"*Hong* means vast or great, and *yuan* means source. The Primordial Source must be the grand origin of the universe!"
Xu Ying gazed toward that mass of qi of the Primordial Source. Concealed within the Chaos Sea, it drew upon the power of chaos, constantly swelling and sustaining itself. Judging from the arrangement of the stone swords, Daoist Tongtian had likely used them to suppress the force of the Primordial Source, allowing it to grow steadily with the power of the Chaos Sea.
Presumably, when Daoist Tongtian first arrived here, this qi of the Primordial Source had not been nearly as vast as it was now.
*The stone steles hold off the Chaos Sea, the sword formation suppresses the steles, and the Primordial Source refines the power of the Chaos Sea to grow on its own. How ingeniously designed.*
Just as this thought crossed Xu Ying's mind, the ground beneath them shook violently. The foreign Dao powers lingering within the surrounding ruins abruptly thickened, as if something in many of the ruins was reviving.
These entities had originally been suppressed by the stone sword formation, but now every one of them was coming to light.
These ancient ruins formed worlds of their own, containing the Great Daos of heaven and earth from the Former Court era. Yet for some unknown reason, those Daos were fractured and distorted, thick with an aura of rot and decay that gave off an intensely unsettling feeling.
The stone sword formation trembled under the brunt of this force. Seeing this, Xu Ying immediately channeled the sword formation. However, he was not Daoist Tongtian after all; even though he had grasped the principles behind the formation, there was still a substantial gap in his attainments in the sword Dao.
Suddenly, black vapor billowed up from beneath a nearby ruin, churning like thick smoke. Within the black vapor, the faint silhouette of a humanoid creature could be seen, its gaze sweeping toward them like lightning.
Its flesh was mangled and incomplete, and the black mist drifting around it was Dao ash—the cinders of the Great Dao—radiating an aura of death and decline.
Yet somehow, it was still not dead.
Seeing this through Xu Ying's eyes, the Far Ancestor cried out in shock, "An Immortal!"
That Immortal was an expert of the Former Court era. Whether living or dead was impossible to tell; rather than a living being, it resembled an aggregate of boundless resentment.
Yet it was so powerful that it exerted an immense pressure on Xu Ying.
Farther off, another ruin blew apart. A torrential flood of time churned incessantly, swirling around the ruin. In the distance, a bamboo raft could be faintly seen drifting upstream along that flow of time. A humanoid creature stood atop the raft, poling it as he rode the currents of time, sailing toward this era!
The aura of the humanoid creature on the raft was even more formidable than that of the Immortal shrouded in black vapor, as if he could command time itself. Yet for some reason, the River of Time surrounding him formed a great closed loop.
Every time the raft surged to the end of time, on the verge of breaking through, a colossal wave of chaos struck it, sending it right back to the beginning of the River of Time in the next instant.
Time and again, the humanoid creature on the raft charged forward, only to be stopped by the great waves of chaos.
Suddenly, carrying the creature, the bamboo raft surged forward in a mighty leap, plunging straight into the surging chaos waves in an attempt to pierce through the chaos and reach this side.
His body disintegrated and vaporized continuously within the chaos, swiftly reduced to jagged white bones. He became a skeleton poling a raft, still struggling toward the present age.
Just as he was about to break out of the chaotic qi, a great wave rolled over the bamboo raft, submerging it completely.
Xu Ying focused his gaze and saw that both the raft and the humanoid creature had already been sent back to the beginning of time.
Yet the creature remained undeterred, continuing to pole forward, preparing once more to fight his way across.
Bizarre phenomena were unfolding in various other ruins as well. In one, a humanoid creature was perpetually repeating a cycle of dying, decaying, and reviving. In another stood an immortal palace, profound and utterly silent, within which stood an incomparably beautiful woman who nevertheless showed no signs of life.
Meanwhile, within that clear mirror, Emperor Mingdao and a cadre of dragon experts stood trapped. Behind them, an overwhelmingly terrifying aura erupted as an unknown creature of the Former Court era awakened from the mirror. A gurgling sound echoed at their backs, like boiling bubbles of blood. The unknown creature seemed formed entirely of blood, exuding an aura painfully familiar to them—the blood of the dragons who had died inside the mirror.
"Do not panic!" Emperor Mingdao shouted. "I will ensure your safety!"
The mirror's surface cracked with sharp snaps, fracturing under the power of the stone sword formation. Sword intent and sword qi even penetrated deep into the mirror.
The unknown creature behind them paid them no heed, instead rising to contend against the sword formation that was destroying the mirror.
Emperor Mingdao felt a chill run through him. *What on earth is happening outside?!*
Xu Ying felt it growing harder and harder for the stone sword formation to hold down the various anomalies of the Former Court era. From the ruins, pairs of eyes fixed upon him, filled with intense hostility.
