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puff--!
Yi Huawei's body jolted violently, a trickle of pale golden blood spilling from the corner of his mouth! His face instantly turned ashen, but his eyes remained cold and calm, even carrying a hint of frenzied focus! He forcibly steadied himself and fully activated the Longevity Technique! The purplish-gold true essence surged and roared at an unprecedented speed, constructing multiple defensive lines within his broad and resilient meridians, desperately resisting the impact of the violent alien energy!

His divine sense, like the most precise instrument, disregarded the excruciating pain that could tear the soul apart and forcibly invaded the raging energy core of the He Shi Bi! He sensed the complex and despair-inducing energy structure—the vast and powerful earth vein dragon energy, the complex and resilient faith and willpower of the people, the supreme indifference of the Heavenly Dao imprint... Various attributes intertwined and formed a near-perfect natural defense system.

The mark of Heaven's Way...repulsion...shared origin...

Enduring the excruciating pain of torn meridians and trembling soul, Yi Huawei grasped the most crucial connection. The fragments of the Heavenly Dao imprint contained within the He Shi Bi jade were essentially of the same origin as the repulsive force he was enduring! If he could induce, or even mimic, a single fluctuation of this imprint…

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes! Instead of trying to completely resist the violent torrent of energy, he concentrated a wisp of pure purple-gold true essence and, mimicking the faint fluctuation of the Heavenly Dao mark that he had just captured inside the He Shi Bi jade, carefully probed towards the core of the violent energy!

This is tantamount to trying to stir up the scales of a deep-sea monster with a single hair in a raging storm!

boom--!
The light of the He Shi Bi jade surged once more! The violent energy surge suddenly intensified several times! Yi Huawei's body trembled violently, and beneath his newly formed jade-colored skin, his blood vessels bulged like writhing dragons, displaying an ominous purplish-gold hue! His bones emitted a grinding sound as they could no longer bear the weight! The futon beneath him silently turned to dust, and the ground around him cracked inch by inch!

However, just as this devastating impact reached its peak, a miracle occurred!
That wisp of purple-gold true essence, simulating the fluctuations of the Heavenly Dao imprint, was like ice water thrown into boiling oil, or a precise key, briefly opening up an imperceptible crack in the raging torrent of energy! Following this crack, an incomparably pure power, seemingly condensing the most primordial "spirituality" of heaven and earth, was carefully guided out by Yi Huawei's purple-gold true essence!

This power is extremely weak, less than one ten-millionth of the total amount contained in the He Shi Bi, but it is the most core and purest "spiritual source" in the entire He Shi Bi energy system! As soon as it was drawn out, it seemed to have found its home and actively merged into Yi Huawei's purple-gold true essence!
hum...

The circulation of the Longevity Mantra within Yi Huawei's body suddenly accelerated! That wisp of pure "spiritual essence" acted like the most efficient catalyst, instantly igniting his dormant true essence! A purple-gold light emanated from his body, enveloping him entirely! The charred crack in his palm healed and disappeared at a visible speed! The violent energy surging into his body seemed to be temporarily soothed and confused by this wisp of "spiritual essence," its impact suddenly weakening by several tens of percent!

More importantly, he clearly felt that the omnipresent, shackle-like force of Heaven's repulsion on his soul had, in that instant, shown a brief... loosening! It was as if the will in the darkness, because of the integration of this wisp of "spiritual origin," had briefly mistaken him for part of the "destiny" of this world!

Yi Huawei's eyes gleamed! Now!

He no longer coveted that bit of "spiritual essence" and decisively severed his connection with the core of the He Shi Bi jade! The hand covering the jade seal was suddenly withdrawn!
The dazzling white light that erupted from the He Shi Bi jade quickly receded like a tide, returning to its warm and restrained appearance. However, the flowing, luminous white luster seemed to have dimmed by an extremely subtle amount.

The side hall fell into darkness again, with only the faint purple-gold light around Yi Huawei not yet completely subsided.

He slowly stood up, and the strange phenomena on his body quickly disappeared. His face was still pale, but his eyes were deeper than before, as if they contained a swirling galaxy. Yi Huawei looked down at his palm; the charred crack had vanished without a trace, and his skin was smooth and warm like jade. He clearly felt that although his body was still weak and his meridians were slightly damaged, the most crucial gains had been achieved—a temporary paralysis of the Heavenly Dao's rejection, and a preliminary analysis of the He Shi Bi's energy structure (especially the Heavenly Dao imprint part)!

