In a trance, Yu Ci seemed to float aloft, experiencing a surreal sense of his Divine Soul departing his body.

This phenomenon occurred because, to some extent, he had gained the recognition of the Xuan Huang Killing Sword. His divine will could linger in the tide of blood, drifting aimlessly like a kite caught in a fierce gale, surging with the crimson tide into the depths of the void.

The impact of the blood tide spread endlessly, and the blood-colored heavens and earth that contained it were like a vast barrel riddled with holes; as the blood tide surged through, it immediately overflowed.

It was the same throughout the entire Boundary River.

The Void World, cleaved by Qu Thunderbolt-Free, was riddled with a thousand wounds. As the blood tide swept across, even if it was not as intense as within the blood-colored heavens and earth, it still resembled an unending blood-colored storm.

Yu Ci's Divine Soul's range of perception expanded continuously, breaking through the Boundary River, bursting out of the Guixu, out of the Sword Garden, and spreading to the Broken Realm Mountain Range. Following the Light Pillar that connected heaven and earth, it shot upwards until his perception reached its limit. A dizzying whirlwind ensued, rapidly contracting inward, and in the blink of an eye, it returned to his Brain Palace.

He groaned, awakening from his stupor.

The blood tide of the Xuan Huang Killing Sword was also retracting. The fierce sword's menace had just broken through the blood-colored heavens and earth, causing an unparalleled outburst, finally cresting the wave's peak, with the radiating power beginning to decline.

"The young one didn't perish; he possesses quite a bit of fortune."

A familiar voice rang in his ears. Yu Ci wanted to lift his head, but as soon as he moved his neck, his muscles protested with creaking sounds, his throat included. He could only sigh and bury his face in the soil thick with the stench of blood.

"It's a bold move indeed. I had been pondering how to gradually trigger and deplete Xuan Huang's Bloodthirsty Qi, but you, with a single effort... Get up, such an opportunity must not be missed!"

Yu Ci paid him no heed, still lying on the ground, searching for evidence and sensations that his physical body was still intact.

"Thud!"

Something struck the top of his head and then fell to the ground, leaving a portion resting on his shoulder. Aside from that, the other party did not do anything else, seemingly aware that Yu Ci was in no condition to be disturbed.

Yu Ci himself would not linger too long. After a while, when his body's sensations finally improved somewhat, he propped himself up on his hands, grimacing as he half-sat up. The first thing he saw was an object beside him—the very thing that had just struck his head. He stared at it for a long moment, still unable to comprehend:

"Where did this scabbard come from?"

Next to his supporting hand, a dark scabbard lay on the ground, about four fingers wide and five feet long, densely engraved with Rune Circuitry that merged with the material's own patterns, dizzying to look at. Touching it, he felt a cool, heavy sensation.

The other explained, "With this scabbard, we can temporarily contain Xuan Huang's Bloodthirsty Qi... Unfortunately, the Star-Sunken Steel Scabbard, tailor-made for Xuan Huang, was destroyed during the western campaign. We can only make do with this ill-fitting one, I'm afraid the experience won't be pleasant."

Yu Ci felt a stir in his heart, yet he uttered not a word, merely lifting the scabbard, squinting as he scanned the slit where the blade was sheathed. He excused his poor sight, for he discerned no extraordinary marvel at first glance. Raising his brows, he prompted:

"And then?"

"One must simply go there and do as one did to revive amidst the Bloodthirsty Qi just now. Yet, there's no need to draw near; a distance of about a hundred feet will suffice."

Yu Ci took several deep breaths, gathering his strength before proceeding as instructed. Throughout this process, his guide ceaselessly provided direction, including how to wield the sword's intent, how to regulate his body, and forewarning him of the many unforeseen circumstances that might arise, leaving nothing untold.

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Merely three miles from the Xuan Huang Killing Sword, Yu Ci took a quarter of an hour to approach, during which the tide of blood erupted twice in minor surges, yet caused no significant disturbance.

From afar, Yu Ci could already see the Xuan Huang Killing Sword.

The four-foot azure blade stood silently upon the ground, its surroundings swirling with a mist of crimson and black hues, flowing around the sword, revealing only its silhouette. But occasionally, when a piercing light broke through the mist, fleeting as it was, it stabbed at one's eyes with a pain so sharp it was almost unbearable.

