Chapter 301 – Mountain God's Might Can't Beat the Fiend-Slaying Sword—This Sword Slays Fiends…

What is called Pine Mountain is formed by a thousand pines becoming a forest, and ten thousand pines becoming a mountain.

Its name ‘Deer-Pine’ comes from roots resembling deer hooves, branches like antlers, flowers like speckled patterns, and leaves like fur.

Thus, Pine Mountain is merely an abbreviated name.

Its full name is actually ‘Deer-Pine Mountain’.

Referring to the mountain’s abundance of deer-hide pines resembling deer.

Therefore, the Pine Mountain Temple’s cultivation method – the Stitched Deerhide Scripture – is actually a grafting technique of transplanting and splicing.

This involves completely removing the bark from deer-pine trees of certain ages, refining it into a cultivation artifact through secret methods, and then making it completely adhere to one’s own skin.

During this process, disciples of Pine Mountain Temple must endure the pain of skinning at least a hundred times.

After all, to make one’s skin adapt to the deer-pine bark without rejecting it,

They must repeatedly peel off their own skin and forcibly graft the deer-pine bark onto it.

This is what’s called ‘peeling trees and painting skin’.

Repeating this process hundreds of times until the body becomes accustomed to this deer-pine bark,

Only then can Pine Mountain Temple disciples proceed to the second stage of cultivation: ‘painting skin into flesh’.

After ‘painting skin into flesh’ comes ‘painting skin into bone’.

However, the vast majority of Pine Mountain Temple disciples can only cultivate to the stages of ‘peeling trees and painting skin’ and ‘painting skin into flesh’.

The subsequent ‘painting skin into bone’, and ultimately ‘coagulating blood to solidify form’,

Are achievements few can attain.

After all, not everyone can endure the ‘pain of bone replacement’ and ‘pain of blood replacement’.

Previously, those Golden Core Stage senior disciples of Pine Mountain Temple like Gao Jun had reached the realm of painting skin into bone.

Limb regeneration and iron-hard skin were as easy as turning their hands for them.

The Pine Mountain Temple master, who was stronger than them, had reached the realm of ‘coagulating blood to solidify form’.

In other words, what now appeared before Lu Chen was no longer a human cultivator,

But a ‘deer-pine tree demon’ with over a thousand years of cultivation.

If it were anyone else, they might have difficulty discerning Lu Yannian’s true nature,

Allowing him to escape using the ‘golden cicada shedding its shell’ method.

But for Lu Chen, who possessed the Azure Lotus Eyes and even the destiny of Innate Nine Qi,

Such petty tricks couldn’t affect him in the slightest.

Because people may change, but the essence, energy, and spirit of a person do not.

As long as Lu Chen followed this trace, no matter where the other hid or what form they took,

He could identify them at first glance.

Therefore, even though Lu Yannian had sacrificed all the Pine Mountain Temple disciples to attract Lu Chen’s attention and buy time for his skin-shedding tree transformation,

Lu Chen still instantly found his true body.

At this point, Lu Yannian knew he could no longer continue hiding.

Life-or-death struggle – this was his only remaining choice.

When all escape routes are cut off, the more cowardly one is, the more they will rebound from rock bottom, erupting with terrifying combat will.

Such was Lu Yannian’s current state.

In an instant, the entire Pine Mountain began to shake violently.

Countless deer-pine trees on the mountain swayed continuously, their branches and leaves flying about like living creatures.

Immediately after, Lu Yannian’s true form began continuously absorbing the bodies of surrounding deer-pine trees, converting them into parts of his own body.

Before long, a giant withered wooden pine-deer appeared before Lu Chen.The colossal stag was entirely covered in brown, wrinkled bark, with two antlers densely adorned with tiny, sharp thorns.

Its head resembled a tree canopy, lush with branches and leaves.

Its back was like a mountain, blanketed in greenery.

From a distance, Lu Yannian at this moment appeared as a moving mountain, exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Moreover, compared to ordinary Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, Lu Yannian now carried a unique aura.

