The moment before the sword intent tore through the three-thousand-mile sky above the Demon Suppression Abyss.
Within the Ancestral Peak of the Wendao Sword Sect, an ancient teleportation array that had been silent for nearly ten thousand years flickered to life.
The powerhouses of the entire sect focused their gaze on one spot. The five patriarchs looked on with solemn expressions.
Yun Zheng uttered a single word.
"Move!"
His entire being turned into an afterimage as he stepped into the array and vanished.
Lei Yunche rode his Startling Thunder, heading straight for the west of the Wendao Sword Sect. Before his physical body could even arrive, the saintly phantom of a ninth-stage peak cultivator manifested ahead of him, appearing outside the Demon Abyss.
Under the clear sky and bright sun, thunder suddenly began to roll.
Ten thousand beasts whimpered, and a thousand birds fled the forests in terror.
Within the Demon Abyss, evil spirits hissed and shrieked.
"He's coming, he's coming again..."
At the same time, a woman in vermilion robes turned into an aurora and headed south, while a white-haired old man headed toward the northern reaches of the sky.
At the head of the Longevity Bridge.
Two Guest Elders of the tribulation transcendence stage appeared on the bridge almost instantly.
One was a straw-cloaked elder, wearing a bamboo hat and straw sandals, his hair and beard as white as snow.
He crouched atop the cold iron chains at the bridge's end, a green bamboo pole resting on his shoulder. From the tip of the bamboo, a golden fishing line dangled leisurely.
He stood firm against the wind.
The other was a vagabond with tattered clothes, bare feet, messy hair, and a scruffy beard—entirely unkempt.
This vagabond stood directly on the surface of the Longevity Bridge, a sword strapped to his waist. He stood with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, silent.
Ruan Hao descended from Zhujian Peak.
Elder Yao stepped out of his house in the Baicao Garden.
Han Yi, who remained to guard the mountain gates and exercise the authority of the Sect Master, suspended himself above the summit of the Main Peak and shouted loudly.
"Seal the mountain!"
The moment his voice fell, the Seven Peaks and Thirteen Halls—whether they were disciples, cooks, or even alchemists—all moved in unison.
Those at the core formation and nascent soul stages controlled their swords, turning into rainbows of light that converged on the square. Those at the foundation establishment and qi refining stages leaped through the mountains and fields, moving as swift as the wind.
Within just a few breaths.
The square was already packed with disciples.
They stood in silence.
Some held their swords horizontally, some leaned on them, some gripped them tight...
Zhou Tao, Zhang Yang, and Lin Qianqian were all among them.
They stared beyond the long bridge, ready for battle as if a great enemy were approaching. They only awaited a single command to charge out in full force.
The autumn wind blew cold.
The vast gray clouds hung low at dusk.
——————
Above the Demon Suppression Abyss.
One sword strike split the sky; one sword strike felled the giant beast. The sword landed on the banks of the Wild River, and the giant beast tumbled into the wilderness.
The world was in an uproar; all living beings were struck with horror.
As the earth shook and the mountains trembled, the astral winds surged like waves, engulfing both demons and humans alike.
In the sky, the rainbow-like trail of sword qi dragged out like a comet, the trajectory of its descent through heaven and earth refusing to dissipate for a long time.
It was like a sliver of blinding sunlight piercing through a window into a deathly silent room.
The previously overbearing giant flaming tiger was now pinned to the landscape by a sword less than four feet long, leaving it only able to hiss and roar in rage.
The humans and demons of the world seemed scared witless, frozen in place. They looked toward the distance, then back up at the sky.
That one fleeting sword strike had severed a thousand years of fortune in this place.
The light of the Spirit Eye continued to intensify.
Like a hanging golden sun illuminating three thousand miles of mountains and rivers, under the watchful eyes of the multitude, a youth in azure robes descended from the heavens. He stood above the spot where the sword had landed, just outside Spirit Elixir City.
The azure-clad youth was enveloped in a layer of misty green aura, like the fog over a great lake or the astral winds atop a mountain peak. His hair was tied with a hairpin, and he stood with his hands behind his back.
His entire body seemed to emanate a sword qi as vigorous as a mountain range.
It was snow-bright and blinding, darting about with incredible speed.
The pervasive dust and mournful winds were instantly torn apart and dissipated.
The wind stopped, and the dust settled.
Heaven and earth became clear as the gray mist retreated.
The azure-clad youth lowered his eyes, looking down from the sky as he spoke softly, his voice as warm as jade.
