On the summit of the Xueyu Tianchi, beneath the bright moon.
Lin Zhao sat cross-legged, repeatedly circulating the cultivation method of the Eternal Sword Scripture. Ever since he obtained it, he treated it like a treasure. After all, he had never had the opportunity to truly cultivate a high-level sword art since he was young. The skills he possessed were either general ones from the system, like Sword Qi Cage and Sword Breaking Style, or ones he created himself, which were also few.
Now, with a scripture that claimed to be "the highest in the Three Realms," the Eternal Sword Scripture, before him, it would be foolish not to cultivate it with all his might.
As a person, one must cherish fortune. When fortune descends from the heavens, one must grasp it, otherwise, life will inevitably be bleak.
Now, after cultivating the Eternal Sword Scripture, Lin Zhao's complexion grew increasingly ruddy. In less than half an hour of cultivation, wisps of ethereal sword intent evolved from the scripture and swirled around him. Although these sword intents were rather thin, Lin Zhao knew they were quite formidable!
However, after cultivating for less than an hour, with the proficiency of the Eternal Sword Scripture at level 0 only reaching 50%, he already felt he couldn't persist. At this moment, Lin Zhao's face was not only pale, but his spirit also seemed to be nearly exhausted by the Eternal Sword Scripture. He couldn't force himself to continue cultivating and needed to rest.
He slapped his forehead and shakily rose from the stone.
The reason he couldn't last after only one hour of cultivation was, undoubtedly, still a matter of his realm. This Eternal Sword Scripture was too profound. It was a great divine ability that only those in the fourteenth realm, like his master, senior brothers, and sisters, could wield. For Lin Zhao, a sword cultivator in the tenth realm, to fully control it was practically impossible.
"Young Master."
Liu Liying, who had been secretly observing from afar, floated over and, with wifely grace, supported Lin Zhao's arm with her shoulder. "It's not advisable for Young Master to cultivate such profound sword arts for too long for the first time. Let's return to Tianran Ju to rest well and get some sleep?"
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded and chuckled awkwardly, "Liying, thank you for your trouble!"
"Young Master, what are you saying."
Liu Liying supported Lin Zhao as they floated down the mountain.
"By the way, where did Master go?"
"I don't know."
Liu Liying smiled, "Where the Divine Lord goes, how can mortal cultivators have the right to inquire?"
"That's true, that's true..."
Lin Zhao chuckled, his master was the unparalleled existence in the world!
After returning to Tianran Ju, Lin Zhao lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
Liu Liying sighed. Young Master had truly lived a hard life for too long. Previously, he had no profound sword techniques to cultivate. Now, the Divine Lord must have given him an incredibly profound sword art, so Young Master had bitten off more than he could chew, and was bound to suffer for it.
She smiled and floated to a bamboo in the distance, her form blending with the bamboo forest, guarding the sleeping Lin Zhao from afar.
...
The Ancestral Mountain of the Demon Race.
After obliterating more than half of the long-burning lamps with a single sword strike, the woman in white turned to face the Demon Ancestor, Yu Zhi, Fu Sheng, and the others. A faint murderous intent flickered in her beautiful eyes. She could kill any one of them now if she wished; she only had to point. She hadn't accumulated too much karma in the Upper Realm, so she did have a certain quota for killing.
However, seeing the trembling figures of the Demon Ancestor, Yu Zhi, and the others, she frowned and changed her mind.
Forget it, she would save her quota for the great ominous beings in the Upper Realm. Killing those ominous beings would be more meaningful. As for the mortal demons, they could be dealt with by mortal cultivators. Little Zhao wouldn't disappoint her.
With that thought, she soared into the sky and glanced at everyone, saying, "When the great calamity arrives, I hope you will know your place."
With that, her figure transformed into a sword light and descended rapidly westward.
"..."
Fu Sheng gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with ferocity. After the Demon Ancestor Qing Kui had erected a small world, he said in a deep voice, "Just let it go like this? Can't we, with the combined demonic energy of our entire Ancestral Mountain, kill her, the master of the Eternal Secret Realm?"
"Hard to say."
The Demon Ancestor glanced indifferently at Fu Sheng and said, "If you think so, why didn't you make a move just now?"
For a moment, Fu Sheng gritted his teeth even harder. He didn't make a move because he was afraid. They hadn't discussed it beforehand. If he had acted rashly, he would undoubtedly have been cut down by a single sword.
Such a forbidden existence, cutting down a thirteenth realm cultivator was not much different from cutting down an eleventh realm cultivator. It was like the Sword Saint Ding Muchang. Few people in the world had seen him kill twelfth or thirteenth realm cultivators, because there was no need. The targets he drew his sword to kill were fourteenth realm cultivators.
"Forget it."
The Demon Ancestor frowned. "Everyone, for the next period of time, strive to restrain your demonic energy and collect materials to recast the long-burning lamps. Otherwise, our Ancestral Mountain will be depleted of its vital energy due to her sword strike."
"Yes, Demon Ancestor!"
Everyone bowed in unison, but each harbored their own unwillingness.
These great demons, their moods were all violent. Once they stepped into the upper five realms, they all felt like chosen sons of heaven, destined to be invincible. If not for the terrifying sword intent of that woman, at least a thousand great demons would have attacked together just now.
...
Western Territory, at the border between the Demon Race and the Ghost Realm.
"Swish!"
A beam of sword light hovered in front of the sky curtain. She slightly raised her eyebrows and said, "Are you waiting for me to draw my sword to open the gate?"