This aura was not unfamiliar to Lu Chen.

It was the power of Luck he had once sensed from the instance boss, Little Gold Dragon, in the Dungeon: Cauldron-Carrying Warrior.

However, compared to the vast and pure Luck of Little Gold Dragon,

the Luck on Lu Yannian was not only significantly weaker but also highly impure.

Even so, it was a force that surpassed ordinary Spiritual Power,

only slightly inferior to Lu Chen’s Primordial Qi.

The giant stag, transformed by Lu Yannian’s Law of Heaven and Earth, looked down upon Lu Chen from above.

Its eyes now appeared icy cold.

“Since you stand before the mountain god, why do you not bow?”

A deep, authoritative voice echoed through the mountains, spreading for hundreds of miles in all directions.

The Mountain God of Pine-Deer Mountain—this was the essence of Lu Yannian’s Law of Heaven and Earth.

It was also the fundamental reason he was unwilling to leave Pine Mountain.

Only within the confines of Pine Mountain could he maximize his strength.

Away from Pine Mountain, without the mountain god’s power recognized by heaven and earth,

his abilities would be significantly weaker than those of other Nascent Soul Stage cultivators of his level.

Under Lu Yannian’s control, Lu Chen now seemed to be despised by the very heavens and earth of the Pine Mountain region.

Overwhelming hostility surged toward him from all directions.

This was the Divine Might of the mountain god—not a Great Divine Power, yet comparable to one.

Facing this torrent of Divine Might, Lu Chen’s expression finally shifted slightly.

Everything… was indeed as he had suspected.

These individuals were undoubtedly following the path of incense offerings.

The so-called path of incense offerings, also known as the ‘Divine Path of Will Power,’

differed from the cultivation methods of ordinary cultivators, who absorbed heaven and earth’s Spiritual Power to refine their bodies and minds and comprehend the great Dao.

The Divine Path of Will Power advocated ‘seizing the opportune moment to borrow celestial power.’

It involved absorbing the Power Of Will from all beings to shape the body and nurture the spirit—a unique divine path.

The two approaches could not be simply deemed superior or inferior, each having its own merits.

As early as when Lu Chen saw Black Cloud Daoist in Caihua County obsessively urging the locals to erect a divine statue in his honor,

he had vaguely guessed the cultivation path of Pine Mountain Temple.

Confronted with Lu Yannian, who had now transformed into the Mountain God of Pine Mountain, an ordinary person would likely be powerless to resist.

After all, it is difficult for one person to oppose an entire mountain.

But Lu Chen was no ordinary person.

If the Divine Might of the mountain god was a Great Divine Power, was his Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation not one as well?

“Rise.”

Lu Chen took a step forward, his ritual robes fluttering without any wind.

In an instant, the winds and clouds shifted, and the sun and moon seemed to reverse.

The ‘malice of heaven and earth’ that had piled up around Lu Chen like a tidal wave was instantly cleaved apart.

Four massive Immortal Sword phantoms hovered high in the sky, towering and majestic.

Beneath these four Immortal Sword phantoms, the so-called Mountain God of Pine Mountain lost all its majestic Divine Might,

appearing utterly ordinary.

A mountain god?

This sword slays fiends… and gods alike.

Gazing at the surrounding Immortal Swords, Lu Yannian, transformed into the mountain god, completely shed his earlier condescending demeanor.

“A s-sword formation Great Divine Power?!”

Lu Yannian’s pupils contracted sharply, and an indescribable fear began to spread from the depths of his heart.To fuse the Sword Intent of the Harmony Realm and form it into a Great Divine Power Sword Formation…

At this moment, Lu Yannian finally understood what the ‘day of death’ he had foreseen truly was.

Sword Cultivators were renowned for their ‘offensive prowess’—overwhelming in attack but weak in defense, unmatched among cultivators of the same stage.

Though Lu Chen was only at the Golden Core Stage,

this did little to diminish his Great Divine Power of the Transformation Dao Realm.

