Deep within the clouds, a deep purple lightning began to shimmer, its destructive power radiating outwards. Occasionally, a massive surge would occur, a manifestation of the power of the Third-layer Talisman Seal ripping through space, mingled with the familiar yet chaotic aura of the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave.
In the blink of an eye, the "thief" that Xuan Huang (the name of a sword spirit) spoke of had been beaten down.
This fellow probably knew that he could no longer deceive the suppression of the Talisman Seal, and with a sense of resigned desperation, his Aura was fully exposed, allowing Yu Ci to feel the overwhelming pressure from him more acutely.
Without any hesitation, Yu Ci concealed his aura and accelerated his flight. The surrounding clouds, seemingly insubstantial, were in fact semi-solid entities, layered barriers within which high-speed movement was not difficult. However, he found it hard to distinguish directions, relying mostly on the guidance of Xuan Huang (the name of a sword spirit).
The duo's cooperation was quite satisfactory. The cloud pavilion where Eastern Marquis once resided was not far away. By the time the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave caught his breath, Yu Ci, with the help of Xuan Huang (the name of a sword spirit), had broken the pavilion's Seal and rushed in.
Stepping into the pavilion's small hall, which remained immaculate despite the passage of countless years, one could not help but want to throw oneself onto the ground and sleep to one's heart's content. Yu Ci was already so tired that his eyelids were fighting each other, yet the Divine Soul perception released by the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave was like a storm that had suddenly swept to the door, triggering the seal off on the door. This was not an isolated incident, and soon, the entire Misty Shadow Sky was in an uproar. Dozens, if not hundreds, of cloud pavilions responded in kind, creating quite a stir.
And it didn't stop there. Three more waves of Divine Intent shock were released, leading to a strong counterattack from the Talisman Seal embedded in the Misty Shadow Sky.
"Is this what they call a triumphant return?"
Yu Ci sneered coldly, then became somewhat cautious: "It's as if they're certain someone is here."
Under normal circumstances, shouldn't that guy assume that everyone was still under the First Layer Talisman Seal, desperately seeking a way to break it?
Fortunately, that person didn't have a clear target, just conducting wide-range searches over and over again, leaving one confused as to whether he was confident or simply venting.
"That's not right..." Xuan Huang (the name of a sword spirit) could also sense through Yu Ci. Due to its different origin, it might be less comprehensive, but it was particularly sensitive to pressure, "He's narrowing the range, he's coming this way!"
Yu Ci grunted in acknowledgment but did not respond. As Xuan Huang (the name of a sword spirit) was wondering, it sensed that Yu Ci had taken out two items.
"What on earth is this?"
"It's a cushion made by the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave. It can filter the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi within the Sword Garden, which is beneficial for cultivation...how thoughtful!"
"There must be a catch, let me see!"
Xuan Huang, the sword spirit, extended its sword aura and with a single sweep over the cushion, it declared, "There's a trick inside. Some crucial threads are formed by condensing Sword Energy. Not only does it facilitate his remote sensing, but if you use this cushion for a long time, you might be infiltrated by Sword Energy and unknowingly become controlled by him! Discard it, discard it!"
"Such a cunning trick! In the Sword Garden, everything else can be absent, but this cushion is a practical treasure... What about this?"
Yu Ci, a man, tossed another object in his hand - the Heavenly Calculation Bead.
"Of course, there's a problem. Isn't this the very thing that scoundrel refined? Fortunately, you simplified the Talisman Seal with your own strength, otherwise, all your ideas would have been taken by that scoundrel. As for the function of the sensing mark, it's a minor detail... The Heavenly Calculation Bead isn't something extraordinary before it forms a certain scale. Discard it, discard it!"
"Tsk, what a big spender!"
Yu Ci was not in a hurry. By observing the tricks used by the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave, he knew that even with the Seal of the Eastern Marquis Cloud Born Pavilion in between, the two items wouldn't be locked immediately. He needed to sort out his thoughts.
The fact proved that the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave had the ability to break through the first two layers of the Talisman Seal without relying on anyone...Only the third layer was difficult. Therefore, he painstakingly made so many cushions and distributed the Heavenly Calculation Beads, controlling more than a hundred Talisman-skilled cultivators. Logically speaking, it should be for this purpose.
But this couldn't explain why the Talisman level of more than a hundred cultivators couldn't meet the demand - Yu Ci might be an exception, but not even the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave, or Yu Ci himself, dared to claim they could break the Three-layer Talisman Seal before truly developing the Lifebound Divine Ability. Even now, without Xuan Huang's help, he wouldn't be sure at all.
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"Treating a dead horse as if it were alive... After ten thousand years of idleness, that guy came up with such a strategy?"
This was a deadlock, and Yu Ci couldn't figure it out for a while.
Temporarily setting aside the "process" and directly considering the "result", what was there after the Third-layer Talisman Seal, that is, within the Secret Domain Core area? It was something that the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave couldn't forget about.
After some thought, Yu Ci asked Xuan Huang, the sword spirit, "The thief is born of shadows. To achieve immortality, must he possess a physical body?"
"Possess a body?" Xuan Huang scoffed. "His roots are merely a shadow of contemplation, coming from nothingness and returning to nothingness. It is entirely different from the usual Separate Consciousness and Thoughts. To put it bluntly, even if the Thunderbolt-Free Great Immortals allowed it to possess them, the intersection of illusion and reality would surely spell its doom."
"That's strange, then why is it interested in the corpse in the coffin within the Secret Domain?"
