The Great Dragon River.

Lü Yang had long been curious about this great river that divided the lands of the East, West, South, and North, but he had never seen it with his own eyes until now.

Gazing out, he could see the South on one side and the West on the other. But what separated them wasn't seawater. It was a churning torrent of the Duality of Life and Death Profound Light, a force that annihilated all things. It surged and billowed, seeming to swallow everything in its path. Even a Qi Refining Disciple would be vaporized just by getting close!

'What Great Dragon River... this is clearly the Outer Heaven Sea of Light!'

In that instant, Lü Yang recalled the sight he had witnessed during his previous return... This broken place was actually pieced together from five Outer Realms!

'But the fusion is obviously incomplete.'

'Otherwise, I never would have been able to tell it was pieced together... This Great Dragon River is the rift between the five Outer Realms—proof that they haven't fully merged into one.'

Just then, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected spoke.

"Beyond this point lies the Pure Land in the West... I've troubled you to accompany me on this journey, and I must trouble you further to bring my belongings back from the Pure Land afterward."

Lü Yang fell silent at his words.

"Master, why must you come to the Pure Land?"

He had harbored this doubt for a long time. After all, strictly speaking, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected had no feud with the Pure Land. The Pure Land was, in fact, considered part of the Righteous Dao.

Moreover, judging by his master's demeanor, it was as if he had come to the Pure Land to die. But if that were truly the case, did he not have the confidence to attain the Fruit of Sword Dao? If he did, what was there to fear? He could just become a Perfected Lord, wield his sword, and cut down all who opposed him. Who in the world could stop him then?

"Very curious?"

Demon-Vanquishing Perfected chuckled. "It's not really a secret. This is my tribulation... I have come to the Pure Land to face it."

'A tribulation?' Lü Yang wondered.

Meanwhile, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected continued:

"I was born with a profound foundation and was rather arrogant in my youth. I achieved Foundation Establishment with ease in my first life. My ambition was set on the Great Dao, and I swore to one day become a Perfected Lord of the heavens."

At this point, a shadow suddenly crossed Demon-Vanquishing Perfected's eyes. "Later... due to certain events, I was forced to switch to the Sword Dao. I was resentful and indignant but dared not show it. Determined to achieve something in the Sword Dao as well, I left the mountain to train, seeking to refine the ultimate Sword Intent."

As he spoke, Demon-Vanquishing Perfected had already walked into the Great Dragon River. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

He used no apparent Divine Power. A mere wisp of his All-Cutting Sword Intent spread out, instantly carving a clear path through the raging waters of the Great Dragon River.

Lü Yang hurried to follow close behind.

"And it was during my training away from the mountain that I met a mortal. He was an ordinary teacher in a mortal kingdom in the South."

"At that time, I was stunned, as if I had met a Celestial Being."

"Because as a mortal, he should have been as insignificant as grass, yet I discovered Sword Intent in him... A mortal had actually cultivated Sword Intent!"

Lü Yang was stunned by this revelation.

His first reaction was that it was impossible. A mortal cultivating Sword Intent? That was like a pony pulling a heavy cart—even if he succeeded, he would just die from the strain!

In other words—

'It's a trap! Something's not right!'

After being beaten down so many times in this broken place, Lü Yang had long since developed the useful habit of being paranoid. Anything that defied common sense was worthy of suspicion!

'It has to be a trap!'

The slight change in Lü Yang's expression was fully noted by Demon-Vanquishing Perfected, who immediately chuckled. "You're much more vigilant than I was. Back then, I didn't think too much about it."

"That mortal happened to condense his Sword Intent just as I was passing by. But because the pressure of the Sword Intent was too great for his mortal body to bear, he was on the verge of death. Others just thought he had fallen gravely ill. I intervened and saved him. We had a wonderful conversation afterward and became friends."

"And the Sword Intent he condensed... was Non-Killing."

At this, a hint of nostalgia appeared in Demon-Vanquishing Perfected's eyes. "Back then, because my path to the Dao had been severed, my heart was filled with vicious hostility. That's why I condensed All Slash."

"However, All Slash is too savage."

"It is named All Slash because it naturally slashes both friend and foe. Every time I used it, I would harm myself as well as my enemy. So, that friend of mine urged me to stop using it."

"As a replacement, he passed Non-Killing on to me."

At these words, Lü Yang's eyebrows twitched. One must understand that a Sword Intent is the manifestation of a Sword Cultivator's obsession—it should be unique. How could it be passed on to someone else?

