Above Xuandu Jade Capital Mountain, the instant the blade intent of the Purple Nether Saber collided with the sword intent of the Zhuxian broken sword, whether it was Xu Ying, Young Master Yuchuan, or the fleeing Perfected Jade Pot and the Four Great God Kings, everyone felt a horrifying aura of death wash over them!
At this moment, the mountains, rivers, and starry sky of Wangxiang Platform shook in unison as if sensing the impending peril!
The landscape underwent geographical transformations at terrifying speed: the previous ridges dispersed like dust and sand, while new towering peaks formed in rapid succession, knotting into bizarre tactical arrays. Rivers twisted and coiled like dragons and serpents, their tributaries and main streams etching out strange patterns of the Great Dao that erupted with Dao prestige. Stars hung impossibly low in the sky, as if within arm's reach, while terrestrial geomagnetic primordial power stirred up tempestuous storms of multicolored light.
Meanwhile, the ancient immortal palaces hidden throughout Wangxiang Platform revived in an instant, dazzling Dao light bursting from within to encircle the halls. From black coffins suspended in the air shot out thick, bizarre Dao chains, intertwining as the Dao light formed peculiar arrays. A woman bathing beneath a waterfall leaped ashore in panic, rushing away barefoot clutching her garments before she could even dress.
Dao grounds, Dao realms, and Dao domains—large and small—were involuntarily triggered and revived at this very instant, operating on their own accord to resist the overwhelming deathly aura descending upon them!
This deathly aura was none other than the killing intent latent within the terrifying sword intent of the Zhuxian broken sword! Such killing intent was overwhelmingly formidable—slaying hosts of immortals, grinding down the Great Dao, shattering heaven and earth, reducing all things to dust, forcing the ancient existences concealed within Wangxiang Platform to protect themselves!
Only now did Xu Ying, Young Master Yuchuan, and the others realize the true terror of Wangxiang Platform.
When they had passed through this region with high spirits earlier, had the ancient existences harbored any malice, they would have perished long ago.
"They truly are so benevolent," Yuan Qi remarked, deeply moved.
The might of the Purple Nether Saber surged to its pinnacle in an instant. The brilliant Dao prestige bursting from its blade light even affected the worldly Great Dao of Wangxiang Platform, generating a unique domain of the Great Dao!
This divine immortal saber shimmered with purple radiance. Slashing the Nine Heavens above and severing the Netherworld below, it possessed a domineering arrogance that transcended all things. In a flash, purple qi swept across the surroundings, leaving everyone except Young Master Yuchuan with the harrowing dread of imminent decapitation!
The purple qi and blade intent condensed to their uttermost peak, arriving before Xu Ying's glabella like lightning!
*Clink!*
A crisp ring echoed. The next instant, the blade qi bursting from the colossal Purple Nether Saber split into two halves. The upper half shrieked past Xu Ying's scalp, carving out a blade glow several thousand li long!
Meanwhile, the lower half of the blade qi grazed past between Xu Ying's legs, reaching straight into the subterranean depths and carving an immeasurably deep rift stretching from Xuandu Jade Capital Mountain to right beneath Xu Ying's feet. Xu Ying's legs trembled slightly before he steadied himself, a drop of fresh blood dripping from his glabella.
When the Zhuxian broken sword's sword qi, shot from between his brows, clashed with the Purple Nether Saber, the sword qi had been jarred just a hair off course by the blade qi, grazing his glabella and drawing that single drop of blood.
Above his head, where the Purple Nether Saber collided with the Zhuxian sword qi, a sudden crack sounded. The upper half of the Purple Nether Saber's blade spun through the air with a whistling rush before crashing down behind Xu Ying.
Standing behind Xu Ying, Jin Buyi hurriedly took a step forward to dodge the severed blade.
With a soft rasp, the falling half of the blade brushed against one of the giant bird's twin divine sabers. An unmistakable scratch was instantly left upon the brilliant blade!
Jin Buyi's heart ached with distress. Those twin divine sabers had been forged for him back in the day by Xu Ying, who had scoured the world for prime immortal metals. They were his handiest weapons, accompanying him through countless battles, never falling short even when clashing against immortal artifacts!
Yet now, merely being grazed by the Purple Nether Saber had left a deep gouge! The sharpness of the Purple Nether Saber was evident.
