Rewrite the myth and become the Taoist!

Chapter 318 In his twilight years, he drew his sword to slay the heavens and prove his Dao (from "The Holy Sword")

Nina knelt on the ground. The White Rainbow Sword Saint's strength was becoming increasingly terrifying. Before she even stepped into the Divine Realm, she could barely hold her own against him at full power, but now she couldn't even withstand a single sword strike.

The sword of will that Luo Yi honed under the "Heavenly Punishment Blade" has approached the level of "objective laws," making it impossible for anyone but a saint to dodge.

This is the consequence of being unable to stop it.

"White Rainbow Sword Saint, I am willing to offer my soul as your eternal slave..." Nina's voice was filled with unprecedented humility, her once proud eyes reflecting the blood-stained blade of the black-haired man. "You will become the first in ten thousand years..."

A flash of cold light.

As Nina's head flew high into the air, she saw her headless body still in the posture of offering her soul with both hands. On Luo Yi's black-scaled sword, a drop of divine blood slowly slid down the spine of the blade.

"Why...?" Nina's lips were still moving before she hit the ground.

"I refuse," Luo Yi said without giving a reason.

["——God-killer!"]

[In the instant the roar exploded, the surrounding alien races scattered and fled. Nina, the true god of the Star-Moon Clan, who had ruled for over a million years, had actually perished in a one-on-one battle.]

"God died just like that..."

The surviving human soldiers gazed at that figure, the scene etched deeply into their minds. Years later, in their old age, when recalling this moment with their descendants, they still couldn't find the words to describe the figure they had seen so vividly.

The blood-stained Black Scale Sword was sheathed. Luo Yi stepped over Nina's gradually turning ashen head, and a muffled thud echoed behind him as her body collapsed to the ground.

"Ah Yi..." Luo Feng looked up, "What are you going to do?"

[“This trip—” Luo Yi’s steps faltered.]

"Slay the gods and ascend to heaven!"

These four words struck like a thunderbolt.

【"boom--"】

The instant the words exploded, the thick fog that had shrouded this place for millennia trembled and retreated as if alive. The sky, as if ripped open by an invisible giant hand, revealed what lay beyond—

Millions of stars opened their eyes simultaneously.

Throughout history, heroes of humanity have echoed their cries across the ages.

"I must become the 378th—the Dao-proving Soldier Master!!"

At this moment, Luo Yi's realm was already at the half-step Dao-proving Soldier Master level, only one step away from "Slaying Gods," at which point his will would ascend to the third level. He sensed the destiny of the human race in the darkness.

Countless human heroes who fell at this step turned their gazes to Luo Yi.

[It embodies all our hopes.]

"Heaven will punish you!!"

[Luo Yi, wielding swords and blades, shattered true gods, beheaded bodhisattvas, and annihilated true demons, single-handedly slaughtering a million-strong army of alien races shrouded in mist.]

The endless river of blood has stained the Augu Empire. The boundless negativity of resentment, fear, death, and pain has awakened the God of Destiny—the God of Black Iron and Steam—who was once slain by the Eternal Emperor and his heroes in the previous era.

[Luo Yi was collecting gold and silver from the Augu Empire when he suddenly looked up at the blurry giant god that was gradually manifesting, and instantly learned its name.]

He then realized that the ancient myths passed down among the Black-Eyed Clan were real.

[In the last era, a mere eight hundred years later, after the birth of the God of Technology, humanity, though physically weak, was able to elevate its spirit, commanding and controlling conceptual colossi that wielded black holes and stars, becoming invincible among the myriad races of the Mist.]

The demon gods of the Mist Alien race are merely "rare delicacies" laid out on the dining table.

Thus, the "God of Black Iron and Steam" came into being, specifically prohibiting humanity from pursuing "technology." Simultaneously, he awakened all the Gods of Destiny nurtured by the mist and the void, leading to an earth-shattering war in which countless Gods of Destiny perished.

But they ultimately destroyed the human empire.

From then on, the human race could only rely on their frail bodies and swords to fight the Mist aliens for the Spirit Realm.

This is not the first time He has awakened and altered the "fundamental rules," but humanity always manages to find a way out of the gaps.

Luo Yi learned from the martial arts hall's inheritance that only seven Heavenly Destiny Gods remain in the Mist.

[—From the moment humanity leaves its ancestral land and enters the mist, it has only eight hundred years of lifespan. Although the Flame Ancestor ascended to the third heaven, he was already old and frail under the will of Heaven. His majestic figure, wreathed in flames, ultimately perished deep within the mist.]

[The Ancestor of Flames failed to slay this God of Destiny, and since that God of Destiny did not manifest, the shackles that pierce the fate of humanity still exist.]

[This is the will of the unseen realm, designed to prevent humanity from creating and destroying Dao Saints through the "method of cultivation."]

