"Behead him!"
Xing Tian's thoughts roiled like a boiling cauldron as he struggled fiercely. On one hand, he was driven by an unwillingness to yield; on the other, he was striving to deplete Qu Thunderbolt-Free's strength. No one's power is infinite, not even the current Qu Thunderbolt-Free. A little more exertion here meant a little less there—wasn't it evident that he could no longer directly harm Yu Zhou?
Old Daoist Yu Zhou, with his Sword Control in flight, was undeterred by the Abyssal Sea Blood Tide. Instead, he used the momentum of the assault to close a distance of several miles in a blink, drawing within half a mile of his target. The Passing Water Sword became ethereal, and the Transforming Departure Sword Mist swept by silently.
It was at this moment that the Moonlight Glow played its role. The surrounding light and shadows twisted, diverting the Sword Mist into the void. The target remained unscathed and even bore a mocking smile, his lips twitching as his black robe sleeve stirred, releasing two trails of dark green light that pierced the air: "You might cut through the Black Thunder Shuttle, but what about this Shadow Thunder Ghost Flame Shuttle?"
The Black Thunder Shuttle was a Refining Artifact, whereas the Shadow Thunder Ghost Flame Shuttle was a one-time use concealed weapon. The ghost flame sealed within was drawn from the depths of the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion using a secret method, encased within the Flying Shuttle, and ignited by Yin Thunder. It was said to be so powerful that it could flatten a mountain in an instant, and if it touched flesh, it would not stop burning until it was consumed by fire.
Clearly relying on the Moonlight Glow's powerful defense that twisted the void, the assailant had released this weapon at close range—a testament to the deep hatred he bore for Yu Zhou.
Faced with such a sinister weapon, Yu Zhou resumed his middle-aged appearance with an unruffled expression. The Passing Water Sword vibrated lightly, and the Transforming Departure Sword Mist spread out once more, ignoring the approaching Flying Shuttle and still aiming straight for the target's vital points.
"With the protection of Vacuum God, what can you do to me?"
"Wen Shifei!"
A hoarse shout broke through the air, the last two syllables cracking with strain. Yet, this voice seemed to possess a magical power. Wen Shifei looked around in shock, only to see Old Daoist Yu Zhou suddenly become as insubstantial as vapor. Wen Shifei was not so easily played, and the Shadow Thunder Ghost Flame Shuttle did not need to strike its target to detonate. With a thought, the trigger was pulled, and at that moment, he saw Yu Ci, three miles away.
Under the tumultuous interweaving of the Abyssal Sea Blood Tide, one's vision shouldn't have been able to reach so far. Yet, as if by some divine intervention, when he looked over, the shifting light and shadows began to recede. Especially the sky-high blood tide suddenly condensed, and was overwhelmed by a pale blue sea of light. Amidst the stark, pure hues, the young man calling out his name stood out like a beacon that had previously guided the Old Daoist, his arm outstretched, his fingertips stiff yet unmistakably pointing in his direction.
"Yu Ci!"
Wen Shifei didn't know why he cried out, but at that moment, the sky-high blood tide surged again, engulfing Yu Ci in an instant. However, just before the tumultuous wave could crest, a sharp beam of crimson light shot forth, arriving in a flash.
Moonlight glimmered, distorting the void, causing Wen Shifei's vision to blur—a confusion that was more than just visual.
"Uh?"
A heat as scorching as magma, the Bloodthirsty Qi surged through his body. The Moonlight Glow's warping of the void had shifted the trajectory of the crimson beam, missing his chest and piercing through his shoulder instead. But the difference was inconsequential.
The Purification's keen Sword aura shattered the Void Divine Arts, and the ensuing torrent of directed blood was potent enough to grind ten Wen Shifeis into dust. His eyes widened to their limits, but they registered no color; his entire field of vision was flooded with Blood Light. In a single breath, it was as though magma had been poured into him, and the Shadow Thunder Ghost Flame Shuttle was overwhelmed by the bloody tide, failing to even stir a ripple.
