Immortals of the End Times

"Zheng!!"

A dazzling sword light appeared as if a startled swan had suddenly appeared from the heavens.

The sword's cry was like divine iron clashing in the heavens, its resounding clang echoing across hundreds of miles of mountains and rivers.

The sword light burst forth with a blinding, cold gleam in the twilight, like the aurora borealis tearing through the sky, or like a wisp of ethereal wind sweeping across the heavens, parting the clouds wherever it passed.

Tao Han, who was locked in a fierce battle with Pang Xixue of the Immortal Saint Sect, suddenly changed his expression and hastily swung seven demonic swords around like a screen.

"Cang! Cang!"

Two crisp sounds rang out, and two of the swords trembled violently the instant they came into contact with the sword light. The swords emitted mournful cries and submitted, and even suddenly turned their flying swords around to retaliate against Tao Han.

"One sword, ten thousand techniques!"

"The Sword of All Laws Returning to One! The Sword Sovereign of Heavenly Inquiry!?"

Tao Han and Wei Le, the master of Baiyu Sword Tower, had not yet finished expressing their shock.

The gleaming sword light, like a white rainbow piercing the sun, simultaneously struck Tao Han's vital points: his brow and his heart.

"Roar!!"

Tao Han roared, shaking the heavens. His demonic aura surged, his exposed skin instantly covered with blue scales, and the single horn on his forehead emitted a ghostly light.

However, the sound of the sword suddenly rose higher.

The ancient flying sword suddenly surged with spiritual power, and a cold snort even came from within its blade.

"Demons and heretics, behead them!"

With two "plop" sounds, the armor was pierced through, blood spurted three feet from the forehead, and a bowl-sized hole of blood exploded in the chest.

Amidst a rain of blood, Tao Han's body flew backwards for hundreds of feet like a tattered sack. From a blood-filled hole the size of a bowl on his forehead, a wisp of nascent soul, enveloped in azure light, fled in panic.

The nascent soul was no more than three inches long, its face twisted like a demon, and its body was shrouded in dissipating demonic energy.

"Do not!!"

Before the piercing shriek could even spread, the ancient flying sword suddenly burst forth with a blinding, cold light.

The Dao patterns on the sword moved like living things, instantly transforming into a stream of light that pierced the sky.

"puff!"

Where the sword passed, the nascent soul shattered like glass, exploding into countless blue-green fragments in the utterly astonished gaze of the White Jade Sword Tower Master.

His soul was also torn apart by the fierce sword energy emanating from the sword, leaving only a wisp of resentment that drifted away with the wind.

As the clouds parted, the Sword Master of Asking the Heavens arrived on his sword, recalling his ancient sword with a flick of his sleeves.

His gaze swept over Pang Xixue: "How is it?"

Pang Xixue twitched her blood-stained lips and pointed to the gleaming sword wound on her chest: "If Sword Lord had arrived even half a step later, he might have been collecting my corpse."

"Sword Lord, wait! This is all a misunderstanding. If you will let me go, I am willing to reveal all the secrets I know!"

At this moment, Wei Le lightly touched the air with his toes, his body retreating like a drifting catkin, while a cunning glint flashed deep in his eyes.

The Sword Master of Asking Heaven pointed his ancient sword diagonally, his sword robe fluttering in the gale: "Does Lord Wei truly believe that I have not suspected anything? That day, the Demon Lord of the Nine Netherworlds broke through your sect's restrictions as easily as tearing paper, and all seven sword tokens were stolen."

"The Demon Lord's cultivation is extraordinary; our sect's restrictions are no match for him!"

Wei Le hurriedly defended himself, but his five fingers secretly formed a sword incantation in his sleeve.

"Absurd!" The sword intent in the eyes of the Sword Lord of Heaven surged. "Only six demons from beyond the river have entered, so how can there be a seventh token? What about that seventh ancient sword token?"

The ancient sword suddenly flew up, pointing directly at Wei Le's brow: "It must have always been in your hands!"

"what?!"

Wei Le's expression changed drastically as he finally realized where the flaw lay.

"Fellow defenders of the Way"

Pang Xixue's silver hair stood on end in anger, her face contorted with grief and indignation. "I originally thought it was just a guess, and never dared to believe it. I never expected that you would actually collude with demons! Why is that?"

"Hahaha! Why?"

