The memories of all humanity are awakening, except for mine.

Jiang Chuan's hands were covered in blood, and he staggered back three steps, each step leaving deep footprints on the slippery ground.

This was only because he had used the "Mysterious Jade Palm" to protect his hands beforehand; otherwise, the recoil force would have broken his hand bones inch by inch, twisting and deforming them.

It was a situation of overwhelming force!

"boom--"

The sixty-four spirit swords collided with the sword energy clones of Wuyi Lane in mid-air, unleashing a deafening roar.

The gust of air rolled and shook the autumn rain within a radius of ten feet into mist.

Jiang Chuan's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and his right hand trembled slightly as he made a sword gesture.

He hadn't expected Yin Wending's sword energy clones to be so powerful; each one was like a tangible flying sword, forcefully suppressing his Heavenly Profound Sword Formation.

With a crisp "crack", a spirit sword that had split off from the Ink Jade Sword was severed by the sword energy of Black Robe Alley, turning into specks of spiritual light and dissipating.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third weapons shattered one after another.

"not good!"

Jiang Chuan's pupils contracted sharply as he felt the painful tremor emanating from the black jade sword.

The flying sword that had been with him for many years had reached its limit, and if he continued to fight, it might shatter.

"Hahaha!"

Yin Wending laughed loudly, and his right hand changed the sword gesture.

"Jiang Chuan, your sword formation is nothing special!"

Before the words were finished, the sword energy in Wuyi Lane suddenly accelerated, tearing through the rain curtain and shattering the remaining spirit swords one by one.

Jiang Chuan groaned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"receive!"

He made a quick decision and pressed down with his left hand in a mudra.

The black jade sword let out a mournful cry, flew back from the air, and landed in his palm with its blade covered in fine cracks.

The moment the sword formation dissipated, countless broken swords rained down, clattering and clattering into the muddy ground between the two.

Yin Wending recalled Wuyi Lane, the tip of his sword pointing diagonally at the ground. Rainwater flowed down the black blade, forming a small puddle on the ground.

"What, you're giving up already?"

Yin Wending's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"Or do you have no sword left to use?"

Jiang Chuan slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and inserted the damaged black jade sword into the ground beside him.

He gripped his natal flying sword, Wufeng, tightly in his right hand. The sword was simple and unadorned, yet it faintly shimmered with a blue light.

“Yin Wen Ding”.

Jiang Chuan sneered.

"I have already reached the realm of sword intent, why do you ask a question you already know the answer to?"

"Sword intent?"

Yin Wending looked surprised, then burst into laughter.

"Interesting! You're the first person with the cultivation level of the third realm to survive a single sword strike from me."

Yu Youwei, who was watching from the sidelines, clenched her sleeves so tightly that her nails almost dug into her palms.

She could see that Jiang Chuan was at a disadvantage, but what alarmed her even more was Yin Wending's strength—that sword strike just now...
He clearly hasn't given it his all yet.

"We must wait until he makes a mistake."

Yu Youwei pondered to herself, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the two. Given Yin Wending's current state, making a rash move would only backfire.

The rain intensified, and large raindrops pounded against the sword, making a crisp sound.

Yin Wending suddenly moved, his figure sweeping through the rain, leaving a dark arc in the silhouette of Wuyi Lane.
They went straight for the throat of Jiangchuan.

"Well done!"

Jiang Chuan advanced instead of retreating, unleashing a horizontal slash with his bladeless sword.

The two swords clashed, sparks flew, and the force of the impact shook the surrounding rain into a mist.

Yin Wending's sword stance changed abruptly, and from Wuyi Lane, it stabbed at Jiang Chuan's ribs from an unpredictable angle.

Jiang Chuan sidestepped, simultaneously drawing a circle with his sword to clear the way through Wuyi Lane.

"Dang Dang Dang——"

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged more than ten blows, their sword shadows overlapping, cutting the falling raindrops into even smaller droplets.