The simplified tri-layer rune Sword aura, which had been used to slay two Vacuum Walking Cultivators in the blink of an eye, dispatched Wen Shifei, a Golden Elixir Upper Level practitioner, with the ease of slaughtering a dog.
However, for Yu Ci, the conductor of this power, the sensation was far from pleasant.
At that moment, the projection of Qu Thunderbolt-Free, which had always hovered beneath the hanging bright moon, wore an expression of surprise. It suddenly turned ethereal, as if a gust of wind could blow it away. The Void Marsh that had imprisoned Xing Tian also dissipated into nothingness in that instant.
Xing Tian shifted his focus to the now fragmented Wen Shifei, realizing what even a fool would now understand: Wen Shifei was the pathway through which Qu Thunderbolt-Free projected across space, channeling strength! Feeling the depletion of power, confusion clouded its mind. How could this be? And how had Yu Ci discerned it?
Yu Ci could not provide an answer, for he had truly reached his limit.
To Yu Ci, the sounds of heaven and earth vanished abruptly, and all images twisted grotesquely. Only the collapsing void remained unchanged, including the fissures of the Eternal Abyss and the connecting corridors. Yet, everything stilled once more.
In a daze, he understood this was the decisive moment for the fates of millions.
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Time in the Boundary River source region marched on.
Yu Ci felt as if he were jamming a stick into the wheels of a speeding carriage. The rapid motion suddenly turned to stagnation, and just when everyone thought everything would halt, a tremendous inertia took control. The "carriage" thundered down, collapsing yet still carrying a terrifying force as it surged forward.
The fragile barrier that lay between the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion and the Cultivation World silently shattered.
Like a volcanic eruption, the Crimson Fire Demon Flame, carrying with it the unique air, soil, vegetation, and creatures of the Skyless Scorched Purgatory—now fragments—melted everything into magma. It broke through spatial barriers and burst forth.
At the source region of the Boundary River, the remaining few peaks simultaneously crumbled, and the surging shockwave expanded at a speed beyond imagination, instantly spreading to the edge of this realm. After a brief pause, it crushed the remnants of the seal that Qu Thunderbolt-Free had once laid down. All notions of the Thunder-Slaying Tribulation-Dispelling Sword technique were reduced to ashes, and the accumulated shockwave, gathering momentum, spread out in all directions with even more astonishing force.
And then... that was it.
Before the shockwave could reach them, Xing Tian had already released Sword Energy. A faint blue light formed a robust barrier around Yu Ci and Yu Zhou, shielding them from the impact. However, it found the force of the impact to be much less than anticipated; the collapse of the mountains and the seal was more a result of changes in the Spatial Structure. On the ground, an unconscious Incense Slave, not protected by it, was merely blown away yet still breathed.
So, where had the burst of power gone?
The answer was now clear.
The suspended bright moon suddenly twisted and dissipated, and a round mirror, still faintly glowing with azure light, fell. Just as darkness abruptly descended upon the world, a straight rainbow light shot out from the cracked entrance of the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion, piercing through the original center of the bright moon, and stabbed into the dark expanse above where not a single star could be seen.
The sound waves concealed, save for the initial shockwave, all energy was confined within the diameter of the rainbow light, forming an unparalleled thrust!
Xing Tian felt a violent tremor in its heart. In its perception, another barrier was blasted to shreds.
Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion, the Cultivation World, and the Cosmic Qi of the Eternal Abyss collided, converged, and reacted at that moment.
"Has he won after all?"
The silent blue sea of light faded away, and Xing Tian could no longer sense its own emotions. It merely lingered in this fleeting silence, quietly awaiting everything that was anticipated to come.
Silence, silence, and more silence!
The beings at the source of the Boundary River were dumbfounded, watching the rainbow light that spanned the sky grow dimmer, thinner, and increasingly unstable, until it was on the verge of extinguishment.
"What is this...?"
From astonishment to ecstasy, Xing Tian's transition was instantaneous. It was not about a narrow escape from death; with its level of cultivation, even if the shockwave had indeed been a massive upheaval that changed millions of miles of heaven and earth, it was confident of emerging unscathed. It was simply delighted at Qu Thunderbolt-Free's miscalculation. Such emotions no longer needed to be concealed. The high-pitched sword hum was its laughter:
"The Eternal Abyss is deathly still, sealing off all vitality, with the flow of primal energy nearly at a standstill... Qu Thunderbolt-Free, the power you gathered is not enough!"
