The Step of Death

Yaan was able to test his new sword sooner than expected. At first, he only intended to try swinging the sword around a few times, but it seemed that reality had different plans in mind for him.

Even though Yaan had planned to leave them alone until he truly reached the Immortal Step, when members of the Ghu Clan delivered themselves to his front door, he wasn't going to let them walk away.

He had already expected the Ghu Clan to learn that someone in the Heavenly Path Sect had undergone their Nirvana Life Heavenly Blessing, but it was slightly unexpected that their reaction would be so fast, sending three Nirvana Realm powerhouses just ten days later, intending to crush this potential threat before it could grow into a problem.

If he was he a normal Nirvana Life Realm cultivator, Yaan would definitely struggle to contend against this line-up…but Yaan was no ordinary cultivator, and these three were nothing but a joke. Even though he was just a single Dao Clone of complete true self, his battle power far surpassed others at his level, meaning that other cultivators at the Nirvana Realm were simply no threat to him.

Tremble…

Soon after the Primordial Sage departed without a word, the formation which now surrounded the entire Heavenly Path Mountain trembled, nearly breaking apart under a single strike. Yaan's green eyes flashed and he took a step, leaving the cave and instantly reappearing just one hundred feet away from the three black-robed cultivators.

The three cultivators, one of whom had been about to attack the sect-protecting formation once again, immediately paused and faced Yaan with serious expressions.

"Two humans and a ghoul, so this is the group that the Ghu Clan sent to greet me." Yaan spoke casually as his eyes shone with a light of indiscernible colour.

The expressions of the three Nirvana Life Realm Ghu Clansmen immediately changed. When they saw Yaan looking at them with that gaze, they felt like all of their secrets were being seen through! This sort of method was beyond their expectations…

Yaan could immediately see that only the leading figure who stood in the centre of the trio had already been at the Nirvana Life Realm prior to Yaan's ascension.

Nirvana Realm experts were uncommon, because the Nirvana Life Realm only lasted for three years before the Nirvana Death Heavenly Calamity struck. As such, it was impossible for the Ghu Clan to have three of these experts sitting around and ready to charge out, right as Yaan reached the Nirvana Life Realm.

Yaan knew this, but he still wasn't surprised. He knew how the Ghu Clan dealt with the appearance of other Nirvana Realm powerhouses in the Ghu Province - they would always have some of their Peak Origin Soul Realm experts ascend to the Nirvana Realm to deal with them.

'Dealing' with the other Nirvana Realm individuals who appeared in the Ghu Province didn't necessarily mean killing them, but it would always involve an aggressive investigation. In almost all cases, this investigation would end with the slaughter of the unfortunate person who decided to oppose the Ghu Clan, or alternatively, that person would be forced to submit to the Ghu Clan.

Back when Yaan lived in North Ghu City, he had believed that a Peak Origin Soul Realm powerhouse should be extremely rare in the Ghu Clan, but this was not the case. At any one time, they typically had around a dozen of these individuals. Apparently, the Ghu Clan possessed some sort of method which allowed their clansmen to make forceful progress through the Origin Soul Realm. Unfortunately, despite many investigation, nobody in the Ghu Province had been able to learn a single detail about this method.

Yaan only knew about this because Elia mentioned that Zue Yin had dealt with the same problem back then. However, Zue Yin was no pushover, and when she entered the Nirvana Life Realm, she had already comprehended the Dao of Fire to the immortal stage, making her a force to be reckoned with, even for the Ghu Clan. She had clashed with the Ghu Clan, but in the end, when Ghu Lin realised her identity, he ordered his men to return, knowing that they would be unable to defeat her. He had placed his hopes on her failing her Immortal Ascension, which was indeed what happened in 99% of cases.

In the end, Zue Yin actually successfully ascended to the Immortal Step, but she was swept up by the Divine Phoenix Clan without being given the chance to deal with the Ghu Clan like she had originally intended…

"I was planning to wait until the Immortal Step, but since you have decided that your clan does not want to live for another three years, I suppose that I will finish what Zue Yin started…wait for me, Ghu Lin."

When Yaan spoke Zue Yin's name, the central Ghu Clansman narrowed his eyes. When Yaan pointed out the fact that Ghu Lin was actually watching this confrontation from the Ghu Clan headquarters, all three showed shocked expressions.