The wound between Xu Ying's brows gradually healed. Earlier, the Zhuxian broken sword seemed to have been provoked by the saber intent of the Purple Nether Saber, rousing its fighting spirit to teach this "little brother" a lesson. Now that the lesson was over and its anger sated, it reined in its killing intent and severed the resonance.
Standing atop the mountain, Young Master Yuchuan's eye twitched. The Purple Nether Saber, whose blade intent had suppressed the world moments ago, was now reduced to a hilt and half a blade, hovering limply in the air. The torrential blade intent from earlier had utterly crumbled into nothingness before that all-extinguishing deathly aura!
"Xu Ying!" Incapable of restraining his fury any longer, he snarled shrilly, "It's you ruining my plans again!"
Grief and rage overwhelmed his heart. Activating the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Array and the remaining half of the broken saber, he moved to attack. But Wu Sansi grabbed him around the waist without a word and hauled him backward, shouting, "Young Master, this fiend's demonic magic treasure is terrifying—even the Imperial Monarch's immortal artifact was no match! We must flee!"
Dragged rapidly down the mountain by Wu Sansi, Young Master Yuchuan was beside himself with anguish. In a screech of despair, he cried, "Xu Ying, you ruin my endeavors time and time again! I swear we cannot live under the same sky!"
He struggled desperately, longing to break free and fight Xu Ying to the death. In his entire life, before crossing paths with Xu Ying, he had always been a favored scion of heaven; everything had gone smoothly for him.
In Taishi Great World, he had radiated brilliance and peerless elegance, honored by the world as Young Master. He had won the favor of his ancestor, the Imperial Monarch, who even imparted to him the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Array so that he could refine Xu Ying to death.
Yet ever since that moment, it was as though misfortune had dogged his every step. First, in the Ancestral Court, Xu Ying had struck Hunyuan Palace with a blast of Zhuxian sword qi, nearly killing him within the sword qi and thwarting his grand scheme to refine Little Celestial Venerable to death.
Then, pursued by Ancestral Court experts across countless tens of thousands of li, he had fled back to Taishi Great World in utter disgrace.
Once in Taishi Great World, Xu Ying followed like a shadow. Just as he ambushed Xuankong in an attempt to seize the Heavenly Dao supreme treasure, the Water-Fire Huntian Cauldron, Xu Ying snatched the Huntian Cauldron away!
When Crane Boy brought the Imperial Monarch's scroll for him to unseal the ancient Buddha suppressed beneath Great Thunderclap Temple, Xu Ying snatched that scroll from his grasp as well. And now, the Imperial Monarch had tasked him with retrieving the Purple Nether Saber—a monumental duty enough to ensure his meteoric rise in the Immortal Realm—only for Xu Ying to ruin that too.
Even the ancestor Imperial Monarch's saber had been split in two by Xu Ying! Old grudges and new hatred were enough to drive Young Master Yuchuan insane.
Wu Sansi held him tight with all his might, shouting, "Young Master, think of the long term, consider the bigger picture! Why throw away your life here? That's right, Young Master, there's still the other half of the Purple Nether Saber!"
Snapping back to his senses, Young Master Yuchuan choked back his sorrow and hurriedly channeled the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Demon-Breaking Secret Art to recall the Purple Nether Saber. The hilt and the upper half of the blade hummed and vibrated, flying toward him one after the other.
*Whoosh!*
Without a second thought, Yuan Qi flicked his tail, tossing the Diamond Snare into midair. The upper half of the Purple Nether Saber's blade had just flown past when it was sucked in by the Diamond Snare, clattering to the ground with its power completely extinguished.
Young Master Yuchuan froze, tears and snot bursting out at once as he bawled uncontrollably, "Xu Ying! You dog of a thief, Xu Ying! My life is over, ruined by you! Are you my mortal nemesis? What did I owe you in a past life?! I swear I will kill you!"
Hearing him weep so heart-wrenchingly, Yuan Qi could not help but feel a pang of pity. He quickly whispered, "Ah Ying, did I do something wrong? Just listen to how terribly he's crying..."
Xu Ying sighed. "Lord Qi is merciful and cannot bear to hear such miserable weeping. Therefore, we should just send them on their way."
