Daqin Zhentiansi

Shadowfang's remaining right claw trembled uncontrollably, and its eyes blazed with an intensely greedy red light, almost burning with rage.

"It's done! Finally, finally!"

He let out a hoarse growl, tinged with a twisted ecstasy.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the runes, a faint, long-forgotten stirring of "humanity" flickered strangely deep within his cold, demonic heart.

That was a fragment of memory from when he was still a low-level sword cultivator named "Lin Ying," practicing the basic "Shadow Escape Technique" under the moonlight in a corner of an abandoned Taoist temple.

The cool, damp feel of the bluestone floor, the chill of the moonlight, and that insignificant yet real yearning for "speed" and "seclusion"...

This fleeting feeling was instantly swallowed up by an even larger demonic thought.

strength!

Only power is eternal!

By integrating with the Demon Lord's will, this path becomes the shadowy blade that I use to pierce the heart of humanity!
Lord Bone-Eating Demon Lord, may your glory last forever... uh?!
A sudden change occurred!

Just as his fingertips, enveloped in filthy, corrosive magical energy, were a hair's breadth away from the shadow rune, at the critical moment!
The once profound and serene rune suddenly became chaotic!
A terrifying will descended, freezing Shadowfang's soul!
Instantly, a crystal-clear Dao pattern of the character "诛" (Zhū), composed of pure and extreme destructive sword intent, appeared on the surface of the rune!

It exudes an unparalleled majesty that severs cause and effect and ends existence.

It is a projection of the Zhuxian Sword Intent!
"No--!!"

Shadowfang's ecstasy was instantly crushed by boundless fear, turning into a short, shrill, and distorted scream that was particularly jarring in the deathly silence!
The demonic core within him screamed wildly, instinctively trying to escape into the shadows.

However, it's too late!

"laugh--!"

An invisible and intangible sword intent, yet containing an absolute will to "annihilate," burst forth from the word "annihilate," disregarding spatial distance!
It is not a physical puncture, but directly locks onto the "cause and effect" and "root cause" of Shadowfang's existence!
In that instant, Shadowfang felt as if his demonic soul had been thrown into a purgatory furnace that incinerates everything.

The pain is indescribable.

An ultimate pain, as if his very existence had been erased, instantly swept over his entire consciousness.

He "saw" his carefully maintained disguise as a rogue cultivator instantly wither and peel away, like a cheap painted mask.

It revealed the ugly, writhing demonic form within, forcibly fused together from countless vengeful spirits and filthy demonic energy.

He "heard" himself uttering a silent, most desperate howl, a shriek of a collapsing demonic soul.

"boom--"

He "sensed" that the eerie green demonic fire at the core, which represented the mark of the Bone-Eating Demon Lord, gave him power, and also bound his soul, was as fragile as a candle flame flickering in a storm under the sword intent of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword. It had no room to struggle and was instantly pierced and annihilated by the domineering and incomparable "annihilation" will!
relief?

Do not!
It is eternal nothingness!

In the one-billionth of a moment before consciousness was completely annihilated, an absurd thought flashed through my mind.

That glimmer of moonlight from my hometown seems so pure...

Like a red-hot iron being branded into ice and snow.

"Chichi-"

Under the annihilation of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Intent, the distorted demonic form rapidly melted and vaporized from its core.

Even the slightest wisp of demonic energy failed to escape.

The filth was completely purified, transformed into pure energy, and absorbed by the Shadow Sword Talisman like a whale, becoming supreme nourishment for the sword monument's origin.

Silence returned.

In the deathly silent little world, only a faint trace of burning and the fresh scent of purification lingered in the air.

The entire process of Shadow Fang's execution was clearly witnessed by several Zhao Zhou cultivators who had just arrived at the edge of the core area after going through countless hardships!
"Heavens...Heavenly Demon! He's actually disguised himself like this!"

Witnessing the terrifying shadow appear, the group felt their scalps tingle and cried out in horror.

Immediately afterwards——

"punish!"

The Dao pattern of the character "诛" (Zhū, meaning "to punish") on the rune appeared!

Supreme majesty!

Ruthless and ruthless extermination!

Their will, like a tangible hammer, slammed down hard on their souls!
In an instant, the group almost suffocated, their thoughts freezing!

Then...

The demonic energy was completely purified and absorbed by the sword talisman!
"The demonic energy was actually absorbed by the sword talisman?"

"This...this sword tablet can actually purify evil spirits and nourish itself?!"

"A miracle! This is a miracle!"

Absolutely stunning!
It was as if I had witnessed the ultimate truth of the universe!
This scene, like a burning brand, is deeply etched into their souls.

This not only gave them the most direct and terrifying understanding of the terrifying power of the sword monument after Zhang Yuan reshaped and inherited it.

Furthermore, one could faintly sense a grand and profound rhythm of the Heavenly Dao—

Good will never prevail over evil!

Eradicate evil and give back to the righteous path!
Their gazes as they looked at the Shadow Sword Talisman changed completely.