"You, how could you-"

"June…" Yaan cut off the central black-robed individual, turning to his side and speaking to June. She had appeared beside him without any of the others even realising it, causing their hearts to lurch in fear.

It was only vague, but they were all starting to feel a strange premonition that something terrible was about to befall them…

When their expressions all changed once again, it was clear that Ghu Lin had spoken to them through the communication treasure which they were using to allow Ghu Lin to watch this confrontation from so many miles away. However, Yaan ignored all of this.

June turned away from the black-robed men, all of whom she had been watching curiously without a trace of fear. The Primordial Sage truly unnerved her, but these three didn't make her feel a single thing.

Her life was intertwined with Yaan's dao, meaning that she could instinctively feel that these individuals did not pose them any sort of threat whatsoever.

Ignoring the three robed Ghu Clansmen who had retreated hastily whilst taking out various treasures, Yaan smiled at June apologetically.

"June, you are my Dao Treasure…you are my sword. I would like to test your capabilities against these three targets, however…I don't want to force you to kill. If this sort of thing makes you feel uncomfortable, then you don't need to do anything. I won't force you, I want you to choose for yourself."

June blinked and showed a confused expression, before she understood what Yaan was saying, causing her to laugh and shake her head.

"Yaan, it's like you said, I'm a sword…I know that you see me as your younger sister and you want to protect me, but remember, I'm a sword, and a sword is meant to kill. This sort of thing doesn't bother me at all, ehehe."

Yaan smiled, thinking that her laugh was quite adorable and filled with a unique child-like innocence. However, when her words entered the ears of the panicking Ghu Clansmen, they shuddered. In their eyes, the young woman who stood before this terrifying man was no child, she was simply a murderous demon!

Yaan didn't say anything else. June's words came from her heart, and he understood that she meant what she said. A human would feel averse to killing for the first time, but he reminded himself that the young woman before him, although technically his younger sister, was no human - she was a treasure sword, a tool designed to kill. A sword would never feel any reservations towards killing, because this was its life's purpose.

'Being a sword is quite simple, isn't it. A sword's purpose in life is so clear, there is simply no need to even question it…how nice.' Yaan thought to himself pointlessly.

As he reached out, June transformed into a beam of light, shooting into his hand and reforming as a wooden sword. With this seemingly ordinary wooden sword in hand, Yaan turned back towards the three Ghu Clansmen…

However, when he turned back towards them, it was as if Yaan had become an entirely different person.

Elia, who had just now arrived after quelling the sect members' concerns and having them all hide in the sect's shelters, saw Yaan's change between him speaking to June and turning to face his enemies. Her eyes widened in shock, and she couldn't help but recall the words that Zue Yin had once used to describe Yaan…

'A lonely person…and a terrifying demon of the highest order.' Elia thought back. At the time, she didn't understand it, but now, those words made perfect sense.

"Yaan…" She muttered under her breath, watching as a killing intent like no other enveloped Yaan's gaze.

The Dao Clone of Soul had inherited Yaan's killing nature, but this didn't mean that the other two Dao Clones were lacking in this department. The Dao Clone of Soul was a slaughterous demon to his very core, whilst the Dao Clone of Qi was, by nature, peaceful and caring…

However, there was something that would bring out the murderous nature within the Dao Clone of Qi's heart - and that something, was when someone dared to threaten the peaceful home that he valued so dearly.

He remained calm on the surface, but as the killing intent leaked into Yaan's gaze, everyone who looked into his eyes trembled in fear. The Nirvana Realm Ghu Clansmen were no different, they felt like they had been locked onto by the eyes of the world most horrendous demonic beast, and in this moment, they realised…

They were going to die.

Yaan took a single step forwards, and the entire world distorted around him. He possessed only his intuitive understanding of dao, but in a way, this allowed him to focus on the pursuit of dao in a way that had never before been possible. He felt like he had become one with illusions, and even without thinking about it, he could dictate what was real, and what was not.

As Yaan took a single step, crossing the thousands of feet of distance that the robed trio had put between them in an instant, for the first time, he distinctively felt the connection between his dao and the sword in his hand. Although he hadn't even swung the sword yet, the simple act of stepping towards his opponent with the intent of using the sword to cut them down, had already taught him all that he needed to know.

