Seeking the Flying Sword Path

“Whoosh.” A figure walked out of the void and she was none other than Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain, who held a crutch.

“Senior Sister,” greeted Qin Yun with a smile.

“We are already accustomed to having countless fiends entrenched in various areas of the Three Realms,” said Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain with a smile. “Now, you have leveled them by your strength alone. You have really given the Three Realms a shock.”

Qin Yun smiled. “Before the Fiend Ancestor attained the Heavenly Dao realm, the fiends were nothing to worry about. The Three Realms were at peace! I always felt that the Three Realms of that era was the best. The fiendish ways should have been denounced, with its practitioners doing things in secret. Yet, it has been spread with great fanfare, making fiends to appear everywhere. This should not have happened at all…”

“Denounced?” Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain was taken aback before she nodded slightly. “Yes, back when the fiends rose in prominence and spread throughout the Three Realms, it did cause the various factions in the Three Realms to join forces in a bid to eradicate their way. The Daoist-Fiend war embroiled the Three Realms… but both sides ended up with terrible losses. After realizing that the fiends could not be destroyed, there was a ceasefire. All these years later, we have become accustomed to the existence of the fiends.”

“In the future, we can also get accustomed to their lack of existence,” Qin Yun said.

Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain laughed. “That will depend on you. When the Heavenly Dao realm existences are forced to leave the Three Realms, it will be the world of the mighty figures. Junior Brother, if you continue cultivating and have another breakthrough in strength, it’s even possible that you could cause the fiends to retreat to the Tenebrous Fiend Abyss.”

The Tenebrous Fiend Abyss was part of the Three Realms and impossible to destroy.

Making the fiends hide in the Tenebrous Fiend Abyss was the limit!

“I will have to transcend the Itinerant Immortal tribulations first,” Qin Yun said.

“After sweeping through so many Great Worlds, how’s the merit you gained?” inquired Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain. “Can you attain a Merit Cardinal treasure?”

Qin Yun shook his head gently. “Although I killed many Skyfiends, the truly powerful ones could employ Void Transference, allowing them to hide into Small Worlds after a few teleportations. The even more powerful ones could use Major Void Transference! The ones I wiped out were the weaker ones! Only by killing millions of these weaker ones would the merit match that of an Ancestral Fiend mighty figure.”

“Having killed so many, it should be able to match about ten Ancestral Fiends, right?” asked Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain.

“However, it’s still about ten percent short of a Merit Cardinal treasure,” Qin Yun said. “I’ll have enough merit if I kill another ten Ancestral Fiends, but where am I to find them?”

Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain looked at Qin Yun, thinking, “This Junior Brother doesn’t seem to know of the world beyond the Three Realms? Master likely didn’t tell him because he has his reasons. I’ll wait another one to two thousand years before asking Master.”

******

Heavenly realm, Demon Emperor Palace.

Demon Emperor Bai Ze was leisurely drawing when an illusory figure descended. It was none other than Nine Phoenix.

“Bai Ze,” Nine Phoenix said immediately. “Did something happen?”

“Did Qin Yun attack us demons?” Bai Ze continued drawing.

“Yes, sixteen Skydemons were killed by Qin Yun. Five of them were late-stage Skydemons,” Nine Phoenix said immediately. “Those were Demon Kings at the late-stage Skydemon realm. Two Skydemons even escaped into Small Worlds, but he sent Guardian Generals at the pinnacle of the Skyimmortal realm to slay them. He doesn’t give us demons any face. You even treated him well the last time.”

When it came to demons, Qin Yun had dealt with them individually. Even if they escaped into Small Worlds, he sent Guardian Generals to capture them.

When he massacred Skyfiends, he could do little to those who escaped into Small Worlds since he only had ten plus Guardian Generals which were at the pinnacle Skyimmortal realm.

Bai Ze continued drawing as he said leisurely, “If not for our acquaintance in the past, Qin Yun would only be more ruthless.”

“What right does he have to attack us?” Nine Phoenix turned flustered. “You are Demon Emperor.”

Bai Ze put down his brush and looked coldly at Nine Phoenix. “Why, are you actually taking me as your Demon Emperor now?”

Nine Phoenix was taken aback.

“I had long gave the instruction for all of you to hold back! Do not engage in wanton acts of evil. None of you cultivate in the fiendish ways. Doing evil has no benefit to your cultivation So then, why act so brazenly?” Bai Ze was somewhat infuriated. “Back when our demon’s Heavenly Courts were destroyed, the Daoist and Buddhist mighty figures captured mighty figures of our demons to be their mounts and slaves! Why? It was because we had committed too many sins. They were happy to deal with us demons. If we had merit on us, would they dare bully us?

“Thanks to the uprising of the fiends, the Daoists and Buddhists have been a lot kinder to us demons,” Bai Ze said coldly. “Yet, despite being met with kindness, some demons end up becoming even more fearless. Hmph, did they forget the lessons from the destruction of the demons’ Heavenly Courts? Even if there isn’t Sword Immortal Qin today, there would be other mighty figures who would deal with these sinful ones.

“One deserves punishment for being sinful,” said Bai Ze. “No one can be blamed but them.”

“I understand all that you said. But you have to save them,” said Nine Phoenix anxiously.

