A Dragon as Sacrifice

The Phantasm Phoenix did not move. Instead, it let out a long cry where it stood. Wherever the cry rippled, all the phantasm beasts transformed into various kinds of luan birds, which then flew in flocks into the Flourishing of the Many Realms! Ancient luan birds had many varieties. Among them, the cyan luan ranked no lower than a kunpeng or phoenix. The Phantasm Phoenix naturally could not command a cyan luan, so there were no cyan luan among the flock. Nonetheless, many of the luan birds possessed bloodlines remarkably close to that of the cyan luan. As the flock of luan birds surged into the Flourishing of the Many Realms, they were met head-on by ripples radiating from the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven. However, luan birds possessed considerable resistance against attacks carrying the aura of the Yellow Springs and the underworld; a single ripple could only strip away ten to twenty percent of their vitality. Ancient luan birds were exceptionally fast and far from weak in close combat, capable of gaining the upper hand even when battling the spirit beasts of the spirit manors. In an instant, both spirit manors were thoroughly suppressed. Massive swarms of luan birds pounced directly onto the spirit manors and began pecking away. With every gouging strike of their beaks, a large chunk of a spirit manor vanished. Wei Yuan stood in midair, his fingertips twitching despite himself. In the distance, the Phantasm Phoenix suddenly spread its wings, its feathers bristling as if startled. Fixing its gaze on Wei Yuan and seeing that he did not move, its panic turned to fury. With a piercing cry that shook heaven and earth, all the phantasm beasts within a hundred li transformed into luan birds, swarming toward Wei Yuan in an overwhelming deluge! The time the spirit manors could hold out was halved once more. Wei Yuan's pupils constricted slightly, yet he still did not move. The sky over the Flourishing of the Many Realms darkened, entirely blotted out by countless luan birds. The flock split into two torrential streams—one crashing toward the spirit manor, the other surging toward the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven. Jialuo still wore the face that bore a striking resemblance to Xiaoyu. Gripping a blazing fiery sword, she stood before the grand gates of the Nether Palace, calmly facing the incoming torrent of luan birds. A massive flock pounced violently, engulfing Jialuo and instantly forming a massive ball of birds. In the next breath, countless red beams of light erupted from within the sphere of birds, streams of fire spinning and slicing like blades! The surging sphere hesitated for a fraction of a second, then shattered into pieces, revealing Jialuo at its center. She was covered in wounds, surrounded by chopped carcasses of birds, barely able to keep herself standing. The bloodline of luan birds traced back to ancient sacred beasts, granting them an innate restraint over extraterrestrial fiends. Jialuo's heavenly demon body suffered immensely from this. Confronted by the unending swarm of luan birds, Jialuo gritted her teeth, licked the blood from her lips, and raised her sword once more against the countless foes. More luan birds pounced upon her, burying her under their weight yet again. This time, no sword light pierced through the ball of birds for a long while, but the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven continued to radiate waves outward, layer by layer, whittling away at the luan birds' flesh and vitality. At this critical juncture, a speck of light suddenly soared from the continent, flying straight into the primeval full moon. A young girl clad in white-gold robes patterned with red accents touched down upon the surface of the moon, looking all around. The moon's surface was a singularly desolate realm, completely barren save for a few colossal boulders. The maiden appeared exceedingly anxious. Gritting her teeth, she unleashed a beam of sword qi that blasted a deep hole into the ground. She leapt inside and summoned a massive stone to seal the opening. In the next instant, countless bright red petals erupted from the primeval full moon, morphing midair into a vast, majestic torrent of crimson-gold sword qi that plowed into the flock of luan birds. In a flash, vast swathes of luan birds rained from the sky; the once cloud-like swarm was thinned down to scattered remnants. The Taiyin spirit manor was complete. Luan birds were exceptionally troublesome, yet sharp sword qi was their natural bane. The celestial laurel tree's crimson-gold Taiyin sword qi combined sharpness, swiftness, and agility, serving as the perfect counter to the birds. With this, three spirit manors stood distinct within the Flourishing of the Many Realms, each possessing unique specialties, covering one another, and leaving virtually no weakness. The pupil of the Heavenly Eye slowly dilated, its aura growing deeper, more primordial, and enigmatic. Far beyond the heavens, several more pairs of eyes slowly opened. The time had come to reveal the hidden cards! From an indescribable realm beyond the heavens, a beam of sword light crossed thousands of years and tens of thousands of ages, streaking in to plunge into the Heavenly Eye. In an instant, the Heavenly Eye almost clamped shut, seemingly in extreme agony—far worse than the blow dealt by Lu Changhe. When the Heavenly Eye opened again, a tear actually trickled down! The tear was brimming with sword qi mottled with the patina of ages. Passing through the clouds, it transformed into an Azure Dragon. The Azure Dragon's gaze was cold and majestic. Its scales were weathered, covered with crisscrossing scars, many of which had eroded over untold ages. The Azure Dragon let out a roar that echoed for ten thousand li, then swung its tail and entered the Flourishing of the Many Realms. From the primeval full moon, crimson-gold sword qi poured forth like a waterfall, striking