Supreme Sword Dao, Zhuxian!

“Xuan Yazi’s magnanimity is extraordinary—truly admirable.” Xu Ying watched Xuan Yazi depart into the distance, then continued wandering through the Biyou Sect. Before long, he found himself before a stone cliff. Many Biyou Sect disciples stood beneath it, studying the cliff face, presumably cultivating. As Xu Ying strolled past, a Biyou Sect disciple clad in yellow suddenly cried out, “I’ve comprehended the sword technique of a Daluo Golden Immortal!” *Whoosh!* The surrounding disciples scrambled up in panic and backed far away from him. The yellow-clad disciple chuckled. “What are you all doing? I really have comprehended the sword technique on the cliff!” “Shuyuan, stand right there! Don’t move, and don’t activate the sword technique!” An experienced, senior disciple raised a hand and slowly edged closer, soothing him. “Don’t think about anything. Just stand right where you are. Sixth Junior Brother, quick, go fetch Master!” One disciple hurried off at once. The yellow-clad disciple said, “Why are you reacting like this? I truly have comprehended a supreme sword technique! Let me demonstrate it for you!” “Countless people have tried to comprehend sword techniques before this stone cliff!” the senior disciple shouted hastily. “Many were just like you, convinced they had grasped the technique, only for sword qi to explode from within their bodies the very next moment, killing them! Don’t do anything reckless! Once Martial Uncle arrives to suppress you with his vast magic power, you can use the sword technique without dying a violent death!” As they were arguing, Xu Ying stepped forward and examined the cliff face. A look of astonishment crossed his face. “This is my sword technique—Sword Leveling the Unlevel!” “Sword Leveling the Unlevel” referred to leveling all injustices under heaven with a single sword strike, a technique Xu Ying had comprehended in his first lifetime. Although Xu Ying had studied the Sword Dao Return to Truth Art at the Mount Shu Sword Sect, even that technique fell short of his own creation. Examining the sword mnemonic etched into the cliff face and comparing it to the sword Dao image in his Realm of Xiyi, the mnemonic on the rock was far more unrefined—presumably a technique he had comprehended upon arriving here during the early days of his first lifetime. Only after later ascending to the Immortal Realm had he gradually perfected it. However, Xu Ying had only recalled the sword Dao image from his first lifetime, not the mnemonic itself. Now, standing beneath the precipice and studying the etched mnemonic, his comprehension of the first-life sword Dao image deepened considerably. Suddenly, Xu Ying took a few brisk steps back and gazed beyond the cliff. “Just as I thought.” Far behind the cliff stood the broken sword named Zhuxian, its grayish-white form towering amidst the rolling clouds. His Sword Leveling the Unlevel was actually a divine ability he had derived by standing in this very spot and meditating upon the broken sword Zhuxian! Ordinary cultivators were wholly incapable of comprehending the broken sword Zhuxian. The moment their gaze fell upon it, the sword intent would injure them. Pondering the sword intent would harm their bodies; if they tried to visualize it, the sword intent would transmute into sword qi and slice them apart. Should they attempt to condense it into a Dao image, a single stray thought would tear them to shreds! Moreover, it was impossible for anyone to study and visualize this sword into a Dao image, because along the way, any cultivator would surely die tens of thousands of times! Yet Xu Ying possessed the Nuo ancestor cave-heavens. His fleshly vitality had reached the realm of imperishability, allowing him to endlessly regenerate his body! He was capable of cultivating the Zhuxian Dao image and turning it into his own divine ability. Right at that moment, the yellow-clad disciple shouted, “My peerless sword intent is surging—I can’t hold it back anymore!” The instant those words left his mouth, a peerless killing intent surged into the sky. An immortal sword appeared suspended upside down above everyone’s heads! Beneath this sword, all myriad Daos perished and all immortals ceased to exist. In an instant, everyone felt their Primordial Spirits, flesh, and bones beginning to dissolve beneath the sword light! “Shuyuan, you really mastered it?!” The Biyou Sect disciples trembled uncontrollably