The five of them said nothing, simply departing together.
Positioning themselves in five directions, they stood with their swords raised in a sacrificial stance, sealing off the entire far north...
With a single thought, Xu Xian shifted himself directly onto the ice above the Twilight Emperor.
He flicked out dozens of brilliant golden talismans.
Multiple trapping formations rose into existence.
Furthermore, he activated Delusion, isolating the entire area.
After completing his preparations, the youth quietly summoned an immortal sword within the Sword Mound. Facing the swirling wind and snow, he murmured to himself, “Success or failure... depends on this single stroke!”
The youth raised his sword and slashed down.
As the sword qi descended, the earth split open like soft tofu.
Ice and snow billowed into the sky, only to be contained by the trapping formations.
A casual strike had carved out an abyss dozens of miles deep.
It wasn't enough.
A second strike.
A third strike.
Strike after strike, a display of purely violent aesthetics in its most primitive form. Xu Xian intended to excavate this land, digging all the way down to where the Twilight Emperor was sealed.
That way,
When the lightning tribulation descended, the emperor would be forced to share in his Heavenly Dao karma.
Sword hums echoed,
The booming was incessant,
The wind and snow were in chaos,
And the earth churned.
However,
The numerous trapping formations covered a thousand miles, ensuring not a single sound leaked out.
From the perspective of an outsider, all they could see was that thousand-mile expanse of heaven and earth completely submerged in a haze of frost, snow, and dust.
Jiang Wanyin,
Lei Yunche,
Yao Xiqiao,
Lin Fengmian,
And Ye Xianyu...
They tried to peer inside, their divine sense attempting to pierce through the veil, but it was all in vain.
Only their solemn expressions and deep, searching gazes remained.
No one knew,
What was currently unfolding within.
Just as the worlds beyond had no idea what the Wendao Sword Sect intended by clearing out the far north.
However,
As time passed, the news of the Wendao Sword Sect clearing the far north spread through the world with incredible speed.
There wasn't a single high-level powerhouse in Fanzhou who remained unaware.
Alarmed and uncertain of the sect's motives, they set out to investigate for themselves.
In today's world, every move the Wendao Sword Sect made could shift the balance of power. Even the slightest ripple was enough to put half the world on high alert.
They arrived.
Yet, they did not dare set foot in the far north.
They merely hovered in the regions just beyond its borders, watching from afar...
The demon immortal of the North Sea,
The Three Sects of the Central Plains,
The slumbering spirits,
Bai Ze of the East Desolation...
Naturally, the High Priest of the Demon Abyss was also present. Even the Pavilion Elders of the Wendao Sword Sect couldn't help but sneak over for a look.
The world was in a stir,
Endless speculation running wild.
What was the Wendao Sword Sect doing?
What was Xu Xian planning?
Would this move affect them?
These questions weighed heavily on the hearts of these powerhouses.
They feared the Wendao Sword Sect would act recklessly,
Yet they also hoped for the sect's misfortune.
...
That cage was hidden extremely deep. Xu Xian wielded his sword and spent ten whole days hacking away. After ten days...
The dust finally settled.
If someone's divine sense could pierce through the layers of trapping formations to see inside, they would witness the depths of the snowy far north.
A massive, bottomless pit, spanning nearly a thousand miles, stood there.
Looking down, the abyss was dark and gloomy, with cold winds rushing into it.
Deep within the abyss,
Xu Xian was making his final preparations.
The Twilight Emperor, having seen through Xu Xian's intentions, showed not even a hint of panic.
Instead, He seemed somewhat expectant.
He was inexplicably certain that Xu Xian would fail.
The one to suffer would definitely not be Him.
His confidence was terrifying.
This troubled Xu Xian. He felt that the Twilight Emperor shouldn't be acting this way...
Even if He was undying and indestructible, even if He had once been an Immortal Emperor.
After all,
He had already fallen at Xu Xian's hands twice.
This time,
Even if He was brimming with confidence, He shouldn't be this calm.
The feedback He gave Xu Xian was as if He were looking through a God's-eye view.
It was as if He already knew the ending, or as if this entire situation had been authored by Him, with the outcome already written...