The first four Dao Saints of the human race established the "Ancient Heavenly Court," and three thousand Dao-attaining beings established blessed lands and grotto-heavens. Stars shone brightly, making it the most powerful of all races. Great Emperors roamed freely, and countless immortals existed. They fed on demons and enslaved the gods.

Luo Yi knew neither what an immortal was, nor what the Dao was.

To him, "Taoist magic" was nothing more than another kind of exotic trick, like the magical aura dancing at the fingertips of the Star-Moon Clan, the azure demonic fire rising during the Fox Clan's sacrifices, or the innate runes flowing on the scales of strange beasts.

【but--】

The human race's worship of nature and ancestors, including the heavens, rivers, mountains, and fire, has not been eroded by the mists of time; humanity has never forgotten its origins.

[Among them, rivers and mountains represent the spiritual realm; the combination of the two nurtured the human race.]

[Luo Yi, wielding a sword, fights alone against the corpse of the "God of Black Iron and Steam."]

Ten days later, the Heavenly Punishment Blade, which he relied on, shattered...

[The God of Destiny is no ordinary being to defeat. Luo Yi mechanically wields his sword, his will constantly being eroded by Destiny, teetering on the brink of death. He is about to die.]

Suddenly, everything stopped.

He sensed an unseen force—"I," he said, "you have never understood the meaning of your swordplay, which is why you have fallen to this state."

Let me help you...

Luo Yi looked down at his small hands. When he looked up, he realized it was all a nightmare. His parents hadn't died in the accident. His younger sister was growing up and often bickered with him. He suddenly felt that his sister wasn't cute at all.

Years later, the eldest brother married and had children, while Luo Yi, instead of wielding a sword, became an apprentice at a tailor shop. One day, a noblewoman with beautiful blue eyes came to order a custom-made dress.

Luo Yi had never seen such a beautiful girl before, and he secretly developed feelings for her while serving her.

Three months later, Luo Yi mustered the courage to express his feelings, and the girl accepted with a smile; she despised her mother's hypocrisy.

The girl's parents were very unhappy when they found out. How could a mere seamstress be worthy of their precious daughter?

That day, the girl's parents' cold smiles burned like a branding iron on Luo Yi's face. His clenched fists tightened and loosened repeatedly, finally managing to squeeze out only, "I'll prove you wrong," before turning and disappearing into the howling north wind.

During his years of wandering, he worked as a businessman, a railway worker, a circus performer... and finally resolutely joined the army.

At the age of thirty-six, the imperial edict of defeat and the announcement of the emancipation of slaves arrived at the military camp simultaneously. He stood in the rain all night, clutching his discharge order—no military merit, no future, only scars all over his body and an empty bag.

Life isn't always as we wish, and hard work doesn't always guarantee results.

Luo Yi squatted on the bluestone slab at the entrance of his old alley, afraid to go home, when suddenly a steaming piece of wheat bread came into view.

Luo Yi looked up—the woman's apron was covered in frost, a few strands of silver hair were hidden in her hair, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were deeper than before when she smiled. She stretched out her flour-covered hand to him.

He later learned that the day after he stormed out of the house that year, she moved out of the castle and set up a small stall opposite the tailor shop, which later became this little shop that always smelled of milk.

Spring came and autumn went, but the person I was waiting for never appeared on the street corner.

Between bread and love, she chose love.

With flour smeared on her face, she stretched out her hand, smiled, and said, "Since love needs bread, let's open a bakery."

Luo Yi suddenly realized the truth, tasting the sweetness hidden within the bread—a sweetness more real than fame and fortune.

[Fifty years have passed, and I am old and frail. I close my eyes together with my beloved in my arms.]

This is the will of the unseen, a perfect life that did not rewrite Luo Yi's life trajectory. The ending has no God of Destiny, no war, no mysterious monsters...

[Only Luo Yi, with his ordinary life filled with ordinary people and ordinary events, ultimately dies an ordinary old age—this is the kind of life that ordinary people yearn for but cannot attain.]

A peaceful and joyful life.

"This is what they call hope."

Having lived through a complete lifetime, Luo Yi opened his eyes again, his expression blank with realization.

【"hope……"】

An old man's cracked finger bones rested on his shoulder, a child's tender hand pressed against his sword hilt, and even more so, the afterimages of broken weapons—broken spears, shattered shields, and axe blades with chipped edges—all piled up in the path of his sword swings.

Luo Yi's sword has been stained with the flames of time.

"—Raise an army!!!"

With an unwavering belief that "even if it means facing a million men, I will go," Luo Yi ascended to the second level, merging his heart with the heavens and earth, becoming the "True Martial Master," and forging his will into an ancient sword engraved with the images of heaven, river, mountain, and fire.

[Peerless Spiritual Weapon - The Flame Sword!]

