manynovel Chapter 1495 Jian Chen's Journey in the Martial World
Chapter 1495 Jian Chen's Journey in the Martial World
Liu Bai's breakthrough to the first level of Immortal Realm can be said to be a natural progression.
This also made Qin Fan start to think that if there were any martial artists in the Mountain and Sea Realm who had reached the bottleneck of the Heavenly Evolution Realm, they could sneak into this realm to try to break through.
After his second test with Haotian, he realized that the other party was actually quite insecure when facing him.
If it were the orthodox Heavenly Dao, such a compromise might exist, but if it judged itself as a threat, it would be more likely to choose mutual destruction. However, in this Haotian world, Haotian, who clearly holds the power of the Heavenly Dao, would never make such a choice unless he was truly forced into a corner.
Of course, this does not mean that Qin Fan can do whatever he wants.
If you go too far, you'll also become one of the first targets to be eliminated.
He alone could not withstand the combined forces of Confucius, Vairocana Buddha, and Haotian.
While the Master and the Great Sun Tathagata have a tendency to win him over, they will also remain vigilant, thus creating a more delicate balance of power in the Haotian world.
However, he has already taken the first bite of the benefit.
Liu Bai, who has just broken through to the Immortal Realm, is a prime example.
"How's it going?"
Qin Fan did not put away the small ten thousand that had transformed into the Heavenly Dao Imperial Seal. Haotian Liu's self-liberation just now made him guess some things, but he could not prevent the other party from using another body to revive.
Of course, in reality, Shan Hailiu was not exactly his subordinate.
But as the player who brought him into the Haotian World, he could not tolerate the pawn who had just tasted the first bite of the cake betraying him.
Faced with Qin Fan's unbridled release of his overwhelming aura, Liu Bai, who was still somewhat weak after completing his breakthrough, began to sweat.
"Look up at me and tell me how you are doing."
Qin Fan's tone became increasingly cold, and Liu Bai, who thought that the gap between him and his opponent had narrowed due to his successful breakthrough to the Immortal Realm, had his newly risen sense of excitement immediately crushed.
"Lord Ghost Lord, I feel very good. He did not cause too much memory erosion on me. Of course, I also inherited everything from him, including knowing why he chose to die willingly."
"Why?"
The little Wan floating in front of Qin Fan had turned back into a ball, and it curled up on Qin Fan's shoulder again, as if it had fallen asleep again.
Seeing this, Liu Bai secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then answered honestly.
"His sword intent was divine, and he had already touched the essence of the rules of time. Moreover, he could see the future direction in the distant future through the extension of his will. The ending of this world brought him only deep despair, until the appearance of the Ghost Lord, which turned those branching paths into mist."
During this period, he had already tried to change the future ending 739 times using his abilities.
But every time, it was a failure.
"fail?"
What constitutes failure? From Liu Bai's perspective, the first priority is to protect the location of his Sword Pavilion, followed by the entire human race. His stance is similar to that of the Master, but not necessarily entirely the same.
Because this world is a gathering place for both the winds of change and the night, the friction between the various forces within it is in a state of restraint yet increasingly uncontrollable turmoil.
In other words, regardless of which of the three strongest beings in the Haotian World—the Master, the Great Sun Tathagata, and Haotian—wins the final victory, it is unlikely that the Southern Jin Sword Pavilion will retain its current independence.
If the Master wins, the Tang Dynasty will surely unify the world. Under the threat of the Tang Dynasty's iron hooves, Jiange will only have two choices: to submit or to perish.
Given Liu Bai's talent and potential, he might still be at his peak after the Master wins, in which case he could achieve a barely acceptable outcome. However, if the Master wins a Pyrrhic victory, Liu Bai will become a major threat that needs to be taken seriously.
This is already the best possible future development in the Haotian World.
Because whether it is the Great Sun Tathagata or Haotian who becomes the final victor, this world will either become an unparalleled Buddhist dynasty that eradicates its own consciousness and spreads Buddhist beliefs, or it will become a delicious feast that Haotian puts on the table.
As Liu Bai recounted the events, Qin Fan's suspicions were confirmed.
"What do you think?"
"Naturally, we will cooperate with Lord Ghost Lord to merge the Haotian World into the Mountain and Sea Realm."
Liu Bai spoke these words sincerely, because there were examples in the Mountain and Sea Realm before him. The Sword Pavilion, which Haotian Liu had always kept in mind, could at worst be integrated into the Mountain and Sea Alliance as a force.