There was less greed for pure power and inheritance.

It instilled a deep sense of awe.

And, the yearning for that supreme "Tao".

"Om-"

The entire secret realm was trembling slightly!
Countless cultivators, within their respective sword monument micro-worlds, activated new inheritances and received high-level Dao infusions from Yongtian Continent.

The resulting fluctuations in the laws of nature converged into a torrent, impacting the barriers of the secret realm.

Pure!

powerful!

A complete system!

Nourished and impacted by this torrent of the primordial Dao principles of the universe—

Inside the secret realm.

The original fragments of the Heavenly Dao of Zhao Zhou were thin, decaying, and riddled with invisible cracks...

Moved!

Like parched, cracked earth on the verge of death, finally receiving a timely rain.

It began to absorb greedily, almost instinctively!

Absorb these scattered fragments of high-level grid rules.

Silently.

Subtle and difficult to detect.

Like countless trickles of water, they quietly seep into the dried-up riverbed.

If a powerful being of the Saintly Realm were to investigate meticulously with their divine sense...

Then you can "see" it!

The edges of the tiny cracks, symbolizing the wounds of the Heavenly Dao, are scattered throughout the void...

There were extremely faint yet resilient new Dao patterns emerging...

It's slowly multiplying!
spread!

Trying to... heal the wound.

The very foundation and laws of the entire secret realm are undergoing a subtle yet profound transformation—

strengthen!

repair!

This was the first glimmer of hope that Zhao Zhoutian Dao grasped in the abyss of despair, a ray of renewed life.

Faint. Yet...incredibly firm.

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

In the chaotic void of the Silent Sword Monument, space rippled like water.

Zhang Yuan took a step forward.

The aura of Xuanmo's clone was even more restrained and profound than before it entered.

It resembles an ancient sword that has been sheathed.

Its sharpness is concealed, yet it contains endless profound mysteries of the Great Dao.

He had just undergone a profound dialogue and reconstruction with annihilation and the origin of life and death, and his body seemed to still retain a trace of the chaotic Daoist charm that was neither alive nor dead.

An indifferent gaze pierces through the barriers of space.

Scanning the direction of the Shadow Sword Monument's small world—

There, the lingering trace of the Dao of Annihilation left behind by the annihilation of Shadow Fang was crystal clear in his perception.

Yet it caused no ripples, as if a speck of dust had been brushed away.

Another secret place.

An ancient and obscure sword intent, representing "stellar deduction" and "the trajectory of fate," surged forth...

It flows through the entire secret realm with a peculiar rhythm...

Even beyond the secret realm, there lies the faint yet unyielding starry sky of Zhao Zhou…

A mysterious resonance was generated!

"Ming Yan Sword Monument"!
Zhang Yuan's steps did not falter in the slightest, his figure transforming into an elusive stream of chaotic light.

Ignoring spatial distance.

He aimed directly at the ancient sword monument that exuded the aura of endless starlight and intertwined threads of fate.

Zhang Yuan's figure stepped out from the ripples in the void, and the scene before him suddenly changed.

It is no longer the desolate emptiness of the Silent Sword Monument, nor the vastness of the Rift Mountain, nor the immensity of the Abyss Sea.

Before him lay a vast, ancient-style complex of bronze palaces.

The palace is not a physical entity, but rather a condensation of countless interwoven and flowing starlight trails and mysterious threads of fate.

The eaves, brackets, lintels, and pillars of each palace shimmer with a distinct and unique essence of swordsmanship.

It can be as magnificent as a cascading galaxy, as meticulous as a chess game, or as enigmatic as a misty illusion.

This is the core of the "Destiny-Derivation Sword Stele," a hall of swordsmanship where one deduces heavenly secrets and controls the trajectory of destiny.

Zhang Yuan's gaze was calm, his steps steady, as he stepped into one of the bronze palaces closest to the entrance, the one with the most intricate patterns.

The palace was empty and desolate, except for a platform in the center that resembled a chessboard of stars.

On the platform, a middle-aged sword cultivator dressed in a dark blue ancient robe stood with his back to him, hands behind his back, gazing at the star trails and sword marks that evolved on the chessboard on their own.

The moment Zhang Yuan stepped onto the edge of the platform, the middle-aged swordsman slowly turned around.

Zhang Yuan's gaze suddenly sharpened.

The person before him had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, with a resolute facial structure, and bore a striking resemblance to him!
But the corners of his eyes and brows bear the deeper marks of time.

A few strands of frost were visible at his temples.

Her temperament has become more reserved.

Like a peerless ancient sword covered in dust, it lacks Zhang Yuan's current sharpness, but has gained a sense of vicissitudes accumulated over thousands of years, and a detached indifference that understands the ways of the world.

"You've come." The middle-aged swordsman's voice was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger, yet carrying a timeless quality that seemed to transcend time. "I have been here, waiting for you for a million years."

Zhang Yuan frowned slightly. The other party's aura was ancient and profound, originating from the same source as the Life-Derivation Sword Stele, but the meaning behind his words was unspeakably strange.

