Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

The reverberating Buddhist chants echo into their ears, yet instead of inducing tranquility, they inflame the heart and kindle restless thoughts.

Buddha's Light shines down, yet instead of enlightening the mind, it increasingly bewilders and hypnotizes, lulling them into a stupor.

Trapped within the formation, Yan Yu and Mei Yingxue immediately realize the formation's formidable power. It's as if Orochi entered the Purple Cloud Formation; no matter how high one's cultivation realm, one cannot withstand the barrage of the formation—much like a warlord, no matter how formidable, cannot withstand a rain of rockets, it belongs to the category of being crushed by overwhelming force.

"Go!" Mei Yingxue swiftly alerts the others, then immediately melds with her sword, rapidly escaping towards the edge of the formation.

Elder Yi also roars in rage, unleashing an unknown forbidden technique, transforming his sword light into thousands, densely covering the sky, furiously assaulting the Buddha's Light above.

While Elder Yi distracts the formation's firepower for the others, the remaining disciples scatter like birds and beasts, their sword light radiating in all directions.

Yan Yu, however, doesn't rush to withdraw, because logically speaking, since the opponent deployed the formation and then suddenly activated it upon their entry, they must have ensured an inescapable trap.

Rather than scurrying like ants in a jar, only to be crushed without suspense, it's better to take the opportunity to explore the illusion realm's mechanisms.

With a light flick of his fingers, he draws out Liangyi Microdust Sword Qi, slicing towards the Buddha's Light that envelops the sky.

It was severed.

The essence of the Yin-Yang Dust Sword Formation is to sever space, and even tangible yet formless Buddha's Light is split apart as if scissors cut through silk.

But the Buddha's Light is too dense and abundant, even the sword formation struggles to shred it completely. Yan Yu calculates silently, suddenly feeling a sweetness in his throat, and immediately spits out a mouthful of blood.

Inner fire raging strong.

The invisible inner fire is an inner demon, attacking your spirit; the tangible Buddha's Light is an external demon, destroying your physical body. Dealing with one alone is manageable, but both combined are quite challenging.

Yan Yu can only quickly maintain his spirit, preventing the inner demon from further mischief. The action of the Yin-Yang Dust Sword Formation inevitably slows; he sees Elder Yi's myriad sword light in the sky, already completely swallowed by the tidal Buddha's Light, which then surges stronger and thicker, like the boundless sea, layer upon layer pressing down, instantly engulfing Yan Yu's figure as well.

In that instant, there was no pain, and his vision disappeared.

When Yan Yu opens his eyes again, he finds himself and Mei Yingxue standing atop the summit of Mount Sange, surrounded by lush greenery, blooming flowers, clear streams whispering, birds chirping, and deer bleating—there's no sign of an oppressive Buddha's Light.

"This is..." Mei Yingxue starts to speak, only to hear Yan Yu say:

"It's a save point."

A save point is also a classic mechanism of a trial secret realm. Similar to the Eighteen Copper Men Formation of Shaolin Temple, if your martial skills aren't sharp and your defense is breached, the opponent won't deal a fatal blow but will instead send you flying with cudgels, inviting you to return next time.

If it were a mysterious realm of the Demon Cult or an evil sect, they often wouldn't bother with save point mechanisms, and disciples who fail at challenges simply perish; there's never a shortage of material for disciples seeking cultivation.

"If there's a save point mechanism, at least we can breathe a sigh of relief," Mei Yingxue says with a smile.

"Not necessarily," Yan Yu shakes his head and replies, "The mechanisms of trial secret realms are fixed, inscribed in the realm's rules by great powers when they opened the grotto heaven."

"But right now, we are inside an illusion similar to the Sun True Dullness Sword's memories, and the one controlling this dream is not bound by pre-determined rules, you understand what I mean?"

Mei Yingxue remains silent for a moment before suddenly frowning and asking, "Do you mean that the save points aren't unlimited?"

"The Sun True Dullness Sword, frankly, doesn't have the friendliest nature; its sentiments are reserved for those familiar with it," Yan Yu analyzes, "When I first met it in the Zhenmei Sword Sect, it even threatened to cut me down."

"Moreover, its physical form is currently slumbering; how much rationale it retains in its deep sleep is uncertain as well."

"Perhaps the Divine Sword spares us, hoping we aid it in resolving its past regret of failing to defend Shushan from the Shangqing Sect's downfall," Mei Yingxue muses. "If we fail too many times, it might lose patience and stop using the save point mechanism to save us."

"Earlier, the outside Onmyoji presumed the Heavenly Cloud Sword was hidden here and successively sent men to explore," Yan Yu mentions calmly, "and none managed to return."

"Thus, we cannot treat this as a mere trial secret realm; mishandling could still result in death."

"I understand," Mei Yingxue earnestly replies, "We must give it our all."

In this dream, there's no exit, indicating the escape routes were utterly severed long ago. If the Sun True Dullness Sword's problem isn't resolved, even if they aren't killed, the two would be trapped here to death.

Just like last time, when they controlled their swords and soared midway, they were intercepted by sword light again. It was that same junior disciple, informing them to head to the Ancestor Hall to discuss countermeasures against a hundred thousand demons besieging Shushan.

Mei Yingxue keenly noticed that although the three elders' views remained unchanged (one advocating for seeking help, one for charging out, and one for dispersing to escape), their specific arguments weren't entirely the same as the previous time.

This indicates that these aren't lines from a fixed script, but rather independently generated consciousness based on the Sun True Dullness Sword's memories.

"Clearly not a script," Yan Yu suddenly sends a voice transmission, "I think if an Onmyoji broke through the layers of sword pressure outside and entered this secret realm, they'd likely be discovered as impostors and instantly slain."