in the sword qi, desperately resisting the killing intent carried by the supreme sword qi, yet their resistance was completely futile. Even their minds and spirits felt as though they would melt away in that killing intent! The senior disciple struggled to hold on and cried out, “Shuyuan, you can put the sword qi away! We believe you!” The yellow-clad disciple was also pale, swaying on his feet as if about to collapse. Close to tears, he whimpered, “It wasn’t me! Before my peerless sword intent could even break out of my body, this sword intent suppressed it! Senior brothers, I... I might have comprehended it wrong...” Just as they were on the verge of collapsing, the peerless killing intent began to recede, easing the pressure upon them. Yet the sword qi hanging inverted in the sky inspired an even greater sense of dread! Though the killing intent was reined inward, the sword’s might only grew stronger! His eyes neither fully open nor completely shut, Xu Ying did not look at the mnemonic on the cliff face—he had already committed it to memory. He was gazing at the distant broken sword Zhuxian, verifying the mnemonic against it. *Rip—* His left cheek suddenly split open, as if an invisible blade had slashed across his face, yet the wound closed rapidly in the next instant, leaving not the slightest scar. Suddenly, an invisible sword qi thrust out from his chest, as though someone had pierced him from the inside out with a blade. But by the time the sword qi dissipated, the wound had already healed. Dozens of bloody blades suddenly burst outward from within his body, piercing him through in gory splatters. Yet as the bloody blades shattered, the wounds promptly closed. Beneath the cliff, the Biyou Sect disciples were horrified and dared not approach. The yellow-clad disciple Shuyuan was trembling violently, unable to utter a single word. “That is the consequence of comprehending it wrong!” the senior disciple shouted, gripping the yellow-clad disciple. “Do you see what happened to him? If you had unleashed your sword intent just now, that would have been your fate!” Xu Ying’s pupils were abruptly sliced in half by invisible sword qi, dividing into two before instantly fusing back together. Inside, the neck of his Primordial Spirit suddenly snapped, its head tumbling to the ground, but soul power surged forth from his Bubbling Spring cave-heaven, immediately sprouting a new head. He immersed himself in the supreme sword qi and sword intent of the broken sword Zhuxian, verifying it against the sword mnemonic he had left on the cliff face. Gradually, wounds erupted across his body with less and less frequency. The surrounding disciples looked on with shock and uncertainty. Suddenly, something stirred in their hearts; they sensed a supreme Dao in the world become intimately close and vibrant, enveloping them on all sides. All at once, clarity washed over their Dao hearts, pulling one disciple after another into enlightenment! Those with exceptional aptitude were even pulled directly into a state of entering the Dao, merging with that marvelous Sword Dao! Before their eyes, sword qi surged and swept in all directions, as if a peerless swordsman were demonstrating supreme sword arts right before them, each stance and strike unfolding with utter clarity! Some even witnessed the spectacle of thousands of swordsmen dancing with blades. The higher their aptitude, the more they beheld. Others still heard the hum of the Sword Dao, whispers of Dao words echoing in their ears. This was an experience none of them had ever had! Ordinarily, whenever they came to this Zhuxian Precipice, every one of them would tremble with fear while trying to comprehend it. They yearned to attain the supreme Sword Dao upon the cliff, yet dreaded that entering the Dao or gaining enlightenment would cause the Sword Dao to injure them or Immortal Dao pollution to taint them. What frustrated them even more was that they usually never even had the chance to gain true enlightenment or enter the Dao; more often than not, what they derived beneath this precipice was completely erroneous. The disciples who got it wrong would fall under the delusion that they had attained the Dao, only to be ripped apart by their own sword qi the moment they unleashed it, dying a violent death! Now, however, they had collectively entered enlightenment and the state of entering the Dao, without needing to fear the encroachment of the