This was the second time Chen Kuang had attempted to shake another person's Dao Heart.
The first had been when he escaped from the Celestial Prison. The victim, of course, was a certain Dao Child who probably still wanted to kill him to this day.
The process of proving the Dao in this world leaned heavily toward a materialist framework, it was somewhat like the concept of "judging a gentleman by his actions, not his intentions." As long as your actions conformed to your Dao, it didn't matter what you truly thought deep down.
But that also meant even the rarest of geniuses, or Saints who could move mountains and part the seas, were more vulnerable to flaws in their temperament than one might expect.
Chen Kuang had realized this early on. If used wisely, this weakness meant that no matter how high someone's cultivation was, they would not be invincible.
And when Chen Kuang himself stepped into the Moon-Embracing Realm and achieved a resonance with the laws of the world, a state known as the Heartlake, he discovered that the so-called Dao Heart actually had form.
Once one began the path of proving the Dao, the "Dao Foundation" would start to coalesce within their Heartlake.
Put simply, it was the exam paper you submitted to heaven.
Your task was to write down the question you posed to yourself on this blank paper, your path, your "Dao."
Then, you would strive to perfect that answer.
Once your Dao Foundation was complete, and recognized by the world, it would become a true Dao Heart.
The Dao Heart was the root of all strength for cultivators of the Upper Three Grades, but at the same time, it became their inescapable cage, turning them into marionettes pulled by the strings of their own Dao.
Of course, that's not to say it was always a weakness. If one's nature aligned perfectly with one's Dao, then it emerged from the heart and did not require strict vigilance.
But if someone's temperament was already unstable, all it took was a little nudge to make them act in contradiction to their own Dao...
And then, the Dao Heart would collapse without a single strike.
Still, cultivators capable of proving the Dao rarely revealed such cracks so easily.
Back then, Chen Kuang had only noticed Shen Xingzhu's flaw because he caught her in a lie. That was when he realized the saintly and compassionate demeanor she wore was a mask hiding a heart as dark as pitch, one that treated people as playthings.
As for Mu Zhao, Chen Kuang didn't even need to probe.
The man had twisted the truth, framed Chen Kuang as an evil cultivator, and issued a kill order across the land.
That alone proved the hypocrisy of his character.
And would someone that hypocritical really hate Chen Kuang so much, just because two of his disciples had died?
Impossible.
Chen Kuang was sure of it.
The way Mu Zhao looked at him, that wasn't the hatred of someone who'd lost disciples. It was the fury of someone whose father had been murdered.
And who could be the father of a Martial Saint?
Only the Heavenly Dao.
Chen Kuang was no longer the ignorant mortal musician who'd once been imprisoned in a cage.
He knew now: there was no longer any complete Dao left in this world.
That was why advancing from the Daoist Shore Realm to the Celestial Vastness Realm required alternate methods.
What Mu Zhao sought was likely to use someone else's Dao to complete his own.
That's why he was so desperate to elevate Wen Yao into a Saint, so he could then use Wen Yao's achievement to bypass the shackles and approach the Heavenly Dao.
But Wen Yao's death severed that path. That's what had truly enraged Mu Zhao.
So, Chen Kuang decided to test him by pushing on that wound.
He only had about sixty percent certainty.
If he had guessed wrong, the outcome of this battle would still be uncertain. He'd have to play all his trump cards and gamble everything.
But fortunately, he was right.
And more importantly, his hand was too good!
To a Martial Saint, the effort needed to cultivate a prospective Saint was immense. Even a genius like Li Hongling would need twenty or thirty years just to reach Grandmaster level, let alone the upper three grades, it was nearly hopeless.
Let alone freaks like Shen Xingzhu. Even someone like Jiang Yunqing could be counted on one hand.
With Wen Yao dead, Mu Zhao's options were even fewer.
And just then, Chen Kuang revealed perfect mastery over the Martial Saint's supreme technique!
Mu Zhao didn't even stop to question the reason behind this stolen mastery, because Chen Kuang hadn't just picked up the surface. He'd captured both form and essence!
This, naturally, was thanks to his passive skill:
Martial Arts Prodigy.
In theory, any martial technique Chen Kuang laid eyes on, he could instantly learn.
