Xu Ying and Shi Tianyang walked into the depths of the ruins. On both sides of the path stood ruin masters whose bodies were wreathed in floating images of the Great Dao. Myriad anomalous visions drifted about them, rendering their figures hazy and ethereal.
They moved their feet and trailed behind Xu Ying and Shi Tianyang, their gazes locked tightly on the pair, ready to strike and kill them at any moment.
Surrounded by so many Immortals, Xu Ying remained completely composed, looking straight ahead, while Shi Tianyang glared fiercely, scanning their surroundings.
Even with killing intent stirring in their hearts, these ruin masters could not help but admire the pair's audacity. Side by side, one large and one small, Xu Ying and Shi Tianyang strode with dignified bearing until they arrived beneath the skeleton of the Grand Dao Master.
Here, ruin masters were displaying vast divine power, executing creation from the void. A magnificent celestial city was taking shape before their eyes.
Creation from the void used one's own Great Dao to generate physical matter. Such transformation between Dao and substance was a realm Xu Ying had not yet touched, and it filled him with awe.
"The Former Court era was truly far too advanced," Xu Ying thought to himself. "How could such a flourishing era decline and march toward extinction? Is the so-called tribulation destiny truly that terrifying?"
To either side of the Grand Dao Master's skeleton, archaic-looking elders sat upright in the void. Beneath some of them, lotuses bloomed spontaneously; beneath others, auspicious clouds or golden light radiated; beneath still another, his Great Dao had transformed into a single begonia leaf upon which he sat.
These ten elders opened their eyes one after another, their gazes falling upon Xu Ying and Shi Tianyang.
"Envoys, please step this way," one white-haired elder of the Indestructible realm said. "Earlier, Yin Hong was impudent. I offer my apologies to you both."
His voice was deep and resonant; he had to be the one who had earlier shouted to restrain the ruin masters. He continued, "May I ask what business brings you two envoys to the territory of our Yuan Realm?"
The void before them was completely empty, with no seats provided. Moreover, under the immense pressure of the Grand Dao Master, it was normally impossible to fly up and sit as their equals.
Xu Ying looked up to see those Indestructible elders seated high above in midair, looking down, while the many ruin masters who had followed stood suspended behind them, peering down at the two.
Xu Ying circulated his Martial Dao and stepped upward as though ascending azure clouds, arriving directly among the ten Indestructible elders. Standing firm in midair, he cupped his hands. "How should I address you, Elder?"
Seeing him walk straight up under the oppressive might of the Grand Dao Master's skeleton, everyone was inwardly startled. "This envoy of the Three Realms is remarkable! He must practice some extraordinary Great Dao that even the Grand Dao Master cannot suppress! As for that other shore envoy, he is rather pathetic in comparison."
The white-haired elder did not return the courtesy. "This old man is Min Bo."
Xu Ying's expression turned stern. "Brother Min, this is plainly the Three Realms. Where does a 'Yuan Realm' come from? Your Yuan Realm was destroyed by tribulation destiny, yet you come to our Three Realms and seize the living space of our people. What reason is there in that?"
Another elder with a blue-tinged beard stroked his whiskers. "The Three Realms was originally opened by the Grand Dao Master of our Yuan Realm as an alternate sanctuary after the Yuan Realm's destruction. We were originally the masters of the Three Realms; the so-called Three Realms was always property of the Yuan Realm!"
Xu Ying turned toward him. "And how should I address you, Brother?"
The blue-bearded elder replied, "This old man is Guo Daozi."
Xu Ying said, "The Yuan Realm stole the core of Hongyuan just to prolong your lives, and you still claim reason is on your side?"
Another gaunt elder with sunken eyes raised his hand to stop Guo Daozi. "Xu Ying, you have a glib tongue, but you cannot alter one simple fact: without our Yuan Realm's Grand Dao Master opening Hongyuan, none of you would exist."
Xu Ying bowed slightly. "And you are?"
"My Daoist name is Wuzhenzi."
Xu Ying smiled. "Brother, were the people of the Three Realms born of the Great Dao, or were they born of you? If they were born of the Great Dao, did you create the Dao, or did Hongyuan? If Hongyuan created it, did you create Hongyuan, or was it born and nurtured by the Chaos Sea? Whether you opened Hongyuan or not, it would have opened in the future regardless. What does that have to do with you?"
Wuzhenzi flicked his sleeve, displeased. "Xu Ying, you are twisting logic and making trouble out of nothing! Summon the Tongtian Sword Master here in person!"
Xu Ying laughed aloud. "If the Sword Master were here, I fear blood would have already flowed like rivers. If the Tongtian Sword Master could suppress you all back then, exterminating you today would be child's play."
"You!" Wuzhenzi and the other elders rose to their feet in genuine fury.