Demon-Vanquishing Perfected saw Lü Yang's confusion and smiled. "At the time, my only desire was to attain the number one Sword Dao in the world. When someone was willing to gift me a second Sword Intent, something with only upsides, how could I refuse or have any suspicions? I naturally accepted it with pleasure, and it did indeed help me greatly thereafter."

Non-Killing and All Slash.

Two Sword Intents, at two extremes, yet mutually inclusive. Each served as a whetstone for the other. The longer they were polished against one another, the greater their power naturally became!

"Whenever I encountered injustice, the impulse to use All Slash would stir."

"And so I would have to use Non-Killing to suppress it... In this way, Non-Killing grew stronger, and All Slash was also tempered and accumulated power."

A good sword's edge is born from grinding.

With a Sword Intent forged in such a manner, who in the world could compare? Eighty percent of Demon-Vanquishing Perfected's reputation as the world's number one Sword Cultivator came from this!

However, the way of the world has always been that what is borrowed must be returned.

The Non-Killing Sword Intent was taken from another and nurtured by Demon-Vanquishing Perfected for so long. It was like a fully-grown leek; how could no one come to harvest it?

Thinking of this, Lü Yang already had a guess. "That mortal... was from the Pure Land?"

"Correct."

Demon-Vanquishing Perfected nodded. "To be precise, he was a Buddha's Son. A Buddha's Son with no Dharma Appearance, born and sent down specifically for me."

After speaking, he opened his Storage Bag and took out the head of the Pure View Buddhist Nun. "As for her, when she brought disaster to the South and died by my sword, it's possible her actions were intentional. It was the one from the Pure Land wanting to test my quality, to see if I had met his standards."

"Amitabha."

In Demon-Vanquishing Perfected's hand, the Pure View Buddhist Nun's face was solemn as she chanted a Buddha's Name. "This nun said long ago that Benefactor has an enlightened heart. It is only fitting that you enter our Pure Land."

"This..."

Lü Yang's brows furrowed. "Grandmaster... is he just going to stand by and watch this happen?"

Where is the Sword Pavilion's Grandmaster? Save him! This is about the Fruit of Sword Dao, hurry up and come save him!

'Young friend, you are attached to appearances.'

Seeing this, the Pure View Buddhist Nun smiled faintly. "Could it be that young friend thinks we are thieves, snatching food from the tiger's mouth and greatly offending the Sword Pavilion and its Sword Master?"

Aren't you?

"Quite the opposite!"

The Pure View Buddhist Nun explained, "Young friend, think about it. Without Non-Killing, how could Benefactor Dangmo's All Slash have been honed to its current level?"

"The Bhagavat's actions have always been mutually beneficial."

"The Fruit of Sword Dao is primarily concerned with slaughter and should be based on All Slash. Non-Killing, however, came from the Bhagavat. It is an external force, nothing more than an impurity to the Fruit."

"On this trip to our Pure Land, the Benefactor will surely offer his body to his sword. Of the two Sword Intents, our Pure Land will not take a single shred of the Fruit of Sword Dao proven by All Slash. We will only reclaim the Non-Killing that was gifted in the past. Furthermore, we will reforge Benefactor Dangmo's Golden Body, making him a Dharma-Protector Arhat of the Pure Land, with the prospect of attaining the fruit of a Bodhisattva in the future."

"No one gets hurt."

"In this way, the Sword Pavilion gains a tangible benefit, our Pure Land also reaps immense rewards, and Benefactor Dangmo can attain a fruit of cultivation, enjoying eternal bliss and freedom from now on."

"Isn't this a happy ending for everyone?"

The joyous laughter echoed across the Great Dragon River, but it only sent a chill deep into Lü Yang's heart.

'What happy ending for everyone... This is clearly a pre-arranged claim on Demon-Vanquishing Perfected's entire existence, both before and after death! They're devouring him whole, not even leaving a single crumb behind!'

He had to admit, every time he thought he had seen the absolute bottom of this broken place, the Great Powers here would always show him with their actions.

They had no bottom line!

"BOOM!"

Suddenly, a great roar sounded from beyond the Great Dragon River. Only then did Lü Yang realize that Demon-Vanquishing Perfected had led him all the way into the territory of the West.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but Buddha Light.

"Amitabha."

On the bank, an old monk stood with a smile, his hands pressed together. Behind him followed a bustling crowd of mortals, every face filled with piety.

"THUD!"

The next second, the crowd of monks bowed their heads, performing a grand salutation as they proclaimed:

"We respectfully welcome the Weituo Celestial Demon-Vanquishing Arhat, who has passed through immeasurable tribulations and awakened the wisdom of his past lives, to now return to the Glazed World."

"Good!"

"Good!"