But learning too many techniques wasn't necessarily beneficial. Besides, Martial Arts Prodigy only allowed him to learn, it didn't fast-forward the progress bar to mastery. He still had to train extensively to use them effectively.
Moreover, a Martial Saint's ultimate techniques inevitably touched on their own personal Dao.
Ever since threatening Shen Xingzhu through her Dao Heart, Chen Kuang had sensed how unreliable the concept of "Dao" truly was in this world. If he learned too much, he risked being controlled.
But at this moment, just showing that he'd learned the Martial Saint's techniques was enough to make Mu Zhao glimpse hope.
This wasn't just a genius. It was a genius who didn't need any more trial and error.
If Chen Kuang were willing to keep learning, even if just for show, Mu Zhao wouldn't care. After all, what he needed wasn't truly a disciple, but a vessel for his Dao!
It was like finding a lifeline in desperation.
Normally, Mu Zhao wouldn't be so quick to believe Chen Kuang's claims. But Chen Kuang had another passive skill in effect:
Reasoned and Convincing: Any statement you make, as long as it is logically self-consistent, has a high probability of being believed and trusted.
This was the final straw that tipped the balance in Mu Zhao's heart.
Once played, there could be no regrets. A single wrong move spelled eternal damnation.
At that moment, Mu Zhao heard the sound of his own Dao Heart shattering, and only then did he realize what a colossal mistake he had made!
For a Master Realm cultivator, a broken Dao Heart merely meant the collapse of the Dao Foundation, you couldn't advance until it was rebuilt. It didn't affect your current level much.
But for a Saint, it meant the world itself would revoke its recognition.
That is.. your Domain of the Dao!
BOOM!!!!!!
The massive "Tyrannical" Dao Domain, where Mu Zhao reigned as the sole sovereign, instantly shattered and collapsed.
The power that had allowed him to become the ruler of this pocket world disappeared in a breath, and his once towering, world-commanding figure shrank back to the height of an ordinary man. The pressure he exuded vanished in a heartbeat.
The vortex that had enveloped this space, representing heaven and earth bending to his will, dispersed like flowing wind and drifting clouds. Without a Dao Domain to bind them, all forces scattered to the four winds.
The two clashing Dao Domains, which had earlier been at a delicate balance favoring Mu Zhao, now broke that equilibrium and came surging back to overwhelm him.
Mu Zhao's cultivation began plummeting.
In the span of a single breath, he dropped from the Daoist Shore Realm... down to the Profound Realm!
In this world, one could prove the Dao in a single night, so too could one lose the Dao in a single breath!
What is hard to attain is easy to lose.
Those who seek to steal heaven's merit will only suffer the bitter fruit of their own delusions.
At that moment, Lu Zhexuan's Manifestation finally broke through Mu Zhao's blockade, taking one final step, crossing the Sea of Suffering, traversing the endless reincarnation that had daunted all mortals.
Her Manifestation, more than just a projection, was her very soul stepping forth. It grew ever clearer, forming the image of a goddess wearing a jeweled crown and a feathered robe, standing tall in the wind, sacred and majestic.
As it took that final step, the void beneath Lu Zhexuan's feet revealed the boundless shores of the Other Side. Countless indistinct saints of the past stood there at the end of the shore, gazing up at her with smiles, as if welcoming her arrival.
Moved, Lu Zhexuan swept her eyes across them, and indeed saw the image of "Martial Saint" Mu Zhao.
That phantom was identical to the statue atop the Martial Saint Pavilion in Mount Tai: a benevolent and dignified elder with a long beard and robust build.
But now, that faintly smiling figure was fading, being erased by the world from the roster of saints.
As it disappeared, the image twisted for just a moment. The smiling face contorted into one of sheer ferocity, a beastly, hate-filled expression dripping with malice.
This was the true face of the "Martial Saint."
"Impossible...! That little bastard dared deceive me?! How dare you, how dare you! This can't be! How could this happen?!"
Not far away, Mu Zhao's eyes were bloodshot as he screamed in fury, his whole body trembling. He looked no different from a beast who'd just had its human skin stripped off, mad, primal, and naked in his humiliation.
He tried to claw back the dissipating Dao Domain, but the moment his Dao Heart shattered, that power had already abandoned him.
The more he struggled now, the more he contradicted the essence of "Tyranny", his once peerless Dao. The faster his strength slipped away.