Although Jiang Chuan was on the defensive, every sword strike was incredibly precise, neutralizing Yin Wending's deadly moves one by one.

"interesting."

Yin Wending suddenly sheathed his sword and retreated, his eyes filled with admiration.

"Your swordsmanship fundamentals are very solid, what a pity."

Before he finished speaking, Wuyi Lane suddenly split into three, attacking Jiangchuan from three different directions.

This turn of events came suddenly, and Jiang Chuan could only parry two of them with his sword in haste. The third...
The sword energy headed straight for his heart.

At the critical moment, Jiang Chuan made a hand seal with his left hand, and the black jade sword stuck in the ground suddenly flew up and blocked his chest.

With a "clang," the black jade sword was struck by the sword energy, and the cracks on the sword blade widened, almost breaking it.

"Black Jade!"

Jiang Chuan caught the flying sword with a heavy heart, only to find that the sword spirit was severely damaged.

He gritted his teeth and sheathed the black jade sword, his eyes burning with rage.

Upon seeing this, Yin Wending's smile deepened.

"What, feeling sorry for it? The path of sword cultivators requires the awareness to abandon the sword."

"Shut up!"

Jiang Chuan roared, and the bladeless sword shone brightly with azure light.

He held nothing back, unleashing the sword intent that had been accumulating within him for so long, and the pressure of the third level of the sword realm swept out.

Yin Wending raised an eyebrow.

"Finally getting serious?"

Just as the two were about to clash, a muffled clap of thunder suddenly sounded in the sky.

"Boom——"

The thunder was deafening, as if it were exploding right overhead, and even the earth trembled.

"Ok?"

Yin Wending subconsciously looked up and saw lightning flashing in the dark clouds, with several bolts of lightning moving like silver snakes through the clouds.

Lightning during the autumn rains in the North is an extremely rare phenomenon.

Jiang Chuan's eyes gleamed; the opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

"Yin Wending!"

Jiang Chuan let out a long roar, and his bladeless sword pointed straight at the sky.

"Let's see how you deal with this sword strike!"

"The law of heaven and earth is restored, the Thunder Emperor commands. The sword travels in all directions, thunder descends upon the world!"

Jiang Chuan's longsword was wrapped in fine lightning, each strand crackling and popping in the air.

All the acupoints in his body were opened, and spiritual power surged within his Purple Mansion. At this moment, he released his cultivation of the Great Perfection of the Third Realm without reservation.

As the last word of the sword incantation fell, a deafening thunderclap suddenly exploded in the sky.

The sound was as if the heavens were being torn apart, and the entire city's buildings trembled. Dark...
The sky was cleaved open by a ferocious bolt of lightning, and a destructive aura descended from the heavens, evaporating all the rainwater within a ten-zhang radius of Jiangchuan into white mist.

"Yang Thunder Tribulation!"

Yu Youwei gasped in surprise, folding her fan shut.

She looked up at the increasingly thick bolt of lightning, her face turning deathly pale.

Jiang Chuan, have you gone mad? If you break through to a higher realm now, what will happen to the Kunlun Secret Realm?

Jiang Chuan ignored it all; his entire focus was on the impending tribulation lightning.

The transition from the third to the fourth realm is an insurmountable chasm; crossing it brings a complete transformation, while failure leads to death and the annihilation of one's cultivation.

He had waited for this moment for far too long. The Thunderous Guiding Technique within his body activated on its own, resonating with the heavenly tribulation.

Yin Wending stood ten feet away, his blood-red blade trembling slightly.

He originally thought Jiang Chuan was just an ordinary third-realm cultivator, but he never expected that the other party could trigger such a terrifying lightning tribulation.

"The number one divine body of the Taoist sect is indeed well-deserved of its reputation."

He gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with jealousy.

As the lightning drew closer, the bluestone slabs beneath Jiang Chuan's feet began to crack.

