My Sword Has Arrived

At the Heavenly Sea Ferry, Daoist Yuji spoke to Xu Ying, "Dao Ancestor Xu, if you wish to forge a Supreme treasure, I could forge one for you." Xu Ying smiled and shook his head. "I have not yet attained the Supreme realm, so there is no need to forge a Dao-confirming treasure. I thank you for your kind intentions, Daoist." Daoist Yuji was choked with indignation. "All my life, whenever I forged treasures for others, even Qingxuan and the Holy Venerable had to beg before I would agree to do it! As for the other Supremes and Twelve Wondrous, each had to bring gifts and plead with sweet words before I would reluctantly nod! Now I took the initiative to offer to forge a treasure for you, and you actually refuse? Could it be you look down on my skill?" Xu Ying said solemnly, "It is not that I look down on you, Daoist, but rather that my Great Dao is not yet complete—how could I rashly forge a treasure? As I cultivate the Great Dao, I constantly gain new insights. A treasure forged yesterday would be useless to me today, and a treasure forged today would be useless tomorrow. I do not wish to ask you to forge a treasure that would only bind me." Daoist Yuji asked in surprise, "What kind of reasoning is that?" Xu Ying replied, "If I spent countless resources asking you to forge a treasure to confirm my Dao, I would inevitably cherish it, regard it as a priceless gem, obsess over it, and constantly temper it, always thinking of making it flawless. When I made a breakthrough, I would hesitate: if I altered my Dao arts, would I still be able to use my treasure? Thus I would worry over gains and losses, and might even give up on change." Daoist Yuji frowned slightly. In all his years of forging treasures for others, he had never encountered such reasoning. "Then when will you forge a treasure?" Daoist Yuji asked. "When you cultivate to the Supreme realm?" Xu Ying shook his head and chuckled. "The Supreme realm may be the end for many Supremes, but it is not mine. I still want to take a look at the Indestructible realm. Once I reach the Indestructible realm, I will still wonder if there are other realms ahead. If my Dao arts cannot adapt, I will be cut off from higher realms. At that point, a treasure would only become an obstacle." Daoist Yuji's frown deepened. He walked over to Zhu Chanchan and said, "Chanchan, what you asked of me, I have done. I humbled myself and offered to forge a treasure for him, but he was unwilling. He said a treasure would limit his achievements." Zhu Chanchan fumed, "That blockhead! I'm going to see him!" She tossed aside the work in her hands and hurried over to Xu Ying, scolding him sharply, "I asked my master to help you forge a Dao-confirming treasure, so why aren't you grateful? Having a treasure forged for you is for the sake of your life! With a treasure in hand, you'd stand a better chance against the Immortal Emperor!" "So that's what this was about!" Xu Ying burst out laughing. Zhu Chanchan glared fiercely at him and snapped, "You're still laughing? You don't value your own life at all!" Xu Ying smiled. "The Immortal Emperor Supreme has never been my goal. I merely want to beat him to death. Don't worry—the moment he decided to harvest me, his date with death was already sealed." Seeing his absolute confidence, Zhu Chanchan said worriedly, "I asked Zulong and Wei Xu, and they both said you couldn't break through to the Supreme realm, so I thought having a treasure would be good for you. Master wasn't even willing to forge one for you at first, grumbling that you were a pretty boy and glaring at you with hostility. He must be blind." Xu Ying stroked his face, not without a hint of smugness. "Daoist Yuji actually has a sharp eye for talent. Ancestor Chanchan, you needn't worry. Heaven looks after the worthy." Zhu Chanchan had no choice but to let him be. "After you die, I'll burn more paper money for you so you won't suffer down below." Xu Ying moved to swat her, but Zhu Chanchan scrambled away in panic. Xu Ying gave chase for a few paces, and Zhu Chanchan dashed over to a crowd of Heavenly Craftsmen, shouting, "Someone's trying to hit me!" *Clatter!