The ‘Mountain Deity’s Might’ was but a false Great Divine Power, a force stolen from the heavens and earth.

But Lu Chen’s Great Divine Power Sword Formation was not.

Fortunately, as Lu Chen unleashed his Great Divine Power, his cultivation level was fully exposed to Lu Yannian,

revealing that Lu Chen was only at the Second Revolution of the Golden Core Stage.

This gave Lu Yannian a glimmer of hope.

Had Lu Chen also been at the Nascent Soul Stage,

Lu Yannian might not have even entertained a thought of resistance.

With this, Lu Yannian’s gaze gradually hardened.

Though the battle would be difficult, victory was not impossible.

His strategy was to stall—to drag it out until his opponent exhausted his energy and could no longer sustain the Great Divine Power.

This was his path to victory, his only chance of survival.

“Let me see whether your sword is sharper, or my mountain is sturdier.”

“Brat, to covet my Pine Mountain with such audacity—aren’t you afraid of breaking your teeth!”

After roaring, Lu Yannian immediately channeled the full power of the Mountain Deity.

The Pine Mountain, now fused with him, manifested countless blood-red Dao Patterns.

An indescribable stench of corpses instantly filled the air.

Upon closer inspection, the trees on the mountain were no longer trees—

they were human corpses planted in the soil.

The Stitched Deerhide Scripture: deerhide for form, human hide for substance.

Cultivation Technique, Cultivation Technique—only those that ‘devour humans’ are true Cultivation Techniques!

Witnessing Lu Yannian’s grotesque form and overwhelming Karma Entanglement,

Lu Chen made no attempt to conceal the disgust in his eyes.

Such immense Karma meant that the number of people who had died directly or indirectly by Lu Yannian’s hand must have reached hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

In a world like the Central Province, where the Heavenly Dao was flawless,

a demonic cultivator like Lu Yannian would be rejected by heaven and earth wherever he went,

constantly facing the threat of divine thunder punishment.

But in the Ancient Fiend World, Lu Chen felt no heavenly suppression against Lu Yannian.

Instead, he faintly sensed that the other was in harmony with the Heavenly Dao.

The character for ‘Fiend’—one ‘person’ above the mountain, ‘tens of thousands’ below it.

When people fall ill, they take medicine; but when heaven falls ill… it devours people.

Without a doubt, the Heavenly Dao of this world… was ill.

With this realization, Lu Chen vaguely grasped the essence of the Ancient Fiend World.

But there was no time to ponder further,

for Lu Yannian, driven by the desperation of a life-and-death crisis, was already bringing down the Mountain Deity’s hoof upon him.

Empowered by his Divine Ability, the giant hoof swiftly transformed into a towering mountain, its momentum overwhelming.

Lu Chen raised his head, his robes fluttering without wind.

Then, the Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation hovering around him sprang into action.

The Fiend-Trapping Sword released countless sword shadows, tearing through the sky.

Amidst several golden rays, they transformed into chains of swords, directly coiling around the Mountain Deity’s hoof.

The moment the chains made contact, they began a fierce struggle against the Divine Ability’s power.

Though Lu Chen’s Dao Realm surpassed Lu Yannian’s,

there was a vast gap in their cultivation levels.

Lu Chen was at the Second Revolution of the Golden Core Stage,

while Lu Yannian had reached the Seventh Transformation of the Nascent Soul Stage.Coupled with the ‘Mountain God Edict’ he obtained through his Heaven-Stealing power,

the Fiend-Trapping Sword was unable to fully restrain Lu Yannian’s Divine Ability, the Myriad-Ton Stomp.

Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap…

After holding Lu Yannian back for a moment, the sword chains formed by the Fiend-Trapping Sword began to snap one after another.

However, these broken chains did not vanish.

Instead, they transformed into streams of Primordial Qi and returned to the Fiend-Trapping Sword.

“Break!”

With a furious roar, Lu Yannian completely shattered the sword-chain prison formed by the Fiend-Trapping Sword and charged fiercely toward Lu Chen below.

