Daqin Zhentiansi

The center of the basin.

Zhang Yuanhua stands with his hands behind his back.

Against the backdrop of the ten sword monuments, the dark phantom appeared even more profound and unfathomable.

The old man Zangfeng stood beside him, his aura as deep and imposing as a mountain.

His sharp gaze swept over the various forces that had gathered, especially pausing slightly in the direction of those few faint, demonic auras, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"My lord, the men have almost all arrived," the old man Cangfeng said in a low voice, his voice condensing into a thin line that reached Zhang Yuan's avatar's ears. "A mixed bag, with undercurrents surging."

Zhang Yuan's gaze was calm, as if he had already seen through everything.

He didn't look at anyone, but instead raised his head and stared at the area in the center of the ten sword tablets that seemed empty but was twisted with strange spatial ripples.

That is where the seal for the entrance to the secret realm is located.

"let's start."

The indifferent voice, though not loud, clearly drowned out all the noise and discussion in the room.

It echoed in the ears and hearts of every cultivator.

The old man Zang Feng took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Facing the Ten Directions Sword Stele, he formed an ancient and intricate sword seal with both hands.

"Om-"

As he activated his sword seal, an immense and powerful mountain sword intent, originating from the Hidden Edge Valley, rose from his body and slowly poured into the distorted space in the center.

Behind him, sword lights converged into a long river from the elders and disciples of Cangfeng Valley, pouring into them together.

However, the spatial ripples only rippled slightly, like a deep pool into which a boulder has been thrown, and then returned to silence, showing no sign of opening.

The old man, Zangfeng, had a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead.

Clearly, the power of the Hidden Edge Valley alone is far from enough to shake this ancient seal originating from the Sword Tomb.

Just then, Zhang Yuan's transformation moved.

He did not form a hand seal, but simply slowly raised his right hand and pointed his fingers like a sword.

At the fingertip, a halo of chaotic and ethereal light condenses.

In an instant, the entire basin space suddenly froze!
The wind has stopped, and the dust has settled!

Everyone's heartbeat seemed to skip a beat at that moment.

"Buzz—! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang…"

The ten sword monuments, silent for millennia, simultaneously erupted with earth-shattering hums and sword cries!

The mottled sword marks and mysterious runes on the monument lit up one by one, like stars that had been ignited!

Crimson as blood, deep blue as the sea, brilliant gold as the sun, deathly white as bones...

Ten distinct yet shared origins of powerful sword intents erupted like a dormant ancient beast awakening!

A torrent of violent sword intent raged and crashed within the basin.

Those with weaker cultivation levels instantly turned pale, staggered backward, and some even spat out blood!

Yuan Lieshan's hair and beard bristled, and his giant sword stood firmly on the ground, unleashing a fierce sword domain to protect his disciples.

Hai Wuyai's body rippled with sword intent like water, enveloping everyone in the Haiyuan Sword Mansion.

Other forces also used their various methods to resist.

At the very core of this storm of sword intent, the chaotic halo at Zhang Yuan's fingertip suddenly spread out!

"Thirteen Origins Return, Sword Soul Guides the Key—Open!"

With Zhang Yuan's low shout, thirteen fierce sword shadows, indistinguishable from real ones, yet exuding an aura that made all the sword intents of the heavens bow down, flashed and disappeared in the void behind him!
The annihilation of immortals, the bloodlust of immortals, the devouring of immortals, the sharpness of immortals slaying…

The primordial Dao patterns of the Thirteen Ferocious Swords, like the decree of the King of Ten Thousand Swords, instantly subdued the chaotic torrent of sword intent erupting from the Ten Directions Sword Stele!
Ten kinds of ferocious sword intent, like angry dragons that have found their way home!

An invisible force forcibly merged and pulled together, converging into a massive, almost chaotic pillar of light containing the primordial sword intents of "ending," "slaughter," "fall," and "annihilation," which slammed fiercely into the distorted space in the center!

