Jun Laoye's Divine Psyche Incarnation stared at the stone stele at the foot of the mountain, then swept his gaze across the surroundings. "Could this be Deer Ridge's mountain gate? But why does it exist in my mory?"
Towering peaks stretched endlessly in every direction, encircling him completely. "Could it be..."
Jun Laoye thought of a possibility. At that mont, both the Suitian Spear and the Heavenly Dao Spear appeared at his sides. Ancestor Suitian's voice echoed from within the Suitian Spear. "Little Jun, the true experint starts now."
Maintaining the stability of the dinsion on his own, Ancestor Suitian's breathing grew faintly strained as he went on, "This dinsion was created through the combined power of the three of us. The will of your second uncle's Heavenly Dao Spear is trapped within it.
"The most critical step is to locate that fragnted spear will.
"I must maintain the stability of this dinsion, so the rest is up to you. Follow the two spears, find your second uncle's shattered spear will, and bring it back here. Only then can we proceed to the next step.
"But rember, Little Jun. If this dinsion begins to collapse, you must leave imdiately, regardless of whether or not you've found it. Otherwise, you'll be trapped here forever."
Before Jun Laoye could ask anything, Ancestor Suitian's voice faded away, leaving him alone with the motionless spear in his grasp.
"Second Uncle's spear will... where is it? Ancestor, you left without explaining anything of use..."
He scanned the empty valley, then tried channeling his spirit qi into the Heavenly Dao Spear.
Dense qi surged into the spear. Its tip flared with light before breaking free from his hand, darting left and right before shooting into the depths of Deer Ridge.
"Could it be inside Deer Ridge? Yes... it must be there!" Jun Laoye snorted coldly. With the Suitian Spear in hand, he charged straight into Deer Ridge. "Back then, Second Uncle fought his way through here. It really might be deep within Deer Ridge."
He followed the Heavenly Dao Spear into the deepest part of Deer Ridge. Corpses littered the path, each marked by unmistakable spear wounds.
They were mostly low-level cultivators, yet the sheer number of dead within Deer Ridge's gate was chilling.
As Jun Laoye pondered what had led Deer Ridge to such ruin, the Heavenly Dao Spear halted at the base of a mountain, its body crackling with lightning.
Jun Laoye leapt forward to seize it, then looked up the slope. There were even more corpses up there, with dozens strewn across the ground every two ters.
He crouched beside a corpse, feeling the lingering warmth in its flesh. "Deer Ridge... one of the seven great sects. To think they could all fall to a single spear."
Just then, the Heavenly Dao Spear slipped from his grip once more, surging toward the mountaintop even faster.
"Again?" Jun Laoye channeled his spirit qi to give chase. By the ti he reached the platform on the summit, the first sight that t him was Jun Wudi, battered and dazed, kneeling amid a mountain of bodies, with a broken spear thrust through his chest.
Jun Laoye's eyes narrowed. "Second Uncle... how did you end up like this?"
He ford a hand seal and rushed forward, but before he could take more than a few steps, the Suitian Spear yanked him back. Extre icy energy burst from the spear, jolting him awake and reminding him that this was an alternate dinsion.
"All those corpses... and not a single living soul. Could this really be the battle back then? The place where Second Uncle fought alone in the Western Mountain?"
Jun Laoye forced himself to calm down. The ground beneath his feet was scorched brown, scarred by the bombardnt of countless spells.
asuring with his hand, he confird a formation had once existed here, though its markings had long been worn away. A rough calculation told him the platform had been pressed down by two to three zhang, perhaps even more, under the force of battle.
Jun Laoye let out a quiet sigh. "What Second Uncle endured back then... was far more brutal than I ever imagined. Deer Ridge, a sect whose formations guarded its gates, even had those defenses obliterated."
He could already sense the ferocity of the clash rely through observing the battlefield. For Jun Wudi, who had fought alone in the Western Mountain, the tornt must have been unimaginable.
The majority of the corpses scattered across the platform were cultivators at peak Core Breakthrough Realm. Furthermore, every one of them bore similar, fatal wounds, where they had been pierced through the chest up into the throat.
Jun Laoye understood at once. They had all fallen to Jun Wudi's spear.
He gripped the Suitian Spear and pressed forward toward Jun Wudi. As he advanced, he saw the corpses of several n of Heaven at the Human Core Realm. A few steps farther, even Venerables of the sa realm lay lifeless on the ground.[1]
"To have slain even Venerables... Second Uncle must have been incredibly fierce back then," Jun Laoye murmured, surveying the scattered bodies. "I rember Father once said that Second Uncle was at the Earth Core Realm when he went to Western Mountain. To kill Venerables at the Human Core Realm... very few on the continent could do that."