Yi Huawei's gaze then fell back to the sandalwood box on the ground. He didn't bend down to pick it up, but simply waved his hand casually. The box seemed to be lifted by an invisible hand, hovering steadily in front of him. The lid slid open silently, revealing a scroll inside that was ancient in color, neither silk nor paper, and made of a strange material. It was none other than the Jingzhai's supreme sacred text—"The Compassionate Sword Manual".

A wisp of purplish-gold true essence emerged from the fingertip, like the most nimble tentacles, gently untying the scroll's bindings. The scroll slowly unfurled, revealing ancient characters and diagrams densely packed upon it, imbued with strange spiritual imprints and martial arts essence.

In Yi Huawei's eyes, the purple-gold runes flowed once more. His "seeing" was not ordinary reading, but rather using the divine sense of the "Longevity Manual" that could see into the very source to directly invade the core of the martial arts essence contained within the scroll itself!
In an instant, a complex atmosphere of coldness, aloofness, compassion, and resolute determination swept over me, like a cold spring under the moon or a fierce wind from the heavens. This was the mark etched by the lifelong spirit and will of the successive masters of the Jingzhai Hall and the powerful practitioners who had cultivated the sword manual to the level of "spiritual resonance" or even "sword heart enlightenment." It was the essence of the "Compassionate Voyage Sword Manual," enough to make any martial arts grandmaster's mind sway, become obsessed and fall into depravity, or achieve sudden enlightenment and sublimation.

However, this torrent of spirit, powerful enough to shake even the most powerful martial artists in this world, crashed into Yi Huawei's vast and icy divine consciousness, which was as deep as an abyss, yet it failed to even stir a ripple.

Extremely yin and gentle, entering the Dao through emotion, controlling the sword with the heart... the intention is acceptable, but the scope is small.

Yi Huawei's thoughts coldly dissected his actions, entrusting his emotions and will to external objects, using extreme emotions (compassion, resoluteness) as fuel to drive his mental interference with reality, touching upon a trace of the application of mental power... Unfortunately, it was crude and primitive, inefficient, and unstable, easily backfired by emotions. The so-called 'sword heart clarity' was merely a limited predictive ability generated after a high degree of mental concentration, far from true 'insight'.

His divine sense, as precise as a scalpel, peeled away the spiritual imprints contained within the sword manual's textual diagrams, analyzing their operational principles, energy (spiritual power) conversion paths, and methods of drawing upon the primordial energy of heaven and earth. Those realms of "sword heart" and "emptiness and clarity" that Jingzhai regarded as supreme mysteries requiring devout comprehension were swiftly dismantled in his eyes into cold energy models and spiritual fluctuation diagrams.

"The structure of mental imprints... is quite interesting."

Yi Huawei captured the unique frequency and resonance of the spiritual imprints within the scroll's material. He used a special carrier to solidify the spiritual information, forming a medium for transmission. Although the method was primitive, the principles of 'spiritual resonance' and 'information solidification' it contained were a feasible means of 'knowledge transmission' under the rules of this world, far more efficient than oral transmission.

His goal was not to learn the martial arts techniques of the sword manual—what he needed was to understand the "rule expression" of the top martial arts lineages in this world, especially the application of the spiritual level. This would help him to understand more deeply the interaction between "spirit" and "matter," "will" and "rules" in this world, accumulating data for more skillfully avoiding or utilizing the rejection of the Heavenly Dao in the future.

In a short time, he had completely analyzed the martial arts essence and spiritual realm accumulated in the Cihang Sword Manual over thousands of years, just like a database that had been thoroughly reviewed.

Yi Huawei withdrew the purple-gold true essence from his fingertips. The scroll, now without support, fell to the ground along with the open sandalwood box.

He glanced one last time at the jade box containing the He Shi Bi jade, but didn't touch it again. His main objective had been achieved; the jade seal was of little use to him for the time being. Forcibly touching it would only invite a more severe backlash, a loss that outweighed the gain. Perhaps it would be more interesting to leave the conflicts of this world as "fuel" or "fuse."

He stopped looking at the jade box on the ground and turned his gaze to the leaden sky outside the door. There, deep in the clouds, the muffled thunder rumbled again, but it seemed... a little more hesitant and sluggish than before, as if it were confirming something.

It's time to leave.

Yi Huawei stepped across the broken threshold, his figure disappearing into the biting wind and snow atop Emperor Peak.

Behind him, the side hall was deathly silent, with only two jade boxes, each about a foot square, lying quietly on the cold ground, emitting a warm yet lonely glow.

...............

News of the Battle of Dita Peak spread like snowflakes carried by the mountain wind, silently yet infiltrating this era of constant warfare.

