In the simple yet warmly welcoming courtyard, a person and a tiger landed with two "puff" sounds.

"Ss, Master is really not holding back..."

Liang Yi stood up, rubbed his bottom, and laughed bitterly. Next to him, the White Tiger also looked aggrieved and nodded in agreement.

Sensing the changes in the Law Domain, Zhou Ruanxian, exuding the virtues of a gentle and graceful temperament, came out holding a soup spoon to check.

"Are you out? Are you tired, did Chen Hua go too hard on you, if you've been bullied, tell your Master's wife right away!"

Zhou Ruanxian smiled tenderly at Liang Yi, asking with concern.

Over the past half month, Liang Yi hadn't gone anywhere and stayed here, accompanying her and Chen Hua. Zhou Ruanxian had grown quite fond of this well-behaved and sensible figure, Chen Hua.

The more powerful cultivators are, the more difficult it is to have offspring, and with the current situation at Mystical Mechanism, it's not the time to settle down for a peaceful life. Therefore, the matter of offspring could only be postponed, to be discussed once things have stabilized.

Thus, Zhou Ruanxian's maternal feelings naturally poured onto Liang Yi and Su Youyi.

"Be careful, Mother, if Master bullies me, I'll definitely come to complain to you."

Liang Yi replied warmly, revealing a bright smile upon seeing Zhou Ruanxian leaning against the door.

The White Tiger also woofed and circled Zhou Ruanxian a few times. Over the past half month, it had not missed a chance to get tasty treats from this master's wife. Although it only needed the energy from the World Origin, worldly food could still satisfy its appetite.

To Liang Yi, Zhou Ruanxian was definitely to be credited for the White Tiger gaining such a notable amount of weight over the past half month.

"How come I hear an ungrateful disciple speaking ill of me the moment I come out!"

A voice filled with sighs emerged from behind Liang Yi, a face of sorrows as if there was no love left in life – Chen Hua also stepped out from Zhou Ruanxian's Law Domain.

"Ha ha... Master's here, so I'll go fetch my junior sister from her retreat!"

Liang Yi chuckled awkwardly, having been caught red-handed, quickly picked up the White Tiger still waiting next to Zhou Ruanxian's leg for food, and vanished in a puff of smoke.

"This kid..."

Watching Liang Yi rapidly fleeing the Secret Realm, Chen Hua couldn't help but laugh. However, he immediately turned to Zhou Ruanxian with a beaming smile to ask about another matter:

"How's the situation on the battlefield?"

Zhou Ruanxian shot Chen Hua a glance. This guy, as soon as he comes out, asks these things.

However, Zhou Ruanxian understood that Chen Hua's concern for the battlefield did not stem from a love for war — in fact, quite the opposite; he was probably the person who hated war the most.

Zhou Ruanxian's extra care and attention towards Liang Yi and Su Youyi were also because she saw a glimpse of her and Chen Hua's past selves in these two, which stirred her emotions, and she couldn't help but want to take care of them.

Zhou Ruanxian was sharp and shrewd, especially adept at observing a person's character. In her eyes, Chen Hua and Liang Yi were truly worthy of the master-disciple title, as their characters were very much alike in some aspects.

For instance, although both prefer a life of tranquility and avoid motion – willing to lie down rather than sit, stay home rather than go out – they seemed anything but that from their logical actions.

Chen Hua hoped that the war would end soon, and he could spend the rest of his life with her.

Liang Yi hoped he could become stronger soon, to protect everything he wanted to protect from harm.

Both were suppressing their nature, shouldering responsibilities, and marching forward, waiting for the break of dawn.

"It's getting more intense. Almost every day there is a medium to large scale war breaking out on the battlefield. The Abyss has suffered heavy casualties, but Mystical Mechanism is not faring much better."

Zhou Ruanxian was not spending this half-month hiding in retirement; besides preparing three meals a day for Chen Hua and Liang Yi, her post-meal exercise was to kill mercilessly on the battlefield!

As a Great Perfection cultivator of the Eighth Realm, Zhou Ruanxian's strength was naturally extraordinary, truly top-notch.

One should know her identity is considered one of the most revered on the Xuanzhou continent, without equal.

Her younger brother, Zhou Zhukong, is the Immortal Emperor of Xuanzhou; her younger sister, Zhou Yuqing, is also in seclusion preparing to break through to the Ninth Realm; her youngest brother, Zhou Yuzhi, is also the master of the Sword Pond!

She herself is a top-tier female cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Eighth Realm, with her husband being none other than the number one Banished Immortal, Chen Hua!

This family, if spoken of, would scare anyone senseless! The strength of Zhou Ruanxian, the eldest sister, could be imagined.

In this half month alone, Zhou Ruanxian had eliminated an astonishing number of Eighth Realm cultivators, counting on just one hand. Each time she appeared meant certain death for Abyss Cultivators! On the battlefield, Abyss Cultivators would turn around and flee when they saw this female cultivator wielding the Extreme Cold Law, daring not to be presumptuous.

Those of lower realms couldn't win, and the higher ones were blocked.

In single combat, this woman was outrageously strong; in group battles, her strength was boundless.

Freeze one, and one would die; on the battlefield, you could still see several Abyss Cultivators frozen in ice, both Divine Soul and body utterly destroyed.

"It looks like Gu Chengan hasn't made a move yet; otherwise, someone would have come to find me by now."

Chen Hua smiled and nodded slightly; he and Liang Yi hadn't appeared on the battlefield for half a month.

The greatest benefit the battlefield could offer Liang Yi was now gone; relying solely on slaying to enhance strength was no longer effective.