He slung the Suitian Spear across his back and hurried to Jun Wudi. His Heavenly Dao Spear scraped against Jun Wudi's broken spear, slowly prying it from his chest.
Jun Laoye tried to summon the Heavenly Dao Spear, but it did not respond. The cold aura radiating from the Suitian Spear in his hands reminded him that Ancestor Suitian had severed his connection with the Heavenly Dao Spear earlier. He could still call the spear, but could no longer control it.
Jun Wudi sensed soone approaching and roared, "Die!"
Gripping the Heavenly Dao Spear in front of him, he thrust it straight toward Jun Laoye.
"Second Uncle, calm down! I'm Jun Laoye, your nephew!"
Despite his cries, Jun Wudi's attack grew faster and more relentless. The spear was about to pierce Jun Laoye's neck. With no ti to dodge, he gritted his teeth and slamd the Suitian Spear against the Heavenly Dao Spear.
Bang!
A crisp sound rang out. The Heavenly Dao Spear was blasted aside, and Jun Wudi collapsed to his knees once again.
Jun Laoye admired the dim glow along the Suitian Spear. "The Ancestor's spear is truly formidable... no wonder its na bore the aning 'Piercing Heaven.'"[2]
He hurried forward to lift the Heavenly Dao Spear. Jun Wudi stared at the ground, growling lowly, "The spear... give the spear... I want the Heavenly Dao Spear. My spear... you wretched traitors... how could you risk the life of your own family blood just to threaten ?"
"Second Uncle..." Jun Laoye called softly.
But Jun Wudi ignored him. Ancestor Suitian's voice suddenly echoed from the spear. "Little Jun, co out quickly. You are still too weak, and your body cannot withstand the pressure of this alternate dinsion. Return within three-quarters of an hour, or you will be trapped forever."
Jun Laoye shook his head. "But Second Uncle... his will is still here. I have to bring him back!"
"Little Jun... I'm still in the outside world," Jun Wudi's voice ca through the broken spear. "You don't need to persist. Everything you see here is only a projection of the past. The person before you is rely a manifestation of spirit qi, repeating events without thought. What matters is for you to return safely. The Heavenly Dao Spear... that can wait."
Jun Wudi sighed deeply. "Perhaps this is my fate. Perhaps the Heavenly Dao Spear feels I already tarnished it back in Western Mountain, and that I am no longer worthy... but even without it, I can still carve my path up Western Mountain once more."
"No, Second Uncle! Father said you have the strongest talent the clan has ever seen! Wait for ! I'll bring back the will of the spear! You can still wield the Heavenly Dao Spear!"
"Little Jun, give up..."
Jun Laoye remained stubborn and shouted, "No! There are still three-quarters of an hour left. Second Uncle, Ancestor, have you forgotten the tenth family decree?"
He tossed aside his spears and seized the broken spear lodged in Jun Wudi's chest. "There is no turning back for a Jun Clan descendant once they step onto the battlefield. It's do or die. I never understood this before... but now I do."
Lightning surged from the broken spear, enveloping Jun Laoye. He gritted his teeth and pulled with all his strength. "Ahhh!"
Both Ancestor Suitian and Jun Wudi shouted in unison.
"Little Jun!"
The way Jun Laoye saw it, the issue wasn't that Jun Wudi couldn't use his divine abilities—it was that he couldn't face the past. He could not see his wife's family as enemies. The broken spear embodied Jun Wudi's trapped will. Once it was pulled out, he would have no choice but to confront Western Mountain. Only then could his divine abilities awaken again.
Jun Laoye's hands and body were charred and blistered by the protective lightning around Jun Wudi, yet he refused to let go. "Ancestor, Second Uncle... give a little more ti. I will pull it out!"
"I know what you're thinking. It's useless. Little Jun, let go."
Jun Wudi looked at him and said softly, "In that instant just now, I already saw the outco. My divine abilities are seriously flawed. This is not sothing you can fix. It's more than just being unable to face the past. The broken spear cannot be repaired either."
1. For context, Venerables hold a higher rank than n of Heaven, and Jun Wudi himself is a Man of Heaven. ☜
2. 'Suitian' translates literally to 'Piercing Heaven.' ☜
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