Within the Dark Void, Qi Yuan made an effortless move.
The Sword of Oblivion swung.
In an instant.
The rules within the Dark Void tangled and snapped.
Countless rays of light, lines, and colors were kneaded into a single mass, like paints churned and blended together.
A simple, ancient, blood-colored longsword spanned across the Dark Void, forcing all rules of the Great Dao to surrender beneath it.
"Slaughter of All Life!"
Dao God Tufeng roared as Great Dao rules erupted around him. Desperate to carve out a chance at survival, he threw everything into the fight.
This was his strongest strike, powerful enough to wipe out a God Lord with ease.
It was even potent enough to wound the true spirit of a weaker Dao God.
Yet his attack and his Great Dao rules were utterly frail before that sword.
Or rather, not so much frail as failing to mount any resistance whatsoever.
It was as though his attack could not even perceive the sword, allowing the blade to slice straight toward him without hindrance.
The Sword of Oblivion!
Potent enough to make any rule in existence forget its very being.
Dao God Tufeng's eyes bulged with rage, his true spirit trembling. "How can this be?!"
He could not understand; he refused to accept it.
Even facing a Yang Six cultivator, he would still possess the courage to contest them in battle.
Yet now, against Qi Yuan's sword, how was he supposed to withstand it?
"Oblivion is the true Return to Nothingness," Qi Yuan's calm, clear voice drifted over.
Dao God Tufeng's body froze, and his true spirit locked in place that very second.
All of his memories were annihilated at once, including the Great Dao rules he commanded.
His flesh shattered, his true spirit extinguished, and every trace of Dao God Tufeng's existence in this world was wiped away entirely.
Not far away, the mountain master of Heavenly King Mountain watched the spectacle, shivering from head to toe, the shock in his eyes unable to fade.
That was a Dao God!
Rendered utterly powerless, slaughtered as easily as that!
Could this Qi Yuan... have already passed the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, or was he even stronger?
One had to know that even for that figure in the Abandoned Land, slaying Dao God Tufeng would never be so effortless.
At that moment, Qi Yuan turned his gaze toward the mountain master of Heavenly King Mountain. "You're quite obedient. You didn't resist, nor did you flee."
How could the mountain master dare to run?
The moment he saw Qi Yuan pursue them—moving as naturally through the Dark Void as a fish in water—he knew this man was invincible.
"This old one is willing to offer his humble life to Senior. If Senior finds this old one unworthy of serving beneath you, you may wipe away my mind and consciousness," the mountain master said, lowering his head in utter subservience.
His meaning was plain: he wished to acknowledge Qi Yuan as his master.
If Qi Yuan found his current existence distasteful, he could erase both his consciousness and psyche.
When that happened, what was reborn atop the true spirit would be a brand-new being—one that would pledge complete, absolute loyalty to Qi Yuan.
"Interesting." Qi Yuan gave the mountain master of Heavenly King Mountain a glance that seemed to span ten thousand years in a single breath.
This mountain master's true spirit had already been worn down and obliterated at least a hundred times.
There was no telling how many times his consciousness, personality, and mind had been replaced.
His original persona had also been a peerless prodigy of his generation, one who constantly sought to overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations and had even created an Undying True Spirit Art.
Time and again he had lightly braved the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, only for his true spirit to be eroded, his personality and consciousness to perish, and a new persona to be born.
Yet through all those attempts to overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, he had not succeeded even once.
This went to show just how brutally difficult it was to transcend them.
"Just so happens I'm short a coachman." Qi Yuan waved a hand casually, choosing not to kill the mountain master.
This newly formed mountain master had not existed for very long, so in Qi Yuan's eyes, he could hardly be considered a white moonlight.
"Heavenly King Mountain is willing to serve you like a beast of burden!" the mountain master hurriedly kowtowed.
His honorific title was Heavenly King Mountain.
"Mm." Qi Yuan nodded, then asked, "Where is the Heavenly God right now?"
Qi Yuan had several objectives in this game.
His first mission objective was to protect the Land of Oblivion.
His second objective was to enter Samsara.
His third objective was to reach the Yang God realm.
His final objective was to resolve Returning to Nothingness.
These objectives had overlapping paths.
Before settling them, he needed to meet the Heavenly God to resolve their past grievances.
After all, the Heavenly God was formed from a lingering breath left behind by Sansheng's junior brother.
Between the two of them, there was long-standing enmity.
Sansheng's junior brother had always shouldered every burden without complaint, fighting against Returning to Nothingness.
Even when Sansheng gave up the opportunity to reach Yang Six, choosing instead a path of Samsara that held no future, the junior brother had persisted without regret, fighting on against Returning to Nothingness.
However, the junior brother's strength had relatively speaking been too weak. He ultimately fell to Returning to Nothingness, leaving behind only a dying breath—a single obsessive remnant.
Unlike the junior brother's admiration and reverence for Sansheng, that obsessive remnant harbored deep resentment and even hatred toward him.
This obsessive remnant also took it upon itself to resolve Returning to Nothingness.
Yet its methods were violent and extreme.