Furthermore, a Seventh Realm cultivator did not make a significant impact on the battlefield. Coupled with the Abyss's inexplicable hostility towards Liang Yi, Chen Hua decided to hone Liang Yi's sword edge in his own way.

Under this half month of special training, Liang Yi's Sword Intent sharpened at least several times over than before, and his Sword Dao cultivation improved dramatically—much better than lingering on the battlefield.

And that wasn't even the greatest gain; to Chen Hua's surprise, during this half month, Liang Yi had finally comprehended a Sword Intent Domain that was uniquely his.

"Ah, Gu Chengan, indeed, I haven't heard any news about him," Zhou Ruanxian frowned slightly, as she had also not heard a shred of news about Gu Chengan over this half month.

As the only sword cultivator among the Abyss Envoys who could cross swords with Chen Hua, an opponent even Chen Hua found troublesome, Gu Chengan's strength naturally resided at the very top tier of Abyss Cultivators.

As a cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Ninth Realm like him, the disparity in strength between individuals was like the difference between heaven and earth; apart from Gu Chengan, other Abyss Cultivators showing up were like delivering themselves as easy prey to Chen Hua.

Facing Gu Chengan, who matched Chen Hua in strength, the same was true for Mystical Mechanism. Apart from Chen Hua, anyone else who rashly attacked was tantamount to throwing their lives away.

Hence, after several encounters, Chen Hua and Gu Chengan developed a tacit understanding; as long as one side didn't make a move, the other wouldn't appear on the battlefield, essentially exchanging their mightiest for a strategic truce.

"That guy always got suppressed by me during our fights. Although he is an Abyss Cultivator, to reach the Great Perfection of the Ninth Realm, one must possess an unwavering conviction; he's probably honing his Sword Dao right now," Chen Hua said with a light smile, recalling the image of that robust man as sturdy as an iron tower.

Gu Chengan gave Chen Hua a strange feeling; the man was a typical sword fanatic, yet also very much like a Mystical Mechanism cultivator in many aspects.

In terms of strength, Gu Chengan was naturally inferior to him, but he was the only one since the war erupted who could force Chen Hua to fight with all his might, leading to a hearty and exhilarating battle.

Chen Hua had a feeling that, after climbing step by step, he now stood at the peak of the Sword Dao mountain, surpassing everyone else, but there was no path forward.

To forge ahead, he would have to slash open a path to ascension with his sword, forcing his way to become a Heavenly Immortal!

Chen Hua didn't have a clue how to proceed yet, and Gu Chengan, after their several encounters, was probably in the same boat.

They would probably be able to have a good talk if they were not on opposing sides.

Zhou Yuzhi, although nearly matching him in Sword Dao cultivation, still fell short of Chen Hua's level. Hence, some things were hard for Zhou Yuzhi to understand without having reached this Realm.

"Moreover, I believe that guy must have his own thoughts," Chen Hua whispered softly, and before he turned to head back to the kitchen with Zhou Ruanxian, he suddenly glanced in the direction of the Abyss Battlefield, his eyes flickering with an odd luster.

Chen Hua's gaze seemed to penetrate the layered folds of space, traverse the fiercely contested battlefield, and foresee Gu Chengan sitting under the Blood Moon with closed eyes.

Imposing, with a greatsword about two palms wide resting on his knees, Gu Chengan breathed slowly and powerfully. Each breath seemed to swallow and exhale the stars themselves, even driving the boundless sea of clouds around him to rise and fall.

As if sensing something, Gu Chengan suddenly opened his eyes and looked towards the direction where Chen Hua's gaze came from.

With this movement, the sea of clouds within thousands of miles around him was instantly torn to shreds by the Sword Intent that rose abruptly from the Void! Even the Blood Moon in the blood-red sky dimmed a bit under the oppressive Sword Intent that seemed to tear everything apart.

The world fell silent to the extreme. Everything around Gu Chengan, including the sound, was "killed" by him, leaving only himself and the sword in his hand.

Although he hadn't detected any anomalies, Gu Chengan's sword sense told him that indeed someone had just attempted to peer at him from tens of thousands of miles away.

"Chen Hua, next time I shall forge my path to ascension with your blood," Gu Chengan murmured to himself as he closed his eyes again.

Being stuck at this Realm for tens of thousands of years and as the number one Abyss Cultivator for the same duration, Gu Chengan naturally understood what was blocking his path ahead.

With the Abyss present, he would never be able to break through to the Tenth Realm, but Chen Hua could.

Had Chen Hua not appeared, Gu Chengan felt that devoting his life to the Abyss at his current Realm wouldn't be such a bad thing.

However, after having been the number one under the heavens for tens of thousands of years, the sudden emergence of a cultivator stronger than him, who had exhausted all methods and unleashed a life's worth of learned Sword Dao to engage in hearty fights with Chen Hua—though still unable to win—had rekindled Gu Chengan's long-extinguished competitive spirit.

But to his sorrow, he discovered his path forward was blocked by the Abyss, while Chen Hua's was not.

He was already at a disadvantage in his rivalry with Chen Hua, who still had room for improvement, whereas he did not.

Thus, Gu Chengan's heart suddenly yearned to climb higher, this absolutely forbidden notion in the Abyss!

However, as the number one Abyss Cultivator for tens of thousands of years, Gu Chengan wasn't one to waste his days idly; his understanding of this Realm was far superior compared to Chen Hua, who had only ascended to the Ninth Realm after the war began.

He realized that sword cultivators, aside from forging their way to ascension with Sword Dao, could also use the corpse of another peerless Great Perfection Ninth Realm Sword Cultivator to build their Immortal Path!

The one Gu Chengan had in mind, naturally, was Chen Hua!

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