Millions of years ago, there were thirty-six continents in the Great Zhou Dynasty?
That was the ancient divine court, long buried in the dust of history, a distant mythological era!
The middle-aged swordsman seemed unconcerned by his surprise and doubt, and spoke to himself in a deep and clear voice, like an ancient eulogy echoing in the hall: "Zhang Yuan, disciple of the Tianyan Sword Sect of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Zhao Zhou."

He paused slightly, his gaze as still as an ancient well, yet seemingly reflecting the vast galaxy of eternity.

"Please advise."

Before he finished speaking, he had already raised the seemingly ordinary ancient sword with star patterns of destiny flowing across its blade.

There was no earth-shattering burst of power, just an ordinary straight thrust!
The sword tip was not pointing to Zhang Yuan's current location, but rather to a "future node" that he was about to reach, amidst the flow of his aura and the surge of his true essence!
The trajectory is simple and unadorned, yet it contains the profound truths of the workings of heaven and earth.

Zhang Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, his chaotic true essence flowed instinctively, and his figure shifted half a step to the side as if in a phantom, narrowly avoiding the attack. However, a wisp of the sleeve of his black python robe was silently torn apart by the sword blade that seemed to have been waiting there all along.

"Humph!"

Zhang Yuan let out a cold snort, and the true meaning of the Dragon Elephant Suppressing Prison erupted.

With fingers pointing like a sword, a dark golden sword aura, condensed with the power of chaos and destruction, was unleashed with overwhelming force, tearing through space.

"boom--"

Suppress the prison, cleave the sky!
However, the middle-aged swordsman's figure seemed to have already foreseen his trajectory and the point of power explosion.

The moment the sword energy struck, his figure blurred and vanished like a reflection in water.

When it reappeared, it was already behind Zhang Yuan, the ancient sword drawing a mysterious arc like a gazelle's horns!
The sword's momentum seemed to reverse time, directly targeting the fleeting moment when Zhang Yuan's moves shifted, a moment when "old power was exhausted and new power had not yet arisen."

A warning sign was screaming in Zhang Yuan's mind!

Each of the opponent's sword strikes was not simply a matter of speed or power suppression, but rather seemed to possess eyes that could see through the long river of fate.

He always manages to place a fatal piece at the crucial moment when his move is about to be executed or his momentum is about to shift!

His powerful offensive was repeatedly neutralized, guided, and even countered by this seemingly simple yet meticulously calculated sword technique.

"laugh!"

After another exquisite prediction and dodge, the tip of the middle-aged swordsman's ancient sword struck the weak spot on the side of Zhang Yuan's slightly slower-returning Chaos Sword Qi at an incredible angle!
An overwhelming, seemingly predetermined force suddenly erupted!
Zhang Yuan felt a violent tremor in his arm. The sword energy he had condensed was shattered by that point of "inevitability" power containing the trajectory of destiny. He involuntarily slid back several steps, leaving deep footprints on the hard surface of the star platform.

The middle-aged swordsman did not pursue, but stood with his sword in hand, his aura remaining as calm as an abyss.

He looked at Zhang Yuan, his eyes calm and unwavering: "This is the art of destiny calculation. Every person's fate leaves a trace."

"Your past, your habits, your strength, your choices... are all like star trails, already etched into the river of destiny. I have observed you for millions of years, and have long seen through you. You cannot defeat me."

His words carried an all-knowing certainty, as if stating an unalterable fact.

After saying that, he raised the ancient sword in his hand once again.

The star patterns flowing along the sword suddenly became dazzling, as if they had drawn upon the power of destiny of the entire Destiny Palace complex.

It transformed into a dazzling sword light, interwoven with countless future possibilities, unavoidable, and seemingly destined, like the spear of fate's judgment, enveloping Zhang Yuan!

Before the sword light even arrived, the oppressive feeling that locked onto fate and was suffocating had already frozen the space.

Facing this sword strike that seemed destined to hit him, Zhang Yuan showed no sign of panic.

He slowly closed his eyes, as if giving up resistance, or as if sensing something.

Just as the fateful sword light was about to strike his body at the critical moment!
Zhang Yuan suddenly opened his eyes!

A chaotic vortex swirled in his eyes, yet deep within, a resolute edge ignited, piercing through the shackles of fate!

He was not giving up, but rather eliminating external distractions and focusing his mind on that one and only "variable" that was not bound by the trajectory of fate.

Great Qin!

Marquis of Qingyang!

With an iron will to kill and defend the righteous!

"My life belongs to the Qin Dynasty!"

A low shout, like a thunderclap, resounded in the hall of destiny!
He suddenly reached out with his right hand into the void.

A long sword, its entire body as cold as ice for millennia, its blade gleaming with an indomitable and chilling aura, appeared in an instant.

It is indeed the Autumn Chill Blade!

There were no complicated moves, only the strongest strike that condensed all will and aimed at that seemingly predetermined fate!
"cut--!"

A flash of light appeared! (End of Chapter)