"Little kitten, you've overstepped!"
Though the giant flaming tiger was pinned to the earth by an immortal sword, the flames on its body did not diminish in the slightest. It glared with fury and roared in human speech:
"The eight thousand miles of territory to the west originally belonged to my tribe! How have I overstepped?"
The youth did not answer, only letting out a soft sigh.
"Sigh!"
At that very moment.
From the direction where the sword intent had originated, another rainbow streak crossed the sky. The sound of surging sword whistles approached in the blink of an eye. Upon closer inspection, it was a girl flying across the sky with a sword.
Her voice arrived before her blade.
"Senior Brother, why waste words with her? I'll slaughter her for you."
As soon as her voice fell, her sword arrived.
A single strike slashed down, tearing through heaven and earth. The mountain-leveling sword qi ravaged everything in its path.
In that split second, just as that Celestial Sword Intent was about to strike, the black demon eyes also rippled, filling with pervasive runes.
The three-thousand-mile sky of the Demon Suppression Abyss was suddenly split: half was white and radiant with golden light, while the other half was black and heavy with clouds and mist.
From the very peak of the firmament, a thread descended. It was extremely thin and incredibly fast, landing precisely on the giant tiger just before the sword intent could hit.
Others might not have seen it because it was too fast.
Others might not have seen it clearly because it was too chaotic.
But Xu Xian, possessing the Pupil of Insight, saw it with absolute clarity.
It was a white-clothed figure that appeared there almost as if by teleportation.
He saw the figure gently wave a sleeve, stirring up a world-tilting gale. With effortless grace, that wind neutralized the sword qi that could have split mountains and heavens.
The world was in chaos; the ears were filled with roaring.
The demons and humans caught in the middle were dazed.
It all happened far too quickly—the giant flaming tiger, the comet-like sword intent, the azure-clad youth, the sword immortal girl, and now this white-clothed man.
They appeared, and they struck.
The azure-clad youth's sword had defeated the giant tiger.
The white-clothed man's flick of a sleeve had crushed the sword intent.
From beginning to end, only a few breaths had passed.
Yet this world had already changed colors more than once.
Xu Xian saw it clearly.
The blood-colored elk beneath his feet saw it clearly too.
Xu Xian's sea of consciousness seethed.
The blood-colored elk's physical body trembled.
The world first roared incessantly, then fell into a deathly silence.
When the dust finally settled and the wind and clouds dispersed, the landscape had been completely transformed.
In the firmament.
Two giant eyes opened, their dual-colored brilliance intersecting and eclipsing the sun.
The azure-clad banished immortal and the white-clothed fairy suspended themselves in the sky to the west.
One stood with hands behind his back, the other held a sword.
A white-haired man stood to the east of the sky, his wide-sleeved robes hanging leisurely as if an emperor had arrived in person.
Beneath him was the giant flaming tiger, burning with heaven-incinerating flames, watching with predatory eyes.
Behind him were dozens of beast sovereigns who had crossed the Wild River and overstepped the boundary.
Beyond the Boundary Mountain, in that brief span of time, several immortals of the eighth-stage great ascension had also crossed the landscape.
They either hovered behind the two figures in the sky or landed upon the city walls.
Among them were not only cultivators from the Wendao Sword Sect; powerhouses from the Three Sects, a thousand sects, and ten thousand races of the Central Plains had also arrived in secret.
Both sides drew their battle lines inside and outside Spirit Elixir City, looking as though a massive war was about to erupt.
The auras emanating from them collided and tore at each other, mixing together.
Between the heavens and the mountains, it felt as though an invisible struggle of the Great Dao was unfolding.
The vicious beasts of the demon race hurriedly retreated from Spirit Elixir City once they regained their senses.
The human cultivators also rushed back into the city.
They were silent.
They simply watched in awe.
Li Qingshan arrived at Xu Xian's side at some unknown point. He first glanced at the blood-colored elk beneath Xu Xian's feet, then looked at the boy.
He asked in a heavy voice, "Are you alright?"
Xu Xian's throat moved as he swallowed. "I'm fine."
Li Qingshan took a deep breath and looked up at the sky outside the city. "Hide behind me. I will protect you."
He seemed to be showing off again.
But this time.
Xu Xian did not argue.
When Li Qingshan stood before him, the pressure coming from all directions suddenly vanished without a trace.
Xu Xian felt an inexplicable sense of peace.
As if possessed, he actually nodded.
"Okay!"
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