Immortal Dao or injury from the Sword Dao! In just a few brief moments, the insights they attained surpassed decades of past accumulation—surpassed even their entire lifetimes of study! What they had previously comprehended now grew far more profound; what they had never grasped before now lay everywhere within reach, free for the taking. Before the Zhuxian Precipice, plumes of sword qi suddenly shot into the sky one after another, releasing billowing killing intent that churned the clouds and winds. Sword light illuminated thousands of li around! The streams of sword qi grew thicker, and the sword light illuminated an ever-widening expanse. Gradually, the Sword Dao chimed, crisp as a phoenix’s cry, while tens of thousands of sword qi danced around the Zhuxian Precipice. The entire Biyou Sect was shaken. Thousands of disciples and elders took to the air, flying toward the Zhuxian Precipice. One of them had just landed nearby when a sharp sting pierced the sole of his foot—he had been cut by the roadside weeds! “Be careful, all of you!” Xuan Yazi’s voice rang clearly in everyone’s ears. “The Zhuxian Precipice is enveloped by the Sword Dao! Every flower, blade of grass, tree, stone, and even the water holds the Sword Dao within. Take care not to be harmed by the sword qi!” Everyone froze in their tracks, not daring to move. Looking around, they saw sword qi coalescing into keen edges among the leaves and branches of the trees. The roadside weeds harbored razor-sharp sword qi as well. Even the boulders contained immense sword qi within them! The entire Zhuxian Precipice was like a sword drawn from its sheath, with supreme sword qi faintly rising from the cliff face to pierce the sky. Such a phenomenon was entirely unheard of! “This is Celestial Venerable Xu,” Xuan Yazi said, coming up beside the Little Celestial Venerable, who was gazing toward the Zhuxian Precipice. “Even after sinking into oblivion for nearly fifty thousand years, coming here, he can still awaken the Sword Dao between heaven and earth and bring it into resonance with him. After this guidance of his, I suspect our Biyou Sect will gain dozens of Sword Dao masters!” Delight brimmed in his tone. It was exceedingly difficult for the Ancestral Court to cultivate even a single expert—truly one in ten thousand. Most perished along the path of cultivation due to the perils of entering the Dao or gaining enlightenment. Xu Ying deciphering the sword mnemonic he had left behind beneath the precipice had pulled the nearby Biyou Sect disciples into collective enlightenment of the Sword Dao, invisibly helping them bypass dangers that tens of thousands could never cross! Furthermore, these disciples’ attainments in the Sword Dao were bound to advance by leaps and bounds. Such an enormous harvest made Xuan Yazi, as sect master, blossom with joy inside. The Little Celestial Venerable looked into the distance at Xu Ying beneath the increasingly spectacular sword qi and sword light, whispering, “No one ever doubted his aptitude or comprehension. Back then, he was the one who explored the secrets of the Boundless Sea of Fire, the Dao Revelation Ground, Biyou Palace, and Tushita Palace. He was the one who unraveled the secret of dual cultivation of immortals and gods. And he was the one who proposed the Heaven Mending Plan. Yet he defected to the enemy.” Xuan Yazi fell silent for a moment before saying, “I believe that his ascension to the Immortal Realm must have had its secret hardships and justifications.” The Little Celestial Venerable glanced at him. “Is that how you’ve been comforting yourself all these years?” Xuan Yazi smiled. “Haven’t you been doing the same?” The Little Celestial Venerable fell silent, then nodded. Xuan Yazi smiled. “I believe he must have had his reasons for leaving the Ancestral Court and turning to the Immortal Realm. I also believe that his return to the Ancestral Court this time will allow him to finish what he left undone back then.” “You believe it, but will those who followed him believe it?” The corner of the Little Celestial Venerable’s mouth twitched, his voice kept low to keep from roaring. “I saw the despair on the faces of the uncles who followed him. I saw them age overnight. I saw the gods and demons he awakened turn to stone figurines, sealing themselves away! When even their leader defected, he drove them to despair!” Thunder and lightning suddenly cracked across the sky, jolting the Little