Completely exposed, Wei Le went all out, his sword aura spitting out like a venomous snake, "The Immortal Saint Sect has controlled the Central Plains for thousands of years, and my White Jade Sword Pavilion has been controlled at every turn! Every time the Sword Domain opens, the number of slots depends on your whims."

His ancient sword flew out from his sleeve with a clang, its light gleaming with an eerie purple glow: "This is my reason!"

Pang Xixue laughed angrily: "What a high-sounding excuse! How are you any different from the demonic path?"

"What is right, and what is wrong? It's all about the victor taking all. What a pity."

Wei Le suddenly looked up and said regretfully, "This time, I have lost in the end."

"Xiaoyue of the Howling Moon Demon Sect has been killed."

The Sword Master of Asking the Heavens stood with his hands behind his back.

"Before entering the domain, I had already foreseen that these demons would slaughter the disciples and seize the exploration map."

"I just didn't expect it."

His gaze suddenly turned cold.

"And there are hypocrites like you, secretly stirring things up."

"Hahaha!"

Wei Le suddenly burst into laughter, but his laughter was tinged with madness.

"Without further ado!"

He sneered, "Go ahead and do it. I may have lost, but you might not win this time."

Once the Nine Nether Demon Lord succeeds and finds the variable that will alter the balance of power within the Sword Domain, the so-called righteous-demonic order will be rewritten.

"Qiang!!"

The ancient sword before the Sword Lord of Asking Heaven chanted: "The difference between good and evil lies in people's hearts, not in names."

Before the words were even finished, a dazzling sword light poured down like a silver river, instantly illuminating the sky!

"Crash!!"

At Mirror Lake Sword Realm, ripples spread across the water's surface, like thousands of sword energies intertwining.

Zhao Wuji's clone was once again shredded by thousands of sword energies, turning into green smoke and dissipating.

He narrowed his eyes, his double pupils reflecting the chilling sword light at the bottom of the lake, observing for flaws, but finding none.

"Nephew, how is it?" Yan Lan, dressed in a fiery red dress, gently brushed a stray hair from her temple with her jade-like fingers.

Zhao Wuji shook his head, his robes fluttering even without wind: "In this Mirror Lake Sword Realm, the sword intent has reached a state of perfection, and the sword energy is controlled by restrictions. Anyone who does not comprehend the creation of a realm with a single sword will surely die if they enter."

He lightly traced a line with his finger, and sword energy outlined the shape of the lake's underwater barrier in the void: "Besides that, unless one's array-setting skills are profound, one's swordsmanship can also reach the level of 'one sword creating a domain.'"

Yan Lan pursed her red lips slightly: "Since that's the case, let's just give up. If that old ghost Huang Shang asks, just tell him the truth about the situation at Mirror Lake. I'm helpless."

Her eyes sparkled: "At worst, we can lure Lin Dengxian from the Immortal Saint Sect here. Even you, the number one swordsman in the Nine Provinces, can't get through this perilous place, so there's no hope for him, the second-in-command."

"Not urgent."

Zhao Wuji suddenly sat cross-legged by the lake, with the Cold Soul Sword placed horizontally on his knees: "My swordsmanship is also about to break through the barrier."

"Here, sword energy surges like a tide, and sword intent is profound. If one can comprehend swordsmanship here, one may be able to advance further. If one can comprehend the concept of 'one sword transforming into a domain,' and combine it with array formation techniques, there is still hope of being able to make a tentative exploration."

Yan Lan smiled upon hearing this and sat down beside her, her fiery red dress billowing like a lotus: "That suits me perfectly. Entering the Sword Domain is for comprehending sword cultivation; finding opportunities is secondary. It's all about fate."

"Indeed, this place is quiet and deserted. Even if uninvited guests arrive, the plants and stones controlled by the surrounding restrictions will emit sword energy, which can be considered a natural barrier to protect our cultivation."

Zhao Wuji looked at Yan Lan, and with a smile, he made a hand seal: 'Shifting Scenery Technique'.

Instantly, the surrounding vegetation seemed to be veiled in a thin gauze, and the two figures faded like ink wash painting, gradually blending into the lake and mountain scenery.

Yan Lan's red lips curved slightly, her slender fingers twirling a strand of hair at her temple: "Now I can finally be alone with my junior nephew."

She suddenly leaned closer, her breath sweet as orchids: "It's been a long time since I've cultivated with my senior uncle. My dear junior nephew, are you happy too?"

Zhao Wuji shook his head and smiled, his eyes reflecting the blood moon, his double pupils like mirrors.