Yuan Qi spurred the Diamond Snare. Radiating vast power, the snare moved to capture them. Knowing the terrors of this silver bracelet—which had just swallowed even the Purple Nether Saber—Wu Sansi urgently fled in panic with Young Master Yuchuan. Yet once the Diamond Snare was unleashed, it locked down heaven, earth, time, and space. Despite their formidable cultivation, and Wu Sansi being an immortal, they struggled to escape the snare's pull!
Perfected Jade Pot and the Four Great God Kings were also locked on by the Diamond Snare. Helpless against the force, everyone began tumbling toward the snare.
The Four Great God Kings took action one after another, unleashing Heavenly Dao divine powers at the Diamond Snare. Perfected Jade Pot also deployed divine powers, targeting not the Diamond Snare, but Yuan Qi.
The last time he had been trapped by the Diamond Snare, he had been forced to discard all his magic treasures to shed his skin like a cicada. Reflecting on the encounter afterward, he realized this treasure was overwhelmingly potent; escaping once or twice was luck, but escaping every time was impossible.
Moreover, he lacked the wealth to keep doing so. The only way was to attack the one wielding the treasure, preventing them from maintaining it, thereby breaking free of the snare.
Before his divine power reached Yuan Qi, a big bell suddenly swept across to cover the giant serpent's head, cascading curtains of light pouring down like waterfalls.
The big bell spun rapidly as various Heavenly Dao runes circulated ceaselessly across the curtains of light. A deafening barrage of clangs resounded as Perfected Jade Pot's offensive was actually blocked by the big bell.
However, the bell's surface was battered with dents and craters, visibly struggling to hold. Seeing this, Jin Buyi immediately swung his twin divine sabers. Blade light unfurled like bolts of silk, swooping and darting around the big bell and Yuan Qi in a dense flurry of slashes.
The others promptly realized that Yuan Qi was the lynchpin. Without hesitation, they unleashed their divine powers toward Yuan Qi as well!
Jin Buyi and the big bell were overwhelmed instantly. Seeing the danger, Xu Ying hastily channeled the Gourd Heaven Dao Verification Scripture, shifting Yuan Qi, Jin Buyi, and the big bell away.
As Yuan Qi's breath faltered, Perfected Jade Pot, Young Master Yuchuan, and the others immediately broke free from the pull of the Diamond Snare.
Both Xu Ying's group and the opposing side breathed sighs of relief.
Perfected Jade Pot, Young Master Yuchuan, and the rest immediately activated their divine powers, transforming into streaks of light that tore through the void to make a hasty escape. Xu Ying also mobilized the Gourd Heaven Dao Verification Scripture, shifting his form to evade the incoming divine powers loosed by Perfected Jade Pot and the others before drifting downward.
Putting away the Diamond Snare, Yuan Qi said with lingering fear, "Perfected Jade Pot truly has some tricks up his sleeve. Ah Ying, why didn't you employ that broken sword just now?"
Xu Ying shook his head. "Mobilizing the broken sword earlier was merely a stroke of luck. Having severed the Purple Nether Saber, the broken sword considered its victory complete, so it no longer heeded my commands."
The Zhuxian broken sword was not his magic treasure after all. It had only resonated with Xu Ying because it was provoked, seizing the chance to flaunt its might. Once that display was done, it cared nothing for Xu Ying's life or death, hanging quietly once more between heaven and earth outside Biyou Palace.
Yuan Qi was stunned. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "What if Perfected Jade Pot and Young Master Yuchuan hadn't run away just now, but turned around to attack instead?"
Holding up half of the Purple Nether Saber, Xu Ying gestured for him to open his mouth and smiled. "If they had turned back to attack, then we would be the ones fleeing in panic."
Yuan Qi opened his wide maw, but only after Xu Ying stepped inside his belly did he suddenly realize something was amiss. "Ah Ying, this broken saber is the Imperial Monarch's treasure. If the Imperial Monarch wants to take it back, won't he slice my belly open?"
"He won't," Xu Ying replied. "I placed a sixteen-character seal upon it to suppress the blade."
He deposited the broken saber into the Heavenly Dao mini-world within Yuan Qi's belly and turned to walk out. Yuan Qi's voice sounded: "Ah Ying, isn't the sixteen-character seal the very seal created by the Imperial Monarch? If he can place it, he can undo it! Besides, your Realm of Xiyi can store treasures too—why didn't you keep it inside your own Realm of Xiyi?"