The power of the malevolent sword has been unified!

"Click——!!!"

It was like the crisp sound of the creation of the world!
A massive rift, piercing the heavens and earth, suddenly tore open at the point where the beam of light struck!
Inside the crack, there was no longer nothingness, but a bizarre and fantastical scene.

Countless fragments of shattered divine weapons floated in the chaotic air currents, forming winding "rivers of sword remains".

In the deep darkness, a sword as massive as a beast's skeleton floated, radiating a chilling aura.

Deeper inside, one can vaguely see a dazzling sword light like exploding stars, and a destructive vortex that devours everything!

Zhao Zhou Sword Domain, the Ten Directions Sword Tomb Secret Realm, open!

"boom--"

An unimaginably powerful aura of ancient swordsmanship surged forth from the cracks like a burst dam, instantly sweeping across the entire basin!

All the sword cultivators present, regardless of their cultivation level or sword style, had their swords or the sword embryos they were nurturing tremble and hum uncontrollably, as if they were worshipping the common lord!
A surge of emotion, originating from his bloodline and the soul of the sword, welled up within him, as if something deep within his soul was being awakened!

"Boom——!!!"

The altar roared, and the Thousand Blade Mountains trembled!
The runes shone like molten gold!
Thirteen terrifying sword shadows: Immortal-Slaying Ice Silence, Immortal-Slaying Blood Fiend, Immortal-Trapping Sinking, Immortal-Slaying Cause Severing...

Sword light soared into the sky from the void, forming a destructive halo around the altar!
Beneath the halo, ten towering, mountain-like "Ten Directions Sword Stele" phantoms, inscribed with the lost supreme sword techniques of Zhao Zhou, rose up with a roar!
"It's open! It's really open! By the patriarch! The general outline of the Ninefold Mountain-Splitting Force, which has been suspended in the sect's secret manual for hundreds of years... has actually... has actually reappeared!"

An elder of the Hundred Slashes Sect, with white hair and beard, who had personally witnessed the sect's rise and fall, trembled with excitement as he looked at the fierce and domineering chisel marks on the monument.

Tears streamed down his face as he seemed to see a glimmer of hope for the revival of his sect.

"Sword Tomb! It's the sacred place where our ancestors attained enlightenment and left their legacy! I feel... the call of our ancestors deep within my bloodline!"

A young core disciple of Cangfeng Valley gripped his sword tightly, his heart pounding with excitement.

The legend passed down through generations of the sect, that their ancestor obtained the true meaning of the Unsharp Heavy Sword in the Sword Tomb and founded the sect, now feels incredibly real.

"If we can obtain this power... it will surely complete the incomplete 'Seven Absolute Techniques of Profound Ice' of our sect, and even allow us to glimpse the legendary final technique 'Eternal Silence'!"

Sword cultivators from the Sea Abyss Sword Mansion and other sects gazed at the unimaginably powerful aura of sword essence flowing from the sword monument, their hearts instantly filled with immense temptation.

In the despair of a raging demonic calamity and the near extinction of the Daoist tradition, this reappearance of the lineage is like a piece of driftwood that a drowning person is clinging to, radiating an irresistible attraction.

The light of inheritance shines everywhere, and ten thousand swords resonate!
A sudden change occurred!

"Do it!"

Three faint, piercing shrieks tore through space, heading straight for the newly opened and still unstable rift in the secret realm!

At the edge of the Hundred Slashes Sect, the disguise faded, and the filthy demonic energy condensed into a soul-corroding, ghostly green bone claw, tearing open the cracks!

Amidst the crowd of independent cultivators, afterimages flashed, and dark purple, disintegrating demonic patterns swarmed towards the passage like maggots!

The Sea Abyss Sword Palace steward's eyes flashed with demonic light, and the water-based sword energy, corroded by the Void Ember Demon Flame, pierced towards the core of the crack like a poisonous dragon! The timing was cunning and ruthless, right at that moment when his mind relaxed!
Zhang Yuan's gaze was as cold as ancient ice, locking onto three spots.

