Master was beside himself with joy.

"How is this so easy?!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "These aberrants—they really just abandoned their homes without leaving a single decent guard behind!"

Damn it, their speed in sterilizing Mother Demons even outpaced the efficiency of castrating piglets back in their clan.

If castrations were always this quick, they might as well open a livestock farm and compete with the neighboring Wealth Banner in the animal husbandry business!

At this moment, the Zhunti Flag Master wasn’t the only one harboring such thoughts.

Nearly every team infiltrating the demon realm—whether led by humans or demons—found themselves floating in a daze of disbelief at how effortlessly they had succeeded.

—Seriously, ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‍you aberrants just up and abandoned your entire homeland, huh?

...

The moon shines over all lands, bringing joy to some and sorrow to others.

While the operation against the Mother Demons in the demon realm proceeded with unexpected ease, it also meant that nearly all the pressure had shifted to the human realm.

Through the roots of the Falling Moon Tree, Yan Luoyue could sense the aberrant army surging toward the human world.

During this time, she had tried using the tree’s roots to gather either extreme yin or yang energy to intercept the aberrant forces.

But after two or three attempts, the aberrants learned to evade her attacks—their vast underground tunnel network proved useful.

On top of that, the Puppet Love-Severing Net opened several spatial rifts, expediting the aberrants’ journey to the human realm.

While obstructing the invaders, a fleeting question crossed Yan Luoyue’s mind:

—Why was the Puppet Love-Severing Net targeting only the human realm and not the demon realm?

But the thought sank like a pebble tossed into a lake, leaving only faint ripples before disappearing into the depths.

The Puppet Love-Severing Demon had been right about one thing: whether the aberrants invaded the human or demon realm, Yan Luoyue’s focus would be divided.

It was like being an office worker who knew a knife-wielding madman was breaking into their home but couldn’t call for help—trapped in an endless, unskippable meeting instead.

The anxiety and dread in such a moment were beyond the control of reason.

"It’s alright. We’ll take it slow."

Wu Manshuang embraced Yan Luoyue from behind, his warm lips gently pressing against her ear.

For a moment, his calm voice drowned out the Puppet Love-Severing Net’s shrill laughter in her mind.

In that instant, Yan Luoyue’s entire world was filled with Wu Manshuang’s words.

"—No matter the outcome, we’ll face it together."

If Yan Luoyue could destroy the still-evolving Puppet Love-Severing Net in time, it would be because she and Wu Manshuang fought side by side.

If the human realm was ravaged by war, its wandering souls with nowhere to go needed shelter under the Falling Moon Tree—Wu Manshuang would stand with her through it all.

If… if there was a third way to break this deadlock…

Wu Manshuang murmured, "Let’s think harder. There might still be another path."

...

In the human realm, Jiang Tingbai led twenty-three swordsmen, standing guard at Yonglong District.

This place lay at the foot of the Guiyuan Sect’s mountain, usually a bustling marketplace teeming with disciples in their sect robes.

But now, the district was eerily silent, every door shut tight, the streets empty.

The Guiyuan Sect disciples who once roamed these streets were no longer here.

For this final battle, the sect had deployed every available disciple.

They were scattered across the land, divided into specialized units based on their skills and cultivation paths.

If the Puppet Love-Severing Net’s maneuvers had left the demon nests unguarded, then the Guiyuan Sect—the foremost sect in the world—had been in that state long before the war even began.

Compared to the aberrants spreading like wildfire, there were never enough cultivators to go around.

Yet the Guiyuan Sect’s leader signed dispatch order after dispatch order, sending his disciples to every corner of the human and demon realms.

—Just as, three thousand years ago during the Demon-Subduing War, the Guiyuan Sect’s swordsmen had volunteered for battle, leaving their mountain gates empty to fight for lives beyond their own.

Occasionally, a disciple would voice their unease and seek the leader’s counsel.

"What if we kept more people to defend the sect…?"

The leader stroked his wispy beard and replied with gentle wisdom:

"But the fate of the entire cultivation world matters more than the gates of our Guiyuan Sect alone."