Without any noisy announcement or fanfare, it transformed into a heavy boulder in a very short time, crashing into the hearts of all those who cared.

The mountain gate of Dita Peak, the gateway symbolizing a sacred Buddhist and Taoist site and guiding the world towards the right path, closed silently after that day. There was no explanation, no announcement, only an almost frozen silence enveloping the entire mountain.

The once endless stream of pilgrims and reverent visitors were now kept outside the mountain gate by an invisible barrier. The small town at the foot of the mountain, with its shops and homes dependent on the temple, also felt this unusual oppression. People whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with surprise and unease. That tightly closed door seemed to herald a dramatic change in an era, the end of a myth.

Fan Qinghui, the spiritual leader of the righteous path in the martial arts world, vanished as if into the depths of swirling clouds, leaving no trace. The silence of Jingzhai was more impactful than any declaration.

In the Zhongnan Mountains, that secluded thatched hut shrouded in mist and clouds, the carefree figure of that wandering soul is nowhere to be found. Well-informed individuals have learned through clandestine channels that the "Recluse" Ning Daoqi did indeed leave Zhongnan, his whereabouts pointing towards Emperor's Peak. However, no one has witnessed his return. Then, from the depths of Zhongnan Mountains, a long, suppressed cough echoed, lingering for days. A thick, almost tangible medicinal scent began to permeate the area around the thatched hut, persisting for a long time.

No one witnessed the battle firsthand, but the news of the "Sanren's" serious injury, like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, stirred up a tidal wave within the elite martial arts circle. Ning Daoqi, the undisputed pillar of the Central Plains martial arts world, the number one figure in the Daoist sect, had actually been defeated? Defeated by an unknown "nameless" person? The shock this news brought far exceeded the seclusion of Jingzhai. It completely overturned people's understanding of the pinnacle of power.

In a very short time, the name "Nameless" replaced all the noisy battle reports, the power struggles among clans, and the strange movements of the demonic sects, becoming the most coveted and terrifying name in the entire world, especially in the martial arts world and the centers of power. Chang'an.

Late at night, in a secret chamber of the Qin Prince's mansion.

On the table before Li Shimin lay several secret reports, each with different handwriting, origin, and startling content. His handsome face lacked its usual composure; his brows were furrowed, and his fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, producing a dull thud. The candlelight cast his somber shadow on the wall, flickering uncertainly. He repeatedly pondered the fragments in the reports: "...Master Fanzhai achieved nothing...Master Ning retreated severely wounded...His self-proclaimed nameless...He requested to see the He Shi Bi jade and the *Cihang Sword Manual*..."

Every word weighed heavily. He abruptly looked up at Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling, who stood solemnly to his side: "Is this person friend or foe? What are his ambitions? We must investigate thoroughly! Find him at all costs!"

Luoyang.

Dugu Feng listened to his confidant's report with a gloomy face. He toyed with a cold, fine iron finger sheath in his hand, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

"The Jingzhai Temple is closed... Elder Ning is seriously injured..."

He repeated in a low voice, his finger cot tapping against the sandalwood armrest, making a crisp sound: "Nameless? What arrogance! This person dares to provoke Jingzhai and injure Ning Daoqi; he is no good. His plot to seize the He Shi Bi... could it be that he also wants to covet this divine artifact?"

A ruthless and calculating glint flashed in Dugu Feng's eyes: "Send the order: within Luoyang City, maintain a relaxed exterior but a tight interior. Thoroughly investigate all unfamiliar faces, especially those traveling alone or with concealed auras. Report any suspicious individuals immediately, but do not alert them! This person is a double-edged sword; if used well, he might pave a bloody path for my Dugu clan!" Outside the window, the lights of Luoyang City still shone brightly, yet an invisible gloom seemed to hang over them.

Wagangzhai, a gathering place for refugees: in the simple shacks, news spread like wildfire.

"Have you heard? Cihang Jingzhai is being blocked off! This place, which is like a paradise, has its gates locked!"

"That's not all! Even Immortal Ning was beaten to the point of vomiting blood!"

"Really? Who's that amazing?"

"I don't know what it's called, everyone just calls it 'Nameless'!"

"Nameless? Hey! That's a great name! Forget gods and emperors, if you don't like someone, just beat them up! That's what a real hero is!"

Around the campfire, the eyes of the ragged men gleamed with excitement and a twisted sense of pleasure. In chaotic times, any force that overturns the old order or challenges authority can resonate with these oppressed people.