Just as the first bolt of heavenly lightning was about to strike, a violent demonic aura suddenly erupted from the south of the city. The pressure of a fifth-realm sage soared into the sky, actually standing shoulder to shoulder with the lightning tribulation!
"Roar--"

The roar shook the roof tiles of the entire street, making them rattle and clang.

Yu Youwei turned her head sharply, her pupils shrinking.

"A demon king of the fifth realm?!" Jiang Chuan was also startled by this change, and his sword strike paused slightly.

He looked towards the south of the city and saw a pillar of demonic energy, as black as ink, piercing the sky, a stark contrast to his own tribulation.

Even more strangely, the heavenly lightning that was originally locked onto him suddenly shifted!

"what happened?"

Jiang Chuan was filled with surprise and doubt.

He had cultivated the Thunder Light Sword Technique for many years and had never heard of the lightning tribulation being interfered with by external forces.

Deep in the alley of wine, a thin crack suddenly appeared in the wine glass in Yin Tao's hand.

He squinted, watching the distorted rain outside the window.

Using rain as a game of chess, a brilliant strategy to reverse the tide of battle.

He muttered to himself, his fingers unconsciously tracing complex lines on the table.

"I asked curiously at the next table."

"Sir, what did you say?"

Yin Tao smiled but did not answer, only gently shaking his head.

In his eyes, the raindrops throughout the entire city had become a crisscrossing chessboard, and the demonic aura in the south of the city and the lightning tribulation in the north were being forcibly reversed by some invisible force.

"It's not a coincidence."

Yin Tao was shaken.

“A sage has intervened.”

On the south city wall, Huo Jinzhi's face was ashen.

She never expected that the usually cautious King Zhang Wei of Dushan would reveal his true form as a demon king at this critical juncture.

"Zhang Wei! If you're looking for death, don't drag us down with you!"

she snapped.

Zhang Wei ignored him, his black robe fluttering in the wind.

His eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating he had entered a state of frenzy. The Fifth Realm Demon King unleashed his full power, causing several Yan Kingdom guards around him to cough up blood.

“Something’s wrong”

Zhou Zeqiang endured the oppressive aura, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"Zhang Wei seems to be being controlled!"

Chen Ping and Pei Guoguo stood back to back, both of them pale-faced.

The fifth realm was an absolute crushing force against the third realm; the mere pressure from that force made it difficult for them to breathe.

Just at this critical moment, a figure in blue suddenly appeared on the city wall.

The autumn rain evaporated automatically when it came within three feet of him, creating a rainless zone.

"The General Who Guards the West, a Lonely City!"

Huo Jinzhi cried out in disbelief.

Gu Cheng didn't even glance at her, merely flicking his sleeve casually. In an instant, the demon king's aura released by Zhang Wei melted away like snow meeting the blazing sun.

Everyone on the city wall felt a weight lift from their chests, as if a tremendous burden had been lifted.

"Scraps from the State of Yan."

Gu Cheng spoke coldly, his voice not loud but clearly reaching everyone's ears.

“Go back and tell your master that there is no crown prince in the county, only a corpse.”

Just as Huo Jinzhi was about to speak, Gu Cheng's gaze swept over her. With a "poof," Huo Jinzhi and the two Supreme Realm experts behind her simultaneously spat out a mouthful of blood, as if struck by an invisible giant hand. They were sent flying backward and crashed heavily onto the road outside the city.

"If there's a next time, I'll bring you my head."

After finishing speaking, Gu Cheng turned and looked towards the direction of the lightning tribulation within the city, his brows slightly furrowed.

At the same time, Jiang Chuan was shocked to discover that the lightning bolt that was originally aimed at him had mysteriously changed course and was heading straight for the south of the city! The lightning and demonic energy collided in the air, erupting with blinding light.
A white light flashed, and the entire county town trembled violently from the impact.

"The lightning tribulation...was transferred?"

Jiang Chuan muttered to himself in disbelief.

Yu Youwei quickly stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.

"Jiang Chuan! Now is not the time to stand still! Someone has taken the lightning for you, we need to leave immediately!"