To resolve Returning to Nothingness, the Heavenly God would create even more instances of it.
He had even established Nine Heavens Divine Palace, seeking to bring the Yin Realm under his dominion so that its living beings could serve as scapegoats for the Yang Realm's beings when facing the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations.
"His Majesty the Heavenly God..." The mountain master of Heavenly King Mountain paused for a moment before answering, "This old one does not know. However, if Master travels to Nine Heavens Divine Palace... there may be an opportunity to see him."
His implication was clear.
If Qi Yuan barged in and beat Nine Heavens Divine Palace into submission, he might just see the Heavenly God.
"Shall we go to... Nine Heavens Divine Palace?" Qi Yuan acted the moment he spoke.
A look of difficulty appeared on the mountain master's face.
"The headquarters of Nine Heavens Divine Palace lies in the far north of the Rebirth Realm, a vast distance away. Furthermore... Myriad Gods Mountain and Broken Soul Bridge are currently locked in a massive war, cutting off the path through the Dark Void. If we wish to reach Nine Heavens Divine Palace, we must secure passage through the battlefield."
Myriad Gods Mountain and Broken Soul Bridge were old nemeses, and these two formidable powers frequently clashed.
This particular war was on a colossal scale.
The strongest figures from both sides had even stepped onto the field, unleashing great might that severed the Dark Void itself.
Consequently, even a Dao God could not simply traverse the void and had to request passage through the battlefield.
"Oh, that's a trivial matter," Qi Yuan said dismissively.
He belonged to Myriad Gods Mountain to begin with, so borrowing a path would surely be simple enough.
...
"Returning to Nothingness."
"Cycle."
"Oblivion."
"Samsara."
Inside the carriage, Qi Yuan reclined lazily, a hint of worry lingering between his brows.
Granted, unlike Sansheng, Qi Yuan cultivated the Netherworld, which gave him an immense advantage on the path of Samsara.
Yet the path of Samsara he pursued was fundamentally extraordinary.
After all, establishing a Netherworld and reviving the dead was something any Dao Lord could accomplish.
Qi Yuan's Samsara, however, was meant to contend with Returning to Nothingness.
Any being that perished to Returning to Nothingness—even if their true spirit had been ground away, even if they were forgotten by everyone, and even if not a single trace could be found within the Cosmic Mother River—would be able to step forth from Samsara.
The Samsara he sought was essentially taking on every cultivator across the Yin Realm, the Rebirth Realm, and the Yang Realm as his enemy.
For instance, the Heavenly Emperor was undeniably powerful, was he not?
The Heavenly Emperor possessed myriad means to obliterate a person with ease, eradicating their true spirit completely.
Yet if Qi Yuan wished to resurrect that person and have them walk out from Samsara, he would effectively be defying the Heavenly Emperor's Dao.
Thus, his Samsara was virtually pitted against the entire world.
"Not only an enemy to the whole world, but I also have to... resist the Curse of Sinking."
The Curse of Sinking suffered by Sansheng was especially terrifying.
Only the Sword of Oblivion could stand against it.
"With the Curse of Sinking dissolving continuously... I'm worried I might end up awakening an Innate Illusory Sacred Physique."
Back in the Abandoned Land, while using the Sword of Oblivion to combat the Curse of Sinking, Qi Yuan's constitution had begun undergoing a transformation, even showing signs of awakening a peculiar constitution: the Innate Illusory Sacred Physique.
Illusory carried the meaning of void and emptiness, representing an exercise in futility.
If he used the Sword of Oblivion too much, it was possible that one day Qi Yuan might cease to exist, reduced to nothing more than a mere symbol, just like Jing.
"Heavenly King Mountain, tell me... if I were to forget Returning to Nothingness, would I have a chance at contending with it?" Qi Yuan asked thoughtfully.
The Great Oblivion Heart Scripture was a formidable ability, and his origin divine ability.
If he used the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture as a foundation to confront Returning to Nothingness... could he step into Samsara?
Where all fallen beings would simply forget the fact that they had died.
"Master, what you speak of is far too profound for this old one," the mountain master of Heavenly King Mountain replied with utmost caution. "However, oblivion... is indeed a great terror. It... is also a form of Returning to Nothingness."
Many Dao Gods, Dao Lords, and even powerhouses beyond Yang Five favored using oblivion to completely erase a being.
They would obliterate every trace across all timelines, and even the ones who struck would purge that memory from their own minds.
That way, the being would cease to exist entirely.
It was just like someone tearing a page out of a historical record during a feudal dynasty; after a thousand years had passed, who would ever know of the person once recorded there?
"You've reminded me: oblivion is also Returning to Nothingness." Qi Yuan sounded somewhat disappointed.
The Heavenly God was Returning to Nothingness.
The mountain master of Heavenly King Mountain was Returning to Nothingness.
The Heavenly Emperor was Returning to Nothingness.
He himself was Returning to Nothingness.
His Great Oblivion Heart Scripture was Returning to Nothingness.
The Sword of Oblivion was also Returning to Nothingness.
This Returning to Nothingness... just how was he supposed to contend with it?
Chapter 628