The disciple would then bow their head in shame, accepting their dispatch order and departing.

At the mountain’s base, they would inevitably glance back one last time at the sect they were leaving behind.

This scene was witnessed by Jiang Tingbai, who smiled gently and reassured, "Rest easy, we are here."

Led by Jiang Tingbai, the twenty-four sword cultivators stood as the final barrier guarding the Guiyuan Sect.

They were twenty-four insurmountable mountains, twenty-four impassable oceans, and twenty-four unstoppable blades.

These twenty-four warriors stood at the forefront of the battle against the aberrant horde, quickly noticing the changes in their numbers and ferocity.

Someone warned, "Senior Brother Jiang, something’s different."

These aberrants were unlike the ones they had fought before.

They lacked the previous bloodthirsty savagery and ruthless vitality.

Yet, their single-minded determination to slaughter everything had grown exponentially in an instant.

Jiang Tingbai acknowledged softly, but his expression showed no trace of retreat.

He glanced at the other twenty-three sword cultivators and said, "Junior Brother Zhou, please stand behind Junior Sister Zhao."

Junior Brother Zhou stubbornly tightened his grip on his sword, lifting his chin. "No, Senior Brother, I can still—"

Jiang Tingbai shook his head calmly, his voice gentle yet firm, carrying an undeniable authority.

"We stand guard here not for fleeting pride, but to uphold the Guiyuan Sect’s thousand years of peace."

His voice was serene, like river tides or the bright moon, yet also sharp as a blade, cutting through flesh to reveal one’s true resolve.

"I know each of you has sworn an oath in your hearts—‘As long as one of us remains, these aberrants shall not take a single step closer to the Guiyuan Sect. Unless they tread over twenty-four corpses, they shall never breach our gates.’"

"—But why should we let them trample over our bodies?"

"I, Jiang Tingbai, swear this today—not one of us twenty-four will fall here!"

With a clear shout, Jiang Tingbai declared solemnly, "Brothers and sisters, form the sword formation!"

The moment his words fell, twenty-four swords rose in unison, their tips pointing skyward.

Before them surged an endless tide of aberrants, yet not a single sword cultivator’s eyes wavered with fear.

Only unyielding resolve, icy calm, and undying battle spirit remained.

In the desolate silence of Yonglong Lane, their figures stood tall like evergreen pines.

Swordlight flashed like lightning, illuminating the azure sky.

Had anyone gazed down from above, they would have seen twenty-four peerless blades merge into one.

A colossal sword swept forth, reducing countless aberrants to dust.

Yet in the next moment, as if devoid of fear or hesitation, the horde replenished their ranks endlessly.

For every strike the sword cultivators unleashed, hundreds of aberrants fell.

But in the same breath, ten thousand more mindless yet relentless heads emerged in their place.

Junior Brother Zhou sneered, raising his sword before his chest.

He had already sustained internal injuries earlier in the battle, his face now slightly pale.

Suppressing the metallic taste in his throat, he shouted, "Filthy beasts! So many damned beasts!"

A strand of hair slipped loose from Junior Sister Zhao’s temple, fluttering before her eyes. Yet no one had the luxury to tuck it back.

Without hesitation, she slashed it off with a flick of her sword and called out,

"What’s wrong with that? The more we hold here, the fewer there are elsewhere!"

She laughed boldly. "Even guarding our gates, we still stand at the forefront of the world’s battle!"

And so, strike after strike, a hundred, a thousand blows rained down.

Once, ten times, the sword formation was reforged.

Were it not for the spiritual nature of their blades, such relentless use would have rusted even the finest steel.

Through blood and carnage, the twenty-four sword cultivators shifted positions repeatedly.

Only Jiang Tingbai remained unwavering at the front, while the other twenty-three took turns rotating behind him.

Junior Sister Zhao’s breaths grew labored, as if a bellows had been forced into her lungs.

Yet when a Skywolf Demon lunged at her, she met it with a fearless grin.

Her strike failed to cleave the demon in half. As its razor-sharp claws neared her chest, she declared, "The Sword Hall shall inscribe our names!"