Bai Ze said coldly, “Summon all the late-stage Skydemon juniors with grave sins. Punish them by placing them into Heart Refining Pagoda and refine their hearts for a hundred thousand years.”

“Heart Refining Pagoda?” Nine Phoenix was taken aback.

Heart Refining Pagoda was something Bai Ze had gone to great efforts to build in order to change the demons. There were numerous torturous means that could temper one’s heart and mind. He wished to use these to change those intractable demon juniors. But clearly, there was a backlash among the demons. Bai Ze’s orders could not be executed as there were just too many intractable demons.

“Yes, we will take action first and make these juniors suffer a hundred thousand years. If that’s the case, Qin Yun is unlikely to pursue them.” Bai Ze picked up his brush again. “This is the only way to save them. Let them choose. Either they choose death or they enter the Heart Refining Pagoda for a hundred thousand years.”

“Qin Yun might only live for another three thousand plus years. Punishing them with four thousand years should be sufficient, right?” asked Nine Phoenix.

“Do you think Qin Yun is stupid?” Bai Ze shot a glance at her. “They have to be punished for a hundred thousand years, and with a punishment that is severe enough to convince him to let them off. Furthermore, I will tell him personally.”

“T-this… a hundred thousand years… back then, you sent 39 demons with grave sins into the Heart Refining Pagoda. It was meant to be for ten thousand years, but in the end, 12 of them committed suicide,” Nine Phoenix could not help but say.

“This is about tempering and refining one’s heart and mind. If they lack that state of mind, who else is to blame?”

“Is there really no other solution?” pressed Nine Phoenix.

“What else can be done? Attack him? I’m not Qin Yun’s match.” Bai Ze waved his hand. “Quickly do it. This is the only solution.”

Nine Phoenix had no choice but to leave and do as ordered.

…

Qin Yun continued dealing with sinful beings in the Great Worlds. Previously, he dealt with the fiends, but now, he was dealing with both humans and demons. He did not spare any sinful humans or demons.

As for the intractable fiendish demons, there were some who refused to enter the Heart Refining Pagoda. Eventually, they really did die under Qin Yun’s hand! With regards to that, the demon mighty figures had nothing to say.

Of course, even more powerful sinful demons chose to bow their heads to survive. They chose to enter the Heart Refining Pagoda and suffer within… Back then, the ten thousand years in Heart Refining Pagoda was enough to cause thirty percent of the demons to perish! Now, it was a hundred thousand years! According to Bai Ze’s estimates, perhaps half would die and that was something he hoped would happen.

From his point of view, half dying meant nothing. This was because surviving a hundred thousand years in the Heart Refining Pagoda would result in a completely reformed person. Furthermore, such a survivor had a resilient Dao heart.

“After all these years, something that I’ve not been capable of accomplishing has been done thanks to Qin Yun.” Bai Ze looked at the lofty Heart Refining Pagoda. Hundreds of thousands of powerful demons were suffering inside as they wailed sharply. However, Bai Ze smiled. “External forces are ultimately needed to change the demons after all.”

“Demons can also have a Dao heart that remains unperturbed to infinite calamities. In the future, we can produce one at the Heavenly Dao realm as well,” said Bai Ze softly. “Back then, us demons were the strongest race in the Three Realms. We will not be weaker than the humans in the future.”

“After all, the demons cannot be protected through me alone.” Bai Ze also felt a tinge of exhaustion.

******

In a blink of an eye, 120 years had passed since Qin Yun wiped out the Skyfiends in the Three Realms.

Qin Yun was listening to a tune inside a tea restaurant. “I attacked the sinful demons, but not only did Demon Emperor Bai Ze not stop me, he was even more ruthless than me. He even gave me a list to deal with even more demons. It made many demons choose to enter the Heart Refining Pagoda by themselves and suffer the pain of heart refinement.”

Although Qin Yun had been ruthless, he had only dealt with the really sinful ones.

There were many who hit Qin Yun’s criteria among the fiends.

However, although demons were intractable, the few that really met Qin Yun’s criteria was much lower in number than the fiends. Most of them were just acting out their nature. They were born into a world where the law of the jungle worked. It was not right to say that it was wrong for a tiger to eat a lamb! After they became demons, such instincts became their intrinsic characters.

As long as they did not unleash wanton destruction and completely give into their bloodthirsty nature, Qin Yun felt that they were still redeemable.

It was impossible for him to investigate each powerful demon carefully. However, Bai Ze knew the powerful demons very well. The list he gave Qin Yun had demons who appeared to have little sins on the surface, but were really sinister and bloodthirsty. When Qin Yun observed them, he determined that they deserved death! Therefore, he also killed them. This made the demons misunderstand that even sins at that level were pursued by Sword Immortal Qin. It immediately caused many powerful demons to enter the Heart Refining Pagoda.

The demons also gradually changed from that day.

…

In the Chaos beyond the Three Realms, there was a cave abode.

Inside the cave abode was a golden-armored figure emitting golden light. He looked in the direction of the Three Realms and smiled. “This Qin Yun has eradicated most of the evil, but he has yet to attain a Merit Cardinal treasure. He must definitely be hoping to gain immense merit, but at present, the means to gain that is beyond the Three Realms, in the Chaos.”

“He must be anxious. Yes, it’s time to invite him.” The golden-armored figure took a step and left the cave abode, heading straight for the Three Realms.