Yu Ci, emulating the sword intent of Xuan Huang, halted a hundred feet away. At this spot, the concentration of Bloodthirsty Qi was so intense it was beyond belief; the air, hot and scorching, almost solidified. Standing still was bearable, but the slightest movement caused the skin to rub against the Bloodthirsty Qi, resulting in an excruciating pain that bored into the flesh.

Without further delay, as the other had instructed, Yu Ci slowly moved the scabbard before his chest. This was all he was required to do; the rest was up to the other’s techniques.

He did not have to wait long before the temperature above plummeted suddenly, and strands of coolness seeped down. Yu Ci was merely grazed by the chill, yet it trickled into the scabbard in his hand like droplets of water. A tremor ran through his palm, and a wondrous sensation emerged—the scabbard seemed to extend two invisible threads, one reaching out towards the Xuan Huang Killing Sword a hundred feet away, the other tracing back along the path of the coolness, stretching into the unknowable depths of the void.

So the scabbard was also a medium...

Before the thought could fully form, triggered by the Aura threads extended from the scabbard, the Xuan Huang Killing Sword emitted a Sword Resonance. The surrounding Bloodthirsty Qi surged and thundered, the temperature soared abruptly, and just as Yu Ci's scalp tensed, from somewhere within the void, another sword chant echoed, and a Faint Blue Light Filament plummeted down, piercing through the barrier of Bloodthirsty Qi, and struck the scabbard in Yu Ci's hand.

In Yu Ci's Brain Palace, there was a resounding "clang" as if two sharp swords had clashed within, the intense vibration nearly boiling his brain to frenzy.

Such an intense reaction completely diverted his attention from the red and black haze a hundred paces away, where a four-foot green blade burst forth from the ground, transforming in the blink of an eye into a deep crimson streak of lightning, thrusting towards his chest. Yet, at the same moment, his right hand holding the sword scabbard seemed divinely assisted. With a slight exertion of his little finger, the mouth of the scabbard tilted forward, the surrounding Rune Patterns igniting with brilliance, casting the narrow four-finger-wide slit into shadowy depths.

With the fall of the lightning, a thunderous boom rose in tandem.

It felt as though nine Five-Thunder Talismans had exploded in his hands. Yu Ci's entire body seemed electrified, his mind a sudden blank, his body lifted as if riding the clouds and mist, hurtling hundreds of feet backwards before crashing solidly to the ground.

But from that moment on, the blood-colored world fell into a sudden stillness.

"Young man, wake up."

Blurry and indistinct, someone called by his ear. Dozens of times back and forth, finally rousing his consciousness. He cracked open his eyes, only to be met with the external light that sent him into another wave of dizziness. It was then that the one who had reported the outcome said:

"It's done."

"Done?"

Yu Ci was somewhat bewildered, only confirming the truth when he saw the sword wrapped within its scabbard.

Wasn't it too quick? But on second thought, he felt it was for the best. The collision of the two sword intents had left his sword-arm feeling foreign to his own body. Similarly, the muscles and bones of his entire frame had reached their limits; he lay there, even more battered than before.

Seeing him thus, the other uttered, "If you continue to lie there, don't regret it later."

"Hm?"

"Your emulation of the Xuanhuang Sword Intent and enduring its Bloodthirsty Qi for such a long time has caused your muscles, bones, and Meridians to be squeezed by internal and external forces, some deformed. If you don't correct them promptly, your cultivation will plummet. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I x..."

Yu Ci cursed faintly but propped himself up with effort. Under the other's guidance, he operated the Half Mountain Mirage, driving the Primordial Qi through his channels, allowing his flesh to readapt to its original sensations.

"Quicken your pace. The Bloodthirsty Qi of Xuanhuang cannot be concealed from others. Now, while being nurtured within the scabbard, you must absolutely avoid combat. Leave as far as you can, now!"

"Are there many people?"

"Thanks to you, the entire Sword Garden's defenses are destroyed, and every Tom, Dick, and Harry can enter. It goes without saying that the situation will only become more chaotic in the coming days."

While urging Yu Ci to hasten his pace, the other laid out two possibilities for him:

"Now you have two paths. One is to return, to meet up with your sect outside; the other is to keep going..."

Yu Ci spread his hands, "If there's nothing to gain, of course, I want to return as soon as possible..."

The other fell silent for a moment, then simply said, "Good."

"But Xuanhuang owes me a Thunder-Slaying Tribulation-Dispelling Ukase. Will it be made up if I return?"

Yu Ci's words came with a sudden intensity, but the other's tone remained unchanged, "Understood. Since that's the case, I need to inform you about the Great Brahma Demon King."

...