In the next instant, someone yanked her back by the collar.

A sword’s edge flashed past her shoulder, severing the demon’s claw mid-air.

Junior Brother Zhou spat a mouthful of blood, grinning carelessly. "Junior Sister, it’s my turn at the front now."

He chuckled. "Never thought I’d make it to the Sword Hall so soon..."

Before the words "Sword Hall" fully faded, an eerie hum resonated among the twenty-four.

Sword cultivators never parted with their blades, even in sleep or bath.

Having lived by the sword for decades, none could mistake this sound—the resonant tremor of countless blades singing as one.

Only ten thousand swords ringing simultaneously could produce such a pure, vast, and earth-shaking harmony!

For a moment, their very souls trembled with clarity.

Junior Sister Zhao was the first to react, whirling toward the source—and what lay beyond.

"The Cuiwei Sword Hall!" she cried. "It’s the Cuiwei Sword Hall!"

The chorus of blades was the awakening of countless swords entombed within the hall, refusing to fade into obscurity!

Jiang Tingbai soared into the sky, his eyes blazing with divine light.

Junior Brother Zhou held his breath.

They all knew Jiang Tingbai often secluded himself in the Sword Hall. He could recount the history of every blade—even broken ones—and their fallen masters.

And now… this phenomenon… could it be—?

Jiang Tingbai extended his arm in solemn invitation.

"Purple Lightning, Whirling Clouds, Thousand Lanterns, Sweet Dew..."

Each name he uttered belonged to a sword.

Each blade had once carved its legend in the bloodiest battles against demons.

At first, the swords emerged one by one, streaking through the air like icy rainbows at Jiang Tingbai’s call.

Then, faster and faster, they surged forth unbidden.

Blades long dormant, silent, shattered, or still stained with blood—

Regardless of their past or state, they tore free from the mountain’s embrace.

At Jiang Tingbai’s summons, answering the lingering spirit of their former masters and the calamity befalling the Guiyuan Sect that day, the swords soared from the towering Sword Pavilion all the way to Yonglong Lane!

Junior Brother Zhou looked up at this spectacle.

Beneath the sunlight, the glimmering edges of these blades shone like countless stars.

A surge of boiling fervor rose in his chest, yet it was accompanied by an unshakable resolve.

Indeed, why should this be surprising?

Every sword cultivator of the Guiyuan Sect’s Sword Peak knew this truth—

On the land where heroes were buried, even if their predecessors had faced death a thousand times, those who inherited the same spirit and courage would rise for the thousand and first time.

In the next moment, Jiang Tingbai tightened his grip on his azure blade, commanding ten thousand swords to descend as one.

His voice rang with unwavering conviction, as if, from beginning to end, he had never once faltered on the path of the sword.

"Wherever the disciples of the Guiyuan Sect stand, that place becomes the Towering Sword Pavilion!"

Ten thousand swords converged, coalescing into a single colossal blade.

This strike knew no defense—only advance, no retreat—only forward, no hesitation—only resolve.

For a true sword cultivator, no matter the obstacle or peril, there was but one answer: draw the sword and press onward, unyielding!

In an instant, the gargantuan sword, forged from the combined will of countless blades, swept through the tide of aberrant horrors.

At the same time, the remaining twenty-three disciples raised their swords in unison, merging their own sword intent into this overwhelming storm of steel.

Among the countless streams of sword will, one stood out most brilliantly—a white arc piercing the heavens, forming the spine of the colossal blade.

This sword intent remained unshaken by adversity, unaltered by triumph.

Like a breath of spring wind, it had begun as a single act of courage, rising from a wisp of willow catkin. Tempered by time and trials, it had become an eternal constant—the very essence of the sword path, the cycle of seasons in the mortal realm.

Junior Brother Zhou’s sword intent clung close to that radiant white arc, and his perception of it was clearest.

Even in such a critical moment, he couldn’t help but exclaim, "Senior Brother Jiang, you…"

You’ve attained enlightenment again!

The next instant, the overwhelming sword intent collided with the horde of aberrations on the battlefield.

Easier than slicing through tofu, two-thirds of the aberrant army vanished before their eyes, reduced to dust.