"The corpse in the coffin?" Xuan Huang's mental intensity surged tenfold, causing Yu Ci's Divine Soul to tremble. "It said it wants the corpse in the coffin?"
"What's wrong?"
After a moment of silence, Xuan Huang's gritted mental voice came through, "In the core of the Secret Domain, the 'Guixu', there is only one coffin, and it belongs to Master Yuan Dao!"
Before the Five Thunderbolt Tribulations, the Eight Thousand Sword Cultivators suffered a defeat in their Western Expedition, and hundreds returned to the east. Later, the Ancient Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and other great Divine Powers who had attained enlightenment, along with billions of Buddhist soldiers, pursued relentlessly. The unparalleled Sword Immortal Yuan Dao, wielding Xuan Huang, the killing sword, single-handedly held them off, killing any Buddha in his path, creating chaos in all directions. He almost single-handedly held off the pursuers from the Western World (Indian World).
Shortly after returning to the east, Yuan Dao fell to the demonic Thunderbolt Tribulation and was buried in the Sword Garden.
Xuan Huang, or rather the Sword Spirit of the Xuan Huang killing sword, due to its long-term communication and cultivation with the Sword Immortal, possessed immense Divine Power. According to the standards of the Cultivation World, it had at least achieved the accomplishment of Yang Spirit and gained longevity. Moreover, its killing power far exceeded its Cultivation Level.
The physical form of Xuan Huang, the sword spirit, currently resided in the Secret Domain Core. Its Sword Aura Original Soul, which had been sealed for five thousand years and was now extremely weakened, could only rage within the Inner Void of the Heart of Yu Ci. Otherwise, it would have leaped out long ago and severed the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave in two!
"What does he want Master Yuan Dao's physical body for?"
"It must be some grand conspiracy!"
"..."
Yu Ci now understood that there was no point in trying to reason with someone who was blinded by anger. However, he still needed information from Xuan Huang, so he reminded him again, "That villain is after immortality!"
"Immortality my foot! He just wants to break free from the constraints of his origin..."
At this point, Xuan Huang suddenly realized something was amiss, "Wait, wait, what use would Master Yuan Dao's physical body be to him? He's just a shadow, a shadow!"
Yu Ci didn't know what the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave sought, but he could gauge the difficulty from Xuan Huang's reaction.
Unlike Xuan Huang, who was bound by too many preconceived notions, Yu Ci had a new idea after a moment's thought, "If he can't do it himself, what about getting someone else to do it?"
What Yu Ci had in mind were the "forcibly conscripted" cultivators, not this particular group, but the countless cultivators who had come to the Sword Garden in search of opportunities since the Thunderbolt Tribulation. The Master of the Sunken Sword Cave claimed to have been in deep slumber for many years, with no contact with the outside world, but Yu Ci didn't buy it. If he had been awake all this time, there were countless things he could have done over ten thousand years, enough time to witness the rise and fall of an entire sect!
The pavilion fell silent for a moment. Xuan Huang had his thoughts, and Yu Ci had his understanding. But no matter what, the sense of crisis in their hearts suddenly escalated.
"We must be careful!"
Yu Ci's words were meant for both Xuan Huang and himself. Without hesitation, he reconnected the First Layer Talisman Seal. Amid the rushing Primordial Qi, he exerted a forceful throw. Two objects that could potentially reveal his location vanished into the void. By harnessing the power of the Talisman Seal, he connected different layers of the Secret Domain and flung the two objects to the periphery of the Secret Domain.
He had initially planned to use this object to set a trap of some sort, but upon further reflection, he realized that he might be overestimating his abilities. The Master of the Sunken Sword Cave might just occupy a prominent position, with vast, unknowable shadows lurking behind him. Without understanding the root of the matter, attempting to ensnare someone could simply end up a laughingstock!
Thus, Yu Ci had made a decision: he must move from the light to the shadows. He couldn't afford to engage in open conflict for now, no matter how insistently Xuan Huang (the name of a sword spirit) demanded, he had to step back from the limelight. Otherwise, he'd be courting death!
Xuan Huang, the sword spirit, remained silent on this matter.
Outside, the divine intent of the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave suddenly paused, then receded like a tide. Clearly, he had sensed the direction of two objects.
Having temporarily concealed his location, Yu Ci was near exhaustion and unwilling to move further. He found a seat in the hall and closed his eyes to rest. However, shortly after closing his eyes, a strong thought, even an ominous sign, kept disturbing his peace:
"It won't be hidden for long."
Yu Ci snapped his eyes open, sitting in his seat in a daze for a while. Xuan Huang, the sword spirit, seemed to want to say something but ended up saying nothing.
This state continued for a short while, the hall was silent, only the Array Formation set up in the building years ago was silently operating, dusting and cleaning, maintaining its pristine condition for thousands of years.
"It's too clean, even a little dust is noticeable, just like this Misty Shadow Sky... what is there besides shadows?"
This was the crux of the crisis. How could such a situation deceive someone who is extremely familiar with the Misty Shadow Sky? It was fortunate that Yu Ci had timely entered the Cloud Born Pavilion, using the power of the Seal to conceal his aura, otherwise, he would undoubtedly have been caught!
In fact, he couldn't hide for much longer.
Thinking this, Yu Ci laughed: "Well then, let's play a game of deception, muddying the waters, and... get a good night's sleep!"
Instantly, his thoughts passed through the core of the First Layer Talisman Seal and spread out.
In a very short time, thousands of Cultivators who had heard the news but were blocked by the endless Seals outside the Secret Domain, looked up in astonishment.
The gate, it opened!
...