Min Bo restrained them. "Everyone, be calm. Fellow Daoist Xu, you invoke the Tongtian Sword Master to pressure us, believing that because our Yuan Realm is trapped by tribulation destiny, we must fear him. You underestimate our Yuan Realm. We have two hundred and seventy-two Immortals, all beings of peerless Dao attainment, and we have our Grand Dao Master overseeing us. If the Tongtian Sword Master has not attained the realm of Grand Dao Master, he cannot contend with our Yuan Realm."
Xu Ying glanced around and chuckled. "Two hundred and seventy-two Immortals—every one of them an ancient wretch tormented by tribulation destiny, barely able to save themselves. And your Grand Dao Master suffered devastating injuries opening Hongyuan, leaving behind nothing more than a withered skeleton. A single skeleton plus two hundred-odd decaying relics—with one man and one sword, the Tongtian Sword Master could wipe out your Yuan Realm universe for good!"
Even Min Bo could no longer contain his anger. He barked, "Presumptuous! Did you come as an envoy, or did you come to die?"
Xu Ying's expression straightened, turning solemn. "Everyone, I came to explain the stakes clearly. Today, our Three Realms is overseen by the Tongtian Sword Master, whose divine powers are boundless, and we have an envoy from the other shore right here. No matter how formidable you are, you cannot withstand an alliance between the Three Realms and the other shore."
Hearing him mention the other shore, the surrounding crowd sneered repeatedly; evidently, they bore no goodwill toward it.
Xu Ying said, "Tribulation destiny still clings to you. Why demean yourselves by crouching here in the Three Realms? If you leave, the Three Realms will remember your kindness with profound gratitude."
Min Bo sneered, "We came to the Three Realms merely to seek shelter. If the other shore comes, they will surely enslave the Three Realms!"
Xu Ying replied, "If the other shore would enslave the Three Realms, do you not harbor the same desire? In that case, what difference is there between you and them? If you truly seek only shelter, then today I can speak on behalf of the Tongtian Sword Master: we will grant you the land you currently occupy as a sanctuary. But from this day forth, you must not expand by another inch! Should you seek to enslave our Three Realms, then we will have no choice but to ask the Tongtian Sword Master to lead our people and raze this place to the ground!"
The Indestructible beings bristled with anger. Wuzhenzi demanded, "You keep invoking the Tongtian Sword Master with every breath, but where is he? I suspect he died long ago!"
Xu Ying glanced at him and said flatly, "Does carrying the Sword Master's personal sword not prove he is in the Three Realms? If you do not believe me, wait until I report back to him and ask him to unleash his aura—then you will naturally know. But I, too, harbor doubts as to whether your Grand Dao Master is still among the living."
Seeing his absolute confidence, the elders wavered, filled with doubt.
Min Bo coughed lightly. "If the Tongtian Sword Master reveals his presence, we will naturally awaken the Grand Dao Master to display his aura as well. However, there is one matter: how shall we deal with the envoy from the other shore?"
Xu Ying said solemnly, "Once both our sides have verified the true existence of the Grand Dao Master and the Tongtian Sword Master, we will sign a covenant and swear a binding oath. From then on, the Yuan Realm shall not expand its territory, and our Three Realms shall not expel our Daoist friends of the Yuan Realm. Our two sides will form an alliance to jointly resist the other shore! When that time comes, I will personally execute this envoy from the other shore to demonstrate our resolve!"
Min Bo declared decisively, "Good! It is a deal!"
"It is a deal!"
Below, Shi Tianyang had been putting on an air of nonchalance, keeping his eyes wide and glaring menacingly all around. Hearing their words, he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, they've reached an agreement. Executing one envoy from the other shore to secure peace between two realms—a bargain indeed... Wait a minute, aren't I the envoy from the other shore?!"
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. The person slated for execution was him!
Just then, Xu Ying descended from the air and said, "Fellow Daoist Shi, after you."
"Hmph!" Shi Tianyang shot him a ferocious glare, though his heart was pounding erratically.
He desperately wanted to drop all pretense and turn against Xu Ying right then, but with so many Yuan Realm Indestructibles surrounding them, the moment he dared to make a move, he would die without a doubt.
Steeling himself, he followed Xu Ying, thinking, "As soon as we get out of here, I'm making a run for it!"
The two strode outward. Min Bo waved his hand, signaling the ruin masters not to obstruct them. Once Xu Ying had walked far enough away, the elders clustered forward. Wuzhenzi spoke up bluntly, "Brother Min, how could you agree to that? How small is our current territory? If we are confined here, how can the civilization of the Yuan Realm survive?"
The other elders nodded in agreement, each frowning deeply.
The other shore was whispered about across the universes of the Chaos Sea, but it was far from the paradise of men's dreams; on the contrary, it was exceedingly mighty and sinister.
Back then, the Yuan Realm had clashed with the other shore once. The sheer brutality of that war remained indelibly carved into the bones and hearts of these survivors.
"We sign the covenant first, and then we can bide our time and plan step by step."
The elders fell silent.