Jiang Chuan then came to his senses and discovered that his cultivation had strangely stagnated at the Great Perfection of the Third Realm, without any breakthrough.

He felt both relieved and confused—who could possibly have such extraordinary abilities?

In the alley of wine, Yin Tao had already stood up, but the wine and dishes on the table remained untouched.

He gazed in the direction where the lightning had disappeared, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Sir, are you leaving?"

The bartender asked cautiously.

Yin Tao nodded and took out a piece of broken silver from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

"Tell your manager that it's best to stay home as much as possible these days."

After saying that, he opened an oil-paper umbrella and stepped into the rain. The umbrella was painted with a peculiar star pattern, and the raindrops did not stick to it at all.

Yin Tao walked very slowly, as if he was thinking about something important.

"Why would a saint who can reverse a heavenly tribulation help that young man?"

He whispered to himself.

"I dare not pry into the karma surrounding that kid."

The autumn rain fell like a tapestry, and the world seemed desolate and bleak.

Rainwater slid down Jiang Chuan's cheeks, mixing with blood as it splattered onto the stone slabs of the ruins.

He stood in the middle of the alley, surrounded by charred ruins left by the heavenly lightning. The tribulation lightning had all gone south, leaving only the thunderbolts summoned by the Thunder Light Sword Technique swirling overhead.

"Boom——"

Electricity surged through the dark clouds, emitting deafening thunder that shook the rubble and debris in the ruins.

Jiang Chuan gripped his natal flying sword, Aurora, tightly. Fine lightning patterns swirled around the blade, and each breath caused it to tremble slightly.

"Youngster, you dare to stop me with such meager skills?"

Yin Wending's voice came through the rain, carrying a chilling edge.

Jiang Chuan looked up and saw Yin Wending's black robe fluttering in the wind, the Wuyi Lane sword in his hand gleaming with a ghostly light.

Of the nine bolts of cloud lightning he had summoned, three were easily dodged by his opponent, and the fourth was severed.
They have now closed in.

"Come again!"

Jiang Chuan gritted his teeth and changed his sword technique again.

The thunder and lightning of the heavens responded to the call, cascading down like a waterfall and converging entirely on the Aurora Sword.

The sword instantly erupted with dazzling lightning, illuminating half the sky.

Yin Wending sneered, and the sword from Wuyi Lane drew a strange arc, aiming straight for Jiang Chuan's throat.

"Little tricks!"

"clang--"

The two swords clashed, and lightning burst forth.

Jiang Chuan felt an immense force surge through him, his hand instantly splitting open, blood flowing down the hilt of his sword. Even more terrifying, Yin Wending's sword strike was not yet finished; Wuyi Xiang pierced his left arm like a venomous snake.

"Ugh!"

Jiang Chuan grunted and staggered backward.

Lightning entered Yin Wending's body through the wound, causing him to pause in his movements.

Jiang Chuan seized the opportunity and swept his Aurora Sword horizontally, forcing his opponent to retreat seven steps.

"interesting."

Yin Wending looked down at the scorch marks on his black robe caused by the lightning, his brows furrowing slightly.

"It actually managed to hurt me."

Jiang Chuan knelt on one knee, blood gushing from the wound on his left arm, mixing with the rainwater to form a pool of blood beneath him.

He endured the excruciating pain and stared intently at Yin Wending.

"This is the realm of sword heart?"

"Kenshin?"

Yin Wending scoffed.

"You think you can make me enter the Sword Heart Realm? That sword strike just now, I only used one-tenth of the power of Wuyi Lane."

Jiang Chuan's pupils contracted slightly.

Even at only one-tenth of its power, it possessed such might? His hand gripping the sword trembled slightly, not from fear, but from excitement. His master, Xie Xuan, had once said that the pinnacle of swordsmanship lay in understanding one's true nature.

"What is a sword?"

Xie Xuan's voice suddenly echoed in his mind. (End of Chapter)