Yan Lan felt a chill run through her body, as if an invisible hand had brushed over all her vital points.

"you!"

Startled, she took a half-step back, hastily covering her lower abdomen with her delicate hands, her pretty face flushing red: "You little rascal! Where are you looking?"

She felt as if she were completely naked, exposed before this junior disciple, just by his glance. She felt extremely ashamed, especially her abdomen, and quickly covered her abdomen and lower body.

Zhao Wuji's double pupils gradually faded, and a smile played on his lips: "Uncle-Master, please don't take offense. I just used my double pupils to observe your cultivation. You have reached 60% of the Golden Core stage and your Inner Core stage has also reached the middle stage."

He flicked his sleeves and pointed to Mirror Lake: "The spiritual energy in this Sword Domain is so dense that it is almost like a sixth-level spiritual vein."

The lakeside area, in particular, is even more desirable.

If one were to cultivate here

"Within five years, my master will be able to break through to the late stage of the realm."

"you!"

Yan Lan's red dress swayed slightly, and as her hair fell down, the blush on the tips of her ears lingered for a long time.

Her eyes flashed with surprise and doubt. Was this kid really checking her cultivation level just now? That intense gaze probably lingered on her body.

Then he muttered to himself: This kid doesn't have the guts!
"Humph!"

She suddenly turned her head, her slender fingers brushing against the strands of hair by her ear, her snow-white skin flushed with a faint blush: "Senior Uncle, you are certainly aware of your own cultivation level and future progress."

That is true.

Zhao Wuji raised an eyebrow slightly, "What I actually wanted to say was that it might help my master's cultivation progress by three points."

"Oh?"

Yan Lan, dressed in fiery red, suddenly brightened up upon hearing this, her black hair swaying as she turned her head: "Could it be that I'm going to give my senior uncle acupuncture again?"

"It's more than that."

Zhao Wuji's deep, blood-red eyes gleamed as he gazed at the misty spiritual energy of the Mirror Lake Sword Realm: "Upon entering the Sword Domain, I sensed that the spiritual energy here possessed an ancient charm, bearing a striking resemblance to the aura behind the Gate of Mysterious Female."

He suddenly turned his head: "Has my senior brother ever had this feeling?"

"This"

Yan Lanyu lightly touched her lips with her jade-like finger, seemingly lost in thought: "Now that you mention it, it does indeed seem like a rather mysterious connection." "I guess..."

Zhao Wuji said calmly, "If one cultivates the Inner Realm Golden Elixir Method here, one might be able to glimpse the secrets behind the Gate of the Mysterious Female."

Before he could finish speaking, he shook his head and chuckled, "However, this is still just speculation. It would be better to focus on cultivation first and then delve into the details later."

"Shh!"

A figure in red suddenly drifted down onto a green stone by the lake.

Yan Lan sat with her back turned, her fair and delicate shoulders gleaming in the twilight, her bodice draped down to her waist, revealing half of her jade-like back.

"Uncle-Master, you..."

Zhao Wuji looked surprised.

"Since you've already said you're going to cultivate, what are you standing there for?"

Yan Lan's ears turned bright red, but she forced herself to remain calm and pretended not to care, saying, "Didn't you just say that you were going to give your senior uncle acupuncture to speed up his cultivation? Then hurry up and do it, don't dawdle."

"Uncle-Master, you're still as impatient as ever."

Zhao Wuji was both amused and exasperated.

My gaze swept over that back, as white as mutton fat jade, paused briefly at the fleeting curve in front of me, and then quickly moved away.

When she used her double pupils to observe the aura just now, she did indeed catch a glimpse of spring, but she always adhered to gentlemanly etiquette and did not overstep the bounds.

At this moment, the master's open and honest treatment made the snow-white color even more dazzling, like the bright moon reflected in a lake, impossible to ignore.

"call!"

He exhaled a long breath.

As the sleeves billowed, twenty-eight family heirloom gold needles emerged one after another, drawing glittering golden lines in the twilight.

The needle tip trembled slightly, like a constellation of stars.

"Zhou Tian acupuncture point".

With a flick of the fingertip, the golden needle transformed into a stream of light and entered Yan Lan's vital acupoint on her back.

My wrist trembled slightly when I was doing the acupuncture, and I felt as if I were in another world.

So many years have passed, and suddenly receiving acupuncture again gave him a feeling of returning to the ancient Linglang Cave, which evoked many emotions in him.