He didn't move, but at the core of the altar, he casually flicked his fingers in three directions—in quick succession!
"Bo! Bo! Bo!"

Three soft sounds, like bubbles bursting, were so subtle they were almost drowned out by the roar of the altar.

however--

Three finger strikes, refined to their utmost perfection and resembling the "nothingness" stripped away at the dawn of chaos, disregarded spatial distance, arriving first despite being later, and striking the core demonic source of the three attacks with unparalleled precision!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no dazzling light and shadow.

The Soul-Eating Bone Claw, the Shattering Demonic Runes, and the Void-Eroding Sword Qi, along with the three demonic shadows behind them, were as if thrown into an abyss of absolute zero, instantly freezing, losing their color, and then...

Silently turning into the finest dust, without even uttering a scream, it was completely annihilated in the surging spiritual light of the secret realm and the radiance of the sword monument!
One finger, three demons, reduced to ashes!
Zhang Yuan's power and ruthlessness shocked everyone who witnessed the scene, sending chills down their spines!
This is just the beginning!

"Roar—!!! For the Bone-Eating Demon Lord, seize the origin of the Sword Monument!"

Dozens of figures, shrouded in dense demonic energy and exuding a strange and sinister sword intent, suddenly burst out from all directions, from dark corners and even from some small sects!
They were clearly more elite than the previous infiltrators, acting in unison with a clear objective.

Taking advantage of the moment when the rift opened and Zhang Yuan had just made his move, they transformed into dozens of jet-black demonic sword streaks and recklessly crashed into the still fluctuating entrance to the secret realm!

"Oh no! It's the Heavenly Demon Sword Cultivators! They want to seize the inheritance!" Elder Cangfeng's eyes widened in horror.

"Stop them! We must not let these demons defile the Sword Tomb!" Yuan Lieshan roared, slashing wildly with his giant sword, but he was already a step too late.

"Inheritance! Our inheritance!" Yuan Ting and the other Zhao Zhou sword cultivators instantly turned red in the eyes.

The sect's supreme secrets, lost and regained, are right before our eyes. How can we allow evil demons from beyond the realm to lay a finger on them?
"Charge in! Protect the Sword Monument!"

Suddenly, someone let out a roar.

The remaining elite disciples and elders of Zhao Zhou's various sects no longer cared about asking for instructions or whether the entrance was stable. They transformed into streaks of resolute sword light and followed the dozens of demonic shadows, frantically surging into the secret realm rift that shimmered with an alluring yet dangerous light!

Chaos erupted at the entrance, with human and demonic figures mingling and sword energy clashing with demonic energy, but most of the figures instantly disappeared into the crack.

The altar ruins, amidst the surging energy flow, suddenly appeared much emptier.

Only Zhang Yuan remained unmoved, standing at the core of the altar.

The projections of the thirteen malevolent swords slowly rotated around him, radiating a world-destroying ferocity.

His indifferent gaze swept over the messy entrance, as if the demons and humans who rushed in were nothing more than a few fallen leaves thrown into boiling water.

He seemed to be waiting for something.

The rift in the secret realm began to fluctuate violently due to the influx of a large amount of energy and the impact just now. The spiritual light at the edges flickered and hummed under the strain, clearly indicating that it was about to close!
Just as the crack shrank to the point where only one person could pass through, and the spiritual light was compressed to its limit—

Zhang Yuan made a move!

He did not rush directly into the crevice.

Instead, he pointed his fingers together like a sword and pointed at a phantom sword monument beside the entrance, which exuded a fierce and domineering aura!
That is the origin of the Hundred Slashes Sect's lineage.

"Zheng——!"

A sword intent, condensed and unparalleled, containing the origin of chaotic sword bones, precisely penetrated the core runes of the sword monument like a stone thrown into a calm lake!

