Sunlight shone upon Gu An, making him appear as though he was cloaked in a radiant halo. The brilliance radiating from him was almost blinding to You Yingying, who, for a moment, felt that his words carried genuine conviction.
Gu An turned his gaze toward her, raising an eyebrow. "What's the matter? Mesmerized by my aura of justice?" he teased.
Snapping back to her senses, You Yingying rolled her eyes. "Anyone can say something like that. If your sword is so powerful, why are you hiding out here?"
"Heh, you just don't get it! Now shoo, don't interrupt my cultivation!" Gu An replied with a grin, swiftly sheathing the Heavenly Solemn Sword. His movements were fluid and deliberate, as if he thought them dashing. Unfortunately for him, You Yingying remained unimpressed.
She huffed, turning on her heels to leave. Yet, as she walked away, a faint smile crept onto her face.
Talking to this fool did have its perks—it made her feel slightly better.
Meanwhile, beneath the tree, Shen Xin Zi opened his eyes. His deep gaze betrayed his inner turmoil as the prayer beads in his hands shifted faster, his tension evident.
Nearby, Qie Wuxing and the Nine-Finger Divine Lord rose from their chess game.
"Let's call this match a draw," the Nine-Finger Divine Lord declared with an air of finality.
Qie Wuxing gawked at him in disbelief. "You're down to your last piece and dare to call it a draw?"
The Nine-Finger Divine Lord remained unflappable. "The game's not over yet. The outcome is still uncertain."
Qie Wuxing shook his head with a wry smile, saying no more. In the next moment, he disappeared into thin air.
The Nine-Finger Divine Lord's gaze wandered across the Medicine Valley until it landed on Gu An in the distance.
"What a shame. I've yet to best you," he murmured before vanishing as well.
As Gu An stretched and loosened his muscles, he sensed countless cultivators and monsters alike taking to the skies, heading toward the continent's borders.
In the face of calamity, some sought to flee while others prepared to fight.
Those who chose to stand and fight did so either out of bravery and righteousness or simply because they had no other choice. But at this moment, their resolve seemed unshakable.
The question remained: Would they still hold such courage when faced with the true might of the Great Cold Demon Sect?
Gu An turned and walked toward the teleportation platform. Along the way, he noticed fewer disciples greeting him. Everyone seemed weighed down by their thoughts.
Upon arriving at Xuan Valley, Gu An made his way beyond the Medicine Valley and into the forest. Drawing the Heavenly Solemn Sword with one hand, he reached for the Azure Swan Sword at his waist with the other.
The Azure Swan Sword trembled softly, its faint hum resonating in the air. Gu An used his own power to sever its connection with White Spirit Sword.
He could feel his junior sister's unease through the bond.
"Don't worry, Junior Sister. It'll be over soon," he muttered. As the words left his lips, dark purple demonic energy surged from his body, enveloping him entirely. The flames of his energy burned fiercely.
His figure disappeared into the depths of the forest, leaving no trace behind.
At the continent's edge, waves crashed against the cliffs.
Above the mountains, a host of powerful cultivators floated in the air. Behind them lay the land's vast terrain, while before them stretched an endless ocean.
They hailed from various sects, including Tai Xuan Sect, Three Purities Mountain, Cang Tian Sect, Dao Tian Sect, Sword Sect, Candle Heaven Peak, Yan Sect, and Gathering Flower Sect.
Sects across the land had sent their cultivators to different parts of the continent's borders. This particular group quickly grew in number, surpassing a hundred as reinforcements arrived.
Seeing their ranks swell gave them a fleeting sense of confidence.
Leading the group was Qiao Dai of Tai Xuan Sect, whose cultivation was at the ninth level of the Mahayana Realm. He stood at the forefront, rallying the cultivators and briefing them on battle tactics.
But just as he was finishing, a horrifying pressure descended upon them, sending a collective shiver through the group. All heads turned to the source, and their expressions twisted in alarm. Even the ever-confident Qiao Dai gaped in disbelief, his face etched with despair.
From the horizon, an immense black mist rolled forward like an unstoppable tidal wave, swallowing everything in its path. The oppressive aura seemed to devour the very heavens and earth.
As the mist surged closer, the islands and beasts in its path were reduced to insignificance, akin to specks of dust. Even aerial creatures that soared valiantly ahead were quickly engulfed by the mist, their fates uncertain.
Above the black mist hovered countless figures, each distinct in their attire and weapons. Some wielded radiant treasures suspended behind them, others rode grotesque mounts, and a select few stood atop surging sword energy with their hands clasped behind their backs. Behind each figure loomed a thousand-zhang-tall shadow, identical in form to its master, radiating an overwhelming demonic presence.
