Chapter 150: Four Apertures in the Heart

Towering peaks stand majestically in clusters, presenting a magnificent and awe-inspiring panorama. Grand rivers wind their way through the mountains like ancient tree roots, appearing mysterious and serene.

Yet, scattered across the vast ranges and sweeping rivers are countless corpses, with blood flowing like torrential streams.

Disjointed bodily remains are strewn across the great river. Their wounds are neat and precise, inflicted by a single fatal strike, though the exact technique used remains unknown, presenting a terrifying sight that chills the soul.

"It seems they all died beneath the exact same sword art!" Xu Zhong gazed at those wounds, a phantom sound of sword-whistling seemingly echoing in his ears, accompanied by several trails of sword light flickering like lightning as they darted back and forth.

Suddenly, a dragon's roar echoed from the river of blood. Immediately following, a horned flood dragon emerged, thrashing its tail against the water to stir up rolling, towering waves. The creature accelerated forward, charging directly at the three of Xu Zhong.

Dazzling dragon scales burst forth from its body as shattered rocks pierced the void and a vast blanket of snow overwhelmed the sky. Every single scale carried immense, terrifying power, rumbling so violently that the very space they occupied trembled.

"It lacks a true dragon's form!" Yun Yong spotted the abnormality of the flood dragon.

That flood dragon possessed only the spirit of a dragon, utterly devoid of its physical form.

It was an entity possessing shape without true substance.

Xu Zhong raised his Jade Ruyi, altering its size effortlessly at will according to his mind's command.

The Jade Ruyi expanded to the size of a mountain, pressing down with immense weight to instantly shatter the flood dragon into scattering souls, causing its scales to vanish into nothingness.

"Perhaps it is the manifestation of dragon rhyme contained within a drop of divine blood," Shiyue said coldly.

Even Tang Yuan, who had just stepped into the True-Preservation Realm, could unleash vitality and blood resembling a soaring dragon, let alone a Creator-level being.

Supreme powerhouses of that caliber had likely refined every single drop of their divine blood into true dragons.

What Xu Zhong and his companions had inadvertently triggered here was perhaps merely the lingering dragon rhyme concealed within a single drop of divine blood.

Across the boundless mountain ranges, countless such dragons were hidden.

Roar~

Another dragon's roar resonated through the air.

The trio traced the sound, only to witness an unimaginably massive true dragon leaping up from amidst the peaks. With a sweep of its tail, it pulverized the mountain ranges, sending debris hurtling through the sky amidst a continuous chain of explosions.

Bathed in divine blood, this true dragon possessed not only dragon rhyme, but a fully realized physical body as well.

"A mere malevolent dragon, how dare you act presumptuously!" Compared to the colossal physique of the true dragon, its opponent standing before it appeared utterly insignificant.

A flash of white light sliced upward, erupting into a ten-thousand-foot river of stars that severed the true dragon's head. Fresh blood gushed forth, swirling into the heavens and dyeing dozens of miles of the sky a brilliant crimson.

The Qi practitioner stood tall and proud, his expression serene.

The sword behind him flew out of its own accord, sweeping across the carcass of the true dragon. Wherever it passed, the flesh and blood of the dragon rapidly withered, turning dry like tree bark before finally dissolving into fine powder and vanishing entirely.

"Is he nourishing his sword?" Xu Zhong murmured softly.

He was using the vitality and blood of a Creator-level entity to blood-sacrifice his personal sword.

That must be a Qi practitioner who followed the path of the Heart-Sword Stream.

Only Qi practitioners of the Heart-Sword Stream placed such emphasis on nurturing their swords.

Nourishing the sword was, in essence, nourishing oneself.

This Heart-Sword Stream Qi practitioner seemed to notice Xu Zhong and the others, but their cultivation was too shallow to catch his eye. Thus, transforming his very body into a blade, he dissolved into a streak of sword light and vanished from their sight in an instant.

"That is Fu Xuan!" Shiyue stated.

Xu Zhong recalled Fu Xuan's swordsmanship, then compared it with Su Jie's vitality and blood strength. Between the two, Fu Xuan seemed to hold the upper hand.