Evidently, when Daoist Tongtian arrived here all those years ago, he had clashed with the beings within these ruins and ultimately deployed the stone swords in an array to suppress them all.
The stone swords shook with increasing violence, and the sword formation stood on the brink of collapse.
*I am not Daoist Tongtian. Even though I gained some insight into his sword Dao from the inscription, my attainments are far beneath his. Wait!*
Xu Ying hastily bellowed, "Master Sword, lend me your strength!"
The Zhuxian Sword flew over and joined the sword formation.
Xu Ying was not Daoist Tongtian, but the Zhuxian Sword was Daoist Tongtian's personal weapon.
With its inclusion, the missing link in the sword formation was forged. The power of the formation surged explosively. The massive stone swords grew even more colossal, standing tall between heaven and earth, piercing straight into the azure skies!
A peerless killing intent instantly flooded the world, blanketing the entire expanse of ruins. With the Zhuxian Sword stationed at its core, sword intent swept out in all directions. In an instant, the Former Court ruins groaned as if on the verge of collapse beneath the terrifying sword might. The ground shattered, and rubble floated into the air only to be pulverized into dust by the shockwaves of sword qi!
Startling fissures tore across the earth with sharp cracking sounds. The ground of the Former Court, which had remained intact beneath the suppression of the Chaos Sea, was now being torn apart by the sword formation!
Even the Former Court ruins and their terrifying anomalies were driven to the brink of ruin under the formation's assault!
Towering silhouettes roared in fury within the ruins, fighting against the formation. Yet the sword formation's path of slaughter was terrifying beyond measure, severing the Great Daos of both the Former Court and the present era alike. The ruins of the entire Former Court era showed signs of being pulverized into chaos under its terrifying might!
From within the Former Court ruins, one tremendously powerful aura after another awakened to combat the sword formation, locking both sides in a stalemate.
Controlling the formation, Xu Ying grew increasingly alarmed. The formation's power was swelling ceaselessly, evolving on its own, gradually showing signs of spiraling out of control!
*Daoist Tongtian's sword formation is far too overbearing!* This was an apocalyptic sword formation meant to obliterate everything, sweep the heavens and earth clean, level the stars, wipe out all life, and crush every Great Dao!
If this formation went out of control, it would grind all nearby Former Court ruins into chaos—and even he, the sword-bearer, would be reduced to ash.
He said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoists, I have come with no ill intent, but merely wish to study the Primordial Source. I ask you all to grant passage and not make things difficult for me!"
Just then, in one of the ruins, the illusory figure of the woman fiercely resisting suddenly drifted backward like an ascending immortal, seemingly heeding his counsel. Next, the bamboo raft riding the River of Time came to a halt, and the other ruins also restrained their auras one after another.
Pairs of eyes remained fixed on Xu Ying.
Xu Ying strained with all his might to suppress the sword formation's momentum. Like a chariot thundering forward at full gallop, the formation was difficult to halt immediately due to its inertia.
Malignant energy flared up again in several ruins, threatening another clash, but thankfully the giant stone swords gradually slowed their rotation and shrank.
The broken Zhuxian Sword also diminished in size, hovering steadily amid the array.
Xu Ying composed his demeanor and stepped out of the ruins, walking toward the Primordial Source. All around and above him, a forest of stone swords still hung in the air, maintaining the lethal formation unbroken.
His exceptional composure drew immense admiration from Yuan Weiyang and Princess Mingman.
Yet Xu Ying's calf was cramping, forcing him to pause and rest for a moment. Only when the spasm subsided did he continue forward.
Bearing himself with remarkable poise, he walked leisurely among the ancient ruins, appearing completely at ease.
The masters of those ruins stared intently at him, slowly yielding a path.
"Wait, where is my father?" Princess Mingman suddenly cried out in shock. "My father and those experts are gone!"
Only then did Xu Ying notice that Emperor Mingdao and the accompanying dragon experts were nowhere to be seen. He wondered in confusion, *Where did Emperor Mingdao and the others go?*
He walked forward until he arrived at a ruin that resembled a clear mirror. Beneath the mirror's surface, Emperor Mingdao and the others were looking out at them, shouting, "Do not set foot on the mirror!"
The dragon experts also waved frantically, yelling and gesturing for them not to enter the ruin.
However, not a single sound reached the ears of Xu Ying and his companions.
Xu Ying walked forward and gently spurred the sword formation, coaxing the stone swords to unleash their power once more.
He stepped into the ruin, his gaze landing on the massive mass of blood behind Emperor Mingdao and the others. The blood hovered in the air, shifting irregularly.
*Crack!*
A beam of sword qi descended, piercing straight through the mirror's surface!
Xu Ying spoke unhurriedly, "Fellow Daoist, please grant us passage."
From within that puddle of blood, a pair of eyes seemed to stare back at him faintly, seemingly understanding his Dao language.