Celestial Venerable and Xuan Yazi from their conversation. The two fell silent and looked up. The lightning strikes originated in the distance, near the broken sword Zhuxian thrust between heaven and earth. Countless bolts of thunder clashed around the colossal broken blade. At every second, thousands of lightning strikes rained upon it. Abruptly, a ray of sword light shot out from the broken sword Zhuxian. A cold gleam flashed and reached the Zhuxian Precipice in the blink of an eye, vanishing without a trace! “What happened?” Startled, the Little Celestial Venerable and Xuan Yazi peered forward. That moment had passed too quickly for either of them to see where the sword qi from the broken sword Zhuxian had landed. That broken sword Zhuxian stood colossal between heaven and earth, a terrifying Dao image in its own right. A strike unleashed by gathering the thunder of heaven and earth would surely carry earth-shattering power. How could it vanish into nothingness without a sound once it reached the Zhuxian Precipice? Suddenly, Xu Ying awakened from his enlightenment. He raised a hand to touch his forehead and glanced at his finger. A drop of fresh blood clung to his fingertip. Between his brows was a fine cut of blood, though the wound healed quickly. Wearing an odd expression, Xu Ying stared at the bead of blood on his fingertip, lost in thought. Acting as if no one else were present, he walked up to the Zhuxian Precipice, raised a hand, and made a cutting motion. The sword mnemonic carved into the Zhuxian Precipice was sliced away cleanly in a flat sheet! Outside the precipice, disciples and elders cried out in alarm. Just as they were about to rush forward to stop him, thousands of sword qi rose before them. The slightest movement, and they would surely die without a burial place! Xuan Yazi’s voice rang out: “Calm yourselves, everyone. Brother Xu is completing the sword mnemonic for our Biyou Palace.” Using sword qi as his brush, Xu Ying swept across the stone like dragons and snakes, carving out a new sword mnemonic onto the precipice. Moments later, a brand-new sword mnemonic was complete. His newly written text remedied the flaws and omissions of the past, rendering it far less perilous and prone to taking lives on a whim. Moreover, this new Zhuxian Sword Mnemonic was even more powerful and easier to practice, capable of aiding many Biyou Sect disciples in their cultivation! Xu Ying withdrew his sword qi and stepped away from the precipice. Xuan Yazi hastily led the crowd forward to greet him, bowing deeply from afar. Xu Ying returned the courtesy. The Little Celestial Venerable said calmly, “Alright, pack up. It is time for us to depart. Yashu, go ready the carriage. Let us go!” Aboard the qilin carriage, Xu Ying waved to Xuan Yazi, still relishing the encounter. He chuckled, “Xuan Yazi and I hit it off splendidly. He is magnanimous, kindly in face and benevolent at heart. I really ought to swear brotherhood with him!” The Little Celestial Venerable snorted. “Kindly in face and benevolent at heart? That old Daoist has always been ruthless—he is benevolent only before you.” He paused, then asked, “The ray of sword light from the broken sword Zhuxian struck you, didn’t it?” Xu Ying hesitated briefly, then nodded. The Little Celestial Venerable’s eyes shone bright. “What happened?” After a moment’s hesitation, Xu Ying told the truth: “My Zhuxian Sword Dao image broke. It broke in exactly the same way as that broken sword Zhuxian hanging between heaven and earth.” The Little Celestial Venerable froze. Xu Ying openly unveiled his Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground. Various Dao images floated within like an immortal wonderland—it was precisely Xu Ying’s Realm of the Six Immortals. Among them, a massive sword shaped like Zhuxian hung inverted between heaven and earth. The peerless sword had no hilt, only a razor-sharp edge. The Little Celestial Venerable asked, “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?” Xu Ying shook his head. “Earlier, I completed the immortal sword’s Dao image, turning it into a whole Zhuxian Sword. But because it was made whole, it gained flaws instead. Now that it is broken, the flaws no longer exist. What is more, between me and that Zhuxian...” He pointed toward the distant broken sword spanning heaven and earth, its blade veiled in shifting mist, and said with an odd look, “...there seems to be some wondrous resonance.”