"Yet Su Jie is like a flood dragon entering the sea, possessing the home-field advantage; he will only grow stronger the longer he stays here," Xu Zhong muttered inwardly. "It is hardly certain that Fu Xuan could defeat him."

He could only wonder if another powerhouse on par with Fu Xuan might emerge in this place.

Xu Zhong could not help feeling a rising sense of tension.

With the death of the true dragon, the endless mountain ranges dissolved and dissipated, revealing a gigantic cavern opening.

The moment they approached, they felt a potent surge of vitality and blood rushing toward them, pouring directly into their bodies as if attempting to assimilate their vital energies and convert their magical cultivation entirely into raw physical vitality.

Suppressing this assimilation, they silently sensed the power emanating from that cavern.

Yet their spiritual senses felt as though they had fallen into a colossal vortex, swallowed whole before they could gather any intelligence at all.

Shiyue sighed softly, "We cannot probe what lies ahead; this place is undoubtedly perilous. Since that is the case, why don't we play it safe and wait right here? We can enter only as a last resort!"

Xu Zhong, however, was unconvinced. Throughout their journey, the master of the heart had never offered them a retreat. Outside, the void devoured space, forcing them forward step by step. There was no reason it would allow them to hide quietly in a safe haven.

"Do you know how poisonous insects are raised?" Xu Zhong looked at Shiyue, and without waiting for her reply, continued on his own, "A person who raises Gu captures hundreds of venomous insects, places them together in a large jar, and lets them slaughter one another until only a single survivor remains. That survivor is then refined into the ultimate Gu insect."

"We are those venomous insects, and this secret realm is the jar."

Shiyue fell silent.

Since it was a Gu-raising ritual, only one person would ultimately survive.

Even if the three of them were fortunate enough to survive until the end, the master of the heart would likely devise every possible means to force them to kill one another.

Seemingly sensing that Xu Zhong and the others had lingered far too long in this place, the surrounding space suddenly began to vibrate.

Then, the only sound ringing in the trio's ears became an endless barrage of footsteps. The marching footsteps sounded like rolling thunder, rumbling continuously.

They gazed far into the distance.

What they saw was a surging tide of people—an army composed of blood puppets, accompanied by rhythmic drumbeats and banners that blotted out the sky. A murderous intent soared into the heavens, coalescing almost into physical substance. Accompanied by the rhythmic changes of the drums, it transformed into countless razor-sharp blades slashing toward the necks and limbs of the three.

"You're right!" Shiyue looked at Xu Zhong, and upon uttering those words, she leaped directly into the cavern.

Xu Zhong and Yun Yong followed closely behind.

What greeted their eyes was an unimaginably colossal palace.

The divine halls were towering and majestic, featuring a pavilion and a terrace every ten paces. Thousands upon thousands of multi-storied pavilions stood closely arrayed in neat succession.

Upon closer inspection, the floors were made of colored glaze, the pillars of crystal, the tiles of pure gold, and the beams of fragrant sandalwood. It was breathtakingly luxurious and magnificent.

Brilliant pearl and gemstone radiances surged into the heavens, forming an imperial canopy in mid-air.

Beneath this canopy, the stellar energies of the Seven Mansions of the White Tiger converged to manifest an peerless White Tiger.

The three looked at one another, dumbfounded by the scene before them.

How could a palace possibly emerge within a heart?

"I have heard that the human heart has four apertures, two on the left and two on the right. Yet among heaven's chosen ones, there are those whose hearts possess seven apertures," Yun Yong said as he surveyed the surroundings, stroking his chin in contemplation. "The space we were just in should be a blood vessel connecting to one of these heart apertures. But in which heart aperture does this White Tiger Sacred Palace reside?"

The White Tiger represented the West and belonged to the element of Metal.

Regardless of which of the heart's apertures it occupied, this place was clearly unfriendly to Xu Zhong and his companions.

The imperial canopy swayed gently once.

In an instant, a golden wave erupted from the canopy.

Within this golden wave burst forth boundless Geng-Xin Metal energy, resembling an unimaginably massive streak of sword light that swept across the entire palace.

This sword light contained the most terrifying murderous intent imaginable—indestructible and the strongest sword they had ever witnessed.

At that moment, it seemed as though even the firmament would be cleaved in two by the sword.