* Hundreds of bare-chested Heavenly Craftsmen stood up at once, broad-shouldered and powerfully built, casting hostile glares at Xu Ying. Zhu Chanchan stuck out her tongue at him in triumph. Xu Ying was afraid he might accidentally kill someone, so he could only let her fool around. Just then, something stirred in his perception. He raised his brows and said in a low voice, "Chanchan, take your people and take cover." "Lad, we're not hiding!" one burly man bellowed. "You dare bully our Big Sis—" Before he could finish, Xu Ying laughed heartily. "Which Dao friend carries such thick murderous intent?" The moment his voice rang out, waves suddenly surged across ten thousand li of the Heavenly Sea. His words kicked up gale-force winds and monstrous billows, detonating like thunder from the heavens! Behind him, all the Heavenly Craftsmen were struck dumb. They even saw Xu Ying standing motionless in place, yet the distance between them and Xu Ying grew ever farther! The space between them expanded continuously on its own, quickly blurring Xu Ying's features from their sight. Yet strangely enough, both Xu Ying and they remained standing on the ferry's dock. "The Dao of Void, near great completion," Daoist Yuji murmured as he stepped beside them, gazing toward Xu Ying with involuntary praise. "Cultivating it to such an extent is comparable to Qingxuan back in the day. Xu Ying indeed possesses the strength of a Supreme." Emperor Qingxuan's Great Dao of Taiyi had encompassed the Dao of Void. Back then, Daoist Yuji had been the Chief Heavenly Craftsman of the Heavenly Crafts Department and had forged Supreme treasures for Emperor Qingxuan, so he was naturally intimately familiar with Emperor Qingxuan's cultivation progress. Daoist Yuji was also a Daluo Golden Immortal of extraordinarily high vision and insight. He had once fought his old rival, Dao Lord Jiugong, in the Mortal Realm, ending in mutual devastation. However, that battle had relied on the terrain advantage of the Mortal Realm and the treasure he had forged using Dao weeping gathered there to secure a mutual defeat against Jiugong. Had they clashed in the Earth Immortal Realm, he would have stood no chance against the Wondrous Realm of Great Luo. "Yet the newcomer is even more terrifying!" Daoist Yuji said with a grave expression and a heavy voice. "A boiling tide of murderous intent, carrying the will to execute heaven and sever the Dao. To possess such frightful murderous intent, it can only be one person—Yaoluo Supreme!" "Yaoluo Supreme?" Wei Xu's eyes gleamed sharply, fiendish aura unfurling around him. Unlike Yaoluo, Wei Xu's aura was fiendish—the wrath of vengeful spirits and ferocious malice. Yaoluo Supreme's aura, however, was pure murderous intent—the intent to slaughter every foe! A sky-spanning sword cloud rolled across the horizon, billowing sword qi sweeping over the sea like mist. Upon reaching the space above Xu Ying's head, the sword cloud suddenly poured down rain—countless streaks of sword qi descending in an overwhelmingly dense downpour! Such a rain of swords was utterly impossible to withstand; the might of every single sword qi was terrifying enough to slay a Heavenly Monarch! Yet before the sword rain could land, sword qi erupted skyward from within Xu Ying's body. With a sharp slash, it tore open the countless falling streaks of sword qi. A blinding brilliance flashed across the heavens, splitting the sword cloud apart as innumerable bursts of sword qi shattered one after another! Xu Ying stood tall beneath the sword cloud as the dispersing sword qi disintegrated and fluttered down like falling leaves. In terms of Sword Dao cultivation, he was not the slightest bit inferior! Right at that moment, a streak of sword qi surged from far across the sea, hurtling straight toward Xu Ying. Skimming the water's surface, the sword qi whipped up spirals of waves that spun into a water spout, swelling ever thicker and larger. That sword qi tornado was composed of countless water swords, every single blade executing a distinct sword technique. Yet when the massive tornado crashed before Xu Ying, it suddenly seemed to meet an invisible barrier. Sliced apart by an unseen sword qi, it roared past on either side of him! A torrent of ten thousand swords rushed by in deafening clamor. Xu Ying remained unmoving as a mountain, his eyes fixed on the eye of the sword qi tornado. Inside the hollow channel formed by the vortex, a figure strode forward, standing erect and unbending as an unsheathed blade. Yaoluo Supreme. Yaoluo had not even unleashed a technique. Merely as he walked, a stir of murderous intent had caused his sword qi to erupt, forming the sword cloud and the sword qi tornado. Xu Ying's eyes brightened. *This person has attained the ultimate intent of the Sword Dao!