Moreover, with its own connections, it can also become a sacred place for swordsmanship in the Great Xuan Dynasty.
Qin Fan's previous handling of those forces had already put him at ease.
Therefore, it will not appear in the future that Haotian Liu saw, nor will it lead to an even worse outcome.
Of course, this is all contingent on Qin Fan's Shan Hai Realm achieving final victory in this confrontation.
Qin Fan was quite satisfied with the other party's answer.
Whether Liu Bai was deceiving or fooling him, he could still tell under his pressure. As for the possibility that the other party might be replaced by Haotian Liu, as long as the other party continued to act according to his orders.
He didn't really care whether Liu Bai was Haotian Liu or Shanhai Liu.
Because eventually the two worlds will merge into one.
"First, I need to stabilize my own cultivation level. Also, the Southern Jin Sword Pavilion is a valuable asset; I should gather its members back as soon as possible."
After giving these instructions, Qin Fan had already left.
He wouldn't focus on one thing. As a chess player, one must have the composure to not easily make a move. If Liu Bai hadn't broken through to the Immortal Realm and given him such a big surprise, he wouldn't have had a second probing exchange with Haotian so early.
After Qin Fan left, Liu Bai began to systematically send out several sword letters, each containing his own unique Great River Sword Intent. This was a method of contact and communication with the higher-ups in the Pavilion that he had learned from Haotian Liu's memories.
After directly arranging for the high-ranking officials to return and continue guarding the Sword Pavilion as before, Liu Bai prepared to go into seclusion for a period of time.
He had not yet fully digested the essence of Haotian Liu, and moreover, due to the fusion with Haotian Liu, he vaguely felt that his Destiny Body seemed to have also advanced.
The other person's unintentional self-sacrifice seemed to break through a death trap that they were originally destined to go through.
This led him to wonder if this was also one of Haotian Liu's goals.
Just as he was preparing to go into seclusion, an uninvited guest arrived at Sword Pavilion before the other disciples and high-ranking members who had not yet returned.
"Ke Haoran, Li Manman".
Faced with the former, Liu Bai had an urge to draw his sword, but the pressure Qin Fan had put on him earlier had made him more sober, realizing that he was probably the weakest of the first level of Immortal Realm.
This also made him suppress the urge to draw his sword.
Ke Haoran, also a swordsman, was actually somewhat eager to make a move. However, when he noticed that the fighting spirit that his opponent had just unleashed suddenly began to recede rapidly, he could only think it was boring and leave the other matters to his junior disciple.
"Greetings, Pavilion Master Liu."
As the master's first disciple, Li Manman is quite strong, possessing the mid-stage of the Heavenly Evolution realm, which is even better than Liu Bai, who has just arrived in this world.
But who could have imagined that just a few hours later, the other party would break through to the Immortal Realm, which Li Manman had also longed for.
That's how different individual opportunities can be.
Before bringing his hot-tempered junior uncle to visit, he had already learned the whole story from the Master, as well as the true purpose of contacting the new Willow Pavilion Master who needed to completely overturn his past understanding.
"What brings you two from the academy to my Sword Pavilion?"
Liu Bai was also observing Li Manman. After confirming that the person with lower strength was the one who held the power of speech, he couldn't help but pay more attention to her.
The other person was wearing an old cotton robe that seemed too thick for spring, and a pair of worn-out straw sandals. Both the old cotton robe and the worn-out straw sandals were covered in dust, as if they hadn't been washed for many years, but for some reason, the person looked unusually clean.
From body to mind, utterly clean.
This also confirmed Liu Bai's belief that the other party's martial arts foundation was extremely solid; otherwise, they wouldn't have such a strong personal style.
Before Qin Fan gave any instructions, he told them that they should act freely in case of emergencies, and the ultimate goal was to ensure that the entire Haotian World could be successfully integrated into the Shanhai Realm.
As long as these pawns, assigned to various factions, can take actions that benefit the ultimate goal, they still possess a high degree of autonomy.
"I'm just here to convey my master's greetings. Congratulations to Pavilion Master Liu on breaking through to the Immortal Realm."
Then Li slowly took out a brocade box. When Liu Bai gestured for him to open it now, the other party opened it on his own initiative. Inside was a Xuanhuang gemstone that had accumulated a massive amount of human merit.
Liu Bai used to cultivate the sword of mortals. The merit energy in this gem can help him to further improve his sword intent. After absorbing it all, he can at least get rid of the title of the weakest level of immortality.