Suddenly, Emperor Mingdao and the others appeared atop the mirror's surface. Shaken and unsettled, Emperor Mingdao quickly looked all around. Only when he spotted the giant skeleton and the fallen World-Crossing Golden Ship did he let out a long breath of relief.
"Thank you."
Xu Ying stepped forward and unhurriedly walked out of the ruins.
The crowd followed behind him. Seeing how composed Xu Ying was, Emperor Mingdao could not help but marvel inwardly, *As expected of Dao Ancestor Xu. Such a state of mind is beyond my reach.*
Upon stepping out of the ruins, Xu Ying halted. The others quickly stopped as well, looking at him in confusion.
Xu Ying paused for a brief moment until the cramp in his calf faded before resuming his march.
All around them, strange gazes remained fixed upon him. Calm and collected, Xu Ying kept the sword formation steady as he led the group to the Primordial Source.
The Primordial Source floated in the middle of a stone stele. It was astonishingly massive—an irregular sphere whose surface rippled from time to time with bizarre, intricate patterns.
Standing beside the Primordial Source and peering inward, one could see the structure of the Three Realms. But upon looking closer, one saw that it was the Great Daos of heaven and earth forming the outline of the Three Realms; there was not truly a physical Three Realms inside the Primordial Source!
*How exactly is a Primordial Source formed?* he wondered in deep bewilderment. *And how did the Primordial Source of the Three Realms end up here?*
The marvelous transformations of the Great Daos within the Primordial Source were so mesmerizing that a single glance was enough to immerse anyone.
While examining the subtleties of the various Great Daos, Xu Ying maintained the operation of the sword formation.
Yuan Weiyang sent a voice transmission, "Ah Ying, the beings in these Former Court ruins still do not trust us. They fear Daoist Tongtian's sword formation will drive itself back into the earth to suppress them once more. They definitely won't let us leave."
Xu Ying's heart tightened.
Daoist Tongtian had been alone when he came here, unable to take the Three Realms' Primordial Source with him. He had had no choice but to suppress both the Primordial Source and the ruins of the Former Court era together.
To prevent the Immortals in these Former Court ruins from emerging to bring catastrophe upon the Three Realms, Xu Ying would certainly have to suppress these ruins before leaving as well!
Aware of this, the other side would inevitably strike, bent on slaying him here.
Xu Ying's eyes shifted, and he suddenly spoke in the Dao language, "Fellow Daoists, may I ask, what is a Primordial Source?"
Just then, a woman's voice drifted out from an immortal palace in one of the ruins: "A Primordial Source is the embryo and membrane of a universe—the primal form of a universe within the Chaos Sea."
Her mastery of the Dao language was even more profound than Xu Ying's, and her attainments in the Dao were clearly far superior.
Xu Ying's mind stirred. *Were the Three Realms opened and cleaved from a Primordial Source?*
The woman stood inside the immortal palace, looking out from afar across what felt like an endless expanse of time.
She said, "The Lord of Great Dao discovered that our native universe had fallen into a calamity and that our Primordial Source was nearing destruction. He found a new Primordial Source and stimulated it, intending to enter the new Primordial Source to escape the calamity."
Yuan Weiyang asked, "Then why didn't you manage to escape?"
The woman replied, "We discovered that a Primordial Source cannot avert the calamity."
Yuan Weiyang was stunned. *A Primordial Source cannot avert a calamity?*
Yet the final chapter of the Hunyuan Cave Abyss Calamity-Averting Sutra clearly recorded the Primordial Source!
"What is the calamity?" Yuan Weiyang asked again. "What is the Menghong? What is the Hun Cave? What is the Void Cave?"
Xu Ying's party, the two scouts from the other shore aboard their ship, and the Immortals within the many Former Court ruins all froze in shock at once.
"Visitors from the other shore!"
"The Three Realms' Primordial Source!"
"An emerald ship in the Chaos Sea!"
Exclamations erupted from all three sides. In the next moment, the two scouts from the other shore leaped into the air, activating burialization to reveal their ancient god bodies, their magic power bursting forth!
Beside Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang and Emperor Mingdao soared into the air, flying to intercept the two scouts from the other shore.
Xu Ying activated his Martial Dao Cave Abyss. The cave abyss roared as it swallowed downward, drawing the core of the Three Realms' Primordial Source into its depths!
At the same time, terrifying Dao powers from the surrounding ruins surged forth, bearing down upon him and encroaching on the stone sword formation!
Concurrently, above the broken Zhuxian Sword within the formation, several modest cave abysses began to churn, preparing to drive the sword formation in Xu Ying's stead!
"Master Sword, don't panic! Your master is here to help!"
The big bell clanged loudly. Glowing with an emerald sheen, it hovered above the broken sword. Colossal cave abysses roared to life around it, and the sword formation erupted with full force!
Chapter 714