This sword, his Dao Treasure, was the perfect vessel to channel his dao.

The distortions in the world caused countless ripples to spread out. Even after Yaan came to a stop, the trio could not move, and anyone watching this scene from afar would feel like the entire region around Heavenly Path Mountain had turned into an illusion, as if the world around Yaan was merely a painting which he could manipulate with a single stroke of his brush…

But this was no painting - it was reality. And there was no brush - there was only a sword.

The treasures retrieved by the Nirvana Realm powerhouses were useless, because in this moment, they could not even react. Yaan calmly raised the sword above his head, staring down at the three, and finally releasing his full killing intent for the world to see.

Countless crimson ripples surrounded Yaan as he held his simple wooden sword above his head. The sky turned red, reflecting the scene that he envisioned in his mind, the scene that he was about to turn into reality.

Whoosh…

In contrast to the terrifying illusions which enveloped the world for an unknown distance surrounding Yaan, the sound of the sword descending was very quiet. Despite being quiet however, the whistling of the wooden blade causing the Ghu Clansmens' hearts to tremble. They seemed to awaken from their paralysing fear, and they all roared out with bloodshot eyes, taking out talismans, blades, and a scroll, to defend against the seemingly simple sword strike.

Both the sword and the strike looked extremely ordinary, as if Yaan was just a mortal swinging an ordinary wooden sword. But how could this be the case? The sword was clearly causing countless illusions to manifest for miles all around, and the feeling of danger that the trio felt towards this sword strike told them that it was anything but ordinary!

The sky had turned red, but this wasn't what terrified the Ghu Clansmen the most. No, what truly caused their hearts to tremble, was the fact that when they stared up into the sky, they could see the scene of their own deaths staring back at them! It was if their impending demise had been painted into the Heavens, to set their fates in stone!

They tried to fight back, but it was a futile attempt at resistance.

The Ghu Clansman on the right was a ghoul. He attempted to defend against Yaan's slash by countering with a sword of his own, but as soon as his metal blade made contact with the simple wooden sword in Yaan's hands, it was as if Yaan's sword phased right through it, before gently slashing across the Ghu Clansman's torso without leaving a single scratch.

And just like that, a Nirvana Life realm powerhouse lost his life.

The other two by his side paled in fright. This simple looking sword strike was too terrifying in their eyes - they didn't understand how their companion had lost his life, because it looked like he wasn't even hit! He didn't shed a drop of blood, his corpse wasn't even damaged in any way, he simply…died.

Without any change in his facial expression, the killing intent around Yaan erupted with even greater ferocity than before. The form of this killing intent was rapidly being tempered, causing it to develop in a direction that Yaan's full self had never comprehended before…

It was different, because this was the first time that Yaan had ever killed due to his desire to protect that which stood behind him. He had always killed for himself, but now, he was killing not for himself, but for the sake of others.

The second Ghu Clansman to take his strike was the strongest of the trio. After seeing his companion fall, he gritted his teeth and bit down on his tongue. He spat out a mouthful of black blood, which landed on his floating scroll, causing it to absorb the blood and then glow with a demonic black light. The Ghu Clansman then opened his mouth to chant an incantation in order to strengthen his technique even further…

But he never got the chance to chant his incantation.

By the time the third Ghu Clansman realised that the strongest of their group had already died, and the sword was now upon him, it was too late for him to do anything. The sword cut through the hundreds of talismans which he had retrieved to defend himself, yet it didn't even leave a scratch on them…

Despair plastered the final Ghu Clansman's face as his corpse plummeted from the sky.

Yaan waved his hand, collecting the three valuable corpses, along with all of their treasures, which he had made sure not to damage. The treasures of old monsters from a group like the Ghu Clan would be very useful to Elia and the Heavenly Path Sect, so Yaan made sure to collect them intact.

After collecting these items, Yaan looked down at the sword in his hand and smiled.

"Thank you, June. With your help, I was able to finally create the third stage to my Agile Illusion Art."

After so many years, Yaan had finally devised the third stage to his Agile Sword Art! This step…was the step of death. It was inspired by his understanding over life and death, but also by his love for painting. With this move, he could use a sword to paint the illusion of death, then turn it into reality.