The sheer number of these colossal shadows was beyond comprehension, stretching endlessly into the horizon and blanketing the skies in oppressive darkness.
The gathered cultivators were paralyzed in silence. No matter their cultivation level, they were struck dumb, their minds reeling as if thunderstruck.
Qiao Dai's gaze drifted further back behind the thousand-zhang shadows, and he froze. There, far in the distance, a pair of colossal feet moved forward. The thousand-zhang shadows barely reached the ankles of the enigmatic figure to whom the feet belonged.
He could not fathom its full form.
Some cultivators dared to glance to the sides, only to find the black mist stretching endlessly across the horizon, as vast as the ocean itself. The disparity in numbers alone was enough to break their spirits.
"How… how can we possibly win…" someone murmured with a bitter laugh.
No one responded. Their courage had all but evaporated.
High above the clouds, the Nine-Finger Divine Lord and Qie Wuxing stood side by side, observing the continent entirely surrounded by the Great Cold Demon Sect.
"How many do they have? Even Supernatural Realm has joined…" Qie Wuxing muttered grimly.
Qie Wuxing clicked his tongue in disbelief, noting that the number of Great Cold Demon Sect cultivators was comparable to that of the Spectral Wraiths. What was even more terrifying was the unified momentum of the demon cultivators; many among them possessed auras strong enough to make him wary individually.
The Nine-Finger Divine Lord took a deep breath, his eyes scanning the continent, as if searching for something hidden within the chaos.
"If the Sacred King Zhu Shi truly reincarnated on this continent, isn't all this commotion a bit excessive? Is a reincarnated body really worth such measures?" Qie Wuxing couldn't help but ask.
The Nine-Finger Divine Lord gazed into the distant horizon and replied, "If the Sacred Heart awakens, with the Sacred King's capabilities, they could rise swiftly. More importantly, the Great Cold Demon Sect fears the Sacred Court sensing the aura of the Sacred King Zhu Shi."
Qie Wuxing found the explanation plausible and took a step forward.
"What are you planning to do?" the Nine-Finger Divine Lord quickly asked.
Without turning back, Qie Wuxing strode through the air and waved nonchalantly. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, I am the Shen Yi Spectral Wraith King, Qie Wuxing. Wu Xing was just an alias."
The Nine-Finger Divine Lord furrowed his brows, though he didn't appear angered. He simply watched Qie Wuxing move forward with unwavering focus.
"Qie Wuxing, return to your position immediately!" A thunderous voice belonging to the Supernatural Realm Master reverberated across the battlefield.
Qie Wuxing picked up his pace, but suddenly, his expression darkened. Looking up, he saw an enormous hand emerging from behind the demon shadow army. It stretched across the sky, blotting out the sun and reaching for him.
The sheer size of the hand defied description.
Qie Wuxing, to his horror, realized he couldn't move. Panic seized him as despair clouded his eyes.
Not good!
Just as he was about to resign himself to fate, a streak of sword light burst into his view, cutting through the darkness. In an instant, the massive hand dissolved into nothingness.
Qie Wuxing instinctively turned his head, his eyes widening in disbelief.
There it was—a figure he would never forget. The same figure that had once terrified him in the Supernatural Realm.
It was Gu An, shrouded in the power of the Nine Extremes Yin-Yang Body!
Gu An carried twin swords as he brushed past Qie Wuxing. Both weapons radiated dark purple demonic energy, which pulsed and burned around their edges.
"You... Senior…" Qie Wuxing stammered, unable to contain himself.
Before he could finish, Gu An vanished into a blur, leaving behind only a lingering image of his sword. A radiant streak of sword light erupted into the distance, tearing through the dense black mist with unmatched intensity.
Moments later, a terrifying shockwave surged through the area.
Qie Wuxing stood frozen, his mouth agape, his face a portrait of incredulity.
Before his eyes, a single sword aura tore through the ranks of the thousand-zhang demon shadows, slicing them cleanly in half. The light emanating from the sword aura bathed the heavens and earth, washing out all color in an instant.
On the continent below, cultivators shielded their eyes, unable to withstand the overwhelming brilliance. Mortal creatures were left utterly blinded by the display.
High above the clouds, the Nine-Finger Divine Lord's expression shifted drastically. His spirit quivered as he watched the scene unfold.
Through his eyes, he witnessed the utter annihilation of the demon shadows, the roiling of the demonic mist, and the sword light stretching infinitely, as if splitting the entire world in two.
In that moment, the Nine-Finger Divine Lord, who had lived for 170,000 years, saw the most formidable sword strike of his life.
"Who... Who are you?" A voice erupted from the chaos, trembling with a mix of fury and undeniable fear.