His eyes opened, resembling the twin suns hanging in the sky of the Emperor's Tomb—massive and crimson.
The only difference was that now, these eyes contained luster and emotion.
He looked down with disdain upon the world,
With an indifferent and mocking gaze,
As if He were a human observing an ant.
“Heh!”
He laughed.
It was merely a slight chuckle.
Xu Xian returned the gaze, his eyes as somber as ash.
“You have come after all,” He said.
“Yes, I have come,” Xu Xian replied.
He asked sarcastically, “And then?”
Xu Xian answered with a question of his own, “What do you think?”
He mocked unceremoniously, “You found me, and you came, yet you still cannot change any outcome. You cannot kill me, just as you cannot stop the Sky Gate from collapsing or the darkness from consuming Fanzhou.”
Xu Xian smiled calmly. “You are not me; how do you know I cannot?”
He shook His head and laughed, causing countless chains to rattle. Dust and stone chips fell from the forest of stone pillars, rustling as they hit the ground.
He said leisurely, “Having won a few times by sheer luck, do you truly think you are invincible under heaven? You are no saint. You are but a mortal being, a mortal being humbled into the very dust. What, do you truly believe you are some savior? Stop dreaming. When your life is as insignificant as grass, do not dream of shining like the stars...”
Xu Xian let out a cold laugh.
“Heh!”
He continued, “It is not too late for you to regret. My promise remains valid. Though you are a mortal being, you are a rare talent. Drink that cup of Emperor's Blood, achieve symbiosis with me, and share my longevity. When the Sky Gate opens and darkness descends, follow me as I ascend to the heavens and conquer the Star Sea. In the future, you will surely stand at the peak of immortality and look down upon the world. This is the true path. You are a clever man; I believe you know which choice to make.”
Xu Xian looked thoughtful and gave a light scoff. “It does sound quite good, actually.”
Nothing was more important than staying alive.
He was born of darkness.
Naturally, He would be like a fish in water during the Dark Turmoil.
Seeing Xu Xian relent, His laughter became even more unrestrained and arrogant. “To know what cannot be done yet to accept one's fate—this is the wisest choice of an adult. Come, follow me, open the Sky Gate, and bury the commoners of this world to prove your dao. In the future, I will surely protect you for the rest of your life.”
Xu Xian was silent for a brief moment, then suddenly burst into wild laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
The Emperor narrowed His eyes and questioned, “What are you laughing at?”
Xu Xian's laughter stopped as abruptly as it began. He licked the corner of his lips and returned the gaze with eyes full of disdain. “If I only wanted to live, do you think I would have gone to such great lengths to find you?”
The Emperor remained silent.
It was undeniably true.
If Xu Xian only wanted to live, he could have sought the protection of the Sword Tower. Even during the Dark Turmoil, he would have had a place to hide.
Survival was not difficult.
Xu Xian continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “Besides, who do you think you are? That I would need your protection? Do not forget, you were the one defeated by my hand. And do not forget, the one in the cage is you, not me.”
The Emperor's voice grew deep with suppressed anger. “You truly are as glib, arrogant, and ignorant as ever...”
Xu Xian replied dismissively, “That is what you think. I only care about what I think.”
The Emperor said gloomily, “To persist in doing what you know cannot be done... you truly are beyond saving.”
Xu Xian said nothing.
The Emperor let out a sigh. “Sigh...” He lamented for no reason, “Forget it, forget it. One cannot stop a man bent on seeking death. If you wish to die, then go ahead and struggle.”
Having overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation,
He had already shed his mortal heart.
How could a few words from Him change a dao heart so firm?
Xu Xian said indifferently, “Rest assured, you will see it.”
The Emperor's mockery remained. “See what? See you die? See you perish? See you give your all, only for the world to be devastated and the sun and moon to lose their light? See your old friends wither away and your sect's gate stained with blood, leaving you alone in this world?”
Pausing for a moment, the Emperor's voice took on a touch of cynicism as He teased, “My apologies, but I have no interest. Even if every mortal being in this world were to die, their blood would not be enough to stain even a fingertip of this Emperor. Tedious, boring, and utterly meaningless.”
Xu Xian could not be bothered to argue with Him further.
He knew He would not die, so He was fearless.
He knew He would not lose, so He was indifferent.
But He did not know,
That nothing was absolute.
Since Xu Xian had come, he would not leave empty-handed.
Arrogance,
And pride,
Always came with a price.
Xu Xian left.
The Emperor continued His mockery.
“Leaving already?”
“Are you going to do nothing?”
“Have you lost your nerve?”
“Use that sword from that day and strike me!”
Xu Xian turned a deaf ear.
He needed to begin his preparations to trigger the Lightning Tribulation.
During those twenty years of searching, Xu Xian and the Little Book Spirit had never been idle.
The two had already simulated the process millions of times within their divine sense.
How to draw the lightning,
How to use the lightning to strike the Emperor,
And how, after stepping into the Immortal Realm, to uproot the Twilight Emperor and take the entire cage into the Divine Sword Pool...
And so on!
But even after millions of simulations, Xu Xian still felt apprehensive and uneasy now that it was time for actual practice.
This was not a game,
Nor was it child's play.
He had only one chance.
If he succeeded, then all was well.
But if he failed, the entirety of Fanzhou would be overturned, and there would be no more chance to break the deadlock. Everything he carried and everything he cherished would vanish like smoke.
Xu Xian could not afford to lose,
Nor could he lose.
Even if there were countless possibilities of failure, he had just as many reasons why he had to win.
The countless ancestors of the Li family had held their ground for three Great Eras.
His master and four senior brothers had sat in solitude for ten thousand years, only to sacrifice themselves in the end.
The Wendao Sword Sect had stood for ten thousand years.
Generation after generation of disciples had offered their selfless contributions.
The Demon Abyss,
The East Desolation,
The Central Plains,
All those innocent and vibrant lives.
And Fanzhou,
Which was likely the only survivor under the Dark Turmoil...
What Xu Xian bore on his shoulders was, on a small scale, the life and death of the beings in a single province, and on a large scale, the hope of all commoners in this world.
After finding the Twilight Emperor,
Xu Xian traveled all the way back to the sect. This time, he did not seek out old friends, nor did he linger in the mountains.
Instead, he went straight back to the subterranean world, to the half-gate of the Sky Gate.
He sat cross-legged in meditation.
Ignoring everything else,
He tirelessly and repeatedly simulated the plan.
He covered all possibilities and nipped every known risk in the bud...
However, the greatest uncertainty,
Was the unknown.
Sudden accidents.
Xu Xian did not know,
Because accidents, by nature, were unexpected.
After three whole years of simulation,
Xu Xian finally stopped.
With the encouragement of the Little Book Spirit, he officially began to put the plan into practice.
He modified the great formation sealing the Sky Gate,
Allowing it to connect to the Upper Realm for a short period, and then immediately trigger the Lightning Tribulation.
Once the Lightning Tribulation manifested, the five sword spirits would need to reseal the Sky Gate in a very short time.
Repairing the formation.
Under the guidance of the Little Book Spirit,
This was not difficult.
As for,
The Breath of Darkness that would surge in the moment the Sky Gate opened, he would use the Heaven-Sealing Trapping Formation to imprison it.
This would ensure,
That the mortal realm would not be detected by the darkness.
After giving instructions to the five sword spirits, finishing the modifications to the formation, and laying down the Heaven-Sealing Trapping Formation, Xu Xian left the subterranean world.
He returned to the sect.
He found his senior brothers and sisters, gathered them together, and said to them:
“I need your help...”
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