But almost the instant the chains were broken, the Fiend-Severing Sword, one of the four Immortal Swords, stirred into action.

As the chains of the Fiend-Trapping Sword vanished, they were replaced by the Fiend-Severing Sword’s power to annihilate all laws.

Countless purple sword rays shone upon Lu Yannian’s body.

The Mountain God power he took such pride in was now significantly weakened.

For a moment, Lu Yannian even felt the ‘Mountain God Edict’ within him loosen, nearly spiraling out of control.

Fortunately, Lu Chen’s spiritual power seemed insufficient to completely ‘annihilate’ all his laws.

Thus, while the Fiend-Severing Sword weakened his Mountain God power,

it only diminished it, falling short of eradicating it entirely.

This gave Lu Yannian a glimmer of hope for victory.

Life and death… hung in this very moment!

“Die!!!”

Lu Yannian roared, his greatly weakened Myriad-Ton Stomp now fully enveloping Lu Chen.

But at that moment, an intense sense of life-and-death crisis surged within him.

No… something’s wrong!

Before Lu Yannian could react, a red light emerged from the distance.

Looking up, he saw the phantom of the Fiend-Slaughter Sword materialize from illusion into reality.

What terrified Lu Yannian even more was that the Fiend-Slaughter Sword had unknowingly absorbed a massive amount of Karma.

In the Central Province, Karma was a poison countless Cultivators desperately avoided.

But in the Ancient Fiend Nine Realms, Karma was not a poison—it was a supreme delicacy sought after by Cultivator Families,

and the very source of their power.

Yet now, this Karma had been wholly absorbed by the Fiend-Slaughter Sword, and its impact far surpassed that of the earlier Fiend-Trapping and Fiend-Severing Swords.

With one side weakening and the other strengthening, the power of this single strike from the Fiend-Slaughter Sword

no longer lay across an insurmountable chasm of cultivation Realms.

By now, Lu Yannian understood Lu Chen’s plan.

From the very beginning, Lu Chen had never intended to kill him with the other Fiend Swords.

Frightened by Lu Chen’s Sword Formation at the start, Lu Yannian had overlooked one crucial fact:

Although Lu Chen’s Realm was high,

his Divine Soul and cultivation base were insufficient to wield multiple Fiend Swords simultaneously.

What appeared to be four swords united was, in reality, four swords acting independently.

All of Lu Chen’s previous actions had merely been setting the stage for this final strike.

The Fiend-Slaughter Sword was Lu Chen’s true killing move!

Though he now understood, it was too late for Lu Yannian to turn back.

“Sever.”

Lu Chen’s icy voice, like a death warrant, pierced through Lu Yannian’s ears and struck deep into his heart.

The next moment, a blood-red Immortal Sword descended from the heavens, striking directly at Lu Yannian’s Myriad-Ton Stomp.

In an instant, the colossal Mountain God Stomp was cleaved apart by the sword.

Then, as if meeting no resistance, the Fiend-Slaughter Sword surged relentlessly toward Lu Yannian’s true form.

Boom!The Fiend-Slaughter Sword swept across the sky, shattering the mountain deity as Lu Yannian’s Law of Heaven and Earth instantly dissipated.

Mid-air, Lu Yannian—now reverted to his true form—stared in disbelief at his chest.

The blood-red Fiend-Slaughter Sword had pierced through his torso like divine punishment, relentlessly devouring his already dwindling life force.

Sensing something, Lu Yannian lifted his gaze to see Lu Chen standing before him, having appeared at some unknown moment.

Lu Chen gripped the hilt of the Fiend-Slaughter Sword with one hand, his expression frosty.

“Samadhi True Fire.”

Under Lu Yannian’s stunned gaze, a sacred flame unlike any he had ever seen traveled along the Fiend-Slaughter Sword and engulfed his body.

In the next instant, soul-rending agony washed over him.

“Ahhh!!!”

(End of Chapter)