A burly man took a swig of cheap liquor, wiped his mouth, and said, "If only this 'Nameless' could come to our Wagang! Then who would dare to look down on us peasants!"

A more mature-looking man nearby said worriedly, "What I'm afraid of is that an even more ruthless devil has arrived..."

A gust of cold wind blew by, stirring up ashes, and the flames flickered violently a few times.

The Yin Gui Sect, a secret stronghold.

Inside a luxurious, warm pavilion, incense burners emitted wisps of smoke. Bian Bufeng listened to his subordinates' secret report, his initially nonchalant gaze gradually turning serious. In the end, he accidentally crushed a jade cup he was playing with in his palm, the warm wine splashing onto his magnificent robe sleeves.

"That bitch Fan Qinghui got what she deserved? And Old Man Ning is seriously injured?"

His face first showed disbelief and astonishment, then transformed into a complex expression of mixed ecstasy and deep fear: "Good! What a nameless one! Hahaha! Jingzhai has finally met its match!"

He laughed wildly a few times, but there was little joy in his laughter; instead, there was a hint of barely perceptible fear.

"Investigate! Use all your hidden contacts and find out everything about this 'Nameless'! He wants the He Shi Bi jade and the Sword Manual? Interesting... very interesting! This quagmire has finally been thoroughly stirred up! Tell the sect leader, our opportunity... may really have arrived!"

Bian Bufeng's eyes gleamed with a venomous light as he gazed out the window at the deep night. Inside the warm pavilion, the serving disciples of the Demonic Sect were utterly silent, even their breathing was barely audible. In a corner, before a ferocious statue of Laozi, one of the three incense sticks in the incense burner quietly broke off, its ashes falling silently onto the offering table.

In the grassroots and among the common people, where accurate information was scarce, the name "Nameless" was quickly shrouded in countless layers of mystery and the bizarre.

Some say that the nameless one is twelve feet tall, with a blue face and fangs, and is a demon god who crawled out of the underworld, capable of draining a person's soul and inner strength with a single breath.

Evidence? Aren't those local thugs and bandits whose internal energy was drained the best proof?

Some say he is an old monster who has been in seclusion for hundreds of years since the previous dynasty, having cultivated some kind of evil demonic art. Now that his divine power has reached its peak, he wants to emerge from seclusion to wreak havoc on the world and take revenge on humanity. Otherwise, how can his unfathomable cultivation be explained?
Even more bizarrely, some claimed with absolute certainty that they had seen him at the Yellow River ferry crossing, saying that he walked on the waves, the water churning and boiling beneath his feet, his scales and armor appearing and disappearing, that he was a reincarnation of a true dragon, sent to end the chaos and strife of this world. This claim surprisingly found considerable traction among the refugees who had suffered greatly from the ravages of war.

In teahouses and taverns, storytellers embellished the tale: "It is said that the Nameless One, facing the supreme sword intent of Master Fanzhai, merely snorted coldly! In an instant, the wind and clouds on Emperor's Peak changed color, and the sun and moon lost their light! He raised his hand and pointed, and the space itself distorted where his finger passed! True Person Ning used all his strength to unleash the 'Eight Scattered Hands,' but was completely swallowed by a spinning purple vortex in the Nameless One's palm, vomiting three liters of blood, his Dao foundation damaged!"

The audience was stunned, gasping in astonishment.

Rumors even circulated in the shadows, saying that "Nameless" was the ultimate weapon secretly cultivated by the Demonic Sect, the successor of the Holy Monarch Xiang Yutian, and that his emergence was to destroy Jingzhai and the Daoist sect in one fell swoop and unify the Demonic Path.

The taverns in Chang'an were still noisy, but the conversations among the wandering swordsmen in the corners had changed from which girl was pretty and which gang had seized territory to the mysterious "Nameless".
In the deep courtyards of Luoyang, the heads of powerful families held secret discussions under the lamp. In addition to vying for power and profit, they were also wary of and calculating against unpredictable forces.

News from the Li villages of Lingnan and the golden yurts of the grasslands beyond the Great Wall, though delayed, will eventually arrive, causing waves of commotion filled with fear and longing.

The two words "Nameless" are like a meteorite thrown into stagnant water, stirring not ripples, but towering waves. They shook the imperial court, stirred up the martial world, and cast a huge, indescribable shadow or ambition in the hearts of countless people.

Everyone is searching for him, speculating about him, fearing him, or... desiring to exploit him. Meanwhile, the one at the center of this vortex is walking steadily along an unnamed mountain path, as if the tumultuous waves he has stirred up are nothing more than a gentle breeze brushing against his clothes.

(End of this chapter)