Wuzhenzi wiped away an old tear and said, "Everyone, Brother Min speaks the truth. Tribulation destiny cannot be escaped, but we must leave something behind to prove we were once here."
Emotion surged within Guo Daozi, and his voice turned raspy. "We must ensure that people know the Yuan Realm once existed! Not only that it existed, but that we existed too! Tribulation destiny cannot erase us, nor can it erase the Yuan Realm!"
Min Bo let out a sigh. "Now, the only problem is..."
He looked around at the others. "How can we make the Tongtian Sword Master believe that our Grand Dao Master is still alive?"
They stared at one another in dismay.
None of them knew whether the Grand Dao Master was truly alive or dead. Back when he opened Hongyuan, the exhaustion had caused his physical body to collapse and his Great Dao to disintegrate, leaving behind only the Abyss Sea and a skeleton. From that point on, the skeleton had remained silent and dormant; they had assumed he died during the opening of Hongyuan.
Only the arrival of Yinyuanzi from the other shore had provoked the skeleton into moving, obliterating Yinyuanzi with a single finger strike.
Because of that, Xu Ying mistakenly believed the Grand Dao Master was still alive, merely in a dire state.
That action had also sparked hope within them. Yet they had inspected the skeleton countless times without detecting the slightest trace of vitality hidden within it.
How to arouse the Grand Dao Master's presence convincingly enough that the Tongtian Sword Master would suspect nothing was a massive headache.
"What if... when the time comes, we attempt to activate the Grand Dao Master's skeleton together?" Wuzhenzi suggested tentatively.
Min Bo sighed. "It seems we have no other choice."
Outside the ruins, Shi Tianyang made ready to flee, but Xu Ying said, "Do not worry, I will not kill you. I still need you to lead me to the other shore."
Shi Tianyang was startled and blurted out, "You want to go to the other shore to die?"
Xu Ying thought for a moment, then asked, "Back on the other shore, did you feel unappreciated, constantly pushed aside and marginalized?"
Shi Tianyang stared in astonishment. "How did you know?"
Xu Ying smiled. "I already have a plan; there is no need for the Ancestral God to fret."
He summoned the emerald rock multi-decked vessel and ferried himself and Shi Tianyang back to the Earth Immortal Realm.
Upon arriving, Xu Ying immediately sought out the Holy Venerable and said, "Chop off this big fellow's head, and then help him grow another one. Pack the severed head into a large box and preserve a portion of his vital essence inside it; I have use for it."
The Holy Venerable appraised Shi Tianyang and chuckled. "A simple matter. I could even slice him into countless thin sheets and spread them out without him dying."
Shi Tianyang trembled with apprehension, but the Holy Venerable's power was not a whit inferior to Xu Ying's, leaving him utterly without the courage to resist.
Before long, Shi Tianyang's head was severed and placed into a box, and with the Holy Venerable's aid, a new head grew in its place.
Xu Ying put the box away, took Shi Tianyang to the Ziwei Ancestral Court, and strode straight into Emperor Haotian's imperial mausoleum.
"Eight Daoist brothers, catastrophe looms over the Three Realms. I have come to request His Majesty's remains to deter villainous scoundrels!" Entering the tomb, Xu Ying bowed to the stone statues guarding it.
One of the statues revived, transforming into flesh and blood. "Since the matter is urgent, we must bring forth His Majesty's remains. Fellow Daoist Xu, please follow me."
Waiting outside the tomb, Shi Tianyang wondered, "The Tongtian Sword Master is plainly on the other shore, a notorious fiend—how could he possibly be here?"
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a boundless aura surged into the sky from within the Qianshan Imperial Mausoleum, instantly tearing through the Ziwei Ancestral Court, shifting heaven and earth and shaking the entire universe!
That aura was like an unimaginably colossal pillar of light, piercing through the sky and starry reaches of the Earth Immortal Realm and illuminating the Heavenly Immortal Realm like the midday sun, terrifying the dragons of the Heavenly Immortal Realm until they trembled violently!
In an instant, the vast aura swept across the cosmos of the Three Realms, causing every spectacle of the Great Dao across the stellar expanses to resonate in harmony!
Far to the northwest of the Mortal Realm, upon the wreckage of the Yuan Realm universe, the ruin masters felt this aura, and their expressions altered drastically.
"The Tongtian Sword Master is terrifyingly mighty! He is a hundred times stronger than when he suppressed us back then!"
Min Bo and the others gritted their teeth. "Grand Dao Master, forgive our offense!"
Unleashing their magical power together, they poured it into the Grand Dao Master's skeleton, raising it aloft and activating the Abyss Sea. Instantly, an equally vast aura surged skyward from the Mortal Realm, blazing in mutual radiance against Emperor Haotian's aura!
Far away in the imperial mausoleum of the Ziwei Ancestral Court in the Earth Immortal Realm, Xu Ying sensed the Grand Dao Master's aura, and his heart turned solemn. "The Grand Dao Master truly is still alive!"
Chapter 722