Then, with a chorus of resounding thuds, the swords of the Towering Pavilion descended from the sky, embedding themselves in the stone-paved streets of Yonglong Lane with perfect uniformity.

Knowing the earlier sword formation had drained the blades’ energy, Jiang Tingbai did not command another.

Instead, he stepped forward alone, his faded sword robes fluttering gently in the spring breeze.

Jiang Tingbai raised his sword.

This single stroke carved through the world like a comet.

For a moment, vast yet tender sword intent, righteous as the noonday sun, cleansed the heavens and earth.

The might of Jiang Tingbai’s solitary blade rivaled that of the earlier formation, obliterating another third of the remaining aberrations.

No sword cultivator could witness this sight without being spellbound.

Forgetting even the presence of the aberrations, Junior Brother Zhou murmured, "This is…"

Jiang Tingbai glanced back with a smile, as effortless as slicing through the spring wind.

"My fourth sword intent—Cleansing Heaven and Earth."

His voice rang clear: "I have sworn to you all—today, not a single one of us will fall here!"

…

At the same time, beneath the Moonfall Tree in the demon realm, Yan Luoyue clenched her teeth.

She would fight this puppet, this Net of Devoured Love, to the bitter end.

But beyond that—was there any way to aid the human realm, now under full-scale invasion?

This puppet’s evolution…

Wait—evolution!

Yan Luoyue’s eyes suddenly blazed with realization.

An idea flashed through her mind, radiant and unmistakable.

—If the puppet could mimic her, evolving into the form of a tree,

Then why couldn’t she mimic the puppet’s control over the aberrations to forge a connection with the cultivators in the human realm?

Of course, Yan Luoyue’s goal was not to manipulate humans or demons, but to open a channel.

Just as before, when the Moonfall Tree’s roots had discovered the teams infiltrating the demon realm and cloaked them in protective spiritual energy.

Even if the setting shifted to the human realm, the Moonfall Tree could still transmit power to the cultivators.

After all, Wu Manshuang could command the primal Yin within every being, for the first death in the world had sprung from him.

Yan Luoyue couldn’t control the Yin and Yang within others, but she could gift them the harmonized energy of Heaven and Earth.

Because every corner of the world had once been touched by the falling leaves of the Moonfall Tree.

—Remember? Wherever the Moonfall Tree’s leaves were buried, flowers would bloom in dazzling splendor the next year.

Taking a deep breath, Yan Luoyue closed her eyes.

She couldn’t use the spatial channels opened by the puppet—those were entirely under its control.

Breaking through spatial barriers wasn’t her expertise.

Yet even so, she would strive to pierce the divide, to send her roots into the soil of the human realm—

"Wu Manshuang, Black Crows, I need your power."

This time, Yan Luoyue attempted something unprecedented:

Yin and Yang energies gathered within the Moonfall Tree, but instead of harmonizing them, she set them against each other.

She sought to use this clash to force open a spatial channel under her command.

Suddenly, Yan Luoyue’s eyes flew open!

She sensed it—a weak point, a place where the human realm was reaching out to her!

At that very moment, in the same location Yan Luoyue perceived—

Ji Qinghong drove the 1,486th aberration into the final node of the formation.

In an instant, the array was complete.

Where silver light flashed, a cataclysmic explosion erupted, born from both the demon and human realms.

The blast’s power was immense—not only were countless aberrations obliterated, but space itself shattered like glass.

This was no mere tear in the fabric of reality, but a gaping chasm, as if a colossal pane had been smashed apart.

If Yan Luoyue were to name it, she might call it the "Spatial Rift."

But in that moment, she forgot even her habit of naming things.

As space fractured, countless roots of the Moonfall Tree surged forth like a flood of serpents, pouring through the broken rift.

At Xiyang Cliff, some were still coughing from the explosion’s shockwave.

But amid the dust, one cultivator after another straightened, sensing something extraordinary.

They realized, with awe, that an inexplicable power was rising from the earth beneath them, revitalizing their spirits.

And this power continued to spread endlessly into the distance.