Chapter Seventy-Five: Mastery of the Leaning Mountain Blade Technique

After the madness, it felt as if flames were burning within his spirit—roaring, fierce, no weaker than the fire outside his body. His mind was invigorated, and the whole world seemed transformed! Every ounce of pain drove Zhou Yi’s mind further into frenzy; yet his powerful will held tight to a single thread of clarity within. Clinging to this last vestige of lucidity as his foundation, he wrapped himself in madness, letting it all go, thinking of nothing else—for indeed, now he had no energy left for any other thought.

At this moment, Zhou Yi’s mind was consumed by a single idea: blade.

All things became clear; as his madness deepened and pain intensified, his perception sharpened. Blue sky, white clouds, yellow earth, towering mountains—even the particles dancing in the air—were all visible to his eyes. The world, in that instant, seemed etched into his gaze, every detail laid bare. Yet, to Zhou Yi, the world was no longer merely a world.

Whether it was the blue sky or white clouds, the earth or the mountains and rivers—everything before Zhou Yi became a painted scroll. The scroll was exquisite, lifelike; the vast heavens and earth, as they twisted and turned, suddenly donned a veil of fiery red silk, transforming everything into hues of crimson. In this hazy glow, the world seemed to blur into illusion.

With a mere blink, the world changed again. After the veil of red silk descended, in a flash, a slender, eternal black line appeared—neither beginning nor end, arriving in the blink of an eye, as if it had always existed. The black line spanned the heavens, splitting the world in two, symmetrical on either side, forming opposing realms.

Zhou Yi blinked softly; the world shifted once more. The heavens spun, the boundless earth shrinking in a heartbeat, flipping through the air a few times before abruptly transforming into a painting, standing motionless. His vision shifted, pulling away from the world-turned-painting, gazing outwards into darkness—pitch black, deep, infinite.

This was an endless void of darkness, and at its center, the painted scroll of the world stood quietly. Zhou Yi’s eyes were profound, his black pupils radiating light as he watched, his gaze sweeping across the painting to its edge.

Then, from the depths of that infinite darkness, a blade suddenly appeared, leaping forth and landing behind the painting. The blade was immense—so large that, next to it, the world-painting seemed diminished.

Once the blade appeared, the world-painting moved in a flash, falling upon the blade’s body.

A flash! In the darkness, a beam of light swept past—the world-painting vanished, replaced by a relief of the world carved upon the blade. Each stroke was crude, almost childlike scribbles. Yet, gazing at this relief, with just a little focus, one could see a complete world—shrouded in fiery red silk, divided by the black line, vividly alive and still in motion.

"The world is vast, the heavens immense, but in my eyes, it is nothing more than a blade," Zhou Yi spoke softly, standing with roots beneath his feet, his back straight, holding a great blade streaked with fire-red and black lines in his right hand.

His expression remained unchanged, his eyes calm and serene, like an old man in his twilight years. Yet his words hinted at a newfound understanding. The morning bell and evening drum, the sudden awakening—these phrases describe enlightenment, and now, they seemed fitting for Zhou Yi.

"At last, my Mountain Reliance Blade Technique has reached its true completion!" Zhou Yi murmured inwardly. His unwavering will, tempered through endless suffering and blood, combined with the presence of innate truth, allowed him during battle to link that truth with persistent pain, entering a state that felt almost like union with heaven and earth.

In this realm, heaven and earth lay before him, the world dwelled within his heart, and nothing remained hidden. Inspiration flooded him, and he etched the essence of heaven and earth, swiftly strengthening his spirit. With his soul, he copied the truth of the world, forming a map of heaven and earth, then used the Mountain Reliance Blade Technique as a foundation to engrave it upon the blade, creating a relief.

He placed the entire world upon his blade!

This was the spark that had flashed through Zhou Yi’s mind, and now, it had become reality. The essence of the Mountain Reliance Blade Technique was vast momentum and deep force—simply put, it was about overwhelming opponents with momentum and striking with boundless strength. Reliance on the mountain: momentum as reliance, force as the mountain.

Previously, Zhou Yi had cultivated this blade technique to great heights, embodying the essence of reliance upon the mountain. In both momentum and strength, he could confidently say he was second to none.

Yet, even so, he had merely mastered the peak of another’s blade technique—perfected it, yes, but it was still someone else’s, not his own. He relied on another’s mountain, depended upon another’s foundation.

Reliance upon the mountain—the mountain may fall. Reliance upon water—the water may dry.

This was not about fate or ill-starred destiny, not about overcoming this or that. The essence was that no reliance endures forever; no matter how solid your mountain, how mighty your backer, you cannot depend on it for a lifetime. One day, your mountain will fail you.

Your only true reliance is yourself. Only by becoming your own mountain can you possess an eternal foundation.

The Mountain Reliance Blade Technique has two realms: the first, solidifying reliance upon the mountain; the second, forging your own mountain.

Before, Zhou Yi’s blade technique had only achieved mastery of the first realm. Now, with this sudden enlightenment, he grasped the subtle mysteries of the world, etched them, held them firmly, made them manifest, and applied them—carving them upon his blade. Thus, he attained the second realm of the Mountain Reliance Blade Technique.

Zhou Yi had found his own path. The vastness of heaven and earth, the endless chaos of the world—none could cloud his vision.

He pierced straight through the confusion, seized the essence, used the core of the Mountain Reliance Blade Technique as force, his spirit as the blade, and finally, through this opportunity, forged his own mountain.

Heaven and earth, world—the insights from both combined to form the Map of Heaven and Earth, the mountain Zhou Yi had cultivated.

By imprinting the Map of Heaven and Earth upon his blade, he could vastly amplify its power—its weakest form stronger than the greatest power of the technique’s first realm.

Most importantly, this map was not limited to a single engraving!

Once his mountain was formed, as long as he had sufficient internal energy and his body was strong enough, he could indefinitely stack its power.

Each additional Map of Heaven and Earth doubled the power!

Consequently, with each new engraving, the internal energy required and the difficulty increased dramatically.