The naive boy who first tried his hand at acupuncture in the Linglang Cave Heaven is now the most famous swordsman in the Nine Provinces.

As one climbs higher and looks further on the path of spiritual practice, the old friends who can still laugh and joke with you as they did back then are becoming increasingly rare and precious.

The familiar touch of acupuncture performed by the lakeside became a rare warmth on this cold, ethereal path.
Meteor Sword Origin.

Huang Shang's dark blue robe fluttered in the wind, and the blood talisman in his palm trembled slightly, sensing that Yan Lan was in the southwest.

"That direction leads to the Mirror Lake Sword Realm? This girl has been there for a long time; has she found the Nine Cauldrons of Yu the Great?"

A slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips. With a subtle shift of his divine sense, he issued a command to the blood corpse puppet he was secretly controlling: "Go to the Mirror Lake Sword Realm..."

This blood puppet, crafted by a disciple of the Immortal Saint Sect, had bloodshot eyes, a stiff head, and its body transformed into a blood-red afterimage as it sped towards Mirror Lake to explore the way.

Huang Shang, with his back hunched, secretly made a concealment gesture in his sleeve, trailing far behind like a ghost.

"Wei Le's life force... has been severed?"

Halfway there, Huang Shang suddenly frowned.

The Qi traction technique imprint established with Wei Le silently dissipated.

His eyes suddenly darkened: "That old fox, something happened so quickly. The demon's plan was indeed unreliable..."

He snorted coldly, thinking to himself, "Fortunately, I had a backup plan and did not fully cooperate with them."

Although this Immortal Saint Sect disciple was controlled as a blood corpse puppet, he could recover in the future, so it wasn't a big deal.

According to the blood talisman, Yan Lan's aura remained stable in that location.

Huang Shang narrowed his cloudy old eyes, his figure disappearing into the shadows once more, quietly approaching the direction of Mirror Lake.

"The Mirror Lake Sword Realm is said to be extremely dangerous. If the Nine Cauldrons of Yu the Great that girl found are in there, it will be troublesome..."

He murmured to himself, his hand stroking another blood talisman in his sleeve, the "bait" he had left for Lin Dengxian.

Several days later, at Mirror Lake Sword Realm.

The lakeside is shrouded in a misty, ethereal atmosphere.

Zhao Wuji sat cross-legged on the blue stone, with twenty-eight golden needles trembling slightly at major acupoints all over his body.

After administering acupuncture to Yan Lan to aid her spiritual practice, he followed suit, using his family's acupuncture techniques to stimulate his own potential and assist in his spiritual practice.

"Om!!"

At this moment, ethereal ripples emanated from the core of his sixth divine sense, and his divine consciousness darted through his meridians like a swimming fish, reaching the mysterious gate deep within his dantian.

The unique ancient spiritual energy within the sword domain resonated with the aura leaking from the crack in the door, causing the deep crevice to widen by half.

"Indeed. After several days of research, practicing the Inner Realm Spirit Refining Technique within this Sword Domain yields even better results."

Even when his divine sense passed through the crack in the door, the illusory image of the towering Jianmu celestial court became 30% more solid than before.

Seventy-two suspended immortal mountains surround the central celestial pillar, encircling that central celestial pillar that reaches to the heavens and the earth.

The blue phoenix flapped its wings and swept past, its trail of the spirit branch tracing a dazzling, clearly discernible path through the clouds.

On the central celestial pillar, an old man in black robes sat cross-legged in the void, surrounded by golden lotuses, each petal flowing with the true meaning of the Great Dao.

The old man formed mysterious hand seals, and with a light tap of his fingertips, clouds and mist gathered and dispersed, creating countless phenomena.

He recited the Great Vehicle Method of Severing Corpses from the Body by the Heavenly Venerable.

Each syllable was like a grand bell, resonating in the void and causing ripples, as if even the laws of heaven and earth were listening to its teachings.

However, Zhao Wuji couldn't hear the specific incantation at all.

suddenly
"Zheng!"

A clear and melodious sword cry resounded through the sky, like a dragon's roar echoing through the heavens, causing the suspended immortal mountain to tremble slightly.

A figure in white robes appeared, riding a sword, his body radiating a rainbow of sword energy.

Wherever it passed, the sea of ​​clouds was torn open into deep ravines that could not be healed for a long time.

The sword light was so intense that it seemed to rival the old man's golden radiance!