Another flash of sword light shattered the cavern and surged outward into the external world.

Only now did Xu Zhong and the others finally realize what kind of sword technique had killed the people outside.

Witnessing this spectacle, Xu Zhong and his companions stared with eyes wide in shock, hastily conjuring up defensive magical treasures.

They harbored no illusions that these treasures could block the attack for long.

"Quickly, get in!" Shiyue opened the Book of Life and Death, catching a glimpse of a corner of Fengdu within it.

The group hurriedly retreated into the Book of Life and Death.

In an instant, all their defensive magical treasures were struck by the sword light and severed cleanly at the waist.

"Clang!"

A harsh, piercing sound of collision echoed through the space.

The Book of Life and Death truly lived up to its reputation as a supreme treasure of Fengdu. Although it was merely an imitation, this sword light was not a true supreme blade either, nor was it a Creator-level sword strike—both were counterfeits, neither inherently superior to the other.

The Book of Life and Death successfully blocked the sword light.

Inside the Book of Life and Death, Xu Zhong and the others felt the entire realm manifested by the fragments of Fengdu trembling violently.

"What kind of adversaries have you provoked?" Tang Yuan asked, staring at the shaking sky.

"Is it really that powerful?" Yun Yong caught sight of an inch of sword light piercing into the Book of Life and Death.

"Envoy, your hundred-year performance record is gone!" A bull-headed figure beside Tang Yuan remarked.

Shiyue's face darkened: "I know!"

Performance credits were the crucial metric determining whether she could serve as a judge in the underworld after death.

If she failed to reach the rank of judge, she would be demoted to serving as a mere wandering ghost messenger.

"Performance credits? Does Fengdu care about performance credits too?" Xu Zhong asked, his curiosity piqued.

"How could it not? With good performance credits, your treatment naturally improves," the horse-faced figure replied. "It's fine for someone like the Envoy who was parachuted in directly; no one would dare swallow your credits. But for those born from ordinary underworld soldiers, you can slave away for a millennium, and the higher-ups will still only credit you with a hundred years of achievements!"

It was evident that the horse-faced figure was dripping with sarcasm.

Though the target of his grievances seemed not to be Shiyue, but rather Fengdu itself.

"Does your Envoy swallow your performance credits too?" Yun Yong asked, eager to watch the drama unfold.

"That she certainly doesn't!" The horse-faced figure glanced sideways at Shiyue and hastily added, "The Envoy is fair and computes every single merit accurately without omission. I reckon if I work another three hundred years, I can be dispatched to the mortal realm to serve as a City God."

"That sounds quite fast!" Yun Yong muttered awkwardly.

Once the shaking had subsided, they emerged from the Book of Life and Death.

The outside world was pristine—no corpses, no remnants split in two.

Instead, several Qi practitioners had poked their heads out from the palace and immediately began fighting fiercely over the Book of Life and Death.

Just moments ago, they had witnessed that invincible sword light suffer a setback against this supreme treasure, and their hearts were naturally stirred with greed.

The moment the sword light dissipated, they rushed out to seize the Book of Life and Death.

"Don't you people know the principle of first come, first served?" a tall, thin man roared angrily.

"Ever heard of the latecomer surpassing the forerunner?"

"Have you no respect for your elders and kindness to the young!"

"%@#%"

Furious curses rose one after another, accompanied by an endless stream of harsh, ugly insults.

While they were locked in a life-and-death struggle, Xu Zhong emerged from the Book of Life and Death.

"Kill the owner of the treasure first!" The tall, thin man diverted the hostility onto them.

In an instant, every single magical technique was aimed squarely at Xu Zhong.

Unclear of the situation, Xu Zhong instinctively unleashed the True Samadhi Fire.

As his True Samadhi Fire swept forward, those Qi practitioners were directly refined into dozens of spiritual pills in the blink of an eye.

"What is going on here?" Shiyue, who emerged last, asked.

"I have no idea!" Xu Zhong replied.

Yet the very next moment, several beams of divine light flew out from the palace, and a group of Qi practitioners materialized suspended in the air above the trio.

The leader among those Qi practitioners looked down upon everything with absolute condescension, commanding from on high: "Hand over the treasure, and I will spare your lives!"