But at this moment, in Liu Bai's eyes, this gemstone was more like a poison coated in honey.
Haotian Liu only saw the benefits brought by human merit, while Shanhai Liu had experience in another world, especially since his superior was an anomaly who gave up the throne in order to break free from the shackles of human merit.
This made him very clear that humanitarian merit is a double-edged sword.
It can greatly benefit cultivation, but it can also cause cultivators to form a deeper bond with the human race of the world that produces human merit due to absorbing too much merit energy.
This is like a relationship between rights and obligations.
If you enjoy rights, you must fulfill your obligations; otherwise, one day you will be devoured and fall from the sky to the dust.
The backlash from these acts of humane merit is even more pronounced; it can directly taint one's sword intent, potentially stripping one of the courage to even draw their sword.
This made Liu Bai look at Li Manman with a meaningful gaze.
Perhaps from the other party's perspective, they don't see any disadvantages to Liu Bai from the perspective of the academy, since they should be firmly on the side of the human race.
Now, the Tang Dynasty represents the great power of the human race.
Then there's no choice.
Come and be one of us!
"Thank you for your gift, Master." Liu Bai accepted the brocade box, intending to hand it over to Qin Fan later to exchange it for the corresponding Ghost Market contribution points.
Of course, if this thing were given to Yu Hengyuan, it might be of greater help. After all, that evil dragon doesn't care which world this human merit comes from. Its unique destiny and its increasingly monstrous exclusive Dharma form completely exempt it from the backlash of human merit.
The main point is that I accept the rights, but I won't care about any obligations.
It's a pity that Yu Hengyuan is a complete pauper, and the current Great Xuan Dynasty doesn't have the ability to support an Immortal Realm expert.
After seeing Liu Bai accept the gift, Li Manman showed a satisfied expression. After exchanging pleasantries, when the higher-ups of the Sword Pavilion had returned one after another, she and Ke Haoran, who had been merely decorative throughout, left first.
Before going into seclusion, Liu Bai first reported to Qin Fan about the academy.
After casually praising the other party's performance, Qin Fan agreed to exchange the gem for contribution points in the Ghost Market.
Qin Fan didn't take the Master's little tricks too seriously. This Master mainly used open schemes and gave benefits in a clear and transparent manner. If you could see through it, then you were capable. If you couldn't see through it, you wouldn't lose too much.
As a member of the Haotian World, isn't this just the right thing to do from the perspective of the entire human race?
As their relationship gradually grew closer, and with Liu Bai acting as a bridge, they had reached some tacit understanding and cooperation with Qin Fan.
As for Vairocana Buddha, he made no move, perhaps still guarding against any destructive actions that the Master might take after learning of the Great Calamity.
As for Haotian's words...
It's estimated that He'll prioritize causing trouble for the other two parties, since He can't find a way to control Qin Fan for the time being. But as a glutton, He can't just wait for food to be delivered to him, so He'll always deliberately create some opportunities in the meantime.
At this moment, Feng Mo and Qin Fan have returned to Tianmen.
The pieces have all been deployed; now it's time to advance the plot.
"Feng, go back again and bring the player team that passed the test."
As Feng Mo returned to the Mountain and Sea Realm, Qin Fan, feeling idle, began to examine the distribution of power in the entire world, and soon his gaze fell upon a particular location.
Zhonghua Pavilion.
As someone who was always weakened in the first two parts of the Storm Riders series, but managed to squeeze into the top ten strongest characters when he unleashed his full power in the third part, Qin Fan should pay some attention to him.
At this moment, he was instructing his disciple, Jian Chen, on something.
“Just now I sensed the sword intent of the Northern Sword Saint in Wushuang City. His Holy Spirit Sword Technique has probably improved again. He will probably come to challenge me next. Chen’er, I need you to go in my place.”
Jian Chen showed no surprise at being asked to fight Dugu Jian. As one of the two highlights of his original storyline, namely fighting the Sword Saint outside the city and battling Chu Chu in the dilapidated temple, Jian Chen was now extremely confident.
At the same time, this will also be his first battle in the martial arts world. In the eyes of a young man, there is a kind of spiritedness that Qin Fan misses.
"Yes, master!"
Jian Chen walked out of the Zhonghua Pavilion with his head held high and chest out. Wuming, who had been silently playing the erhu inside, suddenly felt a strange chill. (End of Chapter)