* Having attained the ultimate intent of the Martial Dao, countless manifestations of Xu Ying were currently practicing Martial Dao divine powers within his cave abyss, attempting to decipher every principle of the Martial Dao, never stopping until all martial divine powers were fully deduced. Presumably, Yaoluo Supreme was doing the exact same thing. Within his cave abyss, countless flying swords were likely clashing and striking against one another, exhausting every conceivable transformation of the Sword Dao! This was the very first time Xu Ying had encountered someone who also stood upon an extremity realm. "Zhuxian sword qi?" Yaoluo Supreme's gaze settled upon Xu Ying, surprise flickering across his face. Xu Ying looked back at him, a trace of doubt rising in his eyes as well. "Zhuxian Sword?" Yaoluo Supreme recognized the Zhuxian sword qi from Xu Ying. It was precisely with the Zhuxian sword qi nurtured within himself that Xu Ying had shattered the sword cloud and cleaved the sword qi tornado. Xu Ying likewise saw the shadow of the Zhuxian Sword upon Yaoluo Supreme. The boundless, frigid murderous intent radiating from Yaoluo Supreme shared the exact same lineage as the Zhuxian broken sword! The two sized each other up, both frowning slightly as a wave of mutual revulsion welled from deep within their hearts. "Dao Ancestor Xu?" Yaoluo Supreme asked. Xu Ying nodded slightly and inquired, "Which Supreme are you?" "Yaoluo." Yaoluo Supreme asked, "You have seen the Zhuxian broken sword?" Xu Ying replied, "I have. Have you seen it as well?" Yaoluo Supreme said, "I saw it while it was still whole. When it was shattered, I was also on the scene. My Great Luo Futian Sword was forged from its fragments. And the one who assisted me in forging this sword was none other than Daoist Yuji." Xu Ying glanced back. The distance between him and Daoist Yuji instantly shrank to mere inches. Daoist Yuji felt his scalp tingle—such a profound marvel of space, expanding and contracting at will! Daoist Yuji said, "Dao Ancestor Xu should know that we Heavenly Craftsmen only care about forging artifacts; we do not interfere in anything else." He made his stance clear: he took no sides. Xu Ying turned back and said calmly, "The Zhuxian broken sword taught me a great deal; it holds the grace of half a master to me. Since you used its fragments to forge a treasure, I have no choice but to retrieve them on its behalf." Yaoluo Supreme said, "I sense an exceedingly fierce sword intent from you, and it indeed originates from the Zhuxian broken sword. However, what you learned was merely from a broken blade, not the true Zhuxian Sword Dao. You are far from reaching the extreme realm, let alone manifesting a Dao scenery of the Sword Dao." With an arrogant demeanor, he added, "You have yet to grasp the true essence of the Sword Dao. How do you intend to contend with me?" Xu Ying held out his hands and smiled. "Because I found something better. My Martial Dao has already reached the extreme realm, and the so-called Sword Dao has long been assimilated into my Martial Dao. Because excessive rigidity cannot endure, the Zhuxian Sword was broken, becoming a shattered remnant. Yet precisely because it is broken, it became complete, leaving behind no flaw to exploit. As for you, you gathered the discarded scraps of the Zhuxian Sword to forge the Great Luo Futian Sword, taking pride in it rather than feeling shame. That raises a question in my mind." His gaze fell upon Yaoluo Supreme as he said softly, "Is the true essence of the Sword Dao you attained truly the essence? You picked up rubbish that the Zhuxian Sword discarded and treated it as a supreme treasure. Yaoluo, your Sword Dao is flawed. Why not let Ancestor Chanchan take a look for you? Perhaps your Great Luo Futian Sword is already covered in cracks." Hearing this, Zhu Chanchan puffed out her chest, itching to give it a try. Yaoluo Supreme sneered. "Xu Ying, your cultivation realm was severed by me back in the Heavenly Abyss. Even your Leakless Golden Body couldn't hold out. Do you dare claim my sword isn't sharp?" With a thought, the Great Luo Futian Sword hummed sharply. An immortal sword leaped forth, its sword intent flooding heaven and earth! Yaoluo Supreme gave his sword-holding hand a slight twist, and the Futian Sword instantly split, row upon row of Futian Swords aligning side by side as supreme sword qi rushed forth. Before he had even struck, Xu Ying already felt a cutting pain against his skin! *Swish—* Yaoluo Supreme thrust forward with his sword. Tens of thousands of Great Luo Futian Swords whirled around him and Xu Ying, unfolding distinct mysteries of the Sword Dao as they surged to kill Xu Ying! At this moment, it was as if tens of thousands of Yaoluo Supremes were each wielding a Great Luo Futian Sword, employing different