Yet how could Mu Zhao possibly stay calm?
His two thousand years of accumulation, gone in an instant, all thanks to a single lie from a lowborn brat!
He raised both arms and screamed over and over again:
"I am the Martial Saint! I am a Saint! How could I betray my own Dao?!"
Eyes red with rage, he howled at the heavens:
"I am a Saint! I was merely showing mercy to an ignorant youth, allowing him the chance to be my disciple! If he truly knelt with sincerity, he would have gained a path to survival, that's all! That's all!"
"Is this not Tyranny?! What fault have I committed?! What fault?!"
"The heavens are blind and deaf! To be deceived by such a brat, and strip me of my Dao Heart! I refuse to accept this!!!!"
His voice thundered like rolling storms, but the tyrannical will he once commanded was gone. Only despair remained in his hoarse, fading cries.
Mere moments ago, Lu Zhexuan had been Profound Realm and Mu Zhao was Daoist Shore Realm.
Now, their positions had completely reversed.
One ascended, the other fell.
Lu Zhexuan became a Saint. Mu Zhao lost his Dao.
...
Mount Tai, Martial Saint Pavilion.
The chaos from Mu Zhao's abrupt departure had yet to subside.
The mountain itself had been split in two by his fury when he left. Now, the Martial Saint Pavilion stood half-ruined and half-intact, and no one dared act rashly.
Everyone knew by now, the pavilion master, Wen Hongsheng, had suffered from a sudden rush of blood to the head because Mu Zhao's second direct disciple, his own son, Wen Yao, had suddenly died.
It had been sudden, yes, but the soul tablet shattered. That left no room for doubt.
Wen Yao was at the peak of the Moon-Embracing Realm, and had mastered the Out-of-Body Divine Ability. If an Upper Three Grade cultivator had been nearby when he died, his Primordial Spirit could have been sealed using secret techniques, there might have been a slim hope of survival.
When a person dies, their light goes out. The Primordial Spirit is that flickering flame.
Once it leaves the body, it is immediately snuffed out by the wind, unless preserved fast enough, in which case a trace of soul might survive. Not enough to revive, but enough to retain a shred of consciousness.
Unfortunately, Wen Yao had died inside the Ancient Battlefield of Meditation.
Not even a Saint could forcibly open a closed Ancient Battlefield of Meditation.
Wen Yao's death, was carved in iron.
Still, one wonders... when Wen Hongsheng recalled sending his son into that place, was there a moment, even just one, where he regretted it?
Since the Martial Saint departed, Wen Hongsheng had sat blankly in the attic, staring dazedly at the shattered soul token.
No one else in the Martial Saint Pavilion dared disturb him, and so the ruined building was left to stand in silence.
Wen Hongsheng clenched his teeth in anguish, muttering bitterly, "Yao'er... the Honored 'Martial Saint' will definitely avenge you."
In truth, Wen Hongsheng knew very well that Wen Yao's death was most likely due to a plan he himself had been unaware of.
Mu Zhao had desired to use Wen Yao to achieve something, and Wen Yao had chosen to comply.
Tracing it back to its roots, the one who had killed Wen Yao was none other than Mu Zhao himself.
Yet now, Wen Hongsheng could only deceive himself. As the Pavilion Master of the Martial Saint Pavilion, how could he afford to hate the Martial Saint?
Naturally, he could only direct his hatred toward the one who had taken action, Chen Kuang.
Lost in this torment, Wen Hongsheng had no heart left to console the other members of the Martial Saint Pavilion.
Until now, when a sudden uproar from below reached his ears.
Having finally regained some composure, Wen Hongsheng furrowed his brow the moment he heard the noise.
Just as he was standing up, a favored disciple stumbled up the stairs, nearly falling flat on his face.
Wen Hongsheng's frown deepened.
"What has you in such a panic? As a disciple of the Martial Saint Pavilion, how can you be so disorderly?"
The disciple swallowed hard, gasping for breath.
"P-Pavilion Master... War! We've been declared war upon!"
Wen Hongsheng was momentarily stunned, and his face turned grim.
"What war? Speak clearly!"
The disciple stammered, "It's the Mysterious Divine Path Sect... they've declared war on our Martial Saint Pavilion!"
Wen Hongsheng's first reaction was disbelief.