His irrational reaction made Xu Xian doubt himself more than once. Could he be wrong?
However,
The arrow was already on the string; it had to be fired.
Not for himself,
But for the sake of this world,
Xu Xian had to take this gamble.
Just as it was written on the sword stele:
A risky move, a deviant path; only through destruction is there creation, a herald of new life.
Xu Xian regulated his breathing and circulated his qi, entering his optimal state.
The Little Book Spirit, however, was off to the side, grumbling and cursing in extreme annoyance:
“Filthy bastard.”
“Quite the arrogant one, aren't you?”
“Just you wait, there'll be time for you to cry soon enough...”
Xu Xian's apprehension didn't seem to affect the Little Book Spirit at all. Just like the Twilight Emperor, it was certain that its plan would succeed.
Even though,
Xu Xian had no idea where its confidence came from.
Time,
Flowed by silently. In the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth day since the far north had been cleared.
Having completed his preparations, Xu Xian opened the array wall that shielded the sky. He used the Spirit Communication Art from the Sacrificial Sword Manual to connect with the five sword spirits in the distant heavens.
He sought to open the Sky Gate,
He sought to draw the lightning tribulation.
The Little Book Spirit was also standing ready, prepared for the moment.
The Twilight Emperor spoke once more, His blood-red giant eyes filled with a mocking smile and His tone playful. “Xu Xian, have you really thought this through? There is no medicine for regret in this world. Once you take this step, everything will be over.”
Xu Xian remained indifferent. “Are you afraid?”
“Heh...” The Twilight Emperor chuckled.
Xu Xian smiled as well. “It seems you truly are afraid.”
That proved,
He was on the right path.
The Twilight Emperor continued to laugh loudly...
“Haha!”
“Hahaha!”
“Hahahaha!”
From ridicule to playfulness, until He reached a state of frenzy...
The laughter echoed within the cage filled with stone pillars and chains.
It traveled up the abyss Xu Xian had carved, reaching the surface, until it finally seemed to resonate through the Star Sea...
Xu Xian closed his eyes and whispered, “Begin!”
Beneath the Wendao Sword Sect.
The five sword spirits opened their eyes simultaneously and spoke in unison.
Zhu: “By your command!”
Min: “By your command!”
Shuang: “By your command!”
Qing: “By your command!”
Zui: “By your command!”
The five sword spirits gripped the five-colored chains and yanked them hard.
The magma in the great pool churned as if an earth dragon were turning over.
Above the Sky Gate, the dense network of chains retracted rapidly like vines or tentacles.
The formation opened.
The Sky Gate, no longer restrained,
Swung open.
Countless wisps of darkness surged out from within, filling the entire subterranean space in an instant.
The glow of the magma was smothered,
And the crimson,
Turned to black.
Even the Wendao Sword Sect began to shake violently.
Every disciple on the mountain was startled.
They were left in a state of dazed bewilderment.
.....
In the far north, the Little Book Spirit pointed a finger toward the sky. “Come!”
It used the Pupil of Insight to provoke the Heavenly Dao.
Amidst the layers of thick clouds in the dark sky, a ray of golden light suddenly descended, piercing through everything and shooting straight down.
The heavens for a thousand miles around were bathed in gold.
Within and around the far north,
The hidden powerhouses were drawn by this sight, and they all looked up.
The sun shone on the far north,
Lighting up ten thousand golden mountains.
“What is this?”
“A divine manifestation?”
“They're making... such a massive commotion?”
They stood in silence, as if witnessing a miracle.
However,
Before the saints could even regain their senses, the golden light vanished in a flash. Lightning gathered above, and black clouds surged out of nowhere.
In the moment they converged,
The fleeting image of a majestic Sky Gate flashed by.
But because it was so fast, many people didn't see it at all. Even those who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse suspected it was a mere hallucination.
No one cared about that.
Because,
At this moment, in the sky above the far north, a thousand miles of thunderclouds had suddenly appeared, with purple lightning churning throughout.
They stared wide-eyed, swallowing hard.
Their expressions were panicked,
Their faces filled with horror.
Someone was heard stammering out:
“It's... a lightning tribulation!”
But then, another person denied it.
“No...”
“It's an Immortal Tribulation!”
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