Under the dramatic turn of events, the residual image of Qu Thunderbolt-Free did not respond, only becoming fainter and at any moment could dissipate like a wisp of smoke.
Amidst the piercing sword hum, Yu Ci inexplicably regained a bit of spirit. He looked up to see, beneath the dim long rainbow, the lingering image of Qu Thunderbolt-Free. Perhaps it was because his vision was still hazy, but Yu Ci couldn't shake the feeling that at this moment, the peak existence seemed somewhat bewildered. The gaze was no longer as resolute as he had initially perceived, but rather wavering, drifting across the faces of everyone present.
Finally, it settled on Yu Ci's side.
He had become but a shadow! Yu Ci reminded himself of this fact. As the world around him grew increasingly blurry, only the eyes of Qu Thunderbolt-Free remained crystal clear, piercing straight into the deepest recesses of his heart.
And then, Yu Ci fell into unconsciousness.
Time lost meaning as he drifted in a stupor, but eventually, Yu Ci found himself within the Inner Void of the Heart. He let out a sigh of relief; being here meant he was still alive, though recklessly invoking the Bloodthirsty Qi of the Xuan Huang Killing Sword had taken its toll. Even with the simulated Sword aura, both his form and spirit had suffered greatly. Now, the Inner Void of the Heart lay desolate, and reorganizing his Aura would be a lengthy endeavor.
As he stood there, lost in the sight before him, a sudden sensation tugged at his awareness, drawing his attention to the very edge of the void he could control. The structure of the Inner Void of the Heart resembled an isolated island in the sea, with the periphery being a beach. Perhaps subconsciously, he had shaped this place into a landscape of grotesque rocks that, under the cover of night, exuded a chilling and eerie atmosphere.
But what was even more bizarre was the inexplicable figure he now saw!
Yu Ci was momentarily stunned.
There sat a person on a relatively smooth rock, hand propping up their chin, gazing out at the sea in a daze—a face hauntingly familiar.
"What a wonderful place... Young man, how did you come across it?" The question was ambiguous, but Yu Ci understood. He did not respond immediately, instead uttering "Manifest," creating a projection of himself in the void and stepping forward to speak softly, "Perception is mutual. If the elder could detect my hand's Divine Bronze Mirror, naturally, I could also sense the origin of the Divine Bronze Mirror's response."
Despite nearly dying at this person's machinations, ever since their appearance, their imposing presence and tactics commanded involuntary respect, and he truly admired them. He did not mind addressing the other as "elder."
In fact, from the moment Qu Thunderbolt-Free's image had appeared, the Divine Bronze Mirror had reacted, and with each subsequent action, Yu Ci had more opportunities to confirm his suspicions. By the time the Divine Bronze Mirror was seized, it was his moment to risk it all.
Yet what he could not comprehend was why, among countless methods of power transmission, this person had chosen one with such glaring vulnerabilities. Perhaps Wen Shifei had a mind profound enough to execute flawlessly, but Yu Ci was leagues apart; any mishap could unravel all his schemes.
"Do you think the Original Demon Lord is so generous as to allow his subordinates to serve two masters?"
Qu Thunderbolt-Free's image couldn't help but let out a wry chuckle. "Before the possession, I left most of what belonged to Qu Thunderbolt-Free's persona here, sealed within various Magical Treasures, then entrusted the trigger to Wen Shifei. Only by doing so could I ensure that the secondary remained strong while the primary stayed weak, keeping the better half of Qu Thunderbolt-Free here. And now, it's time to truly depart."
He was using the words he had earlier spoken to Xing Tian to mock himself. Yu Ci could not respond, for he indeed felt that the figure before him held no power whatsoever and could dissipate at any moment.
"There's not much time, so let's be direct. Young man, could you lend a hand?"
The next chapter would conclude the journey through the Sword Garden.