Stepping out of his mouth, Xu Ying said, "Because I'm afraid the Imperial Monarch might slice *my* belly open. But don't worry. With my seal in place, the Imperial Monarch definitely won't be able to sense the saber's exact location. If he can't even pinpoint where it is, how could he break the seal?"
Even so, Yuan Qi remained uneasy, feeling that Xu Ying was not entirely reliable.
Xu Ying ascended the other Xuandu Jade Capital Mountain, walking toward the palace perched atop the summit. The big bell flew over, struggling to pop out the dents across its body, and said, "Ah Ying, shouldn't we leave as quickly as possible? What if Perfected Jade Pot and the others turn back for a surprise attack?!"
Xu Ying chuckled. "Circumstances change. Earlier, they still had a chance to mount a counterattack. Now, they have none at all."
The big bell was perplexed. Jin Buyi looked up into the distance, remarking in confusion, "Whatever the Imperial Monarch pinned down with the Purple Nether Saber... doesn't seem to be dead."
The big bell realized at once: Perfected Jade Pot and his group truly had lost any chance to double back!
Arriving at the summit, Xu Ying saw characters carved above the palace gates reading "Xuandu Seven Treasures Palace." The script was archaic and primitive, brimmed with extraordinary charm. Outside the palace stood a gigantic divine tree, unfortunately snapped at its midpoint, yet its stump still resembled a small hill, truly magnificent.
Inside the palace, radiant mists swirled as waves of Dao resonance echoed forth.
Hearing the Dao resonance, Xu Ying grew somewhat dazed. Involuntarily, another fragment of memory awakened from the ancient seals.
He saw an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old version of himself walking forward, passing straight through his current body and entering the Xuandu Seven Treasures Palace.
*Has the Supreme Limitless Void Sovereign Great Dao Lord of that ancient era also ceased to exist?*
He heard his past voice ring out: "Void Sovereign Dao Lord, I borrow your precious domain to comprehend the Dao. In the future, I shall repay you."
In the Immortal Realm.
The Imperial Monarch sat in secluded meditation, mobilizing his Primordial Spirit. Behind him, the Great Dao resembled a great wheel. As the Dao wheel rotated, twelve lesser Dao wheels intersected it, each housing an Imperial Monarch—his external avatars.
He had founded the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Demon-Breaking Secret Art, yet he had long surpassed the bounds of this art, attaining far greater heights.
Now, he had even reached the culmination of twelve perfected Dao wheels. The Imperial Monarch strove for an even higher realm, yet his progress was blocked at every turn, unsustainable.
*The immortals of the Immortal Realm are overcrowded, and the resources of the Immortal Realm have long been claimed. The resources I currently command make it difficult to take another step forward.*
The Imperial Monarch let out a sigh and opened his eyes, muttering darkly, "If I wish to take another step forward, someone above must fall. If no one falls to vacate a seat, I can never hope to climb higher!"
Suddenly, a premonition struck him, and his expression changed abruptly. "My Purple Nether Saber! Bastards, absolute bastards! Wu Sansi, Bai Yuchuan, neither of you ever spares me worry!"
He rose abruptly, killing intent filling the sky. Yet realizing something was amiss, he immediately suppressed the demonic nature stirring within his Dao heart, sat back down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and concentrated his spirit.
After a brief moment, he extracted the demonic nature from his Dao heart. With a flick of his finger, a streak of black light pierced the void, hurtling toward the Weixu of the lower realm.
Falling into the Weixu, the black light transformed into a heavenly fiend, lying in wait for an opportunity to enter the mortal realm. Yet heavenly fiends ran rampant throughout the Weixu; it was not a place where this one could act unchecked. Furthermore, cracks split across the sky from time to time as streaks of black light descended from the Immortal Realm—all of them heavenly fiends.
The demonic nature severed by immortals during their cultivation was all cast away here.
Regaining his calm, the Imperial Monarch said placidly, "A lack of patience spoils great plans. I have my eyes on those above, but below me, countless eyes are staring at my seat as well. I cannot afford a single misstep. The Immortal Realm... needs a great bloodletting, a great purge, before enough seats will be vacated."
*Will the Three Realms Tide be that opportunity?* he mused quietly in his heart.
Chapter 404