How could this be? It made no sense!
The Mysterious Divine Path Sect had always been aloof and avoided conflict, why would they suddenly declare war?
He stared at the disciple, searching for signs that he was lying, but saw none.
If it were true, then why? There had never been any real animosity between the Martial Saint Pavilion and the Mysterious Divine Path Sect, barely even minor friction.
Though the Pavilion's methods could be overbearing, it was only ever toward their enemies.
The Mysterious Divine Path Sect had never been one.
Remaining calm, Wen Hongsheng asked, "Did we perhaps accidentally injure one of their disciples? If so, we can offer an apology. There's no need to escalate things into a declaration of war. This kind of thing shouldn't be spoken of carelessly."
He had expected his disciple to come to his senses and admit his mistake.
But instead, the young man merely looked hesitant, showing no sign of backing down.
Wen Hongsheng's expression darkened.
"Speak plainly! Stop hemming and hawing like a coward!"
The disciple braced himself and said:
"Pavilion Master, it wasn't an accidental injury to any disciple."
"It's the Honored 'Martial Saint'... He reportedly clashed with the Earthly Spirit Dao Lord of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect, resulting in the Dao Lord's fall. The sect's inner bell tolled eight times. The Directional Dao Lords requested instruction from the Sect Master, and they've decided... to go to war with us."
"Right now... the war proclamation has already been spread."
Wen Hongsheng froze.
Only after a long while did he speak: "Are you certain?"
The disciple nodded vigorously. "Absolutely!"
He hurried to say, "Pavilion Master, I know you're grieving right now, but... please come down and stabilize the situation, or the entire pavilion will descend into chaos!"
Wen Hongsheng steadied his mind and took a deep breath.
"You're right, no need to panic."
"They may have a saint in the Mysterious Divine Path Sect, but don't we have one in our Martial Saint Pavilion? Once the Honored 'Martial Saint' returns, everything will be resolved."
At that moment, Wen Hongsheng seemed to have regained his unshakable devotion to Mu Zhao.
"If they want war, then war it shall be!"
The disciple nodded as well, finally feeling he had someone to rely on.
Wen Hongsheng adjusted his robes and leapt down from the crumbling attic, landing in the central square.
Below, many disciples had already gathered, noisily discussing the events.
No wonder there had been so much noise earlier...
Wen Hongsheng thought, walking beneath the towering statue of the Martial Saint. When the crowd fell silent, he took a deep breath and declared:
"I've heard everything. If the Mysterious Divine Path Sect wants war, then we shall meet it head-on! Our Martial Saint Pavilion has never feared, "
He had barely started his sentence-
"Crack!"
A sound like a thunderclap shattered the air.
Wen Hongsheng looked up instinctively.
The lifelike statue of the Martial Saint suddenly cracked open, right down the center of its head.
The fissure ran from the forehead, down the face, slanting from the bridge of the nose across the cheek, and around the back of the neck before vanishing.
"Crack... crack..."
Thunder rolled like drums in Wen Hongsheng's ears, raising every hair on his body and making him tremble.
"BOOM!"
A tremendous crash nearly made him collapse.
He looked up wide-eyed as the face of the statue fell away, crashing down like a dark shroud over the world.
His vision went black, and the last thought in his mind was:
It's over... the sky has fallen.
....
At the periphery of the battlefield.
Those unable to participate in the domain battle at the center were not merely idle onlookers.
Due to the Mysterious Divine Path Sect's declaration of war, the Martial Saint Pavilion Grandmasters present instantly turned hostile, or perhaps had no other choice. After exchanging a few blows with Ling Yazhi, other sects' Grandmasters joined in.
But since the truth had already come to light, all the others naturally sided with the Mysterious Divine Path Sect, and so the Pavilion's Grandmaster fled in disgrace.
Had everyone not been so focused on the domain battle, he might not have escaped alive.
Originally, Ling Yazhi had believed that since the Earthly Spirit Dao Lord had already fallen, the battle would soon end.
But what no one expected was that the nearly vanished aura of the Dao Lord suddenly surged back, rising rapidly!
The domain clash resumed in full.
Ling Yazhi was stunned. "Could it be... the Dao Lord isn't dead?"
Xu Datong muttered, "What else could it be? There are only three people in there. Unless that kid suddenly became a saint..."