[Luo Yi used the "Sword of Kindling Fire" to slay the corpse of the God of Destiny, reforging the Heavenly Punishment Blade. He then cleared the fog covering a thousand miles, integrated the nearby spiritual veins, and opened up a Great Spiritual Realm.]

[The warriors under his command delved into the ancient ruins of the "Black-Eyed Clan." Although humanity was defeated, that leader sent countless human thoughts into the Void Heaven, hoping for mutual destruction.] [Before the Void Heaven resisted the eradication of human consciousness and fell into slumber, it altered the fundamental rules. From then on, humanity could not overcome technological limitations and could only practice slash-and-burn agriculture. An era was shortened to 130,000 years. Furthermore, whenever the human population reached a critical point, a God of Destiny would be born to cleanse the various spiritual realms, preventing the emergence of any more tenacious insect-like beings among humanity.]

Upon receiving this information, Luo Yi fell silent.

[At this time, it was nearly 130,000 years later, at the end of an era, and the human race was on the verge of extinction in the Great Wilderness of Guixu.]

However—Luo Yi's Sword of Inheritance will not allow such a thing to happen!

Internal strife erupts in the Zhao state, with the sorcerer who worships the moon establishing the "Crimson Flame Cult" and wreaking havoc.

[The Crimson Flame Destiny was enraged and launched campaigns east and west, often annihilating the myriad races of the Misty Realm, until the Crimson Flame Destiny reversed the course of the rampaging Fox Clan Demon God, causing the alien races to crumble and their main forces unable to resist the advance of the human race.]

The world is about to be unified.

The mandate of heaven is about to descend.

Holding a black sword, Master Gu returned alone to Black Cloud City, crossed the Sunset Mountains, and arrived at White Rainbow City to reminisce with Luo Yi.

They are a short-lived species; the most vibrant century of their lives has already passed more than halfway.

The former head swordsman of the Martial Arts Hall passed away quietly a month ago. Master Gu is currently the current head swordsman of the Martial Arts Hall, but he is about to die, so he entrusted this responsibility to Luo Yi.

Having forged the "Sword of Fire," Luo Yi understood his responsibilities. Looking down the mountain at his descendants, he solemnly agreed.

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.

[Master Gu breathed a sigh of relief and rose to take his leave.]

This was the last time Luo Yi saw Master Gu.

Three months later, Luo Yi received news that Master Gu had failed in his attempt to kill the Mandate of Heaven. The Divine Martial Mandate of Heaven shattered, and the Crimson Flame Mandate of Heaven transformed into the towering Mount Tongtian, falling into a deep slumber.

The "Thirteenth Month, the Moon of Eternal Day" manifested.

The strange beasts of Sunset Mountain Range mutated one after another, with the most outstanding ones evolving into ferocious beasts after devouring massive amounts of "human spirit seeds." Ten ferocious beasts were born in the Great Wilderness, and countless spiritual realms were destroyed.

General Zhenwu fought bravely against three opponents and died a heroic death.

With the fall of the Zhao state, the human race was leaderless and on the verge of collapse.

[At this critical moment, a man, carrying a sword, ventured alone into the Sunset Mountains, causing the earth to tremble. Ten days later, he returned with the heads of the ferocious beasts Taotie, Bifang, and Qiongqi, which had ravaged the land.]

The other intelligent beasts were terrified and unanimously decided to hide deep within the mist to avoid trouble, daring not to show themselves easily.

This person is none other than the newly appointed Sword Master of the Martial Arts Hall—the Firewood Sword!!

[Thirteen years later, the evil dragon on the east coast had just unleashed a hundred-foot-high tsunami when it was pinned to death by a sword light descending from the heavens.]

Fifty years later, the Buddha's remains, awakened in the west, raised their decaying hand, and an inextinguishable crimson flame suddenly ignited across the entire desert. In the south, the remains of a deity of destiny hadn't even had time to crawl out of their coffin before the believers quietly closed the lid.

One hundred years later, in the North, humans and demons emerged, leaving the land scorched and barren, cleaved in two by an ancient sword that fell from the sky.

The new swordsman resides atop Mount Tongtian, wielding his sword to suppress all gods, demons, ferocious beasts, and monsters.

The new Sword Master finally witnessed the birth of the Human King, who raised the "Great Sun" to unify the human race and establish an even greater nation on these ruins.

This human king rose to power in the Sunset Mountains, forging the peerless spiritual weapon "Sun-Shooting Bow" through countless battles. He protected the region, and together with the Lord of Black Cloud City, he led a large army deep into the mist, returning slaying three ferocious beasts.

This time, the Human King has come to offer sacrifices to Mount Tongtian.

Luo Yi opened his eyes and recognized the Human King.

[This person is actually Zhou Qingshan, the younger brother of Zhou Dingtian, the Crimson Flame Destiny!]

He fulfilled his elder brother's unfinished wish.