Instantly, two illusory figures appeared in the wind. They were the gatekeepers between the two realms. The faces of the two gatekeepers were indistinct; they were merely manifestations of the Great Dao between heaven and earth. Upon seeing the woman in white, they were almost scared to death.
They hurriedly lifted a corner of the sky curtain and said in an extremely vast voice, "Please, Divine Lord, enter the Ghost Realm."
The woman in white floated past.
When she saw so many great demons on the Ancestral Mountain just now, she almost lost her temper. After all, Lin Zhao was forced to his death by these great demons back then. Even a hundred years ago, Ding Muchang, her third disciple, had unstable cultivation because he forcibly summoned a wisp of sword intent to unleash two strikes comparable to the fifteenth realm.
Grudges had been formed, and they would always find an opportunity to settle them later.
She no longer thought about it, broke through the wind, and rushed towards the depths of the western part of the Ghost Realm with unimaginable speed.
In the deep mountains and forests of the Ghost Realm, a figure suddenly leaped from the mountainside to the summit. It was a woman wearing a charming qipao, Tan Xin. The current Tan Xin was a genuine thirteenth realm cultivator. Her traveling corpse and fierce ghosts had been completely refined, so she no longer carried the coffin on her back, and appeared petite and lovely.
"..."
Tan Xin looked at the sword light in the sky and frowned. As the Ghost Emperor, the ruler of the Ghost Realm, she dared not look directly at that sword light. If she truly tried to block it, the Ghost Emperor of the Ghost Realm would likely change hands tomorrow.
And the direction that woman was heading made Tan Xin's heart pound.
Was that... the forbidden place of that one's guard?
Tan Xin sighed. The battles of immortals had nothing to do with her, a thirteenth realm cultivator. It was not advisable for her to get involved, otherwise, she might very well draw disaster upon herself.
She turned and fled, disappearing into the mountains to cultivate.
...
Ghost Realm, western border.
The world was filled with the aura of death. Wisps of bloody lightning rained down. Ordinary cultivators could not survive here. Except for great cultivators in the twelfth or thirteenth realm and above, coming here was basically a death sentence.
The Boundary River, the boundary between life and death, the division between the underworld and the living.
At this moment, an ancient divine being presided over the life and death of the mortal world, overseeing the transcendence and dissipation of those wandering souls.
"Buzz buzz buzz—"
From the depths of the Boundary River, a roar of an ancient divine being echoed. Immediately, the fiery red river water churned, and a massive figure rose from the Boundary River, reaching tens of thousands of feet tall. It was bathed in bloody flames, its body like rock, and its eyes glowed with brilliant light.
For ten thousand years, he had no name, but he presided over the fate of life and death in the lower realm, and also over the interaction between yin and yang in the mortal world.
This was a true taboo, an existence beyond the Three Realms.
The woman in white descended from the sky and landed on the blackened rocks along the bank of the Boundary River. She frowned, and wisps of sword intent surged around her. She said faintly, "Long time no see."
"Roar!"
The other party bowed its head and roared in response to her.
"What?"
The woman in white frowned. "Do you really think you're invincible after reaching the fourteenth realm and refuse to speak to me properly?"
The fourteenth realm cultivator who presided over yin and yang still had a ferocious expression, roaring and releasing scorching waves of heat that directly impacted her.
For a moment, a trace of anger appeared on the woman in white's delicate face. The giant golden sword qi around her continuously surged. She suddenly drew her long sword, frowned, and said, "Then let's start with a greeting!"
With a "chiss" sound, she horizontally slashed her sword. The world changed color. In the distance, sword Dao celestial phenomena appeared in the sky. The entire Ghost Realm seemed as if it would be shattered by this sword strike!
Wherever the sword light passed, it was destructive. The fourteenth realm ancient divine being also couldn't withstand it. The divine power it had gathered was torn apart by the sword qi, and then it was cut in half at the waist. Its body below the waist dissipated, turning into the yin and yang power in the Boundary River.
Its upper body stopped roaring. It merely supported itself on the bank with its hands, staring at the peerless female immortal with its eyes, and spoke human words, "Speak, what is it?"
"A calamity is about to befall the mortal world, a true calamity."
Bing Lan looked at him and said, "You are the one who presides over the yin and yang and the life and death of the mortal world. Therefore, I hope that when this calamity arrives, you will show some favoritism towards the human race, leave more heroic spirits for the cultivators in the human world, and do not use the gale and fire to refine those heroic spirits for yourself."
"Why should I do that?"
The ancient divine being snorted, its eyes blazing, and said.
"Because..."
Bing Lan slowly held her sword blade horizontally in front of her and said, "If you don't listen, I will kill you and replace the Boundary River guardian for the Ghost Realm."
"A deal."
The ancient divine being blinked its eyes and said, "I'll listen to you."
"That's more like it."
Bing Lan smiled slightly and ascended into the sky, looking down at the giant body of the ancient divine being in the Boundary River. "You and I are both saints, and our words are law. If you break the promise today, it will be more than just death and the dissipation of your dao."
"Understood."
The ancient divine being slowly sank back into the Boundary River and said, "Actually, I don't blame you. This body has been with me for ten thousand years. My lower body has been itchy recently, and it might develop a rash. Thank you, Divine Lord, for helping me sever it. In ten days to half a month, a new one will grow. Out with the old, in with the new, it's just a small matter."
"Hmph!"
Bing Lan smiled calmly. She understood this principle very well.
Every time she drew her sword, those people's attitudes were extremely good.