the Azure Dragon, yet it only left countless tiny scratches across its body. Born from the fusion of sword qi suffused with time and the Heavenly Dao of this world, the Azure Dragon surpassed the current celestial laurel tree in the hierarchy of the sword dao. Right at that moment, another gaze swept over, and Wei Yuan seemed to hear a Buddhist chant in his ears. That Buddhist intent was faint to the utmost, yet it resounded through heaven and earth, echoing across the ages from past to present. Inside the small temple of the Pure Land, the light suddenly flickered between bright and dim. There was clearly no wind, yet the ever-burning flame of the Blue Lamp Before the Buddha flickered frantically as though caught in a tempest, threatening to be snuffed out at any moment. Liandeng turned pale as ash. He wanted to rush over, but his body felt as heavy as lead, unable to take a single step forward, lacking even the courage to draw near. Just as the blue lamp was on the verge of dying out, rhythmic chanting suddenly arose. The young monk Honglian sat upon a prayer mat, chanting scriptures with serene composure. His voice was not loud, but as long as the chanting echoed, the lamp would not go out. Yet the small temple suddenly seemed to turn transparent, leaving Honglian and Liandeng as if standing in empty void. From the unseen heights above, a mighty figure pointed a finger downward. This finger pointed toward destiny and causality; it would cease if Honglian stopped chanting. Yet the serene, peaceful recitation never paused. And so, under Liandeng's horrified gaze, that finger tore through the void and struck the crown of the young monk's head! It was as though tens of millions of years swept leisurely past. The young monk matured, grew old, and passed away in meditation. His flesh dried, weathered away, and finally reduced to a skeleton seated cross-legged on the prayer mat, still radiating an aura of tranquility. Within the small temple, the chanting still echoed, lingering without end. Tears streamed down Liandeng's face without him realizing it. Suddenly gritting his teeth, he dashed toward the Blue Lamp Before the Buddha. But after only two steps, he halted in astonishment. Upon the lotus throne that had previously been empty, a faint figure appeared. He leaned forward slightly, looking toward the Blue Lamp Before the Buddha. Through the flickering flame, he saw the eyes hidden deep within time and space—a pair of strange blue-purple eyes interwoven with countless fine golden threads. The figure upon the lotus throne spoke: "Every time you strike, you sink one step further into the endless abyss." "In the struggle for the Great Dao, no matter how many times you reincarnate, I will seek you out and destroy you. This lifetime will be no different." "This lifetime... may be different." The figure upon the lotus pedestal grew slightly clearer; his brow bore several resemblances to Wei Yuan. He lightly tapped his finger, gathering several tens of millions of strands of mortal karmic luck on the tip, and flicked them into the flame. From beyond eternity came a muffled grunt laced with fury. A bead of blood seeped from the corner of those eyes, and a faint streak of shattered gold appeared in the pupil. The light of the Blue Lamp Before the Buddha stabilized, the flame purged of all impurities. The small temple regained its prior tranquility. The lotus throne was empty once more, the figure having already vanished. Only then did Liandeng come to his senses. Rubbing his eyes, he almost thought he had just had a dream. He exhaled a long breath and turned his head, only to freeze on the spot. In a corner of the small temple sat a skeleton cross-legged. Though tens of millions of years had seemingly passed, it still exuded a sense of peace—having attained great joy, complete and fulfilled in every way. Outside the Pure Land, the Azure Dragon slowly opened its maw. Countless motes of light emerged from the void, converging deep within its throat, before it exhaled a beam of gray light that blasted into the central spirit manor! As the gray light appeared, the entire world filled with the intent of ruin and extinction. The spirit manor shuddered violently, rippling out ring after ring of gray light. Wherever the gray light reached, all things were coated in dust. The entire spirit manor was swiftly draped in a heavy gray shroud, as if plunging into a lifeless world, tumbling rapidly toward the end of existence. The gray light spewed by the Azure Dragon seemed inexhaustible. Infused with supreme sword intent, it was practically an immortal sword in the form of a light beam. Before long, the central spirit manor was on the brink of collapse. At that moment, vitality suddenly stirred in the spirit manor's third tier. The entire spirit manor soared upwards section by section, exceeding eight hundred zhang in the blink of an eye! Dragon roars resonated through heaven and earth once more. Two true dragons, one black and one white, charged out from the chaos, each exhaling Yin-Yang dragon qi to blast against the Azure Dragon's gray light. Hit by the Yin-Yang dragon qi, the gray light's power diminished drastically. At this very moment, Xihe's voice rang out in the air: "Three thousand years! At long last, I have waited for you!" A beam of sword light as radiant as spring manifested, spanning the vault of heaven. Having settled through three thousand years of time, the sword light had long shed its original resentment, killing intent, indignation, and gloom; all that remained was bright sunlight and pure, simple joy. The Azure Dragon was terrified. From its thousand-zhang body erupted hundreds of millions of beams of sword qi to ward off this unprecedented strike. Yet the sword light severed the torrential tide of sword qi, cleaved through the dragon's scales and flesh, and circled its neck. The dragon's head fell. With a dragon as sacrifice, the fourth grotto-heaven spirit manor was formed.