"boom!"

The sword monument seemed to be infused with a sun, instantly bursting forth with an unprecedentedly dazzling spiritual light!
This spiritual light was not a gentle light of inheritance, but a destructive shockwave carrying Zhang Yuan's fierce will, like a blazing white ring of lightning, which suddenly exploded outward from the center of the sword monument!
A violent surge of spiritual light swept through the entrance.

The last few spatial turbulences and residual filth and demonic energy were completely swept away.

At that very instant when the light burst forth and the passage was forcibly stabilized, Zhang Yuan took a step forward!
His figure left a faint afterimage in place, and his true form, like a ghost, ignored the last bit of spatial distance and stepped into the radiant, rapidly collapsing secret realm rift with perfect precision!

The next moment, the crack let out a mournful cry of resentment, closed completely, and disappeared.

All that remained were the still-humming projection of the malevolent sword on the altar ruins, the gradually fading phantom of the Ten Directions Sword Stele, and a deathly silence of shock.

----------------

The Ten Directions Sword Tomb Secret Realm.

The inner world of the "Mountain Rift Sword Stele".

The moment Zhang Yuan stepped into the secret realm, his sword avatar sensed a shift in space.

Instead of the expected scene of corpses scattered everywhere, what lay before them was a strange space, as if in the beginning of chaos.

The vast land is made up of countless broken giant swords and tattered armor.

The air was filled with a heavy, mountain-like sword intent.

With each breath, it felt as if I was bearing an immense pressure.

This is the trial world corresponding to the origin of the Hundred Slashes Sect, the "Mountain Rift Sword Stele".

At the center of the space was not a physical sword monument, but a towering, illusory giant.

It is formed from the purest "Sword Intent of Power", its body is like being forged from ancient black iron, and its muscles are as bulging as mountains.

He wielded a giant axe formed from sword intent, illusory yet exuding the power to cleave the heavens and the earth.

It is the guardian spirit of this inheritance, the "Spirit of Rifting Mountains".

At this moment, several disciples of the Hundred Slashes Sect were struggling to withstand the giant's pressure, trying to get closer to the core and comprehend the domineering sword intent that could split mountains and shatter peaks.

Yuan Lieshan was among them, his giant sword planted firmly on the ground, his muscles bulging, sweat pouring down his face, but his eyes burning with fervor and desire.

"The way to cleave mountains is to overcome all techniques with sheer force! If you cannot shake me, then don't even think about receiving my true teachings!"

The giant phantom roared deafeningly, and the invisible force field slammed down on each trial participant like a heavy hammer.

Several disciples groaned as they were forced to the ground, blood gushing from their mouths and noses. Even Yuan Lieshan let out a muffled groan and knelt on one knee.

Zhang Yuan's clone remained calm, ignoring the terrifying pressure that even a half-saint could not breathe. He took a step forward and appeared directly in front of the giant phantom.

"Mere brute force, does it even deserve to be called 'the Way'?"

The clone's voice was indifferent, yet it clearly pierced through the giant's roar.

He pointed his fingers together like a sword, but there was no dazzling light at the fingertips, only a deep, chaotic void.

"boom--"

The Spirit of the Mountain Splitter felt an unprecedented provocation, and the giant axe phantom, carrying the power to shatter stars, crashed down!
The space groaned under the weight of the axe blade.

Zhang Yuan's clone neither dodged nor evaded, but gently pointed out the point of chaotic light at his fingertips.

There was no earth-shattering collision. The instant the chaotic finger force touched the phantom of the giant axe, the devouring and annihilating power containing the "Immortal Trapping Sword Intent" suddenly erupted!

The giant axe phantom was like a mud ox thrown into a black hole, silently decomposed, swallowed, and turned into nothingness.

"Roar--!"

The spirit of the mountain-splitting peak let out a roar of shock and rage.

Its massive body trembled violently as its source of power was instantly drained. (End of Chapter)