[The world is unified.]

At this moment, the King with a bow, the Sage with a sword, and the Divine General commanding the army—the three great masters of war who have attained enlightenment—are all alive!

A great sun rises.

Zhou Qingshan's figure rose higher and higher amidst the torrent of fortune, transforming into a towering, fiery behemoth. When he drew his longbow, the entire mountain range groaned under its immense weight.

[From the ripples in the air shattered by the bowstring, an arrow imbued with the fortunes of three hundred dynasties soared into the sky, and the eternal moon hanging high in the heavens suddenly cracked open with spiderweb-like patterns.]

The fallen lunar debris crashed into the sea, the thick fog dissipated, and the people at the foot of the mountain saw that everything in the world was becoming clearer.

【"Mountain!"】

【"Mountain!"】

"The mountains!"

That day, the roar of collapsing mountains and tsunamis echoed through the towering mountains—the seventh eternal kingdom of humanity was born.

[Six hundred years passed in a flash. One night, Luo Yi suddenly turned completely white-haired. His once full skin withered at a visible rate, his back suddenly hunched over, and even his strength to draw his sword rapidly declined.]

Luo Yi finally sensed the arrival of his "eight-hundred-year destiny," a destiny that was the great terror faced by the Flame Ancestor, the Lord of Black Cloud City, and all the heroes of the human race throughout history.

A whisper from the depths of my being crept up my bones—to survive, one could renounce one's human identity, fall into the mist, and become an eternal god of destiny.

"Discard the sword."

"Falling into the Mist."

"To become a god."

The remnants of demonic souls suppressed for centuries continued to emit shrill, mournful laughs, but Luo Yi grinned, his cracked lips parting in a smile—a smile that sent a shiver down the spine of the God of Destiny who had been secretly observing for eight hundred years.

"You...look down on me."

The night wind howled, whipping up Luo Yi's long, white hair. His withered fingers slowly traced the two weapons lying across his knees.

Luo Yi has served as the head swordsman of the Martial Arts Hall for hundreds of years, overseeing the area from the mountains.

“Clang!”

The moment the Sword of Fire was drawn, the entire towering mountain burst into flames. Not flames, but something far more violent—the fighting spirit left behind by generations of war lords. Those long-vanished figures arrayed themselves in the firelight; the will of three hundred and seventy-nine pioneers from ancient times to the present was all fused into the sword's edge.

[The Heavenly Punishment Blade chanted simultaneously, and the faces of all the humans who had died in the "eight hundred years" of destiny appeared on its blade. Luo Yi's arm muscles ripped apart inch by inch, yet he crossed the two weapons into a cross that could cleave the heavens and earth.]

"My life—"

[Where the sword light and blade aura converged, the physical form of the shackles that had bound humanity for millennia emerged. It was a chain composed of countless twisted divine faces, with the God of Destiny, which the Flame Ancestor failed to shatter before his death, embedded in its very center.]

"Slaying even ants!"

"He has slain a Bodhisattva!"

"Slaying the evil dragon!"

"Slayed the demon!"

"Slayed the ferocious beast!"

"Slayed a god!"

【"today--"】

[Amidst the burst of light from the dual weapons, Luo Yi's aged body began to vaporize. First, his right arm, which held the sword, dissipated; then his spine, bearing the Dao patterns; and finally, his heart, which had been beating for eight hundred years.]

"Slay the will of Heaven!!!"

The heavy shackles crumbled inch by inch; the god of destiny, who had ruled for eight hundred years, fell today.

【"Ha ha ha ha!!"】

Amidst hearty laughter, Luo Yi transformed into a gentle spring breeze, drifting towards the mundane world.

[The second Heavenly Soldier Lord of the Seven Great Wilderness Continents of the Human Race sensed that someone had fulfilled the unfinished wish of the Flame Ancestor today.]

King Zhou Qingshan awoke with a start and rushed to the Tongtian Mountain, only to see a humming ancient sword stuck in the rock face at the summit.

Zhou Qingshan inscribed the entire "future" of the Seventh Eternal Kingdom onto the ancient sword as a tribute to the spirit of its blade.

A century later, the Sword of Inheritance is no longer limited to the elements of the heavens, rivers, mountains, and fire—the very things our ancestors transformed into the sun, moon, and stars. On its other three sides, one is engraved with mountains, rivers, and vegetation; another with the arts of agriculture and animal husbandry; and the third with strategies for unifying the world.

【postscript.】

【The Legend of the Human Emperor】

In the vast wilderness, there stands a towering mountain called Zhou, upon which a sage painstakingly forged an unparalleled divine sword, which has slain demons and monsters for eight hundred years.

[Later, it was wielded by the Human Emperor, bearing the weight of mountains, rivers, and the people; this sacred divine sword is named—Xuanyuan!]

……

(End of this chapter)