techniques and striking at Xu Ying from every conceivable angle! Even within Xu Ying's sea of consciousness, manifestations of Yaoluo emerged brandishing swords, attacking his divine consciousness! His bodhimanda, his cave abysses, his Dao realms, and his cultivation realms all came under attack from Yaoluo's sword intent simultaneously! Xu Ying did not know the name of this move, but its method of assault was more ruthless than anything he had ever seen, bent on obliterating him from every dimension without leaving the slightest spark of life! Xu Ying stomped his foot. Suddenly, the distance between Daoist Yuji, Zhu Chanchan, Wei Xu, and the ferry's craftsmen was stretched far away once more. Immediately after, the ultimate intent of the Martial Dao erupted. For a moment, silhouettes of Xu Ying appeared everywhere, wielding distinct martial arts to drive the Zhuxian Finger against the tens of thousands of Futian Swords! A flurry of deafening clashes erupted. The tens of thousands of Great Luo Futian Swords snapped together in an instant, merging into one as Yaoluo Supreme thrust his blade forward! At the same moment, all the silhouettes of Xu Ying vanished, leaving only his right hand forming a sword finger, stabbing forward! The peerless sword intents within both men exploded, their clash sweeping across the Heavenly Sea. The surging, majestic sword intent and sword qi transformed the ten-thousand-li sea into an ocean of the Sword Dao, glittering water and sword qi ringing out as they collided! The sea boiled and waves soared into the sky as the ultimate intent of the Sword Dao and the ultimate intent of the Martial Dao churned and clashed within the billows, perilous beyond measure. Xu Ying's sword finger met the Futian Sword. Sword and finger rang in unison. The Zhuxian sword qi at Xu Ying's fingertips was shattered, and amid the swirling sword light, the flesh was stripped from his two fingers, leaving behind only white bone in an instant! That sword light was overwhelmingly tyrannical; it tore through his Leakless Golden Body and spiraled upward along his fingers toward his wrist and arm! Xu Ying crossed his two skeletal fingers and snapped them against the blade of the Futian Sword with a resonant *clang*. The sword hummed deeply, and the right arm Yaoluo Supreme used to hold the blade was jolted numb, the web between his thumb and forefinger nearly tearing open. Both men retreated, evading each other's edge. Xu Ying raised his right hand, incinerating all sword qi and sword intent lingering in the wound. Flesh and blood surged forth, instantly regenerating the flesh that had just been sliced away. Yaoluo Supreme rubbed his aching arm and exhaled a breath of turbid air. Suddenly, he summoned the Shaohao cave abyss. The moment this Supreme cave abyss emerged, his cultivation and strength soared dramatically! That brief exchange had made him realize that this Dao Ancestor Xu before him was by no means easy to deal with; his cultivation and strength were already far greater than during the battle at the Heavenly Abyss. If he did not unleash the Shaohao cave abyss, he likely wouldn't be able to do anything to him! "Xu Ying, you still lack a Supreme treasure. Your purpose in coming here was to have Daoist Yuji forge one for you, wasn't it?" Yaoluo Supreme said coldly. "However, you won't have that chance!" Xu Ying raised his brows and summoned his seven cave abysses as well, his expression turning somewhat grave. Though it had been only a brief clash, the combat prowess Yaoluo displayed was nearly on par with Gu Bunian, Dao Lord Luofu, who ranked fourth among the Twelve Wondrous! *Gu Bunian allowed me to see the gateway to the Supreme realm. Can Yaoluo allow me to step into it? I hope he can bring me enough pressure!* Just as this thought crossed his mind, a vast, profound, yet overwhelmingly domineering sword intent suddenly surged into his consciousness, churning with murderous intent. At that exact moment, outside Biyou Palace, Xuan Yazi stood before the palace gates, supervising a gathering of disciples practicing the Sword Dao. Sensing something, he whipped his head around, his jaw dropping in disbelief. Across the vast wilderness, the Zhuxian broken sword that had hung suspended between heaven and earth for ages suddenly moved. *Swoosh—* The colossal broken sword, which reached from earth to sky, tore open the void and vanished without a trace. Xuan Yazi was left completely flabbergasted. At the Heavenly Sea Ferry, Xu Ying felt a faint stirring in his heart and murmured with a touch of helplessness, "My sword has arrived."