Which, of course, was impossible.
No matter how legendary Chen Kuang's story was, he was still just in the Moon-Embracing Realm. He couldn't possibly leap two major realms in an instant. That would be outrageous!
Thus, only one possibility remained: Lu Zhexuan hadn't died, she had ascended to sainthood!
The reversal came so fast, no one was more bewildered than Shen Meinan.
Just a moment ago, she had been in emotional turmoil, shocked by her master and Chen Kuang's mysterious relationship, and devastated by her master's seeming death. Tears had poured like pearls.
If not for the veil hiding most of Shen Xingzhu's face, Meinan might've completely ruined her sister's image with her sobbing.
She quickly composed herself and refocused on the battlefield.
Ling Yazhi felt both relief and anxiety.
Relief, because the Mysterious Divine Path Sect had gained another saint.
Worry, because Lu Zhexuan had just become a saint and was already clashing with the "Martial Saint", the situation looked grim.
Would another reversal undo this one, doubling the sorrow?
But thankfully, things didn't go the way Ling Yazhi feared.
Instead, they galloped down a bizarre, nearly incomprehensible path.
The once evenly matched battle soon swung heavily in one direction.
And it wasn't the Martial Saint gaining the upper hand.
It was the exact opposite!
Feeling the rapid decline in the Martial Saint's aura, like a deflating balloon, Ling Yazhi stared in disbelief.
"What... what's happening now?"
None of the Grandmasters could make sense of it. The situation was too surreal, too absurd, they dared not speak lightly.
The younger generation didn't dare speak at all.
Only Jiang Yunqing, ever candid, muttered, "The 'Martial Saint'... no longer seems to be at the Daoist Shore Realm."
Hiss-
Everyone gasped.
Even the Grandmasters couldn't suppress their shock.
This was unheard of, unimaginable!
A saint... had ceased to be a saint!
There could be only one explanation: the Martial Saint's Dao Heart had been shattered!
But how? By whom?
Most turned their gaze to Lu Zhexuan, marveling at the Earthly Spirit True Lord's power.
Only Shen Meinan, who knew what had happened in the Heaven Prison, guessed the truth from Shen Xingzhu's earlier experience.
This kind of thing... only Chen Kuang could have done!
"That bastard! That liar! That damned trickster!"
Shen Meinan fumed inwardly.
"He tricked me again! He actually did that with Master... with Master...!"
But when her gaze returned to the battlefield, her heart softened.
"Forget it... as long as he survives, anything's fine! I'll settle the score with him later!"
....
Facing the near-mad Mu Zhao, Chen Kuang sneered,
"Say all you like, it's all just excuses."
"If your Dao is that of Domineering Might, then you must be unwavering and resolute. You should have struck me down for killing your disciples. That would have been true to your Dao."
"Yet with a few words, I unmasked you. You ignored your disciples' deaths and tried to take their killer as your own disciple!"
"If Heaven still acknowledges you, then Heaven is blind!"
Mu Zhao had gone utterly insane. His lifelong pursuit had collapsed entirely, devastating both his cultivation and his mind.
With his Dao Heart shattered, his cultivation didn't merely fall to the Profound Realm, it would continue to fall until he became just a Grandmaster.
At this point, he had only one thought.
The former Martial Saint, eyes bloodshot, burned all his remaining cultivation, broke through Lu Zhexuan's domain, and came crashing down like a meteor of annihilation.
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
Chen Kuang smiled.
He took out the Glazed Image-Freezing Lamp, and uttered coldly:
"Fix."
In an instant, everything in the world lost its shadow. The Glazed Light froze it all in place.
The "Martial Saint" included.
Yet his cultivation continued to burn, consuming him from within. Wide-eyed, Mu Zhao watched his strength drain away, unable to touch the man who had once been beneath his notice.
BOOM!
Blazing fire devoured him.
In this vast world, it was as if a candle flame had been snuffed out by a breeze.
...
Elsewhere, Ji Wangquan received another message.
This time, it came from her father.
The Emperor of Zhou:
Ji Chengtian.
Ji Wangquan held the jade slip tightly and quietly read its contents in a corner. A cold glint flashed across her eyes.
There was only one line in the message:
"Deathsworn have arrived at the Chen Clan. Chen Kuang must be held there: dead or alive."