"Shh!"

On the stage, the expressions of many cultivators at the Nascent Soul and Dao Integration realms changed drastically. They immediately bowed and paid their respects with utmost deference.

Even at the summit of Jianmu, the two Transcending Tribulation stage children who were playing chess using the trajectory of stars stopped their game and stood up solemnly.

The old man in black robes with golden lotus flowers smiled slightly, flicked his sleeves, and gestured for them to enter.

The crowd's lips moved as if in praise, yet it was as if separated by countless ages, and not a single sound reached their consciousness.

The white-robed swordsman's face was shrouded in a hazy sword light, with only a nine-leaf sword pattern appearing and disappearing on his sleeve. Each leaf seemed to contain supreme sword intent, making it impossible for anyone to look directly at him.

Zhao Wuji was deeply shaken, his pupils reflecting the peerless elegance of the white-clad swordsman as he rode his sword.

"Could this person be the creator of the ancient sword domain? The legendary ancient sword immortal?"

He pondered to himself, only to see that the white-robed sword immortal was surrounded by sword energy like a rainbow, and was actually on par with the black-robed golden lotus Mahayana Celestial Venerable, clearly of equal status.

"From this perspective, even in the ancient Celestial Court, the Mahayana stage was already the peak in this world."

Zhao Wuji's eyes flickered slightly as he observed the various scenes, and he gradually understood.

Those who fail to transcend the tribulation can become wandering immortals!
A cultivator who has transcended tribulation is already considered to have the body of a half-immortal.

Mahayana cultivators are considered quasi-immortals. If they want to truly cross that final step and become true immortals, they may need to undergo a baptism of immortal energy, or perhaps they need some kind of higher-level opportunity.

Therefore, the ancient celestial court of this world is probably not as he imagined, with immortals everywhere within it.

On the contrary, there are probably very few true immortals, and most of the celestial beings who can sit in the midst of it are quasi-immortals.

That white-robed swordsman must undoubtedly be a quasi-immortal!
This makes more sense.

If the Celestial Court were truly filled with immortals, how could it have fallen into the Dharma-ending Age where even Nascent Soul cultivators struggle to achieve enlightenment?
Moreover, the word "immortal" itself implies an extremely rare existence.

"I just wonder... before the ancient immortal court, was there an even more powerful cultivation world?"

Or perhaps, true immortals cannot remain in this realm for long, and the celestial beings who are Mahayana quasi-immortals have already reached the limit of this realm?

He frowned slightly, his doubts deepening.

"Since there were once several quasi-immortals presiding over it, how did the Celestial Court collapse in the past? And why did the spiritual energy suddenly dry up in ancient times?"

Just as he was deep in thought.

Deep within the sea of ​​consciousness, the tadpole-like characters within the fourth Yang Pearl flickered, gradually illuminating with a dazzling golden light.

This set of tadpole-like characters was illuminated when he first glimpsed the ancient scene through the Gate of Mysterious Female with his divine sense, but he has never been able to fully comprehend it, as if looking at flowers through a fog.

At this moment, the profound sound of the Mahayana Celestial Venerable preaching and the sword intent of the white-robed sword immortal flowed together.

The tadpole-like characters seemed to come alive, each stroke and line seemingly interpreting some profound truth.

Suddenly, the scene in my mind changed abruptly.
The gap in the Gate of Mystery silently widened, and the ancient spiritual energy surging out from behind the gate, like an inverted Milky Way, resonated mysteriously with the inner secret realm.

The illusory world within the inner realm trembled violently, and the phantom of the towering Jianmu tree grew wildly, its branches piercing the sky and faintly connecting with the mysterious land behind the Gate of Mysterious Female.

"This is."

Zhao Wuji's consciousness was violently shaken.

At the intersection of the two spaces, ripples like water appeared, exactly like the fluctuations that occurred when the Pot Heaven Technique opened up space.

The tadpole-shaped characters inside the Yang Pearl lit up completely, revealing a magical technique.

Furthermore, the core of the sixth divine thought in the sea of ​​consciousness, together with the Gate of Mysterious Female and the illusory image of the Tongtian Jianmu tree in the inner landscape, established a spatial hub array pattern!
Suddenly, the surface of Mirror Lake began to move without any wind.

Zhao Wuji suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light, and in his mind appeared the illusory image of the Celestial Court dissipating behind the Gate of Mysterious Female.

"Is that so?!"

(End of this chapter)